The lady who appeared before him had silver eyes, a delicate nose, thin lips, and long, smooth silver hair. Her appearance was somewhat similar to Lilith's divine vessel, which had just advanced to a Blessed of the "Beauty Goddess," but she wasn't so "beautiful" that Ebner dared not look directly at her.
She wore a vintage Intis court gown, a wide-brimmed hat decorated with lace ribbons, and carried a silk fan, like a young noblewoman about to attend a ball.
Cullen had said his family originated from Rhine Karenedia, and that Bloodline Duke was Lilith's vessel… so it made sense for Ms. Helen to resemble the newly advanced "Beauty Goddess."
However, Cullen and Lydia both had black hair… Was it from their father? But they were both vampires; they should have inherited Ms. Helen's traits… Hmm, perhaps that Transmigrator Duke's bloodline was special, and only by becoming a demigod would he exhibit those silver hair and silver eye features?
As Ebner speculated wildly, he politely said, "Thank you for answering my summons, madam."
Helen examined Ebner carefully and smiled, "Detective Bryan, it's an honor to meet you… I've heard about you from Cullen and Lydia for a long time. They both found you very amiable and trustworthy…"
"Now I'm sure they weren't lying."
Madam, isn't that a bit hasty a judgment? Although I am indeed favored by Lilith, flattering me won't do much good…
While grumbling internally, Ebner outwardly responded gracefully, "Madam, that's because Cullen and Lydia helped me leave a good impression on you first."
"Spiritual intuition doesn't deceive me easily…" Ms. Helen said meaningfully, then dropped the topic and switched to, "What exactly did you summon me for? Surely not for those low and mid-Sequence demons in this hotel?"
As a demigod of the Moon pathway, the disguise of the Beliar family's Beyonders couldn't fool her at all.
"Madam, it's like this…" Ebner was about to explain when Ms. Helen interrupted him, "You are a Blessed of the Mother. You can just call me Helen. There's no need to be so reserved just because you're friends with Lydia and Cullen."
"Alright… Helen, it's that the Beliar family somehow heard I have a 'Devil' Beyonder characteristic in my possession…" Ebner didn't play coy. He readily changed his address, then completely recounted the intelligence he had gathered to Helen.
"So, you're worried about Yarlbed?" Helen immediately understood Ebner's purpose for summoning her after listening.
"Yes," Ebner nodded. As for the other low and mid-Sequence demons, he was confident he could take them down one by one.
However, judging by Helen's tone when she mentioned Yarlbed, it seemed she knew her?
"I can help you stop Yarlbed, but you'll have to split today's gains with me," Helen proposed her condition after a brief consideration.
She looks like a goddess, but why is she so materialistic when she speaks? Ebner grumbled silently.
However, he hadn't intended to "freeload" anyway. After all, Helen, this "enforcer," was one of his guarantees during his time in Intis, so he naturally had to "bribe" her well.
Besides, I haven't even gotten the items yet. I'm just being generous with someone else's money.
As his thoughts turned, Ebner nodded, "No problem."
He didn't notarize a contract. After all, they were both Blessed of the Mother; there was still trust between them.
"Also, don't go too far… If all the Beria family's demons die here, Yarlbed will fight to the death… As a former angel family, who knows, she might even produce a very high-level Sealed Artifact!" Helen thought for a moment and added a few more instructions.
Madam, you're really familiar with the Beria family… But from what you're saying, is Adalbaud, that turncoat family head hidden within the Beria family, secretly trying to use me to clean up their internal affairs? Ebner frowned. He didn't think this was a good thing. After all, demons were cold-blooded creatures, and there was no essential difference whether they believed in the Mother Tree or pledged allegiance to Adalbaud…
After such a cleanup, the emergence of new serial killers and demons would inevitably lead to more killings for the sake of acting…
But this kind of thing was unavoidable… Ebner sighed.
Helen seemed to have read Ebner's mind and smiled, "The Beria family being in Yarlbed's hands is definitely much better than being in the hands of other demons!"
"This isn't because Yarlbed has gained humanity; she's as cold-blooded and ruthless as other demons. However, she's greatly constrained by the power of order, preventing her from certain actions."
So that's how it is… But madam, how do you know such secretive things? Did the Emperor reveal them to curry favor with you? Though he had questions, Ebner wasn't foolish enough to ask them aloud. He merely scoffed, "Helen, you're overthinking it… How could I possibly keep dozens of mid-Sequence Beyonders here?"
Unless they were foolish enough not to run away.
"Then it's settled! I'll go have a drink with Yarlbed now. At least until the sun rises tomorrow, you won't have to worry about seeing her."
After saying that, Ms. Helen transformed into moonlight and vanished from the hotel room.
Seeing her leave, Ebner packed up the summoning altar and concealed the room's arrangements. Only then did he change into a bathrobe and settle into the luxurious hot spring bath that came with the room.
At the same time, he manipulated the Magic Mirror, using his "Devil" abilities to transmit a false impression of his fluctuating "desires" to the "Charm Apostle."
Soon, a "Seed of Desire" was captured by the "Devil" being herded by the Magic Mirror.
As my "Danger Sense" predicted, that "Charm Apostle" was probably misled by my reputation, thinking I'm a very lustful person. The "Seeds of Desire" she released were all related to female beauty…
Heh, next, she'll send attractive subordinates to tempt me and use the "Seed of Desire" to control me.
But with the "Devil" herded by the "Magic Mirror (Arrodes)," plus my temporarily enhanced "Simulation" ability and the "Manipulator" methods I can use, the possibility of counter-controlling her is very high.
Just as Ebner thought this, two women wearing only transparent sheer gauze pushed open the door and entered, explaining that it was a special service provided by the hotel for esteemed guests.
Two serial killers… This service truly is special! Ebner sneered. While pretending to be captivated, he manipulated the Magic Mirror to adjust the feedback for the "Seed of Desire." At the same time, he subtly transmitted a certain emotion, magnified by the "rules" within the room, into the mind of the "Charm Apostle" hiding in the dark.
As for the two serial killers, after entering the hot spring water, they intentionally and unintentionally leaned against Ebner, trying to use their seductive methods to further ignite his desires.
Unfortunately, they didn't notice the mechanical, cold gaze in Ebner's eyes.
(End of chapter)