"The spirituality of 'Shadow' is primarily expressed as fear on the mental level, so as long as one is feared after using a certain method, one can accumulate the spirituality of 'Shadow'?
"Does stepping into the extraordinary require such cruel methods?"
Looking at the brutal and cruel scene before her, Nephis, with wide eyes, thought this to herself. She hadn't expected that the path to the extraordinary she had always pursued would require such a method to achieve.
"Then… what methods are Miss Dorothea and Mr. Brandon's Rose Cross using to step into the extraordinary? Eli just mentioned 'Shadow's' spirituality… so are there other kinds of spirituality?"
Nephis thought this to herself, and after Eli scanned the large-scale torture scene around them, he spoke to Nephis.
"Only Mr. Thorn's most loyal servants know this place. Mr. Thorn promised us that as long as we sincerely follow him, he can lead us onto the path of the extraordinary."
"So this is the way to become extraordinary. It's completely different from what I imagined before. This is truly…" Nephis wanted to express her feelings, but for a moment, she didn't dare to say words like 'cruel' or 'horrible'. Eli, after hearing this, continued with a smile.
"Heh heh… Miss Boyle, you still seem to be having a little trouble accepting this, but it's alright. Everyone has some sort of problem like this at first, but it's alright, it's alright. When you truly pick up the whip and start accumulating spirituality, you will fall in love with this feeling. You will understand even more clearly what a joyful path Mr. Thorn has led us onto."
Turning his head, Eli smiled and said to Nephis, and Nephis also nodded in response.
"Mm… since this is the path Mr. Thorn has guided us to, there's no room for doubt. However, I still have a small question: these prisoners… um, where do they all come from?"
"Mostly from the city, Flood Alley… Ash District… Dock District… Festive Street… there are tons of gangsters and homeless people sleeping on the streets, no trouble finding them at all. Apparently, there are specialized gangs there doing kidnapping work, and Mr. Thorn is in contact with them. These guys are already worthless lives; it's their honor to be of use in our pursuit of the extraordinary."
Eli muttered, and Nephis remained silent, her heart heavy. At this point, Eli continued to speak to Nephis.
"Miss Boyle, you are now qualified to stand with us and pursue the extraordinary with Mr. Thorn. However, in the past few days, a few people were too heavy-handed and killed several torture slaves, which has led to a shortage of torture slaves. For now, there are no extra torture slaves to give you, so you'll have to wait a few days. Once new torture slaves are transported from the city, I will immediately teach you the Fear Torture Method so you can start accumulating spirituality."
"Mm… you've really gone to a lot of trouble, Mr. Eli. As a newcomer, it's fine for me to wait a few days." Hearing Eli's words, Nephis quickly responded with a smile, while also feeling a surge of joy in her heart. She was happy that she hadn't yet reached the point where she had to personally become an abuser to gain their trust.
After responding, Nephis once again scanned her surroundings, noticing that at the end of this underground hall, there was another staircase leading down, guarded by several external society members.
"It looks like it goes down further there, Mr. Eli. If we continue down, where does it lead?"
"It's deeper into this ruin, but Mr. Thorn doesn't allow us to enter there. Only his trusted confidants can go in. I don't know what's down there yet, but I believe that as long as I continue to follow Mr. Thorn's footsteps, I will be able to go down there."
Eli said with confidence, and looking at the staircase continuing downwards in the distance, Nephis silently nodded.
...King's Campus, outside the East Gate, Green Shade Town.
In the afternoon, Dorothea was sitting on her balcony, enjoying afternoon tea. In front of her lay a thick volume of the Sea of Literature Navigation Log. The open page was filled with writing, but it wasn't Dorothea's handwriting; it was Nephis's.
After Nephis successfully entered the inner area and came out, she immediately used the history book Dorothea had given her earlier to contact Dorothea. It was the text linked to the "Sea of Literature Navigation Log." Dorothea had originally written Akasha's honored name in that book and given it to Nephis. Afterwards, Dorothea informed the other party on how to use the text, telling her that she could use this method to send messages to her, and to pray directly if it was urgent.
Dorothea now intentionally kept the prayer and the Lord of Navigation's contact methods separate. Prayer was used when communicating with others in Akasha's identity, while the Navigation Log was mainly used when communicating with others in Dorothea's own identity.
"Fear Torture Method? Accumulating 'Shadow' spirituality through being feared. It seems this is how the Eight-Spiked Nest accumulates spirituality, and it's quite an evil path, on par with the Holy Communion and the Bone Crafters… Gregory is also a 'Shadow' extraordinary, and I wonder how the official spirituality accumulation method of the Anying Bureau is… I haven't seen him do anything strange on weekdays, so it's hard to judge, but since it's official, the method of accumulating spirituality shouldn't be too outrageous, right…?"
After glancing at the information Nephis sent back on the Navigation Log, Dorothea continued to ponder inwardly.
"As expected, my guess was right. That so-called inner area is the ruins beneath the school. Now they've actually turned it into a torture chamber for cultivating talent? And they're doing some unknown shady business. But since the ruins are there, I'll have to break in no matter what. This is a good opportunity to use."
Dorothea thought this, and then she glanced at the calendar on the table, which read September 28th. There was only one day left until the "agreed upon" meet-up date between Edric and Brandon.
"Now, it's time to arrange the script for the meet-up."
...The next day, Royal Crown University, King's Campus.
In the evening, the bell tower of the King's Campus rang with deep, resonant chimes. On the spiraling staircase of the bell tower, Edric, dressed in a trench coat, wearing a short top hat, and with a high nose and deep-set eyes, ascended the stairs step by step.
After climbing for a while, Edric arrived at a storage room on the middle floor of the bell tower just as the bells stopped ringing. Someone was already waiting for him there.
"Hey, Rick, you really know how to time it. You arrived just as the six o'clock bell stopped. I was actually expecting you to be late." Sitting on a wooden crate by a window, Brandon smiled and said to Edric, while Edric silently replied.
"The new stronghold has been confirmed. It's at 38 North Pine Forest, north of the King's Campus."
"North Pine Forest? Ho, this time the location is quite remote. It seems they don't want to be too close to the school this time." Hearing the address of the new stronghold, Brandon said with a smile, while Edric nodded slightly.
"Yes, last time in Green Shade Town, things weren't handled very well, which made those guys in the school wary. So this time, we decided to be a little further from the school."
"Mm… although it's a bit far to run, being a little safer is fine. Oh, by the way, since the location of the stronghold has been confirmed, it's time to hold a gathering, right?" Brandon said to Edric, and the other party immediately responded.
"Yes, with the new stronghold confirmed, a gathering is definitely happening. Including you and me, all core members of the society must attend."
"Only a few core people? Including you and me, that's no more than five people, right? Isn't that too few? Should we call more people?" Hearing Edric's words, Brandon said with a worried tone, and the other party immediately responded.
"This time, there's an important topic to discuss. The next steps against those guys need to be decided at this gathering. Too many people coming makes it easy for information to leak, especially those peripheral members who aren't even extraordinary.
"According to 'Detective,' we're probably planning a big operation this time. If all goes well, we might be able to catch all those guys in the school in one fell swoop."
Edric finished speaking. Hearing his words, Brandon pondered and nodded, then asked.
"That makes sense. It's good to be cautious now. So, what time is the gathering?"
"Tonight, exactly nine o'clock, 38 North Pine Forest. Everyone must be on time."
Looking at Brandon before him, Edric said with certainty. At this moment, on the ceiling above his head, two black spiders were crawling there, a series of eyes silently monitoring the scene below.