After gently stroking the surface of the silver mirror three times, Sherlock Moriarty licked his lips and hesitated for a moment before asking:
"Honorable Arrodes, my question concerns Jason Beria's current situation."
He carefully articulated his question word by word. He did not use "Patrick Jason," which was clearly an alias, nor did he direct the question at the "Desire Apostle," because even within Backlund alone, there might be more than one Beyonder of the same Sequence.
The flames in the fireplace suddenly dimmed, nearly going out. The sunlight beyond the window gradually faded as well. Ripples spread across the silver mirror's surface, and then it displayed a scene viewed from high above:
Beside a modest dockyard, a sailing ship had raised its sails into the wind and was preparing to depart. A man in a flat cap and black overcoat, carrying a suitcase, hurried through the crowd and entered the cabin. His cheekbones were high, his blue eyes cold—it was exactly the face from the portrait they had seen in Jason Residence that morning.
"This looks like a dockyard along the lower reaches of the Tussock River, near Docklands. Look into the distance; that's already the outskirts."
Isengard, who had been observing closely from the side, immediately recognized the location in the scene.
"He must be planning to leave Backlund, travel south along the river, and head for Pritz Harbor."
Caslana also squeezed closer to examine the clue provided by Arrodes. Seeing the Desire Apostle fleeing in such disarray, a relieved smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
It seemed that Ace Snake, the Demigod from the Church of Storms, had put immense pressure on this Sequence 5 Beyonder. He had caused trouble in Backlund for so long, drawing the joint attention of the Nighthawks and the Machinery