The brown-haired Diviner also caught sight of the two figures in the shadows. She paused for a moment but did not step into the grass. Miss Louisa's dress was relatively simple, but Miss Annette's formal gown could not afford to be snagged by the grass.
"The champagne you wanted," she said with a smile to Miss Louisa, then looked at Xia De as if he were a rare animal.
"Hamilton Detective? Good evening. The Doctor mentioned you in his letter. So the Doctor really found a new gifted one. Did he perhaps overdraw his luck with some rare relic?"
The evaluations of Doctor Schneider by several people were surprisingly consistent.
After exchanging greetings, Xia De briefly recounted the evening's events again. Miss Annette, the Diviner, was not as surprised as Miss Louisa.
"If that's the case, I actually have something to say as well."
She seemed overly calm.
"What else?" Miss Louisa asked hesitantly.
"Actually, I shouldn't be saying this. This is intelligence from the Prophet Association, and by regulation, I can't tell others. But since everyone is here, I can't let you fall into danger... It's like this: don't you want to know why Mrs. Lasoya, as the Detective said, is attending the banquet? Is she really deeply influenced by that relic ring, merely accompanying her lover here?"
Miss Annette's index finger lightly tapped the glass goblet held between her thumb and slender middle finger.
"Then why?" Xia De already had a bad feeling. Under this inexplicable luck, if no significant major event occurred, it would be too unworthy of this marvelous night.
"To synthesize the Angel-level (1st level) relic Mercury Blood using the Sage-level (2nd level) relic god's gift box, stronger materials are needed as support. Mrs. Lasoya is attending the banquet precisely for one of them. The Mercury Blood plans to summon the evil god Blood Feast Lord inside the Lakeview Manor mansion. They need the power granted by the evil god."
"Blood Feast Lord?" Miss Louisa asked in surprise.
"Evil god? Descent?" Xia De didn't even know what expression to make.
The night the professors came to his home, he had heard the name of this evil god and knew about the cooperation between the Cultists and the Mercury Blood. He just hadn't expected that the Mercury Blood would actually summon him, and that it would be tonight.
Miss Luvia remained calm. She seemed to believe that the situation was still under control.
"I just found out when I went to get the champagne. The Association sent me intelligence, telling me to leave here as soon as possible. But don't worry, the ritual to summon the evil god will only take effect at exactly eleven o'clock. The Orthodox Church has probably also received the news, and Ring術士 of ten rings or more should arrive very soon."
Xia De took out his pocket watch.
"It's ten twenty tonight."
"Dorothy, I'll go into the mansion with you to bring out Priest Augustus and the Doctor. Detective, you stay here. Leaving rashly might arouse suspicion, but also don't get close to the mansion. According to the intelligence, the Cultists will mainly entangle the Orthodox Church's Ring術士 team, and among the Mercury Blood members coming to execute the plan, besides the 'Silver Light' Lasorde you mentioned, there's also a high-level Ring術士 known as the 'Heart Collector'. Be careful with everything."
The brown-haired Diviner lifted her slender, fair neck, drained the champagne in her hand with red lips, and then, with a ripping sound, tore off the hem of her formal dress and underskirt, turning the expensive gown into a normal dress convenient for movement. Miss Louisa also nodded, raising both hands to tie her meticulously styled golden long hair behind her head, then forcefully stepped on and broke the heels of her high heels.
Miss Louisa turned to look at Xia De.
"Detective, remember, under no circumstances should you approach the mansion tonight. If we all die, you are responsible for notifying the academy of the situation."
"Is that a possibility?" he asked with some concern.
"One must always consider all possibilities. This is a very ordinary thing, and we cannot not save the Doctor and the Priest. Hamilton Detective..."
The brown-haired Diviner Luvia Annett gazed at Xia De. Only then did Xia De notice that this lady's eyes were actually light purple. That shade of purple was stunningly beautiful, giving one the illusion of being deeply drawn in. Although purple pupil color can occur naturally, it is extremely rare (Note).
"I am a Diviner. Fate is giving me revelations, and another me is also warning me. I see an abnormal trajectory of fate on you. Something big will definitely happen tonight. Please be very careful."
Just like that, Xia De watched the two ladies hurry away. This feeling, as if sending women to the battlefield while he was powerless, was truly unpleasant.
"I am still too weak. I can't do anything."
Looking at their pretty backs, Xia De couldn't help but think to himself. But before the woman's voice in his mind could comment, he remembered that he had forgotten to mention that there was a blasphemy element related to the evil god near the grape arbor.
"Could it be that that's a node of the ritual?"
According to historical textbooks, the Ring術士 system was formed in the mid-to-late fifth epoch. And unlike Miracles and spells, which only exist in the contemporary Ring術士 system, "rituals" are mystical contents that have existed since ancient times and can function in both past and modern power systems.
However, in the sixth epoch, due to the convenience of Miracles and spells, ritual studies gradually declined, with only a small number of people still researching them. But this does not mean that rituals are useless. Although rituals require prior preparation, usually involve huge consumption of materials, and need to meet strict conditions, the effects of large-scale rituals are often irreplaceable.
For example, summoning an evil god's descent. No Miracle or spell can achieve this; it requires a ritual. And since it's a large-scale ritual, it would definitely not be confined to just a tabletop or a single room.
If the Prophet Association's intelligence was correct and the Mercury Blood was truly that insane, then the scale of the ritual to summon the evil god could entirely cover a small part of the garden from the Lakeview Manor mansion.
"Perhaps I can try to disrupt the ritual's setup in the garden."
Xia De immediately found the key point and was happy that he might be able to play a role without taking risks. He had already seen a relatively friendly old god in a past timeline and did not want to see an evil god in the present timeline.
When he returned to the grape arbor, the young Poet by the stone table had already left. Now, there was only a middle-aged man in a fashionable burgundy formal suit sitting at the table, flipping through a small book with one hand.
Xia De walked over, wanting to find an excuse to make the middle-aged man leave, so he could look for ways to disrupt the ritual. To his surprise, the middle-aged man put down his book, smiled at him, and spoke first.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
It wasn't a Tobesk accent; this person was not a local.
"Waiting for me? Excuse me, sir, do we know each other?" Xia De said in surprise. He was still some distance from the stone table under the grape arbor but had already stopped.
"Is he a Ring術士?" he asked in his mind, and the woman's voice also gave an answer.
"Yes, quite high-level."
His heart seemed to stop for a moment, but Xia De showed no panic on his face.
"I think you must have mistaken me for someone else."
Saying that, he wanted to turn and leave, but the man called out to him, still with that smiling expression on his face, but Xia De felt a dangerous tingling on his scalp, like facing a hunting rifle about to fire.
The other party's malice was no longer concealed.
"No, I haven't found the wrong person, it's you. Although I don't know your name, I don't know your identity, I don't know your profession, I don't know your address, but I am indeed looking for you..."
He pulled up the sleeve of his left hand, revealing his black, seemingly charred left arm.
"Has the good luck I gave you run out? Fate's gift, it's time to collect its recompense!"
