Chapter 594 The Man in the Mirror
"The person in the mirror?"
"World" Klein repeated the word slowly.
This was not the first time he had heard of it. As early as when the two of them followed the "Admiral of the Stars"'s future ship to the ruins of the God War, this kind of vision appeared in the strange "joint dream" there.
While searching for a way to enter the God-forsaken Land, Leo Master, the "Black Saint" of the Aurora Society, accidentally entered a ruined island. There, he was influenced by some magical power and split a "Man in the Mirror", a kind self, from his evil self.
When night fell and everyone entered the same dream, Klein met the kind-hearted Leo Master and even saw the reflection of that power in the mirror: a full-length mirror.
Unfortunately, when he saw the mirror, it also reflected his body. A completely evil "German Sparrow" who had the same sequence, abilities, and even the same magical items as Klein appeared out of thin air and attacked him.
If the opponent hadn't been unable to copy the items in the gray fog, Klein wouldn't have been able to win so easily.
At the same time, Angel also encountered her own mirror image. The two had exactly the same fighting abilities and magical items, and both were almost injured. If it weren't for the "disaster" spell that could not be copied, she might have been replaced by the evil "man in the mirror".
Hearing the term "man in the mirror" again at this moment, Klein immediately recalled those experiences and asked with a frown:
"Do you think that Pierce Turner, due to similar reasons, was split into two completely identical individuals, one normal and one evil? One of them died in the underground mines of Pala Island due to failure in promotion, while the other remained in the church, playing the role that originally belonged to him, or perhaps plotting some famous conspiracy?
"But nothing appeared after my 'Man in the Mirror' died. Yours only had a fragment of the mirror, no special properties, no magical items. This is completely different from Pierce, who had extracted the contaminated properties."
Angel, who had also thought of these "loopholes," immediately replied:
"That's because we were in a dream, and Pierce died in reality. Perhaps the 'man in the mirror' would have different characteristics in dreams and reality?"
"These are just speculations, with no empirical evidence. Of course, if what you said is correct, the person who died in the mines could be the real Pierce, which is why his Beyonder characteristics were extracted. The Church's is the 'Man in the Mirror,' evil, with a desire to replace the original body. He can use the same abilities, but after death he has no Beyonder characteristics... This is a bit like the 'King of the North,' Jurisian, but the latter only exists in 'Groselle's Travels,' while the 'Man in the Mirror' can run around..."
Klein frowned as he analyzed, and soon realized that although the possibility Angel proposed was ridiculous, it was the only reasonable explanation at the moment.
"It's easy to verify this. Kill the current Pierce Turner. As long as he doesn't reveal any Beyonder characteristics, it means he's the 'Man in the Mirror.'"
Angel quickly came up with a simple and feasible verification method, which immediately aroused Klein's strong opposition.
"Killing a demigod from the Orthodox Church in Backlund? Neither the Aurora Society nor the Witch Cult dared to do that. Just half a year ago, a Sequence 4 and a Sequence 5 created a massive smog in Backlund. And as you saw, an angel from the Goddess Church descended and killed them with a single glare.
"If we make any mistakes during the battle, we will immediately abandon our identities and flee overseas to Intis or Feysac, where the church is out of reach. We may not even be able to escape.
"The best way is to find evidence in advance and present it to someone in the church who knows your identity, such as Ms. Arianna or Crestai Cecima. The church can then handle it on its own."
The plan proposed by Klein is very safe and feasible, but there is one biggest problem: time.
It is extremely difficult to find flaws in a "man in the mirror" whose behavior, appearance, and even abilities are exactly the same as the "original", especially since the other party has been playing this identity for more than half a year and so many people in the church have not discovered the problem. Angel estimated that it would take months for him to find the loopholes in the other party's role.
Fortunately, the opponent didn't seem to notice Angel in the dark. The enemy was in the light while she was in the dark, which was her only advantage.
"In any case, it's best to tell Ms. Arianna in advance. She knows your identity and should have a basic trust in you. Even if you don't have evidence, it won't be difficult to keep her neutral. This way, at least you can ensure that you won't become a wanted criminal for secretly investigating a high-ranking deacon of the Goddess Church." Klein suggested.
Angel had already thought of this method as a "bottom line" and nodded when he heard it.
"After I leave here, I will use the secret holy symbol to try to contact her... In addition, I plan to hire Renette Tinicole again for 10,000 gold coins to provide assistance when necessary. I want to prevent the 'man in the mirror' from discovering our investigation and attacking me directly.
"By the way, I've sold the extraordinary properties of the 'Puppet' to your courier. She will pay 30,000 gold coins in installments. The first 10,000 have been given to me. Half of them belong to you. I will offer them to Mr. Fool later and ask him to grant them to you. This will pay off the debt we owe her."
When he heard "10,000 gold coins," Klein showed a certain degree of dullness. When the word "30,000" came out of Angel's mouth, he had already lost his composure. He leaned forward and lay on the bronze table, which made Angel, who usually looked at "the world" indifferent to any information at the Tarot Club, laugh secretly.
Of course, after coming to his senses, Klein decisively refused Angel's offer to share half of his gains with him. He felt that the battle against the "Rose School" demigods was almost entirely done by Angel and her Anne, and he had been on the run almost the entire time. He had already obtained the "Blood Admiral" as a secret doll and sold his "Lucky Balance", so he was unwilling to take another reward.
Finally, after a brief discussion, Klein took a step back and accepted the 5,000 gold coins. The remaining "debts" and the "Parasite" gloves that had been kept with Mr. Fool all belonged to Angel.
Angel curled his lips in a half-joyful, half-regretful way because of Klein's old-fashionedness, and returned to the topic of "the man in the mirror". The two discussed for a while and proposed various methods to investigate Pierce, but abandoned them one by one due to various restrictions.
Ultimately, there was a lack of "insiders" in the Goddess Church, especially in the Church of Saint Samuel, who could help the two. If they were in the Church of Storms, they could contact the "Hanged Man" for help, but the two Tarot Club members of the Goddess Church were already sitting here, and were openly buried in Tingen's cemetery, so they had no way to deal with the affairs within the church.
"By the way, Leonard, can we contact him?"
Angel suddenly remembered that he had met the black-haired poet in the church two days ago and asked.
"No, he might be even more dangerous than the 'Man in the Mirror'... Arrodes reminded me that he has a 'parasite' inside him. He's from the same Zoroast family as Mobet in Groselle's Travels, and is an angel who survived the Fourth Epoch until now... I'm not sure if Leonard has been influenced by him, or even controlled by him. If I rashly reveal my identity to him, it might provoke a rebellion from that angel, endangering the three of us."
An angel, or an angel that was parasitic within him... Angel almost couldn't help but curse. She suddenly felt that Sequence 2 had become a little cheap. Several angels of different origins had appeared beside her. Some were friendly, some had ambiguous attitudes, and some even claimed to be his, no, "Him" creation...
No wonder that eccentric poet often whispers, knows a lot of knowledge that shouldn't be accessible to his level, and confidently declares, "The three of us are the protagonists of this story." It turns out he, too, has some kind of peculiarity...
"If this 'parasite' is dangerous to him, can we ask him to join... well, I mean, ask Mr. Fool for help to remove the angel from his body?"
Angel was halfway through his words when he looked at the figure at the head of the long table who had said nothing except reminding them that "the Holy Emblem of Night is real" and changed his words.
The inspiration for this proposal came from the fact that Mr. Fool helped the Sun to eliminate the clone of Amon that possessed him.
"The prerequisite is that we don't disturb the angel that's parasitizing him and let him pronounce Mr. Fool's honorific name... Of course, Mr. Fool also needs to agree."
Klein clearly didn't hold out much hope for this, as could be heard from his nonchalant tone.
Of course I know I need Mr. Fool's consent. You don't have the final say here... Angel muttered, sighed, and gave up the idea.
"The Sun" was able to receive help from Mr. Fool because he had joined the Tarot Club before being possessed. Leonard's situation is completely different, so he can only take a long-term approach.
After exchanging home addresses and proposing daily correspondence to avoid any accidents, Angel disappeared from the high-backed chair in a burst of crimson light. Only The World and The Fool remained in the palace shrouded in gray fog.
With a wave of his hand, the "world" disappeared. Klein the Fool frowned and leaned back in his chair, thinking for a long time. He took out the amethyst pendant and prepared to do a few divinations to solve the various problems raised by Angel today.
At this moment, Angel's request for "sacrifice" interrupted his action. The Fool, who suddenly felt expectant, rubbed his hands and accepted the sacrifice of this believer.
Soon, a pile of gold coins appeared on the long bronze table. The clinking sound echoed in the towering palace, and the golden light could not even be concealed by the gray fog.
Putting down the crystal pendant, Klein counted the thick gold coins one by one, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
This isn't about distrusting Angel, it's just a sense of, well, ritual.
Touching the surface of the gold coins, he suddenly felt that they looked familiar. They seemed to be the ones he had received from the Hermit Cattleya yesterday and returned to the messenger lady.
As he touched it, Klein's smile disappeared from his face.
————
Dream World, 3 Burningham Road.
Leonard Mitchell bowed politely and left Dr. Allen Kress's dream. He originally wanted to confirm it in the dream of Dr. Allen Kress's wife, Wilma, who was seven months pregnant, but considering the safety of the fetus in her womb, he did not try it.
With a satisfied smile on his face, he jumped up from the street in his dream, flew in the air, and quickly headed towards Pinster Street in the North District.
In Dr. Allen's dream, he confirmed that Sherlock Moriarty had left Backlund and returned to his hometown of Deasy, and he also confirmed another more important thing:
The mysterious woman who killed the Aurora Society messenger "Ms. D" in the Hillston area that day and scattered the tarot cards was Irene Watson, who seemed to be related to the "Witch Cult" but claimed that she was just a "fortune teller"!
She disappeared from Backlund after the Great Smog, leaving behind a large fortune without inheritance, leaving the Nighthawks with many questions but no way to find her to confirm.
She was also implicated in another "Tarot Card Incident," the one where Kapin was tried by the "Black Emperor."
Once is a coincidence, but twice?
This time I have a chance to catch you... Leonard's mouth curled up, and he flew across the street to 8 Burningham Road, and glanced down casually. The symmetrical garden scenery made him, who lived and dressed casually, feel a little uncomfortable.
The next moment, he felt his body falling towards the building in a sense of weightlessness, as if being pulled by an invisible force, quickly passing through the ceiling and hitting something.
Then he woke up from his dream.
call--
Leonard let out a long breath and quickly looked around, only to find himself lying safely on the bed. He had not appeared in the depths of the spirit world, nor had he turned into a pool of flesh or a hairy monster with two extra hands.
"Is it out of control? No, it felt like someone was taking over my dream, but I returned to my dream and woke up safely, instead of being lost in the dream world..."
He muttered, feeling a cold sweat on his vest, soaking his clothes.
Leonard casually took off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body, and walked towards the bathroom while whispering:
"Old man, what happened just now?"
"I don't know either," the old voice sounded in his mind after a long pause, "My advice is, don't go near that street easily."
Leonard paused silently, looking out the window, towards the Hillston area. It seemed as if he could see 3 Burningham Road from several kilometers away, through hundreds of buildings...
…and number 8.
————
Theresa's house at 8 Burningham Road.
After carefully building the altar, Angel touched the secret holy emblem and tried to recite the name of the Goddess of Night and shout "Ms. Arianna", but found that the holy emblem did not move except that it became a little colder.
"Strange, do I need to chant Lady Arianna's honorific name? But I don't know... In the past, I prayed to the goddess through the holy symbol, and it was usually answered, but it seems that this time it's not working."
She scratched her head and suddenly felt a "bang" from the spiritual wall, as if it had been hit by something. She quickly put away the candles on the altar and removed the spiritual wall.
After looking around, Angel didn't find any intruders or servants who had accidentally entered the ceremony, but he was no longer in the mood to pray.
"I hope the 'Man in the Mirror' can continue to hide and not come looking for us. As for Leonard, I hope the angel that's parasitizing him doesn't harbor too much ill will. Let him hold out until we can figure out a solution..."
She muttered and crawled into the warm bed.
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