Chapter 131
"Come in..."
The office door creaked open, and a man wearing a silver chip mask stepped inside. After turning to close the wooden door, he stood before the woman, slightly bowing.
"Commissioner Lucy, the boss wants you to go to Brolun City."
The man with the silver chip mask spoke respectfully.
"What's going on? Is Brolun City starting to incur losses too?"
Lucy raised her eyes to the man and asked.
"Who embezzled this time?"
The man in the silver chip mask slowly began to explain, "Commissioner Lucy, it’s not a loss."
"It’s the Church of the Savior sending word that there are members of the Holy Ascension Sect conducting a sacrificial ceremony at the Dedun Manor in Brolun City... It seems they summoned a divine servant, and the entire Dedun Manor has collapsed. We currently don’t know the specifics of the casualties and damages. The manager wants you to handle this, preferably before the Church of the Savior gets involved. It concerns the company’s reputation."
"I understand. You can leave now, and wait for my news."
Lucy waved her hand, watching the man exit and close the door behind him. She turned her gaze to the gold coins on her desk.
Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
She opened the drawer, revealing an ancient wooden box. Inside lay a set of exquisite black tarot cards.
Golden cracks adorned the back of the black cards, shimmering with a faint light.
She took out the cards, lit the incense and candles nearby, and began to shuffle the cards with practiced ease.
"Will this fieldwork yield any rewards?"
Lucy silently pondered within her heart.
One by one, she laid the cards neatly on the table, mentally posing a question with each card she placed.
A Celtic Cross spread emerged before her.
1. The Wheel of Fortune.
2. Death.
3. The Devil...
As she revealed each card, her inner questions were gradually clarified.
This was... a turning point in her fate, fraught with immense risk...
But at the same time...
Card number ten was revealed.
An inverted Sun card lay quietly in the final outcome position.
Yet, there remained a slim possibility for a significant reward...
The tarot offered a clear warning: this investigation would be a life-or-death choice. Success could bring great rewards, but failure might come at a tremendous cost, including the end of life itself.
What reward could possibly seem substantial enough to a "Destined One" like her?
She flicked her nimble fingers, a gold pound coin dancing at her fingertips.
Snap—
The coin was firmly grasped in her hand. When she opened it again, the gold exterior had completely worn away, revealing a rusty brown beneath. The front depicted a faceless angel stained with rust, while the back showed a demon with an eye that seemed to bleed.
Was the substantial reward about gaining complete control over or breaking free from this sealed object...
Or perhaps... going even further?
Whichever it was, both options were highly tempting for Lucy.
As someone who had gambled her way to this position as a "Destined One," she would not hesitate to risk everything she currently possessed in a high-stakes gamble, if it meant a chance at a great reward.
Without this gambling spirit, she wouldn’t have reached her current status.
She had come this far by betting everything, and each time, she was confident she wouldn’t lose.
Because she was favored by fate.
Lucy stood up, took her silver cane, and walked toward the door.
Behind her, a black raven perched on the windowsill, flapping its wings and preening its feathers.
...
Clop, clop, clop...
The iron hooves of warhorses thundered along the cobblestone road, the sound of horseshoes striking stone ringing clear.
Only after entering the city did the sound of hooves gradually slow.
At this moment, Aivina withdrew her gaze from the distant Kreek Mountain. The three people in the carriage exchanged glances, each letting out a sigh of relief.
After a moment of silence, Aivina looked toward Charles and asked, "What was that just now...?"
"It’s over now."
Charles shook her head and replied, "There won’t be any more members of the Holy Ascension Sect there."
Adele: "Huh?"
Not just Aivina, even Adele couldn’t help but show a puzzled expression.
What happened? What did Charles do? How did it end?
"Did they... all die?"
Aivina couldn’t help but confirm.
Adele: "Huh??"
Wait, weren’t we just playing cards? How did all the members of the Holy Ascension Sect die?
Adele looked back and forth between the two girls who were speaking in riddles, utterly confused.
"Yes."
Charles nodded.
After a moment of eye contact, both girls slowly relaxed their shoulders and smiled at each other, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Only Adele remained bewildered.
"Huh? It’s over? Huh? No one’s coming to catch us now?"
Adele’s questions went unanswered, but looking at their smiles, she seemed to understand something.
Charles smiled, and even Aivina, who usually wore a stern expression, broke into a smile. That must mean they were indeed safe, right?
Leaning back in her seat, Aivina raised her hand and rubbed her temples.
No wonder Charles suddenly told her not to report the Church of the Savior and the Dedun Group.
The organization behind Charles had the ability to silently flip the table from behind.
With the table flipped, there was no need to risk exposure by reporting.
The Dedun Manor, now in ruins, would be in a hurry, and the Church of the Savior would be anxious too.
The most urgent would be the members of the Holy Ascension Sect, who had lost a base for no reason and possibly a bishop. If their identities were traced, the major base behind that bishop could also be taken down.
Now, it was a race to see which side could get to the scene first to investigate or destroy evidence. Even the Redemption Society might intervene, and with everyone tangled together, it would surely turn into a chaotic mess, leaving no time to deal with the pawn named Xie Lun.
By the time someone reacted, the clues would be severed, making further investigation impossible.
Now, Aivina was ready to reassess the organization behind Charles.
At first, she thought it was just a deeply hidden intelligence organization that survived by secretly selling information. But now it seemed that this organization not only had the ability to gather intelligence but also had a certain capacity to flip the table.
Just like the terrifying commotion that had just shaken the ground, killing all the cultists in an instant, Aivina was certain that even the "Crown Guard" couldn’t have produced such a result.
Moreover, aside from that earthquake-like noise, Aivina felt a strong sense of crisis and a spiritual alarm ringing deep within her mind.
This seemed to be something beyond an earthquake. What kind of extraordinary ability was this?
Aivina pondered in her mind, struggling to find an answer.
The speed of the warhorses slowed even further, and even Adele sensed something was off. She looked at Aivina and asked, "Is the carriage... going too slow?"
Aivina leaned forward, pulling back the small curtain in front of her, peering through the glass at the direction of the carriage’s driver.
Tap, tap—
Aivina knocked on the glass, but the driver, Nia, didn’t respond at all.
They had just arrived at Bell Tower Alley, entering the city along the North-South Stone Street, and now the carriage was stopped in the middle of the street.
Fortunately, at this time of day, most workers were at work, and there weren’t many pedestrians on the street, so no one noticed anything amiss.
"Nia?"
Aivina jumped down from the carriage and walked to the front. The armored figure in the driver’s seat was completely still, as if it were merely a decorative suit of armor.
Charles also noticed something was wrong. She and Adele jumped down from the carriage to help Nia.
Aivina lightly tapped the horse’s rear, and it trotted down the stone street toward home, while the remaining three dragged Nia to number 44 on North-South Stone Street, where Charles hadn’t yet moved into her rented place.
After a brief healing session, Aivina let out a sigh of relief and said, "It’s nothing... just a spirit issue... This is Nia’s old problem."
As she spoke, Aivina looked toward Charles and said, "It’s the same as your situation before."
Same as my situation before?
Charles pondered, and she had likely figured out the reason Nia suddenly lost consciousness.
It was a spiritual being...
"Charles, I want to ask a question, and I hope you can answer me."
Aivina took a deep breath, looking at Charles as she asked, "The people in your organization... when dealing with the Holy Ascension Sect..."
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