Chapter 412: Alice's 'Clairvoyance' Reveals a Heart-Pounding Scene
Damn it, someone was actually stealing her job. How awful!
"Is this meant to make me unemployed?"
Pandora clenched her small fists, gritting her teeth as she spoke.
This kind of emotional display earned her a rather indifferent gaze from Annie, which made her feel somewhat awkward.
"Foster Mother, now is not the time for jokes."
"I just thought you were being too serious," Pandora said, unable to resist sticking out her tongue playfully, true to her nature.
"Hey, wait, why are you leaving already? I haven't even said anything yet."
Honestly, being so rigid would make her unlovable and unable to find a boyfriend.
Of course, Pandora could only think such things to herself. If she actually said them out loud, Annie would definitely turn against her.
"So, is there anything you need to say?"
Her tone implied that if Pandora said anything more unnecessary, she would leave without hesitation.
"I might have some clues. A few days ago, Heretic Gods descended on Sardinia—the God King Melqart and the God of War Verethragna. Both returned to the mythos one after the other."
As she said this, Pandora's youthful face grew serious.
"One after the other?"
This phrasing made John raise an eyebrow.
Under normal circumstances, Heretic Gods would not willingly return to the myth. There is only one possibility—they were vanquished in the mortal world.
In other words, the Authority possessed by the Campione she and the Black Prince encountered originated from these two gods. Did that mean the opponent had defeated both of them?
Then, did Pandora not notice?
"That's right. Moreover, the secret ritual of the Campione's rebirth was triggered. But by the time I arrived, the Authorities of the God King Melqart and the God of War Verethragna had already been seized by someone, and I did not see the child who should have been the reincarnation."
So, how exactly did the other party manage to do it? Pandora couldn't figure it out.
After all, even she needed a special Divine Artifact to usurp a god's Authority, and she had never heard of anyone else—
Wait, Prometheus' Grimoire—this item could also seize Authorities.
But at most, it could only take one Authority, not all of them.
Moreover, the seized Authority could only be used once.
"Did the God-King Melqart and the God of War Verethragna say anything?"
"Them? They clearly knew something, but neither of them wanted to tell me a thing!"
"Stepmother, do you have any leads?"
"Hmm, yes, there is a Witch named Lucretia who is quite suspicious. Prometheus' Grimoire is in her possession." This made John pause for a moment.
The place where the two gods descended was none other than Sardinia, where Lucretia resided, and she had obtained Prometheus' Grimoire, which indeed made her suspicious.
Moreover, Lucretia was also at Princess Alice's residence, so John, who was also staying there, could easily have his movements tracked.
Additionally, how did they know his real name?
Given this Witch's abilities, it was entirely possible she could uncover it.
However, the woman he fought yesterday seemed different from Lucretia in build.
She had black hair and appeared much younger.
Could the woman who fought the Black Prince be Lucretia?
But according to the Black Prince, the woman was highly skilled in swordsmanship, likely a knight, and also very young—which didn't match Lucretia's description.
More importantly, when Lucretia came to Alice's place, she immediately handed Prometheus' Grimoire over to Annie.
Lucretia claimed the item was too hot to handle, fearing Heretic Gods might come after it, so she gave it to Annie, a Campione.
Thus, Annie took it out and tossed it to the person in front of her, who fumbled to catch it.
"Huh? Why is Prometheus' Grimoire in your hands?"
"Did you find anything?"
"Uh, yes—Prometheus' Grimoire hasn't been used."
Pandora was puzzled again. If it hadn't been used, how did they deal with the gods?
How did they usurp their Authorities?
"Perhaps it's related to that divine realm," Pandora mused, resting her chin on her hand.
"That divine realm?"
"Yes, the one belonging to the God of the Bible!"
On the same island of Sardinia, where the two Heretic Gods descended, a third Heretic God nearly manifested as well.
The two newly emerged Campione might be connected to this incident.
Could that woman be behind some scheme?
It really might be that woman's doing!
"I'll go gather some intelligence. Annie, don't do anything reckless, understand?"
"Mm."
By "don't do anything reckless," she was referring to Annie's earlier plan to enter the cave and take some action.
So, after Pandora vanished, Annie [John] left the Netherworld.
"You went to the Netherworld? Did you see that woman?"
The Black Prince inquired.
"I learned some things from my stepmother."
John then relayed what Pandora had told him.
Of course, this was only known to the Black Prince and Alice; the others were not informed.
After all, if too many people knew about certain matters, some might develop ill intentions and potentially betray them.
Knowing that there existed a method to become a Campione without going through Pandora would shake those with weaker wills, leading them to betray.
"Alice, try peeking at Lucretia."
"I told you, it's not peeking—it's psychic sensing!"
Alice glared again at the utterly ungentlemanly fellow, clearly displeased.
At this point, Lucretia seemed highly suspicious.
However, attempting to spy on a Witch of her caliber required some preparation.
Moreover, that man had now become suspicious as well.
Was the man Lucretia claimed to have sought purely for desire the same figure from the dream?
In the blink of an eye, deep into the night, under the protection of the two Campiones, Alice prepared to use her spiritual vision to investigate Lucretia's issues.
Speaking of which, she had nearly exhausted her spiritual power earlier—how had she recovered so quickly?
Of course, it wasn't possible naturally.
The reason for her swift recovery was that the Black Prince had used an Authority on her, reversing her personal time and restoring her body to a state before the accident, when her power was still abundant.
Now, let her take a look.
Activate spiritual vision!
Here it comes—is she about to see?
Huh?
Eh?
Wha—!
Alice's face instantly flushed an unbelievable shade of red!