My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 118 Sunset and Drifting

Everything seemed to come alive, driven by twisted desires.

Even the air seemed juicy and full of possibilities.

Yule licked his dry lips subconsciously and felt a hint of sweetness.

He wiped it with his finger - it was blood.

Jules wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.

The cross in his hand was even colder, almost freezing the sweat on his hand.

The frogs on the beach stopped jumping, and fleshy buds emerged from their bodies, crawling towards him on the ground like little worms.

Dark clouds rolled in the sky and scarlet waves rose on the sea.

The waves hit the shore, and Jules dodged and narrowly avoided most of the water, but his left arm was still hit.

In an instant, the flesh and blood on his left arm disappeared as if the bones had been removed, leaving only the pale bones without even a trace of blood.

There was no pain, but instead an extreme joy rose from the bottom of my heart.

"Is this the sixth level... It's really like a natural disaster, making people lose the desire to resist." He chuckled.

The cross pressed against his heart, making the originally hot and beating heart of the wave cool down a lot.

Even the destructive power of the black skeleton that had not been completely digested had become much more sluggish.

I wonder what this destructive force would do if my heart were pierced? Jules pondered.

At the same time, his eyes were cast towards the beach.

The flesh and blood scraped off by the waves just now was far more than just his - more of it was from various other creatures.

A large mass of flesh and blood remained on the beach, like a stranded, rotting whale.

Soon, in his sight, the mass of flesh and blood began to wriggle and reorganize.

Not long after, it was reassembled in a distorted way into a human body with no visible facial features.

The "person" in front of him seemed to realize that this might not be appropriate. He stretched out his fingers and rubbed the sticky flesh on his face for a long time, and managed to squeeze out a pair of eyes and a mouth.

Seeing this, he was about to open his mouth to greet, but the person in front of him beat him to the punch:
"I have long heard of you, Mr. Jules."

Hearing this, Yule couldn't help but raise his eyebrows:

"Perhaps, it would be more appropriate for me to say this, Respected Master."

"Heh," the Blood Cup Cult Leader laughed, "That's just an empty title. To truly high-ranking beings, it's hard to say which of us has a higher status."

The scarlet color in the sea water slowly receded, and the corpses dissolved into the water, as if everything that had just happened had never happened.

Yule's eyebrows drooped slightly:

"Then I am truly flattered that your God pays so much attention to me."

The Blood Cup Cult Leader shrugged and said:

"Sometimes, Si Chen's actions may not be entirely out of his own will—authority may cause him to make completely opposite choices. You should understand what I mean."

Jules forced a smile:
"Do you want me to show respect and understanding for Chibei's desire to take my life?"

Although he said so, he had to admit that what the Blood Cup Leader said made sense.

The principle of the cup is the embodiment of desire, and traits such as revenge and pettiness are manifestations of desire.

If this desire is suppressed, it would go against Si Chen's own authority.

Of course, this could not eliminate his dissatisfaction with Chibei.

No matter how petty you are, you wouldn't condescend to kill a mortal yourself!

Anyway, if he gets the chance, he will definitely take revenge.

Considering what Chibei has done to him now, the book of hatred wouldn't even be enough to contain just one page; a whole new volume would be needed!
Facing his question, the Blood Cup Cult Leader simply shook his head and said calmly:

"Whatever you want to understand, I'm just stating some common sense in mysticism."

The air became increasingly oppressive, as if just a thought would pierce it, releasing sweet juice.

Yule narrowed his eyes and said:

"To be honest, I thought you were more like a lunatic. This doesn't fit my stereotype of a believer in the Code of the Cup."

The Blood Cup Leader in front of him was really too rational.

"This isn't surprising. You should be able to tell that this clone isn't my real self, so the authority it inherits from me is naturally different."

The Blood Cup Cult leader twitched his lips and said:

"What's more, for believers of the Cup, abstinence is just a prelude to the outburst of desire."

Hearing this, Yule's face couldn't help but twitch.

According to his memory, the strange ways of playing that he had seen seemed to exist...

"So, are you talking to me now just to pave the way for the madness that's about to happen?" he said lightly.

The Blood Cup Cult Leader shook his head and laughed:
"I let out my madness a while ago. After all, it's good to interact with my daughter's new friends, right?"

At this point, he said with great interest:

"Speaking of which, where is Matilda? I thought I'd see her."

"If you think you are so powerful, you can find her yourself." Jules just sneered.

After being ridiculed by Yule, the Blood Cup Cult Leader was not annoyed, and his tone was unusually calm:
"It's okay. As long as we ensure your death, it won't be difficult to find her."

Yule stared at the Blood Cup Cult Leader in front of him and sneered:
"Killing me is the final step of the Ascension Ceremony, as stipulated by the Red Cup, the 'sacrifice' required for you, right?"

This was actually just a guess by him and Matilda, the most reasonable speculation based on the nature of the Cup Code and the character of the Red Cup.

But apparently, they guessed right—for the first time, he saw the Blood Cup Cult Leader's calm yet twisted face change color slightly:

"It seems that you know more than I thought."

The Blood Cup Cult leader shook his head, his tone gradually becoming murderous:
"You are not simple. Perhaps not taking the risk of sending out your true form would be the worst decision I have ever made."

He had no pupils, just an empty eye socket.

But Jules could still feel a terrifying gaze falling on him, causing the cross he was holding to tremble slightly.

The Blood Cup Cult leader took a slow step forward, his hollow eyes staring straight at Yu Le. A heavy aura pressed down on him, almost suffocating him.

But he just curled his lips and sneered:

"Now that you've finished all the unnecessary formalities, are you finally going to take action?"

The Blood Cup Cult leader said nothing and slowly raised his hand.

Tentacles made of flesh and blood slowly emerged from it, carrying a twisted and evil aura.

Seeing this, Jules did not hesitate and suddenly stabbed the cross he had prepared in advance!

There was no imagined sound of blood spurting out, but rather a sound like rough ice surfaces rubbing against each other.

The blood coagulated and turned into ice crystals, which flake off.

His face suddenly turned extremely pale, as if a huge amount of vitality had been drained away in an instant, making the Heart of the Wave unable to bear it.

As his vitality faded, a poignant force of death belonging to the "end" emanated from him, causing all living things around him to wither.

Sensing the Law of Winter that enveloped the entire area, the Blood Cup Cult Leader's expression darkened slightly.
"My good daughter, she really did leave you some good things... But I expected this." As he finished his thought, the inanimate objects around him began to twist and take on strange life.

However, his tone did not become more relaxed, instead he lost his voice and said:

"Black Corpse? Where did you get this power from?!"

In this period of history, shouldn't Hei Hai's faith be completely under his control? Where did this extra power come from?!
The waves rose up, so thick that it almost turned into deep black.

Jules did not answer, but thrust the cross deeper into his heart.

……

In a hidden coastal cave, dim sunlight shines through the entrance, vaguely illuminating the objects inside.

It was a strange altar, made entirely of ice and snow, with a setting sun carved on it. It was magnificent, but boiling blood was flowing in the grooves of the array patterns.

Since its construction, it has remained in this silent state, as if it had been forgotten by time.

Even the boiling heat seemed to be still, caught in an endless self-reincarnation cycle.

However, without warning, it moved.

The fluid called time flows into the blood, causing it to begin to wriggle and boil.

The light of the setting sun suddenly became several times stronger, and the patterns of the setting sun drawn on the ice and snow began to emit a cold light, trying to freeze the boiling blood.

A layer of white frost began to cover the dark blood, but in an instant, it was melted by the steaming heat.

It seemed to be filled with incomparable anger, as hot as magma, and was about to melt the entire altar into water.

However, the altar was obviously superior—the blood was frozen slowly and steadily.

As the blood gradually froze, the setting sun patterns drawn on the ice and snow also began to melt, making it impossible to recognize their previous appearance.

Until the end, the blood was completely frozen, and the sunset lines disappeared completely just like the sunlight shining on the altar.

……

Matilda was walking on the streets of Innsmouth when she suddenly felt something.

The previous calmness was no longer in her eyes, but was filled with worry.

"Has it started..." she muttered in a low voice.

As the arranger of the ceremony, she could sense that her ceremony had been activated.

Then, she has to hurry up.

Although Yule did not say it explicitly, she could see that the other party was actually just buying time for her to find the little girl and take her away.

At this moment, Innsmouth was still shrouded in the eternal cold moon.

However, what Matilda saw surprised her a little.

She had thought that Innsmouth, which had been most damaged by her father, would be the place most like hell on earth.

But for some reason, this place seemed to have only experienced an initial wave of chaos before quickly stabilizing - the ceremony outside seemed to have no impact on this place at all.

Or perhaps, they have been immersed in the terrifying rituals of the Ascension level for several years and have long developed resistance to the influence of the weaker cup.

Having said that, it is still inevitable that residents will be affected.

What caught her attention most was that the one who was maintaining the limited order and preventing it from collapsing was none other than the Dagon sect that was previously "under" Jules.

"Interesting..." Her eyes flickered slightly, and a rare look of interest appeared in them.

She knew how powerful this Ascension Ritual was, but she was actually able to resist its effects. This aroused her curiosity.

Coincidentally, the aura emanating from the Devil's Reef was rapidly weakening, and he only needed to wait for a moment before he could go in and take a look.

Matilda simply leaned quietly against the door frame of the church, listening to the conversations of everyone in the church.

As she got closer, she heard a heavy voice:

"Although the Lord Messenger of God is gone, we still cannot fall behind in the search for the Son of God."

A faint voice sounded:
"But, Alan, no, Mr. Bishop, all our manpower has been used to maintain order, and we really can't spare any more."

There was silence for a while, and then the bishop slowly said:

"I'll go to the Steam Church and take a look."

Alan walked out of the door, but he didn't notice Matilda who was watching him secretly.

"An aura similar to that of the cup, yet completely different, surges from him... Is this the Wave? One of the dry yet inexhaustible stone gods."

Matilda closed her eyes, and imprinted the feeling of receiving this memory deeply into her mind.

The Winter Hour remembers all those who have passed away, both those who are still alive and those who have, and she follows in their footsteps.

Before leaving, she took a deep look at Dagon Cathedral.

"Jules...it seems you have acquired a considerable fortune."

She turned around, and the ice under her feet broke step by step and sank into the deep sea.

……

"where am I?"

Jules suddenly woke up, grabbed the air, his eyes full of confusion.

He remembered that he had been fighting desperately with the Blood Cup Master's clone, and in the end both of them sank into the sea.

Maybe I was drifted to another place by the sea, but it wouldn't be that far - the vegetation characteristics of the coast in front of me are not the same as those of the Irish coast, but they are quite different.

At least from what I've seen so far, it looks more like the coast of Britain.

The corners of his mouth twitched, and a strange premonition emerged in his heart.

Could it be that he drifted along the sea and drifted all the way to the British Isles?
As Jules pondered, he lowered his head and looked at his body, only then did he realize the seriousness of the situation.

Even though he was used to big scenes, he couldn't help but blink when he saw his own body.

There was a huge hole in the chest, the heart was pierced by the cross, the flesh around the edge dried and cracked, revealing the scarlet inside.

Maggots were wriggling around the edge of the wound, gnawing at the remaining flesh and blood. There were also a few barnacles parasitizing on it, and shrimps and crabs were also enjoying his flesh and blood that was beginning to rot.

He reached out his hand to touch his abdomen, and his fingertips touched an empty depression - his internal organs were gone, leaving only twisted flesh piled up randomly, as if it had been roughly hollowed out and then sewed together.

The bones of his left arm were still exposed, the white skeleton gleaming coldly in the sunlight. His right leg below the knee had been gnawed to the point where only the skeleton remained, with maggots crawling along the bone joints.

Jules took a deep breath, but could not feel his lungs.

The chest is empty and breathing is just a habitual action.

He looked down at the beach. It was stained with blood, but no fresh blood was flowing out. It was as if the life had been drained out of his body, leaving only a broken shell.

"Still alive like this?" He muttered to himself hoarsely, his voice weak and puzzled.

Even if the Heart of the Wave could exert its strength, it itself is so damaged that it should be dead, right?

That was the power of the end from winter, he should have died normally.

Yule shook his head and just as he managed to get up, a scream suddenly rang out from not far away:

"Grandpa, the dead person you are about to bury is now alive!!!"

(End of this chapter)