Chapter 620: Speculations of the Three Major Churches
Late at night, in the East District, an alley between Black Palm Street and White Whale Street was already crowded with extraordinary people from different churches.
The alley, stretching hundreds of meters north from the middle, seemed to have been swept by a giant hand. The protruding eaves of the houses on both sides were swept flat, and the ground was as clean as if it had just been carefully swept. In the distance, near Black Palm Street, a pile of garbage as big as a small mountain was piled there, completely blocking the alley.
"Based on the traces left behind, it seems a powerful tornado completely flattened the two-story house. It then moved north along the alley, sweeping away everything in its path and piling up the garbage there... Strangely, there were no casualties. This type of destruction was remarkably restrained."
A somewhat frail Mandated Punisher wearing a modified boat-shaped hat reported cautiously, occasionally glancing at the serious-looking "Deep Blue High Priest" Raydar Valentine.
Because a tornado of this magnitude was likely produced by a high-sequence Beyonder from the "Storm" path, and in the entirety of Backlund, the only publicly known Demigods of this path were a military Demigod stationed on the outskirts of the city and Radar of the Church of the Storm.
Being stared at by his subordinates, the Cardinal of the Church of Storms did not show any change in expression, but simply asked:
"Where are the other clues? Isn't this the gathering place of the 'Aurora Society'?"
"After questioning several members of the party who fled the scene, we can confirm that this was a regular gathering held by a Beyonder named 'Mr. X.' He is likely one of the Aurora Society's divine messengers... The other members all fled the scene due to the commotion deliberately created by the Nighthawks before their operation. Cross-checking their testimonies revealed that two members were not among them: one tall, one short. Their appearance and gender are unknown.
"A few minutes later, violent lightning and a tornado suddenly erupted here. The entire house was shattered by the storm, with debris blown far away. A small-scale battle probably occurred afterwards, with gunshots heard. Then you and Archbishop Saint Anthony arrived at the scene."
After hearing the story, Raydar Valentine frowned, his eyes filled with lightning and storms that threatened to burst forth at any moment. He cast his gaze not far away, where stood Archbishop Anthony Stevenson, a witness who had arrived before him. He had just returned to St. Samuel's Church after returning Pierce's body to preside over the investigation.
As if sensing his gaze, Anthony directed the other night watchmen to continue searching the scene, while he himself paced over, his expression still revealing an unconcealable sadness.
Of course, as a Sequence 3 "Bishop of Fear," the Archbishop of the Church of the Evernight Goddess in the Backlund Diocese should be able to easily conceal his emotions. His behavior at this moment was likely to express his condolences to Senior Deacon Pierce.
"What is certain is that there are traces of the 'storm' around, the frost and curse of the 'witch', multiple short-distance 'journeys', and... some flesh and blood of the 'Black Knight'."
Anthony shared the information Nighthawk had found with the Deep Blue High Priest. The latter subconsciously wanted to deny the Storm's question, but frowned and thought of another possibility:
"Has anyone recorded the extraordinary abilities of a demigod?"
Since there is a "traveler" here, this possibility is not low.
"Perhaps, but as far as I know, there are no High-Sequence Beyonders from the Storm Path within the Aurora Society. The source of his records remains a mystery."
The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, until Daly Simone, wearing a hooded black robe and dressed very differently from the other Night Watchmen, came forward and whispered to Anthony:
"Your Excellency, the Archbishop, the 'Mechanical Heart' has arrived with the Sealed Artifact."
The thought of "that Sealed Artifact" moved both High-Sequence Beyonders. They all looked toward the alley entrance and saw three Mechanical Hearts disembarking from a carriage. They were dressed similarly to the Night Watchers, wearing black windbreakers that would quickly blend in with the streets of Backlund. Leading the group was a middle-aged man with a strong facial line and somewhat messy brown hair, Ikonser Bernard.
He approached the two archbishops and Daly, mysteriously opened his windbreaker, took out a silver mirror with ancient patterns from the inner pocket, held it in both hands, and faced the others.
Needless to say, this is "the sealed object", "2-111", the Mirror of Arrodes.
Ikanser looked at the others with an inquiring look, his hands tightly clasping the eye decorations on both sides of the silver mirror, expressing his willingness to give the opportunity to others.
"It's up to you, Ms. Daly, to ask it who was involved in the battle."
Anthony said softly after a moment.
He couldn't command other members of the church, and he currently held an important secret within himself. Even though as a Sequence 3, he could access a small portion of the "hidden" power, he couldn't guarantee that this sealed artifact wouldn't be discovered.
We can only sacrifice Ms. Daly... He glanced sideways and found that the "Necromancer" Daly beside him stretched out her too white hand with an indifferent expression, touched the mirror of "2-111" and touched it lightly three times.
"Respected Arrodes," she asked slowly, not being familiar with the procedure. "My question is, who were the participants in the battle that just took place here?"
Under the gaze of the crowd, dynamic images quickly appeared on the surface of the silver mirror:
A handsome man and a seductively beautiful woman having a secret conversation in an alley;
A tall knight in black armor, holding a huge sword, with shadows and flesh surging around him;
A man wearing a pointed hat, a brass mask covering his face, and an illusory book floating in his exposed eyes;
And the senior butler with short dark brown hair, whose eyes were gradually closing, with black flames coming out of every part of his body.
The scene ended, and the "Deep Blue High Priest" Raydar, who was staring at the silver mirror, said in a deep voice:
"There were five people in total. The black-armored knight should be the 'Dark Saint' of the Aurora Society, and the one wearing the brass mask is 'Mr. X'... The last one to die was Pierce Turner, apparently killed by a witch. And the two people in the first scene, I can confirm, are 'Mr. A' and 'Desperate Nightingale' Panatia, who disappeared during the smog incident..."
"But they've 'disappeared,' you know the way."
Anthony immediately retorted.
The "disappearance" of the two involved a "0" level sealed object. There were low-level members present. He didn't say it explicitly, but the meaning was obvious: they couldn't be here.
"Your Excellency, the two Archbishops, perhaps... the images presented are not 'real'. After all, Arrodes is not responsible for interpretation. Perhaps they are impersonating others. I have encountered this situation before and was almost misled."
Ikanser, holding up the silver mirror, interjected.
That makes sense... Raydar nodded and looked at the other party. Suddenly, he found that words in ancient Feysac language began to appear on the silver mirror.
"Based on the principle of reciprocity, now it's my turn to ask: Have you always had a crush on a man whose status and age are not equal to yours?"
The heart of the "Deep Blue High Priest" suddenly tightened, but he immediately remembered that the silver mirror was not asking him a question. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Daly who had just asked the question. The latter's blushed face was a little pale and her lips had lost their color.
"If you don't answer, there will be lightning as punishment."
Ikanser reminded.
"No, I haven't," Daly finally spoke after a moment of silence, "I've already confessed to him, and he agreed. This isn't a secret crush."
After saying this, she felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her heart, her body became somewhat limp, and she could barely stand.
"Thank you for your answer."
Arrodes ended the Q&A session in a rare and friendly manner.
"So, what's the purpose of the people impersonating Mr. A and Panatia? Are they trying to pin the blame on the Aurora Society and the Witch Cult? Or were these two evil sects responsible for the attack in the first place, as a retaliation for our actions after the Great Smog?"
After a moment of silence, Radar spoke, looking at Silver Mirror Arrodes again.
"There's no doubt that Pierce died from the witch's curse, the Black Flame. The one impersonating Panatia must also be a high-sequence witch. The Aurora Society and the Witch Cult have begun collaborating again. The former is responsible for planning and seduction, while the latter is the main force in the battle."
Anthony pursed his lips and said that this time the Church of Darkness took the initiative to attack but suffered heavy losses, which made him angry.
"So, who's going to ask the next question?"
"Deep Blue High Priest" Radar asked, looking at the somewhat listless Daly, but reluctantly moved his eyes away, passing by Anthony, and finally stopping on Ikanser.
————
On Sunday morning, in a hotel in Cherwood.
Fors Wall was wearing a light-colored long dress, a wide-brimmed hat with her brown hair tucked inside, and a pair of tinted glasses popular in Dixie Bay. She approached the front desk with a suitcase in hand and checked in using a fake identity. Then, stealthily, like a thief, she entered the second floor and knocked on the door opposite her room.
A moment later, as the light behind the peephole changed, the door opened. Fors's teacher, Dorian, cautiously poked his head out to look to both sides. Seeing that there was no one else in the corridor, he quickly made way and let his student in.
"Were you not discovered on the way?"
Although the question was a bit redundant, Dorian still asked subconsciously.
As a descendant of the Abraham family, he had extensive experience in both being tracked and counter-tracking. If his student had not demonstrated astonishing talent and possessed some experience in counter-tracking, he might not have been willing to come to Backlund to see her.
"No, I took a detour, changed transportation, and disguised myself. I registered using a fake identity."
Fors patiently answered her teacher, put the suitcase aside, and chatted with Dorian.
She mentioned that at a "secret gathering", two ladies had shown some interest in the Abraham family and wanted to contact them in a way that was safe for both parties. She also mentioned Mr. "Door", her own role-playing progress, and that she was making money through publishing agency in preparation for improving her life and promotion to the next sequence.
Seeing that the atmosphere was almost brewing, Fors interrupted the casual chat and said seriously:
"Teacher, ever since I learned that Louis Wayne had betrayed you and our organization, I have always wanted to find him and avenge you."
Seeing Dorian's expression change, as if he wanted to stop her, Fors didn't give him a chance and continued:
"There are two very powerful members in the secret organization I mentioned. They accepted the commission and are willing to kill Louis Wayne, and the price is not high."
"I seem to have forgotten to tell you that Louis Wayne has most likely been promoted to 'Traveler'. As the name suggests, he can use the spirit world to travel to various places, and is not afraid of sieges or sneak attacks. He also has the support of the 'Aurora Society'. You must not spend money recklessly..."
“They’ve succeeded.”
"ah?"
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