1187 - 1194

Chapter 1187 Change

Upon hearing the captain's instructions, Nina pouted and pointed out the window.

"Are any of Frank's experiments not strange?"

"…" Cattleya was momentarily at a loss for words. All she could do was sigh and say, "If there are any signs of danger, write to me immediately."

As a Mysticologist, she also had her own messenger.

"Alright." Nina puffed her chest out and said, "If there's anything to blame, it's solely because I'm the most mature and reliable person on the Future."

Having said that, she asked curiously, "Captain, what are you doing in Loen? What mission did you take on? Are you going to engage in some sabotage raids behind enemy lines?"

Nina was of Feysacian descent, and she was considered half-Intis. She naturally had some inclinations in the recent war; therefore, she guessed that her captain had established contact with Intis's intelligence department.

"…You could say that," Cattleya replied sternly.

In a sense, Nina's guess wasn't wrong. She had indeed taken on a mission and was dealing damage in Loen's capital, Backlund. However, her target wasn't an official faction, but a cultist.

Furthermore, there's still a chance to meet the Queen. She probably hasn't left Backlund yet, and the earliest she'll leave is probably after the new year… Upon thinking of this, Cattleya suddenly felt a little excited.

Ever since she left the Dawn, she hadn't really met Queen Mystic. She only had letters to communicate with her, or despite being on the same boat, they didn't communicate with one another for some reason.

Nina didn't dare to press further as she pointed to the door and said, "Captain, is there anything else? If not, we'll leave."

Cattleya nodded, indicating that this Future boatswain could leave with her subordinates.

Just as Nina held the handle and gently twisted it, Cattleya suddenly recalled something and hurriedly shouted, "Nina."

"Hmm?" Nina, whose blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail, turned around with a confused expression.

"Don't drink!" Cattleya emphasized seriously. "When I return to the ship, you'll be allowed to have your fill."

Nina immediately revealed a charming smile.

"Deal!"

Cattleya thought for a moment before exhorting,

"Apart from Frank, you have to take note of Heath's condition. Don't let him generate curiosity towards unknown voices, and don't let him be overly exhausted. Also, pull Ottolov out of his room frequently, and control the frequency and times he interacts with mysticism knowledge. Also…"

"I know, I know. Don't I know them all too well?" Nina waved her hand and agreed.

After the boatswain and her subordinates left the captain's cabin and closed the door behind them, Cattleya cast her gaze out the window to look at the currently invisible Backlund.

After a few minutes, she took out a tarot card from the deck in her hand.

It depicted a lonely old man with a glass lantern and a staff: The Hermit card.

…

Late at night, Backlund, Empress Borough, Earl Hall's house.

Audrey, who was wearing a white silk nightgown, suddenly opened her eyes. She took a blue cloak and draped it over her body.

She then got out of bed and walked to the full-body mirror in the room. Through the crimson moonlight shining through the curtains, she carefully observed herself.

Her pair of emerald-green eyes seemed to glow brightly and limpid. It was so clear that one could clearly see every detail.

Audrey closed her eyes. By the time she opened them again, all the abnormalities had vanished.

The corners of her mouth curled up bit by bit, and a small depression appeared on her face. Her eyes curved slightly as she silently praised herself.

Audrey, you've finally come this far!

She had completely digested the Dreamwalker potion.

According to her confidence in herself, and her predictions, she had originally believed that it would take until February for her to digest the potion. To her surprise, she had encountered many strange and completely different dreams recently.

This included many dreams within dreams, dreams that were a result of a mental illness, lucid dreams, dreams caused by the influence of evil spirits and wraiths, and the dreams of a few demigods.

Under normal circumstances, as a Dreamwalker, Audrey could generally determine the creature's level when entering a dream, thus avoiding danger. However, those demigods had hidden themselves very well. Only when she entered their dreams did she realize that something was amiss and nearly jumped in fright.

Fortunately, she wasn't discovered all those times. She ended up accumulating experience, and she began carefully touring, traveling, observing, and analyzing in the demigods' dreams, allowing her to greatly digest her potion.

In addition, the other special dreams gave her a completely different experience. After that, she attempted creating multiple dreams within dreams. Some attempted to hide behind the scenes in her dreams and guide them in an ingenious manner to develop and interfere with the subconscious in a reverse manner. She treated the mental illness of the owners of the dreams, or the corruption caused by an evil spirit or wraith.

To a certain extent, she had gone against the requirements of only observing, recording, and not making any interference. Yet, this strangely accelerated the digestion of the potion.

This made her conclude a new principle:

…If you really want to interfere, then be the mastermind and conductor behind the scenes. It's so that even if the goal succeeds, no one will notice it.

This was something that Audrey had done very well. The few people with serious mental illnesses had unknowingly recovered after having five or six strange dreams.

And it was very normal for a dream to appear strange and incomprehensible.

To be able to digest the Dreamwalker potion so quickly, it's mainly a result of my good luck recently. Without so many unique experiences, I'd definitely have to wait another month or two. Yes, I might even be caught by a demigod and be thrown into a Beyonder prison or directly be killed… When did my luck become so good? It seems like it started after I sacrificed the ice-cream to that Fate domain's angel, uh—"His" Blessed… Uh… Audrey looked at her reflection and blinked her eyes with a smile.

She quickly retracted her gaze, scanned her bedroom, and walked to the dressing table.

Sitting on it was a deck of cards.

In a room of a girl who enjoyed mysticism, it was normal for her to have a deck of tarot cards.

Audrey stretched out her right hand and touched the card at the top with her fingertip. She slowly took a deep breath and muttered to herself, The fighting at the Amantha mountain range is getting more intense…

Midseashire had already lost a port…

It's said that the defenses of the Hornacis mountain range in Sivellaus County can't last until spring…

If not for the fact that we have gained a significant advantage at sea, our connection with the Southern Continent's East Balam would've surely been severed…

Alfred is still there…

I wonder how this war will develop.

Thankfully, I'm about to become a demigod. Mr. World has already given me the Manipulator's potion formula and main ingredient… The seven drops of tears that were shed from intense human emotions have also been found during my dream experience recently…

The Tree Mentor's golden leaves were obtained via a trade with Little Sun. I'm just short of the blood of an elderly mind dragon…

Phew, I'll tried to trade for it with the Psychology Alchemists. Before Hvin Rambis died, I was already the person-in-charge of a small psychological discussion group… But will this reveal that Hvin Rambis's death has something to do with me?

Or could I get Mr. World to summon the blood of an elderly mind dragon from history? This can last for at least fifteen minutes. When I succeed in advancing, I'll converge my spirituality and complete my cueing. Its disappearance will not affect anything. After all, it's just a supplementary material…

Audrey, you actually learned how to fake things. What's more, it's on such matters!

After a self-deprecating comment, Audrey began to think about the kind of situation to use to complete the advancement ritual of a Manipulator.

The ritual required one to drink the potion while in the midst of an emotional resonance generated during a special occasion with at least ten thousand people.

As her thoughts raced, Audrey came up with a preliminary idea:

The Goddess's Winter Gifts Day?

But no matter how large a Mass is, it can't accommodate 10,000 people… The cathedral can't accommodate so many people…

Yes, it's usually impossible. If there's a chance, I can donate a sum of money. I can suggest we do an extremely large Mass in memorial square so as to placate the souls that passed away during the war.

In the most important square, the family members, relatives, and friends of the deceased are invited. As long as they accommodate a certain proportion of the participants, the emotions that resonate will affect the others who are participating in Mass, allowing the ritual's requirements to be satisfied…

After calmly analyzing the situation, Audrey suddenly bowed her head and looked at the mirror on the dressing table. She saw that the faint smile on her beautiful face had long disappeared, leaving behind only calmness and sadness in her eyes.

She stared at herself, her lips curling up slightly as she whispered, "Audrey, you've become despicable…"

Closing her eyes and opening them again, Audrey had returned to normal.

She reached out to the stack of tarot cards on the dressing table and flipped the card at the top.

The card depicted a goddess of justice sitting on a stone chair with a sword in one hand and a balance in the other, coldly watching everything.

…

Backlund, Hillston Borough, in a house with a fireplace.

"You've finished digesting your Scribe potion?" Xio had just changed into her home clothes when she heard the piece of unbelievable news upon walking back to the living room.

Fors nodded with a haggard expression.

"Yes."

"Do you know what kind of life I've been enduring recently?"

As she was being forced to "travel" to six places in a consecutive manner, she had to experience, admire, and record the sights day and night. In addition, she would be pulled up above the gray fog, recording all kinds of strange or high-level Beyonder powers.

The "Lightning Storm" and the "Historical Void Summoning" powers had been replaced several times. They had finally recovered their original setup today.

"I don't know…" Xio answered honestly.

"I know you don't know." Fors took a deep breath and said, "What about you? How have you been recently?"

"Not too bad. It was arranged for me to preside over a Paranormal Court, and I had some thoughts about the acting principles. The speed at which the potion is being digested has increased," Xio acknowledged.

"I find it hard to imagine you wearing a judge's robe and sitting at the tribunal's seat to judge." Fors sighed from the bottom of her heart.

"Are you trying to say that the prisoners and lawyers won't be able to see me?" Xio added, not minding it at all.

Fors laughed dryly and said, "I'll need to have some rest to prepare my advancement ritual to become a Traveler."

"Don't you need to go deep into the spirit world? Do you have a way?" Xio asked in puzzlement.

Fors nodded and said, "That person asked me to summon his messenger."

Chapter 1188 Thick-Skinned

Summon his messenger… As Judgment of the Tarot Club, as a member of MI9, Xio understood what a messenger meant. Furthermore, she knew that the middle ranks of the Numinous Episcopate widely used messengers.

Before she could ask for more details, she saw Fors walk towards the guest room on the first floor with her eyes vacant and footsteps listless. She said with an ethereal voice, "Let me sleep for a while. We can talk later."

She slept all the way till the next morning, waking up thanks to the aroma of meat.

Desi pie? Fors rubbed her eyes and walked out of the room. She saw that the table was already filled with food.

"Yes." Xio came out of the bathroom. "The one from the corner of the street. It's not bad."

Fors enthusiastically acknowledged and sat beside the dining table. She quickly picked up the Desi pie and stuffed it into her mouth.

After finishing one, she drank a mouthful of sweet iced tea and sighed in satisfaction.

This is life!

Oh no, I forgot to brush my teeth…

After she was done washing up, she finally regained her ability to think. She looked at Xio in puzzlement and said, "Did MI9 not have any suspicions about how you secretly became a Judge?"

"They thought it was the remuneration that motivated me back then," Xio informed her of what she had learned.

Fors stroked her hair and said with a smile, "That's true. Let them ask the Church of Evernight."

She covered her mouth and yawned.

"I'm going to summon that messenger."

After this period of "Recording," the way she addressed Klein had changed from Gehrman Sparrow and Mr. World to "that person."

On the one hand, it was a form of respect, and on the other hand, she was afraid that someone would eavesdrop.

Upon hearing her friend's words, Xio looked around and asked in confusion, "Aren't you going to set up the ritual?"

She remembered that summoning a messenger required a ritual.

"That's only one of the methods. That person got me to use another method." Fors glanced at her clothes and realized that her clothes were all wrinkled since she hadn't had the time to change her clothes last night.

Upon realizing that she would be meeting the messenger later, she decided to pay attention to her image. She hurriedly returned to the bedroom on the second floor and changed into a beige dress with frilly designs.

After preparing herself, she raised her right hand in front of Xio, and she grabbed at it as if she wanted to pull something out of the air.

In her eyes, an illusory book took form. It quickly flipped and stopped at one of the pages.

In the next second, her arm sank and a figure emerged from the void.

This was Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a half top hat and a black coat. He had a cold expression and an unyielding air, but his eyes appeared somewhat dull.

I succeeded? This is just my second attempt… I've only tried it once yesterday and failed… Fors's eyes widened as though they wanted to take in more light so as to see more clearly.

She knew that this was the Historical Void projection she had summoned, so she wasn't too nervous. Instead, she held her breath and looked warily at Gehrman Sparrow's projection. She couldn't tell if he was real or fake.

She still remembered the combat achievements of this crazy adventurer.

Fors has actually summoned Gehrman Sparrow? Shouldn't it be his messenger? Would Gehrman Sparrow still be able to summon something? Questions popped up in Xio's mind.

Just as Fors was unsure of what to do next, Gehrman Sparrow's eyes darted around slightly as his gaze instantly turned focused. He no longer had a rigid and vacant look, as though he was alive.

Following that, he took out an exquisite, silvery harmonica and blew it.

No sound came out of it, but the surroundings instantly turned cold as a biting wind stirred.

Then, a woman dressed in a dark and complicated long dress with four blonde hair and red eyes in her hands walked out of the void. Her eight eyes looked at Gehrman Sparrow.

Gehrman Sparrow nodded slightly and pointed at Fors.

"This lady needs to set up four special coordinates deep in the spirit world. Please help her."

"Alright…" One of the heads of Reinette Tinekerr said as it moved up and down.

Gehrman Sparrow didn't speak further. As he approached the window, he made the glove on his left hand become transparent.

His figure quickly disappeared as he "Teleported" out of the house.

He left… He left just like that… The Historical Void projection I summoned left just like that? Fors stared with her mouth slightly open, as though she was experiencing a comical play.

According to her understanding, the thing she summoned should be under her control. How could it leave after giving some instructions?

Could it be that the Historical Void projection has the same personality as the actual person… No, it's as if Gehrman Sparrow himself had descended… Fors glanced at Xio and realized that she was just as confused as she was.

At that moment, Fors suddenly shivered, as though an extremely terrifying creature was glaring at her.

She subconsciously turned her head and realized that Gehrman Sparrow's messenger was looking at her with eight red eyes, carefully observing her.

As terrifying as Gehrman Sparrow… Fors forced a smile and said, "…Sorry to trouble you."

At this moment, Reinette Tinekerr's four blonde, red-eyed heads spoke one after another:

"Need…" "To pay…" "Eight hundred…" "Gold coins…"

There… there's still a fee? Fors turned agape once again, at a loss for a response.

After a few seconds, her thoughts suddenly became active as she began to calculate her savings.

After loaning 2,400 pounds to Xio, I still have 780 pounds left… My expenses recently have been quite high, but the royalties from my past novels are still being credited. Adding my other income and the 300 pounds Xio returned me, I have a total of 1,258 pounds… That's enough…

Fors immediately agreed, but she immediately discovered a problem.

"Gold coins, all of them?"

Reinette Tinekerr's four heads shook slightly.

"Yes…" "You…" "Can…" "Owe…"

As expected, all of them need to be gold coins… I remember that Mr. World has been trying to gather gold coins and exchange for gold coins for quite some time before. It was to pay this messenger? The relationship between him and his messenger is really complicated… Uh, Mr. World should still have quite a few gold coins. I'll try to exchange 800 gold coins from him later… Fors secretly heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Alright."

After agreeing, Fors saw the headless messenger raise one of the heads in her hand to bite down on her clothes near her shoulder.

The surrounding colors became saturated and brighter—the reds became redder, the blacks became blacker, and the whites became whiter.

In such a manner, Fors was led by Reinette Tinekerr through similar scenes that she had no way of getting her bearings right. It didn't take long before she arrived at the spot where there was a faint fog.

In the depths of the fog, one eye after another seemed to look over, but they quickly shrank back.

…

When Fors summoned Gehrman Sparrow's projection from the Historical Void to Backlund, he had immediately entered the fog of history and dashed all the way to a period before the First Epoch.

His consciousness came alive within the projection, reducing Fors's spirituality expenditure.

This way, Klein had indirectly returned to Backlund. This was also the reason why he had gotten Miss Magician to use such a complicated method to summon the messenger.

As for the messenger summoned by the adventurer's harmonica, it was an independent existence—it didn't increase the burden on Fors's spirituality burden. Even if the Historical Void projection vanished, Reinette Tinekerr could still remain in the real world if "She" so wished.

After a "Teleportation," Klein's figure appeared in a secluded alley near Saint Samuel Cathedral. He then used his Faceless powers to change his appearance and figure.

During this process, although there were still a few pedestrians in the alley, they were affected by an illusion. They didn't notice a sudden companion appearing beside them.

Right on the heels of that, Klein straightened his clothes, pressed down on his hat, and walked quickly to Saint Samuel Cathedral. He found a seat to the side of the main prayer hall and sat down.

After taking off his hat and chanting an honorific name, he sincerely drew a crimson moon on his chest. Then, he clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and prayed softly to the Evernight Goddess.

"…I'm currently searching for traces of the Dark Demonic Wolf's past to grasp his exact condition…"

At this point, he recalled that the Dark Demonic Wolf might've been a former "colleague" of the Evernight Goddess. "They" likely knew plenty about each other as he quickly added, "…I wonder if you can give me some hints…"

He didn't wait for a response. Instead, he maintained a calm attitude and continued, "…After this matter is completed, I plan on heading all the way east to see if I can reach the Western Continent and see what state that place is in. I'll take this opportunity to escape Amon's pursuit and find other possibilities…"

After praying, he tapped his chest four times in a clockwise fashion and whispered, "Praise the Lady."

Just as he finished speaking, a dark night sky with countless stars suddenly appeared in front of him. A message unknowingly appeared in his mind.

It was information regarding Black Demonic Wolf, Kotar.

"…" Klein was stunned for a moment. Only when the starry sky before him completely disappeared did he return to his senses. He sincerely praised the Goddess once again.

After leaving Saint Samuel Cathedral he used Creeping Hunger and another "Teleportation" to arrive near the Holy Wind Cathedral located in Cherwood Borough.

He wanted to pray to the Lord of Storms.

He looked up at the towering steeple and felt some momentary hesitation. He really wasn't sure if he should enter the headquarters of the Church of the Lord of Storms in Backlund.

I'm just a Historical Void projection. There's nothing to be afraid about… I won't suffer any losses from praying, but what if the Lord of Storms hears about the Amon situation and decides to bestow 0-32 to me? That way, I won't have to risk hunting the Dark Demonic Wolf… A person should always be hopeful! After some thought, he finally made up his mind.

He carefully raised his hand and summoned Enuni, the one who had yet to be parasitized by Amon, from the Historical Void to walk into the Holy Wind Cathedral in his own form.

A minute or two later, a dark cloud suddenly appeared above Backlund. There seemed to be a flash of silver lightning in the Holy Wind Cathedral, but no one noticed it.

Chapter 1189 Winter Gifts Day

As soon as the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, everything in the Holy Wind Cathedral returned to normal.

In a nearby corner, Klein raised his hand to rub his forehead. The corners of his mouth twitched as he mumbled, "If you don't want to give it to me, so be it… But why did you kill my marionette…"

He then took a deep breath before his figure rapidly faded away and disappeared. The time limit for maintaining the Historical Void projection was almost over. After all, a Scribe's imitation of a high-level power had significant differences from the original version. The burden of a Sequence 6 summoning a Sequence 3 was rather heavy. Even if a Scholar of Yore could transfer his consciousness over and reduce the spirituality expenditure, it was impossible for Fors to keep it up for too long.

…

In the outskirts of Backlund, downstream of the Tussock River.

Leonard hid his red gloves and slowly walked towards a certain spot.

Suddenly, the slightly-aged voice of Pallez Zoroast rang out in his mind:

"How's your former colleague been doing recently?"

Thinking back to the conversation at the Tarot Club, Leonard suppressed his voice and said, "He just avoided a trap set up by Amon's avatar. He's searching for the truth in the Forsaken Land of the Gods."

After listening to what he had to say, Pallez Zoroast didn't say another word and allowed Leonard to proceed forward.

…

After setting up the special coordinates, Fors was thrown back into the real world by Gehrman Sparrow's messenger.

"I feel exhausted, but I just woke up not too long ago… It must be that High-Sequence Beyonder powers are too draining on my spirituality…" Fors covered her mouth and yawned. She looked at Xio with a haggard expression.

"That's possible." Xio agreed with her friend's judgment.

Her intuition told her that the Gehrman Sparrow projection that had been summoned definitely wasn't simple. It could even be equivalent to a saint.

After some hesitation, Xio said, "Sleep a little longer. Don't attempt to advance in such a state.

"In one of my previous trials, the murderer was mentally psychotic. He would deliberately make his friends, his students, and the tramps he took in, consume potions in all sorts of negative states, watch them lose control, and mutate into all kinds of monsters—disgusting and terrifying ones."

"…What was this fellow's goal?" Fors was stunned for a second.

"Two goals. One was to observe whether the same potion caused the same loss of control on different people. The other was to use oil paintings to record the corresponding scenes. He believed that the madness, the pain, and the distortion had an unparalleled beauty, one that can stimulate his greatest creative passion." Xio recalled the trial from back then. She felt a sense of hatred and lingering fear. "He was a complete lunatic."

"That fellow should be executed!" Fors couldn't help but shudder when she imagined it. She bared her teeth and said, "Was he a cultist?"

"Perhaps, but there were no clues… On the surface, he appeared to be an outstanding artist, and he is very famous internationally. If it wasn't for more than five of his students and friends who had disappeared over the past few years, attracting our attention, then he might've had to wait until he completely went mad and lost control, becoming a monster, before this matter would be discovered." Xio suddenly paused for a moment before saying, "Back then, everyone in the law-enforcement team that opened his hidden basement vomited. There were all kinds of mutated and terrifying corpses, and hanging overhead were all kinds of harrowing yet charming oil paintings…"

"A hateful fellow, but it's also a very attractive story." Fors thought for a moment and pressed, "Was he a Devil?"

"No, he's a Psychiatrist." Xio rejected her friend's guess.

"…You sentenced him to death?" Fors asked in anticipation.

Xio shook her head.

"His defense lawyer convinced me that he's more suited to be a Sealed Artifact researcher."

"There's a lawyer? You have lawyers at the Paranormal Court? Isn't it all a direct trial?" Fors asked in surprise.

Xio straightened her blonde hair and said, "There are some Beyonders from the Lawyer pathway among us who also need to act. Of course, they don't know that they're acting."

"Alright." Fors yawned again and pointed to the reclining chair beside the fireplace. "I'll sleep for a while. Eh, don't you have work?"

"We can take days off," Xio replied succinctly.

Fors didn't ask further as she walked to the fireplace and collapsed into it.

About two to three hours later, she woke up and Cogitated for fifteen minutes.

Following that, she found the Traveler Beyonder characteristic and the supplementary ingredients given to her by her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham, and concocted a potion bottle.

The potion's color was white but transparent. It was like half-melted snow water, occasionally producing light-green bubbles.

Fors held the potion and glanced at her friend who was on guard by the side. She smiled and said, "If I lose control, don't hesitate. Just chop off my head.

"No, pray first. There might still be a chance to save me."

"…" Xio slowly nodded. "Maintain this state."

Fors silently exhaled. Without any hesitation, she raised the bottle and gulped it down.

In the blink of an eye, she felt her body and her eyes light up one after another. They blasted around her body and opened one illusory door after another.

Fors's consciousness couldn't help but enter one of them. Her entire body turned transparent as she vanished.

In such a chaotic state of mind, Fors nearly couldn't regain her sense of self-awareness. Thankfully, she had her fair share of being tormented recently and had a strong will. Furthermore, from time to time, she could feel the four special coordinates in the spirit world. Finally, she slowly came to her senses.

After an unknown period of time, she realized that she had already entered the depths of the spirit world. It was difficult to tell her exact location, and she couldn't find her "way" back.

With the help of the four special coordinates, Fors slowly "traversed" back to a familiar spot, leaving the saturated, stacked colors and the thin fog before walking out of the spirit world.

The four special coordinates weren't only used to help me find a way back, they can also effectively maintain my self-awareness… Teacher is only a Sequence 7, so without any actual experience, it's inevitable for him to miss out on such knowledge… As Fors thought, she cast her gaze towards Xio and smiled slightly.

"I'm a Traveler."

Xio heaved a sigh of relief and asked curiously, "What new Beyonder powers did you get?"

"The main one is 'Teleportation.' Also, 'Invisible Hand.' In addition, the number of demigod-level Beyonder powers I can 'Record' has increased to four. The actual effects should be close to that of a Sequence 4…" Fors examined herself.

She then raised her hand and pulled out a tarot card from across the room, one used for divination.

It was a person with a scepter in his right hand that pointed towards the sky. His left hand pointed to the earth. In front of him were people like the holy grail, a scepter, a sword, star coins: The Magician card.

…

Every year's longest night was the birthday of the Evernight Goddess, commonly known as the Winter Gifts Day.

On this day, all Evernight believers would head to a nearby cathedral to witness the sunset of the sun. When night fell, they would participate in Mass, enjoy a holy meal, listen to the hymns, and do all sorts of activities.

The year 1350 for Loen's Evernight believers was a very heavy year. The intensity of the war and the cost of items had made them lose the good mood they had. However, on Winter Gifts Day, they still came out of their houses. This was because the Church of Evernight was going to hold a massive Mass in the various large public squares to placate the souls that had passed away.

At the same time, many foundations would distribute food vouchers at the Mass. People who received them could be able to obtain the corresponding items in any of the relief points or cathedrals. This led to Storm and Steam believers who didn't celebrate Winter Gifts Day to head for the nearest square.

West Borough, Memorial Square, where George III was blasted to death.

Dressed in a black cloak while walking her golden retriever, Susie, with a leather bag on her back, Audrey walked among the nobles looking refined. Her expression didn't seem abnormal, but she hid some pain and guilt.

She had obtained the blood of an elderly mind dragon. After concocting the Manipulator potion, she placed it in the small bag Susie was carrying.

Susie was already a Sequence 6 Hypnotist. She believed that not many people present would notice her abnormality and snatch things from her.

The blood of the elderly mind dragon came from The Hermit Cattleya. Apparently, she had obtained it from Queen Mystic, and she had paid 3,000 pounds for it.

This was in line with her expectations, as she didn't really want to obtain the ingredients from the Psychology Alchemists. After all, her direct superior, Hvin Rambis, had only died a few months ago. To collect the items needed for an advancement, it made it inevitable for people to suspect her. As for the other members of the Psychology Alchemists, they had the ability and intelligence to notice this point.

Besides, after becoming a demigod, one has to come into contact with the Psychology Alchemists' councilors. According to Mr. World, there might be an angel from the mind domain hidden amongst them. I'll continue making preparations. With a suitable opportunity and excuse, I'll consider raising my position in the organization… I'll hide my strength for now… The blonde Audrey lifted the ends of her skirt slightly and slowly walked towards her predetermined spot.

Along the way, many nobles extended their hands to her in a friendly manner, hoping to help this beautiful, noble, and weak young lady through the crowd. However, these were all blocked by Earl Hall.

He got his eldest son, Hibbert, to be in charge of his youngest daughter while he held his wife's arm and walked ahead. From time to time, he would turn back to look at the most dazzling jewel of Backlund.

Not long after their family arrived at their destination, the Church of Evernight's Bishop of the Backlund diocese, Saint Anthony Stevens, walked up to the high platform in his black robe with red patterns.

He looked around, raised his right hand, and tapped his chest four times in a clockwise fashion.

"Praise the Lady!"

When the believers below responded, this saint's deep voice could be heard by everyone.

"Today is the celebration of the night, but the Goddess's response is pity.

"'She' takes pity on every mother who has lost her child. 'She' takes pity on every lonely child. And 'She' takes pity on everyone who has suffered immense pain.

"'She' said that all of this will end. All the suffering will return to silence and repose."

Chapter 1190 Resonance

As Anthony Steven Vincent's words echoed in Memorial Square, it spread to other areas. The Loenese citizens who participated in the Mass were both moved and sad, feeling warmth in the midst of their depression.

In a different square, different choirs began to chant the hymns. The ethereal and holy voice seemed to echo deep in everyone's heart:

"Full-faced above the land stood the crimson moon;

"And sweet it was to dream of themselves,

"Of child, and wife, and parents; but evermore[1]…"

Unknowingly, everyone felt their spirits being cleansed and their spirituality naturally released.

They seemed to have entered a dream and were strolling in a quiet darkness.

Their children were sleeping here. Their parents, their wives, their husbands, their friends, and the deceased were no longer suffering. They no longer had any pain, their expressions were peaceful and gentle.

"We look upward into the night sky,

"We tenderly say her name:

"'Evernight Goddess!'

"…If 'She' heard us, 'She' would surely agree,

"Smiling with purity at the dead:

"Come, rest and sleep well, my children[2]!"

The people who were strolling in the dream felt awash with intense sorrow once again, as though they realized that they were really going to bid each other farewell.

They recalled all the beautiful memories from the past. They recalled the scene of their family enjoying delicacies and having fun at the dining table. They recalled the people who looked at them warmly, and the pain of seeing them get hurt. When they learned of their passing, it was as if they could tear their souls apart. They recalled the dark clouds and separation that had been brought to this war.

They were sleeping peacefully in this serene nation, no longer having any worries. However, the people who survived had to suffer the days and nights, turning haggard and withered.

One teardrop after another flowed down. The people participating in Mass at Memorial Square could no longer suppress their emotions as they silently released the pain they had accumulated.

A huge wave of sadness filled the air, mixed with the chanting of the choir, as though it had a corporeal form.

"Cross your hands humbly,

"Over your breast!

"Make the silent prayer,

"And shout from the bottom of your heart:

"The only escape is tranquility[3]!"

The people who were sobbing silently with their eyes closed subconsciously followed the content of the hymns and made similar gestures. Then, they shouted in their hearts, infected with each other's emotions:

"The only escape is tranquility!"

The grief reached an apex with more than ten thousand hearts resonating at Memorial Square.

At this moment, Audrey opened her eyes and bent down. She took out a bottle of potion from the leather pouch that her golden retriever, Susie, was carrying.

There were countless points of light floating in the potion, just like the manifestation of the sea of collective subconscious.

Audrey didn't hesitate. Under such circumstances, she removed the bottle cap and gulped down the liquid inside.

Unlike in the past where she could experience the potion slush through her throat and into her stomach, she immediately felt abnormal.

She felt that she could no longer sense her body. Her entire being seemed to have condensed into an idea as she merged into the illusory sea around her.

This was her first time directly seeing the sea of collective subconscious without passing through a dream or mind island. As though she had returned to her mother's embrace before she was born, she returned to the very beginning where the imprints left by human ancestors were washed away by the tides as they crumbled and were influenced.

There was fear, madness, and all kinds of terrifying mental corruption. For a moment, Audrey found it difficult to resist. Her consciousness faded, and her "body" shook as though it was on the brink of melting away.

However, the "sea" nearby wasn't serene. There was a certain degree of undulations, spreading the intense sorrow and pain around.

Under such influence, the self-aware Audrey, who was about to be assimilated by the sea of collective subconscious, also began to resonate, generating uncontrollable feelings of grief within her.

The grief spread from one thought to another. Soon, it filled the blob of "thoughts" that Audrey had mutated into. It pierced through her Soul Body and pierced her soul.

Audrey finally regained a little of her senses. She skillfully Placated herself, constantly giving cues to remove the corruption until she regained her senses.

The voice in her ears became clearer and clearer, louder and louder. Finally, it reverberated through the sea of collective subconscious.

"The only escape is tranquility!"

"The only escape is tranquility!"

The only escape is tranquility… Audrey repeated the prayer as her figure quickly turned clear.

With a mere thought, she split herself into many transparent and illusory bodies. She traveled through the sea of collective subconscious and reached the mind islands that represented different people and stepped onto them.

In these "places," she could clearly see the sadness coming from different people.

The bombshells that came from the sky, the airship that made up a fleet, the letters spelling bad news sent from the front lines, blood and flesh splattering in front of them, and the person who they loved suddenly collapsing in front of them, the pile of toys that no longer had an owner, the fit of coughs that came from the Great Smog…

"The only escape is tranquility."

The golden retriever, Susie, also shut her eyes in Mass. She used the human language to recite those words in her heart, but she failed to notice any changes in her surroundings.

Suddenly, in her soul, in her Body of Heart and Mind, Audrey's voice sounded:

"Susie, I succeeded…

"I've always been worried, worried that I'll become more and more indifferent as my Sequence increases due to the potion's effects; that I'll become more and more like a Mythical Creature instead of a human."

Susie raised her head in confusion and saw that although the blonde girl's eyes were tightly shut, tears had unknowingly covered her face.

Then, she heard Audrey say in her heart:

"Thankfully, I can still feel their sorrow.

"How nice…"

In Susie's eyes, teardrops fell from the corner of the blonde girl's eyes. It was crystal clear.

At this moment, the sun's final ray of light was swallowed. The night brought about tranquility.

Everyone opened their eyes and said in a calm voice, "The only escape is tranquility!"

…

After crying without restraint, the bright, cheerful Audrey's mood became heavy. She became a little sensitive and a little sad. It made everyone who saw her feel a sense of love from the bottom of their hearts.

Under all kinds of protection, she returned to Empress Borough and returned to her room.

Only then did she have the chance to seriously examine herself and digest the knowledge and experience she gained from the sea of collective subconscious.

Others might not be able to tell, but Audrey knew very well that the tall, blonde, blue-eyed beauty in the mirror already possessed extraordinary strength and exaggerated dragon scale defenses. She could break through a block of steel with one punch.

Oh, I can still use "Dragon Transformation." It's equivalent to using an incomplete Mythical Creature form. However, I have to wait until I get used to the potion and keep stacking up the correct psychological cues. Otherwise, I can lose control… Every "Dragon Transformation" can't exceed a certain amount of time. Otherwise, even if I have the means to treat my mind and soul, I'll be contaminated by madness and confusion, causing me to lose control… My current limit is about a minute…

The core power of a Manipulator is "Manipulation." I can allow a Body of Heart and Mind pass through the sea of collective subconscious and enter another person's mind island. I can directly change their subconscious and read their thoughts, silently driving them to do all sorts of things…

Matching "Manipulation" is "Virtual Persona." I can create many personas, allowing them to have a corresponding Body of Heart and Mind. This aspect can resist a lot of influence in the mind domain, and on the other hand, it can allow me to use "them" to silently invade the target's island of consciousness without any signs of it…

I currently can have only 13 Virtual Personas…

A Manipulator can also create a terrifying "Mental Plague." By using the sea of collective subconscious, I can spread all kinds of mental illnesses and extreme madness…

Yes, "Awe" has turned into "Mind Deprivation," a huge area-of-effect version. It's no longer just the single effect of "Awe"…

I can also transform my designated thoughts into a "Mind Storm" that will sweep the surroundings, affecting all my enemies…

Heh heh, as a Manipulator, it naturally comes with the ability to travel the sea of collective subconscious. It's called "Consciousness Stroll." Otherwise my target would've long left by the time I arrived at a location after a series of complicated manipulations… Audrey looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly revealed a faint smile.

Then, she puffed up her cheeks and opened her mouth as if she was about to spew something.

Since her Mythical Creature form was a mind dragon, it definitely had to have some form of dragon's breath.

This was an attack that could directly stimulate and harm the target's Body of Heart and Mind and Soul Body. It dealt damage in an area-of-effect manner, an upgraded version of "Psychic Piercing."

Following that, Audrey's green eyes turned slightly and she looked away. She sighed inwardly.

This is what it means to be a demigod. These powers make even me feel afraid… How powerful is Mr. World for him to be able to kill Hvin Rambis…

…

In the ancient palace above the fog.

As the participants of the hunting operation made their preparations, they decided to organize a private gathering to discuss the details.

"A Manipulator is that terrifying?" The Magician Fors looked at Miss Justice beside her and blurted out in shock.

Just now, Audrey had briefly mentioned the changes she had undergone after becoming a demigod. Although she didn't elaborate in detail to protect her trump cards, it still left The Magician, The Hermit, Judgment, and The Star in shock.

"Actually, it's not that terrifying. Mr. World knows very well." Audrey cast her gaze to the bottom of the long, mottled table.

The World Gehrman Sparrow didn't nod as he tersely acknowledged.

"I also had powerful helpers before I could kill Hvin Rambis."

He paused and said, "Before discussing the hunting operation, I would like to know how to make the Abraham family sense my friendliness?"

[1] Adapted from the Lotos-eaters by Tennyson.

[2] Adapted from The Cry of the Children by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

[3] Adapted from The Bridge of Sighs by Thomas Hood and Lotos-eaters by Tennyson.

Chapter 1191 Grasping One"s Mentality

Friendliness? Upon hearing The World Gehrman Sparrow's question, Fors nearly doubted her ears.

The image of Mr. X's head that was put together, leaving it covered in cracks, crevices, and blood surfaced in her mind.

Just as Fors was deliberating over her words, Audrey glanced at her and smiled at The World Gehrman Sparrow.

"To let the Abraham family sense your friendliness, it isn't about what you do, but what Miss Magician writes in her letters."

That's right, unless I appear directly in front of Miss Magician's teacher, his understanding of me will only be limited to the various rumors and things that Miss Magician tells him… As long as the story she tells is good enough, even if it doesn't fit the actual situation, it doesn't matter… Klein suddenly realized that he had been splitting hairs on the question.

"Ah?" Fors was somewhat enlightened by Miss Justice's words, but she didn't fully understand it.

After looking at The Hermit, The Star, and company, Justice Audrey said to Fors, "You need to convey Mr. World's friendliness to your teacher. For this, you can fabricate some stories and not tell him the truth."

"Then what should I say?" Fors asked for advice.

This wasn't because she wasn't good at making up stories. On the contrary, this was what she was most adept at. However, the problem was that writing a novel that was well-received was different from a story that could convince people. If she could get a senior psychologist's advice on the latter, it would undoubtedly be easier.

Audrey had already thought of the details of the letter before she opened her mouth. She replied unhurriedly, "It's obvious that your teacher has already noticed that you've rapidly advanced, and because of Mr. X's death and all sorts of sensitive issues, he has a certain level of doubt and vigilance regarding the Beyonder circles that you've participated in."

"Yes." Fors nodded indiscernibly in agreement with Miss Audrey's judgment.

If her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham, was careless, he wouldn't have been able to survive to this day. He would have long been caught by the Aurora Order or died in the hands of other powers who were interested in the Abraham family.

Audrey continued, "In such a situation, he will still maintain contact with you. He will teach you knowledge, give you formulas, and provide you with ingredients. This shows that, on the one hand, he acknowledges your character and morals, and on the other hand, he will also have a certain level of anticipation for you to obtain important information from the mysterious and dangerous Beyonder circle, as well as you becoming a Sequence 4 demigod.

"This is the mentality we want to exploit."

Audrey originally wanted to use the more neutral term, "grasp," instead of "exploit," but after pausing for a moment, she chose to face herself directly and face the essence of the matter.

With Fors listening attentively and Judgment, The Star, and The Hermit looking forward to what she had left to say, Audrey pursed her lips and said, "When you return, you can write to him and tell him that you have already become a Traveler. It will make him happy for your growth, and also be surprised by such an exaggerated advancement speed. Then, you can answer the question he asked previously, saying that the gentleman who was seeking to purchase the Worm of Star had mentioned something—that the ancient curse in the Abraham family seems to come from a secret existence known as Mr. Door.

"This is a question that your teacher has never told you about but is definitely concerned about.

"Without a doubt, he will feel fear towards the gentleman who seems to know that you're related to the Abraham family. He will want to avoid you, but he will definitely yearn to know more. He will then try to find out what secret lies behind the curse that has plagued generations of Abrahams, one that he has no solution to.

"At the same time, a letter exchange isn't a direct meeting. It will give him a certain sense of security. He might change his residence, change his identity, and use a more roundabout way to receive the letter, but there is a high chance that he will not sever the connection.

"Maintain this connection. Step by step, reveal something more valuable. You will awaken your teacher's desire and use it to portray an image of Mr. World so that your teacher can experience some form of friendliness."

At this point, Audrey stopped and looked at The World Gehrman Sparrow once again.

She could roughly tell that Mr. World's goodwill towards the Abraham family was because he had a request, but as for the specific request, she wasn't a clairvoyant, nor had she read Gehrman Sparrow's mind. Naturally, she couldn't guess it, nor could she continue explaining.

Klein nodded and said with a hoarse smile, "After we establish this kind of indirect connection, I might ask your teacher for a transaction and use the promise of breaking the curse to exchange for certain items of value."

Through Demoness Trissy, he had already grasped the solution to the Abraham family's curse. However, he didn't plan on exchanging it for the Planeswalker potion formula or a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.

On the one hand, the difference in value was too great, making him feel guilty. On the other hand, he didn't want to bring a dangerous existence like Mr. Door back into the real world. It was being irresponsible to himself and the innocent.

He was thinking of another way to make the curse of the Abraham family disappear to a certain extent. In other words, it might still exist, but it wouldn't affect the normal lives of the Abraham family and provide a certain range of improvements.

Is that so… Mid- to High-Sequence Beyonders in the mind domain are really impressive. She can make people follow her arrangements without realizing it… Compared to when we first met, Miss Justice has seemed to undergo a complete metamorphosis. It makes people fear and respect her… Fors glanced at Xio and seemed to read the same poignant thoughts from her eyes.

After some thought, she mustered her courage and said to The World Gehrman Sparrow, "What if my teacher rejects your request?"

Did you think I would murder for property? Klein lampooned in Chinese. He scoffed and said, "Don't worry, I won't harm him. I won't use any methods that will force him."

Phew… Although Mr. World is a little scary, he's still a man of his word… Fors slowly nodded and said, "I'll write a letter to my teacher according to Miss Justice's suggestion."

Klein nodded slightly and surveyed the area.

"You can begin discussing the hunt."

Cattleya took control and said, "The biggest problem with this operation is finding the Saint of Secrets Botis."

Fors immediately recalled how she had encountered him and raised her hand.

"If I can borrow that powerful Sealed Artifact from my teacher, then I can bring it with me. I can often wander around Backlund and use the convergence of Beyonder characteristics to attract Botis to a nearby location.

"Uh, this might attract other demigods of the Apprentice pathway; or the leader of the Secret Order, Zaratul; or Blasphemer Amon…"

The more Fors spoke, the lower her voice became. She felt that this method was too dangerous.

She didn't know what would happen to the other members who participated in the operation if Zaratul and Amon really appeared, but as bait, it was without a doubt that she would fail to escape.

Cattleya nodded and said thoughtfully, "If it's only a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact of the Apprentice pathway, the law of convergence of Beyonder characteristics shouldn't be that attractive to neighboring pathways. The range will be limited to the demigods of the Apprentice pathway. And from what I know, there aren't many of them. In fact, it can be said that there are very few of them. Most of them exist in the form of a characteristic or Sealed Artifact."

I suddenly do not wish to become a Sequence 4… Fors's eyelids twitched when she heard that.

Cattleya cast her gaze at The World Gehrman Sparrow.

"Let's not discuss the problem of whether there are any Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts of the Apprentice pathway. If we want to let the Saint of Secrets and Miss Magician bump into each other, the prerequisite is that he is also in Backlund. He mustn't be that cautious and often goes out."

Upon hearing this, Leonard said from the angle of a professional official Beyonder, "It's actually not difficult. As a demigod of the Apprentice pathway, Botis is definitely in charge of dealing with accidents among the upper echelons of the Aurora Order. He has sufficient mobility to aid the other members in different places. Heh heh, this is a term that appeared after the steam engine and the airship were invented.

"As long as you can create some matters against the Aurora Order in Backlund, he has a high chance of showing up."

As he spoke, Leonard glanced at Klein.

Based on what he knew, in the chaotic battle outside Bayam City caused by Gehrman Sparrow, the Saint of Secrets had appeared and picked up a glove.

"This is a solution…" Audrey and company nodded.

At this moment, The World suddenly said, "Let me remind you that the Aurora Order is an organization that worships a true god. Once you take action against them and secretly target their upper echelons, the True Creator might be able to foresee this and give them a warning."

That can happen? Audrey's eyes widened slightly as she observed Cattleya, Leonard, and company. She realized that they were equally astonished.

This was something that they had never considered before.

It wasn't that they weren't smart enough, but that they had never participated in such matters that involved high-level existences before. Or rather, even if they were involved, they weren't aware of it.

"Then what should we do?" Fors couldn't help but ask.

Klein replied in a suggestive tone, "By not targeting the Aurora Order directly, we can use a milder approach to fish out the Saint of Secrets Botis."

Chapter 1192 Each Serving their Duty

A milder approach… The Hermit Cattleya, who lacked experience only on high-level matters, instantly had a new idea and probed, "Let Miss Magician participate in the various Beyonder gatherings in Backlund. 'accidentally' revealing that she's related to the Abraham family, attracting the attention of the Aurora Order?"

Seeing no objection from The World Gehrman Sparrow, Cattleya thought as she looked to the other side.

"How we can make this matter appear reasonable without arousing suspicion, how to design the steps and procedures needed to 'expose' herself, and how to lay the foundations at each one of the gatherings—these might require your help, Miss Justice."

From her point of view, only a Manipulator who could accurately grasp the various mentalities of the different people at the gathering could allow the scheme to appear natural and reasonable, without leaving a trace.

"Alright." Audrey nodded solemnly, feeling somewhat excited.

She then added, "Although I've never done anything similar before, I will try my best to make everything seem reasonable."

…Why do I suddenly feel a little afraid… Why do I feel like we are all inexperienced people? Apart from Mr. World who can't directly participate, uh, Ma'am Hermit might be very experienced in other aspects, but she shouldn't have been involved in such hunting before… This isn't a game, it's a cruel act that can kill someone if we aren't careful… Fors trembled when she heard this. She had a deep suspicion of the "experience" of most of the members. This included herself.

However, when she thought of how Miss Justice and Ma'am Hermit were already Sequence 4 demigods, and that she and The Star were at Sequence 5, she felt that this wasn't too serious of a problem. After all, every powerhouse had accumulated their experiences over time from nothing. Furthermore, they still had The World Gehrman Sparrow, the strongest hunter over the Five Seas.

Reasonable… Scheme… Manipulation… Listening to the conversation between Ma'am Hermit and Miss Justice, Klein subconsciously extracted the keywords.

This reminded him of how he had used 0-08 and the experience of playing out situations that had been arranged by 0-08. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It's no wonder the Spectator's Sequence 1 is called Author. This is indeed a very reasonable development, but it can change from a "guidance" to being "forced"…

"There's no need to rush yourself to make the arrangements in detail. Go back and think it over carefully. Yes, at the same time, we need to combine the feedback from the scene to make adjustments." Cattleya nodded in thought as she immediately had a new idea. "When Miss Magician participates in the Beyonder gatherings, it's best you hide in the vicinity. Use your control of the sea of collective subconscious to monitor every participant's thoughts and accurately grasp the feedback."

Would 13 Virtual Personas be enough? There should be more than 13 members at a Beyonder gathering… Hmm, I can switch to using "Monitoring" to select a target to focus on… Audrey quickly analyzed the feasibility of the suggestion and tersely acknowledged.

"That wouldn't be an issue."

To her, this was also a form of training. At the same time, it was also a form of acting—she didn't directly use her Beyonder powers to affect the target, but instead used her precise understanding of the target's mental state to "manipulate" them by using words, behavior, actions, and a "script."

Seeing that there was no problem on Miss Justice's side, The Hermit Cattleya looked at The Magician.

"In order to prevent a surprise attack, and to better grasp your surroundings, I need to plant something on you."

"What is it?" Fors asked warily.

Cattleya glanced at The World at the bottom end of the long, mottled table. After receiving the permission of Mr. Fool's Blessed, she raised her hand and pressed it between her brows.

A pair of transparent eyes appeared in front of her, ones that were without eyelashes, looking cold and heartless.

"This is the Eye of Mystery Prying. After becoming a Mysticologist, I can place it on someone else's body. Whatever it sees it will be what I see. Furthermore, once it enters a concealed state, it will be very difficult to be discovered through other means." Cattleya gave a simple introduction.

Upon seeing this scene, Klein leaned back slightly and sighed inwardly.

When he first grasped Spirit Vision, he had seen something similar behind Old Neil.

If he had the mysticism knowledge he had now back then, he would've detected the problem earlier. Perhaps things would have developed differently.

If this strange eye were to be planted on me, wouldn't I be watched by Ma'am Hermit when I go to the bathroom… Fors secretly drew a cold gasp as she hesitantly asked, "Can we 'plant' it before each gathering?"

"If we make frequent contact with each other, we'll be easily discovered. Besides, the Saint of Secrets wouldn't only appear at times you choose." Cattleya nudged the heavy glasses on her nose bridge and explained. "Don't worry, I won't look at things I shouldn't see."

It was a lesson learned through blood.

Fors fell silent for a few seconds before she slowly exhaled.

"Alright then…"

Cattleya nodded slightly and continued, "After discovering clues to the Abraham family, the Aurora Order will definitely do a certain amount of investigation. And for safety, so as to prevent any accidents from happening, they will definitely send out someone with a certain level of confidence. Among them, the Saint of Secrets Botis is undoubtedly the person who is most interested in the matter regarding the Abraham family. In addition, Backlund isn't suitable for a King of Angels' main body to be active in, so the probability of him appearing is the highest."

At this moment, The Star Leonard, who was leaning against the back of his chair, raised his hand and said, "Not necessarily.

"According to the information we have gathered, the Aurora Order has other high-ranking members in Backlund—Saint Tenebrous. After Mr. A disappeared, he came forward to organize certain matters.

"When the time comes, the person responsible for tracking the clues to the Abraham family might very well be him, not the Saint of Secrets. After all, this is his 'diocese.'"

The demigod I met when I assassinated Mr. X was Saint Tenebrous? Klein nodded in enlightenment without bringing any attention to himself.

Cattleya was already prepared for this. Without any hesitation, she said to The Star, "This might require your help. In the near future, you should investigate more cases involving the Aurora Order and strike at them more.

"This way, it will be inconvenient for them to move around. After discovering clues about the Abraham family, they might very likely seek reinforcements, getting—yes, the more mobile and more concealed Saint of Secrets to be responsible for it."

Leonard thought of his recent mission list and nodded slightly.

"Sure."

As the captain of a Red Gloves team, he had the right to do so.

"The only problem is, could this be predicted by the True Creator?" After Leonard agreed, he turned to look at Klein.

After some thought, Klein pointed out indirectly.

"You are similarly under the gaze of a deity."

Leonard retracted his gaze as though he had gained some understanding. He said to The Hermit Cattleya, "I have no further questions."

The Hermit Cattleya raised her glasses and cast her gaze towards Judgment.

"We will try our best to limit the Beyonder circles that Miss Magician will be involved in to East Borough and the Backlund Bridge area. These should be places you are familiar with. You have to constantly be aware of any abnormalities. Inform me immediately about the surroundings of the gathering's location."

"Alright." Although Xio was disappointed that she was involved in the periphery matters, she knew very well that with her strength, she could only do so much.

At that moment, Cattleya thought for a moment before saying, "You are a Judge. When the time comes, you might need to do some area-of-effect 'Prohibition.' This might not be effective against the Saint of Secrets, Botis, but it should be able to cause some interference. Don't doubt it. As support, Mid-Sequence Beyonders can similarly influence a saint to a certain extent."

All of this is under the premise of a demigod resisting a demigod while all I provide is support… The education Xio had received since she was young, and the addition of the knowledge she learned from MI9 now put an emphasis on cooperation. It was very easy to understand what Ma'am Hermit was saying.

At this point, the plan had just started taking form. The next step was to adjust it bit by bit through on-the-ground feedback.

Fors heaved a sigh of relief when she suddenly thought of something. She hurriedly said, "Previously, Mr. World mentioned that Botis might have a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. How should we deal with it?"

Frankly speaking, she didn't have a direct impression of how terrifying a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was. This was because she had never encountered one before and had never seen anyone encounter it before. However, she had experienced the Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts that Gehrman Sparrow had borrowed from Mr. Fool. She knew how terrifying it was, and with a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact being one grade higher than a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, it was obvious how potent one was. In the rumors that Fors had heard, some Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts could even destroy Backlund, or even the world.

Cattleya said after a few seconds of silence, "On the one hand, through Miss Justice's grasp of the minds of the people around you, she will be able to find traces of possible existences. On the other hand, with Miss Judgment's understanding of the various anomalies in the region, and combining it with divination, we will be able to determine ahead of time if there are any Sealed Artifacts.

"If we can't get any feedback from all of this, and if the Saint of Secrets has a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact with him, you don't have to be too afraid. He won't kill you immediately. He will definitely try to gain control of you and interrogate you at a safe place. We have enough time and opportunities to separate him from the Sealed Artifact. Remember, a Sealed Artifact that a Beyonder possesses isn't completely a part of his strength.

"During this process, didn't you 'Record' some high-level Beyonder powers? If the situation is critical, don't hold back, and try your best to escape."

Sounds like you're not very confident either… Fors's face suddenly turned pale as she forced a smile.

"I'll try my best."

At this moment, The World Gehrman Sparrow took the initiative to speak.

"In times of necessity, pray to Mr. Fool. I will also ask 'Him' to provide 'His' protection in advance and provide some revelations."

As this operation wouldn't pose a threat to Klein's actual body regardless of the development, and it might involve a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, he could only gain some revelations from his initial control of Sefirah Castle.

That's good… Fors, Xio, and company heaved a sigh of relief.

When the private gathering was coming to an end. Klein glanced at Cattleya and said, "It looks like there's no way to end the operation before New Year. I'll provide you with the advance payment."

He then condensed some of mysticism knowledge he had never mentioned into a pale white brilliance and pushed it to The Hermit.

Chapter 1193 Heading Eas

Dark Angel Sasrir might very well be the negative personality that's expelled from the ancient sun god… Mr. Door was once the most powerful King of Angels… The Abraham family also possesses at least two Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts that's at the level of an angel of the Apprentice pathway… The underlying rules of this world are chaos and madness… Pieces of mysticism knowledge resonated in Cattleya's mind, causing her to feel weighed down in addition to her shock.

If it wasn't for the Tarot Club, Mr. Fool's protection, and The World Gehrman Sparrow's help, she believed that it wouldn't be easy for her to obtain such knowledge. She definitely had to take a tremendous risk in exchange. If she wasn't careful, she would attract the attention of certain high-level existences, or be embroiled in madness and pain.

"Thank you for your advance payment. This will greatly help me digest the potion." Cattleya opened her eyes and thanked him sincerely.

According to her original plan, she believed that she would be able to gain some mysticism knowledge after meeting Queen Mystic. With Gehrman Sparrow's current advance payment, her Mysticologist potion would most likely be completely digested. Unfortunately, a few days before she arrived in Backlund, Queen Mystic Bernadette had left the city to trace a lead. This left Cattleya extremely disappointed.

Upon hearing Ma'am Hermit's words, Klein, who was pretending to be The World, laughed hoarsely.

"A price is exacted for what's bestowed."

As his voice echoed, he nodded at the two ladies—Justice and The Magician—indicating that he was also directing those words at them.

After the private gathering ended and the members left Sefirah Castle one by one, Klein stood up and walked back to the seat of honor from the bottom end of the long, mottled table, to the seat belonging to The Fool.

He leaned back into his chair and propped his elbow on the armrest as the void beside him rippled and formed halos.

These were prayer lights that came from puppets controlled by a historical projection that Klein had summoned. They had existed before the gathering, but the corresponding area had been hidden from the rest, so no one could sense it. It was only now restored to normal.

He cast his gaze at the rippling light and expanded his vision into the distance.

In the real world, a dark mountain stood erect. There was a mountain hole at the mountainside that extended downwards.

This was once a place that hid many humans who had survived the Cataclysm, but they were later turned into Dark Demonic Wolf Kotar's marionettes.

During this period of time, Klein kept tracing the clues and found three spots where the Dark Demonic Wolff had hidden "Himself." However, Klein didn't gain much from them.

The reason was simple. Just like now, there was a rock in the cave. On it sat a young man wearing a classic black robe, a pointed hat, a broad forehead, and a thin face—Amon.

This Angel of Time seemed to sense the gaze from Sefirah Castle as "He" raised "His" head and adjusted "His" crystal monocle. The corners of "His" mouth curled up slightly.

"…" Klein retracted his gaze, his facial muscles twitching slightly as he muttered, "What a haunting presence… It's not like this fellow doesn't understand the Dark Demonic Wolf's past. Is there a need for him to destroy all the clues I need? Furthermore, 'He' only comes slightly earlier than me every single time…"

If it wasn't because he wasn't Amon's match, he really wanted to hang "Him" up and beat "Him."

Phew… Klein exhaled and immediately returned to the real world.

He wore a black top hat and carried a dim yellow lantern. He dispelled his maintaining of the historical projection and, without looking back, he left the mountain and ventured deep into the silent wilderness.

There was no hesitation in his footsteps, as he had already obtained detailed information about the Dark Demonic Wolf, Kotar, from the Evernight Goddess. He was well aware of the character, styles, and habits of the God of Wishes.

The reason why he was still searching for the Dark Demonic Wolf's past was mainly because he wanted to verify the information. After all, the East Continent had been in the Forsaken Land of the Gods for more than two thousand years. The Dark Demonic Wolf had escaped the Evernight Goddess's attention for a sufficiently long period of time, so it was very likely that some abnormalities and changes in character would occur. If he made a plan following the intelligence provided by the Evernight Goddess, there was a small chance that he would make the mistake of launching a surgical strike using an outdated map.

Under the tremendous pressure from the True Creator and Amon, the chances of the Dark Demonic Wolf transforming isn't low… Perhaps it has even turned abnormal or half-mad because of the excess stress… Klein couldn't help but lampoon inwardly.

The words "Dark Demonic Wolf" could actually be switched to "Klein Moretti" or "Zhou Mingrui" ad verbatim. It just needed to be said in future tense.

The other reason for his persistence in pursuing the Dark Demonic Wolf's past was that he was trying to fool Amon, making it difficult for "Him" to guess that he had already grasped the key information.

Of course, this might not be able to deceive the God of Deceit. His main goal was to obtain a victory of the mind, so as to adjust his mental state that was overly stressed. This allowed him to reduce the frequency at which he sought Miss Justice's treatment.

Well, from the looks of it, the Dark Demonic Wolf still maintains its clarity and rationality in the late Second Epoch. It wasn't as violent as when it first fused with other Beyonder characteristics, bloodthirsty, crazy… "His" most important personality appears to not have changed; ever so suspicious. "He" doesn't even trust "His" own marionettes. Once "He" decides to migrate, "He" would leave all the marionettes that "He" had before and sever all connections… Also, the Dark Demonic Wolf seems to have migrated from the east over here… As he thought about it, Klein came to an abrupt stop. Under the darkness that was void of stars and the crimson moon, he cast his gaze in a particular direction by relying on his spiritual intuition.

His expression gradually turned solemn as he raised his right hand and pressed on his silk top hat.

Then, he adjusted the direction he was heading in and walked towards where his eyes were trained at.

That was the east.

In the endless darkness, the lantern in his hand cast a lonely shadow. His trench coat was almost the same color as the distant night as his footsteps quickened.

…

Backlund, Empress Borough, inside the Hall family's luxurious mansion.

Audrey sat in front of the dressing table and began to seriously consider how to release the "bait" in a seemingly reasonable fashion.

During this process, she suddenly thought of something.

That was that, if she wanted to go near a Beyonder gathering and monitor the thoughts of the participants, there was a lack of quick and efficient methods.

As a Sequence 4 demigod, she neither could fly nor "Teleport." She also couldn't use the flames to "jump" secretly. It would be fine if it was late at night, but if she wanted to use dreams as a springboard, she could only rely on her feet during the day and evening.

Oh… Actually, my speed isn't slow, but if I were to run faster than a steam train, I would definitely attract attention… There are so many powerhouses in Backlund, so there's no lack of existences that can see through my "Psychological Invisibility"… Similarly, in my dragon form, I can fly, but that's just too eye-catching… Currently, I can only let my consciousness and Spirit Body enter the sea of collective subconscious, while I'm unable to bring my body in… As she pondered about the matter, Audrey could only consider purchasing Sealed Artifacts or mystical items that had "Traveling" powers while deciding to travel through dreams if there were dreams. Otherwise, she could only rely on walking, carriages, or the metro.

What a simple demigod… Hmm, it's no wonder the full name is half-human, half-god. Those terrifying Beyonder powers are the godly side of things, while these are the human side of things… Audrey gave a self-deprecating laugh and reined in her thoughts.

…

Backlund, Hillston Borough.

Sitting beside the fireplace, Fors opened a book that was propped on her thigh as a platform for her to write.

Holding a pen in her hand, she stared at the horizontal lines on the paper and the tarot cards that were scattered on the ground for a long time.

"What's wrong? You don't want to lie to your teacher? No, everything you write will be the truth… You don't want to set up your teacher?" Xio walked over, crouched down, and looked up into Fors's eyes.

Fors shook her head.

"No, it's not because of this.

"I do feel a little guilty, but I know that this is a good thing for the Abraham family.

"I'm just hesitating. I keep feeling that our destinies will change after writing this letter."

"Ah?" Xio was a little stunned when she heard that. She didn't quite understand what her good friend meant.

Fors let out a sigh and said, "The battles from the past and now were actually not that dangerous for us. We had the ability to avoid it and obtain the corresponding resources to continue our peaceful lives. Therefore, my feelings for them don't run deep.

"We're like people standing beside a torrent. We could have watched everything go by safely, but after writing this letter, we might perhaps be swept into the torrent."

Xio listened quietly. She opened her mouth and pursed her lips.

"If not for this, do you think we can avoid the torrent of fate?"

As she spoke, she picked up a tarot card from the ground.

The surface of the card depicted an angel blowing a trumpet and the deceased.

Judgment card.

Fors looked at the deck of tarot cards for a while before closing her eyes. She pulled her hair back and smiled.

"I understand.

"This is an inevitable destiny."

After praying to Mr. Fool and after obtaining The Magician card, it was an unavoidable destiny.

The fountain pen in Fors's hand finally landed on the letter.

…

Pritz Harbor.

Dorian Gray Abraham, who had long left the fishermen's association and changed his identity, tore open the letter sent by his student.

As he quickly browsed through it, his expression went from shock, joy, and confusion to horror.

Bang!

Dorian threw away the letter in his hand and knocked down the table in front of him. It was like a monster hiding on that piece of paper with a curse.

He retreated to another corner, pulled open the drawer, and took out some items. Then, he rushed to the door and prepared to leave.

When his right hand touched the brass doorknob, Dorian's actions suddenly slowed down and finally stopped.

He slowly turned around and cast his gaze at the letter on the ground. There was a complicated look in his eyes.

After a few seconds, Dorian Gray Abraham slowly walked towards the letter. He walked with hesitation, feeling the dilemma and struggles, but he didn't stop. It was as if he had been seduced by the devil.

Chapter 1194 A Lion"s Hunt of a Rabbi

Finally, Dorian stopped beside the letter.

He bent down and reached out his right hand. His fingers trembled as he grabbed the edge of the paper and picked it up.

This time, Dorian was very careful. He began reading each word, one after another from the very beginning. Sometimes he was enlightened, sometimes confused, sometimes puzzled, and sometimes in pain.

The letter Fors had sent wasn't long. He only used three minutes to read it twice before he fell into a long silence.

The sunlight shined through the window and landed on the toppled table.

Dorian Gray Abraham's lips suddenly quivered, but he ultimately didn't make a sound.

Separated by a piece of paper, his right thumb and index finger quickly rubbed against each other and ignited the letter with a scarlet flame.

After doing all of this, Dorian packed his belongings, put on his disguise, changed his clothes, and left the rented apartment. Using the identity he had previously prepared, he went to another place.

After settling down, he sat beside the desk and stared at the brass ornament, seemingly deep in thought.

The area became darker and darker as the sunlight weakened. Dorian's eyelids twitched as he slowly sighed.

He then unfolded the piece of paper and picked up the fountain pen. As he pondered, he wrote:

"…I'm very happy to see you digesting the Scribe potion in a few months. This means that you might really become a demigod…

"…These are the key points to take note of while acting as a Traveler, at least the ones that I know of. However, you have to remember that everyone's personality is different. There will always be some differences in acting in real life, so you can't copy blindly… This doesn't mean that the acting principles of others are wrong, but that it might lead to a huge conflict in your heart, affecting your mental state… Sometimes, you can make appropriate adjustments to slow down the speed at which the potion is being digested, but it will only be beneficial to you. You have to remember: acting is a tool, not something to lord over you…

"I look forward to the day you completely digest the Traveler potion, I will prepare the corresponding ingredients and a present for you.

"…I'm very interested in the matter of the Abraham family's curse mentioned by that gentleman… I think you should have noticed long ago that I have done a certain degree of research on such matters. Otherwise, you wouldn't always ask me about such matters…

"I hope you can continue to learn about this matter at a deeper level…"

After writing the reply, Dorian Gray Abraham closed his eyes and quickly folded the paper.

…

January 1351, Backlund's new year was much bleaker than before.

In a basement in West Borough, there were a few candles flickering with yellow flames, illuminating the surrounding altars, chairs, and round tables.

At the edge of the light, in a place that was extremely dark, a figure appeared indistinct. At times, it would sway, sometimes stretching into a thin entity that didn't have any thickness. It was like a shadow that came alive.

Suddenly, the figure said in a deep voice, "You arrived earlier than I expected."

Beside the candle, a figure quickly appeared in the spot illuminated the greatest by the light.

It was a man dressed in a mysterious black robe. His brown hair was slightly curled, and his dark, deep eyes seemed to contain countless objects.

He was none other than one of the five saints of the Aurora Order, the Saint of Secrets, Botis.

Botis smiled and said, "To me, distance is not a problem."

He pulled a chair and sat down before saying to the long and narrow shadow, "Have you investigated thoroughly? Did you find anything unusual?"

The shadow that nearly slinked into the shadows answered in a low voice, "There aren't any problems."

"Really?" At the confirmation of the question, Botis instinctively had doubts. "Kisma, could this be a trap?"

The Aurora Order's Saint Tenebrous, Kisma, slowly shook his head and said, "The target is very careful. It's definitely not a case of deliberate exposure.

"If she wasn't seeking to purchase an ancient wraith's cursed item, we wouldn't have been able to sense that she might be related to the Abraham family."

Saint of Secrets Botis seemed to be in thought as he said, "An ancient wraith's cursed item. This is one of the main ingredients of Scribe. I remember that the Abraham family does have a spare Asmann's brain… Heh, they aren't willing to directly provide a Scribe Beyonder characteristic, hoping to carry out some tests. It's indeed the style of the Abraham family. To put it simply, they don't have enough trust in others."

Saint Tenebrous Kisma didn't echo Botis's words as he continued, "Even if she was seeking to purchase the main ingredients of the Scribe potion, we wouldn't have noticed any problems. After all, not every believer knows the corresponding mysticism knowledge, but she even mentioned some questions related to Apprentice and the Abrahams.

"She was really cautious in this aspect. The circle of Beyonders from which she sought to purchase materials from and the one she asked questions weren't the same. Different matters were left to different circles. Furthermore, at times, she would hire other participants to help her make requests.

"If it weren't for the fact that we have our people in those few circles and were able to combine the intelligence, we wouldn't have noticed her."

Saint of Secrets Botis nodded slightly and asked, "Why didn't you just take action? You even came to me?"

In the shadows, the darkness stirred and replied slowly, "The situation in Backlund is getting more and more tense. The Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind are carpet sweeping the area, one spot after another. We're being watched very closely.

"If I were to handle this matter, it would be fine if there weren't any accidents. However, if an accident were to happen, I might not be able to escape due to not having 'Grazed' a Secrets Sorcerer.

"Besides, aren't you the one who is most interested in the Abraham family?"

Botis chuckled and said, "I'm not interested in them at all. I just want them to all die.

"To ensure my own safety, the most important thing is to nip revenge in the bud. This is the philosophy I abide by."

As he spoke, the Saint of Secrets took out a crystal ball from his black robe's pocket.

The crystal ball was neither clear nor translucent, as if it had been injected with the dark night.

As he touched it with his palm, his lips quivered. This strange crystal ball suffused a resplendent glow.

They were like stars that slowly spun, forming a complicated scene.

"It's still acceptable…" Botis looked at the crystal ball in his right hand and nodded gently.

He then looked at the "ghostly shadow."

"Give me the details."

When he learned that there would be a Beyonder gathering in a particular circle tonight, with the target possibly appearing, the Saint of Secrets Botis stood up and said to Saint Tenebrous Kisma, "I need to make some preparations."

As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand opened and with a gentle lift, his fingers closed.

The region he was in immediately warped and vanished.

The candles, flames, round table, and chairs that were originally located here vanished, leaving behind only the tiles and ceiling.

After a while, the shadows moved and everything returned to normal.

Nothing happened to Saint of Secrets Botis, but Saint Tenebrous's figure appeared out of the darkness.

He looked at Botis and said in a deep voice, "Your caution has exceeded the necessary limits."

"But this isn't a bad thing. I hope that I can resolve the problem without anyone noticing," Botis replied with a smile. "You can follow me. You can hide in the shadows as my support. You will not directly appear, and you will leave immediately once you discover anything amiss."

"…Alright." Saint Tenebrous Kisma slowly walked out of the shadows.

He looked young and handsome with outstanding facial features, but his face seemed to be covered with a faint curtain of darkness.

After coming close to Botis, there were a series of illusory chewing sounds that came from nowhere. The chewing sounds and the sound of digesting could be heard, as well as undisguised evil and hunger.

This made the demigod shudder involuntarily.

Saint Tenebrous's eyes froze for a second as he cast a shocked and surprised look at Botis's face.

The corners of Botis's mouth curled up as he revealed a rather cruel smile.

A few seconds later, one of them used "Teleportation," and the other merged into the shadows and left the house.

…

In an apartment that had been in disrepair for years, in the area intersecting Backlund's East Borough and the bridge area, there were a few rooms on the first floor of a cheap motel that had their rooms connected.

When Botis walked out from the spirit world, the Beyonder gathering was only to be held two to three hours later. No one had arrived yet.

He looked around and took in the long tables that were arranged messily.

After observing the environment, he walked to a corner with his right hand pulling the curtain.

The region was then enveloped by a shadow, distorting before vanishing.

This was because there wasn't anything there to begin with. There was no objective measure, so no one would have discovered that there was a space missing. They would only feel that the distance between the walls and themselves was a little closer, but upon closer inspection, everything was normal.

This was the "Space Concealment" power of a Secrets Sorcerer!

They could use this ability to split a place into two and conceal part of it. One had to use a specific "door" to enter.

At that moment, in the area that had been divided and hidden, the room existed normally. There were floor tiles, a ceiling, and a cockroach crawling across the ground.

The cockroach rushed to the boundary and was blocked by the endless darkness.

After Saint of Secrets Botis surveyed the area, his gaze paused at a transparent vortex in midair.

This was the "door."

Every hidden space would definitely have a "door."

After some thought, Botis reached into the black robe's pocket, took out a mirror, and inserted it into the "door."

The mirror twisted and quickly reflected the scene in the outside world.

There were chairs and long tables randomly strewn around. The place was empty.

In this way, Botis used this mirror to monitor the Beyonder gathering's venue.

Seconds changed to minutes as the Beyonders dressed in various disguises arrived.

One of the hooded figures habitually chose a corner near the window. She took out a palm-sized notebook and casually flipped through a few pages, as though she was revising the main points of her questions or checking if she was fully prepared.

And behind her to the side, there was an ordinary mirror embedded in the wall.