"I am Slyde, Slyde Watts."
The Marionettist, whose face was devoid of expression save for an occasional twitch, responded like a Machine.
Lex pressed on, "Slyde, what are you doing here?"
"Treasure map."
"Be more specific."
Slyde's eyebrows furrowed, as if in resistance, but he still said, "I am tracking a treasure map related to the Antigonus family. I suspect that map points to a certain ruin of the Antigonus family."
"Therefore, I came to Sonia Island, to Grand Town."
This... this was truly significant news. This fellow named Slyde was tracking a treasure map related to the Antigonus family. Could the treasure map Siril had actually be connected to that mysterious Family?
That old fox Osweld didn't tell me anything. Was he worried that if I knew the treasure map was related to the Antigonus family, I would have ulterior motives? What a cautious old man.
Tracking an item related to the Antigonus family, and a Marionettist at that, was Slyde a member of the Secret Order?
Thinking of this, Lex directly asked, "What is your relationship with the Secret Order?"
Slyde took two seconds to respond, "I am a member of the Secret Order."
As expected.
Lex then continued, "Have you obtained the treasure map?"
Slyde did not refuse this question and immediately replied, "No."
"Did you kill Siril? Why were you in his villa, and why did you change into his appearance?"
Slyde's expression struggled for a moment before he answered, "I did not kill Siril. I hired the local gangsters in Town as a cover. The 'White Bear Gang' in Grand Town often charges spice merchants like Siril fees under the pretext of maintaining the safety of their plantations."
"Today, I had the 'White Bear Gang' demand a fee from Siril for the same reason, but when I arrived, his servant told me that Siril was not in the Manor."
"I divined that someone would visit Siril today, and it would be related to the treasure map, so I dealt with the servants in the Manor and stayed in the villa as Siril."
Hearing this, Lex breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed the Antiquities Protection Society members were quite clever; Siril had not yet fallen into Slyde's hands.
He asked again, "Didn't you divine Siril's location?"
Slyde quickly responded, "I did, but I couldn't clearly see the revelation. Siril must have an anti-divination item, or someone is covering for him and interfering with divinations targeting him."
Hmm, that's not surprising. The Antiquities Protection Society has a lot of magical items, and that treasure map is very important. Siril wouldn't be careless.
At this moment, Lex noticed Slyde's figure beginning to overlap, and a low rumbling sound echoed around, as if the space was about to collapse.
It looked like Slyde's resistance was intensifying, and he could wake up at any moment. After all, this was a Sequence 5 Marionettist, and a Beyonder from the Seer pathway. Even if forcibly put to sleep, he could probably find the correct way to escape the dream in his dream.
Lex hurriedly threw out another question, "Do you know where I can find a Sirens?"
Since Slyde had become a Marionettist, he must have consumed the potion amidst the Sirens's song, which was why Lex asked this question.
Slyde gently gnawed at his teeth, looking as if he wanted to speak but couldn't. After a moment, he said, "The depths of the Sea of Ruins."
He suddenly looked at Lex, his eyes full of doubt, seemingly curious as to why Lex was here.
Lex immediately ended the Spirit Realm communication.
After a moment of daze, Lex looked around and found himself 'awake'.
He abruptly looked at Slyde on the ground and saw his eyelids twitching, as if he was about to wake up immediately. Lex instantly reached out with an ethereal grasp, and crimson surged. A long spear with a blazing white tip quickly condensed in his hand.
Lex no longer hesitated and thrust the spear down. Just at that moment, Slyde opened his eyes, but his gaze was still muddled.
He had indeed found a way to escape in his dream, but it was too late. The scorching long spear instantly ignited his clothes, and the high-temperature spear tip easily pierced his heart, pinning the Marionettist to the ground.
Boom!
A wave of flames suddenly spread out, then quickly retracted, converging into a pillar of fire that shot straight up to the roof.
In the wooden house near the Manor gate, members of the White Bear Gang were talking loudly and drinking, completely unaware of what was happening in the villa.
When the firelight disappeared, Lex controlled the flames, preventing them from spreading further. Then he opened the windows, letting the cold wind rush in to blow away the thick smoke, and only then did he see Slyde's charred corpse.
On his corpse, faint, illusory specks of light emerged, and after 10 minutes, they formed a jelly-like beyonder characteristics.
Lex found an iron box in this utility room. He collected the Marionettist's beyonder characteristics. Then he released flames, and under his intentional urging, the fire became exceptionally fierce. In the blink of an eye, it ignited the entire villa.
The flames and thick smoke rising from the villa were clearly visible even in Grand Town.
Soon after, a team of police arrived at Champagne Manor. They woke up the drunk White Bear Gang members in the wooden house and forcibly ordered them to assist in putting out the fire.
On the roof of an abandoned farmhouse not far from the Manor, Lex leaned against the chimney, clearly watching this scene unfold.
He set the fire to attract the attention of the Town police and the Feysac Empire personnel. This way, even if Slyde had companions on Sonia Island, they would certainly not dare to act rashly.
Moreover, this fire was also for Siril to see. He believed Siril should still be on Sonia Island and would receive the news.
If Siril was smart enough, he would deduce that this fire was set by 'Duke', because the Secret Order had to operate in secret and would never do something so conspicuous.
In that case, he wouldn't have to look for Siril; he just had to wait for the spice merchant to contact him.
At the same time, Lex clearly felt that he had completely digested the potion. After he killed Slyde, and after he set fire to the villa, he received feedback, completely and thoroughly digesting both bottles of the Pyromaniac potion!
"It's time to advance."
When Lex walked out of the farmhouse, he had already taken off his Thousand-Faced Traveler mask and quietly returned to Grand Town in his original appearance.
He found an inconspicuous inn in the Town, rented a room, and then bought a large iron pot.
Afterward, he set up a simple altar, summoned the spirit world treasure chest, and took out the Conspirer's beyonder characteristics and various auxiliary materials.
"Let's begin."
With a mix of anticipation, excitement, and apprehension, Lex first took out the Human-faced Lion blood he had obtained from Iceberg Admiral and poured it into the iron pot.