Lord of Mysteries:Fire of Destruction

Adryan took the opportunity to look around. He didn't try it; his eyes moved from one side to the other, revealing his interest.

This was the first time in both of his lives that he had been inside a real castle, so he would be lying if he said he wasn't excited.

For obvious reasons, Sefirah Castle didn't count. While it had the name, that sefirot failed in appearance.

Putting aside his criticism of the home of the Poor God, the dark-haired man returned to his work.

The corridor was huge, Chicho could appear and walk along it with both arms outstretched to the sides, still not touching the ceiling or the walls.

The corridors, like the previous room, were just as extravagant with delicate, beautiful purple carpets with crimson details covering the entire floor. Several times already, shields bearing the Jacob family coat of arms had passed by. Torches lit up the corridors every 3 or 4 columns.

Every 4 meters, there were huge windows that once undoubtedly offered a fantastic view of the outside and that at some point illuminated these corridors more now the white curtains were closed.

'We are in the reflection of a castle from the Fourth Epoch in the Mirror World. Although the castle is complete, who knows what it looks like outside?

'Furthermore, even in a reflection, a window can still be a door through which something can enter this place from another point in the Mirror World if not covered...'

Reviewing what he knew about this mysterious dimension, thanks to the book he got from the Tower, he could only sigh a little.

Finally, after a considerable time of walking without seeming to advance, Flora stopped in front of a large dark oak door. Above it was a large shield of golden metal, which, like the rest, bore a symbol, but it was not that of the Jacob family.

It was a crown with a naturally flowing cape attached beneath it. Surrounding the crown were five symbols:

To the left of the crown, a " layer of doors" drawn using simple lines. To the right, a disk with a surface divided into twelve segments was visible. However, the segments weren't evenly distributed across the disc. They were of varying sizes and extremely incongruous.

Furthermore, each grid had half of its surface covered in a shadow. There was a black needle, just like a clock from the outside world...

Below the crown are three additional symbols, arranged from left to right: is a vertical eye made from many small and thin patterns, the coat of arms of the Jacob Family, and the last coats of arms consisted of thorns, a shield wall, and vertical swords.

From what Adryan remembered, that was the coat of arms of the Angel Families that supported the Tudor Empire.

In order, they were the Abraham, Amon, Antigonus, Jacob, and Tamara families.

Adryan could see that the Amon family's coat of arms, although recognizable, was quite damaged. It was as if someone had taken a knife and scratched and cut the coat of arms with force to get rid of it but failed.

'After what that Raven put them through, it's no surprise. Also, this is a reflection, so changing things inside is extremely difficult...' The dark-haired man shook his head internally before turning his attention to his partner, who had stepped forward.

The white-haired woman raised her hand where the silver coin was and, placing it between her fingers, she threw it again.

Clink!

The large door vibrated for a moment before the illusory symbol of the Jacob family appeared. Another similar wave covered them again and the symbol disappeared after shining gold.

Flora turned her head slightly, looking at him sideways for a moment.

'Don't do anything stupid,' her gaze seemed to say.

The corners of his lips trembled slightly, wanting to rise in innocent mischief but holding back, Adryan only nodded slightly.

Whether she understood what he meant or believed him, the woman did not show it, she just turned her attention back to the front and placed her hand on the doorknob.

Criiickk...

The large dark oak door opened easily, and along with it, the sound of voices reached their ears, but these diminished in volume as the door opened.

With pure grace, Flora entered, and not wanting to be left behind, Adryan followed her calmly, always two steps behind.

He took a moment and looked around with some amazement.

They had just entered a large hall, the magnificent chandeliers together with the intricate murals and windows showed that galas and dances were undoubtedly organized here.

But while that was the past, its use was somewhat different now.

Several tables were distributed around the hall. The vast majority had a centerpiece, which was the coats of arms of the Jacob family or the Zoroast family - the latter's coat of arms consisted of an old clock tower.

The tables with the Zoroast family coat of arms had the most members, followed by the Jacob family, and finally, those without a centerpiece had the fewest.

A large podium stood in the middle of the room, where two people, a man and a woman, were sitting on dark red sofas that bordered on blood.

The man was sitting elegantly but with a certain strange air. He appeared to be in his late 40s; his hair was dark gray, and he had an elegant mustache. He was wearing a blue suit with a purple belt scarf. In the breast pocket of the suit was embroidered the coat of arms of the Zoroast family.

On the other hand, the woman sat with great confidence, her legs crossed and her cheeks resting on her knuckles. Her straight black hair was cut above her shoulders. She wore a thick black dress with gold details and a witch's hat, the light gray ribbon in the middle of the hat embroidered with the coats of arms of the Jacob family.

They seemed to be talking to each other, but when they saw them enter, they fell silent. Although their eyes passed over him, it was only for a few seconds before they focused entirely on his companion.

The tables with family members looked at Flora in amazement. The tables with nothing on them looked at her, mostly confused, but some still seemed to recognize her and did not seem to believe what they saw.

After a few seconds of observing, the man on the podium gave a slight nod, "Welcome back, Madam Flora. It's been a while."

Flora nodded back just as eagerly, "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Andre. I've been busy."

"Snort. Busy, you say." The woman scoffed with great derision, her blue eyes shining with great merriment, "10 years without seeing each other, and that's all you say?"

Flora's calm expression remained, "Hello Fiorella."

Andre watched their interaction for a moment and, sighing slightly, he held out his hand to one side, "You can come closer if you like, Madam Flora, it's a pleasure to see you well. In a moment, a chair will be brought for-"

"It's okay. I'll take one of the free tables." Flora said no more and did as she said; Adryan followed her closely, watching from the corner of his eye.

Neither Andre nor Fiorella seemed to react to his companion's actions, but he could see that the smile on the woman's face trembled for a moment.

'They must be the other two demigods Flora was talking about... Could they be on the same path? The woman looks like a Parasite, but I'm not sure about the man... Parasite or Mentor of Deceit?'

With the poor state of the families, Adryan wasn't sure if they were in any condition to give birth to a Sequence 3 Saint, so it was more likely that Andre was a Parasite.

If he activated his spiritual vision, he would be sure by seeing his aura, but he wouldn't do something that stupid.

'Also, I guess I finally know who Flora was talking about meeting again...' He looked calmly at the woman named Fiorella, already disliking her.

Sitting at one of the free tables on the Jacob family side, Flora placed her hands in her lap and looked at the duo with cold eyes, "We need to talk later."

"Oh?" Fiorella smiled curiously, "Did you discover something interesting over the years? Come on, tell us, Flora! What have you been doing all this time?"

"Did you find our legendary treasure? Or did you finally give up those stupid fantasy dreams and didn't want to come back because you were ashamed?"

Flora looked at the woman with black hair, closing one eye. She sighed and looked away with disinterest. "You'll have to wait then; this is something the heads have to talk about."

Fiorella's smile turned into a silent 'oh' as she looked at Andre. The man shook his head gently, and the woman clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Adryan looked sideways at his partner, trying to see if what the woman had said had reached her, but Flora was the epitome of calm; her breathing was relaxed and easy.

Feeling his gaze, the white-haired woman opened one grey eye and looked at him, after 2 seconds she winked and quickly closed it.

Smiling at the woman, the dark-haired man looked around and saw that no one had said anything; he decided to take the first step.

Getting up, he looked at the duo on the podium, "I can just ask for what I need, can't I?"

Fiorella looked at him bored while Andre nodded, "That's right. Just say your order, and if we have it, we can make a deal.

"Once a deal is reached, just extend payment, and the exchange will be completed."

The smile on Adryan's face grew a little, and he raised his left hand, making sure to show the ring on his finger.

"I'm looking for the formula for Iron-Blooded Knight, the Rainbow Salamander's complete pituitary gland, 10 milliliters of a Farsman Rabbit's spinal fluid, and pages from the diary of Emperor Roselle.

"Is there anyone who has them or knows where to get them? I can pay for them or give something of equal value in exchange."

Adryan looked around with little interest.

As this was a meeting where most members were part of the Marauder's Pathway, it would be stupid and a waste of time to hide that he knew it was a diary.

"We have several pages in stock." A man from the Jacob family side replied, "It's 20 pages. 100 sassem for them."

"Deal." Smiling slightly, Adryan reached into his tunic and, counting the bills with his fingertips, withdrew the exact amount.

Extending it into the air, he watched curiously to see what was supposed to happen.

Before he could react, the bills in his hand were exchanged for yellowed pages. The new texture on these indicated that they were copies.

'A sealed artifact?' The change had been so quick and natural that he doubted he had missed what had happened.

Deciding to ask his wife what happened later, Adryan boredly counted the pages and saw that they were all hidden in his pocket.

No sooner had he put the pages in than another voice from the Jacob family group spoke.

"We also have the two ingredients you are looking for. For both of them, it will be 1800 sassem or 600 pounds."

Although Adryan had been a little surprised before, he was now alert. The deal seemed to be moving from objects of lesser value to greater ones. Not only that, but no one else had said anything since he made his request.

This fact confirmed his original thought that an artifact was at play, making these deals possible. But it also aroused his curiosity immensely.

'An artifact made of the Justiciar pathway? It's possible, maybe there's a 'law' here that makes the deals completed here fair and without cheating, but why is it from lowest to highest?' Putting his thoughts aside for a moment, the dark-haired man recounted the amount ordered and spread it before him.

As before, the yellow bills disappeared from his hands, and now he held two metal containers.

After verifying that the materials and contents were correct, Adryan also put these containers away.

Unable to prevent a little emotion from coursing through his blood, the dark-haired man waited a few seconds for someone to speak, but no one said anything after a while.

'Of course. It can never be that easy...' Swallowing his sip of disappointment rum, Adryan sat down again.