Mystery: The Stranger

Chapter 21 Inhuman Feeling

The silence in the hall was stretched long by the light of the crystal chandelier. The mottled shadows on the stone walls swayed slightly with the air currents. The faint aroma of tea, mixed with an almost imperceptible, extraordinary fragrance, flowed slowly through the air.

Karen Tamara's grey eyes fell on Snow, the surprise in her eyes not yet completely gone.

As a demigod of Sequence 4, she was already at the pinnacle of power in the southwestern border of the Northern Continent—the angels above her wouldn't waste time in such a remote place. For those in higher positions, managing local power was the job of those in lower positions. Even the angels of the Tamara family always kept their eyes on the center of the Northern Continent, which was the core battlefield for usurping the legacy of the Solomon Empire.

This era was not isolated from the world. Even without newspapers as common in the mortal world, the extraordinary nobles had their own channels of information: messengers from the spirit world traveled to various places, secret contacts between relatives and clans never ceased, and overt and covert networks of faith, intelligence exchanges between churches and secret organizations allowed them to piece together a general picture of the world.

The fall of the Black Emperor did not cause the complete collapse of the upper echelons of the Northern Continent. Now, all the high-ranking figures and influential forces are frantically devouring the remaining legacies of the Solomon Empire—her countdom was a "discarded pawn" that the Solomon royal demigod had deliberately abandoned, and which she then took over.

Although the major churches control parts of the earthly kingdoms of God, during the reign of the Black Emperor, the Solomon family's alliance with the fallen God was too powerful and domineering, resulting in these kingdoms being located in barren lands.

For a long time, the core energy of the church has been focused on competing with the believers of the fallen God for faith, while territory has been secondary. This inertia has not changed even after the fall of the Black Emperor.

They preferred to support local nobles who believed in them to maintain their existing rule, thereby indirectly consolidating their own faith.

The names Arista Tudor and Trensost are already the most prominent figures in the empire. They were once the Black Emperor's most trusted angels, and now, with the support of the six gods, they are gradually stabilizing the empire's upper echelons, purging Solomon's old guard, and reuniting the divided northern continent.

All the nobles knew perfectly well that a new empire would eventually be established, and the ruler would most likely be the Duke of Tudor or the Duke of Trensault, and the noble system would continue. As long as they weathered this period of reshuffling of the distribution of power among the gods and dukes, everything would return to its familiar course.

Against this backdrop, Karen Tamara simply couldn't understand why Baron Hawke would so readily offer his sincerity and voluntarily submit.

She proclaimed herself a countess, and the laws she implemented, even her extremely symmetrical style of dress, were completely incompatible with the old Solomon system. Those conservative nobles, even those who respected her power, mostly waited and watched, hoping to pledge allegiance to the high-ranking nobles sent by the central government after the new empire was established.

Although some minor nobles have shown goodwill during this period, most of them are just trying to profit from her name. No one has ever been as open and honest as Snow, revealing their hand without any intention of bargaining.

Among these border lords, the Hawke family was certainly not the strongest, but it was indeed an old family within the Solomon aristocratic system, and they believed in the most orthodox doctrines of the Fallen God.

Logically, such a family should be the most resistant to a "non-mainstream" demigod like her. Moreover, the Hawk family had once been loyal to the escaped Solomon royal demigod—now turning to her was like a betrayal of their faith and past, something strange and amiss.

Karen Tamara tapped her fingertips lightly on the armrest of her chair, making a dull thud. She suddenly raised her hand and said to the servant standing beside her, "Take Mr. Rodney to the side room to rest."

Rodney's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously looked at Snow, only to see that the lord merely nodded indifferently. Although he was filled with unease, he dared not disobey the demigod's order, so he could only bow and take his leave, not forgetting to look back with concern before leaving.

The stone doors to the hall slowly closed, shutting out all outside noise, leaving only Snow and Karen Tamara.

"Speak, what is your true purpose?" Karen Tamara's previous indifference vanished. She leaned forward slightly, her grey eyes scrutinizing, and even the extraordinary power of the Order subtly surged within them. "Baron Hawke, or rather, who exactly are you?"

Upon hearing this, Snow suddenly chuckled softly. He didn't answer directly, but instead, a pair of large bat wings suddenly unfurled from behind him—the jet-black wings had a matte finish, with fine, dark red patterns adorning the edges. A rich aura of the abyss, mixed with the smell of sulfur, instantly permeated the air, creating a stark contrast with the orderly atmosphere in the hall.

"!"

Karen Tamara's gray pupils suddenly contracted, her body tensed instinctively, and her left hand clenched into a fist. The golden light from the Order side instantly erupted, transforming into invisible shackles that firmly imprisoned Snow in place.

The demigod's oppressive aura descended as if it were tangible, the air seemed to freeze, and even breathing became difficult. This was the home-field advantage of the Arbitrator's Path; within her territory, order was under her control, and any disturbance could be suppressed instantly.

Snow tried to move his fingers, but found that his limbs felt like they were filled with lead, and he couldn't even mobilize a trace of shadow power.

He looked at Karen Tamara's wary expression and sighed helplessly: "Your Excellency, you may have misunderstood something."

"I'm not a devil, just an ordinary demon."

"An ordinary demon?" Karen Tamara frowned, her gaze fixed on the pair of bat wings, her tone skeptical. "Not completely demonized, this is anything but ordinary."

She frowned as she looked at Snow. She had already suspected something was wrong, and now that it was confirmed, she relaxed a little. The Baron Hawke she knew was a Sequence 6 Corrupted Baron through the Lawyer's Path, but the one who had come to her with the title of Baron Hawke was actually a demon.

Moreover, this demon can be partially demonized.

This had indeed startled Count Karen, a demigod, just now.

A normal Sequence 6 demon, once demonized, will completely transform and could never only display a partial form. Only a Sequence 4 "demon" can unlock and maintain a partial mythical creature form for a long time, thereby obtaining strange effects. Just a moment ago, she even thought it was a demon, also a demigod, coming to assassinate her, and almost activated her "execution" ability on the spot.

It should be understood that the mythical creature form corresponds to the realm of angels. Ordinary demigods would never easily activate it unless facing a life-or-death situation, as they would perish due to loss of control if they were not careful.

But demons are different. The ancient texts of the Tamara family clearly state that demons are both demons of the body and demons of the mind. Although displaying an incomplete mythical creature form can easily lead to loss of control, demons can allow a part of themselves to exhibit the characteristics of a mythical creature and maintain it for a long time, thus avoiding complete mental alienation while still being able to exert special abilities.