"Justice" Audrey was quite interested in the matter of the pirate admiral, and asked readily:
"What's his name? What's his current title? There's no such news circulating in Backlund yet."
"The Hanged Man" Alger slowly nodded:
"She's a lady who was already a very famous pirate—'Disease Girl' Trissy. You must have heard of her, right?"
"No, I don't know much about this." Audrey honestly shook her head.
Same here... Klein, seated high above as "The Fool," echoed silently to himself.
Alger was silent for two seconds. Without wasting time on explanations, he said directly:
"In any case, last month she subdued Qilinsges's fleet and proved through concrete action that she has the strength of a pirate admiral. She renamed Qilinsges's ship the 'Black Death' and declared herself the 'Admiral of Disease.'"
"In the past, she mainly worked alone, excelling at using curses, black fire, and frost. Those who opposed her would always suddenly fall ill—all sorts of diseases. Currently, no one knows which Pathway she belongs to, but all agree she's at the Sequence 5 level."
"Justice" Audrey listened with great interest, blinking as she made a curious request:
"Mr. 'Hanged Man,' could you give a detailed introduction to the four Pirate Kings and the other six pirate admirals? I've only heard their names and nicknames—I have no idea what Beyonder powers they possess."
Alger looked around and saw that both "The Sun" and "The World" had assumed attentive postures, so he nodded lightly:
"No problem."
"The most powerful Pirate King is 'King of the Five Seas' Nast. He claims to be a descendant of the Fourth Epoch Solomon Empire. Not only is he himself a high-Sequence powerhouse, but he also possesses the terrifying ghost ship 'Black Emperor' left behind by the empire. He excels at manipulating order, able to drag enemies into the domains where he is strongest and create all manner of inconceivable effects..."
"He's also the oldest pirate. It's said that over a hundred years ago, during the post-Roselle era, he was already active across the Five Seas, and no one knows his exact age."
"Of course, compared to the other Pirate King, the information available about him is quite abundant. As for the owner of the 'Dawn,' we only know she is a beautiful woman who was once a witch and has now also entered the demigod realm. Her title is 'Mysterious Queen.'"
...
After introducing the "Four Kings," "The Hanged Man" Alger shifted the topic to the remaining six pirate admirals:
"The owner of the 'Black Tulip,' Ludwell, was once a subordinate of the 'King of the Five Seas' before going independent, calling himself the 'Admiral of Hell.' Rumor has it he's established some degree of connection with the Church of Spirits. He's a powerful medium who can command all sorts of Spirit World creatures—both terrifying and eerie. It's also said he possesses a ring left behind by an ancient Death God."
"'Admiral of the Stars' Galilea once followed the 'Mysterious Queen,' but the two fell out long ago. As for the reason, the rumors at sea say she joined some secretive organization and angered the 'Mysterious Queen.' According to the intelligence I've received, that secret organization is the 'Moses Ascetic Order.'"
The Moses Ascetic Order... the "Mysticologist" Pathway... the Hidden Sage... Klein suddenly thought of Old Neil's loss of control, and of that evil god who whispers and tempts low-Sequence Beyonders of the same Pathway.
This was the first time he had learned of the Moses Ascetic Order not from books, but in reality!
Then, "The Hanged Man" Alger went on to introduce the "Admiral of Blood" Ceneor, who was suspected to be an evil spirit rather than human; the "Admiral of the Deep Sea" Har Konstantin, who possessed partial sea monster bloodline; the self-proclaimed "Admiral of the Iceberg" Edwina Edwards; and the "Admiral of Twilight" Bratov Ivan.
"Thank you so much for sharing—I'm starting to long for the sea," said "Justice" Audrey with anticipation. "I wonder when I'll finally be able to travel."
"No, Miss Justice, it's absolutely not as wonderful as you imagine. In my view, it's a combination of bloodshed, chaos, slaughter, desire, and fear." Alger calmly threw a bucket of cold water on her enthusiasm.
Audrey nodded slightly, then changed the subject:
"There's been a serial murder case in Backlund recently. Eleven victims in total, though one was later confirmed to be a copycat. The pattern is that the victims are all women who used to work as streetwalkers but currently hold legitimate jobs. The killer cuts open their abdomens and removes all their internal organs."
"That sounds like it's connected to demon worship—could it be the work of the Blood pathway cultists?" "The Hanged Man" Alger guessed instantly.
"I don't know. The killer hasn't been identified yet." Audrey wished she could transform into a detective, bringing Sussie along to track down that wretched perpetrator.
Just then, "The Sun" Dalek blurted out stiffly:
"I know about this ritual."
He knows? Of course—before the Cataclysm, especially during the Second Epoch, demons had been active in the real world, walking the earth. They were objects of hatred for both the giant and dragon factions. It made sense that the City of Silver would have records of such things… Their history hadn't been hidden, tampered with, or riddled with gaps… Klein gazed thoughtfully at "The Sun," waiting for him to share more.
"You know about it?" "Justice" Audrey asked eagerly.
Dalek nodded:
"Our 'Demonology' textbook mentions it. It's quite ancient—a ritual that demons use to assist in their own advancement. It typically appears during the advancement from Sequence 6 to Sequence 5."
"So it's not a ritual to appease demons, but one that demons use to assist their own advancement?" Audrey asked, visibly surprised.
Dalek replied with great seriousness: