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This is courting death

  "I see… I understand." Derrick clenched his fist and then unclenched it, then stood up and thanked him.

After a pause, he couldn't help but ask Alice,

"Ms. Destiny, I heard that you came in through the projection of the Giant King's Court?"

Ah... is Leo Master's story finished?

Alice nodded.

After receiving the affirmation, Derrick looked at Alice with a look of suppressed excitement and expectation, and asked cautiously:

"Then... do you know how to leave the 'Forsaken Land of the Gods'? Is it through the Giant King's Court?"

"I don't know," Alice shook her head, "but the key point should be the 'Giant King's Court'?"

She glanced at Derrick and sighed:

"After all, I can't ask... Hey, wait, I can't ask the True Creator, but I can ask Ouroboros! If that doesn't work, I can still... No, forget it, I don't dare to believe Amon even if he says so."

Audrey finally couldn't help it and looked at Alice with a strange look, then began to look at the expressions of others.

Mr. Hanged Man and Ms. Hermit also looked shocked... Well, it seems that this is not a problem caused by my lack of experience. It is indeed not something that a normal person would do to seek help from a being that is said to be immortal...

Feeling the gaze, Alice turned back to look at them in confusion.

...What happened?

Alice thought carefully about what she had just said. When she came to her senses, she found that Alger and Cattleya had already looked away, and Audrey and Fors followed suit.

…?

Alice turned to Emlyn, the Moon, who was still staring at her stupidly. After a few seconds, Emlyn also lowered his head.

Alice looked at Derrick with a threatening look.

You dare to learn from them!

Under Alice's coercion, Derrick nervously persuaded: "You, you don't have to take such a risk for me..."

...Adventure?

Alice was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that the Tarot Club didn't know Ouroboros' attitude towards her. Of course, this might not be the normal way for a Sequence 1 to get along with her...

The normal way should be like the angel from the Zoroastrian family in Amon and Leonard, he chases and she runs away... Bah!

Alice reached out and slapped her head hard to wake herself up, then explained:

"No... One is that if I don't ask, I don't know how to get out. The other is that Ouroboros, He is a little... uh, He... um...

"I think His brain might be even more abnormal than mine.

"At least I look like a human being..."

Such self-aware remarks left even Klein speechless.

But there is also a loophole in this sentence. Even if Alice ran in by herself, could it be that... Mr. Fool doesn't know how to leave the "God-Forsaken Land"?

The truly smart people all chose to keep the question to themselves. Only Emlyn the Moon was excited by the long-lost flash of inspiration:

"Why don't you ask Mr. Fool?"

Klein suddenly began to worry about how to cover up this matter.

Just as Klein was hesitating whether to admit that he didn't know, Alice touched her chin and said:

"Because I want to invite Ouroboros to join me in attending Will Auceptin's full moon party, hundred-day party, or something like that...

"I want to give Will Auceptin a gift that will leave a deep impression on him, but if I do this, he might come to trouble me in advance...

"But if it's a gift from Ouroboros, I won't have to worry!"

It is indeed a very clever method to divert the attention of one enemy to another enemy and let the two enemies fight each other...

If it wasn't Miss Fate who said this, but one of Miss Justice, Miss Magician, Mr. Moon, or Mr. Sun, this would be a big improvement, but Miss Fate...

Alger, the Hanged Man, took a closer look and thought that she just thought it was fun.

He thought about it, and then frankly asked Alice the question he wanted to know:

"Where is the projection of 'Giant King's Court'?"

Alice blinked, looked at the "Hermit" Cattleya and said:

"I went there on Ms. Hermit's boat..."

The others looked at Cattleya, and Cattleya answered calmly:

"In the easternmost part of the Sonia Sea, in dreams at night.

"I was just about to share with you some of the things I saw during my trip there."

The ones who were most looking forward to the story were probably "Justice" Audrey and "Magician" Fors. They all held their breath and looked at "Hermit" Cattleya expectantly.

Cattleya took a deep breath and began to narrate:

"To the northeast of the Gargas Islands, there is a safe passage that leads to that dangerous sea area..."

She started with the abyss crack that separated the sea water, describing the invisible sun chariot, the night that could only be avoided by sleeping, the terrifying whispers that filled the entire ocean, and the projection of the "Giant King's Court" opposite the mountain in the dream world.

She didn't mention any names, but only described some unusual things she encountered during the journey, which Alice found boring because she had experienced them all.

It was not until Cattleya talked about her experience on the return journey that Alice straightened her body a little - after all, she had only walked half of the way back.

Cattleya focused the return journey on the sea ruins with sleeping bodies and the adventurer's sailboat with the bloody words "Fountain of Youth" written on it. Alice listened very carefully because she was not there.

"This may mean that the 'Fountain of Youth' is within that ruin, and the corpse that can emit a huge gasp is the guardian." "Hermit" Cattleya said the general speculation on the "Future", but this is not the same as her judgment.

"Fountain of Youth"... the "Fountain of Youth" in the legend of the six great treasures of the sea... "The Hanged Man" Alger's heart beat fast when he heard it, and he couldn't help but consider the feasibility of exploring the ruins after reaching Sequence 5.

"Fountain of Youth"... Alice couldn't help licking her lips.

As one of the six most famous treasures in the sea, it is also full of temptation to Alice.

She is not interested in the treasure itself, but she is interested in the act of treasure hunting.

but...

Alice shook her head and asked with a frown,

"Generally speaking in stories, in situations like this, the message left by the deceased should be that there is danger ahead, not treasure, right?

"Although it's a bit arbitrary to say so, this incident really sounds like a trap..."

Alger sobered up a little from his excitement and realized that he had lost his usual calmness.

Audrey's voice followed closely:

"I agree with what Miss Fate said. I also don't think the ultimate meaning of the bloody words is that the 'Fountain of Youth' is in that ruins.

"A person who is about to die after being attacked by a monster will not do anything to point out the treasure.

"If he wanted to warn his companions or relatives who came to look for him, he should have written that there was danger here or what the source of the danger was.

"If he was going to tell passing ships about the 'Fountain of Youth', he didn't have the internal motivation to write something like that when he was dying.

"Unless, there is a conspiracy hidden in this, a conspiracy to lure people to the ruins to find the 'Fountain of Youth', and the conspiracy will save him."

Good, what a great psychological analysis... Alice opened her mouth in surprise, realizing that Audrey had reached a height that she could not even reach.

"Yes, if it were me, I wouldn't desperately try to tell others that there is a treasure here before I die. What's the point of this to me?" Emlyn the Moon echoed, "Only hatred, only hatred engraved into my bones, can make me write something like this before I die. Otherwise, I would rather tell others how I should be buried and what burial objects I need!"

At the end, he sighed and shook his head.

You are right!

Alice nodded in agreement, then asked Emlyn the Moon:

"How should you be buried? What offerings would you like?"

Emlyn was speechless, not knowing what to say next. He responded dryly:

"I'm not planning on burying you yet, thank you."

At this time, Klein manipulated the "world" to make the same hoarse voice:

"The 'Fountain of Youth' is a hoax."

He used absolute affirmative sentences, without adding words like maybe, could, should, etc., as if he had set up this scam.

The "Fountain of Youth" is a hoax... Cattleya glanced at the "world" and then looked away thoughtfully.

This seemed to confirm some of her inner guesses and thoughts.

The Hanged Man Alger frowned upon hearing this. He had fully come to his senses and realized his mistake.

Even Miss Destiny wouldn't fall for this, but I was blinded by the huge benefits for a short time... Alger warned himself secretly.

Alice glanced at Cattleya, who had fallen completely silent, and realized that she had nothing to say, so she thought for a moment and told them the second half of the adventure:

"When you encounter night in that dangerous sea, you will see a city frozen in the dusk and a black monastery in your dreams.

"Each room in the Black Monastery represents a dream. It is very dangerous there, and it even contains dreams left behind by some gods, such as the real owner of this dream - the 'Ancient Sun God'.

"That place might be the dream left behind when He fell... or in other words, His remaining power belongs to the authority of 'Imagination'...

"Hmm? Wait, if that's the case, then there should be god's blood and god's...corpses in that sea?"

Alice paused and asked Cattleya:

"Ms. Hermit, as I recall, you need a drop of blood from a mythical creature?"

Cattleya felt the nonexistent cold sweat dripping from her forehead. She nodded stiffly and said,

"Yes."

Alice put her hand to her chin and gave her a good idea:

"Then you can try to get the divine blood out of it!"

Even Emlyn the Moon thought this idea was too unreliable. He looked at Alice in disbelief and asked in surprise:

"What's the difference between that and seeking death?"

"Yes," Alice shook her head, "this is how you seek death."

She cleared her throat and demonstrated above the gray fog:

"Leodro, I want a potion formula for 'Ocean Singer'. Can you give it to me?"

Alger quickly reached out and pressed down on the table, keeping himself in the chair.

Audrey and Fors were not much better. Among those who had heard of the name Leodro, only "Sun" Derrick remained the calmest. Even "World" looked up at the dome, as if worried that lightning would suddenly strike.

The Hermit Cattleya sat where she was, realizing from the horrified attitudes of the others that this name was definitely not simple.

Emlyn the Moon looked at them suspiciously and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong with this name? Why do you all look like that?"

Beside him, Derrick weakly advised:

"Mr. 'Moon', this seems to be the real name of one of the Seven Gods on your side... It should be 'Lord of the Storm'."

"?" Emlyn looked at Alice in confusion.

Cattleya turned her neck stiffly and looked at Alice.

"I'm just showing you what it means to seek death," Alice spread her hands. "But, actually, this isn't enough to seek death. Before, there was a guy on Ms. Hermit's ship... who asked me for flesh and blood for research."

The Hanged Man Alger, Justice Audrey, and others looked over in astonishment.

Cattleya paused for a moment, suddenly remembering this - there was no doubt that this was exactly what Frank Lee had asked for.

Alice didn't care at the time. Cattleya remembered that she planned to wait until she returned, but now...

Cattleya frowned and looked at Alice. Her expression was not angry, and she didn't seem to care much about the matter. She just happened to think of it, so she mentioned it.

"I praise your tolerance and kindness." Cattleya said.

Alice was silent for two seconds, then nodded and said, "You're welcome."

This was the umpteenth time she had heard similar praise.

...You guys are really good at talking.

Alice glanced at Cattleya with mixed feelings and changed the subject:

"Anyway, I don't think it's courting death to fish out the body and blood of a fallen god.

"The real way to seek death is to ask a living god for something like this."

I always feel that Miss Fate has an inexplicable familiarity when she talks about this kind of thing. Could it be...

Cattleya subconsciously glanced at the head seat at the long bronze table. Mr. Fool was sitting in the gray fog, with no expression of joy or sadness.

The Tarot Club fell silent. Alice thought for a moment and continued what she had not finished saying:

"The city frozen in the dusk in the dream is the projection of the Giant King's Court.

"Under normal circumstances, it cannot be approached, let alone reached.

"Take a boat to the deepest part of the ocean and recite a specific honorific name to open the entrance to the Giant King's Court.

"but...

"As long as you go out from the gate at the end of that road, you will be watched by the True Creator.

"It's no use if you don't open the door. I've tried." (End of this chapter)

compatibility of the puppet master and the circus

  After sharing their experiences and some knowledge of mysticism, Klein estimated the time and remaining spirituality and announced,

  "Let's stop here."

"Your will is at my command." Audrey, the "Justice", took the lead and stood up to salute. Alice, who was hiding behind several people, was about to take the opportunity to run away, but was stopped by a light cough.

She glanced at the "world" where the sound came from, but did not stand up. Instead, she sat down on the chair with peace of mind.

After she was able to leave Sefirah Castle on her own, Alice never participated in the final ceremony. She usually left when Justice Audrey stood up, or sat there until the others disappeared from the gray fog.

——Why should I be the one to salute? !

When only she and Klein were left above the gray fog, Alice turned to Klein and said before he could speak:

"I can explain!"

Almost at the same time, Klein's doubtful voice also sounded:

"Are you impersonating Ouroboros under the watchful eyes of the 'True Creator'?"

...I really can't explain this.

Alice was speechless. After a brief pause, she raised her head and asked seriously,

"If I say this is actually my plan, would you believe it?"

"No," Klein answered affirmatively, "When did you ever have a plan?"

Alice began to think about this problem seriously.

Alice, who was thinking with her head down, gave an answer from another perspective. Klein looked at her helplessly, but did not argue with her. Instead, he asked:

"Are you sure you're okay over there?"

"I think," Alice propped her chin up with both hands and looked Klein up and down, "Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself… I may, perhaps, know what the opportunity is for me to become a god."

"?" Klein looked at her in confusion. "What does this have to do with me? What does opportunity mean?"

Alice half leaned back in her chair and sighed,

"Well... because the godhood ritual of the 'Destiny' path is to find the right opportunity in the torrent of destiny to take the potion..."

"…?" Klein looked at Alice blankly, remembering her ridiculous Sequence 5 promotion ceremony.

——He remembered Alice jokingly saying that if he drank it in one gulp and was promoted, the ritual would be completed, but if he lost control, the ritual would have failed.

"You can sense what the right opportunity is, right?" Klein tried to confirm.

"Hmm… but there is a problem." Alice stretched out her hand and pinched her brow. "I have a guess… I am not sure yet. After all, Sequence 0 is still very far away from me. I may need to be reborn once more, when I become a god."

"Hmm?" Klein frowned and looked at her.

"Death, or to completely escape from one's original fate and be reborn... I think that's what the dream meant," Alice continued, "which means... I need a 'mother'."

She took a deep breath and looked up at Klein. Before she could say anything, she heard Mr. Fool's sharp explosion:

"I can't possibly do such a thing! Don't even think about it!"

"…There's no need to be so anxious," Alice advised him tactfully, "It's still early for this. If that dream is to be believed, I must at least complete the process from Sequence 4 to Sequence 2…strictly follow the procedure."

She paused, frowned, and said with a slightly strange expression:

"It sounds like an alternative 'restart', starting the whole path again from the beginning... No, I didn't actually start from the beginning, I missed two sequences.

"And actually a lot of things are not done by me, or at least not by me right now…

"But anyway, there's no need to rush. First, there's still early. Second, although 'Restart' doesn't require you to be pregnant, you must at least have a uterus... By the way, what is the ability of the 'Master of Secret Puppetry'?"

Alice suddenly remembered the question she had forgotten to ask.

The topic changed quickly. Klein, who often chatted with Alice, had already adapted to this change. He recalled their previous conversation and made sure that he had not missed anything before continuing Alice's topic:

"The 'Puppet Master' can..."

He focused on describing the ability of the "Master of Secret Dolls" to transform others into secret dolls by manipulating the spiritual branches, which earned Alice's admiration:

"Oh my god, it really is a puppet show!

"But if you put it this way, as long as you have a few animal puppets, you can solve the animal performance problem too...

"Your Sequence 4 is really not called…"

The feeling of falling came, and when Alice regained consciousness, she found herself still in the camp next to Afternoon Town.

She stamped on the ground angrily and muttered, "Stingy guy... You must have been stepped on a sore spot for such a big reaction!"

Not far away, the chief looked at her getting up from the ground and his expression suddenly turned angry and he fell into deep thought.

…He had a quarrel with the Fool?

No, we cannot use common sense to infer this lady of destiny...

After sending Alice away, Klein did not rush to leave. He shook his head slightly and looked at the place where Alice disappeared. He murmured with a little worry,

"She won't really be called the Circus Director or something like that..."

Thinking of this, Klein suddenly became worried. He materialized parchment and a round fountain pen, and after pondering for a moment, he wrote a sentence:

"My hope of advancing to Sequence 4."

Putting the pen away, Klein took the parchment and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes, entered a meditative state, and silently recited these words.

After seven times, he fell into a deep sleep quickly and arrived in the dream world.

The gray sky and earth split open, and he saw a majestic mountain towering into the clouds.

At the top of the mountain, there is a collapsed and dilapidated palace. The walls are covered with weeds and moss, and there are obvious holes.

In the hall of the palace, at the very top there is a huge chair carved out of stone, inlaid with dull gold and gems, much of which is mottled and damaged.

This didn't look like a seat prepared for humans. Countless transparent maggots huddled together, densely entangled, slowly wriggling, and growing continuously.

Around the seats, there were voices that penetrated the long time and history, illusory, ethereal, and echoing endlessly:

"Honakis...Fregola...Honakis...Fregola...Honakis...Fregola..."

Klein woke up suddenly after hearing the mumbling, and frowned - this was exactly the mumbling he had heard every time he was promoted in the past.

It's like it's a fate that has been arranged long ago, as if everything has been destined from the very beginning... Ha, it really makes people not want to go at all... It makes people rebellious.

Wait a little longer, wait for Mr. Azik's letter... I don't even know the name of the potion yet, there's no need to be too anxious.

...It shouldn't really be called something like Circus Director, right?

With strange concerns, Klein tried to divine the information of the five "Original Moon" believers commissioned by "Moon" Emlyn.

As soon as he wrote down the divination statement, a deep red star began to flutter violently. Klein was stunned for a moment, and then he extended his spirituality toward the star. A picture appeared before his eyes.

——It was Bernadette who recited the holy name devoutly.

...How to solve this situation?

Klein almost pulled Alice back after she left the gray fog and asked her to come and see for herself the trouble she had caused. Bernadette, who couldn't find any way out with Miss Fate, actually came to try to persuade the Fool!

Fortunately, Klein, who had been pretending to be a god for so long and was already a Sequence 5, at least had some experience.

He did not panic, but first carefully observed the scene and listened to Bernadette's prayers.

The complete ceremony and honorific name, the process that was completed according to the regulations, and the final content... Klein looked at the familiar card and frowned slightly.

He had seen that card in his dream before. At that time, Bernadette was going to use it as a bargaining chip to trade with Alice, but now...

And now, she is asking that this card be sacrificed to herself, to the Fool.

She had obviously learned her lesson in front of Alice and didn't mention her request at all.

After a brief thought, Klein decided not to respond to this matter. If nothing else happened before the next Tarot meeting, he would hint to Cattleya at the meeting.

After all, no matter how he responded, the outcome would not be very optimistic after Alice knew about this...

——The last person who thought that there was no difference between giving things to Mr. Fool and Miss Fate was the "Magician" Fors. Even though Alice's temper was much better than it is now, she was very concerned about it.

Klein shook his head and returned to the real world.

Thinking of the promise he had made to "Sun" Derrick to provide the "Notary" potion formula within three days, he put on his coat and hat, ready to go out and look for his target.

After opening the door and walking to the stairs, Klein saw Anderson Hood walking up step by step, twirling his deerstalker hat in his hands and humming a country ballad.

This guy has a strong ability to recover mentally... He was taught a lesson by the demigod this morning, forced to apologize and agree to his demands, but now he doesn't show any signs of trauma at all. His mental quality is as good as Alice's... No, forget it, saying this sounds like an insult.

Klein gave up the evaluation system based on Alice and nodded slightly to Anderson as a greeting.

"Good afternoon, Gehrman." Anderson smiled and waved his hand. "I have received the bounty and the special fee. I will give you the balance right away."

As he spoke, he took out bills of varying thickness from different pockets.

"It went very smoothly." Klein commented without any emotion.

Anderson immediately smiled and said,

"Yes, it went much more smoothly than I expected!

" "Those guys whose brains should have been full of granite were surprisingly kind, efficient, and polite. I even wondered if I was blessed by the goddess of luck!"

Klein glanced at Anderson, remembering the bad luck Alice had befallen him, and mercilessly exposed him:

"It's hard to say what goddess of luck is, but there is a goddess of misfortune."

Anderson stretched out his hand to push the monocle on his left eye with some uneasiness, and smiled again:

"Don't take life so seriously, just relax a little, relax a little."

Anderson handed over the balance of 1,200 pounds and continued:

"In fact, I know exactly what happened. It must be that gentleman who didn't want me to waste my time, so he secretly 'instructed' those people."

Klein glanced at the banknotes, squeezed them with his hands, and asked casually,

"Have you confirmed which pirates are causing the problem?"

He was asking which prey had attracted the "manipulator" last night.

"I can't confirm it." Anderson said with a wry smile, "Do you think I didn't check it beforehand? Although I acted nonchalant in front of you, I actually investigated the background and situation of my prey in advance to avoid offending the wrong people. Who knew... Well, I can only attribute it to bad luck."

This guy is much more cautious than I thought... Also, his previous sequence was called "The Conspirator", not "The Lucky One"...

"The Land Forsaken by God", Alice, who is a negative example, is now staring at the Chief.

She was trying to convince the Chief to send a team directly to find what she needed instead of asking her to go with him.

After all, there isn't much she can do, just add anti-divination, add luck, add bad luck... In short, these are things that can be done even if she is not there.

——You can't really transform into a mythical creature and pounce on it and bite it!

Although this last resort is not impossible, if she needs to do this, there is a high possibility that everyone who goes with her will die.

Faced with this situation, Alice thought...why not just run away?

——How can fate do it itself?

Could it be that when she and Will Auceptin fought at the end, she turned into a mythical creature and bit him... No, this is a bit... isn't this a bit too weird? !

Alice shook her head and raised her head to try to convince the Chief again, but suddenly she had a strange feeling.

It was as if something suddenly broke and her spirituality was suddenly touched. Alice realized that she was actually very familiar with this feeling - this was the feedback from the digestion of the potion.

Most likely it was not completely digested, only partially, but...

Alice looked at the chief in front of her in confusion, and asked hesitantly,

"Is it possible that the potion could be digested prematurely?"

The chief shook his head and gave a frank answer: "I don't know."

But even so, Alice had the answer in her heart. After all, the potion she drank had been digested.

This can only be digested in advance.

Doom Mage, Chaos Walker, Prophet, Mercury Serpent, Wheel of Fortune... Which sequence is this?

Alice blinked and suddenly remembered what Klein told her about what happened to Anderson—he choked to death from drinking.

"Mage of doom..." Alice muttered thoughtfully, "Hmm...bringing doom can digest potions?"

This is a question, and at this moment, it is actually very simple to verify.

Alice glanced at the chief who suddenly became alert, then turned her head slightly and looked at the well-organized afternoon camp. (End of this chapter)

Function of Murals

  Compared to Alice who was doing nothing and throwing a tantrum in front of the Chief, the exploration team members from Silver City each had their own duties. The camp that only had two animal skin lanterns when they first saw it has now changed a lot.

The progress is fast... Alice retracted her gaze and looked in the direction of Afternoon Town, curiously asking, "Do you want to explore the 'Giant King's Court'?"

A few seconds later, Alice heard the Chief's answer: "...Yes."

The chief's voice was a little low. Alice turned her head and looked at the chief. His expression did not show much emotion, but his muscles were tense. If he was given a sword, this would probably be the posture of preparing for battle.

Why did he...Oh, it's because of what I said!

Alice suddenly realized something. She frowned and said carefully, "I didn't plan to do anything... I, I just said it casually."

It would be impossible to say that she had never thought of using the City of Silver to test the role-playing method, but in the final analysis, she had too many choices and there was no need to poke the little "Sun" in the lungs.

She is not in a hurry.

...No, she seemed a little too unhurried.

Alice finally remembered the purpose of coming to the "Forsaken Land of the Gods". She stopped arguing with the Chief about the previous question and suddenly jumped up from where she was. Then, in the Chief's puzzled eyes, she asked:

"You really don't have a way to teleport me from one place to another, right?"

The Chief nodded affirmatively.

Alice glanced at the top of the mountain irritably and muttered,

"Looks like I have to make another trip... No, I can ask Leo Master... Hey, saints have to eat too, right?"

Alice looked at the chief for confirmation.

The chief stood there in a daze for a moment, then answered seriously:

"...For a Sequence 4 Saint, it doesn't matter if they don't replenish food and water for several days."

It doesn't matter if you don't eat, so you still have to eat... Alice nodded thoughtfully, and suddenly said:

"I don't think I have eaten for a long time..."

The chief was even more confused. After hesitating for two seconds, he invited Alice based on his understanding of her:

"Would you like to have dinner together?"

"...No thanks," Alice declined the invitation, "I'll order takeout on the way back."

Judging from the Chief's look, he didn't understand what Alice said.

Alice was not interested in answering this question. She looked at the Chief curiously and asked him:

"What are you going to do with Leo Master?"

"He will leave in a few days," the chief replied truthfully, "he claims he is here to spread the glory of the Lord."

...which makes sense too.

This answer left Alice speechless, but when she thought about it carefully, she felt happy again - to spread glory, she should run around everywhere, right?

Alice suddenly felt that her future became brighter, and she left the chief on the spot and went to find Leo Master.

The chief stood there, his expression unchanged, staring at Alice's back motionlessly, with a confused look in his eyes.

...What should I do?

Pulling out Leo Master, who was trying to spread the glory of the Lord, Alice asked excitedly:

"Do you have a way to teleport from one place to another here?"

"A 'traveler' is grateful for the Lord's gift and is willing to become a lamb under my hand and spread the Lord's glory with me." Leo Master made a cross on his chest with a pious look on his face.

Oh, there is a "traveler" who volunteered to be herded by him... Wait, this must be voluntary... No, why can he "travel" here?

Alice, who knows the ability of the "shepherd", automatically translated Leo Master's words, and then realized two problems in this passage.

She did not bother with Leo Master about whether the "traveler" was willing, but asked:

"Can the spirit world here be used?"

"I have received the grace of God." Leo Master continued to cross himself.

Alice was speechless.

The good news is that she now has two choices - go back and ask Ouroboros, or threaten Leomaster to continue to lead her.

Both methods have their own problems. After hesitating for a moment, Alice decided to ask Ouroboros first.

——She really needs the spiritual world.

"You won't be leaving for a few days, right?" she confirmed with Leo Master.

"Yes." Leo Master nodded.

Alice felt relieved and went back to find the chief who was still standing there at a loss.

"I'll go up again," she said, pointing to the top of the mountain, "and ask if there's a way to teleport."

"Are you going far away?" the Chief asked tentatively.

"I don't know," Alice spread her hands. "But if the continent is about the same size as I remember, well…"

She looked expressionlessly in the direction of the Giant King's Court and replied indifferently,

"Maybe you found a way out. I haven't come back yet."

The Chief stopped talking.

Saying goodbye to the Chief, Alice flew towards the top of the mountain.

She did not follow Ouroboros's example and walked up step by step. After all, she was not a believer of the "True Creator", nor was she an angel under the seat of the "True Creator".

Standing at the door of the sanctuary again based on her memory, Alice was stunned for two seconds, and suddenly realized that Ouroboros might have left.

…Hope He hasn't left yet.

Alice shook her head, took a deep breath, and stepped into the sanctuary.

The gloomy decoration style did not conform to Alice's aesthetic taste, and the rotten flesh and blood that fell from time to time made Alice frown. She endured it again and again, and did not do anything like scolding other people's ugly decoration in front of others in their homes.

——Even though she didn't listen to the cursing voice of the "True Creator", Alice knew that the gaze of the "True Creator" had always stayed on her and never left.

...I just pretended to be Ouroboros, you can't be so stingy, right?

Ouroboros himself didn't care!

It looked like the husband was helping his wife... No, wait, don't think about that!

Alice quickened her pace in fear to avoid thinking about it.

Alice recalled the location of the mural corridor and walked along it. At the end of the corridor, she found Ouroboros, who was about to put down his pen.

——He has just finished a painting.

Alice walked over curiously, stared at the mural for a few seconds, then suddenly turned around and asked,

"Have you ever learned to paint?"

"No." Ouroboros shook his head calmly.

So Alice asked naturally, "Are you giving Anderson bad luck because you are jealous of his professional background?"

Ouroboros turned his head and asked with a bit of confusion: "Anderson?"

"He doesn't know?" No, it could be that he doesn't know the name… Alice tilted her head, pointed in the direction of the outside, and replied:

"In the sea outside, an unlucky 'hunter' entered a ruin. There were many murals inside, one of which should be the one you left behind.

"He stretched out his hand and drew a line in the air, and then he became very, very unlucky - he even choked to death on a mouthful of wine before."

The angel of destiny listened to Alice's story patiently, then shook his head calmly and replied softly,

"That's just the residual power."

Alice stared at Him for a few seconds, then suddenly realized something:

"You don't want others to destroy your paintings?"

"Yes." He nodded slowly.

After two seconds of silence, Alice looked at Him and praised Him sincerely, "You have so many murals."

This is not Chinese, but the giant language that Alice has been using since she stepped into the "Forsaken Land of the Gods". Therefore, Ouroboros did not understand the deep meaning of it, and just nodded with a little confusion.

Of course, He probably wouldn't understand even Chinese.

Ouroboros obviously didn't have the same chattering habit as Alice. As soon as Alice shut up, the surroundings became quiet again. He calmly dipped the brush in paint, as if preparing to paint another picture.

"Wait a minute!" Alice hurriedly stopped him. She instinctively wanted to reach out her hand, but then she remembered Ouroboros' cold face and silently retracted her hand. "I have something to ask you!"

Ouroboros turned his head calmly and asked her what was wrong with his eyes.

"You have a way to contact the spirit world here, right?" Alice asked excitedly, "Should there be a way to teleport from one place to another?"

Ouroboros's gaze paused on her for a few seconds, then he suddenly stood up and walked forward.

Alice stood there hesitating for two seconds, then watched Ouroboros put down his paintbrush, stepped into the mural he had just completed, and disappeared.

Huh…?

Alice stared at the mural blankly for a few seconds, then reached out and touched the mural, or rather the wall—it was solid.

She stood there, looking at the silver-haired and silver-eyed angel on the mural, hesitated for a moment, closed her eyes, and bumped into it headfirst - it was indeed solid.

"Hiss." Alice took a breath, stepped back, and rubbed her head.

Perhaps she was so stupid that Ouroboros could not bear to watch it any longer. The figure in the mural moved slightly, and a living Ouroboros walked out of the painting.

"?" Alice opened her mouth in surprise.

"You don't have the ability of 'Chaos Walker'?" Ouroboros asked calmly and without contempt.

"I, I have..." Alice replied stammeringly.

She looked blankly at Ouroboros in front of her and the mural behind him. After a brief pause, an idea suddenly occurred to her. She looked up and asked:

"The rules and power here are very chaotic. If you move randomly you will get lost in it. So... you leave your power on the mural to help you locate yourself?"

Ouroboros nodded.

Alice opened her eyes wide in surprise. After more than ten seconds, she sighed and said,

"I was right not to go find Will Auceptin... otherwise I would definitely be giving him away for nothing."

Ouroboros did not comment on this, but just looked at her quietly.

Alice stared at Him and thought for a few seconds, then guessed, "Are you waiting for me to confirm receipt and give you a favorable review?"

Ouroboros's eyes successfully became blank.

Alice was not happy about this. She pinched her brows and pointed out the most critical problem of this method:

"If I had a very long time, I could of course leave murals or other things everywhere I passed by for positioning.

"But firstly, this matter may be urgent, and secondly...

"I want to go somewhere I haven't been before."

After a pause, she asked tentatively, "Can I borrow your mural?"

Ouroboros looked her up and down, and asked in a calm and non-contemptuous tone:

"Can.

"are you sure?"

Alice shuddered inexplicably. She suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of fear, so she immediately rejected Ouroboros's kindness:

"...No, no thanks."

She realized that this was most likely a free gift.

Ouroboros still looked at her with that doubtful look, and then said to her calmly:

"Follow me."

It's this sentence again... I always feel that the look in His eyes has a feeling... a feeling of how on earth did I survive to this day...

Alice gritted her teeth and followed.

Ouroboros led her around and around until they came to an altar. In front of the altar was a painting of a dark baby.

After Alice stared at the baby for a few seconds, the baby suddenly gave her a weird smile.

Alice suddenly jumped behind Ouroboros and paused for a moment. Feeling that something was wrong, she asked hesitantly:

"Can't I really grab your clothes?"

Ouroboros shook his head.

Alice gritted her teeth and gave up on pondering the question. She poked her head out again, staring at the baby with a weird smile, and guessed hesitantly,

"The one in the painting is..."

She paused, without saying a name or anything else, and made the sign of the cross on her chest.

Ouroboros nodded.

Alice stared at the altar for a few seconds before asking again, "...You want me to, to pray?"

Ouroboros nodded again.

That makes sense. If you want authority, you should ask the master. So… Alice asked expressionlessly:

"Do I look like a fool?"

Ouroboros stared at Alice for a few seconds, then said gently,

"Not really.

"You look smart."

This familiar vision made Alice stunned for two seconds, and then she asked hesitantly:

"Have you ever taken care of a child before?"

Ouroboros looked dazed again, as if he was recalling something. Seeing this, Alice immediately interrupted his thoughts:

"Is there no other way?"

Then Ouroboros came back to his senses and shook his head calmly.

Ellie turned around and walked away without hesitation. After walking a few steps, she turned back and said ceremoniously:

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Ouroboros responded politely.

Alice left the sanctuary in silence. After standing at the entrance of the sanctuary for two seconds, she chanted the honorific name of the Fool under the gaze of the True Creator, and then said at the end:

"Mr. Fool, bring me some food. Remember to bring tables, chairs, and tableware."

The True Creator's gaze remained fixed for a moment, then suddenly disappeared. (End of this chapter)

Protagonist of the Book

  Huh?

  After being stared at for so long, the feeling of being stared at suddenly disappeared from her body, and Alice felt a strong sense of discomfort. She turned her head and looked at the door of the sanctuary. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly raised her leg and seriously considered the possibility of kicking it.

...Will he get beaten?

It's so strange, why did He suddenly stop looking...

Alice stood at the door of the sanctuary in distress, thinking about how to draw the attention of the "True Creator" back without angering Him.

…

Inside the sanctuary, after Alice left, Ouroboros returned to the corridor full of murals. After a moment of silence, he walked through the murals he had just left behind and appeared in a hall painted with countless murals.

In the center of the hall stood a long dark red table, surrounded by high-backed chairs with intricate patterns.

Ouroboros walked over and sat on the chair that should have belonged to him. Then, around the hall, on the stone pillars that stood but did not support the dome, red flames were ignited one after another, illuminating the surroundings with extraordinary brightness.

Whispers gradually began to sound, growing louder and louder. Around the dark red long table, blurry and illusory figures suddenly rose up and sat on different high-backed chairs. There were eleven of them in total.

When all the figures gathered, on the two empty high-back chairs at the top, the one on the left outlined a black-winged figure in a black robe, and the one on the right outlined a female figure that seemed to be shrouded in mist.

Then, a voice from the past sounded:

"...We are redeeming ourselves and maintaining the balance of this world...

"Division and deviation are undoubtedly the most basic order...

"…This is also His idea…"

"…It is undeniable that we all have our dark thoughts and desires, but this is perfectly normal…

"...death and blood will be inevitable, we will..."

The voice suddenly stopped at this moment. After more than ten seconds, it sounded again amid the loud whispers, firmly and unquestionably:

"We named it 'Redemption Rose'." Note ①

The scene ends here, and then begins to repeat. Ouroboros is sitting in his seat, not paying attention to anything here, but one "revelation" after another is reproduced before Him.

That "prophet" has a secret, and He should go and find that secret...

It is still the "prophet" who became the "mercury serpent"...what is his secret?

He should chase that "mercury snake"...

The "Mercury Snake" was in a very bad state. There was no need for him to care about it, as he couldn't catch it anyway...

His condition has recovered a little, go catch up with Him...

The condition is very bad, no need to care...

The status has been restored...

Over the course of thousands of years, similar revelations occurred more than once, until - the last revelation.

The girl who appeared out of nowhere climbed up the tower step by step. A giant scaleless white snake was waiting at the top of the tower. He watched this scene quietly until a certain moment when he felt that he should show this dream to the girl.

So He did it.

So… where did she come from at the beginning of the dream?

Ouroboros sat silently in front of the long table. After a few seconds, he stood up silently and walked back into the painting.

…

Outside the sanctuary, Alice, who had not received a response from Mr. Fool, finally figured out the answer.

"Did you and the goddess come up with the name 'Redemption Rose' together?" She asked, looking up. "It sounds terrible... It has a taste of late-stage chuunibyou. I really don't know what kind of mentality you had when you came up with this name..."

Alice shook her head in disgust, but found that no one still paid any attention to her.

…?

After giving Sanctuary a vicious look, Alice returned to the camp in Afternoon Town.

It didn't take long to fly from the top of the mountain to the ground, but when Alice landed, she received a piece of news that made her very sad:

"What, Leo Master is gone?!"

The chief nodded.

"When did it happen?" Alice opened her eyes wide.

"As soon as you left, he became transparent where he was, and then..." the chief described the scene.

There is no doubt that this is exactly the "journey" that Alice has been dreaming of.

Leo Master demonstrated through his actions that in the "God-forsaken Land", with the permission of the true Creator, it is indeed possible to reconnect to the spiritual world.

The only problem is, now he's gone.

Alice gritted her teeth and was about to say something when a gray mist enveloped her eyes and Klein's familiar voice rang out:

"Prepare for the ceremony."

...?

Alice was stunned for a moment, and began to wonder whether Klein had really prepared the food, table, and tableware according to her request, or was he just going to play a trick on her.

Klein shouldn't be like this… Alice pondered for a moment, her eyes swept over the food in Silver City, silently retracted her gaze, and said to the chief in a serious manner:

"I'm going out to relax.

"Hopefully you'll have what I need by the time I get back… or at least the team will have left.

"Good luck to you."

After saying this, Alice wanted to turn around and leave, but after a few steps she stepped back, took out a deck of tarot cards and handed them to the chief.

"You can take this with you when you're looking for something for me... If there's any left, you can use it later," Alice said, as she took out a pen and paper. "If you're in danger, you can recite my honorific name... Uh, wait a minute."

Alice suddenly remembered that although she had learned Giant language as quickly as if she had loaded a language module, she could only speak and listen.

She did not recognize the words of Giant.

"I'm sorry," Alice put the paper and pen back and tried to keep a serious expression, "I can't read."

"?" The Chief looked at Alice blankly, as if he had heard of such a thing for the first time.

Alice covered her face with her hands and tried to explain the truth about her illiteracy: "I just don't know your characters. I actually know the characters outside... I know a little bit."

——Know the Runic language, the Hermetic language, and the Ancient Hermetic language.

The chief looked at Alice carefully and tried to organize his words. Alice couldn't stand that look, so she asked before the chief spoke:

"Can I just say my honorific name?"

The chief thought about it and nodded.

So, Ai Li read out her own honorific name without hesitation, and then left.

"The eternally innocent child..." After Alice left, the chief repeated Alice's honorable name, seeming to be thinking about something.

This description undoubtedly formed a perfect echo with Alice's personality. The Chief immediately figured out some of the key points that he had not figured out before. Of course, most of the doubts were still unresolved, such as...

How did she live to this age?

As for the last two sentences, they did not surprise the Chief. After all, they were just two descriptions about authority, and Alice calling herself Miss Destiny had explained the problem to some extent.

…

After hearing Alice's prayer above the gray fog, Klein felt a sense of calm, as if "it's finally here."

As early as when Alice stepped into the "God-Forsaken Land", he had thought about what Alice would eat - she would not give up eating, but according to the description of the little "Sun", there seemed to be no food in the "God-Forsaken Land" that Alice would eat.

Of course, it is possible that she might try the black grass and monster flesh on a whim. Klein even suspected that Alice would try the ones that were not decontaminated.

After all, fate is a cyclical thing, so it shouldn't be a big deal if you just take a bite.

During the more than one day when Alice did not ask him for food, Klein had been thinking about how Alice solved her three meals a day.

Since there was nothing to do right now, Klein prepared tableware and food for Alice without any struggle, but he did not prepare a table and chairs according to her request - he couldn't spoil her too much.

…

After telling the chief her honorific name, Alice left the camp in Afternoon Town.

She planned to perform the ceremony some time after leaving the camp in the afternoon town.

Alice walked forward in the darkness for a while, until the light in the town camp grew dim in the afternoon. Then she set up the ceremony right there, in front of the monsters staring at her hungrily in the darkness, and waited for Klein's response.

Alice took out a plate of grilled fish and a plate of bacon from the ceremonial passage. In addition, she also got a piece of bread with jam, an empty plate and a pair of knife and fork.

Afterwards, the ritual passage was automatically closed.

Alice looked at the plates spread out on the ground, hesitated for two seconds, and then murmured:

"I...sit on the floor and eat?"

This seemed to be the only way. After hesitating for two seconds, Alice lifted the hem of her robe and sat on the ground, grabbing the bread and grilled fish and starting to eat.

This unprecedented experience was, in a sense, quite unique to Alice, but no matter what, Alice still decided to take revenge on Mr. Fool.

After finishing the meal, she closed her eyes and recited as excitedly as possible:

"The Fool who does not belong to this era,

"The mysterious ruler above the gray fog,

"The Yellow and Black King who controls good luck,

"I ask for your attention,

"I ask your hearing.

"Mr. Fool, come quickly. I want to show you what I found in the 'Forsaken Land of the Gods'!"

…

What did she find in the "Forsaken Land of God"? What did she find? Her tone was very excited. Could it be something extraordinary...

Above the gray fog, Klein agreed to Alice's ritual request out of curiosity.

On the other side, after getting Klein's consent, Alice couldn't wait to set up the ceremony and stuffed all the food left into the passage.

Above the gray fog, Klein expressionlessly took out a plate of fish bones, a plate of half-remaining bacon, a plate of bread crumbs dipped in jam, and a set of used knives and forks from the sacrificial passage.

"Alice!" Klein cursed through gritted teeth, then leaned weakly back on the high-backed chair.

He shook his head and asked with self-doubt: "I really...why did I have such expectations for her?"

After a pause, he muttered again,

"In fact, if this wasn't her leftovers, but she found it somewhere, it would indeed be an extraordinary discovery... Oh, forget it, I'd better not make excuses for her."

Klein closed his eyes and swore that he would never believe a word Alice said again.

No, why not just believe half of what she said? Sometimes what she said is still valuable... Never mind, why not just believe it? She actually didn't cheat me on anything big, she just likes to play a little...

Klein pinched his brows with a headache and sighed.

…

On the other side, Alice completed the ceremony, cleaned up the scene quickly, and then ran away.

In the darkness of the "God-forsaken Land", the ever-emitting light of "Apollo" brought Alice absolute safety, but also made her particularly conspicuous.

After running for who knows how long, Alice finally realized the danger of this robe - when facing a being stronger than her, she might become a sitting duck.

She stopped where she was, and stared motionlessly at a figure carrying an animal-skin lantern approaching from a distance.

The figure was wearing a black wizard robe and a pointed hat on his head. As the figure approached, Alice could see the light reflected from the monocle in his right eye.

——Amon.

"Long time no see," He smiled, holding a lantern and standing in front of Alice, "Little Alice."

Alice stood there stiffly, motionless, staring at Amon as he walked up to her.

Amon walked around her with the animal-skin lantern as if he was examining some rare exhibit, and then he sighed:

"I was originally thinking about how to trick you into coming here, but I didn't expect... you would actually come here on your own?

"Why, you can't even blink when you see me, little Alice?"

Alice was silent for a few seconds, then asked a question expressionlessly that she always asked everyone she met:

"Do you have a way to move quickly in the 'Forsaken Land of the Gods'?"

"Yes," Amon replied with a smile, "Are you going anywhere?"

"…" Alice said nothing, staring at Him expressionlessly.

Amon chuckled and said to Alice:

"Well… Miss Destiny.

"We can play by your rules - I take you where you want to go, and you tell me one thing."

"What?" Alice looked at Him with a frown.

Amon raised his hand lightly, and an exquisite book appeared in His hand. He handed it to Alice. Alice hesitated for two seconds and reached out to take the book.

This is a beautifully printed comic book with a man and a woman on the cover, obviously a nobleman and a dashing woman in police uniform.

There were black feathers under the nobleman's feet, and a few scattered in the air. Alice recognized that they were crow feathers.

The woman in police uniform was holding a book in her hand. Alice knew that it must be a collection of poems. The woman in police uniform actually loved writing poetry in private, but she couldn't write.

Because she remembered the title of the book.

Poetry in the Shadow of Crows: The intertwined melody of love and lies. (End of this chapter)

Escape successful?

  "Can you tell me..." Alice heard Amon ask her with a smile, "Who is the other protagonist?"

Alice quickly entered a meditative state and threw away all the messy thoughts in her mind.

She knew that Amon had the ability to steal thoughts. Theoretically, even if she couldn't defeat Amon, Amon shouldn't be able to steal her thoughts at will. Unfortunately... she had the power but didn't know how to use it.

Facing this incarnation of fraud, Alice knew that she could never outsmart Him, so she chose to play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses - she chose not to use her brain.

She is good at this.

All her thoughts were forcibly terminated. Alice looked up at Amon's smiling face with a blank mind, took a deep breath, and made the most instinctive reaction.

——She dropped the book and ran away.

Facing such a dangerous enemy, running away is of course the best solution. When there is no quick way like teleporting, of course you should run with your legs... Without thinking, Alice came to this conclusion naturally.

However, after only three or five steps, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

It was obvious that the hand came from Amon, whom she had always been thinking about. Alice's escape came to an abrupt stop. She slowly turned around and looked at Amon. He did not seem angry, but had a strange smile on his face.

"...You know this is useless, right?" Amon took back his hand, leaned over and asked her, "You even run on your own two legs..."

——So, if you are caught after escaping, what should you do?

Under Amon's smiling gaze, Alice came to another conclusion, and she defended herself earnestly:

"I'm sorry, I just haven't seen you for too long, and I was too excited, and my hands and feet were a little out of control.

"Um... could you please help me pick up that book?"

"Ha," Amon laughed, "Okay."

As if expecting her to make some unreasonable response or say some nonsense, Amon slowly turned around, walked back step by step, bent down and picked up the book on the ground.

His movements were extremely slow, as if he was intentionally giving Alice time and opportunity, but Alice did nothing. She still stood there, watching Amon pick up the comic book, wipe off the dirt on it, and then hold the book in front of her with one hand.

Alice blinked, reached out to take the book, and then held it against her chest with both hands like a textbook, continuing to look up at Amon, her mind blank.

They stared at each other in silence. Facing Alice who seemed to be concentrating but actually had nothing on her mind, Amon was the first to hold back and asked:

"So, you tell me... who is the former lover that I can't forget?"

As he spoke, he walked towards Alice step by step. Alice instinctively stepped back holding the book. When the last voice fell, Amon stopped, Alice dropped the book, turned around and ran for the second time, like a frightened bird.

So the hand was placed on her shoulder again, this time obviously not as gentle as the last time, and she was pulled back to her original position.

"?" Amon didn't seem to understand her behavior, "You..."

He looked Alice up and down, and asked thoughtfully:

"How about... I teach you how to escape first, and then you try to run?"

Look, what a considerate suggestion! Alice nodded as a matter of course and accepted the suggestion:

"That's fine."

Amon was silent for two seconds, then his face turned cold and he asked in a commanding tone:

"Tell me, who is my old lover, and who is the other protagonist of this book."

The order or threat from the Angel King was much more effective than the previous playful questioning. Rational thoughts took over again. Alice suddenly remembered the title of the book, and her mind uncontrollably recalled the content related to Amon's question.

An old lover, of course... Wait, shouldn't Amon's lover be...

Several inappropriate paintings for children turned into pop-up windows in her mind and were then stolen by Amon - apparently, even when she was thinking, Alice's way of thinking was unusual.

Amon narrowed his eyes slightly. Alice instinctively felt threatened, and her instinctive response was to drop the book and run away. However, faced with this strategy that had failed twice, Alice, who had regained her ability to think, chose to reject it.

She closed her eyes resigned to her fate, raised her head and said to Amon: "Kill me, and remember to throw my body to the edge of the Western Continent."

Amon looked at Alice, raised his eyebrows, and asked with a puzzled look:

"Is this person important to you? So important that... you would rather die than tell him?"

"Well," Alice shook her head, "No, but, but you can't really kill me..."

She shrank her neck slightly, but soon regained her confidence and continued with sparkling eyes:

"Yes, you don't dare to kill me, why should I be afraid?

"You don't even dare to trap me here for too long, because..."

This realization made Alice much bolder. She looked at Amon, adjusted her facial muscles, and smiled exactly like him. Then she imitated his tone and said:

"In that case, you will be the one who dies."

The coercion from fate, at this moment, became her most powerful confidence.

This was a naked provocation. Amon put away the smile on his face and looked at her with cold eyes.

Ai Li looked at Amon without any fear. After more than ten seconds, Amon's mouth slowly formed a smile, and his voice was gentle with gnashing teeth:

"very good.

"very good.

"Well, what will you do to tell me, little Alice?"

Alice suddenly shuddered, and she realized that Amon must be really angry now.

This was not the situation she wanted - you know, if she didn't plan to pray to the "True Creator" and didn't plan to go there step by step, Amon might be the last way to go to the Western Continent.

Wait, why didn't He beat me this time? He didn't kill me when he was angry before, but he beat me… And if He wanted to know, He could have tried to interrogate me. His way of asking questions was a little too gentle…

This thought flashed through my mind, and soon I got feedback from Amon:

"...So you prefer being beaten?"

Alice was silent for two seconds, then shook her head firmly, denying the incident:

"That's not the case.

"I prefer to watch other people get angry but don't know what to do with me... I'm not talking about you!"

The moment Amon raised his eyebrows at her words, she immediately defended herself hastily.

Anyway, the atmosphere was no longer as tense as before. Alice hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively:

"How do you know that I'm the one who drew this comic?"

Amon looked at her as if she were a fool.

Alice was silent for two seconds, then silently changed the question:

"Why do you... want to know who the old lovers and protagonists in the comics are? Maybe they don't have prototypes at all, and I just made them up."

Although the hope was slim, Alice still wanted to confirm it - what if Amon was just angry about the content of the comic, instead of guessing the hidden meaning behind it? What if?

Unfortunately, her prayer failed, and Amon continued to look at her as if she was a fool.

Alice covered her face with her hands and asked in self-abandonment,

"Then why don't you just interrogate me directly? You...you haven't done anything to me yet?"

Alice tentatively lowered her hands and shook her arms twice.

Amon watched her actions in silence for a few seconds, then couldn't help but remind her:

"If you're infected, you can't detect it like this."

"How do we check it?" Alice turned her head and asked seriously.

Amon paused and looked her up and down, as if to confirm whether her question was serious.

Alice felt uncomfortable with this look, she raised the comic book in her hand and threw it at Amon's face.

Amon just raised his hand slightly, and the comic book suddenly appeared in his hand from the air. He looked at Alice, shook his head and sighed:

"You can even see that I don't dare to kill you...but you can't see this?"

Alice looked at Him in confusion.

"I'm..." Amon chose his words carefully, "I'm trying to build a good relationship with you."

This answer was so frank that it seemed unreal. Alice opened her eyes wide in astonishment and her mouth opened in surprise. After more than ten seconds, she reached out and closed her jaw.

After trying to move her jaw to make sure it hadn't dropped in surprise, Alice said with a blank look in her eyes:

"You must be kidding..."

The absurd yet reasonable answer - indulge her rude request, ignore her blatant provocation, and do not take action when he could have gotten the answer in other ways, but instead try to persuade her to make a deal... This seems to be what someone who wants to build a good relationship would do.

But looking at what Amon had done as a whole, Alice couldn't help but ask:

"Who taught you to build relationships like this?"

This is clearly a psychological shadow.

After a pause, Alice frowned again and asked, "Wait, why are you doing this?"

The angel Amon described by Song Shu is a guy who does things based on his interest, and the honorific name of Amon seems to emphasize this point. If we really judge according to this point...

Alice blinked, and suddenly recalled a sentence Amon had said to her a long time ago:

"I like you very much."

At the same time, Amon smiled and lowered his head and said to her:

"Well... because I like you very much, little Alice.

"You are so funny."

Terror almost overflowed. At that moment, Alice didn't care about the risk of being teleported in the "God-Forsaken Land" with the help of the underlying chaotic power. Her figure quickly faded until it disappeared.

She was completely integrated into the chaotic power of the "God-Forsaken Land".

And at the original place, Amon looked at the place where Alice disappeared and slowly frowned.

Unlike Alice expected, she was not lost. Although she could not identify the direction of the "God-Forsaken Land" and did not know where she was, Alice knew where she was going.

——That power has been calling her all along.

Ouroboros used hand-painted paintings that were imbued with his own power to form "coordinates" so that he would not lose his way even if he merged into the chaotic power of the "God-forsaken Land".

It is enough for Him to stabilize Himself amidst the pull of chaotic forces and reach the predetermined coordinates.

But when Alice fell into this state, she realized that everything she had done before was redundant. She did not need to fix the coordinates in advance, nor did she need to try to stabilize herself, because among these chaotic forces, there was a force that had never changed.

That force was pushing her towards a certain direction, where something seemed to be calling her.

Alice suddenly remembered what happened in the Sea of ​​Ruins, and Heath Doyle who claimed that he was going to find the key that could unlock all treasures.

...Did he "hear" the call?

A strange thought flashed through her mind, but she had no time to ponder it deeply because the situation she was in was not suitable for thinking. The chaotic power of "God's Forsaken Land" was in close contact with her spirit. Even if she did not need to find the direction or move by herself, it was still very dangerous.

Alice stopped all thinking and action, and focused all her energy on preventing herself from being contaminated by the power of chaos.

She felt like she had turned into a small boat - no, that was not accurate, because a boat without oars or sails would just drift aimlessly on such a sea.

Alice felt like she had turned into a kite, with a string holding her from a distance. There was someone at the end of the string, constantly trying to reel it in.

During the time when she was focused, time passed extremely fast and extremely slow. Alice had no idea how much time had passed, nor how far she had "floated". She was just waiting in a daze for the moment when she would reach the end.

After an unknown amount of time, Alice seemed to be awakened from a dream when she heard a chaotic noise.

Like all people who wake up from a long sleep, Alice was confused at first, and then tried to open her eyes and see the surroundings clearly.

She struggled and tried hard to open her eyes, only to meet an ugly and deformed face.

This man had no nose. Where the nose should be were two empty round holes. His eyes were one big and one small, squeezed together. His mouth was distorted, and the empty space on his face was filled with tumors.

Even though she hadn't remembered what had happened yet, nor figured out the current situation, Alice still reacted normally to this horrifying face:

"Help! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

She screamed as if she had seen a ghost.

The sound frightened the person who was approaching her and he fell to the ground. Alice jumped up and found that he was not the only one - there were more than a dozen people with strange looks staring at her. (End of this chapter)