Chapter 19: The Underground Assembly Hall

The figures in cloaks and hooded robes naturally noticed Duncan standing unflinchingly in the middle of the road.

At this moment, Duncan still looked just as he did when he left the cave, his thin and withered body wrapped in tattered clothes. A rag hastily draped over his upper body concealed a large hole in his chest. He stood brazenly in the center of the road, looking as if he had been startled by the sudden appearance of the "hooded figures" — and indeed, the robed figures were clearly taken aback. They hesitated for a moment before the leader suddenly exclaimed, "One of the sacrifices has escaped!"

Immediately afterward, Duncan saw them running toward him, with another shouting as they ran, "Quick! Stop him! Don't let him get away!"

Duncan shrugged and just continued to watch, expressionless, as these figures — who, no matter how you looked at them, did not seem like good people — ran towards him. After weighing the current situation, he had no intention of running. But the people on the other side kept rushing over while shouting, "Don't let him get away!" "A sacrifice has escaped!"

As a result, Duncan's honest action of standing there resolutely in the middle of the road instead made the atmosphere awkward. Those who were running and shouting clearly felt halfway that something was wrong. They involuntarily ceased their shouts, but they had to keep running towards him. Duncan could almost smell the awkwardness mixed with anger brewing beneath their dark hoods — and then these embarrassed and angry individuals surrounded him from front, back, left, and right.

It was only then that Duncan took a look at the shadows surrounding him and, after a moment of hesitation, said, "Should I have tried to run away just now? After all, the mood has progressed this far..."

But the figures in cloaks seemed not to have heard Duncan's attempt at sarcasm. They just glanced at him warily and carefully, then looked in the direction behind Duncan. Two of them quickly bowed their heads and exchanged a few words, which Duncan faintly overheard:

"Why did one run out?"

"Could it be that those hyenas from the Church have discovered this hiding place... but he doesn't look like he was let out by someone..."

"Anyway, take him back first. There's something off about this escapee... We need to deal with him quickly."

"Let the Emissary decide."

Duncan couldn't make any sense of what these people were about, and he didn't even know what they meant by "Emissary," but he had a vague idea of some of the truths here based on what he had seen on the way and the word "sacrifice" they mentioned.

He didn't know what reaction would be considered "normal" for a sacrifice, and he certainly had no intention of "performing" for these people. Outside of Homeloss, using a temporary body, he had very few concerns. So, after briefly observing his surroundings, he simply asked outright, "Where are you taking me?"

The figures in robes were visibly surprised by the "sacrifice" calmly speaking out, and although their hoods still bore veils that completely concealed their faces, Duncan could guess their surprise at his question. One of the robed figures glared at the "sacrifice" through the veil, their voice low and menacing, "You have no right to ask questions — take him away!"

Several robed figures immediately stepped forward, but before they could lay hands on him, Duncan took a step forward himself, "No need for you to bother; I'll go with you."

The robed figures looked at each other, perhaps thinking that the "sacrifice's" mental state was somewhat abnormal, but the leader nonetheless waved his hand, "That's best. You can't escape anyway... Follow us, and you might meet your end with dignity."

So, the figures enveloped Duncan on all sides, closing off any route for "escape," and led him deeper into the sewer.

The stench of the sewer was nauseating, but the robed figures seemed not to notice it at all as they walked unfazed along the dirty and moldy path. Duncan remained silent and expressionless, following the robed figures while trying to overhear their conversation — they didn't talk much among themselves, but during their occasional exchanges, Duncan still caught useful words like "Plunder," "Governor," and "Church."

"This is the Plunder City-State?" Duncan suddenly said, as casually as if he was making small talk with an acquaintance.

"Of course..." one of the robed figures replied instinctively, but then they quickly caught themselves, giving Duncan a look as if they'd seen a ghost, "You're very calm, kid. Do you know what's going to happen next?"

"I can guess," Duncan nodded, with even a hint of a smile on his face. Then he ventured another question, "The real Sun God... right?"

Several black-robed figures noticeably paused for a moment, their steps halting. It seemed from Duncan's unusual reaction that they had misconstrued something, and one of them whispered to a companion, "Wait, could he also be a believer of the Lord?"

"Impossible, he's clearly an escaped sacrifice..." another black-robed figure whispered back, then glanced at Duncan, "You are somewhat clever, but don't think you can avoid sacrifice like this... The Lord has already decreed your fate, you'd best accept it willingly."

Duncan didn't respond, knowing it was his overly calm reaction that had led these suspected heretics to make the wrong deductions. They probably assumed he was feigning calm and disguising himself as a "believer" to try and survive, but only Duncan knew the true situation.

The temporary body he was inhabiting was difficult to even move normally, his facial muscles as rigid as necrotic tissue at the extremities... so, of course, all that remained was a calm, expressionless face!

But he didn't care what these heretics were thinking; he just wanted to gather as much information as possible during this "one-time exploratory action." So he continued to casually ask, "Do you think the 'sun' in the sky right now is a false sun? Do you believe it will eventually fall?"

"The false sun will certainly fall!" This was clearly a topic that excited these heretics, and Duncan got the eager and fanatical response he was hoping for. "Even the lackeys of the clerical order have to admit in the annals that the sun in the sky appeared only after the Great Obliteration as a twisted and bizarre entity! The true entity that brings life and order to all things is the Sun God, but our Lord's authority has been usurped by that vile counterfeit... That vile counterfeit will eventually plummet from the sky!"

Then, Duncan heard the surrounding heretics chime in enthusiastically, "The false sun will fall sooner or later!" "The true Sun God will soon awaken!" "The surplus waters of the world will be banished by the might of the Sun God back into the void of space, and the earth will return to an era of fertility and stability!"

Listening to these heretics, clearly getting ahead of themselves, Duncan's mind raced with his own thoughts. He knew these fanatical heretics couldn't be reasoned with normally, and their beliefs were largely distorted, manipulated information. Yet the bits of information they revealed were still worth considering—

The "sun" hanging in the sky is a false entity...

The true sun has been robbed of its authority...

They firmly believe the true sun is a fallen deity and that this deity will "rise from blood and fire"...

They also mentioned the surplus waters of the world, a fertile and stable era... what did these terms mean?

Duncan's mind was filled with swirling thoughts, while the heretics soon calmed down, remembering their task at hand, remembering they were escorting an escaped "sacrifice." The few closest to Duncan resumed their silence, and two at the back of the group murmured to each other,

"Don't you think this 'sacrifice' is a bit strange?"

"There's something off about him... I'm a bit uneasy."

"Maybe this sacrifice spent too long underground without light when he escaped, and something affected his mind..."

"That's perfect; the Lord's might will purify him."

Duncan, listening to the conversation behind him, paid special attention to the phrase "the lightless underground," but just when he wanted to gather more information from their talk, the leading black-robed figure stopped walking.

"We've arrived."

The figure in the black robe said in a low, cold voice.

Duncan felt a pang of regret, but then, the sight before him captured his attention.

Ahead was the end of a certain pathway, a confluence of several sewers, and in this space as wide as a small underground hall, there was a gathering of black-robed heretics!