Chapter 396

Lu Mian, also waiting for those "April Fool's" members who had been abandoned to recall useful details, nodded and said:

"Alright."

Ms. Magician looked at him for a few seconds, as if thinking, and said:

"In the future, if the mission I give you is obviously wrong, you can refuse to accept it, or agree to it to my face and contact other Great Arcana in private."

"Why?" Lu Mian was a bit confused.

Wasn't Ms. Magician essentially saying that she herself might have problems?

Ms. Magician smiled self-deprecatingly:

"Because I am a high-risk individual, a high-risk individual easily influenced by the Celestial Worthy.

"The Celestial Worthy occupies the apex of the 'Seer', 'Marauder', and 'Apprentice' pathways. The higher the sequence of the corresponding Beyonder, the easier it is to be influenced by Him. After all, everyone has the Original within them, and, um, what you need to understand is that as a high-ranking member of the 'Apprentice' pathway and a believer of Mr. Fool, it is a very normal thing for me to occasionally be misled, fooled, or defrauded by the Celestial Worthy.

"Of course, Mr. Fool is also at the apex of these three pathways, which is why He opposes the Celestial Worthy. So you don't need to worry about me; for the vast majority of the time, I am influenced by Mr. Fool, and my state is fine, only occasionally having abnormalities."

This is like how if I pray or use honorific names outside of those three descriptions without holding a ritual, I might be watched by the Celestial Worthy, receive His response, and bury hidden dangers... High-ranking members of the 'Seer', 'Marauder', and 'Apprentice' pathways are closer to the Celestial Worthy and Mr. Fool; even if all actions follow normal procedures, there is still a probability of problems... Lu Mian first understood Ms. Magician's previous warning, then discovered that her words revealed some information that contradicted common occult knowledge.

Mr. Fool and the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings" could actually occupy the apex of three pathways!

Normally, reaching Sequence 0 at the end of a pathway represents a True God, so what are those who occupy the apex of three pathways called? Great Beings?

For the first time, Lu Mian clearly realized that the status of Mr. Fool and the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings" might be higher than True Gods like the "Eternal Blazing Sun".

Likewise, Amon's father, that "Ancient Sun God", should also be at this level. After all, half of His legacy created the one currently worshipped by the "Aurora Order".

Soon, Lu Mian recalled Ms. Magician's different descriptions of different deities:

Some deities, even if one just knows of Their existence and understands Their honorific names, will suffer corruption, mutations, or encounter danger;

Some deities can be mentioned casually, as long as one does not recite Their honorific names of three or more segments in supernatural language, one will not be watched.

This is probably the division of deity levels... Mr. Fool and the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings" occupy three adjacent, interchangeable pathways. Is this the hidden condition for mastering composite pathways? Lu Mian dared not think too deeply, afraid that knowing too much would cause problems.

Regarding Ms. Magician being in the "Apprentice" pathway, he had long expected it, because Aurora's witchcraft notes mentioned that the Sequence 9 "Apprentice" of this pathway is good at opening doors, and Sequence 7 is called "Astrologer", which matches Ms. Magician's daily behavior and the words "astrology", "divination", and "fate" she occasionally says.

"I understand." Lu Mian turned to talk about the issue of how to cover up the seal marks on his body and the matter of hoping to use the internal procedures of the "Iron and Blood Cross Order" to transfer out of the Market District if he couldn't thoroughly kill "Loki" within two months.

Ms. Magician was very understanding:

"No problem. Although you can also write to me and use yourself as bait, 'Loki' might not lack the patience to wait a few more months, and I cannot stay around you all the time.

"As for the problem of the seal marks, if you don't actively trigger them, only Beyonders of the 'Seer', 'Apprentice', and 'Marauder' pathways who worship the Celestial Worthy can directly sense them. This is different from the uncontrollable nature of the Celestial Worthy's aura.

"If you have a need in the short term, you can either pray to Mr. Fool for the protection of an angel or write to me, and I will make you a charm that can keep secrets.

"The Celestial Worthy's aura on 'Cup of St. Germain' can only be handled this way for now. Fortunately, evil gods like the 'Mother Tree of Desire' no longer pay special attention to people like them."

Lu Mian let out a sigh of relief and said:

"Can I tell 'Cup of St. Germain' the information about the Celestial Worthy you just mentioned?"

"Her Great Arcana will explain it simply to her, but it can't be as clear as what I just said. She herself doesn't know it clearly enough either." Ms. Magician denied Lu Mian's idea. "If you tell 'Cup of St. Germain' everything I said, it will bring her danger."

Lu Mian asked no more questions, watching Ms. Magician use starlight to create a dreamlike door, step into it, and disappear.

The feeling of dark soundproof glass being added to the room receded, and the crimson moonlight shone through the window, illuminating the table where the calcium carbide lamp was placed.

Lu Mian sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the moonlight, his mind filled with thoughts, always unable to stop recalling the process of Aurora's murder as described by "Loki".

He took a deep breath once again, having a very clear idea of what to do next:

Digest the "Pyromaniac" potion!

…………

Botanical Garden District, Pasteur Street.

Just as dawn was breaking, Franca returned to the Market District along this street with Jenna.

She hadn't yet figured out how to tell Jenna about the dangerous situation last night, so she used the excuse that Jenna's brother was at home and she was worried about him hearing, pushing the matter to tonight.

After returning to Market Avenue, Jenna waved her hand and walked toward the Old Pigeon Cage Theater.

Before she entered that renovated brick-red three-story building, she saw a few graffiti marks at the corner of the wall that looked like children playing.

This was the sign for the "Purifiers" to meet urgently, with time and location information attached.

Jenna naturally withdrew her gaze and walked into the Old Pigeon Cage Theater.

A quarter of an hour later, as the boss's "lover", she left through the back door without any obstruction and arrived in a quiet alley near St. Robert's Church.

Not long after, Valentine and Imre appeared.

The former did not stand on ceremony and asked directly:

"Regarding the terrifying aura last night, have you received any news?"

Jenna was very confused:

"What terrifying aura?"

"You didn't sense it?" Imre, who had some Southern Continent ancestry, frowned and asked. "You didn't have a nightmare either?"

Jenna shook her head:

"I wasn't in the Market District last night; I went home to visit my brother."

"I see..." Imre carefully observed Jenna's expression, believing she wasn't lying.

She really didn't know about the terrifying aura.

The two "Purifiers" briefly talked about the terrifying and violent aura that suddenly appeared on White Coat Street last night, asking Jenna to pay more attention to anyone who had been behaving abnormally recently.

Jenna agreed and asked curiously:

"Is that aura very obvious? Why could you sense it even in the church?"

"It's hard to describe clearly. If you have a chance to experience it, you'll know." Imre himself didn't know how large an area that terrifying aura had affected.

Bidding farewell to the two Purifiers, on the way back to the Old Pigeon Cage Theater, Jenna suddenly thought that wasn't Franca the most abnormal one last night?

She mysteriously said there was danger and told her to go home and hide for a while, but then she ran over late at night to squeeze into one bed, saying something happened on White Coat Street and she couldn't go back...

That terrifying aura appeared on White Coat Street... Jenna nodded with a guess.

At this time, Franca had finished her coffee and returned to the now-normal White Coat Street.

As soon as she opened the door to Apartment 601, she found that the invisible "spider silk" she had hidden in the door crack had already fallen.

This meant someone had been inside!

The next second, she saw a person sitting in her armchair.

It was Gardner Martin, with deep features, brownish-red eyes, an approachable temperament, and a few white hairs at his temples.

"Why are you here?" Franca was startled.

She was extremely glad that she hadn't returned with Lu Mian.

Gardner Martin asked thoughtfully:

"What is your opinion on that aura last night?"

"What aura?" Franca looked blank.

Gardner Martin, wearing a formal suit but no tie, looked at Franca's face and explained further:

"A terrifying aura that reeked of blood and rust."

"When did this happen?" Franca recalled and shook her head. "I went to visit Jenna at her home last night; I wasn't in the Market District."

Gardner Martin nodded slowly and smiled:

"No wonder you didn't sense it."

Besides me, Charles, and Lady Hela dealing with "Loki", did anything else happen last night? Franca walked suspiciously to the coffee table, picked up her cup, gulped down some water, and said:

"What exactly happened?"

Gardner Martin stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at White Coat Street:

"Late last night, inside building number 6 on this street, a violent and terrifying aura emerged, lasting for nearly ten seconds."

Number 6... Number 6? Franca almost choked on her own saliva.

Wasn't this where the safe house she rented through a Loen merchant who had already left Trier was located?

Wasn't this where she fought "Loki" last night?

Could it be the commotion caused by Lady Hela or "Loki"?

Or, Charles?

Franca took advantage of Gardner Martin not turning around to quickly calm herself down.

She felt that because she had fainted, she seemed to have missed many key points.

…………

Chaos Street, Golden Rooster Hotel.

Lu Mian, who had just returned from morning exercise, had just changed his clothes and walked into the lobby on the first floor when he saw Anthony Reid, who had recently been focusing on investigating General Philip's widow and children.

This "Psychiatrist" looked at Lu Mian and said:

"What happened in the Market District last night? Why are a bunch of people asking me to buy relevant information?"

Lu Mian smiled:

"Maybe a strange aura broke out on White Coat Street."

PS: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everyone. Seeking monthly votes for the last day and a half of September~

(End of chapter)