Night had fully descended, and the streets of Windbreak City gradually fell into silence, the surrounding lights appearing faint against the darkened sky. Leo, Luna, and Dan blended seamlessly into the shadows, their steps light and quick as they avoided the patrolling guards. Leo and Luna were quietly approaching the residence of the young city lord.
Suddenly, a hand patted Leo's shoulder. He turned around and found that Dan had caught up with them.
Noticing Leo and Luna's confusion, Dan explained, "Don't worry. I just want to see what secrets this young lord is hiding."
Leo and Luna didn't respond, though Dan's presence gave them some reassurance, their doubts weren't fully erased. After all, their mission was still unclear, and they couldn't be sure whether the "beggar's" words were trustworthy.
"I'll go first," Leo whispered, taking the lead. He and Luna then began to quietly scale the wall. Dan followed them closely behind, his movements as stealthy as a shadow, making hardly any noise. The three of them jumped over the wall and, moving along the shadows, slowly approached the young lord's residence.
Once atop the roof, Leo and Luna paused and quietly peered inside. Through the window, they saw that everything seemed normal—the maids were busy cleaning, and the remnants of dinner on the table had been neatly tidied up. There didn't seem to be anything unusual.
"It all looks normal," Leo whispered, furrowing his brows with a hint of confusion.
However, Luna's gaze was unusually sharp. Her eyes narrowed as she studied every corner of the house. After a moment, she whispered, "But… where is the young lord?"
Her words immediately snapped Leo and Dan out of their thoughts. Indeed, they had been watching for a while, yet they hadn't seen the young lord at all. While everything inside the house was proceeding in an orderly manner, the young lord's absence seemed odd.
A sense of unease crept into Leo's chest. He quickly turned to Luna and Dan, whispering, "Let's go down and find out, maybe ask the staff inside."
The three of them swiftly descended from the roof, sliding down the walls, and quietly circled to the side of the house, avoiding the view from the windows. Leo flicked his wrist, his movements swift and precise, as he grabbed a passing maid and pulled her into a dark corner.
"Where is the young lord?" Leo's voice was low, filled with threat.
The maid instinctively struggled, her face filled with fear, but soon she was overwhelmed by a strong pressure. Her eyes flickered as if deciding whether to reveal the truth.
"I… I don't know…" The maid's voice trembled, laced with fear. Clearly, she didn't want to give too much away.
Leo applied more pressure, and her struggles weakened as she began to realize her chance of escape was slim. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke, "The young lord… every time after dinner, he goes to the basement." Her voice was barely audible, "That's his secret place. No one is allowed in unless he permits it."
Leo froze for a moment, then pulled the maid's face closer, whispering, "The basement? What's down there?"
The maid shook her head, her eyes filled with terror. "I only know that the young lord stays there for a long time each time, and no one dares disturb him. Without his orders, no one can enter the basement." She paused, a hint of unease flashing in her eyes. "No one knows what's down there, only that… every time the young lord comes back, he seems… off."
"Good," Leo nodded, realizing this was the clue they were looking for. He glanced around quickly, making a decision. "We'll hide you, or you might get into trouble." With that, he knocked the maid unconscious and concealed her in a corner, ensuring she wouldn't be found by anyone else.
"The basement…" Luna murmured, her eyes reflecting deep thought. "What could it be? The young lord stays down there for so long. It seems like something important."
"Either way, we have to check it out," Leo said in a determined whisper.
Luna then activated her magic, her eyes glowing faintly with power. She carefully sensed the magical fluctuations around them, hoping to locate the entrance to the basement. As her magical detection spread, she quickly found an unusual energy surge in one of the corners of the house.
"I found it," Luna whispered, pointing to the ground. "There's a strong magical fluctuation here. It should be the entrance to the basement."
Leo moved closer and found a large stone slab on the ground with faint cracks running through it, clearly hiding some kind of passage. Upon closer inspection, he noticed two guards standing near the entrance, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
"It looks like we need to figure out how to get past them," Leo whispered, his gaze sweeping over the guards as he started to think of a plan to break through without alerting them.
Dan was silent for a moment, then spoke up, "I'll distract them. You two take the chance to get in." His gaze was sharp, his body nimble, clearly prepared for this kind of situation.
"Alright," Leo nodded. "We have to move fast."
Dan gently extended his hand, palm up, and the shell sprite leaped from his shoulder, floating lightly in the air. Its wings fluttered slightly, shimmering with a soft blue light. The sprite silently flew toward the ears of the two guards, its lips parted as it began to chant a deep and prolonged melody.
This was an ancient mermaid song, its tone ethereal, like a murmur from the deep sea. The moment the melody began, the guards froze, their pupils dilating as their eyes became vacant and lifeless. After a moment, their bodies swayed slightly, then stood still, as if completely controlled.
Dan whispered, "Hurry, let's go."
Leo and Luna nodded, and the three of them quickly passed the controlled guards, pushing open the hidden cellar entrance in the corner and swiftly descending the stone steps.
The passage to the cellar was dark and damp, filled with a strong fishy odor.
"The smell here..." Luna frowned, covering her nose, and murmured, "It's too pungent."
Leo nodded slightly, his fingers gently touching the stone walls, sensing a dampness. As they moved deeper, the passage began to widen, and the light ahead grew brighter.
Suddenly, their vision expanded, and they entered a vast underground space.
They stood in a circular corridor that wrapped around the entire space, spiraling down along the walls. In the center of the corridor, a stone staircase wound downward, leading to the bottom of the space.
The scale of the space was far beyond their imagination—larger even than any building on the surface, like a gigantic palace hidden underground. What was even more shocking was that at the bottom of the space, there was a large, blood-red pool of blood!
The three of them looked down at the stone steps, their hearts sinking.
In the center of the blood pool stood an ancient altar, intricately carved with a magical array. Blood flowed slowly along the grooves of the array, emitting an ominous glow.
What was even more terrifying was that when they looked up at the top of the space, they gasped in shock.
Countless mermaids, suspended by iron chains, hung in the air. Their bodies were covered in gruesome wounds, and blood dripped from their bodies, flowing down the iron chains in the air and finally collecting in the blood pool below.
The faces of these mermaids were twisted in agony and despair. Their lips trembled, as if trying to make a sound, but some force seemed to suppress them, leaving them unable to scream or cry for help.
The air was thick with the smell of blood, mixed with the scent of magic, creating an eerie, oppressive atmosphere in the entire space.
Leo, Luna, and Dan were all stunned into silence by the scene before them.
It was all so cruel and unimaginable. They never thought they would find such a bloody altar beneath Windbreaker City.
Just as they were frozen in shock, the sound of footsteps echoed from a distant passage.
"Someone's coming!"
The three of them quickly hid in the shadows behind a stone pillar, holding their breath, peeking through the gaps to observe the newcomer.
The footsteps grew louder, and soon, a young man in luxurious robes slowly walked into the center of the altar.
It was—The Young Lord!
However, unlike during the day, the Young Lord was no longer in a mad state. Instead, he exuded an aura of coldness, disdain, and even a hint of arrogance. His eyes were sharp, his lips curled into a slight sneer, as if he were completely indifferent to the bloody scene before him, even… accustomed to it!
Behind him followed a magician in a black robe. The magician crossed his arms in front of his chest, his head slightly bowed, as if waiting for the Young Lord's command.
The Young Lord stood in the center of the altar, looking around with a mocking smile on his face.
"Still too slow."
His voice was calm but tinged with impatience, and his gaze fell on the magical array on the altar. His tone was indifferent, "Is there a faster way? This method is still too slow."
The magician slightly lifted his head, responding in a low voice, "My lord, the power you seek cannot be obtained in an instant. The magical power from the blood sacrifice needs time to accumulate, especially since the blood of these mermaids is not an ordinary sacrificial medium. Their blood contains powerful magical resistance, and it requires a specific ritual for complete transformation."
The Young Lord furrowed his brows, his tone growing more impatient, "You know I don't have time to waste."
The magician nodded, whispering, "If the lord is willing, we can directly initiate a stronger ritual. Though it carries greater risks, it can significantly shorten the transformation time."
The Young Lord's eyes brightened slightly. He slowly walked to the edge of the blood pool, extended a finger, and gently stirred the blood, as though contemplating something.
"Risk?" he murmured, a glint of interest flashing in his eyes, "I don't mind the risk, as long as... it's powerful enough."