Lord of the Mysteries

“The Sequence 1 potion that Zaratul, the leader of the Secret Order, consumed came from an Attendant of Mysteries. In other words, ‘He’ possesses an extra Miracle Invoker characteristic.

“Similarly, it was the same for the ancestor of the Antigonus family back then. Of course, if they were interested in something, or if they had a candidate who had won the favor of the family to the point of them being willing to nurture them, then an angel with sufficiently high status can separate the extra Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic to the other party.

The third Miracle Invoker’s Beyonder characteristic had combined with a characteristic of mysterious origins. It has become Sealed Artifact 0-05, also known as the Magic Wishing Lamp... A true deity once attempted to destroy this item, to separate the characteristics and allow them to converge automatically, but eventually failed.

“The fourth and fifth Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristics are in the form of a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact that exists in the Churches of the Eternal Blazing Sun and Lord of Storms. One of them is named 0-13. It comes from the Third Epoch’s Creator, designated as ‘The Last Banquet.’ The other is codenamed 0-32, a product of the War of the Four Emperors, designated as ‘Theater With Curtains That Never Draw.’

“The sixth Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic might be in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. During the Third Epoch, there was a remnant Dark Demonic Wolf who occasionally appeared. After the Cataclysm, ‘He’ vanished without a trace.”

Audrey listened attentively and thought carefully for a moment before saying, “You’re saying that, under the situation where the Attendant of Mysteries spots are filled, there are only six Miracle Invokers. And now, you only mentioned the Secret Order’s leader, Zaratul, and the ancestor of the Antigonus family, but the spots don’t seem to be filled.

“In such a situation, there might be an extra Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic.”

This wasn’t information that The World Gehrman Sparrow had informed her of in advance. Instead, it was a question that Audrey had come up with on her own accord from the details of the answer and her knowledge of mysticism.

The eyes of the giant silver snake moved slightly.

“Indeed. There should be three Attendants of Mysteries.

“But in the Second Epoch, in the era when the ancient god, Flegrea, still lived, the third set of the Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic seemed to have disappeared without a trace. No one knows where it is. Likewise for the corresponding Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic. Perhaps it has already combined together and has found a sufficiently concealed method to hide itself.”

Audrey nodded gently and said, “I understand. I’ll pass on the information to Mr. Dwayne Dantès.

“Oh... He even asked me to ask you if there’s anything you need his help with?”

The giant silver snake slithered up and a third of its body stood up.

“No.

“A small matter.

“Yes, I have a Blessed who is an outstanding gourmet. He has a desire to taste ice-cream from the various noble families, so as to determine the most delicious one.”

...This request... Mr. Snake, uh—maybe it’s Ma’am Snake—is really nice to her Blessed... “His” tone is as if he can’t wait... Hmm... This is too simple. I can agree to help on Mr. World’s behalf and complete it on my own. I’ll just treat it as accumulating the sufficient contributions needed to exchange the potion formula... Audrey said thoughtfully, “No problem.

“But how do I send him the ice cream?”

The giant silver snake slowly coiled and said, “Sacrifice it to him. He’s already a Sequence 3 saint and can accept sacrifices in the same city.

“His honorific name is ‘The Embodiment of Luck; The Clairvoyant Monster, The Calamity that Spreads Misfortune, The Witnesses of all Fates in Backlund, the Keeper of Chaos and Madness.”

There’s a difference between this honorific name and a normal Sequence 3’s. There’s no name at the end... Audrey’s eyes darted around slightly, but she didn’t say anything further and nodded in agreement.

...

Keeper of Chaos and Madness... Will’s last honorific name is quite interesting... This shouldn’t be the honorific name of the Snake of Fate, but something that “He” used when “He” was at Sequence 3. Some tweaks were made later on... The Monster pathway’s watches over chaos and madness? Or could it be said that in this world, even for Fate, those at the lower Sequences are in chaos and madness? Monsters are working hard to resist all of this, making everything seem normal? After Klein heard Miss Justice’s answer, he didn’t find it odd for Will Auceptin to request for ice-cream. Instead, he found the honorific name of the Life School of Thought president rather interesting.

Heh, having a Blessed... That’s like saying “I know someone”... Did Will learn this from me? No, I have a real Blessed, Danitz! Later on, I’ll have this fellow sacrifice something for me to eat. I can’t really eat those mutated monsters or summon projections from the Historical Void, right? Yes, if I have a chance, I’ll invite Little Sun to try them together. I can’t let him be obsessed with Frank’s mushrooms... Uh, the number of Blessed serving Will definitely won’t be less than mine. There might even be more. “He” has the huge Life School of Thought... Klein conjured The World Gehrman Sparrow and made him reply to Miss Justice, indicating that the ice-cream contributed plenty.

After completing all of this, he rapped the edge of the long mottled table and seriously considered the problem with the main ingredient of the Miracle Invoker.

There’s no need to think about the Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic with Zaratul. It’s impossible for “Him” to separate it to give it to me. “He” only wants to turn me into “His” marionette...

It’s not like there’s zero hope with Antigonus’s two portions, but if that’s the case, I’ll have to request it from the Goddess again. I can’t offer something equivalent... I’m afraid... Besides, the Goddess might not be able to provide it. The reason why “She” wants to seal The Half-Fool, who has lost control, is probably because “She” is unable to kill “Him.” Once “He” is killed, “He” will be able to escape his current predicament and revive elsewhere—just like how I escaped from Amon. Under such a situation, the Goddess has no way of getting Antigonus to separate a Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic...

Even a true deity can’t shatter 0-05, so there’s no point targeting it. It’s useless even if I have it... This Sealed Artifact’s origins are truly mysterious. There’s something very fishy about it...

The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun’s 0-13 is called “The Last Banquet.” It comes from the City of Silver’s Creator... Why does this person always like to use the names that have dangerous implications... The Church of the Lord of Storms’s 0-32 is “Theater With Curtains That Never Draw”... Just the sound of it allows me to imagine what it’s like... The chances of obtaining these two Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts are very low, but it’s not impossible. It just depends on whether the Eternal Blazing Sun and Lord of Storms are willing to support my growth so as to contain Amon...

Yes. Up to now, “They” have yet to show any kindness. I can’t find a suitable way to interact with the right person. I can’t possibly use divination to spy on the Eternal Blazing Sun again and communicate with “Him” through space, right? If that happens, wouldn’t it be better if “He” directly invades Sefirah Castle and takes control of this place?

If I were to nurture Mr. Hanged Man and wait till he has the qualifications to come into contact with a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, I’ll most likely have become Amon...

The True Creator knows a clue to the third characteristic of the Attendant of Mysteries... “His” divine kingdom and holy residence are in the Forsaken Land of the Gods... These two might be related somehow...

The two sets of Miracle Invoker characteristics and an Attendant of Mysteries characteristics are highly likely to be in the Forsaken Land of the Gods... I wonder which one is in the Nois ruins?

Yes, the True Creator should only know a clue, and not its exact location. Otherwise, “He” would’ve obtained that Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic before the War of the Four Emperors and effectively increased “His” subordinates’ strength...

In other words, the Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic is something even a true deity can’t obtain quickly, and it’s necessary to search for it. It might not be so easy for Amon to come across it, allowing “Him” to set up a trap... If the danger within the ruins were only recently found—having just been transplanted—it would match this trait...

From the looks of it, I still have to make a trip. However, I have to be careful enough. The danger comes from Amon and also from the ruins. Hmm, I’ll do a divination first, then I’ll observe and gather intelligence from a distance. I won’t enter blindly and will be patient enough.

Klein conjured a pen and paper and was about to write the corresponding divination statement when he suddenly thought of something and decided to make another confirmation.

He drew a complicated symbol that was a mixture of concealment and mystery prying. He threw it into the crimson star representing The Magician. With Gehrman Sparrow’s image and tone, he asked her to question Arrodes.

...

Backlund, East Borough. Fors, who was about to move houses, drew the curtains and lit a candle. She set up a mirror and found Xio to act as a bystander.

She then drew the symbol that Mr. World had given her.

In the room, the environment gradually turned dark as cold winds stirred, causing the two to tremble.

The surface of the mirror suddenly rippled, forming ancient dark red Feysac text:

“You have summoned the great Arrodes. You have to abide by the corresponding rules:

“You have to answer a question for every question asked. If you lie or refuse to answer, you will be punished.”

“Alright,” Fors, who had been warned, calmly replied.

Following that, she asked curiously, “Where can one obtain the main ingredient of the Miracle Invoker potion?”

On the surface of the mirror, dark red words appeared one after another as other lines vanished. They answered the question in detail:

It’s basically the same as Will’s answer... Above the gray fog, through the crimson star representing Miss Magician, Klein watched the specific process and nodded in disappointment.

After Fors memorized the answer, she said nervously, “It’s your turn to ask.”

The dark red words changed and formed a new sentence:

“Have you had an erotic dream in the past year?”

Phew... Thankfully, it’s still okay... Fors heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Yes.”

This was human nature. She didn’t feel that there was anything to be ashamed of.

Following that, she raised the second question:

“Do you have any suggestions on the matter regarding obtaining the main ingredient of the Miracle Invoker?”

Arrodes dispersed the dark red text and used silver colors to form new words:

“The Abraham family still holds the Apprentice pathway’s Sequence 2 Planeswalker potion formula, as well as the corresponding powerful Sealed Artifacts. A total of two of them.

“The Aurora Order also has one.”

This... Klein’s eyes lit up as he thought of a new possibility.

“Is that so...” Fors frowned slightly and said, “It’s your turn to ask a question.”

The silver color on the surface of the mirror faded away as dark red colors formed a sentence:

“Other than you, who else was the star of your erotic dream?”

Fors gaped as her face flushed red.