Outskirts of Tivian, Gale Fortress.
Beneath the heavily guarded military fortress, within the summoning room of the An Yin Bureau headquarters, the central hub of the Preet Kingdom's secret police, a heavy and solemn atmosphere currently permeated.
Dim Light shone upon the not-so-spacious dark space. On the floor in the center of the room, a white "Silent" magic circle was drawn. Around the magic circle was a ring of lit candles. On the front of the magic circle was a small offering table, upon which were placed an accessory and a few simple female ornaments. Further around, several figures were gathered.
Among these figures was a servant wearing a long robe and a hood, and several mid-to-high-level cadres from the An Yin Bureau. The most prominent among them was Prince Harold, dressed in a Preet general's military uniform. As the head of the An Yin Bureau, Captain personally attended the seemingly small-scale ritual. His arrival immediately made the atmosphere much heavier.
Harold stood in place, watching intently as his subordinates arranged the ritual. His presence made the people around him hesitant to speak, instead standing in place and waiting silently. Only after the entire ritual setup was completed did a subordinate jog to Harold's front, report a few words in a low voice, and then retreat. Harold then fixed his gaze on the long-robed servant standing not far away.
"You may begin."
Harold said so. Then, the long-robed servant, after slightly bowing to Harold, silently walked to the front of the magic circle. After sitting down in front of the small offering table, he began to silently chant obscure incantations. Under the drive of the Spirituality he provided, the magic circle in front of him emitted a faint Light.
Seeing the faint Light appearing on the magic circle, a tense expression immediately surfaced on the faces of everyone present. All eyes began to stare intently at the center of the magic circle, and the already tense and heavy atmosphere in the air instantly deepened significantly.
As the sound of the incantations continued to echo in the small space, after an unknown amount of time had passed, a faint Shadow suddenly appeared within the faint Light emitted by the magic circle, then became increasingly clear, and finally gradually presented the appearance of a female.
Upon seeing this translucent figure, countless An Yin Bureau personnel present couldn't help but gasp, exchanging glances with their nearest companions, their eyes filled with disbelief.
And Harold, standing to the side, having witnessed the Ghost within the magic circle with his own eyes, his eyes widened slightly, seemingly unable to fully control the emotions surging within him. Finally, after taking a deep breath and calming his inner turmoil, Captain slowly spoke to the Lakhman floating within the magic circle.
"Misha... are you really dead?"
"Yes, Your Highness Harold, I am now... dead."
Floating in the air above the summoning magic circle, the royal female knight, appearing in a translucent Ghost state, spoke with the confused expression characteristic of a summoned deceased person, answering with an ethereal voice. Upon hearing the deceased confirm her death personally, all the An Yin Bureau personnel present couldn't help but suddenly their faces sink, clearly this was extremely bad news for them.
After the recent Cold Cliff Prison riot was quelled, when everything settled and the losses were tallied, Misha, who had come to handle matters that day, was nowhere to be found among the An Yin Bureau's various departments. After searching extensively without success, everyone had a terrible idea, and thus wanted to try using this ritual, but they did not expect such a result.
Looking at the soul of his trusted subordinate that appeared in the magic circle, Harold's heart was filled with mixed emotions. However, now was not the time for sentimentality and silent grief. After a slight pause, Harold continued to ask.
"Do you remember how you died?"
"I died from using a Self-Immolation Rune when I was helpless, to prevent my body from falling into the hands of villains after death." Misha's spirit body continued to respond to Harold's words with a confused expression, while Harold proceeded to ask about more detailed matters.
"Who were those so-called villains? Who forced you to that extent?"
"I don't know... I didn't see them use any obvious Extraordinary abilities before I died, so I was affected by a powerful explosion and had lost most of my combat power. Even if they only used ordinary weapons, I couldn't resist them."
"Tell me specifically about the explosion."
"It was a whole vehicle of explosives, disguised as supplies being transported to Cold Cliff Prison. A few people, who were likely fake Cold Cliff guards, were transporting it, but due to a vehicle breakdown halfway, it was stuck in the middle of the road. Mes Horse and I encountered them on the way back after finishing our business inside Cold Cliff. Mes Horse went to negotiate while I was behind. Then those fake guards started to flee, Mes Horse went to chase, and then the explosives in the vehicle exploded. Because my position was very bad at the time, I didn't have time to escape and was severely injured by the blast."
Expressionless, Misha recounted her experiences before death to the people in front of her. The more Harold listened, the more solemn his expression became. During this process, he couldn't help but glance to the side, looking at Grego, who was not far away, still wrapped in many bandages and looking dejected.
"So, those people came specifically to kill you? That vehicle full of explosives was a trap specifically prepared for you?" Harold continued to ask Misha, and Misha's spirit body replied after a slight pause.
"I can't be completely sure about that. I heard their conversation, and they seemed very surprised by my appearance. Using explosives to injure and eliminate me didn't seem to be part of their plan, but rather a temporary choice. Their original plan seemed to be to transport the explosives to Cold Cliff, but I don't know exactly what it was for..."
Listening to Misha's answer, Harold seemed to be deep in thought. The intelligence obtained from Misha confirmed some questions for Captain: whether Misha's death was deliberately caused by someone wanting to harm her, or if she was caught up in the Cold Cliff prison riot. It now seemed to be the latter.
The Cold Cliff Prison riot was initiated to support an external rescue. This was clearly an action launched by a secret society to rescue captured companions. During the riot, there were also incidents of explosives being used to break walls. That vehicle of explosives should have been prepared for similar purposes, but Misha's sudden appearance caused the rescuing society to temporarily change their strategy and choose to use the explosives on Misha.
After figuring out the most crucial question of this summoning, Harold's mood did not improve much. He continued to communicate with Misha's soul, asking for more details about the incident, and only decided to end the ritual when the Extraordinary presiding over the ceremony could no longer continue.
"Sigh... I didn't expect that we would part ways in this manner in the end. Your departure is a major loss to me, and to the entire Bureau. Rest in peace, I will compensate your family well." Looking at the Ghost whose color was becoming increasingly faint, Harold sighed after asking the main questions, and Misha also responded silently.
"It is my regret that I can no longer assist you, Your Highness."
With the final words, the summoning ritual gradually ceased. In the final moments, Misha's soul was sent back into the Netherworld by the summoner, specifically buried deep within the Netherworld by the An Yin Bureau's summoner. And after seeing Misha's soul disappear like this, Harold couldn't help but let out a sigh of lament.
...
Within the vast Tivian City, in an ordinary building, a wide room with closed doors and windows also had a "Silent" magic circle drawn on the floor.
In front of the magic circle, a figure was currently sitting. She was wearing a loose robe, a veil, and a hood, and her hands were gloved. Her entire body seemed to be wrapped in a layer of concealment. Apart from the curve of her figure revealing that she was a female, she showed no other characteristics.
Amidst the faint scent of incense permeating the room, the mysterious veiled woman was sitting cross-legged in front of the "Silent" magic circle, her eyes closed, seemingly concentrating on some meditation. On the other side of the magic circle lay another woman dressed in casual clothes. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Misha, who seemed to be in a deep sleep.
Suddenly, the masked woman who seemed to be meditating, as if sensing something, suddenly opened her eyes. As she opened her eyes, the magic array drawn on the floor also began to emit a faint glow, and then Misha's spirit body slowly emerged from it, floating in the air.
Sweeping away the confusion she felt while still at the An Yin Bureau not long ago, Misha reappeared with a serious expression. After returning to the present world, her gaze shifted to her physical body lying beside her. Then, her entire spirit body quickly floated towards it and attached itself. Once the spirit body returned, Misha's physical body, which had seemed to be in deep sleep, slowly opened its eyes and sat up from the ground.
"How is it, Misha? How are things on that side?"
Looking at the newly awakened Misha, the masked woman spoke softly, asking her in a gentle voice. Misha, who had just sat up, slowly responded after shaking her head while holding it.
"Everything is alright... Everyone in the Bureau, including His Highness, should believe that I am dead. And since they all believe it, the mole in the Bureau will have no choice but to believe it too..."
Saying this, Misha stood up and looked at the masked woman beside her, speaking again.
"Thank you, friends of the Rose Cross. Now, I have finally escaped from under the Eight-Pointed Nest's nose. Without your help, I truly don't know how I would fight against them."
"There's no need for too much thanks. We also happen to need to deal with the Eight-Pointed Nest a little right now. Since our interests align, this small favor is definitely something we should help with..." The masked woman replied indifferently to Misha, while Misha spoke with a smile.
"Heh, I wonder what kind of evil those spider guys committed to provoke a society like yours... I didn't expect the Rose Cross to not only be elusive and possess strange abilities but also have such powerful spirit manipulators. They are much stronger than the second-rate ones our Bureau hires. Are you perhaps a ""Silent"" society?"
"What kind of mysteries our society is researching is not a matter we need to discuss urgently now. Rather, Misha, do you have any plans afterward?" Without directly answering Misha's question, the masked woman immediately counter-questioned, and Misha also responded without dwelling on her own question.
"I will first find a hidden base in the City to settle down. After getting myself settled, I will continue investigating the Eight-Pointed Nest based on the previous clues. If you want to work together, you can join me. In any case, since I've come this far, it's impossible not to have a final showdown with that group of spider guys."
Misha said this, and the masked woman also spoke with a smile after hearing her words.
"Then, I wish you good luck..."
Afterward, the masked woman bid farewell to Misha. After disguising herself, the latter left the room, quietly walking down the stairs and moving away from the scene. The masked woman, still in the room, breathed a slight sigh of relief after seeing Misha leave for a while. Then, she silently took off her mask, revealing Naifnis's face.
"Thank you for your help again, Utar."
After removing her mask, Naifnis slowly spoke in Spirit Seal Language towards the empty, spacious room. As she spoke, a phantom of a spirit body peeled away from her, floating in front of Misha. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the spirit body of the Tupa Tribe Shaman, Utar.
"There's no need to thank me. You eliminated one of the great blasphemers among us who betrayed the ancient teachings. This is a favor to everyone who still believes in the ancient teachings. The rewards I've given are merely insignificant."
Looking at the familiar Neff in front of him, Utar Shaman's spirit body said so. Then, his spirit body began to gradually fade, responding to the distant call and returning.
"Since the matter is concluded, I should leave. Farewell, my Tupa friend from another land."
As Utar spoke, his spirit body completely disappeared into the air, returning to his homeland in the New World. Naifnis also silently watched him leave, then looked around at the ritual site.
"Hmm~ Alright, now I just need to clean all of this up and I'll be done. I really didn't expect so many things to happen as soon as I returned..."
Stretching lazily, Neff began to clean up the traces at the scene after a brief complaint. Through her gaze, in the carriage on the street not far away, Dorothy, who was sitting inside, also breathed a slight sigh of relief.
'Alright... Now the An Yin Bureau's summoning of spirits is finally dealt with. At this point, no one should doubt the death of that knight sister anymore. It's really comfortable having powerful ""Silent"" Extraordinary help... especially Extraordinary like Shamans who specialize in summoning and controlling spirits...'
Sitting on the seat in the carriage, Dorothy thought to herself. Successfully faking death in this extraordinary world meant that dealing with spirit summoning was unavoidable.
Since Misha was dead, the Eight-Pointed Nest or the An Yin Bureau, who were concerned about her, would definitely summon her spirit for confirmation. And since the Eight-Pointed Nest wanted to disguise Misha's death as an accidental consequence of a prison riot, they would not choose to summon Misha's spirit themselves, but rather let the An Yin Bureau do it.
Facing the An Yin Bureau's spirit summoning, Dorothy was not afraid because she had multiple Chalk level ""Silent"" Extraordinary available to help simultaneously. Among them was a New World Shaman who specialized in spiritual mediumship and summoning, who was many times stronger than the Black Earth level summoners hired by the An Yin Bureau. Dealing with them was effortless.
Dorothy used an old method, reverse-channeling Utar Shaman's soul to Tivian, possessing Neff's body to gain Utar's abilities. Then, she had Neff use her Soul Contracter ability to strip Misha's living soul from her body. After first controlling Misha's soul with the Shaman's ability, she banished it to the Netherworld, allowing Misha's soul to sense the ritual summoning her from the Netherworld and respond to it.
Misha, guided by the medium, was summoned from the An Yin Bureau's spirit summoning array. Since her soul was essentially still under Utar's control at this time, the control effect of the summoning array on Misha's soul directly clashed with Utar's control. Because Utar's level was higher than the An Yin Bureau's Black Earth summoner, their control could not affect Misha's soul, allowing Misha to say whatever she wanted during the summoning process, unlike other summoned souls who could only speak the truth and had no room to resist.
Furthermore, Misha's answers were designed to be completely consistent with the Eight-Pointed Nest's perception of the situation at the time, so the Eight-Pointed Nest would not detect anything unusual after hearing them.
Using this method, Dorothy successfully handled the An Yin Bureau's spirit summoning, confirming Misha's death to both the An Yin Bureau and the Eight-Pointed Nest.
In this first action back in Tivian, Dorothy gained quite a lot. Firstly, she helped Misha escape, finding herself another helper for future confrontations with the Eight-Pointed Nest. Secondly, she successfully helped Grego complete the task assigned to him by the Eight-Pointed Nest. Afterward, the Eight-Pointed Nest would use some unique influence they had over the An Yin Bureau to promote Grego, giving him a higher position within both the Eight-Pointed Nest and the An Yin Bureau simultaneously. And thirdly... Dorothy also directly gained some tangible benefits from Misha.
While thinking to herself, Dorothy took out her magic box, opened it, and fumbled inside for a while. Finally, she fumbled around and took out three old books.
These three old books were three secret transmissions Misha brought out from the An Yin Bureau. They were a small gift she took from the An Yin Bureau's warehouse the day before the operation, at Dorothy's request. Currently, Dorothy's Spirituality was just a little short of the standard for promotion. The Spirituality contained within these three secret transmissions was enough for her to make up the remaining insufficient amount of Spirituality.
Now Dorothy was no longer lacking Spirituality. All that was left was the so-called temple, whose location was still unknown.