Odis had a total of three such defensive strongholds... One was Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue, which he had just abandoned; another was Gale's Herbal Shop; and the last was Unit 75 Hailin Avenue, where he currently resided.
Additionally, he had set up some Extraordinary traps in the basement of Unit 77 Hilton Avenue, the room on the third floor of Rosewood Pavilion, and the laboratory in the suburbs. However, their power and scale were far inferior to those three defensive strongholds.
Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue was the first place where he used composite arrays, and he had conducted many experiments here.
But due to his lack of experience at the time, the concealment was very poor. Any Beyonder with a sufficient amount of mystical knowledge would understand upon reaching the second floor that these traps were all set up relying on arrays.
It was thanks to the experience he gained here that when he designed the composite arrays for Gale's Herbal Shop and Unit 75 Hailin Avenue, not only were they much more powerful, but their concealment was also excellent.
Previously, when Odis dealt with the 'Melee Scholar' and the 'Mystery Pryer' who broke into Gale's Herbal Shop, he had exhausted his Flamebolt and was about to activate the shop's arrays.
But at that moment, he saw Aelia, the subordinate of the Queen Mystic... and so he wanted to use 'The Fool' to intimidate the Queen Mystic, which is why he ran to the backyard.
Little did he know that Aelia was extremely cautious. Upon hearing Odis reciting the honorific name of a certain existence, she chose to continue observing. Otherwise, Odis wouldn't have been in such a sorry state.
As for the concealment of these composite arrays, Odis had once tested it by inviting Bernadette to his home.
As long as they were not activated, even a demigod would find it difficult to detect them.
The reason for abandoning Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue was that it was old stock, with limited power. Continuing its maintenance would be somewhat cost-ineffective.
Odis looked back at his initial masterpiece one last time...
The fire at Unit 176 was burning fierce by the minute, but it did not spread to the neighbors.
Amid the flames, someone finally shouted, "Fire!"
Odis turned around and quickly left in the thick fog, returning to the hotel room he had booked earlier. Only then did he take out the spoils to examine: one glove and three Beyonder characteristics.
The glove's level corresponded to a Sequence 8. Its abilities and negative effects were unknown, and Odis had no use for it currently, so he stored it in the 'Knowledge Moor'.
Of the three Beyonder characteristics, one was known to be a Sequence 7 'Briber' characteristic. The other two were only known to be Sequence 9, but their specific corresponding Sequences were unknown.
After putting away the spoils, Odis thought to himself: 'With these spoils, Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue has basically paid for itself...'
At that moment, a short sentence suddenly appeared on the wall in front of him: <..I am here..>
Odis was slightly taken aback, "The gathering ended this late?"
"I just watched a performance," Bernadette's voice echoed through the air. She commented, "With the help of the arrays, you already possess the strength of a Sequence 7. But those arrays are fixed in place and can't be taken with you. So you only have Sequence 7 strength in specific locations."
"That's a very fair assessment," Odis nodded, then he asked, "Did you manage to contact that Wraith?"
"I asked for you," said Bernadette, whose real location was unknown, "She said that neither she nor her companions have taken any action against the Indulgence faction recently."
"That's strange," Odis couldn't help but frown, "Who was the warning from then? And what's their purpose?"
...
~South Borough, South of the Bridge, Passion Bar~
There was no business today. Inside were only Simon, who was the bar owner, a bartender, and a member of the 3N Party watching them...
*Bang!*
The wooden door was suddenly slammed open. All three looked toward the entrance.
The brown haired Grant appeared there. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked to be in very poor condition.
The 3N Party member had a bad feeling, "What happened?"
Grant ignored his companion's question, grabbed Simon by the collar, questioning, "What kind of monster is Lelouch? What exactly is he?!"
Simon, however, recalled Lelouch's previous instruction, that when they came looking for him a second time, he shouldn't be polite with them.
So he said coldly, "What kind of monster he is, I don't know. I only know that if you continue to hold my collar like this, you will die a very gruesome death."
Grant shuddered all over and immediately released Simon. Then, somewhat distraught, he took a few steps back and sat down on a chair behind him.
The 3N Party member asked again, "What happened?"
"We... we fell into Lelouch's trap. Ford and Fitzgear are dead," Grant said.
"What about boss Selt?"
"He's dead too," Grant said, then corrected himself, "He must be dead too. He was still trapped there at the time I managed to escape."
After the initial shock, the 3N Party member immediately said, "Hurry! Let's quickly go back and request for reinforcements!"
Grant was dragged away like a zombie.
Simon, who was straightening his collar, heard their conversation clearly, "They actually lost a leader..."
Just yesterday, he had found out that the organization causing them trouble was called the 3N Party. It was said this organization had three leaders, each possessing Extraordinary abilities.
"Get me a drink," Simon said to the bartender.
He wanted to congratulate himself on gaining a new patron, because it was said that whoever managed to kill a 3N Party leader would take their place in this organization...
....
~Thursday morning... Queen's Avenue, Count Donnat's Villa~
Today, Donnat's eldest son, Joels, was hosting a Mysticism salon in the villa, inviting many young nobles with an interest in Mysticism...
Among them was Audrey Hall, who shared three methods of preparing daisies and the effects of this herb with several friends.
The surrounding young nobles listened with continuous exclamations of surprise, praising Audrey for her professional handling of the herb and her detailed explanation that anyone could understand.
Audrey smiled as she accepted the praises, thinking to herself: 'I have to thank Mr. Hermit for providing the material...'
At the same time, she did not forget to praise her friends, which delighted everyone and heightened the lively discussion throughout the salon.
When this topic came to an end, Audrey said with a smile, "It's a pity that we encounter so few Mysticism events. Every salon, we can only talk about this kind of mystical knowledge."
At that moment, a young nobleman said, "I have knowledge of a Mysticism event that happened in Backlund to share with everyone!"
The speaker was Quincy, the son of Count Philip.
Audrey maintained her smile as she looked at him, and everyone else also turned their attention to Quincy.
Actually, Audrey had already noticed that Quincy's demeanor today carried a hint of dismissiveness... he hadn't been paying attention to others' speeches at all.
Moreover, he had tried to speak several times, but held back. It was obvious he had learned some Mysticism-related news and wanted to reveal it at the most exciting point of the salon.
So Audrey helped set the mood, and then at the appropriate moment, she voiced her 'regret', and sure enough, Quincy immediately took the bait...
He said, "This morning, at Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue, a case involving Mysticism occurred."
Joels, the organizer of the salon, was taken aback for a moment, then said, "I read about it in today's morning paper. The newspaper said it was a fire caused by a gang fight."
Several young nobles nodded in agreement, they had all read the report.
"At first, the police thought it was a fire," Quincy continued, "but while clearing the scene, they found three bodies! Because that house was rarely occupied,they assumed it was a gang fight. But before coming to the salon, I accidentally learned the autopsy results of those three bodies. Of the three who died, one was stabbed to death by a sharp weapon, one died after having his blood drained, and one, although having a wound on his neck, actually died of hypothermia!"
The other young nobles expressed their surprise:
"Died of hypothermia? Frozen to death at a fire scene?"
"Oh, Goddess above, drained of blood?"
"..."
No one questioned the autopsy results provided by Quincy, because his father, Count Philip, was the Minister of Public Security.
Quincy said, "This must be a case involving Mysticism!"
"I happen to have inadvertently learned some inside information about this case," said a young noble named Theodore, about twenty-two or twenty-three years old.
The young nobles attending the salon immediately beckoned:
"Tell us quickly."
"What exactly happened?"
Seeing everyone's attention immediately shift to Theodore after he finished speaking, Quincy was somewhat displeased, "How could you know about a case that just happened last night?"
"Everyone knows I like to go to Unit 155 King's Avenue to watch fighting matches," Theodore said with a smile, "Of course, this is also related to the fact that my cousin is currently the manager of the fighting arena."
Audrey frowned slightly when she heard this. She only saw indifference. No one even expressed doubts about the existence of the fighting arena. It seemed most people present knew about the so-called fighting matches held there...
Theodore continued, "This morning, I went to my cousin to get tickets for this week and found out that yesterday, some fighters from the arena got into an off-site fight on Riverbay Avenue because of the result of a match last week. It is said three people died in that fight, one of them being a veteran fighter of the arena. And their opponent was a new fighter named Lelouch!"
Audrey failed to maintain her 'Spectator' state for a moment, voicing, "Lelouch?"
"Yes, that's the name," Theodore said with certainty after thinking for a moment. Then he continued, "Everyone should understand now, right? This also took place in Riverbay Avenue, and three people died..."
Joels said, "So, does that mean this fighter, Lelouch, is likely an Extraordinary person?"
Audrey, however, was thinking: 'Based on my previous observations, Lelouch is not a vicious person... Why did he suddenly kill three people?'
...
{T/N: Please excuse my tardiness😩... I think I have some sort of a psychological condition that prevents me from half-assing things.
It's worse with this fanfic since the author seems to be a very detailed individual, and my mind forces me to try and match that energy... I tried cutting corners to save some time a number of times, but I learned that doing so leaves me in a perpetually frustrated state, which only ends once I fix those corners and I stop half-assing.
I think it's some sort of geass, maybe? And yes, I actually believe in the supernatural. I'm African after all...}