Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 171 170 Notes
"Zaratul is becoming increasingly abnormal."

"Ever since he returned from Loen, every meeting with him has filled me with fear... I don't think my worries are groundless. As a Trickster, I clearly know that Zaratul, who is only Sequence 3 and not an Angel, cannot give me such a strong sense of unease."

"I shared my thoughts with Jay, and he quite agreed with my point of view. As diviners with strong intuition, how could we not sense something was amiss? Even if he acted perfectly organized and acted like a normal Beyonder, I still felt an instinctive fear, as if I were facing a terrifying unknown existence..."

"An unknown, terrifying existence..."

"I began to wonder if the former angel of the Secret Order, the ancestor of the Zaratul family, had been resurrected in him."

"After all, in the world of mysticism, this isn't impossible. Facts and experience tell us we should never underestimate the power of the gods.

"Sequence 1 angels are, to some extent, the equivalent of gods walking on earth. Although they haven't yet reached the status and power of a Sequence 0, their treacherous nature and terrifying supernatural abilities are enough for them to perform all sorts of incredible things. Especially for those high up in the Diviner Path, who are known for their treacherous nature."

"After all, the name of the Sequence 1 potion in this path is called Mystic Servant, serving a mysterious existence..."

"Dead but not yet stiff is a symptom of most angels. Sequence 2 of the Diviner Path is called a Miracle Worker, and they excel at performing miracles. So, isn't resurrection through a descendant a kind of miracle?"

"I think it's time for me to leave the Secret Order. Besides the Seven Orthodox Churches, perhaps believing in the Creator is also a good choice."

……

"Zaratul's abnormalities are becoming increasingly apparent, and his actions are becoming increasingly treacherous. Through my observations over this period of time, I feel that this doesn't resemble the Sequence 1 Angel resurrected within him. Zaratul, it seems, is more likely contaminated by some force."

"I informed Acosta of this matter through covert means. He is one of the few Sequence 3 Saints in the Esoteric Order. He is also a Sequence 3 ancient scholar and possesses a Level 0 Sealed Artifact."

"I think that after knowing Zaratul's abnormality, he will be able to suppress Zaratul's abnormality before I leave, at least to prevent it from endangering me."

"Great Creator, I hope I can leave the secret order as soon as possible."

"Although this isn't pious enough, I think if this hidden being can provide some protection, I'd be happy to offer a portion of my faith later, um, provided I actually receive help."

……

"Jay disappeared. I went to the agreed place and waited for a long time, but Jay didn't arrive as promised. I didn't even see his secret doll or the code we agreed on."

"Damn it! I shouldn't have told him about the Creator, about my desire to leave the Order... Could he have betrayed me and informed Zaratul?"

"Run away? Or wait patiently? And what's the reason for Jay's lateness?"

"I think I should move to another city. Well, I also need to change my identity. I should maintain minimal contact with the secret society. If anything goes wrong, I will escape immediately."

……

"Jay came back and found me. He said he was delayed by something."

"From observation, he behaves no differently than before..."

"I used some divination techniques to confirm that he wasn't lying, but divination... isn't omnipotent. I can't be sure if he's abnormal, but I've decided not to trust him anymore."

"Zaratul didn't bother me, as if I wasn't important. But Jay... for a moment, I felt that his aura was somewhat similar to Zaratul's."

"As a fellow Trickster, I can clearly tell he's not someone else's puppet. Through careful observation through a spectator's puppet, I haven't noticed any abnormalities in his subconscious. This might be related to the puppet's own low level. But I think I should stay away from this person."

"Well, before I take away a very important seal of the Secret Order, I must be careful with Zaratul and Jay."

……

"The situation is more dire than I imagined. Not long ago, I saw Kars. He is a close confidant of Zaratul. As one of the few Sequence 3 Saints in the Secret Order, he, like Zaratul and Acosta, also possesses a Level 0 Seal."

"But why does he behave so similarly to Zaratul and Jay? At one point, I even felt like they were... the same person?"

……

"After realizing this, I had a strange feeling... Everyone in the secret order looked at me with an inexplicable fear in their eyes, but I didn't notice anything wrong."

"All of them..."

"Why do they all look like the same person?"

……

"I thought I should give up on taking that important seal and stay away from the Secret Order. But before I could take action, Acosta found me. His historical pore image told me that something was amiss within the Secret Order."

"But what's wrong? Acosta didn't tell me this, or maybe he doesn't know either?"

"But we have the same idea now. He also wants to leave the secret order and leave here before this strange outbreak. However, the sealing method of the "0" level seal is quite special. In order to avoid the negative impact on his own condition, we must wait for Acosta to properly handle the "0" level seal before we can take it away."

"Acosta promised me that we would go to a secret place together. It's a safe area unknown to Zaratul and the other demigods in the Secret Order, and it's a safe area that the Orthodox Church can't lock down. The people there believe in the True Creator, and I, Acosta, will join them, carrying a sufficiently important seal."

"To do this, we must pay a certain price and stay in the secret order for a period of time."

"Pray, that weirdness won't happen again until we leave."

……

"So weird, so weird."

"Why does Acosta give me the same feeling as Zaratul and Jay?"

"Why do all the people in the secret order give me the feeling that they are secret marionettes?"

"why why why?"

"Secret Marionettes? Why are they all secret marionettes?! What on earth happened to them?!"

……

"Save me! God! Save me!" "My greed is like a temptation that has taken root in my body. It has devoured my soul! I should have left immediately when I sensed danger! How could I, a cautious and careful person, be so foolish as to do this!"

"No, it was a manipulator, a Beyonder skilled in the psychic and subconscious realms, who exerted a certain influence on me... No, it was a miracle. Something amplified a certain thought of mine! It allowed greed to overcome caution, and ignorance to replace my fear of such things!"

……

"They! They are not human, they are no longer human! Zaratul! Kars! Acosta! Char! Jay... All of them are no longer human!"

“Those were all different faces, but at some point they all merged together. He was everyone, and everyone was him!”

"The only secret existence I can think of is... Amon?"

"Amon?!"

"Help me! They're going to find me!"

……

"Today...is a peaceful day."

"I returned to the Secret Order, where Zaratul, Kars, Acosta, and the others gave me genuine smiles."

"We hugged each other, and I confessed my previous attempt to betray the secret order. They were happy that I had come to the right path and congratulated me on returning to this place."

"Unlike before, the sunshine here is so warm, the air is so fresh, and everyone here is connected. We don't need to be suspicious, test ourselves, or engage in deception. We work closely together and will dedicate everything we have to a common future."

"Compared to my previous muddle-headedness, I feel this is what I should be doing."

"I, Zephyrin Ivan, will dedicate my life to the Order, serving the same great purpose."

……

"So, what about you who's reading the notes?"

……

A puppet master looked at the notes and felt his hair stand on end.

The contrast between the before and after gave him goose bumps all over his body. If he was not sure that this was in his own room and it was safe enough, he would have thrown the notes deep into the cabinet and never wanted to look at them again in his life.

The puppet master suddenly had an inspiration. He slowly turned his head and looked at the half-open door not far away.

His secret dolls, a man and a woman, quietly opened the door at some point and smiled at him.

He saw countless faces outside the door, all of which looked different but exactly the same.

They showed the Master of Secret Dolls a pure, innocent smile, but with the same arc, as if they were carved from the same mold.

At this moment, the Master of Secret Dolls completely understood what the notes meant by 'He is everyone, and everyone is him'.

Not long after, the Master of Secret Dolls also had a pure smile on his face.

He closed the notebook, stood up and left.

……

"The Spiritual Cult is more cautious than I thought."

A year passed quickly, the weather turned from warm to cold, and Tingen City had its first light snow since the beginning of winter.

Tang put the book on the table, lying in the rocking chair, looking out the window at the countless snowflakes falling over Miskatonic University.

In the room, the fireplace had already been lit, and the warm flames made the whole room cozy. The carpet with strange patterns covered the floor, and books were scattered everywhere. The owner of the books had no intention of cleaning them up, and just let them be thrown on the ground.

Covered with a blanket, Tang reached out and took the cup on the table beside him. After taking a sip of the milk in the cup, he continued his conversation with the system.

"The Spiritual Cult's power is indeed more complex than I imagined. The current situation in the Southern Continent has been in chaos since the fall of the Death God worshipped by the Balam Empire. Even without the intervention of the colonists, the local resistance to the remaining forces of the Balam Empire alone would be enough to cause the Spiritual Cult a lot of trouble."

Picking up the book he had just read halfway, Tang flipped through the pages and watched the live broadcast of the situation in the southern continent with the system through the infinitely extended "bionic secret doll" module.

The Rose School, the Highland Kingdom, the Pers Kingdom, the indigenous tribes that believe in the God of Death, plus the Rose School that believes in the Bound God, the wizards who believe in the Primordial Moon, the Southern Continent is now like raising Gu. Today, either the Spirit Cult sneak attacks the extraordinary people of the Rose School of the Highland Kingdom, or the Pers Kingdom annexes the surrounding indigenous tribes.

Now a demon wolf has joined the scene, a demon wolf with a high enough status, secretive enough behavior, and unpredictable enough, which makes the situation in the southern continent more and more chaotic.

It’s better to be a little messy.

The Dark Wolf Kotal is indeed an ancient and extraordinary creature that has survived from the Second Age to the present day. Through the customized 'bionic marionette' module, this miracle worker marionette fully reveals the cunning and treacherous side of this high-ranking demon wolf.

He walks in the darkness, traveling between the Balam Empire, the Highland Kingdom, and the Pers Kingdom, firing shots here and there, and slowly eroding these three countries by constantly transforming hidden puppets.

The high-ranking angels of the Southern Continent did not want to snipe this demonic wolf that appeared out of nowhere, but unfortunately, every sniping operation failed due to various accidents, or because the news leaked out for some unknown reason, or because of interference from the enemy.

The angels did not dare to cooperate with each other. After all, they were fighting against the same angel. Without the help of a higher being, this kind of cooperation without trust would not be able to withstand provocation and would fall apart at the slightest touch.

"The Spirit Cult has already sent people to contact Owen. That Death Archon, Haitel, has apparently confirmed that Owen and I are indeed direct descendants of the Death God Salinger within three generations. And after I killed a witch and confirmed that I am a Sequence 5, Master of Puppetry, of the Diviner Path, it's a very logical progression for Owen to choose a Sequence 4 Undead."

"There are still extraordinary individuals from the Balam Empire with the Death God bloodline within the Spiritual Cult. These individuals are naturally more adaptable to the extraordinary power of the Death God Path, and have a stronger ability to control and digest potions. Some of the characteristics of the Death God Path, such as the suppression of those of higher status over those of lower status, are also enhanced in these individuals with the Death God bloodline."

"These people are the foundation of the Royal Faction within the Spiritual Cult. As the High Priest of the Church of the God of Death, and a believer in the God of Death, it's clearly impossible for Him to suppress Beyonders with the bloodline of the God of Death. Sequence 4 Undead, direct blood relatives within three generations, are the very representatives of the Royal Faction within the Spiritual Cult."

Through the Dark Wolf Kotal's power over miracles, Tang turned the wheel of fate, gave himself and Owen good luck, magnified the possibilities he imagined, and continued to arrange secret puppets to penetrate deep into the Spirit Cult. Through these secret puppets, he once again developed subordinates within the Spirit Cult. Tang was leading the Spirit Cult little by little, rushing in a wrong direction that they absolutely did not want to go.

(End of this chapter)