Mr. Fool Photobombs the Group Shot

With the burst of "Desolation," everything in the passage—plants, monsters, rocks, wood, soil—fell into "withering."

The "Saint of Shadows," closest to the center of "Desolation," bore the brunt of it!

After Ebner's forehead blood rune activated and he transformed into moonlight, his sword strike missed, and he was completely engulfed by the desolate and silent power. The giant sword and armor, condensed from spirituality, began to rapidly decay, then spread to his body and soul. Only the areas contaminated by black mud and crimson barely resisted this trend of withering.

But even so, the tearing of body and soul caused by the decay inflicted irreversible injuries on him in an instant, leading to near-immediate death.

On the other side, Ebner, having unleashed the power of "Desolation," took advantage of Lilith's blessing before it expired, entering "Alvin's Quiz Maze" in his "moonlight" state.

Because of the special circumstances before entry, the "Maze" charged him a "special opening fee" of ten thousand gold pounds, making Ebner lament that this "Maze" was truly a profiteer!

Of course, this also had to do with him only possessing a Tier 4 clearance for the "Maze," rather than being its true owner.

Meanwhile, in the ancient palace above the gray fog, Klein, seated in the "Fool's" position, watched the scene displayed by the star symbolizing "Tower" and couldn't help but marvel at the power of "Desolation."

—Ebner had "purified" himself before entering the passage, which allowed Klein to "live stream" from above the gray fog.

"The level of this power is no less than that of the 'Profane Presbyter' and that fleshy mountain... No wonder the 'Red Angel' evil spirit's tone changed immediately when he saw Mr. Tower holding that pendant!

"But this power seems to be indiscriminate, affecting both friend and foe... I wonder if Mr. Tower is alright.

"Although his 'Crimson Star' is still there, ever since a moment ago, the 'live stream's' 'signal' has become unstable. I can only vaguely see that he seems to have entered a strange space..."

Klein thought for a moment, and was about to click on "Tower's" crimson star to inquire, when his vision suddenly cleared again, and "Tower" himself returned to the now dead silent passage.

And that "Saint of Shadows" had not completely withered under the "Desolation"; a part of his body remained active, but these remaining parts were rapidly losing control and combining with the surrounding "black mud," about to form a new monster.

Since "Tower" believes that Mr. Fool also tacitly approved Lilith's plan, it wouldn't make sense if I didn't display any power at all. It would also make it easier to expose "The Fool's" weakness, and even make "Tower" suspect that "The Fool" and "The World" might be the same person...

And this "Saint of Shadows," having suffered such a terrifying attack, is probably on the verge of death. I might as well deliver the final blow.

Thinking this, Klein, having made up his mind, summoned the "Scepter of the Sea God" and the "Book of Calamities" from his pile of miscellaneous items.

.....

In the passage, Ebner, having just emerged from the "Quiz Maze," immediately noticed the "Saint of Shadows" losing control.

"As expected of a Demigod from the 'Hanged Man' pathway, his vitality is truly tenacious! Theoretically, ordinary Demigods can't withstand the 'Desolation' power from 'Lilith's Tear'; only Sequence 3s with angelic means might be able to endure it…

"Did he escape death because he was contaminated?"

After sighing with emotion, Ebner was about to summon the Bone Dragon and merge with it, intending to completely deal with the 'Saint of Shadows' before he fully transformed into a monster.

But just then, silver lightning bolts struck down without warning, forming a forest of thunder that completely enveloped the monster the 'Saint of Shadows' had become.

Rumble!

Amidst the deafening thunder, the 'Saint of Shadows,' half withered and half monstrous, seemed to lose his wits, showing no intention of dodging. He was quickly annihilated by the forest of thunder, which carried an intense aura of destruction!

Ebner was stunned for a moment, then immediately guessed that Klein was deliberately showing his power. So, he casually made a gesture, pretending to be respectful, and said, "Praise be to you, Mr. Fool."

Klein, above the gray fog, nodded in satisfaction at this scene, thinking: Finally fooled them, it was worth almost draining my spirituality…

He rubbed his temples and put the "Book of Calamities" back into the pile of miscellaneous items. With this book's blessing, although it could make the "Scepter of the Sea God" more powerful, the consumption was several times greater.

About three minutes later, the thunder in the passage gradually subsided. Ebner had the "Magic Mirror" release the devil, who carefully went forward to search, but found that the 'Saint of Shadows's' remains were completely shattered. Only a pitted metal flask, still carrying residual lightning power, remained.

Observing it with his Pure White Eye, Ebner discovered that the flask itself was merely a container for a special solution. However, at this moment, it had mutated, mixed with the 'Black Knight' characteristic of the 'Saint of Shadows' himself, as well as the "Telepathist," "Solar High Priest," "Briber," "Demoness of Affliction," "Mysticism Magister," "Guardian," "Reaper," and "Classical Alchemist" characteristics he had herded…

Additionally, it had also been contaminated with some "Chaos Sea" and "Primordial Moon" pollution…

It could be said that this thing was currently an extremely terrifying Sealed Artifact. Although its abilities seemed good—just one sip of the liquid produced within would randomly grant seven of the aforementioned sequence abilities, lasting for an hour…

The side effects, however, were something even Ebner, with his Pure White Eye, dared not try.

After all, the side effects of drinking that one sip of "liquid" were also randomly generated!

At best, one would merely praise the sun and suffer mental distortion… In severe cases, one would directly fall into depravity, lose control, or give birth… Who would dare to gamble on that? The only good news was that the 'Black Knight' controlled some of the "Chaos Sea" contamination, and the "Classical Alchemist" integrated the "Primordial Moon" contamination, forming a precarious balance. So, as long as one didn't touch the liquid in the flask, merely possessing it wasn't a big problem…

"I don't even dare to use 'Disintegration' to destroy the structure of this Sealed Artifact… Once the balance inside is broken, only Mr. Fool would likely be able to deal with that contamination…

"Hmm… After returning, I'll try to gradually disintegrate it with a 'Secret Art.' If that really doesn't work, then let Klein 'court death' with it… After all, he was the one who struck down the 'Saint of Shadows,' and half the spoils are his, aren't they?"

Thinking this, Ebner sealed the flask with a card, then continued forward along the now "desolate" passage.

Soon, he arrived before a deep, lightless palace.

Above the gray fog, Klein, through "Tower's" perspective, saw this palace, and his eyes instantly widened.

Because he had seen this palace before; it was identical to the image Arrodes had drawn when demonstrating Zaratul's state!