With a hard object of unknown origin pressed against his back, cold sweat broke out on John's forehead.
When did the person behind him arrive? Why hadn't he noticed at all?!
A mixture of shock and fear washed over him. John hurriedly raised his hands and pleaded in a trembling voice:
“My lord, please, whatever you need, I can give it to you for free! Just please don't kill me. I have an elderly mother to support, a young child to feed, and also a—”
Before he could finish, the smell of burnt feathers filled his nose. Looking down, he saw clumps of black flames crawling up his chest like writhing insects. A demonic aura began to spread, and his entire body instantly tensed up!
“Cut the crap. From now on, I ask, and you answer,” the soft, sweet voice from behind rang out again.
“A-Alright...” Filled with dread, John dared not say another word.
“Do you have any spiritual items here?” Celia asked.
“N-No...”
Just as he was about to say the next word, he felt the hard object pressing against his back push even closer...
“I really don't, my lord! I'm not lying to you! My place is just a tiny divination shop!” he explained hurriedly.
He didn't know what was pressing against his back, but since she was from the Abyssal Order, it had to be some new kind of contaminated creation!
“Then do you know what the surname Claire represents?” Celia continued to ask coldly.
“Uh... Claire... That's a clan of vampire nobles stationed in the Northern Territory. They worship the Scarlet Mother and believe that blood is the vessel of the soul, and that sacrificing blood is sacrificing a person's soul to their Mother Goddess...”
Perhaps out of extreme nervousness, John rattled it off in one breath without stopping:
“They occasionally find suitable people through various channels to create blood thralls through blood contracts. They also frequently conduct large-scale sacrifices to please their Mother Goddess...”
“Which pathway do they follow?”
“The Blood pathway...”
“What abilities does this pathway have?”
“Blood perception, thorns, self-healing, blood contract, bat transformation... That's all I know...”
“Are those their Rank One abilities?”
“No, no. I'm not sure which ranks they belong to, but vampires generally possess these abilities...”
“Alright, do you know Baron Claire? Vincent Claire.”
“Baron Claire...? I do, I do! He... He is a member of the Blood Order, a Rank Two Blood Contractor. He sent someone to my shop for a divination a few days ago!”
“What did he want to divine?”
“He asked me to divine a matter regarding a collaboration...”
Hearing this, Celia's interest was instantly piqued.
Collaboration with whom? The Abyssal Order?
In her last loop, she had indeed seen Vincent with a Beyonder of the Demon sequence. Could that person be his collaborator?
At this thought, she asked again, “How much do you know about this collaboration?”
“I... I don't know...”
Just then, with a sudden crash, a nearby cabinet fell over, accompanied by crackling sounds that gave John a massive fright.
“Wait, wait, wait! I know a little! I know a little! That person is supposed to meet with their contact today!”
“Oh? Today? What exact time and location?”
“I'm not sure yet, but... but I can divine it for you!”
“Alright.”
Celia lowered the holy scripture pressed against the man's back and hid it inside her black robe.
Feeling the hard object behind him withdraw, the man let out a clear sigh of relief. He was about to stand up to prepare when Celia's cold voice rang out from behind him again.
“Wait!”
“W-What is it now?!”
“Do you know about the Crafter's Sigil?”
“I do, I do! That is a sigil made by the Beyonders of the Crafters' Association. If you attach it to an object, once it stabilizes, that object can block an attack from a Rank One Beyonder!”
“How long does it take to stabilize?”
“About ten minutes...”
“Good. Now take me to the divination room.”
“Right away... My lord, please follow me.”
...
Walking further inside, the two entered a divination room. The curtains were tightly drawn, leaving the room dimly lit. A few starlight stone lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a faint, delicate glow. The light was a blue so deep it was almost black, with a hint of purple-tinted cyan, as profound and mysterious as the starry night sky.
Scattered across the table were a few Tarot cards and several bone fragments carved with runes. Next to the bone fragments lay an ancient book with a spider pattern on the cover. The title read “Starry Pivot Numerology” in large letters, with a line of small print on the left reading “Second Epoch: The Gods Are Dead,” and the words “Compiled by Mona Merlin” engraved at the very bottom.
In the center of the table, a purple crystal sat on a stand, radiating faint specks of purple-gold light.
John bypassed a row of tables and chairs to reach the crystal. He raised his right hand, spreading his fingers, and hovered it over the crystal.
Then he closed his eyes and began to chant:
“O Goddess Verdandi, who holds the threads of destiny...”
“The starry sky and fate, foresight and revelation, secrets and truth...”
“The secret-peeper of the starry sky, the weaver of destiny...”
“Please tell me when and where Vincent Claire and his collaborator will meet, and where they are located right now...”
As the last syllable fell, the crystal beneath his palm began to glow with a brilliant purple-gold light, like a waking star.
After a few minutes, the purple light gradually faded. The man opened his eyes, holding his dizzy head. He steadied himself against the edge of the table and stumbled over to Celia.
“Is it done?” Celia asked.
The man did not speak, only nodding slightly. It seemed that this single divination had completely drained his mental strength, and strange, thread-like cracks had even appeared on his body.
“What is the result?”
Holding his head, it took the man quite a while to recover before he spoke:
“I found them. They are meeting at the old tannery in the slums of Candlelight Alley. There is half an hour left before the meeting. Right now, both of them are on their way there. Vincent just passed the Old Oak Tavern at the corner of the alley, while the other man has just emerged from a dark, abandoned cellar, seemingly carrying a parchment manuscript hidden on his person.”
“A parchment manuscript?”
“It seems to be some kind of plan, but I couldn't see the details clearly...”
“Is that how Vincent verifies his identity?” Celia asked suddenly.
“I didn't divine that. But generally speaking, in a place like this, and knowing what I do about those people from the Blood Order, those vampires habitually use their blood perception ability to judge the blood flowing through the other party's body.”
“Slum dwellers bleed filthy blood, while the Saintess flows with the holy blood bestowed by the deity. And if the other party is a Beyonder, they will also judge by the spirituality in their blood.”
“Then if the other party is from the Abyssal Order, how would they judge?”
John turned his face away, slightly bewildered. “Huh? You're from the order itself, and you don't know this?”
But despite his internal confusion, he still flattered:
“My lord, that demonic power is unique to the order you belong to. Only beings favored by the will of the Abyss like you are worthy of such great power. As for anyone outside the order, they are unworthy.”
So basically, the Abyssal Order is universally despised, and as long as someone steps onto the Demon sequence, they're automatically assumed to be part of the Abyssal Order... Celia grumbled in her heart.
“Will they need to verify the contact's appearance or anything? Or perhaps use some secret codes?”
“No, none of that is needed. My lord, your order is extremely prominent among the major hidden factions. Your outstanding appearance is something they wouldn't even dare to look at directly.” John continued to flatter obsequiously.
Meaning the Abyssal Order's infamous reputation is so widespread among the hidden factions that they avoid them like the plague. Even if they do meet for a collaboration, they wouldn't care which member you actually are?
“Alright. Where will the other man pass by on his way?”
“He should pass by the old clock tower in Candlelight Alley. Wait, are you planning to hijack him?”
“No, I want to take his place.”
After all, that man was from the Abyssal Order, and her clone also followed the Demon pathway. It was a perfect fit.
A faint smile curled at the corner of Celia's lips.
“Won't you be found out?” John looked utterly astonished.
The identity of an Abyssal Order member was so easy to identify, and the other party was a vampire. No matter how well she disguised herself, she couldn't escape blood perception. How could they possibly hide it?
“Don't worry, I have my ways,” Celia said nonchalantly.
This... was impossible, absolutely impossible...
To deceive a vampire's perception, they would have to try and remove the Abyssal aura from their bloodline.
But to do that, they would have to undergo a complete blood transfusion, right? That would be equivalent to giving up their power entirely and truly turning themselves into an ordinary person.
How could anyone from the Abyssal Order possibly do such a thing?!
Cover it up with some other item? But he had never heard of a spiritual item powerful enough to conceal one's own bloodline!
But come to think of it, he didn't seem to feel any Abyssal aura from the person just now either...
Did they really manage to do it?
Just how on earth did they do it?!
The Abyssal Order was truly terrifying!
Fortunately, I didn't provoke them... John couldn't help but sigh with heartfelt relief!
Rate on N.U.
