Mystery: A Spark

She knew that this man was just like her; they shared a similar fate and were merely pawns in someone else's game.

Triss is a hostage needed for the cooperation between the royal family and the witch cult, and also a necessary disguise to deceive the outside world.

She carried with her a key item of the Witch Cult, the sapphire ring, and was under the strict surveillance of the royal family, where the treasure could be destroyed or lost at any time.

This demonstrates the Witch Cult's sincerity in seeking cooperation.

However, once the matter is exposed and becomes known to the three major churches or other factions within the military, the course of events will be quite simple:

Prince Edsack, driven by lust for beauty, secretly kept a witch as his mistress. Realizing the enormity of his sins, he committed suicide by shooting himself.

Then, all the problems will be covered up.

Both she and Edsack were puppets in the hands of others, and could be abandoned or die a miserable death at any time.

Triss was very clear about this.

After encountering the white puppy, Triss was soon pursued by the witch cult, and then rescued by Edsack. This series of events made Triss quickly understand her situation.

She understood that there were two forces at play in this matter: the force behind the mysterious white puppy, and the forces represented by the witch cult and the royal family.

The white puppy's side had unclear objectives, but the Witch Cult clearly didn't want her to have a good ending.

The choice then becomes easy; Triss naturally cannot let the Witch Cult members have their way.

She first chatted with Talim several times, expressing her love for dogs in an attempt to find clues about the little white dog and get in touch with him for help, but all her attempts failed.

The other party's intention was clear: only if Triss survived this ordeal would she be qualified to continue communicating with them.

Triss quickly came up with a solution.

She initially pretended to accept her fate and obediently became a pawn, without making any futile struggles.

But in reality, she kept abreast of what was happening in the outside world through her casual conversations with Talim, and was secretly looking for a suitable target.

This person must be an extraordinary individual, and ideally, they should also have a pet by their side.

After interacting with that little white dog, Triss discovered that extraordinary pets were actually a good channel for secretly passing messages.

At first, she didn't find any good options, so she could only wait patiently.

It wasn't until Sherlock Moriarty first gained fame that Triss saw an opportunity.

Because of Edsack, Triss was able to easily learn the details of the serial murders and the truth that the killer was a demon.

Therefore, after analyzing the case, she finally came to the conclusion that Sherlock Moriarty, the detective who provided effective clues and played a major role in the case, was very likely an extraordinary individual.

Similarly, Detective Isinger Stanton could very well be an Extraordinary.

However, Triss was not sure at the time, nor did she dare to place her hope of survival on speculation.

It wasn't until later, after the case of the Apostle of Desire occurred, that Triss finally confirmed her previous suspicions.

Through her contact with Talim, she also learned that Detective Sherlock Moriarty owned a small dog.

A pet owned by an extraordinary person may not necessarily be an extraordinary pet, but the possibility is not small.

In addition, Triss gradually felt a sense of urgency, as if the plan of the person behind the scenes was about to be completed, so she decided to take a gamble.

Fortunately, she won the bet.

That little black dog was indeed an extraordinary pet, and it was also very intelligent. It easily understood her meaning, allowing her to successfully send out the message.

Just now, she confronted Prince Edsack, because she no longer wanted to continue this charade.

"So you mean, you used to be a man?" Edsack instinctively didn't want to believe it.

"Of course, the 'witch' potion forcibly changed my gender. Doesn't that feel disgusting?" Triss sneered, her tone tinged with venting.

This is a release after being suppressed for too long.

“No, no, I’m sure you’re a woman… ever since I’ve known you, I don’t care about your past!” Edsack muttered to himself, then raised his voice, as if trying to convince himself.

Triss paused, her eyes filled with even deeper sorrow and pity.

"Don't you understand? Our meeting was not a coincidence, and even your liking for me was just someone else's arrangement."

"Don't you think everything is too fast and too fast? There may be love at first sight in this world, but I don't believe it has such great magic."

"You acted like the protagonist in a third-rate romance novel, falling in love with a stranger like me after just one meeting, forgetting the person you liked before."

"You know, the person you used to like was Audrey Hall, the most beautiful jewel in the kingdom. Do you think I have such great charm that you could so easily give up your love for Miss Hall?"

Prince Edsack stared blankly, his mouth agape, but he uttered no words.

His body suddenly swayed, as if he had finally woken up from a long dream.

"You, you are definitely my type... but my reaction, really, really, was too exaggerated..."

Triss chuckled and said:

"Yes, that's too exaggerated. Even I couldn't help but be moved by Miss Hall's charm. How could you so easily fall for someone else? The person who came up with this story must be a third-rate screenwriter."

"So do you understand now? We are just two puppets on the stage, only able to act according to the control of the royal family and the witch cult. When this play is over, it will be the end of us."

Edsack's round face twitched, and he asked in a low voice:

"What are they planning with the witch cult?"

“Do you think a hostage like me would know?” Triss gave a self-deprecating laugh. “That’s why I wanted to escape, because I didn’t want to die without knowing why.”

She looked at Edsack and said calmly:

"And what are you going to do with me now?"

Edsack fell silent, remaining silent for nearly a minute.

Suddenly, he closed his eyes and pointed to the other side, saying:

"Leave now, leave through that hidden door."

Triss raised her eyebrows in surprise:

"You want to let me go?"

“Hmm.” Edsack turned to look out the window and answered slowly, “I will stop Finkel. As for whether you can escape other pursuers, that depends on your own strength and luck.”

Triss paused for a few seconds, then quickly ran towards the hidden door.

Before leaving, she couldn't help but look back one last time:

"What about you?"

Edsack didn't turn his head, still gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window, as if searching for a shadow of the past.

He smiled and said:

"Me? Let me live in this beautiful story and face its final ending, whether it's good or bad."

As Triss watched Edsack's retreating figure, she suddenly remembered what the little white dog had said.

"When my master was observing the future, he happened to see your poignant and tragic love story from the future."

Yes, it was a poignant and tragic love story, I felt it all… Triss looked back deeply, as if she wanted to remember Edsack’s back.

She knew she had been poisoned, a poison called love.

The poison has entered the lungs and internal organs.

There is no cure.

……

In the mountains somewhere outside Backlund, a phantom bronze gate suddenly appeared.

Then, an old man appeared in the doorway, his clothes tattered, his body covered with wounds emanating a deathly black aura, and pale yellow pustules constantly emerging from his back.

This is Ince Zangwell, who was just ambushed and thus experienced a disadvantageous demigod battle.

At this time, his condition was quite poor, and his body had suffered great damage, all thanks to the son of death, Azik Eggers.

After Ince Zangwill severed the head of Azik's child's remains and killed Klein, the hatred between Azik and Zangwill became irreconcilable.

Therefore, Azik showed no mercy in the fight just now.

However, perhaps because he had not yet recovered his full strength, Ince Zangwell ultimately managed to escape.

Ince Zangwell took a few quick breaths and said through gritted teeth:

"Damn it, I don't want to find out who's behind all this, or else..."

"What else?" A cold voice suddenly came from behind him.

At the same time, Ince Zangwell felt something hard pressing against his head.

Before he could react, a deafening gunshot rang out.

"boom!"

A dazzling and brilliant light appeared, illuminating the dark environment of the nearby mountains.

Ince Zangwell's headless body fell to the ground, and behind him, a young man with dark hair and green eyes was rubbing his eyes with a black glove.

"Wow~ This gun is really dazzling to use."

"Heh heh, Leonard, you're really decisive. I thought you were going to make some declarations of revenge before you did it," Palez's aged voice rang out at this moment.

“It’s the same now.” Leonard kicked the corpse on the ground. “I’ve been waiting for this moment of revenge for far too long, so I don’t want any surprises. After all, Arthur has a saying that makes a lot of sense: villains die from talking too much.”

"Tsk tsk, so you've already put yourself in the villain's position?" Pales teased.

“Of course not. Righteous people can also die from talking too much. The principle is the same.” Leonard said, putting away his gun and pulling out a dagger.

Then, he took a small bottle out of his pocket, squatted down, and made a cut on Ince Zangwell where it was still relatively intact.

Blood gushed out instantly, and Leonard caught it in a small bottle. Once the bottle was full, he wiped it clean, put it away, and left.

Not long after he left, Azik appeared here.

He frowned as he looked at the corpse on the ground and muttered to himself:

"I was originally planning to cut off your head myself, what a pity, but at least your soul is still here."

After saying that, Azik beckoned to the headless corpse on the ground, and the next second, he grabbed Ince Zangwell's distorted soul in his hand.

Looking at the soul in his hand, Azik gave a cold smile and said:

"For us corpse collectors, death is not the end, but only the beginning. I hope you have realized this."