Chapter 221: Two Faces of Arodos

Night, Lei Kedun had just finished dinner and was about to continue studying the characteristics of that Desire Apostle.

Dong—dong! Two short, consecutive knocks sounded.

The main door creaked open automatically, and Ke Lai En took off his half‑high silk top hat and walked in.

"I thought you would choose to come see me tomorrow."

As he spoke, Lei Kedun already carried two cups of coffee to the edge of the living‑room sofa.

Ke Lai En smiled politely and said:

"Previously I had a protector from the Heart of Machinery with me, and I needed to watch my behavior to fit the image of a detective."

"Now it's already night, and you're still drinking coffee? Aren't you afraid you won't be able to sleep?"

"For an extraordinary, falling asleep is a simple matter, and having just obtained that Desire Apostle's characteristics, I'm unlikely to feel like sleeping before I achieve some results."

While speaking, Lei Kedun settled onto the sofa and casually pushed the other cup of coffee in front of Ke Lai En.

Ke Lai En glanced at the coffee on the coffee table and, for the sake of his own sleep quality, shook his head slightly to decline.

He organized his words a bit and said:

"I have already completed a spirit‑communication with that Desire Apostle, Patrick Jason Beliya. He is a member of the Demon family, joined a very ancient secret organization, and there received an assignment to assassinate Duke Nigen."

"The reward is a Blasphemous Card, the Abyss Card!"

"That ancient organization is called Twilight."

"Erk!" Lei Kedun gave a light cough, interrupted the narration, then explained to the puzzled Ke Lai En:

"Don't mention that name casually in the outside world; it will be detected."

"." After a brief shock, Ke Lai En, with a slightly annoyed expression, murmured:

"If I tell Miss Justice the name of this organization, will she be in danger?"

You moved so fast?

Lei Kedun raised an eyebrow at Ke Lai En, paused briefly, and said:

"As long as it's not mentioned frequently or the identity is special, the danger isn't that great; he's not some evil god. At most a glance, and perhaps at certain times…"

"Is this other party a high‑sequence extraordinary of the Audience Path?" Ke Lai En's brow furrowed as the description reminded him of the high‑sequence ability of the Audience Path.

Lei Kedun nodded lightly and said:

"It would be more accurate to say we are currently the strongest of the Audience Path. Frequent mention of Him and His Sunset Red Otaku Group will attract attention, expose key information, and inadvertently make us part of the other side's script."

"Sunset Red Otaku Group—your nickname is rather clever. Does this help avoid detection by the other side?"

Ke Lai En restrained the twitch of his mouth and sighed softly.

"If one links that nickname to oneself in the mind, it will inevitably be noticed. I have given myself a certain mental suggestion; to me it's just a word like 'someone' or 'there' without a fixed referent."

"I see." Ke Lai En nodded in understanding and then said:

"I appeared as the rogue Black Emperor, and the place where you killed Jason Beliya seemed to spark some association among the Three Great Churches. That let me finish digesting the magician's magic elixir inside me."

"Congratulations." Lei Kedun restrained his surprised expression and offered his congratulations.

This pace is unusually fast—less than half a year and he'll soon be a Sequence Six Faceless One.

Because the magic elixir was successfully digested, Ke Lai En's mood noticeably lifted:

"Just missing some auxiliary materials, but they're fairly ordinary and can be gathered quickly."

"There should still be a hefty bounty, right? The church people arrived too quickly; you must have given them a subtle hint."

Recalling that the Night Church, bearing 1‑42, arrived so fast that he had no chance to take the suitcase Jason Beliya was carrying, Lei Kedun shook his head helplessly.

That was all the wealth Jason Beliya had accumulated over years in Beckland, at least fifty‑to‑sixty thousand pounds.

Ke Lai En nodded lightly, his voice cheerful: "Yes, I obtained 1,000 pounds!"

The underground area of the Steam Church.

A group of Heart of Machinery Squad members were gathered around an ancient silver mirror with strange patterns, its sides set with black gems forming "eyes."

One squad member glanced at the famed magic mirror Arodos in the church and asked curiously:

"Deacon, if we ask the mirror about unsolved riddles or classic paradoxes, will it give correct answers?"

"It will refuse outright, or strike you with lightning, or force you to bear a curse you absolutely do not wish to face."

"It is a living seal… and possesses extremely high intelligence; you cannot treat it as a rigid object."

Yi Kangse sighed as he answered.

After answering the squad members' question, he clenched his fist, steadied his nerves, then opened his hand and lightly brushed the mirror's surface three times.

A subtle mist rippled across the mirror's surface; Yi Kangse inhaled deeply and, in a low voice, said:

"Honored Arodos, my question is: who ordered that Desire Apostle to assassinate Duke Nigen, or which faction?"

The magic mirror Arodos remained silent for a moment, showing no image; after a while, water‑like light swirled, outlining a Twilight scene.

"What does this mean?" the Heart of Machinery Squad members exchanged glances, unable to grasp the picture's significance.

"Twilight—symbolizing life reaching its end; could it be a faith that worships death? Or a madman believing in the apocalypse?"

"I think it's the latter."

The squad members discussed among themselves but ultimately reached no definite conclusion.

The questioning Yi Kangse did not follow the discussion; his face had turned red, and he even felt smoke rising from his head.

Because magic mirror Arodos asked its own question:

"What's the color of underwear you like most?"

Yi Kangse struggled to utter a single word:

"Red."

The room suddenly became unusually quiet, everyone looked nonchalantly toward the corner.

Yi Kangse scratched his fluffy hair, suppressed the rising shame, and asked the second question:

"Esteemed A luodesi, my second question is: who is the one who killed the Apostle of Desire?"

The magic mirror A luodesi's display suddenly froze as if stuck, the watery light rippled yet no new image appeared; after a not short interval, a vague dark scene emerged, only a blurred figure of a person standing in the darkness could be seen.

The image vanished quickly, leaving Yi Kangse no time to think, and A luodesi, in a fury of shame, sequentially flashed deep‑red words:

"It's my turn to ask!"

"When you solve it with your hand each time, who do you imagine in your mind?"

The room fell silent all of a sudden, so quiet that each person's breathing could be heard.

"I choose punishment," Yi Kangse said through clenched teeth, his complexion flashing white then red.

The next moment, a flash of silver lightning flashed briefly, as if A luodesi had already been waiting for a chance to strike him.

Yi Kangse, his head blackened and smelling faintly of char, sat dazed on the chair behind him.

A squad member said with some reluctance:

"Deacon, let me handle the next question."

"... Try not to enter the punishment phase," Yi Kangse nodded lightly, his tone a bit weak as he said.

The self‑appointed brave Mechanical Heart member confidently mimicked Yi Kangse's motions, lightly stroking the silver mirror's surface three times.

"Esteemed A luodesi, my question is: who are the collaborators of that Apostle of Desire?"

The silver mirror, its watery light rippling, displayed the back of a lady, her figure exceptionally striking.

Then it switched to an extremely blurred figure, whose clothing barely indicated a male.

The image ended quickly, and the silver mirror's surface swiftly sketched blood‑splattered words:

"You rely on your hand to solve it every day?"

The questioning squad member froze in place, feeling their ears rapidly heating up.

"... Yes," he answered in a very low voice.

At No. 15 Mingsike Jie, in the second‑floor washroom, Ke Lai En stared with a puzzled expression at rows of bright red words appearing on the mirror before him:

"Oh! My great master, your humble, faithful servant A luodesi has finally found you!"

"Please forgive my presumption; my true form is still under the supervision of the Steam Church, so I can only approach the great master in this way!"

"Great, supreme master, may I follow in your footsteps!!!"

Ke Lai En fell silent, having already recalled the Steam Church's sealed artifact known as the Magic Mirror, 2‑111.

When I first touched the mirror surface, my reaction was indeed somewhat different, but is this really that Magic Mirror? The difference before and after is just too great!

"2‑111?" Ke Lai En asked hesitantly.

"Yes, master; you may also call me A luodesi. I can answer any question you pose, provided it does not involve the True God or secrets; I can answer without restriction."

"May I, my great, supreme master?"

Is this its rule? Once a question is asked, the other must answer a question. But the difference from how Mechanical Heart members are treated is huge. Does this Magic Mirror have two faces? If that Deacon Yi Kangse saw this scene, would he weep himself unconscious in the restroom?

(End of chapter)