Mystery: Start with the Reader

On the outskirts of Queen Backlund, inside the sunbathing house of Red Rose Manor.

Prince Edsac was telling his story to his childhood friend in a cathartic manner. Finally, he sighed, squeezed out a smile and said:

"Leland... no, I should call you Lina. I feel honored that you can patiently listen to what I have to say... After all, it means that I am not a failure as a person... I still have friends.

"However, you really should go... The people from the royal family who are here to supervise my 'execution' should be arriving soon...

“And the fact that I was able to get the time to say goodbye to you means that Finkel really turned his back on me...otherwise he would have rushed in to stop it.

"Huh... He still missed some old feelings. At least he didn't plan to do it himself. He also gave me some time to escape... Unfortunately, it was of no use."

After listening to Edsac's self-narration, Lina finally fully understood the extent of the incident that her friend was involved in. She frowned, pinched the "Witch" card that the other person had just given to her, and asked:

"Are you going to just sit back and wait for what you call 'the end of the story'?"

Having said this, Lina looked directly into the other person's eyes and said seriously:

“The Edsack I know is not such a person who gives up easily!

"Besides, since you love that witch Triss, shouldn't you try to live for her?"

Prince Edsac was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Unfortunately, this matter involves too much. If I don't die, I won't be able to explain it to the church...

"Lina, speaking of it... our experiences are really similar..." We all became the abandoned children of some ulterior deals.

He has now fully understood his situation. Knowing that Lina wants to leave, there will not be many people stopping her, but if the other party takes him with him, it is likely to attract the actions of Sequence 5 or even demigod-level powerhouses. .

"But I never thought about risking my own life! Edsac, there are some things that can only survive if you work hard!"

After all, Lina, who has rich experience, is much more determined than the pampered prince, and is more decisive when encountering problems. She closed her eyes, and then she made a decision in her heart, and continued, "Moreover, you and I feel that the desperate situation is too difficult for some existences. It’s probably just a small thing.”

"What do you want to do?" Edsac looked over in surprise and asked with wide eyes.

He somewhat guessed some of Lina's plans from her tone.

"As you can imagine, I need to pray for help from a hidden existence..." Lina replied as she took out various materials and arranged the ceremony.

Edsac looked at her with a complex expression and said, "I'm not worthy of you doing this for me..."

"During the years when I was 'missing', you were the only friend who still missed me and tried to find me!" Lina replied without looking up, then put the "Witch" card on the "altar" ", and then recited for the first time the honorable name of the "god" she had long claimed to believe in:

"You are a fool who does not belong to this era. You are the mysterious master above the gray fog. You are the king of yellow and black who controls good luck."

Lina had been contacting Mr. Fool through Xiaoko...well, Shako, but in order to save Edsac, she had to take the risk to truly establish a closer connection with the mysterious existence... …

Fortunately... Edsac's "blasphemous card" is a very good sacrifice and should be able to please Mr. Fool. Lina thought so in her heart while praying "devoutly".

And after hearing Lina's prayer, while Edsak was worried, he unconsciously felt a glimmer of hope in his heart.

After all, Prince Edsac once commissioned the great detective Sherlock Moriarty to investigate the "Fool" and his "Heroes" organization and the "Tarot Cards" organization, and got a lot of information, knowing that it was an organization related to The Aurora Society is a powerful force hostile to the "True Creator".

"I didn't expect that my friend is a follower of the 'Fool'... No wonder she has the ability to get rid of the control of the 'Witch Cult'..."

…

In a mountain forest outside Backlund, after witnessing Mr. A being "erased" by a beautiful woman wearing a dark robe, Klein ran away, trying to find a small town to blend in with the crowd and hide himself.

Only in human society can the "faceless man"'s abilities be brought into full play.

At the same time, he was also very uneasy about the behavior of the woman working with Mr. A, um, she should be a witch, going to the East District...

Judging from the conditions of the ceremony, there may be large-scale deaths there. I don’t know... Klein, who has the spiritual intuition of a diviner, suddenly felt heavy in his heart.

At this moment, all the colors in front of him became rich, as if they had been splashed with paint by the gods.

This feeling disappeared in a flash, and Klein found that he was far away from his original location, and saw Azik Eggers, who had a bronze complexion and soft features, appearing next to him.

He quickly asked the other party about the results of the previous demigod melee, and was concerned about whether Mr. Azik was injured as a result.

Azik smiled and shook his head, and then briefly told the story of the battle, and finally said: "Ince Zangwill is still alive and still in charge of the '0' level sealed artifact... and he has There may be another item that can hide itself in all directions...at least I will no longer be able to detect his location."

It should be the "Fallen Morning Star"... I lost it... Klein thought with a heavy heart, and then opened his mouth to introduce the capabilities of the magical item made by Russell to Mr. Azik.

"I seem to have heard of this item..." Mr. Azik frowned, and after recalling it for a moment, he continued, "It should be very famous in the circle of extraordinary people. I vaguely remember that someone relied on it to escape. The Tracking of the Angel of the House of Augustus.”

"Escape from the tracking of angels?" Klein didn't expect that item to have such an "experience", and he felt guilty for a moment. After all, it was Mr. "Tower's" thing. The greater the value, the greater his "debt". so big.

Mr. Azik did not say more about the "Fallen Morning Star" and instead talked about the functions and limitations of "0-08". Although Klein already knew these things, they can be considered as obtained by Mr. Azik. evidence.

Klein originally wanted to ask about Viscount Karen, but Mr. Azik himself seemed to be targeted by a strong man from the Church of the Night, so he couldn't stay too long and could only seize the time and said:

"Mr. Azik, I obtained a 'blasphemous card' made by Emperor Russell. It contains high-sequence secrets. I think it can help you awaken more things, but you have to wait for a while. It is hidden in Backlund.”

Klein wanted to thank Mr. Azik for his help and dedication in this way. As for asking about Karen, he could wait until he felt settled before writing a letter to ask.

Azik glanced at him in surprise, but in the end he said nothing and nodded gently:

"When you get it back, ask the messenger to bring it to me. I will return it to you immediately after studying it, or you can directly copy the corresponding content to me."

He paused, as if he didn't want to accept such a gift for nothing, even if he knew that the other party was grateful for his help...

So after thinking for a moment, Azik took out a glove that was as thin as human skin from his pocket, handed it to Klein and said:

"This is the relic of the pirate general from last time. I have made some seals so that it will not be hungry at ordinary times, but every time it is used, it must be fed with the flesh and soul of a human being, otherwise, it will devour you.

“Anyway, I don’t need it anymore, but it’s more suitable for you to hold it for self-defense.

"Don't refuse, it has already been rejected by Detective Blaine... You don't like it too, right?"

..."Creeping Hunger"? From the legacy of a certain "shepherd" after his death? Klein immediately recalled what that glove represented.

But...Detective Blaine? Do Mr. Azik and Mr. "Tower" also know each other? And from his tone, he seemed to think that Detective Blaine and I knew each other?

Just as Klein was about to ask something, Mr. Koazik suddenly glanced northwest, then said "Keep in contact with the 'letter'" before using "Spirit World Travel" to leave.

Klein naturally did not dare to stay for a long time, even though he had obtained a semi-official status from the "Heart of Machinery" through the endorsement of Detective Essinger, but the matter involved the awakening of the "Original Witch" and the arrival of the "True Creator" For the highest-level cases, he will inevitably undergo strict investigation. For example, he will take turns to taste black tea with the "Mechanical Heart", the Punisher, and the Nighthawk, and retell the entire process actively or passively.

And his identity cannot withstand serious scrutiny...

Soon, Klein blended into a nearby town, changed his appearance and stayed in a small hotel.

Then, he set up a ceremony in the room with the curtains drawn, and brought "Creeping Hunger" above the gray fog, preparing for research.

In the silent ancient palace, just as Klein was about to perform divination on the thin glove made of human skin, he saw one of the crimson stars floating quietly in the endless gray mist suddenly shine and spread out. Light like water!

It expanded and contracted, contracted and expanded, and was unusually conspicuous.

And this is a crimson "star" that does not belong to any member of the Tarot Society, nor does it belong to one's "favorite".

Who has the rashness to recite the honorable name of "The Fool"? While Klein was thinking in his mind, he spread his spirituality over it, but did not respond and just browsed.

With Klein's spiritual touch, the crimson "star" that is constantly expanding and contracting reveals the images and sounds it contains:

A lady wearing a shirt and vest, dressed as a man, is praying with her hands clasped together.

Lina? She wants to sacrifice a "blasphemous card" and beg me to protect Edsac?

this……

Klein was a little embarrassed at first, but suddenly he remembered the battle that Mr. Azik had just talked about: a demigod suspected to be from the Loen royal family encountered backlash when he "cursed" Mr. Azik, and he was likely to die as a result!

The demigod fighting Ince Zangwill at that time was the "Eye of the Goddess" of the Church of the Night...

"The fall of a royal demigod, the faction within Loen that cooperates with the Aurora Society and the Witch Sect will definitely not be able to suppress it... After all, this is what the 'Eye of the Goddess' witnessed!

"So, this actually reduces the pressure on Edsac... After all, he can't bear such a big blame! The church can accept his collusion with the witch, but it will never believe that he can command a demigod to do his work for him. Serve.

"So, the fallen demigod is the best candidate to take the blame. As for the prince... really escaping seems to divert the attention of the church... Of course, the premise is that His Highness the prince doesn't know much about the inside story... "

Thinking of this, Klein tried several divination and concluded that the person sent by the royal family to deal with the prince was not a high-sequence person but not very dangerous. He was going to ask Mr. "Tower" to see if he could take over the search. task.

I hope it's not too late... Klein sighed. He actually had a good impression of Prince Edsac, and Lina and Xiaoko had helped him do a lot before, so they still hoped to save each other.

Of course, the more important thing is that the faction in the royal family that colludes with the cult and causes a large number of casualties cannot be allowed to succeed!

But when he was thinking and touching the crimson "star" belonging to "Tower" with his spirituality, he found that it seemed to be isolated by a layer of fog, and he could not communicate with Mr. "Tower"'s spirit at all.

"How is this going?!"