In Duncan's perception, two marks in abnormal states have caught his attention.

One of those marks, of course, comes from the White Oak.

The ship that he had completely burned with flames still exudes a strong sense of "presence", floating in his perception like a blazing fireball, but he still cannot determine the true location of the ship - every time he tries to determine the location of the White Oak, he will only get a weird and vague result, which shows that the White Oak is in an area next to the Frost City-State, which has long been jointly blocked by the Sea Mist Fleet and the Frost Navy.

Another sign of "problem" lies with the gatekeeper Agatha.

Over the past period of time, Duncan suddenly discovered that the mark he had left on Agatha had been disturbed in some way. During the disturbance, Agatha's breath became several times weaker, and her position began to show the same blurry and distorted signs as the White Oak. He tried to confirm Agatha's condition remotely, but was surprised to find that the other party's breath would completely disappear in the city-state from time to time.

Two problematic marks, one ship, one person, different locations, similar status.

This is obviously worth paying attention to.

So he chose to investigate the matter personally after nightfall - there was no clue about the White Oak for the time being, but Agatha's mark would still move from time to time in Frost City, and it should be nearby.

Duncan lowered his head and looked at Shirley who was looking around beside him.

Agou's perception ability as a deep demon might come in handy - and if there really are cultists of Annihilation active nearby, it might be able to smell the scent of "its kind".

As the night deepened, the gas lamps on both sides of the road were all lit. Occasionally, the night watchman's whistle or the barking of dogs could be heard from afar, mixed with the sound of distant waves.

The streets were empty and deserted during curfew hours. Even with some lights coming from the buildings on the roadside, it was difficult to dispel the chill of the winter night. Duncan took Shirley through another alley, and in his "vision", the cluster of flames representing Agatha was still moving and stopping not far away.

"Mr. Duncan, if the gatekeeper sees me... will he chop me with a sword?" Shirley asked for something to talk about. "Just like Vanna saw the heretic..."

"The gatekeepers don't use swords," Duncan said casually. "I heard from Vanna that they use specially made combat staffs and magic in the field of death to deal with heretics."

Shirley immediately shrank her neck and kept silent.

Duncan didn't care about the girl's reaction. After entering an alley, he suddenly stopped.

Shirley also stopped nervously and looked around with a vigilant look on her face: "What did you find? Is that gatekeeper in front?"

"…She's not in front. She's right here," Duncan said calmly, his eyes slowly sweeping across the alley, "and she's been here for a while."

"She's right here?!" Shirley's eyes widened immediately, as if she could feel a cold wind blowing across her neck. She looked forward as hard as she could, feeling increasingly timid. "Where is she? Where is she? I can't see her. Agou, can you see her?"

"I didn't see him," Agou's voice came from the shadows nearby, sounding muffled, "I couldn't see anyone and couldn't sense his presence."

"Can't even Agou see it?" Duncan frowned slightly. In front of him, the small cluster of flames representing Agatha was burning quietly a few meters away, looking weak and illusory.

The gatekeeper is here - here she rests.

Duncan walked slowly towards the fire, but stopped.

"Agatha" seemed to sense something. When he was halfway close to it, the flame suddenly jumped, and then quickly moved to another direction.

Duncan raised his head and looked in the direction where the flame was moving. Suddenly, a fleeting shadow on the glass window of a nearby building caught his attention.

He saw a blurry figure running quickly across the glass surface, and Agatha's appearance could be vaguely seen in the outline.

Shirley, who happened to be looking around, also noticed the shadow. She almost screamed in fright, but she reacted in time and covered her mouth. After the shadow passed by, she looked at Duncan and said with lingering fear: "There was a shadow just now!"

"I saw it. It was reflected in the window." Duncan spoke in a deep voice, his eyes still looking calmly ahead. Where Shirley couldn't see, he was still staring at the flame - the flame had passed through the alley, flashed at the intersection ahead, and turned back and ran in another direction.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if picturing Agatha's state in his mind.

She seemed to be breaking out of some predicament. She might be injured or very tired. She took a short rest here and then headed towards the upper town. At the intersection, something tried to stop her, but failed.

Duncan opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the glass window not far away again. Agatha's figure was no longer visible on the smooth window glass. Only the shadow of the street lamp not far away was quietly reflected.

"Reflection..." Duncan said softly, "Interesting..."

"Ah?" Shirley was still confused. "What? You've figured it out?"

"Maybe." Duncan said noncommittally, then walked to the glass window, raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

A small flame danced at his fingertips, illuminating his figure.

He looked towards the glass window and saw the flame in his hand reflected in the window. The jumping light seemed to have life, burning quietly in the mirrored world.

Shirley looked at Duncan's actions in confusion, and then saw the latter wave his hand gently, dispersing the flames on his fingertips.

But a faint green light was still jumping in her vision.

Shirley slowly opened her mouth, looking at the scene in front of her in astonishment: after Duncan extinguished the flame in his hand, the flame reflected in the glass window showed no signs of disappearing - the reflected flame was still burning quietly, as if it had its own independent existence, burning in the mirror!

"This...what's going on?!" Shirley raised her finger and pointed at the flame in the glass window, stuttering as she looked at Duncan, "Why is the flame still here..."

"A mirror image of Frost," Duncan said, turning his head slowly, with a smile in his tone, "is gradually merging with the Frost in the real world - a great idea, I personally think it's very creative."

"Mirror image..." Shirley didn't quite understand what was meant, but she kept repeating the word subconsciously. "You mean, there is also a Frost in the mirror? Did the 'gatekeeper' run into the mirror world?"

"Not exactly, but you can understand it that way," Duncan said calmly, turning his gaze back to the reflection of the fire that was still burning peacefully in the mirror, "There is a small crack here, but it's not enough."

"Not enough?" Shirley blinked.

"I need more accurate positioning and a stronger connection." Duncan slowly stretched out his hand, and his fingertips touched the phantom of the flame in the mirror. "To ignite the world on the other side of the mirror, this fire is not enough. But..."

He paused and withdrew his finger.

The phantom of fire in the mirror suddenly shook, and then disappeared into the depths of darkness, leaving only a faint green trace that seemed to spread into the distance.

"It's enough to help Agatha."

※※※

How many counterfeits of the "Element" have been destroyed? And how many "incarnations" of the blond young man have been destroyed?

After the number exceeded four digits, Agatha was too lazy to count.

She only knew one thing: the heretic had not lied to her - she was indeed trapped in this strange world, and there was no hope of escaping from it in the short term.

The sky was dim, and the clouds were chaotic. In this "Frost City" without the sun, the boundary between day and night had disappeared. One could only judge by the subtle changes in light between the clouds and the gas lights on the streets that night should have fallen.

Agatha walked through a narrow alley, calming her breath and repairing her physical and mental injuries as she walked.

Her black coat had been torn in many places due to continuous fighting, and the combat soft armor lining was also seriously damaged. The bandages and skin wrapped underneath her shoulders and flanks could even be seen, with traces of blood seeping out from inside.

To be fair, the enemy was not strong. Even the "incarnation" used by the blond heretic was not that strong in the eyes of Agatha, the gatekeeper. It only took three or two minutes to defeat him.

But they are endless.

This entire city-state is their "material" and "reserve force" for regeneration. Ordinary combat methods are completely meaningless here.

Agatha was thinking rapidly in her mind as she walked through the alley.

At the same time, she was also recalling the strange and terrifying feeling she had a few minutes ago.

She was taking a short rest in a dark alley when that terrifying aura suddenly entered her perception. That kind of pressure...even made her feel like her heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

At that time, she did not have time to think about it and hurriedly left her hiding place, but now thinking back... that horrible aura did not seem to be something from this strange fake city-state.

So...what is it?