Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1352 The Busy Butler

As with her weekly tarot readings, Audrey arrived at the magnificent palace surrounded by a mysterious gray mist and sat in the high-backed chair belonging to "Justice".

She looked around and found that only Miss "Magician" to her left was present at the meeting. Apart from that, Miss "Queen" who was hosting the meeting was still sitting in the "Fool's" seat, just like when all the members had gathered a few days ago. Her movements and expressions had not changed, just like a cold sculpture.

Audrey guessed that the figure shrouded in gray mist, revealing only a vague outline, was actually some kind of mirror image, not the true form of the deity. After all, even the original "Fool" didn't sit in the same spot seven days a week; He wasn't there when certain impromptu gatherings were held.

No, Mr. World is usually there at those times, which is practically the same as Mr. Fool being there... Audrey suddenly realized this, and her gaze unconsciously shifted to the other end of the long table, only to find to her disappointment that the lone high-backed chair was empty, with only a small silver mirror on the bronze table.

The moment Audrey saw it, she felt her mind go blank, as if she had forgotten many things.

Strange, when did this mirror appear in Mr. World's spot? It seems to have been there a long time ago, but I always forget about it after seeing it? Is it some kind of ability to make people ignore it...? Audrey looked away blankly, and the next second she forgot what she had just been thinking about.

Just as her mind went blank, the "Empress's" voice, devoid of emotion and sounding somewhat cold, rang out:
"This emergency meeting is being held because Miss 'Magician' has just returned from the starry sky and needs Miss 'Justice' to lift the 'hypnosis' she was previously placed on."

Hypnosis?

Audrey turned her head to look at Fors and found that the other was also looking at her. The expression of surprise was so obvious that it was hard to hide from the gray fog.

When did I hypnotize Fors...? But the Queen would never lie... Could it be that I hypnotized myself as well, making her forget? Audrey immediately thought of this possibility, and then realized something else.

He!
"You've become an angel?"

Audrey asked, unable to hide her excitement.

"Yes, that is my main purpose in going to the stars."

Fors replied with a smile.

She originally wanted to use more forceful words, but since "Justice" Audrey was a good friend she knew in real life, she felt a little embarrassed if her actions were too exaggerated, and in the end she could only manage a lukewarm reply.

But this simple answer sent shockwaves through Audrey's heart.

This is the third angel of the Tarot Society, and five years ago, the other party was just a Sequence 9 "apprentice," only capable of tricks like passing through walls... Audrey, it's very impolite of you to think like that! Suppressing her excitement, she turned to the "Queen" and cautiously asked:
"Did I hypnotize myself at the time?"

The "Queen" behind the gray fog nodded and spoke in the same emotionless tone as before:

"That's right, that's my request, because it requires the forgotten memories of the 'magician,' which are equally dangerous for you. Before you become an angel, if these contents appear in your mind in reality, they will attract the attention of a dangerous entity, causing you to go crazy and lose control."

"This content is about the true dangers of the 'Starry Sky' and the knowledge of those great beings that threaten our planet. After being hypnotized by you, the 'Magician' will forget them, but will still remember the source of the danger and subconsciously avoid them. Even if he accidentally learns about the relevant information, he will ignore it on his own until he becomes an angel... Now, you can release yourself from hypnosis and help the Magician remember."

As the Queen narrated her emotionless story, Audrey's mind began to reel back vague memories. It seemed to be a hastily arranged gathering, with only herself and Fors as participants, and then...

Her "true self" detached from her spirit body and began to meticulously manipulate her own and Fors's subconscious, reconnecting parts of the isolated areas to the memory blocks. This was not difficult for a saint who had already advanced to Sequence 3 and spent her days wandering in the dreams and subconscious of many people in preparation for the upcoming ritual.

Soon, some long-forgotten memories returned to Audrey's mind.

The original barrier of the Creator... Outer Gods... Doomsday prophecy... Great Old Ones... Pillars... Humanity and divinity... One strange yet familiar term after another echoed in Audrey's ears, reminding her of the despair and helplessness she felt when she first encountered this dangerous knowledge.

Compared to these things, her desire to make the world a better place through her own efforts, as a demigod and the daughter of an earl, seemed so insignificant.

What surprised her most was that this wasn't the first time she'd experienced this feeling. Earlier, she had similarly hypnotized a woman, making her forget the relevant memories to avoid being watched by the Outer Gods.

"The Mysterious Queen" Bernadette... No wonder I felt a strange sense of familiarity with her, even though we've never actually met... It turns out I knew the truth about the apocalypse back then, and after helping Fors hypnotize and forget these things, the sealed memories made me fear the coming apocalypse again, and I became even more eager to change the status quo. I chose a more dangerous and efficient approach, and even went against my own heart, starting to manipulate the behavior of those around me... Audrey suddenly had an epiphany and looked up at Miss "Queen".

As her mind was being bombarded with this dangerous knowledge, she also noticed the difference in the Queen's attitude when she asked her to hypnotize others on two separate occasions.

Over the past year or so, the Queen, who has become the "Goddess of Calamity," has gradually transformed into the stern and unsmiling figure she is today. She mechanically answers the questions of the Tarot Club members, acting like a wish-granting machine to help believers. She is high above, always granting requests and thoughtfully helping everyone. In addition to caring about the affairs of the "Endless Church," she also assists the sleeping Mr. Fool in managing his church.

The only difference is that He never laughed again.

Is this the effect of "divinity" on the gods? Or is it because the god who is His eternal companion has fallen into a deep sleep? But Mr. Fool is still very humane, as are the roles played by "the world"... Audrey was a little lost for a moment, not knowing how to help the god she regarded as a friend, who had left her far behind.

Under her watchful gaze, the "Queen" turned to Fors and continued to ask in a cold tone:

"Have you remembered everything?"

The latter nodded and said:
"Yes, I actually came across a lot of knowledge when I was wandering the stars. Fortunately, with the help of Miss 'Justice,' I was able to avoid being contaminated by that knowledge until I truly became an angel and realized its true meaning."

She wanted to continue talking about her strange encounters and interesting experiences in the starry sky, as well as the many legends she had left behind on different planets and in different civilizations in order to advance to the rank of "Planet Witcher". However, she remembered that "Justice" Audrey was not an angel yet. No matter how much she knew now, she would have to hypnotize herself to forget everything before she could leave the gray fog. So she sighed regretfully.

Everything will wait until after the apocalypse... Thinking of this, Fors froze. She looked at Audrey and noticed a significant change in the other's expression.

"It seems you've all remembered," the Queen's cold tone was like a sharp blade piercing through flesh. "The real 'end of the world' is not the prophesied year of 1368, which is 14 years from now."

"In six months, the barrier protecting everyone will disappear."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As the gray mist that had enveloped her dissipated, Audrey regained consciousness amidst the slight swaying of the carriage.

She shook her head, feeling she had forgotten something important. Her mind was only occupied with attending the impromptu gathering, exchanging a few words with Fors (who had become an angel), and being asked to leave by the "Queen." But for some reason, she felt an even greater urgency regarding her long-accepted mission—to advance the liberation of the Southern Continent and secretly maintain and promote the faith in the "Fool" and the "Goddess of Calamity"—as if this task, which should have lasted for many years, needed to be completed in a short time.

Is it because the Queen is becoming more and more like a real deity, cold and ruthless, treating people as tools, instead of the Christine with the warm smile she used to be, that my mindset has changed?

She analyzed her own feelings, leaned back in the soft car seat, and closed her eyes.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In Constance, sunlight struggles to penetrate the towering concrete buildings, as if one had entered a dark street beforehand, where a fierce battle had just ended.

Wearing trench coats and bright red gloves, the "Night Watchers" raided a site where cult members were performing a large-scale magical ritual. They killed most of the cult members who were putting up a fight, captured a few who didn't seem to be too deeply involved, and rescued a few innocent people who were lucky enough not to be sacrificed.

What made them somewhat fearful was that the person presiding over the ritual magic was a saint of unknown origin, and the cultists included many powerful mid-sequence extraordinary individuals who possessed more than one high-level sealed artifact. If the Red Gloves had not been well prepared and had dispatched two high-ranking deacons with three level 1 sealed artifacts, there would likely have been many casualties.

Through unknown means... Leonard Mitchell, leaning to the side and using his privileges as captain and senior deacon to avoid having to clean up the scene himself, watched his busy team members with some doubt in his heart.

The saint who was severely injured in the surprise attack but miraculously recovered to his previous state was eventually pulled into the nightmare world by him. He was killed three times in succession by the "Dark Sword" before finally falling down. Even his spirit could not escape, but no extraordinary characteristics were extracted. It was as if what was killed was just a phantom.

"It seems to be some kind of time-reversal ability limited to him. Is it a 'fate' pathway? If so, after I killed him, did he 'reboot' somewhere else, which is why he didn't develop any extraordinary characteristics?"

He turned his head and asked in a barely audible voice.

A moment later, Pales's no longer aged voice echoed in his mind:
"If he really is one of the two who can 'reboot,' your entire team would have died from various unfortunate accidents before you even met him."

“He is truly dead, you need not worry about that, but his extraordinary qualities will not be released, because his abilities and status come from ‘gifts’ rather than potions.”

As a saint and high-ranking deacon of the Church of the Night, Leonard was no stranger to this kind of power derived from gods or angels, which could manifest in lower-ranking extraordinary beings. Praying to gods to create high-level talismans and chanting the names of angels to obtain remote support were all examples of this kind of mode. However, granting a person without extraordinary characteristics a long-lasting, saint-level power was still beyond his imagination.

Before Leonard could ask any further questions, a red-gloved squad leader approached him and respectfully said:
"Your Excellency, the battlefield has been cleared. The remaining tasks will be handled by the local Night Watchers. Shall we now return to the church with the survivors and the sealed artifacts?"

According to the rules, after a battle with a follower of an evil god, both the local Night Watchers and the Red Gloves squad from the Sanctuary must return to the local church to rest and recuperate, and only after confirming that they have not been contaminated are they allowed to leave.

This stemmed from numerous bloody lessons. Leonard knew of a Night's Watchman who skipped many procedures in order to return to the Sanctuary as soon as possible, ultimately causing a major accident on a steam train bound for Wintershire that resulted in multiple deaths. Even a saint is incredibly vulnerable under the gaze and corruption of an evil god.

All avenues are almost occupied by gods and angels. Where did all these evil gods come from... He kept complaining in his mind, but on the surface he calmly nodded and told the red-gloved men who followed him to pack everything up and return to the church as soon as possible.

Seeing that no one was around, Leonard continued to ask in a low voice:
"Old man, where does this 'gift' you speak of come from? From some angel?"

“If angels could bestow saintly power upon others, the world would have been in chaos long ago. Do you think I could grant you the ability to parasitize others?” Pales scolded irritably. “Once we take the survivors back for interrogation, we should be able to find out which great being they worship. But I advise you not to delve too deeply. Just do what you’re supposed to do. Otherwise, it’s a small matter if you lose control and die, but if something happens to Sherman’s unborn child, that would be a huge problem.”

What do you mean, "It's no big deal if I die"? Has the old man entered "grandpa mode" ahead of time...? Leonard suddenly paused, thinking of Sherman in Backlund, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

After a small but very warm wedding a year and a half ago, Sherman soon ascended to the status of "Despair" witch through a ritual of killing a wanted saint, arranged by the "Church of the End."

After becoming high-sequence extraordinary individuals who could actively control whether their extraordinary traits were passed on to their children, Leonard and Sherman's next plan to add a new family member was finally put on the agenda at Pales's urging, and it bore fruit during a recent trip to Bayam.

In order not to interfere with the child's future life, neither of them chose to pass on any of their traits to him. Instead, they planned to let him make his own choice as he grew up: whether to be an ordinary person or to embark on an extraordinary path.

Why would I think of Sherman at this time? Is it a spiritual warning...? She lives near St. Samuel's Church, and is neighbors with Klein's brother and sister. Several deities should be watching over her; surely nothing bad could happen... Is this plausible? Since becoming a deity, Angel has become less and less human, and Klein has fallen into a deep sleep... Leonard's thoughts continued to wander, and he couldn't help but ask again:
"Old man, after becoming a god, will one's humanity become detached, and will one no longer care about the past?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice in his mind sneered.

“How would I know? I’ve never been a god, and is this something you should be concerned about?” After a few words of reprimand, Pales’ tone softened. “If you are really worried about them, you can write a letter, talk about the little things in your life, the memories you share with them, and then give them to them in the form of a sacrifice. But don’t have too much hope. The ‘anchor’ for the gods to maintain their existence lies in the believers, in the people and things they care about most.”

The one I care about most... that's obviously not me. Angel's biggest concern is definitely Klein, and vice versa... Leonard muttered a few words and decided to go back and take some photos of Benson and his lover, then burn, no, "sacrifice" them to Klein and Angel.

Just as the blasphemous thought crossed his mind, Pales suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

"what happened?"

Leonard looked around and asked somewhat nervously.

"Heh, I sense a familiar aura, interesting... Southwest, the central plateau, or Intis?"

Pales's tone was tinged with doubt.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

South of Intis, Darjeeling region.

Behind an ancient tree so large that it would take two people to encircle it, Fors Wall's figure was quickly outlined.

Without needing spiritual confirmation, the angels' ability to locate her through the "door" pathway confirmed that she had arrived at her destination.

Stepping out from behind the tree, Fors looked into the distance.

There were rolling hills, green meadows, and flowing streams, and a small, quiet village.

(End of this chapter)