Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 207 Mr. Men

No. 32, Weierdi Street, Daqiao South District.

After finishing the meeting with the investigators from the Psychological Alchemy Society, Audrey, in disguise, took a carriage to this ordinary house that was cordoned off.

This time, after showing her senior inspector's credentials, Audrey was allowed into the two-story house.

Walking through the messy and dark scene, Audrey saw Claire, wearing a police uniform, leaning against the window under the crimson moonlight shining in from the balcony.

"Captain Galadilla, you didn't tell me that the meeting place was a crime scene." Audrey handed the nightmare doll back to the other party and looked around curiously.

This place looked like it had been visited by thieves. All the cabinet doors were wide open and various items were scattered on the floor. However, these items were covered with a light dust, which seemed to indicate that the theft had occurred some time ago.

"Is this the case our team is responsible for? The Beyonder theft case?" Audrey asked curiously.

"The first two groups of thieves weren't Beyonders, but among the stolen items was a magical item. It wasn't a very complicated case..." Claire briefly explained and asked Audrey about the Psychological Alchemist Society. "How's your side? What were your impressions after meeting them?"

"That's true... Captain, I'm still underage..." Audrey smiled as she recalled the afternoon's meeting. "They were both very gentle people, and they seemed like an organization focused on academic research. I was also surprised by their identities, but I'm sorry... I can't reveal their identities."

Restricted means?

This is normal.

Claire looked at Audrey and said, "It seems they value you very much."

Audrey spread her hands and shrugged in a rather unladylike manner, saying, "They value the Hall family's daughter, who's into mystical psychology."

Claire raised an eyebrow when she heard this. This low-key organization that seemed to focus more on research actually valued Audrey's identity rather than her own.

There's something wrong...

When Claire was silent, Audrey took the initiative to ask, "Do you need my help with this case?"

Claire waved her hand and said, "That's not necessary. This case isn't complicated. It's already serious enough to warrant an investigation report. I'm only staying here because I have an appointment to meet someone."

"Waiting for someone? Who?" Audrey asked casually, then added, "Can you tell me?"

Claire answered without hesitation, "Fors Wall."

"Oh?" Audrey glanced at the full moon outside the window and said suddenly, "It's a full moon..."

Audrey was aware of the full moon whispers that plagued Fors. When she heard Fors was coming, she muttered, "Then I'll just stay away... I'm not planning on revealing my identity to Fors and the others yet."

Audrey took the initiative to withdraw, which Claire didn't mind. But as Audrey was leaving, she said to her, "I've applied to the Holy Church for you to participate in the training. Do you want to go? It can systematically sort out and supplement the various extraordinary common sense you lack."

"The temple? The quiet church in Wintershire?" Audrey was visibly stunned. Going to the temple was a very tempting thing for her who was keen on exploring the mysterious world, but it happened too suddenly and the distance was too far.

"This opportunity is rare. Not everyone's application will be approved," Claire said calmly. "You can go home and think about it first."

Audrey hesitated: "Then our team is responsible for investigating the case..."

Claire smiled and said, "This case is being handled jointly by the two major churches. The absence of a newcomer like you won't have any impact."

Audrey was quite tempted, but she still said cautiously, "Thank you for your application, Captain. I'll think about it... I'll give you a reply tomorrow night or the day after tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Claire agreed, but she was secretly complaining.

Tomorrow evening……

Tomorrow is Monday. I wonder if Audrey will consult the Fool and the other members at the Tarot Club...

But this kind of thing doesn't matter.

Applying for Audrey to go to the temple for training was originally just an excuse to transfer Audrey away from the Capin case.

Claire was certain that Audrey, who was heading towards the mysterious world, would not miss the opportunity to attend training at the Tranquility Church.

After Audrey left, Claire used the nightmare doll and the bone box to summon the storage evil spirit and placed the holy coffin in the room under the crimson moonlight.

After waiting for a while, a woman with slightly curly brown hair appeared in front of Claire through the wall.

The woman's pale blue eyes fixed on Claire with wariness and anticipation.

"Long time no see, Fors." Claire greeted with a smile.

Fors's gaze shifted to the pure black coffin beside Claire. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Claire again, saying, "Good evening, Ms. Galadilla. Did you bring the holy relic that can block the whispers of the full moon this time? Where are the lady and gentleman from last time?"

"They naturally have things to do." Claire raised her hand to open the holy coffin and asked Fors, "When did the mumbling begin?"

Her face paled slightly as she recalled the Full Moon's mumblings. Fors said, "Based on past experience, it should be around half an hour longer."

Hearing this, Claire suggested, "To ensure you've avoided the influence of the Full Moon's whispers, wait until you show any signs of abnormality before taking shelter in the Holy Coffin."

Fors nodded in agreement, which was consistent with her thoughts. "Then I'll trouble you, Ms. Galadilla."

"Xiu is an important member of my team. I'm happy to help her friends." Claire invited, "Fors, do you want to join us? Not everyone is as tolerant as I am. The authorities are very strict in catching wild Beyonders."

Fors was still hesitant. She didn't want to convert to the Goddess of Night.

"Is it because of faith?" Claire saw Fors's concerns. The subtle influence of long-term faith seemed difficult to eliminate. Claire thought for a moment and then said, "Should I introduce you to the Church of Steam and Mechanics?"

Fors looked at Claire in surprise when she heard this.

Claire smiled and said, "I don't have the ability to do that, but the three major churches are connected and often cooperate with each other. Therefore, it is not impossible for me to introduce you, a believer, to join the peripheral members of the Mechanical Heart... Of course, the Mechanical Heart's review is up to you personally."

Fors thought about it seriously, and finally shook her head.

She doesn't want to change her current living situation.

Even becoming an Extraordinary wasn't something she longed for; it was more of an impulse from her youth.

"Does your Beyonder characteristic come from the Abraham family?" Claire asked after seeing that Fors was still in good condition.

"Abraham..." Fors muttered. Ever since being troubled by the full moon's whispers, the usually lazy girl had been forced to search for a solution. With Xio's help, she had heard of this family. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think so."

Fors sighed and recounted her journey to becoming a Beyonder:

"About three years ago, I was still a trainee doctor at a clinic, earning a decent salary. Although I was a little anxious about the future, I was diligently working with senior doctors to improve my skills and save money... It was during that time that I became acquainted with an elderly lady who frequently visited me."

"The old lady was very lonely and childless, and her partner had passed away ten years ago. I felt a little sympathetic towards her and often talked to her and chatted with her. But her health was very poor."

"As you can imagine, this old lady led me into a mysterious world, even gave me the recipe for the 'apprentice' potion, and instructed me on how to handle her affairs after her death..."

"As she had left me, I was watching over her body when I saw a glowing object suddenly appear. At that moment, I knew it was the main ingredient for the potion she had left me... I used the old woman's remains to create a potion according to the recipe, and successfully became an 'apprentice.'"

"According to the old man's instructions, the whispering curse during the full moon is a family inheritance. Now that I think about it, that family is probably Abraham's family."

"The old lady said that as long as an outsider like me doesn't get curious and inquire too much, it won't bother me too much."

"That was indeed the case during the time I first became a Beyonder..."

"But when I was avoiding danger, I used the bracelet the old lady left me. Since then, the full moon mumbling has suddenly worsened."

Fors chuckled bitterly. She unzipped her sleeve and pulled out a bracelet with a green stone from her wrist. She showed it to Claire and sighed.
"But even so, I continued to use the bracelet, and the Full Moon Whispering became increasingly severe, until last time... If it weren't for the help of the powerful members of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, I would have turned into a monster."

After listening to Fors's narration and observing the cyan stone on the bracelet on her wrist, Claire said, "Do you know why I chose this sealed-off house as the meeting place?"

In response to this sudden question, Fors shook his head blankly.

Without further suspense, Claire explained:
"Because the original owner of this house was a descendant of Abraham's family."

"According to the church's investigation, this descendant of Abraham collected extraordinary materials according to the family recipe, prepared the 'Apprentice' potion, and chose a full moon night to swallow the potion!"

Fors couldn't help but cover her mouth: "Taking the potion on a full moon..."

Taking potions is the moment when it is easiest to lose control, and if the full moon whispers are confirmed to be a blood curse of Abraham's family, then this descendant of Abraham is simply courting death!
Looking at Fors's astonished expression, Claire sighed and said, "Not surprisingly, that person lost control, and as a result, a magical item related to the 'apprentice' was born."

"Mysterious item..." Fors calmed down and asked, "Has that item been taken into the care of the Church of Evernight?"

Claire shook her head and said, "No, before the Nighthawks discovered it, thieves had already come here and stolen all the valuables and the magical item."

"We speculate that the lost items should contain potion formulas for the 'apprentice' path and some records of Abraham's family history."

"But what puzzles us is what kind of thieves would steal valuables and also take away things like books and notes that are not easy to carry with them."

When Fors heard the potion formula, her heart was shaken. She had wondered if the influence of the full moon whisper would be weakened after the sequence was promoted, but she had never found the potion formula for the subsequent sequence, so even this conjecture could not be verified.

Who would have thought that in this messy and ordinary house, the subsequent potion formula of the "apprentice" might have appeared?!
"The thief is a Beyonder?" Fors blurted out.

"Not really." Claire shook her head. "The Nighthawks' investigation was very thorough. They found that two thieves had visited this ownerless house."

"The first thief should have taken the things, but he suddenly disappeared. It was such a strange disappearance that even we couldn't find him..."

"The latter thief died here, having encountered an evil spirit. The Night Watcher speculated that it was the evil spirit of Abraham's descendant."

"Besides that, there must have been a third person who visited here before the Nighthawks, because there are signs of evil spirits being cleared out!"

After hearing what Claire said, Fors, who was good at reasoning, suddenly had an idea and said:

"Those books and notes that may have existed were taken away by a third party!"

Fors muttered quickly:
"The first thief simply stole things from the house and disappeared inexplicably under the influence of the magical object. But he didn't encounter any evil spirits, perhaps because of the magical object.

"And the second thief was even more unlucky! He died directly at the hands of the evil spirit..."

"As for the third one, the Beyonder who exorcised the evil spirit, I'm afraid he's the one who truly knows what's good. He looted all the books and notes related to the Beyonder here."

Claire nodded and smiled. "Our church's theory aligns with yours. Therefore, the Nighthawks' subsequent investigation will focus on clues about the 'apprentice' and subsequent potion formulas... If relevant potion formulas suddenly appear on the black market recently, it's very likely that they were obtained by the Beyonders who visited this place."

Fors sighed regretfully and said, "Putting aside the potion formula, I really want to see the records of the Abraham family..."

"I looked through the church's records and found some relevant information. The Abraham family was a prominent noble family during the Tudor dynasty. In the supernatural world, they were known as the 'Angel Family.'"

"Angel Family..." Fors was keenly aware of the weight of this word.

Claire was not stingy with this knowledge and explained:
"Angels are powerful beings whose powers approach those of gods. They don't exist only in legends... Today, they exist within various major churches and within some dangerous secret organizations."

"Angel... there's a word that's easier for you to understand."

"That is, Sequence 2!"

Sequence 2!

Fors, who was still a Sequence 9 "apprentice", couldn't even imagine the power of this Sequence. However, she grasped Claire's description of it as being close to a god, which made her marvel at the glory of the Abraham family.

But at the same time……

She recalled that the message Xio had brought back mentioned that the full moon whispers were most likely the influence of a high-level being on the "apprentice" path.

Fors suddenly looked up at Claire's elegant face.

Claire's crimson eyes were deep and alluring as she spoke slowly, "Abraham's family curse most likely originated from this powerful ancestor..."

"According to the records, his name is 'Bethel'! He is also known as 'Mr. Gate'!"

Just as Claire mentioned the name, Fors' ears suddenly heard that familiar and crazy whisper!

There was no time to react——

Fors's spirit suddenly collapsed!

Her body also underwent changes!
Claire, who had been prepared, enveloped Fors with the holy coffin at that moment...

(End of this chapter)