During the daytime, somewhere in the suburbs of Tivian, on a wide road, several dark black carriages were moving rapidly. Driven by the coachmen, the horses pulled the heavy carriages at full speed, their hooves and wheels kicking up a cloud of dust on the road, causing pedestrians and other carriages nearby to hastily dodge. Some people, after dodging the carriages, looked towards the end of the road where they disappeared, and cursed at the dust spreading in the distance.
When the black carriages passed another ordinary carriage going the opposite direction, the driver of the ordinary carriage only glanced at the black carriages receding behind him, then continued to carefully drive his own carriage forward. Inside the carriage, Detective Ed had pulled the window curtains shut and settled back into his seat. He then looked at Misha, who was bandaging the wound on her hand in the seat ahead.
"Those are An Yin Bureau carriages. It seems your colleagues have all gone out."
"Those are just the carriages for the regular members. A few Captains should have already arrived; after all, they can fly. If I had come out any later, I might have gotten tangled up." Misha, who had removed her face mask, said to Ed in front of her as she finished bandaging her hand, while Ed calmly continued speaking.
"This proves that those guys have a very clear understanding of the An Yin Bureau's and even your family's reaction time. If they had directly blown open the Glory Hall with explosives and then gone in to search for things, it's highly likely they would have been blocked at the exit by the arriving people after finding what they needed. Therefore, they could only find a way to infiltrate the Glory Hall, find the item, and then detonate the explosives to create an opening to escape. Only this way could they maximize their time savings and escape the tomb."
Ed said with a calm expression. Listening to Ed's words, Misha moved her already bandaged hand, then frowned slightly and spoke.
"When you first told me that the Eight-Pointed Nest might have targeted my family's tomb, I was a bit skeptical, thinking that not everyone in my family works in the An Yin Bureau, so they shouldn't know so much about my Devonshire affairs. Now it seems I was naive..."
"Heh, yes. Although we had previously anticipated they might rely on your funeral to infiltrate the Glory Hall, we always considered it a low-probability event. We didn't expect it to actually happen in the end. Based on the current situation, the reason they wanted to eliminate you back then might not just be because you always opposed them and were uncontrollable in your actions, a thorn in their side. It was also because they themselves needed a suitable person from the Devonshire family to die recently, thereby triggering a funeral that could open the Devonshire Glory Hall."
"The person you encountered inside the Glory Hall likely relied on his ability to transform into a shadow, lurking within the projections of the funeral procession, and entered the Glory Hall with you and the funeral team. After that, he also waited for the funeral team to leave before emerging from the shadows to search for Ample's stone coffin."
"It seems they really planned this for a long time... Apart from not anticipating our presence, everything else was calculated." Ed said, analyzing the situation while sitting in the slightly swaying carriage.
In fact, after learning from John that Ample's secret letters had a backup with Duke Barret, Dorothy had anticipated that the Eight-Pointed Nest might have already deciphered those secret letters and planned to act on the Devonshire tomb upon their return to Tivian. The plan to eliminate Misha should have been linked to this tomb infiltration plan. After planning to get rid of Misha, they had already thought about using Misha's funeral to enter the Glory Hall and retrieve Ample's relics. It is clear that they had been planning for this return to Tivian for a long time.
Although Dorothy had previously anticipated that the Eight-Pointed Nest would also send someone to infiltrate the tomb, she thought that Misha, an experienced Chalk with her assistance, should have enough combat ability to handle any other Extraordinary below Scarlet. However, she didn't expect the person they actually encountered to be so difficult to deal with. Fortunately, they managed to secure the item in the end.
"Those guys... those guys... Not only did they want me dead, but they also wanted to use my funeral? How despicable... dangerous..." Misha muttered, holding her hand and frowning. Recalling the mysterious black shadow she encountered in the tomb, she gritted her teeth and continued speaking.
"That minion of the Eight-Pointed Nest can use three types of'Shadow' abilities. His existence must be related to the Eight-Pointed Nest's ongoing secret plan. It's a pity we couldn't catch him, otherwise, it would have been a great help in exposing the Eight-Pointed Nest's secrets... At least we could have guessed something about what those guys are plotting?"
Listening to Misha mention the mysterious figure in the tomb, Ed fell silent for a moment. After thinking for a while, he looked at Misha, whose injury had been treated, and then spoke.
"Blood Darkness Path, Storm Path... Those of us in Prit who have dealt with the Eight-Pointed Nest for a long time are quite familiar with them and have corresponding defenses. The key is the Echo Soul Path that controls shadows... We haven't seen much of it, and that's where we suffered a disadvantage."
"Echo Soul Path... I had only heard of this branch path before; this was the first time I actually encountered it. It is an Extraordinary branch path inherited by the Osortlis Royal Family. Osortlis is located in the central-eastern Main Continent and doesn't interact much with Prit. It is very mysterious to those of us in Prit's secret system.
"It is said... that a person's shadow is their'second soul', an echo and manifestation of the soul in the world's shadow layer. Therefore, Extraordinary of the Echo Soul Path can control opponents by controlling their shadows... Heh, I originally thought this was a path similar to those Soul Appenders, but after fighting, I didn't expect it to have so many tricks. Not only can they control people with shadows, but they can also hide in shadows, and even use shadows to create clones. It feels more in line with the characteristics of'Shadow' type Extraordinary abilities than my Storm Path..."
Misha continued to speak from her seat, having finished explaining her understanding of the Echo Soul Path. Ed, across from her, stroked his chin and pondered slightly after hearing Misha's description, then spoke slowly.
"Shadow... is it a person's second soul? That's an interesting idea... If that's the case, the Spirituality composition of the Echo Soul Path is primarily'Shadow' with secondary'Silence'... Miss Misha, that powerful soul ability user you were looking for last year seems to have been found..."
"The soul ability user we were looking for last year..." Listening to Ed's words, Misha first frowned slightly, then after a brief thought, she seemed to realize something and reacted with surprise, saying.
"Soul ability, and a'Shadow' assassin, you mean, that guy is the Nightmare?!"
"Only such abilities can match the deeds of that Nightmare. To be able to kill Duke Barret with Storm power amidst such strict security, and to prevent the victim's soul from being contacted by spirits... This demonstration of being able to control multiple branch path abilities simultaneously, doesn't it fit the Nightmare perfectly?"
Sitting in his seat in the carriage, Ed said calmly to Misha. Listening to Ed's words, the surprise in Misha's eyes turned into a hint of understanding, and she couldn't help but nod and say.
"That's right... It does fit, yes... Besides the Nightmare, where else in Tivian could the Eight-Pointed Nest find such a powerful assassin besides Scarlet? After Duke Barret's assassination, the Nightmare didn't make any moves for over half a year. Now it seems he has returned with the Eight-Pointed Nest's team.
"We initially thought that the Nightmare's ability to block spirits was obtained through some special Extraordinary items, but now it seems things are far from that simple...
"More importantly... that mysterious person just fought me inside the Glory Hall. There are constraints from the Devonshire bloodline ritual in there, but that guy's abilities didn't seem to have been weakened much. If that mysterious person is really the Nightmare, then it proves... the Nightmare is very likely someone from our Devonshire family..."
Misha muttered with obvious worry in her expression, and Ed, across from her, then spoke.
"Didn't you say that many nobles in Devonshire and Prit have intermarried? Many children from other families have your Devonshire blood in them, and the Nightmare could also be someone from these families, or perhaps he used some other method to bypass the bloodline restrictions in the Glory Hall."
"In any case, the Nightmare is very likely a Prit noble from Tivian, possibly an old upper-class noble. This is an important clue for us. I will try to organize my family's genealogy when I go back to see if I can find any clues," Misha said. After speaking, she let out a slight sigh of relief, and then continued.
"Although there was a slight mishap in this operation, fortunately, we did not let the Eight-Pointed Nest achieve their goal. Thanks to your peculiar abilities, I finally managed to protect Ample's Relics. To be honest, compared to the Nightmare, your peculiar and powerful abilities, and your so-called akasha god, are what truly shocked me today. Oh, and your god…"
"Shh…"
Just as Misha was about to say something else, Ed suddenly put his finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture. After seeing Ed's action, Misha closed her mouth slightly confused. Then Ed continued with a slightly mysterious tone.
"At all times, do not speak lightly of gods…"
"…Understood, sorry…" Looking at the mysterious and solemn expression of the man in front of her, Misha seemed to realize something, as if she had noticed that she had mentioned some taboo of the other party's society. She swallowed and said. Ed nodded after seeing her reaction, then took out an item from his clothes. It was indeed Ample's Relics that Misha had retrieved from the Nightmare's hand, an ancient pendant.
The chain and pendant of this pendant were both silver. The pendant as a whole was in the shape of a shield. On the front of the shield, a quartered escutcheon was engraved. In each of the four sections, the image of a knight was drawn. Dorothy knew that this was the symbol used by the Traditionalist faction in Prit during the Wind King Rebellion. The four knights were the Mirror Moon Goddess's subordinate gods, the Four Knights of Wind, Dream, Blood, and Spirits.
"Although we didn't let the Nightmare snatch Ample's Relics, this probably doesn't have a big impact on the Eight-Pointed Nest. They may have already achieved their goal."
Looking at the old pendant in his hand, Ed slowly said. Listening to Ed's words, Misha couldn't help but be startled, then frowned and asked in confusion.
"Already achieved the goal? How could that be? We clearly took the Relics back?"
Listening to Misha's words, Ed began to play with the pendant in his hand, carefully examining the silver ornament at the end of the pendant. While playing with it, he also said.
"I've already checked. This Relics is just an ordinary pendant, not some extraordinary item. There are no traces of Spirituality on it. The meaning of this Relics's existence is not the Relics itself, but the information on it."
Saying that, Ed flipped over the silver ornament part he was holding in his hand, exposing its back edge to Misha. On the edge of the shield-shaped silver ornament, there was a circle of tiny letters engraved along the edge. Misha looked at it and said with a slight frown.
"These are… ancient Prit characters? This is the secret Ample hid on the Relics? Not the Relics itself, but the information left on the Relics?"
"Yes… so, if the Nightmare has already seen this information and has directly memorized it, then the most important significance of this Relics to him has already been obtained. He only needs to take the memorized text back to the Eight-Pointed Nest, and their main goal will also be achieved… Judging from the fact that the Nightmare decisively abandoned this Relics at the end in exchange for the opportunity to get rid of you, he has most likely memorized the information on it, and this Relics is not very important to him."
Shrugging his shoulders, Ed said with a slight hint of helplessness in his tone. Listening to Ed's words, Misha couldn't help but clench her fist and smash it against the car door beside her, saying with a bit of anger.
"Damn it… I thought we could get ahead of them this time."
Seeing Misha's appearance, Ed put away the pendant in his hand, and then slowly continued.
"When I go back, I will immediately ask Duke Barret's collaborator to decipher the text on this. Now let's hope that our progress in chasing Ample's secret is not much less than that of the Eight-Pointed Nest."
Listening to Ed's words, Misha could only take a deep breath to calm herself down, and then leaned back on the carriage seat, closing her eyes to rest. Looking at Misha like this, Ed was silent for a few seconds, then continued to speak.
"But then again, do you need to go this far to fight against the Eight-Pointed Nest, Misha?"
"Go this far?" Listening to Ed's words, Misha slightly opened her eyes and asked in return, and then Ed continued.
"This step of separating from your family, concealing from your superiors, leaving the organization, and wandering alone… What kind of deep hatred is there between you and the Eight-Pointed Nest that requires such an all-out effort to resist? Can't you just go with the flow and not be the thorn in the side of the Eight-Pointed Nest, and turn a blind eye to their conspiracies in the An Yin Bureau and even Tivian? Anyway, with the extent of the Eight-Pointed Nest's influence on the An Yin Bureau, even if something big really happens in the end, it won't be blamed on you. This is not something someone of your level can manage. Aren't you afraid of losing everything in the end?"
Ed said solemnly to Misha. His meaning was simple. Now, the entire official An Yin Bureau, and even the entire Prit Kingdom, only Misha was silently opposing the Eight-Pointed Nest. This had already far exceeded the scope of her duties and she could lose her life at any time. Under the all-pervading infiltration and huge conspiracy of the Eight-Pointed Nest, even if Misha completely gave up, no one would blame her if something went wrong in the end. Even those in higher positions than her could not fulfill their duties well under the Eight-Pointed Nest's infiltration. What could she, a small Chalk Knight, do? As long as Misha went with the flow, no one would blame her no matter what the outcome was.
Listening to Ed's words, Misha, who was lying on the seat, sneered, and then replied as if it were a matter of course.
"I am a Royal Knight. I swore a long time ago that I would do everything in my power to protect Despenser and Prit. At any time, when villains plot against the country, I will not stand by and do nothing."
"'Prit is above all else, and our loyalty will be the cornerstone of this loftiness.' This is the family motto of the Devonshire family, and it was set by the ancestor Ample. I grew up listening to this sentence, and I will not forget it…"
Misha said this. After speaking, she closed her eyes again and began to rest. Dorothy looked at the knight in front of her through Ed's eyes and couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
'Loyalty to the country? But… your ancestor Ample was the biggest defector among the Traditionalist faction who followed Prit's traditions during the Wind King Rebellion…'
After thinking this in her heart, Dorothy no longer talked much with Misha. She controlled Ed to also cross his legs in the carriage, and then took out a newspaper and started reading it. When the newspaper was unfolded, the first thing that came into view was a large black and white photo, on which was printed a half-length portrait of a young Sister with a smile. There was also a striking headline next to the photo.
"The well-known Holy Relic Patrol Officer, Sister Vania Chafilun, after patrolling holy relics in many places, finally arrived in her hometown of Tivian. At the East District port, Sister Vanya received a grand welcome…"