The Answer

Facing Lilith's divine vessel before him, Ebner dared not entertain any further irreverent thoughts. Solemnly tracing the Earth Mother's holy emblem over his chest, he recited:

"...You are the fountain of life; You are the mother of all things."

"Enough. I believe I've mentioned before—I'm not receiving you in my divine capacity, so such formalities are unnecessary." Lilith shook her head, then pointed upward with a slender finger, smiling as she asked, "You've already met 'her,' haven't you?"

"'Her'?" Ebner was momentarily stunned. Through the intercepted "greeting," he'd guessed Inspector Fassin's unborn child might be the "Chained God" who escaped the "Mother Tree of Desire"... but why "her"? "It" would be more appropriate.

"It seems Closfia excelled in relaying those Psychological Alchemy Society intelligence reports to you." Lilith nodded approvingly before continuing, "While Tolzna's liberation from the Mother Tree's control owed much to interference from the one upon the moon—who even arranged the final transfer—naturally, precautions were taken."

So even the "Primordial Moon" meddled in Daniel's maze scheme... Is It also wary of the Mother Tree?

Though unable to recall these deities' exact significance, Ebner knew both surpassed the True Creator in danger, earning hostility from the Seven and most evil gods...

The original work mentioned they simultaneously oppose and cooperate... What prompted the Primordial Moon's betrayal?

Hmm... While never explicitly stated, the "Moon" pathway's authority was divided four ways.

The Evernight Goddess likely holds the uniqueness—that "Crimson Moon" delivered to Lilith post-deific war.

The Primordial Moon undoubtedly possesses one "Goddess of Beauty" Sequence 1 characteristic, hence Its honorific as "Symbol of Life and Beauty."

Though incarnated as the Earth Mother, Lilith probably retains another "Goddess of Beauty," explaining Her occasional responses to high-ranking vampires.

The final portion was likely seized by the Mother Tree, granting this "Father of Devils" lunar domain authority.

Was the Primordial Moon's scheme intended to control the Chained God and trade for that last "Goddess of Beauty"?

Yet clearly underestimating Lilith's awareness, It ended up paving the way for others?

Was that morning's "Blood Moon" the result?

Tsk tsk... Daniel, that transmigrator senior, truly was extraordinary—mobilizing deities and Angel Kings to ultimately free the Chained God after millennia!

Though Tolzna's corruption by the Primordial Moon's yin energies transformed "Him" into "her"?

Yin energies... Mrs. Fassin's pregnancy was enabled by a Primordial Moon-affiliated doctor... So the vessel was prepared that early?

No ordinary fetus could withstand a near-deity's soul.

In hindsight, the "Demoness of Affliction" Rei was utterly a pawn—her targeting that doctor as part of her advancement ritual, then stealing those life-force storage artifacts from Harvest Church... All likely arranged by the Earth Mother and God of Knowledge and Wisdom.

The goal? Preventing further "corruption" of Mrs. Fassin's unborn child...

And since Mrs. Fassin had never come into contact with either the Church of the Earth Mother or the Church of Evernight before, the Original Moon had been quite confident in Her own power and saw no need to intervene further. Instead, She smoothly took over the "Demoness of Affliction" and used her to maneuver "1-025" out of the Storm Church's control, all while keeping it hidden from the Mother Tree of Desire.

Every move these deities make is meticulously arranged… Even a mere pawn can be exploited on multiple levels… Truly terrifying!

Even though Ebner felt like he might be overthinking things, he still couldn't help but feel a deep sense of unease. Then, he recalled how, after losing the doctor's care, Mrs. Fassin's pregnancy had deteriorated significantly. It was only after he had introduced her to the plump pharmacist, Darkwill, that her condition stabilized.

But if all of this had been orchestrated by the Original Moon, then could Darkwill really have been capable of stabilizing the fetus?

He was only Sequence 9 at the time!

His thoughts raced as he turned to look at the silver-haired, otherworldly "man" who was watching him with a faint smile. After a moment's hesitation, Ebner voiced his question.

Lilith didn't answer directly. Instead, she hinted, "I recall that after you moved into the villa gifted by the Storm Church, you hosted a banquet there, didn't you? Do you remember who attended that night?"

Who attended? That was quite a list—Xio, Fors, Daly, Roman… Wait. A certain Mercury Snake who had yet to "restart" had also been there…

"Will Auceptin?" Ebner uttered the name, and in that instant, realization struck.

Darkwill was a member of the "School of Life" and was fated to hold the "Dice of Probability" for a time. While he had been in Backlund, it was only natural for the "Serpent of Destiny," the Speaker of the "Parliament of Fate," to keep an eye on him. Which meant… the issue with Mrs. Fassin's pregnancy had long since caught that little snake's attention.

Lilith nodded approvingly. "Exactly. And that Mercury Snake provided significant assistance, even subtly altering the fate of the fetus, causing Tolzna's method of possession to diverge from the Original Moon's expectations.

"It was precisely because of the Mercury Snake's interference that we were able to sever her connection to the Original Moon with relative ease. Otherwise, we would have needed to expend far more effort.

"Furthermore, the Mercury Snake actually tampered with the fetus during that banquet you hosted… and in doing so, also attracted a Saint of the 'Rose School of Thought' to the villa's vicinity."

She then chuckled, a teasing glint in her crimson eyes. "Speaking of which, the reason that banquet of yours didn't end in disaster wasn't because you used Solomon gold coins—it was because that 'Mercury Snake' sacrificed quite a bit of 'luck' to divert the Rose School's Saint elsewhere."

Even deities have heard about my unfortunate track record when it comes to hosting or attending banquets and balls?

Should I feel 'honored'… or 'cursed'?

Still, Lilith's human-like demeanor was truly remarkable. Her tone was far more casual than a god's, more like that of an old friend having a chat.

After some silent grumbling, Ebner finally managed to piece together most of the elaborate schemes surrounding that transmigrator predecessor, Daniel. He now had a relatively complete understanding of the methods employed by various gods and angels in this matter…

Except for one thing.

Why was it that Lilith, the God of Knowledge, and even Roselle held Daniel in such high regard? Why did they value the "Calamity Seal" so much? Why… did they also seem to value him?

After a moment of contemplation, Ebner finally voiced the question that had been nagging at him ever since he set foot in Harvest Church.

"Daniel… Was he, like me, someone with eyes connected to that 'unknown land'?"

Although he had long suspected as much, he wanted a definite answer.

"Yes!"