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According to the Apothecary, the children's illnesses were very strange.
Although externally they resembled symptoms of a cold or flu, they were actually a mixture of various diseases, many of which were unheard of and extremely difficult to treat. They only gradually improved after using specially formulated medicines.
"A mixture of various diseases... This is so similar to the characteristics of an infection from a Demoness of Afflictions, but the effects are far inferior; even ordinary people don't die immediately...."
For some reason, Aaron inexplicably recalled the thin, black-robed man who had purchased all the blood of a Black Abyss Devil Fish—one of the main ingredients for a Sequence 7 Witch—at the Eye of Wisdom's old gentleman's gathering.
"Demoness..." Aaron pondered for a moment, then picked up a piece of paper, roughly wrote down his conjecture, and planned to have someone deliver it to the Brave Bar later.
He intended to warn the two ladies currently on an investigation mission, as a Sequence 7 Witch was not something Fors and Xio could handle at their current level.
After writing, Aaron grabbed Evelyn, who was walking across his desk for the fifth time. He had been deep in thought earlier and ignored her, but now he wanted to see what she was up to.
Aaron lifted her by the scruff of her neck, looking at her with a mix of exasperation and amusement, and asked,
"Speak if you have something to say. Your Sequence 8 Beyonder characteristic should not be fully digested yet. You're not thinking of the Psychiatrist Beyonder characteristic again, are you?"
Evelyn wagged her tail and asked slyly,
"Aaron, can I borrow a Spectator Beyonder characteristic? I promise to return it."
Looking at the creature in his hand, Aaron squinted at her, directly exposing her little scheme:
"You want to give it to Susie, don't you? I told you before that Susie isn't suitable to become a Spectator yet."
Evelyn wagged her tail, grumbling unhappily,
"Why? Susie is so dumb now. Last time I talked to her, she didn't understand anything."
Aaron put her down and comforted her with a smile, "There will be a chance in the future, don't be impatient...."
"Exactly, exactly, you little cat are really impatient."
Before Aaron could continue, a slightly childish voice rang out.
"Who is it?" Aaron's expression instantly changed, and he looked towards the coffee table by the door, following the sound.
A small boy, who looked no older than seven or eight, was dangling his legs, smiling at Aaron. In his hand was a stack of tarot cards, the top one being the Wheel of Fortune card.
"When did he come in?" Aaron narrowed his eyes, his body tensed, and his sun ring glowed faintly.
The light golden necklace on Evelyn's neck also began to glow. As a Spectator, she hadn't even noticed that an extra person had appeared in the room.
The little boy holding the tarot cards jumped down from the coffee table and, looking at Aaron and Evelyn, who were fully on guard and ready to strike at any moment, chuckled and said,
"No need to be nervous, I have no ill intentions. I just wanted to come and see..." He paused, "Hmm, this Blessed of Evernight."
Seeing the still wary man and cat, he sighed helplessly, put away the tarot cards in his hand, and introduced himself:
"Then let's get acquainted. My name is Will Auceptin."
He then continued in a familiar tone:
"Speaking of which, we two are quite fated, aren't we, Mr. Aaron Weil?"
Aaron was instantly surprised. Will Auceptin?
"That chairman of the Fate Council of the Life School of Thought, the Sequence 1 Snake of Fate of the Monster Pathway?"
"How did he find me? And what does he want with me?"
Aaron's mind raced, but he didn't respond. However, Evelyn next to him naturally didn't think so much and directly questioned:
"How did you get in here?"
Will Auceptin unhurriedly drew a tarot card. The card face turned to reveal the Goddess of Justice, holding the Sword of Justice in her right hand and the scales for discerning good and evil in her left.
It was the Justice card, one of the 22 Major Arcana tarot cards. He then chuckled and replied,
"Of course, I walked in. I told that butler gentleman that Lord Aaron invited me to his home as a guest."
"Hehe, that butler gentleman believed me, and then I came here unimpeded."
Aaron exhaled, suppressing Evelyn, who was about to say more, and bowed slightly to Will Auceptin, saying very politely,
"Respected chairman of the Fate Council, may I ask the purpose of your visit?"
A hint of surprise appeared in Will Auceptin's eyes. He scrutinized Aaron again, muttering something under his breath.
Either his voice was too low or there was some other interference, but Aaron didn't hear clearly.
Without giving Aaron time to think, Will Auceptin raised his small face, dropped his smile, and spoke with a serious expression:
"Since you already know my identity, I won't beat around the bush."
"Presumably, you also know that our Life School of Thought was established in the early Fifth Epoch."
"It was an alliance formed under the immense pressure of the Seven Churches by Beyonders who believe in fate, consider themselves transcendent and absolutely rational, and believers who worship the Primordial Moon and seek the essence of life and spirituality."
"Originally, under my coordination, there had been no major problems within the Life School of Thought."
"The worship of the Primordial Moon has always been confined and fixed to symbolism, and through master-disciple inheritance and formula exchange, it has truly been integrating little by little."
At this point, the expression on Will Auceptin's face, which had been a mix of majesty and pride, suddenly became strained. He cleared his throat and continued,
"But due to certain events, I had to stay in Backlund for a long time and could not directly contact the members of the Fate Council."
Aaron listened carefully and subtly glanced at Will Auceptin, muttering to himself,
"Isn't he just unable to defeat Ouroboros and fled to Backlund to avoid being hunted down? It's normal to be unable to defeat him, there's no need to be ashamed."
Will Auceptin perhaps didn't notice Aaron's small gesture, or perhaps he did but ignored it, continuing to speak to himself:
"The believers of the Primordial Moon quickly became fanatical, splitting from the faction representing fate and even joining the Rose School of Thought."
"They had fierce conflicts on the Southern Continent, and this concerns a very important Sealed Artifact."
He paused, looking at Aaron's gradually furrowing brow, and spoke with a slight hint of embarrassment:
"I hope you can help the Life School of Thought deal with those traitors who joined the Rose School of Thought and hand over that Sealed Artifact to Rui Qiaode."
"Hmm, Rui Qiaode is a member of the Fate Council, a Sequence 4 Misfortune Mage of the Monster Pathway."
Aaron fell into thought. Will Auceptin seemed to read his concerns and added with a smile:
"Of course, I'm not asking you to go to the Southern Continent right now. Our Life School of Thought is not so fragile as to collapse with one blow."
Then, with a mystical expression, he deliberately lowered his voice:
"Although many things on your body have been concealed by that existence, preventing me from seeing too much."
"But I can still feel the fluctuations of fate. You will leave Backlund for the Southern Continent in at most three months."
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