Mystery: Start with the Reader

In Queens, the luxurious villa of Earl Hall's family belongs exclusively to Audrey's study.

The young girl, who is about to come of age, is talking to her psychology teacher, Esilante, about Mr. "The Hanged Man"'s offer for the "Ocean Singer" potion formula.

"The other party chose 7,000 gold pounds?" the member of the Psychological Alchemy Society asked in a low voice.

"That's right." Audrey put a suitcase in front of Islant's eyes with a brisk tone, opened it smoothly, and revealed the stacks of cash inside.

Esilante counted them with some reserve, then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The number is correct."

After pausing for two seconds, she took out a textbook from the textbook she brought and turned to a certain page.

Immediately afterwards, a rolled up parchment appeared in front of Audrey.

Esilante untied the cord on it and showed it to Audrey:

"Sequence 5, 'Ocean Singer', main materials: Serra Banshee's complete vocal cords, the eyes on the forehead of the three-eyed Thunderbird..."

Before Audrey had time to review the supporting materials, Islant had rolled up the parchment in time.

Immediately, she closed the textbook and pushed the book with parchment to Audrey.

Audrey held down the book, but failed to hand over the 7,000 pounds in cash to Esilante in time.

Facing the other party's doubtful gaze, she was well prepared and said with a smile:

“The other party is afraid that the formula is fake and hopes to verify it first.

"Before the verification is completed, the money and formula will be kept by me. If they are kept here, they all think that I am very reputable, and I will not lose this reputation because of a mere 7,000 pounds."

A mere 7,000 pounds... Isilant's eyes were blank for a few seconds, and then he tried his best to stay calm and nodded, "I understand the other party's concerns... and I believe in you too."

Audrey was about to say a few polite words, but suddenly she saw the boundless gray fog and saw a blurry figure posing in a praying posture in what looked like a forest.

Is that Mr. World? Before Audrey had time to think about it, the other party's words came to her ears.

Prince Edsac...the Witch Cult..."Witch" Triss...Witch of Joy...Trissqik...

So it turns out that the disaster "Tower" mentioned may come from the witch and the Aurora Society. Is it because Edsac fell in love with a witch and then colluded with them to bring crisis to Backlund?

Audrey connected the most critical words together, and as soon as she had a preliminary guess, she saw Mr. Fool "commenting" in a calm and slightly joking tone:

"Chick, hey, this is the real name of the 'Original Witch'..."

The real name of the "Original Witch"? ! There was a buzz, and Audrey's expression instantly lost control.

She thought for a moment, then without much demonstration asked for leave from the "mind reader" ***, and ran towards the living room where the countess was.

Susie and Islant, who were left in the study, glanced at each other subconsciously. The former quickly looked away and then wagged his tail.

Me and a dog looked at each other? Esilante, who had waist-length jet-black hair and lake-like blue eyes, laughed at himself and began to analyze the reasons for Miss Audrey's sudden departure.

"Did what I said just now touch her and make that young lady think of something?

"Or is she using this as an excuse to meet the buyer of the formula?"

As soon as she thought of this, Esilante felt a slight vibration coming from under her feet, and she couldn't help but look out the window in surprise.

…

In a cafe in the Jowood District, "Witch" Xiaoko, no, Shako, who was making desserts, was suddenly stunned for a moment. Then she lowered her head, praised in a low voice, and then threw down the utensils in her hands. , holding up her skirt, she ran up to the second floor of the cafe and knocked on the door of "Pleasure Witch" Lina.

Seeing her rash intrusion, Lina couldn't help but frowned and said, "What happened?"

"I...I just received the oracle from Mr. Fool. He told me...something big is going to happen in Backlund, and Prince Edsac may be in danger!" Shaco quickly recounted the news he had just received. Again.

Lina's expression first changed when she heard this, and then she calmed down. After thinking for a while, she made a decision in her heart: "I'll rush to Red Rose Manor now, I hope it's not too late!"

"What about me?" Shaco asked.

She is now a "witch" and feels that she can help Lina.

"You go and report to the official something that might be detrimental to Edsac...but remember to be careful about the methods and try not to expose yourself...

"If things go well, we will meet at the abandoned manor in the northern suburbs at this time tomorrow."

Lina seemed to be arranging tasks, but in fact she just didn't want to follow her little sister on adventures.

"Okay." Shako was very convinced of Lina's ability, so he agreed immediately without thinking too much.

As soon as the two of them said this, their spirits were touched at the same time. They looked out the window at the same time and saw meteorites burning with fire cutting through the fog above Backlund and landing on the outskirts of Queens.

"Where is...the direction of Red Rose Manor?" Lina's face showed an anxious look, and before she finished speaking, her figure disappeared quickly, as if someone had wiped it off with a rag.

Then, the window suddenly opened.

Seeing this, Shako came to her senses. She first went downstairs to close the shop, and then rushed to the Holy Wind Cathedral, which was very close.

——As far as she knows, most of the royal family members are followers of the Storm Lord, and Prince Edsac should be no exception.

As for how to report it, she already had an idea.

Her good friend Bruce, the youngest son of Inspector Wayne, had been arrested and imprisoned by the Church of Storms because of his status as an Extraordinary.

However, due to his innocent background and the source of the "Corpse Collector" potion formula did not involve any secret organization, he was eventually absorbed into the Punisher Team and became an official Beyonder.

And she has had contact with the other party before, and now that she needs to report it, maybe she can ask him for help...

…

Factory area, in a warehouse at East Rossed Pier.

Xio quickly walked up to Her Royal Highness Vera and reported to her the matters related to the "Original Witch" that had just been conveyed by Mr. "World".

She didn't have time to think of an excuse, so she just said she got the information from an informant.

After being silent for a few seconds, Her Highness Vera shook her head and said, "There will naturally be someone on the witch's side to deal with it... and we have other things to do now."

"What's the matter?" Xio asked strangely.

Is there anything more threatening than an evil god right now?

"At the request of the Church of the Night, you have seen some of the arrangements in the factory area and the dock area, right? What do you think they are used for?" Her Highness Vera pointed to the hidden altar in the warehouse and smiled. asked rhetorically.

"These arrangements seem to be some kind of ritual used to eliminate people's extreme emotions..." Xiu considered it for a moment and answered based on the mysterious Xu knowledge he had mastered.

"That's right..." Vera nodded, then handed a stack of documents to Xio and continued, "This is an investigation report."

After taking it, Xio looked at the document typed out on the typewriter and found that the investigator was a reporter named Mike Joseph, and there was the holy emblem of the goddess underneath.

The Church of the Night commissioned the investigation? I recognize this reporter Mike, he is a friend of Abner...

Xio flipped through it for a while, and then she saw the plight of the people at the bottom and the spread of the "Creator" cult, which she had already known about.

She thought about it and suddenly understood Her Royal Highness Vera's intention: "You are worried that the 'True Creator' might take the opportunity to come."

"It's not possible, but He will definitely not miss this opportunity." Especially when Augustus is likely to let Him do that.

The promotion ceremony of "Chaos Hunter" requires maintaining the order of the jurisdiction to the greatest extent under an attack from the realm of angelic evil, chaos, and madness...

If all goes well and a "Chaos Hunter" dies in Augustus, then there is a high probability that his characteristics will be provided to me, who is also a member of the royal family and has completed the ritual...

That way, I can be promoted to Sequence 3 in a "reasonable" way.

With this thought in mind, Vera sighed and continued to say to Xio: "We have to guard these arrangements, they may save many people's lives... especially this main altar, the people of the Aurora Society will definitely take advantage of this opportunity. To destroy it.”

After hearing these words, Xio realized the importance of this place and nodded solemnly.

…

In the woods outside Red Rose Manor, watching several flaming meteorites fall at high speed, Klein actually had the thought of being unable to resist and desperate to die.

Even if he kept using flames to jump, he would not be able to get out of the woods and out of the dangerous core area before the "meteor shower" hit the ground. And with the fragile body of an extraordinary person with the "divineer" path, there was no possibility of carrying the meteorite.

——Even the extraordinary item "Roselle's Grip" which is equivalent to the "Punishing Knight" can improve the physique quite a bit.

After all, even living corpses that cannot be injured by a pistol will probably turn into pieces or minced flesh under such an "attack", and they will be burnt black...

Fortunately, just when he kept "flame jumping" and was finally forced to escape, and could only watch the "mushroom cloud" swallowing him up, Mr. Azik suddenly grabbed his shoulders and took him inside "Spirit world".

At the other end of the woods, "Eye of the Goddess" Ilia, who had just arrived, saw this scene and took out a spell without hesitation and followed into the spirit world.

…

In an underground space somewhere, an ordinary-looking quill wrote on its own:

"Azik Eggers originally wanted to take Sherlock Moriarty to a safe place nearby, but the tracking of 'Eye of the Goddess' Ilia caused him to misunderstand. The aftermath of the brief battle between the two parties destroyed the 'spirit'. The stability of the boundary shuttle channel caused the three of them to land not far from Ince Zangwill and his friends."

As I write this, the surface of the quill becomes a little darker.

Ince Zangwill, a middle-aged man with only one eye left, quickly grasped it, but it was too late. He could only call his friends, "Law Master" Test and another member of the royal family. "Chaos Hunters", prepared for battle together.

But the shadow of the last fight with Azik still hung over Ince, and even if his apparent combat power had the upper hand this time, he was not at all sure.

…

In the ruins of an ancient civilization, Klein followed Mr. Azik's reminder and ignored the melee among the five demigods. Instead, he turned around and ran away towards the top of the road.

In such a battlefield, he has no role and will instead become a burden to Mr. Azik.

On the other side, Ince Zangwill did not respond to the "Eye of the Goddess" attack immediately. Instead, he glanced at the corner where Klein disappeared.

The Church of the Night Goddess Sequence 4 "Night Watch" can bring bad luck to others to a certain extent, but Ince Zangwill, who just silently "blessed" Klein, found that the other party did not slip and fall, and fell into Deep valleys and other things.

Not only that, Ince Zangwill seemed to have hallucinations in front of his eyes, and saw some thin and illusory gray-white mist.

Without time to think about it, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Ilia again... As for Azik, he was blocked by the "Chaos Hunter" and "Law Mage" jointly.

…

In the free school on the edge of the East District, Abner, who received a message from "The World", took out an exquisite card under the incredible eyes of four students, called out his real name, and released the demigod-level "Bone Dragon".

Time was running out, and the Witch of Despair might arrive at any time. He could only race against time... Moreover, after today, it would be difficult for this identity to appear in Backlund again.

Of course, he cast a layer of "illusion" on the bone dragon to prevent ordinary people from falling into madness when faced with the semi-mythical figure.

"Mr. 'Professor'... what is this?" the students who could only see an outline asked in shock.