The black sun hangs high

Chapter 351 Substance
The meeting, which was supposed to go on all night, was interrupted.

Although the venue itself was not actually impacted, the terrible riot caused by a small number of "hunters" from the Dark Abyss Palace still managed to take the lives of several attendees. After a headcount, it was discovered that the list of the dead included the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Delan, a scholar from the highlands, and several officials of different ranks and functions.

However, these identities were meaningless to the hunters of the Dark Abyss, and everyone was ultimately treated with the utmost equality.

Identifying the dead and collecting corpses is never a pleasant experience, and those who die from attacks by hunting dogs often present an extremely distorted and gruesome death—after their bodies are torn apart by the hounds' sharp teeth, their bodily fluids and life force are often ruthlessly sucked out by the tentacles hidden between the sharp teeth.

The result of this is that the bodies of these victims eventually become shriveled and broken, looking almost like dried-out pieces of meat that have been violently trampled on.

However, Merlinler and the Dawn Society's headquarters were merely a microcosm of Vaan's night. The hunters' actions were cruel and unpredictable, and the killings they inflicted were horrific. Throughout the world, anyone who had gazed at the black sun for an extended period during the day became their prey at night.

There are far too few people who can come up with an appropriate response.

Even inside some military camps, serious disturbances occurred due to the hunters. The hounds not only easily killed their targets, but also caused exaggerated stampedes, and the casualties caused by accidental discharges were countless.

The same situation occurred in the inner and outer cities of Merlinle, but due to the meticulous and strict management methods of the Legal Committee, most of those targeted by the Dark Abyss Hounds were gathered in advance. With the protection of various magical spells and the timely support of a large number of people, many of these people actually survived.

For the vast majority of people, this was destined to be a sleepless night.

What's even more terrifying is that no one can be sure this will be the last time it happens.

When Hughes finally returned to the embassy district in the early morning, he picked up a newspaper compiled by the Legal Committee. The various urgent situations made him both amused and exasperated. During this time, he had been seriously thinking about how to make more people aware of the dangers of the Black Sun and the Black Sun Society.

He never expected that a widespread threat, targeting everyone, would arrive so quickly.

Vera walked in from outside and sat down in the living room. She took a cup of calming herbal tea from Hugh, took two big gulps, and then breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "The Legal Committee should reduce the size of its meetings. They are also planning to deploy some new occult rituals and magical puppets in the embassy district, as well as some sword-wielders from the hermitage. During the meetings, almost everyone will be under surveillance."

As a former member of the Legal Committee, Verin became exceptionally busy at this time. She not only needed to represent the Dawn Society in liaising with the Legal Committee on relevant magical matters, but also, along with several other spellcasters, became the mage representatives responsible for the embassy district.

She held the teacup tightly, unwilling to let go. The exhaustion from working all night had left her looking particularly tired and haggard: "But this time, no one objected to these arrangements. Many people were terrified and now wish they could just move into the Sword-Holding Hermitage..."

"Everyone is going to be monitored? Including us?"

"Theoretically, excluding you... well, only you."

Weilin forced a smile: "But I think the Legal Committee and the people from the Hermitage will be coming to us soon. Just wait, you won't be able to escape any of the tasks that follow."

"It doesn't matter."

Hugh forcibly snatched the teacup from Vera's hand, poured her another cup of herbal tea, and then shoved it back into her hands. He shook his head with a smile: "If things have developed to this point, and the Legal Committee still doesn't intend to accelerate the original plan or involve us in those matters, I really have to question their competence and attitude."

After saying that, Hugh pointed to the second floor of the house: "If you can, go and rest for a while, or at least wash up and refresh yourself... You look almost like those clerks who work all night at publishing houses."

This description made Weilin slightly dissatisfied. She wrinkled her nose and was about to retort when she noticed two bloodstains on her dress.

The hounds of the Dark Abyss, of course, do not bleed; the bloodstains belong to the wounded and the dead.

"All right……"

Vera finally chose to compromise, and the moment she said those words, she finally relaxed.

Although she was used to working overtime and various stressful work environments, what happened the previous night was different. Surrounded by terrifying black fog, even she felt a sense of panic and helplessness.

She hated this feeling.

I hate this terrible feeling of having no use for my knowledge and magic when I encounter trouble.

However, the face before Vera was incredibly gentle, just as it had always been.

"Don't panic, this is nothing..."

Hughes offered a soft word of comfort, then turned to look at the crystal clock on the wall: "Breakfast should be delivered in a little while. Wash up, eat something, and then go to rest. You can't keep pushing yourself like this..."

"In addition, although what I say may not be entirely correct, I think there is another perspective to consider when looking at what happened last night."

Vera was a little confused: "Another angle? You mean?"

"A thousand pieces of advice may not be useful, but a knife-wielding thug who comes to your door can always serve as a warning. Although it may come at the cost of life and blood, it is not much different from a group of people who are slow to act and know nothing."

As Hughes spoke, he waved his hand at Vera, "Alright, go and rest... I might wake you up soon, so don't be grumpy when you wake up." Vera rolled her eyes but didn't argue with Hughes and quickly walked towards her room.

The living room returned to tranquility.

Hugh did not return to his room. Instead, he sat upright in the soft chair, his eyes slightly closed, his attention quickly sinking into the vast ocean of spirit beneath the metal disc. In this empty ocean filled with spiritual power, he saw several neatly arranged black clouds.

These black clouds were the power and information that the Mirror Messenger had compiled after dealing with the other palace servants. Seeing that Hugh seemed interested in these things, the Mirror Messenger immediately came to Hugh's side. It bowed slightly and waited quietly for Hugh's instructions like a butler.

Hughes found the waiter-like posture inexplicably comical and amusing, so he said to the messenger in the mirror, "Forget it, you'd better stop acting like that... Just be yourself, as long as you get things done, do whatever you want."

Thus, the Mirror Messenger, having received Hugh's permission, almost immediately returned to its original form.

A wide grin spread across its face, and its posture became more casual. It raised its hand and pointed at the black clouds, and a long, organized message immediately unfolded neatly in Hugh's mind.

Hugh had gone through similar processes countless times before. However, the memories and knowledge he absorbed in the past were all "second-hand goods" that had been roughly digested by the Dark Abyss offspring, and all of this information came from the victims of the Dark Abyss offspring.

Although those Dark Abyss offspring can be considered flawed products derived from the power of the Dark Abyss court, they are equally ignorant of the place that created them.

This time it's different.

These court attendants, who arrived with the hunting dogs and accompanied them like dog trainers, were all creations of the Dark Abyss. The fragmented memories and information extracted from them successfully unveiled a corner of the Dark Abyss court for Shug.

The so-called palace attendants are actually remnants of the Dark Abyss Palace's power.

If the Dark Abyss Palace is likened to a massive tree that grows wildly, then the palace servants are the tiny branches extending from that tree.

However, even the leaves on a tree vary in size. These servants, who form the vanguard of the hunters along with the hounds, are the lowest "servants" in the Dark Abyss Palace. They are the foundation of the mist that drifts within the palace, the remnants of dissipated power, and also the most convenient and effective tools and beacons used by the Dark Abyss Palace to track down offenders.

Yes, in the face of the complex and bizarre rules within the Dark Abyss Palace, these humanoid servants made of shadows are merely consumables that can be used at will.

Hugh searched diligently through these fragmented memories, and soon he found some almost unrecognizable pieces—fragments of images and sounds—which seemed to confirm the true identities of these servants.

Sometime in the distant past, these tragic souls seemed to have once inhabited Vaan. They may have been members of a tribe or residents of a vast kingdom, but ultimately, during those great hunts and sacrifices, these souls were captured by the waves of the Abyss and thus became instruments of the court.

After being stripped of their original identities and having their original souls and consciousness crushed, they can only serve the court in this new form until they perish completely one day, or be used by certain beings within the court and ruthlessly thrown into other fields.

They either become materials, food for hounds or other creatures of the Dark Abyss, or silently merge into the waves of the Dark Abyss, becoming one with this strange and cold world.

Upon learning this, Hugh immediately glanced at his mirror image and the palace hound: "So, you were also created in this way? Do you remember the more detailed process?"

Faced with the question posed by their master, the two Dark Abyss creations looked at each other in bewilderment. They exchanged a silent conversation, and then the Messenger in the Mirror gave Hughes an answer—they had no memory of their birth or appearance, as if they had never had a "birth" process at all.

Within their extremely limited cognition and memory, they seemed to have been fulfilling their due duties from the very beginning. The Mirror Messenger only remembered that he had walked slowly through the chaotic and upside-down passages of the Dark Abyss Palace, which had no discernible pattern. The Palace Hound, on the other hand, remembered that he had run through the Dark Abyss with countless of his kind.

Then, a powerful figure, also emanating a strong aura of the Dark Abyss, appeared before them...

Although Hugh was equally curious about the specific methods and processes by which Theseus "abducted" these creations, it was now more important to figure out the nature and goals of these pursuers. Therefore, he once again immersed himself in those memories, trying to find more clues.

His efforts soon paid off.

Through a difficult process of piecing things together, Hugh managed to roughly reconstruct the patterns of these hunters' movements.

As the vast Abyss begins to awaken, its power will spread equally to all the worlds connected to it, much like black ink slowly spreading into clear waters. All the waters stained by this "black ink" will become the temporary territory of the Abyss's court.

Amidst these ever-expanding forces, dangerous creations are free to act, while the hunters controlled by the Dark Abyss Court are able to go even further. Although their "Great Hunt" has not yet officially begun, these eager pioneers are already able to establish "connections" with other worlds through various means.

Perception, sight, indirect observation, and even imagination and discussion can lead to disastrous consequences during the most ferocious times of the "Great Hunt" and the "Dark Abyss Tide"...

In short, any action related to the Dark Abyss can create ripples, large or small, in the pitch-black "ink" filled with spiritual power. Once these ripples appear, the vicious hunters already hiding in this "water" will naturally sense them and may take action at any time.

In the end, amidst those fragmented memories, Hughes saw vast expanses of cold chaos and boundless void.

This is the essence of the Dark Abyss and its surging waves.

Like all the creations that dwell within it, it treats all the worlds connected to it with cold indifference and ruthlessness, regarding these worlds as its source of power, and spreading despair and destruction equally as it hunts.

(End of this chapter)