The eight Secret Keepers before Herta had tentatively accepted her identity as an Otherworld Witch, but despite the plausibility of her explanation, they weren't ready to trust her immediately.
Who knew if this witch who had suddenly appeared was a friend or foe? Did she harbor hidden motives?
After all, would anyone completely trust a stranger they'd just met?
The team leader of the Secret Keepers composed himself and said, "My apologies, Miss Witch, but we have urgent matters to attend to. Would you mind waiting here for a while? We can talk later."
It was worth noting that it was the dead of night. Perhaps "talk sooner" would have been a more appropriate phrase.
The leader then glanced at one of his teammates and continued, "In the meantime, Miss Witch, how about one of my team members shows you around the city?"
The leader probably thought his gesture was subtle, but Herta immediately noticed the furtive wink he gave the designated teammate. Given the circumstances, the unspoken message was clear: "Don't take her to Secret Keeper headquarters. Just show her around town."
"What are you all heading off to do?" Herta asked. "I could join you—maybe even lend a hand. Plus, it would be a good chance to chat while we travel."
The Team Leader hesitated. "This...?"
Taking a stranger along, whether to their headquarters or the front lines, would carry roughly the same level of risk.
In truth, Herta's best course of action would have been to stick with the designated member and wander the city, gradually building trust. But, true to form, she couldn't be bothered with such roundabout schemes.
Finally, under Herta's silent gaze and recognizing the severity of the situation, the Team Leader gritted his teeth and agreed.
After all, this was no time for dithering. A distant town was hosting a cultist ritual—though the Team Leader remained unaware that Herta's puppet had already disrupted it, casually eliminating the Evil God's Familiar summoned during the ceremony.
During their journey, the eight Secret Keepers rode at full gallop. Herta, perched atop the Key, maintained their pace, floating effortlessly beside the Team Leader.
During their conversation, Herta learned a great deal. The people of this world also called their planet Earth, and the current year was 1850. She was currently located within the Great Britain Empire.
Approximately a century prior, the Flesh God Hades had descended upon a small nation in Africa, instantly obliterating it.
The Team Leader didn't know what Hades' true form looked like. To date, no human had ever witnessed the Evil God's true form and retained their sanity. All the Team Leader knew was that a crimson, fleshy membrane had begun expanding from the point of Hades' descent, devouring every living creature, plant, and even the land itself that it touched.
Fortunately, for some unknown reason, this fleshy membrane seemed to fear seawater. Its expansion halted upon reaching the ocean. The problem was that Africa and the Eurasian Continent weren't completely separated; they shared a land border in Egypt!
This meant that if the membrane's spread went unchecked, it would inevitably engulf Europe and Asia as well. The European elite at the time were even preparing to flee to the isolated New World of the Americas.
At that very moment, the Great Ming Dynasty, upon learning of the crisis, mobilized a million laborers to Egypt. Over three grueling years, they relentlessly carved out the Suez Canal by hand, completely severing Africa from the Eurasian Continent just before the Flesh God's fleshy membrane could spread any further.
In our timeline, the Suez Canal took Egypt ten years to build, opening on November 17, 1869. But in this world, the Great Ming Dynasty completed it in just three years, by 1750.
Of course, this world's Suez Canal isn't called that; it's known as the "African Isolation Line."
From then on, the Flesh God remained effectively confined to Africa. Apart from the ceaseless influx of Blood God Cultists, the deity itself remained largely dormant, refraining from causing any new chaos. No one knew what the Flesh God was truly up to.
This world's history is fascinating. Even in 1850, the Great Ming Dynasty still stood strong and powerful. This was partly due to geography: with the Evil God trapped in Africa, European nations bore the brunt of the threat, while the distant Great Ming could focus on its own development.
As for Old America? In this world, the United States simply doesn't exist.
In this world, Africa had been devoured by the Flesh God, resulting in the absence of black slaves. This indirectly affected Old America, where the lack of a massive enslaved workforce stunted its development, leaving it too weak to declare independence.
Europe, on the other hand, saw Napoleon Bonaparte emerge on schedule. In that turbulent era, he unified the continent and established an even more powerful French Empire.
In summary, only these three nations existed in this world, forming an alliance. The Secret Keepers, an organization dedicated to combating the threat of Evil Gods, was jointly established by these three powers.
As they spoke, the group of nine finally arrived at their destination: the small town where Hector had sent his distress call. Herta found the place vaguely familiar. The moment they entered the town, they encountered Hector and Eve.
Upon seeing the team leader, Hector exclaimed excitedly, "Captain Martin! You're finally here!"
Captain Martin, visibly surprised, turned to Hector. "You little rascal," he said. "Did you actually wait for backup this time? No reckless solo heroics?"
Hector waved his hands frantically. "No, Captain Martin! Eve and I already went to the ritual site! Unfortunately, the cultists succeeded! They even seem to have summoned another incredibly terrifying Evil God!"
"In my eyes, she's wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sitting on a giant key—a strikingly beautiful woman. But maybe I've gone mad? This is just how I see her!"
"Captain Martin, you'd better tie me up now, before I do something to harm my teammates!"
Upon hearing this, Captain Martin, leader of the Eight Secret Keepers, frowned deeply. He wasn't foolish; the image of Miss Witch immediately came to mind. Glancing to his side, he realized she had vanished without a trace.
A chill ran down his spine as a wave of dread washed over him. He was filled with a bone-deep fear of what might have been... until he saw Miss Witch materialize behind Hector. She tiptoed up to him and delivered a sharp slap to his shoulder. "Were you talking about me?"
Suddenly, a piercing tenor scream echoed through the entire town.
Hector: "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!!!"