Brain bloom

"I don't know—wait, let me ask for you."

He straightened up, tapped the bricks beside him, removed one, and pulled out a megaphone-like object: "Who served that blue-haired girl yesterday?"

"—The five of us, Els's personal maid guard." Soon, a woman's voice came out.

"You're the ones serving us? Who's this important person...?"

Fu Fu silently memorized the words "five maids, personal attendants, and servants." Although she didn't understand what they meant, she thought that Princess Dandelion might want to know.

"Where did this important blue-haired woman go? Does anyone know? Her maid is looking for her."

"The city lord said she wanted to go with her to the church. Tsk tsk, and then guess what? The country's first heir, that prince, actually went along too... It makes one really curious, just who is this lord?"

"A church?" Fufu tilted his head, asking back like a parrot.

Volume 1 #311: Everything That Was Carefully Calculated

"Is it... the church for those who carry coffins?"

"of course."

The guard set up the megaphone for communication and became even more friendly. Unlike the inherently arrogant residents of the Holy Coffin Kingdom, even though the little girl was clearly a foreigner, he tried his best to explain things to Fufu carefully:

“You’re still young, you probably don’t know, right? The church refers to one of the thirteen churches known as ‘God-given creations’, called ‘The Place of the Icons,’ and it’s the only one located outside the Holy Coffin Kingdom’s mainland, in our Silver Ring City.”

"Wow……"

"It seems you've heard the legend too? That's right. This church is the pride and symbol of our Silver Ring City, and a pinnacle of craftsmanship. Almost every tourist who comes here makes a point of visiting it; the blessings are said to be very effective. I bet your master went there for that reason as well."

"So... how do I get there?"

The guard adopted a pious posture, pointing his thick, rolling-stick-like fingers at the landmark building of Silver Ring City.

That is, the statue of the coffin bearer.

"Huh, isn't that a sculpture?" Fu Fu exclaimed in surprise.

"Haha, of course it's not just a sculpture. There's a space inside; it's a proper church that you can go inside. By the way, when you look at this sculpture, you feel a sense of piety, right? That's because the church houses the relics of the first pope."

Holy Remains...

Upon hearing this word, Fufu immediately thought of what her older sister, Morishi, was carrying. She suddenly realized, clapped her hands, and understood the whole story. Morishi must have gone to the church to collect bones.

Now that we know the location, there's no problem.

Of course, Fufu was a polite child. To express her gratitude, she turned around and spat into her palm, which turned into a small handful of snow-white salt, which she then handed to the kind guard.

"Thank you, Uncle."

"Oh dear, this gift... really..." The guard took it, smiled wryly, and put it into the helmet.

Hearing the words of thanks, Fufu turned and walked away.

Half a minute later—a beautiful woman dressed as a magician slowly emerged from inside the castle. Her face, which should have been beautiful, looked unwell. She seemed to have overindulged at the banquet the previous night and was still hungover. But if Mori were there, he would know she hadn't been drinking.

At least not last night when I came to her for wound treatment.

"you……"

"This...isn't this Lord Zeman of the Adelman family? May I ask what you need?"

The guard recognized her; she was no ordinary person, a noblewoman from the Holy Coffin Kingdom. Her family was considered a mid-tier second-rate power on a global scale.

"Did someone just ask you for directions?" Zeman pretended not to care, as if he was just asking casually.

"Oh, yes, she was a very pretty girl. She asked me if I had seen the distinguished guest with blue hair, so I gave her directions."

"Oh? That's quite interesting. Did she introduce herself?" As he asked, a hint of doubt flashed in Zeman's eyes, and his hands were restless, making unusually many small movements.

"They say she's a maid from that blue-haired VIP's house... Sigh, I wonder which prestigious family she comes from, that they've raised such a well-mannered girl to be so young."

So, where did they go?

"church."

"Thank you." She turned to leave.

"By the way—Lord Zeman, have you received the summons?" Asking the nobleman for information made the guard a little nervous.

"Received it." She nodded and answered casually, "I haven't been idle, I'm just waiting for my mount to arrive, then I'll return to the capital to join the main force. It should arrive before dinner, right? Anyway, the plan is to start tomorrow, there's still time... Why do you ask?"

"But... I heard that the Evil Mist has appeared, and now we're missing a mage like you..."

"It's just a little bit of insignificant fog, what's there to be afraid of?" After chuckling several times, Zeman returned to the castle.

Turning her back, her expression suddenly changed.

He walked quickly, choosing the nearest toilet and slipping inside, locking the door behind him. Normally, the waste flows directly into the sea, so this place is closest to the ocean and no one would bother him…

Zeman closed his eyes and unbuttoned his shirt.

A faint bloodstain appeared on the skin of her chest; it was a wound that should have been healed by healing magic last night.

Her fingers traced the wound, pain and profound sorrow contorting her face before finally culminating in a long sigh that flowed down the drain into the sea. Even healing magic couldn't erase the mark…

"Ugh……"

This is a mark left from the battle with the sea god during the holy war, and it has been tormenting her ever since...

Yesterday, a healing scroll appeared before her eyes; its exquisite brushstrokes and perfect structural depiction illuminated her long and arduous life. Unfortunately, even the scroll's creator could not erase the mark and curse from her.

Her life has hit rock bottom once again...

Therefore, she still needs to obey the curse and carry out the command.

“Hodge…” she began quietly, looking at the blood in her wound, “I saw her, a girl who looks exactly like one of your collections of hundreds of young girls’ souls.”

……

After spitting out the right amount of salt, Fufu immediately felt as light as usual.

She flew very high, high enough to overlook the entire city of Silver Ring. But upon seeing Wish, she immediately flew down and landed on her shoulder as lightly as a feather.

Previously, Yuan was clearly in the mood for a picnic, walking and stopping along the way. When she saw a wild dandelion growing by the roadside, she subconsciously wanted to go up and say hello, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her breath scattered the dandelion.

"Sister Yuan, I've found out where Sister Moritoki is."

"Isn't it in the castle?"

"Yes, in another place."

"Okay, let's go there so that she can step forward to protect her country as soon as possible."

However, there was something that kept Yuan in mind: overhead, a giant thunderstorm cloud had been hovering in the blue sky for a long time, its imposing presence was truly overwhelming...

……

1848--

Hodge sat on the roof of his temple, gazing at the island, now decayed and darkened. The pervasive fog had stripped the land of its original color, leaving only a few patches where vegetation still clung.

Besides that, this place is an island that symbolizes death.

The exiles who originally settled here had long been devoured and turned into puppets. The more of these troops the better, so even the graves were dug up, and skeletons with rotting flesh were also added to Hodge's army.

Its subordinates were preparing a ritual to awaken primordial evil, while it listened carefully to various voices from the faith community.

What stage had humanity reached in their preparations? How large was their operation? It knew all of this. It patiently awaited the opportune moment. In its eager anticipation, Hodge finally heard news from Silver Ring City…

At the same time, they also met their first visitor.

He was an old man, completely oblivious to the evil of the ominous fog, walking with unhurried steps. He was a wandering soul, who hadn't seen the sunlight in a long time…

Volume 1, Chapter 312: The So-Called Calamity Mist

The eye hidden among the fluffy seaweed immediately spotted the visitor.

Hodge was slightly taken aback.

The visitors who strode in possessed considerable power, like a mountain that knew how to walk.

Although it takes the form of a soul, its color is very dark and its transparency is so low that it is almost like a human with flesh and blood. It doesn't seem like a being that has lived in the world for many years as a soul at all...

Only a soul that transcends the natural rules of life and death and lives in the world with true freedom can manifest such a form. But the soul is shrouded in thick darkness, and even the surrounding ominous mist submits to it.

“Eden Bank…did you find it? Martyr.” Hodge recognized him.

"almost."

"Oh? Soon?"

Upon hearing this answer, Hodge's tone became more interested.

"Are you referring to that old-fashioned theory? Like the Eden Bank being in your heart or something... This kind of spiritual theory can only fool yourself, right? I think you're all a bunch of idiots."

The martyr did not answer, but simply moved closer and bowed slightly to the mermaid-shaped statue of the sea god before him. To him, the sea god truly worthy of remembrance was not the other divine aspects that evolved from his soul, but the mermaid figure before him.

Seeing this, Hodge slowly calmed his agitation, thinking that at least the other party was somewhat polite.

It stopped being sarcastic and mocking, and turned the conversation to something serious—

"I don't know either, but a few days ago, one of your members sent a wisp of evil mist, along with something quite interesting, to find me. Ha, they actually wanted me to awaken the primordial evil in their place..."

"Indeed, he bears this mission. Awakening the primordial evil is also one of our long-cherished wishes."

"mission?"

"Yes, the mission to awaken the primordial evil... This has always been the responsibility of the youngest, after all, the others must wholeheartedly search for Eden Bank."

Hodge said, "I remember many times in history, there were times when the primordial evil was almost awakened... but it was always thwarted by others."

The martyrs did not deny it, nor did they reminisce about it...

Even though every experience of failure was clearly etched in his mind.

Because they were all labeled "failures," they are not worth remembering. The only trace left by these historical processes is the vast ocean that now covers the entire human world.

Those were once islands or landmasses... battlefields where humanity fought against primal evil, and proof of humanity's victory.

The martyr began to speak—

Long ago, when the responsibility of awakening the primordial evil fell upon the shoulders of that young member, tragedy struck. The ruins where the young member resided were covered by Silvermoon City, constructed by an unknown demigod, serving as a seal.

This revealed what happened next—