Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 377, 376 Dock District

The zombie-like puppets seemed endless, and even more numerous and terrifying puppets lurked in the shadows of the dock area, eyeing the people inside with predatory intent.

Each of their puppets had the same expression, and each was dressed respectably. If their faces could be altered and their limbs untied, these puppets, who were exactly like humans, could blend into a crowd without anyone noticing their difference from others.

The state of the puppets is controlled by the puppet manipulator behind them. These crazed puppets are piled up outside the warehouse, one on top of another, forming a human wall, crossing the narrow window, and falling into the warehouse.

The rebels had already left through the mirror. Klein heard Mr. "Wrong" say, but faced with the puppets that had pounced on him, Klein's instincts helped him nimbly dodge them.

"Flame Leaps!"

Klein lit the paper figure in his hand and threw it upwards.

He himself was also set ablaze, and amidst the layers of zombie puppets that had rushed to their original positions, Klein's figure appeared in mid-air, amidst the burning paper figures.

He mustered his strength and grabbed the protruding eaves of the warehouse roof, using the clown's power to suspend his body above the puppets.

The puppets beneath their feet resembled a horde of corpses, piling up layer upon layer throughout the warehouse.

Is this a puppet or a zombie?!

A black eye, threaded with a thin line and hanging around his neck, fell out of his clothes as Klein moved violently.

The black eye blinked a few times. Klein gripped the eaves with one hand and grabbed the black eye hanging around his neck with the other.

This is one of the eyes of the Puppet Master; with it, Klein can see things that only the Puppet Master can see.

Through the seal formed by one of Rosago's eyes, Klein saw countless transparent, illusory black lines swirling in the warehouse.

These layers of black, illusory lines emerging from the darkness intertwine to form a massive pillar of light that extends into the depths of darkness.

These are the lines of spirits from the perspective of the Puppet Master. Klein looked into the distance along these lines of light.

He did not see the Puppet Master who was manipulating all of this.

With such a large number of marionettes, it's impossible that the one manipulating them is a Sequence 5 marionette master.

"Not here, but remotely controlling the secret puppet?"

Klein did not see any normal people other than the Mystic Puppet.

In other words, within the range of the shared vision of the Puppet Masters, which he achieved by using Rosago's eyes as a medium, there were no other Puppet Masters.

Those spiritual threads stretched into the sublime sky, and the one who manipulated the puppet was not present in person.

This discovery weighed heavily on Klein's mind, indicating that the people who created the puppets in Backlund were high-ranking members of the Secret Order.

Saints of Sequence 3, Sequence 2, or even angels of Sequence 1?
"Moreover, none of the puppets here are extraordinary; they are all ordinary people."

Klein released his black eyes, no longer using the seal to spy on the state of the spirit threads.

Although this sealed item was sealed to some extent by Ms. Archerley, it was ultimately not processed by an artisan, and its negative effects after use are still terrifyingly strong.

After releasing the all-black eye, Klein once again examined the puppet beneath his feet.

They were all ordinary people.

So far, apart from these zombie-like puppets, Klein has not been attacked by extraordinary abilities.

He quickly scanned the puppets, while simultaneously glancing towards the main entrance of the warehouse.

The warehouse door twisted irregularly, and the "wrong" force was affecting the entire environment, turning it into a prison where one could only enter and not leave, imprisoning the puppets and preventing the rebels from escaping.

Klein decided to try using the fire jump again to get away from here and avoid causing trouble for Mr. Flamel.

However, as soon as he made a move, a spiritual warning quickly alerted him that danger was approaching.

Among the puppet horde, there were a few who seemed quite different from the other zombie-like puppets, who were simply large numbers and not very lethal.

They had the normal human posture, and the surrounding puppets avoided them, making them stand out and appear completely different.

These marionettes, which were clearly different from the others, looked in Klein's direction, and light emanated from their hands.

"A storm of light?!"

Just as Klein was about to let go of what he was holding and use the Flame Leap and the Paper Doll to avoid the warrior's storm of light, his bodies suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground before the storm of light from those several marionettes could sweep through the entire warehouse.

At the same time, the group of Mystic Puppet, whose bodies had piled up on the ground, also became stiff. Their life energy was drained, and they turned back into real corpses.

"Mistake" Nicolas Flamel carried out a large-scale theft, solving these puzzles.

"It's okay now."

Nikola, whom Klein could only hear just moments before, walked in through the distorted doorway.

Klein quickly jumped to the ground, took a few steps towards Nikola, and then asked in a low voice:
"Mr. Flamel, what are these secret dolls?"

"It must be Zarathustra's doing."

After carefully examining the marionettes, Nikolai narrowed his eyes. "He actually came to Backlund?"

Klein, who didn't recognize Zarathustra, asked, "Zarathustra? A member of the Secret Order?"

"Yes, the current leader of the Secret Order, Sequence 1 of the Diviner path."

Nikolai said calmly, "This guy is well hidden. If we can't catch him, it's obvious that he has given up on the puppet here."

Sequence 1...

So, you're saying you're on the same level as Mr. Flamel, an extraordinary being?
Klein gasped, then quickly summarized what the rebels had told him and relayed it to Nikolai.

Finally, Klein asked, "Mr. Flamel, what about those rebels...?"

Nikolai shook his head, showing no disappointment, and simply said, "We didn't catch it."

He did not describe the process of the capture, but clearly something went wrong that prevented him from catching the person he should have been able to catch.

“Something unexpected happened; they got away.” As he said this, Nikolai’s lips curled into a smile.

The smile was faint and subtle, quite different from Mr. Flamel's usual gentle demeanor, and Klein felt a chill run down his spine.

Of course, this wasn't directed at him.

The smile quickly returned to its usual gentle expression. Nikolai glanced around the warehouse before lowering his black silk hat and looking at Klein, saying, "I heard from Ms. Archerley about the problems you encountered with the underground ruins before. Those rebels are problematic. Try to avoid contact with them."

"As for the issue of these secret puppets..."

Nikolai glanced at the corpses that had collapsed on the ground and were beginning to emit a foul stench in a very short time.

"I'll handle it."

“Yes, Mr. Flamel.”

Triss, emerging from the mirror world, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, while Sirius stared at their teammate, who was slowly wiping his monocle.

Why are you looking at me like that?

After wiping his monocle, Amon put it on his left eye, pressed it against the bottom edge of the lens, and gave a meaningful smile:

“You need to understand one thing: if it weren’t for me, you would have been arrested and sent to that university to do research by that, oh, ‘wrong’ subordinate.”

"They accept any experimental materials that are delivered to their door."

Amon glanced at Triss Chick, his smile deepening.

Triss felt a chill run down her spine as she was being stared at. She immediately realized that what the person in front of her was talking about must be something unbelievable that had happened to her.

What will happen if you get caught?
Triss had never considered this before, but now, having been pointed out, her spiritual warning told her:

Once she's caught, what she'll likely face will be far more terrifying than what she experienced before her rebirth.

"Ah."

Hearing the cold laughter of Soren Einhorn Medici in Sirius's ear.

Amon seemed to hear the mocking laugh from the red angel spirit, and he looked at Sirius.

The Red Angel's mocking voice rang out between Sirius and Amon: "Little Raven, weren't you still utterly defeated by that 'mistake'? What, now you can't even understand parasitism anymore? Did you leave your head inside your extraordinary ability?"

Amon remained unperturbed by the Red Angel's mockery, still smiling: "Indeed, my condition isn't great right now, but that seems to have nothing to do with a pitiful, weak evil spirit with a rusty brain, a split soul, captured and used as a potion?"

“Although we’re all in the same boat, grasshoppers come in different sizes, don’t you think, Medici?”

Who among you is the one who provoked this?

"In short," Amon said with a smile, seeing that Soren Einhorn Medici was speechless, "you can't trust Miskatonic, can you?"

"Why not cooperate with me? Those mystics," a gentle smile appeared on His lips, "I can help you solve this problem."

"Similarly, you need to help me to make some impact on Miskatonic that you can."

"How about it? I think it's a very fair deal."

-

"That's probably what happened."

"A large number of Myodoki, Zarathustra of Sequence 1 of the Secret Order..."

Tang was stunned, his face filled with disbelief: "Why do so many strange things happen as soon as I'm gone?"

Don't even mention you, I want to know too... Klein facepalmed, unsure whether to complain about his bad luck or whether all so-called "protagonists of the era" have such a tumultuous life.

"In short, while we cannot completely believe everything the rebels say, we cannot completely disregard it either."

Klein said, “Mr. ‘Mistake’ said he would investigate whether what the rebels said was true… I always had a feeling that what they were talking about about the secret couples was related to the increasing number of paranoia patients in Tingen over the years.”

This was Klein's first reaction when he heard about the experiences of those rebels, and that premonition still lingers.

"Contact with those patients? Indeed, according to the rebels' information and the medical records of patients at St. Peter's Hospital, that is the case."

Tang also fell into deep thought, then he shook his head:

"However, I think it's unlikely."

"Mr. Error's vision in Tingen City ensures that no one in Tingen City is an unofficially recognized Mystic. No matter how strong Zarathustra is, he can't be stronger than Mr. Error."

"...You're right."

Klein had also thought of this. "After all, it's impossible for Mr. 'Mistake' to let this happen and cause those patients with mental illnesses to appear, right?"

He didn't think Mr. Flamel could be so cruel...

Klein felt a little relieved. He decided to leave this matter to Mr. "Mistake" and figured he didn't need to worry about it.

After all, even if the sky falls, there are always tall people to hold it up.

-

Saturday.

Klein received information from Miss "The Magician" that someone resembling Lanius had appeared in the dock area.

This was the task Klein had given to "Justice," "The Hanged Man," and "The Magician" at the last Tarot meeting, and now he had reaped the rewards.

“Lanius appeared in the dock area, and there should be Aurora Society members nearby,” Tang said.

Klein took a deep breath. Without explaining the source of the information to Tang, he said directly:

"Moreover, besides the Aurora Society members, there is also a divine child who inherited the power of the true creator. This divine child is currently still nowhere to be found. Neither the other investigation teams from Miskatonic nor the official Extraordinary Organization have found any trace of that divine child."

"Yes, that's true... In any case, it's best to report this matter first, as we may not be able to handle it," Tang said.

"it is good."

Klein replied.

He's not stupid; dealing with this kind of thing alone is practically the same as suicide.

"Never underestimate any hidden organization in the occult world, even if they don't often appear among ordinary people."

How many people in such an organization could possibly take the life of a mere magician like him?

Afterwards, Tang not only reported to the higher-ups in Miskatonic, but also, at their request, sent the whistleblower letter to the Night Watchers of the Church of the Night and the Punishers of the Church of the Storm.

The Night Watchers and Punishers in Tingen suffered heavy losses, and the Church of the Night and the Church of the Storm could not stand idly by.

Klein and Don arrived at the outer edge of the dock area first, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Ms. Archerley sensed the presence of the true Creator not long ago, and she went after the child."

The children of the true Creator have also appeared here?

Klein's expression was slightly grave. He asked Tang, "Is this... a diversionary tactic?"

"indeed."

Tang nodded, looked at the dock area, and said slowly, "Ms. Archerley has made some considerations. The demigods of the Church of the Night and the Church of the Storm, along with Ms. Archerley, have gone to chase after that baby. We will take care of things here."

"She gave me this."

Tang shook the talisman in his hand.

(End of this chapter)