Volume 8: The Fourth Impact Chapter 93 The old devil invites you to play, yes/no?
"Your girlfriend is really a clever little ghost. She is very good at luring people into a trap."
Deadpool Wade, dressed like an exhibitionist and pervert in a crimson tights, swaggered in the front. In the eerily quiet corridor of Star Castle, this A-level personnel complained viciously:
"Why didn't she just suggest that you two come and just treat it as a haunted house adventure for young lovers? Why did she let us, the spectators, come and take the risk? Why?
Is Mr. Deadpool's life no longer a life?"
"Just keep your words to yourself."
The Deadpool kid next to him grabbed the knife, turned his head suspiciously, and said:
"It's so creepy here, why is there no one here? Is it really haunted?"
"No life signals were detected. This layer is empty, and there is no damage or distortion in the space structure."
The mechanical Deadpool was suspended in the air one meter above the ground, with purple rays constantly being emitted from both sides of its shoulders to scan the surroundings. She reminded:
"I also saw half-eaten food and cold water, which shows that everyone here was caught off guard when the crisis occurred... Don't tremble, there are no spirit signals and no magical energy left, this place is not haunted! You coward."
Although the mechanical Deadpool gave a positive answer, the other Deadpools didn't believe it at all. They took out small gadgets with characteristics of various countries from their bags and hung them on their bodies.
From the cross to the mahogany talisman, Wade also took out some crumpled yellow paper and stuck them on the female Deadpool's perky butt, while the cowboy Deadpool took out some dried insect limbs and a few cloves of garlic and distributed them to his brothers and sisters.
In the end, even the head of the mechanical Deadpool, which should theoretically be a creation of materialism, was pasted with a Q-version photo of a Christ doll's head.
They thought that this was the only way to be prepared, and after being blessed by stupid idealism, these guys thought they were immune to all kinds of evil, so they became bolder and started making noise again in this deserted castle.
It's like thousands of ducks are put in the same house. The noise is so annoying that I want to pull out a gun and blow these bastards' heads off.
"It was really a mistake to bring them here."
Mason rubbed his ears, which were already beginning to suffer, and took out a set of twelve charms from his bag and put them into Ciri's hand, whispering:
"This is a finely crafted version blessed by Hei Qiyi himself. We can summon him to transmit his skills remotely. If something happens, we will retreat first."
"There won't be any surprises."
Ciri accepted Mason's kindness, but holding the sword of the Lady of the Lake, she shook her head and said:
“The resonance between the Grand Master and the Castle of Stars was restored when I stepped through the gate. I can confirm that there are no supernatural events in this castle, and its own magic barrier has not even been activated.
Go straight to the top floor!
There is no need to waste time elsewhere, as people have already been transferred.”
"Hey, then you two go up."
Wade, who had pointed ears, blew a breath to make the yellow paper on his forehead shake. He turned around and said with a wink:
"Let's go and have a look under the castle. Maybe those dark creatures are hiding there, ready to rush out and kill us by surprise when we let our guard down.
This is the routine of all horror movies, so we must eliminate danger in advance! The Deadpool Army is fearless! "
"If I hadn't known you were planning to sneak into the secret treasure house to steal some goodies, I would have almost believed it."
Mason complained:
"Such righteous words are not in line with your personality at all."
"It's blocked off, you can't get in."
Ciri shook her head and said:
"After the warlords launched a war and consumed a lot of inventory, there is nothing good left. Although the wizard did not reveal too much, during this period of time, there has been only outflow and no inflow. The finances of the Star Society are on the verge of collapse."
"You don't have to explain so much. You can't stop the free Deadpools from going wherever they want."
Mason sighed, watching the Deadpool team wave goodbye to them in a friendly manner, and then disappeared into the elevator to the underground secret treasure vault. There were only two of them left in the hall. The captain shrugged and turned to Ciri and said:
"I think they don't want to be a light bulb... Although these guys are unreliable, they are first-rate at reading people's expressions."
"Be serious!"
The Hunter glared at Mason, then reached out to open the elevator and walked in.
Mason was observing the ground. Just as the Star Castle had lost its shadow, there would be no shadow left when they walked in the building.
As the elevator went up, Mason pushed his hat on his head and whispered:
"When did you and Harley become so close? I saw you two sharing snacks when I came over just now."
"Yes, your girlfriend gave me all the candies that were about to expire in her pocket, and supervised me to eat them in the name of friendship."
Xili said expressionlessly:
"Dealing with snack inventory while making the competitor's body management ineffective is like killing two birds with one stone. I vaguely remember that my friends in the Elf Palace when I was a child would do the same.
Seeing her big eyes staring at me expectantly, I felt too embarrassed to refuse. "
"This is really a little bit of Harry style."
Mason laughed dumbly, shook his head and said:
"She's actually pretty cute most of the time, right? As long as you know how to appreciate that kind of innocent beauty amidst her madness."
“It’s quite cute.”
Ciri rolled her eyes, sheathed her sword, and said with a pout:
“And she’s very smart. She knows exactly how to deal with me. And your Quinn, even though she doesn’t say anything, she always looks at me in a weird way.
It's like thinking about what type of body bag to use to dispose of my body parts.
They both really like you, Mason. Unlike me, who just treats you as a filler to their empty emotions, they regard you as the center of their lives and a part of their lives.
In their crazy world, only you remain unchanged, like the last bit of bond that holds them back from the world. Compared with their passionate feelings, I am more like a bad woman who acts on impulse.
I no longer have the heart to get involved in this strange but beautiful relationship of yours, and even thinking about it makes me feel guilty."
"You don't act like a demon hunter who is unusually open in terms of emotions."
Mason complained:
"If your father had half the innocence of you, he wouldn't have gotten entangled with so many ladies."
"I am the last witcher, in name only."
Ciri stroked her long hair, snorted, and said:
“I feel like I should be a role model for this profession, in every way.”
The atmosphere became relaxed as the two joked. When the elevator reached the top floor and was about to open, Ciri flexed her fingers and prepared to walk out, but the captain stepped forward and took the initiative to hold her hand.
This small action made the hunter look down and she said softly:
"You took the initiative to come forward this time. If Harry asks, I won't cover for you."
"Well, it's all my fault."
Mason nodded, and as Ciri blinked her eyes, he leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the forehead, and said:
“Take it as a blessing.”
"bite"
The elevator door opened after a few seconds. The old wizard Shazam, who was already waiting on the top floor, didn't have time to say anything before he saw two people hugging and kissing passionately after the elevator door opened.
This made the old man's eyes widen, and then he sighed.
Oh, young man!
"Have you had enough?"
Ten seconds later, Old Shazam tapped the ground with his staff and said in a deep voice:
“I thought you were here to rescue us poor people, but I didn’t expect that rescue was just a bonus to a couple’s haunted house adventure, right?
Do you want me to close the elevator door and give you another 20 minutes?"
"If I could, I'd certainly appreciate it."
Mason let go of the hunter who was struggling in his arms with red cheeks, turned around and winked at the old wizard, and said:
"Oh, you seem to be in good spirits. It seems that there is really no danger. Why don't you go out by yourself? Why do you have to let us in?"
"Stop talking nonsense and follow me!"
The wizard snorted, turned around and led the way deeper into the top floor, with Mason and Ciri following closely behind.
The Lord Hunter was behind the Captain, punching him on the back with his little witcher fists. Every punch created splashes of water. This showed that Ciri had indeed inherited the legendary witcher Lord White Wolf's superb boxing talent.
Speaking of which, boxing can be regarded as an excellent inheritance of the witcher profession. How can a witcher who cannot become a world boxing champion be a good Gwent player and emotional master?
“When Mephisto used that super magic to smash the demiplane where the Star Castle was located into this world, everyone thought it would be the end of the world, but in fact it was not the case.
I don’t know what the situation is like outside, but Star Castle is unscathed, even the servants responsible for cleaning the castle are safe and sound.”
Old Shazam, who was leading the way, explained:
“After discovering that the material entity and shadow of the Star Castle were separated, I immediately gathered them together and sent them to the secret treasure house on the lower level. It is large enough and has the strongest protection, making it the best refuge.
I spent the rest of the time exploring here alone, and eventually I discovered some things left by Mephisto, and that was the reason why I didn't leave.
Get ready, what you're about to see is going to be amazing."
The wizard's reminder made Mason and Ciri look at each other. A few minutes later, the three of them entered the library and saw at a glance that the magical destiny machine that was said to be able to predict the future had collapsed and broken, like an object that had been weathered for thousands of years and could no longer be repaired.
“It cannot predict a future that has already gone off the rails.”
Old Shazam shook his head and said:
"This is probably the only thing that was destroyed in Star Castle, but it's not the point. Look! In front!"
The old wizard cast a spell to remove the shield, and an irregular dark circle of light formed by a group of jumping shadows appeared in front of Mason, like a door leading to an unknown place.
"If you cross it, you will reach the 'shadow' of Star Castle. I have seen it before. It maintains a projection that is exactly the same as the material world. It is created with extremely advanced magical attainments and maintains a mysterious connection with the material world.
I guess as long as Star Castle remains standing, Shadow Castle will not collapse, but that's still not the point.
Come with me, there is no danger over there.
I have checked.
What I want to show you is over there.”
After saying that, Old Shazam was the first to step into the dark circle of light. Mason did not move but took out various auxiliary tools to provide additional protection for himself and Ciri.
Even the storage tanks of the Universe Master Power Armor were activated and could be opened with just one command.
Ciri also used several protective powers that she possessed on Mason.
They believed in old Shazam, but it was definitely not a bad idea to take good protection in the current situation. After more than ten seconds, Mason and Ciri walked forward hand in hand into the shadow world.
Old Shazam was already waiting for them here. Looking at the various colored protections flashing on the two men's bodies, he didn't say much, but just raised his finger and pointed forward.
Mason and Ciri looked up, and the next moment, their breathing quickened.
Light!
Candlelight, to be exact.
The Star Castle made of shadows is not dark.
Because there are flickering candles in every part of the building. Tens of thousands of candles are spread throughout the shadow-shaped library and extend all the way to the outside along the open porch.
The flickering candle flames illuminated the area around the ground, giving the shadow entity a strange translucent luster.
Mason felt Ciri's hand clenched tightly in his own. Obviously, the Hunter had guessed the truth about the candlelight, just as she had taken him to that special dimension when she told Mason the truth about the Star Society. All this before his eyes was the most shocking of Mephisto's countless little secrets.
"He keeps all his candles here? All the while in the shadow of Star Castle?"
Ciri said in a hoarse voice:
"Isn't this the devil's deepest secret? Why is he showing it all to us? Is this a provocation? Or a threat?
Is this true?
"It's true. It's absolutely true."
Old Shazam looked at the three different-colored candles arranged like a crown on the chandelier composed of many thick candles above his head. As he watched, the flame of one of the candles bent into the symbol of Shazam's lightning and then restored it in the next moment.
He said to Mason and Ciri:
“I have tested it with my magic. Every candle here corresponds to a member of the Star Society. They are not projections of that dark place, but the true manifestation of our soul contract with Mephisto in the material world.
If we put out a , one of our colleagues in the outside world will surely die... and the worst case scenario is that we can actually put them out here.
It delegates this power to us, but it has nothing to do with goodwill.”
Old Shazan said solemnly:
"I don't know why Mephisto wanted to expose this secret to us, but it is certain that this represents a certain attitude of his."
“It’s a demonstration, or in other words, it’s exerting pressure.”
Mason placed his hand over the flame of the nearest special twin candle, and as he felt the warmth he could see Harley and Quinn's laughing faces in the illusion of the flames.
In this place where the candles were burning, in the intertwined shadows of the three people, he said in a hoarse voice:
"Mephisto wants to play a game with us. The two sides are completely opposed and there is no chance of turning around. If we want to defeat him, there are two ways: easy and difficult.
He puts the simple method before us.
Just blow out these candles, Lord Fate will become weak and our chances of victory will increase greatly... What are you doing! You are crazy!"
Mason suddenly turned around, hugged Ciri and covered her mouth with his hand. The hunter puffed up his cheeks and was about to blow out the candles around him.
As Mason scolded her, she stared at him and motioned for him to let go.
"He's got you, Mason! It's a vicious mind trap."
Shiri said:
"He knows you won't make such an immoral choice for the sake of victory. He is using victory to tempt you to cross your bottom line, just like the Joker has been trying his best to make Batman break the rules.
Beneath the seemingly easy-to-obtain victory lies a more terrifying darkness.
He is trying to pollute you, the pioneer who is about to turn the tide of the Dark Ages, and turn you into a devil as evil as he is.
You won't and can't do this, but I'll help you.
Mephisto must die!"
"This is not a trap or torture for me, Ciri, wake up!"
Mason grabbed Ciri's shoulders and yelled:
“This is also a test for you! Once any of us blows out these candles, the rebel alliance will collapse in an instant.
Those heroes may even turn against us.
I want to destroy the Star Society, but not in this way. I can't! And neither can you! No one should do this, Shazam, get us out of here!
Block this place!
Seal it forever and keep this secret until Mephisto is finally defeated by us.
This is his bait.
A hot potato thrown to us, a hateful drama that tempts us to fall into depravity."
Mason let out a long breath. He felt Ciri's helplessness and lowered his head to put his forehead against hers. He whispered:
"I already have a plan. I'm going to proceed step by step according to the plan. Trust me, be good."
