BXBX NOVEL Chapter 529 Chance! (2)
"Good! Good!" The Cardinal's mood softened to hear the affirmative reply.
"Alright then! I'll let the Inner administrator brief you on the requirements." He then looked at the man who had been standing beside him for a long time and gestured to him to take over the proceedings.
The Inner administrator had a stern personality, if not for the fact that Eli and the rest knew that this was really the first time they encountered him, they would even wonder if they have offended him in any way.
"Follow me closely, no one is to loiter in the true inner temple." The Inner administrator looked at the group and moved his head to indicate that he should be followed.
The group then obediently responded and followed quietly.
As for Eli and Kayden, they refrained from looking at each other for a moment as there was already no need for them. They all knew what was coming…
This is a great opportunity to finally enter the underground facility and see what was inside!
Even so, they tried their best to hide their excitement as they needed to be more careful than ever. For any misstep would lead to them becoming suspicious and their mission will be compromised.
"From where you came from until this point, is called the inner temple. But beyond this point is the true inner place where only a select few could enter…"
The Inner administrator then stopped at a large steel door that had an embossed sculpture of the crest of the main temple. While this imposing door seemed to be out of place in contrast with the serene atmosphere of the door entrance, it remained clean and well-maintained.
"To those who were entering here first see to it that none of you shall divulge any information about the true inner temple because that means that you have violated its sanctity. Do you understand?" He asked.
"Yes, Inner Administrator…" Eli and Kayden, along with the other selected workers from the outer temple replied obediently.
Kayden and Eli tried their best not to spite the administrator for using the word 'sanctity' for a place where they do evil. Just how much humans have they lost for their view of righteousness to be distorted like this?
"Now then… keep following closely."
The inner administrator touched the door handles of the entrance and it slowly moved to open. What has revealed to them was a dimly lit hall.
As they entered, they noticed that only the light coming from the structure's stained glass windows lit up the entire open hall. The massive pillars stood majestically, holding the entire structure with ease.
"Let's go…" The administrator knew that the group was amazed by what they saw so he only looked at them sternly before reminding them to make haste.
He then led them to the corridor and they walked in such a long winding path. Eli and Kayden buried the way into their minds while they looked like naive peasants happy to see such a marvelous thing in their life.
Finally, they reached the end of the corridor, which was now too dark for them to view if not for the candlelight affixed on the corridor walls.
The inner administrator then looked at them and said, "Since all of you will be considered workers of the true inner place, you must know how to enter the vicinity in the proper way…."
As he explained, he faced the seemingly dead-end wall and slowly demonstrated which stone brick should they touch and in what sequence they had to be pushed or turned over.
Rumble!
The dead-end wall moved and shuddered slowly revealing another passageway downwards.
The group could not help but look at each other, the path they just took was already long winding. Now they still have to go down another stairway. Who knows how long this pathway would be?
Even so, they did not dare to show their thoughts to their faces and just obediently followed. The moment the inner administrator stepped into the stairway, the candles in the path suddenly lit up, giving a faint yet ample light for the group to see the steps.
The next moment, the rhythmic sound of footsteps could only be heard around until such time that they paused again as they had already reached yet another entrance.
This time the door automatically opened and what was revealed inside made Eli and Kayden's bodies stiffen.
Inside was a massive underground factory… of all sorts of things that the Spectre has created.
And out of all these creations, was the massive and imposing monstrous beast whom Eli had already encountered during the sudden kidnapping incident she was involved with.
"This is the inner place, where all the tools and mounts meant for our temple knights were made. This is also where the products from the outer temple were further processed and made into an entire piece of magical tools." The inner administrator proudly explained.
"I-inner administrator… are those things… alive?" One of the talents in the group could not help but ask in a sacred manner while his gaze was fixed on the seemingly asleep curse beast puppets that were cast in a massive glass enclosure.
"Those were the hybrid mounts of our temple knights. There's no need for you to be afraid of them; they can be controlled by the bell bracelets that will be distributed to you later on." The inner administrator raised his hand to reveal a bracelet that had two crystal pendants containing a purple and green liquid.
Kayden's and Eli's eyes flickered, they saw the bracelet way back from the time when the first attack in the silver dew forest happened.
This was almost similar to the bracelet that contained the liquid that could make the hell wolves berserk or calm down! The only difference now is that it has visibly improved.
"Now we shall enter the chambers to clean you first before you go further to the true inner place." the administrator said and pointed at the room that looked like a glass chamber.
"Oh no, Eli chan! I am feeling something bad is going to happen! That room is dangerous!" Wisey immediately warned Eli.
"I know… but do we have a choice?" We cannot enter and move freely if we do not enter that chamber.
"I have a feeling that they will do something to your bodies before allowing you to go inside," Wisey said.
"Let's stay calm and see…" Eli did not dare to show any signs of hesitation and could only follow with the crowd.
Since the pathway was quite small, the group could not help but move closer to each other before they could finally enter the chamber.
In the mind of the sudden chaos, Eli felt something placed in her hand. She looked up and saw Kayden giving her a meaningful glance.
The next moment, he very naturally sneezed but Eli did not fail to see how he took a small pill in his mouth as he sneezed. "Pardon…" He then apologetically said to the crowd near him.
When Eli looked at the thing stuffed by Kayden in his hands, she saw that it was the same pill. And so after thinking for a while she bent a little over using her petite stature to hide the fact that she was eating the pill as well.
"That was smooth~" Wisey teased her after successfully eating the pill out of detection.
"Of course, I cannot possibly sneeze as well, right? That would be too suspicious…" Eli replied.
Soon after, they crowded in a few square feet chamber and a mist was dispensed in the air.
"I knew it! This room is bad stuff!" Wisey could not help but continually exclaim in Eli's mind.
On the other hand, Eli and Kayden keenly observed the surroundings and immediately mimicked the reaction of their peers as they inhaled the particles dispensed under the mist.
They stayed at the chamber for about five minutes before another layer of 'mist' was dispensed yet again. Shortly after, they were led out of the chamber.
But, the way that they went out of the chamber was totally different to when they first entered.
Like programmed robots, they lined up and went out of the chamber in an orderly manner. And even as they stopped outside the chamber, they lined up like a platoon. Of course while the others were unconsciously doing it, Eli and Kayden acted like they were doing it unconsciously too.
Then after seeing that all have already lined up, the administrator said in a low hypnotic aged voice.
"What you see and do here are good… nothing is evil and wrong. Everything here is for the good of the world."
"Yes… everything is for the good." The group answered.
"You will not divulge anything you see, touch or hear in this true inner place."
"Yes we will not divulge anything… for everything in here is for the good." The crowd answered once again
After the brainwashing, the inner administrator snapped his fingers and they all returned to their senses. The eyes of her colleagues became clear once again and they seemed to have no recollection of the words they had uttered just earlier.