Chapter 196: The Spirit Medium’s Mirror

Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Six
The Spirit Medium’s Mirror

Klein retreated all the way out of the heavy safe. Only after sensing that nothing had gone wrong did he calm himself.

“That white-bone statue is truly sinister… Though it was not dangerous, it still made my heart tighten for no reason… Could it be the so-called Primordial Demoness? The evil deity named alongside the Hidden Sage, the Dark Side of the Universe, and the True Creator?”

Thinking of the guess he had just made about Madam Sharon, Klein suddenly understood which existence the white-bone statue might represent.

While he was thinking, his spirituality suddenly stirred, and a bad premonition surged up.

Klein hurriedly flew to the window carved with intricate patterns and looked toward the road outside the house. Under the glow of the gas streetlamps, he saw a carriage traveling quickly and steadily toward the front gate.

Madam Sharon is back?

His heart stirred. He immediately understood the source of that sense of danger.

Considering that Tris had turned into a woman only after Sequence 8 Instigator and likely belonged to Sequence 7, while Madam Sharon had been active in Tingen City’s upper social circles for many years, there was a high chance she was stronger than Tris. Klein did not dare rely on the Sunflame Charm and Azik’s copper whistle to take risks. He rationally decided to retreat.

For one thing, the former existed in limited quantity; each use meant one fewer, and he had no idea when he could trick out the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem again. Unless the situation was critical, unless there were no other options, Klein did not want to waste it. Afterward, he would also have to face the problem of explaining himself.

He could hardly tell Dunn that a kind-hearted powerhouse happened to pass by and casually helped him.

As for why he did not use Azik’s copper whistle, that was because Klein could not be certain whether the “messenger” it summoned had combat ability. What if the other party only looked mighty and could do nothing but deliver letters?

“The things I found just now are already enough for the Nighthawks to mobilize. Why should I duel Madam Sharon one-on-one? Clearly, we can gang up on her!”

Klein emphasized this point inwardly, ended the summoning, and with a whoosh returned above the gray fog. Then he wrapped himself in spirituality and plummeted back into his physical body in the real world.

He swiftly extinguished and put away the candle, removed the wall of spirituality, slipped out of Madam Sharon’s bedroom, and returned by the same path. However, there was no longer time to restore the latch on the balcony door.

Sliding down the water pipe and climbing over the garden wall on the side opposite the front gate, Klein remained hidden until he reached the neighboring street before hailing an expensive nighttime rental carriage to Zouteland Street.

…

Wearing a black dress that made her delicate beauty even more striking, Madam Sharon slowly returned to the second floor. After dismissing her maid, she turned the handle and opened the door to her bedroom.

Her pure, moist eyes suddenly froze. Reflected within them were thin, nearly transparent threads—threads so faint they were almost invisible. They did not possess the light of spirituality. They were like diseased human hair. If one did not already know they existed, or did not possess an especially unusual pair of eyes, no one would have been able to discover them.

At this moment, all those fine threads had snapped, drooping toward the floor.

Madam Sharon narrowed her eyes and cast her gaze toward the heavy iron-gray safe.

…

36 Zouteland Street. Blackthorn Security Company.

Dunn, who had one leg crossed over the other and was leisurely reading the newspaper, looked toward Klein as he appeared at the entrance of his office. His expression turned slightly strange, and he released a silent sigh.

“Were you not supposed to attempt infiltrating Madam Sharon’s home tonight for a preliminary search?

“…You found something wrong?”

Klein nodded solemnly.

“Yes.

“I suspect Madam Sharon is a member of the Demoness Sect.”

“A member of the Demoness Sect?”

Dunn set down the newspaper, chewing over that phrase. Then he asked gravely, “What did you discover?”

Klein did not sit. Leaning forward, he braced both hands on the edge of the desk and said, “First, I saw a photograph. In it was a young man, but he looked very similar to Madam Sharon.”

If he changed into women’s clothing, put on makeup, beautified himself, and used Photoshop, then he would be roughly equivalent to Madam Sharon’s current appearance…

Klein could not help mocking inwardly.

“Similar to Instigator Tris?” Dunn’s gray eyes flickered as he immediately understood.

Previously, they had judged that Tris was very likely a member of the Demoness Sect.

“Yes.”

Klein nodded with complicated feelings, then shifted topics.

“Afterward, with the help of divination, I discovered in a dream that there is a white-bone statue inside a hidden compartment of Madam Sharon’s safe. It depicts a beautiful woman, but her hair stretches all the way to her ankles, each strand thick as a venomous snake. At the tip of every strand is an eye. It is extremely strange. Captain, is this the image of the Primordial Demoness?”

Because his secrecy clearance was not high enough, he had access to very little information regarding the Demoness Sect.

Dunn recalled for a moment, then nodded with a grave expression.

“That is the image of the Primordial Demoness.

“We must act immediately and control Madam Sharon.”

Klein immediately agreed.

“Mm. If Madam Sharon is a mid-Sequence Beyonder of the Demoness Sect, then I do not believe she would fail to notice that someone infiltrated her bedroom.”

Just then, a question suddenly rose within him, and he blurted it out:

“Captain, why do the seven orthodox deities have no concrete forms and use symbolic emblems instead, while the evil gods I have encountered all possess humanoid appearances? The True Creator is like that, and the Primordial Demoness is also like that. Is this one of the differences between orthodox deities and evil gods?”

Why is there such a difference?

Klein silently added another question, but wisely did not speak it aloud.

“That is indeed the difference between orthodox deities and evil gods.”

Dunn gave an affirmative answer, then stood and walked toward the coat rack.

“We cannot delay any longer. I am worried Madam Sharon will flee.”

At this point, Dunn paused.

“Go call Kernli. The three of us will act together. This will allow us to apply for a Sealed Artifact. Madam Sharon is very likely not merely Sequence 7.”

Captain, you truly are wise!

Klein answered without hesitation, “All right.”

Then, with faint curiosity, he asked, “Captain, which Sealed Artifact do you intend to use?”

Dunn recalled and weighed the matter for more than ten seconds before saying, “3-0217.”

Because there were not many Sealed Artifacts behind Tingen’s Chanis Gate, Klein quickly remembered which one the Captain intended to apply for.

“Number: 0217.

“Name: Spirit Medium’s Mirror.

“Danger level: Grade 3. Somewhat dangerous and must be used carefully. May only be applied for during operations with three or more participants.

“Secrecy level: formal Nighthawk members and above.

“Sealing method: place in lightless darkness.

“Description: This mirror’s back is coated in mercury, while three small cracks have appeared on its front.

“When the first investigator who came into contact with it looked into the mirror, he saw a long-haired, weeping woman inside. Then he discovered that the woman was crawling out of the mirror.

“According to repeated experiments, the images reflected by this mirror are different most of the time. Even if the same person looks at it repeatedly, they will encounter different things with different levels of danger. However, all reflected images will prioritize attacking the person who looked into the mirror.

“Among them, the most dangerous situation is seeing oneself.

“If no one looks into this mirror, then under the premise that there is light, an image will automatically appear within it once every three hours.

“It does not possess living characteristics.

“Appendix: This mirror originally belonged to a Spirit Medium and was a perfectly ordinary mirror until one day, when that Spirit Medium looked into it and bizarrely committed suicide.”

Indeed. Among the Sealed Artifacts behind Tingen’s Chanis Gate, very few could be used in battle between Beyonders. 3-0217 is a pretty good choice…

Klein said nothing further. He immediately ran to the Nighthawks’ recreation room and called out Sleepless Kernli.

Tonight, Royale was on duty at Chanis Gate, Leonard was resting, Siga Teon was patrolling Raphael Cemetery and other locations, and the new member would not arrive until Sunday. Therefore, Dunn could only choose between Frye and Kernli. Considering that Madam Sharon belonged to the Demoness Sect and was not closely related to the dead, he chose the latter.

A few minutes later, Dunn returned from underground, holding a mirror wrapped tightly in thick black cloth.

To be honest, if I had not known beforehand, I would not be able to tell that this is a mirror at all. Not one part of it is exposed…

Klein and the short Kernli went forward to meet him.

“You will be responsible for using Sealed Artifact 3-0217.”

Dunn handed the mirror to Kernli.

Seeing this, Klein suddenly realized that he was already a Sequence 8 Beyonder, and one who possessed frontal combat ability. He could no longer hide to the side as pure support.

Hiss… I am a little nervous…

He touched the Slumber Charms and other items in his pockets, confirming that he was fully prepared.

“The only problem is that to make climbing easier, I did not bring my cane. Mm, I can borrow Kernli’s. He has the mirror in one hand and a gun in the other. That should be enough.”

As Klein’s thoughts ran in every direction, the three of them went downstairs and took a rental carriage to Orsna Street.

Along the way, Kernli glanced at the Sealed Artifact 3-0217 in his hands and sighed with visible tension.

“This is my first time taking part in such a dangerous operation.”

Under normal circumstances, Nighthawks did not use Sealed Artifacts when handling supernatural incidents.

When they had gone to Morse Town to deal with the haunting, applying for the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem had been insurance against a low-probability accident. Because the distance had been too great, rescue would certainly have arrived too late. This time, however, the target could almost certainly be confirmed as a mid-Sequence Beyonder.

“There is no need to worry. Perhaps Madam Sharon has already run away,” Klein said with a smile.

To be honest, he was no less nervous than Kernli.

Dunn’s gray eyes shifted toward him, and he gave Klein a helpless look.

“We should try our best not to let Madam Sharon run away.”

…

More than twenty minutes later, the three Nighthawks arrived at Orsna Street. They saw the garden and Madam Sharon’s house within the darkness, lying quietly there as though nothing had happened.

Klein took down the pendulum hidden inside the cuff of his left wrist and quickly performed a divination.

“There is danger inside.

“There is danger inside.

“…”

After silently reciting it seven times, he opened his eyes and saw the citrine pendant rotating clockwise. Its speed and range were both moderate.

This indicated that there was danger inside—not high, but not low either.