"You've passed, narcissistic human."

If the book spirit didn't say so, Annan would still be proud for a while.

The lich who stayed here offered to talk: "I'm Valar. ”

"Annan." Annan has always responded kindly, releasing the presence of goodwill.

They walked out of the Third Tomb and down the stairs to the depths of the Corrupted Lands.

"Do you know where this is?" Annan asked.

"You don't know?"

"I'm just here to deliver the letter."

The lich's eyes flickered with soul fire: "Duke Skeleton is recruiting clever undead, so I'm here." ”

Standing on the last step of the staircase, a vast tomb hall emerges in front of you.

As they appeared, a maggot wriggling as fat as a lamb wriggled.

"Welcome to the gathering of the genius undead!" The maggot's pompous chanting tone reminded Annan of the bard, and its attention was on Annan, "But why aren't you undead?" ”

"I'm a Blood Emissary, and I'm here to deliver a message to the Skeleton Duke."

The maggot looked at Annan a few times: "Oh, come with me." As for you, noble lich, are you going to party with the rest of the undead, or to a lich party? ”

"What's interesting?"

"Of course it's an undead, and the lich is a bunch of mutes who can only read in silence!"

The lich was not angry at all, and even agreed: "I choose the former." See you next time, Annan. ”

"Goodbye."

Annan watched as the lich in his mage's robe walked in the direction the maggots were pointing.

Lichs, dead spellcasters resurrect for some reason, or, more or, more seriously, are reborn - some are literally resurrected as undead, some are just dead bodies born with new consciousness, only to happen to have all the memories of that body.

But it's hard to tell the two apart, even on their own.

Retracting his gaze, Annan followed the wriggling maggots.

Braziers planted throughout the hall burst into bright flames, undead creatures wandered the street-like halls of the tombs, but there were others that weren't, such as Annan's sighting of a vampire in a high-necked cloak.

However, Annan is neither a vampire nor has any vampire traits, so they are unrecognizable.

Across the tomb hall, maggots led Annan to a gate guarded by skeletal guards.

"This person is a blood envoy, and he wants to see the Duke."

They passed through the gate without any problems, and continued down the spiral steps of the flaming torches.

Annan's attention fell on the base of the maggot, its soft body that fits perfectly into the shape of the staircase, moving like a water element, but without leaving a scar.

The spiral staircase was still going down, but the maggot stopped in front of a stone door that had opened in the wall and slammed it open.

A skeleton sitting behind a desk, dressed in an old aristocratic dress and holding a quill, looks up.

"Hello Duke Skeleton, ......"

The skeleton interrupted Annan: "I'm not a duke, just its assistant, you can tell me." ”

"I'm a Blood Emissary...... Princess Crimson sent me a letter......"

Annan didn't know how many times he said his identity and handed over the parchment letter that Princess Crimson had given him.

The skull assistant placed the parchment letter on the table, "Duke Skull is not here, and your companion has been here." ”

"My companion?" Annan remembered the vampires in the hall.

Princess Scarlet didn't say anything...... Could it be a vampire from another branch?

"Looks like you're not in the same group...... said the clever skeletal assistant.

"They're not, and they're meant to work together, too?"

The soul fire in the skeleton assistant's eyes made a gesture to look at Annan: "I can't tell you unless...... You're willing to go to Duke Skeleton. ”

"You're letting me go? A foreign emissary? ”

The skeleton assistant let out a sigh, "The undead outside don't know that Duke Skeleton isn't in the Necropolis, so it's not a good idea to let them know." ”

"You tell me first, and I'll think about it later." Annan said.

"Yes." The skeleton assistant didn't seem to be afraid of Annan's refusal, "They are the same as you, with the cooperation of the big people behind them." ”

It seems that not only does Princess Crimson want to unite with Duke Skeleton, but even because of the two useless messengers, her speed is a big step behind...... Fortunately, Annan came.

Gotta get ahead of them......

If this is the case with Duke Skeleton, Princess Crimson will be happy. And from a human perspective, it would be more beneficial for humans to let the relatively mild Scarlet princess have the right to speak.

At least they won't be killed in captivity like pigs.

"I'm willing to try to find Duke Skeleton." Annan pondered, "But I want you to answer a question." ”

"What?"

"Why me?"

"You...... There was an aura that made me feel comfortable. The skeletal assistant hesitated.

"That's it!" The maggot, who had not spoken, echoed, "Follow you to make me feel like I have seen my parents!" ”

Is it scolding itself for being a fly?

The skeletal assistant continued, "Not all beings can be trusted by us, you have this trait, so I'm willing to believe it. ”

Annan guessed that his charm had become another form in the eyes of the undead...... Charm.

"Okay, I'll try to do it, where's Duke Skeleton?"

The skeletal assistant says a place: the edge of the Persona Zone.

"Persona?"

"Looks like you do." The skeletal assistant opened the drawer and pulled out a pocket-sized crystal skull and placed it on the table, "It will guide you to the Duke." Also, please don't go near Hears, and if you see a ghost that is different from ours, stay away from it......"

Annan once again heard the same warning as Dracula's butler.

When he asked what was going on in Persona, the skeleton assistant shook his head and said he didn't know, and even the Duke was investigating.

The maggots carried Annan back to the ground from the Great Tomb, and the screaming banshee in the distance seemed to have spotted him, fluttering and coming over, haunting Annan like a fairy, always curiously reaching out to touch Annan's black hair and earrings.

Approaching the withered junction, they stopped following. Annan said goodbye to them and walked out into the forest.

When the surrounding shrubs and weeds turned green, Annan touched the leaves of the World Tree.

"Are you there?"

"What's the matter?" Teddell's response was quick.

"Something strange happened to me...... I met a young girl and a white deer in a forest, and she said that she was the consciousness of the forest......"

Annan told Teddell the somewhat chilling story from earlier.

"The carrier that carries consciousness is damaged, and consciousness dissipates ......"

"You mean, she disappeared because of the damage to the carrier?"

"Well, there must be something around that is hurting this forest."

Annan couldn't help but look back at the area bordering the forest and the land of the dead, because of the undead who invaded this forest?

Once you've found Duke Skeleton, ask about it.

"I found some books on curses, do you want them now?"

"Let the third group of missions take you to Liberty City, I can't go back for the time being."

(End of chapter)