Mystery: Gray Walker

Chapter 79 Potions Professor

An eerie silence fell over the banquet hall after Viscount Linus Fairfax and the last of his guests disappeared through the side door leading to the basement.

The crystal chandelier was still bright, but it illuminated a desolate and empty space.

Silver cutlery lay scattered on the long table covered with a snow-white tablecloth, half-full wine glasses reflected a cold light, and the string orchestra had long since disappeared.

Only five people remained in the hall.

Green, Clarice, Rick, Alvin, and Anaïs, who was clinging tightly to Green's arm and looked pale.

Meanwhile, Veronica Thorne remained seated elegantly in the main seat.

She shifted to a more languid pose, her burgundy velvet dress shimmering like blood under the lights.

She rested her chin on one hand, gently swirling the remaining amber liquid in her glass with the other, a perfect smile playing on her lips, as if she were enjoying a good show that was about to end.

"They've gone down," Green said, breaking free from Anaïs's grasp and staggering to Clarice. "Clarice, there are three rooms down there. The left one is desire, the right one is slaughter, and the middle one—"

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to describe the blasphemous scene in the simplest terms:

"In the middle is a tree, a living tree, and the Viscount's wife, Marianne Fairfax, is inside the trunk, in a semi-fused state. She is... she is mating with those people. She is breathing, she is growing—"

"A divine abomination?!" Clarice suddenly interrupted him, disbelief flashing in her eyes. "This is a typical 'Mother Tree of Desire' ritual structure."

She abruptly looked up at Veronica in the main seat. "You're feeding it. You're feeding that 'Tree of Desire' with the desires, lives, deaths, and pain of the living, letting it merge with Marianna's remains, letting her... letting her become something..."

"To become a more perfect being."

Veronica took over the conversation.

She finally put down her wine glass and slowly stood up.

The crisp sound of high heels clicking on the marble floor echoed in the empty hall.

She walked gracefully towards the huge arched window in the center of the banquet hall, her wine-red skirt trailing on the ground.

"How touching," Veronica said softly and charmingly, "I never expected so many enthusiastic little insects tonight, not only attending my banquet but also being so... dutifully investigating."

She stopped at the window, her back to everyone, and looked up at the night sky outside.

"Look," she said softly, her voice filled with rapture, "that moon, how beautiful it is."

Everyone instinctively followed her gaze.

The wind and snow outside the window had stopped sometime earlier.

The heavy snow continued to fall silently, the snowflakes falling vertically, appearing like silver flakes dancing in the air under the manor lights.

And the sky,

A full moon hangs high in the sky.

But it was not an ordinary silvery-white moon.

That was a blood moon.

The color was like fresh blood, with an eerie halo around the edges. The moonlight shone down, staining the snow outside with a faint crimson hue.

"Blood Moon..." Clarice murmured, her pupils suddenly contracting.

The next second, she whirled around, staring intently at Veronica's retreating figure, her voice trembling with shock:

"You're the 'Moon' pathway! Sequence 6... Potions Professor?!"

Veronica slowly turned around.

“Very perceptive, dear Miss Night Watch.” Veronica’s voice held an appreciative tone, yet even more so, mockery. “You guessed right, but you are nothing more than a ‘Knowledge Keeper,’ a ‘Midnight Poet,’ a ‘Gravedigger,’ you…”

She extended her pale finger and pointed to each person's sequence. When it was Green's turn, she suddenly chuckled, "An apprentice. Hahahaha... Oh, right, there's also a brainless 'weapon master' outside."

"I have a good idea. How about I come find you when you reach the higher sequence?" she said softly, looking at Green.

Green felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at her expression. What she said was definitely not good news.

"I've always wanted a sealing artifact for the 'door'..."

Turn yourself into an object...

Green felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead; the way the other person was looking at him sent chills down his spine.

"You used the Viscount's obsession with his wife as bait, you lied to him that you could resurrect Marianne, but in reality you were using the entire manor and everyone's lives to complete your ascension ceremony?" Clarice questioned in a deep voice.

"Bait? Deception?"

Veronica chuckled softly, the sound echoing through the empty hall with a chilling pleasure.

"What a naive young lady. You're too narrow-minded." She slowly swirled the crystal glass in her hand, watching the amber liquid ripple.

"Linus's love for Marianne is real, and Marianne's 'return' will also be real. Only, in a more perfect and eternal form."

She walked slowly toward the crowd, the sound of her high heels neither hurried nor slow.

"The grace bestowed by the Mother Tree of Desire is far more profound than you poor wretches bound by the dogmas of the true gods can comprehend... Marianne will become a branch of the Mother Tree of Desire in this world, a symbol of pleasure and fertility. And Linus..."

She stopped ten steps away from the crowd, the blood moon's light shining down from behind her, casting a long, distorted shadow.

"He will be the first devout believer to witness a miracle and dedicate everything to it. Isn't that a win-win situation?"

"Madman," Rick whispered. The Night Watchman, who had been silent all along, had assumed a fighting stance, and a faint spiritual energy rippled around him.

Alvin's lips moved slightly, and a syllable carrying a calming power was quietly uttered, attempting to stabilize the restless spirits of the crowd caused by the blood moon and the truth.

Anaïs gripped Green's sleeve tightly, her nails almost digging into his arm.

Clarisse took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

Her gaze swept quickly across Veronica, across the blood moon outside the window, and across the door leading to the basement; her mind raced.

"The blood moon is a symbol of a high-level advancement through the 'moon' pathway, and also a point where the power of the 'Mother Tree of Desire' is active."

Clarisse spoke very quickly, both analyzing and explaining to her teammates, "She chose tonight, and this location, because—"

"Because there are some interesting things buried beneath this manor."

Veronica took over the conversation, seemingly enjoying this moment of 'explanation'.

"The Fairfax family has lived here for generations, and in their blood... flows some ancient qualities, related to the moon and fertility. Marianne's death in childbirth, Linus's deep obsession, the joys and sorrows accumulated in this manor—"

She opened her arms, palms facing upwards, as if receiving an invisible force.

"—All of this is the perfect 'soil.' And I have simply sown the seeds and patiently waited for them to blossom and bear fruit."

She looked at Clarice, her smile deepening:

"As for you, dear Night's Watchmen... and this amusing 'Apprentice' gentleman, and his lovely little companion—"

Her gaze lingered on Green and Anaïs for a moment, as if she were assessing two tools that were about to be used.

"—You will be the final piece of the puzzle in this ceremony. Your spirituality... is a nice seasoning."

The moment the words left her lips, Veronica moved.

There was no warning, no incantation.

She simply raised her right hand slightly.

Outside the window, the blood moon's light suddenly intensified.

A crimson glow surged into the banquet hall like a tide, instantly drowning out the cold light of the crystal chandelier.

"Watch out!" Clarice shouted sharply.

Instead of backing away, she took a step forward.

Although she lacks direct superhuman combat abilities, her extensive knowledge and calm reasoning enabled her to make a judgment immediately.

Veronica won't fight herself; she has more important things to do.

As expected, Veronica simply waved gracefully.

Twelve figures suddenly emerged from the shadows surrounding the banquet hall.

They were dressed in matching black waiter uniforms, but now those uniforms were tattered, revealing pale, paper-like skin underneath.

His eyes were empty and lifeless, with a crimson gleam deep within his pupils. His mouth was stretched open, revealing sharp canine teeth.

"Blood servant," Rex said in a deep voice.

"What... what are these things?" Anaïs asked, trembling.

"A living corpse transformed by 'vampires' and devoid of its own will," Erwin replied simply. The other party's sequence was far superior to theirs, which made him feel powerless.

"Let them play with you, you'd better not bother me," Veronica said softly.

After she finished speaking, her body began to blur and become transparent. Crimson mist surged from her body, quickly condensing into dozens of palm-sized black bats.

The next second, Veronica's figure completely vanished, transforming into a swarm of bats that surged toward the banquet hall doors.

"We must stop her! If she advances to Sequence 5, everyone will die here!" Clarice said quickly.

"Elwin, Rex! Deal with these blood servant minions! Clean them up and then come down to provide support immediately!"

"Yes!" Rex roared, his hands sweeping across his waist, and two silver short swords appeared in his hands—weapons specifically designed to target dark creatures and the undead.

Irwin did not answer, but he acted even faster.

He took a deep breath, his chest bulging like a bellows, and then sang.

It is not a gentle, soothing poem, but a powerful war song filled with the fierce spirit of battle.

The sound waves, like tangible blades, rippled through the air. The three blood servants at the forefront stiffened abruptly, fine cracks appearing on their skin.

Meanwhile, Clarice had already rushed towards the gate.

Green gritted his teeth. "Wait for me!"

Clarice glanced back at him, but neither spoke nor refused.

As she said, if Veronica completes the ceremony, it makes no difference whether she stays or not.