Chapter 645: The Box from Half a Year Ago
In the dim underground, the saint seemed to absorb the limited light around him, making Angel's vision dim. He even felt a surge of fear and trembling in his heart, as if he was facing an unknown existence.
Worried that this high-sequence Beyonder wouldn't understand the situation and might attack directly, Angel immediately displayed the "Secret Holy Emblem" on his wrist.
But Archbishop Anthony's deep eyes only glanced at him lightly, then nodded and said:
"Come with me."
It seemed as if he had known that I would come... Angel took back the holy emblem and followed the archbishop silently, passed the secret door, and continued to walk underground. During the walk, he met a priest hiding in the shadows at the corner. The latter was not surprised to see Anthony with an outsider. He just drew a crimson moon on his chest and greeted him.
After returning the same courtesy, Angel and the archbishop entered a spacious office. There were only a few candles lit here, and the overall environment was dim. The bookshelves on both sides were filled with various church scriptures and theological works accumulated over thousands of years, emitting a unique smell of old books. The desk in the back was relatively tidy, with a wooden box on the table, and its shadow kept swaying in the candlelight.
"Your Excellency, Goddess Shadow, I thought you would come over right after resolving the issue of the 'Man in the Mirror'. I didn't expect you to wait until now."
Standing beside the table, the Archbishop turned sideways to look at Angel and said in a deep voice.
If it weren't for Will Auceptin's suggestion, I wouldn't have wanted to come to see you at all, to see an Archbishop who is at least Sequence 4, and very likely even Sequence 3... Angel muttered to himself, but a smile appeared on his face as he replied:
"I will be traveling to Trier, Intis, soon to continue investigating the root cause of the 'Man in the Mirror' issue. I came here to seek some advice and help."
She actually didn't know what kind of help the other party could provide, but since a "Snake of Fate" said so, there must be a reason.
Perhaps I could get some funds for the activities, or lend me a suitable sealing object?
Angel couldn't help but guess.
Archbishop Anthony nodded in understanding, turned around, picked up the wooden box on the table, and handed it to Angel:
"Then take it with you."
What's this?
Angel took it doubtfully and found that the box was unexpectedly light. She could easily lift it with one hand, and with the other hand opened the simple buckle and looked inside the box.
There was only a small mirror inside. It was not the popular glass mirror, but a classical silver mirror. The surface was weathered and not very smooth. In the dim candlelight, it could not even reflect enough light and looked a little dim.
She subconsciously wanted to activate the mirror to see if she could connect to the mirror world where St. Samuel's Church was located, but she finally resisted the urge and looked at Anthony and asked:
"Is this a sealed object?"
"No, it's just an ordinary silver mirror, at least in our hands," Anthony smiled and shook his head. "Last September, Intis's ambassador to Backlund, Jean Madan, was assassinated by the Aurora Society and died in his own embassy. At the same time, a technical college student named Sherik Madan disappeared, leaving behind only this box."
He was the ambassador who was assassinated by Mr. "Shepherd" A... But wasn't Sherik Madan a classmate of Lily Granger, the Intis who mysteriously disappeared after leaving a box with her?
Angel immediately thought of the name and recalled the series of events he encountered after hiring a detective to investigate the threat to Lily before leaving Backlund half a year ago.
Sure enough, Anthony's subsequent words confirmed this:
"In fact, our investigation revealed that Sherik was Backlund's illegitimate son in Backlund. However, due to his inability to obtain a legitimate status, he was raised as a nephew and moved around several times before settling here... After his disappearance, the box was left in the hands of a Nighthawk's family. Intis spies were very interested in it and attempted to steal it several times. To prevent this innocent person from being implicated, we retrieved the box and declared it empty."
"But actually, there's this mirror inside?" Angel frowned and asked, "What does this have to do with my trip to Trier?"
"That's what I'm wondering about. If necessary, I'd even let you take '1-63' with me. I believe you're capable of dealing with its negative effects and using it safely... But Ms. Arianna specifically instructed you to take this box and the silver mirror inside to Trier."
Anthony's answer surprised Angel.
He really already knew my potion sequence, but he didn't know my true identity, otherwise he would have mentioned Lily Granger instead of just passing it over... Angel thought about it, closed the lid of the wooden box, and planned to find time to ask Arrodes. Since it was also a silver mirror, it should be able to see some clues, right?
Seeing that Angel no longer had any questions, the Archbishop took out a piece of paper from his robe pocket, handed it to her, and said:
"Also, this is the address of an informant developed by the Nighthawks in Trier, as well as the password to activate him. Once you arrive, you can seek his help if necessary. If the operation fails and you are accidentally exposed to the sight of official Beyonders, you can honestly say that you are a member of the Goddess Church. This way, at least your life will not be in danger, and we will find a way to exchange you out."
Hearing such "spy warfare" instructions, Angel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and look at the contents on the paper:
"District 13, 46 Honey Badger Street, Danio Brown, 'The Night Watches You'."
The latter sentence should be the code for contacting this informant. In Trier, no one would say such words to him except those who are also believers of the goddess... However, compared with the "denial" of the military, the church really pays more attention to the safety of its personnel. Even if it exposes the purpose of infiltrating the areas where the Eternal Sun Church and the Steam Church are located, they still want to protect their own people... Angel wrote down the content, rubbed a black flame in his hand, and burned the note to ashes.
At this moment, she felt a cold and deep feeling extending from the ground, drowning her like a tide.
The invisible and strong aura was like the darkness she felt when she first met Archbishop Anthony. It made people tremble and feel fear. At this moment, Angel even wanted to activate the mirror substitute and immediately escape from the underground of St. Samuel's Church. She had no will to resist at all.
But as Anthony looked over, the tide-like darkness immediately receded, as if it had never existed.
"Try not to use this power inside the church," the Archbishop said slowly, still with a faint smile on his face. "The seal inside the Chanis Gate is very sensitive to all unfamiliar forces. Of course, it should remember you by now."
Remember me, this force is alive?
Angel thought of the Chanis Gate beneath the Church of Saint Selina in Tingen City. It was sealed with Saint Selina's ashes. As the core of the seal, the ashes possessed the power of a saint, and therefore became Ince Zangwill's target.
But the seal core here was likely a relic of a deceased angel, or perhaps even a Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristic. No wonder there were so few guards along the way. This power alone was enough to withstand the attacks of multiple High-Sequence Beyonders...
Angel thought about it and stopped trying to use his extraordinary abilities. Instead, accompanied by the archbishop, he returned to the secret door above and left St. Samuel's Church through another passage.
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After returning home, Angel did not delay and immediately summoned the black cat Wenza. After the witch cat with blue eyes landed lightly on the carpet, he asked:
"I'll be heading to Trier soon. Do you have anything to say about the 'Witch Cult' there?"
Her "you" refers to what Wensa calls the "witch family", the outliers in the witch sect.
In fact, her knowledge of the "Witch Family," apart from some historical knowledge shared by the Fourth Epoch nobleman Mobet Zoroast in Groselle's Travels, all came from the black cat in front of her. She wasn't even sure if there were any less evil witches like this in the Fifth Epoch.
"You're going there to find the power behind 'The Man in the Mirror'?"
Wensa did not answer Angel's question, but asked this question in return.
"Yes, this is my mission and my own wish."
Angel replied.
In addition to the requests of "Goddess Sword" Cesimar and Ms. Arianna, she also wanted to find out the true source of the power in her body. Arrodes' divination and Mr. Azik's exploration both showed that the underground of Trier possessed a power similar to her "disaster" spell. No matter what, she had to go there.
"The leader of Trier's witch cult is the 'Black Saint,' Clarisse. As long as you don't encounter her directly, with your strength, no other witch cult members in that city should be able to pose a threat to you. The premise is, don't get close to Trier in the Fourth Epoch."
The black cat stared at Angel with its round eyes and answered in a strange tone, speaking human language.
So, the Black Saint is most likely the Sequence 3 "Immortal" witch, which aligns with her title, the "White Saint," equal to Katarina. Besides that, Trier doesn't even have a single demigod-level witch, which is why Wensa thinks I won't be threatened by them... But wasn't Trier of the Fourth Epoch completely destroyed during the "War of the Four Emperors"? Could it be that Wensa is telling me to stay away from the underground, from the ruins of Trier now covered by New Trier?
Angel pondered, then took out the dim silver mirror from the wooden box that Archbishop Anthony had given her, and continued to ask:
"This mirror also comes from Intis. Is it related to the Witch Cult and the 'Man in the Mirror'?"
The black cat crawled closer on the carpet and pressed its front paws against the surface of the silver mirror, as if testing its strength. After a moment, it replied:
"It doesn't contain any special powers... but I've seen similar silver mirrors. In certain special areas, they can lead to a mirror world, an independent, fixed mirror world."
Therefore, this is like a "key" that is only useful in specific circumstances. No wonder even the Archbishop couldn't see its abnormality. Before activating its power, it is just an ordinary mirror. It's just that the corresponding area is unknown... Angel carefully put the silver mirror away. Seeing the black cat circling impatiently on the carpet, he made one last request:
"While I'm away from Backlund, could you help keep an eye on Triss, who escaped from the 'Lady of Despair'? I gave her your summoning spell. Once she uses it, you should be able to locate her. I have a feeling she has a certain tendency towards self-destruction. She might do something irrational and harm other innocent people."
To her surprise, Wenza, who had previously shown little interest in Triss, responded straightforwardly:
"You don't need to tell us. We will keep an eye on her. After all, she is the vessel that the 'Origin' has set his sights on, and she also has a special use for us."
For some reason, the black cat Wensa's lake blue eyes were extremely sharp at this moment.
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A flash of crimson flashed by, and the members of the Tarot Club appeared in their respective high-backed chairs. With the joyful greetings from Audrey, "Justice," the new week's meeting began.
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