135 LOTM

When it came to the understanding of ancient gods, Klein knew as much as many High-Sequence Beyonders. After all, he had the City of Silver who had continued on from the Second Epoch to this day behind him. The corresponding myths that were passed down the ages had left plenty of influence.

Based on what he knew, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace was a so-called ancient goddess. Because of the City of Silver's Creator, the ancient sun god who eventually ended up being consumed by the Kings of Angels dealt heavy damage to "Her." Eventually, "She" perished towards the end of the Second Epoch.

However, "Her" influence had yet to dissipate to this day. Signs of "Her" existence remained because "She" was the founder of the Underworld!

City of the Dead... Unknown Soul... Ancient goddess... It sounds very dangerous... Klein looked at the radio transceiver in front of him and fell silent.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Another piece of illusory white paper spat out:

"Apart from that, I'm unsure of the rest.

"Great Master, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"

That's a nice question... Klein reined in his thoughts and nodded gently.

"Speak."

The clacking of the radio transceiver became increasingly brisker as a new line of text quickly appeared on the illusory white paper:

"Regarding Calderón City, you can ask Red Light Aiur Moria."

I still have to ask Red Light in the end... Klein nodded slightly and switched to asking, "Is there any danger if I were to remove Admiral Hell Ludwell's mask?" @@novelbin@@

"No!" A decisive answer appeared before Klein's eyes.

That's good... he thought and said, "Let's end it here for today."

"Great Master, wise Master, in another one or two minutes, a gaze will be cast here! Your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, will await your next summoning. Goodbye~" The radio transceiver began tapping without any hesitation.

Another one or two minutes? Why didn't you say so earlier? Klein was alarmed as though he was seeing a countdown timer on a bomb. He hurriedly used the altar and material he had yet cleared to set up a sacrificial ritual. He then threw the radio transceiver above the gray fog.

After doing all of this and confirming that there weren't any anomalies around him, Klein made Ludwell walk to the side and not face him directly as he took off the silver mask.

Gloomy pale-white light spewed out, but it wasn't as exaggerated in his battle between Klein and Ludwell. It only enveloped a small region like an extinguishing candle.

Meanwhile, as the radio transceiver had been sent above the gray fog, the gloomy, cold feeling that had disappeared in the nearby forest appeared again. Furthermore, it had an indescribable sense of horror that struck at the heart.

This reminded Klein of a cemetery and the legendary Underworld.

After waiting a few seconds, seeing that there weren't any additional abnormal developments, he made his other marionette, Winner Enzo, to circle to Ludwell's front and carefully observe the face that had been masked for extended periods of time.

The face lacked flesh; its skin clung tightly to his bones without any colors. It was as translucent as crystal.

Beneath the "crystal," transparent and indescribable shadows quickly flowed out, at times fusing with the skull, and at other times they shrank in gaps, surfacing on his teeth.

Compared to the first one or two months of his transmigration, Klein would've been shocked by Admiral Hell's appearance, but now, having already seen all kinds of odd Rampagers and mutated bodies, he wasn't shocked by such looks.

After another round of research, Klein completely figured out Ludwell's condition.

All of this stemmed from the unique traits of him being a Gatekeeper.

At Sequence 5, after becoming Gatekeeper, Beyonders could use their bodies as cages that belonged exclusively to the Underworld, allowing them to contain a certain number of souls, deceased, and natural spirits. As such, they obtained all kinds of unique powers with powerful helpers. There was no need to bring a huge undead army around in an eye-catching manner.

This was the origin of many folk tales.

Another purpose of a Gatekeeper was an ancient role: to guard the Underworld in their bodies, preventing the souls contained within from escaping, and to use them. This similarly had the symbolism of a pair of double illusory doors.

And after ancient Death, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, created the Underworld, it was bestowing a small amount of the Death pathway's authority to all Gatekeepers. This made Beyonders of this Sequence receive an enhancement in strength.

The reason why Ludwell kept wearing the mask was because he had contained a powerful Underworld creature in him. On the one hand, this creature could be used by him, and on the other hand, it was eroding his body, turning him into a half-human, half-dead existence. At the same time, ultimately, this creature was innately connected to the Underworld. It was attempting to open the door and return.

This was a combination of a Gatekeeper's own powers and authority, and with the augmentation from Death's ring, it allowed Admiral Hell Ludwell to enlarge the Door to the Underworld, allowing him to steer the Black Tulip directly inside.

Half-human and half-dead form... No wonder Ludwell dares to enter the Underworld. A real living person probably can't survive a second inside... Yes, that Underworld creature gives his body some traits of a dead soul, allowing him to extract the Spirit Bodies of others remotely. I had suffered from that back then... Klein thought in enlightenment as he made Ludwell wear the silver mask again.

The mask's purpose was to placate the soul. It allowed the Underworld creature in Ludwell's body to be in a relatively calm state most of the time.

After resolving his puzzlement, Klein cast his gaze back onto the altar.

He wanted to attempt to contact one of the spirit world's Seven Lights.

In this aspect, there were special secret deed rituals and the corresponding spirit channeling ritual he could choose from. After some consideration, Klein chose the latter. This was because a secret deed ritual required him to open up his mind and spirit, allowing the targeted existence to make contact and thus obtain certain knowledge, strength, help, and a spiritual experience. This also meant that his body's thoughts and secrets were open to that existence.

And through the spirit channeling ritual, there were two types—direct communication and praying for a soulfall. As the spirit world's Seven Lights were extremely lofty existences, Klein couldn't guarantee a response based on the ritual's request. Therefore, although he wished to communicate remotely via spirit channeling, he had to make preparations for a soulfall to show his sincerity.

Lighting three candles and dripping liquids like mint essential oil, Klein specially took out a paper figurine and placed it on the altar for the vessel for the soulfall. If there wasn't anything similar, the supplicating target would soulfall onto him, just like how Danitz had requested Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina's soulfall back then. There were also two scenarios. First, the possessed body would lose all their senses, and they would have the corresponding existence control a certain part of their body so as to facilitate providing a question and answer. The simplest example was one using the mouth to speak while the other controlled a hand to write.

Klein quickly completed the first part of the ritual before he took a step back, opened his mouth, and chanted in ancient Hermes, "I!

"I summon in my name:

"I pray to communicate with the inextinguishable light of the spirit world, the embodiment of infinite knowledge, the Red who wields authority and will..."

The biggest difference between this spirit channeling ritual and ordinary ones was that it couldn't be directed to deities, be it the Evernight Goddess or the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, "Their" honorific names couldn't appear in the ritual or else it was bound to fail.

From a mysticism angle, this meant that the spirit world's Seven Lights didn't serve any deity.

As the words that facilitated the communication with natural spirits were said, Klein saw the three flames burgeon as light splattering sounds connected together as though a door of light was opening.

The area around the altar suddenly turned silent and dark as pairs of unknown eyes looked over from different areas.

A cold, gloomy air blew past. Apart from the three candles, all the items on the altar floated in midair. Among them, the paper figurine staggered straight as its surface was tainted with a thick, clean red that didn't look bloody at all.

"Greetings." As Klein recalled the description of the spirit world's Seven Lights from some mysticism books, he spoke by following the correct way of interacting that he had concluded.

He acted like he was facing a teacher.

The bright red paper figurine's head moved slightly as it let out an illusory but stern voice:

"Hello there."

Quite polite... Indeed, spirit channeling became a soulfall. Thankfully, I made preparations... Various thoughts flashed in Klein's mind as he earnestly and politely asked, "Your Excellency Aiur Moria, I have a question I would like to ask you."

"You can just call me Aiur Moria. Please go ahead and ask." The paper figurine floating in midair seemed to be competing with Klein about who was more polite.

"I wish to get information on Calderón City." Klein didn't change his attitude. After all, in the Foodaholic Empire, there was a proverb: Nobody will find fault with extra courtesy.

The bright red, nearly transparent paper figurine pondered for two seconds and said, "Can I know your purpose?"

Klein didn't conceal his purpose. He frankly said, "To hunt a Spirit World Plunderer."

The paper figurine's head moved slightly.

"That's indeed something that can only be found in Calderón City with ease. Elsewhere, Spirit World Plunderers are like a drop of water in the ocean. They are very hard to distinguish, and even I will occasionally discover them. I'm unable to lock onto them for long periods of time.

"A number of them are active in the core region of Calderón City. A few are scattered in the periphery. As long as you don't attempt to go too deep inside, it's actually not too dangerous. Unfortunately, due to special reasons, us Seven Lights are prohibited from entering; otherwise, we could still provide you with some actual help."

"That's formerly the divine kingdom of the ancient goddess, Gregrace?" Klein's heart settled down as he asked as a form of confirming the answers.

The bright red paper figurine said, "Yes, the ancient Death wished to revive 'Herself' using this City of the Dead, but 'She' failed completely. The authority was taken by Balam's Death.

"However, this also makes Calderón City more dangerous because the setup left by the ancient goddess underwent an anomaly after the failure. As for what it has turned into, I'm not too sure."

Is that so... Klein nodded indiscernibly. He raised a few questions about other matters and received a rather satisfactory answer.

...

Bayam. Outside a house near the harbor.

Alger and Cattleya were patiently waiting for the people inside to finish their dinner.

-x-X-x-

Looking at the lights that emitted out of the oriel window, the hooded and masked Alger was just about to ask about the details of the operation when he suddenly saw a shadow grow out of the rich darkness. It materialized as a lanky, pale, sickly young man.

Bloodless Heath Doyle... Alger quickly recognized the man to be the second mate of the Future.

Heath didn't look at him as he directly said to Cattleya, "Captain, they didn't notice anything and turned those mushrooms into cream of mushroom soup. They plan to use the prepared pan-fried fish as tonight's main course."

"Excellent." Cattleya removed the heavy glasses on her nose and used her eyes which had a mysterious purple hue to look through the neighboring house's dining hall across the walls.

Heath Doyle didn't speak further as his body instantly darkened and returned to the shadows. It was unknown where he had slunk to.

After hearing their conversation, and combining it with what Ma'am Hermit had previously mentioned, Alger had a rough idea of the core element to tonight's operation:

Mushrooms!

Poisonous mushrooms!

Although he didn't know what method Admiral of Stars was using to cause the spiritual intuition of the Beyonders inside to be ineffective and not be able to distinguish normal mushrooms from poisonous mushrooms, Alger believed that there was nothing impossible in mysticism.

He hesitantly said, "Will this cause Artisan Cielf's death?"

Unaffiliated Artisans were rather rare, so Alger didn't wish to lose such a "friend" if there was still room for turning things around. To him, the best case was to imprison the fellow and make him the exclusive Artisan for both him and The Hermit.

"No." Cattleya calmly shook her head as she explained, "Be it from the information you gave and the observations of my crew, there's one point to take note of: Cielf doesn't like fish, and he even hates it. This might have to do with him getting a fish bone stuck in his throat when he was young."

And it was because of this matter that Cattleya ultimately chose the mushroom strategy. This could effectively reduce the enemy's effective strength while allowing their side to minimize any risks.

The dark environment-bred mushrooms that devoured flesh and blood and were the first to be eliminated by Admiral of Stars because they could let Beyonders with sharp spiritual perception sense something amiss. This was akin to facing something poisonous. In addition, Beyonders who believed in the Primordial Moon had a rather deep understanding of herbs, plants, and fruits. Relying on visual observation, they were likely able to identify mushrooms that posed danger.

To trick them, the only way was for the food to be harmless itself. Only through its contact with something else did a mutation occur.

Based on this, the mushrooms previously created by Frank were perfect!

If the two conditions of fish and water weren't met, the mushrooms were ordinary mushrooms. They could neither poison a person to death or cause diarrhea. It would be digested bit by bit and be broken down into its different components before being expelled by the body. At this point, any more fish and water was useless.

For this, Cattleya specially got Frank to temporarily abandon his experiment and had obtained a batch of mushrooms. She also promised to hunt an Aurora Order Rose Bishop for him.

"Hates fish..." Alger whispered, feeling like he couldn't keep up with The Hermit's thought process.

He had clearly asked if the poisonous mushrooms could cause Artisan Cielf's death, but the answer he received was that the Artisan wouldn't die because he didn't like fish and even hated it.

Is there some connection between the two? Alger questioned inwardly in puzzlement, but he didn't say it out loud.

He maintained his silence and planned to observe more and take note.

After a while, there were screams from inside the house, followed by pangs of painful grunts and vomiting

"Begin," Cattleya issued an order in an abnormally succinct manner.

Her figure instantly turned transparent, turning into a sculpture formed by countless stars.

The sculpture shattered instantly as bright stars surged towards the house's door and drilled through a gap.

As stars gathered inside, Cattleya's figure materialized.

Then, she heard howling winds and sounds of collisions.

The door frame shook before the door opened. Wearing a hood and mask, Alger entered the targeted building not much slower than Admiral of Stars.

He swept his gaze and quickly took in the situation at the dining hall.

Artisan Cielf was retreating from the table with a look of horror.

On the ground were two men and a woman who were constantly vomiting mushrooms. At their chests, their clothes had ripped apart as one mushroom after another sprouted.

Upon sensing someone enter, they subconsciously looked up, revealing bunches of white spores on their faces.

Under his mask, Alger's face involuntarily twitched.

Although he was experienced and knowledgeable, and with him being a Beyonder who had his fair share of experience seeing horrifying scenes, such a scene still left a striking visual and mental impact on him.

Cattleya had expected it, but she had never expected such a harrowing sight. After a moment of surprise, she held her right hand to her mouth and blew a whistle.

Illusory ropes emerged from the ground and coiled around the three Primordial Moon believers like snakes.

"Is there a way to stop this?" Cattleya said to the shadow in the corner.

After a moment of silence, Heath Doyle's voice sounded.

"Frank said that he hadn't obtained a way to stop it in his experiments. The only way is cremation."

Cremation... Cattleya's brows quivered. Immediately, she took out some powder from a pocket and threw them out.

The powder seemed to have a life of their own as they accurately landed on the three primitive believers and the various mushrooms.

Silently, they burst into scarlet flames and silently burned whatever they touched.

Artisan Cielf was already dumbstruck from witnessing the mutation. When someone intruded, he had thought of resisting using his mystical item, but he quickly recognized the intruder to be Admiral of Stars Cattleya. Hence, he wisely gave up and stood in his spot, waiting.

He knew that he was of significant value. No matter where he went, he was not someone who would immediately be killed. Furthermore, Admiral of Stars never had any infamy to her name.

Worst comes to worst, I'll just have to join the Star Pirates... Besides, this pirate admiral seems to be more beautiful than the bounty notices. She exudes a completely different air... Cielf tugged at his wolf fang necklace and forced a smile, awaiting the intruder to mention her purpose.

Cattleya glanced at him and seriously observed his appearance. All she could confirm was that he was a classic example of someone from Intis, but she failed to find any similarities to Queen Mystic.

The pirate admiral deliberated and said, "I had been introduced by a friend, hoping to get you to create a mystical item, but I later discovered that you were with some Primordial Moon believers.

"The three of them aren't too strong and couldn't restrain you at all. Why do you still remain here?"

In this operation, Cattleya's main hypothetical enemy was actually the Artisan himself. This was because she could neither kill him or control him. Furthermore, he still had many well-matched mystical items, making him a powerful enemy. Yet, things developed smoothly to her surprise.

Cielf said with a smile, "They had strong ones in Bayam in the beginning. Using particular floral fragrances and powders, they infected me with a strange ailment, making me increasingly weaker."

Cattleya casually sized him up and said, "You have already recovered, so why aren't you taking this opportunity to escape?"

Alger stood by the side silently. He didn't say a word, afraid that his voice might betray him.

Artisan Cielf chuckled and said, "While I was under their control, they told me that as long as I believed in the Primordial Moon, I could use certain rituals to treat my chronic illness. I couldn't resist the temptation and tried it, and it really succeeded. I found the feeling of being a man again..."

Having said that, he came to an abrupt halt, realizing that he had said too much, exposing his secret illness.

This is him letting himself go too far when it comes to women; thus, slowly losing his abilities in bed? Alger chuckled inwardly.

Cielf looked up and glanced at them. Seeing that no one was mocking him, he coughed slightly and continued, "It wasn't something that relied on medicine. I really recovered my young, virile state. Later, I had two dreams of a moon that was bloody and very enticing

"I believed that I had already become a believer of the Primordial Moon; therefore, I didn't dare to escape."

Cattleya and Alger silently exchanged gazes, simultaneously passing the death sentence on him.

As long as someone truly believed in an evil god, devil, or some other secret existence; unless they were willing to continue in the faith and slowly become crazier, there was no regret. Even if they were protected by official Beyonder factions and didn't suffer any problems for prolonged periods, they might end up strangling themselves in their sleep years later!

This was nearly unsalvageable, unless they earned the right to receive the blessings of a Grounded Angel like a pope of a major Church, or if they accepted being isolated by certain Sealed Artifacts and live underground forever. @@novelbin@@

Of course, under such situations, there were also many who did nothing and managed to live to a ripe old age before dying a natural death. However, they were mostly ordinary people, targets that the evil gods, devils, and hidden existences easily ignored. As for Cielf, he was a very useful Artisan.

Cattleya didn't mention the Primordial Moon believers again. To her, it wasn't a big problem whether the Artisan believed in an evil god. As long as he could be communicated with to reach a deal for cooperation and not go crazy from time to time, the other matters weren't something a pirate needed to be worried about.

She switched topics and said, "What mystical items do you have now? I'll choose a few and leave you with the rest."

Towards such a development, Artisan Cielf wasn't too surprised. She was a pirate, not a policewoman. Doing a heist in passing was extremely normal. For her to leave him some items was something he should earnestly thank her for.

In fact, with his level and items, it was possible for him to successfully escape if he went all-out, but he lacked the courage.

"Alright." Cielf took out a pair of grayish-white glasses from his breast pocket. "Gargoyle Glasses. As long as sightlines are met, it can cause the other party to turn numb all over as though they are being petrified. There are two negative effects. First, if one wears it and looks into a mirror, one will turn numb as well. Second, one's body will turn heavy, making one unagile."

Isn't that the item I reserved... So it has already been made... Looking at the Artisan, Alger couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

-x-X-x-

Cielf didn't notice the change in Alger's eyes. He pointed at one of the "cremated" Primordial Moon believers and said, "That cane was taken from me. It's called 'Word of the Sea.' It can release lightning at a target. Waving it and striking it will cause it to be augmented with wind blades. Apart from that, it can also create large water spheres and corrosive rainwater. It can also allow the wielder to not be afraid of deep-sea pressure. They can freely extract oxygen from the water. At the same time, it can also be used as a wand to provide flight.

"There are three negative side effects. First, it enjoys singing. Every six hours, it has to belt out a song. The resulting effects don't discriminate between friend or foe. Due to the different choices of songs and styles, it can make one's mind go adrift or have one's mind and soul shocked, and at other times, cause one to be irascible and be in a state of lowered reason. Of course, even without waiting six hours, it will also be very willing to sing if you so desire.

"Second, you can probably tell that it's equipped with living characteristics. Furthermore, it's one that is rather testy. It enjoys tripping, beating, or pulling the wielder down stairs when they aren't paying attention.

"Third, it will cause the wielder to easily be struck by lightning. Therefore, on stormy days, either don't go out or don't bring it along."

This is the Sealed Artifact that was made from Gehrman Sparrow's Ocean Songster Beyonder characteristic. If he were to know that you had already made it and had allowed the Primordial Moon believer to take it away, you will definitely be sold to someone who is need of you—in the form of a Beyonder characteristic... Alger looked towards the dining table and saw the black silver-inlaid cane.

From what he knew, regardless of whether the other negative effects were severe, mystical items with living characteristics were considered Sealed Artifacts. This was because there were unpredictable dangers associated with them.

With Cattleya and her companion not telling him that he was done, Cielf could only continue taking out mystical items with a glum face.

"This short knife is called 'Blade of Poison.' The effects are obvious. There's no need for me to give any additional information, right?

"Eh, every time it deals damage, it will add on a random poison. As for what it is, it's all luck.

"Its negative effects aren't too serious. It will only cause medical treatment to fail and the feeling of being drunk to accumulate within the wielder."

Cielf continued introducing a few mystical items and finally heard Cattleya say, "Excellent, the rest are yours."

Phew... She still left me with three... Not only did Cielf not bear a grudge, he felt deep down how nice a person Admiral of Stars was. It was as though he had suffered some psychological ailments. Cattleya then turned to look at The Hanged Man.

"You pick first."

She knew that The World Gehrman Sparrow had commissioned a mystical item to be made by the Artisan. Therefore, The Hanged Man had to first select the crazy adventurer's item first.

Alger nodded and took the Word of the Sea and the Gargoyle Glasses. Then, he indicated that the rest were spoils of war.

Cattleya thought for a moment and said, "Pick another one. The rest will be mine."

She wasn't too interested in the remaining mystical items because she had two rather powerful items that suited her. She had also obtained the Scales of Luck and Judge Button later; thus, covering all her bases. Under such a situation, the stacking of negative effects was something to be considered. Unless it was something extremely special, it wasn't something she would take a second look or choose to exchange.

Of course, as a pirate admiral, she never found mystical items too excessive. After all, she had to hand over some of them to the Moses Ascetic Order and leave the rest to reward her crew.

Alger fell silent for a moment. Starting from what items and Beyonder powers he had, he chose the Blade of Poison.

Following that, Cattleya instructed Bloodless Heath Doyle to move the mystical items that Cielf had placed on the ground, and the remnant items left by the Primordial Moon believers, out of the room.

Then, she looked at the Artisan with her dark purple-hued eyes.

"Why do the Primordial Moon believers want to control you?"

Cielf's eyes flickered.

"Isn't that simple and obvious? To get me to make mystical items for them..."

Just as he said that, his heart skipped a beat as a result of the purple eyes that were coldly looking at him. He hurriedly added, "They also seem to have some plan that needs the help of an Artisan. As for what it is, I've no idea because it hasn't started."

Cattleya retracted her gaze while seemingly in thought. Exchanging a silent look with The Hanged Man, they nodded simultaneously.

They decided not to take away the Artisan today and to leave him there to monitor the subsequent developments.

In other words, they wanted to figure out the Primordial Moon believers' plans from monitoring him. @@novelbin@@

Actually, for The Hermit and The Hanged Man, whatever the Primordial Moon believers were plotting wasn't something they cared about. They just each had matters they were concerned about. The former used it to communicate with Queen Mystic to provide her reference material for her strategies in the supernatural world. The latter could use this matter to earn contribution points from the Church; therefore, they had instantly come to a tacit agreement to investigate deeper.

Of course, Alger always believed in a principle:

The more information he wielded, the more benefits he could obtain from various matters!

After a brief silence, Cattleya said to Artisan Cielf in the same tone, "Since you're already a Primordial Moon believer, taking you with me provides me with no benefit."

Cielf nodded immediately, agreeing with what she said.

Cattleya paused for a moment before she said, "However, I wish to establish a long-term working relationship with you. Therefore, I need a few drops of your blood. This will aid me in finding you at any time."

Cielf wore a miserable look as his lips quivered, but he was unable to object to it.

Phew... He suddenly exhaled and said, "Okay."

With that said, he picked up a paper cutter beside him and sliced his forearm, letting a few drops of blood drip out.

Cattleya immediately raised her right arm and gently flicked her wrist, causing the few drops of blood to float and fly towards her.

After observing the blood in her palm, this pirate admiral suddenly asked, "What's your last name?"

"June," Cielf replied instinctively.

Cattleya didn't say a word as she turned around and walked out the door. Alger followed closely behind.

The room quickly turned silent as Cielf sat on the sofa. He sat there motionless for quite a while, as though he was deep in thought over the encounter, being unable to extricate himself from it.

Ten minutes later, he suddenly stood up and took out a small human-shaped figurine from his inside pocket.

The figurine was brass-colored, and its face was empty. Blood slowly seeped out from it and remained on its surface.

Cielf hurriedly wiped the figurine's face with a handkerchief before heaving a sigh of relief. He curled the corners of his lips and silently muttered, Thankfully I have this Fate Puppet...

Humph, Let's see how you can find me with those drops of blood! Don't even think of cursing me!

In the poverty-stricken district of Bayam, on a street without any street lamps.

The masked and hooded Alger looked at The Hermit beside him. With a deep voice, he said, "After Cielf escaped from the Church of Steam, he has been living safe and sound to this day. This means he's not a fool. For him to so easily give you the blood in such a relaxed manner without putting up any resistance means that he has the means to avoid your tracking

"Besides, he didn't mention an explanation of how the Primordial Moon believers found him."

Logically speaking, the believers definitely would've asked him for the origins of the Werewolf Beyonder characteristic, but Cielf hadn't mentioned Alger at all.

As Cattleya took out the pair of heavy glasses and wore it, she said without a change in tone, "It isn't used for tracking."

Alger nodded in thought before bidding her farewell, turning into a dark alley.

He made several detours and found a chance to remove his disguise before leaving Bayam. After he returned to the Resistance's private harbor, he boarded the Blue Avenger.

His sailors had pretty much spent most of their energy and money over the past few days. So at that moment, they were all on the ship, waiting to set off for the seas again.

Upon seeing him return, one of the sailors stood up immediately and asked with a smile, "Captain, have you had dinner?"

"Not yet. Make something simple for me." For the operation, Alger hadn't had a chance to fill his stomach.

The sailor who also did some cooking on the side immediately replied, "Alright. We got some fresh mushrooms in the forest today. How about I pan fry it with some butter?"

Alger's face twitched as he shook his head with a normal expression.

"Searing a steak would do. Medium rare, uhMedium-done."

East Balam, by the periphery of a forest.

With his two marionettes, Klein wasn't in a rush to leave. He entered a city and planned on getting some dyes to disguise Admiral Hell Ludwell's mask.

And before that, he had other things to do.

It was to seek out a helper for his exploration of the periphery of Calderón!

Klein was never a lone wolf, and it was even more so the case when faced with danger. Therefore, unless he had no options, he would always invite powerhouses to provide him with help by sharing the coordinates and paying the corresponding price. He wasn't one to rashly enter.

To him, being able to obtain the desired ingredient while alive was most important!

If it wasn't because I know it's impossible, I'd even wish to wait one to two weeks before I carry a baby or push a pram to head for Calderón... Klein sighed silently as he took out the adventurer's harmonica and blew into it.

Silently, Reinette Tinekerr with her four heads in hand walked out of the void.

Klein deliberated over his words and said, "I plan on exploring Calderón City soon. Well, I've already obtained its coordinates in the spirit world. I'm wondering if I can hire you for your help? What would be the price?"

The four heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hand spoke one after another:

"Won't do..." I..." "Can't..." "Enter...."

-x-X-x-

Can't enter... The Seven Lights can't enter for some special reason... Is this a restriction Calderón City has on higher-level creatures in the spirit world? However, how does Miss Messenger know of this limitation? Has she been there before? If that were the case, I didn't even need to ask Red Light or the magic mirror... Perhaps her spiritual intuition told her that? As his mind whirred, Klein slowly and silently exhaled.

He then took out a gold coin and handed it to Reinette Tinekerr.

"I understand. Thank you for the information."

After one of Miss Messenger's head bit on the gold coin and retreated into the spirit world, Klein allowed his thoughts to roam as he considered how he could find other helpers.

Mr. Azik has entered a state of slumber. It's unknown when he will wake up. There's no way to wait for him.

Will Auceptin is about to be born but is only a baby. "He" is still at a nadir. And even if Ma'am Hermit has a way to temporarily restore "His" power while "He" is weak, it's impossible for "Him" to do something as trivial as being my bodyguard. Besides, once "He" leaves Backlund or showcases his corresponding level, there's a very high chance that he might once again be locked on by Angel of Fate Ouroboros.

Get the help of a demigod from the Life School of Thought through this Snake of Fate, such as that Councilor Ricciardo? That will be difficult. The Life School of Thought is suffering an internal divide. The Councilors have too many things to do. Besides, they're running all over the world with the Die of Probability to leave traces to divert the Angel of Fate's attention.

Queen Mystic Bernadette? I'm not too familiar with her. Besides, The Fool has demigods and angels under "Him." A Blessed like Gehrman Sparrow can always find other help. Even if I claim that it's a cooperative effort, it will also expose quite significant problems. Sigh, on the surface, The Fool has angels and demigods under "Him," but the actual situation is that at the angel and demigod's side is The Fool who's just photobombing them...

The Chief from the City of Silver? This is indeed something that could be used as a price when he makes a request, but the problem is that he's unable to leave the Forsaken Land of the Gods. I think I should leave this opportunity for the Bizarro Bane...

Those geezers of the Sanguine? There's no suitable reason, and it's very easy for me to be exposed to Lilith. Who knows who that dead ancient goddess who hasn't truly perished is. If "She" is actually the Primordial Moon in disguise, I can forget about resurrection...

Klein thought of one candidate after another, but one by one, he struck them off the list. Finally, he couldn't help but sigh.

When in need, friends are always in short supply!

He couldn't help but think of setting up a ritual to attempt to pray to the Evernight, the Crimson for strength, to seek the blessing of the Goddess, hoping that she could directly bestow him with the true soul body and powder of a Spirit World Plunderer, or have some archbishop, high-ranking deacon, or secret ascetic to provide him with help.

Unfortunately, all he could do was muse over the idea without actually carrying it out. Although Klein was rather accepting of the Evernight Goddess and wasn't against the identity of being an Evernight Blessed, he still felt extremely wary. He didn't wish to rely on a deity's bestowment for everything. Besides, he suspected that similar rituals wouldn't have any effect. This was because, with his present level and strength, he had no right to raise conditions with a Sequence o. If the deity was willing to give, then "She" would naturally give it to him. If "She" didn't, praying was useless.

If I have the shamelessness of Old Neil, I might really try it. Back then, the Goddess was willing to respond to his debt payment and resolve his constipation. "She" dotes on her believers pretty well. Of course, there must be certain "side effects"... Klein recalled the past as he sighed.

He decided to change his train of thought. Since he couldn't get help from friends, he considered making use of his enemies.

Hmm, perhaps I can bring the Black Emperor card, Tyrant card, and the radio transceiver. I could wait at the entrance of Calderón City. As long as King of the Five Seas Nast, High-Sequence Beyonders of the Church of Storms, or leaders of the Rose School of Thought like Suah and the other demigods and angels rushed over, I will immediately enter that City of the Dead...

No, that's too explicit. King of the Five Seas Nast and the High-Sequence Beyonders of the Church of Storms are highly unlikely to follow me into Calderón City. Instead, they will stay outside and wait for me to come out...

Abomination Suah might chase after me, but "He" is an angel. "He" wouldn't be impeded by anything in the periphery of Calderón City. I'll only be inviting trouble to myself...

After repeated thought, Klein finally gave up the idea of creating chaos for his benefit. He believed that it was difficult to replicate the same situation outside Bayam City from back then. It was even more so when he wasn't a High-Sequence Beyonder.

A person who treads the edge of the abyss would fall into it sooner or later!

Who else can provide me with help? Klein's gaze swept past his two marionettes as friend after friend flashed past his mind, including the members of the Tarot Club.

Suddenly, he recalled something.

Miss Sharron once told me that the Tutanssess II mummy is one of the keys to her advancement ritual and is very important to her. This also means that she's about to become a demigod, Sequence 4 Puppet of the Mutant pathway...

If she succeeds, I can get her to help. We have had a good partnership.

Thankfully, I chose to help her. Otherwise, I wouldn't have any hope today.

As Klein reeled in poignancy, he took out paper and a fountain pen. Placing the paper on Enzo's back, he scribbled, "It's been a while since we last met. I wonder how you've been recently..."

As he wrote, Klein suddenly stopped. He felt the opening was too off and hypocritical.

Miss Sharron is a person who restrains herself. When she writes letters, she goes straight to the point without saying anything unnecessary. I have to consider her personality and be more frank... Klein thought for a few seconds before raising the previous slip of paper. Shaking it, he made it become engulfed in scarlet flames.

After a few seconds of deliberation, Klein wrote on a new slip of paper:

"I've already acquired the spirit world coordinates of Calderón City. If you've already become a demigod, I wish to cooperate again to receive some help. If not, there's no need to force it. I can still find other friends.

"Sherlock Moriarty"

After folding the slip of paper and addressing it to "Ma'am Maryam," Klein took out the adventurer's harmonica again and blew it.

Reinette Tinekerr, in her dark and complicated dress, walked out of the void as though she had never left the vicinity, appearing right in front of him.

Klein handed her the folded slip of paper and a gold coin before seriously exhorting her, "Send it to Backlund, Hillston, 126 Garde Street. Throw it directly into the mailbox."

"Alright," one of Reinette Tinekerr's head said while another head but on the letter and gold coin.

Upon seeing this, Klein pressed, somewhat worried:

"You haven't lost the previous map, right?

"Do you know which borough Hillston Borough is? Do you know where Garde Street is?"

The three other heads which Reinette Tinekerr held replied, "No..." "I know..." "It's..." "Very..." "Easy to..." "Find."

Klein immediately heaved a sigh of relief as he politely sent off Miss Messenger.

He temporarily threw the matter of Calderón City to the back of his mind and began disguising his marionette, Ludwell.

The next morning, a man, with brownish skin, light curly hair, and was dressed in a formal Loen attire and a silk half top hat, entered Ttniks City that bordered a forest with his two servants.

This was a city that mainly produced timber, rubber, and special products from the forest. There was talk in the town that a few hair-growth research centers and the complementing factories were established here.

Having disguised himself as a local, wealthy man, Klein quickly found a hotel to stay in. Sitting on a reclining chair made of rattan, he observed his handiwork once again.

Winner Enzo's skin was not only bronze, but it was now almost completely black. Together with his thin and soft hair, bushy brows, and dark shadowy facial outline, matched with Balam-styled baggy, creased pants and a black-and-white top, he looked like a typical example of a local servant that hailed from a particular plantation manor.

Admiral Hell Ludwell's rather resplendent clothes had become the same style as Enzo's. His exposed skin had clear burn marks, and his silver mask was now dyed with a uniform iron-black color. This made it look as though he had been disfigured due to a fire accident and that he was wearing a mask to hide his face, lest he scared any passersby.

After having his lunch which was served to his room, Klein heard stacked illusory prayers. @@novelbin@@

Male... Mr. Hanged Man? It's also possible it's Emlyn and Little Sun. The transaction of the Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristic of the Vampire pathway is about to begin... Klein was just about to head for the bathroom to take four steps counterclockwise and head above the gray fog when his spiritual perception was triggered.

He hurried activated his Spirit Vision and saw the headless Reinette Tinekerr appear out of the spirit world which overlapped with the real world with a letter in a head's mouth.

Miss Sharron has replied? Klein first thanked her before receiving the letter and tearing it open to read.

"Sorry, I will likely still need another one to two months of preparation. If you still need my help by then, I'll be fine with it. Sharron."

One to two months... It's not like I can't wait... It's not like I've digested my Marionettist potion yet... Klein nodded indiscernibly as he got a pen and some paper to reply simply:

"Take your own time. There's no rush. My matter isn't urgent. I can wait. Sherlock Moriarty."

After handing the letter and gold coin to Reinette Tinekerr and getting her to send it to Backlund, Hillston Borough, 126 Garde Street, Klein suddenly thought of a problem:

During wars, scouting is necessary. How can I be rash and so careless about exploring a dangerous place like Calderón City?

Hmm, when Miss Sharron advances, I can head there to do some scouting and gather some intelligence without the need to take risks. For example, I can figure out exactly what restrictions there are; what kind of anomalies will happen towards Death domain powers; or I can figure out whether I'm only able to enter by a fixed entrance, or if I have any way of directly returning above the gray fog from inside... After confirming all of this, I can formulate a plan and make preparations... Of course, before scouting, divination is necessary... Klein soon made up his mind and walked into the attached bathroom.

-x-X-x-

Above the endless grayish-white fog, in the magnificent ancient hall.

Klein didn't rush to do a divination. He first answered The Hanged Man Alger's sacrificial ritual and got the cane made from the Ocean Songster Beyonder characteristics to appear in front of him.

Word of the Sea… This name, when transliterated to Chinese, does bring back memories. I'll just leave it at that… It's basically a weaker version of Sea God Scepter. It doesn't have demigod-level powers like Lightning Storm or Tsunami either… There are quite a number of negative effects… As Klein recalled The Hanged Man's descriptions, he stroked the silver inlaid black cane.

Perhaps the mysterious space above the gray fog had naturally suppressed it, causing this Beyonder cane to not express its living characteristic. It silently lay there like it was the most common and ordinary piece of wood.

Klein nodded slightly and muttered silently to himself, Mystical item with living characteristics are really rather troublesome. But from a different angle, it means that they can be communicated with. The Die of Probability back then was quite a nasty fellow, but didn't it also become obedient after getting schooled?

Besides, I can always have my servants hold it most of the time. Yes, Winner Enzo will be most suitable. Although he already has zero passive luck, he is still accumulating luck constantly to make preparations for that critical moment. Releasing a little bit of it wouldn't affect anything. This way, be it being tripped, thrown, or beaten, he would be able to smoothly avoid it and not garner the attention of others.

On careful thought, the cane's pranks aren't completely useless. If I were to meet other Marionettists, Spirit World Plunderers, or Bizarro Banes and lose my initiative and end up being initially controlled, my thoughts and actions would turn sluggish. It would be quite difficult to extricate myself from that state by myself. At this moment, if an uncontrollable cane were to suddenly hit me or trip me to the ground, wouldn't I be successfully escaping from my predicament?

Sigh, if a mystical item's negative effects are used well, they can be quite a boon…

Of course, in normal combat, such pranks can bring about unnecessary dangers. How it should be balanced or avoided will need repeated trial and error.

As for the negative effects of easily being struck by lightning on a stormy day, Klein didn't mind. Firstly, unless he was in a special region, stormy weather wasn't common to begin with. It wasn't something that needed to be taken into consideration most of the time. Secondly, as a Seer, divining the day's weather before heading out was a common act. Finally, if he couldn't avoid sudden flash storms, Klein could always give the cane to Enzo. This way, even if the lightning were to strike the Winner, it would even up being attracted by a nearby lightning rod.

Let's just hope I'm not that lightning rod… Klein gave a self-deprecating laugh as he considered the most worrisome negative effect.

It would belt out Beyonder singing every six hours!

This was indiscriminate, and it was basically a huge AOE[1] attack!

After some thought, Klein decided to communicate with the Word of Sea cane to reduce the frequency at which it sang, or to give prior warning before it sang.

I had breakfast early today. It's almost time for Creeping Hunger to start its howling… In thought, Klein removed the human-skinned glove from his left palm and threw it at an empty spot in front of the junk pile.

Right on the heels of that, he lifted the silver inlaid black cane and threw it over. Then, he stirred some of the power of the mysterious space above the gray fog, creating a barrier that isolated all sound and images. He made Creeping Hunger and Word of the Sea spend time alone.

After doing all of this, Klein rubbed his palms and conjured a pen and paper. He wrote down a divination statement: "My scouting of Calderón City's periphery today is dangerous."

After putting down the dark red fountain pen, Klein removed the spirit pendulum from his left wrist. He let the topaz hang down over the paper in close proximity with it.

After chanting seven times in his mind, he opened his eyes and saw the topaz standing still and not spinning

This meant that the divination had failed.

Calderón City's actual situation is a secret to the entire spirit world, and divination lacks a starting point… Besides, that was once a divine kingdom of an ancient goddess. There's a mutated resurrection setup left over there. It can similarly interfere with divination… Klein rolled up his spirit pendulum and deliberated in thought. I can only trust what Red Light said. The danger around Calderón City's periphery isn't that great… Besides, I still have marionettes. I can let them go first and confirm if that place screens the gray fog. If it can, I'll give up. If it doesn't, I'll enter myself.

Klein quickly came to a decision. Without any hesitation, he waved his hand to remove the barrier he had previously created.

Then, he saw the Creeping Hunger which had retreated to the side of the junk pile. It was propping itself up with three fingers while its thumb and pinky were pressing backward on Groselle's Travels. It looked weak and could hardly stand.

At the same time, there was a mouth in the middle of the palm. It revealed two illusory, white, and eerie teeth that kept gasping for air.

On the other side of the barrier, the silver inlaid black cane was on the ground. It twitched from time to time as its tip kept oozing with blue transparent water bubbles.

"Very good, silence at last…" Upon seeing this scene, Klein muttered in gratification.

Just as he said that, the Word of the Sea suddenly stood up. And as though it was being held, it "hopped" towards Klein, circling about The Fool's seat and dodged elsewhere. Creeping Hunger used all its five fingers as legs as it chased after the cane with great difficulty. Midway, it collapsed to the ground.

Klein watched speechless before letting out a sigh.

"After fusing with Mr. A, Creeping Hunger seems to have a living characteristic, but this level of intelligence is way too low. It clearly Grazed a Wind-blessed and is capable of Short-distance Flight; yet, it still uses its fingers as legs to chase…"

After saying that, he turned his head towards the Word of the Sea cane which was hiding beside him.

"Aren't you a Sequence 5 of the Sailor pathway? What kind of mystical item are you if you can only hop on one leg?

"Seriously, are such low-level living characteristics equivalent to babies? No, a particular baby is way smarter than all of you!"

Klein reprimanded each of them and sighed as he said in amusement, "It's not like I'm a devil…"

Just as he said that, the glove and cane who were still stirring froze at the same moment. They didn't dare make a sound.@@novelbin@@

Klein's subsequent words were left in his throat. All he could do was reach out to pick up Word of the Sea and kindly and sincerely speak to it.

After a friendly and frank negotiation, this silver inlaid black cane used high frequency swaying to gesture that it would reduce its singing to a minimum. If it really couldn't hold back, it would inform its owner. The exact manner included, but was not limited to, trembling slightly or automatically moving up a few centimeters.

At the same time, it raised a request via singing:

Never use the hand wearing Creeping Hunger to hold it!

Of course, if its master insisted on doing so, it didn't object to it and was happy to accept it.

Better than Creeping Hunger. It's not too stubborn… Klein beckoned for Creeping Hunger and wore it on his left palm.

Taking a glance at the Door of Summoning which had been produced from the ritual, Klein began considering the items to bring on his scouting of Calderón City.

Needless to say, the two marionettes were going. They could be used as bait, to scout the path ahead, be used as test subjects, and verify any traps. They allowed a Marionettist to not need to undergo too many dangerous actions, so they were definitely going.

They would be wearing Enzo's Flower of Blood ring and Ludwell's Harris Sword. They were all standard equipment. In addition, Klein decided to get Enzo to carry the Word of the Sea.

As for himself, Klein planned on heading there as a Spirit Body. Once anything was amiss, he would immediately end the summoning and return above the gray fog. This way, what "clothes" he matched was something worth considering.

Azik's copper whistle? No, that is related to Death, and Calderón City belongs to ancient Death… There's a small possibility that this might create a terrifying anomaly, causing the danger in the core region to automatically come out.

Black Emperor card or the Tyrant card? Hmm, I'll be moving about the spirit world. The two marionettes are basically dead. I'm not afraid that they have their blood extracted. Heh heh, Ludwell is a half-human, half-dead entity. He doesn't have blood to speak of. The value of Enzo's blood only makes him appear human most of the time. And this could be recovered via using Flower of Blood. It also means that I can bring the Sea God Scepter to Calderón City!

It's a place that's deep in the spirit world. It's far from the Rorsted Archipelago, so I don't have to worry about being affected by the believers' prayers. The only problem is that I'll become irascible and short-tempered. It will be easy for me to become hot-headed… This is taboo when it comes to exploring. However, this is easily resolved. I'll leave it with Enzo or Ludwell. Besides, the Tyrant card's level is very high. It can produce a suppression effect to a certain degree on the Sea God Scepter, preventing me from easily flaring up.

With the combination of the Tyrant card and the Sea God Scepter, I'm equivalent to half a Sequence 4. This can then most effectively reduce the risk I face. In the future, even if I were to enter with Miss Sharron, I can also equip myself in such a manner. I'll get her to maintain her state as a wraith—no, an evil spirit state to circumvent all problems!

I don't have to worry about the law of convergence. If Calderón City can screen the gray fog, I'll return after taking a look from the outside. No one will lock onto me or pursue me. After all, the spirit world isn't the home ground of the Sailor pathway. If Calderón City can't screen the gray fog, and a High-Sequence Beyonder of the Church of Storms really does get drawn there, I can end up using him… Amidst his thoughts, Klein suddenly reached out his hand, attracting the Tyrant card to fall into his palm.

Immediately after that, he fused the Card of Blasphemy into his Soul Body.

Suddenly, extreme might and terrifying auras emanated from The Fool's location. A heavy papal tiara silently appeared on Klein's head as his clothes turned into a religious robe.

The latter was similar in dressing as a pope from Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac which he had seen in his previous life. However, the colors were dark blue that was almost black.

As howling winds sounded, the pontiff robe flared up suddenly as Klein raised his right hand and suspended himself in midair before catching the white bone scepter that flew towards him.

At the tip of the scepter, the gems emitted either blinding silver or blue light like bolts of lightning that circled around the Tyrant.

With a thud, the Word of the Sea cane prostrated to the ground, right beside Klein who was wielding the scepter and dressed like a pontiff.

[1] Area of Effect.

-x-X-x-

I really do feel a little irascible, but I'm not that quick-tempered... Wearing the papal tiara and dark blue robes while wielding the Sea God Scepter, Klein seriously observed his new state.

This meant that the Tyrant card could suppress the negative effects of the Sea God Scepter to a certain extent, but it wasn't able to completely eliminate it.

Using Cogitation, Klein composed himself and turned to look at the junk pile in the corner.

Groselle's Travels? This is my strongest defensive item to this day. Besides, it also has some magical uses, but the problem is that it was made by another ancient god, Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt. Based on what Little Sun said, this dragon king was once allies with the owner of Calderón City-Ancient Death, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace. Who knows if this book would trigger any unnecessary developments... To be safe, it's best if I don't bring it.

And just like Azik's copper whistle, the mutated paper figurine can't be included. It has the remnant aura of Artificial Death... This might have a shock-and-awe effect when exploring Calderón City, but it also contains plenty of latent risks.

The Priest of Light Beyonder characteristic? This can effectively restrain dead spirits, a natural nemesis for the City of the Dead, but it's only an ingredient that hasn't been made into a mystical item. The effects it has is rather limited. The negative effects are extremely bad. It won't be helpful to my soul state. In addition, lightning can also purify the dead. With the Sea God Scepter and Word of the Sea, there's no need for me to bring the Priest of Light Beyonder characteristic... Thoughts flashed across Klein's mind as he eliminated the remaining items in the junk pile.

He wore the human-skinned glove on his left hand, wielded Sea God Scepter, and raised his right hand slightly. He made Word of the Sea fly up and land in his palm.

Following that, the papal-dressed Klein changed the appearance of his soul. He hid his facial features within the shadows of the papal tiara.

He slowly stood up as the dark blue robes fluttered in the wind, the white bone scepter dazzling.

With just one step, Tyrant Klein passed through the Door of Summoning and walked out of the candlelight, arriving in the real world. He found himself in the rather spacious bathroom.

After adding the Fate Siphon charm and Death Knell into his body, he opened the door and returned to the living room. He got Enzo to come over to receive Word of the Sea. @@novelbin@@

After some thought, Klein took out Death Knell and handed it to Admiral Hell Ludwell.

After doing all of this, he brought his two marionettes and relied on Traveling to head for the coordinates in the spirit world that were provided by Miss Magician.

The trip happened rather smoothly. The Tyrant aura made all kinds of strange spirit world creatures not dare to approach him while en route. They didn't even dare look at him directly. Before long, Klein arrived at his destination.

The scene in front of him looked no different from anywhere else in the spirit world. The saturated colors were overlapped, and there was some thin fog emanating everywhere. Elsewhere, in the depths, pairs of eyes moved away one after another.

The papal robe's cape fluttered gently in the wind as Klein did a rough scan before getting Enzo and Ludwell to enter a blob of fog that appeared very thin and normal.

Suddenly, his field of vision widened with the help of his two marionettes. A grand city that was of legendary proportions appeared in his eyes. This city was abnormal. It didn't develop in a vertical manner, but instead spiraled deep into the ground. It gave one the feeling of an inverted mausoleum.

Its buildings had a myriad of styles, but they were equally strange. Some of them had towering pale-white rock columns with a huge single house carved out at the top. Some were long and squarish, with the doors placed at the ceiling with no windows in sight. Some were built in the ground, a tombstone erected at their entrances. Some were built with white bones, messy and scattered.

The closer it was to the bottom of the pit, the more completely preserved the buildings were. The closer they were to the top, the more collapsed areas there were, ones filled with the dilapidation and rot that time brought.

Klein made his two marionettes stop. Despite standing at the edge of the city and overlooking everything, he was unable to identify what was at the bottom of the building. Deep darkness enveloped the area as though no light had been shone inside for thousands and thousands of years.

After a brief observation, Enzo lowered his head and chanted using ancient Hermes:

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

"The mysterious ruler above the gray fog.

"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck..."

Just as he finished the statement, Klein, who was still situated outside Calderón City, heard stacked illusory pleas. He also recognized it to be from a man with a deliberately hoarse voice.

It's the marionette's prayer from before... Klein heaved a sigh of relief as he silently muttered, "This means that Calderón City doesn't screen out the gray fog. At the very least, the outer periphery doesn't. I can enter."

Although he said that to himself, he was in no way in a hurry. He subsequently controlled Ludwell to raise his left palm and spread it open.

Illusory light was suddenly emitted. Following that, with a point as its origin, the area imploded, forming a pair of double bronze doors.

This door was slightly blurry and extremely incorporeal. The surface was covered with countless mysterious patterns that gave one the feeling of indescribable heaviness and silence.

With a creak, the mysterious bronze door shifted backward and cracked open a little.

Through this crack, Klein saw the deepest and heaviest darkness.

Amidst the darkness, pale-white colors stirred, swirling up at times and descending at other times. It was like a river that was gushing through a night devoid of light.

On its two sides, pale white stone columns appeared, looking extremely identical to Calderón City's interior but in a more exaggerated manner.

At this moment, pairs of transparent eyes and indescribable faces suddenly appeared. They filled the illusory bronze door's crack, eagerly trying to pass through

Klein's eyes felt a slight stabbing pain as he immediately made Ludwell clench his left palm.

Thud!

The illusory door covered in mysterious patterns was pushed by an invisible force as it closed, disappearing from Enzo's sight.

This mysterious door that separates life from death and leads to the Underworld has apparently changed its course. It's no longer the Underworld behind the door, but the core region of Calderón City. The deepest point at the bottom of the pit? Wearing the papal tiara while wielding the Sea God Scepter, Klein nodded in thought.

This way, many of the powers of the Death domain was remade in Calderón City, causing an anomaly.

With this knowledge in mind, Klein once again got Ludwell to raise his left arm.

The left part of this marionette's body rapidly turned illusory as dark green specks appeared as though he had turned into a wraith or specter.

His arm began to stop abiding by the laws of reality as it suddenly extended into the distance. The center of its palm was abnormally white with an illusory face protruding from it.

The face had its mouth half-open as its tongue was sharp like a snake's. It was covered in white fur.

In a completely surreal manner, the tongue flicked out far into the distance. It was as though it could drill directly into a human's body and absorb one's soul.

Indeed, the Death Envoy powers Ludwell gets from the Underworld creature inside his body has mutated. Not only has it been enhanced, but it has also gone from remotely extracting Spirit Bodies to directly consuming them... Klein stood at Calderón City's entrance and made Admiral Hell display all kinds of Beyonder powers of the Death domain. Through that, he gleaned the differences that there were from the usual outcome.

The thing they had in common was that all of them had become more powerful!

Then, Klein experimented by making Enzo use the specialness of his body and the various powers from Flower of Blood and Word of the Sea before coming up with a conclusion.

Aspects in the Fate domain aren't affected...

Lightning Strike is suppressed, making it much weaker...

Unable to fly too high...

Powers like wind blades, singing, illusory scales, balance, and water membrane undergo no changes...

With the end of these experiments, Klein made Enzo and Ludwell walk down the pale-white stairs, clinging closely to the periphery of Calderón City. The buildings there had already completely collapsed.

As the two-hundred-meter threshold approached, Klein raised his right hand and pressed down on his face that hid in the shadows of the papal tiara. Then, wielding the Sea God Scepter, he stepped into the thin fog.

His mind instantly felt a little groggy as the scene before him changed. He had already entered the City of the Dead, Calderón City.

Enduring the irascible feelings within him, Klein made his left glove turn dark.

His body turned illusory as it was tainted by a dark color, turning him into a shadow. Only the Sea God Scepter in his hand continued emitting silver or blue beams of light.

Using the soul's screening and the Tyrant card's suppression to hide the light, Klein floated diagonally ahead, slinking into the shadows of the collapsed buildings. He followed closely behind the two marionettes, beginning to perform an initial inspection of Calderón City's outer region.

As he traversed the area, Klein gradually noticed something amiss.

It was too quiet!

It was so quiet that it was as though the entire city was dead. Even bugs had failed to survive!

Based on what Arrodes and Red Light Aiur Moria had said, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace had uprooted Calderón City and thrown it deep into the spirit world. Before doing so, the residents inside the city were allowed to leave. Occasionally, there would be other spirit world creatures entering.

But now, not only were there no active creatures in the peripheral region, there weren't even skeletons, zombies, or even one or two non-bonelike buildings!

Klein tensed up more and more. With Enzo's and Ludwell's vision, he carefully observed his surroundings.

During this process, his gaze swept across a broken pale-white column. The ancient but damaged building at the top had a disc burnished from gold inside.

The disc's smooth surface reflected a figure, but it wasn't Enzo, but Klein in his papal tiara and dark blue robe!

This Klein had a gloomy demeanor. His face was pale and his eyes were listless as though he had long been dead.

-x-X-x-

Hiding in the shadows, Klein's heart tightened. He then quickly calmed down without showing any signs of horror.

This was because he was extremely certain that the reflection on the golden disc's smooth surface wasn't him—at least, it wasn't the real him!

If it really was him, Enzo would've seen the gray fog, seeing magical scenes that resembled a Mythical Creature form. This would've caused Klein to faint immediately!

Since I'm completely fine, it means that the reflection isn't of me... Klein activated his Spirit Body Threads vision, controlled Enzo, and raised Word of the Sea. He approached the pale-white collapsed column and the ancient building which remained in shambles while secretly releasing some of his "luck."

The swarthy marionette approached the golden disc one step at a time. Bending his back and raising the cane, he carefully observed the area.

The disc had two layers-an inner and outer layer. The core region was as smooth as a mirror with very few patterns. The boundaries were engraved with birdlike creatures. Its entirety had an ancient magnificence to it.

The figure it reflected remained the same. Despite reflecting Enzo, it reflected the gloomy, pale Klein with listless eyes. Even the Sea God Scepter, the papal tiara and papal robe that came with the Tyrant card weren't missing. If it wasn't because of the lack of the gray fog, Klein definitely would've imagined that the disc could influence himself through a marionette and Spirit Body Threads. Or perhaps it would be like what the Saint of Darkness back at the ruins of the battle of gods had encountered, having himself dissociate without realizing it.

What does this actually mean... Klein calmly grew out of the shadows, restoring his appearance back when he first stepped into Calderón City. Then, using his Beyonder powers as a Clown, he produced his present state in his mind.

Holding the white bone scepter with embedded blue gems, he wore a caped papal robe with a papal tiara with different gems dotting it. His face was hidden in the shadows, appearing somewhat blurry. His entire body exhibited a gloomy and cadaveric air, as though he was a zombie that was recently dug out!

This... Klein was alarmed. He never expected to really experience such changes. Apart from the gray fog's mixing with reality, the reflection on the golden disc really was him!

Something that it doesn't involve the gray fog, it isn't anything to worry too much about... he hurriedly consoled himself as he calmed his mental state.

Normally, with Klein's rich experience and good ability to adapt, there was nothing he needed to do at the moment. But first, considering how he was holding the Sea God Scepter that easily made him rash, he needed to pay constant attention. Second, he knew that this was once Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace's divine kingdom which contained the setup required for "Her" revival. There was bound to be all kinds of abnormalities. Therefore, he was more nervous than ever before.

Getting Ludwell to return, he used his Beyonder powers to do a thorough inspection of himself before gaining a preliminary understanding.

When living creatures enter Calderón City, they will naturally transform into the deceased. This is similar to the Underworld, but there's a fundamental difference. Here, living creatures won't die an abrupt death before slowly turning into mindless undead creatures; instead, they will directly turn into dead spirits.

I didn't notice it before because Enzo and Ludwell are essentially dead, so there's no need for them to be converted... Arrodes and Red Light Aiur Moria didn't mention this because the Travelers, spirit world creatures, and angels automatically recovered after leaving alive? This kind of transformation is unable to affect the powers of the gray fog that fuses with reality. And the disc reflects the dead me, not all of me, or the me that has had some interaction with Calderón? Klein was more inclined to believe in the latter, but he wasn't too sure.

At this moment, he heard a sound coming from nearby.

Clang!

Clang! Clang!

The sound was heavy but crisp, as though someone was striking metal heavily.

Klein wasn't in a hurry to react. He carefully listened for two seconds before letting Enzo put down the heavy golden disc and walk towards a nearby broken tombstone.

The halved tombstone corresponded to a building that developed further underground. On top of it were the words written with the Language of the Dead:

"...A quick-tempered fellow, one who died as a result of comparing which was harder—his head or someone else's hammer."

Enzo circled around the damaged tombstone and arrived at the entrance to the tomb. He reached out his left hand and turned the knob, pulling open the door.

Amidst the rough grinding sounds of rust, the heavy door slowly opened.

Sou! Sou! Sou!

Pale-white beams of arrow-like light flew out!

They brushed past Enzo's face, the top of his head, torso, and inner thighs and flew into the distance, stabbing into the ground before vanishing. However, Winner Enzo was completely unharmed.

...I have to say that such a marionette is excellent for dangerous explorations... Klein sighed inwardly as he made Enzo cast his gaze down the building.

It was a blacksmith-a giant with bluish-black skin and a head that looked like a ruptured watermelon held onto a hammer as he kept striking an anvil, but there was nothing on it.

As the giant with the cracked head had normal Spirit Body Threads and wasn't the soul avatar of someone else, Klein secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to get Enzo to take a more thorough look, his body suddenly turned numb as his thoughts turned sluggish.

This feeling was something he had felt before. Back in Tingen, he had been in a similar state when he was under Sealed Artifact 2-049's influence!

Klein didn't know better back then, but after becoming a Marionettist, he knew that this meant that his Spirit Body Threads had been controlled by the Sealed Artifact!

This also meant that someone was controlling his Spirit Body Threads!

Furthermore, the difference from before was that, not only were his joints "rusting" as though someone had infused glue into them, he also felt a strong numbness as if he had been struck by lightning. It made his actions become harder.

No good... It's the Spirit World Plunderer... I was guarded against... its use of soul avatar... It distracted me... and secretly approached... but I never expected... that it not only had a soul avatar... but it also... has a partner... That... giant... blacksmith... made me... careless... And the marionette's... existence... made me... ignore... my own... safety... Various thoughts emerged in Klein's mind involuntarily as it disrupted his normal thoughts of trying to save himself.

At this moment, the giant blacksmith with a ruptured head raised his hammer and rushed over to Enzo, hoping to smash him into a pulp. And by Klein's neck, there was a cold wind blowing at it, pricking his hair up one by one.

The surroundings were abnormally silent before, but now, all kinds of strange creatures emerged from the pale-white stone column, rundown houses, and the tombstone's tomb.

Some of them only had half a body. Others were transparent and nearly invisible. Some were stretched and soft like noodles. Some had a ruptured chest with bloody innards. Some had dark green faces that resembled that of an evil spirit. Others had eyes growing everywhere around their body. There were also others who looked like jellyfish that lived in the air.

Countless gazes were cast onto Klein from different areas. They were without any feelings, just indifferent.

At this moment, Klein opened his mouth with great difficulty as he said a word slowly:

"Sing..."

Just as he said that, the glove on his left palm opened its mouth, revealing its white teeth:

"Praise you!

"The Lord that created everything;

"The Lord who reigns behind the curtain of shadows;

"The degenerated nature of all living things!"

Amidst this jarring voice that resembled blackboard scratching sounds, Enzo, who had been thrown to the ground, successfully avoided the hammer's strike as Word of the Sea began spewing out water bubbles in excitement.

"Break! Break! Break!"

Klein suddenly felt his head ache as his ability to think was instantly recovered, no longer having disconnected thoughts for a brief moment.

However, his body remained "rusted" as his body was filled with numbness.

Following that, he relied on his spirituality while motionless, controlling Ludwell, who had returned to his side, to punch him with his left fist.

Bang!

Klein staggered back, instantly extricating himself from the numb and sluggish state.

Then, wearing the papal tiara, he became hot-headed as he spread his papal cape and raised Sea God Scepter. @@novelbin@@

The blue gems lit up one after another as a bright silver bolt of lightning blasted down.

The bolt of lightning spread into "branches," blanketing Calderón City's periphery for hundreds of meters with a lightning forest. The destructive aura and sense of destruction were brought to the forefront!

The strange creatures that had charged out from various spots shattered, evaporated, and completely vanished as a result of the swath of silver.

Moments after the silver storm quelled, Tyrant Klein's Sea God Scepter emitted a blinding light once again.

The rapturous bolts of lightning snaked, embroiled the area, smiting down again and again like a huge wave.

After two repeated casts of Lightning Storm, Klein was exhausted as he found his calm again.

His heart beat suddenly as he recalled something.

Lightning Storm was indiscriminate when it struck. Apart from the Sea God Scepter-wielding him and the partner who stood beside him, everything else suffered a decimating blast!

This also meant that Ludwell was still fine, but there was a high chance of Enzo being "wiped out."

Klein instinctively looked over and saw Enzo curled by the side of the halved tombstone. Behind him was the huge metallic hammer which still had tiny bolts of lightning snaking around. Not far from it was two nonhuman charred legs.

The tomb corresponding to the tombstone had already collapsed. The iron-black tiles that landed on the ground still had remnant silver bolts of lightning sizzling away.

...As expected of a Winner. He didn't even die despite such an onslaught... The amount of luck he accumulated has probably been passively expended... Klein felt relieved as he activated his Spirit Body Threads vision to observe his surroundings.

He was searching for the Spirit World Plunderer!

He believed that the range of a Spirit World Plunderer's controlling of Spirit Body Threads couldn't match that of a Lightning Storm!

The already dilapidated buildings had nearly been leveled. The remaining stone pieces and bones were mostly charred black. Even the heavy golden disc was in shambles.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the rubble more than a hundred meters away from Klein.

It was wearing a translucent white robe. It didn't have a head or limbs. It appeared like it was being propped up by an invisible person.

At that moment, it looked like it was in a sorry state, with wounds and black marks everywhere.

This is the Spirit World Plunderer I suppose... My rash usage of two Lightning Storms seems to have restrained it... Upon seeing this scene, Klein had such thoughts flash through his mind.

-x-X-x-