Chapter 1016: News from the Numinous Episcopate

160 Boklund Street, inside Dwayne Dantes's mansion.

Klein stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching as the

rain began to descend along with the wind. The rain hit the ground and

the glass, intersecting to form a mesh.

Ever since autumn, Backlund had started to rain again. It brought with

it a lingering coldness and humidity.

Klein stood there motionless for a long time, watching silently into the

distance through the blurry rainy scene, his eyes unfocused.

Only when his spiritual perception was triggered did he stop his

wandering thoughts and turned his head to the side. Reinette, with the

four blonde, red-eyed heads in her hand, had a letter as she walked out

of the void.

"Who is it from this time?" Klein asked Miss Messenger out of habit.

The last letter he received came from Sharron. The lady had told him

that she had successfully completed the ritual and advanced to Sequence

4 Puppet of the Prisoner pathway.

Klein first sincerely congratulated her and apologetically informed her

that he had already obtained what he needed and didn't need to visit

Calderon City in the spirit world anytime soon.

Of course, he also indicated that there was a huge secret there that

might have something to do with him. He would probably head there one

day, and when that time came, if Miss Sharron had the time or was

willing, he wished to obtain her support.

For Klein, on the one hand, he might have to head there to find the

future ingredients he needed for his advancement. On the other hand, he

believed that the magical city that involved ancient Death, Phoenix

Ancestor Gregrace, also might contain the method to heal Mr. Azik's

incomplete Spirit Body's. Even if this Death Consul didn't have the

means to advance, he hoped that by doing so, the former didn't need to

repeatedly suffer the torment of losing his memories.

Of course, Klein had prepared a plan for that. It was to wait until he

advanced to Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore. He could prepare more Yesterday

Once More charms for Mr. Azik, or he could imbue him with the

corresponding Beyonder powers to speed up the recovery of his memories

each time.

At that moment, Klein had already received a letter. Reinette Tinekerr's

four heads replied one after another, "From..."

"That...""Undying...""Idiot..."

...Patrick Bryan of the Numinous Episcopate's Artificial Death

faction... Klein easily understood who Miss Messenger was referring to.

This was because Patrick was the one who wrote the most to him over the

past two months. He reported almost anything of slight importance and

asked for instructions.

After a few times, Reinette Tinekerr gave him a nickname.

Miss Messenger never showed interest in such matters before. I wonder

when it began... Most of the people who write to me have been given

nicknames except Miss Sharron... As Klein silently mumbled, he unfurled

the letter and gave it a quick scan.

In the letter, Patrick Bryan said that the Southern Continent's orders

were no longer about getting him to make various attempts to awaken

"Death." Instead, they got him to prepare a special ritual and help the

Death domain angel inside the mausoleum, Artificial Death faction's

leader, Haiter, recover. It was to allow "Him" to have the means to

temporarily leave the "land in which 'He' sealed 'Himself.'"

Such an order didn't seem problematic on the surface, but it was a

little sudden. However, Klein still sensed something amiss.

The Artificial Death faction of the Numinous Episcopate in the Southern

Continent had previously made Patrick continue the strange but dangerous

rituals to awaken Death. I managed to trick them by instructing him to

use excuses such as the inability to gather the materials or the

ultimate failure of the experiment. Now, they've finally suspected that

there's something wrong with Patrick? Klein nodded in thought.

He suspected that this was a test directed at Patrick Bryan, a test that

pointed towards an angel!

An angel's response to rituals covered the entire world.

Yes, it's good as long as they don't suspect there's a problem with

Artificial Death. After all, they've inherited a huge inheritance from

the ancient Balam Empire. Who knows if they have a way to affect the

Goddess's progress in controlling the Death pathway's Uniqueness. It

could be a bane for both sides... Klein analyzed for a moment before

heaving a sigh of relief.

As for the test by the Death domain angel, he didn't think much of it.

This was because The Fool could also direct power at the same level.

With Angel's Embrace, a disruption effect could be made. As long as the

High Priest named Haiter didn't descend in person and only exerted

influence remotely, he could carry out misdirections in an ingenious

manner.

After figuring this out, Klein flicked his wrist, igniting Patrick

Bryan's letter with scarlet flames. As he returned to his desk, he took

out a pen and paper and wrote:

"...You may proceed according to your teacher's instructions, but before

the actual ritual, you must report this to me and gain my permission..."

As the interval between the receiving and sending of letters were short,

Patrick Bryan likely remained in his original spot. Klein didn't summon

Patrick's messenger and instead blew the adventurer's harmonica and

handed the folded letter to Reinette Tinekerr.

Amidst the drizzle, Xio draped a simple raincoat lined with tree sap

over her and hid in the shadows, staring at the side door of Viscount

Stratford's residence.

It wasn't even evening, but the street lamps were already lit up. They

emitted a faint glow in the rain.

After a while, a rental carriage drove over from afar and stopped in

front of the side door in a remote area.

The viscount's valet that had been hiding immediately ran out, opening

an umbrella.

He sheltered the cloaked woman down the carriage and quickly passed

through the side door. As for the rental carriage, it remained in its

spot without leaving. It had apparently been paid a sufficient amount of

money.

Xio still failed to see the woman's appearance, but she wasn't

disheartened by it. She patiently waited in the cold rain as though she

had turned into a motionless statue.

She planned on attempting to tail the woman once she came out to confirm

her identity.

This was both an opportunity for her to obtain the Judge potion formula,

and it was also the reason why she came to Backlund---to investigate the

truth of her father's death!

And it was because she was spurred by such motives that Xio had

persisted in monitoring Viscount Stratford to this day. MI9's other

intelligence officers had already ended the mission due to the lack of

any developments over the previous few months. Even the golden-masked

man who had designated the mission hadn't asked about this in weeks.

Clearly, he didn't place any importance on it.

Inside Viscount Stratford's bedroom, a beautiful brown-haired girl wore

a silk gown and sat in front of a dressing table. She was fiddling with

the skincare and makeup products as if she had discovered a treasure

trove.

Viscount Stratford, who was already middle-aged, wore a male nightgown

and walked to the beautiful girl with his hair still moist. He smiled at

her reflection in the mirror and said, "Shermane, you no longer need

those to add to your beauty."

"It's just a type of female instinct." The young girl named Shermane

raised her hand with a smile, pressing down on the viscount's palm that

had been placed on her shoulder.

Viscount Stratford smiled gently and said, "When you touch them, you

have a pure and innocent air to you. Heh heh, you make me discover my

youth, like the days when I was only eighteen."

Without waiting for Shermane's reply, he continued, "My wife had already

passed away for years. I always imagined I would live until the Lord

beckons for me, but who knew that I would meet you. In a while, when the

pressure accumulated in Backlund is relieved, I will find a chance to

walk down the wedding aisle to the altar with you."

"Wedding... You want to marry me?" Shermane was taken aback as she asked

in disbelief.

Viscount Stratford smiled and said, "Meeting you is a gift from the

Lord. Although you aren't of noble birth, I've already married once. I

don't have to consider such matters anymore. Of course, I'll think of

means to raise your standing in society. Yes, I'll first find a merchant

to recognize you as his illegitimate daughter..."

He droned on about his plan until he saw Shermane's eyes filled with

tears in the mirror's reflection.

"The most precious thing about you is that you treat me ten times better

than how well I treat you, and you don't hide it." Viscount Stratford

smiled as he lowered his head and kissed the top of Shermane's head.

Shermane opened her mouth, seemingly crying and laughing.

Only when the drizzle stopped and night fell did Xio finally wait for

the woman in a dark red cloak walk out and board the carriage.

After memorizing the carriage's traits, Xio tailed it from afar, using

her Beyonder powers as a Sheriff and the empty streets at night to

follow the target simply by walking or running.

She went all the way from Empress Borough to the Backlund Bridge area.

Even with her stamina, she was almost at her limit, but thankfully, the

carriage finally came to a stop.

Xio brightened up as she switched her target from the carriage to the

cloaked woman and continued tailing her.

During this process, she was surprised that the woman had very good

anti-tracking abilities. She would occasionally take detours and pause

using obstacles.

However, this didn't stump Xio, since she was already an experienced

Sheriff. She patiently tailed from afar without coming too close.

Just as she sensed that the woman wasn't too far from her final

destination and that she was finally about to catch up to her, she

suddenly caught the scent of a sweet, ethereal fragrance.

Xio's mind went into a daze amidst the fragrance before she completely

lost track of her target.

As for the fragrance, it had vanished as though it had never appeared.

Xio's pupils widened slightly. She didn't dare to search her

surroundings for any traces.

Inside a rental apartment, Trissy, with a gentle and sweet face that

made one unable to resist looking at her, looked at the mirror

reflecting Shermane and said, "You seem to be in a good mood.

"How was it? This final mission isn't too unacceptable, right?

"Once you complete it, you can leave Backlund and start your own life."

Shermane was taken aback as her expression turned complicated as though

she was disheartened. It was as though she had suddenly snapped out of

her dreams.

She didn't turn her head as her lips quivered while replying, "He said

that he wishes to marry me..."

Trissy immediately pricked up her brows.

You mustn't believe a man's words during those times. You and I should

know this very well.

"If he really wishes to marry you, he wouldn't be wary of you. He will

wish to have a child with you. Heh heh, did he do so?"

Upon hearing her question, Shermane's mood turned sullen.

Trissy stood up and said with a smile, "I'm not stopping you from

pursuing your love. If you wish to turn this temporary mission into a

permanent one, you should think about what needs to be done."

After ethereally finishing her sentence, she walked to the door and left

the rented apartment.

While heading down the staircase, Trissy suddenly noticed her shoes. She

chuckled and said in a seemingly self- deprecating manner, "Love..."