As Klein put down his final stroke, the light in the No. 3 billiard room abruptly dimmed.
On the surface of the small compact mirror, ripples like water marks spread out in rings, eventually becoming deep and dark.
Then, one after another, bloody words emerged:
"Ask your questions."
The scene was full of supernatural horror; even if facing a vengeful spirit or a living corpse, they would have seemed intimidated and dared not speak for a moment.
Only Klein, always with a smile, seemed accustomed to all this.
He had instructed the magic mirror Arrodes not to ask too difficult or private questions, and not to act like a servant—if it weren't that Sharon and Maric, who knew the situation better, could grasp the key points more effectively, Klein would have preferred to handle it privately without revealing the existence of such a "helper."
After a few seconds of silence, Maric stepped forward to the billiard table and opened his mouth.
At that moment, Sharon's soft but emotionless voice suddenly rang out:
"Let me ask."
Without waiting for Maric's response, she drifted to her feet and looked at the compact mirror:
"Tutankhamun II's mummy is a trap set by the Loen military against the Rose School, right?"
The original bloody writing on the compact mirror instantly melted, slid down, leaving stains, and only one word barely remained, wriggling and morphing into:
"Yes."
So it was indeed a trap by the Loen military against the Rose School. This preliminarily ruled out the possibility that the Rose School was plotting against Miss Sharon and Maric, because the risk required outweighed the value of a Sequence 5 plus a Sequence 6 by far too much. Even if that group from the Rose School couldn't restrain their desire for revenge, they weren't crazy enough to go to such lengths. Unless they originally intended to deal with the Loen military and drag the traitors into it as well. But if that were the case, the best battlefield would be the Southern Continent or at sea, not near Backlund, where no one knew exactly how many terrifying entities were hidden... Amid these thoughts, Klein saw the mirror's surface return to its deep darkness, and new bloody text emerged:
"According to the principle of reciprocity, it's my turn to ask questions."
"If you answer incorrectly or lie, you will face punishment."
Obedient enough, didn't raise any performance art requirements... Klein, watching the billiard table, nodded almost imperceptibly.
At this time, the previous words slowly disappeared, and new words appeared:
"You..."
This bloody word solidified for a full three seconds before there was a continuation:
"...answer the relationship between the 'Bound God' and the 'Mother Tree of Desire.'"
For some reason, Klein felt that this part of the text was slightly dimmer in blood color than before, but fortunately, the question was not too outrageous and he wanted to know the answer.
Sharon, wearing a black soft hat, looked at the compact mirror and said without any change in expression:
"Since the beginning of the Fifth Epoch, with the fall of Death, the Egas family gradually lost control over the Star Plateau and Pas Valley. Those places developed their own supernatural organizations, the Rose School.
"Initially, there was no 'Mother Tree of Desire,' only the 'Bound God.' The Rose School advocated restraint and established a set of religious ritual systems, including laws. Formal members lived an ascetic, low-desire life to deal with the aftereffects of gaining power.
"Suddenly, one day, words like 'indulgence' appeared in the divine revelations. Many people slowly changed, restoring ancient and bloody original sacrificial traditions. Later, some high-ranking members of the school began to secretly declare that the 'Bound God' was an incarnation of the 'Mother Tree of Desire.'"
So it seems the Bound God was gradually contaminated or replaced by the Mother Tree of Desire... If this was once a Sequence 0, then the Mother Tree of Desire is truly terrifying, no wonder it is hostile to all other gods... However, the Bound God might not be Sequence 0; it could well be a fully activated Uniqueness, or an Angel King with two Sequence 1 characteristics, or even weaker. Currently, there is not enough information to confirm... Klein frowned slightly, pondering over the matter of the Mother Tree of Desire.
At this point, Sharon turned and asked:
"What problems does Tutankhamun II's mummy have?"
On the compact mirror's surface, the blood-red words wriggled and transformed into a complete sentence:
"It is full of curse, it is the embodiment of curse, and it might turn into a living corpse by itself."
So this mummy is made of "curse"? As expected from the remains of a high-Sequence powerhouse... How to deal with this? Klein turned his head to look at Miss Sharon and Maric, and found their expressions calm enough, not surprised, seemingly already aware. This meant they had a solution. Of course, Sharon always had almost no expression and remained calm.
After the magic mirror Arrodes answered, according to the principle of reciprocity, it posed its own question:
"You..."
"...why do you strive to elevate your Sequence?"