Just as the trio was left thoroughly shaken by the surreal and grotesque sight before them, a woman in a spotless white doctor's coat, wearing a white surgical mask, happened to walk past behind them and slowly stopped after overhearing their discussion.
"You there, please don't speak nonsense. What you're seeing is the Supreme Guardian's benevolence, a blessing bestowed upon the people of Belobog."
Her voice was calm, gentle, and unexpectedly pleasant to listen to, completely at odds with the horrifying environment around her.
Hearing the sudden voice, the three turned around in unison and immediately saw the woman standing behind them.
From her beautiful eyes alone, it was obvious she was an exceptionally gorgeous woman, but unfortunately, that impression was instantly shattered by the horrifying sight of the half of a bloodied, mangled face she was calmly holding in her hands.
"!!!"
March covered her mouth tightly, forcibly holding back the violent urge to vomit.
"!!!"
Stelle's face instantly turned pale as she subconsciously took half a step backward.
"..."
Dan Heng's gaze grew even more solemn and vigilant.
Seeing the reactions of these three youngsters, the woman, who was none other than Natasha, blinked slightly in realization before calmly placing the mangled half of a face into a transparent plastic bag.
"Sorry, did I scare you? First time in Belobog?"
March nodded weakly while covering her mouth, no longer daring to look directly at the bloodstained, yet beautiful doctor standing before her.
"No need to be afraid. I'm not some kind of murderer," Natasha said gently before pointing toward the corpses and scattered organs beside her. "Actually, these are all victims of accidents. They were blown to pieces while conducting research for Belobog. It counts as a workplace casualty, so they can receive the blessing of the Supreme Guardian and be resurrected. However, the body fragments are necessary for the resurrection to work."
""Re-Resurrection?!""
March and Stelle spoke stutteringly in unison, their tones completely changing—their widened eyes were practically filled with disbelief.
"Mm..."
Natasha nodded softly.
"However, the requirements are extremely strict. It's not something you can accomplish just because you have money."
"You must meet the Supreme Guardian's criteria. For example, fallen Silvermane Guards, high-risk researchers, victims of infrastructure accidents, and so on."
"As for the other conditions, those can only be discussed privately with the Supreme Guardian. Only he can make the final decision."
To outsiders who were not natives of Belobog, her explanation clearly sounded absurdly exaggerated, almost like some fabricated story deliberately invented to deceive ignorant people who knew nothing about the world beyond their own narrow understanding.
As a result, March and Stelle found it difficult to believe her words at all.
It was only natural.
Let alone witnessing such a thing with their own eyes, they had never even heard of anyone capable of bringing the dead back to life while casually treating such an impossible miracle as some kind of reward.
"...Is part of the body's remains... one of the conditions?"
After a brief moment of silence, Dan Heng finally asked in a low and restrained voice.
Natasha glanced at him, seemingly a little surprised that this outsider had managed to grasp the key point so quickly from her explanation alone.
"Yes, as long as there is even a fragment of the body left behind, one can still be resurrected."
As soon as those words fell, horrifying images instantly surfaced within March and Stelle's minds—a chunk of flesh submerged inside a glass jar, slowly wriggling and expanding bit by bit as new flesh continuously grew from it.
In an instant, the grotesque mental image made their stomachs churn even more violently, to the point that both of their expressions visibly turned unpleasant.
Meanwhile, unlike the two of them, particular fragments of memories suddenly surfaced within Dan Heng's mind—fragmented memories involving a certain ability connected to flesh, blood, hair, resurrection, and some mystical method similar to the Transmutation Arcanum.
Within his mind, the scattered images appeared blurry and chaotic, as though they were fragments of broken reflections drifting across a dark sea of memories, yet they still carried an indescribably ominous feeling that instinctively made him feel uneasy.
"Is there... any scientific explanation behind this resurrection?"
Stelle asked seriously, her face already turning somewhat paler from the sheer absurdity of the situation.
Natasha, in response, merely shook her head calmly.
"Not scientific, but it is reality."
When they heard that answer, March and Stelle exchanged frantic glances almost simultaneously, instantly reaching a silent consensus without needing to say a single word aloud.
A cult!
It was definitely a cult!
They claimed they could resurrect the dead, yet they could not even explain the principles behind it.
How could something this outrageous possibly sound legitimate?
More importantly, who would set up a resurrection ritual in such a remote underground place hidden away from the public eye?
If they could truly resurrect the dead, then shouldn't it be performed inside some kind of grand temple at the center of the city, where thousands upon thousands of people could personally witness the miracle with their own eyes?
Doing it secretly in a place like this—wasn't that exactly what suspicious evildoers and underground organizations would do?
In the end, the more they thought about it, the more bizarre and suspicious everything became.
March and Stelle immediately concluded that this was most likely some kind of cult organization deceiving the locals through staged miracles, mysterious claims, and carefully orchestrated performances!
Completely failing to notice the increasingly fearful and wary gazes the two girls were directing at her, Natasha casually glanced at the tablet in her hands before speaking again with a relieved smile.
"You're quite lucky. Today, the Supreme Guardian will personally come here and collectively resurrect these deceased. If you're interested, you can watch from a distance."
Hearing that, March and Stelle were once again thoroughly shocked, their eyes widening almost at the same time.
How could they not be, knowing that the leader of this cult was actually going to perform a 'mass resurrection' in public?
Not only deceiving the locals, but even trying to fool foreigners as well!
It went without saying that this cult was clearly becoming more and more outrageous the deeper they looked into it!
"Mm..." Natasha softly mumbled something to herself for a moment, then slowly put away her tablet. "Alright, I need to prepare to welcome the Supreme Guardian. Make yourselves at home for now."
In the next moment, she turned and casually waved a hand before walking into the building that looked like a morgue.
Ever since she had become Lucian's confidante, she had personally witnessed Belobog's astonishingly rapid development with her own eyes. Whether it was the people's living conditions, the city's technology, or Belobog's overall strength, everything had improved at an almost unbelievable speed under his leadership.
Because of that, her respect and admiration toward him had only continued to deepen over time, eventually becoming completely unwavering loyalty.
For that reason, she genuinely did not mind explaining Lucian's various great achievements to outsiders.
Meanwhile, the moment Natasha disappeared into the morgue, the expressions on March and Stelle's faces immediately changed.
"No, this is way too messed up!" March exclaimed, clenching her small fists tightly in front of her chest, her overflowing sense of justice practically written all over her face. "Using resurrection as a cover for shady experiments? There might even be organ trafficking going on in there!"
"Yeah!" Stelle nodded hard in agreement without the slightest hesitation. "I bet that Supreme Guardian is totally the leader of some creepy cult!"
"Not necessarily," Dan Heng calmly chimed in from the side as he lightly shook his head. "Although resurrection is extremely difficult, there are indeed methods capable of bringing people back to life. We should first understand the actual situation before jumping to conclusions."
Unlike March and Stelle, whose emotions had already begun running wild ahead of the facts, his tone remained as calm and rational as ever.
"It's settled!" March suddenly nodded firmly, directly deciding it on the spot. "We'll secretly stake this place out! When that suspicious cult leader finally shows up, then—!"
Beside her, Stelle cracked her knuckles loudly, her eyes shining with the righteous light of 'delivering justice on behalf of heaven' as she immediately continued March's unfinished sentence.
"We'll smash his head in!"
Seeing the two of them becoming more and more fired up by the second, Dan Heng could only let out a helpless sigh before asking the most crucial question.
"...What if the leader actually turns out to be a good person?"
"A good person?" Stelle raised a brow slightly, then casually swung a fist through the air. "Simple—we won't hit him. But talking shit about him first doesn't really matter anyway—it's not like he'll know I cursed him."
"Yeah, exactly!"
March immediately nodded in complete agreement.
With that, the three of them then asked a few people standing in line about the situation, but the explanations they received were all more or less identical, which only made the entire place feel even more suspicious and strange.
In the end, after failing to gather any useful information, they found a flowerbed not too far away and sat down beside it, pretending to admire the flowers while secretly keeping their eyes fixed on the entrance of the 'resurrection site,' patiently waiting for the appearance of the so-called 'cult leader.'
Time passed little by little, and as the crowd continued moving in and out of the building, March gradually began losing patience.
Before she even realized it, her imagination had already started running wild, subconsciously picturing the mysterious 'cult leader' as some horrifying monster with three heads and six arms, a green face, sharp fangs, and bloodshot eyes.
"What are you three doing here?"
A familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind the three of them, instantly interrupting March's increasingly bizarre thoughts.
Stelle, upon hearing that familiar voice, did not even need to turn around to know who it was.
"Godfather!"
Almost immediately, she spun around, her eyes lighting up as her face bloomed with obvious excitement and happiness.
"Lucian?! What're you doing here?! Anyway, get over here!"
March also cried out in surprise, but then, as if suddenly remembering something important, she immediately reached out, grabbed Lucian's arm, and pulled him over without the slightest hesitation.
Lucian did not resist at all and simply allowed himself to be dragged over before casually sitting down beside her, and at that very instant, a faint yet pleasant fragrance quietly drifted into his nose.
"I'm telling you, there's definitely something seriously wrong with this place. Feels like everyone here's already been brainwashed by some creepy cult."
March lowered her voice slightly as she explained things with a serious expression on her face, though the overly cautious look she was making only made her appear unexpectedly cute instead.
Lucian truly did not understand why she had somehow concluded that everyone in this place had been brainwashed by a cult, but after briefly glancing at the serious expressions on both March's and Stelle's faces, he chose to feign curiosity and cooperate with them.
"Really? How did you figure that out?"
Instead of March, it was Stelle who eagerly answered first while tightly grabbing onto Lucian's other arm.
"Godfather, I figured it out too! Resurrecting the dead in some hidden place like this? Doesn't that sound totally ridiculous? I think they're secretly trafficking human organs."
"Mm-hmm!" March immediately chimed in, nodding her head over and over in agreement. "If we find evidence, we'll capture the cult leader they call the Supreme Guardian first, then I'll beat him myself!"
"Yeah!" Stelle shouted, raising her fist high in the air. "Smash his head in! Let's see how he keeps scamming people after that!"
"..."
Listening to their confident explanation and increasingly outrageous assumptions, Lucian was truly at a complete loss for words.
"…Smash his head in, huh?" Lucian said while slowly stroking his chin in thought, his tone carrying a playful amusement, before a 'kind' smile gradually appeared on his face. "Mm… not a bad idea, but with just the three of you, you probably won't win."
"But we've still got you, Godfather! With you here, who'd even dare do anything reckless?"
Stelle immediately launched into an enthusiastic stream of flattery without the slightest bit of hesitation, her shameless praise instantly putting Lucian in a noticeably better mood.
"You're basically the main carry of our Trailblazer squad. We're all counting on you!"
March wasn't nearly as exaggerated as Stelle, but she also believed deeply in Lucian's strength, praising him without any hesitation whatsoever.
After all, she had personally witnessed him annihilate the Antimatter Legion with nothing more than a casual flick of his finger, so she naturally had at least some understanding of just how terrifying his combat power truly was.
Hearing their flattery one after another, Lucian couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle as the smile on his face became noticeably more sincere.
Just by having his name attached to the Astral Express, he had somehow naturally become one of the Trailblazers.
Just as the group was discussing how exactly they should take down the so-called cult leader, Natasha happened to walk out from inside and immediately spotted Lucian standing there at a single glance.
"Lord Lucian, it has been many days!"
Natasha quickly walked over without delay, then respectfully greeted him as she gently removed the surgical mask covering her face, revealing her beautiful appearance while expressing her respect toward him.
"Natasha, you're even more beautiful than you were a few days ago."
"Well, that's all thanks to you, Supreme Guardian."
Lucian casually teased Natasha a little, causing a faint smile to appear on her face as she subconsciously brushed her hair aside, looking slightly embarrassed by the compliment.
"Uhh... you two know each other?"
Stelle's eyes immediately moved back and forth between Lucian and Natasha before eventually stopping on Natasha herself as she openly sized the woman up from head to toe, especially her big chest and curvy hips, which only made her look even more gorgeous and mature.
Unfortunately, the moment she recalled the image of Natasha casually holding half a face in her hand earlier, she instantly shuddered all over again.
As Stelle silently pondered whether this woman might become yet another godmother candidate, she suddenly jolted as a realization abruptly struck her mind.
"Wait! Why'd she call you Supreme Guardian, Godfather?!"
Stelle suddenly exclaimed in complete shock, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stared directly at Lucian, causing March and Dan Heng to immediately react as well.
It couldn't really be helped.
Who could have possibly imagined that the cult leader they had just been discussing plans to beat up was actually Lucian himself?
"So you—"
March stared at Lucian with wide eyes full of disbelief, but before she could even finish speaking, she was abruptly interrupted.
"March! I told you already, the Supreme Guardian here's gotta be a great person, someone wholeheartedly devoted to the motherland and its people while bringing blessings and happiness to everyone. How could you casually call him a cult leader?!"
With an incomparably righteous expression on her face, Stelle pointed directly at March while reprimanding her without the slightest hesitation, her tone filled with complete certainty.
"Wait, what? Me?"
March immediately pointed at herself, her face filled with disbelief.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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