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

Chapter 162 Young Prince, do you crave power?

"How do you need my cooperation?"

Hilbert asked very proactively.

As the eldest son, he naturally noticed the unusual behavior of Earl Hall. He even performed divination, but failed to obtain the answer he sought. This only strengthened his belief that Earl Hall was under the influence of extraordinary abilities.

"Before that..."

Audrey hesitated for a moment, then took out a candle with scented oil and said softly, "Brother, I need your help with an experiment."

"Okay." Hilbert nodded, accepting the offer readily.

Audrey quickly lit a candle and placed it in front of Hilbert, looking at him through the candlelight.

"Audrey, what's wrong with you...?"

Hilbert was puzzled and was about to ask a question when he suddenly felt a sense of disorientation. Through the candlelight, he saw his sister's eyes, which had turned golden, with protruding pupils that seemed to conceal other vertical pupils.

In the blink of an eye, Hilbert, who had been in a daze, suddenly returned to normal. The candlelight was still burning in front of him, and his sister was looking at him from the opposite side; everything seemed unchanged.

Hibbert raised his hands, slightly bewildered, and asked hesitantly:

"What exactly is going on?"

Ember explained simply: "The extraordinary ability of the audience channel is psychological suggestion. It can suggest to the target through specific actions, language, or media, making them unconsciously follow the hypnotist's instructions. Of course, this ability can also be used to unsuggest."

"I see."

Hibbert tensed up when he heard the first half, but relaxed when he heard the second half, half-jokingly saying, "Then it seems I'm still normal, at least I haven't been hypnotized."

Audrey extinguished the candle and shook her head, saying, "I don't think so."

Hibbert, who had been quite pleased, couldn't help but laugh and cry at Audrey's words: "What do you mean by 'should'?"

Audrey explained:

"If the person hypnotizing you has a high enough sequence, I might not be able to detect it."

Hilbert frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said:

"If that's really the case, I suggest you stop investigating."

"Then Dad..."

"You don't need to worry about your father."

Hilbert interrupted her, asking in return, "Our whole family are devout followers of the Goddess, and the annual donations to the Church of the Night are not a small amount. Do you think the Church of the Night would stand idly by while Father is hypnotized?"

Audrey lowered her head silently. A devoted follower of the goddess? Hearing this, she felt inexplicably guilty.

Hibbert thought Audrey still couldn't accept it, so he patiently explained:

"Your father and mother attend Mass at St. Samuel's Church at least once a week, and it is always presided over by Archbishop St. Anthony himself. Why do you think that is?"

Audrey looked up abruptly, a hint of surprise in her eyes, clearly having already guessed the answer, and blurted out:

"Were Dad and the others always on guard against being influenced by extraordinary abilities?"

Hilbert nodded slightly, leaned back in his chair, and chuckled softly:

"It's not just us who are on guard; the major churches are also on guard. Duke Nigan is under the personal protection of the Singer of God, and although his father is only an earl, his influence is not much less than that of Duke Nigan, so..."

Audrey murmured, "So Archbishop St. Anthony would sometimes come to our house to visit and chat with us..."

The person qualified to assume the position of Archbishop of Backlund must be a demigod of the Church of the Night. And with a demigod watching over them, even if they were truly hypnotized, Archbishop St. Anthony would be able to detect it immediately!

But upon closer examination, it's not surprising. The Duke of Negan, despite being the most landed noble outside the royal family, owning over £12 million worth of fields, pastures, and forests, with annual land rent exceeding £1 million, would naturally have the protection of a demigod.

In comparison, while the Hall family's history isn't as long as Duke Negan's, it's still a hereditary earldom with a history spanning several centuries. Earl Hall himself is one of the most influential members of the House of Lords, and also holds numerous other titles, including the largest shareholder of Bavaria Bank, the fourth largest shareholder of Backlund Bank, a special advisor to the Royal Bank of Loen, the third largest shareholder of Sucht Bank in the Republic of Intis, and the second largest shareholder of the Constance Coal and Steel Consortium. Compared to Earl Hall, even Duke Negan would pale in comparison in terms of sheer wealth!

The Church of the Night couldn't possibly ignore such a devout believer; it would be strange if he didn't receive demigod protection. In fact, the level of protection afforded to both sides was nearly identical. Duke Negan was protected by a Sequence 6 Extraordinary from the Punisher, while Earl Hall was similarly protected by a Sequence 6 Deacon from the Church of the Night. Duke Negan possessed an Extraordinary item that allowed him to directly contact the 'Singer of God,' and Earl Hall had the same.

"Don't worry too much."

Hilbert appeared quite relaxed, smiling as he said, "Archbishop St. Anthony isn't the Singer of God, at least he won't be late. And Father isn't Duke Negan either; he's just been hypnotized, there's no Sequence 5 assassin around..."

Ember raised his hand to interrupt Hibbert's act of setting a flag, and suddenly asked:

"Hibbert, why didn't you do this from the beginning?"

Hippel paused for a moment, then instinctively explained, "That's because, because..."

Hilbert's expression suddenly froze, then darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "I've been influenced!"

"I remember now! Last night I planned to notify the Night Watchmen of the Church of the Night to contact Archbishop St. Anthony. I even prepared to have a servant send a telegram to St. Samuel's Church and send someone to deliver a letter there. I made multiple preparations. But when I woke up, I suddenly realized I couldn't remember anything!"

Audrey jolted awake, immediately realizing that someone had indeed been monitoring her family the previous night! Because Hilbert had sought help from the Church of the Night, he had been hypnotized. The reason she remained unaffected was because her performance had been excellent; she hadn't done anything, and had even "left" early in the morning, which was why she hadn't been hypnotized…

No! That's not right! She was hypnotized too! She never even considered asking the Church of the Night for help, even though it was because there was the better option of 'The Fool,' but she shouldn't have been so oblivious to that possibility.

Lord Hall was hypnotized, making him perceive Alfred's mission as a good thing. His family was also hypnotized, subconsciously ignoring the need to seek help from the Church of the Night.

If nothing unexpected happens, this will keep the Church of the Night unaware for at least a week, since Count Hall had just attended Mass at St. Samuel's Church yesterday morning. Only when Archbishop St. Anthony notices their prolonged absence from Mass will he realize something is amiss and take the initiative to visit them at home.

However, the other party certainly didn't expect that they had Mr. Fool as an option!

Audrey felt deeply fortunate. She believed that the psychological suggestion planted on her when she prayed to Mr. Fool and entered his "divine kingdom" had been lifted. The reason she only realized this now was because Ember had come to her side the moment she returned to reality. With someone to rely on and trust, she no longer needed to seek help from the Church of the Night.

However, the fact that Hilbert was able to wake up so easily indicates that the hypnosis wasn't excessive. If one had to describe it, it would be that the hypnosis was only 'surface hypnosis' rather than 'deep hypnosis'.

As a newly minted psychologist, Audrey could guess why the other person did this:

Superficial hypnosis is harder to detect; even Archbishop St. Anthony might not notice anything amiss after a week, and they themselves would be even less likely to be aware of it. However, this type of hypnosis is also easy to break; even Audrey, who is only Sequence 7, can do it.

In contrast, deep hypnosis is difficult to break unless one is an extraordinary individual in the same sequence, but it is also easier for others to detect abnormalities.

Since it was confirmed that the family attended St. Samuel's Church every week for prayer, the other party naturally dared not attempt deep hypnosis. After all, in addition to attending Mass at St. Samuel's Church weekly, the family also had the 24-hour protection of the Night Watchmen of the Church of the Night.

Deep hypnosis alters their behavior, making it easy for night watchmen to notice the anomaly and report it to Archbishop St. Anthony, unless he hypnotizes them as well. However, these night watchmen report back to the Church of the Night daily, so if they are hypnotized or fail to report back, the anomaly is more likely to be detected.

"We can't wait any longer!"

Hilbert abruptly stood up and said in a deep voice, "Audrey, we're going to St. Samuel's Church to see Archbishop St. Anthony right now!"

-

Red Rose Estate, on the outskirts of Queens.

After completing his investigation into Talim's cause of death, Klein took the opportunity to say goodbye.

Sitting in the carriage leaving the manor, Klein relaxed and slowly exhaled, realizing that he had now left the center stage.

Next, he bid farewell to Backlund, headed south, and made his final bow. After that, he returned under a different guise and calmly began to consider his next plan.

Just then, an inspiration struck him, and his mind sharpened as he saw the carriage door open rapidly and then close silently! Before he could react, a figure swiftly appeared, dressed in a heavy black dress and wearing a sapphire ring.

Upon witnessing this, Klein, who was about to attack or jump out of the car, narrowed his eyes and sat back down, not daring to make a move. It wasn't until he clearly saw the figure's appearance—

She was a young woman whose age was quite different from her style of dress. She looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, with a slightly round face, long and narrow eyes, and a gentle and elegant demeanor with a hidden sweetness. She was an extremely beautiful woman.

But such a stunning beauty astonished Klein, his face filled with disbelief, because he recognized her and blurted out:

"Triss?"

Hearing his astonished words, Triss was not surprised but delighted, and smiled sweetly, saying:

"Do you know me?"

I knew you recognized me!

"A detective with extraordinary abilities would definitely pay close attention to every wanted poster!"

He, uh, she seemed very happy? Klein asked cautiously, with a hint of doubt:

"What do you want to do?"

Triss smiled and said:

"It's simple. Go report me to the Night Watchers, the Punishers, and the Mechanical Heart as soon as possible! Let them come here and arrest me!"

-

In a quiet room at St. Samuel's Church in the North District of Backlund.

Archbishop St. Anthony listened quietly as Hippo explained his purpose, then nodded slightly and said:

"Where is Earl Hall now?"

Hippel said without hesitation:

"The Senate, or Backlund Bank."

Despite his many titles, Earl Hall had relatively few personal matters to attend to. As a nobleman and a member of the cabinet, Earl Hall most frequently visited the House of Lords or the Backlund Bank, which controlled the lifeline of the nation's financial system.

"Let's set off now."

Archbishop St. Anthony nodded slightly, then turned to Ember beside him and asked, "Your Excellency, could you stay in the church for a while and handle some matters on my behalf?"

Hibbert and Audrey froze, their faces filled with disbelief.

"The one who is attached to you?"

Audrey's mouth was slightly agape, unable to hide her surprise.

Ember is a follower of the goddess? How come he's never said that...? No, how could that be! I don't even dare to call myself a follower of the goddess now, isn't that because Ember corrupted me? How could he be a follower of the goddess?

Faced with Saint Anthony's question and the two men's surprised expressions, Yu Jin remained calm and simply nodded slightly, saying:

"it is good."

Archbishop St. Anthony smiled and nodded when he saw that Ember had agreed. He then looked at Hilbert and said, "Lord Hilbert, let's go."

Hilbert realized what was happening and instructed Audrey:

"Audrey, you stay here too."

Audrey nodded gently and watched Hilbert and Archbishop St. Anthony leave.

Audrey hesitated, looking at Ember, about to ask him why he was a chosen one of the goddesses, when Ember suddenly spoke:

"Audrey, don't you think all of this is too much of a coincidence?"

"Huh?"

Audrey paused for a moment, and just as she was about to speak, a scene suddenly flashed into her mind.

"Chik, hey, that's the primordial witch's real name!"

-

"Damn it!"

Just as Klein saw Triss off and was "praying" to himself, he immediately saw several flaming meteors falling rapidly from the sky, engulfing the entire forest. At that moment, Klein felt powerless to resist and was filled with despair, waiting to die.

Even with his constant use of flames to leap, he couldn't escape the forest or the dangerous core area before the "meteor shower" hit the ground. And with the fragile body of an extraordinary being using the "Diviner" pathway, there was no way he could withstand the meteorite.

While teleporting, Klein began to think quickly. However, no matter how he tried or how risky he was, he could not escape the danger. He had only two choices: either jump into the woods that were out of his sight and endure the impact of the falling meteorite, or perform acrobatic leaps and bounds above and wait for the mushroom cloud to engulf him.

In that instant, Klein seemed to see himself torn to pieces, his body charred black, with embers still visible.

A thought flashed through his mind, and suddenly his vision changed. The reds became redder, the yellows became yellower, and the whites became whiter. The various colors blended together in a rich and complex way, creating a strange oil painting.

-

"What?!"

Inside the Red Rose Manor, Edsack, who had just learned that his future queen had once been a man, stared wide-eyed, tilting his head slightly as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.

Upon seeing this, Triss burst into laughter, laughing so hard she bent over backwards, looking like a madwoman.

"Haha, you heard me right, I used to be a man! I used to be just like you! But a witch's potion forcibly changed my gender!"

"Isn't it disgusting? Have you already gotten goosebumps?"

"No, that's not it... You're a real woman... There's no problem... I can absolutely confirm that!" He murmured to himself first, then raised his voice, "From the moment I met you, you've been a real woman. I don't want to know what you were like in the past! I can pretend that never happened! What I like, what I love, is the you who you are now!"

Triss paused, then raised her hand to wipe away the tears that had just flowed from her laughter:

"You're such a pathetic person. Even things like liking someone are arranged for you by others, like a puppet on a string."

"Don't you understand? You are someone who can be sacrificed, while I am both a hostage needed for the cooperation between the royal family and the Witch Cult, and a necessary disguise for the deception. I am carrying important items of the Witch Cult, under your strict surveillance, and could be destroyed or lost at any time. This is how we demonstrate our sincerity in cooperation."

"But once the matter is exposed and becomes known to the three major churches or other factions in the military, the development of the matter will be very simple: Prince Edsack, lusting after a beautiful woman, secretly kept a witch, knew his sins were grave, so he committed suicide by shooting himself, and then all the problems will be covered up."

"No!" Edsack blurted out.

Then, with a contorted expression, he asked:

"What are they collaborating on with the witch cult for?"

"How could a hostage who could be abandoned at any moment possibly know?" Triss chuckled self-deprecatingly. "That's all the reasons I wanted to escape."

"you……"

Edsack opened his mouth, feeling his voice unusually hoarse. Just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of a small blue doll on a bookshelf not far away. He paused, then asked hesitantly, "Where did that doll come from?"

He would spend the night here every day. Although he would grant Triss's every request, he would keep a record of everything. He didn't remember where Triss had bought this strange doll—wearing a gray magician's robe and a pointed hat, and even having four arms.

"A doll? What doll?"

Triss was also taken aback, and subconsciously turned her head to look at the bookshelf next to her, where she discovered the doll that had somehow ended up sitting on top of it. She sat there quietly, looking down at them as if watching a farce.

Then they saw the puppet raise its four arms, bringing the fingertips of its two uppermost arms together, and speak:

"A very exciting story, but I don't like the ending."

"Edesak, do you crave power?"

(End of this chapter)