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

Chapter 164 Main: This is part of the plan

As she traversed the spirit world, Lady Despair instantly saw countless transparent shadows of indescribable shapes, and discovered at the highest points beams of clear light containing boundless knowledge. Her body was dragged forward by a strange force, rapidly traversing the realm, and soon she left her original spot, arriving at a secluded, deserted, filthy, and disgusting alley corner.

This is the eastern district of Backlund, home to over 1.5 million people. Only this place can simultaneously satisfy the requirements of both the Witch Cult and the Aurora Society—for the true Creator to descend, a great deal of pessimism, despair, numbness, resentment, and primal evil is needed, and for the Primal Witch to descend, a similar ritual is required.

Even more so, the arrival of the true creator could draw fire for the primordial witch; there could be no more perfect plan!

She pulled down her veil, concealing her face, and looked up at the sky. The afternoon sun was once again obscured by clouds and mist, appearing pale and dim. Lady Despair gazed at the sky, a faint hint of mockery on her exquisite face:

"madness."

The fools of the Aurora Society have no idea what they're trying to do. They only want their god to descend, without considering whether the true creator could escape the clutches of the three major churches. Of course, even if it could escape their pursuit, it wouldn't matter, as it would only strengthen their power.

Unfortunately, because their plans have been thwarted one after another, they now have to act ahead of schedule; otherwise, they could have done it much more discreetly.

Lady Despair looked around, then walked out of the alley and into the street. Her steps were slow, as if she were wandering in a sea of ​​mist. Where she passed, the mist thickened imperceptibly, taking on a slightly iron-black hue, indicating that the distance between them was subtly decreasing.

A haze of iron black and pale yellow descended silently upon the eastern district and upon Backlund.

Not far from her, a homeless man in a worn-out jacket, his face sallow, suddenly coughed violently until he collapsed to the ground. Two poor people standing close to the homeless man retreated in alarm, then clutched their throats, making hoarse sounds, as if they had a serious lung disease or bronchitis and were struggling to breathe.

The woman in despair had a calm and gentle expression, as if she were completing a work of art.

She walked among the passersby without any unusual behavior, a slight smile playing on her lips, and chuckled softly:

"The history of the Kingdom of Rune will remember this day:"

"The Backlund smog event."

-

Queens, King Avenue.

Using official business as an excuse, Hilbert effortlessly brought Archbishop St. Anthony into the Kingdom's Parliament, proceeding without hindrance. In fact, even without an excuse, he wouldn't have encountered any obstacles, since one was Earl Hall's eldest son, and the other was the Archbishop of the Church of the Night in Backlund—who would dare stop them?

"Father!"

Hilbert slammed open a door and looked anxiously at Earl Hall, who was handling state affairs inside.

"Hibbert? He's in a panic..."

Count Hall frowned upon seeing his eldest son's hurried manner, and was about to reprimand him when his gaze fell upon Archbishop St. Anthony behind him. He quickly stood up to greet him, "Archbishop Anthony, what brings you here?"

Archbishop Anthony simply smiled and raised his hand slightly towards Earl Hall.

Earl Hall felt a momentary lapse in consciousness, as all his memories from yesterday to the present flashed through his mind like a movie, making him quickly realize the discordant parts of his memories:

"I've been hypnotized!"

Earl Hall's expression darkened, and he said in a deep voice.

Because of Alfred's matter, he was personally summoned by King George III yesterday and had the implications explained to him. But somehow, something else was influencing his mind, making him firmly believe that "this is a good thing." Unfortunately, he was ultimately just an ordinary person, and didn't even know what was influencing him!

"Count Hall, you..."

Archbishop St. Anthony smiled and nodded, but just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps behind him.

Archbishop St. Anthony turned around and saw a group of people rushing toward him.

Among them were numerous noble members of parliament who were followers of the Church of the Night, but the one leading them was none other than the current Prime Minister, Argusid Negan, the younger brother of the recently assassinated Duke Negan. This was not surprising; although Prime Minister Argusid Negan was a follower of the Lord of Storms, the archbishops of the three major churches held equal status. Any archbishop of any church who came was entitled to be personally greeted by the Prime Minister.

Although Aghhid Negan's office is located at the Prime Minister's official residence at 9 Hope Street rather than the Parliament House on Kingdom Avenue, the two buildings are actually located at the intersection of the two streets, not only next to each other, but also with passageways inside that allow for quick access.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, good day."

Archbishop St. Anthony smiled and nodded, as if to say hello.

The Prime Minister, however, looked rather grim, but this was clearly not directed at the Archbishop.

The Prime Minister raised his hand and handed the telegram he was holding to Saint Anthony, saying in a deep voice:

"Archbishop St. Anthony, greetings, you should take a look at this."

Saint Anthony took the telegram and glanced at it:

Trischik? The Primordial Witch?

But when faced with this elderly man with his eyes lowered, the prime minister lowered his head with a tremor.

This elderly man, with a clean-shaven face and deep-set eyes, appeared remarkably clean, and even in his black and red archbishop's robes, he did not give off a gloomy feeling. However, anyone who faced him would tremble from the bottom of their heart, as if their spirit was dominated by fear, or as if they were facing an unknown being watching them from the depths of darkness.

The Prime Minister said in a low voice:

"I have already sent messages to His Excellency High Priest of the Deep Blue and Archbishop Horamik of the Steam Church; they should have received the message by now. Archbishop St. Anthony, do you have any further instructions?"

Due to his dereliction of duty in the assassination of Duke Negan, "Singer of God" Ace Snake was transferred from the Backlund Diocese last week. The new Archbishop of the Church of Storms is none other than "Deep Blue High Priest" Radar Valentine.

Since it concerned an evil god, the Prime Minister dared not be negligent in the slightest and naturally notified the other two major churches immediately.

Saint Anthony looked at the contents of the telegram, then suddenly chuckled and said:

"There is an angel nearby; He will handle all of this."

"Angel?"

The Prime Minister was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with joy.

Backlund, as the capital of the Kingdom of Rune, has a diocese archbishop who is only at the Saint level. An angel on earth, however, is a being on the same level as the three crowned figures of the major orthodox churches: the Pope, the Patriarch, and the Grand Master!

In an era when gods rarely roamed the earth, an angel on earth often meant invincibility. It meant Backlund would be free from any danger! Of course, this was on the condition that the angel on earth wouldn't be as unreliable as the 'Singer of God'.

-

In the underground ruins, in a corner of the hall, Klein pressed himself against the stone wall, trying to avoid being discovered by Mr. A.

He was incredibly nervous. He knew Mr. A would once again perform the ritual of the True Creator's descent, just as Ince Zangwill and Lanruis had done in Tingen. That time, even an incomplete "evil infant" had nearly destroyed the entire city of Tingen.

Klein dared not even imagine what the consequences would be if the true creator's incarnation were to descend this time!

For him, the best option at that moment would be to slip out of the hall and escape to a distant place while Mr. A was focused on the ceremony. But almost instinctively, he wanted to stop it from happening. He had even gritted his teeth and made up his mind that as soon as Mr. A began the ceremony, he would find a way to disrupt it, or at least interrupt it.

Of course, this all depends on Mr. A performing the ceremony first. After all, he will definitely be restrained by the ceremony during its execution, and only then can Klein disrupt the ceremony without restraint. After all, Klein doesn't think that he, as a newly promoted Sequence 6, is capable of going head-to-head with Mr. A, who is a Sequence 5 'Shepherd'.

Although Klein still possesses sealed artifacts comparable to those of a Saint, why would he choose to confront someone head-on when he can launch a sneak attack? He's not stupid!

If he hadn't missed seeing the face of the woman who had spoken earlier, he would have even wanted to impersonate her and launch a sneak attack, as that would have been safer. Just then, he heard a waiter's respectful yet fervent voice beside him.

"Mr. A, the ceremony is ready, and the Lord will soon descend upon this world!"

"Here it comes!" Klein closed his eyes, pressed his back against the wall, and clenched his right fist tightly.

Once Mr. A holds the ceremony, he will be able to...

"Snapped!"

"Bang!"

The sharp sound of a slap in his ear jolted Klein awake, and he opened his eyes in surprise. He then realized that the waiter who had been speaking so enthusiastically just moments before had been slapped and sent flying, crashing heavily against the wall.

Mr. A said coldly:

"Who gave you permission to prepare the ceremony without my permission?"

Another waiter standing nearby seemed somewhat hesitant and cautiously said:

"But isn't that precisely why we're cooperating with them?"

Mr. A glanced at them indifferently and said calmly:

"They want to use the Lord's coming to attract the attention of the three major churches and shift all blame onto Him! If the Lord truly comes, we are the sinners. Because the Lord doesn't need to come; He has a greater plan!"

"Does the Lord not need to descend?"

The waiter looked bewildered. If the Lord did not need to descend, then what had they been doing all this for?

"Mr. A."

The waiter asked hesitantly, "So, what do we do now?"

"Lady Despair has left, but other saints guard the depths of this ruin. What we must do is deliver a message to the Church of the Night."

Mr. A half-raised his hands, making an open-heart gesture, and said reverently, "This is part of the plan."

Klein was completely bewildered.

You're the head of a secret organization that believes in an evil god, and you've worked so hard to cooperate with other secret organizations, only to reveal all of this to the righteous church? What exactly are you after?

You are more sublime than the starry sky.

The goddess of night, older than eternity;

She is also the Crimson Queen and the Secret Mother;

The Queen of Calamity and Fear, the Lord of Sleep and Silence…

Klein racked his brains but couldn't figure out why this was happening; he was just wondering if it was some kind of conspiracy. Then, the next second, he heard the servants chanting the goddess's name in ancient Hermes!

Klein was completely dumbfounded. Dude, can't you guys be a little more professional? You're believers in the true Creator! Why are you chanting the goddess's name? Do you really want to lure the goddess over here?

Putting aside whether the goddess would even hear the prayers of you cult members, even if she did, wouldn't what you're doing be a betrayal of the true creator?! Do you think the true creator is a "fool"? Do you think He would be like a "fool," not caring at all even if all His "followers" believed in other gods?

While Klein was still in a daze, a faint voice suddenly sounded in his ear:

"Mr. A, enemy attack..."

Klein was immediately jolted awake, his gaze sweeping over the figure lying on the ground not far away—

That was the waiter who had been slapped away by Mr. A while preparing the ceremony on his own. But by sheer bad luck, he flew in the direction Mr. A was in, and unfortunately, he wasn't killed. Instead, he discovered Mr. A hiding in the corner as he got up.

"Grass!"

Klein silently recited the name of a plant in his mind, but his body did not hesitate at all. First, he raised his hand and shot the half-dead waiter, and then ran towards the exit without hesitation!

Since Mr. A is not going to hold a ceremony, there is no need for him to stop it. He should just run away first!

Before anyone else could react to where the enemy was attacking, Klein had already rushed to the gate and, using the power of the Master Key, passed straight through the wall next to it. The sunlight, though not glaring, shone on Klein; the clouds in the sky were tinged with a thin, pale yellow, and the sun itself was pale and dim.

Behind them was Mr. A, who, believing his plan had been exposed, chased after them in a fit of rage!

-

In the eastern district, people collapsed one by one under the smog.

Among the countless people who collapsed, old Kohler, who served the former famous detective Sherlock Moriarty, was just one of them. He was walking home, clutching the paper bag of ham he had bought for the New Year, when he collapsed helplessly to the ground.

This reminded old Kohler of something he'd overheard a drunkard say in a bar when he was gathering information:

"People like us are like straw in the field; we'll fall over when the wind blows, or even without wind, we might fall over on our own..."

As the wind blew, such a thought flashed through Old Kohler's mind.

He clutched the paper bag of ham tightly while reaching into the pocket of his old jacket, trying to pull out the crumpled cigarettes he'd always been reluctant to smoke. He couldn't understand why he, in his healthy state, would suddenly fall ill; he'd experienced that kind of dense fog before.

What he couldn't understand was that his life had just gotten on the right track and was developing in a good direction...

And having received the advance payment from Detective Moriarty, he bought a piece of ham he had been craving for the New Year, and was eagerly anticipating its delicious taste.

Why did he suddenly collapse?

Old Kohler pulled out the crumpled cigarette, but his arm was too weak to lift, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

He used his last bit of strength to try and utter the words that had been building up in his heart, but he could only let the weak words linger on his lips, unable to escape.

He heard his own last words.

He heard himself asking:

Why?

-

Liv hung up the last piece of clothing she had starched, waiting for it to dry.

She glanced at the sky outside, but the thick fog made it difficult to judge the time.

"Anyway, it's still early, and our laundry work is all finished..." Liv's expression gradually turned serious. Finishing work too early is not a good thing; it doesn't mean you can rest, it only indicates insufficient work and insufficient income.

Liv took a breath, turned to her eldest daughter Freya, who was wiping her hands and staring intently at the vocabulary book in the next room, and said:

"The New Year is approaching, and most of our employers have left Backlund for holiday. We can't continue like this; we need to find new jobs. During holidays like these, wealthy people host banquet after banquet, and they may not have enough servants, so they might hire temporary kitchen helpers..."

As Liv spoke, she walked into the house, but as soon as she opened the door, she suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.

Cough, cough, cough! She coughed violently, her face flushed red, and every joint in her body ached terribly.

"Mom, what's wrong? Mom, what's wrong?"

"No, cough cough, I'm fine." Liv's breathing became increasingly labored.

"No, you're sick. If you're sick, I'll take you to the hospital right away," Freya said, helping her mother up.

"Too expensive, too, too expensive, cough, go to, charity hospital, charity hospital, I can wait, no, it's not a big problem," Liv replied breathlessly.

Freya was so anxious that tears streamed down her face, but she was at a loss as to what to do.

But the next second her body suddenly convulsed, the pain blurred her consciousness, and Liv's cough stopped abruptly.

-

A carriage passed through the haze, a mix of iron black and pale yellow. The stunningly beautiful, slender woman, filled with despair, gazed out the window, mesmerized and entranced by the unfolding tragedy. Until she heard the howling wind and the sound of raindrops pounding against the windowpane.

"The Church of Storms reacted quickly this time; even the Singer of God has a day when he's not late!"

The Despairing Lady wore a sweet smile, like a young girl in love, so endearing that it was impossible to associate her with the tragedy that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

The death and despair provided by this operation will not only provide 'materials' for the descent ritual of the true creator and the primordial witch, but also contribute to the digestion of her potion. This 'smog' covers an extremely wide area and will cause at least 10 deaths. This is enough to cover up those 'missing' people and maximize the despair she brings to others, allowing her potion to be digested.

The hundreds of thousands of deaths were enough for her to fully digest the potion, and she could even begin to prepare for the ascension ceremony.

"I should leave now, taking Triss with me."

Lady Despair was in a good mood, a charming sweet smile playing on her lips. But the next second, her vision blurred, and she saw pea vines hanging from the sky, and a figure.

She appeared amidst a cluster of seemingly random pea vines, dressed in a girlish yellow cake dress and wearing an old-fashioned black soft hat.

Her chestnut hair fell naturally, her eyebrows were long and straight, and her eyes seemed to contain a vast blue sea.

Her name is Bernadette, Bernadette Gustave.

(End of this chapter)