Goddess Kaleidoscope

Driven by his survival instinct, Maine's mind raced as he considered how to escape with the help of the necromancer.

"My lord, your dead slave was eliminated by the local church priests, and I was implicated as a result, which is why I was imprisoned in this hellish place."

"Eliminated? That's impossible! My undead slave is no ordinary ghost. Once he enters a dream, even the Pope of the Holy Church of Light wouldn't be able to detect anything. How could a priest from a third-rate sect have such abilities?"

“My lord, everything I’ve said is true. When that priest named Lud brought his men to arrest me, he mocked me, saying it was just a child’s play and wouldn’t fool his discerning eyes. And even though I hadn’t confessed anything, he mentioned your name as a necromancer right in front of me, and he also said… he also said…”

What else did he say?

Hearing a hint of displeasure in the necromancer's tone, a secret joy flashed through Myne's heart, but he dared not show it on his face.

Myne has been a member of the Black Hand Brotherhood for quite some time. Although he has always been a low-level member of the outer organization, all his colleagues who have come into contact with him know that the necromancer, one of the senior officers, has two distinctive characteristics.

First, he is mysterious. He always wears a mask that is said to be a divine artifact. It is rumored that no one in the entire organization has ever seen his true face. He relies entirely on his unique abilities as his trademark.

Another characteristic is not so easy to say to his face: the necromancer is particularly petty and cannot tolerate ridicule or sarcasm. Anyone who dares to speak ill of him will not live more than three days once he finds out!

Unless he can't beat the person who's speaking ill of him!

In light of this, in order to divert trouble, Maine deliberately stirred up trouble in front of the necromancer, fabricating a series of extreme statements about Lud. The necromancer listened quietly the whole time, but Maine could clearly feel the temperature in the cell dropping noticeably.

This change wasn't just reflected in the atmosphere; as Maine spoke, he started trembling, and white breath came out of his mouth...

P.S.: I've been stuck on writing for two days in a row. First, I really don't have any ideas. Second, I've been working day and night for almost three weeks straight, and my body can't take it anymore.

On a side note, I went to see the premiere of "The Sacrifice" yesterday morning. I was initially hesitant because of Guan Hu (the director), but then I saw Guo Fan and Wu Jing were in it, and it was about the Korean War, so I went anyway, thinking it might spark some inspiration. As a result, my initial impression after leaving the theater was quite good. Although the use of three perspectives within a single scene felt lazy, and there was an excessive amount of repetitive shots, the overall first impression wasn't bad, and I even had the illusion that it was a good movie.

But after I got home and sat down, I kept thinking about how many things in the plot felt off. So I discussed it with other people in the author group who had also seen the movie, and we found that I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

End of this chapter

Although it was unclear why the necromancer was here, his arrival undoubtedly gave Maine hope for survival and even gave him the idea of ​​"using his help to turn the tide".

If it were just himself and his few dozen henchmen, Maine would never have provoked Lud. After all, he still vividly remembered what happened that day.

Lude first used his ability to regenerate severed limbs to heal the three cripples, then gave them a full set of buffs, and easily defeated Maine and his henchmen as if he were harvesting wheat with a sickle.

But now that the necromancer has arrived, Maine is not clear about the full extent of this big shot's strength, but he has heard many rumors about him. He knows that he is the strongest assassin in the entire Brotherhood of the Black Hand, never fails to complete a job, and countless powerful people have died at his hands, including many powerful clergy.

To the average person, priests may seem like the bane of the undead, but this is mainly true in direct combat, where divine spells with holy attributes can indeed inflict tons of damage on undead creatures.

However, the undead possess the ability to enter dreams. This ability is almost useless in direct combat, but it is always difficult to defend against when used for assassination.

Many priests killed by necromancers died from carelessness. In places without divine protection, they were seized by the necromancer's undead slaves who infiltrated their dreams and strangled their souls.

The necromancer's immense power and twisted mentality made him see human life as worthless, killing at the slightest provocation. But after getting to know him, Myne discovered that this old man was actually quite easy to please; as long as he flattered him properly, he wasn't difficult to please!

If the necromancer were willing to help him eliminate Rudd and those three arrogant knights, Maine believed he was capable of regaining control of everything.

To bribe the palace eunuchs, Myne had practically squandered all the ill-gotten gains he'd accumulated over a lifetime to secure the position of acting consul. If he were to slink away like this, with only a worthless life left, what difference would it make if he were dead?

Unwilling to accept defeat, Myne, driven by a gambler's mentality, decided to use the necromancer to turn the tide.

And with his instigation, the petty necromancer harbored a grudge against Lud for daring to look down on him.

Kneeling before him, Main felt the air around him grow colder and colder. Shivering, he looked up and was horrified to find that the necromancer's mask had come to life. Huge, red, vertical pupils bulged from the mask, covered in spiderweb-like blood vessels. Just a moment's eye contact was enough to send Main shivering uncontrollably through his body, his expression as if he had witnessed something beyond imagination.

Noticing Main's reaction, the enraged necromancer realized he had lost his composure and subconsciously activated the artifact mask's power. He silently withdrew the effect, and Main collapsed to the ground, the small cell filled with the stench of urine.

"Hmph, weakling! You're scared out of your wits?"

"My lord, I..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Tell me, where is that Lud?"

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lud, who had just left the lord's house, strolled slowly back to the temple alone. The distance was only a few hundred meters in a straight line, which he took as a way to aid digestion after his meal.

The town was dark and quiet after nightfall. Looking down the street, the few sparse streetlights could not illuminate the entire road, and not a single person could be seen.

The townspeople's living standards have indeed improved significantly in recent years, but the farmers who still have to work in the fields during the day are used to resting at sunset, so they basically don't have any nightlife. The tavern is full of mercenaries and adventurers from other places. This scene makes Lude miss his hometown on Earth and the happy days when he and his colleagues and friends would go to the night market and eat barbecue together.

"The task is arduous and the road ahead is long..."

With a sigh and an air of maturity, Lu De was about to take a step when he suddenly felt an unusual gust of cold wind. Then he saw a figure emerge from the darkness and block his way.

"You're Lud?"

"I'm the only one with this name in town, so you haven't come to the wrong place."

Seeing that the man in black in front of him clearly had ill intentions, Lu De pretended to be calm and stared straight at the other party, his right hand unconsciously resting on his waist.

His specially made scepter, the "Fire Qilin" that the three sisters had tailored for him, originally hung beneath his priest's robes. However, that thing weighed over ten kilograms, so Lud did not carry it with him.

Although he was alone and unarmed, Rudd was not without the ability to protect himself. At worst, he could use divine magic to create a protective shell around himself, then shout for help. This was the center of town, less than 300 meters from the temple, and reinforcements would arrive in no time.

Therefore, Lude, who could cast divine spells instantly, was not flustered at all and planned to first find out the details of the guy in front of him before making a move.

"What's your name, my friend?"

"Hmph! You don't need to know my name, and I won't waste my breath on a dead man. Regret your act of offending the powerful!"

It was rare to encounter a villain who didn't talk much, and Lu De was startled. But after the black-clad man finished uttering his harsh words, he didn't make any move and just stood there blankly. Both of them fell into an eerie silence.

Lud looked at the other person in confusion. At this moment, the dark clouds in the night sky dispersed, revealing the bright moonlight shining on the ground. Only then did Lud notice that the man in black was wearing a very strange mask under his hood. It seemed to be made of some kind of metal, but in the very center of the mask was a huge, protruding eyeball staring intently at him.

This awkward silence lasted for several minutes. The man in black didn't move, and Lude cooperated by remaining still until he couldn't help but burp because he had eaten too much for dinner. Only then did the man in black realize that something seemed wrong.

"Why aren't you responding?"

"Should I...react to you?"

Lude smiled and asked the other person a question, his expression seemingly relaxed, but he was actually much more nervous than before. He had already realized that the mask the man in black was wearing was an absolute divine artifact; if it weren't for his primordial fire protecting him and making him immune to all divine magic damage, he might already be dead.

Lude's smile turned into a sneer. He reached out and took off his robe, revealing his well-built physique, which he had developed over the past three years. He then cast a seven-layer buff on himself and pounced straight at the still-stunned necromancer.

"A mere trick! How dare you show off your amateur skills in front of me!"

End of this chapter

A piercing scream shattered the night sky, startling many townspeople who were already asleep or about to fall asleep. Judging solely from the sound, everyone instinctively assumed it was another fight. With the increasing number of adventurers and mercenaries in the town, this kind of situation had become commonplace.

So most people didn't even bother to go out and see what was going on, and simply turned over and went back to sleep. Only the poor night patrol guards rushed to the scene following the sound, only to see a scene that shocked them.

There stood Lu De, the most respected elder in town, a renowned compassionate and virtuous man, and a master who had regained his youth. He was shirtless and was violently beating a screaming "man in black robes" in the street, leaving the man helpless.

The four guards looked at each other, unsure whether they should go up and stop them.

"M-Master! Who are you hitting?"

"I don't know, but he's probably an assassin... You were all that tough talk earlier, weren't you? Turns out, this is all you've got!?"

"..." x4

Out of respect and trust for the "old man," the guards did not stop Lud from continuing to exercise "self-defense" until he stopped himself, and then they went to check on the "victim" who had been beaten the whole time.

The group of men shoved their lanterns together to shine on the man's face, circling around him but still couldn't make out his features. His miserable state was beyond description!

After stopping, Lu De casually picked up the equipment that the man in black had "dropped"—the strange vertical pupil mask.

This thing felt very familiar to him; unsurprisingly, it was also a divine artifact. Because he was wearing such top-tier equipment, the man in black acted extremely arrogantly when he stopped Lud in the street. Unfortunately for him, he had encountered what might be the only mortal in the world completely immune to divine magic.

In a sense, this is also a unique kind of fate!

"You guys, help me drag this guy to the detention center."

Meanwhile, in his cell at the detention center, Maine was anxiously awaiting the necromancer's "good news." Because of his instigation, the necromancer had agreed to help him eliminate Lud and the three troublesome knights. Before leaving, the necromancer told Maine to wait in the cell for a moment, promising to return shortly.

Less than half an hour later, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly came from the corridor, as if a lot of people had rushed in all at once, and there was also the sound of something being dragged and sliding.

So Maine approached the half-open cell door and peered through the iron bars. He saw four guards hurrying past. And what they were dragging was a living, breathing person who had already lost the ability to move. Judging from the person's clothes, it was none other than the necromancer who had confidently left earlier!

Upon seeing this, Maine was incredulous and quickly rubbed his eyes, thinking it was because the light was too dim to see clearly.

But just then, Lud happened to pass by the door, and the two locked eyes through the iron bars. Lud immediately noticed that Maine's cell door was open, and Lud couldn't help but think that Maine must be related to the "assassin who wanted to stare him to death".

"You know that guy we just dragged over."

"I know... oh, I don't know."

In a panic, Maine inadvertently let slip what was going on, and Ludd immediately reached for his cell door. Maine let out a piercing scream, like a timid young girl, and clung tightly to the doorknob from the inside. He, who had previously been desperately trying to escape, now wished he could stay in that cell forever.

However, the difference in strength was obvious. Lud had just finished beating the necromancer, and the effects of the buff spell had not yet worn off. Therefore, his current strength was terrifying. With just a seemingly casual tug, he tore down Maine along with the cell door.

Soon, the familiar interrogation room was filled with several familiar faces, but this time there was one new one. Lud had already deduced from the man's clothing and belongings that he was likely the necromancer from the Black Hand Brotherhood who could manipulate ghosts.

To be honest, after figuring out what had happened, Lud was also left with a cold sweat, feeling a lingering sense of dread. Don't let his seemingly pathetic appearance fool you; Lud managed to beat him unconscious with his bare hands, thanks to his underestimation of him and the use of the worst possible tactics.

Hume, who had been summoned, recognized the artifact mask used by the necromancer as "Gaze into the Abyss," a mental interference artifact. This thing could absorb and store the negative emotions of mortals, then transfer them all at once, directly crushing a person's will.

Although the human soul is a realm that even gods cannot easily touch, it can indirectly interfere with the spiritual world by influencing emotions.

Divine magic can soothe, but it can also intimidate!

So this artifact is actually very powerful. Although the necromancer didn't think much of Rudd, he still raised his hand and unleashed his strongest ultimate move. However, due to the elemental advantage, he was attacking Rudd, a "humanoid honey (from the Lance series)" who only takes regular damage.

Under Ludd's orders, the necromancer was stripped down to his underwear, and all his belongings were searched and laid out on the table for Ludd and Hume to examine.

Among the many items, a bag made of a very special material caught Lude's attention. Hume frowned as soon as she touched it, because she discovered that the bag was made of human skin and that it was enchanted with a special black magic technique to keep the skin in a freshly peeled state.

Upon opening the nauseating bag, one finds a dozen or so crystal balls resembling black pearls. With the naked eye, Lude can vaguely see black mist swirling within the beads, and faint, almost imperceptible wails can be heard.

"Are all the undead you enslaved sealed inside?"

In response to Lud's question, the necromancer, who had already awakened, responded with a cold laugh. However, his inhuman face was already quite comical, so his expression was distorted, making his laugh look even worse than a cry.

To maintain his composure and avoid laughing out loud in an inappropriate way, Lude casually cast a healing spell on the other person's face, restoring his swollen, waterlogged head back to normal. Upon seeing his true appearance, everyone present burst into laughter simultaneously.

"Pfft! This is even worse than before."

The necromancer, now restored to his original appearance, gives the first impression of being "comical." His face, from the top of his head to the tip of his chin, is only the size of two palms, yet it carries enough laughs to overwhelm the real man!

Lude couldn't help but recall some character creation games he had played on the computer in his previous life. Even if he closed his eyes and randomly dragged the sliders for each part, he probably would have a hard time reaching the level of this guy in front of him.

End of this chapter

"No wonder he always wears a mask, he looks so nonchalant."