"You must be wondering how the Tide Witch managed to gather so much magical power to use such a large-scale spell."
"But you're mistaken, curses don't require magical power; what they need is the cultivation of the divine tree by the witches."
"Similar to the Bouquet ceremony, activating the divine tree also requires a pilot, as well as the regulation of human pheromones."
"Currently, all the different sections of Kagtua are not fully functional. To control so many angels, a lot of pheromones are needed, hence Judas must kill many people to sacrifice to the codechecker."
"Here, when I mention 'Judas,' it's not the real Judas but the angels of the Tide Witch."
"Ever since the Red Port shooting incident, the so-called real Judas has already died."
"The Tide Witch transferred Judas' memories into her own angel."
"She used the love for Prince An in Judas' memories to deceive her own angel and make it continue with her plan."
"That's why Judas suddenly gained the ability to use magic. He is not Curseborn; he cannot use the Tide Witch's relics, but he is the Tide Witch's angel himself."
The shadow hung its head low, gently swaying, as if its head was very heavy.
It silently gazed at the desktop smeared with orange, red, and green colors, lost in thought.
"Finally, there's the question that intrigues you the most."
"Why did the Tide Witch want to kill Turing?"
"You already understand this, right?"
"Turing is a crucial part of Oedipus's grand plan."
Since she couldn't kill Oedipus, it was only natural for the Tide Witch to consider Turing as a good choice."
Through the papers, the shadow gently rubbed the wooden desk with its fingers, speaking softly and somberly.
"So, as I said, you won't find a way to defeat Oedipus here."
"Are you willing to kill thousands of innocent people just to fulfill your wish of killing Oedipus?"
"You can't do it, can you?"
"You lack that resolve."
Merka fell silent, feeling hesitant to look at the shadow again.
It was as if by doing so, the progress of the shadow reading his inner thoughts would be slowed down.
"I have... I am not without..."
"I just, sigh."
Merka weakly pulled at his own hair, tugging at his scalp slowly.
"Why do you know everything so clearly?"
"Because Maria carries a mechanical god's descent in her; I can read her mind at any time."
The shadow shifted its position, effortlessly hopping off the table.
"No need for further explanations."
"Let's hurry back."
"There's no time to waste; apart from Bou City, it's not safe out there anymore."
The shadow walked up to Merka, trying to pull him up, but Merka showed no sign of getting up.
"I don't want to leave, let me organize the information..."
"There must be something in the Red Port incident that I've overlooked; let me think it through again..."
The shadow grew a little anxious and tried pulling Merka a bit harder, but Merka continued to stare at the drawings on the table with a distressed expression.
At that moment, abruptly, an indistinct creak interrupted the conversation between Merka and the shadow at the door. A woman as charming as a cloud, caressed the door and drifted in from the doorway.
"Merka's child is quite right."
"No need to hurry off like that."
"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, how can we not catch up?"
Merka turned to see the smiling woman at the entrance.
"Can you... see aside?"
Merka wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but to his astonishment, he noticed a pair of fox ears atop the woman's head.
Dressed in a wolf fur robe, her jet-black dress shimmered like the wings of a fly, while sharp cone-shaped adornments dangled from her ears.
The woman's appearance wasn't exactly beautiful, far from the stunning beauty of Turing's androgynous and incomparable charm, she was several notches below.
But her figure was quite impressive, so much so that even Merka, a man of few desires, felt his mouth watering at first sight.
However, Merka dared not act on such impulses now; he knew that only those with the ability to see mechanical divinity possessed by the shadow could see her. Since she could also see the shadow, it already indicated that she was no angel.
Moreover, she seemed to recognize him... what exactly was she...
"Who are you..."
A chilling hand covered Merka's lips just as he was about to speak, and gripped his throat tightly.
【Hold your breath and concentrate on a random place. Your angelic magic has almost recovered, I will teleport you there.】
【She is Beezelbub. But this is different from before, this time she has come in person.】
【Angels of her caliber usually possess a portion of divine power. She is not one who can be simply described as merely strong.】
【You...】
"Shadow?"
"Aside?"
Merka shivered slightly, unbelievably turned to look back, only to find that the shadow was no longer there.
The conversation it forcibly inserted into Merka's mind using aside also vanished instantly.
"How cold, Merka."
"Have you forgotten, when you were with Turing, I watched you grow up."
"What connection is there between us, why reminisce with an outsider present?"
Beezelbub lightly raised her smoking finger and blew on it, as if erasing the shadow with a flick of her "gunshot".
