Mr. A? Mr. A from the Aurora Order? Klein had intended to slowly move along the wall and in the shadows to the doorway, silently retreated again.
Ince Zangwill is likely collaborating with a faction within the royal family... The power capable of excavating and hiding such a large underground ruin near Backlund must be one of the dominant forces in the Kingdom of Loen...
The addition of Ince Zangwill and "0-08" immediately eliminates the Church of the Goddess as an option. While the Lord of Storms's people are a bit reckless and chauvinistic, they are unlikely to cooperate with the Demoness Sect. At least so far, no Beyonder of using the " Sailor " pathway have appeared... Similarly, the Church of Steam and Machinery is also unlikely to be a suspect...
The Aurora Order is involved too? What exactly are they trying to do?
Klein leaned against the corner of the wall, slowing his breathing as he listened to the conversation coming from the center of the hall, deep in thought.
After a brief silence, a deep, hoarse voice rang out:
"Alright."
The answer was so concise that Klein couldn't understand what they were planning at all.
The previously clear and pleasant voice chuckled softly and said:
"You don't seem to trust us very much?"
"Yes." Mr. A replied without hesitation.
"Hehe, then let me frankly describe our purpose and why we're seeking your cooperation," the gentle female voice said without anger. "We've done some things, leaving certain traces. Before they're discovered by the Evernight, Storm, Church of Steam, and the military, we must eliminate them accordingly, and that requires your help. Um, it seems you haven't truly understood what I mean. Let me give you an example. Suppose, suppose I commit a serious crime like murder in a house, what's the best way to destroy the evidence and clues?"
"No need. Our purpose is precisely to let others witness this behavior," Mr. A said indifferently.
... As expected of the Aurora Order... they're all a bunch of Lunatic... Klein tentatively confirmed that the man who spoke was Mr. A, the one who killed Ambassador Intis.
"... Assuming it's me, not you." The soft female voice had barely audible breathing sounds.
After a second, Mr. A replied:
"Bury that house and bury all the clues inside."
The soft female voice carried a hint of laughter:
"That's exactly what we're thinking. I'm in charge of 'setting the fire,' and you use this opportunity to amplify the trend, create channels or containers for your Lord to descend into the world."
"The only price you'll pay is to bear all the infamy and incur the utmost hatred from the military and the three major churches, but I don't think you'll mind."
"As long as we can welcome the Lord's return, we will not be afraid even if we are hated by all forces." Mr. A's tone was no longer so indifferent and detached.
Arson? Aurora Order take this opportunity to complete the descent ritual of the " True Creator "? This is the third time... How did I run into this again... This is a damn curse... Klein couldn't help but curse in Chinese in his mind.
At this moment, he was both extremely curious and wary of the conspiracy between a certain faction of the royal family, the Demoness Sect, Ince Zangwill. It was so terrifying that he needed the descent of the " True Creator " as a shield!
Perhaps they have a hidden plan that will ultimately disrupt the Aurora Order's ceremony and wipe out all forces except themselves... Klein thought with a mixture of tension and calm.
"It seems you have no more questions." A soft female voice chuckled. "This place is very secluded and properly arranged. You can conduct the ceremony with peace of mind, without worrying about being disturbed before success. As for the outside, we have also completed preparations and have been waiting for me to light the first 'flame' for a long, long time. If you still have doubts, you can check it again."
Just as Mr. A was about to speak, Klein heard a loud bang—the sound of the door being opened.
"Who let you in? Didn't I give orders that no one is allowed near here?" The soft female voice suppressed her anger.
" Lady Despair, there's an emergency! Someone has infiltrated the underground! I've been sent in to arrange the follow-up and close the relevant passages." A male voice with a distinct Backlund accent responded rapidly.
The so-called " Lady Despair " remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly communicating with an unknown entity to confirm the situation.
Finally, she said in a voice and tone that remained unchanged:
"Go inside and don't come out again, and don't let anyone else out either. Wait for further instructions."
"Yes, Lady Despair!" The man sprinted towards the stone gate, a loud crash echoing in the background.
From where Klein was hiding, he could see the stone gate leading to the area behind him quite clearly. He waited for seven or eight seconds, and then a figure of average height and build appeared there.
Huff... The man gasped for breath, stretched out his hands, and with a ferocious grin, pushed open the heavy stone door.
In that instant, Klein had taken in his appearance and features completely, without missing a single detail—this was precisely the extraordinary ability that the " Faceless " possessed!
The man had reddish-brown skin and obvious Southern Continent ancestry. His features were unremarkable, making him difficult to remember.
Because of his grimacing, part of his teeth were visible; the third one on the upper left, gleaming gold, was a false tooth.
This... Klein, who possessed the Spirituality intuition of Seer, frowned, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
He quickly used techniques to recall the source of the familiarity:
The " The Hanged Man " once asked members of the Tarot Club to find a man with reddish-brown skin, missing his third tooth on the left, and a thick Backlund accent.
The man's name was Botis, and he was linked to numerous cases of slave escapes and disappearances on colonial islands!
At this very moment, the man before Klein was almost identical to Botis, as described by the " The Hanged Man "!
"Slaves missing on colonial islands..."
Many tribes in the Southern Continent vanished into thin air...
Botis appeared here...
" Capim, who controls a large share of the underground slave trade, is protected by four Beyonder who appear to be ' Arbiter,' the strongest of whom are Sequence 6, and even Sequence 5..."
" Capim insists that the targets of the kidnappings are relatively innocent and naive young girls..."
The passage of the Corn Laws and improvements to textile machinery led to massive unemployment...
"Many female textile workers found new jobs and quietly left the East Borough, leaving no trace..."
In an instant, the scattered points connected in Klein's mind into a line, pointing straight to the depths of the earth!
What were they doing, requiring such a large population and so many pure young girls? A ritual? A terrifying ritual that had to be performed in secrecy and took a very long time? Klein's pupils suddenly contracted.
Squeak... bang! The stone door slammed shut, and Botis disappeared from his sight.
After a few seconds of silence in the hall, Mr. A's deep, hoarse voice rang out again:
"I smell something unexpected. Let's begin, before it arrives."
Lady Despair responded in a low voice:
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
But I need you to take me to the East Borough.
Klein had a bad feeling again about the East Borough.
"No problem," Mr. A replied, his tone flat and emotionless.
Wearing a hood, a transparent, blurry book quickly appeared in front of him, accompanied by a distant, ethereal chant:
"I came, I saw, I Record."
The book flipped through the pages rapidly, then stopped at one page, which immediately emitted a pale blue, ethereal light.
The light enveloped the Lady Despair in her Pure White robe, blurring her figure before making her disappear completely.
In an instant, Lady Despair saw countless transparent shadows of indescribable shapes, and discovered at the highest point, beams of clear light containing boundless knowledge.
Her body was dragged forward by a strange force, moving rapidly, and in no time she left her original spot, arriving at a secluded, deserted, dirty, and disgusting alley corner.
She pulled down her veil to cover her face, looked up at the sky, and saw that the afternoon the Sun was once again obscured by clouds and mist, becoming pale and dim.
The pale yellow fog wasn't particularly thick, drifting throughout Backlund, carrying a slightly pungent smell, cold and damp.
Unfortunately, they didn't get to wait until the smog was at its worst and calmest... The accident that happened to Trissy, the sudden and brief loss of control of "0-08", the appearance of Azik, and the previous destruction by the " Black Emperor " made things bigger and more attention-grabbing, forcing the operation to be brought forward to today... Lady Despair looked around, walked out of the alley, and entered the street.
Her steps were slow, as if she were wandering in an ocean of mist.
The fog thickened imperceptibly where she passed, taking on a slightly iron-black hue, indicating that the distance between them had subtly decreased.
After she left the street, a homeless man in an old jacket with a sallow complexion suddenly coughed violently until he collapsed to the ground.
Two poor people who were very close to the homeless man stepped back in fright, then covered their throats and made hoarse noises, as if they had a serious lung disease or bronchitis and could not breathe.
A haze of iron-black and pale yellow descended upon the East Borough, the Dock Borough, and the Factory Borough where smoke was billowing out, and continued to spread throughout Backlund.
The distant scenery was "submerged," and even the towering clock tower was reduced to a pale shadow. One by one, the workers and the poor began to feel unwell. The homeless, struggling against the cold and hardship, fell ill and collapsed one after another along the route the lady had taken. Human life was as fragile as the foam in the laundry.
The Lady Despair had a calm and gentle expression, as if she were completing a work of art.
She walked among the passersby without any unusual behavior, a slight smile playing on her lips, and chuckled softly:
The history of the Kingdom of Loen will remember this day:
" The Great Smog of Backlund Incident."
The dark valley was completely covered by the pitch-black, illusory surface of water, but the writing of "0-08" did not stop.
It frantically weaves absurd, ridiculous, and terrifying stories wherever it can find a place to write:
"... The fact that his trousers fell down did not affect Ince Zangwill's performance, because he was wearing a robe, and perhaps he had anticipated such an unexpected incident..."
"The ' Law Mage ' Awe Azik Eggers, temporarily Deprivation him of two powerful extraordinary abilities, making him a truly helpful ally. However, the gate between the Spirit World and the Underworld was drawn by Azik's characteristics and knocked on by the power of their battle, causing unpredictable changes."
"At that moment, an unknown entity was drawn to this place and, taking advantage of the moment, extended its reach into the real world. Alas! It seized Ince Zangwill!"
In mid-air, two blood-yellow arms covered in writhing, rotting flesh suddenly emerged from behind Ince Zangwill, who was dressed in a black priest's robe!
They grabbed Ince Zangwill by the shoulders and dragged him into the void, into the Spirit World.