DOTM: Chapter 472/473

Chapter 472: What to Save

There wasn't much description in the movie about the ancient evil god whose hand only appeared at the end.

The only positive description was that "They" once ruled this world.

But that was all, there were no other clear "official" settings. Ethan initially thought it was a Titan, but after recalling the details carefully, he realized that the so-called Titans were just what netizens called them. Ethan didn't know if this ancient evil god was actually a Titan.

Even if it was a Titan, Ethan doubted it was a powerful one.

As ancient gods who once ruled the world, why would they be content to hide underground and never come out?

Ethan had been pondering this question.

What was the purpose of those repeated sacrifices to these gods? Was it purely for entertainment?

If viewed as a satirical film, of course all the logic would make sense. But now Ethan had arrived in a real world, so there must be "various" reasons why these gods were content to shrink deep underground (or perhaps in another dimension), allowing humans to use such "absurd and ridiculous" sacrificial rituals as a means of appeasing them.

After thinking it over and over, the only plausible explanation was that they were collecting "pain" from the sacrificed young people, extracting "fear" from countless humans, and so on.

Similar to how many deities collected faith, these could also serve as a source of power.

Ethan suspected that the god hiding underground was actually an evil god who extracted fear and pain from humans, and as long as humans satisfied his needs, he would allow them to continue living.

If humans could not do it, he would rush out and destroy them, or create greater fear and pain.

Watching Curt and the strange old man at the gas station engage in their prearranged conversation, Ethan was still thinking about the evil god's situation.

If his judgment was completely correct, then this evil god's strength would not be very high, and he could deal with it easily.

But one could not always think on the bright side, so Ethan also considered more unfavorable possibilities.

The worst-case scenario was that a famous deity was imprisoned down there. Perhaps, as countless netizens speculated, it was a Titan, and a "renowned" Titan with immense power.

In that case, Ethan might be in trouble.

"Unlikely."

If they were those famous Titan gods, they would absolutely not be content to remain underground and not come out. They would try every means to regain control of Earth. Even if they genuinely enjoyed watching these sacrifices, regaining control of Earth and this point were not mutually exclusive. Titans could turn humans back into slaves of the gods, and then they could watch whatever performances they wanted.

It was precisely because these evil gods were unwilling to come out that Ethan concluded they were not as strong as he had imagined.

Perhaps they were indeed terrifying to ordinary people, but to Ethan, who had become a demigod, they were nothing more than that.

The best-case scenario was exactly as Ethan speculated: this was just a low-level evil god who relied on weak divine power to trick fools into providing "fear" and "pain" as power.

Even the phrase "once ruled" this world was questionable. If the group of staff members were viewed as followers of a certain evil god, then their various boasts about the evil god needed to be taken with a grain of salt.

Considering that the evil god was likely Ethan's biggest opponent this time, it was better to overestimate the opponent's strength as much as possible.

So Ethan began to prepare safe and suitable escape routes for Logan and Ada. If things went badly, they would not need to rely on his rescue and could still return to the Prinz Eugen safely.

Even if it was a legendary Titan god, it could not cross the barriers of the multiverse to chase after him. This was Ethan's true trump card.

The gas station scene quickly passed. Although they were delayed for a while because they needed to buy parts to repair the broken RV, the strange old man did not say anything extra, just occasionally fixing his gaze on Logan, Ethan, and the others.

"What?"

Logan's temper had improved a lot in recent years, but that did not mean just anyone could stare at him with a look of seeing a dead man. When the strange old man stared at Logan again, the Wolverine's killing aura frightened the old man back several steps.

His cowardly appearance drew mockery from Curt and the others. Because the old man had been quite offensive earlier, Curt and the others were happy to see him make a fool of himself.

This even led to more common topics of conversation, making the relationship between the strangers slightly closer.

After the RV was repaired, Curt got back into the RV to continue driving, and also to lead the way for the car Logan was driving behind them.

Ada stayed in the RV and chatted with the girls, while Ethan and Logan could discuss the next arrangements in the car behind.

"Will someone come out and stop us?"

"They haven't appeared yet, so it seems they won't." Ethan had already seen the cave tunnel not far ahead. Passing through this tunnel would officially enter the area of the sacrificial ritual.

This was a completely enclosed space. Although the canyon looked empty, there was actually an invisible energy wall surrounding the entire area, ensuring that not even a bird could freely enter or leave this place.

Perhaps they felt that once Ethan and the others arrived at this place, their lives would be in their hands. Maybe outside, they would only stop Ethan and the others, but would not take their lives because of it.

But once involved in this sacrifice, they had to die.

The designated actors were already in place, and it did not matter if there were a few extra participants, as long as it did not affect the predetermined sequence.

"It's a pity they don't know what kind of existence they've let in."

Putting aside the final evil god, just the monsters locked in those cells would not be enough for Logan alone to kill if they were all released.

Following the RV through the tunnel, Ethan was also contemplating the next course of action.

Originally, he planned to follow the plot, but he felt it was too troublesome, and Curt and the others would be affected by various "drugs" and controlled by the other side. With themselves involved, the plot would definitely not develop as it did in the movie.

Who knew what disgusting things those people would suddenly make Curt and the others do, so the most reliable way was to first lift the "hypnosis" on Curt and the others, and then explain the situation to these unfortunate people.

Only then would they obediently stay put. Although Ethan was not here specifically to save these young people, since it was easy to do, he did not mind playing the role of a benevolent figure this time.

Next? Next, just watch Ethan and the others perform.

The RV slowly stopped, and a wooden cabin that looked quite old appeared before everyone. Logan also drove a little further before stopping at the edge of the woods.

Everyone got out of the car and looked at the wooden cabin. Jules, as usual, said, "If there's a spider, I'm sleeping in the car."

"It's quite nice."

The wooden cabin looked a bit old, but it was not dilapidated at all, just covered in a lot of dust and dead leaves. If it were cleaned up properly, it would be a very beautiful little house.

"I'd like to build a wooden cabin like this."

Logan was talking about the small island on the Prinz Eugen. That island was gradually taking shape, and Logan, who had practiced druidic abilities, was also growing more and more fond of being close to nature. He just had not reached the point of liking to sleep outdoors. Compared to buildings made of steel and concrete, a wooden cabin was the choice closest to nature.

He had always wanted to build his own wooden cabin on the island, but he had not done so yet because the trees on the island had not grown enough.

Everyone entered the wooden cabin one after another. The moment the door closed, Ethan lightly patted Curt.

"There are some things I need to talk to you about."

Curt was showing affection with Jules and did not pay much attention to Ethan's words, casually replying, "Let's put our stuff down first, or talk about it during dinner."

"No, it's better to talk about it right now."

Dana and Holden had already sensed that something was wrong. Curt, whose intelligence was "forced offline," had not realized anything was amiss, but Marty, who always seemed drowsy, immediately returned to normal.

"What are you going to do?"

"Save your lives."

Ethan felt that it would be difficult to make these young people obedient with just words, so he gave Logan and Ada a slight look. The two immediately took out handguns from their storage spaces and pointed them at the young people.

Both of them happened to be good at using firearms, and they often kept some guns in their storage spaces. For modern Earth humans, the deterrent power of firearms was very great, much greater than displaying magic, because everyone knew the power of guns, while if magic was used, the other party might suspect it was some kind of trick.

"Whoa!"

Seeing the dark muzzles of the guns, the young people immediately raised their hands, including Curt, who also let go of Jules. However, he and Holden, the two men, were still responsible and voluntarily shielded Dana and Jules behind them.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you."

After Ethan brought everyone into the spacious living room, he had the young people sit obediently on the sofa, while he stood in front of them, putting on a show like a charlatan.

"I told you, I'm here to save you. If you don't do as I say, you will encounter a lot of trouble."

In just this short time, Ada had already checked the living room and found several cameras, all of which she placed in front of the young people.

"These are the evidence."

These were the ones that could be removed. There were many other cameras integrated into the structure of the house, and they could not be taken out unless the house was torn down.

Although they still did not understand what was going on, seeing the pile of cameras in front of them, the young people also realized that something was wrong and immediately looked at Curt, who had brought them here.

"I… I don't know what's going on either..."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 473: Exorcist Ethan

Of course, Curt did not know what was going on. He had only heard from his cousin that a small cabin had been newly purchased, and it was said to have a good environment suitable for spending holidays, so he brought his friends over.

Who would have thought that this old cabin would hide so many cameras? Did his cousin have some special hobby?

He felt like he was taking the blame for his cousin. He just wanted to find that guy now and ask him clearly what was going on. How was he supposed to contact his cousin again?

Curt felt that something was wrong, but his friends did not realize it.

Just as he was agonizing over how to explain, Ethan suddenly spoke up and stopped the young people's questioning. "Don't ask him, he actually doesn't know anything. He is a victim, just like you."

Dana turned to look at Ethan. Actually, among these young people, Dana's personality was also affected to some extent, but relatively speaking, her intelligence was still at a normal level.

"What exactly is going on, and who exactly are you? You said you came to save us? Why would you do that?"

Even if Dana did not ask, Ethan needed to say something to appease these young people, but before that, he needed to clear the influence on them.

"Wait a moment, I'll help you deal with some issues first, and then I'll answer your questions."

Ethan glanced to the side. Ada Wang casually took out a small instrument the size of a finger, and then gently pressed a button.

The young people were all looking at Ada Wang. They were very sensitive to any movement now, afraid that these people would suddenly pull out weapons and kill them all.

"Don't be nervous, this is just a disruptor, it can disable the remaining cameras."

Although the young people did not know whether they should believe Ada Wang, at this moment they still felt a sense of relief. No one liked being filmed by cameras of unknown origin, even if they were not planning to do anything that could not be seen by others.

After "turning off" the cameras, Ethan walked up to Jules.

Curt immediately shielded Jules behind him. He was worried that Ethan wanted to do something to his girlfriend.

"No need to be nervous, I just need to clear the... toxin?" Ethan did not know what to call that strange thing. It seemed like it could only be treated as some kind of drug.

The reason he chose Jules was that he was not sure how the "toxins" were administered to the others. Only Jules' situation was directly described in the film. The hair dye Jules used was mixed with the latest drugs, so the power affecting her was in her hair.

Ethan extended his hand, and then something unbelievable happened to the young people.

A mysterious light suddenly bloomed in his empty hand. The light condensed around Ethan's palm into mysterious symbols and magic circle patterns, slowly rotating and emitting a beam of light that enveloped Jules' hair.

Jules was stunned. She had no idea what was happening before her eyes. The other young people were also too shocked to react. Only Curt wanted to stop Ethan, but he was casually pressed onto the sofa by Ethan and could not move.

Looking at Curt's flushed face, Logan, who was not far away, suddenly remembered the time Ethan bullied Thor badly with the Space Stone. At that time, Thor could not even touch the hem of Ethan's clothes, and he was so red-faced that he looked like he was about to die of anger.

Compared to Thor, the power gap between Curt and Ethan was even greater. He did not even need to use any special power. Just pressing with his hand, his powerful physical strength could suppress Curt, who was considered strong among normal people.

Holden, who was about to do something when he saw the situation was wrong, saw this scene and decisively chose to sit still. This person named Ethan seemed to be using some strange method, but Jules did not seem to be hurt.

Marty nearby looked relatively calm. Although Ethan displayed methods that were definitely not something ordinary people could use, he did not show too much surprise. Instead, he complained, "Are you going to brainwash us all into your puppets?"

"What?" Ethan looked at Marty in surprise. "No, I'm helping you remove someone else's control."

"Control? Who are we being controlled by?"

Dana was about to ask further when she suddenly saw grayish-white smoke constantly coming out of Jules' head. The ethereal smoke slowly left Jules' head and finally gathered in Ethan's palm.

"It seems worse than I thought. He's going to extract our souls..."

Marty's words left Ethan speechless. This guy's imagination was really too good.

"This is not your soul, and besides, souls do not look like this. This is a special agent mixed into Jules' hair dye. Those people are using this drug to affect your personalities and intelligence."

Sensing that he had extracted this component, and that it seemed to contain some unnecessary elements, Jules' blonde hair became less golden. Ethan had accidentally stripped away some of the hair dye ingredients as well.

Seeing the light on Ethan's hand dissipate, with only a sphere of grayish-white smoke suspended in his palm, and at the same time releasing the hand pressing down on Curt, everyone looked at Jules together.

"Are you okay? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" This was Curt.

"Do you feel like you're missing something?" This was Marty.

"Marty!" This was Dana.

But no matter how they asked, Jules just stared blankly with a bewildered look. Curt immediately became angry. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, she just needs some time to clear her head, she'll be fine in a moment."

Ethan stepped back half a step and began to observe the wisp of smoke in his hand.

It contained that strange effect. After Ethan's observation, he found that this thing was largely synthesized through pure chemicals, but some inexplicable power was mixed in.

"It should be power from those evil gods."

By this time, Jules had recovered. She felt like she had a hangover after drinking too much. She had an impression of what she had done before, but it was like many people recalling their drunken selves after a hangover, feeling that it was completely another person.

"I'm fine, I just feel a little strange."

"Do you feel like something is missing?"

Dana glared at Marty again, then turned to look at Ethan, but found that Ethan gently waved his hand at everyone.

Ethan had already figured out the composition of this drug. With this reference object in hand, he could successfully extract the latent drug properties from these people directly.

Moreover, with a specific reference object, the extraction speed also became much faster. Ethan gently raised his hand, and this time no magical light appeared. A large amount of smoke instantly rose from the young people, and it all gathered in Ethan's hand.

Like Jules before, the few people fell into a momentary trance, and it took a moment for them to recover.

Ethan moved a chair and sat down opposite everyone.

"Are you clear-headed?"

Everyone understood what Ethan meant. Curt kept pressing his temples, his face a little pained. "This feeling is terrible, why did we do that before?"

"Because of this."

Ethan raised the hand that was holding the wisp of smoke and took out a bottle from his storage space. Then he poured juice into the cups Ada Wang had brought.

"Drink this glass of juice, it will make you feel better."

Everyone was still a little skeptical, but Curt was the first to pick up the cup in front of him and drink the juice completely.

"It seems you already understand that I am indeed here to help you."

Curt's action did not surprise Ethan. Compared to the others who were completely clueless, Curt was the one who knew best how much he had been affected.

Jules just felt that she had been living in a daze recently, while Curt knew that he had somehow been implanted with non-existent memories.

"Yes, because I can't figure out why I came here. I don't even know where I heard about this place... More importantly, I don't have a cousin."

The last sentence was directed at his friends. As soon as he said this, the other young people finally believed that Ethan had been saying he was here to help them.

Seeing that Curt's spirits improved significantly after drinking the juice, they all raised their cups and started drinking.

"You are very lucky. This is juice personally brewed by the famous wizard Merlin. It has the magical effect of refreshing the mind and restoring energy."

The others just thought Ethan was talking nonsense, but Marty believed him. "That legendary wizard Merlin?"

"Yes."

"Then those things you just used... are they magic?"

"That's right."

"Who exactly are you?" Dana grabbed Marty, who was showing signs of becoming a fan. Feeling better, she asked the question everyone wanted to ask. "It's not a coincidence that you suddenly appeared here, is it? Who is it that made us like this, led us here, and installed so many cameras?"

Holden had recovered mentally, but the current situation still gave him a headache. "This isn't some TV show, is it?"

Ethan put the juice away again. The amount of juice he got from Merlin back then was not much, letting these young people drink a glass was already the limit, it was impossible to let them drink endlessly.

His identity?

"Ahem... Actually, I am an exorcist. I came here to eliminate the countless monsters hidden in this area." This was the identity he had thought of long ago. There was no need to let these ordinary young people know about the identity of a mage who could travel through countless planes for the time being. "As for the reason you are here? Because you were chosen to be sacrifices to the evil gods."

(To be continued.)