Crow felt going to the underworld was stupid, but he didn’t know enough about what was going on to toss out the idea entirely. In theory, the land of the dead should reject the living, so it should force them out the moment this mysterious treatment wore off. It was possible to be trapped there, and that would definitely kill them. He couldn’t calculate an appropriate course of action with so many risks and unknowns. It was the type of situation Crow disliked the most.

The land of the dead didn’t have any source of food that the living could eat. Based on his limited knowledge, everything on the other side was toxic to the living. A true paladin might have some protections against that, not because of blessings or holy power. It was their abilities that resisted aging, illness, and death.

Crow felt he’d also be okay because he possessed a heavenly fire. And he was sure that Otto would be fine too because his physiology was not human and had lightning coursing throughout his body.

“Otto?”

“Yeah?”

“Escape or go?”

“Not know? Why ask?”

“I’m undecided. Every part of me screams not to go, but here I am. We are here for a reason, but I feel overwhelming danger. Staying or going is equally risky, but the situation might be more easily controlled here. In the under realm, I don’t dare claim I have the ability to protect us.”

“Doubt? Not you. Do. We here. No hesitate.”

“I doubt you’d be able to escape this situation anyway,” Sarah claimed. “You don’t understand how much control the Brotherhood of the Unspoken has over this place. They’ve used it as their sanctuary for centuries, and there is no telling what crazy things are below. Before, you mentioned Fomoiri, right? What if they have more of those things below? Can you fight against them?”

“I doubt that’s the case. The tower restricts the power levels of the beings on each floor. If something pushed that threshold, the tower would definitely take action.”

“Even suppressed, could you take one down? A dozen? A hundred?”

“You believe they are doing that?” Crow’s brow furrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned down. It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. They’ve already established that they’d been working with the Scath. It wasn’t much of a leap to assume they’ve been experimenting with them, and if he took that assumption a step further—perhaps their saint’s corpse was being revived using their corruption.

“I’m sure I don’t need to answer that because I can see the answer in your eyes,” Sarah grimly chuckled.

“You believe we can disrupt this from the other side, right?” Crow realized Sarah’s plan immediately and felt her way of thinking wasn’t bad.

Before they could continue the conversation further, there was a knock on the door.

“Don’t speak,” Sarah whispered, reaching out to slam the face guard down on Otto’s and Crow’s helmets. Afterward, she opened the door, and two middle-aged priests with short, black-gray hair entered.

“Welcome, Fathers.” Sarah bowed her head in obeisance. Crow and Otto already had their heads down.

“Just three of you?”

“Yes, sir.”

The man speaking pulled out a small glass vial. Inside it were three spherical pills. Crow could sense the dense Death Mana when the priest removed the seal—his time spent in Unhulde made him highly sensitive to it. Worse than that, he felt something familiar within it. It was also related to Unhulde and his escape; this… feels like that bone monster, the Irnan.

*Zoe? Is this somehow related to the Witches?*

*Not directly. The Irnan is one of our foul creations, but this current situation is beyond my understanding. We didn’t stay around to find out what happened to it or the Waerloga, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence.*

*Is this dangerous?*

*I won’t say no. Just take it because it is a curse. I assume that’s why they want you to take it three days in a row. It’ll reinforce the curse, so it’ll last longer. Otherwise, your Shield would easily cleanse it.*

*What about Otto?*

*Don’t worry about him. No realm will reject him, and that pill probably won’t even be able to curse him.*

*Huh? What the hell does that mean?* That revelation shocked Crow.

*We don’t know, either. He is something ancient, and that’s all we’ve determined. His power is weak, but it is still unfathomable.*

“Take it. We need to be sure there are no side effects.” The priest’s reasoning was subtle, but only an idiot would buy that excuse. They wanted to be sure their little puppets took the pill.

Crow took the initiative to show the others it was fine. He grabbed the pill, lifted his face guard slightly, and swallowed it down. The taint entering his body spread out like oil, making him feel unclean and uncomfortable. His breathing slowed, and his skin turned even paler than it already was. Spending months inside these caverns left him looking sickly already. The pill made it ten times worse, and he looked like those zombie puppets the Hex Vodou used.

On his forehead, he felt a burning sensation and observed it with his Sage’s Sight. The black symbol that appeared briefly was something Crow recognized. It was a Dark Blessing; depending on how one looked at it, it could be a curse or a blessing. It suppressed the Essence of Vitality within his body, which made him appear more dead than alive.

“Sir, I don’t mean to question the Unspoken, but is a Dark Blessing something we should mess around with?” Sarah asked, trying to be as respectful as possible, but inside, she only felt more disdain for the Clergy and the Brotherhood. It was these types of actions that turned her against the hypocritical Minnustern.

“Are you questioning us?”

“I wouldn’t dare, but based on the teachings you’ve given us, this violates the Stricture of Mind. A Paladin of the Void’s Mind must maintain its purity and reject outside influences such as dark magics, alcohol, and drugs. Our god Ginnungagap will provide all the necessary aid, but only if our belief in him remains pure and without misguidance. You’ve taught us that a Dark Blessing is evil, and we will excommunicate those who accept one. I have to ask, is this a test of our faith?”

“So you are questioning our order?”

“No. I will do as you command, but I have recorded my grievance toward this hypocrisy. I accept your administration under protest because it violates more than one stricture.”

“What about you two?” The priest turned toward Crow and Otto and asked.

“Stricture of Spirit states we are to report any personage participating in the administration of any Dark Arts, which you are,” Crow replied simply. He didn’t have much time to review the Thirteen Strictures of the Minnustern, but he had enough time to imprint the content into his Sage’s Mind. Finding another violation didn’t take much because Dark Blessings violated many of the order’s rules.

Sarah was more surprised than the priests, and hearing Crow’s direct threat had shaken them. It was one thing to claim to do something under protest; it was another to report the priests for violating the inviolable strictures.

“Shut up and do as you’re told,” the second priest said. Thus far, he hadn’t said anything, but now his domineering presence lorded over them. Crow did not know where the mortal man got his confidence. The only thing he could think of was the indoctrination of the paladins was so complete that he wasn’t worried about someone like Crow attacking him. It took everything in his power not to cut the old man’s head off.