After surveying the entire cathedral, Eros looked down and called out:
"Irina, come out and get to work!"
As his voice fell, Irina emerged from Eros’s shadow. She looked at him with a hint of confusion in her eyes, not quite understanding what kind of "work" Eros wanted her to do in this desolate place.
Eros pointed to the dilapidated cathedral before them and shrugged:
"It is our ancestor’s sanctuary, after all. Since we’ve come across it, we ought to clean it up a bit!"
Irina froze for a moment, and then a flash of shame appeared in her beautiful eyes. She hadn't even thought of that. Without hesitation, she walked a few steps to the front of the altar and began to offer penance to the Eye of Secrecy symbol—representing the Goddess of the Night—on the altar.
Seeing Irina in prayer, Eros took it upon himself to start clearing away the chairs in the main hall, which had rotted into piles of useless wood. This cleaning lasted for several hours. After tossing the last fragment of a chair outside the cathedral, Eros patted the dust off his hands and remarked with a sigh:
"Next time I come here, I need to bring proper cleaning tools. Doing it like this is way too slow."
Just as he was about to head back inside to continue cleaning, Barbara’s voice suddenly rang in his ear:
"Six people have arrived fifty meters behind the cathedral."
Eros was startled and immediately expanded his own Night Perception.
On the other side, a strangely styled Puppet glanced at the five participants before it and asked in a puzzled tone:
"Why hasn't Crow arrived yet? Did he encounter a Weird Thing on the road and get delayed?"
Hearing this, a doll about the size of an adult with a sinister and terrifying face—the Doll—grinned and laughed:
"Puppet, don't think so negatively. The Church’s nighttime operations have been quite frequent lately. Maybe Crow was just killed by them."
The Puppet’s mouth twitched slightly. It ignored the Doll’s words and turned its gaze toward an exquisitely crafted Paper Figure on the other side:
"Paper Figure, do you know what has actually been happening in Intiles lately?"
The exquisitely featured Paper Figure glanced at the Puppet and said indifferently:
" I know a few things, but what can you offer in exchange for that information?"
"Forget it, I’m leaving Intiles soon anyway; I don't care what happens," the Puppet muttered after hearing the Paper Figure's counter-question.
"Puppet, you’re leaving Intiles?" This time, the speaker was a Paper Crane floating in mid-air.
"Yes! I plan to head to Haidaram," the Puppet nodded, answering the Paper Crane's question.
Hearing the Puppet’s words, a Black Cat sitting next to the Paper Figure licked its paw and spoke up:
"I heard Haidaram isn't peaceful either. Those cultists who worship the Endless Mist are making quite a stir there."
At that moment, a Snake coiled on the ground suddenly straightened its body and argued:
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"No matter how big a stir they make, it can't be worse than Intiles! Lately, I haven't dared to go out at night. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about leaving Intiles too. This place is just too terrifying for a snake."
Just then, the massive, horrifying Doll said impatiently:
"Alright, alright, we should start the transaction."
The Puppet took out a pocket watch from its person, checked the time, and then said:
"We’ll wait five more minutes. If Crow hasn't arrived by then, we’ll start the transaction."
Watching from the shadows, Eros rubbed his chin. It seemed these people were planning to trade items in the Spirit Realm. He had heard of these kinds of warlock gatherings, though he had never participated in one. They were trading sessions held by "wild" warlocks not registered with the Church or those who worshiped other Evil Gods.
Because they were afraid of being discovered by the Church, the locations for such gatherings were usually very hidden. He hadn't expected these people to be so bold as to choose a location in the Spirit Realm. Although they weren't entering the Spirit Realm in their true bodies—instead using a portion of their consciousness attached to a spiritual item—a Weird Thing wouldn't care. If you encountered one, it could still use that bit of consciousness to invade your soul in the physical world.
However, entering the Spirit Realm with partial consciousness via an item was indeed safer than entering in person. Furthermore, the fact that they could enter the Spirit Realm on their own meant they were at least Sequence 6. Only after reaching Sequence 6 and possessing a Profane Spark did you truly possess the key to the Spirit Realm. The way Barbara had dragged him in earlier was more like picking a lock.
At that moment, Barbara’s voice whispered in Eros’s ear:
"The cathedrals of Deities usually retain some lingering Divine Aura. Therefore, Weird Things rarely approach the area where a cathedral is located."
Hearing this explanation, Eros realized why these people dared to hold a gathering in the Spirit Realm. It seemed they had discovered that the area around the ancestral cathedral was rarely visited by Weird Things. The location they chose was about fifty meters away—not quite inside the cathedral’s bounds—so they didn't have to worry about being targeted by an unknown entity.
Indeed, there was a reason these wild warlocks could reach Sequence 6; they were sufficiently cautious.
Five minutes later, the Puppet closed its pocket watch and put it away, sighing:
"It looks like Crow isn't coming. Let the gathering begin!"
Just then, a light cough came from nearby:
"Uhm! Can I join? No offense, I just want to see what's going on."
The six people in front spun their heads toward the source of the sound, their eyes filled with vigilance. The Puppet stared at the mysterious figure shrouded in shadows whose form couldn't be seen clearly and asked in a low voice:
"Who are you, Your Excellency? Why are you eavesdropping on our conversation?"
Eros spread his hands and said casually, "Can't you tell?"
The Doll nearby sensed him carefully and then gave a sinister cackle: "A Remnant of the Night! You actually dare to show your face in Intiles!"
Eros scoffed and said indifferently, "What? Do you intend to judge this 'Remnant of the Night' on behalf of the Church?"
The Doll’s laughter choked. What a joke. With their identities, helping the Church? Were they kidding? The other five relaxed upon realizing this person couldn't possibly be from the Church. Even if he was a "vicious" Remnant of the Night, as long as he wasn't with the Church, it was fine. After all, they weren't exactly "good people" in the eyes of the Church either.
Seeing that the others didn't reply, Eros cheerfully repeated:
"So, can I join?"
The Puppet pondered for a moment before nodding: "You may!"
And so, Eros successfully joined the gathering. It was his first time participating in such an event, and he found it quite novel.
"You need to give yourself a codename!" the Black Cat said while licking its paw.
"Yes, yes, yes! You need a codename! I am Mr. Snake. The one who spoke just now is Mr. Black Cat. That is Mr. Puppet, the organizer of this gathering. Then there are Mr. Doll, Mr. Paper Crane, and finally, this beautiful lady, Ms. Paper Figure."
The Snake repeated the Black Cat's words and briefly introduced the participants to Eros. After a moment of thought, Eros said:
"Call me Onii-chan."
"Very well, Mr. Onii-chan," Mr. Snake said, flicking its tongue.
Although he didn't understand what the word "Onii-chan" meant. To be honest, being called "Onii-chan" by a snake felt a bit strange to Eros.
The Puppet glanced at Eros and said in a calm tone:
"Since the introductions are finished, let the gathering begin! I wish to sell a Grade 3 Sealed Artifact—the Corrosive Blade."
"Its effect is that any damage dealt to biological creatures with flesh will carry corrosive and poisonous effects. Simultaneously, as long as one holds it, they will be proficient in dagger combat techniques."
"There is only one side effect: it causes the user to develop a bloodthirsty psyche, enjoying the torture and killing of enemies. That is all for its information. Does anyone want it? 700 pounds!"