Chapter 200: Demoness of Pleasure

Chapter Two Hundred
Demoness of Pleasure

A synonym of war… a Sequence neighboring the Demoness pathway… Which pathway could that be?

As Klein watched the holographic-film-like scene unfold before him, he recalled the Sequences he knew.

Because he was only a formal member of the Nighthawks, there was still much information he could not access. Regarding the names and characteristics of mid- and high-Sequence potions, he was almost completely in the dark. He knew only the Priest of Light and Unshadowed he had “peeked” from the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Dawn Paladin, Guardian, and Demon Hunter of the God of Combat pathway that the Sun had mentioned, as well as Spirit Guide and Gatekeeper, which Daly and Dunn had revealed.

Therefore, it was very difficult for him to judge accurately whether a Sequence pathway could be considered synonymous with war. He could only use elimination.

For example, the God of Combat pathway did not seem like war itself, but more like individual combat.

As his thoughts moved, Klein narrowed the range to five possibilities.

The first was the Arbiter pathway jointly controlled by the Augustus family, the rulers of the Loen Kingdom, and the Castiya family of the Feynapotter Kingdom. But Klein felt this was the least likely. Sequence 8 of Arbiter corresponded to Sheriff, while Sequence 7 was Interrogator. It appeared to develop toward judgment and verdict, not war.

The second was the pathway represented by the Black Emperor of the Fourth Epoch’s Solomon Empire. Its modern Sequence 9 name was Lawyer. It excelled at discovering and exploiting loopholes in rules and weaknesses in opponents, and possessed outstanding eloquence and argumentative logic. Klein believed this pathway was the second least likely. He suspected that its development lay in using rules and walking within the shadows of order. Of course, war could also be counted as one of order’s shadows.

The third was the Hunter pathway, jointly held by the Einhorn family—the rulers of the Feysac Empire—the Sauron family, former royal family of the Intis Republic, and the Iron and Blood Cross Order, a secret organization that had appeared only in the past two or three centuries. Klein believed this was rather likely.

The Nighthawks’ internal materials described Hunters as excellent trackers, outstanding trap experts, and accomplished killers. The corresponding Sequence 8 was called Provoker, while Sequence 7 was Pyromaniac. All of these held a certain connection to killing and war.

The fourth was the Criminal pathway controlled by the ancient organization that followed demons, the Blood Sanctify Sect. Just from the Sequence name alone, Klein felt it had no small possibility.

The fifth was the Prisoner pathway held by the Rose School of Thought, famed for bloody sacrifices. The reason was the same as the previous one.

While Klein’s thoughts were spreading, the scene changed once again. Madam Sharon had just finished bathing. Her damp hair fell down her shoulders, and her face carried a charm that was both fresh and seductive.

I could not see clearly the appearance of the white-robed woman who led Madam Sharon into becoming a Demoness… It should be that my spirit-channeling ability is still insufficient…

Klein reined in his thoughts and refocused on the scene before him.

Madam Sharon brushed her hair back, as if droplets of water were sliding down her face.

Looking toward the man waiting on the bed, she gave a low chuckle.

“Do you need me to help you deal with Maynard?”

The middle-aged to elderly man on the bed frowned and shook his head.

“Unless you can guarantee leaving absolutely no trace. But that is impossible. And what method could you possibly have?”

Seeing this gentleman, Klein first froze, then felt that it made sense.

Photographs of this middle-aged to elderly man often appeared on the front pages of newspapers like the Tingen Honest People. He was the current mayor seeking reelection, a member of the Conservative Party.

Madam Sharon smiled and did not continue down that topic. With her nightgown half slipping from her body, beauty faintly visible beneath, she approached the bed.

Scene after scene changed. Klein saw quite a few councilmen, merchants, and government employees who appeared from time to time in the city’s newspapers.

Some discussed how to collect donations. Some exchanged methods of bypassing the Election Act to bribe voters. Some promised protection and problem-solving services. Madam Sharon played the role of a broker among them.

This is actually a documentary, is it not… Madam Sharon Takes You Through Tingen’s Upper Circles… Hm. But why are there beds in so many scenes… Many nobles and councilmen clearly know Madam Sharon has many lovers, so why do they still look like they cannot resist temptation… Is this Madam Sharon’s Sequence ability?

Klein thoughtfully watched everything while silently speculating and mocking.

Through the spirit channeling just now, he confirmed one point: none of the people in Tingen’s upper circles knew Madam Sharon’s true identity. None had proactively joined her in murdering Councilman Maynard.

In other words, Councilman Maynard’s death was Madam Sharon’s own initiative?

Why did she do that? She had no need to take the risk.

Of course, from Madam Sharon’s perspective, she possessed an extraordinary ability to interfere with divination. She could also create a sudden death from pleasure that appeared to have no problem on the surface. Dealing with Councilman Maynard was not a matter that carried excessive risk or would easily expose her. But her motive was clearly insufficient. It did not match the risk she had to bear.

Could this have been needed for her “acting”? But she could have found a target whose identity and status were not so sensitive. In that case, the case would never have required the assistance of the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, or the Machinery Hivemind.

More importantly, Madam Sharon should have been able to tell that Councilman Maynard’s wife hated her and was filled with unwillingness. There was a considerable chance she would hire someone to investigate. So why did she not move sensitive items like the white-bone statue in advance—burying them somewhere in the garden, for example?

Was she that confident in the safe, the hidden compartment, and her corresponding arrangements?

Amid his confusion, Klein saw that Madam Sharon’s spirit had not obviously dissipated yet. Seizing the time, he performed another dream divination.

This time, the content of his divination was:

“The true motive behind Madam Sharon’s killing of John Maynard.”

After silently reciting it, Klein once again entered the dream and once again saw a new scene.

Madam Sharon held a glass of blood-red wine and wore a loose nightgown as she paced back and forth inside the room. In the end, she drank the remaining wine in one gulp, as though making a certain decision.

The scene swiftly scattered. Klein grew even more puzzled, because Councilman Maynard’s death truly appeared to have been something Madam Sharon voluntarily decided to do. No one had incited her.

“Strange…”

Klein muttered inwardly. He tried several more times using other divination statements, but the answers were no different.

Seeing Madam Sharon gradually turn transparent and illusory, nearly about to vanish, Klein thought for a moment and performed one final spirit channeling:

“The potion formulas of the Demoness pathway.

“The potion formulas of the Demoness pathway.

“…”

Klein silently repeated the new divination statement and, with meditation’s help, swiftly entered the dream.

Originally, he had not intended to perform this divination, because he believed the Demoness pathway belonged to the type that spread disaster and manufactured pain. Even if he obtained the corresponding potion formulas, he would not be willing to sell them to others and become an indirect murderer.

But in the next second, he remembered something from before: by understanding the Spectator potion formula, he had suspected and confirmed Daxter Guderian’s membership in the Psychology Alchemists.

Therefore, in order to better deal with Demonesses in the future, understanding the characteristics of their Sequence pathway was necessary.

Hm. After Hood Eugen’s death, Daxter Guderian has not contacted me. The Psychology Alchemists must have sent comparatively powerful members to investigate, making him too afraid to take any action…

As that thought flashed, Klein once more saw the deep, shadowy hall and the woman draped in a pure white robe.

Madam Sharon lowered her head, able to see only the other party’s legs—a pair of flawless legs.

Very soon, a voice as beautiful as song entered her ears:

“Pleasure. That is the name of the Sequence 6 potion, and it is also the goal of your coming advancement. If you succeed, you will become a Demoness of Pleasure.

“Pleasure that makes one unable to leave and difficult to resist is a form of pain. This is the maxim you must follow.

“Once you complete the advancement, aside from every aspect of a Witch’s abilities becoming stronger, you will become even more beautiful. You will excel at charm. You will excel at giving unforgettable joy to men or women through lovemaking. Like a spider, you will be able to create strange threads and make full use of them.”

Immediately afterward, a silver ancient book appeared before Madam Sharon. Once it opened, one side bore a formula, while the other held the ingredients:

“Main ingredients: one pair of eyes from a Desire Banshee; one silk gland from an adult Widow Giant Spider.

“Supplementary ingredients: 100 milliliters of pure water; 5 drops of black datura juice; all remaining hair from the Desire Banshee; 10 grams of powder made from ground Feynapotter flies; 5 grams of genuine mummy ashes.”

The scene changed once more.

It was the same deep hall, the same white robe with high slits at the sides, the same woman whose face could not be seen. But the difference was that Madam Sharon had returned to her original appearance—the young man from the photograph.

A beautiful female voice echoed in his ears:

“This is the name of the Sequence 7 potion. I imagine you must be very surprised.”

“Yes. I cannot believe it is called Witch!” “Madam Sharon” said, somewhat agitated.

“Remember. If we wish to draw close to the Primordial, we must become more and more like Her. She is female, so we must be female as well,” the beautiful voice answered. “You either give up, or you accept it. After becoming a Witch, you will become a true woman and gain a tremendous improvement in appearance and charm. You will possess invisibility and the ability to use substitutes. You will initially grasp all kinds of black magic, become skilled at interfering with others’ divinations, and receive the favor of black flames and frost.”

“The main ingredients are: all the blood of a Black Abyss Demon Fish, and the egg of an Agate Peacock.

“The supplementary ingredients are: 80 milliliters of pure water; 5 drops of golden datura juice; three Shadow Lizard scales; 10 drops of daffodil juice.”

…

Scene after scene flashed by. Klein saw the Instigator formula, the Assassin formula, and learned the corresponding characteristics of each.

When he tried to continue divining, Madam Sharon’s spirit had completely dissipated.

Exiting the ritual and returning to reality, Klein packed away the materials and removed the wall of spirituality. Without concealing the slightest thing, he told Dunn Smith everything he had gained from the spirit channeling, then expressed his doubts about Madam Sharon’s murder of Councilman Maynard.

“Pleasure truly does not require killing someone of comparatively high identity and status… Hm. We need to investigate where Madam Sharon has been over these years, figure out her true background, and find that deep hall you saw. Of course, this needs to be reported to the Sanctuary and arranged by them in a unified manner. We cannot leave Tingen as we please.”

Dunn nodded lightly and looked around.

“You go to the first floor and check whether those servants are still asleep. If someone has already awakened and discovered the disturbance here, bring them over and have them sign a confidentiality agreement according to procedure. I will take responsibility for the second floor.”

He had already found the black cloth and covered Sealed Artifact 3-0217.

Hearing this, Klein suddenly came to a realization. He finally understood why the intense battle earlier had not drawn the servants and attendants over.

The Captain had made them enter slumber from the very beginning.

Klein’s body still retained some coldness and stiffness, so he could only slow his steps, moving lightly and carefully.

As he passed the bedroom door, he reached out, forcefully pulled free the two tarot cards embedded in it, wiped them, and put them back into his pocket.

Leaving the room, he walked toward the staircase.

After a few steps, he suddenly thought of a problem: how was he supposed to confirm whether someone was asleep?

Use divination one by one? That would be troublesome… The Captain is a Nightmare and an expert in this area. I should ask him whether there is a quick and simple method.

As soon as the thought appeared, Klein turned around and, still fighting the cold and stiffness in his body, moved step by step back toward the bedroom doorway.

Before he truly drew near, his gaze passed through the open door and saw the shattered full-length mirror set at an angle inside.

A small half of it still hung on the frame, fractured into palm-sized shards.

In the many-cracked mirror, Dunn Smith, wearing a black windbreaker, was half prone beside Kernli’s corpse, doing something unknown.

Suddenly, Dunn raised his head. His gray eyes were dark and deep, and the corners of his mouth were stained all over with dark-red blood.

Dark-red blood.

Klein instinctively turned around, left the doorway, and pressed his back against the wall.