Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

Chapter 126: Secret Depths
Hunger burned in the stomach like a flame.

In this place, going on a hunger strike is definitely not an easy thing. It is a torture to one's self-control and will.

When you are hungry, your judgment and rationality become blurred due to blood sugar.

At the same time, the fragrance that already permeated the entire space became even more alluring...

There was food everywhere, and wherever you went, you could see other saints, pursing their lips and chewing various delicacies with relish.

You know, you can have a full meal anytime, anywhere, just by raising your hands and opening your mouth.

You feel hungry, almost losing your mind.

But you can only swallow your saliva in vain.

Just because, there are more important things...

"The dedication ceremony of Saint No. 1 is about to begin, and at the ceremony, the Angel of Plenty will lead the apostate back to the right path."

Listening to the voice of another awakened saint, Poro nodded.

After two days of fasting, even walking became difficult.

Only by relying on the control of the soul can one walk normally.

And in [Return of the Ring: Little Red Riding Hood: Wolf's Disguise], Poro still looks like a ruddy-cheeked seventh awakened saint.

In the castle, in a room hidden above a staircase, thirty-six awakened saints stood on both sides. It was a magnificent temple, and light shone into it from the transparent sugar windows, bringing a dreamy color.

The first saint stood at the front, facing the golden and white holy altar.

Among all the people present, the only one without a numerical holy emblem was the skinny ascetic monk. He also stood at the front of the team, silent, with a dazed look in his eyes.

"let's start."

The First Saint said this, and then all the saints had solemn expressions and chanted in low voices.

As the Poro followed the chanting, he watched the light gather from all directions. Just like the first time he saw the Angel of Plenty, the light swirled around the altar and condensed into the shadow of the winged figure in white.

But this time, unlike before...

In the hungry trance of Poro, he inexplicably felt that the face that was so perfect that it seemed unreal seemed to be overlapped by some chaotic shadows.

“…I see the truth in the fragrance, and I feel the grace of God in the taste…”

Saint No. 1 knelt solemnly on the ground, chanting a long hymn. Under the light of the Angel of Plenty, his tone was calm but carried a certain excitement and fanaticism.

His words stopped at the last sentence:
"...I am willing to dedicate all my bones, flesh, and blood. May the radiance of abundance transcend the plains and fill the world!"

The Angel of Plenty in the light nodded slightly, stretched out a hand wrapped in glow, and touched the head of the First Saint who was kneeling on the ground.

"The gates of heaven will open to you, the pious."

Then, in front of the horrified gaze of the Poro, the First Saint's body was covered with a penetrating golden light. Under an inexplicable attraction, the light spots formed into a beam and were caught in the palm of the Angel of Plenty!
As the golden light faded, the First Saint's body became increasingly transparent...

But the next moment, the trance caused by hunger made the scene in Poro's eyes dim. He seemed to see that under the golden light on the surface, the flesh, tendons, blood, and bones of the First Saint were being peeled off layer by layer, like a silent torture!

Is this real, or an illusion?

Which one is an illusion?

Poro blinked, and the scene before him returned to its sacred style.

The last ray of golden light disappeared, and the figure of the First Saint disappeared without a trace.

The Angel of Plenty nodded slightly. Below the stage, Saint No. 2 reached out and took the bewildered ascetic's hand, and walked to the front of the stage, as if he was leading a soulless puppet.

"Lost one, I can feel the faith in your heart... but here, you don't need to suffer."

The Angel of Plenty spoke calmly, bending his finger. "The delicious food you made, draw close to the Holy Spirit. Eat it, follow your inner guidance, and return to the right path."

A plate of barbecue, condensed out of thin air.

Its appearance was exactly the holy communion that the ascetic monks had prepared earlier!
And Poro saw clearly that the golden light that materialized the delicious food was exactly a part of the soul and flesh of the First Saint!

The ascetic reached out woodenly and took the barbecue.

He picked up his fork in a daze and ate bite after bite of the barbecue on the plate. The struggle that suddenly appeared in his eyes was completely masked by the increasingly intense fanaticism...

"Ding--"

He put down the empty plate and, like the First Saint before him, bowed his head reverently and knelt on the ground.

"Pious one, from now on, you will be the first disciple."

After saying this, the figure of the Angel of Plenty disappeared under the dazzling white light.

On the chest of the ascetic monk, a magical light appeared on the ordinary holy emblem.

That's a number, one.

……

"squeak--"

The door opened and the little girl Gretel walked out, holding on to the wall.

She was pale and her hunger strike made her, who was already thin, even weaker, and made her reach a critical level of hunger faster than Lake and Poro.

The fragrance fills the nostrils from all directions.

"Brother..." Gretel swallowed and walked forward a little unsteadily.

Being in a state of hunger for a long time since childhood has given her a higher tolerance to such a state.

"Underground, where is it?"

She had overheard the conversation between Lake and Poro and knew that her brother Hansel was imprisoned in a hidden place underground. Although she didn't know where exactly, she couldn't help but go out to look for him.

During the day, Lake and Poro refused Gretel's request to go exploring together.

But for the girl, she didn't want to just wait in the room...

After all, her brother Hansel is now her only relative.

Gretel stumbled forward.

In the illusion caused by hunger, the chocolate around him and the walls covered with colorful jam began to spin and roll.

After the dirty and messy illusion, Gretel saw many doors and passages that she had never seen before.

She resisted the urge to faint and looked carefully at the passages and rooms hidden under the illusions.

until……

At a certain moment, in a remote corner.

She could hardly open her eyes because of hunger, and saw a staircase leading downwards.

The lines on the surface of the stairs are twisted, like countless insects swimming.

It also looks like a dark vortex.

"Downward stairs, brother...it must be down here, right?"

The girl bit her lip and walked downstairs.

But she didn't know that this was not the downward staircase that the Poro had taken before.

It is a more remote and secret place that cannot even be recorded on the holy emblem of the awakened saint!

Light and shadow swirled and flashed.

The girl almost fell down several times, but she held on to the wall and took some weak steps...

down……

down……

The endless stairs almost made the girl think that she was stepping into the bottomless abyss of hell.

I have walked for an unknown distance, and finally, the view opens up——

An extremely vast space.

The girl now discovered that the sweet fragrance around her had faded a lot, and the walls felt hard and cold.

This room is no longer made up of delicious food.

But it is some special crystal.

A stone room, and in the center of the room, a huge furnace engraved with countless complex runes was burning.

The flame among them is a golden flame flow.

They rose up, passing through the black iron pipes above the furnace, as black as branches and flying snakes, crisscrossing and extending towards the castle above.

"Brother, where are you?"

A trace of confusion flashed in Gretel's eyes.

She didn't know where she came from. She was so hungry that her mind was like a rusty machine.

The room was empty, the only exhibit in it being the furnace in front of it, which was dozens of times taller than Gretel. Golden runes covered the furnace, flickering in light and darkness, carrying an invisible aura of power.

"In one room?"

In Gretel's mind, the scene where Poro and Lake described the room where Hansel was imprisoned sounded.

The only thing here that looks like a room is... the furnace in front of you.

The girl took a step forward and slowly approached the huge furnace.

In it, there was a vague and shadowy huge space, but it was not clear under the golden flames.

"What's inside?"

Maybe it's the child's imagination, or some kind of courage.

Gretel stretched out her hand and reached out to the golden flame in front of her. To her surprise, the golden flame, although warm, did not feel burning.

The girl opened her eyes wide and walked in step by step in a trance.

Passing through the golden flames, her eyes adjusted to the color of the light, and there was indeed a person among them.

"Hmm? A... little girl?"

The old voice sounded a little surprised, and also contained a kind of incredible surprise. "I have been here for a long, long time and have not seen anyone else."

(End of this chapter)