Sigh...
Lucas Reeve let out a heavy sigh.
As he figured.
Jinxes really shouldn't be tempted.
Moreover, there's a principle in this world called Murphy's Law, which states that whatever a person fears will often be the very thing that happens. Although this so-called law isn't really sound—after all, it doesn't hold up in terms of science, metaphysics, or even causality.
Because.
The occurrence of an event often has no relationship with a person's worry or fear. What is destined to happen will happen. Even if one doesn't worry at all, it will still occur.
But...
Some things in the world often can't be explained by simple science, metaphysics, or even causality.
Like Magallan.
Or why a jinx tends to be so accurate.
I hope nothing major happens.
Lucas Reeve thought to himself.
He immediately left the hotel with Skadi, Laurentina, and the others, heading for the volcano behind Siesta.
"Waow~"
A group of people arrived at the place where Lucas Reeve had been with Ceylon earlier, moving at considerable speed. Nian looked at the forest and ground that had been pierced by the beam and couldn't help but whistle.
The corpses of the monsters on the ground had long since been annihilated by Lucas Reeve's previous attack. Some chunks of flesh, having lost their bodies and energy supply, gradually turned to ash and dissipated into the air, leaving not a single trace behind. The only good thing about these monsters was that they would decompose on their own after dying.
The senses of the Abyssal Hunters are extremely sharp, especially when perceiving things related to the Seaborn.
Skadi walked and stopped in the battle area, her nose twitching up and down adorably, just like a puppy. Laurentina stood next to Lucas Reeve, watching Skadi's silent performance nearby.
Nian also watched silently from the side.
Truly a group of 'white-hairs' watching a 'blue-hat' do the work.
Skadi was a little clueless; she didn't realize for a moment what was wrong with this picture. After making a circle, Skadi walked over and said.
"There's the scent of the Seaborn."
As I thought...
Lucas Reeve frowned.
It was related to the Seaborn after all.
"However, this Seaborn aura isn't pure. It's mixed with other auras. It's precisely because it isn't pure that Sharky and I didn't reflexively sense their presence."
Skadi also frowned, her full, fair legs crossed, and her fingers pinching her chin as she spoke.
"Since it's related to the Seaborn, then this city..."
"Mhm."
Lucas Reeve nodded.
He knew what Skadi wanted to say. If there really were Seaborn, this Siesta might become the next Saltwind City. And it was right during the Obsidian Festival, with numerous tourists. If the Seaborn chose to attack at this time, then no one in Siesta would be spared.
But..
There was another problem. Seaborn are creatures without intelligence. Or rather, after the Seaborn god was beheaded by Skadi and sank into the sea, the entire Seaborn race seemed to have lost its brain. Without commands transmitted from the brain, the Seaborn's behavior patterns trended towards instinct—survival and racial propagation. As marine creatures, the ocean was the most suitable place for them to survive and reproduce. Why would they come ashore? But the appearance of these Originium Slugs that resemble Seaborn probably indicated... perhaps, behind the scenes, an invisible hand was guiding the Seaborn to evolve in a desired direction.
However, this was just a guess.
More intelligence was needed to know the specific situation.
Lucas Reeve and the others didn't leave but instead explored the volcano for a while.
Surprisingly.
Lucas Reeve and the others didn't find any other deep-sea Originium Slugs, as if the group they and Ceylon had encountered earlier was the entirety of them on the volcano. Lucas Reeve absolutely wouldn't believe that.
After another big detour.
The group circled from the outside of the volcano to the inside, underneath it.
Below the volcano, there was a large, artificially excavated area, complete with cable cars and rail-mounted mine carts. The surrounding walls had clear signs of mining.
"Obsidian?"
Lucas Reeve picked up a piece of obsidian from the ground with a five-colored pattern inside. This kind of obsidian was a specialty of Siesta. It didn't have much intrinsic value, being produced in the volcano, and was purely for looks. However, under Siesta's marketing and promotion—claiming obsidian could prevent wrinkles and maintain health—it could be sold for a high price outside. Anyone with a brain knew it was purely an idiot tax.
But just like diamonds.
Everyone knew the high price was due to marketing, everyone understood, but they still bought it.
Huh?
This pattern inside the obsidian...
Why does it look so familiar?
Those iridescent colors...
Hm?
Doesn't it look a lot like the pattern on the back of the Originium Slug I turned into?
He pocketed the obsidian and continued deeper into the mine tunnel. It was already the middle of the night, and the workers mining inside had long since gone off duty. There wasn't even anyone on watch. After all, who would come to secretly dig for obsidian at this time of year? So, the group advanced without any obstruction.
However.
Nian looked around and said, "The mining is a bit excessive. This volcano... it's already struggling to bear it..."
As a god of Yan, she believed more in metaphysics than in science. In this world, it wasn't just people, creatures, and plants that had life; mountains and water did too. It was just that this kind of life was very mystical, not life in the broad sense, but a kind of life originating from metaphysical causality.
For example.
Excessively mining a mountain peak until it can no longer bear it, thereby attracting a great disaster—this is causality.
The group continued deeper. The closer they got to the volcano's core, the hotter the surrounding temperature became. And as they went further, the traces of human activity disappeared. They could clearly smell the pungent odor of sulfur permeating the air, so strong it made Lucas Reeve's body cough a few times.
"No living beings..."
Nian frowned slightly.
"??"
Laurentina and Skadi looked at Nian.
Nian explained in detail, "Generally speaking, any mountain or body of water, even the coldest snowfield or wasteland, has its own symbiotic creatures. And these creatures only live there. Normally, although it's hot inside a volcano, there are usually some special symbiotic creatures that can adapt to the lava. But this volcano... it seems to have nothing..."
"The entire interior of this volcano seems dead."
After another extensive investigation, they found nothing. Skadi and Laurentina went to the seashore again and dived into the ocean, but they didn't find anything there either. It wasn't until one in the morning, after failing to find anything, that the group returned to the hotel.
Meanwhile.
Ceylon, who had run home, hid the rabbit-sized Lucas Reeve in her room. She called Schwarz over and explained her experience on the volcano in detail, though she omitted the part about Lucas Reeve saving her, changing it to her managing to escape on her own.
Schwarz couldn't help but frown.
If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have believed them.
After all, she was extremely familiar with the volcano behind Siesta. The obsidian sold was produced there, and the entire volcano interior had already been thoroughly explored by Siesta's excavation teams. How could the excavation teams possibly not know about so many bizarrely shaped monsters?
But since it was her young miss saying it, Schwarz instinctively chose to believe her.
Besides.
Ceylon did look rather disheveled right now. The black stockings on her thighs were torn to shreds by branches, and the white skin exposed was red and flushed. Some spots even had faint traces of blood. Her clothes were equally dirty, bearing no resemblance to a young lady.
Schwarz's heart ached. She immediately reported Ceylon's discovery to her superior, Ceylon's father, the mayor of all Siesta, Herman Dolkos.
A short while later.
Ceylon's father hurried over. However, as he reached his daughter's room, he quickly straightened his slightly messy clothes from his haste, forcing his worried expression to return to its usual calmness.
"Ceylon..."
Herman walked in. Seeing his daughter in such a disheveled state for the first time in so many years, a flash of heartache crossed his calm gaze.
Seeing her father arrive.
Ceylon became somewhat reserved.
Meanwhile, Lucas Reeve, in his Originium Slug state, lay silently under the bed.
Huh??
This situation.
It seems a bit off.
Lucas Reeve had chatted with Ceylon, so he naturally knew from her about the relationship with her father. How to put it... in Ceylon's words, her father supposedly disliked her very much. She hadn't seen her father in a long time, nor had she spoken properly with him in several years. Ceylon felt that her father must really hate her, after all, her mother had died giving birth to her.
Of course, that was just what Ceylon thought.
Lucas Reeve didn't think so.
Men are silent, especially middle-aged men.
Fathers like Jessica's, who dote on "my precious daughter" all day, are truly rare.
After all.
Just now, when Ceylon's father arrived outside the door, his somewhat flustered, anxious demeanor, forcing himself to be calm, was easily seen by Lucas Reeve, who possessed spiritual sight.
So.
It was purely Ceylon overthinking.
What father doesn't love his daughter?
Ceylon informed her father of her discovery, and her father didn't hesitate at all. After leaving the room, he immediately notified the mountaineering team and the city's Public Security Bureau to head up the mountain together.
This search lasted the entire night.
However, the result was predictable: they found no trace of anything.
Although, two gods and two Abyssal Hunters hadn't found anything either, but Lucas Reeve still hoped these ordinary people could find something.
After all, the Divine Fragments are not omniscient. Even Sui is a long way from being omniscient. Divine Fragments, to put it bluntly, are just powerful, immortal beings that have mastered certain rules. Strictly speaking, they are still living beings. And as long as they are living beings, they have flaws. For example, Nian... makes terrible movies, and Dusk... is a shut-in and a bit of a coward.
Although nothing was found overnight, Mayor Herman wasn't prepared to give up. Daughter aside, the Obsidian Festival was about to start. For the safety of the tourists and Siesta's reputation, Mayor Herman still chose to be on high alert. He directly dispatched the security team to lock down the entire volcano. Even some of the peripheral beaches that led to the volcano were cordoned off, leaving only a relatively safe area for tourists.
"Dear tourists, hello, and welcome to Siesta during the annual Obsidian Festival...."
The next morning.
Along with the passionate voice on the city's broadcast, the fifteen-day Obsidian Festival officially began.
With the official start of the Obsidian Festival, the city's atmosphere became even more fiery than in the previous days. The main stage in the city center was also opened, allowing various musicians to perform their new songs on it during the day. However, to perform on the main stage, one needed a certain level of fame, such as being well-known in their own region. Someone like Sora barely met the standard.
After all, with a rich girl like Jessica boosting the numbers, Sora's popularity was gradually rising, transforming her from a minor idol to a famous idol in Lungmen. The only drawback was... it was the wrong profession for the location.
After all, in Lungmen, and even Yan, not many people really liked the idol profession. Compared to idols, people preferred professional mainstream singers and martial arts superstars. If she were in Higashi, Sora would probably be a huge hit by now.
Still, Sora got her wish and sang her new song on the main stage she had always dreamed of.
As one famous musician after another took the stage, even though the official Obsidian Festival music gala hadn't started, many people's throats were already hoarse from shouting.
Some fans, having mastered the true art of Higashi-style cheering, even started 'Wotagei' in the audience.
The atmosphere at the venue gradually climbed, but the atmosphere in the Siesta government building was grim. They hadn't found anything. Moreover, Mayor Herman refused to believe his daughter was lying. For Ceylon to be that frightened, it meant it couldn't have been a hallucination. And... when the exploration team went up the mountain, a few photos also made Mayor Herman's expression stiffen.
The first photo showed crater-like marks on the beach below the volcano, and another showed marks on the volcano as if some beam had pierced through it..
And now, it was during the Obsidian Festival, so the mayor had no choice but to be cautious.
Lucas Reeve didn't have much interest in the music festival. Compared to watching concerts, Lucas Reeve preferred to hang out on the beach with Skadi and Ceobe, eating various snacks. When night fell, the concert officially began. World-famous artists performed on the same stage: rap superstar Emperor, the legendary new heavy metal band Alive Until Sunset, the famous legendary DJ from Columbia, D.D.D., and many other superstars.
This night was one of madness.
That evening, countless people fainted from excitement and were carried to the hospital. The moment they woke up in the hospital, they would crawl back towards the venue, embodying the very definition of 'crazy'.
The first three days of the Obsidian Festival passed smoothly, with no incidents.
However.
On the fourth day.
Two tourists went to the Siesta Public Security Bureau to report that their son had suddenly disappeared while swimming.
A missing person was no small matter.
Almost immediately.
The security team dispatched a large number of divers to search, but they found nothing... Since it was just one person, it didn't have much impact on the other tourists. Those who wanted to play continued to play. However, on the sixth day.
The number of missing persons gradually increased. In addition to disappearances, some tourists fainted on the ground, their skin gradually darkening. It was only then that panic began to spread throughout Siesta.