Mystery: Death Singer

Inside the carriage, Edric stared in astonishment at the leather trunk that Marich had handed him, and asked incredulously:

"Are you sure you want me to use this magical item?"

"I mean... it's just too valuable."

Sharon nodded slightly and said:

"This is to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. If I fail to locate 'Wraith' Steve in advance, and he successfully activates 'Crimson Corona,' then you will be the one to buy us time and hope."

"Of course, I hope you will try not to use this magical item before Steve arrives, to prevent Steve from leaving prematurely because he feels it is too dangerous."

Edric fell silent, because he also felt that Sharon's words made a lot of sense. After all, no one would have thought that someone would put a magical item that could change the course of a battle into the body of a Sequence 7 Beyonder.

Just then, he heard Maric add:

"Moreover, this magical item is very suitable for you. If you use it, it will definitely have a stronger effect than when I or Sharon possessed it."

"It suits me? Could it be a magical item from the 'Corpse Collector' pathway?" Edric's spirits lifted, and at Sharon's prompting, he opened the leather case in front of him, revealing a glass bottle filled with golden liquid.

The bottle contained a pale blue hand, only one-third the size of an adult, with five fingernails in a dark green color, and some blood vessels close to the skin surface that could be seen with the naked eye were iron black.

Almost the instant he saw the hand, Edric was certain that it was a magical item from the "Corpse Collector" pathway! In terms of sheer quality, it was even comparable to the "Gem of Light" he had seen before!

At the same time, Maric's voice, suppressing malice, rang out:

"This magical item is called the 'Hand of the Dead,' originating from a dying branch of the Cult of the Dead, corresponding to Sequence Five, 'Gatekeeper,' of the 'Corpse Collector' pathway."

"It has three abilities in total, the most important of which is the 'Gate to the Underworld,' which can open a gate to the underworld and pull in everything around it or any living being specifically chosen by the user."

"The underworld is a true place of death; any living being will have its life taken the moment it enters."

Marich paused, then added, "Even Sharon, without a special possession, would face certain death if she entered the underworld."

"Because in essence, she is still a 'living' creature. Transforming into a 'vengeful spirit' state can indeed allow her to stay in the underworld, but if she stays for too long, she will be unable to transform back into a human and will exist forever as a vengeful spirit."

"Moreover, once trapped in the underworld, neither 'vengeful spirits' nor higher-level 'puppets' can escape by entering the spirit world. Although I don't know the specific reason, this is a truth that the Rose School has verified with blood and time."

In other words, as long as this hand is there, even if we collide with that "puppet" Zartwin, there is still a possibility of victory. Of course, it is more likely that before we can even drag him into the underworld, the three of us will be strangled to death by our own clothes...

Edric nodded slightly, signaling Marich to continue.

"Besides opening the gates to the underworld, the 'Hand of the Dead' can also grant you a fifth-order physical enhancement, at the cost of further strengthening your resistance to elements such as the 'Sun'."

"The last extraordinary ability is called 'Resurrection,' which can summon undead and skeletons on a large scale. Of course, this 'Resurrection' does not have will or life force; it can only be used to create a large number of undead creatures."

"But since we are in Backlund and lack the most crucial control ability, I do not recommend you use 'Resurrection'."

Edric strongly agreed with Marich's point of view. These wild Beyonders were fine with small-scale antics, but if they went so far as to wake up all the corpses in the cemetery for a corpse party, they would probably be besieged by the official Beyonders that very night.

After all, cracking down on organized crime requires evidence, while counter-terrorism only requires coordinates. Daring to hold a corpse party in the "Land of Hope," this is no ordinary extraordinary individual, and we must strike hard!

As his thoughts raced, Maric's voice rang out once more:

"Finally, there is the negative effect of 'Hand of the Dead,' which will inevitably turn the user into an undead creature, eventually turning them into mindless zombies. Even if you just carry it, this effect will continue to take effect, but it is far less terrifying than when you actually use it."

"That's why it was sealed in this bottle, enduring the all-around suppression of those 'sun' domain potions every minute and every second."

Gradually transforming into an undead creature? Edric's eyes lit up. To him, what difference was there between this negative effect and its complete absence?

For extraordinary individuals from other pathways, being gradually transformed into an undead is a rather troublesome matter, because for them, it is no different from gradually approaching death.

But Edric is different. He has been transformed by three potions from the "corpse collector" pathway, and his body has long since become different from that of a zombie. The only difference between him and a zombie is that he is not a real dead person yet.

Of course, in the occult definition, Edric is currently a pure "dead man," a true immortal being.

With such powerful effects and absolutely no negative side effects, who wouldn't want such a miraculous item? Edric naturally couldn't refuse either, so he simply went straight to the point:

"If I could, I would like to buy this 'Hand of the Dead' from you, of course, after defeating those hedonists."

Marich didn't speak; he silently looked at Sharon, who nodded slightly and said:

"Yes, it costs £12,000, but you only need to pay another £10,000."

This incredibly useful and magical item only costs twelve thousand pounds! Solana gave up a whopping twenty thousand pounds of gold to acquire ownership of the "Gem of Light"! How did we "corpse collectors" end up like this...?

Edric sighed inwardly and nodded slightly, saying, "Deal."

The reason he proactively postponed the transaction was because the counterattack against those hedonistic members would begin next week. If he gained anything related to the "Prisoner's" path during this process, he could use it to offset the price, since he didn't need it himself anyway.

After signing a second contract, Sharon and Maritch decided to leave "Hand of the Dead" with Edric, taking advantage of these last few days to quickly familiarize themselves with its core ability, "Gate to the Underworld," to ensure everything went smoothly in battle.