Ordinary people could sometimes rely on instinct to sense things before they happened.
For the extraordinary, however, this "sixth sense" was a strengthened version of that phenomenon. Certain special pathways, especially at higher sequences, could even use intuition to glimpse the future or make near-perfect judgments.
So even though Mozo was only Sequence Ten, once he realized this, he chose to trust it.
He began to analyze what could have caused the current situation.
If Audrey had already run into trouble, then what was the reason?
The authorities?
Unlikely. Right now, they were surely occupied with the Golden Legion and foreign spies. They wouldn't have the time or interest to deal with someone like Audrey.
It might be a little unfair to say so, but Audrey, along with her entire gathering, simply wasn't important enough to warrant official attention.
Not now, and not even during more stable times.
After all, they were just a loose, unofficial group, with even Sequence Six among them being uncertain at best. Under such circumstances, the authorities had no reason to divert resources to target a group of people barely holding together.
If not the authorities, then another faction?
Those black-robed figures?
Possible, but unlikely. Their leader was dead, and the rest were probably being hunted down. In that situation, they wouldn't have the capacity to pick fights with local players.
Which meant…
There was another outside force?
Of course, it was also possible that someone within the gathering had targeted Audrey. But that seemed unlikely as well. Nothing like that had ever happened before.
As for other underground gatherings, the same logic applied. Under the pressure of the authorities, everyone was already struggling to survive. There was little room for internal conflict.
Realizing this, Mozo suddenly felt the urge to go ask the mayor why a Special Zone that supposedly separated the extraordinary from ordinary people was allowing so many outside forces to operate freely under the watch of a demigod.
Rubbing his temples with a troubled expression, he lay back down.
He decided to wait until tomorrow before investigating further.
For now, all he could do was hope that he was overthinking things.
As for why he didn't act immediately?
Simple.
It was the middle of the night.
If you weren't hiding something, why would you be wandering around outside?
Besides, Mozo also suspected that he might already be under observation. The only reason nothing had happened to him could be because of his unclear connection with the Inspectorate.
That meant he definitely couldn't act out of character.
Carefully, he slipped the gold-devouring gun hidden in his clothes beneath him.
The next morning passed without incident.
Mozo went to school as usual, then stopped by the flower shop at the entrance, forcing a smile as he bought a bouquet.
Under the increasingly hostile stares of the male students, he headed toward the garden courtyard.
If someone really was watching him, he couldn't let them realize he had noticed anything.
But he still needed to check on Audrey.
So playing the role of a lovestruck boy was the perfect cover.
Walking under those dangerous gazes, Mozo couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He had gone out of his way to avoid getting involved with Audrey before, precisely to avoid trouble.
But now that she might be in danger, and considering he did see her as a friend, and even felt somewhat guilty toward her, he had no choice but to step in.
After all, gossip and potential hostility couldn't outweigh a person's life.
Besides, all of this could be easily resolved if Audrey rejected him in person.
At that point, he might even shake off the pointless hostility from those "animals."
Entering the courtyard, Mozo asked around under the curious gazes of countless girls.
Eventually, a girl named Natasha told him that Audrey hadn't come to school since yesterday.
At that moment, Mozo's heart sank.
He knew.
Something had probably happened to Audrey.
After thanking the girl, Mozo left the academy through the back gate connected to the courtyard.
Following his memory, he discarded the eye-catching bouquet along the way and headed to one of Audrey's safehouses.
There, he changed into a coat with a high collar that could conceal his face.
At the same time, he began to review all the information he knew, trying to find any related clues.
Unfortunately, as a new member, he had no way of privately contacting the others in the gathering.
Otherwise, he could have learned much more.
Wait… the gathering… the gathering…
Suddenly, Mozo's pupils shrank.
The Tarot Club.
A gathering of thirty people.
All those who used Tarot cards as their code names had died.
Yet the others were completely unharmed.
He had even almost completed the final seat, the Fool.
Was that normal?
Was that reasonable?
Obviously not.
There was definitely something wrong here.
But what exactly?
Frowning, Mozo began flipping through the Nameless Book, searching his vast dreamlike memories for a matching clue.
After some effort, he found three possibilities.
Two of them triggered no reaction from his intuition.
But the third one made his eyes light up instantly.
It was a ritual.
Within an extraordinary organization that one did not establish, outsiders were continuously arranged and guided to join, adopting names and identities based on a common symbolic concept.
Then, during this process, they would be orchestrated to die through "accidents."
Afterward, their souls and flesh could be refined into high-quality divination artifacts.
The more complex and interconnected the circumstances surrounding their deaths, the better the final product.
Tarot cards were a common method of divination.
And now, combined with this situation, it was obvious.
Someone was recreating this evil ritual to produce extraordinary divination items.
As for how the earlier members had died, Mozo had no idea.
But the later ones, the World and the Hanged Man, had died amid conflicts between two empires.
Even their burial place was the Sun King's ruin.
Taking a sharp breath, Mozo felt certain that whoever was behind this had an enormous scheme in motion.
Without hesitation, he took out a gold coin, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate while reciting the incantation given to him by Miss Knight.
"Messenger of Molly Windsor, I call upon you from the shore of reality."
"May you cross the waves and winds, and deliver my thoughts."
As the final words fell, a shimmering, multicolored rift appeared behind him.
From within it stepped a red-haired woman clad in exquisite armor, just like Miss Knight.
She was the spirit-world messenger bound to Miss Knight.
Mozo had always believed in one thing.
If you can gang up, then gang up.
Never fight solo unless you have an overwhelming advantage.