At the thought of this, the captain immediately nodded and gave a sharp wave of his hand.
Two Beyonders stepped forward at once and unfolded a blank map across the ground.
They scattered ritual materials over its surface before one of them looked toward Mozo and asked:
"Do you have anything that belonged to the target?"
Mozo thought for a moment before taking off his coat.
"I took this from her room. Try it."
The Beyonder accepted the coat with a strange look, tore off a loose thread, and placed it onto the blank map.
The instant the thread touched the surface, the parchment rippled like water.
The ritual materials and thread sank into it immediately.
Then countless lines rapidly spread across the previously empty map.
Moments later, a detailed map of the New District appeared, with a single location marked in crimson.
At the same time, every Green Angel raised their heads together and grinned.
"They're here."
One of the Beyonders immediately read the location aloud.
"320 Peace Street. Registered owner: William John. Failed businessman."
The captain gave a curt nod.
"Move."
Under the leadership of the captain and the trench-coated man, the official Beyonders advanced rapidly toward the estate.
As they moved, operatives continuously split away from the main group, disappearing soundlessly into nearby alleys before circling toward the target from different directions.
Despite the sheer number of people mobilizing, not a single unnecessary sound was made.
No shouting.
No commands.
Just brief glances and subtle hand signals.
Yet within moments, a perfect encirclement had already formed.
Watching this unfold, Mozo, who remained behind with the knight lady as a civilian observer, couldn't help sighing inwardly.
These people were true professionals.
This operation looked ridiculously stable.
Everything was under control.
Or at least… it should have been.
Atop the tower within the mayor's estate, the Count frowned uneasily as he poured himself a glass of red wine.
After taking a small sip, he turned his gaze toward the New District.
The ritual connected to the Special Zone was nearing completion.
At a time like this, he could not afford to ignore any potential threat.
With a low sigh, he took out Judas's Silver Coins once more.
The silver coins flew into the air before landing one after another.
Two remained face-up.
One displayed the number "2."
The other bore the symbol of humanity.
Together, the meaning became horrifyingly clear.
Sequence 2 of the Human Pathway.
The Count's pupils contracted violently.
Crash!
The wineglass shattered against the floor.
In the next instant, the Count transformed into a hawk and shot down from the tower, diving straight into the secret passage beneath the mayoral estate.
Using the underground tunnels, he quickly arrived before a massive altar illuminated by thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three white tallow candles.
Even deep underground, the endless candlelight made the chamber as bright as day.
At the center of the altar stood a gigantic pillar candle already burned halfway down.
The Count inhaled deeply before striding to the top of the altar.
Then he pressed a hand against his forehead and tore away a fragment of his own soul, using it as the spark to ignite the giant candle.
The moment the enormous candle burst into flame
the world changed.
The official Beyonders surrounding the estate noticed nothing unusual.
The rogue Beyonders scattered throughout both the Old and New Districts continued about their business as if nothing had happened.
Only a few Sequence 5 Beyonders instinctively looked toward the sky, vaguely sensing that something had shifted.
But none of them understood what it was.
As for the Green Angels, under Audrey's terrified gaze, they suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.
"Hahahahaha! They really came for our lives!"
"The Mirror World!"
"Hahahahaha! The Mirror World!"
Mozo himself only vaguely sensed that something had changed because the knight lady beside him reacted slightly.
Still confused, he asked:
"Miss Molly, did something happen?"
The knight frowned thoughtfully before shaking her head.
"My apologies. It may simply have been my imagination."
Imagination?
Mozo remained suspicious, but he chose not to press the matter further.
Instead, he casually changed the subject.
"By the way, may I ask about your messenger? What exactly is it?"
The knight continued scanning the surroundings while replying absentmindedly:
"I'm not entirely sure myself. During my first exploration of the Spirit World, it suddenly appeared beside me."
"Since it didn't seem hostile, I tried forming a contract with it."
"And… it succeeded immediately."
Just like that?!
You casually contracted a Crimson Angel?!
Mozo was completely unable to process this.
Even if it was merely a shell, it was still the shell of a Sequence 1 existence.
And she contracted it that easily?
For a moment, Mozo felt both confused and absurdly jealous.
He immediately asked:
"Do you know anything else about it?"
This time, however, the knight did not answer.
Instead, she suddenly leapt through the window of a nearby house still carrying the scent of fresh food.
An instant later, she jumped through another house farther ahead.
The bizarre behavior left Mozo completely baffled.
Just as he was about to climb up and investigate, the knight suddenly appeared at a window and shouted toward the Beyonders who had already completed the outer encirclement:
"Run! The Count activated Sealed Artifact 1-100!"
Sealed Artifact 1-100?!
Mozo felt as though someone had smashed a hammer directly into his skull.
He knew exactly what that item was.
The Mirror Realm Candle.
A gigantic pillar candle taller than a man.
Under normal circumstances, it required thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three white tallow candles as sacrifices merely to keep it fixed in one place.
But stabilization alone wasn't enough.
To activate it, one also needed a fragment of a demigod's soul as fuel.
The cost was astronomical.
Yet once ignited, every Beyonder within the designated range would be dragged into the Mirror World.
Other than true gods, even Sequence 1 beings could not resist being pulled inside.
And the user would receive the blessing of the Mirror World itself, gaining the power to create copies of themselves.
It was an extraordinarily powerful Sealed Artifact forged by the first Loran Emperor after conquering the Seven Kingdoms, using the Beyonder characteristic of the final angel among those nations.
The reason Mozo knew so much about it was simple.
Three hundred years ago, during the Second Fog Capital Incident, the royalists had used this exact artifact as one of their ultimate trump cards to hunt him down
Duke Cromwell and his faction.
And now he had encountered it again.
At the same time, if the Count had activated something like this so suddenly…
then didn't that mean the enemy really was some insane major figure?!