Chapter 167 The Truth of the Red Death

Suren had gleaned some information when he wiped out the Vaughn Brotherhood, learning that the "Curator" frequented the underground gangs of Lundon and was involved in illegal human trafficking with some gangs.

He had always subjectively felt that he should investigate the Curator through these underworld channels, but he hadn't found any useful clues.

Unexpectedly, Emilia and the others discovered that the "Curator" was actually someone from the Royal Academy.

Now it seemed that it was a deliberately crafted perfect disguise.

Being able to control that [Horror Wax Figure - Ghost Bride], the rank must not be low; Suren estimated that it was at least Tier 6.

Although there were many experts in the Royal Academy, only those people were above Tier 6. Moreover, since Old Cowboy had confirmed that the person practiced necromantic black magic, the scope was even smaller. Such people had very special souls; once encountered, one could almost immediately confirm it.

Thinking of this, Suren felt that the previously stagnant investigation suddenly had clues, and his thoughts became clear.

This "Curator" was definitely a crucial link in the Red Death, and if he could be killed, perhaps many problems would be solved easily.

However, listening to Emilia's findings, Suren was indeed a little embarrassed.

Initially, when Suren commissioned Old Cowboy to investigate the Black Death, he only wanted to know where the "Patient Zero" was. Then he wanted to see if he could find some related clues through this result; the trouble wouldn't be too great.

Therefore, Suren didn't even mention the "Curator" and the [Ghost Bride] to Old Cowboy and his team, fearing that they would stray too far along that path.

But he didn't expect the other party's investigative abilities to be too excellent; even without clues, they figured it out themselves.

He thought it was probably due to Old Cowboy's special divine believer's professional abilities.

However, the process wasn't that important anymore.

Fortunately, Old Cowboy was cautious and didn't continue to investigate deeply; otherwise, if he really encountered the "Curator," he might have lost his life.

But Emilia's sense of justice was a bit reckless; knowing that the mastermind was very棘手, did she still dare to investigate?

...

One dance ended, and another began.

While dancing, Suren said directly, "This commission has indeed exceeded expectations. As with the original commission, I will pay an additional one million Lesso as compensation for this intelligence. You don't need to investigate the subsequent matters."

There were already enough clues, and the subsequent matters were very dangerous. If Old Cowboy was willing to investigate, Suren could commission him. But that guy avoided it; relying on this Tier 2 woman alone was tantamount to sending her to her death.

Suren didn't want this righteous female detective to lose her life, so he decided to take action himself.

As he spoke, a storage ring appeared in his hand, and he slipped it into the gap in Emilia's skirt waistband while dancing close.

Emilia wasn't polite and accepted it gladly, not forgetting to snort coldly, "This is what my teacher and I deserve."

Suren nodded with a smile, acknowledging this statement.

The degree of danger was indeed what they deserved.

The commission was completed, and a generous reward was received, which should have been a very happy thing, but Emilia didn't show any signs of happiness.

In her mind, she constantly recalled the tragic state of the patients she had seen in those days of investigation.

What a tragic world it was; it was no exaggeration to call it a living hell...

After a moment of contemplation, she was still worried and said, "What do you plan to do next? As it stands, the Red Death is very serious in the major slums. Without that special medicine, it will cause at least hundreds of thousands, even millions, of deaths."

Suren didn't want to say much and responded faintly, "I have my own arrangements for this matter."

Emilia didn't like this condescending tone, because she always felt that it was the hateful attitude of noble lords when weighing the pros and cons.

They would act if there was a profit, and they wouldn't care if there was no benefit.

Looking at the magnificent banquet hall, looking at those extravagantly rich noble lords and ladies, and thinking of the misery in the slums, a surge of anger inexplicably rose in Emilia's heart, "You noble lords, you don't know the suffering of the lower classes. Even without a commission, I will continue to investigate the Red Death!"

Suren didn't want to explain much, "Don't interfere; it's very dangerous. This matter is very complicated; continuing to investigate will cost you your life."

Emilia wasn't afraid at all, and even disdained Suren's statement, "People are born with a certain meaning, and being able to steadfastly walk on their beliefs makes death not so worthy of fear. If you abandon your beliefs because of gains and losses, how is that different from firewood and rotten wood? Even if you can live a few more years, what then?"

Hearing these righteous words, Suren's originally calm heart suddenly fluctuated.

He looked at the woman dancing with him and suddenly felt a special glow of humanity light up on her body.

Suren always felt that this woman and Old Cowboy had completely different soul fluctuations.

One cowered in the shadows, seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages;

The other was like the blazing sun, fearlessly driving away darkness.

Suren vaguely felt that this seemed to involve some high-level transcendent power.

But he had to admit that he didn't measure up to her in this regard.

It wasn't just recklessness; her righteousness was out of sync with this world.

After thinking about it, Suren said a little more, "Things are not what you think. That [Scarlet Potion] has problems; it can't be used on people. Tell this to your teacher; he should understand what it means."

Hearing this, Emilia was thinking in her heart, but her eyes were resentful.

This guy was like this, and her teacher was too; every time, they couldn't just explain things clearly?

Making her feel like an idiot.

Suren didn't want to say much, "Okay, the commission is over. You should leave here early."

Emilia snorted unhappily; wasn't he the one who invited her to dance?

Now he was shaking her off and chasing her away?

Tch, greasy man!

But it seemed shameless to stay.

Just as the dance ended, she left without looking back.

...

After inviting Emilia to dance, Suren returned to the rest area.

Thinking about Emilia's words, he magically took out the black umbrella, maximized his perception, and quietly screened everyone in the banquet hall.

The focus was on the deans, professors, and other high-level professions.

Soon, he discovered a guy whose soul fluctuations were strange. That soul was obviously surrounded by darkness, as if it had been contaminated by the aura of death for a long time.

He had noticed these people before, but some dark alchemists also had similar fluctuations, so Suren didn't take it seriously. But now, it was worth special attention.

Suren locked onto the target and inadvertently glanced over.

He saw an old woman wearing a black magic robe and a witch's hat.

This was Heidmann Elphos, the dean of the Royal Academy's "Institute of Ancient Magic and Archaeology."

Suren knew he had probably found the right person.

The ancient magic research and archaeology profession often came into contact with all kinds of strange ancient objects, making it the most likely profession to come into contact with ancient magic like necromancy.

Moreover, her soul fluctuations were indeed a little strange upon closer inspection.

The conditions were met, and the motive was there.

Suren thought about trying to test her again; if she "sneezed," then he could be almost 100% sure that she was the "Curator."

Just then, the sound of light footsteps rang out, followed by a very pleasant voice, like an inquiry, even more like a coquettish plea: "Sir, would you invite a poor girl without a dance partner to dance?"

Suren had actually noticed this person long ago.

One reason he was so anxious to have Emilia leave was because he had been aware of a gaze scrutinizing him.

It didn't seem malicious, but he didn't know what it was, she was just constantly observing.

Suren turned around and looked over, clearly seeing the person who spoke.

He didn't think this was a poor girl without a dance partner.

At masquerade balls, usually the good-looking and handsome ones would reveal their faces. Only the ugly and insecure ones would dress up in various bizarre costumes.

This was a blonde girl wearing a low-cut burgundy dress; even with a veil covering her face, her beauty was looming.

This was enough to make her one of the most popular ladies at the ball.

Suren didn't have any particular feelings.

But there was an unwritten rule in Lundon's upper class, that is, if a woman took the initiative to ask for a dance, a gentleman should never refuse.

Since this woman took the initiative to speak, Suren couldn't refuse, so he made a gesture and bowed to invite, "It's my honor."

He was also very curious as to why this woman was so interested in him.

"Thank you."

The blonde girl also smiled, curtsied, and naturally placed her slender hand in Suren's palm.

The waltz being played was a classical piece, light and solemn.

The two of them joined the crowd dancing in circles, stepping to a rhythm like tap dancing.

From her dance steps and temperament, one could tell that she was a girl from a high-ranking noble family.

Out of courtesy, Suren asked, "What should I call you?"

The blonde girl smiled, "Anna."

This woman didn't say her last name, probably wanting to maintain a bit of mystery.

She then asked, "And you?"

Since they didn't know each other anyway, Suren casually said, "Nicholas."

Hearing this, Anna chuckled, as if instantly knowing that it was a fake name, "Sir, you're so humorous."

"Hehe, is that so?"

Suren was awkwardly chatting throughout, but he didn't care.

Anyway, he wasn't interested, and it didn't matter what impression he made.

Anna didn't deliberately hide her intention, scrutinized Suren's face from a very close distance, her crystal eyes blinked, and she generously praised, "Indeed, very handsome."

Listening to this tone, Suren was even more certain that this woman knew him, and asked, "Does Miss Anna know me?"

Anna smiled without answering, and instead asked, "Sir, you don't seem very satisfied with your dance partner?"

Suren politely responded, "Of course not. Miss Anna is a very charming girl."

Anna didn't give up, her eyes cunningly asked, "Then why don't you get any closer? If you invite me, I might not refuse to dance a few more dances with you."

Hearing this ambiguous hint, Suren smiled politely, still holding her at a distance as they danced in circles.

It wasn't that Anna lacked charm; on the contrary, she was a very ideal object of pleasure.

Classical dresses all had waist cinchers, which made her chest appear spectacular, but she was already quite well-endowed. Under the low-cut burgundy dress, it was spectacular, and lowering his head, he could see a deep expanse of snow-white. Her skin was delicate, and there was nothing to criticize about her appearance; her status as a high-ranking noble lady also added points.

But Suren wasn't interested in this kind of emotionless affair.

Besides, this woman obviously had ulterior motives.

After a brief chat, Suren guessed how she knew him.

He didn't know many people in the Lundon noble circle, and the only way she could be testing him with such a familiar tone was if there was only one possibility.

He directly asked, "Does Miss Anna know Miss Ekaterina?"

"So easily guessed?"

Anna smiled ambiguously, and then said, "I'm Katyusha's good friend. I came to see what the handsome guy she praised so highly looks like."

So that's how it was.

Suren casually asked, "What do you think?"

Anna's eyes turned, her eyebrows smiling, "Indeed very special."

At the end, she added, "Also my type."

Suren smiled slightly, but didn't respond.

Just then, the two of them followed the dancing crowd to the front of the main stage, where the academy professors were gathered.

Suren made a seemingly unintentional gesture of flicking his sleeve, and the scent of "perfume" was scattered over.

The air, filled with the scent of aromatherapy and red wine, didn't seem special, but at this time, Heidmann Elphos felt a slight discomfort in her nose, and sneezed lightly, "Achoo."

Glancing at this scene from the corner of his eye, Suren looked away with an expression of utter naturalness.

He had already determined in his heart that this old woman was eighty percent the "Curator."

After another very intimate close dance step, the waltz was nearing its end.

Anna brazenly pressed her proud figure against Suren, hinting suggestively, "Mr. Nicholas, would you like to invite me to dance another dance?"

As she spoke, she even paved the way for Suren, "If it's me, your fiancée won't mind."

Suren smiled, not responding.

Just as the dance ended, he politely kissed the back of Anna's hand as a farewell, "It was an honor to dance with Miss Anna."

After saying that, he turned and left, returning to the rest area to eat something.

Leaving Anna slightly stunned.

However, there was no anger in her eyes, just a murmur: "I was actually rejected."

With an expression of regret, Anna also walked to the other side of the rest area.

Not far away, Ekaterina looked at her good friend walking over looking slightly dejected, and asked, "What's wrong, our Miss Anna seems unhappy?"

Anna showed a dejected and helpless expression, "He rejected me."

Saying that, the beautiful blonde girl pursed her lips, doubting her charm for the first time, "Even three times!"

Hearing this, Ekaterina's expression wasn't the least bit surprised.

Anna looked at her good friend, and then quietly said, "If Katyusha hadn't personally confirmed it, I would have really suspected that he wasn't interested in women."

Ekaterina shook her head, laughing and crying at her unbridled bestie.

Anna thought of something, raising her eyebrows, "But... he is indeed very special."

...

Dancing with Anna was just a small interlude, and Suren didn't take it to heart at all.

Most importantly, he had confirmed the identity of the "Curator."

Thinking about making a comprehensive plan later, and then coming to find this guy for trouble.

Suren looked at his pocket watch again; it was almost time for the planned action to begin; that guy Keitel should already be preparing to take action.

But just then, a small accident happened.

Just then, several groups of people suddenly entered the venue. Those who were obviously guards and butlers rushed into the venue, quietly reporting some intelligence to their respective masters. The top nobles almost all received the news, and their expressions changed slightly.

Obviously, a major event had occurred.

Suren thought that Keitel's actions had been exposed and was slightly worried.

At this time, Sabina also got the news and walked over.

She said directly, "The latest intelligence is that an hour ago, the Rodriguez family's convoy attending the event was attacked, and Augustus was severely injured by an assassin, and his life is currently unknown."

Suren was surprised to hear this news.

He now understood why Augustus hadn't attended the banquet; it turned out that he had been assassinated.

But in an instant, Suren discovered the problem again and asked, "An hour ago? Why did it take so long for the news to come?"

Sabina said, "Detailed intelligence hasn't been transmitted yet. But someone went to the scene and it had already been handled by professional cleaners. It's probably that the Rodriguez family didn't want the details of the battle to be known by outsiders, so they deliberately suppressed the news. That's why it's only being released now."

"Attacked by assassins, but not only did they not report it to the authorities, they also actively cleaned up the scene?"

Hearing this, Suren felt that this operation was a bit abnormal.

Thinking in his mind, he probably figured out something.

That old guy Augustus had been alive for so long relying on the [Lilith's Vampire Ring]. It was probably that he exposed some too obvious methods during the battle, so he had people actively clean up the scene.

But that guy was obviously very strong; someone actually severely injured him?

And it was in Lundon City?

Suren asked, "What about the assassin's identity?"

Sabina said, "It's not clear yet."

"..."

Hearing this, Suren fell into deep thought.

Obviously, this was likely a political assassination.

But directly assassinating a member of a big councilor's family was a big deal.

Moreover, whether the assassin knew that Augustus was an old monster, or just randomly picked someone to assassinate, was also a very crucial question.

Who would do it?

There weren't many targets who had this strength and dared to take action.

Although there had been political assassinations before, those killed were all ordinary congressmen. There was also a tacit understanding between the six big councilors, and no one had used this method to attack the other party.

Now that the tacit understanding was broken, an atmosphere of conspiracy was coming.

Using a knife to kill someone, framing someone, muddying the waters...

Various conspiracies and tricks flashed through Suren's mind in an instant.

Obviously, someone didn't want Lundon's political situation to be so calm.

However, things didn't seem to have anything to do with him. Suren didn't care whether that guy Augustus was dead or not, but was more concerned about the whereabouts of that [Lilith's Vampire Ring].

Thinking about it, he decided to tell Keitel the news.

He didn't know if this unexpected situation had any impact on that guy's treasure hunting plan.

But as soon as he said it on the communicator, Keitel, after listening, not only didn't think it was troublesome, but said that the timing was just right.

In the next instant, he acted ahead of time, and suddenly there was a rumbling explosion outside.

...

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

Several violent explosions were very loud, directly overwhelming the music in the banquet hall and reaching everyone's ears.

The ground shaking wasn't too intense, but the crystal lamps overhead swayed like wind chimes, making a tinkling sound. Everyone stood there in a daze, looking around in confusion.

The various guards and shadow guards of the noble lords instantly appeared, and the banquet hall instantly had a hundred or so more people. There were many experts here, so the guests weren't panicked, but they found it a little strange that the Royal Academy would hear the sound of explosions.

The commotion was great and couldn't be concealed. After a few breaths, someone suddenly ran in to report, "Dean, the No. 3 material warehouse in the west district, the No. 7 in the north district, and the laboratories in the south district have all exploded."

Dean Winfield frowned and asked first, "Are there any student casualties?"

The person responded, "There's no one in the teaching area at night. The explosions seem to be precise定向 blasting. In addition to destroying a few buildings, the impact of the aftermath is not too great. There should be no casualties."

Hearing this, everyone at the academy breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone now understood that this wasn't an accident, but someone had deliberately carried out an explosion on campus.

But since it wasn't to hurt people, wasn't there an idiot who wanted to use such a stupid method as explosives to break open the warehouse doors to steal things?

Daring to make trouble at the Royal Academy was no small matter.

What's more, the news of the Rodriguez family's Augustus being assassinated had just come, and the situation was very delicate.

Dean Winfield shouted sternly, "Immediately seal off the campus, activate the emergency plan, and arrest all suspicious persons!"

With this, the various departments of the academy began to operate.

The Royal Academy had dedicated patrol bike cops, and there were police stations and Royal Knight corps nearby, so there was no need for the professors of the academy, who were nobles anyway, to hunt down the culprits.

The thousands of people in the banquet hall calmly whispered to each other.

Suren also stood in the rest area, acting as a qualified bystander.

Listening to the commotion, he wasn't surprised at all, because this was a link in the plan.

Those explosions just now were the sound of ordinary explosives exploding. The commotion was great, but they weren't very powerful. Other than collapsing a few houses, they probably weren't very useful.

The real purpose was to cover up the blasting noise in the library.

Suren's expression didn't show any abnormality.

Because according to the original plan, if there were no accidents, his task was to watch the show and then find an opportunity to pick up things.

Under normal circumstances, by the time the academy people noticed the abnormality, Keitel would have succeeded and escaped.

The pocket watch in his chest clicked and ticked, and Suren silently estimated the time, thinking, "Three and a half minutes, Keitel should have opened the protective shield of the treasures in the collection hall, and the alarm will be triggered within ten seconds."

Sure enough, just then, someone came to report, "Dean, someone has broken into the library's treasury!"

Hearing this, everyone in the banquet hall now understood that this was a feint to the east and attack in the west. The previous explosions were just to plot the royal treasures in the treasury?

There were many high-ranking nobles in the banquet hall, and they weren't worried about a thief coming.

Instead, they were chatting with great interest.

Because they were almost all graduates of the Royal Academy and knew that the academy library had the strongest defensive restrictions in Lundon, and it was impossible for a thief to succeed.

Theft wasn't the first time it had happened.

But someone had actually broken in and triggered the restrictions?

This made people curious.

With this, another group of people chased towards the library, including Tier 6 and Tier 7 professionals.

Suren didn't panic at all watching the people leave.

Because so far, this was completely within Keitel's plan.

But the moment Suren's thoughts flashed through his mind, in the next second, an accident suddenly happened.

...

There was another muffled sound of "Boom," and the explosion suddenly rang out.

This time, because there were no explosions in other directions to cover it up, it was easy for people to identify that the explosion came from the library.

Moreover, Suren was very familiar with this muffled thunder-like blasting sound.

Wasn't this the special blasting sound of the [Multi-Layer Superimposed Hot-Melt Bomb] made by Gick, specially used to break through the restrictions?

"What's going on? Why is there a secondary blast?"

Suren was slightly shocked.

Logically speaking, Gick had made precise calculations before, and the planned dosage was completely sufficient to break through the special shell of the treasury. So why was there a secondary blasting situation?

And the commotion was so great, the amount of explosives used was even more than the first time.

Could it be that there was an accident?

Just as Suren's ominous thought surfaced, suddenly, Keitel's excited transmission came from the Mirror Organization communicator: "Hahaha... Suren, do you know what I discovered when I blasted just now? Heavens! This is a discovery enough to shock the entire Lundon Empire! I actually discovered the legendary 'Mirror Library'!"

Mirror Library?

Suren was suspicious, and before he had time to ask, Keitel sent another transmission, saying, "Oh, someone triggered the alarm, it seems that the people who were trying to surround and block us have arrived, I have to get out of here quickly. I've already got the notes, act according to plan!"

"..."

Hearing this, Suren breathed a sigh of relief.

So it wasn't an accident.

But he had a new discovery, so that guy was itchy and blasted one more time?

After a few more minutes, Keitel's situation was probably not that dangerous, and he sent another message: "I blasted the first time before, and the energy of the explosion destroyed the original stable structure of the treasury. I accidentally discovered that there was a very deep special restriction hidden inside. So after I succeeded just now, I tried a secondary blasting. Then I actually blasted out a 'folded space'! If there are no accidents, that is the 'Mirror Library' of the Lundon royal family that has been lost for hundreds of years. That folded space is very special. After the explosion, the gap has been automatically repaired within a few breaths, but I left a copy of your space marker inside. If you have the opportunity, go and see it. Heavens, I have already seen the luster of top treasures inside!"

Hearing this, Suren completely understood what had happened just now.

Being able to make that guy Keitel so excited, that "Mirror Library" must have some incredible things.

But thinking about it, Suren didn't seem to have heard of it.

He asked Sabina, and she hadn't heard of it either.

Thinking that Keitel was escaping for his life, Suren didn't ask him, but asked Mr. Black.

With this question, Suren knew why that guy Keitel was so excited.

It turned out that this was really going to be a shocking discovery for Lundon!

...

As everyone knows, the Lundon Royal Library treasures countless precious books, as well as many unique editions and rare editions. The number is probably the most in the entire plane.

In order to prevent certain natural and man-made disasters from destroying the valuable knowledge in the library and preserving the inheritance of alchemic civilization, there was such a "Mirror Library."

The Lundon royal family obtained a strange alchemic treasure that could automatically copy the text of all the books in the Royal Library (only copying books, not including cursed objects).

This thing is the "Mirror Library" itself.

In other words, everything that is in the Royal Library is also in the Mirror Library.

The books that are not in the Royal Library, that have been lost, or destroyed, are also in the Mirror Library!

But this "Mirror Library" has extremely high permissions, and only the dean of the Royal Academy and the emperors of Lundon in the past have the qualifications to enter.

Unfortunately, a coup d'état occurred within the Lundon royal family four hundred years ago, and the emperor and the librarian of that year both died in the civil war.

Then no one knew where this "Mirror Library" was, and no one knew how to open it.

And because of usurpation, the power holders probably wanted to beautify and tamper with history. So after hundreds of years, there were too many secrets that were covered up, and almost no one knew the truth of that usurpation history, let alone a disappeared library.

Now only a few high-level people in the academy know that it is in a folded space, and the entrance is somewhere in the academy that no one knows.

That guy Keitel didn't know where he got the news.

But Mr. Black knew so clearly because he had read all the books and deciphered the history that had been erased and tampered with in an ancient top-secret document.

...

Suren was also looking forward to it after listening to Mr. Black's introduction.

He had long been envious of the billions of books in the Royal Library. It had taken thousands of years to accumulate so much knowledge. This was the existing crystallization of wisdom in the entire alchemic civilization.

This was a real treasure trove of knowledge, and its value was immeasurable.

Originally, Suren could only be envious, because these were all the private property of the Bonaparte royal family, and outsiders were not allowed to covet them at all.

But now that there was a "Mirror Library" that no one knew about, didn't that mean that he could get a big haul of things inside?

Moreover, Mr. Black also said that the library had collected various "forbidden objects" in the treasure hall; and in that Mirror Library, there were Lundon royal family collections of... "divine prohibited objects"!