Chapter 42: Each Fulfilling Their Role

Chapter 42: Each Fulfilling Their Role

A softer method… The Hermit Cattleya, who merely lacked experience involving high-level existences, immediately formed a new idea and tentatively said, “Let Miss Magician participate more often in Backlund’s various Beyonder gatherings and ‘accidentally’ reveal that she has a connection with the Abraham family, drawing the Aurora Order’s attention?”

Seeing that The World Gehrman Sparrow did not deny it, Cattleya thought further and looked toward the other side.

“How to make this matter reasonable, without arousing suspicion; how to design the steps and process of this ‘exposure’; how to lay the groundwork through repeated gatherings—this may require Miss Justice’s help.”

In her view, only a Manipulator who could accurately grasp the various psychologies of gathering participants could make the plan natural, reasonable, and free of any visible flaws.

“Mm.” Justice Audrey nodded solemnly. In her heart, she felt a faint excitement.

She then added, “Although I have not done many similar things before, I will work hard to make everything seem reasonable.”

…Why am I suddenly feeling afraid again? Why does it feel as though everyone is inexperienced, aside from Mr. World, who cannot directly participate? Uh, Madam Hermit may have plenty of experience in other areas, but she probably has not done this kind of hunt either… This is not a game. This is a cruel operation where one careless mistake could get someone killed… Magician Forsi inexplicably trembled as she listened, deeply doubting the “qualifications” of most members present, herself included.

However, when she thought that Miss Justice and Madam Hermit were already Sequence 4 demigods, while she and The Star were also Sequence 5, she felt that perhaps this was not too severe a problem. After all, every powerful person accumulated experience step by step from a state of having none. Besides, they still had The World Gehrman Sparrow—the strongest hunter upon the Five Seas—overseeing things.

Reasonable… planning… manipulation… Listening to Madam Hermit and Miss Justice’s exchange, Klein subconsciously extracted the key words.

They made him think of his experiences using 0-08 and being arranged by 0-08, causing him to sigh inwardly:

No wonder Sequence 1 of the Audience pathway is called Author. This is indeed a very reasonable development—only it shifts from “guiding” to “forcing”…

“There is no need for you to rush the specific arrangements. Go back and think carefully about them. Mm, and you will also need to adjust according to feedback on-site.” The Hermit Cattleya nodded thoughtfully and suddenly gained a new idea. “When Miss Magician participates in Beyonder gatherings, you had best hide in the nearby area as well. Use your control over the sea of collective subconscious to listen to every participant’s inner voice and accurately grasp the feedback.”

Will thirteen Virtual Personas be enough? A Beyonder gathering should have more than thirteen members… Hmm, I can rotate the ‘listening’ and pick out key targets for close attention… Justice Audrey quickly analyzed feasibility, then gave an “Mm.”

“No problem.”

To her, this was both a form of training and a kind of acting—without directly using Beyonder powers to influence the targets, she would instead rely on precise grasp of their mental states, on language, performance, movement, and “script” to “manipulate” the corresponding people.

Seeing that Miss Justice had no problem, The Hermit Cattleya looked toward Magician.

“To guard against a sudden attack and better grasp the situation around you, I need to plant something on you.”

“What is it?” Magician Forsi asked warily.

Cattleya glanced at The World seated at the very bottom of the mottled long table. After receiving this blessed of Mr. Fool’s approval, she raised a hand and pressed it against the center of her brow.

Before her appeared a pair of nearly transparent eyes. They had no eyelashes and were cold and emotionless.

“These are Eyes of Mystery Pry. After becoming a Mysticologist, I can place them on others. Whatever they see is equivalent to what I see. Once they enter a concealed state, they are very difficult to discover through other means,” Cattleya briefly explained.

Seeing this, Klein leaned back slightly and let out a long sigh inwardly.

When he had first grasped Spirit Vision, he had seen something similar behind Old Neil.

If he had possessed his current accumulation of mysticism knowledge back then and noticed the problem earlier, perhaps things would have developed differently.

If those strange eyes are planted on me, wouldn’t that mean Madam Hermit will be watching me even when I go to the bathroom… Magician Forsi inhaled silently and asked hesitantly, “Can you plant them before each gathering instead?”

“If we come into frequent contact, it will be easy for others to notice. Furthermore, the Saint of Secrets Botis will not appear only at times chosen by you.” The Hermit Cattleya pushed the heavy glasses on the bridge of her nose and explained a few points. At the end, she added, “Do not worry. I will not look at what I should not look at.”

This was a lesson learned through tears and blood.

Forsi fell silent for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled.

“All right…”

The Hermit Cattleya gave a light nod and continued, “After discovering clues related to the Abraham family, the Aurora Order will inevitably conduct a certain investigation. For the sake of safety and avoiding accidents, they will definitely send someone sufficiently confident. Among them, the Saint of Secrets Botis is undoubtedly the one most concerned with and most interested in the Abraham family. Considering that Backlund is not suitable for the main body of a King of Angels to act, the probability of him appearing is the highest.”

At that moment, The Star Leonard, who was leaning back against his chair, raised his hand.

“Not necessarily.

“According to the intelligence we have, the Aurora Order has another high-ranking member in Backlund. He is called the Dark Saint. After Mr. A disappeared, he came forward to organize certain matters.

“When the time comes, the one responsible for tracing clues of the Abraham family may very well be him, not the Saint of Secrets. After all, this is his ‘diocese.’”

So the demigod I encountered when assassinating Mr. X was the Dark Saint? Klein understood somewhat and gave a very slight nod.

The Hermit Cattleya had already prepared for this possibility. Without hesitation, she said to The Star, “This may require your help. Recently, investigate more cases involving the Aurora Order and strike them more often.

“This way, their activities will become inconvenient. After discovering clues of the Abraham family, they will very likely seek support and let, mm, the Saint of Secrets—whose mobility is stronger and whose actions are more concealed—take charge.”

The Star Leonard thought of his recent task list and nodded slightly.

“That can be done.”

As the captain of a Red Gloves team, he possessed authority in this area.

“The only question is whether this too might be foreseen by the True Creator.” After agreeing, Leonard turned toward Klein.

Klein thought briefly, then pointed out indirectly, “You are likewise under the gaze of a deity.”

The Star Leonard seemed to understand. He withdrew his gaze and said to The Hermit Cattleya, “I have no more questions.”

The Hermit Cattleya lifted the arm of her glasses slightly and turned her gaze toward Judgment.

“The Beyonder circles Miss Magician participates in will be controlled, as much as possible, within the East Borough and Backlund Bridge areas. Those should be places you are very familiar with. You must constantly pay attention to whether there are abnormalities and inform me at once of the situation around the gathering location.”

“All right.” Judgment Xio felt disappointed that she could only handle these peripheral matters, but she also understood clearly that, with her strength, this was all she could do.

At that point, The Hermit Cattleya thought for a moment and added, “You are a Judge. When the time comes, you may need to impose some area-wide prohibitions. This may not be effective against the Saint of Secrets Botis, but it should create some interference. Do not doubt it. When fully prepared and acting only as support, a Mid-Sequence Beyonder can likewise influence a saint within a certain range.”

The premise for all of this is that demigod faces demigod, while I only provide support… Judgment Xio’s childhood education and her current role in MI9 both emphasized cooperation. She could easily understand Madam Hermit’s words.

At this point, the plan had taken shape. What came next would be repeated adjustments through practice.

Magician Forsi had just breathed a sigh of relief when she suddenly remembered something. She hurriedly said, “Mr. World mentioned before that Botis may possess a Grade 0 sealed artifact. How should we handle that?”

To be frank, she did not have any direct impression of exactly how terrifying a Grade 0 sealed artifact was, because she had never encountered one nor seen others encounter one. However, she had repeatedly experienced the Grade 1 sealed artifacts Gehrman Sparrow borrowed from Mr. Fool, and clearly understood how terrifying they were. Grade 0 sealed artifacts were an entire level higher than Grade 1. Their power could only be imagined. In the rumors Forsi had heard, some Grade 0 sealed artifacts could even destroy Backlund—or even the world.

The Hermit Cattleya fell silent for several seconds before saying, “On one hand, through Miss Justice’s grasp of the surrounding crowd’s inner voices, we will search for possible traces. On the other, we will use Miss Judgment’s understanding of all abnormal conditions in the region, combined with divination, to judge in advance whether such a sealed artifact is present.

“If all of these fail to provide feedback, and the Saint of Secrets Botis truly carries a Grade 0 sealed artifact, you still do not need to be too afraid. He will not kill you immediately. He will certainly seek to control you and find a safe place to interrogate you. We will have enough time and opportunity to attempt to separate him from that sealed artifact. Remember, a sealed artifact in a Beyonder’s possession is not completely equal to part of his own strength.

“During this process, haven’t you also Recorded some high-level Beyonder powers? If the situation becomes critical, do not hold back. Use everything to flee.”

You don’t sound especially confident either… Magician Forsi’s face suddenly turned pale. She forced a smile.

“I will do my best.”

At that moment, The World Gehrman Sparrow took the initiative to speak.

“When necessary, you can pray to Mr. Fool. I will also ask Him in advance to provide a certain level of protection and some revelations.”

Because this operation could not threaten Klein’s true body no matter what, and because it might involve a Grade 0 sealed artifact, he, who had preliminarily grasped Sefirah Castle, could at most obtain some revelations.

That is good… Magician Forsi, Judgment Xio, and the others all silently breathed a sigh of relief.

This private gathering was nearly over. Klein glanced at The Hermit Cattleya and said, “It appears the operation will not be finished before the New Year. I will advance you part of the payment.”

He then condensed the portion of mysticism knowledge he had not previously mentioned into a ball of faint white radiance and pushed it to The Hermit.