Chapter 727: Terrible Disease
Bayam still retained a considerable amount of lighting at night, but it was mainly concentrated in the market area. Other areas were not so extravagant as to fill every alley with gas lamps.
And in the dim dock area, "The Hanged Man" Alger sat in a suite on the second floor of a hotel with his hands on the table, one holding a "magic pocket watch" and the other holding a scimitar. His eyes were fixed on the gas lamp on the wall, his body motionless.
Suddenly, ripples appeared on the glass window behind him, and a figure appeared directly in the room.
Alger frowned slightly, as if he sensed movement behind him. He turned back sharply to look at the window, only to find it was closed and no one else in the room.
But the next second, the "Queen" appeared in front of him from the "invisible" state, wearing a hooded cloak but a long skirt underneath.
Alger's pupils suddenly constricted, and he almost pressed his pocket watch to escape the room. Fortunately, he was resolute and did not act rashly after recognizing the person. Instead, he pretended to have noticed the other person and nodded, saying:
"You're 10 minutes early."
That's because this trip to the "mirror world" went smoothly. He didn't fall into the spirit world, nor did he encounter any strange creatures... Angel muttered, sitting on the chair opposite the "Hanged Man", taking off his hood, revealing his undisguised face, looking at him with a smile, waiting for him to introduce tonight's action plan.
Even if a high-sequence "witch" didn't actively use her charm abilities, it was still impossible for men to resist. No, I'm afraid women wouldn't be able to resist either... Alger's mind instantly flashed with the cold expression of "World" Gehrman Sparrow and the large-caliber revolver in his hand. He struggled to avert his gaze from the woman opposite him, cleared his throat, and spoke:
"That craftsman's name was Sharf. He was once a member of the Church of Steam, but he didn't join the Mechanical Heart. He only learned techniques and crafted equipment within the church. It wasn't until he was promoted to Mechanical Expert, or craftsman, that Sharf was introduced to the true crafting of magical items.
"But he soon ran out of money due to his obsession with women, his love of fine wine, and his extravagant spending. He began secretly accepting commissions from wild Beyonders to earn money. Ultimately, before the incident happened, he defected from the Church of Steam, fled to the sea, and hid in Bayam, where he started his current business."
And you are one of his clients, and you even dragged us Tarot Club members into this… Angel thought about it, nodded, and asked:
"What about this time? How did it get involved with the 'Rose School'?"
"In fact, based on my observations, those who approached Sharf are members of the Primordial Moon faith. Of course, in the Southern Continent, they're essentially equivalent to the Rose School of Thought," Alger explained. "The rumors of Sharf's recent illness don't seem false, but now he's clearly recovered, and with those people from the Southern Continent around him, I suspect his illness, recovery, and control are all manifestations of a conspiracy."
The original moon...isn't it the "Mother Tree of Desire"?
Angel recalled the faith and worship he had seen in the Book of Secrets, as well as His honorable name:
"The unique red moon, symbol of life and beauty, mother of all spiritual powers."
The goddess' honorific name also includes "Lord of Crimson," which refers to the red moon in the sky. Rituals using "Lord of Crimson" point to the goddess, but the primitive moon worship of the southern continent also uses "Red Moon" to refer to their beliefs... Angel couldn't figure out the problem at the moment, but "Moon" Emlyn had offered a reward to believers of the "Original Moon" at the Tarot Club, so perhaps he could ask him about this issue later.
Moreover, she had some suspicions that those cult members who believed in the "Original Moon" but joined the "Rose School" might be believers of the "Mother Tree of Desire", just like the "Naturist Sect" on the Island of Oravi.
"Go on."
She put aside her doubts and urged Alger to continue the introduction.
"After I first visited Sharf's home and discovered he was being controlled, I used this magical item to gather a lot of information around his home," Alger said, pulling out a silver ring inlaid with a purple gem shaped like an eyeball. "It can summon an eyeball that only clairvoyants can see, and it shares my vision."
"I've locked onto three members of the 'Rose School' living in the Sharf family's basement. I've confirmed that one of them is likely a 'Wrathful Spirit'. The strength of the other two is unknown, but they're unlikely to be stronger than the former, as they clearly have a superior-subordinate relationship."
This Sequence 5 Wraith, like "Blood Admiral" Senior, appears to be the most powerful person controlling Artisan Sharf. Unless the "Rose School" is so extravagant as to send a demigod to monitor a single artisan...
Angel pondered, and suddenly thought of a question, and asked:
"The craftsman is a Sequence 6 Beyonder. If he had brought along his own magical items, he should have been able to rival a Sequence 5, or at least protect himself. Why would Sharf succumb to the control of the 'Rose School' and even actively cover up for them?"
Alger chuckled and returned his gaze to Angel's face, seemingly pleased with her thought.
"That's right. Based on my observations over the past two days, Sharf wasn't completely 'controlled,' but rather inclined to 'voluntarily' cooperate with them. When he went out, no one followed or monitored him. He had many opportunities to escape or report, but he returned to his residence on his own initiative. I even observed the four of them dining together."
They are a truly loving family, so there shouldn't be any concerns when it comes to fighting... Angel's mouth twitched, and he swallowed back his worries about whether the craftsman was controlled by drugs or a curse.
After asking a few more questions, Angel confirmed that three "Original Moon" believers, including "Ghost", that is, members of the "Rose School", had left the house, but returned soon and did not go too far. Therefore, he concluded that they may have contacted the top leaders of the "Rose School", but have not received a response yet.
After all, the Blood Admiral was dead, and his fleet was in tatters. In the short term, it would be too difficult for the Rose School to send more members to Bayam. Furthermore, the ritual to summon the Divine Evil Sua was complex, and it was beyond the capability of three mid- to low-sequence Beyonders. Unless they sacrificed hundreds or even thousands of people in a bloody ritual, similar to the Pirate Conference...
Thinking of this, Angel became curious about who prepared the contaminated food and beer at the pirate conference. He wondered if the "King of the Five Seas" had found out the truth about this matter.
The "Mysterious Queen" couldn't possibly have done that. The "King of the Five Seas" had also joined the battle, leaving only the "Immortal King" Agaritu, who had quickly fled the scene. Could it be him... Angel quickly collected his thoughts and used a formal magic mirror divination in front of Alger to confirm that the other party's words had no concealments or omissions. Only then did he put away the magic mirror, stood up, and said:
"Get ready to go."
I haven't even mentioned the distribution of the spoils yet... Alger opened his mouth, but ultimately nodded silently.
With this demigod in front of them, the people of the "Rose School" should have no room to struggle. As for the distribution of the spoils, we can discuss it slowly...
————
Bayam had returned to its peaceful state late at night, and the port area was even quieter, with only the faint sound of waves emanating.
Alger stealthily arrived outside a house. He didn't ring the doorbell, fearing that the sharp sound would attract extra attention. Instead, he knocked on the door regularly.
After a long time, the door was finally opened a crack. Charles, whose skin was slightly tanned but whose eyes were bright, poked his head out. He frowned at first, then his expression changed as if he remembered something, and he said with a flattering smile:
"What brings you here so late?"
Before Alger returned, the door was completely opened.
Sure enough, he followed the instructions of those "Rose School" members and tried to trick me into revealing the "puppet" Beyonder characteristic... Alger understood clearly and walked into the room as usual. He glanced at the living room, which was unchanged from a few days ago, and sat down.
"I came to check on the progress of that item. You know I'm just the middleman, and the other side is pushing very hard."
He threw out the excuse he had prepared long ago.
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Sharf's face, and he replied with a wandering look:
"I've been busy lately, but I'll be able to finish it by this weekend."
Busy? From what I've observed, you went to a nearby brothel twice, bought some food and drinks, and stayed home the rest of the time... Alger sneered inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged as he replied:
"Hopefully this is the last delay, or you and I will be in trouble."
He spoke more or less from the heart, after all, the object Sharf was making belonged to the "world" Gehrman Sparrow.
"Of course, of course," Sharf said hurriedly, then casually changed the subject, "Is the 'Puppet' Beyonder characteristic you mentioned last time still there?"
"That's not mine. It's a commission from a friend of mine. You can't handle it, right?"
Alger asked in surprise.
"I can't do it, but I can contact Sequence 4 craftsmen, also known as 'alchemists'..." Sharf smiled mysteriously and lowered his voice. "I'll just charge a small referral fee, and you... and your friend can get a powerful magical item. How about it?"
If I hadn't overheard your plan with those members of the Rose Cult, I would have almost believed it... Alger's eyes grew colder, but a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"real?"
"Of course. When have I, Sharf, ever lied to you?"
Seeing that the other party had been fooled, Sharf took a deep breath, but when he exhaled, it brought with it some burning breath, which made his throat itchy. He waved his hand, took two steps away from Alger, and coughed a few times while tilting his head.
The sound was like metal rubbing against each other, sharp and sickly.
“How…what’s going on?”
Even the craftsman, who was not good at fighting, realized that something was wrong with his body. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black, button-sized object. Just as he was about to put it to his mouth, he was hit on the wrist by a wine glass thrown by Alger, who was prepared. The button that might be able to cure Sharf's physical illness fell to the ground and rolled to the corner of the wall.
The trapdoor there was pushed open from the inside, and a man and a woman, wearing loose, wrinkled trousers and solid-colored tops, climbed up on all fours. They kept coughing, coughing up yellow and red liquid, and roared from their throats that were not human voices:
"Attack, someone...attacked."
Their expressions were distorted and terrified, and the skin on their faces and backs of their hands slowly slid away under the force of gravity like melted candles, turning into piles of dead skin. Beneath this lay red and white muscles, with drops of dark red, rotting blood oozing out from the constantly torn capillaries. The blood flowed down the grayish-white skin to the floor, gradually gathering into a pool of stagnant water.
Only the internal bones remained intact, but now they could no longer serve as support for the limbs. They simply bulged under the soft and rotten skin, as if they were about to burst out of the body at any time.
This reminded Alger of the pork knuckles in restaurants that were deep-fried, then cooked at high temperature, and then had the wrinkled skin peeled off and smeared with sauce.
What a terrifying "disease," and one that could spread to everyone within a radius of hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. It was indeed the potion that could create the "heavy smog"... Alger's eyes twitched, but he didn't bother to admire the despair of the two "Rose School" members. Instead, he looked around vigilantly.
He clearly remembered that there was a Sequence 5 "ghost" in the basement!
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