Compared to the grand hall behind, this place...
How should I describe it?
Apart from the Evil God altar visible right after opening the secret door, the space behind it was surprisingly serene.
From the secret door, down a few steps until the ground here, the surrounding area was an unusually clean and flat surface.
However, as far as the eye could see, there were no installed floors or supporting wooden stakes.
This open space could almost be considered a natural underground cave.
Apart from the Evil God altar constructed in the center, there were no piles of corpses, no terrifying live sacrifice platforms, and no bizarrely shaped cult sculptures.
Even compared to the primitive underground space, there were no signs of cave-dwelling insects.
——A complete and utter silence.
Of course, it wasn’t just plain land here.
To Ronald’s right, there was a sizable pool.
Ronald suddenly became alert.
According to Cthulhu mythology, wasn’t Cthulhu asleep in R’lyeh at the bottom of the sea?
Although this place couldn’t possibly be the South Pacific.
But the rituals of these cultists might very well be closely linked with things like water!
Thinking this, Ronald quickly stepped back.
The black mist spreading in the hall instantly poured into this underground cave, covering all the ground first.
Ronald quietly observed his surroundings.
In this silent underground space, hardly a single sound could be heard.
The cult Magician must have added something to the candles, causing the candlelight to have an extremely wide range, and it was a rather unsettling green color.
Accompanied by the eerie flickering candlelight, the place was in complete silence.
Wait, the cult Magician had already died above.
He controlled the nervous emotions rising within him, almost like self-hypnosis.
Ronald calmed down and began to carefully feel the touch of the black mist.
Avoiding the definitely problematic Evil God statue, the ground around was quickly searched thoroughly.
Still not a single clue was found.
So now, the last place left was the pool over there...
His gaze shifted, quietly falling on the water of the pool.
The dim green candlelight on the motionless water surface made it look like a green gemstone buried underground, and although the tranquil water showed no ripples, it seemed as if it was hiding some monster within.
If it weren’t for "Fury" still reminding Ronald that there was no other conscious living person here but him, he would definitely have been thinking about how to deal with a sudden attack now.
——The previous body transformation rituals.
Any person with a bit of knowledge in this area would find the pool suspicious.
Just then, Ronald heard footsteps approaching from behind.
He turned around and saw Patricia had come down into the cellar.
Because this underground cave extended further down, Ronald’s actual standing position was significantly lower than the previous cellar hall.
So to Patricia, it seemed like Ronald, behind the secret door, was only observing her with his upper body.
While asking, the girl did not hesitate to also step into the underground cave.
Seeing the black mist covering the ground, she frowned,
"This should all be from your ritual influence, right?"
Ronald nodded, then summoned the surrounding black mist back to his hand.
"I’ve pretty much checked everything here, apart from that pool and this statue, there shouldn’t be anything else worth noting."
Following Ronald’s words, Patricia surveyed the cave’s surroundings.
As Ronald had described, there truly wasn’t anything noteworthy.
The underground space’s focal point was entirely on the statue of the Evil God.
It was in keeping with the style of the cult Magicians.
However, the appearance of the underground water pool beside it was somewhat baffling.
Could it be that these people also had a hobby of hiding underground to gather and bathe?
Patricia didn’t dwell on this aspect for long.
After looking around, the girl refocused her gaze on Ronald.
With a somewhat serious tone, she said,
"Ronald, it won’t be long before the investigation bureau comes to check."
"If you don’t want to expose your abilities, it’s best to leave now."
"Just pretend that I discovered everything here, and you had already gone home today."
"I can handle the rest for you."
Truth be told, he hadn’t expected Patricia to bring this up.
He was indeed highly wary of the colossal entity such as the investigation bureau, knowing all too well just how difficult it is to deal with organized, institutionalized bodies from his experiences in modern society.
But Patricia offering to cover for him was something he had not anticipated. Her choice not to reveal their discovery at the Greenwich railway station was already a sufficiently benevolent gesture.
After a few breaths of contemplation, under Patricia’s watchful gaze, Ronald chose to leave the site.
"If that’s the case, then I’ll leave first."
The girl nodded in response:
"Don’t worry, I’ve got everything under control here."
Ronald then turned around and left.
But before he exited the cellar, he didn’t forget to remind Patricia one last time:
"By the way, Patricia, be careful with that water pool."
"Besides the altar, I think that thing deserves some attention too."
With their final conversation concluded, Ronald reemerged onto the ground through the entrance at the side of the courtyard.
Snowflakes tirelessly drifted down from the sky.
In a corner of the courtyard, the umbrella Patricia had thrown earlier lay on the ground, now buried under the snow and losing its original color.
Even the traces left from the self-destruction of the cult Magician were no longer visible.
Instinctively, Ronald looked up at the sky.
The somber colors showed no signs of light; the night sky, as cold as the winter chill, felt icy.
"Let’s go home, let’s go home."
"That will be all for today."
Upon reflection, he realized he didn’t need to obsess over what was hidden here.
He could find out tomorrow morning when he returned to the investigation bureau for work, or he could ask Patricia later—it wasn’t a problem.
Dealing with these cult Magicians was, after all, a collective responsibility of the mysterious side of Greenwich.
He was just one part of it.
Taking his time, he walked out of the yard.
Ronald saw the carriage that Patricia had called back.
The cult Magicians, who thought they had successfully escaped earlier, were now honestly tied up inside, unconscious.
They were probably the unluckiest tonight...
Quietly adjusting the ’Fury’s’ control effect on these persons, Ronald shook his head and walked away.
His footprints in the snow.
Within just a few minutes, they were completely buried by the falling snow.