To be safe, Xiaoxi made a point of approaching the entrance of the High Tower to check it thoroughly.
She confirmed that the Apocalyptic Church had indeed only set up this old set of Magic Detectors.
“What is it, Sister? Is there something wrong with this security gate?”
“A problem… well, there is certainly nothing wrong with it, but this thing is an obsolete antique model! Only people from the Great Chaos Era would use something like this!”
Xiaoxi frowned. She had seen these antiques in other places before and assumed the church was simply prioritizing their resources where they mattered most.
She never expected that even a place as important as the Tower of Commandments would be outfitted with such an outdated model!
But hadn’t the church discovered traces of the Divine Summon Order’s intrusion yesterday?
The problem was… with Jingtong’s ability, an antique like this should have been absolutely incapable of detecting her Magical Power Fluctuation!
Realizing something was wrong, Xiaoxi quickly contacted the Astrologer and received a definite answer.
“There were indeed traces of Jingtong’s infiltration at the event site. The church didn’t lie just to trick us into sending reinforcements.”
“Eh? But they’re actually still using those antiques? I thought they had already reached an agreement with the Hidden Bone Hall. Wait a moment…”
The Astrologer was also a bit surprised. The church was usually unwilling to let the Association interfere in their affairs, so she hadn’t asked many questions.
After a moment, a new voice rang out through the Communicator.
“Ha! So the church really is stubborn enough to use such an antique model for security. It certainly suits that grumpy old man…”
It took Xiaoxi a few seconds to realize the person speaking was Lady Delta, the head of the Hidden Bone Hall.
The woman seemed quite pleased to hear the news, her tone carrying a hint of schadenfreude.
“Business first,” the Astrologer interrupted Delta’s mockery. “Didn’t the church talk to you about this before? I thought you two had already settled it.”
“Yes, the Hidden Bone Hall has already developed a new type of Magic Detector specifically targeting that Jingtong girl’s ability. That old geezer from the church did come to me for support. I didn’t intend to make things difficult for them; I only asked that they share the core technology of the Tower of Commandments.”
“It wasn’t even an unreasonable request, yet even at this stage, that old man refuses to agree! In a fit of rage, I didn’t help them at all. Why should they get something for nothing? Is their core technology really that precious?”
“Then again, it makes sense. The church is essentially an organization that rose to power by luck. What technology could they possibly have? They can’t even handle basic security without the support of the Hidden Bone Hall. God only knows how they got the magic technology for their Tower of Commandments…”
Delta seemed to be venting her frustrations, rambling on incessantly. Once she understood the situation, the Astrologer cut her out of the communication.
Xiaoxi’s brow furrowed. This meant the church truly didn’t have any advanced Magic Detectors.
It was unlikely that Jingtong had simply been careless and left a trail for the church to find.
No, rather than believing in such a small probability, it was more likely that…
‘Did the Divine Summon Order let the church find them on purpose?’
But what would be the point of doing that? If the Divine Summon Order really wanted to do something, wouldn’t alerting the church and causing them to strengthen security on the day of the event just make things harder for themselves?
Regardless, there was no doubt the Divine Summon Order had another scheme.
The Astrologer also turned serious, telling Xiaoxi to hold the fort at the scene while she made further arrangements.
After the communication ended, Xiao Keke blinked.
She rarely felt her sister was this reliable, but if it had been her, she certainly wouldn’t have noticed such details.
Still, how did her sister recognize the model of a Magic Detector from the Great Chaos Era at a glance? She hadn’t even been a Magic Girl back then, right?
“Sister, what do we do now?”
“We patrol normally. The Association’s higher-ups will handle the rest.”
The Tower of Commandments was only open to visitors on the lower floors. Xiaoxi used the patrol as an excuse to quietly observe the interior of the tower.
Looking at it like this, the tower didn’t seem like anything special, though she knew any Magic Device or magic circuits wouldn’t be left out in the open for people to see.
Xiaoxi instinctively looked up toward the top floors of the High Tower.
If the Divine Summon Order wanted to do something, their goal should be those core areas that weren’t open to the public.
That was likely what Lady Delta was interested in as well.
However, Xiaoxi was indeed curious. How did an organization that had to beg the Hidden Bone Hall for basic security research and develop a Magic Amplification Device capable of covering all of North Blossom City?
“Speaking of which, Sister, Jingtong’s ability seems to have limits. It can only be used through the medium of ‘mirrors,’ right?”
Xiaoxi nodded. She had previously discovered Jingtong after sensing a faint Magical Power Fluctuation from a mirror.
This was a standard trick for barrier magic, requiring some sort of medium to act as an “entrance” for space magic.
Furthermore, all of Jingtong’s abilities seemed to be related to “reflections”…
Xiaoxi froze as a thought suddenly occurred to her.
She remembered the first time she met Jingtong during the battle in the suburbs of Summersea City.
At that time, both she and Muxingge had been pulled into Jingtong’s space magic, but there had been absolutely no mirrors around… It was the water!
At the time, the only medium in the suburbs that could reflect their figures was the water!
This meant the conditions for activating Jingtong’s space magic weren’t actually that strict.
Any medium that could produce a “reflection” could serve as an entrance or exit for her space magic.
And now…
Xiaoxi stared at the clean white tiles inside the Tower of Commandments. She could vaguely see her own reflection in them.
She suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Was it possible that the Divine Summon Order had already infiltrated the church, and they had intentionally left clues just to create the illusion that “they hadn’t successfully invaded yet,” forcing the church to focus its attention on external defenses?
“Keke, come up with me… No, you wait here. I’ll go up and check by myself!”
Watching her sister sprint toward the top floors of the Tower of Commandments, Xiao Keke was momentarily stunned, unable to understand what her sister was suddenly doing.
“Eh? But the church doesn’t allow outsiders up there! Sister! Wait for me!”
Xiaoxi was worried about letting Xiao Keke face Jingtong again. She couldn’t care less about the church’s rules now.
If the Divine Summon Order really managed to take over their home base, it would be all over!
But at that moment, a series of ear-piercing alarms brought Xiaoxi to a dead halt.
She looked through the window at the chaotic event site outside, momentarily unable to tell where the alarms were coming from.
“Something’s happened, Xiaoxi. It looks like the Divine Summon Order has started their move.”
“Where? I’ll head there now!”
Xiaoxi pressed her hand against the Communicator on her ear, trying to hear the Astrologer’s voice clearly.
“It’s not just one place… it’s everywhere. Every Magic Detector in the church is detecting abnormal Magical Power Fluctuations!”