Until dawn, the phoenix butterfly did not reappear.

The main fort.

Studio.

Eric looked at the cloth that was intact on the ceiling and breathed a sigh of relief. He believed that with the eyes of the phoenix, he should have already discovered that he had stolen a fake.

But he didn't turn back, perhaps fearing that the vigilant guards would catch him. Regardless, Eric managed to protect the painting.

Behind the studio door, Eric discovers a surprise.

A silver phoenix butterfly pattern.

Probably every time after the success of the crime. He will leave such a mark on the scene. This time, though, it's more of a shameful satire of failure.

Now, now that the crisis is over, the next time is naturally the time to solve the puzzle.

Eric opened the Alpha Eye that every exorcist hunter has.

The magic colors in the field of vision immediately agitated. I saw that in the painting room, a pair of striking yellow footprints were clearly visible.

Eric nodded silently. For the rest of the day, he didn't let anyone in the studio except Eric himself. There is no doubt that this must be the footprints of the thieves.

No, wait. It seems that there is something wrong somewhere.

Eric then shook his head again.

There was only a pair of footprints, so where did he come from? Normally, there should be a string of footprints.

And the footprints are just in front of that wall, so you can reach out and touch the place where the painting is.

The phoenix butterfly stood right here, stealing the paintings on the wall without moving.

So, where did he get out from?

Eric couldn't figure it out. With the magic eye, he gets information that ordinary people can't see, but it also makes him even more confused.

Could it be that the phoenix butterfly uses teleportation?

How so.

Eric laughed as he shook the ridiculous idea out of his mind. But the thought clung to his scalp and refused to let go.

It seems that teleportation is not an impossible ability for anyone.

Unfortunately, Eric himself knew such a guy.

Triss!

The vampire was able to teleport itself for a distance, which was basically equivalent to teleporting. This is a fact that he has seen with his own eyes.

Is Triss a phoenix?

Apparently not.

As young as a child, she could not have made the name phoenix butterfly spread for a long time. Moreover, Eric had a hard time imagining that Triss had anything else in her mind besides her young master. She follows Papitt every day, and has no time to travel around Odin to steal.

So it can be assumed that the phoenix butterfly is someone else who has the same abilities as Triss. It should be a good idea to think so.

Maybe I should ask Triss if she has any relatives or something. Eric felt that this strange ability was generally inherited in the family.

The phoenix butterfly is undoubtedly such a capable person. That's why he stabbed old Seba in the dark hall and disappeared.

The ability to teleport with the class of Thief is a perfect fit.

In this way, having strange abilities is the reason why he is elusive and frequently successful. That's how the thieves were born.

Opportunistic.

Eric, who discovered this, had a much lower rating of the phoenix butterfly. I thought he was at a high level, but it turned out that he was just a guy who relied on special abilities.

In the studio, there is only one clue to the footprints.

In other words, the phoenix's plan was to create a disturbance in the main castle first and lead all the guards to the hall. Then move yourself to the empty studio, remove the painting from the wall and teleport away.

That's all Eric speculated.

In order to find corroborating evidence, Eric walked outside and decided to continue his investigation elsewhere in the main fort.

Eric came to the first floor, where the riots began after the Magic Crystal Lamp shattered, where the phoenix butterfly first appeared in the darkness.

The thief's course of action is still imprinted in Eric's mind. He decided to walk the path again for himself from memory. Maybe some new clues will be discovered.

But within a few steps, Eric's brow tightened.

No.

Nowhere else.

There are no yellow footprints. How so?

Eric was puzzled.

Since the yellow footprints appeared in the studio, it proves that the most likely part of the phoenix butterfly to leave traces of magic is the shoes.

Footprints are also Eric's favorite magical traces. Once such a highly recognizable trace appears in the Demon Eye, the case will definitely be solved.

The prisoner of the Ode tragedy was also tracked down by Eric when he saw the blood-red footprints.

Once footprints appear in one place, the same footprints will generally appear in other places that the person passes through. In short, it's a kind of magic that connects into patches.

Unless he changed his shoes halfway through.

The odds are extremely unlikely.

Then, another explanation emerges.

These are two completely different people.

There are two people in the phoenix butterfly - Eric naturally came up with this idea. One person is responsible for stirring up the riot, and the other is taking advantage of the opportunity.

However, on this road that caused riots, the traces left were so faint. This shows that this person must not have any rare abilities like the people on the other side of the studio. You know, exorcist hunters are the most sensitive to weird species. Whether it's a weirdo or a monster.

Or rather, there is an inner ghost?

The internal response mixed with the guards caused a riot, and the phoenix butterfly himself took the opportunity to teleport directly to the studio to steal the "Stairway of Dreams". It's a perfect plan to think about.

However, there is an obvious drawback to this plan. The person who caused the riot clearly did not have the ability to teleport.

Moreover, Eric had the foresight to prohibit the entry and exit of people inside and outside the main fort. Even the guards who had brought the new magic crystal lamps to the dark main fort were not allowed to enter the main fort.

The personnel inside the main fort are exactly the same as they were before they were put on alert.

In other words, the guy who caused the riot is still in the main fort.

And finding that person wasn't difficult for Eric. Just ask everyone who was guarding the hall at the time and compare the changes in personnel before and after the darkness......

The extra person who comes out after the light is restored is the inner ghost.

Eric almost laughed out loud at the thought of this.