No matter how you looked at it, Shirley’s thoughtless interruption had unexpectedly eased the tense atmosphere in the living room—though it nearly veered off in another direction.
Duncan managed to compose his expression with difficulty, then, ignoring Shirley who had practically curled into a ball on the couch after snapping back to reality, cleared his throat and said, “All things considered, the intelligence we’ve gathered is all we have. The fog remains thick, but it’s clear that the Vanished has become a part of this whirlpool, a situation quite different from the previous incidents with Pland and Frost.”
“No matter how things develop from here, I intend to understand what this so-called Dream of the Nameless One truly is, and what these cultists are aiming for—especially the latter point.”
“Annihilators, Suntists, and the hidden Enders behind them, no matter which type, if possible, capture them alive; if not, gather as much intelligence as we can upon contact… The Dream of the Nameless One won’t just settle down; it’s bound to reappear. As long as this vortex continues, we inevitably have to deal with these cultists.”
At this point, Duncan suddenly stopped, then thoughtfully looked at Shirley, who was sitting on the couch with her head bowed, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, and Dog lying next to her.
Shirley immediately felt the gaze upon her and jerkily raised her head, “Sorry, Captain, I shouldn’t have said you understand human nature…”
“Did you and Dog sense the aura of that fleeing Annihilator today?” Duncan waved his hand, interrupting her conditioned muttering, “I remember you mentioned that Dog had left a ‘mark’ on that cultist during an encounter in the Dream of the Nameless One.”
“No,” Shirley didn’t even start speaking when Dog immediately shook its head, “I’ve been paying attention to this today, but as far as I can tell, that cultist doesn’t seem to be in Wind Harbor.”
“These heretics hide in dens across various city-states, coordinating their actions only through entering the Dream of the Nameless One, making it difficult for us to catch them in the real world,” Vanna also chimed in, “And what’s worse is that they seem to have mastered some ‘patterns’ of the Dream of the Nameless One, allowing them free entry and exit from that ‘dreamscape,’ making them even more difficult to deal with.”
Vanna’s words made Duncan frown. This situation, in which the cultists were actively moving around but couldn’t be tackled due to insufficient intelligence and the cunning nature of the opponent, was indeed frustrating. And for Duncan, his frustration was not just limited to this—
He had once “caught” an Annihilator who had entered the dream, and even managed to find a cult gathering through the eyes of that Annihilator, but he couldn’t leverage that success: the keen perception of the shadow demons and the fragile symbiotic ecosystem of the Annihilators meant that the cultists couldn’t withstand his power. Before he could gather much intelligence, they had all died neatly.
Each time he recalled this, he regretted it.
He dwelled on this regret for a while, his gaze finally settling on Dog.
“Is my power very noticeable to you?” he asked.
Dog was startled by the captain’s sudden question, its head drooping immediately, “You’re asking if it’s noticeable… or not…”
“I want to know how to avoid other shadow demons sensing my power,” Duncan didn’t mind Dog’s cowardly reaction, but continued seriously, “Sometimes I can successfully leave my mark on an Annihilator, but those symbiotic shadow demons soon sense my power, which has caused me trouble more than once.”
“This…” Dog’s tone suddenly became a bit weird, “That’s a bit difficult to manage. The perception of shadow demons is exceptionally sharp, and other than me, shadow demons lack rationality, acting only on instinct—seeking benefits and avoiding harm, their biggest instinct. Faced with great danger, abandoning their symbiote to flee back to the abyss is their inevitable choice, unless…”
Duncan raised an eyebrow, “Unless?”
“Unless you completely sever their symbiotic relationship, or control them before they can react,” Dog thought aloud, “The first method is almost impossible, as this symbiosis is irreversible and gradually alters the physiological structure of the symbiote with the demon. After the initial phase, cutting the bond is enough to kill the symbiote.”
“The second method has some feasibility, but the difficulty of execution is not low, mainly due to the need for advance preparation. However, different shadow demons have different characteristics, making it hard to prepare a truly comprehensive and ‘targeted’ control scheme in advance…”
Dog rambled on, then paused, seemingly struck by a thought, and looked up at Duncan, “But we don’t necessarily have to catch Annihilators, do we? There are other cultists in action, too. Enders are hard to catch, but Suntists are much easier…”
Unconsciously, Dog had already started thinking of these elusive cultists as “catch-on-demand” prey, as if as long as the captain wanted to catch them, no matter how well those cultists hid, they would eventually fall into the captain’s hands.
However, Duncan shook his head, “It’s still best if we can catch some Annihilators.”
“Ah?” Shirley was taken aback, “Why?”
Duncan thought for a moment, seriously, “I have a use for them.”
Everyone looked puzzled.
Seeing this, Duncan hesitated for a moment, then lightly waved his hand through the air.
Etheric fire like water rippled beside him, quickly filling the entire living room. In the flames, a layer of invisible power soaked reality, blurring the boundaries between the real world and the spirit realm, with Duncan’s body also rapidly transforming into a ghostly form.
“Invoke the name of Lahem—” Morris, seeing this, didn’t hesitate to pray quickly, then applied a whole bunch of haphazard mental protections to himself.
Vanna, well-practiced, pulled out a storm amulet and portable prayer beads from her bosom, chanting Gomona’s name while blessing herself.
Nina’s eyes glowed faintly with sunlight, looking expectantly at her Uncle Duncan, while Dog exclaimed, “Shit,” and instantly disappeared into the shadows. Reacting a bit slower, Shirley managed to cover her ears, “Can I not listen later…”
“I intend to establish contact with the Nether Lord—using the power of those Annihilators.”
Duncan’s voice was accompanied by the crackling of flames as he said lightly, then looked somewhat helplessly at the people around him, “Is all this really necessary?”
Shirley lowered her hands from her ears, “…My head is buzzing.”
“You’re nervous,” Duncan glanced at him, “I’ve taken precautions. There’s no need for you to be so tense.”
“Caution never hurts,” Morris said calmly from the couch across, “Of course, we trust in your power, but after all, we are all fragile mortals. Please understand…”
Vanna nodded in agreement with Morris’s words, but then she looked puzzledly at Duncan, “But if that’s the case, you could’ve just told us directly. This reason itself isn’t dangerous. For us, mentioning the Nether Lord every now and then isn’t really a big deal…”
“Because this suggestion was given to me personally by the Nether Lord,” Duncan said casually, “He established contact with me deep within Alice Mansion, and this suggestion itself is the power he wishes to transmit to the real world…”
He had barely started speaking when Shirley quickly covered her ears, and after a crisp snap sound, she lowered her arms with a sorrowful face, “I was careless… my head is really buzzing.”
Duncan looked at her expressionlessly, too lazy to open his mouth.
Meanwhile, Lucretia, who had been sitting not too far away, hadn’t reacted until now—this witch was staring dumbfounded at the rapidly unfolding scene before her, her eyes keeping up with every segment, but her brain hadn’t caught up with any.
It took her a few seconds to belatedly grasp the situation, and then she looked bewilderedly at Vanna and Morris, “You… seem very practiced at this…”
“The captain often shares profound truths with us,” Morris said with a modest nod, “We have our standard procedures when discussing these matters.”
Lucretia’s expression was somewhat dazed. Her gaze swept across the living room, which under the illumination of the spirit fire, appeared eerie and shadowy, and finally realizing what her father had just said, she looked at Duncan, her eyes widening slightly, “Wait, you just said… the Nether Lord has established contact with you, and even suggested… suggested you capture His followers?”
Duncan nodded, “I was surprised as well, but that’s the fact.”
Lucretia thought for a moment, unable to comprehend.
“The Sea Witch,” experienced and knowledgeable as she was, had never seen such a thing.
However, someone on the scene was thinking about this matter rationally—after the initial shock, Morris quickly grasped the astonishing amount of information behind this “suggestion.”
He quickly checked the blessings and protections on himself, then confirmed with Duncan the details behind this “suggestion,” clarifying the various details revealed during the exchange between the Nether Lord and Duncan.
Finally, Duncan had the opportunity to share this incredible event with his followers—he had wanted to talk about it sooner, but the sudden onset of the Dream of the Nameless One had delayed his plans.
After a long while, Duncan finished recounting his experience deep within Alice Mansion, and Morris sitting across from him sank into deep thought.
“Unbelievable, one of the most dangerous ancient gods of this world still possesses reason, and even made such an astonishing ‘suggestion’ to you…” the old gentleman murmured thoughtfully, “If we can really establish a stable and safe contact with this ancient god, then perhaps we really can unravel some of the biggest mysteries of this world, maybe even… truly understand the origins of the Deep Sea Era…”
Shirley scratched her head, “So, what now?”
Morris suddenly turned his head, looking into Shirley’s eyes, the usually genteel and gentle scholar’s gaze now bursting with an awe-inspiring fervor—
“Let’s do as the captain said about capturing a few Annihilators,” he said with the eagerness of a scholar peering into the truth, his eyes shining, “Now, this matter has ascended to an academic perspective!”
