Chapter 95: The Myth of the Faceless One

Though it felt somewhat redundant, Miss Vilyric couldn’t help but point at the Black and White Mask and casually ask, “What is this?”

The Oracle’s response was equally concise. “Soul.”

Realizing that this explanation might be too cryptic, the old man quickly shook his head and elaborated, “To be precise, it’s a material embodiment of a soul that has been assimilated and has already perished.”

“…?”

On the other side, the Saint of Bright Light, Yuna, clearly already knew a lot more about the situation. She immediately added, “Miss Xī, this is the soul of Temple Knight Karina Brett, or rather, the material form of those Void energies that once constituted her soul… and now…”

“Is that so…”

Though it wasn’t explicitly stated, Yuna’s meaning was quite clear. It seemed that the leader of that Temple Knight squad, the girl rumored to have a quarter of Light Tribe blood, ultimately did not survive. Although this outcome had already been anticipated by her, Yuna, or even everyone else at the first hearing of the news, it still felt a bit melancholy to confirm it.

“What about her body?”

“It’s in the Quiet Room within the Lingyin Merchant Association, together with this mask. Last night, Mr. Soul brought them back. Once the dust of the incident settles, we will hold a funeral for her and the other fallen Temple Knights… to allow them to return to the embrace of light.”

“Mm.”

Miss Vilyric nodded, having grasped the general situation, and then turned her gaze back to the Black and White Mask in the Oracle’s hands.

“So, do you all understand what this is now?”

Since the Oracle had previously mentioned the term “assimilation,” many elements could be explained. Yet, assimilation still required an initial source, which undoubtedly was the real core of this incident.

That is, the so-called behind-the-scenes mastermind.

Moreover, this person has now been confirmed to not be Karina Brett—or rather, this mask was not attached to her.

Naturally comprehending Miss White Fox’s implication, the old man nodded in silence, and seemingly pulling something from his seemingly bottomless sleeve, he produced an ancient book and handed it to Miss Vilyric, sighing, “A few days ago, the day after Miss Xī visited the Merchant Association, I performed a morning divination but for some reason sensed an inexplicable force emerging within the symbolism, which disrupted the clearly emerging situation into a tangled mess… it was simply unbelievable.”

“I initially thought this was due to Miss Xī’s sudden appearance, but upon closer analysis, I realized that this peculiar force was not of ordinary nature and even obscured the exploration of fate to some extent…”

“Those capable of such strange occurrences, even across history, are few and far between. I suspect the other party has already transcended that level—a terrifying existence that is unimaginable through mortal thought.”

“However, with the world’s will here, no matter how powerful something is, it is difficult for it to exert its full strength in the present world. At most, it can descend with divine thoughts or incarnations, but might still be unable to resist.”

“Thus, I began to trace the clues and sought through the ancient texts preserved in the Lingyin Merchant Association and dispatched a capable subordinate who recently returned to investigate several locations indicated by the divination. Eventually, I combined domestic and external clues to find this book.”

During the Oracle’s explanation, Miss Vilyric had already flipped open the old book, which was only half a finger thick, with no title or description on the cover, and it didn’t even look like it was made from the common paper materials of today.

It was a biography, recording the mythological stories of the being known as the Faceless One.

The girl quickly scanned over the introductory page.

The Faceless One is a fantastical creature that exists only in myth, yet is not categorized as a mythical being.

This is because the Faceless One does not possess the extraordinary powers attributed to mythological beings and is neither a fixed nor specific race but can transform from any individual and even can propagate further into more of its kind—an extremely bizarre creation.

At the core of the Faceless One lies—its mask.

The black and white mask that hides its visage is the Faceless One’s distinctive and sole characteristic, as well as the medium upon which they spread.

This type of creature was even considered a mobile plague during the mythological era.

For even a handful of them, if not effectively controlled after their emergence, they would rapidly begin to split—two from one, four from two—spreading endlessly like a plague until all surrounding beings were assimilated into the same Faceless Ones.

According to the book, numerous large-scale disasters led by the rampage of Faceless Ones occurred in ancient times, causing even large-scale extinction of biological populations at the national level, and it was only through direct intervention by the gods that their expansion was halted.

Yet, even so, it wouldn’t be long before new similar individuals would emerge elsewhere—even after a region’s Faceless Ones had been completely eradicated—seemingly inexhaustible, even gods could not eradicate them entirely.

Based on the conjecture in this book, its author seemed to believe that behind the Faceless Ones, there might be a horrifying and formidable evil deity that rivals true gods, and it is precisely because of its existence that the calamity of the Faceless Ones continually erupts across various places and remains unending.

However, it was clear that this book was written long ago, perhaps thousands of years in the past. Based on some details, it was likely authored around the time of the outbreak of divine calamity, before the disappearance of the gods, hence it lacked more detailed descriptions regarding the Faceless Ones in later generations, merely noting that once similar creatures are discovered, one must attach great importance to them.

Of course, given the time constraints, Miss Vilyric could not possibly read through this not-so-thin biography immediately. She only skimmed over the main content to understand what the Oracle wanted to convey, and soon closed the book and looked up.

“So according to this book, those increasing Black and White Masks appearing in Mingguang City are indeed the calamity of the Faceless Ones mentioned above, right?”

With great solemnity, the Oracle nodded.

“Though it is somewhat unbelievable, combining the situation in the city over the past two days, along with the intelligence held by Her Highness Yuna and the news my disciple brought back, we discussed simply and believe this possibility exceeds seventy percent.”

On the other hand, the Saint of Bright Light appeared particularly grave.

“Yes, since the end of the mythological era and the founding of the Holy Kingdom, under the long millennia, many ancient and bizarre creatures, including the Faceless Ones documented here, have not appeared in recorded history. So, even my Summerfield Family knows very little about them.”

“If it weren’t for the secret transmissions from the Lingyin Merchant Association, we might still be utterly unaware of their threat. If this matter isn’t handled properly, the resulting disaster and impact could far exceed expectations, potentially leading to the complete destruction of Mingguang City or even… result in a biological extinction scene resembling that seen in the recent Abyss invasion in the southern part of the world.”

“Although we have mobilized all nine Temple Knight squads and various forces for a joint search, to be honest, I’m afraid those monsters will continue to hide and quietly spread among the populace… After all, as it stands, once assimilated by a Faceless One, it basically equates to death…”

“The Faceless Ones… Heh, interesting.”

Not displaying the varying degrees of anxiety of the other two, Miss White Fox merely raised the ancient book in her hand, signaling to the Oracle.

“I haven’t finished reading this book yet; could I borrow it for a while longer?”

Since Miss Vilyric had specifically said so, the old man naturally had no reason to refuse.

“Not at all, although this is the original, we actually already have copies of similar ancient texts in the Lingyin Merchant Association. Even if it were truly lost, it would not matter much. Just consider it a gift to Miss Xī. For now, the most pressing issue is…”

The Oracle turned around, and the gazes of everyone naturally focused again on the Gray-clothed Swordsman, codenamed Soul, who was meditating with his eyes closed, emitting a dark and malignant aura from his wounds.

With the content of the book seen earlier as a support, Miss Vilyric immediately understood the predicament this guy was facing.

“Oh, so he has also suffered… assimilation, huh?”

   

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