Chapter 323 Humble Arrodes
After gently stroking the surface of the silver mirror three times, Sherlock Moriarty licked his lips and hesitated for a moment before asking:
"Respected Arrodes, my question is about Jason Belia's current situation."
He carefully stated his question word by word, not using the obviously pseudonym "Patrick Jason" nor directing his doubts to the "Apostle of Desire," because in this world, even in Backlund alone, there might be more than one Beyonder of the same sequence.
The flames in the fireplace suddenly dimmed, almost going out. The sunlight outside the window also gradually dimmed. The surface of the silver mirror rippled, and then a scene appeared, viewed from above:
Next to a medium-sized dock, a sailboat hoisted its sails, preparing to set sail. A man in a peaked cap and a black coat, carrying a suitcase, hurried through the crowd and entered the cabin. He had high cheekbones and cold blue eyes, exactly like the portrait I had seen at Jason's house that morning.
"This is like the lower Tussock River, near the docks in the pier area, and if you look in the distance, it's already in the suburbs."
Isengard, who was observing carefully, immediately recognized the location in the scene.
"He must be planning to leave Backlund and head south along the river to Pritz Harbor."
Kaslana also squeezed over to look at the clues provided by Arrodes. Seeing this "Apostle of Desire" fleeing in panic, a relaxed smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
It seemed that the demigod of the Church of Storms, Ace Snake, had put considerable pressure on this Sequence 5 Beyonder. He had been tossing and turning in Backlund for so long, attracting the attention of both the Nighthawks and the Mechanical Heart, yet he had always refused to give up. But as soon as a High-Sequence expert appeared, he decisively gave up and prepared to leave Backlund, and even leave the Northern Continent...
Angel lamented the Apostle of Desire's sincere actions. His gaze remained fixed on the silver mirror. He saw Jason Belia disappear from the screen, and then a line of neat small characters appeared:
"Based on the principle of reciprocity, you can choose to answer questions or complete tasks."
"Um?"
The first person to speak was Ikanser Bernard, who was watching the process of using the seal. He scratched his messy hair under his hat, his face full of confusion.
“I choose to answer questions.”
Sherlock chose the former without hesitation.
The white letters on the mirror surface quickly decomposed and reassembled, transforming into a new sentence:
"What's your favorite color, brown or purple?"
What kind of strange question is this? Based on the questions this mirror asked the last time Ikanser used it, it clearly tends to reveal certain secrets or hesitant thoughts within its user. For example, this butler of the Mechanical Heart, while he'd promised not to pursue my identity in this incident, as an official Beyonder, he wanted to bring a Beyonder like me, a "Witch" path, to justice...
Could it be that Sherlock is hiding some unspeakable secret about color in his heart, so the silver mirror asks such questions?
Angel looked at Arrodes in surprise. The latter's question seemed to be frozen in the rippling mirror, patiently waiting for the user's response.
"Purple."
“The correct answer.”
As the purple line of comments disappeared, the surface of the silver mirror returned to normal.
"Well, this seal may be a little, uh, restrained today." Ikanser took Arrodes and curiously stroked its surface twice, but he didn't have the courage to touch it a third time. "Let's get back to the point. It's obvious that Jason Belia tried to escape by boat, but this is not a wise choice. The 'Singer of God' can fly with the wind. No matter how fast the ship is, it can't escape his control. It's only a matter of time before he is caught up."
"But this is even more bizarre. If I were him, having been targeted by the Mandated Punishers, instead of fleeing in panic, I would have blended into the crowd and played hide-and-seek with them in Backlund, a city with a population of five million. That way, I might have a chance of escape. Leaving the city, especially by boat, is a dead end in front of a demigod."
Isengard, with gray hair on his temples, held the pipe close to his nose, gently inhaled the smoke that helped him think, and slowly spoke out his analysis.
"He already has nowhere to escape. If he stays in the city, he'll be quickly targeted by us and the Nighthawks through the seals. If he leaves Backlund via the waterway, he'll only face Ace Snake's pursuit, and there might be a chance of survival."
Ikanser looked calm, and it was obvious that he believed in Arrodes' answer.
"But perhaps we've all been misled, or fallen into a misunderstanding," Sherlock frowned in thought. His gaze swept over the few people, pausing for a moment as he looked into Angel's eyes. "He first sent a threatening letter, attacking the detective assisting in the investigation of the 'Devil Dog,' attracting the attention of the official Beyonders. Then, his public identity in the West District residence would inevitably be locked down, convincing everyone that the 'Apostle of Desire' and 'Jason Belia' are the same person. Under this premise, everyone's attention will be drawn to Jason, following him around the city, even leaving the city. And in the corners that no one cares about, the real conspiracy may have just begun."
"What do you want to say?"
Ikanser, who was about to put away the silver mirror, stopped and looked at the detective.
"Is the 'Jason Belia' we just saw really the 'Apostle of Desire' we are looking for?"
After hearing Sherlock's question, everyone in the living room fell into a brief silence. Everyone was thinking and recalling the similarities and differences between yesterday's "Apostle of Desire" and today's "Jason Belia", as well as the incoordination in their actions.
"Your words sound like courtroom sophistry, Mr. Sherlock." After a long pause, Ikanser chuckled and put down the silver mirror in his hand. "But my intuition tells me that you might be right. We can ask the respected Arrodes."
"But not here. If there really is another 'Apostle of Desire', divination and any action directed at him will alert him and let him know his purpose has been exposed." Angel pressed the silver mirror on the table, causing a ripple on the mirror surface. "You follow the original plan and find the 'Nighthawks'. Have them use the power of another seal to block the demon's dangerous instincts, and then use it..."
As she was speaking, she saw dim words appear on the surface of the silver mirror under her finger:
"Dear Miss Angel Granger, your most reliable partner, Aro..."
She immediately loosened her fingers, allowing the seal to return to calm, and then quickly glanced at the people at the table. Seeing that they didn't react as if they hadn't seen it, she breathed a sigh of relief.
What happened just now?
Is the "question-answer" process still going on because the seal has been activated? Or has some uncontrollable change occurred?
Angel suddenly remembered Sherlock's reaction after touching the silver mirror, and was curious whether the other party had also seen the strange behavior of "Arrodes".
…
Ikanser, who accepted Angel's suggestion, quickly left with the seal that was behaving abnormally. As the sound of the carriage rolling over the cobblestone road outside the door gradually faded away, the few people who stayed behind stood in the living room, considering their next actions.
As the capture had already begun, Ikanser took away most of the members of the Mechanical Heart. As a result, the Isengard family, which was originally under surveillance and protection, was no longer safe. Before leaving, the deacon kindly suggested that several people go to the nearest Church of the God of Steam and Machinery to avoid the risk temporarily and come out after the "Apostle of Desire" was arrested.
As an "extraneous staff member" who had many dealings with the Church of Steam, Isengard made a quick decision. He asked the others if they would go to the church with him. Kaslana and her assistant Lydia, who had witnessed the powerful "Apostle of Desire", were willing to go, but Angel was a little hesitant.
It wasn't until Sherlock, who had gone to the bathroom, returned and shook his head slightly at her at the door that she expressed her opinion:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stanton, but I won't be going to church," she said, smiling apologetically, rejecting the other party's kindness. "I have anti-divination methods that can prevent me from being tracked by the 'Apostle of Desire', and I don't want to have too much to do with the Church of Steam."
"I understand your concerns. Please be careful after you leave and wait for their good news." Isengard did not dissuade him, but instead looked at the last person. "Sherlock, what about you? Will you go to the church with us? Believe me, compared to the Storm Church, they are very reasonable."
"I can tell from Mr. Ikanser's actions, but I need to go home and get some things first, and maybe I'll go to the church on my own later."
Sherlock also declined Isengard's invitation, which made the latter look puzzled. He looked at Angel and Sherlock repeatedly, and then showed a knowing smile.
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