The words of the memories are brought up again, as if they have arrived in the present world again through memories.

Lorenzo looked at them all with a solemn and cold gaze.

As if words had magic, with Lorenzo's soft voice, unknown power slowly grew in places where the fire could not shine,

"It took us a few days to get to the town, which they called itself Valley Town, and the locals had a strange sense of sickness due to the inaccessibility and the eerie fog. ”

"The whole town of Valle has a very strange color, and according to the postman, there have been several horrific murders here...... In fact, it can't be described as a murder case, after all, it is very difficult for people to do that. ”

"Those?" the kestrel asked, seemingly fascinated.

"It's a very brutal torture, and it's like a sacrifice ritual of some strange religion. ”

Lorenzo said slowly.

"Humans have certain protective measures for their own kind, and when you kill a human, you instinctively feel a little disgusted, let alone do something more cruel, unless you are not a normal person, or have been trained coldly. ”

"Our arrival went unnoticed by anyone, and even said that the local residents seemed to take the initiative to pretend not to see us, and we ended up at the church in the town of the Valley, where the priest took us to the scene of the murders. ”

"It was there that we saw the cruelty of the human body being hung up, being cut up and slaughtered, and it was not the kind of anger or some kind of disgusting pleasure, but the perpetrator was slaughtering with a very purpose, like a slaughterhouse, picking and cutting the parts that were needed. ”

Lorenzo continued.

"This is far more weird than the mission I have experienced before, if ordinary people encounter demons, their injuries are usually bitten and gnawed, but this time is different, this mission is as weird as a demon, but that 'demon' has a clear reason, not to mention that we can't feel any erosion at the scene of the crime. ”

Obviously, it was a text without a specific image, but after pouring into their ears, Kestrel and the others felt the same nausea, as if something was squirming in their stomachs, and blood was surging in the old air.

"So it's a matter of whether the perpetrator is human. Robin said, without erosion, it seems that this incident has nothing to do with demons.

But Lorenzo did not answer directly, but instead.

"That's the weirdness of this mission, in fact, from a bystander's point of view, it's all full of holes, but when you really put it in this situation...... You'll be lost, even the witcher. ”

He still didn't name the mysterious truth, and the atmosphere gradually became suspenseful, and the unknown story was on the side of the four.

"There were several suspicions, we did not know the purpose of the perpetrators, the connection between the dead, and, most importantly, why the priest did not report it to the church, but an almost insane postman brought the report. ”

"After a short meeting, our team temporarily linked this incident to the cult sacrifice, and gradually investigated it according to what the order taught. ”

"Cult sacrifice?" Joey obviously didn't expect this suspicion, "there would be such an existence under the rule of the church?"

"Of course, these things can't be killed no matter how much they are killed, and several crusades in history have only severely damaged them...... It's really weird, it's like someone is propping them up. ”

Lorenzo explained.

"It is not strange that cults exist, to be precise, in the eyes of the church, except for itself, all other sects are cults. ”

"Rulers need faith to deceive the ignorant, and sacrifice is the best way to communicate with the ethereal god, and in the Order's sources, this cruel killing, and the removal of certain parts, is most likely the material of some kind of sacrifice. ”

Lorenzo shifted his position, and he looked at everyone.

"You should have this kind of presumption mechanism as well. ”

To this, Joey nodded, as a modern secret department, many parts of the purification mechanism are not as mysterious as the Demon Hunting Order.

"With an idea, everyone is easy to act, after all, we are demon hunters, and cultists are much gentler than demons, but we didn't take it lightly at the time, because many cults are actually related to demons. ”

"It's like someone accidentally sees a demon and gets corrupted, and then he starts to demonize, but at this stage he still keeps his senses and uses demonization as a kind of 'miracle' to deceive others. ”

Lorenzo recounts these classic cases that can be called 'textbooks'.

"The result was a large-scale demon outbreak, but fortunately, it was eradicated by the demon hunters in time every time. ”

In other words, it is very likely that there was a cultist or even a demon that was regarded as a 'miracle' in the valley town at that time. ”

"The team returned to the church after leaving the scene of the crime, and before we can figure this out, we first need to know why the clergy didn't report it. ”

"But as we walked down the street, something strange happened. ”

Lorenzo became serious.

"The whole valley town...... It's changed. ”

"The foggy sky turned a complete gray, and there was no one in the streets, and there was no sound, as if the whole world was just the three of us.

There was no other source of light except the gray light emanating from the sky. ”

Dark and eerie, the obscure unknown lurks in the ancient town, watching everyone in the corner of the shadow.

Unconsciously, the atmosphere became tense, with a tinge of fear.

"This can't be a horror story you made up, right?" asked Kestrel with some skepticism, after all, with the evil taste of this great detective, this is not impossible.

Lorenzo shook his head, his eyes contemptuous.

"Kestrel what do you think fear is, or what is the definition of fear?"

"Harm...... Afraid?"

Kestrel froze, trying to think about the definition of fear, but found it difficult to describe the common word when he really wanted to make sense.

"Yes, this is a kind of 'negligence' of people, just like everyone enjoys the convenience of the steam engine, but they don't think about the principle of the steam engine, everyone is used to the existence of fear, but they don't think about the reason for the fear. ”

There was a strange light in his gray-blue eyes, and I have to admit that when this great detective told the story...... Or when he began to exert his thoughts on others, they could clearly feel the strange power.

"Fear is precisely a state of mental activity, a strong negative state of mind brought about by the uncontrollable, uncertain, and unpredictable factors of the week. ”

"And it's not just psychological, it's also physiological. ”

Lorenzo suddenly realized something, and connected the two things, and the more he spoke, the faster he spoke.

"From your consciousness to your body. ”

Lorenzo looked at them with a shallow smile, "I guess you feel a lot about this, right?" ”

"When fear begins, the human body enters a state of emergency, adrenaline is released in large quantities, breathing becomes heavier and faster, heart rate increases, blood circulation accelerates, and muscle blood supply increases to provide more strength and speed.

The pupils dilate to receive more light, and the brain releases dopamine-like substances to speed up reflexes and judgment ......"

He paused abruptly and said in a deep voice.

"But this ...... How similar to the demon's erosion of us, it all spreads from consciousness to body. ”

The calm is like a big bell groaning, hitting the minds of ordinary people. Perhaps they didn't realize it, but their breathing was accelerating, and their pupils dilated slightly.

There was silence for a long time before Joey said slowly.

Lorenzo...... In fact, you might be better suited to be a cult leader than a detective witcher. ”

"It's natural, after all, before becoming a witcher, you have to become a priest, although it's just a formality, but I feel that my talent for priesthood is outstanding. ”

His eyebrows fluttered, and he didn't care about Joey's words.

"Well, don't worry about that, just think of it as a person's crankiness, after all, I'm an overthinker......"

Although he said so, the gray-blue eyes were complicated and weird.

"So back to the uncanny valley mission, when we were standing on the streets where no one was around, we all felt that weird feeling, that feeling of fear, like erosion, it captured us. ”

This alarmed us and we returned to the church as planned. ”

The memory gradually became clear, in that gray world, the church was like a black silhouette in a gray world, and the towering spire was like a spear pierced.

"We thought we were going to encounter something weird on the road, but there was nothing...... In fact, this kind of silence is unsettling, and if there are hundreds of demons on their way back, it may be more comfortable than calm. ”

"After all, when the demon appears, the thread of fear has a substance, and as long as there is something tangible, it can be killed by the nail sword. ”

Lorenzo said viciously.

"But it is clear that the strange that lurks under the gray fog is more complex than we think, it does not face us, but frightens us from various angles. ”

At the end of the gray color, the heavy door of the church was pushed open, and the surging blood rushed to his face, and the holy priest fell in a pool of blood with a reverent face.

A shuddering mist enveloped the young witchers, who were overwhelmed, clenching their swords and possessing the power of breaking steel, but also powerless when their enemies were reduced to nothingness.

"The priest died, but not by him, but by suicide. ”

Lorenzo thought back to that terrible scene and said lightly.

"He sacrificed himself. ”

As if it were an obscure spell, a surging wind rose outside the window.

"Sacrificed...... Yourself?"

The robin's voice was a little heavy, and Lorenzo nodded, and continued.

"To you who do not know, I offer all I have, please shelter this island in the darkness. ”

It was engraved on the church pew, stained with blood, and seemed to be the last words of the clergyman.

"We should have thought of this, the church didn't report it because they had become part of that mysterious cult. ”

The atmosphere has never been more solid.

"The holy clergy has long since fallen. ”

There was also a little fear in his voice, Lorenzo had no idea how long he had been falling, and when the strangeness in the valley town had begun.

"We've stepped into a trap where everyone in the entire valley town is the enemy. ”

The surging mist engulfed everything, and blood slowly flowed on the floor, finally spilling under Lorenzo's feet.

The blood that had not yet dried up carved a strange and cumbersome figure, and the priest fell in it, with a face of piety, a devotion to the gods, to the darkness.

The whole castle was shattered, and the four of them sat firmly in the chaotic wind, and then the white stone bricks rose from the ground, and they were piled up one after another, and finally a warm candle flame was lit, swaying in the wind like the waves of the sea.

Memories and reality overlapped.

Immersive.

Suddenly it seemed as if the four of them were seated on the bench, the holy idol rising from the fire in the fireplace, blood streaming from its eyes, as if gazing at the people who looked back on it from the future, waiting for their prayers.

The detective stood up slowly, gently stroking the pale golden idol, but then blood flowed from it, staining his hands.

A long time ago, in the church in the depths of memory, the leader of the witcher slowly looked back at the other two, some immature cheeks were full of vigilance and unbearable panic.

"Here...... It's a trap. ”

042 said.

Then a cacophony of voices came from outside the church, and a chilling sensation came from the gray mist, in which pitch-black silhouettes stood up, and sickly inhabitants held aloft crosses of random combinations of torches and scraps of wire.

It was the fear of memory, the eerie symbols smeared with blood on the pale faces, and the severed limbs of the corpses held alof.

It was also at that moment that Lorenzo suddenly understood why none of the dead showed signs of rebellion...... This is a sacrifice, a sacrifice after a sacrifice, towards the unknown existence.

The entire town of Valle was a huge altar, and the fugitive postman may have been one of the sacrifices.

Their faces were distorted and hideous, and they screamed with joy.

"No, no, no......"

042 watched in disbelief, and then he roared.

"Come back!016!"

Hearing 042's roar, 016, who was standing at the doorway, relented, and she quickly leaned over, and the three witchers drew their swords and watched vigilantly at the frenzied crowd outside the church, followed by burning throws thrown into the church, one after the other.

In the blink of an eye, everything was on fire.

It wasn't until they were close that the witchers could see their faces, masks, abominable masks carved from human skin and bone, and they leaped in joy like a surging wave.

[Tips]: If you think this article is good, please recommend it to more friends!