Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1324 Shadow Tree
Angel Gray was a little confused. If Orville was really the secret puppet city used by Zaratul to be promoted to the "Secret Servant" as he guessed, why was there no information about it in the official data or even within the intelligence agency of the Secret Order?
You have to know that after Klein built "Yharnam City" and made it truly appear in the real world, in order to allow it to appear in the corresponding area in the spiritual world as soon as possible, he did not prevent the city from communicating with the outside world, nor did he let the secret dolls hide away. During the several months of "display time", there were far more normal people than the secret dolls who came to visit and play in the city, including people from the nearby New Silver City and "City of Hope", ships and tourists passing by the Violent Sea, and intelligence personnel from many countries.

After many travelogues were published and a lot of information was put on the table of official agencies, Yharnam City is no longer a secret.

But "Orville" seems to remain only in the minds of the top leaders of the Steam Church.

One possibility is that this city itself is a secret place that the authorities are reluctant to mention, such as an exile city like Morola, isolated from the world and keeping certain secrets. It was then used by Zaratul to replace the real people with secret dolls, or they were directly made into secret dolls. According to Klein's speculation and Zaratul's personality, it is very likely the latter...

Another possibility is that after Zaratul used the Antigonus family notes to steal the "Attendant of Mysteries" characteristic that was not contained from the depths of the foggy town, the God of Steam was happy to see him promoted to Sequence 1, and even hoped that He would quickly become the "Fool" and the "Lord of Mysteries" to lift the seal of the Western Continent and release those source substances, so he deliberately concealed the existence of "Orville". Otherwise, Amon would not mind getting a copy of the Beyonder characteristic of the adjacent Sequence 1 in advance... This matter is more traceable. For example, after Zaratul and Roselle cooperated, the God of Steam took the opportunity to let the notes stored in the church be "stolen", which indirectly helped Zaratul find the Sequence 1 characteristic, just like the tacit understanding between Night and Adam on "0-08"; for example, Zaratul and Roselle had an unusual relationship. Until the former's death, the last thing he caught from the mist of history was the latter's projection...

Of course, after “He” was successfully promoted to “Servant of Mysteries”, he greedily tried to enter the misty town again to steal the second characteristic and uniqueness, but was imprisoned by the Goddess of Night. His original body in the real world fell into madness due to the separation of consciousness until he was accidentally released by Klein. That is another story...

Regardless of which possibility it is, the God of Steam should know about the existence of "Orville", and the Eternal Sun has a small chance of knowing...

Gray's mind was full of thoughts. His eyes swept over the three angels present one by one, and finally stopped at Viev, who was sitting upright with her back straight and her stomach in. Her figure was well outlined by her slim white robe. He said in a serious tone:
"Zaratul showed up during the campaign to eliminate the Hidden Sage and tried to obstruct the operation. It has been confirmed that he is collaborating with the Outer Gods and is a traitor to the entire world.

"After finding Zaratul's true body in the mist of history and killing him, we discovered that a part of his 'miracle worker' characteristics had disappeared. This is most likely the means by which he was resurrected, and this is related to the two names 'Orville' and 'Dilran'.

"If Mr. Bonova's information is correct, then Zaratul's resurrection is likely related to the secret town where He was promoted to Sequence 1, and it is located in Intis. Of course, it is definitely not there now. I hope that the two major churches can cooperate and provide assistance to find a means for His resurrection and destroy the last possibility of His resurrection.

"This is not about worrying about a Sequence 2 Miracle Master himself, but about using a great being that no one wants to be resurrected to further revive or cause an impact."

At this point, Gray noticed that Viev's emerald green eyes were brighter than usual, as if pure sunlight was shining through them.

He responded in a somewhat illusory and erratic tone:
"The great Eternal Blazing Sun has already known about this. The Blazing Sun Church's churches in various places will provide assistance. If the miracle worker is found, we will inform you as soon as possible."

Gray nodded and said:
"Glade Soren will then cooperate with you to kill Him."

The "Weakness Detection" and "Harvest" of a high-level hunter can effectively deal with an angel who possesses a secret doll and historical projection, and whose main body is hidden in the dark. This is somewhat similar to a high-level witch, but also subtly different.

The Witch's destruction is to cause the target to lose balance from the inside out and destroy the target, while the Hunter uses extremely powerful attacks to defeat the target from the outside in.

Of course, Gray and Angel both possess dual-path power, and can combine the characteristics of both paths to bring ultimate destruction to their targets, making them stronger than any single-path angel.

Glade, who was secretly evaluated as "not strong enough", nodded calmly, knowing that this was an opportunity for the Sauron family to repair its relationship with the two major churches.

Maybe when she becomes a god, or even takes the lead in becoming "The Old One", Intis will have three major churches, and I will have the opportunity to become a "Conqueror" again. After all, the Old One only needs one Sequence 1 trait... No, there may still be only two major churches by then... Thinking of this, Glade turned his head to glance at Saint Viev, who was attending the meeting on behalf of the Church of the Eternal Sun, and noticed that His eyes, which had just been shining, dimmed again.

Also watching Him and noticing this was Angel Gray.

Did the Eternal Blazing Sun know about this? Didn't the god just now use his angel to listen to our conversation? He really cares about the possibility of the resurrection of the Celestial Lord, and even more than the threat of the True Creator... No, I can't think about it anymore. Although I have the protection of the Fool and some of the "positive side of the original Creator", I may not be able to resist the prying of the strongest "audience"... Gray quickly gathered his thoughts and said:
"Before we start the campaign to annihilate the followers of the Primal Moon, I hope to understand the attitudes of the two major churches towards The Fool.

"I believe you are aware that soon, Amon the Error will compete with The Fool for the sole position at the top of the Sequence."

She was talking about the "Church", and was actually asking the two corresponding gods. As the angels of the "Eternal Sun" and the "God of Steam", the opinions of Viev and Bonova represented the true attitudes of the two gods.

According to Klein the Fool's analysis, it is very likely that the God of Steam will stand on his side. After all, He just obtained the uniqueness of the "Hermit" path not long ago and received a favor. And in order to prevent Grisha and Amon from increasing their strength, the Eternal Sun will most likely tend to let Klein become the "Lord of Mysteries."

But if this former "pure white angel" was like the god of wisdom Herabergen, who only wanted to lower his status to survive and become the angel king of the resurrected ancient sun god, then perhaps he would have taken a position in advance to help Amon...

As expected, it was Bonois who spoke first.

"Now this Mr. Fool."

His words were concise and his tone was firm, without the slightest wavering.

Gray's gaze returned to Viev.

This devout believer looked directly into Gray's eyes and said firmly:
"The proud 'Sun' will not tolerate any darkness, nor will it succumb to shadows. I hope the newborn gods will be able to repay his help in the future."

This means that the Eternal Blazing Sun is not prepared to cooperate with the True Creator, who represents the power of shadows and corruption. It will help Klein the Fool, but also hopes that everyone will form a united front to help Him fight against his old master... But, can the Sun really not tolerate a little shadow... Gray thought secretly and nodded:

“Thank you for your statement.”

Then she returned to the topic:

"In addition to Zaratul, there is another fugitive angel who is suspected to be a follower of the Outer Gods. He originally believed in the Hidden Sage and was the vice president of the Moss Ascetic Order and one of the 'Ten Pillars', known as the 'Dragon Scholar' Letiya. After the Hidden Sage was contaminated by the 'Fallen Mother Goddess', he was also very likely to become a servant of the Outer Gods." "He didn't die in the battle with you?"

Glade asked in a teasing tone, and the meaning was clear: Do you still have any survivors under your command?

"Dead, but not completely dead," Gray replied with a chuckle, not feeling ashamed at all. After all, it was not her who was fighting in the "Utopia" at that time, but another Angel. "He seems to have been reborn through some kind of resurrection method, without any extraordinary characteristics left. I suspect it is related to His research on dragons, so I did some investigation."

"According to the records of the Moss Ascetic Order, there are currently three ancient dragons in existence. However, according to investigations, the information about one of the dragons is false. It is very likely a 'legend' made up by a 'dragon scholar' in order to make the magic he created work."

In fact, this information was not investigated by Gray, but Miss "Justice" of the Tarot Club accepted the commission of Miss "Chariot" and took advantage of the Psychological Alchemy Society's interest in psychic dragons and used her connections to verify the authenticity of the dragon information she bought.

Although "Erehog" and "Edfauna" are both hidden in the sea of ​​subconsciousness and their true bodies are rarely seen, they have left corresponding traces and legends. However, "Lumingvis" only has clues passed down by word of mouth. Even the village of the Feysac Empire that was destroyed by it in the legend was found to be fabricated after investigation.

There is no doubt that this is the false information spread by the "Dragon Scholar" as a foundation for the magic he created based on the legend of the dragon's resurrection after death to take effect.

With this clue, it would not be particularly difficult to find Letitia's location, and it could be carried out together with the task of finding Zaratul. Therefore, the three angels agreed and prepared to use the power of the two major churches and the Soran family in various places to search.

After all, this is a Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristic or a Level 0 Sealed Artifact. As usual, it’s first come, first served.

Seeing that the scheduled matters were almost discussed, Angel Gray moved his body on the single sofa, assumed a more comfortable position, and asked in a chatty tone:
"Have you heard of the 'Shadow Tree'?"

The three angels looked at each other. Glade and Bonois shook their heads. Viev said in a cold voice:
"Among the followers of the evil god who have appeared recently, there is a group that believes in the Mother Tree of Desire. They mentioned the 'sacred tree'. They call themselves the 'Tree Worship Cult' and believe that the great existence does not come from the distant starry sky, but from the core of the planet. The huge shadow tree will grow from the ground, and their mission is to provide nutrients for it. When the final day comes, they can gain salvation through this contribution."

Glade sneered and commented:
"It sounds like something from the Outer Gods. Is this the new name for the 'Mother Tree of Desire', like the 'Primal Moon'?"

Bonois also nodded in agreement.

During the World War, after the fall of the "God of War", the barrier became even more fragile due to the lack of a god's support, and more foreign gods' power penetrated into it. More people were bewitched and became believers of these great beings, and gradually spread their faith and made sacrifices to obtain gifts. Recently, saint-level gift-givers have begun to appear, causing huge troubles for official Beyonders in various places.

In order to conceal their identities, the Old Ones do not spread their beliefs using their own names, but instead use names of gods related to authority and symbols, such as "The Great Mother", "The God of Disease", "The First Philosophy" and other beliefs that sound much more normal, making it difficult for the "Purifier" and "Machine Heart" to distinguish them from those false beliefs that engage in fraud.

Therefore, those who believed in the "sacred tree" did not pay attention to it immediately.

After listening to Viev's explanation, Angel Gray shook his head and said:
“The Tree Worship Cult does believe in the ‘Mother Tree of Desire’, but the ‘Tree of Shadow’ is not fake either. It is a real sacred tree planted underground in Trier.

"It was planted in the Fourth Epoch when Trier was destroyed by war and pollution, and before the new Trier was built. The initial nutrients came from the demon family who also believed in the Outer God. For more than a thousand years, it used joy and indulgence to nourish the people of New Trier, allowing the city to gradually develop in the direction of the old hope that symbolizes desire. The desires formed by the depravity and enjoyment of the people of Trier also nourished it in turn, allowing this shadow tree to continue to grow."

The expressions of the two angels who protect the city changed a little. They looked at each other, obviously having no idea about this matter.

Only Glade Soran, who had been sealed in the underground mausoleum since the Fourth Epoch and had only just been released, sneered loudly, leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said leisurely:
"I have long felt that something is wrong with this city. It has given me too much humanity. Even after the war, the city has not changed its indulgence and luxury. It is as if it is being controlled by an invisible hand.

"But it seems that even the church doesn't know about this. How do you know about this?"

Gray did not hide anything and explained:

"During the Four Emperors' War, Mr. 'Gate' Bethel Abraham noticed that several of the most powerful demon families had joined the melee before he was banished by the two gods who participated in the war, and he summoned the 'Abyss' accordingly, even though this war should have had nothing to do with them.

"After the Angel King returned to reality some time ago, he traveled to New Trier again and discovered many problems with the authority he once had and can still partially use.

"Even if Trier hasn't really turned into a city of decadence and indulgence, this 'Shadow Tree' that has grown without anyone interfering for a thousand years has already been deeply connected to it and all the people living in it, equivalent to the dark side of the entire city. Once the 'Mother Tree of Desire' needs it, it can be completely revitalized at any time through sacrifice, absorbing all nutrients, with its crown reaching into the astral realm and its roots deep into the seal of Trier in the Fourth Epoch.

"When defeating the followers of the 'Primal Moon' and eradicating the influence of this foreign god within the barrier, we must also resolve the issue of the 'Shadow Tree'. Otherwise, Trier will suffer a huge disaster with more than a million deaths."

And those are all believers of the gods you two serve - without making such direct threats, Viev and Bonois understood the seriousness of the matter.

"We will start processing it immediately."

As the patron saint of Trier this month, Vieve spoke on behalf of the two major churches with a serious expression.

It would be better this way... Gray nodded slightly and glanced at Viev, as if he was looking at the god behind him.

(End of this chapter)