In the building housing the Roon Institute for Archaeological Collection and Preservation, Audrey, her thoughts agitated, blinked, mindful of her subtle expressions and gestures, half-true, half-falsely drew a crimson moon on her chest, and sighed, saying, "What a tragedy. May their spirits rest in peace." She had deduced that the archaeologists belonged to the Society of Psychological Alchemists because she had previously been tasked with helping the organization secure a twenty-year war-era journal from Professor Michelle—this journal belonged to the knight Lindirra of the former village of Hederak. At that time, Audrey had consulted Mr. The Fool, relying on "mirror divination" to verify the journal's origins, and discovered a close connection between it and a village that revered dragons. Since she was already aware of the presence of a dragon—deep within the collective unconscious—she had decided, given her own sequence and limited strength, to submit the journal to the Society of Psychological Alchemists. In other words, the clandestine organization known as the Psychological Alchemy Circle has a strong likelihood of using that notebook to pinpoint the village of Hédralak and journey there in search of their target. Another reason that led Odile to reach this conclusion was the peculiar mental illness affecting the archaeological team members—a condition that spreads like a plague, gradually driving one person after another mad. In the real world, mental illnesses can be hereditary but are rarely contagious; however, in the realm of esoteric knowledge, within the world of spirit and consciousness, mental disturbances of chaos and frenzy can indeed be transmitted to others through mechanisms such as spirit communication, dream influence, or unconscious resonance. The village of Hédralak itself is said to harbor a great spiritual dragon—alive for as long as no one knows how many years. So, after the Psychological Alchemy Circle arrived at Hédralak via the notebook, did the threatened dragon, using subtle and ingenious methods, sequentially infect the team members’ minds? He might have accomplished this through the vast ocean of collective unconsciousness... The extraordinary world is truly dangerous. Such a small team—several carefully selected extraordinary individuals—ended their lives in such absurd, simple ways. Audrey thought of this, and felt grateful that she had made sufficiently rational choices back then, not impulsively carrying the knight’s journal to explore the village of Hederak. Otherwise, her name would likely have appeared on the list of those who went mad. Thank you, Mr. The Fool; thank you, all the members of the Tarot Circle; thank you, Zilings, who had previously posed as an undercover agent. Though I had little practical experience in the field of esoteric studies, I now clearly understand that there are so many hidden dangers—requiring both caution and vigilance. Audrey silently expressed her thanks. At this moment, recalling her initial performance when she first joined the Tarot Circle, she longed to bury her face in the pillow and silently screamed to herself: "Audrey, how could you have been so naive, so childish back then! It was precisely the 'Knight of Cups' who brought this upon you—had it been any other hidden presence, you'd have become a madwoman or a monster by now! The 'Knight of Cups' is truly a good man—no, a truly excellent divine being!" Seeing Audrey remain silent for a long time, Professor Michel nodded thoughtfully: "Yes, this is a deeply unsettling tragedy. I only hope the government has managed to handle this matter, so that this contagious mental illness does not spread into a full-blown epidemic." Rest assured, unless that great dragon of the mind decides to take control and challenge the three great churches, the illness will not infect many more people... Audrey responded silently. In her view, the official Aetherials should already have taken over this situation, since a contagious mental illness naturally tends to be transferred to them. Therefore, the great dragon emblem inside the glass display case must have been confirmed as undamaged by them before they donated it to the foundation—the police department doesn't have that authority! Audrey feels a deep sense of sympathy for the archaeology team members suspected of being part of the psychological alchemists, as though she had personally lived through the tragedy, while at the same time she is curious whether the dragon of the mind is still present in Hédralc and the surrounding villages. It should be difficult to be discovered and located, entering the collective unconscious of the living beings in a tangible way... Nevertheless, the three great churches have long histories, and by the Fourth Age, if not earlier, they must have interacted with the Mind Dragon—perhaps with corresponding records preserved over time... Moreover, the Psychological Alchemy Order holds the "Audience" pathway, with high-sequence entities who understand the collective unconscious of the sea at least as well as the Mind Dragon itself. After their initial exploration team suffered a severe setback due to insufficient information, the subsequent dispatched teams would undoubtedly be much stronger... Well, although the Mind Dragon proved stronger than the Psychological Alchemy Order anticipated, it would not remain idle, waiting for others to find it; it must have already departed. Odile is making these deductions based on her current knowledge. She has no intention of going to the Hederak village to investigate the truth, because she already knows her present strength is insufficient to confront the Mind Dragon. Her current only intention is to bring up this matter at the tarot meeting next week, and see whether the other members can offer valuable insights—such as whether the local tradition of dragon worship stems from the fact that the Mind Dragon can directly enter and live within the collective unconscious ocean, or whether, conversely, the Mind Dragon already resides within this collective unconscious ocean, and the local populace occasionally dreams of it, subconsciously influenced by these dreams, thus giving rise to the tradition of dragon worship. On Friday afternoon, Cline held the list of guests invited to the ball the following evening, carefully memorizing the topics he should discuss with each guest. "When I meet Mahert the member, I should praise the recent air quality in Beckland, and when I greet Professor Portland-Montemont, I can open up a few jokes about the Royal Academy..." Cline was going through these points one by one in his mind, when suddenly, a layered, ethereal voice of supplication echoed softly in his ears. A man... calculating the timing, it's most likely the "Hanged Man" gentleman. Klein thoughtfully set down the paper in his hands, took a long sip of his红茶, rose, and left the semi-open room with the large balcony, returning to the bathroom in the main bedroom. He walked backward four steps, stepping into the gray mist, and there he found the praying figure to be the "Hanged Man." This gentleman asked the great " Fool" to convey to "World" that he had arrived in the capital city of the Rosedale Islands, the "City of Generosity," Bayam. He would wait two more days to replenish his supplies before heading to the more remote island. He requested that "World" prepare in advance, so as not to miss their meeting, and indicated that if "World" had no viable means of reaching the remote island, he would arrange for "World" to travel secretly aboard the "Azure Avenger." Could a group of storm church sailors journey to the vicinity of the remote island aboard the "Azure Avenger"? How long would the blood vampire anesthetic gas purchased from Emlin last? Would there be sufficient time for exploration? Klein thought for a moment, then materialized "The World" Germain Spalro and asked him to pray sincerely: "…It doesn't have to be this complicated. You can move freely in Bayam. Meet me at the city's cemetery outside at midnight tonight. In the meantime, replenish your supplies." This is indeed better than using the vampire anesthetic gas—the method has already been employed twice, and perhaps someone has begun to question it, waiting for confirmation. Yet, without ships, how can one reach that remote island? Hmm, "Lymanno's Travel Notes"? The Lady Magician mentioned that it records the extraordinary ability of "transportation," though only one page exists—this surely isn't enough for a round trip. Aljé, relying on his strong associative powers, vaguely deduced what the world of Garmen Sparo intended to do, yet still felt that the necessary conditions were lacking. With these uncertainties, he sought out the rebel liaison and supplemented his collection with a batch of storm-domain talismans made of white tin. At precisely 11 p.m., Aljé quietly departed the hotel, walking along the shadows of the streets toward the city's outskirts. He didn't worry that the sailors would return to find him gone, since he himself had bodily needs and might have fallen asleep on one of the ladies at the "Red Theater," unwilling to leave—there were indeed several other similar brothels, and a considerable number of street vendors, so it couldn't be simply confirmed that the "Red Theater" was empty to know he'd gone astray. By the way, there had indeed been reports earlier mentioning that Bayam had suffered a shallow-source earthquake, with its impact concentrated in the mountain ranges outside the city... Also, the deacon of the Church had said that Germain Spalro had nearly destroyed Bayam, and that a half-god had been involved in that event... The timing of these two incidents was very close... Could it be that Germain Spalro was responsible? He had triggered a battle of half-god caliber, only to escape unscathed and simultaneously eliminate the "General of Blood"? Aljer's pupils dilated, his steps slowed, and he paused. Suddenly, he understood why the Storm Church held Germain Spalro in such high regard and why they had issued a reward of up to fifty thousand pounds! Inside the cemetery that had sustained no damage, a cold wind blew out, sweeping through the night's stillness and causing Aljer to feel a subtle tremor. At that moment, Aljer's mind stirred, and he turned slightly, glancing back. In the shadowed area beneath a great tree, a figure emerged swiftly into view. The figure rested his hand on his head, holding his top hat, and slowly raised his head, revealing a lean face, defined contours, and deep brown eyes devoid of emotion—Germain Spauld.