"What a good lad…" the golden-masked military saint praised approvingly. Then, he looked at Archbishop Horamick and asked with a smile, "Your Grace, what do you think?"
Although they had communicated beforehand, this was, after all, a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact. He had to ask a symbolic question to show his respect.
Horamick Haydn subconsciously drew a triangular Sacred Emblem on his chest and said benevolently, "The Lord will bless you, child."
With that, he looked at Ikanser, signaling him to briefly explain how 2-111 was used.
After receiving the hint, Ikanser looked at Kance with pity and forced a smile.
"As an MI9 officer, you should've heard of Sealed Artifacts and know that they have certain negative effects.
"The side effect of Arrodes is that it will raise a question to you in an equivalent manner after answering your question… If you can't answer it, you will be punished by it… Of course, it sometimes asks you to do certain things… But believe me, directly accepting the punishment is the best choice."
So that's how it is. From the looks of it, the question posed by this mirror is very high-end, to the point that most people can't answer it. That's why they're afraid of its punishment…
However, since I've already made up my mind, I'm not afraid of the pain that punishment will bring me. Those questions don't mean much to me.
With this in mind, Kance's gaze became even firmer. He walked around the long table, took two steps forward, and carefully observed the silver mirror out of curiosity. He discovered that, apart from the strange patterns and the two-eyed attire, there was nothing special about the Sealed Artifact… So, he retracted his gaze and asked solemnly, "Your Eminence, please tell me how to use it."
"There's nothing special about it. All you have to do is touch its surface three times and respectfully ask him questions… In addition, the entire process has to be watched by others… If it's just you, it won't answer any questions," Ikanser answered without elaborating.
"I see." Kance nodded, but he was mumbling inwardly. Why does someone have to be watching? What's wrong with him? Does this mirror enjoy excitement?
For some reason, he suddenly had a bad feeling…
However, the arrow was already on the bowstring, so he didn't have the time to think too deeply about it. He took a deep breath, picked up the ancient silver mirror, and gently stroked it three times with his right hand.
"Honorable Arrodes, my question is, who is in charge of 1-025's possession?" Kance asked according to his superior's instructions.
The surface of the silver mirror shimmered slightly, quickly outlining the scene of a man with black spots covering his face lowering a simple gemstone pendant.
Then, Ikanser, the nearby deacon of the Machinery Hivemind, and the MI9 officers saw the black spots on the man's face gradually peel off, revealing a handsome and mature face. And in the void behind him, there were three colors—blood, black, and gray.
At this moment, under the influence of the blueprint, all the members of the Machinery Hivemind and MI9 inexplicably guessed the truth—
The man in this scene was restrained by the power of three different colors and regained control of his body.
At this moment, the scene in the mirror jumped and presented an external scene. It was a scene of a factory building in a drizzle, as well as the Tussock River which was potholed by the rain as it silently flowed past the factory district.
At this point, the scene changed once again. On the banks of the slightly turbid Tussock River, several tramps hiding under the bridge under the heavy rain suddenly turned into dolls before being sucked into the illusory "door."
Right on the heels of that, the scene changed once again. This time, the lights of a bar that operated at night suddenly went out. Then, the "door" opened once again, and several black figures entered. The bar fell completely silent…
"…That factory seemed to be a factory district? 1-025… No, that possessed man is actually still in the factory district?" Ikanser frowned slightly. "Unfortunately, I can't recognize which factory it is. Otherwise, I could've gone to capture it now… However, the three colors that Arrodes displayed should represent three different powers. And with the three powers balanced against each other, the one leading the body might very well be the original personality of the possessed corpse."
He quickly analyzed it with a standardized sentence, but he thought in surprise,
Arrodes seems to be in a good mood today… It actually gave so many details… No! I can't let my guard down. The more it gives, the more terrifying the questions it raises in the future.
On the other side, Kance said in surprise, "That person's appearance after the black spots peeled off… Is he Baron Conva from 700 years ago? I saw his portrait when I was reading the documents!"
"Baron Conva? From the looks of it, the so-called mudflow that buried the castle was very problematic. He must have quite a secret!" the golden-masked military saint said thoughtfully.
At this moment, Archbishop Horamick Haydn suddenly said, "I just compared those scenes… I discovered something. The first and second scenes might very well be what happened now or just now… And the latter two should be things that have yet to happen!"
What didn't happen? That's right! It's the rain in the scene! In the past few days, it's only drizzling tonight… And in the last two paintings, the tramp on the bridge was clearly hiding from the heavy rain. Then, this scene might very well be the scene in the latter half of the night or the next few nights!
And there aren't many people in the bar for the final portrait. It should be almost dawn…
"If Arrodes really gave the scene in the order of time… then I'll boldly guess that the latter two paintings most likely happened between dawn."
Ikanser, who was most familiar with Arrodes, instantly made a guess and judgment.
Everyone in the hall, including the two saints, nodded slightly when they heard this. Archbishop Horamick stood up and said in a rare serious tone,
"If that's really the case, then it's obvious that Baron Conva is constantly moving west from the factory district! He might be looking for something… But he clearly has the corruption of a high-ranking existence. We can't let him go no matter what! The bridge area and the Cherwood and West Borough are currently in danger!"
The golden-masked military saint nodded. Just as he was about to issue an order, Arrodes grew impatient from waiting. Bloody words appeared on the mirror's surface.
With a skip of his heartbeat, Ikanser immediately felt that the mirror might be angry. He once again looked at Kance in pity and lowered his head in guilt.
At that moment, Kance also understood that he was about to face a "problem." He pulled himself together and looked at the mirror.
The blood-like words squirmed and quickly formed a question:
"Why were you dressed in female clothes the day before your sixteenth birthday?"
With a hum, the color in Kance's face drained as it flushed red.
…
At nine o'clock at night, in the gardened villa in Cherwood Borough, Ebner was verifying a type of ritualistic magic according to the description of the Book of Dead. But suddenly, the wall of spirituality he had set up was touched, so he could only stop and open the door to the study.
Standing outside the door was Mr. Skade. He said apologetically, "Detective Bryan, I'm sorry to disturb you… However, it's your friend, Miss Fani, who is visiting…"
"Fani? At this time?" Ebner looked at his watch, feeling extremely surprised. However, since the other party had braved the rain so late at night, it was obvious that he had something urgent to tend to.
As expected, once they reached the first floor, Ebner saw Miss Fani, who had been drenched by the rain and wore an anxious look on her face, quickly walk up and say,
"Ebner, something happened."
"Don't worry. Take your time. Urging won't solve the problem…" Ebner comforted her before asking in a deep voice, "What happened?"
"Emma told me about a tomb of a great noble from the Fourth Epoch… She wanted me to leak some information…" Fani said incoherently.
"Did someone discover the tomb, only to disappear shortly after returning?" Ebner asked calmly. He didn't panic, because such an outcome was "normal."
"Yes… You can even deduce that?" Fani composed herself and looked at Ebner with surprise and admiration.
That's because there's no need to make any deductions… Ebner sighed and comforted her once again, "Don't blame yourself too much. They should've thought of the risks before exploring the tomb…"
"I'm not blaming myself… It's just that just a moment ago, the bar where the gathering was held was jointly sealed off by the Machinery Hivemind and MI9! I-I'm worried…" Miss Fani said uneasily.
A joint seal? For the first time, Ebner frowned.