Chapter 734
She Chose to Skip the Plot
To this day, Alistair also had some interest.
Alistair had long since adapted to the experience of perceiving “plot” like a “Prophet” wherever she went.
Whether in Avalon or the Church, Eivass’s perspective on these troublesome matters was actually one of superiority.
He was not exploring the essence of the event, but rather capturing its characteristics—then comparing them with the faint impressions remaining in his memory, and skipping the details to directly seek the truth.
The essence of this behavior was very much like “Divination” or “Prophecy.”
However, this current part was completely absent from Eivass’s memory.
In his impression, the city of knowledge, Leipzig, had never encountered a major crisis of this scale!
It had not even become a map for players to explore… but rather a dungeon that one passed through on the main storyline.
This was because after Star Antinomy was destroyed by a Fallen Heavenly Envoy and split into pieces, Leipzig was no longer the city of knowledge.
With the Demon Scholar being controlled by a Fallen Heavenly Envoy and the Royal Alchemical Association disbanded, the Child of the Moon naturally occupied the high echelons of power of Star Antinomy, taking over those cities that had turned into ruins.
Leipzig was then called the “City of Blood Banquet,” and Count Leipzig was called the “Banquet Master.” When Eivass was playing this dungeon, because the BOSS was called “Count” and was a Vampire, he subconsciously took him for Count Dracula… It was only after he arrived in Leipzig that he gradually remembered this matter.
And the original Leipzig should have been a very peaceful place, the first and also the last disaster they faced. It was to this very place that Master Nobel traveled to find his disciple and then exploded his equipment.
In other words, this current disaster was entirely born from the butterfly effect caused by Eivass!
Relying solely on “memories” would not lead to the truth at all.
This meant that this event… in a sense, was the first completely unknown event that Eivass, or rather Alistair, participated in!
What was it that was closely related to what Eivass had done?
The biggest change was that the Ouroboros Ring Ritual, originally scheduled for next year, had been moved up to this year!
This meant that some Transcendent beings who would normally participate in the Ouroboros Ring Ritual might feel flustered due to the “suddenly advanced exam.” They would then begin to seek new power in order to not be at a disadvantage in this ritual where one person would ultimately be sacrificed.
Although Alistair could not be sure that this matter was necessarily related to the Ritualist… she kept a watchful eye.
When Alistair returned with Prince Xiardo, she used her knowledge of Ritual Studies to conduct a detailed analysis of the White Dove Opera House.
—And as expected, she found traces of a ritual.
The four corners of this place had been smeared with blood outside with curses—the crooked handwriting looked like it was written by a child. It was an innocent “I want to kill someone” curse.
She followed the directions inward and found similar handwriting in every bathroom. The bloodstains had long since dried, so the time could not be determined. Their inner occult power had also been depleted by the ritual, so the source of the blood could not be easily traced through rituals… However, judging by its nature, its owner was clearly dead.
These rooms painted with bloodword curses, when connected, formed a vortex that continuously gathered the madness and depravity within the White Dove Opera House inwards.
And at the very center of the vortex was the opera house!
These dark powers gathered together had clearly been ongoing for a considerable period. At least over a month.
“I just used a special method to check the residual soul traces.”
Alistair said slowly.
—Her special method was also very simple: she summoned the Little Crow and asked it.
Night Demons were demons skilled in souls and curses, so the residual souls were very clear to her. Even if they were specially removed, she could still capture the traces.
“To provide power for this ritual, a total of eight souls were burned.”
“And I just took Inspector Vena to ask the manager… In the past month, a total of seven employees have died here.”
Alistair said sternly to Honey Badger, “I think this is a breakthrough.”
“…Actually, it’s eight.”
At this moment, the slightly older Bunny Girl spoke hesitantly, “Because the eighth one… was the victim who got caught up in ‘that’ incident yesterday.”
“Ah, you mean Ai Li…”
The Little Girl also reacted, her eyes widening in surprise, “She’s dead?! I thought…”
“You thought she was bought out, right? Actually, that’s true.”
Her companion shook her head, “She was taken away by a client that day, but before she even got home, she met with an accident along with her new owner. And the paperwork was still with the manager, not yet completed… meaning, she was still technically affiliated with the White Dove Opera House.”
“—If there’s one soul missing, I think it can only be her.”
“The victim from yesterday, coincidentally, is the trigger for today’s incident…”
Honey Badger frowned, looking at Alistair, “I don’t understand rituals. What does this mean?”
“It means the power is accumulating.”
Alistair replied, “Igniting tinder with a spark, then using tinder to ignite wood shavings, and using wood shavings to ignite branches… this is the transmission of power, and it proves that this is a very complete ritual.”
“And this ritual was not ‘planned just a few days ago’,” but was prepared long ago and only recently detonated!”
Ritual Studies is the art of gaining much in exchange for little.
Since the “daily act of furious murder” was a pre-prepared ritual, then according to the ritualistic principles of the Transcendent Path… the target sought by the Ritualist must be far beyond it.
“This Ritualist is after a lot…”
Honey Badger frowned, feeling that she had suddenly been dragged into a troublesome event, “I feel… it might affect us.”
“It definitely will.”
Alistair nodded, “But we still have time.”
“The Sacred Number for the Transcendent Path is eight, and today is the fifth day. According to the rules, it will still take him three more days to transmit all the power to himself.”
“—Get ready, Mr. Ezio, we’re going to act soon.”
“Go where?”
Honey Badger immediately stood up and asked.
“I believe in your search and pursuit abilities.”
Alistair chuckled, “To set up a large-scale ritual of this magnitude… he must be at least a Fourth Tier Transcendent, and he must be nearby, and a frequent visitor to the White Dove Opera House. At the same time, he’s either a Demon Avatar or a great sorcerer.”
“I believe that even in this city of knowledge, there shouldn’t be too many Transcendent beings who meet these requirements…”
“You mean…?”
Honey Badger felt that she had vaguely guessed Alistair’s thoughts, but she couldn’t quite believe it for a moment.
As the lover of that Eternal Pope… how could she be so ruthless?
“I thought about it, and it seems unnecessary to kill those scumbags from Eagle Eye. Three days in total, it’s a bit tight to find the conspirator.”
Alistair said casually, “Why not just kill all those Transcendent beings? Killing them from top to bottom, the matter will eventually be resolved. This can also serve as a gift… to Count Leipzig, since we’re newcomers.”
“After all, it’s for Leipzig… our cause is righteous, isn’t it? Ha, well, whatever—”
“It takes a villain to catch a villain, let us be that villain.”
The two girls deliberately left behind by Alistair heard Alistair’s plan in its entirety.
When they realized what Alistair was about to do, their eyes widened in panic.
Alistair leaned over, affectionately kissed the Little Girl’s cheek, and then, without looking back, said while ruffling her hair:
“Let’s go, Mr. Ezio. Kill them all.”
—Faced with a difficult plot, Alistair still chose to skip the plot.
