Most of the rooms at the Three Cats Inn were exceptionally narrow; the desk, wardrobe, and bed occupied the majority of the space. Although the entire room could be observed at a single glance, Shade still patiently conducted a thorough inspection.
"Diviner, I'm going to use a miracle to listen to the sounds from the last 48 hours. While I do that, try to see if you can perform a divination on this room to find out what Darkness did while he was here."
As a Ring-caster who manipulated time, Shade naturally possessed characteristics that resisted time-based abilities. The Church of the True Gods would certainly search this room meticulously. While the possibility of the Church having a Ring-caster capable of listening to past sounds was low—and the probability of them hearing Shade's voice even lower—Shade didn't mention the name of the miracle for safety's sake, nor would he call Luvia by name during the operation.
"No problem."
Luvia nodded and sat in the chair before the desk, while Shade sat on the edge of the bed, supporting himself with both hands on the mattress.
The room was somewhat cramped, but the soundproofing was decent. Furthermore, since Darkness lived here alone and [Echoes of the Past] tended to pick up human speech, Shade believed that after a few attempts, he would be able to hear the conversation that had just taken place between Darkness and the Thirteenth-Ring caster, Helmons the "Blood-Weeper."
He was curious as to why the Blood-Weeper had not simply killed this traitor.
Using the spirit-link elements within his body to activate the miracle, the sound of boots pacing back and forth filled his ears, and then Shade truly heard Darkness's voice. However, it wasn't the conversation from earlier, but rather the man "talking to himself."
"The thing I need is actually in Yodel Palace? Is this script trying to get me killed?"
"Isn't it normal to take some risks for the sake of power?"
The second sentence was in Demonic. The terrifying language made Shade's scalp tingle just by hearing it. The demon's voice, speaking through the [Fish-Taming Ring], was low, almost a whisper. It coaxed Darkness with a highly seductive tone; perhaps granting the demon the ability to speak was the greatest mistake Darkness had ever made.
"If I were worried about risk, I wouldn't have come to Tobesk. But that is Yodel Palace, after all. Even if you pay the price for me, the script will surely cause some misfortune to befall me during the operation."
Darkness sighed.
"Yes, but it is necessary. Wasn't the small amount of Human Pus you released cleaned up very quickly? I can feel it—even excluding the Church of the True Gods, there are still many terrifying people living in this city, some of whom are even of my kind. You and I alone are not enough to oppose them."
The demon continued to whisper. The event it mentioned was likely the dreamscape that Shade and the Doctor had cleared.
"Oh, my dear Ivan."
Even though they weren't in the same timeframe, that tone still gave Shade goosebumps.
"Darkness is something you must understand for yourself. The key to the ritual lies within the [Dark Domain]. Do you think items possessing the power of the Ancient God [The Lurking Dark] can be found just anywhere?"
The demon continued its whispering. Although it was coaxing Darkness into taking a risk, what it said was actually correct. Luvia had paid a heavy price just to find the [Saintly Bell of the Judge] for Iluna.
"The [Puppeteer Script] says that in the treasury of Yodel Palace, there is the hilt of the [Dark Sword]—the ritual longsword once used by the priests of the Ancient God [The Lurking Dark]. A sliver of power dwells within the hilt. Since I have already embarked on this path... yes, I cannot turn back."
He continued to pace around the room, then pushed open the door and walked out.
Shade waited a while longer, confirming there was no follow-up to this segment of audio, before tilting his head to ask Luvia at the desk
"Do you know about the [Dark Sword]?"
"I do. A ritual longsword used by the priests of the Ancient Gods. Before the gods departed, those swords possessed power no less than that of Relics. It is said the longsword was completely invisible due to the power of darkness, and only the priests of the Ancient God could see it, which is why it was also called the [Non-existent Sword]. After the gods left, although the Dark Sword lost its invisibility, it remained a powerful divine and alchemical item. However, because it is so ancient, it only exists in records of the Sixth Epoch."
Among the three, Luvia was responsible for research, so she had studied the famous items containing the power of [The Lurking Dark].
"Oh, so that's what was stolen last night?"
Luvia understood that Shade had found a clue.
"Yes, but only the hilt, which was kept as an antique by the royal family. Additionally, the price Darkness paid for using the [Puppeteer Script] was borne by the demon."
"The demon certainly didn't tell the whole truth, otherwise how could he have bumped into the Iron Right Hand and you last night?"
Luvia shook her head.
"Never trust a demon."
She continued her divination, and Shade continued to listen.
The second attempt yielded the sounds of the maid's complaints and the sound of mopping; she was complaining that she worked hard but received very low pay. The third and fourth attempts resulted in the sound of a quiet wind and some sounds coming from the neighboring room that made Shade blush slightly.
On the fifth attempt, Shade finally heard Darkness's voice again. But this voice sounded as if it were coming from an extremely distant place, accompanied by rustling background noise that made the speech exceptionally blurry.
Even concentrating his attention, he could only barely catch parts of the content.
"What's happening?"
[Outlander, someone is interfering with your listening. The opponent is not targeting time-power, but is using a miracle to interfere with sound propagation at their own point in time.]
"Darkness certainly wouldn't use such a method while 'talking to himself,' so it can only be that I've overheard a conversation between him and someone else!"
Shade felt a surge of joy. He shifted his position to make the sound as clear as possible, and just then, Darkness spoke the key content
"Mr. Helmons, are you certain you won't kill a traitor like me?"
It seemed the conversation had happened an hour ago.
"Ivan, you have simply taken the wrong path. You are a Ring-caster with great potential. I knew I could persuade you, which is why I came."
This voice was indeed that of the Blood-Weeper, Helmons; his frail tone was highly recognizable.
"Then what exactly do you want me to do? Do you know of the Whispering Verses?"
"Of course I do. Now, Ivan, I will give you a way to redeem your sin of betrayal. Become the second Chosen, and then return to the New Continent with me. You should have already heard that the organization found the entrance to the [Creation Birth-chamber]. If you succeed, I can give you a chance to enter."
"You mean... the Golden Humans?"
Darkness's voice began to tremble, and Shade also knew of the "Golden Humans."
The [Blood Spirit School] believed that the current Sixth Epoch was the Bronze Age. In the distant past, human blood was golden. The humans of that Golden Age possessed far greater power, and pursuing the "Golden Humans" to purify human blood was the fundamental goal of the ancient transcendent organization, the [Blood Spirit School].
Their previous help for [Mercury Blood] was also because the school believed Mercury's blood was a bridge from the Bronze Age to the Golden Age.
"We have only found the entrance; we haven't fully excavated the power within. But you are different, Ivan. You are the chosen one."
Shade heard the Thirteenth-Ring caster cough a few more times.
"Once you become a Chosen, your Life Ring will turn pure gold, which is one of the characteristics of the Golden Humans. After that, when you enter the [Creation Birth-chamber], I believe you will be closer to the gates of Golden Blood than anyone else."
Shade interpreted this to mean that the Blood-Weeper didn't know how to use the [Creation Birth-chamber] either, but believed that a Chosen entering such a space would receive special treatment.
"Ivan, I have no patience to wait for you to think. Give me your answer now: do you agree to my request? If you agree, I will help you complete the Chosen ritual; I have prepared much for this, and I have people outside the city. If you disagree, I believe you know the school's punishment for traitors."
Although Helmons's tone remained flat, such words coming from a Thirteenth-Ring caster were a genuine threat.
And a man coexisting with a demon was, as expected, very pragmatic
"Sir, please forgive my betrayal. I am willing to become a Chosen under your guidance, then return to the school and help the school march toward the Golden Gate."
"Very well."
Helmons chuckled.
"Then tell me, what does your ritual require?"
Darkness was clearly hesitant, but for the sake of his life, the hesitation didn't last long. He said very cautiously
"The ritual requires me to devour darkness. Sir, I need to enter the core area of the Angel-grade Relic, the [Dark Domain]."
"Good. I knew your risk in entering Tobesk wasn't simply a fit of madness. What other Relics do you have on you? Is there anything else that needs to be prepared?"
"On my way to Tobesk, I engaged in some combat. Now I only have the [Murderer's Steel Needle]. As you know, it is a Secret-Keeper grade Relic; a single prick can kill an ordinary person, and it produces a powerful paralyzing effect on Ring-casters. Even a Thirteenth-Ring caster would be paralyzed for at least half a second. Nothing else is needed."
That was a precious offensive Relic, more expensive than all the Relics Shade had ever bought combined. But Darkness was clearly lying; Shade knew the [Fish-Taming Ring] must still be in his possession.
"Then, Ivan, I give you five minutes to pack your belongings. If I can find you, the Church of the True Gods will eventually find you too. You truly are bold, living in a place like this."
What followed was the sound of Darkness simply packing his things, and then the sound of the two of them leaving together.
"I have the results."
Once the sounds in his ears had completely faded, Shade spoke to Luvia.
He briefly recounted what he had heard. The two most critical points were that Darkness had reached a temporary truce with the [Blood Spirit School], and that the two had decided to head to the town in the southeast of the city—a place swallowed by darkness to the point that it had been completely forgotten by the outside world.
"This is bad. Darkness already knows about the darkness and has obtained an item with the power of an Ancient God. Once he completes the ritual, I fear killing him will be much harder than it is now. The Chosen are blessed by fate."
Luvia dropped the amethyst pendant in her hand.
"My divination wasn't able to obtain as much concrete information as yours. But I can at least be certain that they didn't set off directly for that darkness. Even a Thirteenth-Ring caster wouldn't rashly barge into a location-type Out-of-Control Relic without preparation."
"Meaning, the situation isn't so urgent that we need to chase them immediately?"
Shade looked into Luvia's eyes for confirmation.
"Yes."
The purple-eyed girl nodded and packed away her divination tools, looking quite anxious.
"We'll split up now. I'll go to the black market to pass this information to the Church. Detective, you go find that lady and tell her as well. The Church and she had better act immediately. I originally thought Darkness might not even survive long enough to reach the Dark Domain, but now that he has a helper..."
The female diviner bit her lower lip.
Shade knew what Luvia meant. In the original plan for the three of them, dealing with a full-strength Thirteenth-Ring caster had never been included.
(End of Chapter)