He paused, then: "And Leonard — you'll infiltrate the Aurora Order."
"???"
Klein immediately raised his hand, pointing at himself in bewilderment: "Lord Cesima — me? Join the Demoness Sect as a witch?"
Cressida Cesima smiled faintly and produced a pendant and a lock of hair, handing them to Klein. "This pendant is a Faceless sealed artifact, capable of changing appearance and body type."
"And Faceless, as you may know, is the Sequence 6 title of the Clairvoyant pathway."
Klein's eyes went wide, staring at the pendant.
"This lock of hair is a sealed artifact from a Witch, carrying multiple Witch-type extraordinary abilities. It will help you convincingly pose as a member of the Demoness Sect."
Klein stared at both items, and his scalp began to tingle, because he genuinely could not picture how he was supposed to pass as a woman.
"Lord Cesima… may I ask why you're giving this particular assignment to me? I mean, this involves two evil-god organisations, it concerns a great many lives, and right now I'm just a Sequence 8…"
Cressida Cesima nodded. "Your Clown potion has been fully digested?"
"Accept this mission, and you'll receive the Sequence 7 formula to advance. As for why you — one, you and your comrades proved in Tingen that you have the ability to handle situations of this nature. Two, Daly told me you both have a strong, urgent desire to advance as quickly as possible and face more dangerous missions."
Klein went quiet for a beat, then gave a firm nod. "Understood!"
"Good. Both of you be careful."
Leonard immediately jumped in: "Hold on, Lord Cesima — what about me? Don't I get something too?"
"Of course. You'll also receive the Sequence 7 Nightmare formula."
"And then?"
"That's it."
"That's it?! You're not giving me any sealed artifacts for a cover identity?"
"No need. You're naturally a very strong fit for what the Aurora Order is looking for."
"???"
That's blatant favouritism.
Leonard seethed inwardly — though when he considered that Klein's two items came with the requirement of dressing as a woman, he felt considerably better. "But how are we supposed to get into the Demoness Sect and the Aurora Order?"
"For the Demoness Sect — make contact with that Assassin. That's your entry point. For the Aurora Order — find their Backlund representative, approach him directly, tell him you want to join, and demonstrate your faith in the True Creator."
"???"
Leonard's stomach dropped. He glanced sideways at the Evernight Goddess's icon on the wall. "Profess faith in… the True Creator?"
Cressida Cesima offered a gentle smile. "Don't worry. The Goddess knows all, and She won't fault you for this."
"Now — the two of you will first take the potions and advance to Sequence 7. Then you'll receive some undercover training. Go on."
He touched his chest. "The Goddess is with us."
"Praise the Goddess."
......
The following morning.
Bernadette had already received a reply from Mr. Z, confirming a meeting at a building in Cherwood District.
When she arrived, Vincent immediately recognised it — less than two hundred metres from where Mr. A had held his gathering, close enough to still see the marks of the battle when the Church had moved against him.
"The Emperor Roselle once said the most dangerous place is the safest place."
Mr. Z, smiling, welcomed Bernadette into a thoroughly ordinary townhouse. Inside, four or five attendants stood respectfully at attention, greeting Bernadette's arrival.
"These are my most trusted people, brought in specifically for the upcoming cooperation with the Demoness Sect." Mr. Z gave a brief introduction, then asked: "Mr. A — if you intend to bring in more people, I'll summon my full contingent and start recruiting."
"Do as you see fit," Bernadette said flatly.
"No — per the Master's will, you are the true person in charge in Backlund. Acting without your authorisation goes against Aurora Order protocol."
Once they were both seated, attendants stepped forward to pour wine. Mr. Z asked: "Mr. A — what brings you here today?"
"How are the talks with the Demoness Sect progressing?"
"Still in early contact."
Mr. Z's face broke into a wide, luminous smile. "This time, we will certainly let the Master truly complete His descent. Let this world once again bask in the Master's radiance."
Bernadette got straight to the point: "From here on, I'll be leading the cooperation with the Demoness Sect personally."
"..."
Mr. Z paused, then smiled even wider: "Wonderful — I actually had another matter I needed help with, and I was hoping you'd handle it anyway."
"What?"
"I've located Lanevus."
Mr. Z said: "Ever since Lanevus slipped out of our control in Tingen, he's been completely off the grid. But a few days ago the Master sent me a revelation — Lanevus is hiding here in Backlund."
He paused, cheerfully: "Now, even without Lanevus, we can still complete the ritual for the Master's descent. But with Lanevus it's a completely different story!"
He went on at length about his plans and arrangements, about Lanevus's significance to the Master's descent, already daydreaming aloud about how wonderful things would be after the Master arrived.
Eventually, Bernadette cut him off: "When are we meeting the Demoness Sect?"
"Anytime you say."
"Then let's go."
"Right now?"
"Mm. I can't wait."
"You truly are the Master's Blessed — the devotion is something else."
Half an hour later.
Bernadette, led by Mr. Z, arrived at a lavish villa in the Queens District — the residence of a certain Loen count's kept woman. On the surface, a fallen merchant's daughter; in reality, an operative of the Demoness Sect.
She wore a pure white, simple gown, her hair loosely pinned up, adding a quality of quiet indolence to her manner. Without doing anything in particular, she radiated an intoxicating, innate allure from the inside out.
She was this operation's Demoness Sect representative — the woman known as the "Nightingale of Despair," Panadia.
Hearing Mr. Z's explanation, Panadia looked Bernadette over with undisguised curiosity. "Mr. A? I heard you went missing during the Church's crackdown a while back. I sent people looking for you multiple times and found nothing — and here you turn up at my door yourself."
Bernadette said evenly: "From this point on, the cooperation between the Aurora Order and the Demoness Sect will be led by me. All further negotiation related to the arrangement should go through me — until we've confirmed the specific terms and process."
"Oh?"
Panadia's eyes curved. She glanced at Mr. Z with amused pity. "Z, you ran around working so hard for this, and now someone's just come and snatched the fruit off your tree? Aren't you a bit upset?"
Mr. Z said calmly: "Spare me the games. The Aurora Order has one and only one purpose — our Master's descent. There's no fruit, no credit. When the Master descends, every single one of us is a hero."
"Your devotion to your 'Master' is truly admirable."
Bernadette said flatly: "Skip the small talk. Tell me about your side of this arrangement."
Panadia put on a look of mild puzzlement. "It's just the two of us working together."
"Specifics. What is the Demoness Sect planning to do, what does the Aurora Order need to handle, and what does the Demoness Sect bring to the table for us."
"..."
Panadia was quiet for a few seconds, then sat up straight. "No wonder the Aurora Order suddenly switched to sending you."
To be continued…
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