Who hid my body?

Chapter 369 scared me to death! It turns out all they wanted was for me to betray them!
Inside the prison, Edwin and Hevinia continued to descend deeper.

Having learned from the experience of sealing the gargoyle, neither of them dared to use magic easily. The only source of light was the dim torch in Edwin's hand, which made the atmosphere in the prison very oppressive. The only sounds between them were muffled breathing and footsteps.

"What are you thinking about?" Edwin finally broke the silence.

Hevinia glanced at Edwin and said calmly, "I'm wondering if it's too late to turn back now."

"Haha, you really know how to joke."

Hevinia did not speak.

Edwin immediately tensed up: "You don't really want to turn back, do you? No way, we've already come this far."

“The saying ‘since we’re already here’ doesn’t apply to this situation,” Hevinia said. “Right now, I can’t even use magic. Continuing on is just suicide.”

“We can’t say anything, there might still be gargoyles down there,” Edwin said. “The gargoyles that seal the demons also conflict with other creatures. The Land of Contracts can’t put two conflicting species together, otherwise they would just kill each other. So after we get through this, we might be able to use magic.”

“But as you said, the beings below are definitely more troublesome than the Demon-Sealing Gargoyles,” Hevinia said. “Are the dead gods really something that you and I can handle?”

Hevinia had some knowledge of the dead gods, but this knowledge did not come from Edwin's earlier example of the Rhine Devourer, as she had never seen that thing.

But don't forget that Hevinia lived in Lyra for a period of time, and Ina naturally told her about the disaster that happened in Lyra half a year ago, as well as the source of the disaster—the contaminated area.

The contaminated zone contains the corpses of gods, perfectly fitting Edwin's definition of "dead gods." The only difference is that the Abyss Prison is controllable, while Lyra's former contaminated zone was uncontrollable.

The uncontrollable consequence was that the entire Lyra almost perished.

If it weren't for Ina's father's sacrifice and Bai Wei's intervention, Lyra would no longer exist in the world today.

So from a certain perspective, the dead gods were even more difficult to deal with than the living gods, and the Abyss Prison was a place where such a group of dangerous beings were piled up.

So, it turns out that the fear of Vesas outweighs everything else?

However, Hevinia had no intention of touching something so dangerous, and she was well aware that it was impossible for her and Edwin to reach the deepest part of the prison with their combined strength.

She was indeed not afraid of death, but she didn't want to die meaninglessly; she at least wanted to be able to help Bai Wei. So, for now, she just planned to go ahead and scout ahead, see if she could gather some intelligence, and wait for Bai Wei's next instructions.

After all, Bai Wei's ear is still on Edwin's body. If it really comes down to a decision, she could simply snatch the ear back and ask Bai Wei what to do... um?

Hevinia stopped in her tracks.

She suddenly sensed an extremely dangerous aura coming from below.

She was about to speak up to Edwin, but soon realized it was unnecessary.

Because a violent tremor came from below.

"What's going on?" Edwin exclaimed in alarm. "Something's trying to climb up from below?!"

Indeed, something is climbing up from below, and it's moving incredibly fast!

Hevinia acted swiftly, immediately extinguishing the torch in Edwin's hand, and then dragged him against the wall.

Seconds later, countless creatures burst out from the ground.

To be more precise, it flew out.

Because there was no light source, they couldn't see their exact appearance, but they could hear the dense and loud vibrations of their wings. Especially in the sealed prison, the recurring echoes were enough to shatter one's eardrums.

This process lasted a full minute before the creatures finally left.

"Damn it..." Edwin was so shaken he was almost delirious and could barely stand. "What the hell was that thing?"

Hevinia was in much better condition than Edwin, after all, with the blessing of the Seven Notes, she could slowly recover as long as she wasn't killed on the spot.

"These are probably the remains of the gods you mentioned earlier," Hevinia said calmly. "I sensed divinity in them, and something very familiar..."

Hevinia wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she seemed to sense Vessas's power in those creatures.

"Is that so?" Edwin's head was still buzzing. "I didn't notice it, it's just so noisy. These things are really... um?"

He suddenly realized something, and then said...

"Wait, all these guys went up there, so does that mean... the bottom is empty?! Hahaha, then we can deal with one less thing... cough cough cough cough." Edwin coughed violently before he could finish speaking.

Hevinia frowned slightly.

Because she noticed something was off about Edwin's voice, she immediately lit a torch and shone it on Edwin.

Only then did she realize with surprise that Edwin's face was covered with wrinkles, as if he had aged more than ten years in an instant, looking like he was about to be buried!

"Why are you looking at me like that... cough cough cough, what's wrong with me?!"

In the firelight, Edwin saw his own old, withered hands, which looked like chicken claws, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Why, why is this happening to me?!"

Edwin's body trembled uncontrollably, and in those few short seconds, he aged even more.

“It seems to be those things that flew out just now,” Hevinia pondered. “Can they drain human lifespan? No… it should be life force.”

Hevinia glanced at her body and found that she had not been affected, which she assumed was due to the effect of the Seven Notes.

“It seems we can’t continue like this.” Hevinia looked up at the exit. “Let’s go back and see if there’s any way… Are you listening to me?”

Hevinia noticed Edwin shaking his head repeatedly, muttering, "No, I can't do this... I'm almost there, almost there... I can't do this."

"What's wrong with you?" Hevinia sensed that Edwin was acting strangely, so she asked again.

But Edwin still did not respond; in the dim firelight, Edwin's aged eyes were filled with a blank stare.

Could it be...

Hevinia's mind was filled with a bad feeling again, and after observing Edwin more closely, she was certain that her suspicions were true.

Edwin's brain aged along with his body.

Now he has truly become a frail old man nearing the end of his life, his cognitive abilities have deteriorated to the point of being unrecognizable, and he can no longer even hear Hevinia calling out to him. It is likely that soon he will not even know who he is.

Damn it, how could that creature have done that?

Hevinia frowned deeply.

This was truly an unexpected situation. She didn't know how to lift Edwin's current state, nor did she dare to use magic rashly, lest she attract some more strange things.

So what should we do now? Going any further is obviously impossible, but can we just take Edwin up like this?

But it's not safer up there than here, and Edwin is just a burden in his current situation.

While Hevinia was lost in thought, Edwin was still muttering to himself.

"I'm already here...almost there...I can't turn back..."

He slowly turned his head and looked at the abyss in front of him, as if a voice was echoing in his mind.

There's no other way; we still have to take him up. The longer he stays here, the more dangerous it becomes.

Just as Hevinia made her decision, Edwin suddenly roared, "No! I can't go back!" Then he ran wildly toward the abyss in front of him like a madman. Hevinia was shocked and instinctively tried to grab Edwin, but he was too fast. Caught off guard, Hevinia couldn't hold on and could only watch helplessly as he fell into the abyss.

This sudden event left Hevinia momentarily stunned.

Did this guy just jump like that?
He could hardly remember who he was, but he still remembered what he was supposed to do.
Hevinia had a headache. After all, it was one thing for the guy to be gone, but his ear was still there.

Without her ears, Hevinia didn't know how to re-establish contact with Baiwei.

Why was my reaction so slow?! I didn't even notice!

Hevinia was extremely frustrated. But she knew that regret was useless now, and she could only think of a solution.

Hevinia forced herself to calm down.

The most important thing right now is to find a regular body part to establish contact with Bai Wei, but it's impossible to let her continue down this path. Who knows where Edwin has fallen to?

So what if we turn back? But if we go back, we don't know where to find the body parts. She's definitely no match for Isaiah.

and many more.

Hevinia recalled the Vessus aura she had sensed from those monsters earlier.

Could those things also be controlled by a piece of the corpse?
That being the case...

Hevinia raised her head and looked back at the way she had come.

……

After witnessing Isaiah's power once again, Rocky still made a decision that wasn't too difficult for him.

Since we can't win no matter what, there's no point in struggling.

Although he was truly reluctant to give up his finger—a finger that had been with him for so many years, one he used to motivate himself every morning upon waking—for Rocky, this finger was almost more than anything else he possessed.

Except life.

After all, if you're dead, then giving a thumbs up won't make any difference.

As for Diana, all we can do is wish him good luck.

Isaiah watched Rocky silently. He wasn't surprised by Rocky's choice, but...

“I thought you would fight me first before making a decision,” Isaiah said calmly.

“It’s pointless,” Rocky said. “I’m pretty sure I’m no match for you. Now I just want to live. Please keep your promise.”

Isaiah nodded slightly: "Of course, I won't attack someone who has lost their will to fight, but..."

Hearing Isaiah's sudden change in tone, Rocky's heart jumped into his throat.

“Now that you have seen the ring finger,” Isaiah said slowly, “I need you to tell me her identity.”

Rocky's heart, which had been pounding, instantly relaxed.

What? It turns out it's just about me betraying Diana? I thought it was something serious.

He nodded repeatedly: "No problem."

"Take me there now."

“Of course!” Rocky stood up nimbly. “Just come with me.”

"Give me your finger first."

"Oh, oh, oh." Rocky slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot."

Mina was speechless at Rocky's change, but she didn't say anything and just looked at her teacher.

Although Isaiah did not say it explicitly, Mina had already guessed what he was thinking.

Clearly, Isaiah wanted to get his hands on all the visible body parts before dealing with Ainhgal.

So after dealing with the ring finger, the teacher's next target will definitely be the hand and eye, which have yet to be revealed.

By then, the teacher will be able to possess eight pieces of the body at the same time.

The last person with so many body parts was Vesas himself.

In that case, even Ainhgal wouldn't be a match for the teacher, right?
Just as Mina was thinking this, she suddenly saw one of the guardian corpses next to Rocky move.

Before she could get a good look, the guardian suddenly sprang up and grabbed Rocky's leg tightly.

Loki was startled and immediately looked down, only to see the Guardian, whose face was half destroyed, open her mouth and let out a female voice that chilled him to the bone.

“Why did you betray me, Mr. Thumb?” the Guardian said. “Didn’t we agree to fight this guy together?”

Ring finger?!
Rocky realized what was happening and immediately tried to push the corpse away, but as soon as he raised his hand, he felt his body sink.

Because another corpse fell on top of him.

Then came the third and the fourth bodies.

They said in unison.

Why did you betray me?

"We promised to fight together."

"You've made me so sad, so very sad..."

Sorrowful words were uttered from the mouths of the male corpses, carrying a strange eeriness.

Before long, Rocky was covered in sweat, and even his shouts were gradually suppressed.

Seeing this, Isaiah did not react at all, but simply watched calmly.

When the corpses turned their empty gazes to him, he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ring Finger."

"You shouldn't have come here," the corpses said in unison.

“There’s no need to say more,” Isaiah said. “My offer to you is the same as Bishop Rocky’s: hand over the body parts, and I’ll spare your life.”

"Hehehehe..." The corpses laughed eerily. "Impossible, Mr. Isaiah. You can't go back, and neither can I..."

The moment the words fell, countless dark figures poured out of the prison, filling half the night sky.

They flapped their wings and emitted sharp whistles.

As a result, Isaiah's body aged rapidly.

"The contract is free, Mr. Isaiah." The monster soaring through the night sky spoke in a human voice amidst its shrieks, "I can't go back either, so... let's die together."

(End of this chapter)