Chapter 228: 228
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"Hold! Don't step on that spot!"
Valentine's sense of secret was triggered. It seemed that since becoming a Demise, he was also able to faintly detect curses around him.
The four people stopped all at once behind him, not daring to make a sudden move. They looked at the spot that Valentine was pointing at.
The wooden floorboards looked normal without any signs of tampering. Even the layers of dust were consistent with their surrounding, which indicated that the spot hadn't been touched in a while.
Taking out Graham's notebook that was left inside the trench coat, Valentine tore off a page and crumpled it. He then tossed the crumpled paper onto the spot that was triggering his sense.
Rattle!
A blood sigil appeared on the floorboards the moment the paper made contact with them. The sounds of snakes rattling accompanied the emergence of the sigil. The crumpled piece of paper looked strangely rigid, staying in place abnormally.
After a while, the sigil disappeared, and the paper rolled a few centimeters to the front.
"That was a trap?" asked Luuk.
Valentine nodded.
"What do you think it did?" Johann walked closer carefully to observe the paper ball on the floor. His spider familiar stayed close by his side.
There didn't seem to be any abnormality there, so he couldn't judge.
"It only immobilized the paper, but I don't think that's all," he added, "It might have an invisible effect that only worked on living beings."
"You might be right," Valentine nodded.
Agatha was standing gracefully and scanned the room.
"If the traps are all like that, I am sure I will be able to trigger them all safely with my blood chakrams," she offered. The crimson weapons were spinning ceaselessly with her in the center.
Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered, "She is indeed the brute force type, G," after which he turned to Agatha and rejected her idea, "The traps might not all be like that one. We don't want to alert the enemy-- if we haven't already by triggering this one."
She nodded.
Valentine then proceeded, going in the direction that Johann gave him. Leaving the living room of the abandoned house, they entered the kitchen where the door to the basement was located.
The stench of mold penetrated their noses the moment they entered the kitchen. The floor was littered with sharp pieces of glass while the wall near the water source was covered in moss.
"Uttu, please take care of those," Johann commanded his familiar.
Clank! Clank!
Its two front legs swept the glass shards away, creating a large path for its master and his companions to walk through. The spider pushed the shards all the way to the sides, making sure they couldn't hurt anyone.
"Stop!"
Valentine suddenly told Johann to stop his familiar. There seemed to be another trap laid ahead of it.
Using the same method as before, he tossed a crumpled piece of paper on the spot after Johann's familiar had been pulled back. The paper touched the floor and caused a blood sigil that represented the Deity of Serpents and Death to appear.
Stab!
Once the sigil appeared, numerous thin blood spikes came out of the ground, stabbing the paper ball and the glass shards around it. The spikes stayed for several seconds before evaporating along with the sigil. What was left was a hole-ridden ball of paper, destroyed glass shards, and tiny holes in the layer of dust on the floor.
"Would your familiar have survived that?" Valentine asked the detective.
Johann seemed to have been thinking about the same thing, and after a while, he finally concluded, "With the armor, easily. Without the armor, Uttu would have been seriously injured."
With a nod, Valentine replied to the man. He then gestured at him to continue clearing the path for them. The spider familiar scurried back to the front and started swiping away the shards of glass again.
The quartet slowly approached the door to the basement, following the giant armored spider that was clearing the path for them. After they reached the door, once again, Valentine told the group to stop. He sensed another curse on it.
"Just how many traps are there?" Luuk complained.
Nobody reacted. They all backed up on Valentine's order, who was busy crushing another piece of paper in his hand and tossed it at the door, right on the spot that triggered his sense of secret.
"Hiss!!"
The moment the blood sigil appeared, a giant snake came out of it! If they had been too close, the snake would have bitten one of them with its large jaw.
"Uttu!"
The armored spider took the vanguard, ready to intercept the snake's attack.
The snake stuck its tongue, trying to sense the enemies that it couldn't see or feel. The yellowish mist shrouded them.
"Don't move around too much. There are still traps around this room!" Valentine reminded the group.
They all nodded and got ready to fight. The enemy was one giant snake, but they knew it was not just a simple snake.
Swoosh!
Agatha sent one blood chakram at the snake. Its hard scales protected itself against the woman's attack, but Agatha's strength allowed her to keep the chakram spinning, slowly drilling into the snake's body. There was the sound of metal hitting each other, even though none of the two were made from it.
"Hiss!"
Thwip!
The armored spider shot a ball of spiderweb that hit the snake and the wall behind it, tying the two together. The sticky web was strong enough to hold the giant serpent for several seconds. Meanwhile, Agatha's blood chakram was still drilling its side, destroying its hard scales. Green blood came spurting out from the wound that the chakram created.
Having no offensive abilities, Valentine and Luuk just watched as the fight transpired. They were ready to intercept the creature's attack at any moment, but for now, it didn't seem to be necessary yet.
Valentine could always try to curse the snake, but it would take too long to prepare the ritual, and the only curses he could do with the materials at hand wouldn't be enough to kill the creature.
Thwip! Thwip!
As the snake was about to break free from its constrain, Johann's familiar shot two more spiderwebs at it from its spinnerets, rendering the snake's struggle in vain.
Whoosh!
The chakram spun even more vigorously as Agatha put even more strength into it.
"Hiss!!"
The snake was writhing and hissing in pain, but the sticky spider webs held it in place. After a while, its body was finally cut into two by the blood weapon as blood came splattering everywhere.
Once the snake had died, its body turned into a pool of blood that evaporated along with the sigil on the door. The trap had now been taken care of, so they could proceed.
"G, that was much easier than our fights. People with offensive abilities sure are different," Valentine muttered quietly.
"I'm sure there will be even more traps like that waiting for us down there," Johann concluded. His breathing was rather heavy from the fight. Since the spider was his familiar, it used up a portion of its master's stamina to operate, along with its own.
Luuk took out two pouches of stamina powder and handed them to Johann and Agatha; the latter stuffed the paper pouch inside her purse.
"I am still alright. It is better to save its effectiveness for later," she smiled politely.
Johann sniffed the powder and at once, his stamina returned. He then discarded the pouch on the ground, which caused Valentine to raise his eyebrows.
"Let's go," he quickly turned his mind to the door.
It now felt safe, so he touched the handle and twisted it, only to find out that it was locked. Looking at Luuk, he signaled his neighbor to do his thing.
"The lock on the door is mine!"
Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand while his left hand was holding the severed hand on his waist. Suddenly, something metallic appeared there. He then discarded the lock, putting it on the counter near him.
Valentine opened the door and the mist surrounding him extended to the door, muffling the creaking noise it was about to make. Behind the door was the staircase leading down to the basement, dark and devoid of any light.
All of the four people there had night visions, so the darkness was not a problem for them. Valentine got it as both a Shroud and a Denuder, Luuk as a Thief, Agatha as a Slumberer. Johann was the only one whose source of night vision was unknown to Valentine. He might be a Slumberer just like Agatha, or a Denuder just like him.
"Stop!"
This time, it was Johann that stopped the group from advancing forward. The four people and a giant spider stopped just before they reached the basement area, standing on the staircase. He seemed to have sensed something.
"There is an artifact at work here," he added.
Valentine raised his eyebrow and a thought came to his mind.
"How did you know?" asked Luuk curiously. He couldn't feel anything.
The detective smiled proudly, "I also have a sense of secret, although it works differently from yours," he looked at Valentine, "Mine helps me detect artifacts and enhanced equipment's effects."
Valentine's theory had been proven correct. The man was a Denuder, and his sense of secret evolved in that direction because of the Deity of Wisdom and Transmutation.
"What should we do then?" asked Luuk again.
Johann tapped his temple, seemingly thinking.
"I don't know what effect that is. I can only sense that it covers the area in front of us. Seeing the traps so far, I bet you it's not something pleasant," he turned to Agatha, "Ms. van Nostrand, can you send your blood chakram there to check?"
Agatha smiled politely and nodded gracefully, "With pleasure, Mr. Bockhorst."
The woman with the green dress stretched her right arm forward and one of the chakrams moved up, leaving her body, and went to the room in front of them. The moment the chakram left Agatha's body, the mist concealing it dissipated, exposing its existence.
The spinning chakram entered the room without any problem. There didn't seem to be anything happening to it. Agatha let it stay in the room for several more seconds, but still, nothing came out.
"I do not feel anything affecting my weapon. I cannot tell you what effect the artifact has with this, I am sorry," she apologized and then retracted her blood chakram.
Even when the weapon returned to her side, no effect was seen whatsoever.
"I reckon you cannot use divination because of the curses?" Luuk asked.
Both Johann and Valentine nodded, although the latter couldn't use it because he actually couldn't.
"I'll try to send my familiar to check. Maybe it only affects living beings. Can you get health and stamina powders ready? If my familiar is destroyed, I will take a huge amount of damage," Johann requested calmly. Judging from his tone, it seemed that he was ready to sacrifice whatever was necessary to achieve his goal.
With a nod, Luuk opened his backpack and took out two paper pouches, one containing a blue powder and the other one, yellow.
"Uttu, go there!"
The spider moved its eight legs quickly down the stairs and entered the room that was affected by the mysterious artifact. Obeying its master's order, it showed no hesitation.
The moment the spider was in the room, a purple aura appeared around it, engulfing it completely. Suddenly, Johann felt a throbbing headache and Luuk quickly handed the blue powder to the man. After inhaling the powder, his condition gradually became better and the headache subsided.
"What happened?" asked Luuk.
The man's face was still pale and sweat ran down his face.
Meanwhile, Valentine was observing the spider that was no longer engulfed by the aura. The glow in its eyes was now more intense than before.
"I've lost connection with my familiar. It's been taken over by the enemy!" Johann explained.
The spider, now looking hostile, was standing guard in the room beyond the stairs. Valentine had instinctively lifted the Concealment on it the moment the purple aura appeared, severing the snake link with it, so now the spider wasn't able to perceive them.
"It seems that the artifact is able to turn allies into enemies," Valentine concluded.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"Hold! Don't step on that spot!"
Valentine's sense of secret was triggered. It seemed that since becoming a Demise, he was also able to faintly detect curses around him.
The four people stopped all at once behind him, not daring to make a sudden move. They looked at the spot that Valentine was pointing at.
The wooden floorboards looked normal without any signs of tampering. Even the layers of dust were consistent with their surrounding, which indicated that the spot hadn't been touched in a while.
Taking out Graham's notebook that was left inside the trench coat, Valentine tore off a page and crumpled it. He then tossed the crumpled paper onto the spot that was triggering his sense.
Rattle!
A blood sigil appeared on the floorboards the moment the paper made contact with them. The sounds of snakes rattling accompanied the emergence of the sigil. The crumpled piece of paper looked strangely rigid, staying in place abnormally.
After a while, the sigil disappeared, and the paper rolled a few centimeters to the front.
"That was a trap?" asked Luuk.
Valentine nodded.
"What do you think it did?" Johann walked closer carefully to observe the paper ball on the floor. His spider familiar stayed close by his side.
There didn't seem to be any abnormality there, so he couldn't judge.
"It only immobilized the paper, but I don't think that's all," he added, "It might have an invisible effect that only worked on living beings."
"You might be right," Valentine nodded.
Agatha was standing gracefully and scanned the room.
"If the traps are all like that, I am sure I will be able to trigger them all safely with my blood chakrams," she offered. The crimson weapons were spinning ceaselessly with her in the center.
Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered, "She is indeed the brute force type, G," after which he turned to Agatha and rejected her idea, "The traps might not all be like that one. We don't want to alert the enemy-- if we haven't already by triggering this one."
She nodded.
Valentine then proceeded, going in the direction that Johann gave him. Leaving the living room of the abandoned house, they entered the kitchen where the door to the basement was located.
The stench of mold penetrated their noses the moment they entered the kitchen. The floor was littered with sharp pieces of glass while the wall near the water source was covered in moss.
"Uttu, please take care of those," Johann commanded his familiar.
Clank! Clank!
Its two front legs swept the glass shards away, creating a large path for its master and his companions to walk through. The spider pushed the shards all the way to the sides, making sure they couldn't hurt anyone.
"Stop!"
Valentine suddenly told Johann to stop his familiar. There seemed to be another trap laid ahead of it.
Using the same method as before, he tossed a crumpled piece of paper on the spot after Johann's familiar had been pulled back. The paper touched the floor and caused a blood sigil that represented the Deity of Serpents and Death to appear.
Stab!
Once the sigil appeared, numerous thin blood spikes came out of the ground, stabbing the paper ball and the glass shards around it. The spikes stayed for several seconds before evaporating along with the sigil. What was left was a hole-ridden ball of paper, destroyed glass shards, and tiny holes in the layer of dust on the floor.
"Would your familiar have survived that?" Valentine asked the detective.
Johann seemed to have been thinking about the same thing, and after a while, he finally concluded, "With the armor, easily. Without the armor, Uttu would have been seriously injured."
With a nod, Valentine replied to the man. He then gestured at him to continue clearing the path for them. The spider familiar scurried back to the front and started swiping away the shards of glass again.
The quartet slowly approached the door to the basement, following the giant armored spider that was clearing the path for them. After they reached the door, once again, Valentine told the group to stop. He sensed another curse on it.
"Just how many traps are there?" Luuk complained.
Nobody reacted. They all backed up on Valentine's order, who was busy crushing another piece of paper in his hand and tossed it at the door, right on the spot that triggered his sense of secret.
"Hiss!!"
The moment the blood sigil appeared, a giant snake came out of it! If they had been too close, the snake would have bitten one of them with its large jaw.
"Uttu!"
The armored spider took the vanguard, ready to intercept the snake's attack.
The snake stuck its tongue, trying to sense the enemies that it couldn't see or feel. The yellowish mist shrouded them.
"Don't move around too much. There are still traps around this room!" Valentine reminded the group.
They all nodded and got ready to fight. The enemy was one giant snake, but they knew it was not just a simple snake.
Swoosh!
Agatha sent one blood chakram at the snake. Its hard scales protected itself against the woman's attack, but Agatha's strength allowed her to keep the chakram spinning, slowly drilling into the snake's body. There was the sound of metal hitting each other, even though none of the two were made from it.
"Hiss!"
Thwip!
The armored spider shot a ball of spiderweb that hit the snake and the wall behind it, tying the two together. The sticky web was strong enough to hold the giant serpent for several seconds. Meanwhile, Agatha's blood chakram was still drilling its side, destroying its hard scales. Green blood came spurting out from the wound that the chakram created.
Having no offensive abilities, Valentine and Luuk just watched as the fight transpired. They were ready to intercept the creature's attack at any moment, but for now, it didn't seem to be necessary yet.
Valentine could always try to curse the snake, but it would take too long to prepare the ritual, and the only curses he could do with the materials at hand wouldn't be enough to kill the creature.
Thwip! Thwip!
As the snake was about to break free from its constrain, Johann's familiar shot two more spiderwebs at it from its spinnerets, rendering the snake's struggle in vain.
Whoosh!
The chakram spun even more vigorously as Agatha put even more strength into it.
"Hiss!!"
The snake was writhing and hissing in pain, but the sticky spider webs held it in place. After a while, its body was finally cut into two by the blood weapon as blood came splattering everywhere.
Once the snake had died, its body turned into a pool of blood that evaporated along with the sigil on the door. The trap had now been taken care of, so they could proceed.
"G, that was much easier than our fights. People with offensive abilities sure are different," Valentine muttered quietly.
"I'm sure there will be even more traps like that waiting for us down there," Johann concluded. His breathing was rather heavy from the fight. Since the spider was his familiar, it used up a portion of its master's stamina to operate, along with its own.
Luuk took out two pouches of stamina powder and handed them to Johann and Agatha; the latter stuffed the paper pouch inside her purse.
"I am still alright. It is better to save its effectiveness for later," she smiled politely.
Johann sniffed the powder and at once, his stamina returned. He then discarded the pouch on the ground, which caused Valentine to raise his eyebrows.
"Let's go," he quickly turned his mind to the door.
It now felt safe, so he touched the handle and twisted it, only to find out that it was locked. Looking at Luuk, he signaled his neighbor to do his thing.
"The lock on the door is mine!"
Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand while his left hand was holding the severed hand on his waist. Suddenly, something metallic appeared there. He then discarded the lock, putting it on the counter near him.
Valentine opened the door and the mist surrounding him extended to the door, muffling the creaking noise it was about to make. Behind the door was the staircase leading down to the basement, dark and devoid of any light.
All of the four people there had night visions, so the darkness was not a problem for them. Valentine got it as both a Shroud and a Denuder, Luuk as a Thief, Agatha as a Slumberer. Johann was the only one whose source of night vision was unknown to Valentine. He might be a Slumberer just like Agatha, or a Denuder just like him.
"Stop!"
This time, it was Johann that stopped the group from advancing forward. The four people and a giant spider stopped just before they reached the basement area, standing on the staircase. He seemed to have sensed something.
"There is an artifact at work here," he added.
Valentine raised his eyebrow and a thought came to his mind.
"How did you know?" asked Luuk curiously. He couldn't feel anything.
The detective smiled proudly, "I also have a sense of secret, although it works differently from yours," he looked at Valentine, "Mine helps me detect artifacts and enhanced equipment's effects."
Valentine's theory had been proven correct. The man was a Denuder, and his sense of secret evolved in that direction because of the Deity of Wisdom and Transmutation.
"What should we do then?" asked Luuk again.
Johann tapped his temple, seemingly thinking.
"I don't know what effect that is. I can only sense that it covers the area in front of us. Seeing the traps so far, I bet you it's not something pleasant," he turned to Agatha, "Ms. van Nostrand, can you send your blood chakram there to check?"
Agatha smiled politely and nodded gracefully, "With pleasure, Mr. Bockhorst."
The woman with the green dress stretched her right arm forward and one of the chakrams moved up, leaving her body, and went to the room in front of them. The moment the chakram left Agatha's body, the mist concealing it dissipated, exposing its existence.
The spinning chakram entered the room without any problem. There didn't seem to be anything happening to it. Agatha let it stay in the room for several more seconds, but still, nothing came out.
"I do not feel anything affecting my weapon. I cannot tell you what effect the artifact has with this, I am sorry," she apologized and then retracted her blood chakram.
Even when the weapon returned to her side, no effect was seen whatsoever.
"I reckon you cannot use divination because of the curses?" Luuk asked.
Both Johann and Valentine nodded, although the latter couldn't use it because he actually couldn't.
"I'll try to send my familiar to check. Maybe it only affects living beings. Can you get health and stamina powders ready? If my familiar is destroyed, I will take a huge amount of damage," Johann requested calmly. Judging from his tone, it seemed that he was ready to sacrifice whatever was necessary to achieve his goal.
With a nod, Luuk opened his backpack and took out two paper pouches, one containing a blue powder and the other one, yellow.
"Uttu, go there!"
The spider moved its eight legs quickly down the stairs and entered the room that was affected by the mysterious artifact. Obeying its master's order, it showed no hesitation.
The moment the spider was in the room, a purple aura appeared around it, engulfing it completely. Suddenly, Johann felt a throbbing headache and Luuk quickly handed the blue powder to the man. After inhaling the powder, his condition gradually became better and the headache subsided.
"What happened?" asked Luuk.
The man's face was still pale and sweat ran down his face.
Meanwhile, Valentine was observing the spider that was no longer engulfed by the aura. The glow in its eyes was now more intense than before.
"I've lost connection with my familiar. It's been taken over by the enemy!" Johann explained.
The spider, now looking hostile, was standing guard in the room beyond the stairs. Valentine had instinctively lifted the Concealment on it the moment the purple aura appeared, severing the snake link with it, so now the spider wasn't able to perceive them.
"It seems that the artifact is able to turn allies into enemies," Valentine concluded.
"Hold! Don't step on that spot!"Valentine's sense of secret was triggered. It seemed that since becoming a Demise, he was also able to faintly detect curses around him.The four people stopped all at once behind him, not daring to make a sudden move. They looked at the spot that Valentine was pointing at.The wooden floorboards looked normal without any signs of tampering. Even the layers of dust were consistent with their surrounding, which indicated that the spot hadn't been touched in a while.Taking out Graham's notebook that was left inside the trench coat, Valentine tore off a page and crumpled it. He then tossed the crumpled paper onto the spot that was triggering his sense.Rattle!A blood sigil appeared on the floorboards the moment the paper made contact with them. The sounds of snakes rattling accompanied the emergence of the sigil. The crumpled piece of paper looked strangely rigid, staying in place abnormally.After a while, the sigil disappeared, and the paper rolled a few centimeters to the front."That was a trap?" asked Luuk.Valentine nodded."What do you think it did?" Johann walked closer carefully to observe the paper ball on the floor. His spider familiar stayed close by his side.There didn't seem to be any abnormality there, so he couldn't judge."It only immobilized the paper, but I don't think that's all," he added, "It might have an invisible effect that only worked on living beings.""You might be right," Valentine nodded.Agatha was standing gracefully and scanned the room."If the traps are all like that, I am sure I will be able to trigger them all safely with my blood chakrams," she offered. The crimson weapons were spinning ceaselessly with her in the center.Valentine looked over his shoulder and muttered, "She is indeed the brute force type, G," after which he turned to Agatha and rejected her idea, "The traps might not all be like that one. We don't want to alert the enemy-- if we haven't already by triggering this one."She nodded.Valentine then proceeded, going in the direction that Johann gave him. Leaving the living room of the abandoned house, they entered the kitchen where the door to the basement was located.The stench of mold penetrated their noses the moment they entered the kitchen. The floor was littered with sharp pieces of glass while the wall near the water source was covered in moss."Uttu, please take care of those," Johann commanded his familiar.Clank! Clank!Its two front legs swept the glass shards away, creating a large path for its master and his companions to walk through. The spider pushed the shards all the way to the sides, making sure they couldn't hurt anyone."Stop!"Valentine suddenly told Johann to stop his familiar. There seemed to be another trap laid ahead of it.Using the same method as before, he tossed a crumpled piece of paper on the spot after Johann's familiar had been pulled back. The paper touched the floor and caused a blood sigil that represented the Deity of Serpents and Death to appear.Stab!Once the sigil appeared, numerous thin blood spikes came out of the ground, stabbing the paper ball and the glass shards around it. The spikes stayed for several seconds before evaporating along with the sigil. What was left was a hole-ridden ball of paper, destroyed glass shards, and tiny holes in the layer of dust on the floor."Would your familiar have survived that?" Valentine asked the detective.Johann seemed to have been thinking about the same thing, and after a while, he finally concluded, "With the armor, easily. Without the armor, Uttu would have been seriously injured."With a nod, Valentine replied to the man. He then gestured at him to continue clearing the path for them. The spider familiar scurried back to the front and started swiping away the shards of glass again.The quartet slowly approached the door to the basement, following the giant armored spider that was clearing the path for them. After they reached the door, once again, Valentine told the group to stop. He sensed another curse on it."Just how many traps are there?" Luuk complained.Nobody reacted. They all backed up on Valentine's order, who was busy crushing another piece of paper in his hand and tossed it at the door, right on the spot that triggered his sense of secret."Hiss!!"The moment the blood sigil appeared, a giant snake came out of it! If they had been too close, the snake would have bitten one of them with its large jaw."Uttu!"The armored spider took the vanguard, ready to intercept the snake's attack.The snake stuck its tongue, trying to sense the enemies that it couldn't see or feel. The yellowish mist shrouded them."Don't move around too much. There are still traps around this room!" Valentine reminded the group.They all nodded and got ready to fight. The enemy was one giant snake, but they knew it was not just a simple snake.Swoosh!Agatha sent one blood chakram at the snake. Its hard scales protected itself against the woman's attack, but Agatha's strength allowed her to keep the chakram spinning, slowly drilling into the snake's body. There was the sound of metal hitting each other, even though none of the two were made from it."Hiss!"Thwip!The armored spider shot a ball of spiderweb that hit the snake and the wall behind it, tying the two together. The sticky web was strong enough to hold the giant serpent for several seconds. Meanwhile, Agatha's blood chakram was still drilling its side, destroying its hard scales. Green blood came spurting out from the wound that the chakram created.Having no offensive abilities, Valentine and Luuk just watched as the fight transpired. They were ready to intercept the creature's attack at any moment, but for now, it didn't seem to be necessary yet.Valentine could always try to curse the snake, but it would take too long to prepare the ritual, and the only curses he could do with the materials at hand wouldn't be enough to kill the creature.Thwip! Thwip!As the snake was about to break free from its constrain, Johann's familiar shot two more spiderwebs at it from its spinnerets, rendering the snake's struggle in vain. Whoosh!The chakram spun even more vigorously as Agatha put even more strength into it."Hiss!!" The snake was writhing and hissing in pain, but the sticky spider webs held it in place. After a while, its body was finally cut into two by the blood weapon as blood came splattering everywhere.Once the snake had died, its body turned into a pool of blood that evaporated along with the sigil on the door. The trap had now been taken care of, so they could proceed."G, that was much easier than our fights. People with offensive abilities sure are different," Valentine muttered quietly."I'm sure there will be even more traps like that waiting for us down there," Johann concluded. His breathing was rather heavy from the fight. Since the spider was his familiar, it used up a portion of its master's stamina to operate, along with its own.Luuk took out two pouches of stamina powder and handed them to Johann and Agatha; the latter stuffed the paper pouch inside her purse."I am still alright. It is better to save its effectiveness for later," she smiled politely.Johann sniffed the powder and at once, his stamina returned. He then discarded the pouch on the ground, which caused Valentine to raise his eyebrows. "Let's go," he quickly turned his mind to the door. It now felt safe, so he touched the handle and twisted it, only to find out that it was locked. Looking at Luuk, he signaled his neighbor to do his thing."The lock on the door is mine!"Luuk made a swiping motion with his right hand while his left hand was holding the severed hand on his waist. Suddenly, something metallic appeared there. He then discarded the lock, putting it on the counter near him.Valentine opened the door and the mist surrounding him extended to the door, muffling the creaking noise it was about to make. Behind the door was the staircase leading down to the basement, dark and devoid of any light.All of the four people there had night visions, so the darkness was not a problem for them. Valentine got it as both a Shroud and a Denuder, Luuk as a Thief, Agatha as a Slumberer. Johann was the only one whose source of night vision was unknown to Valentine. He might be a Slumberer just like Agatha, or a Denuder just like him."Stop!"This time, it was Johann that stopped the group from advancing forward. The four people and a giant spider stopped just before they reached the basement area, standing on the staircase. He seemed to have sensed something."There is an artifact at work here," he added.Valentine raised his eyebrow and a thought came to his mind."How did you know?" asked Luuk curiously. He couldn't feel anything.The detective smiled proudly, "I also have a sense of secret, although it works differently from yours," he looked at Valentine, "Mine helps me detect artifacts and enhanced equipment's effects."Valentine's theory had been proven correct. The man was a Denuder, and his sense of secret evolved in that direction because of the Deity of Wisdom and Transmutation."What should we do then?" asked Luuk again.Johann tapped his temple, seemingly thinking."I don't know what effect that is. I can only sense that it covers the area in front of us. Seeing the traps so far, I bet you it's not something pleasant," he turned to Agatha, "Ms. van Nostrand, can you send your blood chakram there to check?"Agatha smiled politely and nodded gracefully, "With pleasure, Mr. Bockhorst."The woman with the green dress stretched her right arm forward and one of the chakrams moved up, leaving her body, and went to the room in front of them. The moment the chakram left Agatha's body, the mist concealing it dissipated, exposing its existence.The spinning chakram entered the room without any problem. There didn't seem to be anything happening to it. Agatha let it stay in the room for several more seconds, but still, nothing came out."I do not feel anything affecting my weapon. I cannot tell you what effect the artifact has with this, I am sorry," she apologized and then retracted her blood chakram.Even when the weapon returned to her side, no effect was seen whatsoever."I reckon you cannot use divination because of the curses?" Luuk asked.Both Johann and Valentine nodded, although the latter couldn't use it because he actually couldn't."I'll try to send my familiar to check. Maybe it only affects living beings. Can you get health and stamina powders ready? If my familiar is destroyed, I will take a huge amount of damage," Johann requested calmly. Judging from his tone, it seemed that he was ready to sacrifice whatever was necessary to achieve his goal.With a nod, Luuk opened his backpack and took out two paper pouches, one containing a blue powder and the other one, yellow. "Uttu, go there!"The spider moved its eight legs quickly down the stairs and entered the room that was affected by the mysterious artifact. Obeying its master's order, it showed no hesitation.The moment the spider was in the room, a purple aura appeared around it, engulfing it completely. Suddenly, Johann felt a throbbing headache and Luuk quickly handed the blue powder to the man. After inhaling the powder, his condition gradually became better and the headache subsided."What happened?" asked Luuk.The man's face was still pale and sweat ran down his face.Meanwhile, Valentine was observing the spider that was no longer engulfed by the aura. The glow in its eyes was now more intense than before."I've lost connection with my familiar. It's been taken over by the enemy!" Johann explained.The spider, now looking hostile, was standing guard in the room beyond the stairs. Valentine had instinctively lifted the Concealment on it the moment the purple aura appeared, severing the snake link with it, so now the spider wasn't able to perceive them."It seems that the artifact is able to turn allies into enemies," Valentine concluded.
