He headed up the dim wooden staircase.
This was the territory of the Resurrection Society, after all. God only knew what role Old Crowley played here.
At the end of the second floor,
there was only a single pair of closed oak doors.
There was no keyhole on the door, only a ring of complex, twisted brass patterns emitting faint spiritual fluctuations.
A crest featuring a ring of thorns hung on the wall above.
Elias stopped in front of the door.
He didn't push it open immediately, feeling a moment of hesitation.
Better safe than sorry.
He covertly reached into his trench coat,
clutching several warding charms in his palm.
That wasn't all.
He channeled his internal spirituality, manifesting a Moonlight Barrier in front of him.
Only then did Elias feel a slight sense of security.
He was afraid that when he pushed the door open, he wouldn't be met by Crowley, but by a dozen guns pointed straight at him.
Or perhaps a bloody maw filled with tentacles.
Old Ed, in his mind, couldn't agree more.
Then, as he pushed the door, Elias gripped his cane tightly with his right hand.
The heavy oak doors were slowly pushed open.
There were no deafening gunshots, no splashing venom, and no fanatical cultists.
The space behind the door was very spacious, covered with a soft carpet.
Only two people were sitting in the room.
One was Old Crowley, dressed in his tattered trench coat with a face full of stubble.
The other was an elegant lady of some years, but dressed quite properly.
The two were sitting in front of a low table, each holding a crystal wine glass.
Seeing this, Elias's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
He casually removed the bowler hat belonging to “Bruce Wayne” from his head.
As the hat left his head, the illusion covering his face dissipated like ripples on water,
revealing Elias's original face—young, handsome, and slightly pale.
“Oh?”
Seeing the person who pushed the door open, Old Crowley, who was drinking, paused.
An expression of considerable surprise appeared on his rough, sea-dog-like face.
“How did you find this rat hole, kid?”
Old Crowley set down his glass, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy eyes.
“And this getup...”
He looked Elias up and down.
“Do you have a lead on the Pendulum?”
Before Elias could answer, Old Crowley’s gaze fell upon the silver light screen that had yet to dissipate.
His messy white beard twitched.
“What are you doing with that pathetic barrier up?”
Old Crowley raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with a hint of mockery.
“Planning to raid this place?”
Elias’s mouth twitched.
Feeling a bit awkward, he dispersed the spirituality in his hand and retracted the Moonlight Barrier.
Just then,
the lady sitting across from Old Crowley set down her glass.
She turned her head and cast an inquisitive look toward Crowley.
“The Pendulum?”
“Is it the item I think it is?”
Old Crowley turned to look at her.
He didn't speak, but gave a solemn, confirming look.
He nodded slightly.
After receiving Old Crowley's confirmation, the lady's gaze immediately shifted back to Elias.
A look of great interest burned in those deep eyes.
Being stared at with such a look made Elias feel his skin crawl.
Lady, we are not on a date...
Elias shook his head frantically in his mind.
To hide his discomfort, he immediately turned and spoke to Old Crowley, refusing to back down.
“You’ve asked so many questions at once.”
Elias leaned on his cane and strode to the table.
“Which one should I answer?”
Facing Elias's retort, the old captain wasn't angry at all.
Instead, he gave a “hehe” laugh.
The smile was quite sly, as if he had seen through some truth.
“That fully armed look just now...”
Old Crowley pointed at Elias’s cane, ruthlessly exposing him.
“You didn't think you'd be ambushed coming in here, did you?”
“You've got quite the suspicious mind, kid, daring to barge into a Resurrection Society establishment like this.”
Having his thoughts exposed, Elias didn't blush or feel his heart race; he just acted like he hadn't heard a thing.
After his mockery, Old Crowley’s smile faded.
He turned slightly serious, the lines on his face becoming cold and hard.
“Naturally, I care about my commission.”
Old Crowley tapped the tabletop with his knuckles, producing a dull thud.
“Don't forget, we had a deal.”
“You find news of the Pendulum, and I pay you.”
“Of course.”
Elias also lost his earlier playfulness and spoke seriously.
He pulled out a chair and sat down without ceremony.
“But before we talk about that,”
Elias stared intently into Old Crowley's eyes.
“You have to tell me first—what exactly is this Pendulum?”
“What is it actually used for?”
Elias's voice grew low.
“I’ve had the ‘honor’ of seeing the Pendulum's power with my own eyes.”
Elias leaned back, adopting a negotiating stance.
“I do indeed have news of the Pendulum.”
“But...”
He drew out the word.
“Whether I give it to you depends on your attitude.”
“I need to know what kind of trouble I’ve been dragged into.”
The words had just fallen.
Old Crowley's expression changed.
The aura about him underwent a world-shaking transformation.
It was a massive spirituality that Elias had never perceived from this old sea dog before.
If the previous Old Crowley was like a bottomless ancient well,
then now,
this immense spiritual pressure was like a raging tsunami!
It slammed toward Elias with the force of an overwhelming tide!
Elias felt as if a brass bell had been rung inside his brain.
Crowley completely cast aside his usual improper demeanor.
He sat in his chair, his back straight as a rod, looking at Elias with a solemn expression.
His cloudy eyes held the cold majesty of a high-level transcendent.
“You’re asking too much.”
Old Crowley's voice was no longer raspy, but carried an unquestionable pressure.
“This isn't something you should know.”
“Knowing too much will only make you die faster.”
Along with his words,
the massive spiritual pressure felt like a solid block of lead, pressing down hard on Elias’s shoulders.
“What you need to do is simple,”
Crowley pronounced coldly.
“Just give me the news.”
“And since you haven't actually gotten your hands on the physical item,”
“I can only deliver half of what I promised you before.”
Under this terrifying, deep-sea-like spiritual pressure,
Elias felt the bones throughout his body groan under the unbearable weight.
His recently replenished spirituality was now desperately resisting this absolute suppression from a higher-ranking being.
This feeling was different from the high-level suppression Guss exerted with Fear Aura.
Old Crowley's suppression was a tangible, dual crushing of both the physical and the spiritual!
This pure suppression directly slowed the circulation of spirituality within Elias's body.
Had it not been for his double spirituality total, which gave him a foundation far exceeding ordinary people,
at this moment,
he would have been gasping for air on the ground like a pathetic stray dog.
But now, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay pinned to the chair.
His knees didn't even buckle.
“Old man...”
Elias gritted his teeth.
He met Crowley’s cold gaze without fear.
His lips even curled into a mocking arc.
“There’s something you might not know.”
He spoke one word at a time, his voice raspy but carrying a hint of reckless madness.
“I am the type of person...”
“...who is least affected by this kind of tactic!”
Elias suddenly leaned forward, staring intently at the other man despite the terrifying spiritual pressure.
“If you have the guts, kill me right now.”
“At worst, we both lose everything.”
He let out a cold laugh.
“As long as I die here, any news about the Pendulum...”
“...you can forget about ever getting it!”
That's right.
He was threatening him.
Elias was calculating everything perfectly.
After he said “I have news of the Pendulum,” the old man's reaction was so intense that he didn't hesitate to use spiritual pressure to seize control of the conversation.
This only proved one thing.
The Pendulum was indeed extremely important to him.
As long as the other party wanted something, this old fox couldn't possibly actually kill him.
Once he was killed, the only lead would be completely severed.
Furthermore,
Elias's greatest source of confidence lay elsewhere.
The Pendulum was currently sitting quietly inside the Gluttonous Stomach.
The Gluttonous Stomach could completely block any detection.
As long as he insisted he only knew “news,”
he would remain undefeated in this psychological war!
Just as he was thinking this triumphantly, the elegant lady who had been silent all this time gently set down her crystal glass.
She looked at Elias's face and smiled slightly.
Then,
she spoke lightly, but the content was ten thousand times more terrifying than Old Crowley's spiritual pressure.
It made Elias break out in a cold sweat.
“The Pendulum is in your hands, right?”
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