In the living room, Countess Caitlyn sat on the sofa, with the assistant butler, the butler's assistant, and the stewards in charge of the relevant tasks standing before her.
She gave clear and orderly instructions on all the matters concerning the evening's banquet until her daughter Audrey, arrived at her side.
"Mom, I have something to tell you." Audrey's gaze swept over the others in the room.
On her way to the living room, she felt the ground tremble slightly twice, but found nothing else unusual.
The Countess glanced around and nodded slightly.
"Please come in later."
The living room quickly fell silent; even the golden retriever Susie was shooed out of the door by Audrey's gaze.
"You should spend more time by my side, learning how to handle affairs. Although your family education includes such content, effectively combining it with practice is still a profound skill." The countess, who was over fifty but looked only in her early thirties, smiled and advised, "Alright, my little Angel, what is it?"
Audrey wanted to flash the elegant smile she had practiced repeatedly in etiquette class, but found herself too tense and unable to lift the corners of her mouth.
She pursed her dry lips and spoke directly:
"Mom, I'm hiding something from you."
"Hmm?" The Countess tilted her head slightly, waiting for further explanation.
Audrey's words were initially hesitant, but then became fluent:
"I am already an Beyonder, someone with magical abilities, achieved through consuming Potion."
The blonde, blue-eyed Countess Caitlyn raised an eyebrow and responded without surprise:
"I know.
"Your father and I both know."
"Huh?" Audrey was momentarily at a loss for words.
The Countess covered her mouth and chuckled, saying:
"You took so many wondrous materials from the treasure vault, do you really think your father and I didn't notice?"
"Around your father, in this villa, and within the family's territory, there are many Beyonder. Some are simply hired, some are dispatched by the Church of the Goddess, and some are members of the Hall Family themselves. His Majesty the King has tacitly approved of these things, and we have also tacitly approved of your little adventure. Alas, you will eventually grow up and mature. Your father and I cannot always protect you under our wings. There will always be times when you need to face certain things alone. Having additional magical abilities can make your trump cards even better."
"Well, based on what I know of common sense, the initial stage shouldn't be too dangerous. Advancement will take one, two, or even three years. So, your father and I aren't in a hurry. We plan to give you some advice after you officially come of age, and let you stay where you are now."
No, Mom, your common sense is Error. You don't know about the Acting Method. If I gather all the materials, I can become Sequence 7 " Psychiatrist " before the New Year... Besides, I don't want to stop. Duke Negan's death made me realize that the world isn't as peaceful and stable as I thought. I want to have the power to protect you in crucial moments...
As Mr. The Fool gradually revives, one evil god after another attempts to descend. Although I am not mature enough and lack the necessary knowledge, I can still sense the hidden, indescribable crisis from these events... Audrey has always been very clear that the extraordinary materials she took from the treasury are an inescapable problem, but she also takes a chance and thinks that her parents do not know the specific function of those items, at most they suspect that she is getting deeper and deeper into the circle of occult enthusiasts.
Having unloaded the burden from her heart, she avoided her mother's admonitions and spoke:
"Mom, I later joined a Concealment organization, the kind that's more academic and doesn't worship evil gods. Please forgive me for not being able to reveal its name or details; I've already sworn an oath to it."
Before the Countess could ask, she cut to the chase:
"I received news today that the commoner girl Prince Edessak fell in love with is a Witch, and they are plotting something."
There is no necessary connection between her two statements. The former refers to the " Psychology Alchemists," while the latter source of information is the Tarot Club, specifically Mr. " The Fool."
Through this word order, every word she utters is made to seem true, verifiable through Divination, yet it makes one believe that her information comes from the Concealment organization, the " Psychology Alchemists."
Caitlyn's smile gradually faded, and she solemnly asked in return:
" Witch?"
She didn't know much about the mysterious world, but the mere mention of it made her feel evil and uneasy.
Audrey nodded quickly and said:
Yes, a ' Demoness of Pleasure '.
"And what terrifies me even more is that her name is Trissy Cheek."
"What's the problem?" the Countess asked, puzzled.
"Within that organization, a member saw the name Cheek in an ancient book," Audrey said, recounting the Lies she had just concocted. Her tone, word choice, facial expressions, and body language were flawless. "In the Fourth Age, or even earlier, it belonged to the Primordial Demoness."
She then added solemnly:
"That's an evil god!"
Countess Caitlyn did not understand what the " Primordial Demoness " meant, but she knew very well what an evil god meant.
She suddenly became restless and asked in a faster voice:
"Are you sure?"
"... Uncertain." Audrey believed in Mr. " The Fool " without a doubt, but she couldn't say that outwardly. "In any case, I think it's necessary to ask the royal family, no, to ask the Beyonder of the Church of the Goddess to make some confirmation. When it comes to matters involving evil gods, no amount of caution is ever wrong."
Caitlyn looked up at her daughter with some surprise:
"... Audrey, you've grown up."
If things weren't so urgent, Audrey would have pretended to be reserved upon hearing such praise, first feigning modesty and acting coquettish, then going back to her room smug, perhaps even doing a little twirling dance.
But right now, she couldn't care less about any of that; she was too busy letting her worry and anxiety show on her face.
"Mom, can you help me keep this a secret? I heard that the Beyonder in the church and the royal family have a deep hatred for Concealment organizations that don't belong to them. Well, you could say that Dad got the information; he should have many channels."
Caitlyn stood up and gave her daughter a hug:
"Don't worry, neither your father nor I will let you get involved in this kind of thing."
"Your father won't be back until evening. I'll have the hidden guards appear first, pretending it's him who delivered the message, and then I'll go find the Beyonder sent by the Church of the Goddess to protect our family."
"Okay!" Audrey replied happily.
At this moment, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling exhausted and powerless from maintaining a high level of tension for so long.
As several flaming meteorites hurtled down at high speed, engulfing the entire forest, Klein felt powerless to resist and was filled with despair, waiting to die.
Even with his constant use of Flame Jump, he couldn't escape the forest or the dangerous core area before the "meteor shower" hit the ground. And with the fragile body of Beyonder using the " Seer," there was no way he could withstand the meteorite head-on.
Even Living Corpse that a pistol couldn't wound would be instantly turned into pieces or minced meat under such an "attack," and charred black at that... Flame Jump... A yellowish-white light entered the depths of his eyes, and Klein, who hadn't given up, quickly came up with an idea.
In this scenario where time is measured in seconds, he didn't hesitate; he decided to do it as soon as he thought of it.
Snap!
After calculating the distance in his mind, Klein snapped his fingers, igniting the remaining flames inside the matchbox simultaneously.
A crimson flame shot up and quickly enveloped his figure.
Without a sound, Klein vanished from his spot and Blink within the flames above the meteorite.
brush!
The meteor plummeted rapidly; he had barely leaped out of the flames when he was already separated from the meteorite and plunged into the terrifyingly hot air around him.
At the moment he leaped using his extraordinary abilities, Klein was not afraid of ordinary flames, even if the temperature was a bit high. However, once he was out of that state, he could only try his best to Flame Manipulation to avoid himself, and he would still be burned and burned to death.
In addition, hot air is not within the range of his "jump".
Snap!
Klein snapped his fingers again, causing the air, which was at the critical point, to explode instantly.
He Blink into another flame, trying to avoid the first wave of impact from the meteorite hitting the ground.
However, no matter how he tried or how risky he was, he could not escape the danger. He had only two choices: either jump into the woods away from the front and endure the impact of the falling meteorite, or perform acrobatic leaps above and wait for the "mushroom cloud" to engulf him.
In that instant, Klein seemed to see himself torn to pieces, his body charred black, with embers still visible.
A thought flashed through his mind, and suddenly his vision changed. The reds became redder, the yellows became yellower, and the whites became whiter. The various colors overlapped in a rich and complex way, creating a strange oil painting!
The "oil painting" seemed detached from the real world, allowing Klein to watch as the meteorite "slowly" fell and crashed to the ground.
The forest was instantly destroyed, the ground visibly shook, and smoke mixed with firelight rose up, forming a strange mushroom-shaped cloud.
This impact did not affect Klein, because it simply could not penetrate the overlapping color blocks, resembling a static "world of oil painting".
... Klein was taken aback at first, then noticed a figure standing beside him.
The figure was of medium build, with bronze skin, wearing a long black dress and a half-high silk hat. He had a pair of brown eyes that revealed a sense of vicissitude, and his features were quite gentle. There was a small black mole below his right ear.
"Mr. Azik!" Klein exclaimed with delight.
He finally understood what scenario the revelation he received from the Divination corresponded to.
It corresponds to the present moment!
"Sea of blood" represents a certain death, while "being pulled up by Mr. Azik " means that he was saved because of him!
He had barely finished speaking when Azik waved his hand, grabbed his arm, and led him into the depths where various rich colors overlapped!
The ordinary-looking quill pen stopped writing on its own, and its surface became somewhat dull.
The stern-faced middle-aged man with only one eye grasped it and, in a kind of Spirit Channeling state, quickly wrote:
" Azik Eggers clearly hasn't fully recovered his memories and strength yet. His attempt to travel between the Spirit World and the Astral World failed due to a potential problem, and he and Sherlock Moriarty ended up not far from Ince Zangwill and his friends."