Mystery: Gray Walker

Chapter 74 Division of Labor

Veronica's gaze swept over them, and she let out a soft laugh, as if she were only glancing at a few inconspicuous decorations.

Deep within her gaze lay a condescending, almost inhuman indifference, as if, in her eyes, these wary extraordinary individuals were no different from the surrounding, indulging guests—merely her personal playthings...

Green held his breath and, using the movement of the crowd and the shadows of the light, silently moved to Clarice's side.

"Did you find anything?" Olivier asked first.

"Hmm, there's a problem on the second floor. Linus is being controlled by his personal physician, and Veronica is supposed to agree to let him resurrect his wife. But..."

Green looked at Linus on the dance floor. "He might not be himself anymore."

Clarisse nodded slightly. "I already noticed."

"The second floor was covered with oil paintings, all of them trees, all kinds of trees."

Green continued, lowering his voice, "I can feel them...absorbing something, like they're powering something, going upwards, to the third floor."

He glanced quickly in the direction leading upstairs, his tone urgent:

"I tried to go to the third floor, but I couldn't get up. The stairs were like they were alive, with an invisible 'wall,' it was very eerie, and my abilities couldn't get through it. I felt that if I forced my way in, I would be immediately detected."

Clarisse frowned. "An activated barrier...energy supply..."

"The Viscount is just a front," Green concluded, his gaze sweeping over the fanatical Viscount and the smiling Veronica. "Veronica is up to something much bigger. These guests, their state... it's like they're being 'processed' and then taken away somewhere else."

He gestured to the guests who were being led by the red-clasped waiters, their eyes glazed, toward the side door.

Clarisse tilted her head slightly to look at Olivier. "Captain, what do you think? I believe the painting is the key moment."

Olivier's gaze swept over the guided guests, and his expression darkened.

"Energy collection and distribution points. Destroying them can disrupt the barrier and interrupt the initial processing of the 'offerings,' creating chaos. But what about the ritual site? If the painting is just one of the transmission nodes, the final result will be the same."

Olivier's question hits the nail on the head. While destroying nodes can create chaos, it's all in vain if the ritual site can't be found.

Clarice's gaze darted quickly between the frenzied dance floor and the guests being led away, her mind rapidly analyzing Green's information.

"You're right, Captain. Green saw the energy being channeled upwards to the third floor, but the guests were being guided horizontally out of the banquet hall. This doesn't make sense, unless..."

"Unless the third floor is the 'core,' and the real 'digestion field' or 'transformation pool' is elsewhere. Energy is purified and gathered on the third floor through the oil painting to maintain the barrier or some kind of core ritual."

"The 'sacrificial offerings' that have undergone initial processing need to be sent to another place that is more suitable for... 'deeper processing'."

Clarice looked at Green, "Green, your abilities are best suited for tracking. You and 'Midnight Poet' Alvin immediately follow the guests who were taken away and find out their exact location. Don't alert them; confirm the location and the guard situation, then return and report immediately. Once we find that place, we can break the key chain of the ritual."

A calm-looking young man beside him nodded slightly. "Received."

Olivier frowned. "So, I'm going to destroy the painting? If the ceremony is underground or somewhere else, won't the commotion I cause just make Veronica tighten her defenses prematurely?"

"The risks exist, but we must take them."

Clarice stated decisively, "Destroying the painting serves a dual purpose: to disrupt the energy flow and to draw Veronica's and her main defenses' attention. She values ​​the third floor and shouldn't stand idly by while the energy source is destroyed. What you need to do is create a 'trouble' large enough to distract her and create an opening for Green and his team's reconnaissance."

She looked at Olivier: "Don't linger in battle; focus on disruption and harassment. Veronica's ranks won't be low; if there's danger, evacuate immediately to avoid being surrounded."

Finally, Clarice looked at Green, "Until you and Alvin return, Rick and I will stay here to protect your family as much as possible and try to establish a temporary 'spiritual stasis zone' to slow the erosion of the remaining guests by the spiritual desires."

She paused, then slowly said, "We will be your support and your compass. Remember, your task is to be the eyes and ears. Safety first."

Just then, Viscount Linus, in the center of the dance floor, let out a near-mad shout. Veronica gracefully raised her hand, and the music suddenly became more urgent and eerie, like waves woven from countless heartbeats and gasps.

time is limited.

"Take action," Olivier said in a deep voice.

After saying that, he mingled into the crowd and, like some of the others, followed the waiter toward the door.

Green took a deep breath and winked at Alvin beside him.

The midnight poet understood, his lips moved slightly, and a barely audible syllable with a soothing rhythm was quietly uttered.

Green immediately felt the restless whispers of desire around him lessen somewhat.

"Let's go," Green whispered. Under the cover of the pillars and the crowd, the two of them, like two shadows blending into the background, silently slid toward the side door through which guests were being led in.

Inside the door was a dimly lit corridor covered with a deep red carpet, where candlelight flickered on the walls, casting distorted and eerie shadows of the waiters and guests.

Clarice watched them disappear behind the door, then turned to Rick, who had been standing silently to her side and behind her.

"Rex, Miss Anaïs, let's go over there." Clarice looked at Anaïs, whose face was pale, and then gestured with her eyes to the corner where the Green family was. There, a few guests who had not yet completely succumbed to despair and whose faces still showed signs of struggle and fear were gathered. Sylvia was holding her daughter's hand tightly, while Victor was immersed in the revelry.

Anaïs and Rex nodded and followed without saying a word.

As the three approached, Clarice produced several silver-white metal pieces engraved with complex symbols and a small pinch of dried silver moon grass powder with a refreshing scent from somewhere, while giving Green's mother a reassuring look.

"In the name of the White Tower, delineate the boundaries of reason," Clarice murmured, her fingers deftly embedding the metal sheet into the edge of the carpet in a specific orientation, sprinkling silver moon grass powder.

A hidden spiritual field began to slowly form around them. Although it was small in area and limited in intensity, it was enough to temporarily isolate the outermost layer of desire from erosion, providing this small area with some breathing room.

Rick stood like a silent statue diagonally in front of Clarice, his gaze fixed on the red-clasped waiter who had recently tried to approach them.

Deep in the corridor.

Green and Irwin trailed far behind the last group of guests being led.

The carpet underfoot had also changed, from deep red to a sound-absorbing dark velvet carpet, and further on, it even turned into a kind of dark stone that was polished smooth and slightly reflective.

The corridor wound its way downhill, the air gradually becoming damp and chilly. The candlelight on the walls dwindled, and the light grew increasingly dim.

Green's heart sank. This direction, this feeling...