Malphegor
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MoP: Ch. 174
🕑 Added 2025-12-03 02:53:39 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
Snap!
With a forceful stomp from Garble, the white stone shattered easily, turning into fine powder that quietly drifted away in the murky water.
The sirens ahead all froze in place.
As if suddenly sensing some terrifying presence, they stiffly and mechanically turned their heads toward him. Or rather, toward the abrupt white silhouette that had appeared beside him.
The silhouette gradually sharpened into the form of a young siren.
Her figure was tall, her long hair pure white like frost and snow, as though she had stepped out of the most mysterious dream in the deep sea.
Even though Garble had mentally prepared himself, he was still stunned for a moment by her appearance.
If sirens, as magical beings, were naturally blessed with beauty far beyond that of humans, with an entire race of stunning individuals, then this girl's appearance would still rank in a league of its own even among sirens.
Especially that starkly contrasting aura, the icy, aloof beauty that pushed all warmth kilometers away, made the scene feel like it had come alive.
If what he felt was awe, then what the sirens of White Dove felt was terror.
As a figure long placed at the top of the church's wanted list, they could not have been more familiar with that face.
Hannah, closest to the apparition, collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud, as if the strength had been drained from her entire body.
Josef's face was filled with shock and horror.
His chest heaved violently as he forced out a few words from his throat, "Song of the Dead?! Why are you here?"
The five caged sirens, already in near-unconscious agony from the scale-stripping torture, revealed smiles like they were seeing a savior.
Using the last of their strength, they called out softly, "Princess Claire!"
Hearing that, Garble let out a sigh of relief.
It worked!
He knew the devs wouldn't really ignore the mess the players had caused.
There had to be a bizarre, extremely difficult escape route, the second Shadow Contract Stone.
---
Back to the moment before Garble jumped down to the fourth level.
At the time, the Shadow Contract Stone shattered, yet nothing around them changed.
At the entrance to the third basement level, NeverShowOff paced anxiously.
"Viktor is missing, Edgar has given up. Can't our faction produce even one reliable high-tier combatant?"
Garble frowned deeply.
"If worst comes to worst, I'll try to drug the remaining sirens with sleeping pills."
NeverShowOff shook his head.
"To avoid being noticed by them, the sleeping pills would need to take effect in under half an hour. Even if you succeed, that's enough time for them to kill off the friendly sirens, wipe us out, and then stroll right out of Nary Town."
At that point, the friendly sirens would be dead, the town wouldn't be captured.
Basically all the players' effort would be for nothing.
The two looked at each other in silence, then sighed together.
Suddenly, a new post popped up on the forum.
[NineTails]: I got a stone from a beastman NPC that seems like a Shadow Contract Stone. She said she smelled the scent of our sirens on it, but I don't know if it can summon some super strong big shot.
After reading it, Garble and NeverShowOff looked up at the same time.
"There's hope!" they said in unison.
---
Garble explained to the tall siren apparition beside him:
"That's the situation."
He had been wandering around underground for so long for one reason, finding NineTails' stone.
To get a front-row view of the fight, NineTails had dug out a small hole in the wall, squeezed herself into it, and sealed it shut. Because the space around her was so tight when she died, all the items in her game inventory had spilled out into the open.
Otherwise he would've found the Shadow Contract Stone much sooner.
He nodded toward the apparition. "Hello, Ms. Claire. My name is Garble. Technically, I'm your ally."
Claire's eyes were calm and unruffled.
"Hello."
While Claire's attention was focused on Garble, Josef silently slipped out of the iron cage.
Then, with a speed bordering on madness, he scrambled along the wall toward the third floor.
Faster, faster!
His heartbeat raced wildly, as though trying to burst through his chest. Cold sweat streamed from his forehead.
He had wanted to locate her whereabouts. He had not wanted to meet her face to face. No one knew the terror of Claire better than the White Dove members.
Even if she was just a projection.
Under the extreme tension, his fingers finally reached the edge of the upper floor.
Joy flashed through his eyes.
The next second, Tina stepped directly on his back to propel herself upward. Josef, thrown off balance, nearly lost his grip on the floor edge.
When he didn't fall, the sympathy in Tina's eyes flickered and vanished.
"Sorry."
Someone had to draw the Song of the Dead's attention. Her injuries were lighter than Josef's. She had a better chance of survival.
With that thought, she pressed down harder.
A jolt of agony shot through Josef's body. His already severely injured right hand slipped completely free.
His eyes bulged with fury as he roared:
"You bitch!"
Then, bracing against the wall, he twisted around, grabbed her tail tightly, and dragged her down with him, the two of them splashing into the murky water.
The other sirens did the same, scrambling upward only to be pulled down by companions with their own agendas.
Garble stood off to the side.
He had expected the summoned NPC to be useful, but not this useful.
He turned toward the apparition.
"Are we just watching?"
Claire lightly shook her head. A clear, ethereal voice echoed through the chaotic chamber.
"I say: return."
The tangled mass of White Dove sirens instantly appeared three meters in front of Garble.
He nearly jumped.
"Instant-cast magic?"
She didn't need to chant a long incantation, or even gather visible mana.
More lethal than wind-type magic!
Claire spoke again:
"I say: those who harmed Helena and the others shall suffer tenfold backlash."
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
The moment her words fell, a wave of agonized screams erupted from the group of sirens.
Blood instantly dyed the water beneath them.
Garble stared, dumbfounded.
"A causality-type curse?"
Claire's apparition drifted past him. He hurried to follow.
Inside the cage, the battered Helena burst into tears.
"Princess Claire..."
Claire gently brushed her fingers across Helena's lips, torn and bloody from biting.
"You will be fine."
Clang!
The heavy chains fell away from the cage, the handcuffs split cleanly in half. The iron cage that had imprisoned them for so long, engraved with runes of every kind, crumbled instantly into dust.
The sirens' horrific wounds scabbed over, healed, and sprouted fresh scales at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Garble's eyes widened to their limits.
"Spatial displacement, damage reflection, healing... your words become law?!"
Claire nodded with a gentle smile.
Garble couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
This was insane!
With her around, what mess couldn't they clean up?
He immediately asked for help.
"We're planning to take over this city. Can you help us bring back the people who escaped? We're currently located at..."
Before he could finish, Claire shook her head and cut him off.
With a wave of her hand, a rippling image appeared before them.
Garble leaned in to inspect it carefully. "These wave lines... is this a map of Nary Town?"
He had seen similar wavy-line maps at LootGoblin's place earlier.
He had forced himself to learn part of it, and he more or less understood the terrain around Nary Town.
Except this map had a very noticeable red circle covering most of the area.
"You mean to say that you're currently just a projection, and your abilities only work within the area around Nary Town?"
Claire nodded lightly.
"Well, that's a problem."
He had spent quite a while on the fourth underground floor. The enemies had likely already fled outside the affected area shown on the map.
If luck was bad, they could even be spreading information about The Watchers.
The players would be in deep trouble.
"Anyway, please help us catch anyone who hasn't gotten too far."
Then he added, "And if you could also heal our people, or even resurrect them, that'd be even better!"
Claire's expression didn't change at all as she calmly repeated his wish.
Garble blinked.
Wait.
She could actually do it?
The forum notifications were ringing again.
He opened them.
[Found a group of NPCs whose horses ran into a tree. We literally caught them by waiting in place!]
[Shocking! Light magic buffed AGAIN! My severed arm grew a new one!]
[Same! My poisoned lower leg got chopped off. I was planning to respawn later, but it regenerated! Medical miracle!]
[The problem is, I didn't even cast a healing spell!]
[Is this some kind of game welfare?]
[Damn it! Why couldn't the welfare come sooner? I died two seconds ago, and now I can only stare at my resurrection cooldown!]
The excitement rising in Garble's heart immediately fell again, replaced by disappointment.
So he couldn't exploit a loophole to revive the dead.
Then why did she agree so readily?
This supposedly infamous but friendly NPC seemed to have a bit of a mischievous streak?
The thought flashed by. After syncing the latest intel from the fourth floor, he closed the panel.
He cupped his fists at her gratefully.
"Thank you. Everything outside is progressing so much faster now! I think..."
Before he could make more requests, Claire stopped him.
He shut his mouth accordingly.
Fair enough. They already basically had cheat-level assistance.
He really shouldn't push his luck.
So he went to help the friendly sirens, who had been imprisoned for days and were too weak to stand, helping them up one by one as they prepared to leave.
"Grandma!"
A voice suddenly came from above.
Gaeman fell from above like a shooting star, landing before the two of them, then threw himself into Claire's arms.
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Gaeman!" Helena exclaimed.
Gaeman looked up, wiped away his tears, and rushed over again.
"Helena!"
The tears Helena had been holding back finally fell.
She patted Gaeman's back. "You've gotten so thin. Did you manage to find the lord?"
"Yes! Viktor is really easy to talk to!"
Claire watched the reunited sirens embracing.
Garble rubbed his nose, suddenly feeling out of place among them.
And, feeling like a killjoy, he interrupted the sirens' reunion.
"Gaeman, where are the others?"
He had just sent a message asking for reinforcements to help rescue these weakened, immobilized sirens.
So why did only he show up?
How were two people supposed to carry five sirens back up?
The summoned Claire didn't count. If he asked her to do physical labor, the first to protest would definitely be these sirens who couldn't even stand.
Gaeman wiped the tear marks from his face and explained honestly:
"The people who escaped Nary Town were captured by a strange caravan. They said they were on friendly terms with The Watchers. Child and the others went ahead to check things out."
Garble took a moment to glance at his interface.
It was true.
He had only looked away for a moment, and the plot had updated again?
There was too much noise in the forum posts, so he simply asked Gaeman directly:
"What caravan? Did they give a name?"
"Something with Carriage?"
"Do you mean the Ship-Carriage Guild?" Garble prompted.
Gaeman nodded heavily. "That's the name!"
Garble let out a huge breath.
"Then we're safe!"
Members of the Ship-Carriage Guild were almost certainly friendlies. The last hidden threat could now be resolved.
Claire's expression noticeably cooled, and she coughed lightly.
Gaeman looked up, his expression shifting from confused to disappointed.
"You're leaving? Doesn't the Shadow Contract Stone effect last another ten minutes?"
Claire gently touched his eye but said nothing.
"Leaving?" Garble asked in surprise.
It made sense. She'd been summoned to help. Now that she couldn't provide more assistance, she could leave at any time.
But NPCs don't have just one use.
She was gorgeous. Half the forum players wanted to take pictures with her!
His brain spun rapidly as he tried to think of a way to keep her around.
"Uh, do you want to, I don't know, go outside for a walk? Like a ten-minute sightseeing..."
Before he could finish, her figure vanished abruptly.
He stared. "..."
Helena gazed wistfully at the spot where Claire had disappeared.
"Things must be very urgent on her side."
Garble awkwardly froze with his hand half-raised, unable to advance or retreat. He could only turn around and move to support the nearest siren.
"Forget it, I'll take you all up first."
But Gaeman stopped him.
"Let me. My voice is already healed."
As he spoke, a string of elegant, ancient notes, indistinguishable as any known language, filled the air.
A stream of clear water separated itself from the bloody river and lifted everyone upward.
Garble stared again. "..."
Well, not having to do anything wasn't bad either.
He obediently pulled back his hand and leaned to the side, enjoying the rare experience of being carried by a water cushion.
---
Splash!
A skeleton burst out of the water.
A player holding a fishing rod shouted in delight.
"Whoa, I got a hit!"
The exhausted player next to him scoffed.
"What's there to be excited about? You fish up one skeleton every three days."
"Yesterday I fought piranhas for an hour and hauled up a 1.2-meter-long fish. Did I brag about it?"
"Skeletons are everywhere. There aren't hundreds, there are thousands. Wait, crap, the skeleton moved!"
The player beside him tightened his grip on the rod, reeling it in seriously.
"Shh, don't scare it off!"
"It's me."
"Shh! I told you, don't... VIKTOR!!!"
The two players on the shore were stunned. They hurriedly tugged the fishing line, hauling Viktor out of the river.
"Are you okay?"
Viktor lay on the riverbank, staring lifelessly at the blazing sun overhead, and sighed in despair.
"I'm fine. I just escaped from a Level 7 monster's stomach, got intercepted mid-teleport, got caught pretending to be dead, and was chewed on by piranhas all the way here. That's all."
