Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1411 Severe Punishment

Less than two hours after leaving home, Christina encountered the biggest crisis of her adventuring career: the magic lamp she was "escorting" was stolen by a thief!
To be precise, it was stolen.

With Dorothy's help, Tina steadied herself and ran a few steps away from the crowded subway station entrance. She looked in the direction the tall, thin man had left, but he moved with agility, as if he had practiced or had done it countless times. He disappeared into the alleyway in an instant, leaving only a silhouette that seemed to be mocking Tina.

Oh no, that precious "sealed artifact," the magic lamp that could grant wishes, is gone... At this moment, Tina's mind went blank, and a tingling sensation spread throughout her limbs, leaving her frozen in place, unable to move.

Before arriving in Backlund, she had imagined many difficulties, such as not being able to find her way to the East End, not being able to buy a ticket because she was a minor, and being harassed by the police. But she never expected that as soon as she stepped onto the streets of the East End, her handbag would be snatched away, taking away her only reason for leaving home to "adventure".

No wonder the Tingen Daily and the radio my dad often listens to always say that this big city is plagued by crime and has a terrible environment!
A series of thoughts flashed through Tina's mind, quickly restoring the strength to her limbs, which had been stiff with shock and anxiety. She looked pleadingly at Dorothy, only to find that the latter did not show excessive panic, but instead pointed in the direction the robber had left and said:
"Go after it quickly, there's still a chance to find that lamp."

As she spoke, she took out the "Mirror of Arodes".

Oh, and we also have a divination mirror... Tina was touched by her sister's calmness, which restored her ability to think.

She looked around and found that although there were many pedestrians on the street, there were no police officers in black and white checkered uniforms with short batons at their waists patrolling.

Of course, this may be why the man dared to rob in the street. As long as he escaped the scene and got rid of the victim's pursuit, in an era where robbery cases can only be solved by identification or arrest on the street, it would almost mean no risk.

Even calling the police afterwards would be pointless. I didn't even see the other person's face. Only supernatural powers could solve this kind of problem... Besides, there's no way to call the police about this. What was stolen was a magical and mysterious "sealed object," and such things should be under the jurisdiction of the church. If it were discovered, my parents would likely face huge trouble... Tina, whose mind was filled with concepts like sequences, pathways, divination, and prophecy by the genie, pondered without hesitation and immediately ran towards the alley with Dorothy.

Although she was a year younger than Dorothy, her figure was more like her mother's, with long, slender legs. She quickly ran ahead and slipped into the narrow alley. Looking around, she was immediately stunned.

The alley was formed by two shops facing the street and a warehouse behind them. The narrow alley, which was only a little over a meter wide, was filled with all kinds of damp, moss-covered wooden boxes and barrels whose original colors were no longer visible, as well as colorful garbage. Less than fifty meters away from this exit was another main street. Once Tina left from there, she would not be able to catch up with the other person on foot.

However, at this moment, the exit on the opposite side was blocked by a wall more than five meters high, almost as tall as the buildings on both sides, turning the alley into a dead end.

What surprised Bitina even more was the man who was carrying a satchel containing the "magic lamp," with messy brown hair and knuckles protruding from malnutrition. He was incredulously stroking the suddenly appearing wall with his free hand, as if testing whether the high wall in front of him was an illusion.

"stop!"

Although she didn't know why the other party had chosen a dead end, leaving them with nowhere to escape, Tina still shouted with great spirit.

"Holy crap, when did this wall appear..."

The man cursed under his breath, then turned to look at Dorothy and Christina, who were blocking the other exit. His gaze lingered on the light blonde girl he had just pushed to the ground and snatched her bag, and he froze for a moment, clearly surprised by her appearance.

But the tension of being caught by the owner and the panic of inexplicably finding himself in a dead end quickly overwhelmed any dark thoughts that lingered in his mind. He pulled a dagger with a chipped tip and a nick in the blade from his pocket, strode towards Tina, and threatened her:
"Get out of here! I don't want anyone to die!"

Even in the East District, where factories have become more formalized and most residents have normal jobs, theft and robbery still occur from time to time. As long as the robbery doesn't target churches, municipal departments, or wealthy people with connections, most of these cases will be left unresolved.

But murder cases are different.

They were just two little girls who looked to be under 14 years old. They would definitely run away if they were scared by the dagger... This bag was quite heavy. There must be something good inside... One thought after another popped into his mind. He pretended to wave the dagger and got closer and closer to the two girls. As expected, he saw a trace of panic on the blonde girl's face.

Just then, the slightly shorter but much calmer black-haired girl behind her squeezed forward, her right hand, which had been tucked into her dress pocket, suddenly pulled out, and a flash of silver-white light appeared.

It was a weapon… The brown-haired man’s heart tightened. He gripped the dagger and stared intently, only to discover that the other man was holding a silver mirror about the size of two palms, with an ancient and simple design that seemed to be from a thousand years ago. The light he had just seen was reflected from the mirror’s watery surface.

Even the women in the red alley don't use silver mirrors anymore... Could they be valuable antiques?
The man suddenly felt as if he had been blessed by some deity today, with double the luck. Not only did he snatch something valuable, but the other party even delivered another antique that looked quite valuable to his door.

He instinctively concealed the dagger behind his back, slowed his pace as he approached the other person, and forced a friendly smile, asking:
"what is this?"

Of course, this was just a delaying tactic. As soon as he got close to the black-haired girl, he planned to snatch the silver mirror, push them aside, escape from this strange alley, and reap double the good fortune!

But the girl didn't seem to answer him. Instead, she raised the silver mirror in front of her, turning the gleaming surface, which seemed to lead to another world, towards him.

The silver-white characters that kept appearing in the mirror immediately caught his eye.

“I am Arodes. You may use me for divination, ask almost any question, and I will provide you with the correct answer. But in return, you must answer the same number of questions for me. You will be punished for answering incorrectly, lying, or refusing to answer.”

The word "punishment" is different from the reassuring silver-white color before it; it is a glaring bright red, as if blood is still dripping from it.

What the heck... words can appear in a mirror? Is it a magic trick?

The man, filled with doubt, stopped in his tracks as he quietly approached the two girls.

"You, answer this: what exactly is this mirror?"

He pointed his dagger at the black-haired girl holding the silver mirror and said sternly.

The girl smiled calmly and looked at him without fear:
He has already answered you.

"Now, it's your turn to answer his question."

For some reason, the man saw a hint of pity in the other person's intelligent brown eyes.

The mirror she held in her hands shimmered with water, and a new line of text appeared:
"After incurring huge gambling debts and your wife leaving you heartbroken, do you feel frustrated, angry, or accepting reality?"

"What? I didn't!"

The man was struck dumb, his eyes widening as if he were hallucinating. He squinted and looked at the silver mirror again, only to find that the words inside remained unchanged, still pointing directly to the questions deep within his soul.

How did this mirror named Arrodes know all this...? I don't know anyone left in Backlund... The man was half confused, half truly as "Arrodes" had said, frustrated and angry, but he hadn't accepted reality. He freed two fingers from his right hand, which was holding a dagger, and was about to reach for the mirror in the black-haired girl's hand, snatch it away, and smash it to the ground, crushing Arrodes and his own secret into the earth.

But before he could put his idea into action, the blonde girl, who had been pushed aside and watching curiously, sighed and said:

"wrong answer."

The next second, a silver-white lightning bolt, the same color as the words just now, appeared out of thin air above the alley, fell down with a whoosh, and struck the broken dagger in the man's hand precisely, as if a lightning rod had absorbed the incoming lightning.

The immense energy was transferred to the man, and with a boom, his hand holding the dagger and his feet touching the ground emitted an explosive light. His messy brown hair stood on end, a wisp of black smoke rose up, and his whole body trembled and convulsed as he collapsed to the ground.

The satchel in his arms also fell to the side, and a golden lamp rolled out from it.

Tina and Dorothy, who were nearby, were unaffected, only smelling the stench of burnt meat, but were utterly shocked.

So Arrodes' "punishment" was this severe? Had I just narrowly escaped his clutches? If I had refused to answer "family love" because it was too shameful, I would have been the one struck by lightning... Tina thought to herself, glancing at Dorothy, and found that the latter was equally surprised, realizing that she had never truly suffered "punishment" before.

"I wonder what questions Arrodes asked her, and if they involved me..." Tina muttered to herself. Then, mimicking the protagonist of the recently popular novel "Sherlock Holmes," she reached out and touched the neck of the still convulsing man.

“He seems to be alive,” she said uncertainly, looking at Dorothy. “What do we do now? Should we call the police?”

"It would be hard to explain to the police, wouldn't it? That the mirror electrocuted him?"

Dorothy frowned, shifting her gaze from the still steaming man to the alleyway exit, and let out a soft "hmm."

"That wall is gone!"

Tina turned around and found that the high wall that had just stopped the robber and made it impossible for a normal person to cross had disappeared without a trace. Outside the alley, figures and carriages kept flashing by, and the noise continued to echo.

How could this be... Could it be that all three of us are hallucinating? Right, he stole the "Genius," could he be affected by that sealed artifact, just like how it only took 10 minutes for him to get from Tingen to Backlund... Tina looked thoughtfully at the golden lamp beside the man, bent down to pick it up and put it back into her bag, tied the torn strap in a knot, and put it back on her shoulder.

“We’ll find a passerby and tell them we found someone lying in the alley. By the time the police arrive, we’ll have already left.”

She suggested, and seeing that Dorothy had no objection, she left the alley in the direction where the brick wall disappeared, her gaze sweeping across the street, looking for passersby who seemed particularly helpful.

Actually, it wouldn't be a problem to leave him alone. Although Arrodes seems more dangerous, the punishment wouldn't be fatal. The police might even lock up the robber, which might uncover more cases... Tina always acts faster than she thinks, and I didn't even have time to stop her... Watching Christina grab a passing gentleman, charm him with her sweet smile, and pull him into the alley, Dorothy, who was quietly putting away her silver mirror, had a series of thoughts flashing through her mind.

She suddenly felt a gaze fixed on her, and following it, she saw a little girl carrying a heavy wooden box.

The other person was only about 1.5 meters tall, half a head shorter than Tina. His shoulder-length blond hair was a bit frizzy, and his facial features seemed not to have fully developed. The box in his arms, which almost covered her upper body, was printed with a dancing black bear, and the glass bottles inside kept clinking and making crisp sounds.

It's Black Bear Cola... Dorothy swallowed hard, the bubbly, stimulating taste and lingering sweetness seeming to return to her mouth. She couldn't help but ask:
"Do you need me to carry this for you?"

"This box looks like it's going to crush you"—she didn't dare say the rest of the sentence aloud.

"No need, thank you," the girl replied, peeking out from behind the box. "You just came out of the alley? Nothing happened in there, right?"

Dorothy glanced at the alleyway entrance and saw Tina quickly walk out, gesturing that the problem was solved. She then shook her head and said:
"It was a small matter, and it's over."

"That's good. The security in the East District is much better than in previous years, but minors should still not go into these dark alleys."

The girl said with relief, completely unaware that she was the most "underage" one.

After giving Dorothy her instructions, she carried the heavy case of Coke away, walking steadily, indicating that she really didn't need anyone else's help.

After the girl had gone, Tina leaned close to Dorothy and asked curiously:

“I heard that compulsory education in Backlund has been extended to the age of 15, so how come there are still factories hiring child laborers?”

The girl, who had reached the street corner and was about to leave Dorothy's sight, suddenly swayed.

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.

After sending a kind passerby to find the police to deal with the stunned robber, Tina and Dorothy walked for a while and followed the "genie's" directions to a wide street.

"White Chrysanthemum Street: Nineteen years ago, a severe smog event claimed the lives of over 19 people in the eastern district. The epicenter of the smog was located on this street, and almost no one survived in the vicinity. To commemorate that day and to remind citizens of the importance of environmental protection, this street was renovated and given this name..."

Looking at the buildings on this street, which were noticeably newer than elsewhere, Dorothy quietly introduced them to Tina.

The two, or rather the "genie," went to their second destination: a church located on White Chrysanthemum Street.

That was the largest church in the eastern district of the "End Times Church," the St. Sherman Church.

Looking up at the church bell tower, whose surface appeared to have been splashed with lava and then solidified again, forming layers of liquid obsidian patterns, Tina felt her neck was about to ache.

It felt larger and more imposing than the church of the Fools, making one want to worship... She silently evaluated it in her heart, took Dorothy's hand, clutched her handbag tightly, and walked into the prayer hall with the open doors.

P.S.: There should be a fan title event in the book club tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)