Shadow Apostle

Horst had a delusion.

It was as if the wonderful experience in the B-235's game space was reappearing.

Somehow, when I was expecting it, the rules of the world seemed to have given guidance.

It's an amazing feeling.

Everything in the environment is normal.

There was nothing unusual about the swaying shadow.

What is strange is the inner heart of the person who sees it.

When further associations are generated from what is seen, the person who sees it will realize what it means what he just saw.

Horst saw the altar shrouded in shaking shadows.

He had seen it many times, and his eyes should have swept over it naturally.

But this time his eyes accidentally stayed on the altar.

Just like that night in the game space, my eyes accidentally followed the shadow and fell on the coffee can, and then I came up with the idea of ​​making a cup of coffee.

But this time, he just suddenly remembered something.

The whole change started when Viscount Star took a step back, and the direct manifestation of this step was the cracking of the altar.

It can be said that all changes begin with the cracking of the altar.

At this moment, the scene flashed before Horst's eyes.

The altar cracked, and red mist spread outward from the altar.

Endless coercion leaked out from the cracks, as if an ancient behemoth was sleeping on the opposite side.

Then a mystery appears and terror descends.

The problem is at the altar.

As the picture flashed by, Horst had already made a judgment.

Ignoring the huge fireball that was still burning, and ignoring Jessica and Minnie in crisis.

Horst rushed towards the altar as fast as he could.

Various thoughts kept flashing through my mind.

It should be that the altar cracked, and the master named Tsathogua used it as a passage to penetrate the power into the world, turning Viscount Star into a twisted monster.

So should I destroy the altar or try to restore it?

It was a crucial question, but Horst had no one to ask.

You must systematically learn some occult knowledge as soon as possible, otherwise you will die without knowing how.

I grit my teeth in my heart, but the problem will not be solved.

Horst had already rushed to the altar, but was in a dilemma.

Destroy or build together?

Horst's thoughts changed rapidly.

You should try your best to recover as if nothing happened.

wrong.

It is impossible to completely restore it, and even if it is restored, conceptually the altar is still there, but it has become a cracked altar.

Sure enough, you still have to smash it.

Horst had already raised his cane and struck it, but when he was about to hit the altar, he suddenly swung his cane to the side, causing the cane to avoid the altar and hit the ground.

Still not right.

When the rod went down, the concept of the altar was not destroyed. At most, it changed from a cracked altar to fragments of the altar.

As long as the concept of the altar exists, the concept of the passage attached to the altar will also exist, and there will be no way to stop this twisted monster from wreaking havoc.

And because the altar is more severely broken, the passage will be smoother.

The altar must become something other than an altar.

Standing in front of the altar, Horst's brain was running rapidly.

The way to solve mysterious events is never to fight head-on. Personal strength is not worth mentioning in front of those powerful fantasy world beings.

The mysterious realm has its own rules for the mysterious realm.

Horst stared at the altar in thought.

The mysterious experiences and knowledge I have gained over the past year are reappearing in my mind over and over again.

The altar is no longer an altar?

Horst mused over and over that in the mysterious world, it seemed that the nature of the actual object was not that important.

Whether it is mysterious spells or mysterious events, ‘concept’ and ‘symbol’ are truly the most critical factors.

I see.

Horst took a deep breath and his eyes lit up.

His eyes were fixed on the stone platform that still maintained its round shape.

Hmm...it fits.

The method of changing concepts and symbols is actually very simple.

Use another concept to cover the previous concept.

Horst quickly drew his sword and used the stabbing sword to crisscross the stone slab, drawing eight horizontal and eight vertical lines and sixteen straight lines, forming a criss-cross grid.

It is the most common image of the land war chess board in this world.

Then the speed slowed down and circular chess pieces were drawn at the intersection points of different lines.

When he reached the fifth chess piece, he suddenly realized that the situation around him had changed.

The red mist that originally slowly escaped from the cracks on the platform stopped emerging at some point.

The blazing twisted monster behind him had no damage from being exposed to the flames. But at this moment, he suddenly began to struggle violently. Not only did the howling sound become more and more shrill, but the skin and muscles all over his body became visibly charred, and the thick aroma of barbecue instantly filled the secret room.

Two pops.

The two ladies who were originally held tightly by invisible hands seemed to have the power to imprison them suddenly disappear.

The two of them lay limply on the ground, with blood bleeding from the corners of their mouths, but at least they were still breathing normally.

Little Minnie had rolled her eyes and lost consciousness.

But Miss Burnt remained conscious.

Her face was pale, her hair was messy, and her clothes were disheveled. However, she did not reach out to straighten them. Instead, she stared at the original 'altar' with doubtful eyes.

Although the red mist there is no longer dissipating, the vague sense of pressure has now become stronger.

The almost substantial power made Miss Berndt, who had just escaped, almost breathless.

"Mr. Horst."

Although Miss Berndt's muscles and bones were still in severe pain, she still picked up the folding fan, walked quickly to Horst and stood side by side with him, with the folding fan pointing in the direction of the altar:

"What is that? Can you see it?"

"The cry of the defeated."

Horst smiled softly.

In his eyes, the original altar or today's chessboard turned into a round dark hollow, through which the other end could be seen.

It was a deep darkness, and in the darkness, crouched a huge creature.

This time I could see clearly that its body was composed of an amorphous mass of black colloid, with its edges twisting and changing from time to time, but the overall shape was more like a crouching toad.

The giant toad had kept its eyes closed, motionless as if sleeping, but now its huge eyes had opened again.

The cold green vertical pupils, carrying endless chaos and madness, passed through the dark passage and focused on Horst's body.

The moment he was stared at, Horst seemed to be cut in half.

Half of him was in a filthy sewer secret room, facing the transformation chessboard in the middle of the secret room.

The other half was in the endless ruins of an ancient city. The black toad, as huge as the entire city, was entrenched in the center of the city, staring at him, who was as small as an ant, with two huge eyes.

Silent ruins, incomprehensible mystery, and a strange sense of fragmentation.

Horst felt like a light on his back.

Like a predatory beast lurking behind.

Being stared at by two eyes, Horst felt as if they were looking into his soul.

His eyes and his soul were tightly intertwined.

Horst's body took two steps back and stepped into the shadow of the ground.

As if being pulled by his movements, the huge monster in the ruined city finally moved.

The front paws slowly stretched out and grabbed Horst's position in the ruined city.

Although there was no precise answer, Horst had already vaguely guessed that this was probably a direct attack on his own soul.

Must not be touched.

Seeing that the claw was approaching, Horst nodded silently, took a deep look at the monster, and bowed while facing the extended claw, stroking his chest.

In front of the chessboard, the bowed figure suddenly disappeared.

As soon as he entered the shadows, the ruined city and terrifying monsters in front of him no longer existed.

At the same time, there was an angry roar coming from the dark passage that only Horst could see.

boom.

Amid the roar, the black passage shattered like a mirror.

The transformed chessboard was revealed, and everything around him returned to normal.

Like a coincidence, when the passage collapsed, the twisted monster that Viscount Star had turned into stopped wailing and struggling, and lay motionless on the ground. The flames on his body were still burning vigorously, making a sizzling barbecue sound.

The secret room that had been extremely chaotic just now finally calmed down, leaving only the unconscious little mouse, Horst and Jessica looking at each other.

"It seems it's over? What are those human-faced mice? And what is Sathoggua?"

Horst asked with a frown.

"Satogua is a master who sleeps in the fantasy world. I rarely hear news about its activity. I have to check if it is too specific." Jessica recalled and explained, "Those human-faced mice are his Believers, called the Womis tribe, are all humans transformed by its erosion."

"Could it be that cultists who worship fantasy worlds will eventually turn into monsters?" Horst touched his stomach, shook his head, and murmured to himself.

"I thought it was just a drinking party, but I didn't expect that they would take this opportunity to listen to their conversation, as if they were brainwashing everyone into followers of the evil god through a sacrificial ceremony." Jessica said worriedly, "They don't seem to be special. A clear goal, as long as the brainwashing is successful. The problem is that if they succeed, most of the nobles will become cultists, and Mingyue City will probably be in chaos. I really don’t know why they would do such a thing."

"Huh?" Horst felt nervous, "Could this be their purpose?"

"What happened?" Jessica was stunned and suddenly her eyes widened, "Let Mingyue City be in chaos?"

"I'm just guessing, it shouldn't be..."

Before he finished speaking, a lot of gravel suddenly fell from the top of his head, covering both of them.

Looking up, there seems to be nothing unusual about the roof.

However, as soon as he lowered his head, he felt the ground beneath his feet begin to vibrate vaguely. The vibrations were vague at first, but soon became more and more clear.

"This is……"

"If a large-scale ceremony is interrupted and the energy has nowhere to vent, it may explode underground."

Miss Berndt's face was quite ugly. As she spoke, she picked up the unconscious little mouse and said in a dry voice:

"If it's not coincidental, it may induce a small-scale epidemic..."

"earthquake?"

The two looked at each other and took a deep breath at the same time.

No one said any more nonsense. Horst lit the flame of the lighter and hung it above his head. Jessica hugged Little Minnie tightly.

Without looking back, he ran towards the passage outside the secret room.

The drinking party on the ground continues.

Although Viscount Star was not present, the reception was temporarily hosted by his two sons.

The music was playing melodiously, and the aroma of wine and perfume floated in the hall.

A scene of singing and dancing.

When the atmosphere was getting heated, someone seemed to notice the vibration under their feet.

Just as he asked the people around him if they felt any vibrations, he saw two people running out of a corridor of the mansion.

"Run quickly, there's an earthquake."

What does earthquake mean?

The guests in the hall haven't reacted yet.

The shaking feeling suddenly intensified.

Then there was a "boom".

The earth shook.

The Viscount's Mansion collapsed.

It is stated that in orthodox COC, Womis is Womis, and a human-faced mouse is a human-faced mouse. I acted it out and assimilated them. Don’t ask, it’s the characteristics of another world.