The crimson hue stained克莱恩's eyes, staining his nearly frozen gaze. At that moment, a soft cough echoed from within the room. Old Neil, his voice hoarse, asked, "Dunne, what brings you here?" Dunne's gray eyes were deep and profound. With a rich, steady tone, he replied calmly, "We heard you were ill, so we came to visit." The room fell silent. A few seconds passed, then Old Neil shouted, angry and frightened, "No! You're lying!" Before克莱恩 or the others could speak, his tone suddenly softened: "Yes, I do know my condition is off." Old Neil...克莱恩 closed his eyes sharply, yet the steady flow of blood seeping through the door缝隙 did not cease. Immediately thereafter, Old Neil raised his voice: "Yet throughout all this, I have never harmed anyone, nor have I ever intended to." I haven't betrayed any of the Night Watchers' most important secrets. At most, I've settled a few expenses that didn't deserve to be paid. I haven't done anything wrong at all!" "Klein," he suddenly called out as he often did, "I've told you time and again that the motto of the Seers is 'Do as you please, but never harm.' I've always upheld that principle—willing to endure, willing to wait—never willing to do anything that would harm others..." At this point, he pleaded with growing fear: "Denne, Loy, Klein—please go back. Go back. Wait until tomorrow. Wait until tomorrow. I'll recover then. I swear it, I swear to the Goddess—I will never harm anyone. I truly will!" Denne closed his eyes and spoke in a soft, gentle tone: "What exactly do you want? What have you been trying to achieve?" "Me?" "Old Neil first looked茫然, then spoke with growing enthusiasm, 'I'm trying to revive Salist, Dune. I've found a way—I'm on the right path!' 'You must have heard, when I first performed the ritual magic, I made a mistake. I failed to cure her illness, failed to save her. I knew then that it was due to my insufficient mastery of mysticism. Now, with enough knowledge and experience, I can accomplish all this! It's truly regrettable that I didn't draw inspiration from the saying of the 'Seer' and from Dail's example—my best opportunity passed me by. If only I were a high-tier powerhouse, everything would have been so much easier.' As he spoke, a touch of emotion welled up in his voice. 'No, I can't give up now… Dune, you go back. Go back. Please, I beg you.' Kline clenched his teeth, listening as the captain's voice trembled slightly, asking, 'So, what are your plans for reviving Salist?' "Neil suddenly became enthusiastic: 'I'll prepare her with a body that never ages using the method of "Life Forging,"邓恩, perhaps you're unaware, the Sequence 4 of the Earth Mother's Church specializes in "Life Forging," and the corresponding Sequence under the "Universal Scholar" path can also manage it. I'll draw upon the divine blessings to accomplish this.' 'Then, I'll summon her soul from the spiritual realm and pray to the gods to reunite spirit and flesh.' 'Isn't that a wonderful idea?' Duanen forced a smile, lifting the corner of his mouth. 'Yes, absolutely wonderful. Neil, let's go in—perhaps we can assist you.' '...Duanen, are you still not willing to let me go?' "Old Neil pleaded, 'Go back, please. Go back. I'll be back to normal tomorrow. I swear it, Dunn. I promise you, I'll never steal another cup of your coffee beans again. Klein, Loy, I swear it—never again will I have you help me justify expenses that don't quite make sense. I really mean it!'" The blood-red liquid seeping through the crack of the main door flowed down the steps, onto the stone pavement, and into the garden soil. "Old Neil, have we known each other for fifteen years now? I can't count the number of missions we've worked together on. I care about you deeply and am genuinely worried—only by seeing you myself can I feel at ease." Duan said in a calm, steady voice. "...Very well," Neil mumbled, "I really don't see anything wrong." With a soft creak, the main door slowly swung open. Kline quickly wiped his eyes, clearing his vision. Then he noticed a thick, sticky, fur-covered liquid spreading across the carpet in the hall. Looking ahead and gradually rising his gaze, he saw the same viscous, blood-colored liquid—streaked with dense tufts of black short fur—covering the living room floor, ceiling, round table, piano, and chairs. Old Neil's head hung suspended in midair, connected to the ceiling by thick, robust mucus, with a pair of cold, lidless eyes growing on his forehead and cheeks. The piano keys were jumping on their own, playing a beautiful, melodic tune. "Dean, look," Neil said with a bright smile, "I really don't have any major issues. Loy, Caine—do you all agree?" As he opened his mouth, Caine saw a thick, blood-colored liquid flowing inside, speckled with short black hairs. Dean's gray eyes flickered slightly, and he casually remarked, "Neil, where did you learn about 'life crafting' and the 'resurrection rites'?" Neil responded with enthusiasm: "I heard about them. I tried the earlier parts—yes, they're truly real!" This is a gift from the divine, who continually speaks to me, describes to me—He is, He is...” Old Neil’s voice stalled, and only after十几 seconds did he speak again, with a mixture of bewilderment and fear: “He is the Hidden Sage...” The Hidden Sage? Wasn’t that the deified, impersonal spirit of the Moes Monastic Order? And yet, this very spirit later came to life, bringing evil and decay... The Moes Monastic Order holds the complete sequence of the "Seers of Revelation"... A thought struck Caine, and many connections formed in his mind. Upon mentioning "the Hidden Sage," Old Neil seemed to finally regain his clarity, gazing around him with a sense of wonder, taking in everything. In the难以 described silence, his six eyes turned simultaneously toward Dunn, and with a wry smile he opened his mouth: "So it is, so it is—I have already become a monster..." Before Dunn or anyone else could respond, Old Neil suddenly broke into a mixture of hurried, eager, fearful, and hesitant smiles: "Please let me go. I will retreat into the deep mountains and vanish from sight. I will not harm anyone. I will simply quietly carry out my ritual. Truly, let me go. Please, please." At that very moment, Caine felt as though something ethereal in front of him had shattered. Then, the four cold, lidless eyes of Old Neil glowed with a deep, shadowed light, firmly locking onto Dunn, and his expression grew impassive: "You're pulling me into your dream!" "No, it's useless! My eyes can see through all of this!" The blood-rich, viscous liquid spreading across the ceiling, floor, and walls began to pulsate, as if a giant had opened its mouth wide, attempting to swallow the entire group of Kline and others whole, while Old Neil's head grew hazy, layered with overlapping illusions. Kline, calm, drew his revolver without hesitation and reached into his coat pocket, intending to cast the "Sleeper Spell." Suddenly, everything stilled again—the blood-rich, viscous liquid, densely covered with fine black bristles, now calm as still lake water under no breeze. Old Neil lost his expressions of coldness, disdain, hatred, and longing, becoming serene and peaceful. At some point, Dunne had already thrown the seal "3–0611" into the pool of the viscous liquid. The four eye-like formations on Old Neil's forehead and cheeks slowly closed, as though lacking the desire to open. Any living being that comes into unprotected contact with the "Silent Hair" will grow increasingly quiet, lose all vitality, and remain so until the very end of its life! Dunning, Kline, and Luo all raise their guns, aiming squarely at each other's heads. At this moment, Old Neil's face reveals an expression of profound fear and desperate struggle—his strong instinct for survival slightly overcoming the influence of the seal "3–0611." The four additional eyes vanish. The deep lines around his eyes and mouth, his snow-white hair, and the slightly hazy, dark red gaze of his eyes all resemble the way Kline first saw him. "Dunning, do you remember when I once saved your life?" "Luo, do you remember when I helped you save the lives of your family?" "Kline, do you remember that I taught you about the Mysteries every day? Do you remember our conversations about how to claim reimbursement? Do you remember when I brought you freshly ground coffee? Do you remember how we worked together to handle the unruly Enforcers?" …a series of phantom pleas filtered into Caine’s ears, causing the hand gripping the revolver to tremble noticeably, making it difficult to pull the trigger. *Crack! Crack!* Two silver huntress bullets flew out, striking the old Neil headfirst and then in succession. Caine watched the face—so remarkably familiar—writhe in despair, saw his skull lift upward, and watched the crimson and creamy blood spatter outward in all directions. The viscous blood around him began to contract, slowly flowing back toward the area near the old man’s head where it had fallen. Dune and Luo Yao lowered their guns simultaneously, falling into silence. Caine watched silently, witnessing the old man’s “corpse” gradually dissolve into a mass of disintegrating flesh, and saw within that flesh two dark, luminous, painful eyes. He could only feel that all of this felt more like a dream, and could not believe that such a thing had truly happened, and had truly ended. He stared at Dunn silently and without speaking, watching him take two steps forward and see the captain's slightly hunched silhouette. Dunn, dressed in a black coat, gazed at the "corpse" of the old Neil ahead, and spoke softly to himself: "We are the Guardians, yet also a group of pitiful creatures constantly battling against danger and madness."