Mystery: Lucky One

Oh...Alice suddenly realized and nodded.

After explaining, Azik looked down at the ring on his palm. After examining it for a few seconds, he picked up the ring and put it on the index finger of his left hand.

Suddenly, an indescribable, horrifying, and superior feeling spread from him. The zombies and skeletons, some naked and some wearing tattered leather armor, all knelt on one knee and lowered their heads, as if they only dared to look directly at his leather boots. The flying resentful souls and shadows also fell to the ground, clinging to the deck. None of them floated in the air anymore.

The rest of the pirates on the ship fell to the ground one after another, burying their faces on the deck, not daring to lift them up at all.

So cool... Alice looked at Azik's back in amazement and had an urge to take the ring and try it on.

Azik took two more steps forward and came to the side of the "Admiral of Hell". Then he turned around, faced Klein, and said to Ludwell:

"You will be his secret puppet for one year. When the time limit is up, you can return to the spirit world."

"You actually let him go back?!" Alice blurted out.

Ludwell's body, which was originally trembling with anger and unwillingness, froze. He bent down, pressed his forehead against the deck, and spoke quickly:
"Yes, the great Archon of Death."

Klein looked at Alice with mixed feelings. Mr. Azik also stopped and looked at her. Alice subconsciously covered her mouth with her hand in the face of these two looks. Azik's gaze on her paused for a moment, then smoothly fell on Klein.

Klein looked back at Mr. Azik blankly. After a few seconds of silence, Azik withdrew his gaze and shifted his attention back to Ludwell.

Alice blinked in confusion, realizing that her performance just now might have been a little too embarrassing.

Fortunately, Azik's attention was not on this. The mysterious symbols rendered in pale white and dark green stood out one after another, interweaving together to form an illusory bronze gate.

The bronze door shrank rapidly, falling to the forehead of Admiral Hell and going in. Then, Azik turned his head, nodded at Klein, and pointed at Ludville.

Klein walked forward with a blank expression and manipulated Ludwell's spiritual thread. Alice tilted her head and looked for the monocle she had left on the boat.

I will return it to Amon when the time comes... No, I will give it to Will Auceptin when the time comes!

Alice tossed the monocle in her hand, then frowned as she recalled Amon's ambiguous words.

She still hadn't figured out Amon's purpose, but ever since she began to doubt the relationship between the "Key of Light" and the "Lord of Mysteries", Alice thought that whether she could figure it out might not matter.

After all, it seems that it is not she and Amon who really decide the direction of things. Although these two beings seem to be no different from dead now, considering the ability shown by the "Prophet" and the possible influence of the "Lord of Mysteries" on fate, Alice believes that the outcome of this matter may have been predetermined.

Of course, this doesn't mean that she doesn't need to work hard. Alice suspects that if she doesn't have the right strength or do the right thing at the right time, then nothing good will happen to her.

In other words, for her, perhaps working too hard or being too bad are not good things, and the truly advantageous option is "just right".

But how do we determine what is just right?

Alice sighed, realizing that there was only one possible answer to this question—fate would tell her.

Alice gathered her thoughts and asked Klein and Azik, who had already turned Ludwell into a puppet:
"What are you going to do next?"

Alice got the answer herself without responding. She saw a thick darkness on Azik's body, and a slender white female hand stretched out from the darkness.

Alice's body stiffened because of that hand. Her intuition told her that there was a scary person behind that hand whom she absolutely didn't want to see right now.

But Alice inexplicably wanted to see the whole picture, so, as the two different ideas were torn between each other, a figure appeared along with the palm.

It was a female face. She was wearing a star-like skirt. Her face was beautiful but her eyes were dull. Alice's gaze froze for a moment, and then she met those lifeless eyes.

The image faded away. Alice was stunned for two seconds, then looked at Azik and Klein who were still in front of her. She took a deep breath and uttered a crisp word:

"Goodbye."

Klein and Azik looked at her in confusion, but Alice didn't explain. She just raised her hand and drew a crimson moon symbol on her chest, and said devoutly:

"Praise the goddess."

“……?” Klein’s gaze was fixed on her. He seemed to realize something and was about to speak when Alice disappeared right on the spot.

She did not go home, but appeared directly in the hidden street near St. Samuel's Church. Then Alice walked out of the street and walked into the church without hesitation. After pausing for a moment at the door of the church, she muttered in a low voice:
"Maybe I should go to the confessional... but what I confess might scare the bishop sitting across from me."

Alice shook her head, sat on the bench, closed her eyes and prayed in her heart.

Goddess, I will never pinch your face without your permission again, even if it is the face of a vessel of God, really...

I must ask for your permission before pinching...

……

After Alice left, Azik turned to look at Klein and asked with a frown:

"What did she mean at the end?"

Klein withdrew his gaze silently. He could guess that Alice must have seen something, and it was probably related to the goddess. It seemed as if she had been warned and didn't dare to say anything.

But if he asked Klein what Alice had seen specifically, he couldn't think of it, so he thought about it and said to Mr. Azik:
"She must have seen something."

Mr. Azik was silent for a moment, then he withdrew his gaze from him and said coldly:

“We’re going to the Raging Sea.

"Give me that brass whistle."

“Okay.” Klein handed over the whistle guiltily.

……

Bayam, outside a house near the port.

Alice, Alger, and Admiral of the Stars Cattleya were patiently waiting for the people inside to enjoy dinner.

Prior to Cattleya's arrival and meeting, Alger had actually contacted Alice, including the information search process in between.

But Alice wasn't interested in any of this. She agreed just to watch the fun. Alger was well aware of this and he no longer had any expectations after the report.

Until tonight's operation, Alice finally showed up at the scene. Alice, who hadn't heard the plan or discussion, didn't know how they were going to act. She looked at Alger and Cattleya and found that Alger was also hesitant to speak.

Alice soon realized that Alger didn't know the details of the operation, so she lost interest in asking and just looked at Alger without saying anything.

Alger received the information from her eyes and turned to the Hermit Cattleya. Just as he was about to ask, a figure suddenly emerged from the shadows.

When Alice saw the tall, pale, and sickly figure, she blinked and called out his name:
"Heath Doyle?"

"Miss Destiny." Heath Doyle saluted her respectfully.

Alice waved her hand and stepped back, leaving the main court to Cattleya.

Heath then looked at Cattleya and said to her:
"Captain, they didn't notice anything unusual. They made the mushrooms into a creamy soup and prepared fried meat and fish as the main course for tonight."

"Very good." Cattleya took off the heavy glasses on her nose and looked towards the restaurant in the house that was blocked by a wall with her mysterious purple eyes.

Heath Doyle didn't say a word. His figure darkened instantly and returned to the shadows, disappearing somewhere unknown.

Mushrooms...fish...Alice's eyebrows jumped, and she remembered the "Creeping Hunger" that had been sealed again, and looked at Cattleya with fear in her eyes.

As if receiving her gaze, Cattleya nodded at her.

Alice swallowed in horror.

To Alger, the Hanged Man, this exchange was no different from playing a guessing game. Although he realized that the core of tonight's operation was mushrooms, and they were poisonous mushrooms, he still hadn't figured out more details. He hesitated and asked:

"Will this lead to the death of 'Craftsman' Sharf?"

Wild "craftsmen" are quite rare, and Alger does not want to lose such a "friend" while there is still room for maneuver. For him, the most ideal solution is to imprison this guy and make him a "craftsman" exclusively for himself and the "Hermit".

"No." Cattleya shook her head calmly and explained casually, "Both the intelligence you provided and the details observed by my crew mentioned that Sharf doesn't like to eat fish. He even hates it. This may be related to the fact that a fish bone got stuck in his throat when he was a child."

Alice swallowed again and decided that she would never eat fish when eating mushrooms in the future.

"I hate eating fish..." Alger whispered. He glanced at Alice who was swallowing her saliva, and then at the "Hermit" Cattleya. He felt that these two people seemed to have some secret and excluded him.

He was confused, but did not ask, deciding to observe first.

Her figure instantly became transparent, as if she had turned into a statue made up of countless starlight.

The statue shattered at once, and bright starlight surged, suddenly arriving at the door of the house and crawling in through the gap.

The starlight reunited inside, and Cattleya's figure appeared.

Then she heard the sound of wind and bangs.

The door frame shook, the door opened, and the hooded and masked "Hanged Man" Alger entered the target building not much slower than the "Admiral of the Stars".

Alice, who came here as a decoration, followed in openly and saw the whole scene clearly.

The "craftsman" Sharf retreated with a look of horror, away from the long tea table. There were two men and one woman lying on the ground, vomiting mushrooms continuously. Their clothes had already torn between their chests and abdomens, and mushrooms grew out of them one after another.

Noticing someone coming in, they subconsciously looked up and saw white mycelium appearing on their faces, in clumps.

Alice put her hand to her forehead and realized that this was indeed Frank Lee's achievement.

“As expected, it’s a mushroom that can kill Sequence 5.” She exclaimed.

These words made Cattleya, the Hermit, and Alger, the Hanged Man, stunned for a moment, then they turned to look at her.

After a moment's thought, Cattleya realized that this was probably the battle record of Gehrman Sparrow.

Cattleya turned around, pinched her mouth with her right hand, and whistled.

Phantom ropes emerged from the ground and coiled like snakes to tie up the three "Original Moon" believers.

"Is there any way to stop it?" Cattleya turned her head and asked the shadow in the corner.

After a moment of silence, Heath Doyle's voice came from there:
"Frank said he hasn't figured out a way to stop it yet, so cremation is the only option."

Alice breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she didn't have to do it herself.

Cremation... Cattleya's eyebrows moved slightly, and she immediately took out a handful of powder from her secret bag and threw it over.

The powder seemed to have its own vitality and fell accurately on the three "Original Moon" believers and the mushrooms.

Silently, red flames rose up, quietly burning everything they touched.

The "craftsman" Sharf was already frightened when he witnessed the strange change. After someone broke in, he wanted to rely on his magical items to resist, but he quickly recognized the intruder, so he gave up rationally and decisively stood aside and waited.

He thought to himself that he still had high utility value. No matter where he went, he would not be killed directly. Besides, the "Admiral of the Stars" had never had a bad reputation.

The worst case scenario is to join the Star Pirates... Moreover, this pirate admiral himself is better looking than the portrait on the wanted poster, with a completely different temperament... But who is the lady next to him?

Charles pulled the wolf-fang top chain, confusion flashed through his mind, and then a flattering smile appeared on his face, only his eyes occasionally glancing at Alice.

Although rumors about "Miss Destiny" mentioned that she was a blonde, blue-eyed girl who looked young, it was impossible for people to suspect that she was an angel as soon as they saw a girl who met the description.

There was no Gehrman Sparrow nearby, and Alice did not display the unique deterrence of a powerful person above demigod, so Sharf did not think in that direction. He was only confused about what kind of girl could appear in the current situation.

And the status seems to be not low...

While he was thinking, Alice turned her head as if she had noticed something. After staring at him for two seconds, she turned back to Alger and asked a frightening question:
"If I dig out his eyes, will it affect his ability to create magical items?"

"...Yes," Alger paused for a moment, then answered without hesitation, "But if you wish, you can do so... Or do you want to wait until he finishes making the magical item in his hand?"

Sharf froze. He looked at Alger, who was respectful and humble, and suddenly had a bad feeling. An unknown fear spread in his heart. (End of this chapter)