A bright light flashed before his eyes, Uriel staggered and quickly grabbed the edge of the balcony.
However, although his mistake did not cause him to fall from the height, a broken brick carrying mud and sand fell into the gutter. When you make a noise, you can't expect others not to notice. The Cross Knight turned around and raised his head. Suddenly, their eyes met. It's over now.
"Up above!" the man shouted, "catch him!"
The sound penetrated the streets. He will probably wake up all the Cross Knights in the city, Uriel thought as he let go and fell into the window. Immediately afterwards, the sound of arrows hitting the wall followed.
He lay there panting, his eyes flashing with stars, and his ears could only instinctively distinguish the sound of footsteps from downstairs. Could it be possible that all three or four people came in? Would a Cross Knight make such a mistake? Or are these people just local mercenaries?
But the archer will never enter. You don't need to worry about them giving up their good terrain, quietly following the people who make footsteps like assassins, and sneaking into the building to attack under the cover of attacking from east to west. The apprentice recited the scripture silently, then jumped up and climbed out of the balcony.
"Shelter"
The arrows formed a curtain, and Uriel could only see a large field of gray feathers. They swarmed towards him with such enthusiasm that it was difficult for a living person to bear it. His runes kept flashing, squeezing out the last bit of magic power, and finally blocked the embrace of death.
The apprentice fell heavily into the yard and hissed instinctively. His wound hurt, and his head hurt even more. Every sound around him was like shouting in his ears, making him very troubled, even himself.
Meanwhile, the archers hesitantly lowered their weapons, and the knight shouted, but he heard someone question. It seems that with the exception of the Antrolos, the Gaia monks of Bures have not yet been able to understand the divisions within the church. A glimmer of hope...
He didn't know how long he had been confused, but suddenly a spear was thrust at him, and the apprentice subconsciously rolled away from the weapon. The severe pain made him suddenly wake up. Uriel raised his body up on his knees and avoided the second blow. The spear was stuck in a branch and could not move, so the knight drew his sword. He stumbled and climbed behind the tree. When he heard a low branch slap on the opponent's helmet, he turned around and hid in another tree.
The other party was indeed fooled and circled around in place. Blessed by the gods, there is such a dense pine forest in the Black City, and its branches are lush even in the frosty moon. The Cross Knight had no choice but to curse and dismount, while Uriel fled into the depths. It didn't take long for them to rush behind and be left behind by the apprentice.
But whether they were actually thrown away, the apprentice could not be sure. In fact, there were so many things he wasn't sure about! How fresh, he thought confusedly, don’t I think I have control over the future? Do you think you know right from wrong and know the goddess's teachings by heart? no no! Eliminate distracting thoughts, it’s time to face reality, these overlapping, distorted, bloody creations of reality...
He slowed down to find his bearings.
Looking at the depressing black world, the shadows of the trees were swaying in the night, and there were no stars in the sky. The air was so heavy that he had to breathe hard. Uriel found a stone fern. He grabbed its branches like an oar and relied on it to cross the forest sea. I have no intention of staying, Uriel told himself, I must move forward. In fact, he felt as if the woods were looking for an excuse to trap him. The apprentice dug out the compass made by the locals, but it did not survive the battle and only fragments remained.
If I go forward now, Uriel thought to himself, there is a half chance that I will fall into a trap and wander blindly into the encirclement of the Cross Knights. But if I go back, the probability is undoubtedly 100%. This comical thought eased the pain slightly, and he climbed up the slope, hoping that he would appear less helpless at the moment.
"Go south"
"Who?" He turned his head warily, but there were only pine needles and falling snow behind him. hallucination. Nothing more. It is unlikely that there is an audience in this place. Uriel knew that he had lost too much blood and his wounds were not treated in time...
"Go to the South" the voice became stronger.
Uriel shook and grabbed the tree trunk. A strange feeling suddenly came from the depths of his memory, as if pine needles were piercing his palm. This can't be true, he thought.
He remembered the sound.
"Go to the South"
As if strength was pouring into his limbs, Uriel stood up suddenly and stumbled into the dense forest. The branches scratched his shoulders and chest, but he didn't notice it. The wounds were numbed by the cold night wind, and even the pain was no longer obvious. He panted violently until he coughed, but he still didn't stop.
"Parsur?" he finally shouted. "Is that you? What's going on?"
no respond. The rustling pine forest and dormant shadows make it impossible to distinguish between heaven and earth. This is the Black City, Uriel thought, Mortus. The place where she stayed the longest after she abdicated, even though she didn't love it here. Could it be that what he saw in the dream was just Joey's wishful thinking? She spent the rest of her life here, and her soul returned to the forest? "Parsur! Answer me." I need you. "Parsur?"
The forest was silent.
Her soul seemed unheard, and Uriel could only catch his own echo. He closed his eyes and felt his blood gradually cooling. What am I doing?
The apprentice looked around again. The pine forest was established within the city and was not very wide. He could have searched carefully and found a way out to avoid the pursuit of the Cross Knights. In fact, he was already very close to the border. The moonlight filtered through the needles, creating more blending shadows, and even the magic power gradually accumulated. Uriel spit out arrow-like white mist and watched it be blown away by the wind.
I'm just thinking of her, the apprentice thought, asking himself, I want to see her. Sometimes he felt that her soul was beside him, as close as Joey. The lies woven by this strong emotion could not be detected even by the scroll of oaths. I wish she could guide me in this moment, as in...
Uriel stopped. When was the first time you heard a sound? he thought. The long dream of "Confessions" or Kamaria's Moon Sacrifice? Vaguely, he felt that the answer lay earlier.
before he sets off on a mysterious path.
…
"You asked the locals to chase him? Local people? Did you know that he can also use magic!"
"But heresy..."
"What do these monks in remote areas understand? Huh? They will only see you! You fool, you actually want them to attack their colleagues. Is that right?"
"I just……"
"I've had enough!" Shania's violent voice hit her eardrums, "If he had come to repay earlier, we would have caught him long ago. What's the use of talking about it now?"
"I have neglected my duty. But Your Excellency, we..."
"Let me guess." The Law Wizard interrupted, "You won't say that you can't even handle the affairs of mortals?"
"He refused to help and even asked us to inform us of the whereabouts of the Paladin Captain. I had no choice but to send someone back to the castle, Your Excellency."
"Send people back?"
"The other party is the local lord, Your Excellency. We have no right..." The Cross Knight replied in a low voice, but then opened a petal.
A loud noise gushed out from the gardener's plants: "Don't you understand my order!" The Law Wizard spoke in a high voice and said in an angry tone. "Kagat Talanitas is just a mortal, and his only value is his identity. With him in your hands, your words are equivalent to his orders, and the detection station does not dare to question... But you actually put him Put people back! Put them back! Tell me, whose idea was this?"
"I deeply apologize for my humble position, Your Excellency."
"Your apology is like fart. Huh, now that Cagat has appeared in public, there will probably be trouble if we arrest him again. I hope he dies on the road."
"But, Your Excellency, we have sent someone to escort the lord."
"..."
It was difficult for the apprentice to hold back his laughter, but it was hard to imagine that a pure sect wizard like Shania would only hit a wall in front of the monk's values. It is soon foreseeable that she will lose the support of the locals and become persona non grata on the wanted list. If Lemons was free, the minions of the Silent School would no longer be able to search the streets, and he would have a chance to breathe.
Maybe it’s also the time when I can really move freely.
He still held back his laughter. The ending is uncertain, and he still doesn’t know who will have the last laugh. Uriel doesn’t want to look back and laugh at himself, let alone be laughed at by others—especially law wizards like Shania and Roxanne. Besides, he is in a difficult situation now, but he is far worse than the wizards of the school. I should find a clinic. Why did I come back here?
The apprentice looked up and looked around.
The backyard was deserted, only weeds were growing and the ground was gray, and the surrounding streets were silent. Frightened by the war that broke out in the city, people closed their doors, pretended to be deaf and mute, and kept distance from the ominous ghost mansion to avoid getting into trouble. Their approach was very wise and indirectly helped the apprentices.
Or maybe I should go find Tekapo and Nimue. As he walked out of the room, he thought, I should help them perform the ceremony, or seek refuge in the local Lucia church. The latter is what Paladin Commander Lemons hopes to see. There is no need to worry about the apprentice leaking secrets, nor will it cause diplomatic problems. Even more, I should go find the remnants of "Steel and Fire" and stop them from burning, killing, looting, and taking revenge... I should! After all, these things were not his original intention of coming here. No. It's not my fault, right?
Uriel went straight into Della Sinsena's room. The mysteries of souls drawn by the psychic on the floor were as vivid as before, and her luggage was piled in the corner, scattered. At that time, she was looking for a book or some research materials, but she finally found an address book.
He looked around and picked up the book on the ground. Apprentices are not fools and know that solving problems requires going to the places where the problems arise and eradicate them, where the answers often lie. But he didn't have much time and would rather ask the other party directly. "Ms. Ash? Are you there?"
There was a noise in the attic, which Uriel took as a reply. But he suddenly caught a glimpse of the book cover, and an uncontrollable curiosity suddenly stopped all his movements. At the same time, the noise in the attic disappeared and seemed to be just the wind blowing through the glass. Uriel completely gave up the idea of going upstairs to explore.
"Analysis of the Direction of Soul Career"
By Della Sinsena. A psychic actually published an occult book! Uriel subconsciously opened it - what can't be read in published works? He accepted the extra money for the book and treated it as if he had bought one - but when he flipped through it, many envelopes fell out.
Among them was an envelope stamped with a silver and white cross.
Uriel picked up these "bookmarks". There were six letters in total. The moment he saw the mark, he almost opened them immediately, but it was also the mark of the goddess, which stopped him at the critical moment. There is a big difference between letters and books. The apprentice recalled the consequences of opening the letter privately last time, and about the nightingale and the monk... he did not open the seal.
He began to observe them. The three letters came from the same address. The sender's handwriting was very old and must have been a long time ago. One letter came from Moniantoros, but the reply letter was sent by Della on his own initiative, but the other party failed to receive it. The church He sent the letter back. The instructions were written on the surface of the letter and stamped as proof.
The other two letters had no names, only the recipient addresses were "Della Sinsena" and "Rubber 11776". The paper material distinguishes where they are sent. The former is brand new and soft, and seems to have been delivered to Della within a few days, while the latter is a blue envelope the size of a palm. The message is scrawled, as if it was written by an apprentice who only knows how to write. hand. He twisted the letter paper and found that it was not only thin and fragile, but also had small granular bulges at the seal.
Uriel put the blue envelope in front of him and smelled a pungent smell. This appears to be the remnants of inferior gum wax. It is conceivable that when the psychic opened the envelope, even if she was very careful, she would inevitably shatter the wax.
Whose letter is this? A doubt first arose in his mind. What is written in it? Apparently this is the second one.
Cracking them is urgent. Uriel temporarily put aside his plans to explore the soul mysteries and find ghosts, and instead opened up Della's collection of books: three personal notebooks, a stack of picture albums with unknown meanings, two "Appreciation of Ruin Symbols" (upper and lower), and a magic book He also wrote a collection of hymns praising unknown gods, "Chapter of Inspiration", and two story books, "Biography of the Witch of the Inverted Tower" and "Old Stories from the Cold Land".
He first picked up the notebook and shook it gently. A pile of paper flew out of the page like snowflakes, all of which were filled with Della's annotations. Then came the professional books, with a page of address book sandwiched inside. The seed was marked with the words "Imperial College 99th Anniversary Graduation Celebration·Pocket Lecture" with a cross at the back. Uriel guessed that she obtained the seeds and tried to cultivate them, but the pansies did not bloom.
There was probably a problem with the access to the seeds, he thought, and the other party never thought of contacting her.
The cover of the hymnbook was locked, and judging from its thickness, there was nothing stuck inside. The last storybook was different. Uriel poured out many strange letters, a blue envelope, and two schedules.
He picked them up one by one and looked at the surface. It is not difficult to distinguish the types of letters. Apparently, when Miss Psychic saved the letters, she only sandwiched them in the pages according to the relevance of the content. Judging from this, the contents of the first few letters may be inseparable from the soul profession.
But Uriel found another blue letter in "The Biography of the Witch of the Inverted Tower". Could it be that she misplaced it? Or should the content of such letters be refined and put in different books? Uriel considered the relationship between the two books and unfolded the schedule in his hand.
At this time, he discovered a familiar name.
"...On the sixth day of Sunday, Magdalena went to the mansion but did not enter it. 』
"In the early morning of the next day, traces of the Brown Elf's existence were detected and their existence was confirmed..."
"...It has been confirmed that Ms. Magdalena's residence has lost all traces of her..."
The rest of the text records some trivial matters, but they are all related to Magdalena. He finally confirmed that the name referred to the witch, the honorary cardinal of the Holy Council of Radiance, the great prophet, and the witch of the Seat of Harp who received the White Prophecy.
"You have investigated her whereabouts." Uriel couldn't help but whisper, "Why?"
He looked at the two blue letters again, hesitating whether to open them. Finally, the apprentice looked away and focused on the two books containing the letters.
"Analysis of the Direction of Soul Career"
"Biography of the Witch of the Inverted Tower"
Della Sinsena. Uriel thought to himself. A rare medium who does not belong to any mystical fulcrum, who makes a living by speaking to the souls of the dead. He vaguely guessed her purpose. After all, people think about their own future.
She wants to switch careers and become a witch...but how? Uriel has never seen a mysterious creature give up the path he has chosen and turn to another path. Dual careers are even more absurd, because a mortal has only one soul and a handful of firewood, which is absolutely impossible.
Maybe just an experiment. The apprentice fumbled for the reply stamped with the cross. She thought about contacting the Silent School, but the letter was returned halfway.
However, she still found a law wizard, "Theologian" Roxanne Toslin, and they became related because of the Soul Mystery... Or maybe this happened before the letter was sent. In any case, Uriel couldn't be sure.
He quickly searched for the record and finally found the date in the corner of the blue envelope. "The Year of the Lamp." Two years ago. "It happens to be the last day."
This was the latter letter included in the "Biography of the Witch of the Inverted Tower". Uriel realized that Della had originally come to Compass Heights with hope to find Magdalena, the Witch of the Harp, but the latter actually Have left the residence. She left in the Year of the Lamp, and the last place she arrived was the Black City beneath Luopan Heights, and the specific location was this ghost mansion.
She must have come after him to find someone, but there was no target in the mansion. Magdalena had long since left, and the Nightingales of the Council attested that she had traveled to Skraguk, a neutral country close to the School of Silence and Fife Tanner.
Whatever had happened in the past two years, Uriel thought, Magdalena had died not long ago, but Della had returned to the mansion.
Because of the soul mystery? Because of the ghosts here? Or, Magdalena the Witch?
Uriel's spine felt a twinge of pain. He woke up from his reverie, felt dizzy, and couldn't help but reach out to touch the wound on his back. Due to insufficient magic power, he was unable to completely heal the wounds. Now they were hot and swollen, and there was a constant sense of presence. He finally realized that he could no longer concentrate. Analysis, guessing, and thinking were all impossible.
"Gods forgive me," Uriel whispered. The situation at this moment was so unusual that he couldn't care less. "And Sinsena. Especially Sinsena."
He opened the blue envelope.
The first letter was a secret letter, which told the sender's various respects for the Witch of Harp in a hopeful tone, and attached a complicated magic text diagram. The second letter, contained in a book written by Della herself, is also much clearer.
"Dear Professor Namei, please forgive me for writing this letter..."
"...I can't refuse you, this is not just a deal. But please allow me to end my experiment here... I firmly believe, please note, I firmly believe that her disappearance is related to this place. The night of the full moon was Someone heard the sound of burning coming from here. The witch was nearby at the time. She must..."
"...There is indeed a connection. Her research touched the truth and caused disaster. The other party had a clear purpose and could find her easily. I don't know why she didn't seek protection. Maybe she thought her faith was enough to protect her... Or neither the Faith nor the Council can help."
Magdalena had been to the Haunted Mansion, Uriel thought. But contact? What's the meaning? Della actually believed that the witch's death was related to the mansion! What's the secret here?
He read on.
"...They refused to obey and any orders were rejected...the ritual could not be carried out..."
"The ghost didn't respond. What I saw was either trivial daily life or a scene of dying. It's hard to imagine the life of the ancients. Even the mysterious ones were bullied by the nobles and couldn't hold their heads up. They were simply boneless! What's more, This damn ghost’s mind is full of unsightly things…”
"I almost caught him this time, but suddenly there was a wind blowing through the window, and there was a noise in the attic... He left behind a scene of death before escaping, and there was no mention of the Eternal God."
"...The Broken Moon rose above the Showgirls. They must have escaped to the basement at that time..."
She experiments here. Uriel understood. She performed ritual after ritual in an attempt to summon ghosts. Two years ago she came to seek advice from Magdalena, hoping to become a witch of Harp. Now she is an experienced psychic, but she came back here again, after Magdalena passed away... This may mean Della is also looking for the secret of this place. She has yet to solve the mystery of the mansion.
"I will pay attention to his movements. I have understood the last answer. The real situation is that the Witch of Destiny used mysterious power to hide his location."
"...Sealmaker 11776, the second week and third day of the harvest moon in the year of the cold moon."
The Witch of Fate, he thought, who is she hiding? Roma? ...But the letter stated it was "him". This time, Uriel no longer dared to have any illusions.
The apprentice found the reply letter from the church and opened it without thinking. He found that although the content was asking about the true identity of "Professor Name", the time was during the White Night War. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, this proves nothing, Uriel thought, but am I really incapable of judging? And she did have contact with the school, even if it was just a reply letter.
He then reached into his pocket...
...find a card. When leaving Iron Dragon Port, Her Excellency Helen gave it to the apprentice to prevent him from being harmed when dealing with the Gaia Church. However, Joey walked with him and did not have a chance to use the card. After that, he forgot about it, but let it follow him to this day.
Uriel had never thought about its use, but now, he finally began to think about it: in the Honey Territory and Antuoros, no detection station has ever found his traces through astrology; in the holy city of Zangwill And the Black City, the parliament was not aware of his arrival. Even in the Port of Far Light, he lied to Joey that he was going back to Eastman, but secretly came to neighboring Bures, and the tower did not respond to this.
And now. The apprentice knows very well that two law wizards are searching the Black City with the intention of obtaining the "Bible" Oath Volume. They first learned of my location through Della's communications, not magic, astrology or even witchcraft.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence." He said to the ghosts in the room, but the Soul Mystery was suspended quietly, indifferent.
Uriel didn't like Dela Sinsena, and he didn't believe that she could pretend to be calm and composed to gain his trust. In the final analysis, Miss Psychic lacked the qualities of a nightingale, and her method of informing people was too straightforward. . Maybe she didn't even know me at the time.
He also has a way of telling the difference. Putting the card between your fingers, you only need to tear it gently to confirm that the person referred to in the letter is not Uriel. However……
If you pretend not to notice, things won't be better. He realized that the dwarf leader Patience was also in a bad situation. The frost giant Nimue will lead the mediums to their secret stronghold, and if Della is Roxanne's nightingale, the ritual of the alliance will be complete. Shania will definitely stop them if she can't find me. Regardless of whether Della's identity is confirmed or not, Shania Ravenas has proven that she is a threat to everyone.
What should I do? Uriel rubbed the card nervously. Trust Della and leave everything to fate? Or tear up the card and face a furious Law Wizard? Looking at the bright side, maybe Shania's desire to prevent the alliance ceremony is more important than causing trouble for him, but this will lead to the death of Nimue, Patience and others, which doesn't seem to be any better...
"In other words, it must be done this way?" He couldn't help but ask, "Is this the truth?"
Uriel looked around, but no one answered. Of course no one.
I'm probably destined to get a beating, he thought pitifully. If I had known this, I would have asked Shania to be more decent when we were on the school grounds. It's all Joey's fault. The messenger seemed to be killing each other every time he was training, so much so that when he dragged Shania, Nimue and Della to escape, he forgot about them and used them as sandbags.
At this point, there was nothing to hesitate about anymore, so Uriel could only grumble and think of ways to cause trouble for Shania. Not to mention traps and obstacles, the apprentice considered hiding in the most inconspicuous shadow to keep her looking for as long as possible.
Of course, these little tricks will increase Shania's anger...but she won't be happy no matter what Uriel does. That's just right. The more embarrassed this woman is, the happier I am. Whatever she wants. Go to hell!
He threw the book aside and the hard cover hit the floor. Just then, a scream came from the attic.
