As an NPC, having a lot of skills is quite reasonable, right?

The sun rose as usual the next day, dispelling the cold rain of the previous night.

After settling Hansen in, Moen mingled with the crowd heading into the city.

As he expected, the city of Nohanville remained unchanged, with no unusual activity.

Next, Moen arrived at the rocky beach where the laboratory was located.

The entrance that the players had rushed through had disappeared, replaced by a stone wall radiating heavy magical energy. The wall was even covered with molten lead, clearly to prevent the leakage of some kind of energy.

"They're quick." Moen gently ran his fingers across the surface of the stone wall, sensing the residual magical fluctuations within.

"The researchers' disappearance yesterday suggests that this lab has another exit. Could it be that the district judge is conducting some even more dangerous experiment?"

Last night, deeper inside the laboratory where everyone rescued Hansen.

Inside a huge hall, countless pipes are constantly transporting some kind of liquid.

In the center of the hall stood a five-meter-tall glass jar filled with murky green nutrient solution, and floating in the liquid was a nauseating aggregate.

It was stitched together from the limbs of countless rotting corpses, wild beasts, and even humans. It had no skin, and its dark red muscles were exposed. A dozen pairs of eyes blinked wildly on its body, and a monster's heart was embedded in its chest, beating wildly.

District Judge Cecio stood in front of the glass jar, his eyes bloodshot. He had spent a lot of effort dealing with the monster that suddenly went out of control yesterday.

This not only allowed the group of God's Graces to successfully launch a surprise attack, but also resulted in the loss of several Judgment Knights whom he had already brainwashed with religious doctrine.

Cecio operated the control panel for a while, and after the jar in front of him became blurry and he could no longer see what was inside, he walked to the small life support pod in the corner next to him, which was only the size of a coffin.

Inside the cabin lay a beautiful woman, her eyes closed, as if she were merely asleep, her skin retaining the rosy glow it had when she was alive, thanks to the medicinal solution.

"Eileen, my love."

Through the glass of the life support pod, Cecio imagined caressing the woman's face, his voice trembling: "Those dead people in the Requiem Hall say your soul has returned to the River Styx, that death is an irreversible cycle—it's all bullshit!"

"Look at those blessed ones! They died on the experimental table yesterday, but today they're alive and kicking outside the city! Immortality exists! If I can crack the secret of their soul reconstruction, I can bring you back!"

Just then, the communication crystal on the control panel suddenly lit up, projecting a blurry, ghostly image.

It was a man wearing a cardinal's robe, but his face was obscured.

"Cesio."

The phantom's voice was as cold as ice.

"grown ups."

Cecio immediately knelt down on one knee.

Although he is an arrogant judge in front of outsiders, he is also a pawn that can be discarded at any time in front of the person in front of him.

"I heard about what happened last night." The phantom's tone remained unchanged, as if everything was going according to plan.

"A group of weak Divine Graces actually managed to abduct someone from your hands. You have disappointed me greatly. I shouldn't have promoted you to the position of Regional Judge against all odds when you were not strong enough."

"It was my negligence! But rest assured, I will find a reason to destroy their stronghold tomorrow. As for those Divine Graces..."

"Those gracious ones are not important," the phantom interrupted him. "What's important now is your out-of-control experimental subject."

"The monster you created to resurrect your wife is about to exceed its magical limits. If it gets out of control in your territory, I'll have a hard time explaining it to the Holy City."

Cecio was sweating profusely: "I'll handle it! I'm trying to increase the dosage of the inhibitors."

"No."

The phantom calmly commanded, "Since you want to find a reason to destroy their stronghold, why don't you just wake it up and lure it to the Blackwater Rift?"

Cecio was taken aback, then understood his superior's intention, but still hesitated:

"But sir, that monster has an extremely strong ability to proliferate flesh. If it devours enough corpses, I'm afraid even I won't be able to control it."

"That's none of your concern." The phantom's tone carried an unquestionable air.

"I recently requested support from the Holy City, and they have already dispatched a Holy Knight to Nohanwell. You don't need to worry about not being able to handle that monster. As for the post-battle report, I don't need to tell you what to say, do I?"

Cecio quickly agreed, "I know. The evil heretical organization, together with a group of divinely favored individuals, conducted forbidden necromancy experiments in Blackwater Rift, creating out-of-control monsters."

"The monsters destroyed their camp and killed everyone. In the nick of time, the Holy Knights of the Church descended, slaying the demons and purifying the evil."

The phantom nodded in satisfaction: "As for that Moen, I demand that he die there."

Cecio's eyelids twitched when he heard Moen's name. He still vividly remembered the night a dark figure walked up to his bedside and held a knife to his neck.

However, Cecio didn't say anything more, and respectfully replied with his head down, "Yes, sir. I will arrange for the inducer immediately and release that monster tonight."

He was willing to sell anything to obtain the resources to resurrect his wife, even if it meant risking the threat of that shadowy figure.

With communications cut off, François Valen slowly emerged from the shadows and stood before the tower's floor-to-ceiling windows.

Outside the window lay the magnificent and imposing view of the largest city in the northern diocese. Huge gears turned in the steam, and countless judges in black robes patrolled the streets in perfect order.

He gazed out the window, his fingers unconsciously tracing the gems on his scepter, muttering to himself, "A container..."

"That girl named Arya was a defective product." François recalled the image of the girl hiding behind an old friend, his eyes dark and unreadable.

He turned around and bowed deeply to the enormous statue of the god he often prayed to: "This sacrifice is necessary for the perfect vessel, for the coming of the god."

"I will make up for my mistake, please be patient."

When Moen returned to the camp at dusk, he always felt an unsettling heat in the air.

"Mentor!" Big Pineapple ran over, looking nervous.

"Old Ghost went to scout below the rift just now and said he saw the water deep inside the rift turn red, and the corpses seemed very scared and were all running away."

Moen looked into the depths of the rift, where the original stench had been replaced by a strong smell of blood.

A system notification suddenly appeared.

[WARNING: High-risk biological source detected; Lord-level monster detected approaching]

"So this is how you keep quiet?"

Moen drew his longsword and looked at the blood-red setting sun on the horizon: "Tell everyone to put down what they're doing and pick up their weapons."

"We have guests coming tonight."