Lord of Mysteries:Fire of Destruction

Backlund. In a particular rented room in the borders of Empress Borough...

Hazel Match was wearing her dark hunting clothes and boots. Her face was painted in dark colors, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail.

In a few minutes, she would begin her infiltration mission, and it was time to prepare to ensure its success and seize the opportunity to act.

Taking short breaths to calm her heart, she opened the briefcase she had brought and began to take out various ingredients to ask for the Scarlet Monarch's blessing.

Sighing a little, the woman went to the corner of the room where a simple full-length mirror stood once she had finished taking out everything she needed.

Grabbing a short dagger from her belt, she quickly made a wall of spirituality and then cut her forearm, making sure to avoid important points but drawing enough blood.

Frowning a little at the pain, she grabbed the paper her boss had sent her and began to copy the symbols on the edges of the mirror with her blood while praying in Ancient Hermes.

"The Scarlet Monarch who burns depravity; The Calamity forgotten by time; The Stranger who comes from the Unknown;

"Your faithful servant prays for your attention;

"I pray for you to open the doors to your Kingdom;

"I pray that you share my mind with the soldier Ignir and grant me a better ability to hide myself!"

As soon as she had said the last line, Hazel drew the symbol of the Scarlet Monarch with her blood: the spear covered by infinity and the open book.

The multiple lines of the bloody symbols began to weep, heading towards the center in a vortex that began to expel yellowish smoke.

The surface of the mirror trembled like an uneasy river. After a few seconds, the surface calmed down and showed a majestic city covered in yellowish smoke. Above the city, a figure in armor rose higher than it.

In respect, Hazel stood up straight and saluted the figure.

From the mirror, the smoke from the city began to seep out, but this smoke was a dark, bloody color.

This smoke covered Hazel and quickly entered her body. Her clothes, which had already been prepared to move in the dark, seemed to become the darkness itself.

Hazel felt like the shadows were embracing, hiding, and protecting her simultaneously. She felt she could trust them to take a powerful blow and emerge almost unscathed.

Her wound was gone, not a single scar on her skin. It was as if she had never been cut.

'This is the blessing of a God!' Controlling her thoughts, she straightened up even more and praised.

"Praise the Monarch!" Her voice was no longer hers but a cacophony of people whose gender could not be defined.

Although she was still a believer in the Evernight Goddess, her faith was not very strong, so praising another god did not bother her, just as she was not bothered by praying to 'Him.'

Although their first meeting had been worse than horrible. That resulted from her arrogance and lack of trust in her Teacher.

She would not make such a mistake again.

The Monarch, who stood over the city, gave a slight nod. The smile she could see under his hood disappeared along with the City when the mirror returned to normal.

"Can you hear me?" A voice sounded in her head, but Hazel wasn't scared. The voice was familiar.

'Loud and clear.' Responding in her thoughts, Hazel couldn't help but find herself surprised again.

It was as if Soldier Ignir was inside her head or at her side.

"This will only last about 30 minutes, so we must focus on being quick," Ignir said.

"The guards are concentrating more and more on the party; an opportunity will soon appear. As soon as the Madam finds a window, we will act."

'I'm on my way.'

Thinking the words, Hazel put away everything she had used and hid it. Once she had done all that, she put on the Burnt Band - she was grateful to notice how the murmurs were much weaker than before - Vecchio Pomodoro, she put Hangover Time in a pocket and before leaving, she made sure that the mirror on her waist was securely fastened.

With everything ready, the shadows enveloped her, and she disappeared from the room.

Operation Catch the Rat had begun.

...

Above the City of Calamities...

Releasing his Scarlet Monarch disguise, Adryan Kenway sighed as he looked at himself.

Combining the spirit body with a card of Blasphemy caused one to obtain certain powers of the Path that the card belonged to, along with the corresponding attire.

For example, when Klein combined his spirit body with the Black Emperor's Card of Blasphemy, he obtained black armor, a crown of the same color, and a cape. He also gained some powers of the path.

By combining his spirit body with the Hanged Man's Card of Blasphemy, Adryan gained some Blood Magic spells and control of the shadows, almost comparable to a Shepherd.

'While the advantages of using the Hanged Man's Card of Blasphemy are great and all... This is...' Pressing his lips together slightly, he looked at himself in embarrassment.

He was completely naked. He was only wearing a skirt that barely reached above his knees and was open at the sides, with every step showing off his thick, pale legs.

His ankles, wrists, and neck had thick steel shackles. Several chains were attached to these: some dragged along the ground while others wrapped around his body or floated tetrically but saintly around him.

To innocent eyes, he looked like a saint who had been sacrificed. But in his own eyes, Adryan could think of only one thing...

'This is a full BDSM suit! What the hell was that old pervert thinking when he designed it?!'

He looked like a sex slave!

Shaking his head, he struck a few semi-provocative poses and nodded with some pride.

'Sex slave or not. I look fabulous.'

If he could wear this outside the City of Calamities, at least for a few minutes, the first thing he would do would undoubtedly be to go to his favorite worm.

'I bet she'd faint if she saw me like this~'

Laughing a little, the redhead separated himself from the Card of Blasphemy and held it in his left hand, his modesty returning with his pants and shirt.

'Unfortunately, I doubt it's a good idea...'

Due to the state of his soul, the combination/fusion with the card could only be performed in the City of Calamities, where it was more stable and any outside influence was repelled.

Adryan didn't want to test what would happen if he were to do it outside of it. Without its protection, it was almost certain that the mother of all concerts would assail his mind.

"Sure, I can always buy the shackles and chains and dress up... Hmm..."

"Oh... oh~" An idea quickly formed in his mind.

Adding another thing to do to his already ridiculously long list, Adryan returned his attention to the current issue.

The redhead summoned his beach chair and sat down, the blasphemy card on his lap ready to be absorbed.

Since it was a dangerous mission, he had to watch out for accidents.

His spy screen manifested on his forearm along with a mirror at his side, one showing a party of nobles and the other showing how his student quickly made her way there.

After advancing to Conspirator and completely digesting the potion, the time he could maintain the screen had increased considerably, so this would not be a very heavy burden for him.

...

Forsaken Land of the Gods, City of Silver...

With a pile of books in his arms and his Shapeshifter Staff strapped to his waist, Derrick strolled through the library with a bright smile, occasionally humming a song that came to him at the moment.

Unable to help himself, his eyes occasionally returned to the sealed artifact at his waist, and his smile grew even wider.

The artifact's abilities, while relatively simple, were so enhanced that it didn't matter!

The training mannequins that every house in the Silver City has, each made from the monsters hunted in the dark outskirts of the walls that protected the city, were highly resistant.

These were used as training in schools to teach the little ones how to defend themselves and how to deal with the monsters they would face once they were old enough.

Before, a cut from his sword would hurt them, but the cuts weren't very deep. They barely grazed the beasts' bones.

Now, with the Shapeshifter Staff, a simple blow from his sword would cut them in half!

He had never cut anything so easily!

This was the case with each of the five weapons it could be converted into.

The broadsword was a destroyer, pulverizing anything it hit. The arrows from the bow could cleanly pierce five mannequins. The spear was perfect for keeping one's distance, and its precise thrusts left holes the size of a child's head. The twin daggers made him ridiculously fast and deadly at close range, their only disadvantage being that very short range.

"This artifact is much more valuable than the formula and main ingredient of Doctor..." Derrick knew the value of such a weapon but could not understand why the Chariot would ask for so little in return.

He knew that this, in a way, broke the Fool's rule of equivalent exchange. And although Chariot himself had decided this, the boy couldn't help feeling horrible.

That was why he had decided to come to the library.

He had noticed that Chariot was really interested in the history of the city. And in its myths and legends.

Although he had already given that knowledge to the man when he exchanged it for the Bard's formula, he felt he had fallen short.

By the time he handed over the payment, he hadn't read all the ancient books or the creation myths.

He planned to read them now, if Chariot ever needed them. He could give him the information.

Derrick just hoped it would be enough...

Shaking his head, the 14-year-old returned to the shelves. He went to one in particular that he wanted to read.

The closer he got, the slower his steps became.

A soft voice could be heard in the distance, that of a woman. She seemed to be talking to herself in whispers, but he could tell that she seemed to be having a conversation.

'This is one of the safest points in the City. But even so, I cannot let my guard down...'

Although the darkness inside the City was always controlled, it only took one mistake for an area to fall into darkness and monsters to appear.

Shortening his steps and making himself as silent as he could, Derrick began to approach the source of the murmurs.

His hand on the Shapeshifter Staff, ready to draw it as soon as there was a problem. If he couldn't deal with the danger, he could always use the Artifact's enhanced physical abilities to escape.

As he moved, Derrick realized that the murmurs were coming from the area he wanted to go to. This made him raise his guard. But when he was a few steps away, the murmurs stopped.

Instead of feeling calmer, this alerted the young man even more.

As soon as he reached the source of the murmurs, his guard went down as did his posture. A familiar woman was reading the book of the creation myth.

She wore a long black robe embroidered with mysterious purple patterns. Her silvery-gray hair was thick but curled up slightly.

Her face was smooth and fair, and her appearance was gorgeous. She looked to be in her early thirties, and her pair of light gray eyes seemed to be able to pierce through one's soul.

One of the members of the council of 6, Shepherd Lovia.

Placing his hand on his chest and lowering his head slightly, he bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Elder Lovia..."

At being called, the woman looked up and, after looking at him for a moment, gave a slight nod in acknowledgment. Her pale gray eyes were focused and calm.

The boy's eyes went to the old book in the woman's hands for a moment before returning up.

Easily noticing this, she closed the book and held it out to him.

"You can take it. I've finished reading it."

"A-ah. Thank you, Elder Lovia." Somewhat taken aback, Derrick quickly recovered and took the book from her hands.

The woman's slightly gray eyes calmly rested on him. "It is good for young children to review the creation myths. That way, we can appreciate the miracles performed by the Lord who Created All and praise 'His' grace and love."

With those few words, Elder Lovia left the space between the bookshelves.

Derrick was a little surprised by this. 'Although she's still doing strange things – suddenly becoming sad, happy, growling angrily – the episodes are further apart. Elder Lovia seems to be returning to normal...'

As soon as he thought that, the boy couldn't help but sigh happily.

"That's good... With Elder Lovia's improved mental state, expeditions will be much safer..."

Shaking his head slightly, the boy looked at the old book in his hand and placed it with the rest.