“Oh~ I only heard about such things before, I didn't expect to see them with my own eyes!”
The maid, Tifa, sighed softly, and Xia De’s face was full of smiles:
“It’s even better than I thought. The ability to observe blood is still maintained, and it’s clearer. But more importantly, the attributes of the Echo have been enhanced. For living people, I can now see their movement trajectory for a certain period of time by dripping their blood or similar blood components into my eyes or injecting them into my body.”
He stood up, holding the cat:
“Tifa, you just dripped blood into my eyes. So, within about an hour, while I’m using the Miracle, as long as I come to a location where you’ve appeared within the last 24 hours, my eyes will be able to see your blood-colored phantom. Those glowing shadows will describe your continuous actions and movements in space. This is not only an Echo of Blood, but also an Echo of Time and Space.”
The maid, Tifa, thought for a moment:
“Blood, Time, Space. Although the Miracle has no offensive power, this effect is really too useful. What about corpses?”
“The corpse doesn’t need to be intact. As long as I drip the corpse’s blood into my eyes or inject it into my bloodstream, I can see the blood-colored halo formed by all its movements within an hour before and an hour after its death. Yes, combined with my psychic ability, Soul Echo, no dead person can keep a secret from me now. Of course, I need to find the place of death.”
Xia De nodded, controlling his smile:
“Not only that, I probably understand how to obtain this Miracle through normal means. I am definitely the first Ring術士 to possess this Miracle. First, I need the spell Blood Echo, then possess the power of time, space, and blood, and at least have come into contact with a god related to this. If I didn’t have this red potion I used, I would need to perform a ritual related to restoring eyesight, but I still need to think about the details of the ritual myself. My ritual studies are not good. Maybe I should change the name of the Miracle. How about Xia De's Echo of Blood?”
Xia De was joking. Although he made it sound simple, obtaining this Miracle was quite difficult. Just the requirement of having had a significant connection with a god possessing the power of blood, time, and space made it almost impossible.
And such a difficult Miracle to obtain was itself rich in effects and powerful.
“You do have the right to name it. Congratulations, Mr. Hamilton.”
Tifa said with a smile.
“You can just call me Xia De from now on.”
Xia De waved his hand, seeing that half of the red potion had been used, and now only a quarter remained in the bottle:
“The remaining potion is yours.”
“How can this be? To evolve Miracles and spells without cost, although it limits the type of ability, the remaining liquid is worth…”
She shook her head, wanting to refuse.
“I plan to keep that ring relic myself, but you also contributed to defeating the demon and obtaining these things.”
Xia De picked up the disobedient cat:
“How about it as a souvenir for being my Detective assistant today? I imagine Miss Jialinna doesn’t often give you time off to do your own things. I hope our day in Tobesk today can leave you with memorable memories. Take these potions; they were free for me anyway.”
Tifa hesitated, then, after thanking him softly with pursed lips, she tucked the small bottle into her dress pocket.
She brushed a strand of hair from her ear and whispered to Xia De:
“Mr. Hamilton…”
“Hmm?”
The maid, Tifa, smiled and gently shook her head:
“I spoke out of turn.”
She spoke again:
“Xia De, today’s memories are indeed a lifelong treasure for me.”
A gentle breeze blew through the window into the living room on the second floor of Saint Delan Square Six. Xia De, bathed in the wind, looked at the maid, Tifa, beside him. For him, today was another ordinary day.
(Iluna is praying)
“Isn’t this a bit too fast?”
Early Thursday morning, a carriage passed by the window, and the morning light shone into the room on the second floor of Silver Cross Avenue. Luvia squinted at the Black iron ring Xia De had placed on the table, and after a long while, she asked:
“You only asked me to divine this relic on Monday morning, and you got it by Wednesday afternoon.”
She touched the slightly cold ring. Because she already knew the relic’s characteristics, the voice in her ear immediately reminded her what it was:
“And this wasn’t just a coincidence; it was something you obtained because of a commission that was delayed for nearly two months. Is Sparrow Hamilton Detective really just an ordinary person? Why are all the commissions he left for you so problematic?”
“No, no. First, Sparrow Detective is not an ordinary person; he might have a Carson Rick identity, but that’s not important. Second, not every commission has problems. Three commissions have already been resolved. Although the mistress tracking and the ophthalmologist caused some trouble, you see, Mia is fine, isn’t she?”
Xia De poked the cat lying on the table. The latter stood up, glanced at him, and then lay down again.
“And Miss Mia Gold, although she complained in her letter that her family had declined, she’s still living quite well.”
Xia De emphasized.
“I’ll find time to go to Sparrow Hamilton Detective’s grave and divine his affairs.”
Luvia said helplessly, but she wasn’t sure whether this coincidence was due to one of the two Detectives or due to that house. From the current situation, even if Sparrow Detective hadn’t met with an accident, he would most likely have died due to other commissions later.
“Didn’t I translate that parchment scroll? This is a relic of the third epoch Demon Hunters, accidentally discovered by a Ring術士 centuries ago. The seal will appear in the hands of those who can fight demons due to fate’s connection. This is one of the seal’s characteristics, a belief passed down by the brave people of ancient times. They are true heroes.”
“I know, I know. You plan to find that sword when you have time, and you gave that bottle of potion to that pretty, large-chested maid.”
She used a rather inelegant expression. Xia De didn’t want to discuss female figures, so he proactively changed the subject:
“The Demon Hunter seal has been obtained, the weak angel potion has also been obtained, and I’ve also encountered the Servant of Secrets. The problem now is, if our location for confronting Darkness is not in the city, but inside the out-of-control angel-level relic Darkness Domain outside the city, how do we contend with those strange Servant of Secrets? A single one is relatively easy to deal with, but there’s more than one inside the relic.”
Luvia told Xia De not to be nervous. During the time Xia De had been in Tobesk, she had found more information:
“Killing demons requires specific methods. The Orthodox Church has already mastered this method. Our president went to assist with this matter a while ago, so the association also has information. Simply put, inside the Darkness Domain, those Evil Spirit demons that spread Darkness fear light.”
“But my flash spell is useless.”
“You still think that’s a flash spell? It’s indeed useless. Specifically, their bane is the Ling Rune derived from the concept of Light and its related concepts.”
At this point, Luvia confidently raised her neck:
“And as it happens, Iluna and I both have corresponding Ling Runes.”
“So, only I cannot kill those Servant of Secrets.”
Xia De nodded, already having an idea in his mind:
“Then how do we kill the demon on Darkness? What Ling Rune is its bane?”
“Why would we kill it? We need to deal with Ivan Darkness. And the other party hasn’t been dealt with for thousands of years. Your Hexacle friend in Coldwater Port, even with the ability to kill Darkness, didn’t dare, fearing the release of the demon. So, it’s highly probable we can’t kill it either.”
Luvia said.
“Then if we kill Darkness, doesn’t that mean we’re letting that Human Pus demon escape?”
Xia De was very worried.
“Even if we can’t kill the demon, the Orthodox Church will act. And even if the Orthodox Church is a step late again this time, we can still seal it. Xia De, that box you’re keeping…”
Luvia’s reminder made Xia De think of the god's gift box. That box could seal divinity and contain out-of-control relics; there was no reason it couldn’t seal demons.
Although this would prevent Xia De from getting a gift every week, considering the uncertainty of those gifts, the loss didn’t seem significant.
“That settles it. Kill Darkness, seal the demon…”
Xia De took out his notebook and drew:
“Among the difficulties in confronting Darkness, his Six-Ring Arcanist power will be suppressed by Iluna’s Balance talent; the demon in his palm will be countered by the seal and the magic potion; the Darkness talent will still be countered by Balance; even if he transforms into that state where half his body is entangled by Black purulence, I can still use my Moonlight to dispel the corrosive influence that absorbs negative emotions.”
He looked up and thought for a moment:
“It seems Darkness has been completely defeated.”
He laughed himself, knowing, of course, that this was impossible.
“Such a prepared battle, especially one where we know the enemy’s intelligence, will naturally be simpler, just like dealing with the Silver-Eyed One back then.”
Although Luvia’s expression was serious, she didn’t seem worried that the three of them would fail:
“Once Darkness is found in the city, we will act immediately. We cannot delay; we must kill him at the first opportunity.”
“That’s right, but if we really can’t contend with him, there’s no harm in letting the Orthodox Church take over the fight.”
Xia De reminded her. The Orthodox Church’s attitude towards the second Chosen One was also primarily “kill.” The Darkness talent wasn’t the problem, but he shouldn’t be controlling the strange existence left over from the third epoch—
The Orthodox Church had zero tolerance for intelligent oddities from past eras.
After saying goodbye to Luvia, Xia De originally wanted to take advantage of the time to complete the last commission, which was to help Miss White find her missing sister. But when Xia De visited the apartment of Miss Black, who was ostensibly “missing” but was actually just a runaway, he unexpectedly learned that The Lady had gone on vacation to the countryside of Tobesk and wouldn’t be back for at least half a month.
“That’s good too; it avoids another accident. Sparrow Detective is really something; why does he always take on such strange commissions?”
So Xia De could only put the commission aside again and patiently wait for Darkness to appear.
No news on Thursday. Xia De stayed home reading all day, with no income. In the evening, he took the cat for a walk in the University District and coincidentally met Iluna, who was on a mission. Xia De waved to her across the street, but because Iluna had teammates with her, the two didn’t chat. In the evening, Xia De organized the specific information for Xia De's Echo of Blood.
No news on Friday. Xia De stayed home reading all day, with no income. His attempt to enhance Time Perception failed again.
In the evening, he visited Priest Augustus at Dawn Church and was pulled by the Priest to participate in the church’s evening prayer activity. After getting a rather hearty late-night snack with the cat, he discussed some political topics with Bishop Owen.
The Bishop seemed intent on using Xia De to inquire about the subsequent actions of the Kingdom’s New World exploration army after Prince Sax was arrested.
Still no news on Saturday. Xia De stayed home reading for half a day, with no income. In the afternoon, he attended Doctor Schneider’s study group. During the study group, Xia De submitted the information for the evolved Miracle, Xia De's Echo of Blood, to the Library.
After comparing the information, the Academy Library accepted the naming of Xia De's Echo of Blood.
He had originally thought the Academy would only give him a few coins to dismiss him, but unexpectedly, this time, the Academy was quite generous and gave him 100 pounds as a reward. He had been thinking he wouldn’t have any income this week, but unexpectedly, he earned an income in one go that an ordinary working-class family might not even have in three years.
“When did the Academy become so generous?”
Xia De held the money, somewhat suspecting if he was dreaming.
“This indicates that the Academy believes the Miracle information you provided is very useful.”
The Doctor explained, looking at the notice in his hand with annoyance.
The Summer practical training was canceled, and one Winter off-campus practical training was added this academic year. The Academy seemed to believe that Tobesk was still unsafe, but in Xia De’s opinion, Saint Byron's also realized Darkness’s whereabouts.
After the study group ended, it was customary to have dinner with Dorothy and then begin the evening lesson. Unexpectedly, as soon as they got into the carriage from the intersection, the Golden-haired girl lowered her voice and said:
“Xia De, tonight’s lesson is canceled. Leia will find time to leave Yodel Palace to see you tonight.”
