From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 387 Pantheon!
Cold, shaking.

Caesar, who was fast asleep, suddenly sensed the presence of a living person and abruptly opened his eyes.

“Not bad, you’re the best among this group.” At this moment, a bright face approached, her eyes, with their light eyeshadow, were captivating like crimson blades. Her long, black hair was tied in a ponytail, cascading down her ample chest. She stared at him with a grin and said, “Caesar Gattuso, welcome to hell!”

"???"

Caesar was completely baffled.

Just kidding~ Don't mind it.

The girl raised her slender, delicate hand, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, chuckled, and sat up straight again, saying, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Mai Shude, and I'm a mercenary."

Mercenaries?

Caesar felt somewhat confused, his brain throbbed with pain, and memories suddenly flooded back like a tidal wave.

Yes, he was hit by a bullet that was suddenly fired from the shadows at the port of Santa Lucia, and then lost consciousness and fell into the sea.

The sensation of being pierced through the chest seemed to evoke memories and caused a strange phantom pain once again. Caesar instinctively jumped out of bed, frantically looking down and touching his chest, only to be surprised to find that he had no wounds at all, as if he were dreaming.

"Why?" Caesar was stunned. He clearly felt that he had been pierced by that bullet.

Mai Shude lifted her long, slender, fair leg and crossed it over her other leg. She pulled a bullet from her tight leather jacket and casually tossed it over: "Here~ you should recognize it, right?"

"This is... Frigga's bullet?" Caesar looked astonished, picking up the bullet in disbelief. After examining it repeatedly, he finally confirmed it, but then a question arose: "But Frigga's bullet vaporizes the moment it hits a person. How could it give me the illusion of being pierced?"

"A little magic trick~"

Mai Shude winked mischievously, seemingly not intending to explain the secret behind it.

"You were the one who shot me on the shore. What was your purpose?" Caesar twirled the bullet, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at the girl with a hint of wariness, analyzing her intentions.

"Don't worry, I'm on your side~" Mai Shude stuck out her tongue and said playfully, "I'll be responsible for protecting your safety until the 'main characters' arrive."

"The main characters?"

Caesar was stunned.

"Yes~ The protagonist is on his way on horseback to defeat the evil demon king." Mai Shude playfully made a metaphor.

"Who is the protagonist? And who is the Demon King?" Caesar asked curiously.

Hehe, guess what I mean~

Mai nodded to the side and said, "Here you go, don't forget to take your things, we're almost at our destination."

Caesar followed the gaze and saw a book wrapped in silk. Seeing that Jiude Ma Yi was about to leave, he quickly grabbed the book, stuffed it into his robes, and chased after her, asking, "Destination? Where are we going?"

Mai Shude pushed open the door to the room, and a pitch-black sea view came into Caesar's view.

It was only then that Caesar realized why they had been rocking all along; they were on a luxury yacht.

It was pitch black outside, and even the moon was obscured by dark clouds, making it impossible to tell which direction they were heading. They could only vaguely see the lit coastline.

"Rome, Pantheon."

Mai Shude pointed to the cross-sea bridge and said, "That's where we are, no, it should be the place you're going to."

"Who exactly are you? How do you know all this?"

Caesar began to have serious doubts about the identity of the girl in front of him.

This matter should be known to very few people, and he only learned about it from Pompeii, but the girl in front of him seemed to have foreseen the future and guessed where he was going in advance.

"Didn't I already say I'm here to help you?"

Mai turned around and leaned against the ship's railing, her long black hair fluttering in the sea breeze, her eyes bright and clear: "You may not believe me, but at least so far, I haven't harmed you." "And what about that shot?" Caesar asked coldly.

"I'll help you shake off those people who are chasing you~"

Mai Shude truthfully replied, "Besides the Gattuso family, there's another group tracking you. They're not like those few good-for-nothings who you can easily take care of."

"The Secret Order?"

Caesar frowned slightly, his voice low.

“That’s right, I’ve been tracking one of them.” Mai Shude nodded, her face grave. “I can swear to you, the members of the Secret Order are very strong. The person I encountered had a bloodline of at least A-rank and the Word of Power was Setsuna. If it weren’t for my companions’ help, I would probably be dead by now.”

"Another mixed-race person."

Caesar gritted his teeth. He suddenly realized that the sphere of influence of the Secret Order was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Right under the noses of Kassel and the Board of Trustees, such a behemoth was entrenched in Europe, with even the Gattuso family deeply involved. Caesar could hardly imagine how many other half-blood secret society members had joined this secret order without their knowledge!

Mai seemed to sense his thoughts and comforted him, "It's okay, you're not alone~"

"How much do you know about the Secret Order?" Caesar did not succumb to despair and quickly rallied, asking.

"Not much. All we know is that the Secret Cult has been hiding for many years and only recently emerged." Mai Shude handed over the tablet and said, "This is the information we've gathered. We know very little about the Secret Cult, but one thing is certain. Do you want to hear it?"

Caesar took the tablet and examined it carefully. He found that, as she had said, there was very little information, which could be scanned in a few glances. So he said, "Tell me, I have nothing left to lose now."

"One bad news, and one worse news, which do you want to hear first?" Mai Shude asked.

"Is there a difference between these two?" Caesar glanced at the girl speechlessly.

“Alright, then I’ll go through them one by one.” Mai Shude composed herself and then slowly said, “The bad news is that Pompeii Gattuso is not dead, and the worse news is that he holds the position of ‘bishop’ in the Secret Order, which means he is a leader.”

"Just as I guessed."

After hearing this, Caesar did not show the shock one might expect; instead, he remained quite calm.

His thoughts drifted back to that day when he returned to the Gattuso family and met his father, who was always wandering.

However, none of the scenes he had imagined appeared; instead, Pompeii told him about the 'Secret Order'.

And it allowed him to witness firsthand the 'miracle,' the mystery from the vast starry sky, and the terrifying illusions that could shatter one's spirit.

Then, he learned another, even more terrifying truth from Pompeii: Pompeii would lead his family, using some kind of alchemical matrix, to summon the unnamed beings slumbering at the bottom of the Eternal Lake to descend upon this planet when the Black Star of Calxas rises.

What happened next was exactly as the Gattuso family claimed: he beheaded Pompeii with a black knife and stole the crucial 'notebook'.

According to the 'notes', to summon the 'Unspeakable One' from the depths of the starry sky, one must complete the 'spirit séance' at the right time and place, with the right ritual items and offerings. If Caesar wants to disrupt the ritual, he must recite the expulsion incantation at the right place and time.

This is precisely why he had to bring his notes with him to the Pantheon in Rome.

"He let me go on purpose."

Caesar's eyes gleamed with a crimson-gold hue as he gazed at the dark, churning sea. He calmly said, "Everything makes sense now. His target isn't just me. If I'm not mistaken, the 'main characters' you're referring to are people I know, from Kassel College, right?"

“An hour and a half ago, Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, Xia Mi, and Chen Motong arrived in Rome.”

"Clearly, Pompeii has anticipated this and is waiting for you to walk right into his trap at the Pantheon," said Mai Shude softly.

"Walking into a trap? That's not necessarily true."

Caesar sneered, a confident smile appearing on his resolute and perfect face: "Who am I? I am Caesar! No matter how unfavorable the situation, I can still turn the tide!"

(End of this chapter)