Unknown Enemy

Sart realized he had lost his composure as soon as he finished speaking, and quickly added, "Are you sure there was a Heretical Cult Aura in his room?"

Alice nodded. "I'm sure. Ed is an experienced Heretical Cult hunter. I trust his judgment."

As she said this, she sounded slightly lacking in confidence and instinctively glanced at Aaron.

If Ed had not misjudged Aaron's Heretical Cult Ritual, perhaps she would have felt more confident.

"How could Heretical Cultists charm a diviner..." Sart muttered, also glancing at Aaron as a trace of worry flashed through his eyes.

Gold Coin Path Beyonders tempered their souls with supernatural aura. Relatively speaking, they had the strongest resistance to Heretical Cult Aura and were the least likely to be charmed or controlled.

And now, Master Tien, a diviner, had voluntarily dispelled all his defensive measures and died in his own room—and there was Heretical Cult Aura in the room...

This almost meant that the unseen Heretical Cultist was already capable of controlling the will of Bronze Tier Beyonders!

As luck would have it, Master Tien's death had occurred only a few days ago, followed immediately by Leyden City being placed under martial law. It was highly likely that the Heretical Cultist had not left the city.

In other words, Aaron, Alice, and even Sart himself were all at risk of being targeted by this unknown Heretical Cultist.

Even though Sart was a Tower Second Generation and a Bronze Tier prophet, he still had no confidence that he could resist a charm of such strength.

"What kind of cult is this?" Sart could not help asking.

Alice shook her head. "We don't know yet. As you're aware, there are countless types of Heretical Cults. New cults even appear from time to time, making it difficult to identify them with certainty."

Sart pondered and nodded. His thoughts raced as he began considering their next move. But whenever he thought of Aaron's identity as the String Player of Fate, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile and sigh inwardly.

Fate had been thrown into complete disorder. He could not see how things would develop in the future and had no idea what decision to make.

Should he continue following Aaron in the hope of gaining an opportunity to advance, or should he withdraw in time and leave?

Although Heretical Cultists excelled at manipulating hearts and confusing minds, that was only relative. Most of their targets were still ordinary civilians.

The most common method used by Heretical Cultists was to deceive civilians, driving their followers to work for them with fantasies and illusions.

Sart could even conclude that the unseen Heretical Cultist was at least a Silver Tier expert in mental manipulation. It might even be a Gold Tier.

At this thought, Sart glanced at the contemplative Aaron, then exchanged a look with Alice. The ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger.

Aaron did not notice Sart and Alice exchanging meaningful looks. He was unaware of so many details and merely muttered inwardly, "Does this count as a locked-room murder?"

So other worlds had locked-room murders too!

Vaguely, Aaron felt as though he had grasped some clue. He sensed that Tien's death had some inexplicable connection to him. He instinctively rubbed his chin, recalling everything he had experienced since transmigrating.

At that moment, Alice coughed softly, interrupting his thoughts once again. "Ed should already be waiting for us. We should set out as well. I believe the City Lord will provide us with more clues and information."

Sart looked up at the already considerably darkened sky, then turned to Aaron and asked, "Are you planning to meet the City Lord?" As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Alice and gestured toward Aaron with his eyes.

After thinking it over, he ultimately handed the decision over to Aaron.

If Aaron did not want to meet the City Lord, Sart would naturally find a way to force Alice to go alone.

The threat posed by this unknown Heretical Cultist was simply too great. They could not afford to let their guard down.

Many times, the more you knew, the faster you died.

Of course, if Aaron wanted to go of his own accord, Sart would not stop him. He would simply accompany Aaron there.

Unable to see where the future was heading, Sart could only go with the flow and observe how things unfolded.

Alice likewise understood the implication behind Sart's words. She opened her mouth, but under Sart's gaze, she ultimately could not bring herself to speak.

She knew how dangerous this was as well, and she also knew that Aaron was merely an expendable figure in this matter.

She wanted him to go with her only to make use of his identity and, incidentally, let the City Lord know the House of Iris's stance in advance.

Aaron truly was not essential to her going there.

However, if her future husband died at the hands of a Heretical Cultist, would that mean she could then...

Alice instinctively stopped herself from continuing down that line of thought. As a member of the House of Iris, she ought to sacrifice everything for the family's honor, including herself.

At this thought, she even felt faintly ashamed. Her gaze toward Aaron also softened slightly.

"I..." Aaron had clearly noticed their differing attitudes and hesitated.

After the Enlightenment Ritual, his slightly more active intuition faintly warned him that going to the City Lord's residence seemed to carry some unexpected danger.

The feeling was extremely subtle and difficult to describe, yet it was incredibly real.

If it had been someone else, they might have been considering backing out by now.

Unfortunately, the way Tien had died had rekindled Aaron's curiosity. Instead, he wanted to witness a locked-room murder in this other world.

Alternatively, he might also need to use Alice's House of Iris and Star Tower behind Sart to build momentum for himself...

In the end, he looked at Sart and nodded. "Let's go take a look at the City Lord's residence. I seem to have some kind of feeling..."

Aaron deliberately made his words extremely vague. After all, Sart had been just as vague with him before, merely saying that Aaron would be his aid in advancing someday...

At least for now, Sart did not seem to harbor any ill will toward him.

Since that was the case, Aaron might as well raise the banner of "feeling" and follow it all the way to the end.

Only a charlatan could fool another charlatan!

As for what this "feeling" was?

Aaron believed Sart would fill in the blanks himself.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Sart merely furrowed his brows, nodded thoughtfully, and wore an expression that seemed to say, "I understand."

Even Alice could not help looking at Aaron in confusion, seemingly trying to figure out what this feeling was.

But she immediately recalled how Aaron had spaced out several times earlier. Then she remembered that Aaron had now become a Black Iron Tier Beyonder, and she could not help but believe him a little more.

"Then, Master Sart, I hope we can get along well in the time to come." Alice bowed slightly to Sart, then looked at Aaron. "Please come with me. Ed should already be there."