Chapter 3011: Mercury Chronicle (51)

Jason took a more relaxed view of the matter, tugging at Dick and saying, "The mysticism's sun is different from the one we see, don't get too hung up on it."

"So, where's this gate you mentioned?"

Faust shook his head, "I'm not very clear about the exact location either, but it definitely has something to do with the sun. It's probably somewhere that signifies sunrise or sunset in the context of mysticism..."

Dick's train of thought was completely different, "Can we just go and find the sun directly?"

"What?"

"I mean, enter space and wait beside the sun to see if a chariot comes to pick him up."

This suggestion clearly took Faust aback. Grand Mages view the world very differently from modern folk; space was an unfamiliar territory to them.

"We can try," Jason said. "Although the sun of the mystic world may not align perfectly with the real sun, there must be some connection, maybe we really can block the Sun God."

"That's preposterous," Faust commented.

But the others ignored him, feeling confident in their own approach. Dick even added, "Just in time, the Justice League is understaffed. We could go directly to Mercury and keep an eye out for them."

After searching Mount Olympus again to no avail, the group made their way back along the original path. Fortunately, the Netherworld Gate hadn't closed, and they smoothly returned to Earth.

Worth mentioning is that under Aisha's fuss and dramatics, Raven and Funa teamed up to drag back the bodies of Ares and Hades. The best scenario would be a resurrection, but even if not, the bodies could also serve as Aisha's Chewing Rods, living by the principle of not letting anything go to waste.

Dick and Jason led a few people to Wayne building, planning to use the Teleportation Portal there to go to Mercury. However, for safety reasons, the newly recruited Funa and Billy, as well as their captive Faust, were not going to join them but rather stay in the Wayne building under Tim's supervision and protection.

Bruce was pleased to hear they were coming, but he made it clear that he couldn't spare any energy to investigate anything at the moment. The reason was that Mercury hadn't been peaceful for the past few days.

The attack on Ted wasn't the end; soon after, another person was injured. By this time, the surveillance had almost no blind spots, but since the attacker struck from behind, the victim's body blocked him, so the camera didn't catch a full view, only an arm was visible.

Next, cameras got damaged, followed by damage to some educational equipment, and finally, students began to be attacked in succession.

The situation was getting more serious, and the few remaining professors on Mercury had no choice but to call another meeting.

At the same time Dick arrived, Bruce had summoned all members of the Justice League to analyze who the culprit might be.

Oliver and Clark were the first to arrive. When Diana joined them shortly after, Oliver was observing the meeting room, "Why aren't we using the upstairs meeting room this time? It's more spacious there."

Bruce sighed, "Look at how many of us are left. Do we really need to occupy the large meeting room?"

Clark rubbed his forehead, feeling the strain of the last few days, patrolling non-stop without a minute of rest. If not for the abundant solar energy he received, he would have collapsed from exhaustion.

Diana was already scrutinizing the pictures. Having first seen the photo from the incident following Ted's case, she then said, "What we can confirm now is that the assailant is relatively small in stature, or they wouldn't have been hidden by a person 170 cm tall."

"I think it's probably a girl," Oliver speculated. "Although the angle doesn't reveal the size of the skeleton, it seems the body fat is slightly more than that of a male."

Bruce placed down a photo saying, "The reason we're all gathered here again is because we have a new clue. The lighting in this picture is good; we can see the skin color."

Clark and Oliver stood up immediately, as Diana promptly moved closer, knowing skin color was indeed important evidence. With many students having cool-toned skin, capturing the skin color would significantly narrow down the suspects.

The skin color in the photo was neither blue nor white, but yellow.

There weren't many people of yellow ethnicity in the base, some Mexicans counted, but they had darker skin. There were only three people with this shade of yellow: the Magic Twins, Cassandra, and Cain.

Bruce let out a soft sigh, "I've already asked them to come over; I think they need to give an explanation."

The Magic Twins and Cassandra arrived quickly. Jenna was shocked upon seeing the photo and after being informed of the specific details, she shook her head, "No, at that time my brother and I were in the classroom, the surveillance camera recorded us the whole time, we have a solid alibi."

Bruce nodded, apparently already aware of this fact, then turned to look at Cassandra, who remained expressionless, saying nothing as Jenna anxiously tugged at her sleeve.

They were classmates, not particularly close, but Jenna admired Cassandra's combat skills. Occasionally she would observe her during classes and had even used Empathy to analyze her. She thought the girl had a tragic past and didn't seem like someone who would cause trouble.

Cassandra was indeed in the shower at the time," Bruce sighed again. "There should have been a camera in the bath too, but considering some of you are underage, we eventually decided against it and only installed surveillance at the entrance."

"Even so, it would be nearly impossible for someone to leave the bath silently," Clark added. "It was her who convinced Bruce not to install cameras there. She assured that the windows were tightly sealed, not even a molecule of water could pass, and the oxygen supply pipes had cameras. Even the water pipes had cameras installed, along with magic protection without blind spots. No magic could be used inside."

Cassandra glanced at the photograph, shook her head but remained silent. Jenna became her mouthpiece, claiming, "If it were Cassandra, she wouldn't have resorted to such a clumsy method. She fights more efficiently and could have killed him easily since she was so close."

Diana sighed, "I don't think it's possible either. Cassandra's grades are excellent, especially in combat where she shows exceptional talent. Though she's usually quiet, she knows when to pull her punches in the ring, she doesn't strike me as someone who'd hurt her classmates."

The discussion reached a deadlock, but Bruce added, "We're not insisting that Cassandra is the culprit, because obviously, this doesn't benefit her in any way..."

"Hold on a second," Oliver suddenly focused on the student directory. "Those students who were attacked... didn't they all spar with Miss Cain?"

The others looked at Diana, who took out the list of victims and after checking, nodded, "It seems so. My class's sparring tournaments have gone for 12 rounds. Cassandra is highly ranked but is limited by human physique. Even with no superpowers allowed, she can't measure up physically to some of the Atlanteans and Aliens."

"This alone can't serve as evidence," Zan chimed in. "I also defeated Cassandra in one of the rounds, and I haven't been attacked."

Oliver reviewed the list carefully, recalling that "These students have bad tempers. I remember they often lose their cool in my debate class, escalating factual discussions into personal attacks. Have they wronged you, Cassandra?"

The question was severe, practically labeling Cassandra as the suspect. But she still wouldn't speak, leaving no room for anyone to defend her.

In the end, it was Jenna who plucked up the courage to say, "Otherwise, let's call Miss Lillith over. Doesn't she have the Mind Reading Technique? She could read minds to find out the truth."

"But the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator can control one's mind," Diana pointed out. "Like Blue Beetle, acting against his will. If memories were altered in advance, she probably couldn't read anything useful."

"Let's invite her here anyway," Bruce suggested. "Where is she now?"

After Clark contacted Lillith, he said, "The infirmary. Her mental state isn't great, she's currently undergoing treatment. Doctor Brand says she'll be brought here in 10 minutes."

Taking the opportunity, the others started reanalyzing the photographs, while Jenna pulled Cassandra aside, attempting to persuade her to make a defense. Cassandra seemed utterly unfazed, leaving Jenna sweaty with anxiety.

To figure out how many people present believed in Cassandra's innocence, Jenna had to use her Empathy again—then she froze.

She blinked left, then right, as though disbelief had stricken her about what she'd sensed.

Jenna's face showed confusion, but it was Cassandra who reached out to pat her, and after a while, Jenna just shook her head.

Lillith was soon brought in. The first thing she did was read Jenna's mind because Jenna had been making wild gestures at her from the moment she entered.

After reading Jenna's thoughts, Lillith herself was stunned, then inevitably read Bruce's mind. After standing motionless for a while, she collapsed into a chair, pale and clutching her chest, "The horror still spreads in my heart, I can't..."

Her breathing was frantic. Clark, seeing her discomfort, quickly came up to soothe her, advising, "Don't feel pressured, Miss Lillith. If you can help that's great, but no one here will force you. Take deep breaths..."

Despite Clark's efforts to console Lillith, her condition visibly worsened. It became so severe she needed an oxygen tank. After bustling about for a while, Lillith finally caught her breath.

Diana asked, "Are you okay? Maybe we should just..."

"I'm fine," Lillith suddenly said, sitting straight with eyes wide. "I'm inspired. I feel the premonitions given to me by the stars..."

"Can you make a Prediction now?"

"No, it's still very vague. I need... I need water, give me water so I can see the premonition clearer..."

Clark hurriedly offered her some, but Lillith waved it away, demanding, "No, not that kind of water. I need the water rich in Vitality, flowing, boundless..."

Confused about what she wanted, Jenna dragged her brother Zan over, "Quick, turn into water, brother. You must be the water rich in life she needs!"

Zan had no choice but to do just that, transforming into a puddle of water. Lillith trembled as she pounced at the water, staring intently and saying, "I see a blazing sun constantly rising... No, not enough, I need the feathers of a divine bird..."

The rest were again confused about where to find the feathers of a divine bird, but then Jenna used her powers to transform into the legendary Phoenix, allowing Clark to pluck a feather from her.

Lillith placed the feather on the water, generating an array of ripples, claiming one moment to have seen the rising sun, next the moon's descent, and then the stars' song, life's flight, the cosmos' Oblivion...

During all this, she would demand the waters of life, then fires of the sun, meteor fragments, the fuzz of a newborn, the whitened Scales of a two-headed serpent, and the nail from a giant terror bird's claw...

One could say it's good that Bruce Wayne was present; any other person might not have been able to meet her bizarre, museum-like requests.

So, what did her prophecy reveal in the end?

Nothing, because halfway through, she started having seizures, convulsing violently, and screaming until Doctor Brand took her away.

At that moment, Dick and the others waiting on Mercury finally found traces of Helios, the Sun God, around the sun.