Regarding Ivan Darkness, the current progress of events is still within Xia De and Luvia's expectations.
Darkness's identity has been exposed; under the guidance of the demon residing within him, he betrayed the Blood Spirit School and stole multiple relics.
If there are no surprises, he will learn that his Selected One Ritual needs to be performed in Tobesk City. Xia De and the other two will meet him around the end of this month.
"The problem now is not just that strange dark power; what's even more troublesome is the demon on him."
Xia De recounted what he had heard from Miss Aurora, the Witch Council's summary of Darkness's fighting methods:
"He uses his Ring術士 power and the demon on him as his core combat strength, employing the Chosen One's unique 【Darkness】 talent for self-healing, defense, and movement.
In his normal state, he fights in the appearance of a human Ring術士 without taking off his red gloves.
If he encounters an enemy he cannot defeat, he takes off his red gloves and uses the mouth in his palm to assist in combat.
After obtaining the relic 【fish training ring】, the mouth in his palm gained the ability to speak and can even occupy his arm, forming a half-demon, which is the third state.
The most terrifying is the fourth state: when Darkness faces a fatal life-threatening danger, Darkness and the demon simultaneously corrode his body, forming a terrifying dark pus. My friend refers to it as the Pus of Humanity."
Xia De recalled the scene of Darkness smashing the merman temple floor with a single punch:
"According to my friend in Coldwater Port, in this final state, Darkness's physical attributes are so formidable that even a Twelfth-Circle Arcanist finds them troublesome. At the same time, his Miracles, spells, and control over the Darkness talent are greatly enhanced. He possesses mental pollution abilities, and the dark pus formed by half of his body can cause extremely terrifying corrosion and infection effects on anyone who comes into contact with it... However, my Moonlight can clear that stuff."
Given that Xia De's Silver Moon is extraordinary, he was unsure if other similar "Flash" Miracles or spells could also achieve such outstanding effects.
"Four combat states..."
Luvia pondered with a tight expression.
"That Twelfth-Circle lady only witnessed and summarized four states; it's not ruled out that he might have the potential to become even stronger."
Xia De reminded her:
"It's truly troublesome. We are friends with Iluna, so we didn't have to consider dealing with her, and thus didn't encounter such trouble. But to deal with Darkness, even with Iluna suppressing the Chosen One's Darkness talent, that demon must be faced by us head-on."
Demons in this world are divided into two categories: the first is the commonly understood demonic Xenomorph, and the second is a composite of demons, devils, Evil Spirits, and strange evil creatures, as known by Outsiders.
"But did you notice, Xia De? He is clearly a Chosen One, yet he hasn't focused on researching his Chosen One talent as his core, but rather tends to rely on the demon's power within him."
Luvia reminded him. Xia De thought about it; it was indeed true:
"He took the wrong path?"
"It's hard to say. I'll write to Iluna later. On Sunday morning, we'll meet at your place to discuss this further."
"No problem."
Xia De nodded:
"However, how exactly should we deal with Ivan Darkness? Just capture him? Kill him after he becomes a Chosen One? Kill him before he completes the ritual and wait for the second candidate for the second Chosen One to appear?"
Xia De asked. Luvia shook her head:
"It's too early to think about these things. We'll do what we can, but no matter what, we cannot let him occupy the second position. Also, regarding the demon on him, I've already found some information within the Prophet Association. Its name is difficult to pronounce in the common tongue, but its main abilities are absorbing negative emotions to strengthen itself, devouring energy and matter, and a certain degree of mind-reading."
Although the Prophet Association's high-end combat capabilities are far inferior to the Witch Council, the ancient divination organization's stored data and documents are envied even by the Orthodox Church.
"These abilities have already been demonstrated in Darkness's combat. It seems we really need to seriously plan how to deal with him."
Xia De said, stroking the cat, then asked again:
"Luvia, I've heard some things recently. Do you remember those spaces left by the Thirteen Ancient Gods? Recently, I learned that some people call them refuges, left by the Ancient Gods for us as the last hope for survival when the apocalypse arrives."
"So when will the apocalypse arrive?"
Luvia asked with a smile, her purple eyes looking at Xia De.
"I don't know."
Xia De shook his head, smiling himself:
"I understand. After all, they are an organization that believes in doomsday theories, so such a saying is normal. It's getting late. Would you like to have dinner together?"
He invited again. Luvia thought for a moment:
"It's rare for you to invite someone to dinner. All right, but I need to touch up my makeup in the lounge. Please wait a moment."
"No problem."
Xia De wanted to wait in the hall downstairs, so he took Mia and walked towards the door first. But as he grasped the doorknob, he remembered something else, so he turned and quietly asked:
"Luvia, is this the sixth epoch now?"
Luvia was still sitting at the table, her back to the window, her back to the setting sun, so her face seemed to be covered by a layer of shadow, and her purple eyes seemed to emit captivating colors:
"Yes."
She looked at Xia De:
"The sixth epoch."
Because of the strange light and shadow on her face, Xia De couldn't see her mouth moving, only heard her voice. This scene was a bit unsettling, but Xia De didn't mind, just nodded in surprise:
"I'll wait for you downstairs. If you don't find me, I might be playing rhode cards with someone else."
He opened the door and walked out, leaving Luvia sitting there.
Xia De didn't close the door, so the cat on his shoulder looked back:
"Meow?"
The cat tilted its head with a curious expression. It clearly saw that behind the sitting human female, there was another almost identical, transparent human figure, embracing her neck with both arms and whispering something in her ear.
The transparent figure seemed to sense something and looked up towards the doorway, but by then the cat had already turned away.
Mia didn't care about such strange things.
Thus, a relatively leisurely Thursday passed. When Xia De woke up early on Friday, he realized that the Coldwater Port matter was completely over, and he unexpectedly had nothing else to do for a while.
Counting the time, Flourishing Flower Month was about to reach its mid-point, and the letter Sparrow Detective mentioned would arrive in about half a month. Considering there wasn't much business lately, Xia De planned to use the money he had saved to renovate the third floor of Saint Delan Square before Darkness arrived in Tobesk City, and also resolve Sparrow Detective's remaining two commissions, effectively closing out all matters left by the previous Detective.
That morning, when he went downstairs to get newspapers, milk, and goat's milk, he discovered a small surprise. Someone had sent Xia De a letter, and inside the letter, there was a stack of banknotes. Brand new banknotes, in sequential order, totaling 20 pounds.
Because there was no stamp or sender's address on the envelope, Xia De initially feared that this was a counterfeiter randomly choosing unlucky people to test if their printed banknotes were convincing enough. But there was also a perfumed letter inside the envelope.
It was very high-quality stationery. After reading it, Xia De realized he had been mistaken.
The letter was from Princess Angelina Cavendish, whom he had met yesterday. The banknotes were to thank Xia De and Mia for finding the "true culprit." She politely expressed her gratitude to Xia De in the letter, praising the loyalty and wisdom of Hamilton of Thunder Jeed.
The content of the letter was standard, only in a postscript after the signature did the Princess write this line of text:
"Compared to the last time I saw you, you are much more interesting this time."
"Last time? When did I ever see Princess Angelina?"
Xia De sat at the dining table, wondering suspiciously. He poured goat's milk into the bowl of cat food and pushed it towards the cat, who was waiting with wide eyes, then his own eyes narrowed slightly:
"Wait, could it be that the original Xia De met her? A vagrant and a princess, a man curled up in a corner and a noble young lady looking out from a carriage, and then... Is this what I've been worrying about, people who truly knew the original owner? No, this won't do. Even if she's Leia's younger sister, but if..."
His thoughts immediately wandered far.
"Outsider, I need to remind you, please think carefully, have you ever met her?"
The voice in his ear shifted Xia De's thoughts from whether the space behind the basement wall could fit a bed and cabinets. He tried hard to recall, and the woman's voice in his ear, with a smile, gave hints of a few key pieces of information: "noble young lady," "red hair," "likes to attend banquets and salons."
"Oh~ Lakeview Manor!"
Now Xia De remembered. On that rather magical night at Lakeview Manor, due to the influence of strange luck, he experienced many things that seemed insignificant at the time but were actually greatly related to him.
That night, shortly after Xia De entered the manor, he saw Miss Tifa Servett. And when he stood by the long table in the manor courtyard and looked up, he saw several young ladies standing on the second-floor balcony of the manor, dressed in gowns and chatting with each other.
One of them, a red-haired girl holding a glass of wine, noticed Xia De looking at them and even pointed out Xia De's location to her friends (Note).
At that time, Xia De was worried about causing trouble, so he quickly left and didn't pay much attention to the girls upstairs. But now that he thought about it, the red-haired girl he saw then was very likely Princess Angelina Cavendish. And because the other party was looking down from a high place, the possibility of her remembering Xia De's appearance was not small.
"Yes, from her height and build, it was her."
"Tobesk is really small; I can even run into her like this."
He sighed softly, put away the banknotes from the envelope, and then tossed the letter aside.
In the letter, Princess Angelina politely invited Xia De to attend her salon if he had time. The Princess was probably very interested in Xia De, who had rumors of an improper relationship with Miss Jialinna, but Xia De had no interest in befriending any underage princesses.
He still had to deal with the demon-possessed guy and renovate his own house. Of course, not contacting Angelina Cavendish was also to avoid being seen as frivolous by Leia, who would soon return to Tobesk City.
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