In Backlund, inside a chamber that resembled a temple.
Mr. A, wearing a black robe with a hood, knelt quietly before the inverted giant god statue, motionless for a long time.
Suddenly, he tilted his ear as if listening to something.
After a brief pause, Mr. A quickly raised his hands and with a slap of his left palm, broke off the index finger of his right hand.
He stuffed the bloody finger into his mouth and chewed it like a snack, producing a crisp sound.
Gulp!
Mr. A's throat moved as he swallowed the crushed finger.
His body suddenly shook, as if being shaken by an invisible person.
In this state, Mr. A extended his right hand and used the blood flowing from the wound to write words on the ground.
Those words were not the giant or dragon language that could manipulate natural forces, nor the Hermes language used for sacrifices, but the most common and ordinary Ruen language.
The bright red color quickly solidified, and the words formed several sentences:
"Found:
"The Fool that does not belong to this era;
"The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog;
"The King of Yellow and Black who controls luck.
"Blessed and believers, in Backlund."
With the end of the "divine revelation," Mr. A stopped trembling, and a new finger grew from the wound.
He lowered his head, carefully looked at the words he had just written, and the corners of his mouth gradually curled up in the shadows.
"I only obey your oracle!" Mr. A prostrated humbly on the ground, as if he had found the meaning of existence again.
... ...
Silver City, top of the Round Tower.
Lovia walked to the window, looked down at the flickering candles in the darkness, and her expression gradually softened.
After an unknown amount of time, she heard a knock on the door.
"'Chief'?" Lovia turned lightly and asked with a smile.
The door opened automatically without wind.
Standing outside was "Hunter" Colin Iliad, wearing a brown coat and a belt with many hidden compartments around his waist.
"Lovia, the anomaly of the exploration team members has been confirmed." Colin said flatly. "As the team leader, whether you have a problem or not, you must go to the dungeon for seven days to undergo the baptism of the 'Crown of Glory.' You should know that this is the rule."
Lovia showed no anger and smiled calmly:
"I know. I am ready to stay in the dungeon for a long time. When it's over, if you are still not at ease, I can accept any arrangement."
As she spoke, she walked to the door and passed the "Hunter" Colin face to face.
Colin turned silently and followed slightly behind her, walking down the spiral staircase step by step.
Halfway down, they heard heart-wrenching cries and shouts.
"Is it starting again?" Lovia asked with a slightly confused expression.
Colin nodded and replied hoarsely:
"Yes, this is our inescapable fate..."
At this moment, in the middle of the Round Tower, in a hall.
The exploration team members and several additional contaminated residents of Silver City were pinned in place by the substantial holy light, unable to move, as if carrying a huge mountain.
A couple in their forties, with dark skin, each holding a straight sword with complex patterns, walked up to a young man in his early twenties.
The young man's body had collapsed like a pile of mud, but his head was intact, with only bloody tendrils growing out.
Seeing the couple coming, he shouted in terror:
"Dad, Mom, what are you going to do?
"Didn't we agree to eat roasted iron scorpions together tonight?
"Dad, Mom, I caught a lot of iron scorpions for you..."
The couple couldn't bear to look and turned their heads aside, but raised their straight swords high.
With two slashes, the young man stopped crying and shouting, first convulsing, then completely losing signs of life.
On the other side, a teenage girl also raised a straight sword with complex patterns, tears streaming down her face as she stabbed at her sister.
The woman lying on the ground suddenly laughed and said softly:
"After today, you will have to live by yourself. Don't be naive anymore..."
The girl's vision blurred with tears, and the straight sword in her hand stopped in mid-air.