Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 111 Speak of the devil and he shall appear

Ember's return to Backlund this time, besides continuing the main storyline of "The Black Emperor," had another important reason: potions.

He has finished digesting the "Master of Tricks" potion, so he needs to take the "Astrologer" potion.

The Kurara sisters have also finished digesting the "Assassin" potion, so they also need to continue taking the "Instigator" potion.

However, since the two sisters share a single set of ashes, only one "Instigator" potion is needed.

These potions were naturally provided by the Church of the Night.

"Your Excellency."

After Ember took the potion, Anthony asked, "Do you know about the House of Abraham?"

"Abraham?"

A hint of doubt flashed in Yu Jin's eyes, and he nodded slightly, saying, "I've heard of it."

The Abraham family descended from the most prominent noble families of the Tudor dynasty in the Fourth Age.

In that era, neither the Augustus family of Loen, the Einhorn family of Fussac, the Soren family of Intis, nor the Castilian family of Feneport had yet risen to prominence.

Even the ancient Antigonus family, the Zarathustra family is a step below them.

But that's about it.

This family was once incredibly glorious, but that glory has not been passed down to the present day.

After the war between the Four Emperors, this family seemed to have disappeared without a trace, and there were very few rumors about them.

The only thing that Yu Jin was particularly interested in about this family was that they supposedly possessed the complete 'apprentice' pathway.

Anthony, noticing Ember's confusion, explained, "The Abraham family was once a leading noble family, second to none, no less powerful than any secret organization. But one day, their ancestor Bethel Abraham suddenly disappeared, leaving the family without its greatest asset."

"And after that, the family was subjected to some unknown and terrible curse."

"All people of the Abraham family are plagued by a curse. Anyone with this family bloodline will frequently hear strange babbling after becoming an extraordinary being, and eventually lose control as a result, none of them will escape it."

"And these extraordinary individuals, who lose control due to their delirium, will cause even greater carnage."

"This led to the rapid decline of this once illustrious family in a very short period of time, and some even doubted whether they had already disappeared into the annals of history."

"But according to the Church of the Night, this family still exists. However, they are no longer as prominent as they once were, and it seems that some internal turmoil occurred, which has led to the family becoming even weaker."

"To this day, this family only has a small number of extraordinary individuals, and most of these extraordinary individuals are at risk of going out of control."

"But no matter what, the family tradition has never been broken."

"So they should still have access to high-sequence potion recipes from the 'Apprentice' pathway, which is why I'm mentioning them."

"The Church of the Night's 'Apprentice' pathway potion recipes only go up to Sequence 5. Therefore, if you wish to obtain higher sequence potion recipes from the Apprentice pathway in the future, you may want to start with this family."

Anthony explained in great detail, seemingly fearing that the Embers might misunderstand the Church of the Night.

And everything Anthony said was true.

The Church of the Night's "Apprentice" path is incomplete, reaching only Sequence 5 at its highest.

This is because once you reach a high sequence, any faction will keep its potion recipes strictly secret.

Even in the Seven Great Churches of Gods, their extraordinary individuals can only obtain potions, not potion recipes, when they advance in rank.

And there are very few exceptional individuals who take the apprenticeship route.

In addition, the decline of the Abraham family led to the near extinction of high-sequence potion recipes through this method.

If they wanted to go further, they could only do so through the Abraham family.

"Dreaming? The Abrahamic family?"

Yu Jin couldn't help but fall into thought.

Fors is the apprenticeship path, and you will hear murmurs on the night of the full moon.

Could she be a descendant of the Abraham family?

No, she said she only heard the babbling after using the stone bracelet.

That's most likely a side effect of the stone bracelet.

But regardless, even if Fors is not a descendant of the Abraham family.

The person who led her into the world of extraordinary beings should also be closely related to this family.

If we really need to find this family, perhaps we can go back and ask Fors first.

but……

After a moment's thought, Ember asked, "Besides the Abraham family, are there no other forces that possess high-sequence potion recipes through the 'Apprentice' pathway?"

"As far as I know, there shouldn't be any seven major orthodox churches."

Anthony shook his head and explained, "As for other forces that might possess high-sequence potion recipes through the 'Apprentice' pathway, there are probably only two: the Aurora Society and the Tamara family."

"As I said before, there was an internal strife in the Abraham family."

"Some of them joined the Aurora Society, and one of them, a demigod, even became a saint of the Aurora Society."

"Therefore, although the Aurora Society possesses potion recipes through the 'Apprentice' pathway, it may not include high-sequence potions. Even if it does, they must be very limited. I estimate that the highest sequence potion recipes they possess are only up to Sequence 3, and most likely only Sequence 4."

"The Tamara family, on the other hand, likely possesses high-sequence potion recipes through their long-term marriage alliance with the Abraham family.

"But unfortunately, this family left fewer traces than the Abraham family."

"So it's still just the Abraham family?"

Yu Jin shook his head; it seemed this side quest was something he had to do, whether he wanted to or not.

Unless he wants to stop at Sequence 5—

Although he himself does not rely on these so-called "paths" to extraordinary abilities.

But as someone once said:

Having no sword in hand is not the same as having a sword but not using it.

"Your Excellency."

Seeing that Ember had accepted the information, Anthony continued, "The surviving members of the Abraham family are scattered all over the world. The Church of the Night is trying to find traces of them, but this may take some time."

"No rush."

Ember shook his head and said, "I'm only Sequence 7 yet, and it will be a long time before I reach Sequence 5."

Based on certain fragments of his memory.

It takes at least two months to go from sequence 7 to sequence 6.

The transition from sequence 6 to sequence 5 requires four months.

Even at Sequence 5, it would still take at least... well, two months to fully digest the potion?

Yu Jin looked somewhat suspicious.

How come it takes less time to go from sequence 5 to sequence 4?

Who was this work based on?

Oh, I can't remember.

Let's just forget about it then, none of this matters anyway.

In short, following this template, it will take him another eight months to complete the digestion of the potion.

In other words, he only needs to find the Abraham family within these eight months.

"certainly."

Anthony smiled and nodded, watching Ember leave.

As the embers left the church, their silhouettes completely disappeared from sight.

The smile on Anthony's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a look of deep sorrow.

This past month has not only failed to delay your investigation, but it has also hindered your efforts.

On the contrary, it accelerated the process.

But Princess Ariana is not currently in Backlund, so what is he supposed to do?

Could you assist Your Excellency with the investigation?

Putting aside the fact that he himself knew very little about the so-called "Black Emperor".

The mere fact that this matter might disrupt the goddess's plans was enough to make him hesitate.

Should we then refuse Your Excellency's request?

That's even less likely.

The goddess has given a prior divine decree that all of Your Excellency's needs must be unconditionally met.

Anthony is currently in a real dilemma, unable to help or not help.

This undoubtedly put him in a very difficult position.

After much hesitation, Anthony finally decided to tell Ms. Ariana about the situation.

After all, she was the one in charge of all this, so what did it have to do with him, a mere Sequence 3 archbishop?

……

Wintershire, a tranquil church.

Ariana stood before a huge painting, and suddenly, as if sensing something, she looked up at the enormous scroll.

A moment later, she disappeared.

They reappeared in the main prayer hall of the tranquil church.

She stood at the foot of the altar, head bowed, eyes closed.

"Your Excellency has returned to Backlund."

"An evil god, suspected to be the 'Primordial Moon,' impersonating the 'Mother Tree of Desire,' sent a divine message to the Rose School, attempting to deceive you into collecting twenty-two blasphemous cards, especially the Moon and Mother cards."

"The soul of Chunas Korg has fallen into the hands of His Excellency the Favored One, and he has already learned of the existence of Ruins Number One."

Ariana reported all the information that Anthony had given her to the goddess in detail.

And soon, she received a response from the goddess.

"Not one, but two. Watch out for the moon!"

Ariana opened her eyes, her pupils dilating as if an earthquake had struck, her eyes filled with horror.

Two evil gods, one after the other, used the name of the "Mother Tree of Desire" to simultaneously send down divine pronouncements?

So that's why the contents of the oracle are divided into two parts?

The first oracle instructed Your Excellency to collect as many as possible twenty-two blasphemous cards, especially the Moon card.

Perhaps this first oracle was known to another evil god, who also hoped to achieve certain goals through Your Excellency.

That's why the second divine decree came about—

There's also a mother's brand.

In other words.

One evil god craves the collection of the Moon card, while another evil god craves the collection of the Mother card.

This may be related to their authority; perhaps they are yearning to descend through these two blasphemous cards.

Just as the vessel of the true Creator, these two blasphemous cards are also His vessels.

But why were they able to transmit divine messages through the Rose School?

The Rose School could not possibly worship three evil gods at the same time; they always worshipped the Bound God, who was the embodiment of the Mother Tree of Desire.

Ariana immediately realized the crux of the problem.

This situation usually has only one explanation—

That is, the powers of these three evil gods overlap and intersect with each other.

Therefore, the other two evil gods were able to exploit this loophole created by the overlapping of their similar powers to deliver false oracles to the Rose School under the guise of the "Mother Tree of Desire".

The overlapping permissions are also very clear; it's the "moon" permission.

Everything could have been accomplished without anyone noticing, but the 'third' evil god became aware of it all. He also took the opportunity to deliver a new divine message to the Rose School, instructing His Excellency to collect the Mother Card.

This still went unnoticed by the "Mother Tree of Desire," but it successfully aroused suspicion among its followers.

That's why all of this was eventually exposed to the 'Mother Tree of Desire'.

"The Mother Tree of Desire, the Primordial Moon..."

"So, who is the third evil god?"

To date, at least four evil gods have been in contact with Your Excellency.

The true creator, the Mother Tree of Desire, the primordial moon, and an unknown evil god who is also associated with the moon's authority.

They all, to varying degrees, attempted to achieve a certain purpose through Your Excellency.

This purpose may be related to the rekindling of the fire.

Ariana suddenly lowered her head, drew a crimson moon on her chest, and whispered the goddess's name.

She dared not think about it any further.

Even though she is an angel on earth, one of the most powerful extraordinary beings in the world.

But before the gods, she was still as insignificant as dust.

Even with the goddess's protection, even in the tranquil church.

However, if it gets too involved, it may still attract the attention of those evil gods.

As for the Black Emperor.

Ariana chose to remain silent.

In fact.

She knew about the Black Emperor, knew that this was Sequence 0 of the lawyer's path, and also knew that the Black Emperor of the ancient Solomon Empire had once tried to become a god, but ultimately failed.

After all, at His level and rank, He would not be too unfamiliar with ancient history and the main characteristics of the 22 paths.

But it wasn't until His Holiness the Favored One appeared, until the Goddess gave the Black Emperor a hint.

She had no idea that the Kingdom of Rune was trying to create a god.

Even now, she knows that the Kingdom of Rune is trying to create a god.

However, the specific process and location are still unclear.

She did consider investigating, but ultimately abandoned the idea.

Because it is obvious that more than one god was involved, there must be other gods providing protection and cover for the Kingdom of Rune, otherwise it would not have been able to reveal almost no flaws until now.

Even the goddess knew a great deal about it and reached some kind of agreement with the true creator for it.

However, in any case.

These are not things she should be investigating.

Since the goddess did not explicitly state that she would stop Lord Favorite from continuing the investigation, she was probably just letting things take their course.

That being the case.

Then they should just keep an eye on things.

Of course, they will also provide corresponding assistance when Your Excellency needs it.

……

After leaving St. Samuel's Church, Ember returned to Hillston.

Although more than a month has passed.

But Backlund has not changed much, or rather, it has not changed at all.

The sky remained gray, shrouded in a thick black fog.

Not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate the fog that shrouded the city and shine upon the land of Backlund.

Although he has returned to Backlund.

But at this moment, the embers seemed to have lost their initial excitement.

He was just wandering aimlessly down the street.

Before he knew it, he had returned to Burningham Street.

He had intended to go straight back to 117 Burningham, but stopped at a coffee shop he passed by.

Through the street-facing window of the coffee shop, Yu Jin saw a familiar figure.

She was a slender woman wearing a beige, high-necked dress with ruffles, and her brown hair was loosely curled.

Although his back was to the embers, he couldn't see the other person's face.

But based on the other person's back view, he had already recognized that it was Fors.

Opposite her sat an elderly man wearing an overcoat and a top black hat.

At this moment, the old man's azure eyes held an undisguised disappointment.

Yu Jin didn't go in to say hello; he just stood by the roadside and watched.

I also bought a newspaper from the skinny little newsboy struggling to sell his wares along the street.

The newsboy was extremely thin and looked like he hadn't eaten for several days; even his voice was weak and feeble as he called out his wares.

His bag was almost full, perhaps because it was already afternoon.

People who want to buy newspapers have already done so in the morning; they won't wait until the afternoon.

Only someone like Ember, who has just arrived in Backlund, needs to learn about the situation through the newspaper.

Yu Jin glanced at the date on the newspaper.

Well, this is a newspaper from several days ago; there's a reason why the newsboys can't sell their newspapers.

Looking down again, the front page featured a huge banner with the headline—

"11! Another woman murdered! West Velas Stadium is helpless!"

"Um?"

Ember frowned.

He remembered that when he left, Miss Daly from Tingen had already taken over the case; she was a Sequence 6 Beyonder.

With a Sequence 6 Extraordinary leading the charge, this case remains unsolved even now, more than a month later.

Isn't this a bit inefficient?

Ember shook his head. The police in the Kingdom of Rune were truly incompetent.

However, this farce has gone on for far too long; hopefully, it can be resolved as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, in the coffee shop, Fors took a sip of his Fresher coffee and began to organize his thoughts:

"I used to be a doctor at the nearby Youssef Clinic, and Mrs. Anlisa often came to see me. At that time, her husband, Mr. Robert, had already passed away."

"I occasionally talk to her and help her with things, like..."

"So, in the end, she made a will, leaving her savings and cash to me, and donating her jewelry, books, furniture, and other items to charitable organizations, which was overseen by a law firm she designated."

Fors was not lying; she was telling the truth.

There was something being concealed.

She already knew that the old man in front of her was named Lawrence Nord, and that he claimed to be a public school teacher from Constance, Middlesea County.

His purpose in coming to Backlund was to find Mrs. Anlisa's husband.

Given that Mrs. Anlissa became an extraordinary being by inheriting her husband's estate, and Fors himself became an extraordinary being because of Mrs. Anlissa.

Therefore, the old man before us is very likely also an extraordinary being.

At the very least, they knew that extraordinary beings existed.

Therefore, Fors declined the other party's request to talk in a separate room and chose a table by the window.

He also concealed the fact that he had become an extraordinary being.

After all, Emperor Roselle once said:

Harmfulness is not allowed, and defensiveness is indispensable.

(End of this chapter)