My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 109: Destroying the "Ys Bell" (6k)

The moonlight hung low.

I don't know when it started, but the sunlight shining into the water gradually dimmed, and was replaced by dim moonlight.

"Do you realize I'm here..."

Jules remained calm in the face of such changes.

Following the path he remembered, he went deep into the Devil's Reef with ease, found the crevice, and dived into it.

The pitch-black darkness enveloped him again.

"It's so dark..." Lolita muttered softly while swimming.

Jules said nothing more, but whispered:
"Hold on to me."

After saying that, he followed the sensation and accelerated downstream.

If you stay in this darkness for too long, your body will undergo changes, so it’s best to leave quickly.

In the darkness, due to the power of transformation, his flesh and blood kept churning, making him feel itchy all over, as if a group of small insects were crawling on his body.

Soon, the darkness dissipated at an astonishing speed, and the scene before my eyes suddenly became clear.

After seeing the familiar underwater city, Jules breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sure enough, this city has existed in the distant past."

It still looks almost the same as I remember it.

However, Jules did not rush into the city, but turned to look at Lolita beside him.

However, when he saw Lolita, he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"You seem to have no changes?"

Lolita blinked, a little confused:

"What changes? Do you mean growing scales on your body like your uncle?"

She could see and smell that after passing through that darkness, Jules showed a tendency to transform into a marine creature.

Jules pondered for a moment and suddenly laughed.

He then realized that he had misunderstood. Although Lolita had always appeared as a human being, her essence was still a marine creature, an oyster.

Perhaps, the so-called mutation is like a "human transformation curse" to her. How can a person be afraid of becoming human?

"It's nothing. Since there is no change in you, it doesn't matter." After confirming this situation, Yule felt much more at ease.

After saying this, he turned around and stared at the underwater city in the distance.

At this moment, the position where the two of them are located is equivalent to the "dome" at the edge of this space.

The city is located in the center of this huge underground cavity.

Jules still remembered that the last time he entered, he swam directly into the city from above through the water.

He suspected that it was probably because of his arrogant behavior that the entire city suddenly targeted him as an "invader" and mobilized all its forces to attack.

Therefore, this time he planned to take it slow, making as little noise as possible and dealing with the high-threat targets first.

For example, those deep divers who can cast spells, and the bell that makes a hoarse sound.

"Zhong..." Thinking of this, his eyes flashed slightly, and he directly summoned the mountain copper night-shining pearl.

Although there is some fluorescence here, it is still quite dark compared to Le and Lolita's visibility in the water.

Therefore, in this semi-dark water area, the night pearl finally played its original function.

Specks of golden light spread out, making Yule feel cold, yet also a strange warmth.

There was no other movement from Ye Mingzhu for the time being, but he was not impatient, just waiting.

Didn't wait too long——

Soon, the hoarse and piercing bell sounded as expected.

hum-

The shrill ringing of the bells reverberated throughout the entire space. At the same time, the night pearl in Yule's hand began to vibrate at the same frequency.

He quickly put it to his ear and listened carefully to the sound.

Seeing this, Lolita walked around to Jules' side, stretched out her ear, and put it close to the night pearl.

thump—

Completely different from the shrill bell sounds echoing around, the bell sounds coming from the night pearl are majestic and heavy.

Although it was weak, its momentum was no less than that of the bell that enveloped the entire space.

Jules fell into deep thought, while Lolita shook her head and quickly moved her ears away.

"Oh, that still sounds a bit uncomfortable..."

He glanced at Lolita and asked:

"Do you think that the hoarse and piercing sound of the bell just now was more uncomfortable, or this heavier sound?"

Lolita thought carefully:
"Although the hoarse and shrill sound of the bells sounds strange, it doesn't make me feel uncomfortable."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Yule was a little surprised, and interest appeared in his eyes.

This bell sound is actually useless to Lolita?

If that's the case, perhaps she can be of unexpected use next.

He was just about to plan his next move when suddenly a sound of blood surged from the dark crevice behind him.

Yule's eyes narrowed and he whispered:
"Someone is coming, let's hide."

He had been here before, so he naturally knew where the Tibetans were most suitable.

The sounds of the blood surges gradually grew louder, and their owners did not surprise Jules at all.

They were none other than several terrifying-looking deep divers.

At this moment, they were muttering something in a language that Jules could not understand at all, which seemed to be the same as the prayer they had prayed to "Father God" before.

Their chattering gradually faded away, and Yule breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they hadn't noticed them.

Lolita's weak voice suddenly rang out:
"Uncle, I think I can barely understand what they are saying."

Yule raised his eyebrows and turned his head to stare at Lolita.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah!" Lolita pursed her lips and nodded affirmatively.

She obviously saw that Jules did not understand that language at all, so she raised a proud arc at the corner of her mouth and hummed:

“Although I can’t understand everything, I still have a general idea of ​​what it means.”

"Stop keeping me in suspense and tell me now." Yule couldn't help but hold his forehead.

Lolita giggled:
"They say that intruders are attempting to break into the territory of 'Mother Goddess' Hydra and 'Father God' Dagon. Therefore, security must be strengthened, especially the protection of the 'Bell of Ys.'"

Mother Goddess…? Yule's face was filled with confusion.

Where did this mother goddess pop up?

Could it be that it is the "shell" that Akagi uses to control Hei Kai's power?
After thinking about it, he felt that this was the most likely possibility.

Although the "Mother Goddess" seemed to be mentioned in the original book, as of now, he has never seen any trace of this Mother Goddess.

Corresponding to this, the red cup is obviously the most likely one.

She has always been hiding in the dark, secretly influencing reality.

If someone who didn't know the inside story came to Innsmouth, they would probably just think it was Black Corpse's problem and would find it difficult to associate it with the Red Cup.

As for the Ys Bell...

Jules felt that this thing should refer to the imitation of the bell that made a shrill sound, not the original one.

If what Lolita said is true, then the bell is probably the most crucial point.

Everything would be much easier if we could just destroy the bell.

He vaguely remembered that the last time he was killed instantly, it was also because of the power provided by the bell.

After realizing this, Jules's eyes gradually became firmer.

"Let's go find the bell."

He didn't say much, but just took Lolita downstream, trying not to attract more attention by floating in the air.

"Wait, be careful. If you sense anything unusual, tell me."

Hearing Jules' instructions, Lolita nodded obediently.

"But how do we get in?"

Jules pondered for a while and said:

"Try to stay closer to me."

When Lolita leaned in his arms, he summoned the transparent wings and covered them both.

The moth cloak was quite big, so it could barely cover the thin Lolita.

Although it seemed that nothing had changed, as it covered them, the two people seemed to disappear into the environment, and seemed to blend perfectly with the ruined city.

"Okay, from now on, in their eyes, we should just be a Deep Diver who walks strangely."

Although I'm not sure if this thing can still play a sufficient role nowadays, it's better than walking in brazenly anyway.

Following the road that was almost completely covered by dense seaweed, Jules slowly walked towards the dilapidated city.

Although everything looks like it has been abandoned for countless years, it still retains the most basic structure of the city.

The arched door was built with strange dark green stones, and the algae hanging from it were as thick as a door curtain.

Jules gently pushed aside the algae and walked into the city.

Only after entering the city did he truly realize how shocking it was.

Before, he was looking down from a high altitude and didn't feel anything. Now that he was standing on the ground, he had a real feeling of the grandeur of this city.

I'm afraid that with the productivity of today's steam age, it would be extremely difficult to replicate such a city on the ground without enough extraordinary people working hard.

It is just like the impression of a collection of the greatest art from ancient Rome and Greece.

Even though the dark green stones have been completely covered by algae, or most of them are submerged in mud, and even the exquisite reliefs have become blurred over the years, they still cannot conceal the grandeur that emanates from the past.

The streets were silent, with only the sound of rushing water echoing in my ears.

A kind of mysterious algae hung down from the high dome, emitting a faint fluorescent light that spread across the ground.

The light revealed the broken steps and collapsed roof, and also illuminated the road ahead of Jules.

"We have to find where the bell is first." He frowned.

Although the bell rang many times, he could not tell the direction of the sound. It was as if it was ringing directly from his head.

After thinking for a while, he saw several deep divers passing by not far away. His eyes flashed slightly and he decided to follow them.

Several deep divers swam by, their scales gleaming dimly and muttering strange words.

Jules followed behind, trying to keep the noise down.

At the same time, he narrowed his eyes and observed everything around him, looking for any place that might look like a hidden clock.

If the bell couldn't be found outside, then the worst-case scenario was that it was inside the church—but based on the images Wave had shown before, there was no sign of a bell inside. In other words, it was most likely within the city.

Lolita leaned against him and asked in a low voice:
"Uncle, where are they going?"

"I don't know, just follow me first." Yule responded in a low voice.

The city's streets are very winding and are obviously not designed for human use.

The dilapidated stone houses and collapsed squares are connected together, which greatly reduces the recognizability of the buildings and makes them extremely difficult to distinguish.

"Logically there should be a clock tower or something, but it doesn't look easy to find..." Jules had a headache.

God knows what changes have taken place in the place where the bell was after years of erosion!
hum-

At the same time, the shrill bell sounds rang out again from all directions.

Along with the sound of the bell, there was also a sharp pain in his head as if it was exploding!

Jules bent down in pain, veins popped out on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"You want to shake me out with this? It's not that easy..."

Lolita tilted her head and looked at Jules with a puzzled look on her face.

She didn't feel anything, but she could tell from her expression that the bell just now seemed to have caused considerable harm to her uncle.

"Uncle, what's wrong with you?" she asked worriedly.

"No, it's nothing, I just feel uncomfortable." Yule shook his head and comforted him.

The sound of the bell did not really hurt him, it just caused him extreme pain.

But he couldn't be sure that if he could make him feel pain this time, he might be shaken into blood foam next time!

The shrill bells gradually faded away. Just as Jules was about to catch up with the team of deep divers in front, he suddenly felt something in his arms trembling slightly.

"Ye Mingzhu?"

Thinking of this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

Maybe we can use the vibration of the night pearl to locate it?
Before, at the steam church on the shore and on the outskirts of the city, the vibration of the night pearl was far less intense than it is now.

In other words, the distance will affect the "resonance" effect of the night pearl!

"It's a pity that it has faded... Let's wait for next time." Yule said with some regret.

Now that he knew how to locate the bell, he no longer followed the deep divers, but instead focused on finding the bell.

Along the way, he did not forget to pay attention to the deep divers who could cast spells.

However, he did not see any deep divers like the bishop. The ones he saw seemed to be ordinary soldiers, the kind that could be kicked to death even if they walked on the side of the road.

He didn't even make a sneak attack to weaken the enemy's interest in advance - it would be useless to kill as many of these things as possible, as they couldn't threaten him anyway.

The real threat is those deep divers who can cast spells, the bell, and the existence deep inside the church!

hum-

The shrill bells rang again.

The water seemed to tremble because of this, and the entire city seemed to be shaking.

Yule, who had moved to another part of the city in advance, gritted his teeth and endured the severe pain. He took out the mountain copper night-shining pearl and carefully felt the changes in its vibration compared to before.

"Weaker... In other words, in the opposite direction from me!"

This time, the severe pain dissipated more slowly than last time, but a gleam of excitement ignited in Yule's eyes.

Now that we can confirm the approximate location, it will be easy!
Following this "stupid method", the two people's positions advanced slowly and steadily.

……

In the northwest corner of the city, there is a dilapidated square where the streets are almost blocked by mud.

Jules and Lolita walked along the wall, their cloaks covering their figures and not making any sound.

The density of deep divers around me has obviously increased, and two deep divers swim by from time to time.

However, no deep divers noticed them, and they all swam away on their own.

"We should be getting closer..." Yule looked around.

Judging from the strength of the bell sound, it should be around here.

After arriving here, the density of deep divers became significantly higher, which also confirmed this point.

From time to time, divers would swim towards the church in the city center not far away, and there would also be divers swimming from here to the church.

The sound of the bells was getting closer and closer, and it was as piercing as needles piercing the eardrums.

Until finally, following several deep divers, Yule's eyes finally locked on a ruined tower.

The top of the tower seemed to have collapsed, and algae almost completely covered it.

But through the gaps in the algae that were as thick as a door curtain, he saw a broken bell.

The bell hung there darkly, covered in rust.

The water flows slowly around the clock, vaguely revealing an incomparable sense of oppression.

Not far away, dense groups of deep divers gathered in the darkness, whispering something in a strange language.

Jules whispered to Lolita beside him:
"Did you understand what they said?"

Lolita frowned and listened attentively:

"They said the clock couldn't stop and had to be guarded because the invaders were approaching."

Yule nodded, his eyes turned cold:

"Then ruin it."

The more the enemy opposes, the more it proves that he is doing the right thing!
They treasured the bell so much and were all so nervous, obviously it was a matter of great importance.

He stared at the clock, his fingers tapping his cloak. The dull water seemed to have a tense chill.

"It's just that there are too many guards, which makes it difficult to deal with..."

Jules had no doubt that these monsters would absolutely be willing to pile their bodies in front of the bell to hold him back.

Moreover, he was not sure whether there was a Deep Diver Bishop hiding in the dark like the one that day.

"Hmm? That is..." As he was thinking, he looked up and saw a figure swimming from the direction of the church.

When he saw this figure, his frown relaxed a lot and there was a glimmer of surprise in his eyes.

This is really like sending a pillow to someone who is sleepy - the figure is wearing a gorgeous bishop's crown. Although his clothes are tattered, you can still see their precious colors. Obviously, even if he is not a bishop, he is probably not much different!
Seeing that the man was still quite some distance away from him, Jules left without making a sound and headed towards the bishop.

Jules took Lolita and quietly approached the Deep Diver Bishop.

The water around was icy cold, and the dim light flickered on the broken stone walls of the underwater city, reflecting the curved staff in the bishop's hand.

A dark red gem was embedded in the top of the staff, emitting a faint but strange light.

"There is the power of Hei Kuang in it, but it also seems to be mixed with the breath of the cup..." Seeing the staff, Yule couldn't help but squint his eyes.

He gets annoyed when he sees something in a red cup!

"Uncle, that guy looks very strong."

Lolita muttered softly, with a hint of uneasiness in her tone.

"Strong people are better," Yule murmured, with a slight smile on his face. "Solving it in advance can save a lot of trouble."

He did not rush to take action, but continued to observe.

The bishop was not swimming fast, and seemed to be inspecting something, muttering incomprehensible spells under his breath.

The surrounding Deep Divers seemed to be driven away, dispersing into the distance, leaving behind a brief gap.

At the same time, it slowly descended.

The opportunity is here.

Seeing this scene, Yule's eyes shone, and he gently patted Lolita's shoulder:

"Stay here and don't move."

After saying that, he rushed out like an arrow.

The water was torn apart by his speed, making a low whimper.

But when viewed against the backdrop of the entire city, it seems so quiet.

The bishop seemed to notice something unusual and slowly turned his head to look in the direction where Jules was rushing towards.

However, it was too late -

Jules flashed past its side like lightning, holding the stone he had just picked up in his hand, and directly cut off its vocal organ!
The originally ordinary stone piece has now turned into a deadly weapon with the help of the sharp words.

The bishop stared at Jules with his bulging fish eyes and raised his staff to do something.

However, the stone had drawn a graceful and deadly arc at some point, directly cutting off its arm!

The cross-section was as smooth as a mirror, but no blood escaped. Instead, it was forcibly restrained by the power of the blood tide.

After losing the staff, the bishop still wanted to struggle, but he was powerless to resist Jules. He was killed in a few seconds and was killed more dead than dead.

"We can't let the blood escape..." Yule carefully used the power of the blood tide to control the bishop's blood and prevent it from flowing out.

He did this, naturally, to prevent being exposed.

After all, the smell of blood in the deep sea is too conspicuous, and they immediately know that their companions have been killed.

Although the Blood Tide cannot currently directly control the opponent's blood to create powerful lethality, it can at least restrain the blood of dying or dead people so that it does not run around.

"Come, Lolita, hold its body. I will try my best to take off its clothes without damaging them." Jules handed the body to Lolita.

When he took action, he deliberately avoided the vital parts that would damage the bishop's belongings and chose the dumbest way to kill him.

He wanted to use the things on the bishop's body and the chaotic power brought by the moth cloak to try to get to the clock!
The power of chaos not only blocks the perception of living things, but also makes some seemingly absurd things rational in the senses.

As long as he got close to the bell, he was confident that he could destroy it with the power of his "Sharp Words".

Even if he couldn't smash the clock to pieces, he could destroy part of its structure and make it unable to work properly - although he was not sure whether the clock in this mystical world still followed the laws of the physical world.

But you have to try.

Jules deftly began to strip the bishop of his clothes.

The bishop's scaly skin was sticky and slippery, but his movements were not at all chaotic.

The dark red robe was carefully stripped off, and when the crown was taken off, it collided with the metal decorations on the clothes, making a slight metallic sound.

He tried his best to keep the clothes intact, even straightening the slightly torn sleeve of the hand holding the staff and carefully taking it out.

"Uncle, why are you wearing this?"

Lolita looked at him with some confusion.

"Get in," Jules replied in a low voice.

He put on his robe, which stuck to his skin while being wet, and gave off a stench that was unbearable for humans.

But he didn't care about it and just put the crown on his head again.

The crown was slightly loose, so he adjusted it casually, then stretched his muscles and said with a faint smile:

"Now, I am also the Bishop of the Deep Ones."

(End of this chapter)