Mystery: The Witch of Desire

Livr gave a cold laugh:

“I just took down one of those ‘big shots’ you’re talking about last week.”

Klein's eyes widened immediately:

"Who are you talking about, Ziringus? Isn't that all from before?"

Livre gave a meaningful smile and wagged her finger:

"Just wait and see what the news is like in a few days... Oh, by the way, you owe me ten thousand pounds now."

"Hey! Where am I supposed to get money right now?" Klein looked like he was about to cry. "All the money from before has been deposited into your anonymous account!"

"Yes, so that money has nothing to do with you anymore, and any money you receive afterward has nothing to do with you either, until you pay off this 10,000 pound debt!"

Livre said with a smile, and before Klein could protest, she snatched the diary:

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that now, let's continue reading the diary."

Klein was speechless, feeling a sense of powerlessness with nowhere to vent his frustration. He could only grab the next page of the diary and read it angrily.

"On May 22nd, Florent of the Soren family actually wanted me to become his subordinate!"

"Do I look like the kind of person who would act like a lackey? His attitude is simply unacceptable."

“I swear that I will make him pay for his arrogance in the future.”

"However, some of the things he mentioned are quite interesting and worth pondering."

"Floran said that the history of the Soren family is over two thousand years old, longer than the Church of the God of Craftsmen. They have witnessed all the cooperation and conflict, light and darkness of the Fourth Age, and have continued to exist to this day. Apart from the Augustus family of Loen, the Einhorn family of Fussac, and the Castilian family of Feneport, the other powerful families that were once on par with them, such as the Antigonus family and the Zarathustra family, have either become dust of history or become rats in the sewers, hiding and unable to see the light of day."

“He said that it was a favor to me to make me his subordinate, to be a subordinate of the ancient and glorious Soren family.”

"At that moment, I wanted to curse his ancestors for eight generations."

"However, it is surprising that the Soren family has a history of more than two thousand years. The Fourth Age is also known as the 'Age of the Gods'. Whether it is the current seven orthodox gods, or the God of Death, the Primordial Witch, the Dark Side of the Universe, or the True Creator, they are all still active in the real world. It is said that they often perform miracles. It is definitely not an easy thing for the Soren family to survive to this day and occupy a high position."

"The long history has endowed them with far more than just arrogance; they must be hiding many secrets, and perhaps even extremely terrifying sealed artifacts."

"This is truly a colossal behemoth standing tall on the earth, so enormous that one dares not look directly at it."

This diary entry about the Soren family immediately captured Livre's attention, and she read it carefully and repeatedly.

She couldn't help but have many thoughts:

Rosell's eventual overthrow of the Soren family's rule, assuming the roles of consul and protector, must have involved a brutal, terrifying, and thrilling struggle. Even without a "0" level sealed artifact, the Soren family certainly wouldn't lack a "1" level one, and with the potential presence of high-sequence powerhouses, even with the Church of the God of Steam and Machines fully supporting Rosell, a good outcome was not guaranteed... Could it be that the Soren family had already declined and weakened before this, and the turmoil in Intis was an outward manifestation of this state?

What did they go through during that time?

The sealed artifact is missing? A high-ranking expert has died? This has attracted the attention of many ambitious individuals.

And what is the current state of the Sauron family? If they obtain the 'Spirit of War', what do they intend to do...?

Livre pondered, looking at Klein:

"In Backlund, try to find out as much as possible about the Soren family."

Klein nodded and said:

"I will. I hope you can also keep an eye on the subsequent potion recipes and materials for me. I'm almost finished digesting the 'Clown' potion."

Livre raised an eyebrow and teased:

"Oh, looks like you've been playing the clown a lot lately, huh? Okay, okay, I was just kidding, don't get too angry..."

After comforting Klein, Livre turned to the third page of the diary and found that the contents should have been written in the early days of Roselle's tenure as governor of the Republic of Intis.

From the diary entries on this page, we can see that Russell's drafting and promulgation of the new Civil Code, which encouraged invention, protected trade, and fostered the Industrial Revolution, was not merely to satisfy his own perverse pleasure of playing Caesar and his ambition to change the world. In this way, he was reconciling with the Church of the Eternal Sun.

The Eternal Sun is also the God of Contracts and the Guardian of Commerce. A more comprehensive and contemporary Civil Code and more prosperous trade meet the needs of the Church.

"Judging from this part of the diary, the relationship between Roselle and the Church of the Eternal Sun was gradually thawing and beginning to improve. More than a decade later, he brazenly declared himself emperor and called himself Caesar. He must have received the endorsement of both major churches at the same time, otherwise it would have been too risky. So, what exactly caused his assassination?"

Livre looked at the fourth page with a hint of doubt.

"On August 11th, that idiot Florent was showing off again."

“He said he was the most promising person in the Soren family to achieve a high sequence because he resembled his great-great-grandfather.”

"Is there any necessary connection between them? I look at him from all angles, and I can't see any talent in him."

"Moreover, is talent really that important in the extraordinary realm? Well, being good at understanding the essence of acting is a core talent, but it's not essential. As long as you understand the acting method, aren't stupid enough to misunderstand the meaning, and don't do things that are easy to lose control of, you have a chance to completely digest the potion. It just takes a little more time. Becoming a high-sequence powerhouse in your lifetime is not impossible."

"The main obstacles to higher sequences are the difficulty in obtaining extraordinary materials and the troublesome corresponding rituals. Of course, it must be admitted that those born extraordinary have more time to prepare."

"Floran's great-great-grandfather was a high-ranking powerhouse? Does being like him mean one has talent?"

"It's clear that when Roselle wrote this diary entry, he was still quite inexperienced and didn't understand the two laws of conservation of extraordinary properties..."

After reading this page, Klein shared his thoughts.

Livre nodded almost imperceptibly; with her current understanding, she could roughly grasp the underlying meaning in Florent Soren's words:

The extraordinary characteristics left behind by high-sequence powerful beings contain their own spiritual imprint, which is one of the reasons why potions made from them are prone to causing people to lose control.

Those who closely resemble the original owner with their extraordinary traits can avoid these negative effects to the greatest extent possible, and their chances of successfully advancing to the next level are much higher than those of ordinary people. Thus, they are considered to be talented. The recognition of a "sacred object" by its owner should also fall into a similar category.

This is similar to the role-playing method, but it can't be popularized... Once you successfully advance, you'll still have to play the role according to the potion's name to fully understand its properties...

Livre glanced thoughtfully at the two diary entries on the next page and discovered that Emperor Roselle greatly admired the Intis's open customs, yet was also worried that his future wife would be equally open-minded. It seemed he readily accepted the Intis's pleasures, but did not wish to bear the burden of being cuckolded by them.

With a soft rustling sound, Livre placed the fifth page on top:

"On April 20th, I attended another secret meeting of that ancient organization. The members there still amazed me. It was hard to believe that they were all members of this organization."

“This time, I learned about some of the ideas of this ancient organization. They believe that people always lose themselves little by little until they ‘fall asleep’. Therefore, they must strive to observe themselves, remember themselves, and rely on this and various kinds of knowledge to achieve purification in order to cope with the final apocalypse.”

"They have kept and passed down secrets from thousands of years ago, believing that twilight is inevitable and the end of the world is unavoidable."

"They believe in the original Creator, who does not truly die. When twilight arrives, when the end of all things comes, He will awaken from His slumber, return everything to Himself, and create a new world, a new history."

"All of this organization's actions are based on the above ideas. It can be seen that they are very hostile to the 'true Creator' and do not hesitate to use all kinds of words that express depravity and evil to describe Him."

"They possess the second blasphemous tablet, which grants them twenty-two divine pathways, but stipulate that members can only choose a few of them, except for those who were already extraordinary upon joining."

"Is there any secret behind these routes?"

“I’ll write this down first and analyze it later. These pathways are: ‘the praiser,’ ‘the sailor,’ ‘the reader,’ and ‘the audience.’”

"Haha, I'll have to change my usual way of referring to sequence pathways; this term sounds really low-class within that ancient organization."

After reading the diary, Livre looked up and met Klein's gaze. Both of them saw shock in each other's eyes.

"The four paths—the singer, the sailor, the reader, and the audience—plus the cryptic person, are adjacent paths that can be transformed. This shouldn't be a coincidence..."

Livr leaned back in her chair, slowly analyzing:

“They are hostile to the True Creator, the deity worshipped by the Aurora Society. The Aurora Society controls the Secret Prayer Path, so this ancient and secretive organization does not allow its members to choose the Secret Prayer Path... However, the two opposing groups are actually on adjacent paths!”

Klein pondered and said:

"Perhaps they want to make it easier to steal the extraordinary characteristics of the Secret Prayer people. After all, those in the same trade are always enemies."

Livre nodded, and then brought up another one:

"Why do so many secretive organizations claim that the end of the world is inevitable, such as the Witch Cult and this ancient organization, even though they don't rely on this to spread their teachings? Is it a need for brainwashing, or is there really going to be a so-called twilight?"

Klein looked troubled.

"I don't know, we have too little information at the moment. Maybe they also have a legend similar to the 2012 apocalypse."

At the same time, he couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"Old Huang, can't you just write down the name of that organization? That way we'll at least have a direction for finding intelligence..."

Klein composed himself, his expression and gestures subdued, and pointed to the last page, saying with slight excitement:

"Look, the most important thing is this last page of the diary."

Livre quickly perked up and picked up the sixth page of her diary:

"January 1st, the beginning of a new year, and I just finished making my first 'Blasphemy Card'."

“I will hide the ultimate secrets contained in the twenty-two divine paths within these different ‘blasphemous cards’ and scatter them in various places. If things fail, this will be my children’s greatest reliance.”

"Haha, I will destroy all the order you desire and spread the mysteries of God!"

"These 'blasphemous cards' will possess anti-divination and anti-prophecy properties. Apart from the portion left for my children, those who are destined to receive them will obtain them!"

"I'm the kind of person who always seeks revenge and vengeance. After I die, I don't care if the world is flooded! Hmm, I didn't create that saying."

"In short, the more chaotic the structure of the mysterious world, the better!"

“I need to think about how to name the upcoming set of ‘Blasphemy Cards.’ There are twenty-two paths to God, and there are also twenty-two Major Arcana cards in the Tarot, which corresponds perfectly. However, some names do not meet the requirements, and I must make some changes to match the original potion names.”

"That ancient organization is my last and greatest support. I don't know if they will support me, or in what way."

"I still remember the shock I felt when I first saw the desecrated stone slab."

"So the extraordinary path really is the 'path of God,' and the 'blasphemous stone tablet' really is blasphemy against the gods."

"On January 20th, I prepared the second blasphemous card."

"Let me think, let me think, where should I hide it?"

"Hmm, I plan to disguise it as a bookmark and tuck it into a very valuable book. Unless the recipient is destined to find it, they will hardly imagine that the most valuable thing in this high-value book is actually that inconspicuous bookmark!"

"Great idea!"

After reading the diary, Livre was deeply shocked!

The Blasphemy Card, a card that hides the secrets of the gods, was hidden by Roselle in a book!

"Ah, what a pity... Why didn't Old Huang explain more clearly? Which book exactly was that 'bookmark' tucked in? That way we could have followed the clues and obtained a 'blasphemous card' containing divine secrets."

Klein looked on with considerable disappointment at the end.

After a moment's thought, Livre said:

"If it's a valuable book, it shouldn't be easily lost. After all, even the toilet that Russell used back then is still on display in a museum. We should have a chance to see that book again. I just don't know if the bookmark has been taken."

Klein agreed, and after a brief exchange, the post-meeting meeting came to an end.

Back in her room, Liviel didn't even catch her breath before immediately sensing the mirror in the inn where she had stayed in Gulayin City.

After anchoring herself in the mirror, Livre raised the sapphire ring and activated the mirror travel.

As she walked through the world of mirrors, she paid special attention to the illusory mirrors behind her, trying to see if a scarlet eye appeared.

As a result, Livre saw nothing and passed through the portal to the mirror world without incident.

After stepping out of the mirror, Livre stood on the familiar floor of the hotel room.

She looked at the sealed, intact wardrobe, where Alfred Hall lay, tightly bound together by spider silk.

Although no sound came out, Liviel could sense that he was still alive, just rather weak. Fortunately, for a Sequence 6 Extraordinary, going a week without food or water was not too fatal.

Livre had considered telling Miss Justice Alfred's location directly, but it would take Miss Justice some time to transmit the message to the Southern Continent—sending a telegram to the Southern Continent was not easy. Furthermore, Miss Justice couldn't explain to her parents how she knew Alfred's location.

After a moment's thought, Liviel eliminated all her aura, then transformed herself into the form of a hunter, and covered her face with a thick black mask.

Then, she opened the wardrobe door and, using her acting skills, mimicked flames, slowly scorching the spider silk binding Alfred.

A few minutes later, the spider silk softened in the fire and gradually fell off, revealing Alfred's tired yet surprised face.

Livre said nothing, and then untied the spider silk binding Alfred's hands, feet and joints, giving the young lieutenant colonel complete freedom.

Having done all this, she turned to leave and report the good news to Miss Justice.

"Wait, who are you...?"

Alfred struggled to raise his hand, looked at Livre's retreating figure, and asked in a weak voice.

"I just want to remember the name of my savior..."

Livre paused slightly, then said without turning her head:

"I don't need to know what you mean."

"If you still have any pride as a nobleman of the Loen people, then help those poor people in the colonies more."

After saying that, she left the hotel directly.

Will the living conditions of the colonists improve when young officers like Alfred take command...?

Liviel found a secluded inn in Gulayin City. Because of the assassination of Lieutenant General Ganmor and the fact that the successor governor had not yet taken office, Gulayin City was in a tense atmosphere, and even the verification of the identity documents of the guests had become much stricter.

Of course, this was still not difficult for Livre; she used her persuasive skills to fool the boss and successfully checked in.