Chapter 1018: Unexpected

Empress Borough, by the side of Viscount Stratford's mansion.

Fors and Xio, who were dressed in black dresses, hid in a dark corner.

They stared intently at the tightly closed metal gates as they patiently

waited for their target to appear.

It wasn't raining tonight, so they didn't have to face harsh weather

conditions. The carriage that remained parked by the side of the street

lamps made it clear to them that their patience would be rewarded. It

was only a matter of time.

After an unknown period of time, the gates produced a heavy metal groan

as they slowly opened.

A figure in a black cloak appeared with its head bowed. The figure

walked to the side of the carriage and nimbly boarded the carriage.

"Is that her?" Fors lowered her voice and asked Xio.

She didn't have Beyonder powers that could restore a target's

characteristics from a mere description, and she had never seen her

before. Therefore, she couldn't rely on her spiritual intuition or

astromancy to make a judgment.

Xio nodded in affirmation and said, "Yes!"

As they quietly conversed, the rental carriage sped up and left the side

gates.

Xio immediately left her hiding spot, prepared to use her Sheriffs

Beyonder powers and the physical enhancement that being an Interrogator

gave her to lock onto her target while jogging.

"What are you doing?" At that moment, Fors pressed down on her shoulder,

foiling her plans.

"Track her!" Xio looked back at her friend in puzzlement.

Fors looked at the rental carriage that hadn't completely pulled away

from them and asked thoughtfully,

"Why are you tracking her for?

"Also, didn't you say that the target has a rather powerful Beyonder

protecting her once you enter the Backlund Bridge area?"

"That's right." Xio first answered the second question before saying,

"Your question is very odd. The reason you track someone is to determine

the target's appearance, identity, and motives."

Fors retracted her left hand from Xio's shoulder and revealed a smile.

"Since the target is protected by a rather powerful Beyonder, it will be

difficult for us to complete the tracking in the Backlund Bridge area.

We won't be able to find her residence and figure out her true identity.

Do you wish to directly fight her guardian? Although you have me to

help, are you certain about that person's strength? How certain are you?

Will it be very dangerous?

"Besides, once the battle begins, it will definitely alarm the target.

This is the same as stopping the carriage midway and confronting her

directly. It will foil your primary objective. It will alarm Viscount

Stratford and prevent him from falling into a predicament that will

offer you a chance to take action."

"If we do it, then there's a possibility of failure, but failure is

certain if we do nothing," Xio emphasized that she knew the situation

well. All she wanted was to make an attempt and find an opportunity

midway.

At this moment, the rental carriage had already turned into another

street at the end of the road. Fors watched the back of it gradually

disappear as she shook her head and smiled.

"No, no, no. We need to change our way of thinking!

"We should first attempt to figure out the target's appearance. After

daybreak, we can use her appearance to perform normal investigations in

the Backlund Bridge area and then obtain information from other

channels."

"Your choice of words is very professional," Xio said in thought.

"Of course. I've written detective novels before!" Fors answered without

any sense of modesty.

"But how do I figure out what the target looks like without alerting

her?" Xio raised the most critical question.

Prepared, Fors took out Leymano's Travels and said with a smile,

"Elementary. Using the Psychological Invisibility Miss Justice

recorded!"

Although Audrey didn't encounter any situations that required her to use

Leymano's Travels, she had rented it thrice out of curiosity. She

studied the uses and traits of the Beyonder powers recorded, and she

recorded her own Beyonder powers into it. This included the rather

useful Psychological Invisibility.

As for her true identity, Xio and Fors were increasingly certain of it,

but they didn't directly ask or do any further investigations. That was

the most basic form of respect towards other Tarot Club members.

After hearing her friend's answer, Xio came to a realization and was

instantly inspired.

Fors continued, "By using the Beyonder powers on this page, you will be

placed in the sensory blind spots of all surrounding creatures. They

wouldn't be able to see you even if you were to jump around in front of

them. That way, you can directly board the carriage and stand in front

of the target, openly taking in her appearance and remember all her

traits.

"Heh heh, I sometimes think that people who use Psychological

Invisibility might end up being squashed to death by huge creatures that

happen to walk past if they're unlucky.

"Uh, don't make too much noise later. Don't speak to any nearby

creatures, or else you will garner attention. Let Psychological

Invisibility be dispelled automatically."

Yeah!" Xio nodded, then she raised another issue: "How do I prevent the

target from discovering the sudden opening of the carriage door while

it's driving?"

Without waiting for Fors's reply, she immediately pressed, "Did you

record the Door Opening Beyonder power?"

"Guess?" Fors smiled as she handed Leymano's Travels to her friend,

telling her which pages Psychological Invisibility and Door Opening were

on.

With this in mind, Xio immediately ran amidst the shadows, chasing after

the rental carriage.

Before long, she saw her target. Her right hand immediately trembled as

she made the bronze-green notebook reveal a yellowish-brown goatskin

page.

She slid her fingers gently, and Xio seemed to see countless rippling

light appear on the surface of a deep lake spread outwards.

When her vision returned to normal, she sped up and rushed to the side

of the carriage.

To ensure nothing went wrong, Xio didn't immediately take action. With a

few wide strides, she overtook the horse.

She then turned around as though she was crossing the road. However, the

carriage driver didn't notice her, nor did he shout out to her or rein

in the horse.

After confirming the effects of Psychological Invisibility, she sped up

and dodged the horse's galloping and came to the side of the carriage.

After a brief observation, she flipped through Leymano's Travels and

revealed a white page covered with strange patterns and symbols. Then,

she reached out her right hand and pressed it on the surface of the

carriage.

Her figure instantly turned transparent as she appeared inside.

The woman in a black cloak was sitting diagonally opposite her as if she

was in thought, staring at the glass window where Xio stood. However,

she didn't notice the bounty hunter who had suddenly infiltrated.

At such a close distance, even with her cloak lowered, Xio was able to

see her face clearly. Furthermore, the woman wasn't as careful as she

was while walking outside. Her every action appeared rather casual as

the hood was only at her eyes.

Instantly, her appearance was reflected in Xio's eyes, overlapping with

a face that still had some male characteristics. This was a Beyonder

power of a Sheriff.

Xio's eyes widened as she couldn't help but shout, "Sherman?"

She could foresee that the woman who often entered Viscount Stratford's

residence was rather beautiful, but she never expected the woman to be

her friend, Sherman. He was once a young man!

A man who wasn't considered androgynous now looked beautiful. He had the

charm of a woman!

At that moment, Xio couldn't help but size up Sherman. She couldn't

associate her figure with the young man she used to know with each

other.

If it wasn't for her Sheriff Beyonder powers that allowed her to confirm

that the person opposite her was Sherman, Xio definitely would've

imagined that she had made a mistake. And even so, she still suspected

whether the person wasn't Sherman and was instead Sherman's twin sister.

Upon hearing the surprised question, Sherman realized that there was

another person in the carriage at some point in time---someone familiar.

Bounty hunter, Xio Derecha!

Having already changed her name to Shermane, she was first alarmed, but

the words Trissy often mentioned instinctively appeared in her mind:

"You cannot meet people you used to know.

"Do you want your husband, your beloved to know of your former state?

"Only by completely severing your connections can you be reborn, doing

so in order to save yourself!"

Such words quickly flashed across Shermane's mind as a terrifying

thought emerged in her thoughts:

"Kill her!"

This thought seemed to come from a demon in the abyss as it constantly

whispered in Shermane's ear as it resonated in her heart.

"Kill her!

"Kill this person who recognized you!

"Only by doing so can you truly escape the past and not lose the

present!

"Kill her!"

Shermane didn't answer Xio.s question. Her left hand slowly clenched up

while slightly trembling.

Xio sensed the intense emotions running through the person opposite her

and confirmed that it was Sherman. Immediately, she asked in concern,

"How did you become like this?

"Where have you been all this time? Did you encounter something? Were

you hurt?"

Shermane's lips quivered as her left fist relaxed a little. She said

with a sobbing tone, "I've already begun a new life.

Don't disturb me again, alright?

"I-I don't want to lose everything I have now. I don't want to see

people that I knew in the past!"

The more she spoke, the faster it became. It became obvious that it was

a plea.

Xio was taken aback for a few seconds before staring at Sherman. Pursing

her lips, she said, "Okay..."

She didn't stay any longer and reached out to open the carriage window

and jumped out.

Shermane silently watched this entire process and finally exhaled before

she slumped into her seat like she had lost all her strength.

It wasn't easy for her to control the demon in her heart.

At this moment, she saw a figure rapidly outline itself out of thin air

beside her.

The figure wore a black, old-fashioned dress, but it didn't diminish her

beauty and disposition. She sat there silently without a word, but it

was impossible to not look at her.

Demoness Trissy!

"Why didn't you kill her?" Trissy asked with a smile, not revealing any

gloominess. It was as like an idle chat where she would ask what she had

drunk the previous night.

"S-she's one of the few people who didn't ostracized me. She even helped

me..." Shermane replied in shock before frowning. "Why are you here?"

Trissy smiled and said, "I'm protecting you."

Without waiting for Shermane's answer, she said, "You seemed to be in a

good mood when you came out."

Shermane recalled what had happened and bashfully said, "Maybe, perhaps,

I have a chance of becoming a mother..." As she spoke, she touched her

stomach with her right hand, the corner of her lips couldn't help but

curl.

"I feel him k-kicking me..." Shermane suddenly froze and blurted, "How

could it be so fast?"

She wasn't sure if she could get pregnant today!

Upon seeing her reaction, Trissy smiled even more charmingly.