What happened? The sudden change caught the inexperienced Hazel off guard. She stood there for several seconds, unsure how to react, before pushing open the door and rushing in.
When she reached the scorched mouse, the being claiming to be a demigod had already turned over and stood up, speaking calmly:
"You forgot to close the door."
"Ah..." Hazel was initially bewildered, then realized that in her hurry to understand the situation, she hadn't closed the door as usual to prevent the maid from peeping inside.
Seeing that the mouse seemed fine, Hazel pressed her lips together, turned around, and walked back to the door.
In the process, she didn't forget to glance at the full-length mirror. Everything was normal, no problems. It clearly reflected the room, with no extra person or missing object.
With a click, Hazel took the initiative to ask:
"Teacher, what exactly happened just now?"
The blackened-fur mouse turned sideways to her, eyes toward the window, and said:
"In the world of mysticism, in any place involving supernatural forces, danger abounds. One cannot be careless.
"I just tried to use the mirror to perform a divination, but it attracted the attention of an unknown existence. After a fierce confrontation, I finally resolved the problem and didn't let the danger spread to the entire block."
The mouse spoke fluently, without any stuttering or pauses, as if the lightning strike had merely been a trivial matter.
I see... Why didn't you warn me about this before... Hazel furrowed her brow involuntarily, vaguely smelling the mixed odor of burnt hair and decomposed fat lingering in the air.
Before she could respond, the mouse turned toward the balcony, almost with its back to her, and said:
"My condition has become problematic because of this. It's no longer suitable for me to stay here; otherwise, I could easily be discovered by the Church of the Goddess of the Night.
"Hmm, find an opportunity to take me to your manor on the outskirts of the city."
Looking at the mouse's charred fur and smelling the aroma like roasted meat, Hazel was silent for a few seconds. She suppressed her doubts and nodded:
"Alright."
…………
160 Berklund Street.
Sitting in an easy chair, Klein saw the surface of the full-length mirror ripple like water waves once again, and streaks of silver light shot up.
Silver words formed one after another, composing a sentence:
"Great master, your humble servant Arrodes has obeyed your command, warned that demigod of the Marauder pathway, and given her a small punishment."
Her? As Klein was ruminating on the pronoun Arrodes had used, the mirror's surface sparkled and reflected a scene:
A silver-white lightning bolt struck fiercely, and the gray mouse twitched and fell.
This is... too weak? Klein suddenly realized that this demigod's condition might be worse than he had imagined.
"Are you satisfied with my handling?" The silver lines quickly squirmed and turned into a question.
"Not bad." Klein nodded slightly.
Considering the demigod's state, he paused for a second and tentatively inquired:
"Why didn't you just kill her?"
Arrodes traced another string of silver words on the mirror's surface:
"If I cannot be sure of actually killing a demigod target, it's best not to corner them.
"Once they stop suppressing and completely abandon themselves, they will mutate into an incomplete, mindless mythical creature.
"Many times, their poor state and inability to exert power is precisely because they are struggling against the tendency of losing control.
"I, my main body is not here, so I can only inflict a minor punishment."
As the last line appeared, the water light on the full-length mirror flickered twice, and Klein suddenly felt as if some creature was looking at him with eager eyes.
He didn't respond to that, but nodded and said:
"That's enough for today. If something comes up, I'll summon you again."
"Okay, master~" The mirror immediately displayed a stick-figure expression waving its hand.
After tidying up the room, Klein ended his afternoon nap, opened the door, and left the master bedroom.
Before long, the butler Walter, wearing white gloves, came up to the third floor, entered the semi-open room with a large balcony, and said to his employer, Dwayne Dantès: