Chapter 199 Chapter 199: The Silent "First Speaker"
Chapter 199: The Silent "First Speaker"
Gladiia followed Quintus, allowing him to lead her deeper into the church.
The bishop's walking posture was strange, unnaturally soft for a man, and beneath his long robe, occasional abnormal writhing could be seen.
He led Gladiia past the statue, through the back door, and into the church's crypt.
Surprisingly, the expected scene of rows of tombstones did not exist.
Instead, there was a hollow.
Stairs wound down along the hollow, circle after circle, as if some enormous creature was waiting to swallow them whole.
The further down they went, the damper the air became.
"Where is this?"
"Indeed, we are under the sea... we've arrived."
After a long period of darkness, a faint light finally appeared ahead—daylight filtering through seawater into the cavern.
Unnamed equipment lay scattered somewhat haphazardly, with exposed wiring tangled like roots, yet unaffected by the cavern's humidity.
And in the very center was a massive culture tank. Within the transparent nutrient solution, refined liquefied Originium was mixed...
A serene, peaceful white-haired beauty floated inside, as if sound asleep.
"Weren't you always curious about where she was?"
Quintus examined Specter, as if admiring a beautiful and magnificent work of art.
"I must thank you for delivering her to me. Compared to my colleagues,
my research has undoubtedly progressed faster than theirs. This is a great achievement forged by us together."
At that moment,
Gladiia moved. Her steps were light, a silent step that seemed to teleport her behind the bishop.
Her long lance thrust out quietly, like a swordfish's deadly ambush beneath the night sea!
The sharp spearhead tore through the bishop's tattered robe without any suspense, followed by the sound of piercing flesh.
Thud!
The sound was muffled, not crisp as usual, more like stabbing into a sticky mud.
"You actually attacked directly. Then what were you waiting for? Why didn't you kill me earlier?"
The bishop's voice held no anger; his emotionless tone was chilling.
He was somewhat puzzled—what exactly was Gladiia's motive?
Gladiia did not answer. She merely rotated her long lance and gave it a fierce twist. Black-green fluid mixed with unknown biological tissue splattered out, yet the bishop's gaze remained utterly unmoved.
As if he had lost all sense of pain.
But it didn't matter; her objective had already been achieved.
Crack—
That was the sound of the culture tank shattering. The massive cello case was soaked with nutrient fluid. A figure clad in red caught the powerless, falling sleeping beauty.
It was Skadi!
She held Specter in her arms. The flying glass shards tore at the hem of her clothes but were effortlessly deflected when they struck her skin.
"So that's it. Did your other companion give you confidence?"
The bishop suddenly understood, but even facing this situation, he still showed no urgency.
Gladiia had no interest in answering his question for now. She merely withdrew her lance from his body and quickly retreated.
"Well done."
"Second Captain..."
Skadi hesitated to speak. She held Specter, the cello case lying quietly to the side.
Why take Specter away? And why deliver Specter into the hands of the Deep Sea Cult?
The questions in her mind multiplied, but she could find no answers.
"I'll explain after we get out. Now is not the time."
The cold and elegant Second Captain looked at her two teammates and shook her head. There were many things, and they were quite complicated; she needed time.
Moreover, explaining all these twists and turns to a simple-minded, straightforward orca would require exponentially more effort.
The aura of a Seaborn was approaching—not from that bishop, but another one! Right behind the Second Captain!
Skadi sensed that abnormal aura immediately.
But if even she could detect it, then Gladiia, who reacted faster, certainly should have...
Yet she seemed careless, completely unguarded, as the humanoid Seaborn approached Gladiia at an astonishing speed.
"How could this be?"
Skadi's mind went blank. That speed—even she could react to it. Why would Gladiia, renowned among the Abyssal Hunters for her reactions and speed, appear so completely unaware?
The sharp limb was almost about to pierce through her abdomen in the next moment.
"A boring farce."
A sigh echoed through the cavern.
It was a hand—a hand that seemed to transcend time and space effortlessly grasped the Seaborn's proliferated bony limb.
A coldness that pierced straight to the soul instantly seized control of this Seaborn's body—a creature that should have been named the "First Speaker."
The humanoid Seaborn without pupils or facial features froze instantly!
Blood, bone marrow, brain—every inch of its body solidified in eternal ice.
Its vocal cord structure, evolved for communicating with Skadi, didn't even have time to be used before it was mercilessly sealed away along with its life.
It was Kevin!
He had actually arrived here earlier than Skadi—no, earlier than even the Deep Sea Bishop.
And he had watched this entire ridiculous farce from beginning to end.
Except for Skadi, who was kept in the dark, everyone was acting.
The Deep Sea Bishop knew Gladiia's identity but still hypocritically led her here, hoping to use the "First Speaker" to kill this Abyssal Hunter.
And Gladiia was an absolute actress. Facing an enemy's attack and to obtain more information, she didn't even have the desire to dodge.
And Specter? She had actually woken up long ago; Specter was pretending to sleep...
So, from start to finish, the only honest one was that confused, simple-minded orca.
She was still bewildered now.
"It's him?!" ×2
Gladiia and Quintus both looked at the man in surprise simultaneously.
White hair, no racial characteristics—was he also an Aegir?
Because he had intercepted the First Speaker's attack, he was now less than a meter away from Gladiia. She immediately noted all of Kevin's features in detail.
But Gladiia didn't remember anyone like this among the Aegir.
So... should they continue acting?
Looking at the frozen Seaborn before her, this usually highly intelligent Aegir administrator fell into contemplation.
If she pretended to run into it now,
wouldn't it seem a bit too fake?
Moreover, she probably couldn't get much information from a dead Seaborn anyway. Its death was too swift, beyond her expectations.
"Alright, Sharky, stop playing around. You should have woken up long ago."
She couldn't keep up the act anymore, and of course she wouldn't indulge her teammate either.
Hearing Gladiia's words, Specter lying in Skadi's arms opened her eyes and smiled meaningfully.
When her gaze turned toward the distant Deep Sea Bishop, her smile turned ferocious.
"I thought you'd let me be shy a little longer."
She rubbed her slightly damp hair. Because they understood their teammate's true personality, neither of them would think she was actually that kind of shy good girl.
On the contrary, true to her codename—she was a ferocious shark that would devour anyone!
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