117 LOTM

Viscount Stratford... Royal guard captain of the royal family... From this post, the Great Smog of Backlund does have inklings of a particular royal family faction being behind it. As for who it is, it will require investigation... Klein temporarily didn't have the time to verify Trissy's answer, so all he did was make Senor scoff.

"I'm a little doubtful since you are telling me this so easily." @@novelbin@@

Trissy said in a scoffing and self-deprecating manner, "That's because it's something good for me. I can tell that you and the faction you represent are very interested in the true motives of those pulling the strings of the royal family. I would be very happy if I can provide some useful clues that cause you to have conflict with them, causing the real conspirer to surface. This will aid in my revenge and also be of the greatest help to me."

According to this logic, does that also mean that I can use you to investigate this matter and fish out the mastermind behind this? From that, I can allow my faction to hide in safety before it obtains any actual information... Eh, wasn't what Trissy said meant to entice me to engage in limited cooperation with her, while she also volunteers to be the mine-clearer in order to reveal the truth... She is clearly expressing her value... She's afraid that I'll eventually decide to kill her... Klein roughly understood what Trissy was truly getting at as he controlled the Wraith to say, "Very reasonable. I should also do the same.

"I believe that without my threats or enticement, you'll attempt to make contact with Viscount Stratford after you recover from your wounds."

Trissy curled her lips and said, "I only hope that he doesn't like men."

This isn't something that cannot be resolved. If you're already Sequence 5, then you can consider switching to the Hunter pathway's Sequence 4 Iron-blooded Knight... Also, have you forgotten your past self? Why are you getting used to the powers of a Demoness of Pleasure to deal with men... Klein lampooned before making Senor smile.

"This isn't a problem. You can always show him your old photo."

Trissy was taken aback as a slightly twisted expression colored her face. A humiliation that she had buried deep inside her had been dug out, exposing it beneath the sun.

Her beautiful eyes were tainted with what stemmed from anger from the humiliation. Her face which was pale due to her injuries instantly flushed red.

Trissy quickly reined in her emotions and scoffed, speaking with a suppressed voice, "As expected of Admiral of Blood. It appears you know plenty about the Demoness pathway."

She wasn't sure before. I made that joke because I thought the Demoness Sect and the Rose School of Thought had worked together, making her believe that Admiral of Blood would know the secret of the Assassin pathway... Regardless, it's not nice mocking the gender of others... Hmm, this is in line with Admiral of Blood's persona... A Marionettist's principle is "remember that every marionette has its own setting?" The reason why Trissy had mentioned her past photo was apparently just to vent and grind off an enemy's joy and excitement. She wasn't taking notice of the details she mentioned... Klein nodded in thought as he controlled Senor.

"At my level, there will always be plenty of secrets I know."

He didn't continue on the topic as he said, "How can I contact you?

"I might be able to provide you with some help during the investigations of Viscount Stratford."

Trissy reached her hand towards her ear and grabbed a clump of smooth, raven-black hair. Then, blue ice formed, allowing her to crack it off.

She then spread out her palm, allowing a silent, pitch-black flame to appear, burning the hair to ashes.

These ashes weren't lifted up by the cold winds in the sewers, but they had shrunk, forming a sticky black object.

"Smear it uniformly over a mirror, and then I'll know that you're looking for me. I'll subsequently use that mirror to communicate with you." Trissy shook her wrist and threw the pasty black object to Senor. "It can be used about five times, and that should be enough."

As Senor was only a marionette, Klein wasn't worried about letting him grab the black sticky object. After taking a few looks, he stuffed it into his pocket.

Trissy fell silent for a few seconds before biting her lip.

"If I need your help, how do I contact you?"

That's a problem... Klein did wish to have her directly contact Miss Messenger, Reinette Tinekerr. After all, Trissy would later know that behind the Wraith was Gehrman Sparrow if she gathered any news about Admiral of Blood. This wasn't something that could be hidden.

After a few seconds of consideration, he decided to be a little more cautious. He decided to wait until Trissy had any substantial discoveries before changing the communication method.

After all, she isn't someone to be trusted... To avenge Prince Edessak, some of her feelings are real, but they likely include some other goals, for example, seeking revenge for herself... Klein made Senor survey the area and said, "These sewers hide plenty of secrets. I'll come often. You can leave the help you need in text form here.

"If the matter is urgent, preventing you from doing it in time, you can contact that person from before to get him to leave the message."

Trissy slowly nodded.

"Okay."

With the conversation almost done, Klein planned on letting his marionette, Senor, leave.

At that moment, he caught sight of Trissy's hands. he discovered that the sapphire ring which was equivalent to a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was gone!

I noticed it just now, but I thought she had switched it to her other hand or another finger, but it's actually gone... From the looks of it, she paid a considerable price back when she escaped Prince Edessak's Red Rose Manor and escaped Ince Zangwill's 0-08's control! The mark that the Prince Edessak left on her has also vanished? Klein thought for a moment before getting Senor to laugh.

"One more thing.

"Which evil god did you sell your soul to?"

Trissy gave the middle-aged man a deep look.

"The Primordial Demoness."

...Weren't you trying to escape from that strange state? Didn't you feel that you were increasingly becoming less like yourself? Why did you backtrack? Don't you know that by changing your name to Trissy Cheek, they were trying to make you the Primordial Demoness's vessel? No, she might really not know. She might not even know what Cheek means... She did her best to escape her fate, only to plunge deeper into it... At that instant, Klein felt a baffling fear towards fate and deities.

He made Senor smile.

"It's hard for me to believe it with you replying so easily without any qualms."

Trissy's eyes had a slight tinge of confusion as she said in a self-deprecating manner, "That's because it's a problem for me, not a secret.

"With one more person knowing, there might be one more chance of a solution presenting itself. Even if the chances are slim, it's better than nothing."

While solving the problem, there's also a high chance that you'll be finished... Klein didn't continue the topic as he said after some thought, "When you approach Viscount Stratford and the mastermind behind all of this, take note of any coincidences that often happen around you."

The deeper the investigation into the Great Smog of Backlund is, the more likely it would gain the attention of Ince Zangwill and 0-08!

"Coincidences..." Trissy was taken aback as she repeated the word.

At that instant, she recalled all the coincidences she had encountered back at Red Rose Manor.

Amidst her thoughts, she suddenly looked up, only to realize that Admiral of Blood Senor had vanished.

...

The next morning, Klein woke up punctually, and with the assistance of Richardson, he wore his coat.

Just as he arrived in the dining hall, he saw Walter standing by the door, politely awaiting his arrival.

"Sir, your schedule for today is to participate in a tea session at Member of Parliament Macht's residence." Walter professionally reminded his employer.

He was stern, old-fashioned, and conscientious. He looked no different from his usual self, making it impossible to tell that he had headed for the sewers in the middle of the night.

Klein nodded with a smile as though nothing had happened.

"I haven't forgotten."

He then entered the dining hall and enjoyed an exquisite meal that had started showing signs of being repetitive.

There's not enough variety for breakfast... Klein focused on eating, and after he was done, he put down his cutlery and sighed.

"I miss my hometown a little. Get the cook to prepare some Desi pie tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. I should've thought of that earlier," Housekeeper Taneja replied apologetically.

Klein waved his hand as a gesture for her not to take it to heart before he headed to the garden for a stroll.

After doing all of this, he returned to the third story to continue reading the papers he hadn't finished until his etiquette teacher, Wahana, arrived.

Wahana was still dressed decently with an elegant bearing. She smiled at Dwayne Dantès and said, "I heard you would be heading to Ma'am Riana's place for high tea later today. Then, this lesson will focus on high tea..."

Klein maintained his smile as he listened attentively, asking questions from time to time.

About thirty minutes later, Walter knocked on the door and entered.

"Sir, Member of Parliament Macht's servant just came over to inform us that the high tea session has been cancelled because Ma'am Riana's daughter, Miss Hazel, is sick. She's very apologetic for that, and she wishes to invite you again next week."

Hazel is sick? A result of last night's fright? It's not impossible if it's an ordinary person, but a Beyonder has their physical qualities enhanced. The chances of that happening are very low...

Furthermore, Hazel clearly hasn't seen the changes that result from the loss of control brought about by potions. Her mental state is still well, allowing her to feel a sense of superiority and having no fear. Even if she was frightened, it wouldn't result in any psychological ailments... Ailments... Sequence 5 of the Demoness pathway can make people around them get infected with ailments...

Last night, Trissy secretly released her ailment after seeing a stranger enter the sewers? And as a Wraith, Senor wasn't affected, so I didn't discover it... Such a problem isn't too serious. Hazel didn't spend much time in the area for too long. She's just a little shaken, preventing her from recovering quickly... From the looks of it, Trissy has really advanced to Sequence 5... Klein nodded gently and said, "Please give Miss Hazel my regards."

-x-X-x-

Without the high tea session, Klein decided to pray at Saint Samuel Cathedral, so as to show his devoutness.

Of course, he didn't forget to stop and admire the white pigeons on the square, allowing himself to appear leisurely and calm.

He entered the cathedral, passing through the murals that were illuminated by the sun from high above and arriving at a dark and deep prayer hall.

This place wasn't as gorgeously decorated like the other Churches that had all kinds of dazzling elegant taste that produced a visual impact. Instead, it was mild and peaceful, allowing one to feel a natural sense of tranquility. As for the pure light that resembled twinkling stars up ahead, they were filled with the intense solemnity of holiness.

Klein removed his hat and handed it to Richardson along with his cane. Then, he walked down the aisle.

At this moment, two figures stood up in the front pew and turned towards the entrance. One of them was the black-haired, green-eyed Leonard Mitchell who looked suave with his untidy hair.

Almost at the same moment, Leonard Mitchell also saw the middle-aged man with the white sideburns and deep blue eyes.

Dwayne Dantès... He tensed up momentarily as his body showed signs of indiscernible stiffness.

Klein gave Leonard a side look as he nodded with a smile. He had a friendly and casual expression. @@novelbin@@

"..."

Leonard forced a smile as he nodded in a slightly sluggish manner.

Following that, he turned to the side, made way, and brushed shoulders with Dwayne Dantès.

This made Klein see who the person was behind him. It was also someone he knew—Daly who was wearing a spirit medium's black robe.

This lady still wore blue eyeshadow and blush, presenting quite an uncanny sense of beauty.

Daly glanced at the middle-aged gentleman when her expression suddenly went adrift. She retracted her gaze as she silently approached the exit.

No way, I was just mimicking Captain's profound eyes. Even the color is different, yet Ma'am Daly could still find it familiar? A woman's intuition is truly terrifying... Klein had a vague guess when he noticed Daly's brief abnormality.

A long time ago, as an insensitive man, he believed that Ma'am Daly was secretly in love with Captain; otherwise, she wouldn't have endured the risk to rush to Tingen to get Klein to find an opportunity to teach the acting method to Dunn Smith.

As for Captain, Klein wasn't sure about his thoughts. After all, Dunn Smith, at that moment, was often unable to distinguish reality from a dream. His bad memory was rather pronounced, and he might unknowingly have forgotten certain things that lay at the bottom of his heart.

However, Captain often mentions Ma'am Daly, using her as an example to educate us. He was so familiar with how many years she took to advance and the kind of talent she had that it seemed like he had memorized it... Yes, whenever Captain mentioned these matters, he would occasionally add that he spent nine years going from Midnight Poet to Nightmare... C-could it be that he was feeling a little inferior when facing Ma'am Daly? Inferior... Klein recalled the past as his mood suddenly felt dampened.

He realized that he didn't really understand Dunn Smith. He didn't understand how many things the man had hidden inwardly.

And Ma'am Daly isn't much younger than him. She appears to be very open and doesn't care about marriage... Klein silently sighed and reined in his thoughts. He found a nearby pew and bowed his head, closing his eyes to pray.

Outside the prayer hall, Leonard had recovered as he gathered with the other Red Gloves teammates with Daly.

They waited for a while as Soest, who had become a Spirit Warlock, walked out from another side. He scanned them and said, "Our mission this time is to use the various clues discovered from the explosion of the Black Skeleton Gang's headquarters to find all the formal members of the Numinous Episcopate in Backlund.

"Ma'am Daly is a Beyonder from the Corpse Collector pathway. She knows quite a bit about the Numinous Episcopate, so His Grace, Saint Anthony, has gotten her to assist us."

...

In the evening, Klein, who had dismissed Richardson, took four steps counterclockwise and entered above the gray fog. He conjured The World Gehrman Sparrow and made his blurry figure pray.

"...Please inform Miss Magician that she needs to reserve a hotel room before Friday night. It's best that it's far from the place where Mr. X holds the gathering...

"...Pass me the stone and spellbook ahead of time. I need to make certain preparations...

"...On Friday night, she needs to stop her friend who participates in Mr. X's gathering and also present to me that person's external appearance when in disguise...

"...If there's anything else, I'll inform her in time."

With only two days left before the assassination attempt on Mr. X, Klein undoubtedly needed to prepare ahead of time. And there were many things that needed preparation. Dwayne Dantès wasn't able to do everything, so he had to rely on Miss Magician.

His preliminary plan was to use the powers of a Faceless to disguise himself as a participant in Mr. X's gathering. He would enter directly with the passcode, and then he would employ different plans based on the situation.

According to the experience he had in engaging in combat and controlling his marionette, Klein had a feeling that a Marionettist's principle was "try to hide behind the scenes, covertly directing a script."

Unless necessary, a Marionettist had to avoid engaging in direct combat with others!

Currently, the most troublesome point is that Mr. X's gathering is at eight. And usually, at this time, Dwayne Dantès clearly wouldn't have fallen asleep. He won't be able to escape the notice of his butler and servants and secretly head to East Borough... Of course, on the contrary, it can also create an alibi, but the problem is, what method should I use to fool everyone in his house... If only I had a Faceless partner who can act as Dwayne Dantès... Miss Justice's necklace can do it, but she's not in Backlund... Klein leaned back into his chair as he rubbed his temples.

He had even considered directly summoning and responding to himself, using his identity as Hero Bandit Black Emperor to carry out the operation, but doing so would cause him to lose the ability to change his physical appearance. It also made it difficult for him to possess others and disguise as Fors's friend to participate in the gathering.

Unless Miss Magician's friend is a part of this, allowing me to possess him or her... That wouldn't do either. First, it will expose some of the Tarot Club's secrets, and second, Mr. X might have the means to discover a Wraith. Of course, traces of this can be concealed using a series of seals with a gold coin, the Paper Angel, or the iron cigar case... Klein considered for a while before deciding on a method he was very proficient in from his previous life.

Feigning sickness!

I'll begin acting sick tomorrow. I'll eat very little, and sleep before eight... This way, the butler and servants wouldn't disturb me... But if there's an emergency, what do I do when Walter and company knock on the door? A Magician's Illusion Creation can only fool the eyes. It isn't some artificial intelligence... Artificial intelligence... Right, I can fix the illusion onto a mirror, letting it look like Dwayne Dantès. Then, I'll get Arrodes to answer remotely! With this in mind, Klein's thoughts suddenly opened up.

I have to say that Arrodes can be quite useful at times... After a poignant comment, Klein returned to the real world. He walked to the desk, took out pen and paper, and began drawing a picture comprising of symbols that implied secrecy and mystery prying.

Just as he finished his final stroke, the room's lighting dimmed suddenly. The full-body mirror first turned deep black before silver light surfaced. Loenese text appeared one after another.

"Great Master, your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, heard your summoning. W-was I late?"

There's something new every time... Klein shook his head in amusement.

"No."

"How tolerant you are of me, Great Master. You can ask your question." Words neatly appeared on the mirror.

Klein thought for a moment before saying, "I plan on eliminating the Aurora Order Oracle, Mr. X. Do you have any suggestions?"

The full-body mirror's words froze for a few seconds before changing.

"It's best you do it after Thursday."

It's in line with my divination... Angel of Fate Ouroboros or a Saint of the Aurora Order might be around Mr. X tonight and on Thursday... Klein smiled and said, "Arrodes, I have something that requires your help."

"T-this is my honor! You are giving me an opportunity!" Words quickly emerged, fully professing what it meant to be excited and delighted. "May I ask what the mission is?"

Klein nodded and said, "This Friday night, I will be using a mirror as an illusion prop, changing it to look like my present identity... If any emergencies happen, you're in charge of controlling the mirror to answer without letting anyone discover any abnormalities.

"Can you do it?"

The air around the full-body mirror suddenly gushed around, and a toady voice belonging to Dwayne Dantès sounded:

"Great Master, I'll try my best to complete anything you command.

"Although it won't be able to last long, and it doesn't match my usual habits, it's enough to deal with everyone here.

"If you wish, I can simulate any voice!"

You're more talented than I expected... It's not easy being a mirror these days... However, why does that final statement sound odd... Klein's facial muscles trembled as he said, "When dealing with them, hide the nature of the question-and-answer game. Don't let others notice it."

Arrodes immediately presented a new sentence on the full-body mirror:

"I will play your identity well!"

"Very good." Klein nodded.

He was truly worried that Arrodes would begin asking Butler Walter and Valet Richardson embarrassing questions. Questions like: "have you fantasized about ladies you shouldn't have any urges for?" or "who do you think of late at night when resolving your physical needs?"

He believed that with the magic mirror's way of doing things, it might very well carry out such an act without any forewarning. Back then, Danitz nearly broke down thanks to its questions.

Without speaking any further, Klein switched to saying, "That will be all for today. I'll contact you again on Friday night."

"Yes, Great Master. Your humble servant already looks forward to serving you!" Arrodes first conjured a single line before producing a drawing of a hand waving.

-x-X-x-

On Friday afternoon, Klein, who had skipped a literary salon because of his feigned sickness, arrived above the gray fog once again.

In front of him was a hard-covered, palm-sized notebook which was bronze green in color. It was Leymano's Travels which The Magician Fors had provided.

After flipping the item which was closer to a spellbook over to a certain page, Klein looked at the yellowish-brown page, raised his hand, and summoned the Sea God Scepter from the junk pile.

As he injected some of his spirituality into Leymano's Travels, making it light up with a faint luster, he made the blue gem on the scepter's tip emit a bright light.

A sizzling sound was produced as bolts of silver lightning appeared out of thin air. They were thick and menacing as they zapped about, meshing together to form a hurricane.

At the same time, complicated symbols and labels quickly outlined themselves on the page of Leymano's Travels. They overlapped each other and fused together, slowly taking shape.

Just as the page was about to be colored in silver, bolts of lightning snaked out from it, causing all the patterns to be destroyed!

It failed again... Klein sighed silently as he repeated the same process.

This wasn't his first attempt. Ever since he obtained Leymano's Travels on Wednesday night, he would head above the gray fog from time to time, using this spellbook to record the powers produced by the Sea God Scepter. He repeated it until his spirituality was nearly drained, forcing him to return to the real world to take a break.

During this process, there were successes and failures. Klein relied on repeated attempts before completing the final step, recording the Lightning Storm spell which he had eyed for a very long time!

This was a demigod power of the Sailor pathway!

Before that failure, Klein had failed nearly twenty times. It could be said that his luck was terrible.

After repeated failures, he was delighted to see a silver luster spread across the yellowish page at the fifth attempt. An ancient, mysterious, complicated, and indescribable symbol contracted, forming a fancy diagram that made anyone who placed their eyes on it feel as though they were being struck by lightning.

Phew... I've finally succeeded. Klein rubbed his fingers against the paper and heaved a long sigh of relief.

He flipped through Leymano's Travels and admired his previous efforts.

Over the past two days, he wasn't fully caught up with Lightning Storm. He also recorded two other demigod powers. One of them was Paper Angel that he had used while stirring some of the powers above the gray fog. It aided in disrupting any divination and prophecies. Similarly, there was Hurricane that stemmed from the Sea God Scepter.

When recording them, Klein was rather lucky. One took nine times, while the other took twelve before he succeeded.

As for Flight, Glide, Lightning Strike, and other powers that didn't reach Sequence 4, they only required him to do it once or twice. Therefore, Klein had almost filled the entire book.

This spellbook isn't very useful to unaffiliated Beyonders. It needs plenty of time and patience to record a sufficient number of powers. And when the powers exceed Sequence 6, the chances of failure increases, making the powers difficult to obtain... However, there are 22 pathways in the mystical domain. If the first few Sequences have their powers matched well, finishing off a Sequence 5 isn't too surprising... Klein closed Leymano's Travels and sighed inwardly.

From his point of view, the spellbook was equivalent to half a divine artifact for unaffiliated Beyonders. Although it was more difficult to be useful than Creeping Hunger in its early stages, once there was a good combination, it was quite normal for one to fight someone of a higher Sequence. However, among Beyonders who were supported by major factions, Leymano's Travels would be ridiculously powerful. This was because it could record a demigod's powers!

As long as they wish, a demigod can repeat the power again and again. As for Creeping Hunger, it has a high chance of failing to devour a demigod. Even a real Shepherd would find it extremely difficult to Graze a High-Sequence Beyonder. Firstly, there are no available resources, and secondly, it's easy to lose control. Elder Lovia from the City of Silver was someone lucky enough to be able to Graze a Sequence 4 evil spirit... When Klein thought of this, he cast his gaze onto a dark green, coarse stone. It was rough and uneven with signs of burn marks. It was none other than Fors's stone that allowed the traversal of the spirit world.

With Leymano's Travels and this stone, along with the Luck Siphon charm and Wraith marionette, even if Mr. X has a Saint protecting him, I should still be able to complete the mission and leave without problems... Klein rubbed his temples and returned to the real world. After setting up a bestowment ritual, he brought the corresponding items back.

After making all the preparations, he walked to the full-body mirror and looked at himself. He made himself look haggard.

After dinner, Klein had used the excuse of not being well to return to his room.

After taking in the night scenery, he took out a palm-sized mirror from the drawer and placed it on the soft and elastic pillow.

Then, Klein went over, making the mirror reflect the blue-eyed, white-sideburned Dwayne Dantès.

He then slowly straightened his body and took a step back, creating another Dwayne Dantès in bed!

This gentleman was wearing silk pajamas and leaning against a pillow. He held a book in hand with his eyes half-closed as though he was in thought.

Not bad, the mirror illusion isn't weaker than a paper figurine illusion... Klein returned to the desk and picked up a fountain pen, drawing the strange symbol that was a mixture of secrecy and mystery prying.

After a brief silence, the Dwayne Dantès in bed suddenly opened his eyes and gave a toady smile.

"Great Master, your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, is here!"

I have to say that even with Dwayne Dantès's face, there's no way he can look normal with that kind of smile... Klein silently sighed and nearly turned to look to his side.

"Very good," he praised with a nod.

He didn't give any other instructions. With a half top hat, he slid down from the balcony to the first floor. He followed the secluded garden trail and flipped over the corner perimeter wall of 160 Böklund Street. During this process, he hadn't forgotten to close the windows.

Pressing his right hand on his hat and landing his feet on the streets, Klein slowly looked up. At some point in time, his facial features and outline had changed. He had black hair and brown eyes, with a thin and angular face.

This was the crazy adventurer, Gehrman Sparrow, who had a bounty of 50,000 pounds from just a single country!

The hunt was about to begin.

...

Cherwood Beyonder. Xio, who was just about to head out to East Borough to participate in Mr. X's Beyonder gathering, was stopped by Fors.

"You want to head out to gather material?" Xio deliberated before saying the words her friend often used.

Fors stroked her hair and said, "No, to earn money!

"I previously accepted a mission to find the dust left behind after a ghost fades away. As you know, there aren't any ghosts at the cemetery. They've all been given a send-off by the priests and bishops to their respective deity's kingdom. Therefore, I can only head over to East Borough and find targets that died due to various reasons without being discovered.

"Can you bear letting such a beautiful and frail lady like me head into such a messy place alone?" @@novelbin@@

"But, can't you push it back a day?" Xio said hesitantly. "I'm planning to participate in Mr. X's gathering."

Fors immediately shook her head.

"No, I need to complete the mission tomorrow. It's a total of 50 pounds!"

"If it's due tomorrow, why didn't you do it the past few days?" Xio looked suspiciously at her friend.

Fors chuckled.

"Is this your first day knowing me?

"Don't you know I have a severe case of procrastination?

"Besides, you have no money. What's the point of going to Mr. X's gathering? You don't even know what Beyonder ingredients you need!"

"That's true." Xio was convinced before she smiled. "Does every author have a sickness of procrastination?"

"Probably." As Fors perfunctorily replied, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

...

In the East Borough, inside a cheap motel, Klein entered the room which Miss Magician had reserved for him under a fake alias.

Here, having a room and a bed for one person was an extravagance, but even so, such rooms only cost 12 pence a night. Of course, many of the cheap motels in East Borough didn't have any single rooms. The best of them were some compartments that cost 5 pence a night. It only had a bed and a partition that blocked others from looking inside, allowing the occupants to change clothes.

As for the ten to twenty bunk beds in the basement, they cost 1.5 pence a night. The motel didn't hold any responsibilities for the items that one stored there.

There's actually a mirror. Not bad... Klein put down his hat and stood in front of a full-body mirror filled with crevices. He then wore the hooded robe which Miss Magician had prepared for him.

Immediately after that, his body shrank at a discernible pace. His skin gradually turned pale with a tinge of malt colors. The Adam's apple at his throat vanished as his hair grew long and turned blonde.

Klein instantly recognized the image of Fors's friend, even though the disguise didn't show her looks. It was Miss Xio!

However, because there was a hood to conceal himself, he didn't really transform into a woman. All he did was handle the easily noticeable spots.

I can't do anything about the height of 150 centimeters. I'll need to digest the entirety of my potion before I can reach this limit... Thankfully, Miss Xio disguises herself by raising her height. I don't have to vex over this... Klein looked at the 160-centimeter-tall figure in the mirror, switched to a pair of leather boots that looked to be and was flat-soled.

After donning the disguise, Klein hooded himself and silently left the single room from the window. He came to an alley in East Borough, taking a detour until he arrived outside the building where Mr. X was hosting the Beyonder gathering.

After recalling the passcode which Miss Magician had provided, Klein rapped the door with his fingers—three light taps and three heavy taps, separated by two long and three short intervals.

After ten seconds, the door silently opened. An attendant wearing an iron mask first observed the visitor before making way.

Klein calmly walked past him and entered the building without showing any signs of panic.

-x-X-x-

While passing through the living room, Klein's spiritual perception was triggered. He felt that there was an invisible gaze scanning him from an unknown location.

He feigned ignorance as he entered the activity room ahead. He surveyed the area and found a spot that wasn't too far or close to the host's seat.

And at the moment he passed through the activity room's door, all the attention on him vanished.

If not for the Wraith having three seals to isolate it, it probably would've been noticed... Mr. X doesn't appear to be as bold and crazy as he seems... Klein sat down and moved his hood, hiding his face deeper in the shadows.

After about ten minutes, when most of the members had arrived, a brass mask-wearing Mr. X appeared by the door without causing a commotion. He walked in and headed towards his seat.

He was dressed in a black classical robe with a pointed mage hat. As he walked, he had a converged aura, but it was enough to make everyone present bow their heads without realizing it.

Turning around and slowly taking his seat, Mr. X surveyed the room and said in a deep voice, "Let's begin."

He's within four meters... Klein wasn't in a rush to take action. He retracted his gaze and patiently watched as a few gathering members exchanged information about people with abnormal luck for money. Occasionally, Mr. X would reply.

Time ticked by as the gathering's focus went from Mr. X's act of handing out rewards to the transactions between the members. Klein didn't hesitate as he tapped his left thumb on the first segment of his index finger twice, activating his Spirit Body Threads vision.

Illusory black threads immediately surfaced before his eyes as they emanated from the bodies of different people, out into the void towards some boundless distance.

After making a simple distinction of the threads, Klein began to secretly control Mr. X's Spirit Body Threads.

There were two difficulties to this mission according to his plan. The first was that having Astrologer as one of the earlier jobs in his pathway, Mr. X or the other hidden Aurora Order Saint might be able to sense the danger when he began controlling the Spirit Body Threads, acutely sensing some abnormality.

Klein wasn't sure about Mr. X's spiritual intuition because back when Miss Sharron existed in a Wraith state, she failed to notice Marionettist Rosago's controlling of her Spirit Body Threads. However, for a Saint who was a demigod, a High-Sequence Beyonder who had obtained godhood, no special trait of this being would surprise Klein. It wasn't surprising if that being's spiritual intuition was triggered due to the changes in another person's Spirit Body Threads.

For other Marionettist, they were probably helpless regarding this. But Klein was different. He had another identity as The Fool. He had the powers of the mysterious space above the gray fog to aid him, allowing him to rely on Paper Angels to produce interference and eliminate any hidden problems.

The gathering continued without any abnormalities. More than ten seconds passed as Klein was close to gaining initial control of Mr. X. There was only three seconds left, but this Aurora Order Oracle didn't notice at all. He continued observing the completion of another transaction with a deep look in his eyes, his thoughts a mystery.

At the critical moment, Klein stopped!

He barely maintained his progress as he extended his hand, reaching into the pocket of the hooded robe and touching the iron cigar case which had been sealed with a wall of spirituality.

Klein moved his fingers, prodding it gently to remove the wall of spirituality, allowing it to disperse into a swirling wind inside his pocket.

He pulled back his palm and waited for a few more seconds until Mr. X's gaze looked to the side before he continued controlling the Spirit Body Threads.

Two seconds. One second. Zero!

Mr. X's thoughts turned sluggish as though someone had poured stirred cement onto him.

An enemy... Danger... Slow thoughts appeared in his head as he quickly made his decision. He planned on seeking help from his subordinates and the entity who was watching in secret, and put up an effective resistance.

At this moment, coldness drilled into his body, preventing his limbs and mouth from answering his will.

Admiral of Blood Senor!

A Wraith's possession!

There were many flaws to a Marionettist's control of Spirit Body Threads. The biggest problem was the target immediately realizing that there was a problem once initial control was attained. They would then have the ability to carry out any contingencies.

If it was one-on-one, without anyone around them, Klein could naturally use the target's increasingly impeded state to effectively disrupt and interfere with any resistance they put up, but if the target had any aides, it was very difficult for a Marionettist's control to fool others. It required help from the environment, or partners to conceal the matter without exposing it.

And on this point, a Wraith who was able to possess a target and forcefully control them was the best support for a Marionettist!

The reason why Klein didn't directly enter a state of initial control was because he needed to release the Wraith.

After the initial inspection at the door, the vigilance in the activity room at the gathering location was definitely lower!

Mr. X's eyes widened as his thoughts turned sluggish. His instinctive attempt to shout was blocked by his throat and mouth, silencing him completely.

His attempt to raise his hands also slowed down as they reached for a porcelain teacup by his side.

This completely violated his will. It was because of the cold aura that occupied every corner of his body!

Wraith... Marionettist... No... If this continues... I'll die silently... Mr. X immediately controlled his spirituality as he constructed complicated symbols and labels in his mind.

He was just about to open a Traveler's Door, which was also the Door of Teleportation, to escape the Marionettist's control range. Compared to that, a Wraith's possession was relatively less dangerous!

But amidst his sluggish thoughts, the illusory symbols and labels failed to appear all at once. Instead, they appeared one stroke after another in a discontinuous matter and at an insufficient speed.

Seizing this opportunity, Wraith Senor, who was possessing Mr. X, under Marionettist Klein's control, simply moved Mr. X's head, changing his seating position.

Such an action instantly interrupted the formation of the Traveler's Door!

Oh no... My... reaction... is too slow... It will be... interfered... by the Wraith... Use mystical... item... Mr. X's eyes filled with blood, but none of his subordinates around him noticed it. Even the one watching in secret didn't notice any abnormalities.

As for the gathering members who were interacting and trading, they lowered their voices because of his change in seating posture.

At that moment, the activity room was filled with people. Although there were Beyonders everywhere and many were his assistants, Mr. X found himself in extreme solitude and was helpless.

He didn't even know who was attacking him or where the attacker was sitting!

As the thoughts went through his mind, Mr. X regained control of his spirituality as he directed it towards the golden ring with an embedded ruby on his left index finger.

However, going from a thought to a decision, and then going from a decision to an action took too long. It was as though he was acting out his thought processes in slow motion.

This gave Senor plenty of time to raise Mr. X's left palm, bend his finger, and tap the side of "his" forehead which was uncovered by the brass mask as though in thought.

It was a very faint tapping sound, and the strength used was quite significant, but under Klein's control, Senor held back perfectly. It made most of the strength enter Mr. X's mind without spreading outwards so as to hide any commotion.

Tak! Tak!

Mr. X's thoughts of emanating his spirituality were disrupted, and he was temporarily unable to find his train of thought.

By the time he recovered, the Marionettist's control had deepened. This made his thoughts chaotic and impeded. Even his thinking and decision-making became extremely difficult.

With the Wraith using all kinds of tiny, concealed actions to interfere with Mr. X's attempts to use his various Beyonder powers and impressive mystical items, he slowly slid towards the abyss of becoming a marionette.

He watched helplessly as he marched towards death slowly. @@novelbin@@

Only then did he realize how terrifying and unsolvable the combination of a Marionettist and Wraith was.

The hunt continued silently under everyone's noses.

As Klein's control deepened, Mr. X's actions turned stiffer and sluggish. However, with the Wraith possessing him, no one could notice any problems.

To be precise, Mr. X's actions were no longer a result of the sluggish him, but from Wraith Senor. He wasn't even able to show the look of despair in his eyes.

Amidst the transactions that either succeeded or failed, ranging from arguments to negotiations, five minutes quickly passed. Klein was just one last step from killing Mr. X and turning him into his marionette.

However, he couldn't do so.

This was because he had yet to digest much of the Marionettist potion. He could only control one marionette at present, so if he wanted to convert Mr. X, he had to give up Wraith Senor.

But once he gave up Senor, this Admiral of Blood who was long dead would immediately surface and be discovered by everyone. It would bring about extreme trouble.

Similarly, if Klein didn't give up his Wraith marionette had and assassinated Mr. X while he wasn't able to resist, he needed to consider the Aurora Order Saint who was lurking in the shadows.

This was the second most difficult part of his plan.

To silently control Mr. X and remove his ability to resist wasn't difficult with the combination of Marionettist and Wraith. The way to kill him wasn't difficult as well. Mr. X in his present state could easily be finished off by Klein with an Air Bullet.

The difficulty was in leaving safely after pulling off such a stunt.

This actually required sufficient patience.

Time slowly passed with Klein appearing calm despite his tensed nerves. He pretended that he wasn't interested in the items that appeared as he kept silent the entire time.

Finally, when the gathering came to an end, Mr. X said in a deep voice with complete normality, "The end."

His words were succinct, just like the way he ended the previous gathering. This was what Xio described to Fors.

As the gathering's members stood up one by one, Klein mixed in among them, looking inconspicuous. At the same time, he reached his hand into his pocket, and he flipped open Leymano's Travels based on his sense of touch.

-x-X-x-

The three types of paper in Leymano's Travels clearly had different textures. The white paper that could only record Sequence 7, 8, and 9 powers was thin, smooth and flat. The yellowish-brown goatskin which could record Sequence 5 and 6 powers were very pliable like tanned leather. The three charred yellow pages that could record godhood powers were thick and textured. Together, they allowed someone to quickly distinguish between them simply from touch.

Klein's fingers quickly found the thick and textured three pages as he gently pinched the middle page.

Although his pocket wasn't large enough, preventing him from fully opening Leymano's Travels, the hooded robe was personally modified by Fors herself. The pocket had plenty of space, allowing the palm-sized spellbook to be flipped to a right angle.

As Klein used his palm to prevent Leymano's Travels from closing, he used his finger to slide across the corresponding page's surface. The surface had slight bumps and depressions, making the strange patterns and symbols that were filled with mystery and ancient vibes be directly presented in his mind.

He injected his spirituality into it.

This charred-yellow page recorded a demigod power of the Storm pathway: Hurricane!

Klein wanted to use it to create chaos, so as to interfere with the Aurora Order saint who was lurking in the darkness. By doing so, he could seize the opportunity to assassinate Mr. X and escape with the help of the wind.

Aside from this goal, the chaos could also effectively hide his tracks. By letting the members of the gathering scatter, and with everyone's identity being a mystery, doing so made everyone be a suspect. The Aurora Order would then find it difficult to pinpoint Xio.

As his thoughts whirred, Klein locked his gaze onto a spot, and he slowly pulled out Leymano's Travels.

Meanwhile, Mr. X took two steps to Klein's side, standing near him like he was a friend he hadn't seen in years.

Following that, there was a loud buzz as a terrifying hurricane spiraled out of control in front of everybody. It was where Klein had targeted his spirituality at.

The tables, coffee tables, sofa, and high-back chairs in the room flew up as the violent hurricane ripped through the walls, carrying the roof away as it headed for the alley. Some of the gathering's participants were in the way of the hurricane and were thrown far away, while others fell forward due to the wind pressure as they ran in another direction.

If Klein hadn't purposely controlled the timing and direction of the hurricane, not only would Mr. X's old house be destroyed, but even the series of condominiums around it would suffer damage. As for the gathering participants, they would've been swept up in the hurricane, having their survival depend solely on luck.

The buzzing sounds quickly intensified as the hurricane that reached into the sky was like a terrifying giant. It stomped across the alley towards the street, leaving nothing behind in its wake.

Klein was similarly swept up as he and the possessed Mr. X were thrown onto another street.

During this process, as both of them were standing close to one another, along with how a Wraith could float, these could control the target's body to a certain extent even with the hurricane. Therefore, the distance between Klein and Mr. X ultimately stayed within five meters. His control of the Spirit Body Threads had never been terminated.

In midair, with the howling winds in his ear, Klein suddenly yanked at his chest with his right hand, tearing away the hooded robe's surface, reached under his arm, and drew Death Knell.

Although in Mr. X's current state where just Air Bullets alone could finish him off, Klein decided to be cautious. He was afraid that certain mystical items on his body would suddenly be triggered, just like Admiral of Blood Senor's necklace.

When hunting, it was necessary to do his best!

Klein's vigorous action of drawing his revolver had obviously affected his control of the Spirit Body Threads. If it wasn't because Mr. X was on the brink of being fully controlled, just this alone was enough to recover his usual lucidness.

However, even so, Mr. X's thoughts were no longer impeded as his mind sped up.

He attempted to resist, but with Wraith Senor's possessing him, it had forced his efforts to be in vain for a brief moment.

Then, Mr. X's eyes reflected an enemy who swooped downward. It was a thin face with pronounced facial lines.

In his vision, the person coldly cocked the revolver, pointing the black barrel at him.

Bang!

Klein didn't hesitate to pull the trigger as the gunshot was drowned by the howling winds.

Mr. X's head jerked backwards as though an invisible hand had pressed onto it.

His head and brass mask shattered into pieces, splattering red and white liquids everywhere.

It was a lethal shot!

Death Knell had sounded the knell for him!

Plop!

After the shot, Klein fell to the ground on his back.

With a thud, Mr. X landed beside him as the blood and fragments that scattered in midair had strangely flowed back, gathering by his neck and forming a head filled with cracks and crevices.

This was the ability of a Wraith.

At that moment, the hurricane was starting to disperse, and the huge commotion had undoubtedly caught the notice of faraway demigods.

Inside the Holy Wind Cathedral, the new Backlund archbishop, Deep Blue Officiant Randall Valentinus, instantly flew out of his room as he floated in the air.

Klein, who had fallen on the ground, noticed that the wind pressure had weakened. With Death Knell in one hand and Leymano's Travels in the other, he flipped the latter to the first yellowish-brown goatskin page.

After obtaining this spellbook, he realized that there were a few pages recorded in it, with one of them being Traveler's Door.

Klein originally imagined that it was a coincidence, but on careful thought, he found it inevitable. This was because Leymano's Travels belonged to the ancient Abraham family. They wielded the Apprentice pathway and several corresponding mystical items, so they had the resources to easily record a Traveler's powers. After all, this was something very, very useful.

At that moment, as long as the Traveler's Door was formed, Klein could leave unharmed with Mr. X's corpse that was being possessed by Wraith Senor.

He hadn't used it in the building, because it was possible that the Aurora Order Saint might intercept it. Furthermore, Mr. X was also a Traveler. He had a chance of successfully escaping via Traveler's Door. Therefore, Klein didn't dare risk it before he was completely dead.

At that moment, Klein's vision went black as he realized that the surrounding streets were filled with a pitch-black and strange liquid. They surged over and quickly coagulated to form a strong cage.

In such darkness, shadows began to come alive as cold gazes landed on him.

A demigod's power! The Aurora Order does have a saint nearby! There's no way to directly teleport away! Klein's heart tensed up as he calmly flipped Leymano's Travels to the charred-yellow page.

Sizzle!

A silver "python" snaked out of thin air, embroiling itself with the darkness as it illuminated everything.

Lightning Storm!

The coagulated pitch-blackness shattered instantly. And without any hesitation, Klein stuffed his Death Knell-wielding right hand into his pocket, pinching the dark green stone that was filled with burn marks.

"Door!"

He chanted in ancient Hermes with an abnormally calm tone.

A light blue brilliance burst out as Klein's figure rapidly turned into a blur. Even Mr. X's corpse which had come close to grab onto his shoulder had experienced similar changes.

The two figures instantly turned invisible as they vanished from the spot. They quickly departed into the spirit world with overlapping saturated colors, pulling off an ingenious escape.

In the shadowy alley with the flattened gathering building which had planks, rubble, clothes, and all kinds of random items strewn all around, someone harrumphed.

"Damn it!"

At this moment, the other gathering members had already fled the street. From far away in the sky, a sonic boom could be heard.

...

Xio and Fors, who were searching for ghosts in East Borough, were alarmed by the sky that suddenly lit up. They hurriedly looked into the distance and saw the silver forest that seemed to bloom like a forest.

The twisted form and sense of horror had left them trembling despite the distance. They didn't even dare look straight at it.

"What happened over there?" Xio mumbled as she exchanged looks with Fors blankly.

Fors actually had a guess, but she found it difficult to believe. This was because it had far exceeded her expectations of The World Gehrman Sparrow's strength!

...

In a dark alley, Klein appeared out of thin air with Mr. X's corpse as they landed on the ground.

He wasn't flustered at all. He kept Death Knell in his pocket and then took out another book.

Groselle's Travels!

Smack! Klein smacked the book written by Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt onto Mr. X's face, staining the cover with blood.

Moments later, Mr. X's corpse vanished, leaving behind Wraith Senor in his dark red coat and old triangular hat.

Right on the heels of that, Klein put away Groselle's Travels, flipped open Leymano's Travels and made another charred-yellow page face up.

Suddenly, a bright light emitted from the book as an illusory angel with twelve wings flew up and landed on Klein.

All of this happened in an instant before darkness returned to the alley. Only the dim moonlight continued illuminating the area silently.

Klein immediately took out another metal bottle, poured out the blood stored inside, and uniformly smeared it across Leymano's Travels.

After doing all of this, he put away everything else, pulling away the hooded robe and throwing it beside him.

A scarlet flame immediately soared up, burning the tattered robe clean.

Meanwhile, Klein silently grew another 10 centimeters as he transformed into a relatively ordinary appearance.

Then, he identified his bearings with the help of the stars, and he picked up a fallen branch to assist him as he quickly toured through the dark and deteriorated streets, returning back to the cheap motel.

At this point, he still had no idea what additional weakness he had been given.

Inside the single room in the motel, Klein changed into his own clothes, turning back into Gehrman Sparrow.

Seeing this thin and cold-looking crazy adventurer in the mirror, he fell silent for a few seconds, picking up the half top hat and wearing it.

... @@novelbin@@

Above the flattened building, Church of Storms Cardinal, Backlund diocese archbishop, Deep Blue Officiant Randall Valentinus, who had failed in capturing anyone, looked down in silence for an extended period of time.

...

160 Böklund Street. Upon seeing the visitor outside, Butler Walter asked in surprise, "Your Excellency, why are you suddenly here? Is there something?"

Bishop Elektra chuckled and said, "I heard that Dwayne is sick, so I'm here to visit him. Perhaps he will quickly recover under the Goddess's blessings."

-x-X-x-

Walter came to the third story and rapped on the master bedroom's door. @@novelbin@@

"Who is it?" Dwayne Dantès's slightly weak and hoarse voice sounded.

Walter turned the doorknob, opening a tiny crack in the door.

"Sir, Bishop Elektra is here to visit you.

"Do you wish to meet him in the living room or activity room, or should he be invited directly to your bedroom?"

Usually, visitors weren't permitted to enter the master's bedroom. This was rather impolite, but visiting the sick was an exception.

After a brief silence, Dwayne Dantès replied, "Invite him into the bedroom."

"Alright, sir." As Walter gestured Richardson to urge a maid to prepare some tea, he walked down and invited Bishop Elektra of the Church of Evernight up.

Soon, Elektra entered the bedroom and saw Dwayne Dantès lying in bed, looking haggard.

"Richardson, get the bishop a seat," the pale Dwayne Dantès said with a smile.

Richardson had already done so. He immediately moved a high-back chair to a spot near the bed.

However, Elektra took a few steps forward to observe the new tycoon in town and asked in concern, "Dwayne, how are you? Did you consult a physician?"

His spiritual perception wasn't triggered, so he didn't make any attempts. He was only visiting a pious believer out of concern.

Dwayne Dantès coughed lightly and smiled.

"I'm actually almost recovered. I believe I'll be able to head over to church tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to listen to your preachings."

"That's good. I was wondering if I needed to pray to Goddess to bless you." Elektra chuckled and took a step back before sitting on the chair which Richardson had brought for him.

At this moment, Dwayne Dantès glanced at the bishop and chuckled.

"Actually, I've always had a question. Are clergymen of the Church of the Goddess allowed to get married?"

Elektra, who was two years short of reaching forty, sighed and smiled.

"This question has actually troubled us for the longest time.

"In ancient times, the archbishops had engaged in intense debates about this on several theosophical meetings.

"One side believed that servants of the Goddess need to maintain their purity, be it men or women; otherwise it would be sacrilegious. The other side found words from the Goddess in The Revelation of Evernight and other books, believing that the Goddess encouraged marriage. 'She' encouraged equality between both sexes and for them to have normal contact. Hence, clergymen should be an example of this, and not be a negative example; by doing so, that would be the greatest respect towards the Goddess.

"In recent times, this question has basically been shelved. The Church doesn't ban or encourage it. The only request is that married clergymen are not to let their families live in the cathedrals."

Dwayne Dantès nodded slowly as he curled the corner of his lips.

"Your Excellency, do you have a wife?"

Although Bishop Elektra was thin and not very good-looking, he was pleasant to the eyes. He sighed and said, hardly hiding his smile, "Two years ago, I walked down the aisle under the Goddess's watch. I happen to have a child this year.

"I originally imagined that I would remain single my entire life in order to serve Goddess, but..."

As he spoke, he gave a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head.

Without waiting for Dwayne Dantès to probe deeper, Elektra asked, "You seem to be single as well. Are you considering the problem of marriage?"

He seemed to imagine that Dwayne Dantès had such thoughts, and he directly asked, imagining that the answer was certain as he continued, "What kind of lady do you like? Perhaps I might be able to help introduce you to someone."

Dwayne Dantès coughed lightly and said with a smile, "I often chose adventures to amass wealth in the past, so I wasn't willing to get married, afraid I would drag her down. Heh, I like many types of women and am not picky.

"I like those older than me, one's who can give me warmth and make me feel at ease..."

Before he finished, his valet, Richardson, wore a stunned expression. He hurriedly turned his head aside and lowered it. He felt his face burning for some baffling reason.

Dwayne Dantès didn't seem to sense it as he continued, "I also like those younger than me, those who are pure and lively, making anyone who sees them feel as though it's dawn because of the radiance they aren't aware of..."

Bishop Elektra's face suddenly froze as he raised his palm and clenched it into a fist as he held it to his mouth and coughed twice.

Yet, Dwayne Dantès didn't stop. He shook his head and said with a sigh, "I also like those who were once in love or were married so that people wouldn't dare approach due to their status, women who can only be viewed from afar. They are so charming that each action of theirs are so intoxicating and irresistible. I often dream..."

Butler Walter, who was standing nearby, trembled. He felt as though he had experienced a dream that he didn't wish to wake up from despite opposing it greatly. He had no idea if it was a good or bad dream.

Dwayne Dantès was about to continue to describe further, but he stopped producing any sound after opening his mouth.

He then chuckled softly.

"That's all very normal. When humans are at their limits and are under the influence of their senses, they often have some abnormal thoughts. As long as they're repressed while acting in line with one's will, it wouldn't feel like torture. One would still be a husband, a good father, a good man."

"That's very reasonable. When I'm incensed, I often have irrational thoughts, but few people will turn them into reality." Bishop Elektra ingeniously changed the subject. As for Butler Walter and Valet Richardson, they revealed looks of contemplation.

The bishop didn't stay long. After drinking a few sips of the marquis black tea that the maid delivered, he got up and bade farewell, leaving Dwayne Dantès's residence.

The room quickly turned quiet as the window at the balcony silently opened. Klein, who had changed back into Dwayne Dantès, agilely leaped inside.

Thankfully, I returned in time. If I allowed Arrodes to continue speaking, Bishop Elektra would probably renounce a pious believer like me... Perhaps I'll even discover Walter and Richardson hanging from their rooms tomorrow morning, and the streets would have rumors of Dwayne Dantès being a pervert... Klein looked at the fake Dwayne on the bed and sighed silently. That final response had been personally formulated by him, and he got Arrodes to read it.

Of course, this was his contingency plan for the worst possible scenario. He had believed that Arrodes wouldn't have made the situation develop that far.

"Welcome back, Great Master." The Dwayne Dantès in bed bowed and greeted. "Did your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, do well?"

Hearing the mirror stammer the question, Klein sighed and said, "It's still alright. You did pretty good.

"However, try not to agitate others when chatting."

"I-I will take note!" The fake Dwayne Dantès rapidly vanished as a small mirror appeared on the pillow.

Above the mirror, silver light bloomed as words appeared:

"Thank you for your affirmation. I will continue following in your footsteps. I look forward to being of service to you the next time~"

After a goodbye expression was sketched out, the mirror returned to normal.

Klein went close to it and put away the mirror before entering the bathroom attached to the master bedroom. He took four steps counterclockwise and headed above the gray fog.

He wanted to complete the Grazing before Mr. X's Spirit Body dispersed.

...

In the book world, inside a cave on a snow-laden mountain peak.

Klein looked at Mr. X's corpse and carefully identified the head that had been pieced together from the fragments. He matched it with his memories of the target's picture which Miss Magician had provided him.

It's him... I hope I'll obtain Traveling and Record. With them, I would make a killing with this operation. Otherwise, I'll have to consider getting Miss Magician to pay more. The difficulty between hunting a Sequence 5 and that of facing a demigod are two completely different matters. As Klein thought, he reached out his left palm and spread open his fingers, aiming at the corpse whose spirituality hadn't completely dispersed.

Creeping Hunger quickly transformed back into its original form, looking as though it was made of thin human skin, two eyes split open in the middle of its palm. Its pupils were bright red, as though they were dyed in blood.

Amidst a cold and eerie wind, Mr. X's significantly dispersed Spirit Body and the resplendent Beyonder specks of light that resembled the Milky Way drilled into Creeping Hunger, fixing onto a blank finger.

Creeping Hunger first turned transparent as if it was a shadow of the spirit world before returning to normal.

Klein closed his eyes and sensed it as his brows gradually eased. A smile surfaced on his face.

His luck was pretty good this time because he had drawn one of the Beyonder powers he wanted the most: Traveler's Door!

It could also be called Door of Teleportation, Teleportation, or Traveling. Its effect was to allow a person to traverse the spirit world while sensing the external world. Beyonders of different Sequences could endure Traveling for different periods of time due to the differences in their Spirit Body's potency. This made the effects of spirit world traversal and the distance differ.

If it's a Sequence 9 or 8, they wouldn't be able to go beyond Backlund... With my present level, I wonder if I can directly head to the primitive island which Mr. Hanged Man provided. Hmm, if that doesn't work, I can split it into a few trips... Klein thought as he smiled.

At this point, he realized that a Traveler's strength in head-on combat was very powerful. This was because the difficulty in using short-distance Traveling was about the same as Flaming Jump. This also meant that a Traveler could keep phasing around a target, opening up and narrowing distances as they pleased. This would catch people by surprise while also preventing them from inflicting a successful blow.

Furthermore, if plenty of powers were Recorded and the vigilance that accompanies immediately departing once something felt amiss, Klein suspected that even with Lightning Storm and Hurricane, he had no way of restraining a Traveler in direct combat.

Indeed, a Marionettist should try to hide behind the shadows... As Klein thought poignantly, he cast his eyes on Mr. X's corpse.

Creeping Hunger had also obtained another Beyonder power. It was Door Opening of the Apprentice Sequence. It was equivalent to a very weakened version of Traveling and was of little value.

Turning his gaze, Klein's eye noticed the ruby ring on Mr. X's hand.

-x-X-x-

After staring at Mr. X's corpse for a while, Klein held back the urge to personally dig through his pockets for spoils of war. He made Wraith Senor take two steps and retrieve the ruby ring.

This way, even if Mr. X carried an item with unimaginable negative effects, it would be endured by the marionette and not affect himself.

After some careful inspecting, Senor held the ruby ring, 48 pounds in cash, and an ordinary pipe filled with tobacco and walked back.

That's all? An Oracle of the Aurora Order only has this much? Klein was rather surprised at this scene as he nearly cursed "pauper" at him.

Soon, he recovered his calm and used his reasoning to convince himself that such a situation was very reasonable.

Mr. X is a Traveler. He can record the Beyonder powers of others. He's considered an all-rounder. Even if such a powerhouse were to have other mystical items, he would tend to record them and not carry them around. This way, he could enjoy the benefits of the powers without suffering from the negative effects. That can prevent himself from killing himself.

Using this line of thought, the effects of this ring was likely to be passive or triggered.

With this in mind, Klein nodded gently. He made Senor carry Mr. X's cracked and sticky head, possess him, and return above the gray fog.

Sitting behind The Fool's seat, he was no longer afraid of anything. He directly took the ruby ring and used the method of divination in order to determine the actual effects of the mystical item.

Its name is Flower of Blood...

It allows the wearer to control their body at a deeper level. As long as they don't suffer from instant death or are completely purified; hence, losing the ability to control it, they will be able to slowly recover...

This is equivalent to an instinct, a passive effect...

From the looks of it, my choice of delivering a lethal strike with Death Knell was the correct one. If I hadn't used all my might, Mr. X might not have actually died. He would then be able to use the extreme pain to awaken himself and escape the control of a Marionettist... He had also considered his weakness of being more of a spellcaster and having a body that was insufficient in strength...

This ring has flesh magic to a certain degree. It's quite useful... As Klein held the ruby ring, he rapped the edge of the mottled table and muttered silently.

He then began probing the Flower of Blood's negative effects.

Nearly a minute later, Klein opened his eyes and left the dream.

Oh, come on!? This? he muttered as he wore a twisted look.

With dream divination, he had interpreted the Flower of Blood's negative effects. It involved randomly making the wearer lose all rationale and the ability to think.

Great. This is in line with the True Creator... Klein couldn't help but grind his teeth.

A negative effect that was completely random meant that the Flower of Blood had no way to be used!

Thinking back to the scene from before, Klein muttered to himself in an amused and peeved manner, Mr. X actually dared to wear such a ring?

That's right, people who change their faith to the True Creator often don't have any facility to think. In that case, wearing such a ring wouldn't make them worse.

Hmm, losing rationale isn't losing reason. It wouldn't be as bad as suddenly hurting others. But clearly, he would be very rigid and foolish, acting only on instinct.

Phew... Klein heaved a sigh of relief. He decided to throw the Flower of Blood into the junk pile and not vex over it. From his point of view, it was a piece of crap that he couldn't use, nor was anyone willing to buy it unless he sold it to the Aurora Order. However, that would only make the True Creator very happy.

At that moment, he caught sight of Admiral of Blood Senor who was standing beside him through the corner of his eye.

Klein's heart stirred as he clapped.

Why didn't I think of that—I might not be able to use it, but I can let my marionette use it. After all, he's dead and he follows all my instructions. He doesn't need to think!

Admiral of Blood, Flower of Blood. It's destined to be a pair! Although Senor has lost his control over his body because he's dead, I can provide that...

This way, he can still be fixed even if he can't phase into a Wraith in time, or if his Zombie body isn't strong enough to withstand a blow, causing him to lose a limb or two.

Of course, to a marionette, that's not important, as it doesn't affect his intrinsic character. The main goal is to obtain the additional flesh magic.

A few seconds later, a delighted Klein made Senor pick up the ruby ring and wear it on his left index finger. @@novelbin@@

After doing this, Klein made the Wraith return to the gold coin before he raised his left palm and spread his fingers.

He wanted to release the Interrogator from Creeping Hunger!

This was a promise he had made a long time ago.

This was the last Spirit Body that had been Grazed when he received Creeping Hunger. It was time to set it free.

Amidst an indistinct cold wind, a blurry soul appeared by the side of the bronze table.

He was a man in a navy uniform. He was in his thirties and had the rank of commander. He had brown whiskers on his painful and dazed face.

"What's your name? How did Qilangos kill you?" Klein asked in a deep voice.

The man jolted from his reverie and answered, "My name is Andy Haydn. The second mate of the Enmat. I died at a battle at sea, no—I didn't die immediately. I was captured by a Feysacian before I entered that glove of yours...

"I do not know of a Qilangos, much less heard of him."

This Interrogator was already inside the glove when Qilangos obtained Creeping Hunger? As Psychic Piercing is very useful, he didn't switch it? I wonder who the previous owner of Creeping Hunger was... Klein asked with piqued interest, "Who was the Feysacian who caught you? What does he look like?"

Andy Haydn thought seriously and said, "I don't know his name. I only remember his epaulet was that of a captain. I remember that he had a big, impressionable nose. I remember his eyes were blue, and his hair was close to blond. He was almost two meters tall..."

Such people from Feysac are common... other than his identity as a captain... Klein considered for a moment and said, "Which year did you die?"

Andy Haydn's figure slowly dissipated away, and finally, it said, "1338..."

That's twelve years ago. Hmm, Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos got famous less than ten years ago... That captain might already be an admiral... Klein gently nodded and discovered that he had failed to ask if Andy Haydn had any last wishes.

Forget it, setting him free is already a good deed... Klein quickly threw the matter to the back of his mind as he conjured The World Gehrman Sparrow.

...

"...Please inform Miss Magician that Mr. X, Lewis Wien, is dead. Please get her to take receipt of the item and the spellbook... I'll request it from her when I need it again..."

An endless gray fog filled Fors's eyes as The World Gehrman Sparrow's words emotionlessly rang in her ears. Although she was already prepared for this piece of news, she still found it unbelievable and unacceptable.

He really succeeded? That storm in East Borough was created by him? Fors held down the upheavals in her heart. Taking advantage of the silent night, she set up a bestowment ritual in her bedroom.

Before long, the candlelight and spirituality items created an illusory door. Two items flew out and landed gently on the table.

When Fors took a careful look, she nearly screamed as she hurriedly covered her mouth. She took two steps back and kept close to the wall of spirituality.

One of the two items was her Leymano's Travels, while the other item was a hideous head covered in cracks. It was stained with blood as if they had pieced together, as it seemed to shimmer with what appeared like reflected light on glass.

As a graduate of med school, and having worked as a doctor at a well-known clinic, Fors had seen her fair share of corpses but never had she seen such a disgusting, creepy, and terrifying head.

After composing herself, Fors looked at the head again, identifying it to be Lewis Wien's.

She carefully used astromancy to make a final confirmation. Following that, she muttered with a slightly twisted expression, Mr. World shattered the target's head and then pieced them back together?

At this moment, Fors couldn't help have a scene surface in her mind.

It was of the cold Gehrman Sparrow sitting in front of a table, piecing together the bloody head fragments together, as though seriously putting a jigsaw puzzle together.

This made Fors involuntarily shiver. She had an inexplicable feeling that The World was a psychotic killer with a serious mental illness.

Moving her gaze away, she took two steps forward and picked up Leymano's Travels and casually flipped through it.

Her gaze gradually froze because there were more spells in the spellbook, most of them seemingly related to wind and lightning.

This made her recall the lightning storm that quickly passed in East Borough. She was convinced that it was created by Mr. World.

Fors hurriedly flipped to the three charred-yellow pages in Leymano's Travels and found them blank.

She immediately had a guess, believing that The World Gehrman Sparrow had likely gained Mr. Fool's help to record Beyonder powers at the demigod level.

I just realized that if I have enough money and resources, I can hire the Tarot Club members to help me record different Beyonder powers. This way, Leymano's Travels will become extremely powerful, but I don't have the money or resources... Hmm, I can request for a reward from Teacher this time. I can say that I paid quite a price to help seek revenge for him... Fors thought and first thanked Mr. Fool before asking him to pass on the message to The World.

"...I'm very sorry that my payment isn't proportionate to the difficulty of the mission. After I receive a reward, I'll provide compensation."

After the prayer, Fors ended the ritual and hurriedly hid the head.

If Xio discovers this, she'll definitely imagine a horror story... After she was done, Fors clapped her hands as she thought leisurely.

...

When Fors replied, Klein had already returned to the real world. All he heard was a vague female's voice.

But even so, he couldn't help the fear and horror he felt. This was because Death Knell had given him an additional weakness: the fear of women!

-x-X-x-

On Saturday morning, Klein, who was wearing pajamas, rubbed his head and got out of bed.

He didn't sleep well, as different women would inevitably enter his dreams, scaring him awake. He needed to spend several seconds to calm his emotions before returning to sleep again.

Thankfully, this weakness only lasts six hours, and there's no need for me to head out in the middle of the night. I didn't have to face the maids... Klein sighed as he pulled the rope beside his bed. Richardson, who had been waiting outside, immediately entered with the clothes his employer needed to wear.

I've no idea what Arrodes said. Richardson seems to try to avoid me when facing me... Was it the kind of ladies he mentioned he likes, and that it happens to also be at odds with how society views it? Klein happened to only hear the magic mirror mention the kind of women that Butler Walter liked when he rushed back. He wasn't sure what had happened prior to that.

He didn't use dream divination to obtain the corresponding information, as he didn't feel that it was necessary. After all, with Richardson's personality, he wouldn't have the courage to take action no matter who he liked. It wouldn't have had any additional effects.

After changing into his clothes, Klein headed to the second story and walked to the dining room. Walter was wearing white gloves as usual, waiting by the entrance.

Upon seeing Dwayne Dantès approach, he took a step forward and bowed politely.

"Good morning, sir. You have two lessons today. In the evening, you will be participating in the banquet at Mr. Portland Moment's place."

Portland Moment lived at 100 Böklund Street. He was a full-time professor at Backlund University's Department of Engineering, a fellow at the Loen Kingdom Imperial Science Institute. As he had discovered a few metal alloys, he had received the Light of Machinery award, and he was just second to people like Turani von Helmosuin in the world of academics.

Furthermore, the few metal alloys were widely used in ship and steam engine construction. Just the licensing patent was enough to make him a tycoon with a wealth of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Upon hearing Walter, Klein casually glanced at him, realizing that he had some dark eye circles. His eye bags were a little puffy, making him look different from usual. It was as though he hadn't slept well the entire night.

If not for a Faceless's powers, Dwayne Dantès would probably look the same... Klein retracted his gaze in pity and didn't speak further. As he nodded gently in response to Walter's greetings, he entered the dining hall.

To be honest, Klein was rather impressed with him. He was able to hold back his fantasies and stop himself from approaching her to seek out pleasure, despite frequently meeting a Demoness. All he did was have wet dreams that included the target when alone at night.

One had to know that a Demoness, especially one who was in the midst of or having passed the Pleasure Sequence, had a charm that far exceeded a Beyonder's effects towards males. Every action was filled with a charm that made any men who came close to them feel intoxicated and lost. It was like consuming opioids and gradually developing into something more serious, to the point of not being able to extricate oneself from the pleasure given by a Demoness. Perhaps only gay men could effectively resist such charms.

Of course, Klein suspected that gay men were not immune to it either. This was because one's mind and hormones would be affected, creating changes that originally didn't exist. Furthermore, a large number of Demonesses were men to begin with. This lowered one's psychological resistance.

And precisely because of this, even though he was a Sequence 5 Beyonder, Klein had to constantly maintain a high-strung state when facing Demonesses like Trissy and Tracy. He was afraid that any mishap might cause him to be charmed.

Even he wasn't immune to such effects, much less an ordinary person like Butler Walter. This wasn't something that willpower alone could resist!

Although perhaps being a result of Prince Edessak's death or her own advancement, Trissy was clearly able to rein in her charms. Walter is only an ordinary person. Hmm, even if he is one, he's at best a Sequence 9 or 8... For him to maintain his present state implies how strong his self-restraint is. He's very loyal to Prince Edessak, and he loves his wife and daughter... As Klein sighed, he sat down. Breakfast today was his favorite Desi pie. The oil that effused out of it made him salivate.

...

The sea late at night was nearly black as it was faintly dyed with a sliver of crimson red. It was calmer and quieter than in the day.

The Blue Avenger was ebbing up and down in the waves like a ghost as it cruised towards the crimson moon.

Alger Wilson stood at the bow, looking far away at the waves. On the surface, he appeared staid as usual, but deep down, he could hardly hold back his agitation.

Ahead of him was the Abyss Maelstrom north of Sonia Island!

As it was a dangerous vortex that was famous for appearing without any signs, no ship was willing to enter these dangerous waters.

After delivering the report and leaving Pasu Island, Alger commandeered the Blue Avenger all the way north where they circled around Sonia Island and headed for this area.

Midway, they had docked at a harbor for resupplies without wasting any more time.

As for whether he would be suspected for heading north, Alger wasn't worried. This was because the Church of Storms was happy to have its captains head north of the Sonia Sea and the Fog Sea in order to obtain intel on the Feysac Empire, Intis Kingdom, Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and the Church of the God of Combat.

Looking back at his ship, Alger walked deckside, took out a charm made of tin, held it in his palm, and chanted the incantation, "Storm!"

A blue flame soared and devoured the charm. Alger suddenly sensed a baffling affinity with all the fish in the ocean beneath him.

At that instant, both parties were able to communicate at the psyche level!

The tin charm was one of the items he had obtained from his resupply at Pasu Island, allowing him to have an affinity with undersea creatures, providing a crude level of psychic communication with him.

Amidst his thoughts, Alger didn't think of obtaining any intel. All he did was wait for the Blue Avenger to approach the Alger Maelstrom and make a second attempt.

Seconds turned into minutes as Alger, who had failed nearly a hundred times, finally learned from a spindle-like fish about where Obninsks often appeared.

If I didn't know that the target is near the Abyss Maelstrom, I would've long given up. It's really difficult to grasp any reliable information through a brute-force search... Alger concluded as he touched his pocket.

He had already used up most of his affinity charms, with only five left.

I'll have to get another batch of them when I return. Others must not discover that I've expended all these... I heard the Rorsted Archipelago's Resistance has plenty... Heh heh... As Alger was pondering, he changed the direction of the Blue Avenger for the spot he had just learned about.

About an hour passed as the Blue Avenger stopped. Alger casually took out a sealed metal bottle.

This was the Sanguine anesthetic gas that he had spent 130 pounds to buy from The Moon. He had no doubt in regards to its effects because he had used one in the past.

As the Blue Avenger was a ghost ship, it didn't need many people to man it at night. There was only one person every night who was in charge of watching the ship, preventing it from deliberately creating problems or cruising into dangerous waters.

As the captain, Alger had arranged himself to be on duty that night without anyone noticing.

After he was done with his preparations, he came to the door of the sailors, took out a metallic pipe, and opened the bottle. He released the gas into each room, without even sparing the storeroom which stored all kinds of sundry. It was in case certain members of the crew were playing cards in there instead of sleeping.

After doing all of this, Alger, who wasn't in a rush to concoct the potion, brought the ingredients with him, changing into a diving suit that was made of shark skin. He leaped from the starboard and into the water, without causing any splashes.

Under the dark and calm waters, Alger's eyes gradually turned dark blue, allowing him to see his surroundings clearly. @@novelbin@@

He breathed in the air within the water comfortably as he arrived in a pitch-black deep sea.

Then, he used the affinity charm once again to communicate with the surrounding fish that were of different shapes and sizes.

With the advice from the kind fish, Alger identified his bearings and swam as he asked, finally arriving at what seemed like an underwater volcano.

The fish actually didn't know that an Obninsk stayed here. They only knew that their own kind and a number of top deep sea hunters often disappeared in the vicinity.

With his Beyonder powers, Alger looked far ahead and saw the huge, black cave in the undersea volcano. Tentacles that were thicker than pythons found in a Southern Continent primitive forest gently flailed outwards.

The huge suckers and patterned skin, as well as the cave that was several times the size of the Blue Avenger, left Alger apprehensive as he didn't dare approach.

An Obninsk is at least a powerful Sequence 5... Furthermore, it has a terrifying body... Hmm, I can confirm that it's my target... Alger carefully swam over and stopped at a distance from the threat. After careful identification, he used the affinity charm once again.

Following that, he allowed his spirituality to pass through the water and reach into the cave in an attempt to communicate with the powerful psyche force that was huddled inside.

The massive psyche slowly relaxed as countless thoughts were released.

It was taken aback for a moment before its psyche suddenly erupted like a volcano!

Roar!

Amidst a terrifying sound, the cave produced a ludicrous vortex that sucked the surrounding water, trash, as well as Alger towards it.

It's filled with animosity! Alger's pupils constricted as his body turned slippery as he was driven by a formless wind backward in an attempt to escape.

He used several Beyonder powers before escaping the influence of the vortex. He didn't dare stay near the undersea volcano, and he quickly surfaced before opening up a gap.

Almost a minute later, Alger, who had escaped the dangerous area, spat out bubbles as he heaved a sigh of relief.

That Obninsk can actually resist the influence of charms that increase an affinity with sea creatures...

Does it hate items with the Lord's aura?

After some thought, Alger, who didn't wish to waste this opportunity, steeled his resolve since he had already come this far. He began using Elvish to pray amidst the seawater.

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era..."