My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 130 Chapel

The man, wearing a top hat and looking every bit the gentleman, took a sip of red wine and was about to continue the conversation with the elegant lady before him when he suddenly frowned, stood up, and said:
"Sorry, excuse me."

Amidst the strange looks from those around him, he quickly left the venue.

Upon arriving at the backstage corridor of the lobby, after confirming that no one was around, he snapped his fingers, and a ball of flame suddenly shot up from his hand.

The flames gradually became hollow and transparent, faintly revealing...
“Uriel, this is the third time you’ve come to me recently.”

The man's tone was very calm, but Uriel on the other side of the screen shuddered upon hearing it.

He knelt before the candlelight, trembling, and said:
"Please forgive me, Master."

Completely devoid of its previous arrogance, it now resembles a dog that has gotten into trouble.

The man shook his head and said:
What's going on this time?

Uriel said cautiously:
"The plan to find that antique has encountered some more setbacks."

Upon hearing this, the man's face instantly darkened.

"Are you testing my patience?" he asked indifferently.

Uriel waved his hand frantically:

"No, please listen to me!"

Although he couldn't meet the man face to face, he knew what a terrible scene it would be if his master got angry.

He swallowed hard and spoke very quickly:
"Someone approached me, claiming they could help me find antiques, on the condition that they meet me."

The man frowned, but instead of immediately reprimanding Uriel, he calmly inquired:

"Did he say who he was?"

He knew his subordinate well. Although his skills weren't great, his personality wasn't likable, and he wasn't very bright, there was one thing he liked about him—

They can distinguish between what's important and what's not.

Since they dared to bring it up with him, it means that person might indeed have some extraordinary qualities, and it's worth notifying him of it.

Uriel kept his head down, not daring to look at the man's face, and said:

"He didn't say anything, nor did he reveal any identity information, but he seemed to know the woman you're going to marry."

"Hmm?" The man's eyes suddenly sharpened.

Did he really say that back then?

"It's true."

Upon hearing this, the man did not immediately give a clear response, but instead paced back and forth in the deserted corridor, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

After a long pause, he spoke in a low voice:
Do you consider yourself his match?

Uriel raised his head and said confidently:
“I don’t sense any terrible threat from him, I feel…”

“Fool,” the man said coldly, “what if the opponent is so terrifying that you can’t even sense their strength?”

Uriel was about to say something when the man extinguished the candle flame in his palm, leaving only two sentences:
"If possible, bring that person to see me."

"Besides, you know the consequences if you can't find that antique."

Having finally seen Uriel off, the man hurried back to the ball.

"Mr. Dova, you're finally back! I've been waiting for you for ages." The lady smiled and raised her glass to invite the man to drink with her.

Dova chuckled:

"I'm sorry to have kept the beautiful lady waiting; it is truly my fault."

He chatted happily with the noblewoman in front of him, and even danced two dances with abandon.

They even did more.

After all this was over, the noblewoman, her clothes disheveled and her face flushed, nestled in Dova's arms and said:
“Mr. Dova, I seem to have successfully felt a kind of soul-to-soul resonance with you.”

I wonder, would you be willing...?

Before she could finish speaking, Dova's calm voice interrupted her question:

"Thanks for the compliment."

Immediately, he stood up and pulled an invitation card from the cabinet next to him.

"This is my wedding invitation. The date is yet to be determined. I will send someone to inform you once everything is arranged."

After saying that, he put on his clothes and left without looking back, leaving the noblewoman in the room looking bewildered.

Why is it different from what she imagined?
The first time she met someone, after being intimate with them, she would immediately send them a wedding invitation.

"...Maybe I'm not good enough." She said, somewhat disappointed.

But she quickly rallied – a proper wedding should have an unpredictable bride.

"I'd like to see which little slut is trying to steal my thunder..." the noblewoman snorted, opening the invitation.

As she looked at it, her brows suddenly furrowed.

"Lolita? Who's that? I've never heard of that name before."

As a prominent figure in London's social circles, she had heard of most celebrities to some extent, and she was very familiar with those ancient and powerful families.

But... this name not only didn't belong to any family she was familiar with, she had never even heard of it before.

How could Mr. Dova possibly be interested in such a commoner?
……

A gust of cold wind blew by, causing all four of them to shiver.

The stone was broken and scattered haphazardly, and you could even tell from the weathering marks that it should have been placed high in a temple, receiving offerings from believers, rather than lying here in ruins.

Under the watchful eyes of the other three, Ram trembled as he pulled a map from his pocket and carefully compared it with the surrounding environment.

"Currently, we should have entered the outer area of ​​the monastery. There are no strange phenomena here, but it has been searched many times. If you want to find something, go further in."

He paid special attention to his wording.

Jules had previously told him that the so-called "strange phenomena" here were actually the work of wandering spirits.

Those monks who died did not return to the mortal realm, but remained here, drawing life force from the human world.

But he must act as if he knows nothing about it in order to lower the guard of others.

Logan and Cliff crossed their arms and said somewhat impatiently:

"You've been here many times before, haven't you? Just lead the way, stop dawdling."

Jules did not speak, but instead played the role of listener, quietly observing his surroundings.

Ram was right; there was probably no wandering spirit here—although the laws of winter still shrouded this place, they were not strong.

He walked to the shattered stone gate and gently stroked it.

Although it was already very faint, he could sense that it was a creation of the principles of enlightenment.

“Let’s go,” Ram glanced at Jules and then quickly looked away. “The closest unexplored area to us should be the chapel.”

At this moment, he finally regained some of the "legendary adventurer" demeanor that had been praised before, and walked steadily at the front of the group.

The fallen leaves and pebbles on the ground rustled underfoot, their sound particularly clear in the deathly silence.

The surrounding buildings were increasingly dilapidated, and the windows in the walls were dark and gaping, almost evoking the most primal fears in people's hearts.

Occasionally, a few loose wall bricks would fall and hit the ground with a "thud," startling the three people besides Jules, making their hearts leap.

Logan and Cliff were initially full of confidence, but as they went deeper, a hint of fear appeared on their faces.

"Do you think what Mr. Uriel gave us is really useful?" Cliff couldn't help but ask.

Logan glanced at Cliff, frowned, and said, "Didn't you have the most trust in it from the beginning? Now you're asking me."

Cliff's face twitched, and he said:

"But, don't you feel that this place seems a little different from when we first came in..."

Logan's nose twitched, and his expression became more serious.

"It does seem a bit different now. The rotten smell is getting stronger. Is it because of the full moon?"

Strange phenomena occur here on the night of the full moon, which is no secret among adventurers.

But people also know that the place becomes especially terrifying during a full moon.

Logan's expression changed several times, then he gritted his teeth:

"Forget it, we're already here. As long as we can complete the mission, what we can get from Mr. Uriel will be enough for us to never have to take any more risks for the rest of our lives."

Cliff sighed, his gaze fixed on Jules and Ram, who were already far away, and said:

"If it weren't for the pressure of making a living, who would want to risk their life?"

The two fell silent and quickened their pace.

However, they were unaware that Jules had overheard their supposedly private conversation.

“Uriel seems to have given them some means…” Jules’ eyes flickered slightly.

Although he didn't think Uriel could threaten him, he was somewhat concerned about the "master" behind Uriel.

……

With a loud clattering sound as stones rolled, the path leading to the chapel was cleared.

“When I came last time, this archway hadn’t collapsed yet.” Ram’s tone was somewhat heavy.

Jules, meanwhile, stroked his chin and gazed at the scene of the chapel in front of him.

The light was dim, with only a few rays of light filtering through the dusty stained glass, barely illuminating this gloomy place.

The large portrait hanging on the wall has faded, the figure's face is distorted, and the eyes are empty, making it look even more eerie in the dim light.

The stone slabs on the ground were broken due to their age, and black moss grew in the cracks, making them slippery and emitting a foul odor.

The once neatly arranged benches are now leaning to one side or the other, and some are even rotten and broken.

On the altar directly in front, a broken statue of a god lay tilted, its face completely destroyed.

Upon seeing the statue, Jules immediately felt a spiritual warning.

He was about to speak up to remind them when he saw Logan and Cliff already walking in ahead of him, each carrying a lantern.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he whispered to Ram beside him:
"Let's see what they plan to do."

He could tell that the winter law permeated this area quite strongly, and the intense aura of death was almost overflowing.

Strangely, despite all this, Jules found no trace of the wandering spirit.

The more this was the case, the more vigilant he became.

The light from the lanterns held by Logan and Cliff flickered in the dim light, barely illuminating a small area in front of them.

Under the lamplight, their shadows were stretched long, twisting and swaying on the cracked and moss-covered ground.

“This place…” Cliff, who had been confident, couldn’t help but tremble when he saw this.

He had just opened his mouth when a chilling wind came from nowhere, howling past and causing the lantern's flame to flicker violently, almost extinguishing it.

His words were instantly swallowed up by the wind.

Logan swallowed hard, gripped the lantern tightly, mustered his courage, took a few steps forward, and said in a deep voice:
"Don't panic, don't let Ram laugh at us."

The creaking sound of the shoes against the stone slabs was particularly jarring in the empty, gloomy chapel.

Suddenly, with a "smack," Logan seemed to have stepped on something, and he stumbled and almost fell.

He looked down and his face turned deathly pale—it was a human bone, gleaming coldly in the dim light.

"Logan, what's wrong?"

Cliff asked nervously, his voice trembling noticeably.

"No...nothing."

Logan tried to remain calm, but his voice was a little hoarse.

He tried to kick the bone away, but it seemed to be rooted to the spot and wouldn't budge. He used too much force and lost his balance again, falling to the ground in a sorry state.

At the same time, the previously relatively stable wind suddenly became sharp, like the wailing of countless evil spirits.

The "whooshing" sound echoed in the chapel, wave after wave, making people's eardrums ache.

The faded portraits on the wall swayed violently in the gale, their distorted faces seeming to come alive, their empty eyes staring intently at the intruder.

Jules stared intently at the broken statue, his unease growing stronger.

He sensed a powerful and eerie force quietly gathering, but strangely, he still couldn't detect any trace of wandering spirits.

"Are these two here specifically to cause trouble?" He was slightly annoyed, but he didn't make a move.

The two lanterns gave him a very unusual feeling.

The howling wind gradually changed, turning into an eerie chanting sound.

The moment he heard the eerie chanting, Cliff didn't hesitate and slammed the lantern he was holding to the ground.

"God said, let there be light!"

In an instant, the entire chapel was filled with a sacred and dazzling light!

The blinding light, like a surging tide, instantly dispelled the thick, inky darkness inside the chapel.

The originally distorted and swaying portrait came to a standstill in the light, yet it still exuded an inexplicable sense of gloom.

The sounds of wind and chanting abruptly ceased as the bright light struck them, plunging the entire space into a deathly silence.

As the divine light gradually faded, Logan and Cliff, their faces beaming with pride, turned to look at Jules and Ram at the doorway.

However, at that very moment, a chilling aura emanated from the statue.

Frost covered the four people's bodies, and then the sound of cracking rang out.

Click.

As the frost peeled away, it revealed a series of hideous and terrifying wounds.

Strangely, the wound shone with a gleaming light, a thin layer of ice covering the flesh like a smooth mirror.

"Mr. Jules, save me!" Ram cried out in terror.

Logan and Cliff panicked; their hands were frozen, and they couldn't even lift the lantern to drop it on the ground.

Jules sighed helplessly, gently raised his finger, and traced a line on his arm.

Crimson blood seeped out, mixing with the ice and snow to form blood-red ice crystals that instantly pierced and shattered the statue.

From within the statue came an incredibly piercing wail, but Jules merely scratched his ear impatiently:

"have you had enough?"

In a single thought, the concept of "sharpness" completely tore apart the wandering soul residing on the statue, along with its wailing cries.

Along with the wailing sound, three people were also torn apart, stunned and speechless.

This place has returned to a deathly silence.

(End of this chapter)