The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

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"It's highly likely. We've already searched the outer ruins once; if anyone can find them, they should be able to."

"What to do now?"

Steele, the leader of the group of debunkers and a highly experienced explorer in the History Department, quickly spoke up, silencing the crowd.

"Since no new instructions have arrived, let's just carry out the previous order. Let's stay put and wait for further instructions. Perhaps some new situation has arisen that will force Elsa to evacuate ahead of schedule."

"Perhaps... this time we need to guide not only her, but also the entire exploration team."

Before he could finish speaking, a twisted black shadow suddenly darted out from the stairwell of the library. The thing was incredibly fast, disappearing in a flash.

Steele alertly drew his pistol, aimed at the shadowy figure that had vanished, and immediately shouted.

"who is it!"

His heart pounded. The next moment, an octopus-like creature covered in black scales silently emerged from the rubble. It then spread its tentacles and lunged straight at him.

"What's this……"

The evil creature from the abyss climbed onto Steel's leg, and the sharp scales on its tentacles instantly tore through his thick leather pants, leaving bloody wounds.

The whole process happened in an instant, and the attack came from a blind spot, so even though he was alert, he was unable to counter it.

Most of the exorcists around had drawn their weapons and aimed them at the evil creature from the abyss, but the thing was currently clinging to the leader.

If a shot is fired, accidental injuries are almost unavoidable.

"This thing has poison in its mouthparts, half of my body is already paralyzed, and... low-level mental techniques are ineffective against it! Damn it, what are you afraid of, just shoot!"

Seeing his colleagues hesitant to act rashly, Steele couldn't help but shout.

He could feel its tentacles searching for any possible cavities within his body; if one were to burrow inside, his internal organs would be devoured almost instantly.

Rather than dying like this, letting others fire at will might offer a glimmer of hope.

"boom!"

A loud, piercing explosion followed, raising a cloud of gray-black dust.

Before the exorcists could decide to fire, one of them pulled the trigger. The evil creature from the Abyss was shot and sent flying backward, detaching from Steel's body.

The power of this shot was immense; the head of the evil creature that was hit was completely melted into a pool of rotten flesh, and its hard scales were also reduced to fragments.

"Even among the elementary school students who were released for internships, there are still quite a few with guts..."

Hei Rong grinned with interest as he approached the group. He then stepped on the lifeless body of Xie Si, who lay on the ground. The loud noise had come from his shotgun.

"Judging from its appearance, it seems to be a wicked offspring from the sea. But this is an inland library, so what does this thing eat to survive?"

Hei Rong examined the corpse, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

That shot blew its head apart. Otherwise, such a rare evil offspring's head might have some collectible value...

To avoid riddling the unfortunate exonerator with bullets, he used a slug. These are very effective against large prey, the only downside being that they cause significant damage to the carcass…

"Phew, phew... Thank you for your help."

While catching his breath, Steel looked at Black Banyan.

Although he knew the visitor's identity as a hunter from his attire, a hint of surprise still flashed in his eyes.

This hunter is far too young. With rosy lips and white teeth, and a head of slightly curly black hair, he looks like he might not even be thirteen years old... but why does he speak like a man over fifty?

Black Banyan glanced at the wound on Steel's leg. The Abyss Evil Heir on this Exorcist's leg had been forcibly ripped off by the immense force of the shotgun, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone.

He rummaged through the bag in his winter hunting gear for a moment, then took out a few doses of emergency wound medicine and handed them to the refutationist beside him.

"Kid, once you're done bandaging up, have your colleague carry you back. Your leg is in serious condition; if it's not treated promptly, you'll probably end up like that guy Alvin, spending the rest of your life sitting at a desk."

Steele's lower body was paralyzed, and the numbness was spreading upwards. Continuing to guard the library entrance was clearly impossible.

"I see."

He nodded, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

Professor Terence and Senior Student Child are both seasoned explorers in the History Department, but the library ruins are in danger and they may be facing some unimaginable danger, so they urgently need help.

"Mr. Hunter, please also take care of your own safety. We will request assistance from the Order upon our return..."

Before he could finish speaking, another evil creature from the Abyss thrashed about and leaped toward Black Banyan's head.

"Watch out!" Steel exclaimed in surprise.

Without needing his reminder, Black Banyan had already heard the wind whistling nearby. He wasn't afraid; his eyes held only the almost ferocious fervor of a seasoned hunter.

“Good, very good! I’m still missing a complete head specimen, and your head should be a perfect fit…”

He slammed a heavy punch into the body of the evil creature from the abyss, using the brass ring on his index finger as a brass knuckle duster, and knocked it to the ground with a single blow.

If you look closely, you'll see that cracked wood grain has spread where this evil offspring was beaten; that's the effect of [S-923. Banyan Tree of Death] directly damaging its life force.

After recovering, Hei Rong discovered that he had not only obtained the life force contained in the Banyan Tree of Death... In a sense, he was now the "Banyan Tree of Death" in a living state.

After confirming that the target was dead, he picked up his hunting knife and cut off the head of the Abyss Monster along the gaps in its scales, splattering black and red blood all over the ground.

"Alright, go back now. I'll guard this place. Don't just call your men, remember to remind Naor too. His Silent Church is nearby, so he'll be able to get here faster."

Looking at the boy in front of him, whose hands were covered in blood and who still had a smile on his lips... Steele's expression became somewhat strange.

"Okay."

After a moment of hesitation, he finally left the library ruins with the help of his colleagues.

:——

9--

4 spoonfuls~

Chapter 8 Those Who Were Once Human

2. "The real Old Sanctuary?"

4. Elsa stared blankly at the ancient banyan statue, her expression somewhat complicated as she pursed her lips.

3 She was still worried about the professor's safety and also had a vague fear of the dangers of this place.

3 But at the same time, an overwhelming sense of excitement welled up within her. She had actually arrived at the hidden sanctuary of the Dust Order Era! Those unknown histories were laid out before her, it felt like a dream…

During the brief break, Elsa eagerly observed the ancient ruins around her.

5 However, fearing that she might trigger some ancient trap, her investigation only involved "looking" and she did not reach out to touch anything.

...Only after carefully examining everything inside the tower did Elsa slowly suppress her research enthusiasm.

With the two sons of the Sussus Tree no longer present, Fran no longer needed to maintain her facade so meticulously. At this moment, her amber eyes were no longer filled with shyness and restraint, but rather carried a hint of languor.

"Let's go. Let's wait at the place where the Son of Suju stores the sacred relics. Since we're all going to the same place, the others will find it eventually."

"Shouldn't we try to reunite with Professor Terence and the others first? Besides, there might be danger here..."

Elsa raised her hand and asked a question with a hint of uncertainty.

Before Fran could answer, Haida spoke first.

"With Childe here, they'll be safe. Don't worry too much, Miss Elsa. As for us here..."

She pondered for a moment, seemingly carefully considering her words.

"If there is something that we are powerless to resist... then it means that numbers are meaningless, and no one can survive."

Haida's tone carried the usual composure and certainty of a hunter.

"Right……"

Elsa nodded slightly, offering no objection to the nun's statement.

After all, she had witnessed the nun's fighting prowess firsthand... With each swing of the sword, the surging banyan tendrils seemed like nothing more than weeds waiting to be harvested. Anything that dared to approach would be shattered into pieces in the next instant.

If she hadn't had to protect others, she probably could have easily escaped...

Vivian and the raven on her shoulder remained silent throughout, showing no intention of speaking. Quietness was an excellent quality of an accessory, something she had long understood.

Fran tugged at the silk glove he used to cover the stitches, then covered his mouth and yawned.

"It's a pity we couldn't get the corpse of the evil creature from the Abyss Sea, otherwise we could have examined it... I suspect that the appearance of those alien evil offspring here is related to the changes in the Library Ruins."

She slowly walked out of the dilapidated library tower, surveying the ancient architectural complex beneath the deep pit.

Unlike the outside world, this place is overflowing with a rich spiritual atmosphere. It is omnipresent, almost filling every corner.

Fran rubbed his fingertips, his eyes subtly gleaming behind his silver-rimmed glasses.

From this perspective, the low-oxygen environment at the bottom of the pit is intended to suppress the activity of the organisms there, preventing them from over-reproducing due to excessive intake of spiritual energy and ultimately destroying the existing ecosystem. However, this intervention also bears obvious traces of human intervention.

The Dust Order Era is ten thousand years old. Could it be that the measures left behind by the Sons of the Sumeru Tree have not yet become ineffective after such a long time?

She had serious doubts about this...

"Hyda, are you still feeling unwell?" Fran turned to ask the nun who was still wiping her power sword.

"It's no longer serious."

She slowly got up, seemingly having completely shaken off the discomfort caused by the pollution and low oxygen environment.

Seeing that her steps and breathing were quite steady and there was no sign of strain, Fran slowly spoke.

"If possible, use profiling to observe this place. The old sanctuary is rich in spiritual energy and should contain a lot of information."

"Hmm." Haida slowly walked out of the broken library tower and looked out over the entire spacious Banyan Tree Sanctuary.

Her grey-chestnut eyes narrowed, and she activated her psychic empathy.

In an instant, countless figures flashed chaotically in her eyes, illusory and indistinct. They were like outlines drawn purely from smoke and dust, their faces and shapes indistinct.

Those were the remnants of the Sons of the Tree of Immortality in their spirituality. Their actions were frozen in a certain moment, whether cultivating flowers and leaves, perusing scriptures, or studying secret arts... but after all, so much time had passed that it was difficult to explore further.

The lingering emotional impact was already negligible; if it weren't for the fact that the concentration of spiritual energy here far exceeded that of the outside world, it would probably have dissipated completely long ago.

Haida imitated one of the bonsai girls, looking relaxed and leisurely, as if she were on a vacation at home. She held a pair of non-existent pruning shears in her hand, carefully and patiently trimming the twigs of the flowers.

Haida's movements were very skillful and focused, and her eyes also showed a hint of gentleness.

"Mrs. Flamel, what is Sister Heda doing?" Elsa cautiously approached Fran and whispered in her ear.

"Don't disturb her for now regarding the application of her psychic talent in criminal investigation."

Fran responded in a low voice as well.

Snip, snip, snip—Although Haida was merely making a grasping motion in the air, it was as if she truly held a pair of pruning shears in her hand, producing a crisp metallic sound with each movement.

chapped.

As her actions of pruning the flowers came to an abrupt halt, other emotions surfaced on her face.

His pupils contracted, his face turned pale, and his once lustrous lips turned completely bloodless in an instant!

The serene expression she had maintained was gone; the nun bit her lip tightly and immediately descended into a hysterical delirium. Her eyes were filled with almost overflowing pain and despair… Her lips parted slightly, her cries silent and hoarse.

Vivian looked at Fran nervously, as if asking if she should end Haida's empathy and then perform first aid...

However, the distorted expression on Haida's face only lasted for a moment before it completely disappeared, and she returned to her slightly indifferent poker face.

"I saw……"

Her tone was as steady as ever, but with a hint of hesitation.

“The emotional traces contained in spirituality have almost disappeared, except for the most intense pain and despair. But I cannot see the specifics.”

"pain?"

Fran's eyes flickered, seemingly quite interested in this. "Could you describe the specific type of pain?"

"It's like being slowly gnawed away and hollowed out, leaving only an empty shell."

Haida savored the feeling from just now and quickly gave her reply.

Fran pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"It seems that it's related to 'pests'..."

Upon hearing this, Elsa, who had been watching the whole thing, couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Judging from the familiarity in the conversation between Ms. Flamel and Sister Heda, the two seem to have known each other before. One is a High Priestess of the Moths, the other a Head of Funeral Rites—what if I overheard something too important and was subsequently silenced…?

……

Fran strolled slowly through the magnificent and expansive ruins of the sanctuary, his steps light and leisurely, as if he were taking a pleasant after-dinner walk.