Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1027 I check myself

"...In summary, they believe in The Fool, and each uses tarot cards as a code name to carry out their own missions in Backlund, the Sea Colony, the Southern Continent, etc., but occasionally they will act together like today..."

Leonard selectively informed all the members attending the meeting of the clues he had obtained from his previous investigation of Angel and Klein, then he let out a long sigh and continued:

"The man who killed and took away the 'Dark Saint' tonight was not in disguise. I recognized him as Gehrman Sparrow, who had turned the 'Admiral of Hell' into a secret puppet. Judging from the tarot cards he left behind, he is most likely a member of the group codenamed 'World'."

"Intelligence has confirmed that Gehrman Sparrow has become a demigod and has close relationships with many saints and angels. For example, the Golden Queen has risen rapidly in the past six months and is likely to have become a Sequence 3. Another example is Balram's original Death Archon, who is an angel still active on earth."

Holamick, the head of the Steam Church in Backlund added.

"As far as I know, the 'Golden Queen' Angelica Thatch is also an angel on earth. She commands a powerful ghost ship left over from the Fourth Epoch, and is related to the 'Ghost Empire' that has recently been rumored to have reappeared... We are probably facing a mysterious organization with a long history and ties to many ancient empires."

The Archbishop of the Church of Storms, Raydar Valentine, who had short, dark blue hair, corrected Horamick's message in a rumbling tone, then looked at the demigod in charge of military affairs and said:

"Serth, what do you think?"

The handsome man with black hair, golden eyes and a well-tailored suit shook his head:

"MI9 doesn't have many clues. They first appeared in our sight last year when they prevented the True Creator from descending in the dock area. Many Queen cards were left at the scene."

Hearing this, Leonard pretended to think about it, and after a moment's silence, he asked carefully:

"Is their action this time targeting the 'Aurora Society' also to stop some conspiracy of the 'True Creator'? Is this their consistent line of behavior?"

Seeing that the time was right, he began to direct the Tarot Club's actions tonight to the "True Creator". Anyway, the followers of this evil god committed many crimes every year, which not only angered all the official Beyonders, but also had bad relations with other secret organizations. It was normal for him to be retaliated against.

Several demigods thought about it and felt that this possibility was not small.

Archbishop Anthony, who was presiding over the meeting, looked around and saw that no one raised any more questions. He coughed lightly and said:
"This organization, which uses the Tarot card as its code name, has targeted the Aurora Society, serial killers, and dens that traffic young girls in many of its operations. It has no intention of becoming an enemy of the church or the military for the time being. The war situation is tense right now, and we are seriously short of manpower, so it is not appropriate for us to proactively clash with them.

"But they have faith, are well-organized, and have close relationships with many angels on earth. This in itself represents uncertainty and danger. Necessary investigations must still be conducted... Leonard, your team will handle this matter. Just collect the necessary intelligence and do not confront them head-on."

Leonard, who thought he had successfully drawn the focus to the "True Creator", was momentarily surprised. This was not intentional, but he really did not expect the boomerang to fly back so quickly. The Archbishop actually asked him, a member of the Tarot Club, to investigate the Tarot Club and Mr. Fool?
"Yes, Your Excellency the Archbishop."

He agreed with a serious expression.

The military demigod Celt, who felt that it had nothing to do with him, and Archbishop Horamick of the Steam Church, who no longer had much law enforcement authority in Backlund, both nodded and approved of Anthony's decision. Only the "Deep Blue High Priest" Raydar frowned and looked at Leonard and said:

"Since you are in charge, you should give them a formal name. Otherwise, it will be too troublesome to say 'a secret organization codenamed after tarot cards' every time you report."

"So it's called 'Tarot Club'?"

Leonard pointed to the cards written on the blackboard: "Justice", "Hermit", and "World" that appeared this time, as well as "Queen", "Emperor", and "Judgment" that had appeared in Backlund before, and answered.

"That's it." Before Raydar could speak, Archbishop Anthony nodded and said, "Let's call them the Tarot Club."

……

Leonard, who was appointed as the leader of the "Tarot Club Investigation Team", discussed with the Mandated Punisher, the Mechanical Hound and members of MI9 in the conference room until late at night, and initially formulated a plan for future contact and cooperation. Only then was he finally able to escape and return to the underground area of ​​the church.

He ignored his tiredness and immediately came to the Chanis Gate. The first floor here kept less important seals and materials, as well as the detention of extraordinary prisoners, and temporarily protected some important people who were in danger or facing danger. It was not as heavily guarded as the second and third floors.

Leonard summoned the captain who was guarding Chanis Gate tonight as the captain of the "Red Gloves" and asked with a calm expression:
"Where's the witch who was sent to Chanis Gate tonight? I need to see her."

"She has already left." The night watchman in charge of today's guard duty flipped through the records as if to confirm. "Just an hour ago, the Archbishop came in person, accompanied by a young lady."

The Archbishop came in person to take Sherman away? Who was the other young lady...

Leonard was confused. After repeated inquiries, he confirmed that the person who came with Anthony was actually his former colleague, Angel, the "Queen" of the Tarot Club!

An hour ago, the extraordinary people from the three major churches and the military were discussing how to find the traces of the "Tarot Club" in the conference room upstairs, but the important member of the Tarot Club, the "Queen", swaggered into the Chanis Gate and took away her Minor Arcana card, making Leonard feel out of touch with reality.

Of course, he had long known that Angel was still closely connected to the Goddess Church, and there was even a high probability that he was a follower of the Goddess. It would not be difficult for him to come to Saint Samuel Church to take Sherman away. Therefore, he left Chanis Gate with some emotion, walked through the quiet corridor and returned to the empty prayer hall. He was considering whether to go home to rest for a while, or go to the East District to see if Sherman had returned home safely, when a hazy gray fog appeared in front of him, and the deliberately low voice of "World" Klein came:

"Dear Mr. Fool, I request an emergency meeting in ten minutes."

At this time... should it be the time to summarize today's actions and distribute the spoils?

Leonard, who was originally quite interested in this matter, smacked his lips and felt that the meeting was held at a very inappropriate time. However, he had no way to refuse, so he had to quickly return home and prepare to be pulled into the gray fog.

————A deep red light flashed, and several figures appeared in the ancient palace above the gray fog.

As soon as Leonard regained his sight, he subconsciously looked towards the head of the long bronze table. As expected, he discovered that Mr. Fool was not present. The person presiding over the meeting was Klein, the World, who was sitting opposite to him.

The other members who were summoned were all those who participated in today's "hunting" operation. They all sat in their own high-backed chairs, thus showing an extremely unbalanced gender ratio: except for "Star" Leonard and Klein who issued the commission, there were no other men present, while the female side was fully staffed, making Leonard feel a little redundant sitting opposite them.

Fortunately, he quickly adjusted his mood and looked at the table in front of Klein. In addition to a small silver-black jewelry box that made him instinctively feel afraid, there were also several items emitting different brilliance and different shapes, as well as a small black pocket, several insect bodies condensed from starlight, and a small pile of shining gems.

And half of the head looked like it had been torn off the neck by a wild beast.

Are these all the spoils of tonight? Those items of different colors and shapes all have Beyonder characteristics? It seems a bit too much... Could it be that Klein finally gave up on the "Dark Saint" and dropped all the Beyonder characteristics on the ground? Doesn't he need to keep this powerful secret puppet?
Questions popped up in Leonard's mind.

The other members also had their own questions, but they all remained silent, looking towards the "world", waiting for the member who issued the hunting commission to speak.

Angel was the most indifferent. She just glanced at the high-back chair where the Fool usually sat, then looked at Klein. She didn't seem to care about the distribution of the spoils. As the main force in hunting the Secret Saint, Audrey the Justice and Cattleya the Hermit were quite looking forward to it, but they were just wondering why the spoils were so much more than what they sacrificed to Mr. Fool.

Since Judgment Hugh was only Sequence 6 and could not be of much help in the battle, he was only responsible for using the ban to prevent the Secret Saint from escaping as soon as possible. Therefore, he did not hold out much hope for his share of the spoils.

The most bewildered person was the "Magician" Fors. After she entered the underground gathering place with the "Hermit's" Eye of Peering into the Mystery as planned, she felt dazed for a moment, and then came out of the closed room to the outskirts of Backlund.

Miss Audrey, who released her from the "Box of the Old Days", announced without any joy or sadness that the hunt was over. The "Secret Saint" was beaten into a pulp, leaving only a few "Star Bugs" and half a head. Fors successfully completed the bait mission.

I don't even know what happened... Her eyes swept across the "Box of the Old Days" and the spoils spread all over the table, and stopped at the half head of the "Secret Saint" Butis, whose brown hair was stained with blood and whose dark eyes were frozen with fear and despair.

It’s not much different from the “body” of Mr. X last time… Fors muttered, with a hint of joy in his heart.

She finally helped her teacher deal with the traitor who betrayed the Abraham family and caused the deaths of many of its members.

As for the other spoils, since the "World" has reached an agreement with teacher Dorian and the "Box of the Old Ones" is part of the transaction, she is not so concerned about them.

Looking at the pairs of eyes that were either indifferent, expectant, or puzzled, Klein chuckled and announced in a hoarse voice:

"Congratulations everyone, the task of hunting the 'Secret Saint' has been successfully completed, and we have gained something extra.

"'Dark Saint' Kosma appeared at the same time as your actions, and tried to attack Mr. 'Star' who destroyed other underground gatherings and attracted the attention of the 'Aurora Society', but he also paid his own price.

"The extraordinary characteristics he left behind will also be added to the spoils for everyone to choose from."

No wonder there were no other guards beside the "Secret Saint", no wonder the "Aurora Society" did not provide any support until the end of the battle, and no wonder there were so many spoils on the table. It turned out that the "Dark Saint" also died tonight, and as a "Black Knight", he had multiple extraordinary characteristics in his body...

Some doubts in the minds of "Justice", "Hermit" and others were answered, and their eyes looked at the spoils more passionately.

Seeing that everyone's emotions had been aroused, Klein smiled again and first looked at the Hermit and said:
"First of all, this is what I promised you. It can be used to digest the secret knowledge of potions."

As he spoke, he condensed the secret knowledge in his memory into a ball of light that could only be touched by spirits, and transmitted it to Cattleya through the air. As soon as the latter's fingertips touched the ball of light, her brain exploded, and countless mystical knowledge poured in like a flood.

Among them are many ancient legends and fairy tales that Klein summarized after he confirmed that this is Earth and that he had simply traveled through time. As a "mystic", Cattleya can create her own unique magic based on these true but unknown legends, and her role is no less than that of secret history to ancient scholars.

After Cattleya finished recording this information and calmed down, Klein pointed at the spoils on the table and continued:
"You can pick your part first."

The values ​​of various items were not equal, but Klein did not limit the Hermit's selection range. He believed that this pirate general and newly promoted demigod had his own principles and was experienced, so he would not be reckless and take too much or take things randomly.

Moreover, her choice can serve as an example for the inexperienced members behind her. This is why I let her choose first... Klein muttered in his heart, watching Cattleya's eyes linger on the "Box of the Old Ones" for a long time. It was obvious that she coveted this "0" level sealed object, but was also aware of its danger.

Finally, she looked at the group of "Mystic Master" extraordinary characteristics that originally belonged to Butis, stretched out her hand and pointed it in the air, saying:
"I'll choose it."

She was very smart. She knew that even if she chose the "Box of the Old Ones", it would only be a source of danger to her and a target for others to covet. However, the "Mystic" could be made into a sealed item. If she was lucky, it could become a powerful item no less powerful than the "Creeping Hunger" or the "Rose Necklace"...

Klein nodded and kindly reminded:
"You can choose some more extraordinary materials."

In the end, the "Hermit" picked up two more "Star Bugs" and extraordinary materials worth about 2000 pounds - these scattered items all came from Butis's cloth bag with space storage capabilities.

After planning the hunting operation and selecting the "Hermit" who was the biggest contributor, it was Audrey's turn as "Justice".

The latter also skipped the "Box of the Old Ones" and reached out his hand without hesitation, imitating the "Hermit" and pointing to another feature:
"I choose this one."

(End of this chapter)