445.Chapter 437 – Searching for Isabel
Chapter 437: Searching for Isabel
With Philip’s help, Ivars arrived at the harbor with great speed.
But of course he didn’t go looking for …… one by one that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, stupid and extremely inefficient at the same time.
Ivars in the first time directly show his own minister of the identity of the Ministry, with a very strong attitude to order all ships immediately detained for six hours, an additional round of comprehensive cargo inspection.
This is a perfectly reasonable request and falls within the authority and responsibility of the Minister of Trade.
Now that the position of the Minister of Trade is vacant, the Minister of the Ministry of Regulatory Affairs can take over the order as long as he gets the Queen’s authorization.
Ivars certainly didn’t have Isabel’s authorization, but that sort of thing would be fine to fill in later. He also didn’t expect to stop Phantom Emma …… with such an order, but if Emma really wanted to leave with Yulia, then Isabel would definitely be on top of the only ship leaving. He’d be able to lock down the general area as well.
After locking out the possibility of Emma sneaking away with Yulia in advance, Ivars was slightly relieved.
The “Minister Griffith” had expressed his desire for Yulia’s blood, and he was related to the Eye Demon, and the Eye Demon was related to Emma. The fact that Emma directly kidnapped Yulia was probably for the same purpose.
If possible, he hoped to find Emma inside the Lloyd’s building – based on what Ivars had learned from Emma’s brief contact with her, there was a high probability that she would hide Yulia in the Lloyd’s headquarters and set up a trap; or she would take away “Yulia’s blood and then wash away her memories and send her back to Moriarty Manor; or bring Yulia to her side and then have a second round of negotiation with Ivars.
If she had to have Yulia no matter what, she would have taken Yulia away from the other men at the harbor and returned to the Lloyd’s building to feign innocence to create an alibi.
The Great Guardian had no contact with Emma, but he was experienced. He had considered these possibilities at first glance.
That’s why he arrived at the Lloyd’s building first, and then sent Ivars to the harbor to check the situation.
–If Emma had returned, she certainly wouldn’t leave again at will. Her plot either had to be here to be completed, or she had to be here to hide her actions.
So there were only a few scenarios for Emma not being here – either she was heading back but hadn’t arrived yet, or she’d set up a trap and was ambushing nearby, or she’d taken Yulia and run straight away, or she’d already killed or taken control of Yulia and was taking blood.
Considering that Emma was more or less in an official capacity, Aywas felt that Emma shouldn’t dare to do anything too drastic.
After all, Ivars had directly called out to her when they met at that time – at that time, Emma, who was at the fifth energy level, didn’t even dare to make a move against Ivars, who was at the third energy level.
From this, it could be inferred that Emma should be the type that was a bit of a wimp in terms of personality.
She should adopt a relatively conservative strategy, prioritizing preserving herself over harming others.
Compared to fighting and killing, Emma is more inclined to use plots and traps to weaken or control others……. Of course, if she did not have such a character, she would not have been awakened into such a demonic incarnation as the “Phantom Demon”.
…… Because of this, Ivars always felt that Emma’s behavioral logic is a bit strange.
Even if you want to catch Yulia, it seems that it is not necessary to do so at the Candle Sacrifice, right? Wouldn’t it be better to catch it when you’re ready to leave, or after you’ve already left?
Ivars couldn’t figure it out.
Precisely because this would not benefit her at all, and would only destroy Emma’s original plan, Aiwas was a little unsure of what she wanted to do.
However, Aiwas and the Great Guardian had already blocked the Lloyd’s headquarters and the harbor respectively.
All they had to do was to search the area slowly.
In this case, Ivars could use the Seeker’s Prayer.
Luckily, Aiwas was a priest and thus had mastered a whole mess of prayer rituals.
The Seeker Ritual only works if the target or clue is in one’s vicinity. The advantage is that as long as the clue is nearby, you’re sure to get it. There will not be a situation like the Eye of Avalon where you should have seen it, but you were blind and didn’t see it.
So, Ivars told Philip to fly to a high place in the harbor.
After that, he took out his ritual knife, prayed briefly to sanctify it, and then pushed the sharp and sturdy ritual knife into the palm of his left hand, with the tip of the knife even peeking out from the back of his hand!
Because of the intense pain, Aywas’s face suddenly turned pale, and he shuddered violently. Panting heavily, his body convulsed uncontrollably twice.
Enduring the intense pain, Aiwas closed his eyes and prayed solemnly with a single word, “I solemnly call upon you, Exalted Fire Stealer!”
“God of the holy number of three, God of the sinful thorns that bind the body, and God of the burning body that drives out the darkness – Stag of the Candle of the Priest!”
Though theoretically, all priests are first and foremost followers of the Candle of Division.
But it was the first time that Aiwas had been so devout to Si Candle.
A golden-red light shone in his pupils, and a starry flame flared up in the fingers of his left hand, which clutched the ceremonial knife, “I worship and ask you to descend into this blood fire!”
“I am a latecomer to the Way of Devotion, a priest of the Nine Pillars of God! I am Ivars Moriarty!
“Please guide my path and inform me if there is any sign of the one I am searching for around me!
“I offer my blood at this moment in prayer for true knowledge. I swear that this blood is shed for the benefit of others. I ask that the Candle of Division and its apostles respond to me-“
Aiwas said, jerking the blade out of his palm while raising his left hand in front of his eyes.
Raging blood-red flames ignited from Aiwas’s hand, and Aiwas’s long hair and the hem of his coat were blown and shook fiercely by the storm that had violently appeared.
Staring at the crimson flames, hallucinations suddenly appeared in Ivars’ vision.
He felt as if he was standing in front of a certain flame, with a sacred bonfire crackling in front of him.
Please, Candlemaster ……
Today is the Candle Sacrifice – she disrupts your rituals, charms your priests, and harms the innocent on a holy day ……
But soon, that storm whistled by. The flames in Ivars hand dimmed and died out, and the visions in his eyes and ears faded away.
–and there was no answer.
The instructions were not here.
“Not here, please move back some.”
Ivars gently patted Philip on the back.
Phillip said quietly, “No problem, I’ll fly slower and stop when you say so.”
“Okay, right here – please stop.”
Ivars quickly ordered.
This was the place that made Aiwas feel somewhat familiar …… or rather, the place where the dream began.
Because underneath him at the moment, is exactly where the previously seized “Pelican Bar” is located. Now this bar has been seized for a long time, the things inside have been emptied. Now this place has been turned into an abandoned warehouse, in which some stone materials are stored.
For the second time, Ivars used the ritual of searching for people. And this time the ritual had a different reaction-
The flames that erupted from the left hand that was held up in front of Ivars’ eyes, however, formed some sort of short-lived illusion in Ivars’ eyes.
In some dimly lit alleyway, he saw a helpless, cowering little girl.
Beside her was a knocked-over basket that seemed to contain something. And something was still clutched tightly in her hands, her shoulders gathered inward and her arms clasped together. Her back was pressed against the wall, as if trying to protect something in her arms.
As the people around her slowly gathered around her, her eyes were filled with fear and resignation. She seemed to fear a beating, but her hands were not used to shield her head ……
The illusion only lasted for a brief moment before the flames in Ivars hand dissipated.
However, Aiwas was unusually exuberant, and didn’t need to re-perform the ritual at all to confirm it, “There’s a reaction! I recognize the way-“
He did recognize the alley in that hallucination.
–Even not only did he recognize it, but so did the raven that was currently resting on Aiwas’s shoulder.
Because that was the same alley where that Demon Scholar of Noble Red had summoned the Shadow Demon by attempting to sacrifice Aiwas.
Guided by Ivars, Philip flew under the storm and arrived at the precise location given by Ivars.
What Ivars had seen earlier from his vision was not something that had already happened. Rather, it was what was happening.
The paupers who had closed in on the little girl, before they could hurt her or finish the robbery, were blown apart by the storm that had fallen from the sky, and were left sprawled on the ground in disarray.
When they rose from the ground, they saw the huge, noble, white griffin, and fled backwards in fear without even daring to say a word – without even daring to call out, without saying a word, without even rolling, without even crawling.
Philip’s majestic and complicated gaze watched their backs as they fled.
Aywas, on the other hand, jumped straight down from the griffin and tried to calm the girl, “It’s alright, it’s alright ……”
His words suddenly stuck for a split second.
Looking at the dirty, dry, thin and thinly dressed girl, Aywas suddenly reacted – he seemed to recognize the other party.
This was the same little girl who had come over to buy flowers from Aiwass when Aiwass was in a wheelchair and was brought to the Pelican Bar by Hajna!
Although the clothes that Aiwas was wearing now were not clerical clothes, the girl selling flowers also instantly recognized Aiwas’ identity, “It’s …… kind big brother!”
–It was obvious that not everyone was kind to her during her flower selling days. Thus the few Aiwas who had a friendly attitude towards her were then kept in her mind.
She suddenly made some sort of resolution, and it was as if she had figured something out.
“Big brother, I’m rich …… I’m rich now ……”
The girl said, haphazardly handing over a bunch of White Crown Coins that were clutched in her own hands very heartbreakingly to Ivars, “This money is for you …… I’ll just, I’ll just take one of them ……”
She realized that she got this unexpected wealth, she simply can’t keep or spend it.
But if she were to give them to those who were vicious and still wanted to hurt her, she felt reluctant to do so.
At that time, Ivars had given her a red coin and hadn’t asked for change. She returned the nine copper coins back to Aiwas seriously, just because she didn’t want to accept alms – although she was just selling some not so good quality flowers or wildflowers, she was not a beggar, nor was she standing out to sell after all.
She was not a beggar, nor was she a stand-up girl, even though there were many “flower girls” of her age engaged in that kind of business. She earned her money by her labor, and even though it didn’t even quite fill her stomach every day, she still had dignity.
…… But that dignity was shattered the moment she was handed a hundred white crowns by the gentle, smiling, pretty sister.
If it was only one red coin, she could still return it. But if it was a white coin she would have to get tangled up. Not to mention it was a hundred white crown coins.
A deluxe meal of fried sausage and a fried egg with a bowl of mashed potatoes only cost four copper coins, while one white coin could buy fifty such delicacies. How much a hundred white coins could buy, she couldn’t even calculate. All that was known was that it was a large sum of money that would keep her from starving for a long, long time …… It would even allow her to move right out of the dangerous Lloyd’s District and go live in the prosperous and safe metropolitan area!
She’d also be able to get her mother healed by a priest-sama, and even go to school, or buy a new clean and warm outfit!
And maybe some other things, but she couldn’t even imagine them.
The large sum of money made it impossible for her to give it back at all, so she could only whimper and accept it with tears.
She knew in her heart that she had to hide this huge sum of money, otherwise she wouldn’t even live to see tomorrow. But she really couldn t help the fluttering in her heart …… The result was that because the reaction was too big, it was directly targeted by other gangsters who had nothing to do and loitered during the Si Candle Festival.
Soon, that beautiful fantasy dream shattered like a shattered mirror. She came to her senses and realized that she had no power to change her fate after all, and might even die soon ……
So she thought only of giving the money to the very few people who were good to her.
— Better than having them taken away from her by those who bullied her!
She clenched her fists and thought so in her mind.
But Ivas suddenly froze when he saw the money.
One hundred white coins …… Who would suddenly give a pauper such a huge sum of money?
Either it was an honorable big shot who was kind but didn t know much about the Lloyd District and thought he was doing a kind handout, or it was a bloodthirsty spectator with evil intentions who wanted to watch a fun show.
Coupled with their own searching rituals ……
The figures of the two men then surfaced in Ivars mind.
Isabel, or Emma.
So Ivars immediately asked the girl, “Who gave you this money, was it a pretty sister?”
“Yes!”
The girl selling flowers immediately brightened up, and the hand that was tangled in handing over the money became much more free, “Brother, give her back the money! I can’t take this much ……”
And Aywas just pushed the money away casually and asked after her, “What color hair and what color eyes does she have? About how tall is she?”
“White hair, very, very white, like snowdrops. And red eyes, kind of scary but pretty, a rose like color …… She’s going to be a little taller than me.”
The girl obediently replied, while gesturing, “Just a little bit ……”
Ivas was immediately sure that it was Yulia!
Or rather, it was Isabel who was dressed as Yulia!
–Finally found it!
The fact that the girl’s money had arrived but hadn’t been taken away from her yet meant that she shouldn’t have gotten far-
So Isabel was alive and safe!
Ivars breathed a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if the whole world had instantly brightened up.
(End of chapter)