The Record of Unusual Creatures

Something was detected in the shadows at the end of the broken staircase. White Flame was on full alert after she heard what Vivian said. She held her sacred silver dagger in one hand, and there was a white spark on one of the fingertips of her other hand. Teuton gestured to the others, who immediately took cover behind a low wall, holding their breath.

The breathing in the shadow was getting closer and closer. Finally, a figure in black emerged, pacing forward unhurriedly as if it was unaware of the demon hunters’ presence in the area. When the figure came close enough, Hao Ren could see it clearly; it was a woman, short and wearing a demon hunter’s signature black costume. Her hair covered most of her face, and she seemed to be unarmed. Her steps were slow and floaty, as though she was sleepwalking, while her skin was a bit pale. It led people to think that she was undead.

The female demon hunter in black walked in their direction aimlessly, but halfway, she turned towards another direction. It looked like she had not discovered them. The moment she turned, White Flame saw the demon hunter’s face. She exclaimed quietly, “Elder Andaherr!”

The other demon hunters also recognized Elder Andaherr, who had been taken by the Council of Elders earlier. Everyone was surprised, but they did not make a sound. White Flame quickly talked to Teuton through telepathy. “Was Elder Andaherr captured by the Council of Elders soon after war broke out?”

“Something’s not right with her.”

“She’s the only one out here.”

“You and the others stay in the shadows while I go check her out.”

Teuton quietly came out from a corner and crept up behind the elder. When he was a few steps away from Andaherr, she finally seemed to sense something. She stopped but did not turn around.

“Elder Andaherr,” Teuton called out. He was prepared for any eventuality. “Why are you here?” he asked.

Andaherr’s gaze darted around before it finally fell on Teuton. She looked at her colleague silently; there was no emotion in her hollow eyes. It was only after a few seconds later that she responded by nodding her head and saying, “Teuton, long time no see.”

She sounded calm, just like she usually did. But it was totally out of character in this situation.

Teuton found that Andaherr was acting weird. Nonetheless, he still asked, “Elder Andaherr, do you know what’s happened to the sages?”

While he spoke, he gestured to those hiding in the shadows. Soon after, White Flame came out with the other demon hunters, followed by Hao Ren, Vivian, and the others. Their sudden appearance did not bother Andaherr. She looked calm, and her voice was as normal as it could get. “The sages? They’re safe and sound. Ah, have you seen Gordon? Sage Beetholis is holding a seminar.”

Teuton did not answer Andaherr’s question. Instead, he just looked at her quietly. Andaherr spoke no more and was rooted to the spot like a statue.

Andaherr, whom Hao Ren had met once during the Ancattero incident, was one of the few survivors of the Shade of Chaos. She was also a rationalist who held a relatively sensible view of the killing of otherworldlings. After the outbreak of civil war among the demon hunters, Andaherr, who returned from the Ancattero territory with Hasse, also suffered under the attack of the Council of Elders. They had been arrested since the beginning of the civil war and imprisoned in the Netherrealm Clock Tower.

Her appearance in the place was a total surprise to them, and she looked as if she had lost her soul.

Interestingly, Hao Ren remembered that the last time he saw Andaherr, she was also in a similar state. The only difference was, back then, she restrained herself with her Mind Shackle spell. He had no clue what had happened to Andaherr this time.

Hao Ren was not the only one who thought so. “Why does she look like an idiot every time I see her? Is it mind control?” Vivian asked.

Hao Ren took the MDT out from his pocket and scanned Andaherr a couple of times. The MDT reported, “It is not because of mind control, but low mental activity. Her soul does not seem to be in this place.”

Andaherr just stood still, looking at them expressionlessly. She did not even find it strange for Hao Ren and Vivian to be in the Netherrealm Clock Tower, although they were not demon hunters. She recognized Hao Ren. “Long time no see, Hao Ren, Countess.”

White Flame reached out and waved her hand in front of Andaherr’s eyes. “Elder, where are you going?”

Andaherr looked in White Flame’s direction, but her focus was in a distant place. “Sage Beetholis is holding a seminar. Ah yes, the seminar! I have to go there. Please bring Gordon along if you see him,” she said.

As she spoke, Andaherr turned and walked in the other direction, turning a blind eye to the surrounding demon hunters.

Hao Ren and White Flame exchanged looks and followed Andaherr. As expected, Andaherr did not react to their actions.

It was a strange scene where a pale-looking and seemingly-disoriented demon hunter was being tailed by dozens of armed, ferocious fighters just a few meters away. No one made a sound. They walked silently across the dimly-lit staircase and corridors like a bunch of ghosts.

Andaherr’s behavior was strange. Teuton wondered to where the disoriented elder would take them. But what worried him more was that they might bump into the hostile demon hunters. For safety reasons, he assigned some of the fighters to follow at a distance from behind, so that if the team was attacked, these fighters shadowing them would come in handy.

Vivian released her little bats to scout their surroundings. She was careful to let the little bats fly in the shadows along the corridors and stairs, avoiding the open. According to Teuton’s explanation, the empty space in the Netherrealm Clock Tower hid a paradoxical space-time whirlpool. It was a trap that was more dangerous than the spatial rift. Once caught in it, it was almost impossible to come out alive.

But Andaherr was not aware of this. Walking in front like a programmed puppet, she led them onto a narrow stone staircase. After they passed through a series of intricate suspension bridges and corridors, they came to a black door, which looked quite heavy.

The door was inlaid in a cracked wall. It stood alone on the edge of a lookout platform, but based on the current visual and spatial perspective, there could not have been anything behind the door.

However, when Andaherr pushed the door open, Hao Ren saw a spacious place filled with warm light on the other side.

During the construction of these buildings, the goddess of creation had taken into account the height and size of the guardian giants. All the rooms in the Netherrealm Clock Tower were extremely spacious. The space behind the 10-m-tall door was more like a hall. It could have been the private lounge of a guardian giant, but now it was large enough to be used as a meeting place for the demon hunters. Hao Ren saw a long table in the room, which had most likely been added by the demon hunters. A neat row of candlesticks still emitted a constant glow. Although the demon hunters had switched to modern gadgets, they seemed to love these antique items more in this sacred place.

Sitting on both sides of the long table were dozens of demon hunters in black.

Teuton was nervous, more so when he noticed that some of them had a silver lining on their collar. That was the iconic insignia of the Council of Elders. But very quickly, he found that these demon hunters were in the same mental state as Andaherr. They were sitting there like statues and showing no reaction to their surroundings.

It was as if they had lost their souls.

It felt like a horror movie scene to Hao Ren. He was getting goosebumps all over.