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*****
Inside the grand hall of Duke Negan's manor.
Audrey Hall, who had been accompanying her mother and several noble ladies in discussing the earlier assassination attempt, caught sight of her father—with his impeccably groomed mustache—appearing at the entrance.
Finding a quick excuse to take her leave, she stepped forward and asked with a curious tilt of her head, "Papa, how did things turn out?"
"It has been resolved, my child. There is no need to worry anymore."
Earl Hall reached out and patted Audrey's head comfortingly. "Before Qilangos could flee the manor, he was intercepted and killed."
"Was it the people from the Church who arrived in time to handle it?"
Audrey maintained a mask of confusion, though in truth, she already had her suspicions.
Earl Hall instinctively glanced in the direction of the nursery, a strange, complicated expression crossing his face.
"It wasn't the Church. It was... a powerhouse. He is a friend of the Bishops and High-ranking Deacons of both the Church of the Lord of Storms and the Church of the Evernight Goddess. As luck would have it, he was also attending the banquet and decided to lend a hand."
He certainly couldn't tell his daughter that the situation had been handled by an infant currently lying in the nursery.
"It's good that it's resolved then," Audrey replied, nodding. However, she immediately began to analyze the situation based on her own observations.
Analyzing the current circumstances, the person who killed Qilangos should be Mr. Strength. I didn't expect Mr. Strength to have such excellent relationships with the upper echelons of two major Churches. However, Father seems to find Mr. Strength's identity very hard to believe, and he instinctively glanced toward the nursery.
Could Mr. Strength be in the nursery right now? But there are only the children of the visiting guests and the maids responsible for looking after them in there. Also, why haven't I discovered anyone whose temperament matches that of Mr. Strength? Just who is he?
"You deserve half the credit for Qilangos's death this time. Duke Negan intends to gift you his holiday manor located at Desi Bay..."
While Audrey listened to her father's words, her eyes were already scanning everyone in the hall. As a 'Spectator,' she was most adept at observing others and finding the intelligence she desired through subtle details. She didn't want to miss such a rare opportunity to discover Mr. Strength's true identity.
However, even after a thorough observation, she still failed to find anyone who fit Mr. Strength's characteristics. She did, however, notice an interesting phenomenon. Duke Negan, along with several high-ranking nobles and officials, had become significantly more enthusiastic toward the Barton couple than they were before.
Could that Jack Barton be Mr. Strength? But his temperament doesn't seem like it at all.
"It... it couldn't be him, could it?"
When the banquet finally concluded and the Barton couple entered the nursery to carry their child out, Audrey was suddenly stunned to realize something. Her father, Duke Negan, and all the high-ranking nobles and officials who had rushed out earlier were all, with uncanny consistency, casting their gazes toward the tiny infant held in the Bartons' arms.
Thus, no matter how much she disbelieved it, a rational analysis told her: that little baby was the one who killed Qilangos. That baby was Mr. Strength.
To verify her hypothesis, she pretended to pass by the Barton couple accidentally and stole a glance at the infant they were holding. The baby, who had been resting with his eyes closed, seemed to sense her gaze and suddenly opened his eyes.
Following that, the infant revealed a mature smile that was entirely inconsistent with his age and used his tiny hand to make a specific, hidden gesture.
"It... it really is... Mr. Strength!"
Audrey's body stiffened. Although she had already guessed it, the confirmation still left her feeling incredulous. She could only sigh inwardly:
It truly is as Emperor Roselle once said—in the Beyonder world, nothing is too strange.
She only snapped out of her daze after watching the Barton couple disappear from her sight with Mr. Strength. A new doubt immediately rose in her heart: How did Mr. Strength recognize her as "Justice"?
But on second thought, it seemed quite normal. Even as a mere Sequence 9 Spectator, she could guess that the Bartons' child was Mr. Strength through observation and reasoning. For a powerful Beyonder like Mr. Strength, who was at least Sequence 5 or higher, having a way to confirm her identity during the banquet seemed perfectly plausible.
---
That night, after the frightened Barton couple had fallen asleep, George opened his eyes and began to tinker with the Sealed Artifact he had obtained: "Creeping Hunger."
"So, it works by imprisoning souls."
After studying it for a while, he gained a general understanding of the principles behind this Sealed Artifact. Essentially, it imprisoned the souls of deceased Beyonders and then forcibly extracted one of their abilities for use.
"Let's test the negative effects first."
He didn't immediately release the soul of the Faceless to extract its Beyonder characteristic. Instead, he first controlled the artifact to use the "Nightmare" ability, ensuring his parents fell into an even deeper sleep. Once finished, he didn't go outside to find ordinary flesh and souls to feed it; he simply sat there, waiting for the negative side effects to manifest.
Deprived of its feeding, Creeping Hunger quickly became agitated. In the blink of an eye, the glove transformed into a bloody, gaping maw, lunging toward George to devour him. However, upon biting George, it discovered that it was utterly unable to consume his flesh or soul.
"You have quite the nerve!"
George's brow twitched as a powerful soul pressure instantly surged toward Creeping Hunger. Feeling the presence of a Great Being that transcended it by an immeasurable number of levels, the glove's "body" went limp instantly. it transformed back into a normal glove, no longer daring to act out.
"If you don't behave, I'll wipe out your spirituality and create a new one."
George picked up the glove and threatened it with a cold sneer. The glove actually began to tremble with fear. This wasn't an empty threat; after a few more days of research, he truly would be able to convert the magic from the Harry Potter world that granted items new spirituality and wisdom.
To him, a Sealed Artifact with spirituality was easier to drive than one without. If it didn't listen, he would forcibly erase its spirit and manufacture a submissive one. Negative effects? They were non-existent.
"I need to convert memory-type magic as soon as possible."
Ordering Creeping Hunger to release the soul of the Faceless and extracting its Beyonder characteristic, George murmured to himself. If he could use soul-searching magic right now, he wouldn't just obtain a Beyonder characteristic; he would also be able to comb through all the memories of that Faceless soul.
"I still need some supplementary ingredients. I'll go find Crestet."
After obtaining the Faceless characteristic, he didn't crudely devour it directly, even though doing so could allow him to advance immediately. He still wanted to experience the complete advancement process by consuming a potion; only then could he gain a more detailed understanding of this world's power system.
The Faceless characteristic could only serve as a substitute for the main ingredients. To brew the sequence-advancing potion, he still needed some supplementary materials. However, compared to the difficulty of obtaining main ingredients, supplementary ones were quite common. Even an ordinary person could collect them with enough time.
But he was certainly too lazy to waste time collecting them himself; it would be far more convenient to go directly to Crestet and take them.
(End of Chapter)