Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1216 A Warm Ending
Above the gray fog, in the ancient palace.

Klein's spirit that came here merged with the "Spirit Worm" that had been sitting on the "Fool's" throne, used to send, receive, and transfer the prayers of believers and followers. He immediately looked at the deep red star that was constantly echoing with a halo.

That belonged to the "magician" Fors.

Because he used the interaction of the secret dolls in Yharnam to create a time difference, the real "Judge" Hugh had just entered the restaurant with the secret doll Fors, and met the wandering magician Merlin who was waiting for his assistant, and was invited to participate in the magic mirror divination game.

The real Fors had already finished her meal and discovered the secret behind Yharnam City in a nearby bar. She fled in panic but did not dare to go too far, for fear of leaving her friend missing and regretting it for the rest of her life.

What a delicious friendship... Has it gone bad? Judging from the results of the magic mirror's divination, it should be... Looking at the figure of the "magician" lady who showed a bit of panic, as if she had forgotten that she was a powerful High-Sequence Beyonder, Klein had some dark thoughts in his heart.

During this period, he controlled the secret dolls and observed the "outsiders" who accidentally entered Yharnam City from a nearly God's perspective. He inexplicably had a feeling that he had complete control over the fate of others.

No, I can actually control their fate, with just a little skill...hiss——

The pain that came from his waist was not severe, but it went straight to his heart and deep into his spirit. The soft flesh that had been kneaded countless times began to twitch, and even if it was only a spirit that rose into the gray mist, it could not avoid it.

It was Angel... She actually used the technique of chain attack on all the marionettes... The pain made Klein's eyes clear instantly. He realized that his previous thoughts were not his own intention, but were influenced by the residual spirit in the Beyonder characteristics, which included the indifference and cruelty of the Dark Wolf Kotar and the creator who was the source of all Beyonders.

Huh—he let out a nonexistent breath, looked back at the light of the Magician's prayer, and delivered his response as The Fool:
"Don't worry. The problems of this secret city have been solved by The World and the Queen. If you go back to where you first entered here, you will be able to see the real Miss Judgment."

Then, he looked at the star owned by Judge Hugh Dilcha. The latter had not yet prayed to Mr. Fool, but his long-term connection with the gray fog, the secret town and his strong connection with himself had allowed him to directly peek into the situation around this Tarot Club member.

To Klein's surprise, after being teased by the Mirror of Arrodes that Merlin Hermes pulled out from the mist of history, Xio had already discovered something unusual around her. Although she didn't realize that Fors beside her was the secret doll, she was keenly aware of the problems in Yharnam and chose the most correct approach - entering the Church of the Fool to hide.

It seems that this lady trusts me quite a bit. After all, the reason she joined the Tarot Club was because she was contaminated underground and I saved her from death... Hmm, maybe she discovered the problem earlier than Fors because of her "Arbitrator" characteristics?
Klein pondered and created an image composed of the Fool's low voice and the figure in the gray fog, and threw it into the star belonging to Judgment:

"The hidden problems in this city will be solved by the 'world'. You should meet the real 'magician' at the steam train station as soon as possible and leave here."

This is how today’s event came to a perfect end. I tested that Yharnam City has initially created a corresponding area in the spirit world, and I also played a trick on the best-selling author who likes to write about my and Angel’s scandals... Klein’s mouth curled up slightly, and he suddenly felt a phantom pain in his waist.

Oh, and be careful not to fall into the mentality of treating all living beings as playthings, and give them a heartwarming ending… He reminded himself secretly and turned to look at the prayer light of the "Magician".

……

The gray fog in front of him slowly dissipated, and Fors's worries also disappeared.

Secret Doll City… She silently repeated what Mr. Fool had said, and soon understood what she had encountered today.

All citizens of Yharnam City are controlled puppets. Together they form a social structure where everything seems to be functioning normally. Everyone has his or her own identity and they are truly "living"!

Then, this Hugh Dilcha... She looked at her friend who was entangled in black chains formed by layers of shadows. Even her mouth was tied tightly, and she couldn't even utter a word of "ban".

Is she also a secret doll? I actually didn't realize she was replaced... No, as early as when I got off the steam train and entered the city, Xio's behavior was a little strange, but I was distracted by other things at the time and didn't notice it... Fors felt regretful and clenched his fists. In the end, he reached out and gently stroked Xio's chubby cheek with his fingertips.

If I touched her like this normally, she would definitely fly into a rage, thinking that I was treating her like a child... With a light laugh, Fors's fingertips danced with silver-white lightning, like many tiny electric snakes streaking across the surface of the doll's body, burning her to charcoal.

Then, her figure faded and disappeared, "teleporting" away from the area.

……

"My secret doll..."

Watching Miss Magician destroy the secret doll "Xiu" who deceived her without hesitation, Klein in the gray fog twitched with heartache.

Fortunately, a certain degree of loss of secret dolls was within his expectations. Even without the intervention of outsiders, several homicides had occurred "naturally" in the more than two months since the establishment of Yharnam City. Several residents had died of illness and accidents, allowing more than a dozen secret dolls to have a complete life.

For the promotion ceremony, it's all worth it... He muttered, cut off the connection with Fors, leaned back in the high-back chair, and reviewed every detail after the establishment of the Secret Doll Town, checking for omissions and filling in the gaps.

During this most critical period of time, the thing that Klein was most worried about and most expected—Zaratul's attack—did not happen. This "secret servant" was so quiet that he looked like he was dead. Even the clues that Klein had deliberately left as traps in various places were not discovered, which made him feel empty inside.

You know, the period before Klein is promoted to Sequence 1 is Zaratul's only chance to take away the characteristics of other "Servants of Mystery" and gain control of the "Source Castle". As long as the former is truly promoted and contains the characteristics of the two Sequence 1 in his hands, he will immediately become the Angel King who controls the source material, and the strongest one, equivalent to the "Dark Angel" Sasriel before his fall.

By then, Zaratul will not have any chance and can only turn from hunter to prey, waiting for Klein to come and take away the third "Secret Servant" feature.

“So, where did He go? What is He planning? When I am promoted, the convergence of the Beyonder characteristics will reach its peak. If I close my eyes and teleport a few times, I might appear beside Him…”

Klein tapped his fingers on the long bronze table, puzzled.

As for another strong competitor for Sefirah Castle, Amon, who had already obtained all three Sequence 1 characteristics and the uniqueness of the Thief, Klein was also on guard.

The "Spirit Worm" he left above the gray fog was scanning all the secret dolls in Yharnam City at all times, patrolling his territory with "real vision" to prevent the Angel King from sneaking in here by parasitism.

But what surprised Klein was that after Amon failed to snatch the "blasphemous slate" from the Giant King's Court, he also disappeared and never appeared in front of him again.

"Is he busy with the deification ceremony? But apart from his brother, it is unlikely that other gods will appear recently. Whose deification ceremony is he going to take over? It can't be me, right?"

Klein laughed at himself, realizing the difficulty of "guarding against thieves for a thousand days". Openly establishing a secret puppet city was equivalent to going out in the open. He could only strengthen his defenses and give a strong counterattack the moment any Amon clone appeared. There was no other way.

Of course, in addition to Zaratul and Amon, there are also those who need the "Source Castle" who are the Angel Kings of the Apprentice Path and Mr. "Gate" Bethel Abraham who was exiled to the cracks of the storm. This extraordinary person who was corrupted by the "Fallen Mother Goddess" is constantly looking for someone who can return Him to reality. Once He returns, He will be an enemy more terrifying to Klein than Amon.

"Fortunately, the Abraham family is almost under my control. Most of them have converted to the Fool, and there is no way they can gather 99 Beyonders or apprentice demigods... In other words, whether Mr. Men can return is actually under my control. This may be a trump card to deal with Amon and his brother..."

Muttering to himself, Klein thought of the enemy who was currently the most hidden and the most difficult to deal with: Adam.

This "visionary" who was almost certain to become a god appeared when George III fell and left Klein to Amon. He also did not appear again. However, Klein could feel that He was continuing His "arrangements" behind the scenes. The direct evidence was what happened to Miss Justice two days ago.

At that time, the president of the "Psychological Alchemy Society" invited "Justice" to the "Garden of Eden", their spiritual city hidden in the collective subconscious. After some questioning and preliminary confirmation that the death of the former jury member Hvin Rambis had nothing to do with her, she was made a new jury member and inherited Hvin's code name "Arrogance".

At the same time, "Arrogant" Audrey also took on a new mission - to investigate the whereabouts of a psychic dragon in East Chester County.

During this encounter with the Psychological Alchemy Society, Klein protected Audrey's safety throughout the entire process above the gray fog, and Angel was also on standby at all times, and would use the "Angel Descends" method to rescue the Tarot Society members who were in the tiger's den when necessary.

Fortunately, the whole process went very smoothly, but this made Klein even more suspicious that the whole thing was arranged. After all, the name "Garden of Eden", the gathering place in the Soul City similar to the "Church of Bones", and even the clue that the members of the jury could get help by calling the name "Adam" in times of crisis, all pointed to that "dreamer".

"As a true God who doesn't need to stay in the astral plane to maintain the barrier, if He really takes action, I'm afraid I've already fallen into His trap... The only possibility is that the real Creator who has obtained the 'blasphemous slate' and whose condition has improved is dealing with Adam in the adjacent path, so He can't spare a hand to help Amon deal with me... The matter of the 'Psychological Alchemy Society' may just be a test from Him..."

The clues in Klein's mind kept interweaving, leaving him with a lot of mysteries. However, he couldn't find a breakthrough point. He could only sigh and decide to observe carefully for a while longer, and to respond to all changes with the same attitude.

Of course, completing the promotion ceremony and upgrading the sequence is the most important thing at the moment. Only by becoming a true angel king can he easily deal with Zaratul, see through Amon's tricks, and resist Adam's "arrangement".

Angel who could protect him.

----

At the steam train station on the outskirts of Yharnam, Fors's figure was outlined on the platform.

It was already night time and the simple platform was empty. She looked around and immediately found the familiar figure in the corner.

"stop!"

She called out her friend's name in a relieved tone, and the latter turned around with a relieved smile on his face.

"I thought you were lost... If Mr. Fool hadn't reminded me, I would have turned this city upside down."

Xio muttered softly, approached Fors, gave her a hug, sniffed, and asked curiously:

"You went to that South Continent-style restaurant too? I smelled barbecue..."

Fors nodded and said:
"It seems that we had the same itinerary, but we were misled by those 'secret dolls' and missed each other..."

At this point, her mind moved, and she subconsciously asked:
"Have you met the wandering magician Merlin? He and his female assistant should also be outsiders, not 'secret puppets'..."

"I met him, and he invited me to do a magic mirror divination..."

Xio answered very quickly, but stopped talking halfway and looked away with an awkward expression.

Magic mirror divination...Fors was also stunned, and felt her cheeks getting a little hot.

Fortunately, I have destroyed the body and no one knows what the magic mirror asked except the "secret doll"... No, the magician Merlin also knows... I hope he can keep the secret well, otherwise I will find him and help him forget it completely... Fors, what is your mentality? Did you put yourself into the story of Gehrman when you wrote it?

Her mind was in a mess. She sighed silently and took Xio's hand, feeling the softness and body temperature that was different from the stiff movements of the secret doll.

"Let's go home," she said softly.

"Well," Hugh nodded, "I don't want to travel anymore."

Me too...at least not for now...Fors muttered and activated the "teleport".

----

After confirming that there would be no major problems with Klein's promotion ceremony, Angel left Yharnam, where she had lived for a while, and returned to East Balam in the southern continent, preparing to contact the mysterious "Pale Queen".

But Antigonus, the "miracle master" who had just settled in the Church of the Night in the port city of Gurain, had cooperated with her many times and was still stationed in East Balam to help the Night Watchmen eliminate the believers of the "Original Moon", appeared in front of her.

This made Angel wonder what information the other party had obtained from divination that led to their coincidence in coming to the same city and the same church.

But this was exactly what she wanted. She had many questions to ask the great noble of the Tudor Empire in the Fourth Epoch regarding the "Blood Emperor" Alistair Tudor.

(End of this chapter)