Because an extra person had appeared the last time he entered the Congers family cemetery, nearly triggering a crisis that would have buried the entire team, Karen was naturally more sensitive to headcounts upon entering an unknown underground area like this.
Of course, that wasn't the main reason.
Because of the Twelve Order Knights, twelve was a heavily emphasized number in the traditions of the Church of Order. From squad units across various departments to high-ranking seats at senior tiers, almost everything was established around the number twelve.
This tradition of Order was common knowledge not only within the Church, but across other religious circles as well.
In truth, however, when explained through doctrine and historical development, what the Church of Order had always valued was not the number twelve, but "1 + 12."
The reason people were most impressed by the number twelve was that, in ordinary thinking, most failed to realize that above the Twelve Order Knights stood a ruler: the God of Order.
This was only natural—after all, the God of Order was hardly a person.
Karen had been a captain for a long time, so what seemed like a roster of twelve in ordinary eyes had always been thirteen to him. But judging by the mental state of the twelve people before him, they truly were just as Neo had said: when another consciousness suppressed your mind, making you naturally believe and agree with its words, your perception of yourself and the reality surrounding you was already blurred.
When they heard Karen say "one person is missing," Luna began looking around. The others also looked blankly before and behind themselves, muttering as they counted off their teammates' names and nicknames:
"Captain, Kuzan, Gray Wolf, Bison, Angel..."
"Blind Man, Kuzan, Gray Wolf, Iron Nail, Captain..."
"Gray Wolf, Iron Nail, Captain, Luna, Borman..."
Unfortunately, Karen noticed that not a single one could count past six.
In fact, as they counted, they would forget whom they had already named. Even if they counted on their fingers, crouched down to mark the sand, or cooperated to count together, they could not complete a tally of their present teammates.
Karen pursed his lips. He suddenly felt that Neo's guess was likely wrong, or at least not entirely correct. If the swordsman and spearman had been driven by pure combat instinct when fighting the two of them earlier, that would have made sense. Sometimes fighting on pure instinct yielded even better results, provided you were powerful enough.
Yet when they saw him manifest Chains of Order, their immediate shift in attitude, their outpouring of emotion toward "home," and their joy at the prospect of finally finding release—all these emotions were far too advanced.
Furthermore, upon hearing Karen say he also used a sword, the swordsman had immediately understood and tossed over his greatsword as a gift. The others had also caught on, throwing out their weapons and sacred relics as offerings.
They weren't doing this to curry favor—it wasn't like telling a naive child, "I'll pluck the moon from the sky for you, as long as you give me the hundred-riel allowance in your hand." They knew they were already dead; keeping their weapons served no purpose, so they would rather pass them to a junior from their church so the arms could continue to be put to good use.
In short, this was a level of rational and emotional awareness that transcended mere instinct. Since they possessed deeper cognitive faculties yet showed stalled thinking on much simpler matters, that was precisely where the problem lay.
The person suppressing their minds had not only suppressed their cognitive faculties regarding the headcount, but had also specifically steered their thoughts.
Clearly, this was the work of the missing person. Karen doubted it was the so-called "evil spirit of the sand"; that entity had no reason to do such a thing.
If it had done so for some purpose, there should have been an "extra person" instead, so it could fit itself in.
Seeing that they were still trying to count, Karen spoke up again:
"Seniors, please quiet down. I believe we've run into a serious issue: I can't establish the factual truth of what happened here based on your accounts alone. If possible..."
Two paths lay before Karen. Either take these treasures and leave right now, immediately, and report everything to the Church—even anonymously—so they could send a larger force to deal with this place...
...but no sooner had this thought crossed his mind than Karen rejected it. Things wouldn't be that simple. If that "person" was still here, how could he possibly permit Karen to leave safely and call for reinforcements?
That left only one final path. When facing difficulty and danger with no way to avoid them, all you could and should do was face reality head-on.
"If possible, please allow me to examine your bodies and consciousnesses. I hope you can trust me."
Still gripping the greatsword in his right hand, Karen raised his left and stepped toward them. The atmosphere was eerie, yet between them existed a palpable sense of trust.
To use an imperfect analogy: from Karen's perspective as a devotee of the Church of Order, the people before him were senior martyrs.
Luna said, "You may."
The others followed suit: "You... may..."
Karen noticed that Luna's mental vitality was stronger than the others. At the very least, she spoke without pausing or stuttering.
This compelled Karen to glance several more times at the headless corpse lying beside Luna—Torisa, the captain of this elite squad.
Luna wasn't the only woman in the squad, so why had she received this special "mental" privilege?
Rather than inspecting Luna first, Karen walked up to the swordsman who had fought him earlier. If he remembered correctly, the man's name was Kuzan.
Karen raised a hand to touch him. Kuzan didn't move, allowing Karen to place his palm over his chest.
The tactile sensation was real—a redundant statement, really.
The man couldn't be a phantom; after all, they had just fought, and Neo had even detonated all ten fingernails against the spearman.
They had heartbeats, but the rhythm was dull and deadened. Under close observation, they exhibited all the physical signs of "life" yet possessed no vitality. This state was infinitely close to being awakened.
A detection spell began gathering in Karen's palm as his consciousness prepared to enter the man's body for an in-depth examination.
Presumably sensing what Karen was about to do, Kuzan warned, "Be... care... ful... don't get entangled... in... the cur... se..."
Curse and pollution were practically synonymous at times, behaving much like an infectious disease. Certain high-risk actions could easily cause contamination.
Karen had a better impression of this senior who had gifted him the greatsword than the others, so he smiled and replied:
"I'm just like you."
***
"I am just like you."
After parting ways with Karen, Neo walked back toward the platform, but as he moved, the sand pool ahead seemed to suddenly become boundless. Neo did not panic; instead, a smirk touched the corner of his lips.
He stopped and waited quietly.
When the sand pool gave him special treatment, it meant "he" had finally stopped hiding and begun showing traces of himself.
Yet Neo hadn't expected the other party's opening words to be "I am just like you."
There was no one behind him, nor to his sides. It seemed "he" remained unwilling to reveal himself fully.
During this time, Neo glanced at Alfred and the others on the distant platform. Judging by how calm they remained, what they saw was likely still the illusion of him and Karen standing in the distance negotiating with those ten—no, twelve—people.
After waiting a moment without hearing "him" speak again, Neo had to prompt:
"You could be a bit more specific. You see, I'm embarrassed to admit that even I sometimes lose track of what kind of person I really am. So while you say you're just like me, I actually have an even murkier idea of who you are."
"He" answered, "I saw you use the power of Light."
"Oh, so that's what you meant."
Neo had a look of "sudden realization," recalling in his mind Karen's words: *Three hundred years have passed. If a threat exists, it should have seen us by now.*
"He" said, "This is a great opportunity."
"A great opportunity?" Neo replied with mild irritation. "Since you chose to reach out to me alone, that means you're feeling the pressure too. So could you maybe stop being so cryptic? It's exhausting to listen to."
"Apologies. I haven't communicated with anyone in so long; I'm a bit rusty. I need you to help me break the curse here."
"Then why keep me stranded here? I was heading back to get our team's array formation master to set up a formation and disrupt this sand pool's operation."
"No, you wouldn't do that. You and your 'keeper' were suspicious of this place from the start. Your 'keeper' even asked a question back there: he asked whether they came on this mission at full strength."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Neo shrugged. "That question is just casual chit-chat, like asking what new play is on today or what color the clouds were at sunset yesterday. Oh, maybe you're not from Wien, so you might not be familiar with our customs."
"See? You're testing whether I'm from the Dinge Region."
"Heh." Neo chuckled. "Doesn't that count as an indirect answer? I don't believe that evil spirit of the sand could tell regional customs apart."
The Dinge Region and Wien Region had completely different cultural landscapes. The former was a capital of romance; three hundred years ago, long before motion pictures were invented, Dinge had already been a Mecca for artists and writers, lending the locals' daily conversation a distinctly artistic flair.
As for the residents of Wien, they only ever asked about the weather and which flavor of bean paste they had eaten the night before—because the weather in Wien was truly cursed, and the people of Wien perpetually reeked of their homemade bean paste.
"I can help you subdue your keeper. I can help you find release from his grasp. I can help you regain your freedom."
*Keeper?*
*He means Karen?*
*Did "he" take me for Karen's slave?*
Neo had never heard the term "keeper" used this way, but he could piece together the logic: in the entity's eyes, because he was a remnant of Light traveling alongside Karen, he must be Karen's slave.
*What kind of eyesight is that!*
*Damn it, I'm clearly Karen's superior!*
Neo began reviewing the sequence of events since they descended. He was the one who had gone down first to scout; he was the one who had coaxed information out of the welcoming corpse; when descending to the sand pool, he had jumped down while Karen flew above; he had dived into the sand pool to shove out the bodies below while Karen floated leisurely overhead.
When it came to speaking with those senior members of Order and presenting official credentials, Karen was the one who stepped forward.
Then Karen told him to walk back, and he just turned around and walked back. Even though it was merely a tacit division of labor... Neo suddenly realized that based on all that, the entity concluding he was Karen's slave... actually wasn't unreasonable at all. *Good grief, looks like I've spoiled Karen too much in the past, letting our relationship become so lacking in decorum.*
"Help me break the curse here, and I will help you seal your 'keeper' here. That is our deal."
"A deal? I'd love to make a deal, but you can't expect me to trust you on a few words alone. After all..."
Neo's mind raced. He suddenly struck upon a possibility—a reason why "he" had approached him privately, why "he" was being so cautious, even somewhat cowardly, despite this being "his" home turf.
And that reason also indirectly supported the notion that Neo was Karen's slave.
"He" could sense everything since their group descended, but out of fear of detection, "he" hadn't been able to eavesdrop on their prior conversations.
Only after Neo and Karen entered the sand pool's territory had "he" truly gained the initiative and some measure of confidence.
*Deducing conclusions purely from behavior, is it?*
*Heh...*
Neo suddenly wanted to laugh. The reason the entity was acting so carefully was that he had "seen" Karen awaken that welcoming corpse—and after successfully doing so, Karen looked completely unaffected.
"He" didn't know about Karen's unique constitution, nor had "he" seen Karen use scrolls and high-tier sacred relics to offset and weaken the toll of Awakening. In "his" mind, Karen had awakened the corpse with effortless ease.
From that, "he" had deduced Karen's strength... as terrifying!
And with such a terrifying figure accompanied by a Light remnant "subordinate," that naturally pointed to a relationship of "keeper" and "slave."
What Neo didn't know was that, under the gaze of "his" other line of sight, Karen was making physical contact with each squad member one by one, asking for their names.
Karen had clearly stepped into that domain; he had clearly made contact with the curse through his own power and consciousness; the mental oppression should have descended upon him equally.
Yet he appeared utterly composed, asking one after another, seemingly unaffected in the slightest.
By now, Karen had nearly finished questioning them all and was already speaking with the last person: Luna.
To awaken that welcoming corpse so effortlessly, and to endure the curse and psychic pressure with such ease—such an existence was truly too powerful.
So powerful that "he" didn't dare strike Karen directly.
"He" even suspected Karen was deliberately taking his time like this to "fish" for him.
"I'm not someone who trusts people easily," Neo said. "You should understand that for a slave rebelling against his keeper, failure means death—and an excruciatingly brutal death at that."
"I understand."
"So, I need to see your sincerity first."
Although Neo didn't know what sincerity he wanted to see, it didn't matter; the other party would offer an answer.
"I can trap him first to show you that I possess the ability, formidable though he is. When the time comes, whether you are willing to help me break the curse will be up to you. Moreover, I can promise you many benefits once I regain my freedom.
"I am even willing to take refuge among the Light remnants. You have always craved greater power and support; I am willing to join and aid you."
*Ah... As expected, even three hundred years ago, the image of Light remnants as gullible fools was already deeply ingrained.*
*Everyone wanted to con them, borrow their blades to kill, and dispose of them once finished.*
Neo smiled. "I can't promise you anything just yet. I want to see how things unfold first. You know, I'm fiercely loyal to my Lord Karen."
"You will see."
"Also, I have one more guess, and I'd like an answer from you."
"Ask."
"When I saw that headless corpse, I actually knew what it was for right away. Know why? For a very long time, I've run simulations of my own: if a certain moment ever came, with my peculiar identity, how should I hide and escape?
"Alas, what you did matches what I had considered at a certain phase.
"Eyes can lie, ears can lie, noses can lie, but gut feelings are hard to fool. Most of all, the perspective and mindset of a certain phase are the hardest of all to fake—to think I could actually find a resonance of that mindset in you.
"So there never was an evil spirit of the sand, was there?
"Indeed, the perspective and mindset of that phase are the hardest to fake, and feeling that resonance from you tells me everything.
"There was never any evil spirit of the sand, was there?
"Your true identity is..."
***
Karen drew his hand back from Luna's shoulder and finally looked at the headless corpse lying beside her.
"I've asked all of you for your names and nicknames. You really are missing one squad member."
Karen paused, pointed a finger at the headless corpse, and continued:
"Yet in that case, the existence of this headless corpse becomes difficult to define.
"If I had to assign a role to its presence, I'd say this headless corpse is the last of your twelve squad members.
"You are all here. All twelve of you are present.
"The one who's missing is your captain—Torisa!"
Chapter 553