Chapter 1002

Dorothea returned to Quill Street to pack her clothes; this would not take much time because Miss Luweiya had already stored their daily clothing at No. 6 St. Deran Square. St. Deran Square No. 6 had few other advantages, but it was spacious and had plenty of room. Xia De left Little Mia at home, but he did not return to the Three Cats Inn; instead, he took a carriage to Qin Avenue in the East District of Tobesk, where he met Doctor Schneider, who had just seen the last guest of the afternoon and was preparing to go eat. "Demon?"

In the study on the third floor of the psychological clinic, the doctor, having finished listening to Xia De tell the story of the "Victor Box and the Demon," repeated in disbelief: "Here? In the city of Tobesk?"

He pointed at his feet. "There's such a thing?"

"Yes, a demon."

Xia De nodded and told the doctor not to bother finding someone to prepare tea, as he would not stay long: "I am very certain it is indeed an evil spirit demon left over from the Third Era, but the opponent does not seem particularly strong."

Otherwise, it would not have been forced away so easily. Compared to the Flame Demon sealed in the West Sika Mountains, this demon was truly weak. "Of course, it is also possible that the opponent is simply not good at fighting." Doctor Schneider stroked his chin in thought, unable to believe there could be such good fortune. Xia De took the cloth toy of the bench out of his pocket, restored it to its original state, and placed it on the side of the sofa: "Look~" He took out the holy water bottle again and placed it on the bench. Seeing the holy water in the bottle boil almost immediately, Doctor Schneider frowned deeply: "Which number holy water is this?"

"Number four."

"Did you buy it from Priest August? I also bought a batch recently; the old priest doesn't know where he got the supply channel." The doctor said, telling Xia De to wait a moment. He walked out of the room and soon returned with a pepper shaker and a salt shaker. The pepper shaker was very small, as pepper is a quite expensive spice. The doctor twisted the lid, then gently tapped it twice toward the bench, pouring out some black powder from the fine holes on the surface of the lid. The salt shaker was large; the doctor scooped out a spoonful with a small steel spoon, then used the bottom of the spoon to spread it evenly over the surface of the bench. Xia De and the doctor, who was kneeling on one knee there, watched the salt together. After only a few dozen seconds, the fine white salt began to turn black. With a strange, foul odor wafting out, Xia De held his breath, but Doctor Schneider carefully leaned in, waving his right palm in front of his nose to let the scent drift into his nasal cavity: "It is indeed the stench of a demon. Although I cannot be one hundred percent sure, I have roughly guessed who it is." He straightened his back and, after getting Xia De's consent, flicked black Flame Demon fire from his hand, burning the entire chair directly. There was no smoke; there were only some pitted black crystals left on the ground after the burning, which the doctor collected. Any item that retains the power of an evil spirit demon is extremely dangerous, even more dangerous than a relic, so it must be destroyed in time. "The proliferating demon Fanni relies on spreading desire to make itself strong, signing non-binding contracts with mortals, relying on the contracts to incite desire, and becoming stronger itself." Doctor Schneider introduced, his expression not relaxed: "Although it cannot be compared to the combat power of the arsonist Sokes we once encountered, this kind of evil spirit that survives on human hearts and desires is even harder to deal with. It is the same type of evil spirit as the former 'Human Desire,' although 'Human Desire' is older and stronger than it." "Then, does the proliferating demon have any well-known stories in past eras?"

Xia De asked. Doctor Schneider shook his head: "It is not keen on causing destruction, but rather disguises itself as a humanoid creature, active in cities and the countryside. By spreading and proliferating desire, it corrupts those souls that were originally clean. In its last appearance, which was the mid-Fifth Era, it even corrupted an entire human city, creating tens of thousands of demon servants. Xia De, do not think it is weak. Evil spirits that can spread desire and use it as a source of power are often the most powerful demons." "Can you deal with it?"

Xia De asked again. Doctor Schneider paused and nodded confidently: "Dealing with it is certainly no problem. From your description, Fanni should have broken free from the seal only in the last hundred years, and its power is still somewhat weak. A demon of this level would not use a method like a box that copies coins; the efficiency is too low. Powerful demons either go to choose 'heroes' to corrupt or plan a conspiracy that can harvest the souls of at least tens of thousands of people at once. Since it did this, it shows that its power has weakened to a certain limit."

The doctor paced the room a few times with his hands behind his back. "Since you came to find me at dinner time instead of coming at night, it means you have other things to do tonight. I will go to Room 413 of the Three Cats Inn to investigate the situation by myself later. Don't worry about me; if Fanni really hasn't left, that's actually a good thing." On the issue of fighting demons, this middle-aged psychologist appeared exceptionally confident: "If the items left behind by the demon are not absolutely safe, I won't share them with you. I will destroy most of the items; keeping a few for tracking is enough. As long as the opponent hasn't left Tobesk, I can find it within a week. If we are lucky, we will set out to hunt the demon this weekend; we must not let it run away." "Doctor, besides me, two other young ladies have been targeted by that demon. Do you have any means of protection against demons here? Short-term effectiveness is fine, and since Fanni is injured, the situation should be even worse now."

Dorothea and Luweiya's safety is guaranteed; the main concern is Princess Margaret. "Fanni is injured?"

Doctor Schneider asked curiously, wanting to ask Xia De how he managed to do it. So Xia De took out the badge hanging around his neck. The badge had only just appeared halfway from his collar when the doctor, who had sat back down on the sofa, stood up and nimbly flipped to the back of the sofa: "Alright, alright, no need to take it out. Just seeing that badge, I have a feeling of being scorched by the sun at noon in midsummer." The doctor said with lingering fear: "Is this a divine art item of the Five Gods Church?"

He was very surprised: "I have only heard of divine art items of this level. Even regional bishops might not have one. Divine art items worshipped in the church all year round might not be stronger than this. If Fanni was stupid enough to make direct contact with you, it is indeed possible for it to be seriously injured by this thing. Actually, this thing itself can protect against demons." The doctor reminded him, but now the bone badge made by Priest August had merged with the "Witch Detection" badge. If Xia De gave this to Princess Margaret, the moment Miss Xiewei appeared, the princess would first be burned, and then she would immediately guess that there was a problem with the dishonest detective. "Are there any other methods?"

Xia De asked. The doctor thought for a while: "I can give you an alchemical item I made myself. It is not very effective against powerful evil spirit demons like 'Human Desire' or the arsonist, but if it is this proliferating demon, it should have a certain effect."

The so-called "alchemical item" was a pitch-black cloth strip; the material seemed to be linen. Although it was pitch black, if you looked closely, you could see some dark rune traces in the black. This was an alchemical item that Doctor Schneider made himself using printing and dyeing technology. As a student of the Academy of Mechanics, he had to master knowledge of forging, chemistry, printing and dyeing, metal cutting, heraldry, and so on. In addition to the cloth strip packed in a box, the doctor also gave Xia De a wooden key. "Time key?"

Xia De asked curiously. "When trading in the black market a few days ago, someone used it to pay me. It just so happens to give this to you. In our group, only you can use this. Consider it the intelligence fee for you bringing the demon news. We will discuss the spoils when we find the demon." Xia De thought for a moment and put the key into his pocket: "I should be at home these days. Doctor, tell me immediately when you find the demon; don't delay this matter." "Rest assured, I am more anxious than you."

The doctor laughed. He and Xia De parted at the street corner of Qin Avenue and took different carriages to their respective destinations. Although Doctor Schneider's luck was not particularly good, Xia De believed in his ability to capture demons. When Xia De rushed home from the east of the city, the blonde young lady had already returned with her clothes. When Xia De went to the second floor, she was humming a cheerful tune while cooking in the kitchen. Hearing Xia De's footsteps, the cat, which was squatting on the dining table watching Dorothea cook, ran toward the door, but soon returned to the kitchen. Luweiya's carriage would soon come to pick up Xia De, so the two ate dinner together at home. At the dining table, Xia De told Dorothea that the demon problem should be solved soon; he was very confident about this. The blonde young lady didn't care much about it, but instead asked about the time key in Xia De's hand and what era it corresponded to this time. "This must be a key from the Fifth Era. The person who sold the key said it corresponds to the early Fifth Era, probably around the year 1000 of the Fifth Era. I have no interest in knowing the more precise time; after all, I'll know everything once I use it."

He poked Little Mia's back with the key. After the key touched the cat, Xia De even turned it, causing the cat to meow in dissatisfaction, probably complaining that Xia De was disturbing it again while eating. Winter nights always arrive very early. When the gas street lamps in St. Deran Square lit up, the snow had already stopped. Dorothea personally tidied up Xia De's clothes and then told him to leave as soon as possible and not to keep Luweiya waiting too long. This urging made the outlander very strange, but he still set out around 6:30, waited for the carriage sent by Luweiya at the alley entrance of Special Street, and the carriage took him directly to the side door of the Queen Lya Opera House. A servant who had been waiting for a long time led Xia De directly into the box that only royal members could use via a hidden staircase on the side. When Xia De arrived, although tea, snacks, and fruits had been prepared in the box, Luweiya had not yet arrived.