Chapter 17: A Problem of Intelligence

Chapter 17: A Problem of Intelligence

From what Leonard knew, among the great nobles of the Tudor Empire during the Fourth Epoch, the Abraham family ranked first, surpassing even the Amon family that possessed the Blasphemer. Of course, he was not sure whether the so-called Amon family might have been formed entirely from that godson’s avatars, with no other members at all.

Miss Magician is actually an important member of the Abraham family… No one here is simple… Is this what they call a gathering of protagonists? Leonard first sighed in amazement, then mocked himself.

Sun Derrick did not speak, nor did he develop any associations. He listened attentively to Mr. World’s description and the exchange between Miss Magician and Madam Hermit, firmly memorizing everything.

To him, no matter what happened in the “outside world” where the other members lived, most of it had little to do with himself or the City of Silver. Only matters involving Kings of Angels were worth particular attention. After all, whether it was the Angel of Fate Ouroboros, the Dark Angel Sasrir, or the Red Angel Medici, all of them had left traces in the regions surrounding the City of Silver. The Angel of Time Amon had even appeared personally, bringing an indescribable terror.

Only after everyone fell quiet did Derrick begin thinking about a few questions:

Whatever is spoken of will be known… How should I tell the Chief about this? Or perhaps it’s fine not to say it for now. I can simply mention that Amon is the Creator’s son, and that He has a brother on the same pathway as the Dragon of Imagination…

If the City of Silver encounters a disaster we cannot resist, and I speak Adam’s name, will He hear it? Can He enter this land abandoned by the gods?

Thinking up to this point, Derrick immediately felt somewhat ashamed, because even if such a situation truly occurred, the name he should recite would be Mr. Fool’s honorific name.

At this moment, The World, Gehrman Sparrow, spoke again:

“Although the War Angel Medici fell long ago, He did not completely perish. His remaining spirit fused with the residual souls of the ancestors of the Sauron and Einhorn families, evolving into an evil spirit. In the matter of Ince Zangwill’s death, traces of it appeared.”

Klein specifically pointed this out for two reasons. First, through Leonard, he wanted to pass the relevant intelligence to the Church of Evernight. Second, he wished to remind The Hanged Man to take caution. After all, this gentleman had gone to Bansy twice and might have some fated entanglement with the Red Angel evil spirit.

That evil spirit is the War Angel Medici? Leonard was shocked, but not overly astonished. He had already guessed that, at the time, more than one great figure had definitely appeared besides Adam!

Then, comparing the titles War Angel and Angel of Imagination, he suspected that the evil spirit had also been a King of Angels while alive.

And such an evil spirit, under the influence of the Luck Stealer charm, had actually been sent into the Underworld without putting up much resistance!

The Old Man’s status may be even higher than I imagined… Mm, before Madam Daly and I arrived, the evil spirit must have been weakened by Adam, and even by Mr. Fool. Otherwise, it would never have been an enemy we could confront… Right, what was Adam doing then? I didn’t see Him appear throughout the entire battle… Could another great figure at the level of a King of Angels have been holding Adam back? Waves surged in Leonard’s heart, and he actually forgot to observe the reactions of the other members.

The War Angel Medici… After His fall, He evolved into an evil spirit… Bansy was where His descendants lived… He was one of the founders of Rose Redemption… The Hanged Man, Alger, rapidly connected a series of information, and many things became clear to him.

“The mural I saw at the Bansy Harbor telegraph office should have been drawn by that evil spirit!

“The reason The World, Gehrman Sparrow, asked me to investigate traces at Bansy Harbor was to grasp the movements of that terrifying evil spirit so the subsequent plan would not be disrupted.

“Good thing I didn’t destroy that mural. Otherwise, I might have been noticed by that evil spirit…”

While breathing a sigh of relief, Alger became increasingly vigilant. He planned to have the Blue Avenger keep far away from Bansy Harbor from now on and turn north into the Sonia Sea to investigate the other matter Mr. Fool had previously assigned.

Justice Audrey, The Hermit Cattleya, and the other members all listened and memorized attentively without developing too many additional associations. The matter The World, Gehrman Sparrow, described already contained the most important, crucial, and abundant information. They lacked the extra experiences and knowledge needed to expand the issue further.

After sharing the information that required attention, The World gave a low, hoarse laugh.

“That is more or less all.”

The scene fell silent for a short while. Then Moon Emlyn straightened his back slightly, looked ahead, and said,

“A great figure of my race will soon arrive in Backlund and has asked to see me by name.”

He paused. Seeing that the other members did not respond, he cleared his throat and continued,

“How should I deal with Him?”

Him… Another angel… Star Leonard felt inexplicably numb. Then he noticed one point: Mr. Moon had mentioned the concept of “race,” and he had red eyes.

Leonard froze briefly, then thought to himself:

“This is a Sanguine?

“Sanguine… He can’t be Emlyn White from the Harvest Church, can he? He was very close to Klein’s great detective identity!”

Leonard could not help looking several more times at The Moon’s side profile and figure. The more he looked, the more familiar the other party seemed, until he could almost confirm it.

Emlyn undoubtedly noticed The Star’s scrutiny, just as Justice Audrey, both astonished and faintly excited, confirmed that Mr. Star had suddenly discovered that he knew Mr. Moon in the real world.

Did I say something wrong just now? This Star fellow seems a little surprised… Does he know me in the real world? Do I know him? A string of thoughts instantly flashed through Moon Emlyn’s mind. By instinct, he wanted to twitch his nose and smell the scent of the new member beside him, but he was blocked by the gray fog and gained nothing.

As he looked around, waiting for The Hanged Man, The Hermit, and The World to offer analysis and suggestions, he tried hard to recall whether he had ever seen someone like The Star.

Gradually, he gained a faint sense of familiarity. Yet because the impression was not deep, he could not remember for the time being.

At that moment, Justice Audrey was thinking about a different question:

Mr. World knows Mr. Star, and Mr. Star knows Mr. Moon. Then could Mr. World also know Mr. Moon?

Subconsciously, she studied the figure seated at the very bottom of the bronze long table several times, but she could not “read” anything too useful from The World, Gehrman Sparrow.

After several seconds of consideration, The Hanged Man, Alger, turned to look at The Moon and spoke after weighing his words:

“Mr. Fool just said that the era has changed. Although the great figures of your Sanguine may not know the details of what happened, at Their level, They should have more or less sensed something and will be preparing to respond.

“That great figure asking to see you by name is both a test and an observation. You only need to behave as you usually do. But afterward, there may be a small test, or some missions.”

Same as what I thought. The second step—tests and missions—has arrived. I wonder what revelation the Ancestor will give… Moon Emlyn nodded lightly to The Hanged Man.

“Thank you.”

Seeing that the previous question had already been answered, Magician Fors, who had been holding back for a while, spoke proactively:

“Mr. Moon, there was a serious problem with the information you gave about the abandoned castle.

“There were indeed two ancient wraiths there, but underground there was also a door. Behind that door was sealed a powerful force of corruption. As long as one enters the region where the ancient wraiths are, they will be eroded by it.”

This… Moon Emlyn frowned slightly.

He was not angry. On the contrary, he felt that Miss Magician’s statement was not wrong.

Since the person who provided the intelligence knew there were two ancient wraiths there, there was no reason they would overlook that door!

As a cultured and noble Sanguine, Emlyn never wished for others to suffer loss or harm because of his mistakes or negligence. He cared about such things a great deal. After thinking for a moment, he said solemnly,

“I will investigate the source of the intelligence and give you an explanation.”

Because Magician Fors had already returned safely, she did not care too much about it. She gave a soft “mm,” indicating that she would wait for the result.

As for Mr. Fool’s saving grace, since it happened once a month—and sometimes even twice—she had already lost count. She only thought that whatever orders Mr. Fool gave in the future, she would simply do them.

After hearing their exchange, Justice Audrey asked with both concern and curiosity,

“Do you know what brought that power of corruption?”

Magician Fors shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

Seeing that Mr. Fool did not offer a hint, and that she currently had no Roselle diary pages to exchange for an answer about which Card of Blasphemy had been obtained, Audrey withdrew her gaze and focused on listening to the other members communicate.

After some time, the learning portion ended, and the Tarot Gathering approached its conclusion. The members stood and bowed farewell toward the head of the bronze long table.

This time, Leonard was no longer so sluggish.

As the crimson light faded, he returned to the real world. Before his eyes lay a red glove that had not yet been put on.

Just then, a slightly aged voice suddenly sounded in his mind:

“Just now, whose dream did you visit?”

The Old Man is awake… Leonard was first delighted, then breathed out in relief.

He did not immediately answer Pallez Zoroast’s question. After considering his words, he said,

“Do you think it’s possible that Dwayne Dantès was, at a certain point, Azik Eggers? That Azik used some item to disguise himself as him?”

After learning that Dwayne Dantès was a public identity, he had developed doubts about the Old Man’s previous judgment, because the Parasite had concluded that Azik Eggers and Dwayne Dantès were completely different in appearance and aura. Yet Mr. Fool’s favored ones could not each look exactly like Dwayne Dantès, nor could they all be Beyonders of the Seer pathway. So since they had created such a public identity, it meant they possessed a mystical item or Sealed Artifact capable of changing one’s appearance. Added to the interference from a favored one’s ancient aura, it was not impossible for even an angel to misjudge.

Pallez Zoroast fell silent for two seconds before saying,

“You’ve reminded me. Azik Eggers does indeed have a mask that can turn him into anyone.”