Lord of the Mysteries

A milder approach... The Hermit Cattleya, who lacked experience only on high-level matters, instantly had a new idea and probed, “Let Miss Magician participate in the various Beyonder gatherings in Backlund. ‘accidentally’ revealing that she’s related to the Abraham family, attracting the attention of the Aurora Order?”

Seeing no objection from The World Gehrman Sparrow, Cattleya thought as she looked to the other side.

“How we can make this matter appear reasonable without arousing suspicion, how to design the steps and procedures needed to ‘expose’ herself, and how to lay the foundations at each one of the gatherings—these might require your help, Miss Justice.”

From her point of view, only a Manipulator who could accurately grasp the various mentalities of the different people at the gathering could allow the scheme to appear natural and reasonable, without leaving a trace.

“Alright.” Audrey nodded solemnly, feeling somewhat excited.

She then added, “Although I’ve never done anything similar before, I will try my best to make everything seem reasonable.”

...Why do I suddenly feel a little afraid... Why do I feel like we are all inexperienced people? Apart from Mr. World who can’t directly participate, uh, Ma’am Hermit might be very experienced in other aspects, but she shouldn’t have been involved in such hunting before... This isn’t a game, it’s a cruel act that can kill someone if we aren’t careful... Fors trembled when she heard this. She had a deep suspicion of the “experience” of most of the members. This included herself.

However, when she thought of how Miss Justice and Ma’am Hermit were already Sequence 4 demigods, and that she and The Star were at Sequence 5, she felt that this wasn’t too serious of a problem. After all, every powerhouse had accumulated their experiences over time from nothing. Furthermore, they still had The World Gehrman Sparrow, the strongest hunter over the Five Seas.

Reasonable... Scheme... Manipulation... Listening to the conversation between Ma’am Hermit and Miss Justice, Klein subconsciously extracted the keywords.

This reminded him of how he had used 0-08 and the experience of playing out situations that had been arranged by 0-08. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

It’s no wonder the Spectator’s Sequence 1 is called Author. This is indeed a very reasonable development, but it can change from a “guidance” to being “forced”...

“There’s no need to rush yourself to make the arrangements in detail. Go back and think it over carefully. Yes, at the same time, we need to combine the feedback from the scene to make adjustments.” Cattleya nodded in thought as she immediately had a new idea. “When Miss Magician participates in the Beyonder gatherings, it’s best you hide in the vicinity. Use your control of the sea of collective subconscious to monitor every participant’s thoughts and accurately grasp the feedback.”

Would 13 Virtual Personas be enough? There should be more than 13 members at a Beyonder gathering... Hmm, I can switch to using “Monitoring” to select a target to focus on... Audrey quickly analyzed the feasibility of the suggestion and tersely acknowledged.

“That wouldn’t be an issue.”

To her, this was also a form of training. At the same time, it was also a form of acting—she didn’t directly use her Beyonder powers to affect the target, but instead used her precise understanding of the target’s mental state to “manipulate” them by using words, behavior, actions, and a “script.”

Seeing that there was no problem on Miss Justice’s side, The Hermit Cattleya looked at The Magician.

“In order to prevent a surprise attack, and to better grasp your surroundings, I need to plant something on you.”

“What is it?” Fors asked warily.

Cattleya glanced at The World at the bottom end of the long, mottled table. After receiving the permission of Mr. Fool’s Blessed, she raised her hand and pressed it between her brows.

A pair of transparent eyes appeared in front of her, ones that were without eyelashes, looking cold and heartless.

“This is the Eye of Mystery Prying. After becoming a Mysticologist, I can place it on someone else’s body. Whatever it sees it will be what I see. Furthermore, once it enters a concealed state, it will be very difficult to be discovered through other means.” Cattleya gave a simple introduction.

Upon seeing this scene, Klein leaned back slightly and sighed inwardly.

When he first grasped Spirit Vision, he had seen something similar behind Old Neil.

If he had the mysticism knowledge he had now back then, he would’ve detected the problem earlier. Perhaps things would have developed differently.

If this strange eye were to be planted on me, wouldn’t I be watched by Ma’am Hermit when I go to the bathroom... Fors secretly drew a cold gasp as she hesitantly asked, “Can we ‘plant’ it before each gathering?”

“If we make frequent contact with each other, we’ll be easily discovered. Besides, the Saint of Secrets wouldn’t only appear at times you choose.” Cattleya nudged the heavy glasses on her nose bridge and explained. “Don’t worry, I won’t look at things I shouldn’t see.”

It was a lesson learned through blood.

Fors fell silent for a few seconds before she slowly exhaled.

“Alright then...”

Cattleya nodded slightly and continued, “After discovering clues to the Abraham family, the Aurora Order will definitely do a certain amount of investigation. And for safety, so as to prevent any accidents from happening, they will definitely send out someone with a certain level of confidence. Among them, the Saint of Secrets Botis is undoubtedly the person who is most interested in the matter regarding the Abraham family. In addition, Backlund isn’t suitable for a King of Angels’ main body to be active in, so the probability of him appearing is the highest.”

At this moment, The Star Leonard, who was leaning against the back of his chair, raised his hand and said, “Not necessarily.

“According to the information we have gathered, the Aurora Order has other high-ranking members in Backlund—Saint Tenebrous. After Mr. A disappeared, he came forward to organize certain matters.

“When the time comes, the person responsible for tracking the clues to the Abraham family might very well be him, not the Saint of Secrets. After all, this is his ‘diocese.’”

The demigod I met when I assassinated Mr. X was Saint Tenebrous? Klein nodded in enlightenment without bringing any attention to himself.

Cattleya was already prepared for this. Without any hesitation, she said to The Star, “This might require your help. In the near future, you should investigate more cases involving the Aurora Order and strike at them more.

“This way, it will be inconvenient for them to move around. After discovering clues about the Abraham family, they might very likely seek reinforcements, getting—yes, the more mobile and more concealed Saint of Secrets to be responsible for it.”

Leonard thought of his recent mission list and nodded slightly.

“Sure.”

As the captain of a Red Gloves team, he had the right to do so.

“The only problem is, could this be predicted by the True Creator?” After Leonard agreed, he turned to look at Klein.

After some thought, Klein pointed out indirectly.

“You are similarly under the gaze of a deity.”

Leonard retracted his gaze as though he had gained some understanding. He said to The Hermit Cattleya, “I have no further questions.”

The Hermit Cattleya raised her glasses and cast her gaze towards Judgment.

“We will try our best to limit the Beyonder circles that Miss Magician will be involved in to East Borough and the Backlund Bridge area. These should be places you are familiar with. You have to constantly be aware of any abnormalities. Inform me immediately about the surroundings of the gathering’s location.”

“Alright.” Although Xio was disappointed that she was involved in the periphery matters, she knew very well that with her strength, she could only do so much.

At that moment, Cattleya thought for a moment before saying, “You are a Judge. When the time comes, you might need to do some area-of-effect ‘Prohibition.’ This might not be effective against the Saint of Secrets, Botis, but it should be able to cause some interference. Don’t doubt it. As support, Mid-Sequence Beyonders can similarly influence a saint to a certain extent.”

All of this is under the premise of a demigod resisting a demigod while all I provide is support... The education Xio had received since she was young, and the addition of the knowledge she learned from MI9 now put an emphasis on cooperation. It was very easy to understand what Ma’am Hermit was saying.

At this point, the plan had just started taking form. The next step was to adjust it bit by bit through on-the-ground feedback.

Fors heaved a sigh of relief when she suddenly thought of something. She hurriedly said, “Previously, Mr. World mentioned that Botis might have a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. How should we deal with it?”

Frankly speaking, she didn’t have a direct impression of how terrifying a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was. This was because she had never encountered one before and had never seen anyone encounter it before. However, she had experienced the Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts that Gehrman Sparrow had borrowed from Mr. Fool. She knew how terrifying it was, and with a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact being one grade higher than a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, it was obvious how potent one was. In the rumors that Fors had heard, some Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts could even destroy Backlund, or even the world.

Cattleya said after a few seconds of silence, “On the one hand, through Miss Justice’s grasp of the minds of the people around you, she will be able to find traces of possible existences. On the other hand, with Miss Judgment’s understanding of the various anomalies in the region, and combining it with divination, we will be able to determine ahead of time if there are any Sealed Artifacts.

“If we can’t get any feedback from all of this, and if the Saint of Secrets has a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact with him, you don’t have to be too afraid. He won’t kill you immediately. He will definitely try to gain control of you and interrogate you at a safe place. We have enough time and opportunities to separate him from the Sealed Artifact. Remember, a Sealed Artifact that a Beyonder possesses isn’t completely a part of his strength.

“During this process, didn’t you ‘Record’ some high-level Beyonder powers? If the situation is critical, don’t hold back, and try your best to escape.”

Sounds like you’re not very confident either... Fors’s face suddenly turned pale as she forced a smile.

“I’ll try my best.”

At this moment, The World Gehrman Sparrow took the initiative to speak.

“In times of necessity, pray to Mr. Fool. I will also ask ‘Him’ to provide ‘His’ protection in advance and provide some revelations.”

As this operation wouldn’t pose a threat to Klein’s actual body regardless of the development, and it might involve a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, he could only gain some revelations from his initial control of Sefirah Castle.

That’s good... Fors, Xio, and company heaved a sigh of relief.

When the private gathering was coming to an end. Klein glanced at Cattleya and said, “It looks like there’s no way to end the operation before New Year. I’ll provide you with the advance payment.”

He then condensed some of mysticism knowledge he had never mentioned into a pale white brilliance and pushed it to The Hermit.