ATPnovel Chapter 68 The Hidden Old House, the Ghostly Butler, and the Underground Prison
Chapter 68 The Hidden Old House, the Ghostly Butler, and the Underground Prison
The exterior walls of the old house were already covered with ivy.
David walked to the gate, and after confirming that it was locked, he nodded to Modina.
"The door is locked."
"I'll do it."
Modi stepped forward, and a wisp of Styx death energy seeped into the door lock.
With a "click," the door opened.
The car drove into the courtyard in front of the Green House and passed a cemetery inside the courtyard.
There were more than a dozen tombstones neatly arranged there.
"There's something strange about that cemetery."
After getting out of the car, Modi headed straight for the cemetery.
Seeing that it was getting dark, David didn't dare to stay in the car alone, so he got out and went with him.
Before he even got close to the cemetery, he saw Modi stomp his foot, and ice spikes burst out of the ground.
A black coffin sits atop an icicle.
He casually lifted the lid, and the coffin was wide open, revealing that it was completely empty.
"Empty?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at the tombstone in front of the coffin.
The inscription reads "Randy Green".
"It seems my distant relative has a secret. I wonder if he's really dead or not."
"Then why did he ask you to come and inherit the old house?" David asked, puzzled.
"Who knows? It's not too late to discuss this after I've opened all the other blind boxes."
Mordred extended his reach to other graves.
He took on the part-time job of a necromancer.
One after another, coffins broke out of the ground and were lifted up by him.
Without exception, they were all empty.
"No wonder the aura of the dead in this cemetery is so thin; there isn't a single corpse inside."
Modi sneered, his gaze sweeping over the tombstones.
Don Cole Green, Ansela Green, Kelman Green...
The bodies of all his distant relatives had vanished without a trace.
What were they used for?
Sacrifice, possession, zombie transformation, ritual arrangements... these are all things that need to be done.
He suspected that a tombstone for him might already be prepared.
The gaze fell on the first tombstone, which was also the oldest.
The tombstone is inscribed with "Adrian Green," who was likely an ancestor of the Green family.
Modi stomped his foot again, and the solid ice shattered, causing all the coffins to fall into the grave pit.
The soil moves and gathers together on its own.
Seconds later, the cemetery returned to its original state, with no trace of excavation visible.
"Such superb magical skills, no wonder you are a Level 5 Investigator."
David gained a deeper understanding of the significance of the title "ace".
"Let's go, it's time to take a look at my ancestral home."
Modi reached to his waist, and the dragon bone lantern lit up on its own.
Ghostly flames illuminated the surroundings.
Using the same method, they unlocked the old house and stepped into the gloomy mansion one after the other.
After the sun completely disappeared into the dark forest, the last ray of sunlight vanished.
The door of the old house creaked shut by itself, even though there was no wind.
"Huh? Why did the door close by itself?"
David tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.
Whether you push or pull, the result is the same.
An ominous premonition arose in his heart and gradually grew stronger.
"I'll do it."
Modi drew his Dragon Flame and fired three shots in quick succession.
The door was smashed open, allowing moonlight to stream in.
"Resolved."
The ominous premonition came to an abrupt end before it could reach its peak.
David wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and forced out a dry sentence:
"As expected of a Level 5 Investigator."
Modi walked ahead, surveying the mansion.
The floors and furniture were covered in dust, as if no one had cleaned them for a long time.
A staircase faces the main entrance and extends to both sides.
On the wall directly in front of you is a portrait of an old man.
It appears that the old man in the painting is staring at the doorway.
Combined with the dark red walls, it creates an indescribable sense of oppression.
Modi stared directly at the painting, his gaze lingering on one corner of it.
"Adrian Green".
After thinking for a moment, he went upstairs, his gaze fixed on the painting.
Strangely, the old man's eyes in the painting seem to follow his movements.
Wherever I go, it feels like I'm staring into his eyes.
"Mormontes, I just feel like something's off about this painting."
David had barely finished speaking when he took the painting down.
He then extended two fingers and gouged at the old man's eyes in the painting.
"Have you seen enough? If you have, let me see too."
David was speechless.
He saw ripples spreading across the surface of the painting, engulfing Mormontis's hand like a whirlpool.
After a short while, Modi pulled it out.
He pulled a phantom figure off-screen.
He was still digging into the figure's eye socket with two fingers.
As the Styx River's deathly aura shifted slightly, the figure began to beg for mercy.
"Ah! Spare me, spare me!"
"Spare me? Tell me everything you know, and then I'll consider whether to spare you or not, otherwise..."
He sneered and raised the dragon-bone lantern.
The ghostly flames inside filled the shadowy figure with dread, and he nodded hastily.
"Take it away, take it away, keep that thing away from me!"
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Tell the truth."
Modi's voice was stern, and his eyes beneath the hunter's hat were as sharp as knives.
"My name is Alfred, and I was the first butler of the Green family, serving Adrian Green."
Upon seeing that spirit flame, the ghost dressed as a butler knew that the person before him had the ability to kill him completely.
He dared not lie and told the truth.
"Lord Adrian instructed me to monitor all the heirs of the family and report to him regularly."
"Monitoring, with scheduled reports?"
David frowned.
"You mean... Adrian isn't dead? How is that possible?"
"The master used some kind of ritual that I don't know about to keep him alive until now."
Upon hearing the word "ritual," Modi showed interest.
"What is my cheap ancestor plotting in the shadows?"
"Lord Adrian intended to steal the power of God."
The truth slipped out, and Alfred only realized what he had said afterward, his expression one of utter shock.
He clearly hadn't intended to say that.
"Stealing the power of the gods? In other words..."
Modi's expression turned solemn, and he intensified the mind interference effect of the [Netherworld Mark].
"Is there a gate to hell here?"
"What is the Gates of Hell?" Alfred asked, puzzled. "There's only a prison beneath the mansion."
"What are they holding in this prison?" he asked again.
"God, a deity is being imprisoned!"
Ha, this is a big problem.
Modi and David exchanged a glance; the former was helpless, while the latter was horrified.
"What should we do?" David asked instinctively.
"What should we do?"
Modi shifted his gaze and continued questioning the butler's ghost.
"What do you know about the gods imprisoned in the prison? Tell me everything."
"I don't know much, except that the underground prison is full of monsters."
The butler was not lying.
[Netherworld Mark] can be felt.
"If you want to know more, you can only go to the master's secret secret room, where there are many documents left by the master."
Since they'd already said so much, the butler decided to just give up and throw caution to the wind.
Tell the two the location of the secret secret room.
Following the butler's instructions, Modi used his spiritual sense to scan the area.
Sure enough, they discovered a hidden secret room behind the wall.
He casually stuffed the butler back into the painting, then cast a shrinking spell on it and took it away.
"No, don't hang it here! Keep that skull away from me!"
The butler's wails echoed throughout the mansion.
Hidden secret room.
Guided by the butler, the two successfully entered the secret room.
"It's all dusty. How long has it been since anyone came in?"
Modi summoned a gust of cold wind, sweeping away the dust and cobwebs from the study's surface.
"The last time I came in, I hadn't become a ghost yet; that was over a hundred years ago."
"That's what the butler said."
"More than a hundred years? That means Adrian has been planning for more than a hundred years and still hasn't finished."
Modi pulled out a book and glanced at its cover.
"A diary? Who keeps a diary? Okay, Adrian is definitely not normal."
[On [date], 1820, I moved to live in the Black Forest. This marked the beginning of a new life, and I decided to write in my journal every day to commemorate it.]
[Date: Month x, Day x, 1820. I went hunting with friends a few days ago and forgot to write in my diary. I can't be so lazy today.]
[Date: Month x, Day x, 1820; Hunting; Nothing to write about.]
"..." Mo Di frowned and quickly turned the page.
[On [date in 1823], our settlement had grown to the size of a small town, and after discussion, we named it Kowick, meaning "Forest Wonderland."]
On [date in 1823], I decided to build a large house for myself and my descendants to live in.
On [date in 1824], while building the cellar, the workers unearthed a strange door.
It was carved with many strange and twisted patterns, and just looking at it made me feel dizzy.
I was worried that this was something blasphemous, but I was also afraid that the church would directly judge me.
Therefore, I bribed the workers to shut them up, intending to first find out the origin of that door.
On [date in 1824], my research on that door had not made much progress; I could only conclude that it was an extremely ancient artifact.
Lord, forgive me for having such blasphemous thoughts, but I think it may have existed longer than humankind.
On [date in 1825], I have been having nightmares lately, dreaming of bizarre and blasphemous things.
I feel like I'm bewitched, constantly thinking about the door and its intricate, twisted patterns.
Perhaps it wants to reveal something to me?
On [date in 1825], the nightmares became more frequent, and each time I woke up, it felt like something extra had appeared in my mind.
At the same time, when I'm lucid, I always see...strange hallucinations? Are they hallucinations? I don't know.
On [date in 1826], I realized that this was not a curse, but a blessing!
That door, or rather the entrance to the prison, imprisoned a deity.
Endless years eroded His consciousness, leaving only an empty shell of divine power within the prison.
Perhaps I can open the prison, possess His body, and become... an being equal to God.
And so, the diary abruptly ended.
Modi flipped through the pages, but all the pages were blank.
"What happened?"
"From then on, Lord Adrian began to carry out the plan and stopped writing in his diary."
The butler replied.
"All I know is that later on, the old man became more and more eccentric, talking to himself all day long."
He also had me write many letters to the Green family descendants scattered around the world.
He ordered me to monitor these descendants who come to inherit the mansion and to report to him regularly at that door.”
He paused, a hint of hesitation appearing on his face.
Modi noticed his hesitation and pressed him with his spiritual fire:
"What are you hesitating about? Tell me everything."
The butler dared not delay and quickly said:
"That cellar has been distorted and expanded by the power of the gods, and it is full of monsters."
"I see."
Modi narrowed his eyes, and David, standing beside him, asked nervously, "What should we do? Should we stay or leave?"
Whether to stay or leave, we'll have to wait and see before making a decision.
Perhaps this could be an opportunity.
"Once I've mastered the art of substitution using the soul within my Purple Mansion, I'll go down to the cellar and take a look."
If he can master it, the 632 souls will allow him to unleash his full potential.
With this in mind, he instructed David to stay at the old house for the time being.