1204 Putting Life and Death Aside
Fors wasn’t surprised by Mr. World’s request. She nervously replied, “Al-alright.
“What kind of deal is it exactly?”
During this period of time, she had communicated with her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham, several times. Under Miss Justice’s guidance, she had laid quite a lot of foundation for the impending request.
The World Klein laughed hoa.r.s.ely.
“You don’t have to tell him what I want for now. Just lay out my chips for him and see if he’s interested.”
“Your bargaining chip is still the promise to break the Abraham family’s curse?” Fors cautiously sought confirmation.
Klein nodded and pointed at 0-61 on the long mottled table.
“It can also be this Box of the Great Old Ones.”
An item used to exchange for a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact can’t be simple… Be it Justice Audrey or The Hermit Cattleya, both of them suddenly had such a realization.
However, Fors paid more attention to the promise of breaking the curse. This was because she had experienced it herself and knew how tragic her teacher’s family was.
She replied solemnly without hesitation, “Alright.”
…
Backlund, West Borough, in the bas.e.m.e.nt of a house.
Saint Tenebrous, who was hidden in the shadows, suddenly grew out of the darkness.
He turned his head as if he was listening to something. The muscles on his cheeks began to twitch. It wasn’t just one chunk of flesh, but bits. Not only were they not connected to each other, but they were also interfering with each other. It looked extremely odd.
In seconds, Kisma wore an extremely painful expression as his skin tore apart, as flesh and blood beneath squirmed, mixed with a deep black.
With a thud, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself before the altar, vomiting out large amounts of organs and s.h.i.+mmering light.
Saint Tenebrous’s head was pressed tightly against the ground as he muttered crazily, “Botis actually died…
“A Secrets Sorcerer who wields a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact died just like that…
“There’s a tarot card, The Hermit…
“The two enemies that attacked were saints. One was a Mysticologist, while the other was a Manipulator…
“The organization that believes in The Fool and uses tarot cards as their codenames…
“Gehrman Sparrow… Azik Eggers…
“…”
After an uncontrollable murmur, Saint Tenebrous Kisma cried, feeling both vexed and pained.
“I repent, I repent, I repent…”
…
A few days later, in an apartment’s room in Pritz Harbor.
The disguised Dorian Gray Abraham had received a letter from Fors through many hands.
He examined it carefully and confirmed that there were no issues. After confirming that there were no abnormal signs, he took out the letter with the help of a letter knife.
The beginning of the letter was the usual greeting. Following that, Fors directly wrote:
“…We have already killed Saint of Secrets Botis, and obtained the items on his person…”
“…” Dorian had originally planned on scanning through the letter quickly, but he ended up stuck on this sentence. He read it a few times and forgot to continue reading.
Dorian knew how strong and powerful Botis was. He also knew very well how terrifying a Secrets Sorcerer was.
But now, the new student he had been teaching for over a year had told him in a very calm tone that Botis had already been taken care of.
In an instant, the only things that echoed in Dorian’s mind were thoughts of: “impossible,” “a lie,” and “a conspiracy.” He suspected that Fors had already been controlled by the Aurora Order.
In any major faction, Sequence 4 Beyonders were the absolute upper echelons and extremely important members. How could they be so easily killed!
Dorian’s throat bobbed up and down as he forcefully focused and continued reading the contents of the letter.
“…We have obtained the Box of the Great Old Ones. I believe you aren’t unfamiliar with it…”
After reading another line, Dorian’s eyelids twitched a few times. He felt that the letter in his hand was as heavy as a boulder.
Of course, he wasn’t unfamiliar with the Box of the Great Old Ones. This was a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact of the Abraham family, proof that they had once been glorious.
…The one that was killed was Botis who possessed the Box of the Great Old Ones… Dorian’s shock kept rising. He felt that things had gone beyond his imagination. On the other hand, he felt that there was a possibility that it wasn’t impossible. Perhaps the one who really killed Botis was actually the Box of the Great Old Ones.
He knew very well how dangerous that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was!
At the same time, he finally noticed a word: “We.”
This was the first time Fors had indicated that she had companions and partners.
Of course, Dorian had already guessed it, but he hadn’t called her out.
Indeed… Dorian sighed and eagerly read the rest.
“…I have a friend who wants to show you his goodwill by pus.h.i.+ng for this operation against Botis. He said that he wants to make a deal with you, and is willing to use the Box of the Great Old Ones or a promise to remove the Abraham family’s curse in exchange. He wonders if you are interested. He doesn’t know where you are, and I won’t tell him. You can totally refuse…”
A promise to remove the curse? Dorian skipped over the Box of the Great Old Ones and ruminated on the extremely important part of the sentence.
After the first few letters, he had fully understood the true nature of the family’s curse. It was both a sorrowful and helpless matter—a glimmer of hope that was brewed out of the pain.
Before this, who would have thought that the person who caused the descendants of the Abraham family to lose control would be their ancestor’s cry for help?
This was like a cruel joke from fate.
Dorian didn’t know if Mr. Door knew the consequences of “His” actions, nor did he know how to describe his complicated feelings. However, he couldn’t help but start searching for a way to make Mr. Door return and completely remove the family curse.
This was a path with very slim hope, but for the Abraham family, it was enough, because a light had finally appeared in the darkness.
After an unknown period of time, Dorian folded the letter and smiled bitterly to himself.
“Goodwill… Such goodwill is frightening…”
After he muttered to himself, he fell into silence again. His expression was gloomy and his heart seemed to be struggling.
Gong!
The sound of the wall clock rang punctually, snapping Dorian out of his daze.
His expression gradually became solemn, and he finally made a decision.
After making up his mind, Dorian felt much more relaxed. He even smiled.
He first burned Fors’s letter before packing his bag and heading out to the steam locomotive station in Pritz Harbor.
He was going to Southville, but not to hide, but to make some preparations.
He planned on handing all his family’s items and potion formulas to one of the family members who was staying there before returning to Pritz Harbor. With his ident.i.ty as Dorian Gray, he would head to Backlund to meet his student, Fors, and the powerhouse who had shown his goodwill.
When the time came, he would consume a type of medicine in advance to allow himself to suffer a powerful curse that rooted itself in his Spirit Body. He would have to regularly consume another type of medicine to maintain his life. This way, even if he was controlled and unable to commit suicide, he would quickly die because he had no chance to take the medicine. With his Spirit Body dissipating, he wouldn’t leak any key information.
For this “journey,” Dorian had put life and death aside.
He was willing to sacrifice his life for that slim hope.
…
North Borough in Backlund, beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Leonard, who had just had a discussion with the members of the Mandated Punishers, the Machinery Hivemind, and MI9, returned to his office and sat down.
At that moment, the slightly-aged voice of Pallez Zoroast resounded in his mind:
“They’ve finally found the exact location of the Jacob family’s treasure trove and are about to enter.”
“Ah?” Leonard was momentarily stunned, unable to react.
Previously, at the gathering of the Hermits of Fate, he had sold the news of the Jacob family’s treasure trove. As no one knew what was inside, no one was willing to offer a high price. And Leonard’s main goal was not to trade, so he had only exchanged it for some rare spirits.
He immediately lowered his voice and said, “Old Man, how do you know that?”
“Heh, it’s a given that I sent out my avatar to monitor the area,” Pallez Zoroast replied unhappily. “Are you underestimating an angel from the Marauder pathway?”
Leonard laughed dryly.
“Old Man, you’ve recovered quite well. You even have excess characteristics for an avatar.”
“I’m already at the level of a Sequence 2.” Pallez Zoroast scoffed. “Next, don’t go out. Just stay inside the cathedral to prevent any accidents from happening.”
“Are you worried that a trap lies within the treasure?” Leonard asked thoughtfully.
“How can a treasure left behind by a Marauder angel not have a trap?” Pallez Zoroast said with a scoff. “I can’t predict what will happen, but staying underground in the cathedral is definitely safe.”
Leonard nodded and suppressed his voice.
“Let’s hope everything goes smoothly. Old Man, you promised me that if you can successfully obtain a Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristic, you will steal a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact from the items they obtained for me.”
It wasn’t that he was concerned about whether he reaped anything out of it, but rather, it was to ease his sudden anxiety.
“Weren’t you against ‘stealing’?” After a mocking remark, Pallez fell silent, as if “He” was focused on monitoring the situation at the Jacob family’s treasure trove.
About an hour later, “He” heaved a sigh of relief in Leonard’s mind.
“Although there were many traps and accidents, they eventually reached the predetermined target. Heh heh, I only took that characteristic and a Sealed Artifact. The rest will be their payment.
“Don’t be in a hurry to leave this place. Wait until I absorb that characteristic before leaving. When that happens, there won’t be any problems.”
Leonard immediately relaxed and leaned back, crossing his legs as he read the newspaper leisurely.
In the evening, Pallez Zoroast finally spoke again.
“It’s done.”
“His” voice contained plenty of emotions, but because it was too complicated, Leonard was unable to tell.
Seeing that nothing had happened and that Old Man might still need to digest, Leonard stood up and rubbed his temples. He left Saint Samuel Cathedral and returned to 7 Pinster Street.
As he pa.s.sed through the porch, he suddenly saw a person sitting on the sofa.
The man was wearing a cla.s.sic black robe and a pointed hat. He placed his right leg over his left and was leisurely reading a newspaper.
As if sensing Leonard’s arrival, that person raised his head and adjusted the monocle on his right eye, revealing a teasing smile.