133 LOTM

Based on his experience from watching many detective animations, Klein believed that someone who wore a scarf to conceal his face and hid his physical characteristics with an overcoat was likely problematic. He probably hid an unspeakable secret, especially when it wasn't winter yet and the temperature in the Berserk Sea couldn't be considered cold.

However, this has nothing to do with me. Even if a locked-room murder mystery happens, the one having a headache would be the Captain... I should head above the gray fog later to do a divination and see if this trip will be smooth... Klein didn't mind the matter, but he still thought about it conscientiously.

He retracted his gaze and looked at the Desi roasted fish that was being served by the waiter.

After having dinner, he returned to his cabin and completed a divination above the gray fog. He obtained the conclusion that there wouldn't be drastic changes to the environment he was in and that everything would happen smoothly.

This allowed Klein to fall asleep peacefully without relying on Cogitation as he slept till daybreak.

With a whistle from the steam engine, the liner began moving and departing Halman Harbor.

The harbor could still be vaguely seen as Klein saw a figure there.

The figure wore a white shirt and a dark blue coat. He had a rather high nose, deeply recessed eyes, light blue eyes, and brown curly hair. His face was rather cut and his chin was slightly raised. He gave off a supercilious look.

With a sweep of his gaze, he quickly locked onto the liner which Klein was on.

At this moment, the sky suddenly darkened as though a door leading into the pitch-black land of illusions had formed.

A deafening typhoon stirred up from the seabed, surging upwards with massive amounts of blue mass. Dark lightning flashed like rifts in the void. They kept appearing and kept healing themselves until they disappeared.

This completely blocked the vision of those on the liner and at the harbor, putting them in two seemingly different worlds.

The Berserk Sea had once again shown its horror.

The liner failed to avoid or resist, and it could only continue cruising forward along the safe sea route that had relatively weaker storms.

What a coincidence... This likely isn't a coincidence...

Standing behind the window of his cabin, Klein first sighed inwardly before coming to the conclusion that this sudden anomaly in the Berserk Sea was due to unnatural reasons.

Although it was common for the weather in the Berserk Sea to change suddenly without notice, to actually change at a particular point in time still left one suspicious.

The man at the dock is tracking the suspicious tourist from last night? And that tourist decided to change the weather upon realizing that he had been exposed, doing so that he can force the liner to leave? Klein made a guess when he made the connection.

And if that really were the case, it means that the suspicious passenger who hid his face with a scarf might very well be a demigod or someone who carried a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact!

After all, with Klein's present strength and items, it was impossible for him to trigger such a weather anomaly without the use of Sea God Scepter.

Of course, he also had other means like throwing out Azik's copper whistle to see if he could cause the entire Berserk Sea to go berserk.

Seriously? I just want to be a normal tycoon that's heading to the Southern Continent. Why would I encounter a pursuit at the level of demigods... Sigh, I'm under too much stress that my Sequence doesn't deserve... Klein gave a self-deprecating laugh and finally chose to believe the divination he made last night.

Amidst the storm, the wobbling liner cruised along a rather calm stretch with apocalyptic scenes around it. And most of the tourists wore calm looks as though they were very accustomed to such conditions. Only a few people who were on their first trip across the Berserk Sea were trembling, grabbing tightly to anything they could grab at.

Time ticked by as the gales and lightning gradually calmed down. Bit by bit, the sky brightened.

At this moment, Klein, who was on the deck, felt his spiritual perception trigger. He subconsciously looked in the direction of Halman Harbor.

Above the undulating dark blue waves, beneath white scattered clouds, there was a white radiant flame flying over at high speeds from afar.

The flame increased in size and became increasingly clearer until it revealed its complete form. It was a gigantic flaming spear!

The flaming spear tore across the sky and landed at the bow of the liner's deck. However, it didn't ignite anything. It burnt through half a wooden plank and spread out before materializing into a figure.

The figure had a high nose, deeply recessed eyes, and blue eyes. He was none other than the man who had previously appeared at the dock!

He looked middle-aged as he slowly surveyed the area and walked through the wide-eyed and agape tourists before walking into the cabin.

The similarly agape Dwayne Dantès silently heaved a sigh of relief when he confirmed that the person wasn't here for him.

The way he appeared sure is cool. As expected of a demigod... Now, the only issue is that they do not come to blows. Even if the conflict cannot be helped, it's best they go to a neighboring sea to fight. Otherwise, there's no way this ship can withstand it... I can Teleport away quite successfully, but all these tourists... I'll only be able to save a few... Klein habitually drew the sign of the crimson moon on his chest, praying for the Goddess to bless them.

Just as he had such a thought, he saw a figure fly out of the cabin, slamming heavily onto the deck. It was none other than the suspicious tourist who had covered his face with a scarf.

This man had already revealed half his face. The tip of his nose was red and he had a thick beard around his mouth with saliva staining them.

His nearly triangular eyes were filled with horror. He held his hands to the deck as he kept crawling backward.

"Who got you to carry that item and put on such a disguise?" At the cabin's entrance, the middle-aged man with the high nose and blue eyes slowly walked out. He spoke in Intis with a heavy voice.

The suspicious tourist shook his head frantically.

"No, I don't know. He was also wearing the same. H-he gave me 100 pounds to take this ship to the Southern Continent before returning by myself!"

The middle-aged man silently watched with his penetrating glare that seemed to tear through his soul.

This made the tourist break out into a sweat as his body convulsed. He once again stammered his explanation, but there weren't any changes to it.

The man retracted his gaze before his body burst into white radiant flames.

Following that, he transformed into a gigantic flaming spear and shot towards the region where Halman Harbor was.

The flaming spear quickly disappeared into the distance, leaving a twinkling speck.

During this entire process, apart from at the very beginning, the demigod didn't take a second look at the surroundings tourists. It was as though they never existed. @@novelbin@@

A simple but smart ruse... By getting someone to disguise as himself and board the ship, then using certain means to control the weather; thus, creating proof that he's on the ship, but in actual fact, he had been at the harbor the entire time. Once the enemy starts the pursuit, he can then attempt to escape... Enlightened, Klein made a judgment.

This made him suspect if the pursuee was once a Conspirer, Magician, or other Beyonder that was good at coming up with ruses.

As for the person who transformed into a burning-white spear, his arrogance, detestable nature, and his usage of the Intis language had made Klein believe that he was probably a demigod from the Hunter pathway. It was possible that he was an Iron-blooded Knight.

I've no idea why there was a conflict... Klein shook his head and returned to his cabin.

On the deck, the tourists finally snapped to their senses as they discussed the supernatural phenomenon they had just seen in murmurs.

A person could transform into a flame, and the flame could reform into a human!

Amidst the noisy commotion, the liner continued cruising forward on the safe sea route. It didn't encounter any accidents midway, and it arrived at another harbor at midnight.

Like usual, Klein didn't alight, afraid that he would encounter something.

He took out his gold pocket watch and opened it to determine the time to head to the restaurant.

Another half an hour... Klein silently muttered to himself as he looked up and out the window.

At this moment, many tourists who were bound for this harbor were heading for the dock along the gangway with their luggage in hand.

As he swept his gaze, Klein's gaze suddenly stopped on a figure.

The figure wore a black bonnet. He had dark golden sideburns. His lips were tightly pursed and his facial features were clear and distinct, like an ancient, classical sculpture without any wrinkles.

He wasn't carrying any luggage, and soon, he stepped onto the dock with the crowd, disappearing into the corner of the road.

Klein just watched motionlessly, as though his body wasn't his.

He felt every drop of his blood turn cold as a name appeared in his mind: Ince Zangwill!

...

The street lamps on the harbor had already lit up. The liner's many windows also lit up in concert with them.

Dwayne Dantès was waiting inside a first-class cabin in darkness and silence.

Klein had already sat down without showing any emotion. All kinds of thoughts couldn't help but flash across his mind.

This is the first time I'm discovering signs of Ince Zangwill after the Great Smog of Backlund...

The demigod from before was probably tracking Ince Zangwill...

His tricks are more profound than I thought. He found someone to disguise as him and gave him items not to divert his trackers, but to create a mental blindspot. It made one subconsciously eliminate this ship from the possible options...

He was here from the beginning...

That coincidental change in weather was likely created by Ince Zangwill with 0-08...

Why would he be pursued by an Intis Hunter demigod... What is he plotting...

Amidst his churning thoughts, Klein suddenly took out the adventurer's harmonica and blew it.

Silently, Miss Messenger Reinette Tinekerr with her four blonde, red-eyed heads in hand appeared before him.

Klein opened his mouth before closing them again. Picking up a pen, he quickly wrote:

"Mr. Dwayne Dantès has discovered traces of Ince Zangwill on Waypoint Island in the Berserk Sea."

Folding the letter, Klein handed it along with a gold coin to Miss Messenger.

"Send it to the mailbox at Backlund's 7 Pinster Street."

The four heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hand turned at the same time as the eight eyes looked at Klein.

She didn't say anything and bit onto the letter and gold coin.

-x-X-x-

Backlund, North Borough.

The pitch-black night had the crimson moon covered by clouds. There were only street lamps on the two sides of the road that emitted a faint light, illuminating the road ahead and the doors of the nearby houses.

7 Pinster Street's mailbox was silently hiding in the intersection between light and dark, bathing in a cool breeze that blew from the side as though it was in a slumber.

At this moment, newspapers, bills, and letters from various unknown people suddenly spewed out from its mouth.

These objects seemed to be dragged by an invisible hand as they floated in midair before flying towards the door and entering through a gap.

Inside the house, at the foyer, the newspapers automatically spread open as they rapidly flipped over. Then, they were casually left on the chair, stacking over other newspapers.

The bills and letters continued flying into the living room, with the former quickly stopping. With a few shakes, they floated to the surface of the coffee table and lined up. The latter had their envelopes removed, and the letters without envelopes quickly unfolded themselves, showcasing themselves in midair.

After a while, a portion of these letters flew onto a rack on the first floor's study. Some rushed for the scissors to help it cut itself apart. Then, they orderly surged into the washroom and were thrown into the toilet.

Whoosh!

The mechanical flush of the toilet was automatically depressed, washing away the paper shreds into the sewers.

7 Pinster Street went back to normal, and its silence was identical to an uninhabited house's.

Southern Continent. East Balam. Kolain City.

Leonard Mitchell, who had just arrived, was resting in a residence arranged by the local Church of Evernight.

Suddenly, that slightly-aged voice sounded in his mind:

"Punk, you have an important letter."

"What letter?" While Leonard asked softly, he already had a guess in mind.

To mail an important letter to 7 Pinster Street without caring that it was inhabited, there was only one, no—two people: Klein Moretti and Dwayne Dantès.

As for why the old man named Pallez Zoroast could still clearly read the letters sent to 7th Pinster Street despite the Berserk Sea and half the Northern Continent separating them, Leonard had only a guess or two. This was because he had helped the old man capture a specter before. @@novelbin@@

With regards to this, his theory was:

Old Man definitely used a Worm of Time to parasitize that specter, making it "His" eyes, ears, and mouth in the Northern Continent.

At that moment, Pallez Zoroast replied to his question.

"It's from Klein Moretti. He said that while Dwayne Dantès was heading to the Southern Continent, he discovered traces of Ince Zangwill on Waypoint Island in the Berserk Sea."

Leonard fell silent immediately as his mouth turned agape. However, he didn't say a word.

After a long while, he muttered with a slightly hoarse voice, "As expected, he didn't forget the need for revenge...

"What can I do?"

"What can you do? You're only a Sequence 6. Even if Ince Zangwill doesn't wield 0-08, you still lack the qualifications to exact vengeance on him. He just needs to reveal his Mythical Creature form to make you lose control and become a lunatic. The chances of you getting your revenge are zero! This is the qualitative change that godhood brings," Pallez Zoroast said rather sternly.

He paused before chuckling.

"Thankfully, you understand yourself in a way that's better than before. In the past, you definitely would've said that you would inform the Church with news of Ince Zangwill and join the team to pursue him. And now, you know to ask what you can do."

Leonard had wanted to retort a few times, but he ultimately didn't say a word.

Pallez Zoroast continued, "What you can do for now is to give Klein Moretti some information. Wait for him to write back to you. Then, based on the arrangements written, provide the necessary assistance."

"So no finding excuses so as to inform the Church of Ince Zangwill's location?" Leonard heavily asked, somewhat surprised.

Pallez Zoroast chuckled and said, "No hurry. Do it at the critical moment.

"Although 0-08 enjoys causing its possessor's death, it doesn't wish to be sealed even more so. As long as you inform the Church of Ince Zangwill's location and begin a pursuit, it will immediately learn of it and make the necessary arrangements.

"Regarding this, you need to warn Klein Moretti."

Leonard was taken aback for a second as he asked, "Old Man, you seem to know 0-08 rather well."

It wasn't apparent in the past!

Pallez's slightly-aged voice chuckled.

"Of course I am. During the Fourth Epoch, 0-08 had once caused the death of an angel.

"I can't tell you too much because once you know of it, it will also know you. The more you know about it, the more likely you will become a character in its stories."

Leonard came to an actual realization of 0-08's terror from Old Man's vague words. This had already exceeded the mysticism he knew!

After some thought, Leonard asked habitually, "Then how should I hint to Klein Moretti without letting 0-08 know? Or that even if he were to know, it will be very superficial knowledge, making me a bystander in the story..."

Just as he said that, Leonard clasped his hands and gritted his teeth. Without waiting for Old Man's reply, he continued, "An indirect hint? I'll tell him I'll temporarily not inform the Church of Ince Zangwill's location... I believe he should be able to understand that there's a problem based on the situation. He will understand that we need to be extremely cautious. And even if he fails to interpret that, his secret organization has members who understand the Fourth Epoch well enough to provide him with help.

"Also, just writing the sentence, 'Once you know it, it will also know you,' without mentioning 0-08 should be enough for Klein to guess what this is pointing at..."

After Pallez Zoroast finished listening, "He" chuckled and said, "Humans will only grow under pressure."

Leonard exhaled and sat up. He found a pen and paper and penned his thoughts.

Following that, he set up a ritual right on the heels of that and summoned Gehrman Sparrow's messenger.

...

Berserk Sea, Waypoint Island. On a liner docked at the harbor.

Many tourists weren't alighting. They were huddled in the lower deck cabins, waiting to arrive at the Southern Continent to begin a life filled with hope.

They had gone through a great deal of effort to save up the fare for a ship ride that spanned a few short days. They were from Loen and were those who had been forced to take such risks.

Klein, who was acting as the tycoon, Dwayne Dantès, wasn't like them. He lived in a spacious, clean first-class cabin that could even be described as luxurious. Under some candlelight, he opened the letter that had just been delivered by Reinette Tinekerr.

Will not be informing the Church of Ince Zangwill's location for the time being... To Leonard, although the source of the tip might put him in certain danger, it's not impossible for him to do it... Didn't he join the Red Gloves to seek revenge? This means that he has a reason why he can't sound the alarm on Ince Zangwill... As Klein thought, he continued reading the rest of the letter: "Once you know it, it will also know you."

Suddenly, Klein exclaimed, finding the description somewhat familiar!

This is very similar to the Twilight Hermit Order. Any mention of it will be known... So, 0-08 is a Sealed Artifact of the Spectator pathway? Leonard isn't informing the Church of this matter because he's held back by this. He wishes to wait for a better opportunity? This is likely something the grandpa in his body told him... Klein nodded in thought, feeling thankful that he hadn't asked Reinette Tinekerr for help moments ago.

That would've been equally dangerous for Miss Messenger.

Besides, most important of all, I haven't made any preparations. If I were to only rely on a helper I hire, my plan might very well be detected by 0-08 ahead of time. A series of coincidences would then be created, producing a targeted arrangement... Klein silently sighed and felt that he needed to do something, but he was at a loss as to how to begin.

From the angle of improving his strength, the acquirement of the corresponding ingredients of Bizarro Bane and Spirit World Plunderer depended on the subsequent request of the City of Silver's Chief and how long Miss Magician could receive the exact coordinates from her teacher. These were all dependent on external factors that Klein had no means of expediting.

The only thing he could do was to try his best to digest the Marionettist potion as quickly as possible.

And after concluding most of the acting principles, the actual implementation was more important.

Therefore, Klein believed that he needed to obtain two marionettes within a short span of time.

He had previously been delaying it because he didn't have any good targets. It stemmed from him being in Backlund with servants around him. Unless they were special marionettes, it was very difficult to hide their existences. And now, he was almost at the Southern Continent. He decided that as long as he identified an evil target who deserved the gallows, he would first transform them into his marionette until he had a better replacement!

Perhaps using an ordinary marionette to complete a rather difficult task will accelerate the digestion... Heh, my standards for a marionette has dropped to its lowest. All it needs to know is Dutanese. That way, I don't have to hire an interpreter; after all, I can share their senses... Klein quickly made up his mind and planned on writing to Leonard Mitchell after he had a more advanced plan.

...

East Balam, Kolain City.

Klein carried his luggage and stepped onto the dock, touching ground on the Southern Continent.

He looked into the distance at the city that was built on terraces. He silently said to himself, I have to have two marionettes when I leave this place.

And before that, he had one thing to do. It was to lose the tail of the "followers" that the military had arranged.

The two gentlemen were rather good at being spies, but to Klein, they were as bright as fireflies in the night. This was because, no matter how well disguised they were, Klein could use his Faceless's ability of observation and his memory of a human's physical features and looks to recognize them at a glance.

-x-X-x-

Most of Kolain City's buildings were built on paths that spiraled upwards. There would be squares or small towns in the middle or on rather flat, open spaces.

Klein carried his luggage, and with his spiritual intuition as a Seer, he randomly chose a direction to proceed in and found a relatively lively bar along the way.

There weren't many carriages on the streets, and the rental types were a rare sight. The most popular means of transportation in East Balam was a "Coffin." This stemmed from their traditions of worshipping Death. People viewed coffins as items that brought about serenity and peace; therefore, Klein often saw people walking past him carrying a black coffin. The lids were lighter than the usual kind and were just like a carriage door that could be opened at any time.

They're carried via two, four, or either people; or by horses or single-horned goats... Such a tradition is quite terrifying at night. Hmm, it's not much better in the day. The entire city feels dark and creepy... Klein took in the "scenery" around him as he walked into the square. On the left was a cathedral of the Lord of Storms, and on the right were restaurants and bars.

When he stopped in his tracks, a coffin being carried by four men was also lowered.

As the lid was opened, the passenger inside the coffin stood up and took a step forward. He was a Northern Continent-styled gentleman dressed in a white shirt and black vest.

The gentleman's formal coat was slung against his arm, something he wore only after he left the coffin.

Then, Klein saw the man head straight for the Lord of Storms cathedral and enter it.

This sure is quite discordant... Doesn't the Church of Storms enjoy changing the traditions of the colonies and forcefully implementing those of Loen? Why don't they do that in East Balam? Is it because the Death pathway and Evernight pathway are similar, so the Church of Storms wishes to preserve some of the traditions of Death worship, so as to curb the proliferation of the Church of Evernight? Klein nodded in thought as he turned to the buildings on the right, prepared to enter one of the bars there.

Having experienced it personally, he came to the realization as to why the dressing style of the ancient Balam Empire was written as such in so many history books.

They enjoy wearing trousers, those that are light and breezy. They find creases beautiful... Isn't this to make it easier to lie in a coffin when outside?

Klein shook his head with a smile as he pushed open the heavy wooden door. Squeezing through the drunkards, he walked towards the bar counter.

And at this moment, the two military "followers" had deliberately opened up a distance from Dwayne Dantès to prevent themselves from being exposed. They had walked to the door side.

Taking this brief reprieve, Klein suddenly switched directions and passed through the crowd like a fish in water, heading straight for the bar's backdoor.

Although he didn't know Dutanese, he could read drawings on signs and knew where the washrooms and places where entry was forbidden to customers.

After circling to a blind spot from the door, Klein quickly took off his coat and slung it on his arm.

Immediately, with his golden cane, he reached out his palm to cover his face and slow down his pace. Turning directions again, he headed for the bar's entrance.

After opening up a distance of nearly ten meters from where he took off his coat, Klein lowered his face-shielding right hand to reveal a completely different face.

His white sideburns, deep eyes, and elegant demeanor was all gone. He had switched to a common Loenese face that could be seen anywhere on the Northern Continent. @@novelbin@@

With luggage and cane in hand, Klein walked staidly towards the two military "followers." As they were looking for Dwayne Dantès, he walked past them and left the bar.

Be it tracking or anti-tracking, they were both strong traits of a Faceless!

Returning to the square, Klein turned into a sloped alley that led to higher ground. He planned on finding a hotel elsewhere.

As he walked on a rather deserted path, he suddenly heard a woman's frantic cries.

The voice was only maintained for a very short moment before it was silenced.

Although he didn't know what she was shouting, Klein could sense the horror, fear, and panic in her voice. Hence, he switched directions and entered a narrower and more deserted trail.

In less than ten seconds, he saw a local man in his thirties who was pressing against a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl in a secluded corner and was using violence against her. His skin was brownish, and he had rather soft facial features.

Klein took a glance and slowed down his pace before stopping in the nearby shadows.

At this moment, the girl's face was extremely horrified and distorted. However, regardless of how she struggled, she was unable to free herself and had only received a beating in response.

Her tears and snot flowed out while her mouth was stuffed with cloth. All she could do was produce muffling sounds.

At this moment, she was surprised that the rotten egg's attempts to take off her clothes had slowed down.

"..."

Without having the time to consider what was happening, she subconsciously looked at the rotten egg and found that his eyes had widened. His facial muscles were writhing slowly, but he was unable to form a complete expression on his face. Then, his limbs twitched and paused as they continued doing what they were doing but were easily avoided.

The girl instinctively pushed him, which had ended up having surprisingly excellent results. Freed, she immediately stood up and fled. However, she couldn't help but feel her legs go limp. After a few steps, she tripped over a stone and nearly fell to the ground.

At this moment, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Reeling in anxiety, she fumbled to her feet.

But almost immediately, the sounds of footsteps suddenly ceased.

The girl subconsciously looked back only to see the rotten egg standing two meters away. His joints were making strange actions as though they were rusted.

What's happening... The girl felt as though she was having a nightmare.

The brown-skinned man struggled for a moment before quietening down. Revealing a smile, he said in Dutanese, "In the future, when you meet someone like me, remember to head for the nearest cathedral or somewhere where there's plenty of people."

The girl was taken aback for a moment before she screamed. Turning around, she ran as fast as she could.

Subconsciously, she chose to run in the direction of the square where the cathedral was.

When the calm and silence of the deserted spot was restored, the brown-skinned man turned to look at the nearby shadows where Klein walked out from.

A new marionette... His body isn't strong enough, and he's not nimble enough. He lacks Beyonder powers and looks rather fierce. Apart from knowing Dutanese, he's completely useless, Klein simply evaluated. If it wasn't because he was committing a crime and that I wasn't proficient in the local language, I would've buried him immediately.

He couldn't help but make a comparison with his former marionette, Admiral of Blood Senor.

Senor was a Wraith and was capable of Mirror Blink. He could hide in gold coins and reflective surfaces. I didn't need to worry that he would be seen by others... He also had Shriek and the ability to possess others. Together with a Marionettist, it's a perfect combination...

More importantly, he also knew Dutanese...

Comparing this marionette and him is like the difference between a penny and 42,000 gold pounds.

I've no idea what his name is, and I can only use powers to sense some superficial thoughts. I have no way of obtaining deeper memories unless I encounter someone or something familiar. There would be a corresponding change in the spirit to release more information... I'll just call him "Ah Fu." Ah, no—that's too Chinese. "Oaf" it is.

Klein rubbed his temples and sighed. He needed to leave the area with his new marionette, Oaf, before the girl led the clergymen over.

Before long, with the help of his marionette's translations, he found an inn to stay in at the border between Kolain City's flourishing and backward area. This place didn't need him to provide any proof of identity, even though Klein had already changed his appearance to that of a regular local.

There's an even greater lack of administration management than the colonies at sea... Klein put down his luggage and threw most of the cash he brought with him above the gray fog, leaving only 50 pounds for his daily expenses.

Meanwhile, having crossed the Berserk Sea, and without needing to be afraid of causing any further anomalies, he took down the copper whistle and iron cigar case from the mysterious space above the gray fog so as to make it easier for Mr. Azik to locate him.

After finishing all of this and having had dinner on the liner, he had the spare time to seek out his second marionette.

As for how he could find one, Klein, who didn't understand Kolain City well enough, decided on using his traits as a Seer and do so with mysticism means!

With Oaf, he left the inn. Klein snapped a branch of a Donningsman Tree and used it as a dowsing rod. With great familiarity, he used Cogitation and muttered, "Location of my new marionette."

In the silent environment, pairs of cold eyes seemed to pierce through the obstruction of the incorporeal and the corporeal and landed on the dowsing rod.

The branch fell to the ground and pointed in a direction.

After advancing forward a little, he did another divination and followed his new revelation. Seven to eight turns later, he arrived at a steep staircase.

This staircase was connected to many roads in Kolain. One had to look up to see the top, and there was no one at all.

The divination's revelation is pointing here... Why isn't there anyone here? The result isn't accurate because I didn't do a divination above the gray fog? But I'm already a Sequence 5 Marionettist. My divination abilities are definitely one of the best below that of High-Sequence Beyonders... Klein frowned slightly as he surveyed the area, but he failed to find any targets.

After some thought, he walked towards the staircase and sat in the shadows of the lowest step. He then waited in boredom despite a lack of confidence.

After a few minutes, he stood up again and made Oaf sit where he was sitting.

Then, Klein opened up a gap from him and hid two hundred meters away in a hidden spot.

...

Kolain City. Lower Lip District.

Leonard Mitchell and Daly Simone arrived at a nearby district with the Red Gloves team captain, Soest.

With the night as cover, Soest emphasized the operation to all the members once again.

"Our target this time is Ulika who's living at Unit 13. He's a rather important member of the Numinous Episcopate and is in charge of communicating with the different small teams in Backlund.

"Although all our intelligence points to him not being a demigod, I have applied for a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact to be safe. Her Excellency, Goddess's Eye, is also ready to provide her assistance to us at any time.

"Also, most of the residents of this district are locals. We have to be wary of them also being members of the Numinous Episcopate."

-x-X-x-

Lower Lip District. 13 Canine Street.

The plump Ulika was sitting on a sofa with his tiny dark brown eyes and skin. Wrapping a dried yellowed tobacco leaf and ten different kinds of Southern Continent herbs and spices together, he cut it into long strips.

Then, he held his self-made East Balam smoke pipe in his hand and brought it close to the matchstick his subordinate had lit. The end blackened and curled as it glowed red.

Biting at its end and taking a deep suck, Ulika slowly exhaled white smoke that was tainted with light blue hues. He looked at the visitor on the single-seater opposite him and said, "This is what a cigarette is. A real cigarette.

"The ones in the Northern Continent are only suitable for children!"

The person sitting on the single-seater was a man in his forties. He had a high nose, blue eyes, and gentle facial contours. His black hair was thick and curly. His skin color wasn't too dark, but neither was it fair. He resembled a mixed-blood between someone from Loen and Balam.

He chuckled upon hearing that as he replied in Dutanese, "Unfortunately, I have zero interest in any kind of cigarettes."

"Enzo, you don't know how to enjoy life at all..." Before Ulika could finish his sentence, his powerful spirituality that was a result of his pathway had warned him of some danger.

The way it suddenly came and appeared in such a pressing manner made Ulika instantly determine that the problem wasn't trivial.

He had yet to leap away from where he was sitting when all he saw was darkness. It was as though he could directly see the night sky outside. A strong sense of sleepiness overwhelmed him as he felt a level of serenity from the bottom of his heart.

Along Canine Street, be it the houses with lit lamps or extinguished lamps, it became abnormally silent at that very moment. It was as though no living being lived in them, or that everyone had fallen asleep at the same moment.

At this moment, the snoring and slumped Ulika suddenly leaped up. His eyes wore the strange combination of a reverie and lucidity.

Behind him, a nearly illusory girl with pale skin was stuck to his back at some point in time!

This girl's eyes were bluish-green, and her lips were jet black. Her eyes were silently looking to the side, and her ghastly pale and translucent limbs had drilled into Ulika's body as though she was a spirit that couldn't be shaken off.

Her existence brought a chill to his Soul Body, making Ulika barely resist his abnormal sleepiness as he broke free from the influence of a Nightmare.

Before Ulika could completely regain his lucidity, he instinctively rushed to the staircase. Extending his palms, he exerted strength towards the front as though he was pushing a door that didn't exist.

In a blink of an eye, a difficult-to-describe bronze door covered in mysterious patterns appeared in front of Ulika. It wobbled and creaked before cracking open a gap.

The gap led to an endless darkness. In it were indescribable eyes that watched the outside world.

Meanwhile, large amounts of squirming and strange objects that were still unrecognizable surged wildly from the gap.

Ulika was about to continue exerting his strength to open the door and cause the terrifying world behind him to descend upon Canine Street when he suddenly saw a pair of pale, translucent palms appear out of thin air. They passed through the deep darkness and pressed down on the interior of the door's gap.

The palms didn't originate from anything. They weren't connected to a body, and the wrist was bloody. It was unknown who had severed them!

Both parties exerted their strength as the mysterious bronze door stopped moving. It neither closed or opened further.

High above Unit 13, Soest, who was already a Spirit Warlock, was floating in midair thanks to an invisible force. His hands carried a sundial made of gold as he slowly raised it high.

When the golden sundial was finally raised above Soest's head, its resplendent glow flowed out and quickly outlined and became one.

Suddenly, another sun seemed to appear in midair, directing all the light and heat at 13 Canine Street.

None of that caused any damage as they penetrated through the building and landed above the bronze door, enveloping Ulika who was standing in front of it.

Ulika instantly grimaced in extreme pain as the pale and nearly translucent girl let out a shrill scream, but it was stopped by the "sunlight" and drowned by the onslaught.

She warped and quickly evaporated, producing wisps of black gases that dissipated into the sea of light.

There wasn't a single spot inside the building that remained dark!

After the "sunlight" faded, the indescribable bronze door had already vanished. On the ground was a black swollen corpse that was effusing pale yellow oil stains.

With a boom, the corpse tore apart as a thin, tiny figure leaped out from inside.

This figure had identical looks to Ulika, but its skin was raven-black as though it was stained in ink. The surface of its body that stood at a height of around 1.2 to 1.3 meters had sticky pus flowing across it.

The moment he appeared, he dashed for the staircase with a ludicrous speed. Burrowing into the cellar, he opened a secret trapdoor he had prepared in advance as he dashed forward as fast as he could.

In just ten seconds, the miniaturized black version of Ulika saw the entrance—hope.

He didn't lower his guard as he gently clenched his right fist, producing about eight transparent illusory figures from his body.

They were of all kinds of shapes and sizes, as though they were an abomination that fused the characteristics of humans, plants, and certain animals. Some held Ulika's arm, others lifted his feet as they took off in flight.

Right on the heels of that, a mechanical switch was shifted. Gears started rotating as the exit door flung open, leading to a silent and dark street corner.

Further ahead were streets that stood on lower ground, and on the two sides of the streets were rows of houses. They appeared like the sea that churned with the light of the crimson moon.

Ulika was just about to use the help of spirits to fly out of the secret passage and disappear into the other districts of Kolain City when his eyes reflected a foggy lake.

The lake shimmered with light, producing a tranquil beauty. In the middle, concentric circles rippled out as beautiful and illusory figures floated up.

This was a powerful type of spirit. Human legends often deemed it "the Goddess of the Lake"!

Many a time, the strength of a Spirit Guide depended on the deceased or a natural spirit they found and controlled. It was the same with Spirit Warlocks. However, the inclination for Spirit Guides were the deceased, while for Spirit Warlocks, they were better at controlling natural spirits. @@novelbin@@

At this moment, the strange transparent figures around Ulika uttered a monotonous sound of horror. Throwing away the arms and legs they were carrying, they drilled into the thin pitch-black body like the wind.

With a crash, Ulika fell to the ground, but he didn't feel any pain, which was a result of intense sleepiness assaulting him. It made him fall asleep without realizing it.

At the exit, Daly Simone, who was wearing a Spirit Medium robe, with her face made up with blue eyeshadow and blush, walked out of some unknown location. Looking at the 1.2-meter-tall Ulika, she said,

"The deceased spirit he fused with is very strange. If it doesn't use a living human's body as a 'house,' it will quickly dissipate.

"We need to make every second count in order to obtain information."

In the shadows beside her, Leonard Mitchell walked out. He looked at Daly Simone in surprise and said, "Aren't you a Spirit Guide? How do you control a Goddess of the Lake?"

"Aren't you a poet? Why don't you write poems?" Daly snapped back.

...

On the other end of the street, on a gentle cliff, a figure quickly moved downwards with the protruded pieces of rock, quickly landing in the shadowy corners of Jaw Street below him.

His skin was light-colored and his eyes were blue. He had thick raven-black hair that curled slightly. He was none other than Enzo who had been a guest at Ulika's place at Lower Lip District's 13 Canine Street.

Enzo wasn't a member of the Numinous Episcopate. He was one of the traitors of the Life School of Thought that had escaped under the enticement of the Rose School of Thought.

Furthermore, he was neither a Beyonder from the Apothecary pathway that led to the Vampire Sequence, nor did he worship the Primordial Moon. He was only a person who didn't wish to accept the various rules set by his teacher and his teacher's teacher. He wished to lead a carefree life and take advantage of being a Winner.

Such a state of mind was strongly advocated by the Rose School of Thought's indulgence faction, so it didn't take long for him to formally join them, allowing him to freely satisfy all his various desires.

This time, he was representing the Rose School of Thought to make contact with the Numinous Episcopate in Kolain and discuss the possibility of cooperating on certain matters. To his surprise, Tenebrous Deceased Ulika had suffered a sudden raid by the Church of Evernight. It was a high-level raid!

Thankfully, I'm good at anti-divination. The Church of Evernight members didn't know ahead of time that I was at Ulika's place, and they didn't pay too much attention to me. They just thought of me as Ulika's subordinate, allowing me to find a chance to escape the core region. Besides, that "sunlight" mainly purifies objects with the power of death, evil, and corruption. It didn't deal much damage to me... That's likely a demigod-level attack... Enzo walked to the shadows in the street and couldn't help but recall what had just happened.

After fleeing quite a distance, he turned to look behind him and discovered no one was chasing him. He immediately heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled.

A Winner is a Winner, the eternal Winner!

Enzo recovered his usual confidence as he proceeded down the street with a smile. Then, he turned to his left and quickly moved down the stairs.

It was a steep and long staircase that reached many lower-level streets.

...

In the vicinity of Canine Street, Soest suddenly opened his eyes and said to Leonard and Daly Simone, "There was a man named Enzo at Ulika's place. He's a member of the Rose School of Thought and doesn't have a low Sequence. He probably enjoys quite an important position.

"You are to quickly search the surroundings and see if you can find any traces of him and try to capture him successfully. Don't leave any problems behind."

As for the other Red Gloves and the local Nighthawks, they either had to capture the remaining Numinous Episcopate members or were already capturing them in dreams. They hoped to obtain firsthand news as quickly as possible. Only a few were left behind to watch for any accidents and protect their companions.

"Yes, Captain Soest." Leonard didn't hesitate to agree.

Daly grabbed at the wind and cupped her hand to her ear. After listening for two to three seconds, she said, "The little guys around here tell me that someone did escape via the cliff."

-x-X-x-

On the steep and long rocky staircase, the crimson moonlight illuminated its midsection, leaving rather thick shadows along its sides.

Enzo was like a normal pedestrian at night, walking a little anxiously but without showing any signs of being flustered. He had a deep faith in his excellent good luck, being a winner in life, one that wouldn't be caught by the Nighthawks.

Seeing that he would be done after a few more flights of steps, Enzo, who was once a Monster, suddenly sensed something as he turned his head to look at the shadows in the lowest point of the staircase.

He then saw a figure sitting there in a daze. His looks and figure appeared rather indistinct due to the lighting, and he was dressed in the standard outfit of someone from East Balam.

The figure took out a box of matchsticks and struck a match to light up the surroundings.

Enzo didn't bother sizing up the person when he suddenly saw a scene before his eyes.

The figure threw a matchstick over as though he was gifting him something. And when the matchstick approached, it suddenly burst into a ridiculous inferno as a man wearing a formal suit and top hat walked out!

Seeing scenes he shouldn't see, and hearing sounds he shouldn't hear, were a daily occurrence for a Monster. Having become a Winner, Enzo was already used to all of this. Without any thought, he fully believed in his intuition and lunged forward, jumping off the staircase and making two rolls onto the lower street.

At the same time, the brown-skinned marionette, Oaf, suddenly stood up. After bending his back, he hurled the matchstick in his hand at the location where Enzo was previously standing.

Before the matchstick hit the ground, scarlet flames extended out into midair in a resplendent and brilliant manner.

Amidst the flames, Klein's black-suited figure with a half top hat leaped out. However, he had lost sight of his target.

Klein had discovered someone rapidly coming down the staircase about ten seconds ago as though he was hiding from something. Suspecting that this was his new marionette, he immediately did a dream divination and obtained the revelation that the man was related to the Rose School of Thought and wasn't anyone good.

With such a result, Klein didn't hesitate to take action. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time, he didn't have the time to use Paper Angel which had been recorded in Creeping Hunger to interfere with the target's spiritual intuition, and as a result, it made his ambush fail.

At this moment, Oaf had already left the final flight of steps on the staircase. He was running with large strides towards Enzo, who had just stood up.

Enzo's mind stirred. Without dodging, he nimbly turned his body to the side, avoiding the ordinary attack.

Then, he drew his gun and quickly aimed. With a bang, he shot Oaf's chest.

As blood gushed out, Oaf staggered for a moment before collapsing. His breathing rapidly weakened.

Klein took this brief opportunity as his body vanished, phasing right in front of the target to block his escape route.

Enzo seemed to have an inexplicable strange premonition. He immediately tightly shut his eyes

He didn't know why he did so, but as a Mid-Sequence Beyonder of the Fate pathway, believing his intuition was an instinct!

Immediately after that, Enzo frantically switched directions. Attempting to rely on his spiritual intuition, he rushed into another street, but at this moment, the man in the suit who didn't have any outstanding features appeared in front of him again.

Klein's figure kept disappearing and appearing in every direction, as though he was running around Enzo at high speeds, often blocking his path but not dealing any direct attacks. Whether he used Beyonder powers or not, it made Enzo face a figure wearing a black suit and half top hat no matter where he turned to.

For an instant, Enzo with his eyes clothes even imagined that he was facing a group of enemies instead of one enemy.

A Traveler was often able to create the effect of being besieged!

In just ten seconds, Enzo, who had failed to find a path to escape, suddenly jolted. His actions instantly slowed down as his mind and joints seemed to be injected with glue.

Traveling works well with a Marionettist as well. While Klein was phasing around, he kept maintaining a distance of ten meters from Enzo! He had been secretly controlling his Spirit Body Threads all this time!

No good... He doesn't attack... and is only blocking me... not because... he is waiting... for the Nighthawks... but for... another reason... Enzo, who still had his eyes shut, felt his heart tighten. Suddenly, he stepped onto a rock, causing his body to lose balance. He slammed heavily to the ground, causing his revolver to fly several meters away.

Plop!

The pain and shock had snapped Enzo out of his suppressed state. He found his fluidity again.

Enzo was no stranger to such accidents. As a Winner, he often obtained an advantage due to all kinds of low-probability events and thus clinch victory.

Without hesitation, he was just about to dash towards the end of the street to his side and flip over the fence to jump into the sea, allowing what fate had arranged for him to escape his predicament when another scene flashed in his mind:

In it, he was breaking out into a coughing fit, to the point of not being able to stand up or open up his stride!

Ailments! The enemy can infect me with ailments! He isn't attacking me and is simply blocking my escape route in order to keep me in this area; thus, infecting me with ailments in an unnoticeable manner! Enzo's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly felt a strong sense of delight.

The Green Essence ring he wore came from a believer of the Primordial Moon. Upon activation, it could easily treat any ailments or injuries that weren't too serious!

This is luck! Enzo pretended to not discover the infectious ailment in the air. Exerting strength in his palms, he lunged forward and followed his predetermined route towards the fence at the end of the street.

Moments after he took two steps, he suddenly coughed and involuntarily slowed down.

His coughing didn't quell like usual. Instead, it was worsening as though he was about to cough out his lungs.

Klein's figure flashed and appeared behind the target while he maintained ten meters from him.

At this moment, Enzo spread his arms and allowed invisible waves to ripple out of his body.

It was like a pure psyche storm that swept all Spirit Bodies in the vicinity, bringing with it an intense sense of drowsiness and calamity.

Klein similarly had a premonition for danger. The moment Enzo spread his arms, his body had already vanished from his spot and had appeared in the midsection of the steep staircase.

Still having his eyes closed, Enzo realized that he didn't receive his desired effect. He immediately abandoned the idea of escaping after finishing his target. He continued running towards the fence at the end of the street.

He had a hunch that if he stalled a little longer, a number of Nighthawks would catch up to him, making the situation more chaotic.

And as a former Lucky One and a Winner, the more chaotic a situation, the higher the chances of him escaping!

At this moment, as he had repeatedly changed directions while running blindly, he once again passed by Oaf, who had been shot in the chest.

On Oaf's left finger was a golden ring with an inlaid ruby.

A sanguine beam flashed from the beam as Oaf's injuries began recovering. He bounced up and widened his mouth, biting down on Enzo who was running past.

His tongue seemed to lose substance as it transformed into a blob of flesh and blood.

Flower of Blood!

Oaf wore the Flower of Blood ring which Klein had obtained from Mr. X. It could randomly allow the wearer to abandon any rationality in order to become a beast. On the other hand, it could allow the wearer to control their body at a deeper level. As long as they didn't suffer from instant death or become completely purified, they could heal from any kind of injury!

At the same time, it also came with flesh and blood magic. It was a mystical item that was very suited for marionettes!

Before Klein came out to seek a new marionette, he didn't know which pathway or Sequence his target would be. Therefore, to make well-rounded preparations, he made Oaf wear the Flower of Blood ring. This way, he could direct a play of him being the main assailant with the marionette as the secondary assailant, but in fact, it was the exact opposite.

Just as Enzo ran past Oaf, he felt a stabbing pain in his knee as though his previous fall had given him some light injuries.

The moment this thought flashed across his mind, he hurriedly crouched down and felt a figure fly past his head. It missed!

Oaf's sudden attack still failed to be effective against a Winner!

Enzo was just about to smile and run again when he suddenly had a premonition. He subconsciously curled up and protected his vital spots.

At the same time, Oaf suddenly swelled up and silently exploded.

Flesh and blood formed a storm, sweeping through a rather large area in the vicinity, hitting Enzo again and again.

One of the preparations Klein had done was to use a power of Creeping Hunger after its mutation. He had planted a Flesh Bomb in his marionette's body!

WIth a clank, the golden ring with an inlaid ruby landed on the stone slabs in the street. Klein's figure flashed to Enzo's side.

He raised his left palm and made his palm pitch-black. As though they were formed of granules, he said a word filled with evil and corruption: "Slow!"

Thanks to his luck, Enzo had avoided most of the damage. His lightly injured body suddenly turned still as his struggling actions slowed down. His curled pose changed bit by bit.

Right on the heels of that, he opened his eyes due to the pain, and a figure wearing a black suit and half top hat was reflected in his eyes.

"Ah!" @@novelbin@@

Enzo let out a tragic cry as he raised his hands to cover his eyes.

Streams of blood seeped out from the gaps in his fingers.

Monster? Looking at his writhing target, Klein pricked up his brows. He continued controlling the Spirit Body Threads and quickly achieved initial control.

This time, there weren't any accidents that broke the subsequent procedure. In a half-crazy state with scales growing from his body, Enzo was powerless to resist. Klein rather smoothly deepened his control.

Time ticked by when Enzo suddenly stood up and converged the protruded snake-like scales.

He pressed his hand to his chest and bowed at Klein. Then, he walked to the side and bent down to pick up the golden ring with the inlaid ruby. Wearing it on his left hand's index finger, it matched the emerald ring on his other hand.

Klein held back the urge of looking at himself with his new marionette. He got Enzo to clear up the scene of the remnant flesh and any traces left behind.

After doing all of this, he walked into the shadows with his marionette and quickly vanished.

-x-X-x-

A few minutes later, Daly Simone and Leonard Mitchell, who had repeatedly made errors in judgment, finally arrived at the top of the steep staircase.

They proceeded down the steps at a very slow speed, cautious of their surroundings, and they were ready to enter combat at any moment.

However, they failed to encounter any abnormalities even when they reached the bottom of the flight of stairs. They didn't even find any useful clues.

Daly grabbed onto the wind, cupped her hand to her ear, and listened carefully.

A few seconds later, she looked around her and said, "There was a gunshot. A weapon once dropped around the street bend. Th-that man named Enzo is d-dead..."

"Who did it?" Leonard asked in surprise.

From his point of view, due to the repeated failures they had encountered, Enzo had easily escaped their pursuit. The possibility of a Rose School of Thought monitor silencing him and wiping away any clues was zero.

If that were the case, who could've killed that Beyonder who was suspected to be a Sequence 5 or 6?

It needed to be mentioned that the Red Gloves had used a Sealed Artifact to implement anti-divination before they carried out tonight's operation. It was unlikely for anyone to predict it ahead of time and wait there to hunt the escaping Enzo.

Daly shook her head.

"Those little guys didn't see anything. It's likely a Beyonder who's good at anti-divination...

"Perhaps it's Enzo's enemy, and they had been planning to act tonight."

She simply offered a guess of hers, and the duo began independently searching the nearby streets to see if they could find any missed clues.

Taking this opportunity, Leonard circled to a fence in a particular street. Suppressing his tone, he asked, "Old Man, did you discover anything?"

Inside him, Pallez Zoroast replied after three seconds, "You should have heard a tragic scream and had used that to correct the direction of your pursuit effort.

"It was let out by Enzo. He had apparently seen something extremely terrifying and indescribable, something that could directly cause damage and corruption to his Soul Body."

Leonard was taken aback for a moment. He narrowed his eyes as he repeated softly, "Extremely terrifying and indescribable..."

Inside the inn, Klein Teleported back with his new marionette.

He then made his marionette stand to his side as he sat down. As he sized up his marionette, he sighed.

A Beyonder of the Monster pathway. But he's still inferior to Senor. There's no way for him to hide in a gold coin for ease of transport. I can only let him follow beside me...

From his Beyonder Sequence, he isn't a core member of the Rose School of Thought, but his Sequence isn't too low. Some importance must've been placed on him. That also means that if I don't disguise him, it's very easy for me to be targeted by the Rose School of Thought...

On the contrary, I can probably use him as bait to fish for another Wraith. When the time comes, he can walk alone while I hide 200 meters away to wait for the bait to be hooked.

No, I can't. I mustn't let greed get to my head. The Southern Continent is where the Rose School of Thought is active. Once I expose my location, with how much importance the Mother Tree of Desire places on me, not only will a saint come, even an angel might appear!

Yes, it's better if I disguise this marionette. As a Faceless, I'm quite skilled at disguises...

Then, I'll continue using mystical methods to find my next marionette. I'll wait for Danitz to finish his investigation and for Mr. Azik to come find me.

Klein quickly made up his mind. Using a myriad of means, he gained an understanding of his new marionette's level and Beyonder powers.

He was a Sequence 5 Winner of the Fate pathway!

In this pathway, a Sequence 9 Monster was one who had super high spiritual perception. They often heard sounds others couldn't hear, and also see things others couldn't see. This allowed them to occasionally see the future and have an acute intuition for danger.

Beyonders of this Sequence often entered a state of enlightenment as they muttered indecipherable words. It was the reason why they were treated as real monsters.

As for the corresponding Sequence 8 Robot, the Beyonders would obtain terrifying calculation skills and precise control. The various parts of their bodies in those aspects would be clearly boosted, making them talented at close combat and shooting.

At the same time, they also had the powers of divination and anti-divination.

Sequence 7 was named Lucky One or Lucky, Beyonders of this level frequently encountered lucky events in their daily lives, like finding money on the street, having enemies miss shots aimed at them, getting dice rolls as they wished, and having women they like to also like them back. However, their luck wasn't fixed and would fluctuate. At times, they were especially lucky, and at other times, they were no different from an ordinary person. Therefore, it wasn't something that could be relied upon, and one had to temper one's expectations.

Sequence 6 was Calamity Priest. On the one hand, Beyonders could passively suffer all kinds of calamities, but they could foresee it and make preparations to eliminate or mitigate the effects. On the other hand, they would actively attract different kinds of calamities, affecting a target and enemy as a result. Then, using one's advantage of being lucky, avoid most of the danger and attack during the chaos. To put it simply, they could pull their opponents into a situation where they could take advantage of their strengths the best.

Of course, many Calamity Priests could use the dangers of their own passive encounters to attack their enemies.

Meanwhile, Calamity Priests could create psyche storms. Using their spirituality that surpassed that of other pathways, they could directly affect their opponent's Soul Bodies, causing them to feel dizzy and lost. If a Calamity Priest's enemy entered such a state, they were extremely prone to making errors. It caused the calamity to snowball and eventually devour them.

And at Sequence 5 Winner, Beyonders could control their luck to a certain extent. They could use their own temperance to accumulate large amounts of luck. At critical moments, they could dramatically reduce any dangers to their life multiple times. From time to time, they could also encounter beneficial situations that have extremely low probabilities in their daily lives. For example, due to someone's mistakes, they might receive an inheritance; the strange, comedic way they walked caused them to catch the fancy of a member of the opposite sex; or their enemies who were pursuing them would foolishly get lost or make errors in judgment.

At this level, Beyonders of the Fate pathway had a very keen sense of foresight. Be it divination or anti-divination, they were mysticism experts.

In addition, they could also give their enemies bad luck to a certain extent, making their targets become unlucky.

Beyonders of the Monster pathway are really extreme. Apart from the spirituality and fate domain, they almost have zero Beyonder powers. Even their constitution and calculation skills are provided at Robot. The subsequent advancements give rather limited improvements... This is my ideal model for a charlatan. They do not have any offensive or defensive abilities, simply relying on their premonition and how fate blesses them...

I have to say that this is the most special path out of the 22 Beyonder pathways. I can find or guess their neighboring pathways. Only Monster seems rather asocial. It seems to be a lonely one... Perhaps, the Beyonder pathway that focuses on fate is destined to be lonely? Klein silently reflected on the matter and had some ideas regarding the usage of his marionette.

Of course, he still needed to carry out divinations above the gray fog. He needed to see if the passive good luck and calamities still existed after the Beyonder's actual death.

If it really was present, Klein had to constantly face the trials of calamities.

In comparison, Admiral of Blood Senor is still better as a marionette. Sigh, people only know how to cherish and regret once things are gone. Klein shook his head in a self-deprecating chortle. From the traits of the Monster pathway, he thought of a few effective means to deal with their Mid- and Low-Sequence Beyonders.

First, it was to catch them by surprise to let them see him directly. They would directly see the gray fog or other images, causing them to suffer a catharsis of the mind and receive damage to their bodies, pushing them to the brink of losing control.

Second, it was to throw a special item out, causing them to face the test of seeing what shouldn't be seen and hear what shouldn't be heard. In this aspect, Klein had a blood crystal that came from a high-level Devil that could produce such an effectBlatherer's aura.

Third, it was to entice them to give him bad luck and pretend to act unlucky so as to have an opportunity to strike back.

Amidst his thoughts, Klein made the marionette empty his pockets, producing 35 pounds 10 soli 7 pence and a leather wallet.

The wallet's surface and interior had a flower and name embroidered on it. It appeared to be completely handcrafted.

Enzo... Whether that's your name or not, your name is Enzo. Klein shot a glance at his marionette as he moved his gaze down to the golden ring with the inlaid emerald on his right hand.

Via divination, he learned that the ring was named Green Essence. It had one effect-treat any ailments or injuries that weren't too serious. @@novelbin@@

And it was precisely because of this that its negative effects were trivial; it only attracted mosquitoes.

Thankfully, I'm not the one wearing it... Hmm, Monster pathway Beyonders don't seem to wear many mystical items. Even if they do, they will wear one or two rather low-level ones. This is a requirement of fate? Klein retracted his gaze in thought and looked at Enzo who was staring at the wall. He had an urge grow within him.

He wished to use his Monster pathway marionette to look at himself. He wanted to know what was so special about him!

Will this be very dangerous? I'll lose control as a result even if I'm seeing myself? No, back in Tingen City, Ademisaul had also looked straight at me without being a Sequence 9. The only thing that happened was having his eyes bleed and be in a state of pain for a while...

Although I have improved drastically from then, Winner Enzo didn't directly break down when he saw me just now. The reaction resembled my reaction when seeing Demoness of Despair Panatiya's partial Mythical Creature form.

Do a divination above the gray fog? No, that involves the gray fog itself. The outcome will definitely be interfered with... Rely on my own divination powers in the real world? Klein took out a gold coin and let it run through his fingers. After a while, the gold coin bounced up and fell down into Klein's palm.

-x-X-x-

Klein looked down at his palm as his eyes reflected the gold coin.

It was heads.

This meant that Klein should use the marionette's eyes to look at himself!

After receiving this revelation, Klein remained hesitant. He pondered about holding a ritual to send Enzo above the gray fog. Doing so was relatively safer, allowing the damage and corruption his Spirit Body suffered to be completely screened by the environment before making an attempt.

However, he suspected that he wouldn't receive an outcome. This was because Beyonders of the Fate pathway were noticing the projection of the mysterious space on his body. Above the gray fog, that uniqueness might no longer exist. It was like an attempt to observe an elephant's body; instead of doing it outside, he was doing it internally.

Pressing his fingers together, he clenched the gold coin in silence for a long while before making up his mind.

He suddenly stood up, took out a ritual dagger, and created a wall of spirituality to isolate the room.

This was to prevent anyone from hearing the possible screams or strange commotion!

Immediately after that, Klein set up a ritual and sacrificed Creeping Hunger above the gray fog.

He was afraid that the glove would turn on him when something happened to him!

This was a fixed trait of Creeping Hunger itself. Once it didn't have its fill and couldn't secure a schedule of eating one person a day, it would view its wearer as food. And Klein starved it more often than he fed it.

After doing all the preparations in a meticulous and orderly manner, Klein reached out to take the Flower of Blood from Enzo and wore it on his left palm.

This ensured that he could recover even if he suffered any serious physical damage.

At the moment he was about to wear it, Klein thought for a moment and paused. Taking a piece of paper, he wrote: "Remember to take off the ring."

He was worried that he wouldn't take Flower of Blood off after his experiment due to his lowered intelligence.

When that happens, perhaps I need a beautiful princess to wake me up with a kiss, no-take off my ring... Klein gave a self-deprecating laugh and exhaled. Removing his outerwear, he wore the ring.

Then, he cast his gaze at his new marionette, Winner Enzo.

The sense of crisis and nervousness was inevitable, but as long as he made up his mind, the experienced him could only forge ahead without flinching.

After doing some adjustments and entering a state of Cogitation, Klein made the marionette slowly turn around to look at him.

With the Winner's eyes, he first saw a layer of thin, emanating grayish-white fog.

Amidst the fog, there was a resplendent door of light that was tainted with bluish-blackness.

The door of light was formed from countless layers of spherical light. Each spherical light enveloped squirming maggots. Some of them were transparent, others translucent. They had complicated and indescribable symbols and patterns that had profound meanings.

Before Klein could discern the actual details, he felt his mind buzz as he lost consciousness.

After an unknown period of time, he slowly woke up. He had momentarily lost his memory, almost imagining that he had slept till daybreak.

What happened? It's still dark outside... Klein sat up with a push of his hands, only to realize that he was on the ground. @@novelbin@@

At this moment, he caught sight of Enzo through the corner of his eye. Plenty of scenes and voices suddenly surged through his mind.

That's right. I was trying to figure out what Beyonders of the Monster pathway can see from my body... I suffered too much stimulation and fainted immediately? I still vaguely remember painful screaming. Was that me? Klein, who had recovered his memories, hurriedly inspected his condition. He was surprised to see a bloody, gruesome wound on his body, as though something was about to tear out of it.

At this moment, flesh was squirming in the wound, reforming at an abnormally fast speed.

Klein then looked to the ground and saw that there was blood that had outlined a silhouette of where he was lying down.

Thankfully, I wore Flower of Blood; otherwise, I might've slowly died due to the heavy injuries brought about by the breakdown of my body. After I resurrect, I wonder if I'll be in a human form or a monster form... Klein raised his hand and rubbed his temples as he scanned his surroundings. He found that the furniture had toppled, but the wall of spirituality remained intact.

He heaved a sigh of relief, confirming that the abnormality was only limited to himself and a small area around him. Nothing had spread.

And from the speed at which his wound was recovering at, Klein determined that he hadn't been unconscious for more than a minute.

He picked up the chair and sat down, feeling as though he had forgotten something, but he just couldn't recall what.

Only when he instinctively cleared the area did he see a note with the words: "Remember to take off the ring." Only then was he enlightened as he removed the golden ruby ring on his left hand.

More memories surfaced as Klein shook his head and muttered with a lingering sense of fear and amusement, "Luck is really important at times. If the negative effects of the Flower of Blood randomly reached its peak potency, I might not be able to recognize those words and fail to be reminded..."

Seeing that he had mostly recovered from his wound, he made Enzo wear Flower of Blood and take off Green Essence.

Using the latter's treatment, Klein no longer felt any discomfort. He focused his attention back on the scene he saw. It was a scene that Beyonders of the Fate pathway saw on him.

A door of light tainted with bluish-black. Countless spherical lights. Transparent and translucent maggots clumped together. Symbols and patterns that are mystically complicated, hiding plenty of knowledge but giving zero feedback to others... What do these represent?

This is a particular Mythical Creature form that corresponds to the mysterious space above the gray fog? It's one that belongs to a Sequence o true god?

Due to the gray fog's screening, only Beyonders of the Fate pathway can see it directly, suffering the visual impact and corruption? Likewise, it's also because of the gray fog's screening that those Beyonders don't directly break down as though they are seeing a deity with their own eyes while also not receiving any knowledge?

Klein thought for a moment and began to use divination to decipher the hidden meaning.

The door of light seems to resemble the symbol behind the Apprentice's chair. It might also point to Mr. Door...

Countless stacked spherical light is identical to my Cogitation. And the latter stems from the mythical systems as described by some novels from Earth... Influenced, my subconscious chose the most relevant and closely-matching memory? Or could it be that my choice influences the expression of the scene from the gray fog?

The distorted and transparent maggots are similar to the clump of maggots on the gigantic throne on the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range, but there are some tiny differences. That's Sequence o The Fool of the Seer pathway? I didn't manage to see the translucent ones clearly. It's hard to tell...

Also, the bluish-black color keeps making me connect it to the depths of the mysterious space that I can't reach... Back when I stood on the highest step of the staircase of light, I could see some hints of bluish-black on the cloud-like mass that condensed in midair...

Klein thought about it for quite some time but failed to receive an answer. All he could do was keep it at the back of his mind and analyze it when he had more information and clues.

After clearing the scene, he took four steps counterclockwise and went above the gray fog. He planned on doing a thorough inspection of his physical condition and confirm if Enzo still had any passive luck or bad luck.

Bayam. In the poverty district, in a dilapidated house that wasn't too big.

Admiral of Stars Cattleya was sitting behind a table looking at the door when she heard a unique knocking pattern on the door.

"Come on in." She didn't deliberately disguise her voice.

The wooden door creaked open as The Hanged Man walked in, wearing a hooded black robe.

Seeing his suspicious disguise, Cattleya nudged her heavy glasses and said with a smile, "If you were to walk out like this, you would be surrounded by the members of the Church of Storms within five minutes."

She didn't wear any disguise because she knew that the matter of her permitting Gehrman Sparrow to board the Future had long spread across the seas. It wasn't difficult for The Hanged Man to guess that Admiral of Stars was Ma'am Hermit.

Alger didn't directly reply to her. As he closed the door, he pulled out a chair and snapped back, "It's the same for you."

He meant that Admiral of Stars was just second to Admiral Hell amongst the seven pirate admirals. Furthermore, she was suspected to have deep connections to Gehrman Sparrow. She was a target of pursuit by the Church of Storms and Church of Evernight. Her bounty had risen to 45,000 pounds, and no matter which city she was in, it only spelled trouble once she was recognized due to not being disguised.

Cattleya nodded slightly and turned to look at The Hanged Man's hooded face.

"In front of me, such a disguise is meaningless.

"However, I respect your choice."

She continued wearing her glasses.

She has a domineering stance and great confidence. As expected of the Admiral of Stars... Alger, who was wearing a mask under the hood, didn't harp on the disguise as he went straight to the point.

"Thank you for providing me with assistance."

Cattleya placed her right hand on her left elbow.

"I'm curious. With your present strength and the resources you have, you should be able to resolve the Artisan's problem even without my help. Why are you being excessive?"

Alger was already prepared as he succinctly replied, "I do not wish to become a topic of discussion for others."

Cattleya seemed to grasp the meaning in between the lines. Pondering for a few seconds, she said, "I need more information."

Alger nodded lightly and said, "According to my observations and guesses, the Artisan is likely controlled by those who believe in the Primordial Moon. The latter belong to the original faction of the Southern Continent, not the traitors of the Life School of Thought."

Cattleya's expression remained unperturbed as she thought for a moment.

"Why don't you find Mr. Moon? He should be very interested in such matters."

Alger curled his lips and replied in a normal tone, "If we aren't able to resolve it, I might do so."

-x-X-x-

Cattleya understood The Hanged Man. If the problem was too serious, they could use The Moon to involve the entire Sanguine race. They could then minimize their losses in the chaos and obtain some benefits.

She then smiled and said, "If the situation is that serious, why not directly find The World? That seems to make things simple."

Alger remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "I have to prove my ability at handling problems; therefore, that's the final resort."

After hearing his reply, Cattleya immediately made some connections.

The Hanged Man places great importance on the way Gehrman Sparrow views him. It's because he's a Blessed of Mr. Fool? Also, his attitude is rather identical to the political jokes of Backlund and Trier. When facing a problem or having committed a mistake, the first reaction is to suppress the matter and find other methods to resolve it. They cannot let their superior or consignor know about it...

This means that The Hanged Man was once or is currently a member of a powerful faction with a strict hierarchy. It influenced him and made him grasp similar traits... The Church of Storms? No, such a person would be an oddity... The fleet of the King of the Five Seas?

Amidst her thoughts, the pirate admiral nudged her heavy glasses and steered the topic back.

"Continue describing the Artisan."

Alger appeared to have prepared a script. Without any thought or pause, he said in an unhurried manner, "To hide this Artisan's identity, to prevent this resource from being wielded by others, I deliberately constructed the identity of him being part of the Church of Steam. But in fact, he had no choice but to create items for unaffiliated Beyonders to earn money to maintain his lifestyle of enjoying fine wine and beauties. He betrayed the Church of Steam and hid in Bayam.

"This time, he first contracted a strange disease and was monitored by an unknown person. Later, he seemed to be under control of people who believe in the Primordial Moon, claiming that he could receive new life..."

Cattleya finished listening attentively as her eyes with a purple tint appeared extremely focused.

After The Hanged Man finished his recount, she pondered and asked, "An Artisan definitely has no lack of mystical items. Furthermore, they know all the combinations of different Beyonder effects and negative effects. Their strength is definitely at Sequence 5.

"What methods did those Primordial Moon believers use to control this Artisan without harming him?

"A demigod was involved?"

Alger slowly shook his head.

"There aren't any clues regarding that, but based on my observation, the Artisan has expressed some willingness. I suspect that, while being threatened and coerced, there are elements of them targeting his weaknesses to entice him."

He had indirectly denied the theory that a demigod was involved.

Cattleya nodded.

"How did those Primordial Moon believers find this Artisan?

"Based on your description, this Artisan only trades with trustworthy friends he's familiar with. He doesn't enjoy widening his channels, and he can be said to be extremely cautious."

Alger hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm not too sure, but I have a theory.

"I once helped The World sell a Werewolf Beyonder characteristic to that Artisan, and the Werewolf pathway belongs to the Mutant pathway. Be it the formulas or characteristics, they are firmly in the control of the Rose School of Thought. There are seldom any leaks."

Likewise, those people who believe in the Primordial Moon in the Southern Continent basically belong to the Rose School of Thought... Cattleya added inwardly, having figured out The Hanged Man's theory.

He suspected that the Werewolf Beyonder characteristic had a latent problem that involved a secret existence. This resulted in the Artisan being targeted by the Rose School of Thought!

And this was also the reason why the Rose School of Thought firmly wielded control over the Mutant pathway's formula and characteristics.

Cattleya raised a few more questions and obtained satisfactory answers. Finally, she asked, "What's that Artisan's name? What country is he from?"

"He's from Intis. He calls himself Cielf," Alger replied straight away. "Cielf..." Cattleya frowned slightly as she repeated the Artisan's name softly.

What's wrong with that? Upon seeing this, Alger directly asked, "You've heard of him?"

From Alger's point of view, Admiral of Stars was an experienced powerhouse with a powerful background and was good at controlling herself. If she hadn't wished to discuss Cielf, she wouldn't have made it so clear even if she had her suspicions and questions. Due to this, he chose to ask without mincing his words.

After a moment of silence, Cattleya said, "Emperor Roselle's eldest son is Ciel. It's very similar to that name."

Without waiting for The Hanged Man to say a word, she continued, "This prince passed away due to his horror and concerns shortly after the emperor's assassination. Back then, the Sauron family wished to hang or exile his descendants, but the Church of Steam chose to take him in as a clergyman."

Alger nodded slightly in enlightenment.

"You suspect that he's a descendent of that prince?"

In most countries in the Northern Continent like Intis and Feysac, it was common for people to use their ancestor's name or something similar as their names. It represented the legacy of honor; therefore, the more illustrious a family was, the more common it was to have "the second" or "the third."

Of course, it was also very common for two people to have similar names, but Artisan Cielf wasn't only a name. He was from the Church of Steam, a person from Intis, and had reached the level of Artisan.

Faced with The Hanged Man's question, Cattleya nodded gently.

"I can quickly make a confirmation if you can obtain his blood."

Understanding the reason, Alger didn't ask further. Instead, he asked, "Are you going to take action now? I can provide support."

Cattleya's glasses reflected the crimson moonlight that shone inwards.

"No, I plan on observing for some time.

"At the very least, we need to understand why the people who believe in the Primordial Moon are trying to control Artisan Cielf.

"If they only wish to get the Artisan to work for them and create mystical items, the situation becomes a lot more simple. And if they have other goals, the problem might be more complicated than we imagined. We will need to make more preparations."

As expected of the Admiral of Stars... Alger nodded and said, "I can't stay in Bayam for too long, or else I will incur suspicion. If you need my assistance, it needs to be fast."

After receiving confirmation from her, The Hanged Man slowly got up and pulled up his hood before leaving the room.

Having learned where Artisan Cielf was presently living, Cattleya removed her heavy glasses and pinched her glabella. Clapping, she said, "Heath, come in."

In the shadows of the door gap, the darkness suddenly stirred as a thin and tall but pale figure appeared.

His nose bridge was ridiculously high, and his facial skin was nearly transparent. Looking ill, he was none other than the second mate of the Future, Rose Bishop Heath Doyle.

Cattleya looked at him and said, "The actual situation is... I'll leave the rest to you."

"Yes, Captain." Heath Doyle simply replied before shrinking back into the shadows.

Cattleya raised her right hand and paused for a few seconds.

"Stay-Stay away from Frank for the time being. He had reached a standstill in his mushroom experiments. I'm afraid that he will come up with new ideas."

"The location of my second marionette..."

Klein held two branches as he repeatedly chanted without seeing them move.

This meant a divination failure or that Kolain City didn't have a second marionette that suited him well.

From the looks of it, mysticism methods are temporarily useless. I'll pack up tomorrow and leave... Klein mumbled and threw the branches into the trash can.

Standing beside him was Enzo. Although he didn't dare to directly look at his master and was only looking at the ground, he skilfully made a cup of black tea and offered it to Klein.

Compared to before, this Winner now had red skin that was nearly peeling due to sunburn. After all of this turned for the better, he would have a swarthy

tan.

To disguise his new marionette and prevent the Rose School of Thought from recognizing him, Klein had brought this gentleman on a trip to the beach which received strong sunlight. He was then left exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time.

Meanwhile, he controlled the marionette to shave off most of his hair, leaving a thin layer. With the trimming of his brows, contouring his face with powder, and wearing shades, Enzo seemed to transform into another person. Even the most familiar of friends of his might find it difficult to recognize him unless the person was a Faceless.

Apart from a disguise in the real world, Klein also did some mysticism management. Firstly, he used the Paper Angel's embrace, and second, he carried Azik's copper whistle along with it.

In addition, he also determined that a Winner's passive luck and calamity trait was ineffective. However, he had no idea if it was because of its status as a marionette, or if it was due to the gray fog.

Receiving the tea and taking a sip, Klein cast his gaze at the map of East and West Balam on the coffee table. He considered where he could find his second marionette.

At this moment, the colors around him suddenly saturated as though an artist had contoured the area with paint.

Right on the heels of that, a figure appeared beside Enzo. He was wearing a silk top hat and a black suit. With a medium build, he had bronze skin and eyes that seemed to see the vicissitudes of life. He had soft facial features, and beneath his right ear was a tiny black mole. He was none other than Azik Eggers.

Mr. Azik is finally here... Klein was first delighted before he noticed that he had appeared beside his marionette.

This made an amusing scene surface in his mind.

Mr. Azik, who had relied on the copper whistle to locate him, had done the same as he usually did – grabbing the copper whistle's wielder by the shoulder and had left using the spirit world the moment he appeared. And all Klein could do was watch helplessly, trying to stop him with outstretched arms. But being a tad bit slow, he couldn't help but clam up.

Azik appeared more reticent than before. Looking at Klein who had a new face, he asked, "Are you ready?"