Chapter 295: Departure

Oh no!

The instant he saw the distorted radiance, the old guard realized he had unwittingly stumbled into an exceedingly perilous situation. On this cold, dark night, an unfathomable and indescribable being had come knocking at his door, and even more dangerously, he had lit a potent incense just minutes earlier to extract secrets from the souls of the two cultists!

The incense was potent enough to create the desired dying illusion in the minds of the deceased and could significantly augment the caster’s range of perception and mental sharpness. This enabled him to successfully discern the breath of the enigmatic demon from the most subtle consciousness fluctuations of the two cultists. However, the side effect was a temporary increase in his spiritual vision, which left him almost defenseless against the reality of the visitor.

The dazzling, twisted starlight swirled wildly outside the door, faintly outlining an enormous, giant-like presence. It seemed like ten thousand roars overlapped into a piercing scream that wreaked havoc in his mind. Each scream appeared to rip his soul apart as the old guard stood there rigidly, witnessing a ray of starlight stretching towards him. The front of the starlight abruptly blossomed as if numerous eyes were shifting within.

Duncan observed the old man holding the shotgun before him and peeked past him.

Inside, he saw the two lifeless bodies.

The cultists had been taken care of – the seemingly frail old man in front of him appeared to possess strength beyond his expectations.

“It seems the trouble has been dealt with, and that’s good,” Duncan smiled, nodding gently. “I wanted to help, concerned that you might be in danger...”

As he spoke, he glanced down at his current state and quickly added, “Ah, I know I look a bit terrifying and highly suspicious right now. The reasons are complex, and the situation was critical, so I had to temporarily use an inferior shell. This body is gradually falling apart, but rest assured, sir, I’m not an evil person...”

Amid the rumbling and buzzing, human speech seemed to blend in. A few intelligible words, combined with an extensive amount of knowledge, flooded all his senses. The old guard faced the starlight giant in an invisible storm, realizing that the other party was attempting to converse with him.

The indescribable visitor on this wintry night appeared to want to convey something to him.

But he couldn’t hear anything clearly.

One thing he knew for certain – he was the guardian of the cemetery.

He could not allow this suspicious entity to remain on this land designated for the deceased to rest.

With tense muscles, he surely but slowly raised his double-barreled shotgun. Then, under immense mental strain and chaotic thought interference, he aimed the gun at the seemingly god-like powerful... “individual.”

“Leave,” he said indistinctly, then raised his voice a little, “Leave! Don’t disturb them!”

Duncan furrowed his brow.

His hasty journey to the frigid island had been far from smooth. Not only had he failed to find a body suitable for long-term use, but he also couldn’t leave the cemetery in the end.

Nevertheless, despite the obstacles, he had gained something from this endeavor.

Duncan recalled his time in the cemetery, sifting through the information he had collected.

Followers of the Nether Lord, the Annihilation Cult... This was the most significant aspect.

Four cultists, masquerading as priests of the death god during the most stringent curfew hours, attempted to steal a corpse from the cemetery, even risking their lives for it... This was no trivial matter.

It was expected that the events in the cemetery would be noticed by Frost’s authorities and the local church after sunrise, creating a stir among the church’s protectors.

His emergence from the coffin as a “dead man” would naturally pique the local church’s interest as well.

The temporarily inhabited body...

Duncan’s brow furrowed gradually.

This was another vital point.

There was clearly something amiss with that corpse – not just because four Annihilators had risked their lives to steal it in the dead of night, but also due to the peculiar “self-disintegration” phenomenon that had transpired later.

Duncan looked at his own hands, remembering the vivid image of that body’s rapid disintegration.

It wasn’t his first time occupying a body, but it was the first time he had witnessed such an odd disintegration phenomenon – even the heartless sacrifice in Pland’s sewers hadn’t experienced such a bizarre situation, no matter how dreadful its condition!

Simultaneously, Duncan recalled a phrase unintentionally disclosed by one of the cultists: “This body is nearing its limit.”

Those Annihilators apparently knew something; they had anticipated the disintegration phenomenon of that body...

Duncan lifted his hand, slowly stroking his chin.

He also considered another matter as he speculated on the cultists’ motives.

Behind these unusual events... Was there a link to Morris’s “friend who returned from the dead”?