As a Hunter who had Shadow Cloak, Danitz's hiding and monitoring abilities were always pretty good. Back then, he had even helped Gehrman Sparrow lay an ambush for Steel Maveti. At this moment, he didn't show any traces of himself, but he felt a little bored. He was eager for Anderson to switch with him as soon as possible.
When will such a life end? Vice Admiral Ailment, hurry up and appear. No, no, not now. It's better to wait until Anderson arrives... Danitz did some introspection and rationally ended his "prayer."
He was worried that a pirate admiral at Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy would discover that he was hiding in the dark, and he lacked the courage and confidence to deal with her.
Of course, if he wore the boxing glove, everything wouldn't be a problem.
As long as he made the decision fast enough, fear and apprehension wouldn't be able to catch up to him!
"You seem very troubled?" Suddenly, a voice rang beside Danitz's ear.
Danitz jumped out of the shadows in shock as an orange flame quickly formed in his hand.
At the same time, he cast his gaze to the source of the voice. He saw Anderson hiding in the woods. There were green vines stuck to his head that seemed to meld him with the environment.
"...Dogsh*t!" It was unknown if Danitz was cursing Anderson or himself. After venting his anger, he asked, "When did you come?"
Two minutes ago," Anderson replied with a smile. "You hid well. I didn't manage to find you immediately, so I followed your hiding habits and casually asked you a question."
Danitz was momentarily unsure if he should be proud or angry. He asked with mixed feelings, "If I had remained calm just now, would you have failed to discover me?"
"In theory," Anderson said with a smile, completely unfazed. "But as an experienced Hunter, there can't be only one way."
Just as Danitz was about to ask what other solutions there were, he suddenly saw Bartz extinguish the candle and prepare to sleep.
Minutes later, the figure of intelligence peddler, Bartz, appeared by the window in the darkness. With a nimble leap, he landed into the shadows outside the house.
That was where Danitz had been hiding. Having re-entered the shadows, he was almost stepped on by his target.
Bartz walked towards the sea under the cover of the shadows.
...Dogsh*t! Only then did Danitz appear, giving Bartz the middle finger.
Anderson also left the woods. As he pulled out the branches from his head, he smiled at Danitz.
"I think we'll hit the jackpot tonight."
Danitz glanced at the strongest hunter in the Fog Sea and nodded vigorously.
"I hope it's Vice Admiral Ailment."
He used the shadows that were everywhere at night and immediately took the lead in following the intelligence peddler, along with Anderson. They maintained a perfectly adequate distance.
"Not too stupid..." Anderson observed for a moment before chuckling.
Danitz scoffed inwardly but didn't respond.
He knew very well that this wasn't an occasion where they could afford to mock and provoke each other!
Fifteen minutes later, Bartz arrived at the beach and stood there, staring at the dark blue sea under the crimson moonlight.
He didn't wait too long. In the darkness of the sea, a huge outline appeared, gradually forming a black ship with a white flag fluttering in the air.
On the flag, two ghostly-blue flames "burned" within a pitch-black skull.
The Black Death!
Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy's flagship, Black Death!
Danitz instantly became excited. If not for his shadow form, his pupils definitely would've dilated in a bid to draw in more light to see every detail of the ship.
He subconsciously moved a distance forward, hoping to confirm if Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy was on the ship.
As the gigantic sailboat approached, the two people in the shadows could see sailors busy on the deck.
Is there a dock for docking here? Or will they just give Bartz a dinghy and get him to row himself over? Just as these thoughts flashed through Danitz's mind, he heard Anderson say with a suppressed voice, "Leave."
Ah? Danitz's greatest strength was that he was good at following the instructions of an authoritative figure. Be it in front of Edwina Edwards or Gehrman Sparrow, he would follow the instructions to a tee, apart from grumbling at most. At that moment, although his face was filled with puzzlement, with the intention to retort and persist in his own plans, he still used the shadows to silently leave the beach.
When they could no longer see the Black Death and could only hear the vague crashing of the waves did Danitz leave the shadows and appear in the forest. He hurriedly asked, "Aren't we going to confirm if Vice Admiral Ailment is aboard?"
Anderson sized up Danitz and chuckled.
"Never underestimate a Beyonder who's very famous at sea but has lived to this day. Every pirate admiral is a target you must be careful against. You must never be careless."
Danitz subconsciously replied, "Admiral of Blood Senor, Admiral Hell Ludwell..."
They were all pirates who were easily killed by a particular crazy adventurer.
Anderson was momentarily at a loss for words to rebut Danitz with. After a few seconds, he said, "So, isn't Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy worth paying more attention to considering how she survived Gehrman Sparrow's attack?^^ @@novelbin@@
After careful thought, Danitz inexplicably felt that Anderson's words made sense. Just as he was about to speak, his throat suddenly felt itchy as he coughed.
After coughing a few times, his throat began to swell in pain, and he could taste metal.
"Look, I told you to be careful." Anderson clenched his fists and held them to his mouth. He coughed lightly, but it wasn't as serious as Danitz's. "Tracy must've spread all kinds of ailments around the ship. Once anyone approaches it, they'll quickly be infected with it and be exposed. Heh, with this wide of a range, it means that she has completely digested the Sequence 5 potion and has a chance of advancing to Sequence 4."
"Why couldn't it be that she has already advanced to Sequence 4?" As he was far from the source of the infection, Danitz quickly recovered and instinctively retorted.
"If that were the case, you are either on the Black Death, or you have a victim of the Black Death disease and are on your deathbed." Anderson half-turned his body and cast his gaze towards the obstructed beach. "Tracy must've used some sort of trick. It's unlikely for her to only be able to maintain the target area of the ailments to be at the front and not the other three directions. Instead, she used the wind to spread the ailments to affect the people on the shore."
With that said, Anderson clapped his hands and smiled again.
"Isn't our encounter proof that Vice Admiral Ailment is on the ship? You can inform Gehrman Sparrow."
Danitz didn't hesitate any further. He immediately set up a ritual and summoned the messenger. Using the excuse of guarding the area to prevent any accidents, Anderson walked out of the forest.
It was three in the morning in Backlund's East Borough. Apart from the moonlight and starlight, it was pitch black.
Wearing cotton pajamas and a sleeping cap with a protective hairnet, Klein sat on the bed and received the letter from Reinette Tinekerr without asking anything.
Opening the letter, he calmly got out of bed, took out a pen from his pocket, and wrote on the back of the letter: "Return to the port city and await further instructions."
After watching Miss Messenger leave, he calmly changed into his shirt, put on his vest, tied his bow tie, and put on his black trench coat.
Then, he took four steps counterclockwise and went above the gray fog. Using the topaz spirit pendulum to divine the danger level of this operation, he received almost no revelations.
Without any hesitation, he returned to the real world and stood in front of the mirror. He picked up his half top hat and wore it above his head.
On the bunk bed in the room outside, Qonas and Enuni opened their eyes.
In an empty room on the Black Death, a figure quickly outlined itself. He had black hair and brown eyes with cold and hard facial features. He was none other than Gehrman Sparrow.
Under the dim crimson moonlight, Klein swept his gaze and casually found a chair to sit down as he admired the sea vista outside.
In the captain's cabin one level away, Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy, who was dressed in a white blouse and beige pants, watched Bartz leave the room in disgust. She pulled at her collar out of reflex, and her expression turned livid.
She had just learned that Blazing Danitz and the Strongest Hunter Anderson had been staying in Theros Island recently with unknown motives.
They're all related to Gehrman Sparrow... Is that fellow looking for me? Tracy narrowed her eyes as she walked towards the window without any hesitation. She was prepared to instruct the sailors on the deck to steer the ship away from these waters.
At this moment, her thoughts suddenly turned sluggish. It was as if she had sunken into a state where she knew she was in a dream but was unable to extricate from it no matter how hard she struggled.
Not good... Black flames abruptly emerged from the surface of Tracy's body, attempting to burn away any external influences.
However, while the flames were initially able to "flow" smoothly, they later began to turn intermittent as they kept falling to the ground like withered petals.
A strong sense of despair surged within Tracy as her thoughts turned increasingly slower.
Desperate, she quickly condensed a layer of crystalline ice around her body, retracting the invisible threads towards her and wrapped herself in layers.
At that moment, the door to the captain's cabin creaked open. Wearing a silk top hat and black trench coat, Gehrman Sparrow walked in.
Then, he politely closed the door.
With a light cracking sound, the entire captain's cabin instantly became extremely quiet. The sound of crashing waves was no longer present, as though they had been separated from the real world.
As for the invisible spider webs that entangled Tracy, they seemed to misunderstand the order that was given as they tightly bound Vice Admiral Ailment up, preventing her from moving or using her Beyonder powers.
Distortion!
As her thoughts returned to normal, her brain no longer felt frozen.
"W-what do you want to do?" She couldn't hide her fear as she watched Gehrman Sparrow slowly approach.
What she couldn't understand was why the other party would give up on the attempt to make a marionette even though she had clearly lost her ability to resist.
The reason why Klein did so was because he was worried that Vice Admiral Ailment and the Demoness of White were related by blood. This way, Tracy's death would cause the demigod who was good at hexes to sense something and take measures ahead of time.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Klein stopped in front of the Demoness.
-x-X-x-
Gehrman Sparrow's silence made Tracy's heart sink, as though she had fallen into an ice cavern.
When he saw despair surface on Vice Admiral Ailment's face, Klein took out a piece of paper from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he made it fly forward like a poker card.
With a whoosh, the slip of paper cut through a tiny portion of the invisible spider webs like a piece of metal. It tore open the translucent ice crystal and lacerated Tracy's left arm, causing blood to splatter.
The surface of the paper was quickly dyed with a bright red tinge before it boomeranged back from the trapped Demoness into Klein's palm.
Tracy originally imagined that the piece of paper would come at her throat, but she never expected it to only target her arm. She was momentarily stunned. Only when Gehrman Sparrow folded the piece of paper and placed it into an iron cigar case did she suddenly realize something. She asked, "Your true target is Katarina?"
Klein placed the iron cigar case back into his pocket without answering her. He calmly asked, "You are her descendant?"
Upon hearing this, Tracy, who was still trapped by the ice crystal and spider silk, suddenly let out a low laugh.
"I'm not just a descendant. I'm her child."
Child...Daughter...As Klein rejoiced over his caution in not recklessly killing her, causing Demoness of White Katarina to sense something, he subconsciously analyzed whether Katarina was the mother or father of the Ailment Maiden.
If Katarina was also formerly a male, it's possible that she's Tracy's father, but the problem is that she was already a Sequence 4 demigod during the Pale Disaster that was at the end of the Fourth Epoch. And for the Assassin pathway, a man will change into a woman at Sequence 7 Witch...
In other words, if Katarina is Tracy's father, Tracy needs to be at least l,300 years old. However, it's impossible for a Sequence 5 Beyonder to live for so long. Even most Sequence 4 and Sequence 3 saints aren't capable of that!
There's only one answer, and that is that Tracy was borne by Katarina. Also, it happened in the past few decades... An advanced maternal age of more than a thousand years... Klein nodded slightly and confirmed without any change in expression.
"She's your mom?"
Tracy's expression suddenly turned odd.
"No, my mother."
Just as he was about to ask what was the difference between that and mother since it was essentially a more formal and eloquent manner of speech. Tracy sneered and said, "My mom is another person. She used to be my father."
...You Demonesses have messed up families... But that isn't the reason why you spread catastrophes to the world... Klein used his Clown powers to control his facial muscles as he continued looking at Ailment Maiden, his face impassive.
Tracy, who was already in a dire situation, was now beginning to abandon herself to despair. Without waiting for Gehrman Sparrow's response, she sighed and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Maybe it was all a mistake since I was born.
"Abnormal parents, abnormal family relationship, abnormal sect members. They sculpted me and harmed me. At the age of 8,1 found out that my father, who I had always admired as a role model, had suddenly become a woman. He was becoming like a dainty flower by the day, becoming more and more adept at using his charms. Later on, he even found a male friend and gave birth to my younger brother. Can you imagine that kind of feeling?
"After I ran away from home and came to the sea, I finally found a normal sense of self-recognition and a social identity after many years of hard work. I finally understood what I really wanted. Then, a potion bottle turned me into a woman. Heh, a woman..."
After listening quietly, Klein said without changing his tone, "Your instigation skills are pretty good."
Tracy turned agape, but in the end, she only sighed and smiled with a complicated expression. "I admit that I was trying to win your sympathy. Everyone wants to live. Isn't that right? However, I didn't lie. That was my life experience."
She stopped exaggerating her pain and sadness and paused.
"Before you kill me, I would like to ask you a question. It's a question that won't put you in a difficult spot."
"What is it?" Klein looked at the Demoness and asked.
Tracy hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Before you came to assassinate me the previous time, did Helene know about this?"
Klein was silent for a moment before he said, "She didn't know what would happen."
Tracy's face suddenly glowed.
"Really?"
Before Gehrman Sparrow could respond, she revealed an extremely complicated expression.
"Before I die, can I ask you for another favor? If you can see her again, tell her that I feel very guilty about what happened in the past, but I don't regret it."
At this point, Tracy tried to shake her head, but failed thanks to the restriction provided by the crystalline ice and invisible spider webs.
She could only laugh at herself.
"Forget it, there's no need to tell her. Let's leave it at that.
"You can do what you were here for."
With that, Tracy closed her eyes.
After a few seconds, she didn't feel the pain she expected. Instead, she heard Gehrman Sparrow say in a deep voice, "Say this: No one is to disturb me."
Tracy was surprised as she felt perplexed, and it showed on her face.
However, since she was already facing death, such a small matter wasn't worth nitpicking about. She opened her mouth and said, "No one is to disturb me."
As soon as she said the statement, the same voice echoed on the Black Death, greatly amplified.
The pirates didn't have any doubts about this. It was as if they were following a specific pattern. They instinctively avoided the captain's cabin and continued their work.
Since the captain said not to disturb her, they naturally wouldn't seek her out!
At the same time, Tracy saw Gehrman Sparrow take off his top hat and press it to his chest. He bowed slightly at her, as though he was bidding her farewell.
Then, she felt as though she was isolated from the entire world. There was silence. Even the crazy adventurer was gone.
She had obtained the environment of "not being disturbed" just as she wanted.
The "Magnify" and "Distortion" powers of the Lawyer pathway!
The layer of ice on Tracy's body began to melt, but the invisible spider webs continued to bind her firmly, preventing her from doing anything. She couldn't even change her center of gravity.
Hence, she could only stand there like a lifelike wax statue.
He didn't kill me... Tracy looked ahead blankly, momentarily in disbelief.
She didn't believe that Gehrman Sparrow hadn't taken action because he pitied her. This crazy adventurer had killed many pirates, and there had never been a situation where he showed mercy. As for Tracy, although she believed that she wasn't the typical Demoness and didn't live up to her status as a Demoness, how could she not have done anything bad as a pirate? She was experienced in both the slave trade and in plundering ships. @@novelbin@@
Similarly, Tracy didn't believe that Gehrman Sparrow was moved by her beauty and her experiences, and had ended up coveting her, because his cold gaze was like he was looking at a dead person.
There must be other factors... A thought flashed through her mind as she made connections with matters she might be involved in. She quickly came to a conclusion. It's likely because of my blood relationship with Mother. As for Demonesses, they're all good at hexes. Once I die, Mother will immediately notice it. When she discovers that there's a problem here, she will make preparations ahead of time, preventing Gehrman Sparrow from finding his target during his subsequent actions. That's why he allowed me to live but made it impossible for me to contact anyone else... From the looks of it, regardless of the outcome of his operation targeted at Mother, he will return to kill me... And if I want to continue living, I have to succeed in saving myself before that happens.
In Tracy's heart, she didn't have much of a relationship with her mother, Katarina. This Demoness of Unaging had lived for a long time, and most of the time, she had maintained her youthful state of mind by dating young men. She was passionate about the occasional children that she had whenever she found it novel to have one. At other times, she was mostly indifferent.
However, as she grew older, Katarina's evaluation of Tracy was that she resembled her past self more and more.
Hence, she was doted on her and provided more help.
However, Tracy didn't want such attention. It only served to make her lose her original gender, putting her into a painful situation that she couldn't shake off.
Phew... Although I hate her and blame her, I still unknowingly rely on her, hoping that she can respect my opinion more... I h-hope that she can escape Gehrman Sparrow's pursuit... Tracy once again began to struggle in an attempt to escape her bound state.
On the one hand, she was trying to save herself. On the other hand, she wanted to inform her mother to be careful of Gehrman Sparrow as soon as possible!
Of course, Tracy found it questionable that Gehrman Sparrow, who had likely advanced to Sequence 4 recently, would be able to harm her mother. She was, after all, someone who had survived since the Fourth Epoch, and was a Demoness with the title of "Unaging." However, she didn't only pin this belief on hope alone. This was because Gehrman Sparrow had helpers, such as the Death Consul who even her mother feared!
Plop!
Tracy finally collapsed on the ground and tried to roll towards the desk. But no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to roll her body.
The person she was fighting against was none other than herself, she who had been "Distorted" and "Magnified"!
Above the gray fog, Klein had already taken his seat in the high-back chair of The Fool. He placed the paper stained with Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy's blood on the surface of the long, mottled table.
Following that, he conjured a pen and paper and wrote a divination statement:
"Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy's mother, Katarina's current location."
Putting down the pen, he held the two pieces of paper and leaned back into his chair. He closed his eyes and repeated the words he had written.
After repeating it seven times, he entered a dream. He saw a tall and towering gothic bell tower appear in the gray world.
Around the bell tower, the white-robed Katarina stood in the shadows of a few houses. She observed the surroundings with a heavy expression, as though she was searching for something. As for the crimson moon hanging high in the sky, its position was identical to what he had seen before entering the gray fog.
This meant that Demoness of White Katarina was still in Backlund. She was in West Borough, in search of a particular target.
-x-X-x-
After ending the divination and returning to the real world, Klein walked to the room outside the rental flat. There, he pondered for nearly a minute while looking at the crimson moon in the night sky.
Perhaps, there's still another chance for digesting the potion... he muttered silently as he ultimately rummaged for something. He took the two marionettes and disappeared into the shadows.
In Backlund, he no longer dared to use Flaming Jump, afraid that it might catch Zaratul's notice. After all, it was impossible for him to always have an opportunity to ignite Will Auceptin's paper crane to protect himself. This was a sign of disrespect towards the Snake of Fate, and it was easy for Dr. Aaron's family to be targeted if he kept visiting them.
In the blink of an eye, Klein appeared at the back of the tall, gothic-styled bell tower in his dream. He hid in the shadows—one formed by the Bell of Order, a symbol of Backlund.
Immediately following that, he and his two marionettes split apart, each occupying different hidden spots.
After doing all of this, Klein quickly turned a rat into a marionette, allowing it to run to the edge of the range of his control. It opened its mouth and softly chanted an honorific name:
"The great God of War, the symbol of iron and blood, the ruler of chaos and strife. Demoness of White Katarina is in this area..."
Since Klein was fulfilling his agreement with the Red Angel evil spirit, he also hoped that this high-level creature would step into a trap that might possibly be for him. At the same time, he had some doubts about Sauron Einhorn Medici's true intentions. He had no intention of urgently getting help from the Church of Evernight or Queen Mystic. He planned on watching from the sidelines to confirm the situation, lest he implicated others into springing a trap.
Just as the prayer ended, the gray rat suddenly twitched and fell quietly beside the rubbish bin.
It had already lost its life and was no longer Klein's marionette.
This was a way to prevent himself from being marked by the Red Angel evil spirit.
As for him, after giving up on that rat marionette, he immediately left the area where the Bell of Order was located with Qonas and Enuni. He also made "the Winner" pray to Sea God Kalvetua a few kilometers away.
After the prayer, the two of them continued to retreat, widening their distance.
Then, Klein hid in a storage room in a particular house, took four steps counterclockwise, and went above the gray fog to sit at the position of The Fool.
He then beckoned for the Sea God Scepter. With the help of the prayer light of "the Winner," he expanded his scope and observed the target area.
At the same time, with his other hand, he held the piece of paper that was stained with Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy's blood.
With a medium like this, and a general scope, it didn't take long under his "true vision" before he found the hidden Demoness of White Katarina.
The black-haired, blue-eyed woman was dressed in a pure white robe. She looked like a weightless feather, and she was gently drifting across the streets and alleys. Even if the patrolling policemen looked in the right direction, they were unable to detect her presence.
If it wasn't for the gray fog's help, Klein could only use Spirit Body Threads to see through the invisibility to a certain extent.
Taking a deep breath, he patiently waited for the Red Angel evil spirit to appear. He also observed Katarina, wanting to know what she was looking for.
He suspected that the Demoness of White was targeting Trissy Cheek.
Seconds changed to minutes as the crimson moon gradually tilted to the side. Having wandered around the Bell of Order for a while without finding anything, Katarina revealed a slightly frustrated and disappointed expression. She looked as though she was about to leave that area at any time.
And the Red Angel evil spirit never appeared! @@novelbin@@
This... Sauron Einhom Medici was just lying to me. He really didn't have the Demoness of White as his goal? No, that's not necessarily the case. If that happened, then "His" condition would be meaningless... The Red Angel evil spirit has actually arrived at the scene, but has chosen not to immediately take action like me? "He" is waiting for the battle between Katarina and me and my companions to reach its most intense state before suddenly appearing to reap the greatest benefits... Klein's thoughts wandered as he came up with a guess:
He suspected that the Red Angel evil spirit was as cautious, careful, and staid as he was. "He" hoped to be the fisherman pulling in the net and not that net.
This is really troublesome... Next, it will depend on who's more patient... Klein muttered silently as he continued to observe the situation around the Bell of Order through the prayer light.
Tick. Tick. Tick. The second hand was beating at the same pace in the quiet night. Demoness of White Katarina's expression turned increasingly gloomy.
Suddenly, she cast her gaze on the glass window of a building.
The dim night was like a mirror reflecting the things in front of them.
Katarina's beautiful blue eyes sparkled slightly as the surface of the mirror instantly turned dark, as though there were countless objects and layers of space hidden within.
The glass window seemed to have become a passageway to an alternate world!
With a thought, together with the various Beyonder powers that Demoness Trissy had showcased, he suspected that Katarina was about to use the mirror world to leave this place and end her "hunt" tonight.
How can the Red Angel evil spirit still endure this? Klein tensed up as he instinctively wanted to put down the Sea God Scepter and return to the real world. He wanted to act against the Demoness of White and prevent her from leaving.
As this thought flashed through his mind, he ultimately didn't move.
He felt that he could still wait a little longer because even if Katarina left the surrounding area of the Bell of Order, he could still locate her again as long as she didn't discover that something had happened to her daughter. When the time came, he could first summon Arrodes to ask about the target's actual abilities and items. Then, he could either seek the help of Queen Mystic Bernadette or the Church of Evernight to borrow a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact. He could then make the scales of victory tip towards him before taking action.
I deliberately didn't hide my operation this time. If I were to borrow a Sealed Artifact and the archbishop assents to it, that means that the Goddess's true attitude towards George III is: "She" doesn't like the king becoming the Black Emperor, but "She" can only accept it silently. If someone is willing to disrupt the ritual, "She" is willing to provide some help... Klein calmed his slightly anxious feelings, allowing his observation to become more relaxed.
At that moment, Demoness of White Katarina's expression returned to normal. She floated to the glass window and entered without any corporeal form.
The layers of illusory worlds within the mirror converged as though they were constantly moving away.
At this moment, using his "true vision" to observe the area underneath, Klein seemed to hear a shrill female scream. This cry seemed to come from another world. It contained extreme fear and disbelief.
None of the residents in the surrounding area were jolted awake. No one heard anything.
That was Katarina's scream? What exactly happened to her... Klein's gaze froze as he thought of something:
The Red Angel evil spirit is also an evil spirit, and it's also capable of using Mirror Blink; thus, using this medium.
In other words, "He" is no stranger to the mirror world!
Could it be that Sauron Einhorn Medici had been hiding in the "mirror" all this time, waiting for the Demoness of White to throw herself into a trap? As his pupils dilated, the darkness and gloominess in the glass window disappeared.
The "mirror" had lost its unique characteristics and returned to its original state.
A few seconds later, the bottom of the glass window slowly bled, forming a liquid that slid down.
In the areas that the liquid passed, the surrounding grayish-white tint spread, covering its original pale yellow color. It was like a newly embedded stone.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
The drops of liquid landed on the ground, dyeing it bright red like blood, beautiful like flowers.
Upon seeing this scene, the muscles on Klein's face twitched slightly before he forced himself to use his Clown powers to control his expression.
This ending was really unexpected.
A powerful and senior Sequence 3 saint, one who had lived for more than a thousand years, was unable to put up any resistance in front of the Red Angel evil spirit's trap. There was only silence left.
As for Klein himself, even if he counted the two marionettes and the Sealed Artifacts he possessed, he was still a little weaker when compared to Katarina's strength. He needed to make up for this gap through prior preparations.
This also meant that, if he were to face the Red Angel evil spirit, he would probably not end up any better. He would similarly be powerless and puny, slowly sinking in the torrent that followed.
Is this what a former King of Angels is? Even though "His" strength has yet to recover to its peak state, it still leaves one in such despair... Seeing the blood seeping out from the glass window gradually lessen, he took a deep breath and returned to the real world.
Following that, he and Winner Enuni exchanged positions as he "Teleported" to the glass window.
When Bizarro Sorcerers switched positions, they could only choose two swapping their bodies or bodies and external objects. However, it was impossible to be too precise at his current level, so Klein wasn't able to leave behind whatever he wanted. He could only choose to leave everything or not leave anything behind.
Enuni, who wore Gehrman Sparrow's appearance, said to the glass window in a deep voice the moment he materialized in front of it, "I have already fulfilled my promise."
A figure suddenly appeared on the glass window.
He was wearing a long black robe with red stripes. He casually wore a hood, revealing a soft outline. His skin was brown, and he had a pale face. He was the Gatekeeper who had been possessed by Sauron Einhorn Medici.
"Well done," the young man walked down from the window and said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Klein took out something from his pocket. The corners of his mouth curled up as he happily replied,
"You did well too."
As he spoke, he blew at the monocle in his hand and wore it on his left eye. Sauron Einhorn Medici's smile froze.
-x-X-x-
For a moment, the cold night became abnormally scorching hot, as though invisible lava was surging within it.
However, everything quickly returned to normal.
The Red Angel evil spirit sized up Klein and smiled as if nothing had happened.
"I'll say it again. You have talent in being a Provoker.
"Back when Zaratul digested the Bizarro Sorcerer potion, even 'He' didn't dare to pretend to be Amon in front of me."
There wasn't a hint of anger in his tone. He didn't mention why Zaratul didn't dare to do so, but with his gaze sweeping across Klein, it was as if he had fallen deep inside a glacier, his body freezing in the process.
This was how his actual body felt. Even though he was separated by a marionette, the back of his neck and back still had goosebumps.
Without needing Sauron Einhorn Medici to say anything else, Klein understood the hidden meaning behind his words:
Anyone who dared to use such a method to scare "Him" would suffer the punishment of steel and blood on the spot!
Looking at the Red Angel evil spirit in front of him who had a converged aura but was giving off a feeling of an extremely high level of superiority, Klein couldn't help but inwardly mutter, If it wasn't for the fact that the Bizarro Sorcerer potion had been digested to a certain extent, I would've thought that your willpower was as strong as steel and that your strength has returned to the level of at least a Sequence 1. And now, I can basically confirm that, under your calm demeanor, you're hiding a strong fear towards Amon. This also means that your current level is at most at Sequence 2...
Besides, I was already mentally prepared to lose a marionette. In order to quickly digest the potion, I had to take the risk...
If Danitz was here and he was given the opportunity to shout out "coward" twice, he could probably quickly digest the Provoker potion even if he had drunk four or five bottles...
Without further agitating the Red Angel evil spirit, Klein smiled and took off the monocle.
"Back in the Solomon Empire, Zaratul should already be an angel. How would he still need to digest the Bizarro Sorcerer potion?"
"I'm talking about the young Zaratul," Sauron Einhorn Medici said casually.
This is consistent with the description from the grandpa in Leonard's body... Klein nodded indiscernibly and focused on the main topic at hand.
"You've already finished off the Demoness of White?"
"What do you think?" The Red Angel evil spirit laughed and said, "Also, one must be polite. Since Katarina calls herself the Saintess of White, then you shouldn't call her a Demoness anymore."
Polite... A Hunter emphasizing manners with me... At that instant, the corners of Klein's mouth twitched, expressing the ludicrousness of the matter, but he ultimately held back.
From the looks of it, "provoking" isn't limited to ridiculing and cursing others. Uh, Danitz, who only knows how to curse using one word, is a disgrace to Hunters... As he thought, Klein said, "I've already fulfilled my promise. I think you don't mind giving me a small reward."
"Reward?" the Red Angel evil spirit scoffed and asked.
Klein ignored "His" attitude and continued, "I wish to communicate with the Demoness of White. I want to ask her something."
"Just this request?" the Red Angel evil spirit asked in amusement.
Klein nodded.
"That's right."
"No problem." Sauron Einhorn Medici raised his right hand and grabbed at his glabella. From there, a blurry figure was pulled out. It was none other than Saintess of White Katarina, whose facial expression was filled with horror.
"Can we have a private conversation?" Seeing this, Klein looked around.
The Red Angel evil spirit immediately laughed and said, "Do you need a room where the two of you can be together?
Think about it with that brain of yours. Even if you want to hide the questions you would like to raise from me, I can still find out through Katarina's spirit. That is, of course, unless you don't plan on returning her to me? Or are you a little boy who needs things to follow a ritual?"
Klein made the marionette reply with a deadpan expression, "I have a way to make her forget my questions."
This was both the truth and a lie. The truth was that he could use Hvin Rambis's Manipulator's Beyonder characteristic to complete the job. However, it was relatively difficult, and the chance of failure was very high. Furthermore, the negative effects weren't minor. The reason why he lied was because he had no intention of doing so. This would expose many important matters. He only had one purpose in saying this: to make the Red Angel evil spirit suspect that the answers obtained weren't the truth and that there were key hidden parts beneath the surface. From that, "He" would ignore the value of the answers obtained on the surface. This worked wonders on people who were highly suspicious.
Of course, there was no hope of success. After all, the entity opposite him was the Red Angel who was master of "conspiracies."
"Not bad." After Sauron Einhorn Medici heard Klein's reply, "His" body suddenly vanished, projecting itself onto the glass window.
Klein glanced at the blood that had already coagulated on the gray stones, feeling somewhat wistful as he brought the somewhat muddle-headed Demoness of White Katarina far away from the glass and into a dark alley.
He then took out candles, essential oils, and herbal powders. He set up an altar and prayed to the Evernight Goddess, hoping that he could use ritualistic magic to complete the mediumship.
This was a skill he had mastered when he was still a Nighthawk.
As the ritual was completed, an immense and terrifying power descended from an indescribable height, causing the surroundings to become unusually quiet.
Klein's eyes instantly darkened, as it was like the dark night was compressed.
He then saw more things around Katarina's spirit—flickering light and blurry mind storms.
He easily passed through those obstacles and faced the Demoness of White's Body of Heart and Mind.
"Has the cooperation between the Demoness Sect and George III come to an end?" Without being careless, Klein began from a less sensitive question to observe Katarina's condition.
The dazed and confused look on Katarina's face faded a little as she nodded with a pure smile.
"Yes."
"Then why are you still in Backlund?" Klein asked further.
Katarina replied solemnly, "I'm in pursuit of Trissy. She took an important Sealed Artifact from us."
"What's the Sealed Artifact?" Klein suddenly recalled the sapphire ring that Demoness Trissy had once worn on her hand. It was intricately made.
Demoness of White Katarina said with a pious expression, "It has something to do with the awakening of Primordial. Apart from its high level at Grade 0, it doesn't have any special abilities."
Indeed, it has to do with the Primordial Demoness... You people even changed Trissy's name to Trissy Cheek... Klein didn't reveal that he knew the true name of the Primordial Demoness. Instead, he asked, "Do you know where the other eight mausoleums of George III are?"
Katarina frowned slightly and answered in a manner meant to garner sympathy, "They're separately located in the southwest suburbs of Backlund, Awwa County, East Chester County..."
This Demoness of White first gave a simple account of the locations of the eight mausoleums before introducing their specific locations and situations in detail.
"The eight mausoleums have already been repaired. They temporarily deactivated the teleportation tunnel. Even if they have the corresponding charms, there's no way to open them again. It's almost impossible to find them directly from the outside world...
"Other than Prince Grove, Duchess Georgina, the two angels of the royal family, and George III, no one else can enter..."
Well, some of those places were places where Qonas Kilgor often went hunting, so it matches my guess. This means that the Demoness of White isn't lying... I'll make a confirmation above the gray fog later...
If this is really the case, it would be quite troublesome... With the current situation, be it Prince Grove or Duchess Georgina, they would definitely be in the sights of the angels...
The biggest hurdle is entering the ruins. Once entry is gained, what follows won't be that dangerous. War has already broken out, and there's a need to fight against the Feysacians. Demigods are a limited resource, so there's no way George III can have every ruin be guarded by a saint, with the option of an angel to provide reinforcements... As Klein's thoughts raced, he first posed a question:
"The royal family has two angels?"
"In fact, that's not the case. It's very likely that George III is also one," Katarina replied honestly. "One of those two angels is the Founder of the Loen Kingdom, Protector William I who has survived since the Fourth Epoch. 'He' is a Sequence 1 Hand of Order of the Arbiter pathway, while the other is the former Duke of Southville, Dlink Augustus. 'He' is a Sequence 2 Balancer... As for how many Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts the royal family has, I'm not sure."
The Founder on the ten-pound note is still alive? I have the feeling that history has seeped into reality again... After some thought, he nodded and asked, "Why are you working with George III?"
"For a Conqueror Beyonder characteristic. It's already in our hands." Katarina's expression became a little excited. Conqueror was the name of the Red Priest pathway's Sequence 1 potion!
"Then, will it belong to the Primordial Demoness, or belong to the upper echelons of your sect?" Klein asked thoughtfully. "Who are the higher-ups of your sect?"
"It will be sacrificed to Primordial. However, we have to find the Sealed Artifact that Trissy took away first. Currently, it has been kept by the Saintess of Black... All the higher-ups of our sect have colors as their code names..." Katarina answered truthfully.
After understanding more details, Klein terminated the spirit channeling, cleaned up the altar, and allowed the Demoness of White's spirit to return to the glass window from before.
As for himself, his body suddenly turned transparent. With the help of "Teleportation," he disappeared from this region, rendezvousing with his actual body and his other marionette.
After watching Gehrman Sparrow leave, the gloominess and confusion on Katarina's face suddenly vanished as her expression became extremely astute.
She then entered the glass window which had turned dark again.
A few seconds later, Sauron Einhorn Medici and Demoness of White Katarina walked out of the "mirror" together. The latter's figure was clear and filled with flesh. She showed no signs of death!
"Are you saying that he was asking about the other eight secret mausoleums of George III? The power of the spirit channeling came from Evernight?" The Red Angel evil spirit stroked "His" chin and turned to ask Katarina.
The Demoness of White nodded slightly and said, "That's right."
"Heh." The Red Angel evil spirit immediately laughed. "So he doesn't want George III to become the Black Emperor." Katarina's eyes darted around as she revealed a smile.
"But it's impossible to succeed. No matter how fast he advances or how much help he receives, there's no way he can resist the combined forces of the royal family, the military, and that organization. No, if it's just the Augustus family, with his level and strength, he won't be able to do anything, unless Evernight personally descends."
Having said that, this Demoness of White asked in a seemingly casual manner, "I'm very puzzled. Why didn't you kill me directly after grasping the absolute advantage over me?"
The Red Angel evil spirit glanced at her as the corners of "His" mouth slowly curled up.
"Do you think you have the right to be my true target?"
-x-X-x-
Upon hearing the Red Angel evil spirit's reply, Demoness of White Katarina's expression instantly froze, unable to contain her anger.
Sauron Einhorn Medici laughed and continued, "You must've become a demigod at the end of the Fourth Epoch. It's been more than a thousand years, but you haven't become an angel. Don't you feel inferior?
"As for that fellow just now, he had to rely on Azik Eggers to face you head-on in the beginning. He was as weak as a chick that had just hatched. But now, in less than a year, he has already advanced to Sequence 4 and obtained godhood. He has the ability to match your strength. Don't you have any thoughts about this? Didn't you think that the past thousand years were a waste? Even a dog might open the gates to angelhood after living for more than a thousand years.
"I know what you're thinking. You're very jealous, and on the other hand, you also have a twisted desire. You want to prove yourself by sleeping with him. You Demonesses are really laughable. On the one hand, you insist that you were originally men so as to prevent yourself from losing yourself, thus, resulting in you losing control. On the other hand, you have to showcase the charm of a woman and try your hand at extreme pleasure and intense love. But we Hunters have no such problem. Regardless of what gender we were in the beginning, all we need to do in the future is war, war, war!
"Primordial really is a twisted fellow. Letting a pure woman take the path of a Demoness would be so much better; however, generation after generation, you pass the damage down. And for what? Isn't the main goal merely to seek revenge on fate?"
Every word of the Red Angel evil spirit was like an arrow that stabbed into the heart of the Demoness of White. It made her beautiful and exquisite face twitch, and her smooth, raven-black, long hair seemed to grow thicker.
Sauron Einhorn Medici glanced at Katarina and immediately chortled.
"Don't tell me that you're losing control because of my provocation?
"What a nostalgic feeling."
The Red Angel evil spirit paused for a moment before saying:
You can leave now. If there's anything, then remember to recite my honorific name. Of course, I will come to you directly if I have to."
Demoness of White Katarina's expression returned to normal. She frowned slightly and asked in disbelief, "You're letting me leave, just like that?"
The Red Angel evil spirit chuckled.
"Why? Do you want to sleep with me? It's not impossible if the timing is right, but there's something very important that needs to be done right now.
"Don't worry. Since you've already recited my honorific name and given me a drop of your blood, you'll be under my watch, and you can be affected by me at any moment.
"Have you already forgotten the differences between an angel and a saint? Don't you know how powerful a real high- level figure is?
"Heh heh, unless you directly pray to Primordial and receive a response; otherwise, you'll never be able to free yourself from my gaze. Well, in normal circumstances, an angel can do such a thing, but that's only limited to the situation of you only chanting my honorific name. If you don't believe me, I'll let you seek the help of an angel."
Demoness of White Katarina listened with a gloomy expression before finally smiling.
"I'll keep your teachings in mind, Lord Medici."
Sauron Einhorn Medici's eyebrows twitched.
"You don't seem so compliant. I can even imagine how you were when you faced Gehrman Sparrow, but I don't care.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you. It's best if you immediately confirm the condition of your bloodline descendants. Don't you find it suspicious that Gehrman Sparrow managed to find you so easily?"
Katarina's face turned slightly pale, but then it grew serious. She slowly nodded and said, "I understand."
With that said, she immediately retreated and entered the glass window again. It was unknown where she was headed for in the illusory, stacked mirror world.
With the Demoness of White disappearing, a bloody gash suddenly appeared on the left side of the Red Angel evil spirit's left cheek and made a sound:
"What an excellent actress. She made it seem like she wasn't good at controlling her expression, showing her restlessness and lack of intelligence as though it was easy for her ulterior motives to be discovered."
"That's right. That way, there's a high chance that we would belittle her and let our guard down against her." The Red Angel evil spirit's right cheek also cracked open in a hideous manner.
"Tsk, Demonesses are indeed very cunning. However, I've never underestimated any prey." The Red Angel evil spirit used "His" normal mouth to say, "She wants to desensitize me and make me belittle her, but it's impossible."
The bloody gash on "His" left cheek opened and closed and replied, "Then why were you captured by Alista Tudor?"
"That's because of the two of you." The personality that belonged to Medici pouted and said, "It had nothing to do with belittlement and desensitization."
The blood-colored crack on his right snorted and said, "How does it feel like to become someone else's prey? The mighty God of War, the Red Angel beside the Creator?"
"Not bad." Medici's expression darkened a little, but "His" words seemed to contain some self-complacency.
The personality that belonged to Sauron said with the left cheek, "You really like to bluff in order to achieve your goals. Back then, Alista and company managed to see through your lies, which was why they managed to seize the opportunity.
"And just now, you were bluffing Katarina. You're only capable of releasing your aura, relying on traps and surprise attacks to bring about a certain amount of damage. There was no way you could quickly finish her off, but you pretended that you had returned to your Sequence 1 state, tricking her into reciting your honorific name and handing over her blood."
Medici pouted again and said, "A bluff is also a normal playstyle in poker. The effect is pretty good, isn't it?"
At this point, the Red Angel chuckled and said, "Furthermore, it's not just a bluff. What I'm most fond of is to mix in a truth or two every few bluffs, allowing me to wait for fellows who think they've seen through my disguise to step into a trap. It's just like the mistakes you two idiots made back then."
"But you were the first to die!" The two sides of the Red Angel evil spirit's face cracked at the same time.
Without any hesitation, Medici said, "That means I'm the strongest, worthy of having the most attention!"
With that said, the three personalities of the Red Angel evil spirit fell silent at the same time. After a few seconds, the blood-colored crack that represented Einhorn opened and closed. @@novelbin@@
"Gehrman Sparrow's connection with Evernight is tighter than I imagined. He should've noticed Katarina's true state just now."
Medici chuckled and said, "It's alright. This is something 'She' has tacitly allowed in the first place.
"Back when the Great Smog of Backlund happened, the ones who participated in the operation are all gone. Only that Demoness named Trissy is still alive. Isn't that enough to explain something?"
Sauron and Einhorn didn't speak further as they allowed the bloody crack on the cheeks to wriggle and heal.
The Red Angel evil spirit then reflected "Himself on the glass window and disappeared from the area around the Bell of Order.
Above the grayish-white fog, inside the ancient palace.
Looking at the spinning topaz pendant in his hand, Klein nodded indiscernibly.
He had already used spirit dowsing to confirm Katarina's answers, and he came up with a concrete conclusion.
Right on the heels of that, he began his dream divination based on what he knew of the eight secret mausoleums. He saw the corresponding areas and their blurry states.
This made him understand that entry was impossible via normal methods. Even the process of prying without interference had difficulties in locating the interior of the mausoleums.
This is very troublesome... Also, when I was channeling the Demoness of White girl's spirit, it was quite different from the time when I did it for Qonas Kilgor and Hvin Rambis. She had too many expressions, and her answer was more proactive... Is this something special about Demonesses, or is it due to other factors? With a thought, he beckoned with his hand to draw out a piece of paper that was stained with Vice Admiral Ailment's blood. He wrote down the corresponding sentence and made a dream divination to search for his target.
In the blurry world, Klein saw Tracy, who had escaped from her spider webs, looking out the window.
There was a dark and illusory storm around there, making it impossible for him to know where it was.
Tracy has escaped... She doesn't look sad. She only feels a certain amount of anger and confusion... Her relationship with the Demoness of White is so terrible? Or could it be... Just as he was feeling puzzled, he saw a black flame suddenly ignite and melt his dream away.
He opened his eyes and confirmed that he could no longer use the blood in his hand to divine the location of Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy. This meant that a demigod powerhouse had used a mysticism technique to sever the connection between the two.
Could it be that the Demoness of White Katarina isn't dead yet? This... Right, when the Red Angel evil spirit answered me, "He" was using rhetorical questions. He didn't admit it at all... I was channeling the spirit of a living person! Klein was instantly enlightened as he hurriedly made another divination. Finally, he confirmed that the Demoness of White really was still alive.
Indeed, the Red Angel evil spirit's true target isn't the Demoness of White... Also, combined with the feedback from the progress of my potion's digestion, is it right for me to say that the Red Angel evil spirit is weaker than I imagined? "He" hasn't even recovered to the level of Sequence 2, and he was unable to quickly finish off the Demoness of White. "He" could only rely on other means to subdue her? After pondering for a moment, Klein realized he couldn't come to a conclusion.
He quickly reined in his thoughts and stopped considering the problem. This was because he had already obtained the information he needed from Demoness of White Katarina.
Klein put down the piece of paper that was stained with Vice Admiral Ailment's blood and suddenly chuckled.
Severing the connection between the blood and the body, preventing powers of divination and prophecy from using it as a medium?
I wonder if it will work when rubbing it on the surface of Groselle's Travels?
After looking at the piece of paper for a few seconds, Klein temporarily gave up on the idea of testing it, because there was no need for it.
His focus quickly shifted to the other eight mausoleums of George III.
Ordinary lines of thought shouldn't work. The things that I can come up with are definitely things that the angels and saints under George III can figure out as well...
If it wasn't for the fact that the gods have already tacitly allowed this matter, exposing this matter by printing it on flyers might've been effective...
Hmm, teleportation nexus... the Tudor Ruins... This...
As he thought about it, a thought suddenly came to his mind. He had an idea.
-x-X-x-
In the magnificent palace above the gray fog, Klein stretched out his right hand and tapped the edge of the long, mottled table as he muttered silently, The five large family clans of the Tudor Dynasty are Amon, Abraham, Antigonus, Jacob, and Tamara... The one who helped Alista Tudor become Blood Emperor were the Kings of Angels, Adam, Amon, and Abraham...
Can it be inferred that, during the time of the Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire, there were the consuls, Amon and Abraham standing beside Alista?
If that's the case, Blood Emperor Alista Tudor didn't have plans on switching paths in the beginning. When he secretly constructed the mausoleums, he likely would've sought the help of one or more of the following: Amon, Abraham, and Antigonus. As for Bethel Abraham, he's Mr. Door, and he grasps the Apprentice pathway. When it comes to "Teleportation," even a true deity might not be as good as "Him"...
So, could the teleportation nexus in the Tudor ruins be set up by Bethel Abraham?
There's a high chance of that!
Yes, only important figures like Mr. Door can enter and exit a secret ruin at such a level. Even my divination above the gray fog is unable to pinpoint its location. Likewise, it's difficult for an angel who wields Concealment to enter it directly...
Amidst his thoughts, Klein was leaning more and more towards his own guess being closer to that of reality.
I wonder if Mr. Door left behind any relevant information to provide accurate coordinates or methods of entry? This would require Miss Magician to ask her teacher again...
Sigh, I really hope that Miss Magician can become a Traveler as soon as possible. That way, she wouldn't need to rely on writing letters to contact her teacher. She could "Teleport" over directly. Yes, she can do it now, but the act of being able to "Record" so many "Traveling" spells would scare her teacher and arouse suspicion. It's really troublesome...
If there are no records left behind by the Abraham family, do I have to attempt to converse with Mr. Door? Not only is this troublesome, but it's also dangerous... Most importantly, Miss Magician isn't even Sequence 5 yet. She hasn't been able to clearly hear, much less respond to Mr. Door. It's impossible for me to turn her into my marionette or descend onto her body... Early on, Klein had seriously considered communicating with Mr. Door through Miss Magician when he first pulled her above the gray fog. Later, after he came to learn more, he grew increasingly apprehensive about the idea, and he didn't dare take the risk.
Furthermore, the level he was at now lacked the measures that spelled sufficiency and security.
As his thoughts churned, he suddenly sighed and said a word, "Patience..."
At sea, on an island with relatively high pirate activity.
Fors raised her glass and took a sip of the transparent and colorless liquid in anticipation.
Her face scrunched up as if she had tasted something hard to swallow.
Pfft, isn't this Lanti Proof too inferior? Why are they having so much fun drinking this? Fors put down her cup, raised her right hand, and fanned her mouth. She softly muttered, "Apart from the alcohol content, it doesn't have any other strengths. Oh right, it's also cheap!"
After drinking a mouthful of cold water from another cup, Fors picked up a fountain pen and wrote in a rather poor quality notebook:
"The pirates here are only in pursuit of strong liquor while keeping an eye on the price. To them, being drunk is more important than anything else.
"Three pirate friends that I know have told me that this port city was built by them. At first, they only docked their ships here to hide their loot and settle their families. Later on, the bankrupt, adventurers, and tax fugitives came to this place and settled down. They also ploughed the lands on the island and built houses. Finally, an entrepot market was formed, and the merchants at sea swarmed over like sharks smelling blood."
At this point, Fors looked up at the three pirates curled up in a corner.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
The three burly pirates trembled at the same time and said with a mournful expression, "No, really. We have nothing."
...I have to say that it feels pretty good to imitate Mr. World's attitude when it comes to dealing with pirates... Fors sighed and shook her head. She retracted her gaze and continued writing:
"There's a liberal mood here. If the women are interested in any man, they can, like the men, offer a price. Similarly, it works when a man catches the eye of another man, or when a woman catches the eye of another woman. According to my three pirate friends, due to the long periods of repression and boredom while drifting out at sea, it's inevitable for some people to experiment with certain forbidden taboos. In this aspect, they've been very honest and even described their experiences...
"In addition, they informed me of things that I never dared believed: Pirates actually advocate the concept of democracy and justice.
"This has completely overturned my understanding. But on careful thought, it doesn't seem difficult to understand. At least they didn't say that they were pursuing justice.
"The explanation from my three pirate friends is that when a person with his weapons doesn't have absolute, overwhelming strength, it's always the case of there being tyranny from the majority on a pirate ship. Furthermore, a large ship requires a lot of people to run it... When these factors are combined, it makes the pirate crew very particular about democracy. There will always be a captain who will be voted by his or her crew now and then to be banished or even killed.
"I believe that if a captain possesses absolute strength, the pirate crew would definitely develop another style of governance."
At this point, Fors looked out the window again and saw that, under the blue sky and white clouds, buildings made of wood and rocks formed a dense circle around a market. From time to time, she could see a few children in tattered clothes skipping past.
Upon hearing the extremely lively commotion, Fors wrote again:
"There's no urban planning here at all. Everyone casually builds their houses and expands their borders. As a result, many roads only allow for one person to walk through. There's no sunlight at all...
"My first reaction is that once a fire breaks out, the outcome will be extremely terrifying. Backlund once had a similar tragedy. However, my three pirate friends told me that this isn't something worth worrying about, because it's humid and often rains here. People with special powers never keep it under wraps...
"This place is still under the influence of war. Although it's chaotic, it gives people a sense of tranquility.
"Also, what they're most afraid of isn't the King of the Five Seas, Nast, or all sorts of horrifying legends, but rather of the crazy adventurer, Gehrman Sparrow. Every pirate is warned by their peers not to drink too late into the night.
They shouldn't take a walk in the middle of the night or use small alleys. That's because it might lead to them going missing. And the murderer is rumored to be that gentleman...
"Is this a form of 'hunting'?"
As she wrote, Fors's expression gradually turned solemn. She hurriedly pulled out another stack of paper and added on the content:
"... There's a unique coldness that wafts through the hospital at night, and the darkness outside the window is much thicker than other places...
"...No one knows why that young lady who lives in a single ward gets her family members to bring her mushrooms and weeds. No one knows where these things end up. In short, there were no signs of any fires in the ward, and there's no abandoned junk outside. This makes the nurses suspect that the patient is secretly eating mushrooms and weeds..."
Standing in front of the mountain, Afternoon Town, which was divided into three regions of the top, middle and bottom, had a camp set up by the City of Silver.
Derrick Berg clasped his hands and placed them in front of his mouth, softly chanting, "The Fool that doesn't belong to this era..."
After piously chanting, he stood up and picked up the ancient bronze cross that was covered with sharp spikes, walking towards the bonfire outside.
As the Unshadowed Crucifix couldn't coexist with other mystical items, his giant hammer named Thunder God's Roar could only be temporarily left to Haim and Joshua to carry with them.
As the City of Silver's expedition team gathered, Klein, who was in Backlund, had already arrived above the gray fog. He picked up the Sea God Scepter and, with the help of one of the crimson star's burgeoning and contracting, he saw the situation in Afternoon Town, and he expanded his vision towards the Giant King's Court.
If he didn't use the prayer light and the Sea God Scepter, Klein was unable to expand his field of view by relying only on the crimson stars.
As his gaze moved, a beautiful but deep dusk gradually appeared in his eyes.
In the area where dusk was frozen, there were countless palaces, countless towers, and many majestic city walls. They were magnificent and opulent, resembling a miracle found in myths and legends. Furthermore, they were frozen in time.
The Giant King's Court!
As he tried to zoom in with his vision, Klein realized that he was unable to see the exact situation beneath the dusk.
As expected of the divine kingdom of an ancient god, and it's not the kind that has been abandoned or hidden... It's no wonder that the Kings of Angels chose this place for a secret gathering... I hope that Little Sun's prayer after entering the Giant King's Court will help me see it more clearly... Klein nodded thoughtfully.
At the same time, he focused a portion of his attention on Shepherd Elder Lovia. He discovered that this lady had an illusory silver armor covering her entire body.
This should be the evil spirit she "Grazed"... I haven't seen any effects from the True Creator yet... Klein slowly let out a breath and patiently waited for the subsequent developments.
After a while, under the lead of Chief Colin Iliad, the nine-men expedition team, including Derrick Berg, left the Afternoon Town camp. They followed the stairs paved with gray stones and walked towards the peak of the mountain.
They were at least Sequence 6 Beyonders, and most of them belonged to the Warrior pathway. They moved at relatively fast speeds, clearing a few waves of monsters that were mainly rotten giants. Finally, they arrived at the region shrouded by dusk. They were shocked by the grand and epic building, and no one spoke for a short period of time.
This was also the first time they had encountered a place where there were no flashes of lightning, a place that was illuminated by "natural" light!
Demon Hunter Colin narrowed his eyes. He took out a small metal bottle and drank the liquid inside.
After their evolution over the many generations, they were more accustomed to the dark environment with frequent lightning. They were instinctively afraid of such a situation that was in a state of frozen twilight.
It was both a point of hope and fear. @@novelbin@@
After drinking the prepared potion and mentally preparing himself, Colin Iliad and Shepherd Lovia led the members of the expedition team as they stepped into the region illuminated by the sunset.
Before Derrick could sense anything, he saw the Unshadowed Crucifix in his hand drop, revealing a corporeal form formed from pure light.
However, the light emitted by the corporeal body was no longer pure. It was tainted with an orange-red color unique to dusk.
Right on the heels of that, Derrick felt his condition plummet. It was as if he was at the weakest point of the "day," ready to welcome the approaching "night."
-x-X-x-
The towering building stood quietly in the frozen dusk. There wasn't any sound in the area, as though it was just an oil painting.
After passing through such an environment, Derrick Berg became even more high-strung than when he had explored the depths of the darkness. The hair on his back stood on end.
After entering a place shrouded in dusk, the entire exploration team, including Chief Colin Iliad and Shepherd Elder Lovia, couldn't help but show signs of exhaustion and looking worn out. It was as if they had reached the end of their lives. And as they proceeded forward, rotting giants ran out of different buildings in increasing numbers and increasing strength.
With one side weakened and the other side strengthened, it became difficult for them to advance. After several intense battles, the City of Silver's expedition team finally broke through the "lockdown" and "barricades" of the monsters and came to an extremely quiet area. There wasn't any sound at all, and that only served to leave their scalps tingling.
With regards to this, Demon Hunter Colin Iliad had no choice but to break the silence and remind everyone, "This means that we have truly entered the Giant King's Court and are about to approach the core region. The danger level will only increase and not decrease."
Upon hearing this, a few members of the expedition team began to waver due to the influence of the "twilight." From their point of view, although they didn't dare to stay in one place in the earlier stages most of the time, afraid that they would be surrounded by the rotting giants, they had ultimately eliminated all the monsters in a tiny area. They felt that they could rest for a while and obtain many Beyonder characteristics, mystical ingredients, and potion formulas. This expedition could be said to have been very fruitful, leaving them no reason to continue delving deeper. What they should do was seek out a suitable building and set up an advance camp to make preparations for a second expedition.
Faced with such a suggestion, Colin Iliad didn't say much. He only emphasized that the objective of this explora was to figure out the general situation of the Giant King's Court as much as possible, so as to accumulate sufficient information for the subsequent operations.
Then, he let one of the members named Antiona to "Placate" those who had wavering wills.
As the Shepherd Elder Lovia also supported the Chief, a small number of the members of the expedition team quickly adjusted their mindset and quietly followed the Chief forward.
After a while, they saw a huge stone staircase. It was entirely grayish-white, but it was dyed with an orange-yellow glow. It was gorgeous and silent.
Every step of the staircase was relatively high. If it were any ordinary human, they would definitely find it very difficult to walk. Fortunately, the shortest member of the expedition team, Elder Lovia, was nearly 1.9 meters tall, and she could muster strong winds.
On the huge staircase, it was so majestic that one had to look up to see the city walls at the top. There were many signs of burn marks and damage on the walls, and some places were impaled with arrows that were as thick as ordinary trees. The several-meter-long arrows had even caused some rocks to crumble.
In the middle of the city wall was a door that was tens of meters tall. Its color was closer to grayish-blue, and there were golden nails embedded in it. There were two guards standing outside that exuded an extremely oppressive stance simply by looking at them.
They were five to six meters tall, wearing exquisite, sturdy silver full-body armor. One of them held a great sword, while the other held a greataxe towards the ground. Behind the armored visor, there was a ball of orange light that looked like a single eye.
"Silver Knight..." Demon Hunter Colin raised his right hand and swung his sword horizontally to stop the members of the expedition team behind him.
He had long removed the two swords on his back and applied different concoctions on them.
Silver Knight... Derrick Berg's eyelids twitched as he felt his heart palpitate.
He had recently come into contact with information that only the upper echelons of the City of Silver knew about. He knew that the Giant pathway's Sequence 3 was called Silver Knight. He also knew that the City of Silver lacked the correct potion formula, but it had the corresponding Beyonder characteristic.
What horrified Derrick was that the guards of the Giant King's Court core were actually two Sequence 3 demigods.
This was a level higher than the City of Silver's strongest combat force!
This was only the area of the royal court's entrance. So it was questionable what they would encounter if they ventured deeper.
After the initial shock, Derrick couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.
Perhaps, he could find the potion formulas after the Giant pathway's Sequence 4 in the Giant King's Court.
That way, the Chief could become a Silver Knight and greatly increase the strength of the City of Silver. When the time came, they could explore the Giant King's Court at a deeper level, find more potion formulas, hunt more monsters, and obtain even higher level Beyonder characteristics and magical materials.
Subconsciously, Derrick looked around and discovered that the reactions of the other members of the expedition team, such as Joshua, Haim, and Antiona, were basically identical to his. They were both nervous and fearful, but also somewhat hopeful.
At this moment, Shepherd Elder Lovia took two steps forward and stood beside Colin Iliad. She looked up at the gray- blue door and the two Silver Knights who were in an unknown state and said, "If there was only one, then we would have a chance of finishing it off."
What she really meant was that, now that there were two Silver Knights, even if they were willing to suffer heavy casualties, they were unable to clear the enemies. After all, even if the Chief could control his Mythical Creature form and normally battle a Sequence 3, the environment here didn't permit him to make similar attempts—the decadence that the twilight had brought might make something that could previously be resisted into something impossible to withstand.
Colin Iliad nodded and glanced at both Lovia and Derrick Berg before observing the area ahead.
"From the looks of it, as long as we don't get close to that door, the two guards won't attack us."
"Perhaps we can try to lure one of the Silver Knights away to finish it off?" The female warrior named Antiona suggested after some deliberation.
She had long, wine-red hair, and her facial features weren't considered exquisite. However, when combined together, she looked extremely elegant and beautiful.
In this expedition, her main mission was to rely on a Sealed Artifact she wielded to treat her teammates' psychological problems and fight against enemies of the psyche domain.
Her exact thoughts were to wait for the members to lure one of the Silver Knights away before using the terrain and their combined efforts. As for the Chief and Elder Lovia, they could work together to deal with the remaining one as soon as possible.
This was a textbook solution that the City of Silver had used in situations they had encountered.
"Even if there's only one Silver Knight, it will be very difficult. Furthermore, there's no guarantee that the Silver Knight you lure away won't directly reveal its Mythical Creature form." Demon Hunter Colin firmly rejected her suggestion.
Ignoring the fact that the Silver Knight had powerful Beyonder powers, as long as it revealed its Mythical Creature form, most of the members of the City of Silver's expedition team wouldn't be able to look at it directly and would be affected. There was no way they could run circles with it.
Without waiting for the rest of the team members to speak, Colin Iliad looked back and said, "Let's take another path.
"Derrick found some information in the world of reflections in Afternoon Town. It recorded a tunnel behind the Giant King's Court."
Shepherd Elder Lovia cast her gaze on Derrick Berg. She was indifferent, calm, and without any emotions.
Derrick subconsciously raised the "Unshadowed Crucifix" higher, restraining his indescribable shivers.
"Alright." Lovia agreed with Colin Iliad's suggestion.
Hence, the expedition team retreated from the huge stone staircase and headed left.
Before long, they saw a rugged trail. On the right was a towering cliff, and on the left was a bottomless chasm that was tainted with the glow of the sunset.
Of course, it was only a trail for giants. To the members of the City of Silver's expedition team, it was still relatively spacious.
As they proceeded forward, Derrick and company's spiritual perception were triggered as they subconsciously looked to the side.
At the edge of the cliff, grayish-blue swollen palms stretched out from the orange clouds and grabbed onto the ground. They were densely packed and difficult to count.
If they were all giants—even if they were Sequence 7 or 6 giants—they were able to destroy the City of Silver's expedition team here relying on sheer numbers.
Just as Colin Iliad was about to swing his sword, Derrick suddenly had a strange, subtle feeling. He quickly raised the Unshadowed Crucifix higher and pressed one of his fingers onto a particular thorn, causing bright red blood to seep out.
The pure cross emitted a bright twilight glow as though it had returned to the state of "noon." They surged towards the edge of the cliff, enveloping the gray-blue giants that attempted to climb up.
The giants froze at the same time as their bodies began to fade, quickly melting away.
They weren't real giants, but that of wraith and shadows left behind after the tragic deaths of those giants. Therefore, the Unshadowed Crucifix had sensed them.
It was a saint-level Sealed Artifact of the Sun domain, the nemesis of wraiths, shadows, and evil spirits.
After easily killing these monsters, the City of Silver's expedition team warily continued proceeding forward. After a while, they finally circled around the mountain wall and cliff and saw a dark forest.
In the forest, the trees were tens of meters tall and were extremely thick. However, their barks were peeling off, and the trunks rotting. The leaves were withered, giving the feeling that they were waning.
The leaves were supposed to be entangled together, but they formed a barricade in midair, blocking the light of dusk, darkening its interior. But at that moment, due to the large number of collapsed and fallen trees, the orange-red glow had already scattered across most of the areas within the forest that were visible with the naked eye. @@novelbin@@
Derrick looked ahead and silently calculated how much longer he could use the Unshadowed Crucifix. He said to the Chief and his teammates, "This is the Waning Forest where the ancestors of the giants are buried. In other words, the Giant King's parents."
Colin Iliad stared at the forest and said, "It has already been destroyed. Even if there are still remnants of danger, it won't be too powerful. We can try exploring it."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Derrick replied without hesitation. "My cross can deal with the environment here. I'll walk in front."
He remembered that Mr. World had reminded him that there might be some kind of corruption lurking in the forest, and that the Unshadowed Crucifix could provide him with an effective warning.
The grizzled Colin nodded gently and said, "Be careful of your surroundings."
Derrick took a silent breath and took a large stride forward and walked towards the Waning Forest.
At the same time, he used the convenience of walking ahead to softly recite Mr. Fool's honorific name.
Then, Klein, whose gaze that had been blocked by the dusk and had been disconnected for some time, could finally see the actual situation. However, he was unable to significantly expand his range of sight.