Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 356, 355: A New Mission
Under the power of Mr. "Mistake", the destroyed city of Tingen was transformed once again.

Everything seemed unchanged, yet everything also seemed to have been wrong from the very beginning.

Pedestrians still hurried to and fro on the street, but most of them had blank and lifeless expressions, looking more like puppets than living people. One after another, the spiritual threads floated into the sky and were grasped by one pair of invisible hands.

The city still looked crowded with people, and everyone was still living and working in peace and contentment, but there was a sense of death hanging over the city.

In sunny places, these "residents" behave no differently from ordinary people. But when they return to their homes and shed their disguises, they become inhuman, like puppets without a manipulator, and the sense of horror and terror rises.

Although the disaster had only been over for a few days, in Klein's heart it felt as if a long time had passed.

"To ensure that the general public does not discover the existence of the occult world, I have taken certain measures to obscure the perceptions of the vast majority of people, making them believe that this was merely a disaster, and that all those who died in this disaster will temporarily be replaced by puppets manipulated by high-ranking diviners..."

"This is a strategy made for the stability of Tingen City and the non-mystical world."

The people of Tingen suffered heavy casualties. Although investigators, night watchmen, and scapegoats did their best to save lives, the ordinary people, who constituted the largest group, were still the ones who suffered the most casualties.

To avoid causing social panic, extraordinary individuals at the level of Mystic Master or higher, with the approval of Mr. "Mistake," began to use faceless people to change their appearance and infiltrate the city's puppets to maintain stability.

For most ordinary people, their five senses and cognition have been deceived, and they can only recall what Mr. "Mistake" wants them to recall.

This is a necessary decision.

The public panic is the anchor point that shakes Mr. "Mistake," and will cause incalculable consequences.

Although those beyond demigods do not understand the role of "anchors," they will undoubtedly carry out Mr. "Wrong"'s decisions without hesitation.

As one of the night watchmen, Klein naturally attended the analysis meeting held by Miskatonic University regarding the unusual disaster in Tingen.

During the analysis meeting, he learned about the plans of the Hidden Sage, the True Creator, and Amon. The fact that he had previously reported to Mr. "Error" that he had seen Ince Zangwill, the former archbishop who had betrayed the Church of the Night, appear at the University of Tingen and attack them was also mentioned in this analysis meeting.

"...Regarding Ince Zangwell, our school will later consult with the Church of the Night to decide on the fate of this former archbishop who defected from the Church of the Night..."

"...The crisis in Tingen City has come to an end. We currently lack concrete intelligence to analyze the true creator's full purpose in doing this. However, what is now certain is that the true creator, in Tingen City, used the despair and death of most ordinary people to give birth to a divine child. The Aurora Society is one of the secret organizations we need to focus on guarding against next..."

The person conducting the analysis meeting was not Mr. "Mistake" himself, but one of the chief commanders of the Miskatonic University investigators, a Sequence 2 Miracle Master.

Mr. "Mistake" seems to have been very busy lately, always in a hurry. After confirming that everything was alright in Tingen City, he left his clone behind. He was supposed to be in charge of things in Tingen City, but now other people are basically doing his work.

But if someone were to force their way into Tingen City at this time, believing that since Mr. "Mistake" is not here, they can do whatever they want and completely eradicate Tingen City...

Then he will inevitably face Miskatonic's relentless and unrestrained retaliation.

Even though Mr. "Error" is not here in his physical form, he left behind a large number of low- to mid-sequence extraordinary beings, demigods, and angels.

If it weren't for the intervention of the true gods, even the Church of the True Gods would have been in serious trouble against the vigilant investigators from the University of Michigan.

Miskatonic, with its millennia-old heritage, possesses sealed artifacts and magical items under the leadership of Mr. "Mistake," which are no less powerful than those of any righteous church.

As the city where the investigators frequented the most, the ones who suffered the most in this Sunwell disaster, besides ordinary people without any extraordinary abilities, were the investigators in Tingen.

In this situation, at this time, what would these investigators' colleagues, friends, and superiors do if they attempted to invade Tingen City again? They should be able to imagine it.

-

After the analysis meeting ended, Klein walked down the street, looking at the world that seemed the same as every other day, only now things were different. He calmly adjusted his black top hat and returned to 47 Golden Rose Street.

As always, the hospitable landlady remained incredibly relaxed, but her head swayed back and forth like a machine gear, giving her an unusually inhuman appearance.

"Most of the ordinary people in Tingen who were killed by the Sunwell Ore have been replaced by Miskatonic tricksters using puppets."

The sorcerer, the sorcerer—just hearing the name of this potion tells you that what they're going to play is inextricably linked to "trickery."

I just don't understand the point of knowing the rules of role-playing beforehand...

Klein ignored the landlady, and the landlady didn't look at Klein either.

"I am back."

Klein walked to the suite at the end of the second-floor corridor. Benson and Melissa were both there; they hadn't gone out to school or study.

They were not injured in the previous Sunwell incident.

Melissa's school was protected by ritual magic, and Benson, who wanted to study law at the University of Köttingen, was also rescued immediately.

His mother is at St. Peter's Hospital, and his father, whom he has never met, was sent to work in another city by the security company and was not affected.

This is a blessing in misfortune.

After greeting his brother and sister, Klein returned to his room, took four steps backward, and entered the gray fog.

"There's a tarot session this afternoon... Although I don't know exactly how much Mr. Flamel knows about me, since he hasn't explained, I'll just continue as things are."

In short, the "fool's" high-class image must be maintained.

In the magnificent palace above the gray fog, Klein first notified Mr. "Sun" located in the Forsaken Land, and then leaned back in his high-backed chair, watching Mr. "Hanged Man" and Ms. "Justice" emerge in the mysterious space above the gray fog as the crimson stars surged.

So, what exactly is this space?
Klein's doubts deepened.

-

Good afternoon, Mr. "Mistake".

"Justice," Miss Audrey's lighthearted voice echoed in the mysterious space above the gray mist. "Error" sat at the head of the long bronze table, smiling, still as elegant, mysterious, and ancient as ever.

Her gaze swept past Mr. Hanged Man and Mr. Strength, and finally settled on Mr. Error.

After learning of General Zilingus's death in the hurricane, Audrey also learned of the strange events occurring in Tingen City. Most ordinary people were unaware of the reasons behind this, and even the official Extraordinary Organization remained tight-lipped. However, Audrey's father, Earl Hall, was a powerful nobleman with significant political influence in the Kingdom of Rune and a devout follower of the Goddess. It was quite normal for him to know some of the inside story.

As an "observer," Audrey could naturally deduce from the subtle details of her father's behavior, as well as from the information she had heard from her friends in the occult circle and from like-minded noblemen, that something bad had happened in Tingen.

However, she was not entirely clear on the specific details of what happened in Tingen.

Of course, there's no need to confirm these things with Mr. "Error".

After all, Mr. "Mistake" is so powerful that even if he is not a true god, he must be an extraordinary being who is closest to a god.

Such a person is considered a great being in their eyes.

“Mr. ‘Mistake’, this is a diary of Emperor Russell from his later years that I collected last week.”

“This is mine, Mr. Error…”

Alger the Hanged Man quickly caught up with Audrey the Justice, while only Might remained seated, seemingly lost in thought.

"As expected." Alger the Hanged Man thought to himself as he watched Mr. Strength behave.

It seems that Mr. "Power" is indeed Miskatonic, and is one of Mr. "Mistake's" men.

The demigod who killed Hurricane General Zilingus was this Mr. "Power".

Alger, who had already prepared the items and passed them on to Mr. Power through Mr. "Mistake", couldn't help but wonder why Mr. Power would need these things.

"You guys did a great job."

Mr. Error glanced at the rubbings of the diaries handed over by Mr. Hanged Man and Ms. Justice, but he didn't read them immediately. Instead, he treated them with a casual, conversational attitude.

"Not long ago, some bad things happened in Tingen City."

"The divinity of the true Creator descended upon Tingen City, and He used Tingen City as a cradle to give birth to an offspring bearing His divinity and bloodline."

At this point, Mr. "Mistake" glanced at Ms. "Justice" and Mr. "The Hanged Man," and unsurprisingly saw blank and shocked expressions on their faces.

"An offspring with the divinity and bloodline of a true creator?" Alger, the "Hanged Man," was shocked and felt a strange sensation.

The old guys in the Storm Church only knew that something had happened in Tingen City, but they didn't know the specifics.

Mr. "Mistake" is an earthly angel of the highest rank. It is rare for outsiders to directly inquire about the situation in Tingen. Perhaps only extraordinary beings of the Pope's rank can understand what is happening in Tingen.

And I am the one who can speak directly with Mr. "Mistake".

Within the Church of Storms, this is equivalent to the Church's Pope.

A surge of excitement shot straight from his tailbone to his brain. The "Hanged Man" was slightly unable to control his emotions and looked at the "Mistake."

Mr. "Mistake" continued, seemingly oblivious:

"So I'm going to issue a long-term task, and believe me, if any of you make any progress, you'll get a reward that will satisfy you."

"Mr. Error, what is the mission?"

Miss Justice thought to herself: Could it be that they are tracking down the escaped god?

Although Mr. "Mistake" did not explain why Tingen City became a breeding ground for the offspring of evil gods, or why Mr. "Mistake" allowed the evil offspring with the true divinity and bloodline of the creator to escape from Tingen City.

These are not things that people like them should understand or struggle with. What "Justice" is thinking about now is whether she should take on Mr. "Mistake's" task.

"After all, that sounds quite dangerous."

“Track the trail of the Aurora Society, especially to see if anyone in the society has made any unusual moves.”

"Aurora Conference?"

Miss Justice was somewhat surprised. "The one they believe in is the real Creator?"

"You could say that." As Miss Justice expected, Mr. Error's mission was closely related to the true Creator.

"As a reward for the task, and as an equal exchange for your collection of Russell's diaries from his later years."

Mr. "Mistake" placed his hands together on the table and said with a smile, "I can give you the potion recipe you want, along with the corresponding main and auxiliary ingredients."

He looked at Miss Justice and said, “Even if you don’t take on this mission, you can still obtain the ‘Mind Reader’ potion recipe, main ingredients and auxiliary ingredients.”

After saying that, Mr. "Mistake" looked at Mr. "Hanged Man" and said, "If you don't want others to know, I can help you keep your promotion a secret."

Mr. Hanged Man's actions of advancing independently within the Storm Church without relying on the church would arouse suspicion. With Mr. "Mistake" covering for him, everything would seem much more reasonable and normal.

“You can consider this; it’s also an equal deal.”

Miss Justice didn't think too much about it; she pondered for a moment and quickly agreed.

Mr. Hanged Man had many more thoughts on this. He was puzzled as to why Mr. Mistake would entrust them with such a seemingly important task.

What does Mr. "Mistake" gain from this?
Mr. Power, Gal Bry, glanced discreetly at the pensive "Hanged Man," then at the nonchalant Mr. Error.

"What is that guy up to now?"

How did they manage to bring out the divine child of the true creator this time?

(End of this chapter)