Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1246 Holy Action
The wedding was over, and the guests who filled the prayer hall of the "Fool" Church slowly left. Monica put away her shorthand notebook and said goodbye to the still excited small town writer Alesu. She planned to go back to the hotel to organize the notes and prepare for the travel notes for the next week.

This group wedding was different from the ones she had attended in Feynaport and Disi Bay. It didn't have that overly solemn and serious atmosphere that made the guests dare not even breathe. Instead, it had a somewhat carnival-like nature, which might be related to the cultural heritage of Yharnam itself.

Of course, Monica suspected that this was also related to the beliefs of the Fool. She tried to understand the teachings of this god, whom she had never heard of elsewhere, and found that most of them were similar to the Church of the Goddess of Evernight, but with fewer red tape and encouraged believers to help each other and communicate with each other.

It's a bit like plagiarism... It refers to the teachings of the Church of the Goddess of Night... Monica muttered silently, and then she remembered that she was still at the door of the church. She looked back with some fear at the "Fool" holy emblem composed of strange lines and half an eye, and then she looked down and found that most of the guests had left, but there were still a few people dressed like outsiders standing there.

Among them was the middle-aged man with bronze skin and southern continent ancestry that she first noticed.

He faced the shadow in the corner and seemed to be talking to himself.

……

"After this, I will continue to stay in the Southern Continent. If the church needs me to do anything, you can contact me at any time... You should know how to summon my messenger."

Azik slowly put his hat on his head and said to Arianna in front of him.

The "church" he mentioned was naturally the Church of the Evernight Goddess. After the "God of Death" Salinger completely fell and prayers to him were actually directed to the Evernight Goddess, the "Spiritual Cult", the largest remaining force in the Balam Empire, had basically been merged into the Evernight Church. On the surface, they still believed in the God of Death, and in fact they also believed in the God of Death, but the object of their prayers had unknowingly become another one.

In this situation, Azik thought that there was no need for him to be stubborn about his origins. Besides, he was able to escape from the resurrection method of his father, the ruthless "God of Death", and recover to his current state, all thanks to the mercy of the goddess.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Eggers."

Arianna still maintained that indifferent expression, stretched out her hand to point out the stars in front of her chest, and answered softly.

The "Servant of Secrets" had completed his mission. The "Blasphemer" Amon and his brother did not come to disrupt the wedding, which relaxed his tense nerves. After exchanging a few more words with Azik, he prepared to leave.

At this moment, Azik adjusted his hat and continued:

“There is something I hope you can convey to the goddess.

"When I was searching for traces of the Death God in the Highland Kingdom, I found the body of the original Death God, the 'Phoenix Ancestor' Graygari, in the depths of the underworld...

"His body, which should have been completely dead, has undergone a certain degree of abnormality. Instead, the dead body has fallen into a deep sleep, as if it has been affected by the 'River Styx' again.

"His condition is related to some kind of 'rebirth' power. Based on this, I suspect that a great being outside the barrier has influenced him... This information should be useful to the goddess."

From the moment he said the first sentence, Azik found that his voice had become somewhat ethereal. It was clearly coming from his own mouth, but it seemed to be coming from far away, making it difficult for him to hear clearly.

This is the “secret” authority.

After these words reached Arianna's ears in a special way, the "Secret Servant" nodded slowly, indicating that he would report to the goddess.

Then, his figure disappeared as if being erased by an eraser, and the slightly dark environment beside Azik regained its brightness.

This made Him discover that the "mysterious queen" Bernadette, who was originally sitting in the depths of the prayer hall, was walking over with another girl who was much shorter than her and looked like her daughter. The latter's golden eyes narrowed slightly, then relaxed after a moment.

Azik, who had already remembered the memory of the "Death Archon" in the Balam Empire, smiled slightly and took the initiative to speak:

"Good afternoon, Ms. Anne Gustave, and Ms. Bernadette Gustave."

Anne, who had something else to say, frowned slightly at his address, and Bernadette responded:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Eggers. I haven't had a chance to thank you for your help in destroying the king's tomb."

The historical projection had passively participated in the war, but the original body knew nothing about it. Azik, who only learned about this from Klein's casual chat, was startled and shook his head.
“It’s just a small thing.

"You also gave a lot of help to my student, those two juniors."

Students and juniors... Bernadette looked back and found that at the end of the red carpet, next to the altar, the four couples who participated in the group wedding and the wandering magician and his assistant were still standing together, as if they had not yet left the festive afterglow of the wedding.

But she knew that these were just secret dolls, and the only ones actually participating in the wedding today were a newlywed couple.

Not only her, but every angel present knew this.

"They are just little things, in fact they help me and Annie more."

This woman, who had been promoted to a "sage" and became one of the angels she once admired, spoke frankly.

Azik nodded and stepped aside to let them leave the church. They walked to the other end of the town square filled with white pigeons. The sound of conversation could be heard faintly:
"Sister Annie, I want to take a walk around this city before I leave. There are secret dolls designed based on us on the street next door. They are a pair of sisters..."

"sisters?"

"Well, their names are in the language that Daddy understands, and I want to see if there are more secrets hidden in them. Besides... I'm the older sister, and you're the younger sister."

"Okay, I have to keep an eye on Amon anyway, so I won't leave for now."

Watching the two people's receding backs, Azik smiled slightly and turned to look at the "Amon" that Anne Gustav mentioned, a man who also had black hair but was obviously overweight and did not wear a monocle on his right eye.

The latter was standing by the wall, studying with great interest a mural praising the great Mr. Fool and his Angel of Death.

This angel is the archon of the underworld and the one who has followed The Fool the longest. In the painting, He extends a hand with a slightly darker skin tone from a colorful but extremely strange space and holds another arm stained with blood, symbolizing that death is the true salvation.

Inexplicably, Azik felt that this scene looked familiar.

……

Another pair of eyes also quietly locked onto "Amon" who was studying the mural, until the former archon of the Dream City raised his head curiously, looked around, rubbed his hands, and continued to look at the mural before slowly moving away.

Leonard Mitchell, using his lover Sherman as a guide, went to the altar to talk to Miss Angelica, and asked in a low voice, tilting his head:

"Is that really Amon's clone?"

A teasing old voice came to his ears:
“You don’t have to lower your voice and pretend that He can’t hear you. Since this clone was allowed to attend the wedding and was not surrounded and destroyed by other angels, it means that He is safe.

"Besides, Amon's real body probably can't take care of us now. Just now, your Mr. Fool revived further and established a fleeting connection with the Beyonders of the three paths of Thief, Apprentice, and Fortuneteller that I am in through Sefirah Castle.

“I can feel it, and Amon can definitely feel it too.

"Before we have a chance to advance to Sequence 0 and compete with The Fool for Sefirah Castle, we don't have to worry about Him causing any trouble for the time being."

"So that's how it is..." Leonard nodded slowly, his body visibly relaxing. He slowly walked outside the church and continued to ask in a low voice, "If that's the case, you should no longer need to 'parasite' in my body and avoid His search?"

The Pales in his mind immediately laughed and replied:
"Oh, do you think that since you have become a saint and mastered a lot of mystical knowledge, you don't need my teaching anymore?"

Leonard looked around and found that there were only some pigeons foraging in the square, and no one was around. He simply sat down by the fountain, picked up a few grains and threw them to the pigeons, then said carefully:

"You can teach me and Sherman face to face. There is a bedroom for the elders on the second floor of the new house." He was not really ungrateful and felt that he no longer needed the teaching and help of the parasite. With such a "carrying angel", even if he encountered a real mythical creature, he would have the strength to fight. Maybe he could just shout "old man" and the problem would be solved.

Now that he has become a high-ranking deacon and has been watched by the goddess, if Pales had bad intentions, he could not hide them from the gods who hold secret authority and would have been dealt with long ago. Therefore, the greatest danger of being "parasitized" is equivalent to non-existence.

The only problem is that it's not very convenient to have this angel inside of him who is always commenting on his various actions...

Looking at Sherman's back as he talked to Angelica in the church, Leonard's face fell.

……

Unlike Leonard who was worried about his future life, Sherman fell into a kind of ecstasy deep in the church.

She suddenly discovered that not only were "Miss Irene" and "Miss Angelica" the same person, but even "Angel" and "Christine" who were attending the group wedding today were the same person.

This is not a group wedding at all, it's clearly just a fun game between couples... Sherman's eyes kept moving among the brides, and suddenly he realized something.

Since these brides are all Miss Angelica, then the grooms...

Klein, who has a bookish air and seems to have just stepped out of school into society; Sherlock, who has shaved his beard but still inspires trust; Hermann, who has a cold expression but a gentle heart; Dawn, who is mature and steady and spends money lavishly...

Is this the power of a high-ranking "witch"... Will I be able to handle it... There seemed to be a flash of light in her eyes, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Looking at the changing expressions of his "Minor Arcana", Angel smiled helplessly and said:

"They are also all the same person."

Ah, so that's how it is... The light in Sherman's eyes immediately dimmed, and she let out a long sigh of disappointment.

What is she disappointed about? Was she taught a bad lesson by that guy... Angel muttered, and drove Sherman out of the church to accompany Leonard who was sitting in the square. Then he looked around the prayer hall and found that most of the angels who attended the wedding had left. Only the "Weather Warlock" Glade Soren, who was hiding in the shadows in the corner, and Antigonus, who covered his face with a hood, were left.

……

Feeling the look of the mistress of the Church of the Fool that seemed to drive him away, Antigonus tightened his hood and was about to exchange places with the secret doll outside the city to leave, but he found that the red-haired hunter angel walked up to him and blocked his way.

Glade Soren was wearing a flowered shirt and bell-bottom pants popular in Trier. He put his hands in his pockets, smiled, nodded at the "miracle worker", and said in a hoarse voice that seemed to carry a heat wave:
"How does it feel to see your extraordinary characteristics being used for promotion?"

This deliberate provocation did not anger Antigonus, who smiled lowly and replied:

“It feels like I’ve gotten rid of a burden and become more relaxed.”

While Glade was surprised, He added:

"If I give you a copy of 'Conqueror' now, a trait that was once contained by 'Blood Emperor' Tudor, would you dare to use it to advance?"

Why don't you dare?

Glade's expression seemed to indicate this answer, but he hesitated for a moment and shook his head:
“That’s most likely Tudor’s trap.

"That Medici guy might dare."

Seeing that he was so frank, Antigonus smiled again and said:

"That's what I meant."

Then, He bypassed Glade and walked out of the church, which had become quiet. He looked back at the prayer hall where only a few newlyweds were left under the arch of the gate and the holy emblem of "The Fool", and noticed that the spiritual threads of these marionettes had spread out and were temporarily out of control.

This is the last step of the wedding... The "miracle worker" smiled and disappeared in the faint light of the fire.

……

After sending away the last few guests, the wandering magician Merlin symbolically snapped his fingers, allowing the brides in their wedding dresses and the grooms in formal suits to return to their homes in the light of "flashes", and the main door of the church slowly closed with a creaking sound.

The stained glass seemed to be covered with a black curtain, completely blocking out the sunlight from outside, making the prayer hall dim in the faint light from the few remaining candles.

Angel, wearing a black dress, and Klein, wearing a windbreaker, emerged from the shadows, walked across the thick red carpet, and came to the altar.

Klein thought for a moment and said:
"you……"

"I do." Angel didn't wait for him to finish and quickly replied, "I am willing to accompany you to leave Backlund, I am willing to be your wife, and I am willing to accompany you until the end of my life."

How could she learn from Ms. Daly... Klein was stunned, realizing that this was her answer every time he asked her "whether she was willing". He was moved and raised his arms to hug Angel, only to find that she was soft and moist in his arms.

Only then did he notice that the black dress on Angel was not a solid object, but was composed of condensed black flames.

In other words, she is actually now... Klein took a deep breath, and the experience of just being promoted to Sequence 1 and further mastering the "Source Castle" turned into courage. He picked her up and placed her on the spacious altar.

To his surprise, Angel did not struggle or resist. He just smiled and looked at the holy emblem composed of the "Eye without Pupil" and the "Twisted Thread" above him, and murmured in a low voice:

"You are blaspheming Mr. Fool."

Looking at Angel's smiling face, Klein also laughed and lowered his voice mysteriously and said:

"This is the most sacred act of the Church of Fools."

As he spoke, the entire Church of the Fool was suddenly covered with a shadow, as if it was covered by a huge curtain.

This is the prototype of the Kingdom of God of the Fool.

Of course, Klein intentionally left a gap to attract several "spiritual lines" from different locations in Yharnam City, and used the "grafting" ability to transfer them to Angel, allowing her, who had previously acquired the ability of "Puppet Master", to passively share the senses of several other puppets.

"Wait…what's going on?"

"Well……"

"Huh, no, there... huh..."

"Huhuhuhu, do you think that I only have the ability of 'Master of Secret Puppetry'?"

"You are the only one who can ask your past self for help?"

In the "Fool" Church, which had not yet been completely closed, low and high voices could be heard faintly.

PS: That’s all for today…

(End of this chapter)