Chapter 51: “Arrogance”

Chapter 51: “Arrogance”

“What is this place?” Audrey asked without much change in expression, as though she were inquiring about the location of tonight’s ball.

Pauli Delrau, who called himself the president of the Psychology Alchemists, also turned his gaze toward the carriage window and said with a smile,

“This is the city within everyone’s heart.

“Where there are people, it exists.”

Audrey nodded thoughtfully.

“In other words, one can enter this place from any corner of human society?”

Delrau stroked the wheel of his chair.

“Correct.”

He did not explain further. Instead, he pointed to the pedestrians outside the carriage window.

“Everything here has a corresponding psychological symbol. They are called ‘Bestial Desire.’”

Bestial Desire… Audrey silently repeated the term. While maintaining her dignified sitting posture, she let her gaze travel farther.

Among those “pedestrians,” apart from werewolves, there were upright-walking bears, languid cats, strange people whose faces were colorful spiders, giant rats with crimson eyes, pythons flicking their tongues, and some kind of canine creature that examined every passerby with a gaze filled with mating desire…

They either wore top hats and trench coats, or complicated, exquisite, dark dresses. They did their utmost to imitate humans in every detail, yet could not truly make themselves human.

The carriage traveled beneath the dim night, weaving between one “pedestrian” after another and all kinds of Gothic buildings. Very soon, it arrived before a church at the very center of the city.

The church was more than eighty meters tall, supported by one black pillar after another. A certain number of skulls were embedded in each pillar. Some came from humans, while others belonged to different creatures, but all of their hollow eyes were pointed downward, as though they were watching every living being that entered the church.

Like the majority of buildings here, every detail of this church could be called exquisite. Yet the elements composing those details leaned toward nightmares, shock, horror, and mystery.

After stepping down from the carriage and passing through the main entrance, Audrey saw a magnificent yet empty hall.

Deep within the hall stood a gigantic cross. A grayish-white dragon sculpture coiled around it.

Unlike ordinary churches, there were no rows of seats for believers to pray in here, nor any place where candleholders were placed. Before the dragon sculpture, there was only a modest long table, with five chairs on each side. The seats at the head and foot of the table were empty.

Pauli Delrau maneuvered his wheelchair to the very head of the long table, then pointed to his left side.

“Please sit.”

Audrey followed behind him neither quickly nor slowly. After glancing left and right, she casually pulled out a chair and sat down.

Her position was not too near to the president of the Psychology Alchemists, nor too far away. It properly displayed her vigilance without making her appear guilty.

Pauli Delrau raised both hands, clasped them together, and rested them on the surface of the long table.

“Miss Audrey, there are some matters I wish to ask you.”

“Please go ahead.” Audrey turned her head slightly and met the other party’s gaze with her emerald-green eyes.

Delrau nodded almost imperceptibly.

“I wish to know how you advanced to Sequence 4 Manipulator. Where did your potion formula and Beyonder characteristic come from?”

Audrey answered frankly,

“They came from a transaction.

“A certain commissioner hoped to obtain help from a demigod of the Spectator pathway and paid the Manipulator potion formula and Beyonder characteristic in advance.”

Delrau immediately gave a laugh.

“Such a thing actually happened? Those terms are so generous that it sounds like a father searching for an excuse to give his daughter a gift.

“May you tell me exactly what help you provided?”

“Encircling and killing another demigod. In that matter, mental control was quite crucial.” Audrey briefly explained in a few sentences.

Her attitude was very calm, as though she were merely describing homework assigned by a tutor.

Delrau’s long, fluffy brows shifted slightly.

“You succeeded?”

“The result is obvious.” Audrey gave the answer in a relatively tactful manner.

Delrau examined her from head to toe, as if only now realizing that the noble girl on his left was a Manipulator capable of killing other demigods.

Audrey read his thoughts and added,

“I was only one of the participants.”

Delrau nodded.

“Do you know where that commissioner’s Manipulator potion formula and Beyonder characteristic came from?”

“He did not directly explain that matter.” Audrey gave the answer using words she had long prepared.

“He? Can you tell me who he is?” Delrau asked after considering his phrasing.

Audrey had been guarding against the other party splitting out a virtual personality and infiltrating her mind island. Yet from the beginning until now, she had not discovered anything abnormal.

This made her suspect that the other party did not need to infiltrate her mind island at all. Perhaps he could discern her truest thoughts simply by observing movements within the surrounding sea of collective subconsciousness.

She made no attempt to disguise the truth and calmly replied,

“This involves an agreement between him and me. I believe keeping one’s promises should be a moral standard recognized throughout the world. And in mysticism, this involves a great deal more.”

At this point, Audrey took the initiative to say,

“If your inability to truly trust me because of my concealment on this matter is unavoidable, I am willing to accept that.

“I can remain only an ordinary member and use my contributions to exchange for whatever psychology research materials I can obtain.”

Hearing this, Delrau smiled.

“Everyone has secrets of their own. That is very normal. What I need to evaluate is whether your secret will affect the safe operation of the entire Psychology Alchemists.”

He looked deeply at Audrey again and said,

“Then may you tell me how you came to know such a commissioner?”

“I remember I once reported to you that before joining the Psychology Alchemists, I had already come into contact with some people in mysticism circles and knew several Beyonders.” Audrey spoke words so true they could not be more true.

As for the true logical order of her earlier answers, that was another matter entirely.

Moreover, the “disappearance” of Hvin Rambis had originated from the investigation into Fors and Xio. That was a fact both sides had not communicated about, yet absolutely acknowledged.

Delrau withdrew his hands from the table and placed them between his chest and abdomen.

“One more question. When was the last time you saw Hvin Rambis?”

Audrey frowned slightly.

“I remember you have asked before.”

After Hvin Rambis’s death, she had not immediately cut off contact with the Psychology Alchemists. She had still maintained a certain connection with the upper ranks through Hilbert, Stephen, Escalante, and others. Only when the war approached Backlund had she discovered that the members of the psychology research group under her had become unreachable for all kinds of reasons.

“I need to confirm it once in person.” Delrau’s attitude remained peaceful.

Audrey gently nodded.

“The last time I saw Councilor Hvin Rambis was inside Viscount Glaint’s residence. At that time, following his instructions, I hypnotized two Beyonder friends I knew and asked them why they had investigated Viscount Stratford and who was directing them from behind the scenes.

“At the time, Councilor Hvin Rambis was nearby, ensuring that nothing went wrong with the hypnosis. After learning the answer, he quickly left.

“After that day, I never saw him again.”

While answering, Audrey continued guarding against the invasion of her mind island. Yet it remained calm and tranquil, with nothing happening at all.

That not only failed to make Audrey relax, but made her increasingly vigilant. She even did not dare think about anything related to Mr. Fool or The World Gehrman Sparrow.

She was certain of only one thing: if she were in danger of exposure, Mr. Fool would definitely provide protection.

“Consistent with your previous answer.” Delrau slowly nodded.

He then looked into Audrey’s emerald-green eyes and spoke frankly,

“I cannot use mystical methods to trace the source of the Beyonder characteristic within your body. This indicates that there is an existence beyond imagination behind the one who provided it.”

Audrey nodded slightly but firmly, expressing that she believed the same.

“I cannot force you to stop cooperating or trading with other Beyonders. That would be unrealistic. I only hope you promise one thing: do not reveal anything related to the Psychology Alchemists to anyone. At the very least, when you wish to entrust certain tasks to others, you must package them properly and conceal the secrets.” Delrau withdrew his gaze and spoke peacefully.

Without hesitation, Audrey replied,

“I promise not to tell any living being who does not possess the corresponding authority about matters related to the Psychology Alchemists.”

She took the initiative to broaden the concept of “person” into “living being,” filling a loophole in the promise.

And the moment her words fell, she felt one thought after another emerge within her mind island.

These thoughts intertwined, becoming an illusory web. It seeped into the interior of Audrey’s mind island and transformed into her subconsciousness.

Because this “web of restriction” came from Audrey’s own spirituality, even if she became an angel, she would be unable to remove it. When facing nonmembers of the Psychology Alchemists or members without sufficient authority, she would lose the desire to communicate matters related to the Psychology Alchemists.

And she herself would be unable to recognize this fact.

He did not invade my mind island. Merely by relying on my own words, he made the promise become substantive… Audrey was shocked inwardly, though it was not especially obvious on the surface.

Of course, she did not fully suppress it either, because astonishment at such a method was an instinctive reaction for a Manipulator.

Based on this point, she suspected that either there was something wrong with the city inside the mind, or that Delrau, president of the Psychology Alchemists, was not merely at the Saint level.

Seeing Audrey make the promise, Delrau pointed at the long table with satisfaction.

“From now on, you are a councilor of the Psychology Alchemists’ council.

“You may choose a personality mask as your code name.”

As he spoke, seven grayish-white, rather illusory, abnormally cold masks appeared on the long table. Among them, five were placed in their corresponding positions, seemingly already with owners.

“The two remaining personality masks are Wrath and Arrogance,” Delrau introduced. “They originate from the holy scriptures of the Creator from the Third Epoch.”

Audrey thought for one second, then reached toward the personality mask that contained no anger.

“I choose Arrogance.”

Delrau glanced at her and chuckled softly.

“That was also Hvin Rambis’s choice back then.”