After a day of slumber, Count Hecate finally awoke. The Earl, who had just woken up, could hardly even speak, but after a few hours of recovery, the Earl's complexion finally improved and he was able to communicate with people normally.

Artmis, Manfred, and Young all stayed in the earl's bedroom. The count's face was still bloodless, frighteningly pale, and it would have been a miracle that the count had survived in this era after such a great loss of blood, without magic and Manfred's surgery.

After eating a little oatmeal, the count's face was slightly rosy. Because he had a wound torn open in his abdomen and injured his internal organs, he couldn't eat too much for the time being, and could only eat some delicate food.

"Are you feeling better, Dad?" Atmiss had obvious dark circles under her eyes, she really hadn't rested well in the past two days. Still, the fact that the Count was able to wake up so quickly reassured her.

"I've tired you these two days. The Earl looked at his daughter with relief and pity, he was glad that his daughter could take on the responsibility of the Hecate family and the Thirteen Lessons after his injury, and at the same time felt a little pity for his daughter's tired appearance.

Artemis shook her head, now she didn't have to play a tantrum with her father.

"Your Excellency, do you remember anything about this incident?" Manfred said with a slight inopportune expression, but it was also the most important matter in the thirteenth lesson at the moment, so Artemis also looked at the Count with great concern, waiting for his answer.

Count Hecate was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "I still remember the process very clearly, after I fell unconscious, did anything happen?"

"It's not a big deal in general. I have already reported your injury to His Majesty the Emperor, and His Majesty is also very concerned about this matter, and said that he will severely punish the murderer and give us justice. ”

Hearing his daughter say this, the Count frowned. Seeing the count's solemn expression, Artemis asked with some concern, "What's the matter, is there anything wrong?"

With a sigh, the Count shook his head. "No, it's normal for you to dispose of it like this. It's just that Your Majesty can say that, but we can't listen to it like that. Artemis looked at his father suspiciously, not understanding what he meant, but Manfred, who was next to him, understood what the count meant.

"Are you saying that His Majesty the Emperor has no way to deal with the murderer in this incident, and if we are more serious about such a promise, it will embarrassing Your Majesty?"

The Earl nodded, and then asked, "Have you reported any specific information to Your Majesty?"

"Yes, I have reported everything to Your Majesty. ”

"Well, you must think that it was Count Jericho's hand, and Your Majesty probably thinks so too. ”

Artemis nodded hesitantly. Wasn't it Count Jericho? The doubt in her eyes grew heavier.

"Indeed, it is Count Jericho. Count Hecate coughed for a while, and Artemis hurried forward to stroke his chest, fearing that he would cough too hard and the wound would open.

"However, I do think that it will be difficult for Count Jericho to be convicted, at least, we can't deal with him in the thirteenth lesson. "The situation was complicated, and you may have gone to Metternich to investigate, but I think the actual situation is probably only known to me and Count Jericho. ”

Artemis clenched his fists. She had indeed gone to the Metternich to investigate, but the Metternich had been on guard and couldn't ask anything at all. The most hateful thing is that Franz secretly threatened them when he saw them off, and even faintly accused them of breaking their promise to keep each other secret. Only you Metternich have those shady deeds! At the thought of Franz's face, Artemis gritted his teeth in anger.

The Count did not notice the abnormality of his daughter, and he was not in very good condition at present. Taking a breath, the Count continued: "Originally, I thought that Count Jericho and the Marquis of Metternich met to discuss something special, but what they had been talking about was just some small talk, and then Viscount Jericho also came in, and the two Jericho seemed to have a big dispute, a dispute over ideas. ”

"Idea?" Yang asked, tilting his neck and asking with interest.

"To be honest, I don't quite understand what they're arguing about. The Count smiled wryly, "It seems that Count Midnight has some other secret, and although their quarrel seems to be just a personal idea and a view of society, I always feel that the two Jerichos have other meanings, and they can't say it directly in front of the Marquis of Metternich and others, and this secret should be hidden only in the Jericho family." Perhaps, knowing this secret, we can truly understand the secret of the Midnight Count. ”

"But His Majesty the Emperor won't allow it. Artemis didn't think so, the emperor let the thirteen classes spy on the Midnight Earl, but did not give him the power to dispose of the Midnight Earl, apparently the royal family did not want the Hecate family to know the Midnight Earl's secrets.

"Forget it, that's not something we should be concerned about. The Count sighed, and no longer frothed at these superfluous places, "The argument between the two Jerichos became more and more intense, and even the Marquis of Metternich could not stop it. Finally, Viscount Jericho suddenly pulled out his gun and pointed it at Count Jericho, and the way he looked at him at that time, I am very sure, he really intended to kill the Marquis Jericho on the spot, and he did shoot. ”

"But Count Jericho shouldn't be injured, right?" asked Artmis, who had not received any reports of Earl Jericha's injuries in the past two days.

As he said this, Count Hecate's eyes opened involuntarily, and there was fear in his eyes. "In this situation, where it is impossible to judge whether Count Jericho can save himself, I have an obligation to keep him. So I magically knocked down the chandelier and plunged the room into darkness, intending to obscure everyone's view and stop Viscount Jericho from obnoxiousness. I used my acceleration magic and rushed into the parlor as fast as I could, and Viscount Jericho probably sensed the air flow I brought with me and fired straight away. In the darkness, only I, who had used dark vision, could see that Count Jericho had indeed been hit, and the bullet had gone straight into his right eye. But......," said Count Hecate's voice, which was already tinged with a trembling touch, "he stood there as if nothing had happened, looking at Viscount Jericho, and looking at me. There was no blood coming out of his wound, his blinded right eye, as if the shot had not been on him. ”

He spoke for a long time so that Count Hecate couldn't help coughing, and with him the sound of coughing was the dead silence in the room.

"The bullet has gone into the eye, maybe even the brain, but the person is okay?—this can't be, no magic can do it!" Yang cried out in disbelief, although he also knew that Count Hecate didn't need to make up an exaggerated story, but he just had a hard time accepting something that was beyond his knowledge.

"No, it's possible. Manfred spoke quietly. In contrast, he was the calmest person in the room, and although his expression was solemn, he was not surprised or panicked at all.

Artmis, who was comforting his father, also looked up at him curiously when he heard Manfred's words. Soon, she thought of something, and her face suddenly changed. "Could it be that Count Jericho is able to fuse himself with the demons?"

"That's right, that's it. The Count, who had slowed his breath a little, nodded, confirming Artmis's statement.

"What's that? I've only heard of powerful summoners who can hide demons in their bodies, but I've never heard of anything that merges with demons. Seeing that everyone else knew this kind of thing, but he didn't understand what was going on, Yang couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

"It's actually quite simple to say. Manfred explained, "When a magician's magic is strong enough, he can assimilate the magic power in his body with the demon, so that the demon will usually hide in the body of the master in the form of magic, and once the body is damaged by the outside, the master can stimulate the magic power that transforms the demon into a certain extent, and replace his own body to a certain extent, so that as long as the master's magic power is not exhausted, then he will not be actually harmed." ”

Yang was shocked to hear such magic. "Then this kind of magician is not invincible, no one can kill him at all!"

"Theoretically, yes, but if you keep using the magic power of a magician, it will always run dry, and of course it will be difficult to do this. A magician who can fuse himself with demons is definitely very strong in his own right, and if he wants to exhaust the magic power of such a person, he can't do it until he fights for a few days and nights, and before that, his side will probably be consumed. Seeing Yang Yin's uncertain face, Manfred, who knew him too well, added, "Of course, ordinary magicians don't think about this kind of thing, if you want to do this, you first have to transform your body into a magical form, which most people can't do." He was suggesting to Yang not to try this magic on his own.

"But how old is Sven Noe Jericht, how could he possibly do that?" Yang still seemed a little unwilling, paranoid about his reluctance to admit it.

"Perhaps this is the secret of Count Midnight—" Count Hecate sighed, "at least one of the secrets. ”

"If it's a secret art that has been passed down from generation to generation, then it's not impossible. In this way, the problem of Count Jericho having great magical powers, but not perceiving the abilities of others, makes sense. Artemis muttered, she had almost accepted the astonishing news.

"I think so, the magic he used later confirmed your suspicions. "Count Hericht continued, "Viscount Jericho could see nothing in the darkness, so he couldn't be sure if his shot had hit Count Jericho. And I was worried that he would continue to shoot, so I used a little trick to turn the gun in his hand into a toy that couldn't shoot live ammunition. At this moment, Count Jericho made a move, and a black crow flew out from under his trench coat and silently swooped down on Viscount Jericho. If it really hits, the unaware Viscount Jericho will not be able to continue to stand intact like Count Jericho. So, at this time, I had to protect Viscount Jericho, and I cast a magical barrier for him to stand in front of the crow. Then, completely unexpectedly, the raven disappeared directly in front of my barrier, or rather, it directly passed through the space between the barrier and Viscount Jericho, and suddenly appeared in front of me. I was caught off guard, Count Jericho's strength was really far beyond my imagination, and he even mastered the magic of space. I was bitten in the abdomen by the crow, and the pain was so severe that I couldn't concentrate on my magic. At last I saw the crow fly back under Count Jericho's trench coat, and then I saw that Count Jericho's wounded right eye was intact, and he was staring at me with a cold gaze. I was frightened by the indescribable terrible aura that emanated from all over his body, and I hurried out of the place, but luckily he didn't chase after me, or rather, he didn't intend to kill me in the first place, or the crow would have bitten me in the chest and pecked through my heart. Count Hecate closed his eyes when he had finished speaking. Beads of sweat were oozing from his forehead, and it was evident that he still had a lingering fear of recalling the scene that night.

And this memory left the others even more confused, because there were so many suspicious and strange places. This was the Count's own experience, and the Count's wounds showed that the Count was right, but although they now knew the secret of that night, they still felt that there was a fog in front of them.

"So, Count Jericho's messenger is the black crow. Artemis couldn't help but bite his fingers, frowning and thinking suspiciously, "But, when you say 'bite', can a bird 'bite'?"

"No, it makes sense. Manfred replied to her question, "Your Excellency's wound makes sense if it was caused by the bite of a bird's huge, sharp beak. As for why a crow can bite with its beak, it can only be explained by the uniqueness of the demon itself. ”

Artemis was reluctant to accept such an unclear explanation, but it was true that there was no other explanation at present, after all, the Count's own experience could not be faked.

"What is that indescribable aura?" Yang focused on another question.

"I can't say it well, it's because I can't say it clearly. The Earl opened his eyes and looked at Yang very seriously, "Because I used dark vision, I could see that after the crow flew back to his side, he had a substantial black smoke-like thing on his body, but I had no clue what it was. All I know is that when I see something like that, an inexplicable fear rises in my heart, so much so that I forget the sore spot for a moment and only think about running away. ”

"The line of death. ”

"What?" Manfred's sudden opening focused everyone's eyes on him.

"No...... It's just a guess, it's unlikely. While everyone was waiting for him to explain, he shook his head and said to himself.

"What the hell is the line of death, Manfred?"

"When I examined your wounds, I found that the injuries were so serious, not only because of the bleeding, but also because part of your vitality and vitality were also lost, probably because the crow sucked away part of your vitality when it caused this wound. And this part of the vitality was probably fed back to Count Jericho, so his injuries recovered instantly. ”

"In this way, this is the reason for the excessive magical erosion of Dad's body. "Then what is the line of death, it sounds very unsettling, and it won't have any bad effect on Dad's body." ”

"I'm not sure yet, because I've never seen anything like this before. Manfred's answer surprised Artmis, who had only heard of Manfred, "The thread of death is said to symbolize human life, and when the time of death is approaching, the god of death will cut this thread, and then man will be judged whether to ascend to heaven or go to hell because of his sins and goodness in life." ”

"Is this a myth?" Yang asked dissatisfied, for magicians, although there is magic and magic in the world that ordinary people think are miracles, but it does come from the root of all mysteries, and it has nothing to do with gods, and gods do not exist.

"There's no way to verify it, but it existed when I was still walking in the sun. Some say it's a clue to the roots, because human life and death are also rooted in magic, and of course, there are others who say it's just myths, as you think. I was once obsessed with the mysterious power of life and death, so I explored it, but found nothing. ”

Atmiss sighed, thinking that his father would wake up and the truth would be revealed, but in the end, there was a more mysterious mystery. She did her best to get the annoying things out of her mind, and now that Count Hecate had awakened, she didn't have to worry too much about it.

"So, Dad, how do we write a report to His Majesty the Emperor?" Turning around, Artemis decided to ask some realistic questions. There were too many secrets of Count Jericho, and maybe some of the emperors didn't want them to touch them, and since there would be no matter how much it looked like it, and there could be no result, Artemis decisively gave up and continued to entangle.

"Let's just say that Count Jericho accidentally injured me, and the content will be as I just said, so as not to make His Majesty the Emperor too ugly. His Majesty must show that his own vassals have been attacked, even if he does not want to punish Count Jericho. We have to think about him too!"

Artemis nodded.

However, I'm afraid that His Majesty the Emperor may not really think so. Count Hecate remembered the previous summons of His Majesty the Emperor, and he vaguely felt that the Emperor had specially said that the murderer would be severely punished when he knew that the murderer might be Count Jericho, but His Majesty the Emperor also had some considerations.