In the blink of an eye, it was already mid-August, yet the atmosphere in Tingen remained tense. The official Beyonders in the city had discovered that the number of strange Beyonders was still increasing.
Having apparently heard about the changes here, Aurora Society members from East Tuck County, East Midseashire County, and even Southville County arrived one after another. Although no Mid Sequence Beyonders at the Oracle level appeared again, their fanaticism was still a tremendous headache.
This was not an arrangement by 0-08, but the inevitable consequence of news that the Evil God Progeny was about to descend. The Aurora Society's members were all fanatics. Upon hearing that the divine child was about to arrive and that Heretics were trying to stop it, they would naturally come to protect it. Mid Sequence Beyonders at the Oracle level might still retain some sanity, but those Secrets Suppliants and Listeners were all mentally twisted Lunatics.
Even the officials, who had sensed that something was wrong, began transferring Beyonders from other regions. Yet under the Aurora Society members' suicidal attacks, it still felt like a drop in the ocean.
In truth, given the official Beyonders' deployment, there had not been many casualties. However, Aurora Society madmen were always surrounded by the corruption of an evil god. A Sequence Seven Mid Sequence powerhouse could be corrupted just by looking at a Sequence Nine's dream, let alone by the malicious aura deliberately unleashed in battle.
This meant that even after successfully eliminating Aurora Society Beyonders, the official Beyonders involved had to recuperate for a period of time to avoid Loss of Control. Not to mention that, in the shadows, a lousy screenwriter holding a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was constantly writing the script.
More and more of the Aurora Society's low-level members died, but this was completely unimportant to the Aurora Society. With a true god watching over them, they did not lack mere Sequence Nine Beyonder Characteristics at all. What? Manpower? What a joke. In this era, people were the one thing in endless supply. Pick any city and stroll through its slums. So long as you were willing to offer a meal, countless people would be willing to risk their lives. As for loyalty? Whether they were loyal before drinking the potion or not, they would definitely be loyal afterward!
(422 The aura of a single Sequence One could directly corrupt ordinary people into Werewolves or Zombies. Even without Beyonder Characteristics, it was not impossible to produce low-level potions through the aura of the True Creator; at worst, the risk of Loss of Control would be a little higher.)
Fortunately, these strange Beyonders did not consist solely of Aurora Society lunatics. For example, there was the female Beyonder who had first appeared at the beginning of August.
She was remarkably active. Every two or three days, she would suddenly enter the sight of some official Beyonder, leave behind a few incomprehensible words, and quietly vanish again. Her behavior was so baffling that it seemed as if she were teasing the official Beyonders. Yet every incident she revealed was highly dangerous, from Mr. A's hiding place to rituals worshipping an evil god in the slums. Even if they might be false, the official Beyonders did not dare gamble on it. More frighteningly, they were often true.
Although, in a sense, this lady had made an outstanding contribution to Tingen City's public safety, the official Beyonders of Tingen had undoubtedly become much busier as a result.
At this moment, the lady whom the official Beyonders both loved and hated was sitting before a vanity mirror, slowly altering her makeup.
Although the official Beyonders had basically recognized her, she still had to slightly alter her appearance whenever she went out. Caution was the quality an Assassin needed to maintain most, and a qualified Instigator also had to learn how to keep herself out of things.
However, just as Trissy darkened her eyeliner to alter the shape of her eyes, the mirror before her suddenly lit up faintly. Then, the image of a cat appeared within it.
Only then did Trissy's Beyonder Ability finally activate. Yet rather than relaxing her, it left her even more shocked—
"How is that possible? This is my ability! How did you do it?"
That was right. Since her Beyonder Ability had activated, it was clear that this damn cat had finally used the hair she had given it to cast a spell. But why was this communication, clearly released through a Witch's ability as the medium, being controlled by the other side instead?
"I've told you many times already: don't blindly trust Beyonder powers." The Black Cat in the mirror narrowed its amber eyes. The dangerous cold glint in them made Trissy's scalp tingle.
Although she had always believed that a powerful Beyonder of no low Sequence stood behind this Black Cat, it was only today that Trissy truly felt its strength and strangeness.
"What is it this time? Who am I killing? Who am I saving?" Trissy was not foolish enough to ask about its true Sequence, so she directly asked for the specifics of the mission.
The Black Cat was clearly quite satisfied with her tactfulness. It revealed a somewhat horrifying smile and tapped the mirror with a claw.
"Find a girl named Elizabeth. She's a student at Yvontes Public School, and her family has an estate in Lamud Town. I believe that's enough information for you to identify the target."
"It is indeed enough." Trissy nodded. With information like that, even an ordinary private Detective could provide results within a few days. However, she knew perfectly well that this task would not be so simple. To keep the cat before her from showing off its irritating "art of speech," she asked directly, "And after I find her?"
"After finding her, confirm whether she is being haunted by a wraith or ghost. If she is, inform Mr. Moretti, who lives at 2 Daffodil Street. He's an official Beyonder. Mm, you can also tell him that the wronged spirit is connected to an Amnesiac with a mole on their earlobe." The Black Cat's smile became increasingly unsettling. Trissy nodded, committing it to memory, then asked, "What if she isn't?"
"If she isn't, go directly to that Seer and tell him that the ancient castle in Lamud Town contains clues related to his altered fate. Mm, and to the amnesiac person with a mole on their ear." The Black Cat stuck out its tongue and licked its front paw, leisurely finishing its instructions before lightly tapping the mirror.
"That is all for this time. It isn't difficult, and only a single Sequence Nine is involved from start to finish. I'll give you a 500-pound question allowance. If you have any questions, ask."
"First, I want to know why the Acting Method can digest potions." Trissy immediately asked the question she had wanted to ask for a long time. These days, relying on her invisibility ability and the status of a Sequence Seven, she had followed those Aurora Society Listeners and exposed their evil plans to the officials. Although it did not earn as much feedback as when she had exposed The Hidden Sage's corruption of Sequence Nines, it was still far more efficient than killing civilians.
"Oh? That question? While I do know the answer, it concerns the crucial core of the Acting Method. You only seem to have an allowance of 1,300 pounds right now, which is completely insufficient!"
The impact on a Sequence after ascending to Sequence Zero had to be discussed separately.
First, mental influence was inevitable. One did not even need to ascend; accommodating a Uniqueness would affect that Sequence. For example, Ammon altering inherited knowledge was an application of this influence. Cheek's ascension made men more suitable than women for the Demoness Pathway, while The Hidden Sage instilled knowledge into the Hermit Sequence, and so on.
Second, whether it would affect the characteristics of the Sequence itself—probably not. Whether it was a Spider Demoness, a Snake Demoness (the Demoness Sequence possessed spider and snake traits), or a Cat Witch, becoming female was inevitable, because this Sequence itself corresponded to the concept of "yin." At most, Lily becoming a god would give Demonesses an extra pair of cat ears, much as Demonesses could now use spider silk.
Third, whether it would alter the Mythical Creature form was not clearly explained in the original work. However, one thing was certain: even if it did not alter it, there would still be a shift. The most direct example was the Death Pathway. Its original Mythical Creature form was an undead bird, but in modern times it had become a feathered serpent.
As for why it changed, there were two guesses—
First, faith in the god of death on the Southern Continent caused the Mythical Creature form to change.
Second, the impact brought about by the Nether Emperor advancing to become the second-generation Death God.
However, considering that Susie had already gained dragon traits such as Dragon Scale during her advancement, the final change should also be some sort of dragon-dog hybrid...
Wait! By that logic, a feathered serpent was a combination of snake and bird? Does that mean Salinger was originally a snake? Please, you're Salinger, not Salazar!
Before you continue