With a tired and worn-out body, the old man pointed with his cane toward the castle that thunder struck violently. It was as if the sky was constantly screaming here.
The old man spoke in a weary tone, heavy with burden:
"Toward that whore, who believes herself one of the Great Ones."
Emilia looked toward the castle in sheer astonishment, then spoke with a surprised tone:
"She represents herself as one of the Great Ones? So is she merely enacting the concept?"
Eleanora turned toward the creatures and spoke with a slightly frightened tone:
"It seems she only enacts the concept… or she's a replica of the Great One. For the true Great Ones never descend to earth in their real form."
The old man placed his cane aside, then pointed toward the sky:
"The time will draw near. It is not close, but it is not far. It is not far, but it is not close. None shall survive the emergence of the King of Lords."
Eleanora and Emilia looked at one another in shock. Emilia spoke as she placed her hand on her forehead:
"The words of this old man carry a great prophecy, not just random phrases. But who is the King of Lords? That name is not unfamiliar at all."
Eleanora brushed her hair back and said, trying to remember something:
"King of Lords… or as he was called in the Book of Little Danis: the King of Kings, the King above Kings, and the King of Lords. It's not necessarily a name or title, but we take the words from the writer of Danis."
She walked a bit and looked toward the black fungus, continuing:
"It is a great prophecy. But for now, the focus is the castle and investigating what's inside."
Emilia nodded and spoke calmly:
"The important thing is the focus of these events. The questions are vague, but we can find their answers later."
Before they could take four more steps, the old man spoke again with a voice so tired it seemed like his final words:
"There is no salvation for you, hunters, as long as the Two-Faced One is with you. You shall never attain salvation."
Once he finished speaking, he placed the cane broadly on his stomach and lay down quietly. The two women did not fully understand the meaning of his last words, and they continued walking.
As they walked toward the castle, Eleanora kept pondering the final words the old man had spoken, muttering in a low voice:
"Two-Faced One? I've never heard such a term in my life. Is he considered one of the Great Ones or what? Damn, so many questions with no answers."
As they continued walking toward the castle, the garden appeared destroyed, filled with black fungi. The blue creatures walked around, bumping into each other, clutching their heads.
"The Lady will heal me, yes, she said so. Or did she mean the ones before me? Maybe my time hasn't come yet."
"Painful. Oh, what is pain? Like a big iron spike entering my head and exiting again. What is an iron spike?"
"You ants, how is your life outside? Is it beautiful? My mother used to tell me life outside is beautiful, but all I found was the color red."
These were the words spoken by the red creatures. Some spoke to ants. Others forgot what they were even talking about. Some begged for the Lady to heal them.
Eleanora and Emilia listened to the red creatures' words. Eleanora approached one of them and saw him crying. The red creature turned to her and hugged her while crying.
"Mom… are you really mom? When will you take me home? I don't want to live here anymore. I just want to go back."
Eleanora looked deeply into the massive red head and saw something shocking that widened her eyes.
'Is that… a small child's head inside?'
She spoke to herself while gazing at the strange sight.
"What is it, Eleanora?" Emilia asked with deep curiosity.
"It seems… there's a child's head connected to this large red head."
Emilia placed her thumb and index finger on her chin, speaking in a low tone:
'That explains why some of them repeat certain phrases or things. It's like their minds echo their final words.'
"It seems that whore is conducting experiments on them. We need to enter the castle and find out what's going on," Emilia said to Eleanora, pointing toward the castle.
Both of them walked toward the castle. They destroyed the gate and entered. The moment they stepped inside the dark hall, a gate dropped from an unknown source and sealed them in.
Within seconds, red lights lit up the place. It looked like a standing vortex in the center of the hall. A staircase led downward, but its exit pointed upward. The ceiling looked as if it was breathing. Headless beasts sat quietly with hats floating above where their heads should have been.
"What is this strange place?" Eleanora spoke deeply.
Emilia looked around, sniffing some disgusting odors. Suddenly, a spiral staircase emerged from beneath the hall, breaking through the ceiling and shooting upward rapidly.
"What the hell is this nonsense now?" Emilia was stunned.
Eleanora approached the spiral stairs, but before she could touch the railing, a soft, eerie female voice spoke:
"It seems you've witnessed what should be forbidden for the outside world to see—these thrilling experiments I conduct on those sold to me by their own families."
They turned to see a woman standing on the balcony. Her long black hair and obscured, transparent features made her hard to fully perceive—except for her glowing blue eyes, needle-sharp and staring into the horizon. She wore a long black dress and held a sword with three blades in her right hand and a torn book in her left.
She continued:
"Hunters… such an amusing breed. You claim yourselves as Kideon's saviors and feel pity for these monsters. But wouldn't it be better to keep the monsters in this form, so they suffer longer?"
"Enough of your words, whore. You're nothing but a shredded image impersonating a Great One," Eleanora said with a sharp tone.
The mysterious woman placed the book on the edge of the balcony, placing her hand over her face as if feigning sadness:
"Oh my heart… I'm so sorry. Oh, that's right—I don't even have a heart. Little hunter, it seems the old senile man's words got to you. I only do what the Great One did in the past world."
Emilia growled in fury:
"And you think your actions are right? Imitating something in a perverse way makes you a mindless whore."
The mysterious woman laughed loudly:
"Hahahaha! You really made me laugh, little hunter. True, it's a twisted imitation, but we must always add a unique touch, don't you think?"
Eleanora placed her Phantium card on her hand, pulled out her gun, and fired a quick shot toward the mysterious woman. But it passed through her, missing entirely.
Their faces were filled with shock. The mysterious woman laughed as she moved her hand in strange gestures and said:
"There is no use. Nothing in this world can affect me. I am merely an ancient illusion. But my actions remain. Speaking with you is quite entertaining, huntresses. But there are some important experiments I must continue. Enjoy yourselves with my lovely little monsters. Hahaha!"
The monsters stood up, releasing strange sounds, then charged at Elianora and Emilia. A fierce clash erupted between them. Elianora was slicing through them, breaking all their bones. Meanwhile, Emilia shredded them into small pieces with her incredible speed and dagger skills.
After a few minutes, the hall was filled with corpses and blood.
"It seems this spiral staircase leads us somewhere. Let's head there," Emilia said sharply and quickly.
Both climbed the massive staircase. Despite its length, they reached a horrifying and disgusting room within minutes. A room filled with beds, each one bearing a patient without legs, heads, or arms—only their upper torsos remained.
"What madness is this?" Elianora walked through the room, her expression filled with astonishment.
"It looks like this is where that bitch carries out her filthy experiments," Emilia said angrily, clenching her fists.
The mysterious woman spoke from nowhere, her voice taunting and provoking:
"I just wanted to show you what I do in my vast laboratory. These are merely small things. Much greater things lie buried deep beneath this spiral staircase."
"You experiment on children?" Elianora asked, her tone filled with questioning.
"You don't care about the adults, only the children. If it's a child, the sorrow hits differently for you, doesn't it? How foolish and pathetic. Oh, how beautiful the past Earth was, where I lived for just one year. It was the most wonderful time—before the so-called scientists, those brainless fools, took over."
She continued, her voice sharp:
"And now the beautiful show is over. I'll see you in the hell of the past Earth, when the King of the Lords arrives."
As soon as she finished speaking, the castle exploded in a bizarre manner, and the two found themselves floating in the air, standing on something transparent that they could walk upon.
"What madness is this? Only those who've walked with the Great Ones can do such things," Elianora said in awe.
"She's not lying—she's very close to the Great Ones. It seems she's either a being from beyond this planet, or someone with tremendous forbidden knowledge," Emilia muttered amid the chaos.
As they looked down from above, they saw the Clown's Graveyard before them.
"It seems we've finally arrived after a long and terrifying journey," Elianora said, pointing toward the graveyard.
"Let's descend. A horrific party awaits."
They descended like meteors, crashing powerfully into the ground. They landed in a massive ruined courtyard, filled with werewolves and monsters crucified on crosses. The number of crosses was terrifying.
"What is this place?" Emilia said in amazement.
Elianora grabbed Emilia's shoulder and said sharply:
"It looks like we're not alone."
She pointed toward a man sitting on the ground, leaning against a cross. His long red hair reached his shoulders. He wore a black cloak-like coat. His six-pack abs were visible, and he wore black pants as well. A blindfold covered his eyes, emitting a faint red light from underneath. On the blindfold was an upside-down cross. Even while seated, he seemed towering.
"So your scent has finally arrived… Two huntresses who lost their way to fate."
He stood up slowly, as if the earth breathed beneath his steps. He raised his right hand, and between his fingers, a cross inverted into a pulsating color unknown to this world.
"Our Lord is busy dissecting time. His only request… is not to be disturbed by strangers."
He bowed slightly, as if offering a prayer to a forgotten altar:
"Amen… Amen in the darkness, Amen at the hour of the plague."