Chapter 361: Planning and Silencing
"But, she... there's nothing wrong with divination. How did you find out?"
Sylvia asked back, speechless.
"Believing everything in divination will only harm you," said Panatia, the Lady of Despair, her expression gradually turning colder as she looked towards a corner of the stone chamber, which was the direction of the ruins' exit. "Yes, the answer to my question just now was verified as true through divination, but it is precisely because of this that her perfect response made me suspicious."
"While I was away from Backlund, even you kept many things from me. Although I didn't take it personally, that doesn't mean I didn't know.
"And Erin Watson... hmph, that name must be fake too. Her answer just now didn't hide anything at all, and it's completely consistent with what I saw in the divination. Unless she's an idiot, how could she open her heart completely to someone she's just met for the first time? This divination result means she has anti-divination measures above the level of a demigod. It's undoubtedly the work of an official Beyonder."
Under the scolding and explanation of Ms. Despair, Sylvia, who had been chatting and laughing with the "inside ghost" a few hours ago, was now sweating and her eyes were a little vague, as if she had remembered something bad. After a moment, she asked hesitantly:
"Then why did you let her go just now? Once she returns to Backlund, won't the ruins be completely exposed?"
"If we don't let her go, do we have to kill her on the spot? There's a 50% chance that this will solve the problem, but the other possibility is that it will immediately expose our position. She dared to go deep into this place alone, so she must have some way of conveying information. Rather than alerting the demigod behind her, it's better to let her go and buy time."
"So you just said you're going to start next month..."
"Indeed. This will cause her to relax her vigilance and even delay reporting to her superiors, which will give us valuable time. Leave immediately through another passage. Do not return to the city. Go directly to Edsak and take Triss away. We will initiate the 'plan' immediately."
When Sylvia heard this, her eyes widened slightly, and she seemed a little surprised, but she immediately lowered her head under the gaze of Lady Despair and replied:
"Yes, I'll leave right away."
"Don't be attached to your current identity. No matter what the outcome, your exposure is inevitable. It's time to leave Backlund."
After saying this, Ms. Despair turned around and touched the full-length mirror. Without her applying any medicine, the mirror surface became foggy and dark.
After a moment, she said softly:
"It's me. The plan has been advanced. Please come to the altar immediately, Mr. A."
The hooded figure in the mirror, revealing only lips and chin resembling those of a woman, smiled strangely upon hearing this.
————
After returning to the ground along the original route, Angel climbed a nearby hill that was not very high, memorized the surrounding terrain, and then walked towards the town where the carriage stopped.
Since she decided to report it, she had to remember the location of this place well. Even if the "Lady of Despair" could escape, the ruins themselves could not escape. At least she could destroy the secret plan of the witch sect.
Just now, when Angel left the underground stone chamber and returned to the ground, he had discovered that there were several passages leading in different directions. There might be other underground facilities, such as the residences of members of other sects, or prisons for kidnapped and abducted civilians.
But she didn't dare to investigate carefully under the eyes of a demigod.
"Triss Chick... I didn't expect her to be chosen as the vessel for the 'Original Witch' to descend. I wonder if she'll be gestating within her like the 'True Creator,' or if she'll directly take over her body... Judging by Triss's strange state, the latter is probably more likely. And Prince Edessak, who sleeps with her every day, might be different from what I suspected. He might just be a pawn pushed forward by the royal family."
Thinking about this, Angel returned to the small town. Most of the residents here worked in the East District of Backlund during the day, so there were not many pedestrians on the streets. She quickly found a four-wheeled carriage parked on the side of the road. The driver, a peripheral member of the witch sect, recognized the witch who had put on the "Ring of Madness" again. At her command, he started the carriage and drove towards the city of Backlund.
Carefully pulling the curtains, Angel placed his hands together against his forehead in the shaking carriage, resting his elbows on his knees, and muttered the honorific name of Mr. Fool in a low voice.
“…Dear Mr. Fool, in my conversation with ‘Madam Despair’ just now, I learned that ‘Triss’ beside Prince Edessak is called ‘Tris Chick’ by the higher-ups of the Witch Cult. She may have been chosen as the vessel for the ‘Original Witch’s’ divine descent. Please instruct Sherlock Moriarty to be extremely careful and avoid any contact with Triss!”
————
"Thank you, but I already know..."
In the palace above the gray fog, Klein replied with a wry smile. Unfortunately, this sentence could not be conveyed to Angel anyway, because at this moment he was "The Fool" and not "Sherlock".
He quickly dragged his "praying image," which was speaking similar words, into the crimson star symbolizing "justice." With a thought, he allowed a thick mist to obscure his appearance, and whispered in a tone of pretentious criticism:
"Heh, even Chike, the 'Original Witch', isn't staying still..."
This should alert Miss Justice. Angel has already entrusted her to communicate with the upper nobility and report Edessak's abnormality. With this leverage, the faction within the royal family that does not belong to Edessak should take action soon. And if Earl Hall, whose entire family are followers of the goddess, knows about this, then the Nighthawks will also know...
As for me, I should also think about how to escape Red Rose Manor. Triss just asked me to report it to the official Beyonder. This will definitely lead to me coming into the sight of "0-08" and being put on the list of people to be silenced, just like Talim...
Klein pondered this as he returned to the real world from the gray foggy space. He opened his eyes and looked around.
He was currently in a small wood not far from the road. The carriage that had been carrying him was leisurely descending the mountain, heading back to Backlund. The Red Rose Manor on the other side was unusually quiet, seemingly unaware of his movements.
"How will 0-08 deal with me? Based on my experience in Tingen, it will try to kill me using reasonable means, such as encountering some dangerous High-Sequence Beyonders, being sentenced to death by an angry prince, or..."
His eyes suddenly lit up, and the leaves around him were illuminated red by some light.
"The sun's getting stronger? No, it's..."
Klein subconsciously looked up. Several flaming meteorites streaked through the clouds and fell straight towards him.
Looking at the meteorite that was getting bigger and bigger and even blocked out the sun, he felt powerless to resist.
Actually using meteorites to silence people?
…
"Detective Sherlock Moriarty sensed the danger posed by Triss and left the carriage, attempting to avoid possible murder by taking a side road.
"But the once-in-a-century Dallas meteor shower arrived at the planet ahead of schedule for unknown reasons, and a small portion of it happened to land on the path he left. Yes, it happened!
"The poor detective who accidentally got involved in the royal family affairs died in the explosion of the falling meteorite, and everything he knew will be buried in ashes."
A slightly pale hand held a quill and wrote quickly. Then it paused for a moment, as if being guided by the pen, and roughly crossed out the previous sentence, adding below:
"Azik Eggers, who miraculously arrived at the scene, rescued the poor detective and pulled him into the spirit world, avoiding the meteorite's shockwave. But unfortunately, this mysterious Beyonder had not yet recovered his full strength, and there was a slight error in his control of the spirit world. This caused him and Sherlock Moriarty to fall into the nearby ruins and appear next to Ince Zangwill and his friends!"
————
"Triss Chick... The Primordial Witch... Prince Edessak..."
Audrey "Justice" was flipping through a psychology book in her study when a vague image suddenly appeared in her mind, causing her hand that was turning the page to freeze in mid-air.
"What's wrong, Audrey?"
Susie, the extraordinary dog, who noticed something was wrong with her, asked curiously. There was no third person in the room, so she was able to communicate with humans in Loenese.
"Sorry, I remembered something I need to do right away..."
Without bothering to explain to her beloved dog, Audrey quickly left the study and went to the living room on the first floor. Her father, Earl Hall, was not at home at the moment, so she could only consult her mother Caitlin.
After sending the servants away, the woman, who was over fifty but in excellent condition and looked a bit like Audrey's elder sister, smiled and looked at her daughter.
"Audrey, what's going on?"
"Mom, I'm hiding something from you and Dad," she said quickly, "I'm actually already a Beyonder. It's through taking..."
"We know."
"Ah?" Audrey, who had already prepared countless speeches, even forgot her instinct as an "audience member" and opened her mouth in surprise.
"I'd love to spend an entire afternoon telling you how your father and I discovered through various clues that you secretly took the potion, but you have more important things to do right now, right?"
Lady Caitlin's warm smile quickly calmed Audrey down. She nodded and began to relay the valuable information provided by Mr. Fool.
Of course, she cleverly avoided revealing anything about the Tarot Club, and instead linked the news to the Psychological Alchemy Society she had just joined. This way, even if it was later scrutinized, it would be difficult to find any falsehood through divination.
You've already started lying to your parents, Audrey...
She thought somewhat sadly.
"An evil god?"
Caitlin's expression grew serious, even though what little she knew about the occult came from her secret concern for her daughter, she still understood the meaning of the word.
"Yes, Mom."
Audrey was also a little anxious. She didn't know how long the "Original Witch" would take to arrive, whether it would be a month, a day, or an hour. But she knew that once the evil god descended on Backlund, the death toll would be incalculable.
At this moment, she finally caught up with the other members of the Tarot Club.
"We must report this to the Goddess Church immediately!"
She looked at her mother with burning eyes.
Thanks to the leader of "Snow Mandarin"!
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