Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 346, 345 Ziringus
"What is the source of the increased activity in Sunwell ore..."

Tang stroked his chin as he and Klein watched the images displayed by the magic mirror, Arodes.

Soon, the image presented by Arodes stopped, ending with a lingering image of Leonard Mitchell looking thoughtful with a slight smile on his lips.

Coupled with the monocle carved from crystal that seemed to reflect the viewer's face, Klein felt a chill run down his spine.

"We didn't expect that this matter would be related to Amon."

Tang clicked his tongue and looked at Klein: "How did you come up with the idea of ​​using Arrodes to do something like this?"

“I’m just a little curious,” Klein said. “After all, this magic mirror looks quite old.”

It is well known that in the world of occultism, the longer something lives, the more terrifying it tends to be.

According to the students, the magic mirror seemed to be "omniscient and omnipotent," or at least associated with omniscience and omnipotence.

As long as the question doesn't involve high-ranking officials, or any of the taboos that this mirror was designed to reflect, it can answer your question after you've offered a question of equal value.

Theoretically speaking, Klein could have asked more valuable questions, such as why he time-traveled, where Emperor Roselle was, and whether the time-traveling predecessor at Miskatonic University was Mr. "Mistake," and whether he had good intentions or malice towards him.

However, among these issues, there may be taboo topics that cannot be discussed.

Perhaps someone is watching this magic mirror all the time.

After all, its almost "omniscient" power must occupy an important position within Miskatonic University.

"You've hit the nail on the head."

Tang nodded. "This is something we haven't been able to figure out yet. It was confirmed by a high-ranking person through the divination channel. We originally thought that the increase in activity in the Sunwell mining area was only related to the Secret Order, but we didn't expect there to be another layer of connection behind it."

Compared to those in high positions through the Diviner path, the Magic Mirror Arodes is capable of accomplishing far more.
Klein caught this information.

Perhaps in divination and in terms of collecting abilities, the Magic Mirror Arodes is indeed more powerful than most diviners.

So, it's not incomprehensible that it could see the huge secret hidden within me, but...

"I……"

"Based on the principle of reciprocity, it's my turn to ask a question."

At this moment, the magic mirror Arodes changed. The somewhat creepy face of Leonard Mitchell that was originally displayed on the mirror disappeared, and a string of ominous, blood-red words reappeared on the surface of the magic mirror.

coming.

Klein swallowed hard, seemingly a little nervous, as he looked at the new text appearing on the Magic Mirror Arodes.

"Relax, although this thing may have no bottom line, it is still a sealed object that has been restricted by the school, so it won't ask any too outrageous questions."

For example, they might ask questions like "What is your sexual orientation?", "What color underwear do you like to wear?", or "If your lover turned into a monster, would you still love him?" and so on.

Arrodes: ...

To its face, you say it has no bottom line?

Have you noticed that strange coincidences are all around you?

The words Arrodes presented eventually combined to form this sentence.

A strange coincidence?

Klein frowned, suddenly realizing something.

Those are things that I seem to have forgotten without even realizing it.

"coincide?"

Tang frowned as he looked at the words displayed on the magic mirror Arodes. He looked at Klein and waited for his reply.

Klein pondered for a moment, then looked at Arods and replied, "Yes, I have indeed sensed something."

He had indeed sensed a series of hidden, strange coincidences occurring before this.

At Arrodes's prompting, he once again recalled these seemingly normal yet too coincidental events.

This includes many aspects, including the very beginning, the deaths of Welch and Naya, the actions of the sorcerer from the Secret Order, and now the Sunwell Ore.

Everything seemed to be slowly moving towards some abnormal ending under a hidden force.

-

Meanwhile, in Backlund.

Through the connection between the Mystics, "Power" Gal Ble successfully left the Forsaken Land and arrived in this land known as the City of a Thousand.

This was the first time he had left the Eastern Continent and come to a strange land, a land he had seen through the eyes of other Mystic Puppets.

Compared to the absolute darkness of the Forsaken Land, where the sky is mostly sunny with frequent lightning and dark with less lightning, and where countless monsters roam the depths of darkness, the world outside the Forsaken Land has sunlight, air, and a completely different way of life that he has never experienced before.

The land forsaken by God is rejected by God, yet here, faith in God is everywhere.

"It really is a completely different world."

Another faceless puppet has been transferred to Silver City, disguised as him, and is being misled by Mr. "Mistake".

The cloaked Mr. "Strength" looked at the person who came to meet him.

It wasn't a historical glimpse into Tang's past or a clone of Nicholas, but a young woman dressed in a black magician's robe, with long hair that covered her ears, strikingly beautiful, with an eye-catching aura, and an air of calm and collectedness.

Is a living person.

Upon seeing Gal Bly, the beautiful and striking woman took a step forward, bowed slightly, and expressed her respect for an "angel."

“Good evening, Mr. Power. I am Archerly Lancaster, the Miskatonic investigator who will be guiding you this time.”

One, the ageless witch.

As a former outstanding graduate of Miskatonic University, Archerley, having opened the door to divinity, had already learned and understood many things that she had never dared to imagine before.

Having learned the truth about this world and understood that the end of the world was coming, she received a gift from Mr. "Mistake" and help from that person. A thousand years ago, she successfully digested the Sequence 4, the potion of despair, and became a Sequence 3 saint.

Now, the prologue to the millennium and its end, she is about to have another chance to advance, becoming a Sequence 2 Disaster Witch.

"Where is Nikolai?"

Mr. Power looked around but did not see Nicholas's Time Worm clone or Tang's historical pore image.

"Mr. Error has other problems that need His attention. Currently, dealing with Backlund is mainly the responsibility of me and another adult." Mr. Power nodded. "Yes, I understand."

They seem to be really busy.

Even if that guy has many historical pore images in the depths of the raging sea, and his status is high enough and he is powerful enough to walk on the land, the power of those historical pore images and their ability to influence Euclidean space are ultimately limited.

Meanwhile, Nikola was busy with something strange at Intis's place, and no one knew what he was up to.

Do they think that with him here, an ageless witch and "Conqueror" Brooks, that's enough?

"Zilingus's location has been pinpointed, but his current condition is unusual. Mr. Error instructed you to try to ensure he dies after the failed assassination attempt on Pallas Negan."

There is no need for Pallas Negan to die at the moment. The conservative party of the Kingdom of Rune can play a significant role in stabilizing the international situation. Now is not the time for a dreamer to become a god, so killing Pallas Negan would be meaningless.

Gal Bly understood Nikolai's thoughts. His mission from "The Hanged Man" was merely to kill Zilingus. He didn't really care about the situation in the northern continent's countries, nor did he want to get involved.

However, the secret visit of an angel to Backlund, the capital of all cities, would still cause some sensation.

In particular, this angel's purpose was simply to kill a Sequence 6 Wind Chosen.

Archerley smiled radiantly, brimming with youthful and hopeful energy.

As an ageless witch who has lived for nearly a thousand years, she adheres to the rules of the ageless witch and her heart remains that of the person she once was.

For an ageless woman, eternal youth is not just about physical appearance, but also about spiritual youth.

"Power" Gal Ble had no objection to this, however...

He went to see "Hurricane General" Ziringus.

The pirate general who had taken refuge in Backlund was now wearing human skin gloves and shivering in a dark corner.

"No, don't kill me...no, don't kill me, don't kill me...no, no, no, I won't kill anyone again...I'll never do it again! Ahhhhh, please—please, I didn't mean to kill you...no, no, stay away from me! Stay away from me!"

This person has broken down.

Gal Bly could clearly see obvious traces of memory, deity, and spirit grafting on his body, suggesting that someone had pulled many of the people he had killed from the gaps in history and grafted them onto this person.

Standing in front of Zilingus was a man in his thirties with a refined appearance.

Good evening, Mr. "Power".

He was Tang's secret lover and the first mate on the ship of the great pirate Qilingus.

"Power" Gal Bleu stared at the man with the peaceful smile for a moment, then looked at Zilingus, who was completely absorbed in his own fantasy, unable to extricate himself, and whose every move was being manipulated like a puppet on a string.

"Did you do this to this person?"

“Yes.” The man in his thirties smiled. “If you’re asking why I did this, or whether I received orders from Tang, then I can tell you very simply, Mr. Power, that everything I did was simply acting according to my own will.”

"Your own will?"

Does it convey intention through cold, hard data and code?

“No, that’s not it.” The man sighed, then said with a calm expression, “I didn’t become Tang’s puppet passively; I became his puppet willingly.”

"Power" Gal Bleu glanced sideways at the unremarkable-looking man.

"This story may sound cliché to you, but it is the truth, and it happened to me."

“I once had a happy family, loving parents, a kind wife and daughters. We lived in an ordinary port near the sea in Rune. At first, we were just an ordinary family, making a living by the sea.”

"We live off the land and the sea. We are lucky. Although life by the sea may not make us rich and powerful, at least we have enough to eat and wear. Sometimes we can even find some valuable things on the beach and sell them to the rich and powerful for a good reward."

"I thought our life together would continue until the moment I died and returned to the goddess's kingdom..."

until a certain day.

His wife, along with their five-year-old daughter and parents, boarded a passenger ship to go to the big city and broaden their horizons, while he, needing to sell his seafood, did not go with them.

That morning, his wife was overjoyed, the children were ecstatic, and so were his parents.

The family longed for the big city.

Then the passenger ship was hijacked by pirates, and everyone on board perished.

He frantically tried to find his wife, daughters, and parents at the site where the passenger ship had been hijacked, but there was nothing left there.

Any usable items have already been disposed of, or perhaps put into the production of new ships.

The rest were long ago swallowed up by the sea.

He was desperate.

He spent a long time finding out who the pirates who hijacked the ship were. He wanted revenge, and he found out and tried to take his revenge.

But the result was as expected.

Even the Sequence 9 on Qilingus's ship, who possessed extraordinary abilities, was beyond his ability to deal with, let alone one of the seven pirate generals who were already among the Wind Favored.

Later, he met that person.

He received help from that person, but only on the condition that he become his puppet.

“You still have your own memories, your own thoughts, and your own ideas. You can take revenge, but only within the timeframe I give you.”

“Before that happens, how about we watch him walk into the abyss without him even realizing it…”

"I was persuaded."

The man said regretfully, "Heh, if Hermes hadn't told Zilingus in advance that there was a problem on his ship, I think I would be admiring him right now."

He walked up to Zilingus, who was already in a deep hallucination, in a daze, his body teetering on the edge of becoming a mystic.

He kicked the other man, then kicked the man's hand, which was covered in "wriggling hunger," hard.

"Just when the vision was about to be achieved, they fell into a state of deep despair and utter disarray."

"My wife and my children died under this glove."

He turned his head to the side, revealing half his face covered in crawling, translucent worms, and smiled as he said:
“Mr. Power, tell me, did I do the right thing?”

(End of this chapter)