“Alright, we’ll split up. After I get home from the Witch, I’ll immediately start preparing to enter the Darkness Domain, gathering casting materials, relics, and that box sealing the demon. If there’s any bad news, we’ll leave immediately. Luvia, after you return from the black market, besides preparing the demon sealing ritual, don’t forget to notify our other friend. Even if you can’t find her, find a way to leave her a message.”
Iluna had been temporarily assigned to the Sun Church’s special operations team these past few days, so she wouldn’t be at the security company.
“Alright, Detective. Be careful with everything. We’ve been preparing for so long, and now it’s truly time.”
Luvia reached out and hugged Xia De.
“Yes, it’s time.”
Xia De, with a serious expression, embraced the purple-eyed girl.
After the Coldwater Port incident ended, he had been waiting for Darkness to arrive. They had known for a long time that once Darkness appeared, it would definitely be the decisive battle. But now that the moment had truly arrived, it felt somewhat unreal.
But no matter what, since he had decided to witness the Thirteen Chosen Ones, this matter could not be avoided.
Xia De and Luvia parted ways at St. Anthem Square. Xia De took a carriage, not even going home, and went directly to Miss Jialinna’s manor in the south of the city.
It was just very unfortunate that both Miss Jialinna and Tifa were not at the manor. Xia De learned from the manor’s housekeeper that the Duchess had accompanied Queen Diana to the horse farm for a stroll.
This somewhat disrupted Xia De’s plans. Xia De had originally hoped to bring the darkness box back on this trip, allowing him to use the 1784 time key one last time to complete the gamble with three rhode cards and obtain the Ling Rune.
But with them absent, Xia De couldn’t wait here for too long, especially since Luvia could come to Saint Delan Square to find him at any time.
So he left a letter, explaining the matter of Darkness in detail, and hoped that the Duchess, while dealing with this matter, would send someone to Saint Delan Square with the darkness box as soon as possible.
After having the housekeeper personally deliver the letter to the royal horse farm, Xia De returned to the city by carriage, heading straight home.
His hurried footsteps and the sound of him opening the door and going upstairs startled Mia, who was at home, making her think something had happened. While Xia De was packing items he might need, Mia followed closely behind his feet, as if worried that Xia De would leave home with his luggage but without her.
The gun of kindness, capable of one-shot kills in certain situations, the manuscript pages that could bring dreams of Saint Byron's Academy at any time, the last pirate’s blood money, the dice of fate that interfered with divination, the youth everlasting leaf for healing, the demon hunter seal for demons, and the metamorphosis ring that could be used as an extra life—all of these were carried on him.
The soul fishing rod was left at home due to inconvenience, but the god's gift box, as a crucial item, had to be taken.
However, this box was also inconvenient to carry, so Xia De used needles, thread, fabric, and scissors from home to make a very ugly canvas backpack.
After putting the heavy metal box into the cloth bag, Xia De tried jumping a few times with it on his back. After confirming it was sturdy, he placed it on the coffee table. He opened the lid and then wondered if he should put some relics that wouldn't be used in combat into the box instead of carrying them on his person, to prevent them from going out of control due to the Darkness Domain.
“Safety first, I’ll just keep everything on me.”
He thought for a moment, then put on the demon hunter seal and the metamorphosis ring on his right hand, and the psychic crystal ring on his left hand. Although Xia De absolutely did not want to become a woman, when it came down to it, life was more important than principles.
He looked at his hands, then took off the pebble ring:
“The transformation of positive and negative is the beginning of a new life.”
He quickly recited the incantation to prevent himself from forgetting it when he needed to use it, and then put the ring back on his hand.
At the same time, Mia, who had always treated the metamorphosis ring as a toy, squatted on the sofa, watching Xia De intently. Seeing that Xia De was quietly muttering a list of items and had no intention of returning the ring to her or playing with her, the small orange cat meowed again, flicked its tail, and looked at the relics Xia De had lightly placed on the coffee table in front of its paws.
“And the weak angel potion, can’t forget that.”
He got up from the sofa and retrieved the light-protected potion from a locked drawer in the study. Next to this vial was a viscous eye drop, an eye medicine formulated by an ophthalmologist from precious red liquid. Although it couldn't evolve eye-related Miracles like the red liquid, it had the effect of enhancing vision, so Xia De took this out as well.
He stood in the living room and thought for a moment:
“Help me think, is there anything else I need to prepare?”
Your door pendant.
She whispered softly in his ear, and Xia De immediately slapped his forehead:
“Oh, yes, I can’t forget that. Even if Miss Jialinna can’t send the darkness box in time, the last chance can still provide me with 20 minutes of safe and resting time. Not to mention, once I win the gamble, I might even get a brief chance to talk to that God of Gamblers. Not using the key beforehand was truly the right choice.”
While praising himself, he took out the time key and put it in his pocket. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, sitting on the sofa and looking at the relics on the coffee table.
At this moment, the Outsider didn't know whether he should be nervous or excited.
It was past three in the afternoon on Thursday when he returned home from Miss Jialinna’s manor, and by the time he finished packing the items he might need for the adventure, it was already almost five o’clock.
Xia De didn't want to miss Luvia's message because of dinner, so he just ate some bread at home for supper. This made Mia, who was still eating cat food mixed with cod liver oil, think that Xia De had no food.
So, this cat, very uncharacteristically, did not eat all the food Xia De gave her, but left some, then stood on the dining table and nudged her small bowl with her head to Xia De.
Xia De was originally a bit anxious, but seeing Mia's appearance, his mood inexplicably relaxed:
“We’ve prepared for so long, nothing will go wrong.”
He didn't change into his home clothes, but stayed in his convenient outdoor clothes, and spent the evening on the sofa, reading Miss Felianna’s notebook.
Luvia finally knocked on the downstairs door around ten o’clock on this Thursday night. From her appearance, she hadn't been idle all afternoon and evening:
“The good news is that Darkness and the Weepers haven’t entered the Darkness Domain so far. The bad news is that the Church can’t find any trace of them. If a Thirteen Ring Sorcerer wants to hide, no one can easily find him.”
The purple-eyed girl sat on the sofa, looking a bit tired:
“The Church has already received our message, but I couldn’t see Iluna. She went directly to the south of the city with the Church’s team. I think the Church is planning that if things go wrong, they’ll have that Great Sword of the Sun lead Iluna into the Darkness Domain to confront Darkness and Hermons.”
“That’s not bad, but we can’t just rely on Iluna’s news.”
“Yes, some diviners from the Prophet Association have also been dispatched to the south of the city. I’ll go back to the association in a bit to gather intelligence through their channels. If it’s confirmed that Darkness has entered the Darkness Domain, I’ll come to you immediately. Xia De, don’t sleep too soundly tonight, I might knock on your door at any time.”
Xia De nodded, looking at the relics he had placed on the table:
“Luvia, you also pay attention to rest, don’t be too—”
“How can I rest at a time like this!”
Her voice suddenly became very loud, making Mia the cat burrow straight into Xia De's arms.
The purple-eyed girl immediately showed a regretful expression:
“Sorry.”
This appearance was very similar to the almost out-of-control scene when she learned that Xia De had confirmed who the Chosen One was in Coldwater Port.
“Luvia, calm down.”
Xia De remained composed, reaching out to grasp Luvia’s left hand:
“I don’t know why, but whenever it involves the Chosen One, you get emotional. But in the current situation, we have the advantage, there’s no need to rush.”
“Sorry, I lost my composure.”
She raised her right hand to cover her forehead:
“I just… I just feel like… I can’t even describe it… I feel like the world is about to be destroyed when I think that Darkness might complete the ritual and escape Tobesk. I’m sorry, Xia De, truly sorry.”
She lowered her head and said nothing more. Xia De held her hand and looked at the starry sky outside the window:
“No matter what, I’m always here.”
He said, almost in a whisper.
Luvia left quickly, and Xia De did not go to bed to sleep all night, but rested on the sofa, dressed and wrapped in a blanket, ready to depart at any moment. Although he was only a Two-Ring Arcanist, his strong physical constitution could barely support him doing this.
But if he continued like this for several days, Xia De certainly wouldn't be able to last.
However, where Xia De slept made no difference to Mia. She slept on the back of the sofa all night. When she woke up on Friday morning, she still meowed a few times, half-asleep, as if she couldn't understand how she was in the living room and couldn't see Xia De. But once the cat was fully awake, she looked down and saw Xia De on the sofa, immediately became very excited, and urged Xia De to prepare breakfast.
“Good morning, Mia.”
Xia De yawned, pushed off the blanket, and got up from the sofa. When he stretched, it seemed like all the bones in his body were creaking. This sound was not an illusion, because the orange cat also heard it and looked at Xia De with great curiosity.
After breakfast, Xia De returned to the living room to wait. At this point, whether it was Miss Jialinna sending a servant with the darkness box, or Luvia coming to the door again, it would be a pleasant surprise for Xia De.
But from that morning until that evening, no one visited. It wasn't until evening, when Xia De returned home with Mia after eating out, that he finally saw a girl waiting at his doorstep.
But it wasn’t Luvia, it was Dorothy.
The blonde, blue-eyed Writer stood at Xia De’s door, bathed in the late summer sunset. She suddenly turned her head and smiled at the Outsider, who was carrying a cat. Xia De felt his heart almost stop beating.
Dorothy’s visit this time was to borrow Sparrow Detective’s Detective records from Xia De. She wanted to transcribe some non-private parts to mail to her Writer friend to share.
Xia De, of course, had no objection. However, when Dorothy followed Xia De to the second floor and saw the table full of relics and casting materials, she stopped in surprise:
“Are the things you’ve been busy with finally coming to an end?”
“Yes.”
Xia De nodded, and seeing his reluctance to talk more, Dorothy pursed her lips:
“If you need help, Leia can probably pull together over a hundred steam infantry in the city.”
“No, no, I can handle it myself.”
Xia De shook his head slightly. He would never involve Dorothy and Leia in the terrible matters related to demons.
“Do you really not need my help?”
“No need, I’m not going to do anything dangerous.”
“Alright then, take this.”
She took out the youth everlasting leaf from the crevice of the silver ornament hanging around her neck:
“Lend it back to me in a few days to prove that you didn’t do anything dangerous.”
“Okay.”
Xia De smiled and nodded. Once he completed the key in his hand, he would still have two leaves, so he was confident he wouldn't be found out.
“Also, this is an ancient text of Kiss of the Tree that Leia helped find. I originally planned to give it to you tomorrow at the Saturday meeting.”
She handed Xia De a roll of parchment:
“Your Kiss of the Tree Ling Rune isn’t linked to Miracles, and I always feel that’s not good, so take this. Maybe it will help you sometime.”
Xia De looked at the item in his hand:
“I… I…”
“I’m waiting for you to tell me your story after your adventure.”
She said with a smile:
“Xia De, you must, you absolutely must tell me.”
This time, Xia De’s guilt about lying was even stronger.
Mia burrowed into the god's gift box. Seeing that Xia De didn't pull her out this time, she curiously looked at the two people facing each other in the sunset.
