Without a doubt, Silas wanted to advance.
However, the advancement he hoped for had to be completed with safety guaranteed.
That's why he searched for various methods, all to avoid the dangerous sequence of the Listener.
Would Ms. M consider these things for him?
At this thought, facing Ms. M, who was inviting him to advance, Silas cautiously spoke:
"But I heard that after advancing to Listener, one will hear the ravings of the True Creator."
"That is the Lord's blessing upon us."
Ms. M answered without hesitation.
"...Listeners will be influenced by these ravings and become fanatical believers of the True Creator."
"That's because they receive the Lord's calling."
"...Within three to five years of advancing to Listener, if one cannot continue advancing, they will die miserably."
"Receiving the Lord's guidance yet failing to awaken to a higher level, being punished with merely death is already the Lord's mercy." Ms. M smiled.
"So, are you willing to advance to Listener?"
"Can I refuse?"
Silas asked coldly.
Ms. M raised an eyebrow and lightly snapped her fingers.
"Ugh!"
Cecilia immediately let out a muffled groan, clutching her chest with a pained expression, her body swaying unsteadily.
"Stop! Stop it now!"
Silas couldn't help but shout.
"Don't agree to her..."
Cecilia said with a pale face.
Ordinarily, Silas wouldn't tell her the details of his daily work, but just from listening to the earlier description, she could tell that advancing was extremely dangerous.
Ms. M smiled and raised her hand toward Cecilia.
"I'm willing, I'm willing, alright!"
Silas gave up and shouted.
"It's good that you're willing."
Ms. M immediately stopped and showed Silas a satisfied smile.
Cecilia let out a weak gasp and nearly collapsed. Silas rushed over to support his sister, seeing that her forehead was already covered in sweat, showing just how much pain she'd been in.
Silas looked up and gave Ms. M a deep look. His expression gradually became calm.
I absolutely have to kill her.
"I quite like your expression right now."
Looking at Silas's face, Ms. M's smile grew even richer. Her palm turned within her white robe, and from somewhere she produced a black, ear-shaped, peculiar item.
"This is the Beyonder characteristic of a Listener, equivalent to the main ingredient in the potion."
She said to Silas.
Looking at that peculiar item, Silas felt a faint attraction from within his body, as if craving to absorb it.
It really is the potion for the next sequence.
Silas thought to himself.
"To make it into a potion, you'll need some auxiliary materials, which you need to prepare yourself." Ms. M tossed Silas a list.
"Pure water 70 milliliters, wolfblood grass powder 8 grams, black-tailed viper venom 2 drops... one portion of a deceased person's extreme emotion?"
Silas read the list. The other things were all materials that could be bought at the Beyonder market; only the last item was somewhat unclear.
"That kind of thing, you can get it by taking a trip to the slums." Ms. M handed him a small black bottle.
"Find the corpse of someone who died not long ago, preferably someone who died accidentally, open the bottle facing them, and you can collect it."
Silas silently accepted the small bottle.
"I hope you'll complete the material preparation as soon as possible, preferably by tomorrow."
Ms. M said, clapping her hands with a "pa" sound. "Alright, it's getting late, we should rest. After all, you still have work and school tomorrow."
"You're staying at my house?"
"Am I not welcome? I saw the guest room was empty, so I took the liberty of moving in." Ms. M said with a smile.
"Of course you're welcome."
Silas also smiled.
Ms. M is staying at his house and allowing them to continue going out tomorrow; this effortlessly confident attitude made him both angry and helpless.
Isn't she afraid I'll tell the captain?
After Ms. M finished speaking, she didn't delay further. She said "good night" to the Londor siblings, went upstairs first, entered the guest room, then closed the door, as if she really was going to rest.
In the living room, the siblings looked at each other wordlessly.
Before entering the house, they had just spent a pleasant evening and had a beautiful future ahead; after entering the house, their situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and they were now held in the hands of a powerful, cruel madwoman.
Fate, in an extremely dark and humorous way, had added a different annotation to this pair of siblings' lives.
"Silas, should we escape..."
Cecilia said to Silas, but he shook his head to interrupt her, because Ms. M might be listening, and the more they said, the easier it would be for her to manipulate them.
"It's fine, Cecilia, don't worry."
He forced out a dry smile, putting on a confident appearance. "I can solve this problem. You just wait peacefully. Let's rest for tonight. Also, don't provoke her."
Cecilia looked at Silas and, after a moment, nodded. "I understand, brother."
At this moment, the two had much to say to each other, but could only exchange a glance before returning to their respective rooms.
Silas lay on his bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Although he'd told his sister to rest, how could he possibly sleep peacefully?
Various chaotic thoughts filled his mind, the enormous pressure of survival hung over him, and he was desperately thinking and analyzing the current situation.
How did Ms. M survive?
What exactly does she want to do?
What should I do?
Do I really have to advance?
First, Ms. M had mastered flesh magic, so her strong vitality was understandable.
But having experienced that degree of injury, it was impossible for her to have no damage at all.
So what was she looking for him for?
Silas definitely didn't believe what she said. With such hatred between them, could Ms. M still forgive him and help him advance?
If that's the case, could advancement be the goal? She wants to transform me into a fanatic who believes in the Aurora Order, willingly offering up my body to become a vessel.
It's possible. Need to continue observing.
So what should he do?
At this thought, Silas's expression became fierce, even vicious.
What else? Kill her!
Feeding him and Cecilia flesh and blood, coercing him to advance in a dangerous sequence, and the past grudges... besides killing her, there was no second choice!
Even if their sequences differed by more than a little, it wouldn't change his thinking.
Think carefully about how to fight back. The captain, Mr. Azik, my mystical items, and my built-in advantage...
Silas stayed awake all night. Only when daylight broke did he crawl out of bed. Not long after, his sister also got up.
Her eyes were full of bloodshot lines; clearly, she hadn't slept well either.
"Good morning."
Ms. M's gentle voice came from the living room. She had already changed out of her white robe, her blood-red hair pinned up, and was wearing a Loen-style dress.
The dress itself was quite conservative, but beneath the white robe, she had a curvy figure that somehow made even the plain-colored dress incredibly alluring.
She leaned on the living room sofa, supporting her head with her ring-adorned hand, reading a novel.
That lazy, relaxed appearance made it seem as if she'd long been living with the Londor siblings, already treating this place as her own home.
Silas looked at her indifferently, then turned to go to the kitchen with his sister to prepare breakfast.
"I don't like the taste of chili peppers. Aside from that, I have no restrictions." Ms. M said quite naturally, as if she'd already decided that Silas would make a portion for her too.
I'm going to spit in your food!
Silas cursed in his heart.