Under so many concentrated gazes, surrounded by smiles that exposed eight teeth each, the Wandering Magician Merlin Hermes showed no sign of panic. He merely looked at the only people in the Prayer Hall who still retained their own expressions and movements: the private detective Sherlock Moriarty and his assistant, Irene Watson.
Through his Spirit Body Threads vision, the black threads emerging from all over the "actors" in the room floated skyward, then converged at a single point under his control.
These people were all marionettes, following the commands of this powerful Marionettist. Their every movement and word was merely part of the script.
Only Sherlock and Irene were exceptions. The former's Spirit Body Threads entered the Spirit World the moment they left his body, controlled by another powerful existence. Merlin could not, and dared not, disturb them in the slightest. The latter had no Spirit Body Threads at all, as though she were merely an illusory mirror image.
He rose together with Vivian beside him and bowed deeply, as though taking a curtain call before an audience. Then he asked reverently:
"Great Mr. Fool, and benevolent Goddess of Calamity, were you satisfied with the play just now?"
As he spoke, Sherlock had already removed his gold-rimmed glasses. The mustache around his mouth burrowed into the skin of his jaw, making him look considerably younger and more scholarly. Beside him, Irene's black hair, pinned behind her head, turned pale gold. Her eyes became a deep purple, like the most dazzling gems. Her round face slimmed somewhat, and her features changed slightly, becoming exceptionally feminine and alluring.
On closer inspection, they bore a striking resemblance to the sisters Dorothy and Christina, whom Merlin had just sent away with a snap of his fingers to fulfill their wish.
Looking much younger, like