Chapter 125

Chapter 125: Divination in Darkness

The vast darkness still enveloped the entire Philde Villa. In the spacious armory, Dorothy stood at the center of the room. After carefully observing her surroundings, she nodded, deciding that this would be the place where she would face Lu’e in battle.

‘The space is large enough… There are quite a few entrances and exits, with angles from all sides… Yes, this will do. Now, I need to find something—a cane…’

As she thought, Dorothy began searching around the room for a cane. After a while, she found none, causing her brows to furrow slightly.

‘It’s not here… Since that’s the case…’

Thinking so, Dorothy’s gaze shifted to a nearby stool. She then directly applied a bl**d-Eating Sigil on herself and flipped the stool over, forcefully breaking off one of its legs.

‘This will have to do.’

Holding the broken leg like a cane, Dorothy positioned herself at the center of the spacious room. From her pouch, she took out three gold coins and inserted them into the cracks of the broken end of the leg.

Next, she held the broken leg as if it were a cane and focused her mind, silently reciting the divination words in her heart.

‘The direction from which the threat lurking within this manor will attack.’

After reciting the divination words, Dorothy released the “cane,” allowing it to fall. It pointed towards the northwest corner of the room. Dorothy glanced over there; the area was pitch-black, making it difficult to see anything clearly.

This was a form of divination known as stick divination or cane divination, a simple ritual typically used for navigation or guidance. Here, Dorothy was using it to divine the source of danger.

After noting the direction, Dorothy picked up the “cane” again and removed the gold coins stuck inside. Examining them under the faint moonlight, she noticed two had lost their luster. This indicated that two of the gold coins had lost their “Lamp,” and Dorothy had just spent two points of “Enlightenment” on this divination.

‘Heh… So you only have 1 ‘Shadow’ and 1 ‘Enlightenment’ left as anti-divination resources. Quite meager.’

Dorothy reflected, understanding why this divination required extra resources—it was because her mentor carried anti-divination items. As such, she had prepared more resources for this purpose.

From the outcome, her divination resources were negated by 1 “Lamp” and 1 “Enlightenment” from her mentor’s anti-divination efforts. Another 1 “Lamp” and 1 “Enlightenment” successfully activated and completed the divination. Hence, two of Dorothy’s gold coins turned black, and she had used two points of “Enlightenment.”

To counter divination, those without Dorothy’s system usually carry pre-stored spiritual items. The spirituality stored in these items is different from personal spirituality and can be consumed unnoticed unless checked afterward.

This meant that Lu’e was currently being divined by Dorothy but remained unaware. Unless he immediately checked his anti-divination items, he wouldn’t know. However, with him currently searching for enemies, he had no time for such checks.

‘Now that I know where he’ll come from, what should I do next…’

Then, Dorothy reached into her pocket and pulled out an old copper pocket watch. After opening it, she revealed a seemingly damaged dial.

The dial of Dorothy’s pocket watch lacked a glass cover. The hour, minute, and second hands were motionless and appeared loose, as if they hadn’t been tightened properly. The watch cover was adorned with mystic symbols representing “Lamp” and “Enlightenment.”

This was a divination tool Dorothy had prepared beforehand. It was an ordinary pocket watch modified slightly, capable of performing a different type of divination.

Next, Dorothy placed the remaining gold coin on the watch cover and placed her finger on the dial, focusing intently as she silently recited the divination words.

‘The time when I will be attacked.’

After reciting the words, Dorothy fiddled with the hands on the dial. The hands, intentionally loosened, spun rapidly before coming to a stop at their corresponding marks.

This was dial divination, one of the methods Dorothy learned from Audric. It could predict the exact moment within a day.

Just now, using the cane for divination, Dorothy had exhausted her five innate points of “Enlightenment.” Fortunately, she had some “Enlightenment” accumulated as experience, enabling her to complete the divination.

‘Twenty-three minutes and twenty-five seconds?’

After checking the markings, Dorothy noted it down. After putting away the pocket watch, she took out another normal, accurate watch.

‘The current time is exactly twenty-eight minutes past two. That guy will soon find me, and the attack will come in three minutes and twenty-five seconds.’

‘Alright… Let’s begin…’

Putting away the watch and coins, Dorothy crouched beside a display cabinet, pretending to hide. Then, she closed her eyes and waited quietly.

As time passed, the bright moon outside was obscured by dark clouds, plunging the entire armory into near-total darkness.

In this darkness, everything became silent, as if only hearts were beating actively.

And in this shadow, an existence silently crept into the armory through an open window.

Using the darkness as cover, Lu’e transformed into a beast and entered the spacious room. After sniffing the air twice, he directed his gaze toward the center of the room.

Even without light, the darkness revealed the outlines of objects to Lu’e. There, he saw a figure hiding beneath a display cabinet.

Though he couldn’t make out the details, his keen sense of smell told him that this was the intruder he had been tracking.

‘Hey… Finally… I’ve found you… The presumptuous puppeteer…’

Mentally, Lu’e moved almost soundlessly across the room, searching for an attack position and thoroughly examining his prey with mockery.

‘Are you scared? Afraid? Hiding in this place, too afraid to move… Ha, this is what someone who can’t adapt to darkness does. Though you put on a fierce front when controlling puppets, you’re nothing but a pitiful creature, unaware even of my presence…’

Gradually, Lu’e found the perfect angle for an ambush. This spot was behind the prey, with no obstacles in the path of the attack.

‘Wretched invader, it’s time to pay the price…’

The hunt began. Lu’e adjusted his angle and gauged the distance. Suddenly, he burst forward with immense force, sprinting at high speed toward the target in the darkness. In an instant, he was less than a meter away from the target.

At this moment, Lu’e saw the figure turn around, facing him and issuing a sound he couldn’t understand.

“—Fus·Ro—”