The night had already grown dim, and the flickering light of the oil lamps in the Graveyard Area swayed in the wind, making the shadows of Helos and Julius appear somewhat distorted.
At the bottom of the pit, Helos gradually unearthed that hard object, finally revealing its true form—it was a small black box.
The box was only the size of a palm, yet it exuded an ominous Aura, and the surrounding air seemed to stagnate slightly as it appeared.
Even more eerie was that a faint black mist actually seeped from the surface of the box, coiling and churning like a living thing.
Helos wrinkled the bridge of her nose and instinctively took a step back, but she still couldn’t help but complain, “The Resentment of this thing is practically overflowing, isn’t it? It’s probably the one behind all this!”
Julius’s expression was solemn as he stepped forward and took the box from the soil.
The moment it touched his hand, an icy chill pierced through his palm, making him frown. “It really is problematic…”
Helos stared at the box, a flicker of curiosity flashing in her eyes as she reached out to touch the small black box.
“Don’t touch it recklessly.”
But Julius decisively spoke up to stop her. He then stepped aside and raised his hand to summon the Holy Light.
A gentle white glow instantly enveloped the black box, and a sharp “sizzling” sound immediately rang out, as if something was being forcibly purified.
The black mist surged continuously under the expulsion of the Holy Light, letting out a low, unwilling moan before finally being erased bit by bit.
Helos held her breath and watched the scene until the light dissipated, only then slowly letting out a breath.
The eerie atmosphere around the Graveyard Area seemed to be swept away along with it; in particular, those annoying Will-o’-the-wisps completely vanished without a trace from that moment on.
“It seems this was definitely it.”
Julius looked at the now quiet black box in his hand, his tone very low.
“I told you so!”
Helos stood with her hands on her hips, a hint of pride in her voice. “I knew there must have been something in here causing trouble!”
However, the two did not let their guard down because of this.
Julius immediately called over the Graveyard Area Caretaker who was waiting outside, held the black box before his eyes, and asked him, “Have you seen this thing before? Do you know what’s going on with it?”
The Caretaker was stunned, his expression full of confusion as he shook his head repeatedly, “I’ve never seen it. This grave was already in ruins before I took over. I have no idea who it belongs to, let alone that such a thing would be inside.”
“Does no one usually come here?”
“No one usually comes here.” The Caretaker nodded, answering with certainty.
Helos narrowed her eyes, gripping her Thin Sword tightly as she slowly approached, her pale purple eyes shimmering with curiosity. “Then why don’t we open it and take a look now? Maybe we can find out what’s actually inside.”
“Absolutely not.”
Julius interrupted her immediately, responding with total determination.
The squire stared intently at the box emitting a cold Aura, his brow furrowed. “The Resentment on this thing is too heavy; opening it rashly will only cause greater trouble. Taking it back and letting Teacher handle it personally is the safest way.”
“Ugh…”
Helos puffed out her cheeks slightly, a flash of dissatisfaction in her eyes as she muttered under her breath, “Although what you say makes sense, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat—”
“You aren’t a cat.”
“…Meow?”
“Meowing won’t work either. This is for your own good.”
Julius glanced at her, appearing somewhat speechless, but his tone softened a bit at the end.
The girl bit her lip and ultimately stopped insisting, merely clutching her sword and following behind him.
In this manner, the two left the Graveyard Area in a hurry, one after the other, carrying the small black box.
The night wind howled, sweeping over rooftops and street corners, kicking up the slight creaking of worn-out signs.
The entire street was uncannily quiet, with only a few withered leaves occasionally being blown into swirls on the stone path.
Most of the lights in the city had long since been extinguished; only the sound of their footsteps rose and fell on the stone slabs, their crisp echoes sounding particularly abrupt in this boundless night.
The shadows from the oil lamps swayed with the wind, stretching their two figures long and short, looking as if they were being swallowed bit by bit by the night, only to struggle back into view time and again under the firelight.
When they arrived at the Olivia Cathedral, the heavy wooden doors were half-ajar, and a warm light spilled out from the gap, appearing exceptionally stable in this silent, late night.
“Let’s go. It looks like Teacher hasn’t rested yet.”
Julius spoke in a low voice.
They pushed open the heavy wooden doors, and the scene inside the room was just as he had expected.
Cedric sat upright in a wooden chair, holding a holy scripture in his hand, quietly leafing through it by the candlelight.
Hearing the footsteps, he looked up, his gaze as sharp as a sword’s edge, but after seeing clearly who had arrived, that sharpness quietly withdrew, turning a bit softer instead.
“Oh? You’ve returned much faster than I expected.”
The Holy Knight Captain spoke slowly, “Did you discover anything?”
“Teacher.”
Julius stepped forward, bowed solemnly, and presented the black box with both hands, his tone becoming serious.
“Not only did Will-o’-the-wisps appear in the Graveyard Area, but ghosts and Skeletons also appeared—however, we have already finished clearing them all out.”
“Afterward, we found this in that grave. All the Will-o’-the-wisps seemed to be born from it. We have already used Holy Light to temporarily purify the outer layer of black mist, but we did not dare to open the inside without permission.”
Cedric’s gaze fell upon the tiny box, his expression solemn. Under the reflection of the candlelight, his face seemed to be covered by a layer of shadow.
Helos stood quietly to the side clutching her sword, her purple eyes staring unblinkingly at the box, her gaze full of hard-to-conceal curiosity and anticipation.
Finally, Cedric reached out and took the black box, his gaze landing on the two of them. “Well done. Being able to maintain caution and restraint in such a situation is enough to make me feel gratified.”
Hearing this, Julius couldn’t help but glance at Helos beside him.
And Helos happened to be looking at him as well.
For some reason, the girl felt she could see a hint of a proud expression on this fellow’s face.
Tch~ This brat~
Look how happy it makes him!
Helos curled her lip and turned her head away, refocusing her gaze on the small black box in Cedric’s hand.
Under their watch, Cedric took a deep breath and slowly undid the clasp on the lid of the box.
*Click—*
The faint sound echoed in the room.
In the next instant, a chill far more intense than before suddenly dissipated, like a cold fog exhaled from the Abyss, instantly filling the entire room.
The candlelight beside Cedric swayed violently, the flames twisting frantically as if they might be swallowed by this cold Aura at any moment.
Helos’s pupils shrank suddenly, her slender fingers tightly gripping the hilt of her sword as she instinctively held her breath.
Julius immediately took a step forward, half-blocking her path, his shoulders and back tense and his eyes wary, as if ready to draw his sword at any moment.
Yet Cedric remained motionless. His tall figure was like an unshakeable mountain, not showing a hint of disorder, merely staring coldly and fixedly at the slowly opening black box.
As the lid was fully lifted, a blood-red object lay quietly within.
A necklace suddenly appeared in their field of vision.
Ahh, evil necklace.