"That wasn't your ability, was it?"
After conceding defeat, Olivia stood up from the ground and asked. Although she'd been defeated, she appeared fairly calm about it.
"It's an extraordinary item."
"I see. That explains it then."
Olivia smiled amiably.
"I thought so. I felt your sequence should be lower than mine, yet you managed to defeat me.
Still, a win is a win. Well, that concludes the madam's little entertainment for the day."
The two returned together to beneath the parasol.
There, everyone was turning their gazes toward them.
"Madam, this young lady's abilities have passed my test. She's sufficient to protect Miss Audrey's safety."
Olivia bowed.
"Thank you for your efforts. I've already seen the detailed process."
The Countess smiled, then turned to look at her daughter.
"Audrey, I'll leave the rest to you."
Two days later, in the northwestern suburbs, at the old site of Backlund Medical College.
The spacious campus exuded decay. Weeds pushed through the cracks in the brickwork with wild abandon.
The buildings stood in silence, most already abandoned and unused, their outer walls mottled and peeling.
Occasionally, stray cats and dogs wandered about, but upon seeing people approach, they would immediately run off with alert wariness.
Inside a three-story abandoned building.
Silas brought his sister along, following behind Audrey.
"Just as I mentioned before, my actions may attract the attention of others.
If they only follow me, that's fine, but if they attack me, then I'll have to ask you to protect me."
Audrey wore a mask, her smooth and lustrous golden hair tucked under a surgical cap, her body wrapped in a white lab coat.
She looked like a medical worker about to participate in surgery.
Silas and his companion were dressed the same way.
What a troublesome employer...
He thought to himself.
After passing the test, Miss Audrey had used a special contract to "notarize" matters with them, ensuring the bodyguard relationship and mutual non-aggression, among other things.
During this process, Silas had also figured out what Audrey had been wanting to do lately.
She wanted to establish contact with a secretive extraordinary organization in her personal capacity.
What the hell? What happened to attending banquets and salons?
She really has a death wish!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Silas watched Audrey ahead of him.
Her steps were hurried, golden strands of hair escaping from under her surgical cap, falling by her ears and swaying slightly with her stride.
No wonder the Countess arranged protection for her. Last time he'd encountered her, it had been the same thing... she'd actually been bold enough to sneak into an asylum.
He grumbled internally.
The three crossed through a dim corridor and entered a classroom.
As soon as they entered, the unpleasant, pungent smell of preservatives wafted through their masks into their noses.
Silas looked up and scanned the room, discovering it was filled with human specimens and skeletons.
In the center of the classroom stood a transparent glass cylinder. Through the glass, one could see a pale male corpse soaking in preservative solution.
The male corpse was even wearing a black academic gown on the outside, looking rather bizarre.
Desks and chairs were scattered haphazardly around the classroom, and quite a few people were already seated.
They also wore masks and white lab coats, concealing their identities. Hearing someone enter, they all turned their heads in unison, looking at the three of them.
Perhaps influenced by the classroom's atmosphere, none of these people spoke.
Playing at mystery...
Silas swept his gaze over the group and chose a corner to sit in with Audrey.
After about three to five minutes, the male corpse in the glass cylinder suddenly opened its eyes.
A peculiar voice echoed through the classroom, passing through the preservative fluid and glass cover.
"Let us begin."
It said in a hoarse voice.
And so, under its gaze, everyone began trading with reverence and caution.
The corpse floated in the glass cylinder, watching each person, occasionally speaking.
Silas observed coldly.
"Whoosh..."
Accompanied by the sound of illusory ocean waves, the world before his eyes changed accordingly.
He saw that what was soaking in the glass cylinder was just an ordinary corpse, neither opening its eyes nor speaking.
However, all the participants at the gathering seemed immersed in hallucination, conversing from time to time with the lifeless male corpse.
Some requested it witness their transactions, others sought answers to their questions from it, like some kind of large-scale bizarre performance.
A very peculiar way to hold an organizational gathering.
Silas assessed internally.
There were many gatherings, large and small, in Backlund. He'd already witnessed three.
The Queen's gathering was the most high-end, the Eye of Wisdom's gathering was the most equal, and this gathering here was the most arrogant.
The organizer completely toyed with the participants at will, using psychological suggestion to surround them in hallucinations, showing them absolutely no respect whatsoever.
Silas didn't much care for this approach. At this gathering, he saw the shadow of that damned Ma'am M.
Which one is the host?
His gaze swept across the faces of those participating in the gathering one by one, and based on the level of the potion sequences within their bodies, he identified the most suspicious person.
The person sat in a corner, never speaking, but was at least Sequence 6.
Perhaps it's him who changed everyone's perception and created the hallucination...
"I want a potion from the 'Spectator' pathway."
The trading continued. Some succeeded, most failed. At this moment, Miss Audrey suddenly spoke up.
Several people's gazes swept toward her, but they quickly moved away without lingering long. Silas noticed that among them was that Sequence 6 Beyonder.
"...Does no one have it?"
After waiting ten-plus seconds, Audrey said with feigned regret, "Alright then."
Although in reality she was already a Sequence 8 Mind Reader of the Spectator pathway, at this moment she acted like an inexperienced, naive newcomer.
The gathering quickly ended, and the three boarded a carriage to leave.
"Are you certain this kind of probing will work?"
Silas asked inside the carriage.
"I think it will work."
Audrey replied. "Because the 'Spectator' potion I'm seeking is the sequence pathway controlled by this organization.
They'll notice me."
At this moment, she had already removed the cumbersome white lab coat, her smile radiant.
"However, it's also because I have you two protecting me that I dare to act so boldly."
The Spectator pathway?
Silas recalled that the first time she'd met him, she seemed to have tried to probe his inner thoughts.
Those eyes, faintly tinged with gold, had nearly made him mistake her for Ma'am M.
"Miss Audrey, you're currently Sequence 8 of this pathway, correct?"
"Yes."
"Then what is the name of this secretive organization you mentioned?"
"It should be called the 'Psychology Alchemists Council.'"
Audrey replied.
Psychology Alchemists Council... The Nighthawks' files had information about this organization.
It seemed to also be an organization from nearly a century ago, having gradually developed through excavating Hermes ruins to obtain their initial capital.
His heart stirred.
They must have research into the human mental world, right?
Perhaps I could use them to treat my mental condition?
If that's the case, if Audrey really does make contact with them, it would help me too...
Just at that moment, he suddenly sensed Beyonders approaching.
"We're being followed."
Silas said to Audrey.