166 LOTM

After silently staring at the rabbits and mountain goats for more than ten seconds, Klein closed his eyes and flicked his right index finger and middle finger as if he was pressing an invisible piano key.

A third of the marionette collapsed, losing the feeling of being alive.

Klein's expression immediately warped, as though he had been struck 33 times by a giant sword.

The familiar and extreme pain he felt swept through his Spirit Body, causing light-colored meat tendrils to sprout on his body. Every sprout seemed to be forming a transparent maggot.

This was the backlash from killing 33 Worms of Spirit.

After taking nearly fifteen minutes to recover, Klein made his second attempt at letting the other third of his marionettes die.

The same pain, the same time to rest, and the same actions were repeated again. Finally, he completely finished off this batch of cursed marionettes.

He couldn't handle it all at once because the damage caused by the death of a hundred Worms of Spirit was enough to make him lose control. And being cursed meant that he couldn't directly solve the problem by retrieving the characteristics.

Of course, this was the standard of a Scholar of Yore who had just advanced recently; it wasn't the performance of a Scholar of Yore who was almost done digesting the potion.

In fact, the loss of a hundred Worms of Spirit would only worsen the pain, without him showing any signs of losing control or affecting the battle. He was only acting just now, allowing his performance to match his role.

At his level, losing half the number of Worms of Spirit that he had at the same time would lead to losing control.

Once he completely digested the Scholar of Yore potion, he would be able to recover from having nearly 500 Worms of Spirit die at once. Even if he lost all the corresponding Beyonder characteristics, he wouldn't lose his status and level. He could slowly recover his strength by absorbing the Beyonder characteristics of the Seer pathway.

After completing this, the recovered Klein walked out of the half-collapsed tower-like building. He went to the darkness outside and brought back a few white rabbits and a goat.

He then realized that the darkness in the Forsaken Land of the Gods wasn't as dangerous as Little Sun had described. Most of the monsters were weak.

No, to be precise, the danger lurking in the depths of the darkness, apart from making people evaporate into thin air, nothing else can compare to the fellow beside me named Amon... Klein glanced at the thin man who was sitting near the lantern, smiling as "He" watched him busy himself. He summoned something like boiled water from the Historical Void, and he squatted down, seriously removing the fur and flesh from the white rabbits and goat.

After a series of tasks, Klein set up a bonfire. He set up a barbecue rack that came from history, and he placed a white rabbit on it. He brushed it with a full set of condiments he made himself, like basil, fennel, and salt, as he constantly turned the meat over.

At this moment, the delicacies from the Historical Void he had eaten before had long disappeared due to him no longer maintaining their existence. His body and soul were calling out for replenishment.

A tempting fragrance was gradually emanated as Amon's nose twitched slightly.

"You're really eating them?"

Without waiting for his reply, the God of Mischief continued, "They're essentially the flesh of monsters and your Worms of Spirit. Are you sure you want to eat them?"

"There's no way to undo the curse at the level of an angel. If there's no way to resist or correct it at the same level, there's no way of dispelling it. Since a thing looks like a rabbit, smells like a rabbit, and tastes like a rabbit, it's a rabbit." As Klein seriously roasted the rabbit, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Besides, how can I not maintain the best state if I want to escape from your grasp? For this sliver of hope, I can only challenge my psychological limits."

This is what it means to endure humiliation and suffering! Klein added inwardly.

At the same time, he sighed at the Ancient Bane's Transformation Curse.

This was many times stronger than a Sequence 3 Disciple of Silence's curse!

There's almost no limit to the amount of time it can be maintained... Clearly, an ordinary animal can use all of my Beyonder powers through the Worm of Spirit, but a deformed marionette due to a curse isn't possible... This is a curse at the angel level... Apart from putting up resistance from someone at the same level, one can use the correct method to remove it. No curse is irreversible. There are always loopholes... Heh heh, will kissing this rabbit turn it into Gehrman Sparrow? Klein made a self-deprecating comment as he analyzed to compose himself.

After hearing his reply, the monocled Amon, nodded with a smile.

"Very good.

"This is indeed a good revelation to have."

Klein didn't respond as he resumed his barbecue.

Not long after, with the help of Flame Controlling, he finished roasting a rabbit and a goat's leg. Taking advantage of the opportunity before the condiments disappeared, he matched some sweet ice tea he summoned from the Historical Void with the food, filling his mouth with fragrance. It nourished his body and mind, allowing him to effectively relieve the pressure, despair, and indecisiveness from being "kidnapped" by Amon.

During this process, he would occasionally recall the disgusting looks of the monsters, as well as the fact that the Worms of Spirit were equivalent to himself. However, he was able to bring his feelings under control very well.

After filling his stomach and replenishing his energy, he turned the remaining ingredients next to the fire into dry rations, as though he was saving up for his subsequent plans.

Seeing him slowly but orderly making all sorts of preparations, Amon suddenly nudged his monocle and asked with a slight smile, "In actuality, you're trying to stall for time before we reach the actual destination, right?"

Klein's hands paused for a moment before he continued with his actions. He smiled and said, "Yes, I'm waiting for help.

"Guess who?"

Amon didn't answer directly as "He" said with a smile, "I'm looking forward to it."

Klein continued his work until he prepared rations for three or four meals.

He thought for a moment and once again reached his hand into the void in front of Amon. He failed again and again as he kept making attempts. It was unknown what item he was trying to summon, but it seemed like he was using his actions to dare Amon into stealing it.

After watching for a few seconds, Amon smiled and shook "His" head. "He" slowly stood up and walked out the half- collapsed tower building.

Klein's right hand stopped in mid-air before he retracted it and pinched his forehead.

He muttered to himself in puzzlement, "What was I trying to do just now..."

While trying to recall, Klein stood up as well. He brought along his packed rations, picked up the animal hide lantern, and walked to the back of Amon's side.

The man and angel circled around the hill and entered a valley.

The water was sloshing in the river, but when the dim yellow light shone at it, or when the lightning in the sky lit up the area, Klein realized that there was no water in the riverbed. The sounds he had heard earlier had also disappeared.

"A river that has been transferred into a concealed state?" After some deliberation, he raised a question to Amon.

"That's right. It will only appear in darkness void of light," Amon replied with a slight nod, unfazed with the question.

"Can I drink it?" Klein pressed.

Amon smiled and said, "Sure. This was once one of the water sources of a city that had persisted for 1600 years in the darkness. As long as you can bring the water away from the riverbed, they can appear in places with light.

Your next move is to suggest that I bring the lantern to wait by the side while you hydrate yourself in the darkness? "And then, take this opportunity to transform into a concealed state?"

Klein smiled awkwardly.

"How could I use such a simple method?"

Hearing that, Amon laughed and stroked "His" monocle.

"Sometimes, the simplest plan is the most effective. You can give it a try."

With regards to the words of this peerless swindler, Klein couldn't believe it, nor did he dare to believe it. He was afraid that the other party was using reverse psychology with the truth.

He could only put the matter of the water aside and ask, "In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, how many human gathering points, like the City of Silver, have yet to be destroyed?"

Amon looked ahead and said without changing "His" expression, "The ones I know don't exceed ten.

"In this aspect, the City of Silver is lucky. At least, they can see and have the ability to touch the light."

This means that the City of Silver is very close to the Giant King's Court, the door leading out of the Forsaken Land of the Gods. There's no need to risk death to reach it. As for the other cities, no matter how steadfast they are in the darkness, no matter how many exploration teams they send out, it will all be futile. There's no way to find the exit? Indeed, from this angle, the City of Silver is unfortunate, and also lucky... This is purely dependent on the reference point... Klein held the lantern as he proceeded along the bank and began coming up with his second attempt at escaping.

Amon walked beside him, occasionally providing him with ideas that seemed reliable but had unknown actual results. "He" appeared to be suffering from schizophrenia, trying "His" best to destroy "His" true body's hopes in obtaining Sefirah Castle.

On the other side of the Giant King's Court, in the City of Silver.

After receiving the Chiefs summoning call, Derrick Berg brought the Unshadowed Crucifix to the top of the spire and entered a spacious room.

There was a mysterious and complicated altar set up here. Different items were placed in different spots—a total of six items, each of them emanating a dangerous aura.

With a glance, Derrick saw an ordinary silver flute, a mask made from a skull, and the remains of a deformed person. "You have the Unshadowed Crucifix. You can stay here for fifteen minutes, but you can't exceed that time. Otherwise, you will suffer a sudden death." Colin Iliad wore a linen shirt and a brown coat as he exhorted Derrick.

Derrick's spiritual perception was triggered as he asked, "Your Excellency, is this because of that Twilight Mask?"

His right hand pointed at the mask made from a skull.

"Yes." Colin nodded slightly and said, "I've already prepared the remains of six powerful creatures. These were all hunted by myself, or with me as the main force."

Derrick was immediately enlightened.

"You still lack the blessings of a deity?"

Colin instantly fell silent. After nearly ten seconds, he opened his mouth and slowly said, "Yes."

After some hesitation and struggles, he finally chose The Fool.

At least those mushrooms had given the City of Silver hope.

Derrick suppressed his joy and thought back to the interactions at the Tarot Club. He raised a question in puzzlement: "Why didn't you let those two god-level Sealed Artifacts give you their blessings?"

He remembered that subsidiary gods—or angels—could satisfy the requirements of the ritual. It wasn't the case that only a Sequence 0 true deity could provide blessings. After all, a Silver Knight was only a Sequence 3.

Colin fell silent again and hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "They won't give blessings."

-x-X-x-

They won't give blessings... Derrick was a little confused by this answer, not fully comprehending it.

Back in the Afternoon Town camp, when he handed the Silver Knight potion formula to Chief Colin Iliad, the other party had praised him for making a huge contribution. He believed that the upper limit of the City of Silver was no longer that of Sequence 4, and his tone didn't reveal the need to seek blessings from external sources.

Hence, Derrick had always believed that the Chief would be able to use the two god-level Sealed Artifacts to complete the Silver Knight's advancement ritual. Now, it was inevitable that he was surprised.

Back then, the Chief didn't know that the two god-level Sealed Artifacts couldn't provide blessings, and he only realized this problem when he returned to the City of Silver? Derrick subconsciously made a guess and didn't ask further. He nodded heavily and said, "Alright, I will try my best to help you seek blessings from a deity."

Demon Hunter Colin exhaled silently and pointed at the door.

"There's no one in the room opposite."

Derrick turned around and passed through the corridor, entering the half-open room.

Then, he took a seat and recited softly, "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..."

Inside Sefirah Castle, and hidden within the gray fog, the crimson star representing The Sun rapidly expanded and contracted. It kept repeating the process, producing rings of pleas.

And not far beside it, the crimson star representing The Magician remained in the same state because of The Fool's lack of a response. The circular rings, ripples, and tremors that the two created intertwined and became more intense.

Under the illumination of the bolts of lightning, Klein carried a leather lantern and walked into the valley. He suddenly felt that the illusory pleas in his ears became even more chaotic and louder.

However, he realized that he had heard it clearer than before. Not only could he tell that the plea came from a woman and a man, but he could also vaguely make out certain content: The woman seemed to mention "The World" and "Backlund." The man used Jotun, and the keyword seemed to be "a ritual."

Ritual, Jotun... That's Little Sun... Uh, that Chief wishes to receive Mr. Fool's blessings? Mr. Fool also needs some blessings right now... The woman might be Miss Magician, but I can't rule out Miss Justice either... The corners of Klein's mouth twitched in embarrassment. He turned his head to look at Amon in the pointed hat and monocle, and he said, "Can I pop over to Sefirah Castle to answer a prayer?"

"What do you think?" Amon was taken aback as "He" asked in amusement.

"Since you want to play such a game, why won't you let it be more exciting?" In fact, Klein didn't have any hope regarding his request. This was because, as long as he could return to Sefirah Castle, he could use the power there to make the first step in escaping from his predicament. This was equivalent to getting Amon to just set him free.

The reason he mentioned this was because he wanted to use this to start the subsequent topic.

Amon nudged the crystal monocle with his knuckle and chuckled.

"As the God of Mischief, I've been alive since the Third Epoch. I believe you know what that means.

"Yes, what do you want to ask?"

...This is an accurate grasp of my state of mind and thoughts... Klein sighed and asked, "Why did you parasitize the City of Silver's exploration team back then? You even patiently stayed in the dungeon for decades."

Amon nodded and replied in a relaxed manner, "I had a premonition that the City of Silver would obtain extremely important information. Now, this prophecy has come true, right, Mr. Fool?"

..."He" did all of that just to wait for me and the Tarot Club? From the looks of it, this Marauder pathway's King of Angels can see the disturbances in fate caused by Sefirah Castle to a certain extent... Klein had never expected the answer, leaving him momentarily at a loss as to how to continue the topic.

After about ten seconds, he sighed and said, "You're really patient."

"He" was a King of Angels who liked to play pranks; yet, "He" actually stayed inside a dark dungeon without any sources of entertainment for decades.

"This has nothing to do with patience. It didn't take too much of my time," Amon casually replied.

...I'm still used to using a human's standards when talking about a deity. To Amon, who was born as a complete Mythical Creature, a few decades is nothing. "He" might even be more than 3000 years old... Klein regulated what he knew and asked again, "The City of Silver is one of the few places that persist on believing in your father. Aren't you going overboard with what you did to the expedition team?"

This question didn't seem to be necessary, but Klein believed that it would aid him in understanding Amon's thoughts and style, doing so in order to see if there was anything that could be used.

Amon turned his head and glanced at him with his monocled right eye. "He" said with an indifferent smile, "If it wasn't for their faith in my father, the City of Silver would've already been reduced to ruins.

"Heh heh, according to my observations, they're hiding quite a significant secret. As for what it is, because of the gaze directed by you and The Hanged Man, I haven't had the chance to pry into it."

...A trueborn Mythical Creature. The deaths of just a few humans might be equivalent to trampling a few ants to death. "He" wouldn't take it to heart at all... The City of Silver actually has a secret that even Amon thinks is a big secret... What could it be? Klein thoughtfully changed the topic.

"Was Dark Angel Sasrir really created from your father's rib?"

This was something that Klein had wanted to ask the entire time, but he hadn't found the opportunity to ask.

The smile on Amon's face faded as "He" looked at the darkness in front of "Him."

"Yes, 'He' separated a portion of his characteristics and corresponding negative personalities. 'He' used his rib as the material to create Dark Angel Sasrir.

"If that wasn't the case, how could a proud and arrogant person like Medici obey the so-called Left Hand of God, the deputy of Heaven?

"Without Sasrir's rebellion, implication, and influence, even if Evernight, Earth, God of Combat, and the other Kings of Angels joined forces, it's impossible for my father to perish."

Indeed... Dark Angel Sasrir is the most key factor in this matter... It's no wonder the Goddess wanted to bewitch "Him" at the very beginning... Who would've thought that "He" would betray "Himself"? Klein's initial speculation of the battle of gods had been confirmed. He felt his Scholar of Yore potion digest a little more.

He deliberately hesitated and made a guess:

"Could your father have foreseen such a development? Dark Angel Sasrir is also the key to his resurrection?"

Amon suddenly laughed.

"You asked so many questions in order to further digest the Scholar of Yore potion, right?"

"..." Klein pretended to break out in cold sweat, and he quickly adjusted his state of mind.

"I'm just curious. What are you looking for in the Forsaken Land of the Gods? What are you pursuing? The Marauder pathway Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic that you're missing isn't here, nor is Sefirah Castle.

"Are you trying to revive your father?"

Amon maintained "His" smile and looked straight ahead.

"Yes, and no.

"My zealous brother is already very close to reviving my father. 'He' probably doesn't need my help anymore."

Adam really wants to revive the ancient sun god? I thought that "He" was purely doing it for the sake of becoming a Sequence 0... Without hiding anything, Klein called out the name of the Twilight Hermit Order's leader.

He was even looking forward to Adam beating "His" younger brother up.

Of course, beating someone up wasn't in line with the style of a King of Angels of the Spectator pathway.

"There's no need to mention 'His' name. 'He' won't interfere with my matters, nor will I interfere with 'His.' I don't address 'Him' as Adam, because I think that a nickname like 'zealous' is very suitable for 'Him.' I have to say that Medici is very talented in giving nicknames. Also, even if I say 'His' name, 'He' wouldn't be able to hear it if I don't wish for 'Him' to hear it." At this moment, the monocled Amon smiled as he exposed Klein's idea.

Following that, Klein didn't mention the Dark Angel any further, because it was obvious that Amon wouldn't answer.

Before long, the man and angel walked out of the valley and saw a silent city.

More than half of the buildings in this city had collapsed. The remaining ones had a sharp roof, as though they were towers that led to heaven.

On the surface, dark red vines and plants grew, forming fruits whose edibility was unknown.

After entering the city, he discovered that there were stone coffins placed in front of each house. Inside were skeletons or recently rotted corpses.

A common point between them was them being greatly deformed. Some had four legs; some had a slit in the middle of their eyebrows; some lacked skin, directly revealing their flesh; some had arms wrapped around their necks like tails.

"This was originally a city that believed in the Phoenix. Later, it converted its target of faith to my father, but it retained some customs related to death." The monocled Amon, casually sized up his surroundings and said, "After the Cataclysm, they were left behind in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. However, there were no edible, relatively normal plants around them, so they could only eat those corrupted monsters. Over generations, their bodies began to produce defects and psychological problems. Eventually, they were completely wiped out."

The Cataclysm brought about by the Goddess's assassination of the City of Silver's Creator really was a calamity for civilization... Before that, there were elven, giant, phoenix civilizations, and so on. After that, all that's left are traces of them... When Klein thought of the city that had been swallowed into the ground, he sighed.

In the history books, in mysticism, it was very apt to call that history: "The Cataclysm."

He paused for a moment before asking, "Why are we entering this city instead of going around it?"

Amon smiled and said, "In the Second Epoch, apart from wielding the Death pathway, the Phoenix Ancestor also occupied part of the Apprentice pathway. Some of the decorations here can become a loophole that I can make use of to shorten our journey to our final destination."

Klein's expression immediately darkened.

-x-X-x-

City of Silver, at the top of the spire.

After waiting for a long time, Derrick still didn't receive a response from Mr. Fool.

This made him panic a little. He didn't understand what this meant, nor did he know how to deal with it.

Mr. Fool is in a state where he can't respond to his prayers? Yes, "He" informed us two days ago that the gathering next week would be canceled. This should be a sign... Having recalled what happened previously, Derrick barely managed to calm his anxiety and nervousness.

He couldn't be blamed for having such a huge reaction, because the City of Silver's textbooks recorded similar situations:

The Creator who normally responded to "His" believers suddenly stopped responding and forsook this land!

After a few seconds of silence, Derrick stood up and returned to the room where the Chief was. He said to Colin Iliad, "We have to wait a few more days."

"Wait?" Demon Hunter Colin repeated the keyword as he frowned slightly.

From his point of view, this was an unusual matter, seemingly symbolizing a bad development.

Derrick resisted his instinctive reaction of scratching the back of his head, and he nodded with some difficulty.

"Yes."

The grizzled Colin Iliad stared at him for a few seconds before nodding slowly.

"Alright, head back first."

Backlund East Borough, inside a two-bedroom rental apartment.

Fors, who was wrapped in thick clothes, paced around the warm stove, her face full of doubt.

Finally, she turned her head and looked at Xio.

"Why hasn't Mr. World replied?"

"Perhaps he's preoccupied with something," Xio explained the reason she had long considered. "Perhaps it's because it's not convenient for Mr. Fool to pass on your prayers. 'He' has temporarily paused the gathering."

Fors nodded thoughtfully and said, "Mr. Fool informed us that the gathering will be temporarily paused next week. It was only decided in the middle of the week. Is this related to George III?"

Recalling Mr. World's investigations all this time, Xio acknowledged and said, "Very likely."

In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, in the dead silent city.

Dressed in a classic black mage's robe, Amon led Klein into a relatively complete cathedral.

Segmented stone pillars lay tilted, and dark red weeds grew out from their cracks, wrapping around the avian sculptures.

With the animal hide lantern in hand, Klein surveyed the area and confirmed that the residents of this city weren't truly dead. There were still a few survivors left. He had no idea what method they had used to transform into monsters of the deep darkness. They were hiding from the faint yellow light, surrounding a cathedral in a place that couldn't be seen. They wanted to attack the two ordinary-looking humans, Klein and Amon.

The reason why Klein was able to confirm that these monsters were originally residents of this city was because their Spirit Body Threads had a certain abnormality. Some were grayish-white, some were distorted, and some were sticky. They were completely different from the monsters elsewhere. They greatly resembled the corpses inside the coffins.

I don't know what kind of despair and mental breakdowns will make the remaining humans choose such a path... Perhaps the deepest sense of despair was that they couldn't see hope on a daily basis while the situation around them worsened... With a sigh, he made use of this opportunity to adjust his mentality.

He was experiencing various instances of hope surfacing, only to be met with despair time and time again.

The monocled Amon walked to the edge of the light and walked all the way into the deepest part of the cathedral.

Klein followed behind and saw a door covered in pale white light.

"This city is actually split into two parts: 'light' and 'darkness.' They're using certain abilities of the Apprentice pathway to hide a portion of the area. They have to use a specific 'door' to enter," Amon said as "He" pointed ahead.

A Secrets Sorcerer's powers? With some realization, Klein nodded, indicating that he knew what was going on.

Amon then said, "Behind this door is the 'dark' side of this city. I can use it to connect to a similar region far away. We can directly arrive there and shorten our journey."

As expected of the incarnation of loopholes... Klein watched as Amon stretched out "His" left hand and pressed down on the door formed from pale white light.

The light began to ripple as it rapidly spread outwards, becoming more and more intense.

At that moment, a deformed monster hiding in the depths of the darkness while spying on the cathedral suddenly trembled, becoming Klein's marionette.

Twenty or thirty seconds ago, Klein had already completed the process of obtaining initial control over it and deepened his influence. However, he waited until now before he completely converted it.

Right on the heels of that, Klein and the marionette reached out their hands at the same time. They took advantage of the opportunity when Amon changed the "door," and they grabbed something.

In his hand was something in the shape of a full moon, and was embedded with scarlet gemstones, the Scarlet Lunar Corona. In his marionette's hand was an ancient, brass-colored Master Key!

At the same time, they opened their mouths and made a "bang" sound. They used Air Cannons to push the Scarlet Lunar Corona and the Master Key to the door of light.

These two items combined could make one hear Mr. Door's pleas for help. This also meant that Mr. Door's powers could enter the real world to a limited extent.

And this was the controller of all "doors." He was one of the existences who was most unwilling to see Amon become an "Error" or control Sefirah Castle!

Klein didn't expect that the sealed Mr. Door could really hurt Amon. He only hoped that he could use this opportunity to interfere with the Angel of Time and create a good enough opportunity for himself.

Of course, if Mr. Door could cause any abnormal changes to the door, magnifying or distorting the loopholes created by Amon; thus, affecting the King of Angels of the Marauder pathway and teleporting "Him" far away, Klein would definitely sincerely thank Mr. Door for a week.

After his previous attempts, Klein realized his greatest disadvantage. It wasn't that he was one Sequence short and had a qualitative gap in power level. Instead, he had lost the initiative and couldn't make proper preparations. Every time he began preparing, he would be interrupted or foiled by Amon.

For a veteran Magician, unprepared performances were often synonymous with failure.

If he could make preparations in advance, he could quietly summon Mr. Azik's, Reinette Tinekerr's, and Snake of Fate Will Auceptin's historical projections. Against a Sequence 2, even if there was no way to deal with "Him," it would definitely create a very good opportunity to escape.

At that moment, the Scarlet Lunar Corona and ancient-looking Master Key whistled through the air and arrived at the door of light.

The white light that formed the illusory door distorted and devoured the two items. It was dyed crimson as it collapsed into a whirlpool.

It was as though the bottom of the vortex was invisible, like a gigantic eye.

Just as Amon was about to turn around, "He" made a slight pause as if "He" had heard an old friend's shout.

However, this pause disappeared instantly, as though it had never appeared.

With Amon's gaze directed at Klein, the latter instantly lost six Beyonder powers.

This included the control of Spirit Body Threads, the summoning of Historical Void projections, Paper Figurine Substitutes, Flame Controlling, Underwater Breathing, and Bone Softening.

Of course, losing these six Beyonder powers for a marionette didn't affect Klein's subsequent operations.

The indiscernible pause from before had allowed Klein to switch places with his marionette in time!

He had already arrived deep in the darkness outside the cathedral. The deformed monsters around him trembled and turned into his marionettes.

For targets such as these that weren't even Sequence 5, it took only two or three seconds for Klein to transform them into marionettes. And by the time he summoned the Scarlet Lunar Corona, he had already begun doing similar actions.

As he enjoyed the darkness without any scruples, he attempted to transform into a concealed state or successfully commit suicide. At the same time, he reached out with his marionettes to grab at the fog interwoven with history.

This time, he split the marionette into three groups, summoning Reinette Tinekerr, Mr. Azik, and Snake of Fate Will Auceptin, respectively. He didn't want to follow his past mistakes, where he had managed to succeed with great difficulty only to have "Them" taken away by Amon. With such arrangements, he might be left with one or two.

Of course, the premise was that Amon was unable to steal multiple Historical Void projections at once.

This was something that Klein needed to confirm.

Klein retracted his hand, but he didn't grab anything.

All the marionettes who summoned the Snake of Fate failed. Among the Scholars of Yore groups who summoned the Death Consul and Reinette Tinekerr, two of them had their arms tense up slightly.

Klein was delighted as he suddenly felt that this attempt could end up turning into a real escape attempt.

At this moment, the crystal monocle that Amon wore emitted a terrifying light.

The entire city, including the surrounding rivers, hills, and wilderness, were all filled with pure, scorching sunlight. "Day" had once again descended upon this land after bidding farewell to it for thousands of years.

Amon had stolen the "day" from the ruins of the battle of gods!

In the face of such a "day," not only did Klein feel like his body was about to melt, but he also heard familiar and crazy ravings in his ears. They were like steel needles that pierced through every Worm of Spirit.

This caused his mind to be filled with immense pain. His marionette's summoning attempts had failed while on the brink of success.

The "day" in the battlefield of the gods contained the True Creator's ravings!

The deformed monsters that were hiding deep in the darkness, which were the few survivors of the city, seemed to temporarily regain their senses. They stared blankly at the "day" and couldn't help but narrow their eyes.

Then, they wildly charged towards the source of that "day," melting one by one into dust.

Far away in the City of Silver's Afternoon Town campsite, the guards at the stronghold also noticed that there was a light coming from the northeast. It was different from lightning, just like the scene of the sun rising from the legends.

This scene only lasted for a few seconds before it shattered and the sky returned to its dark state.

As soon as he recovered from the ravings, Klein saw the pointed-hatted Amon standing in front of him.

This Angel of Time nudged "His" monocle and smiled.

"Well done."

-x-X-x-

Well done... Faced with Amon's "praise," Klein forced a smile and politely replied, "Thank you."

To be honest, he preferred to hear curses rather than "praise," as that meant that he was close to succeeding.

Of course, Klein suspected that even if he managed to escape, Amon wouldn't be flustered and exasperated. Based on the character displayed by this God of Mischief, it was very likely that "He" found it interesting and exciting while also inevitably feeling a little depressed and disappointed to the point of being eager for the next round.

"It's a huge improvement to be able to think of using Door to disrupt me." Amon smiled indifferently. "But don't you think that I'd be in a relatively more vigilant state while 'Door Opening'? And that it's actually not that easy to be affected by an accident?"

After some thought, Klein answered seriously, "That's what I thought in the beginning, but later on, I felt that you should be able to grasp my state of mind, believing that I wouldn't dare to act when you opened the door. When that happens, making an attempt might work wonders."

Doing it when others believe that you wouldn't do it was also a strategy.

In his previous life, Klein had come into contact with games that had such a higher level of thinking that made his head spin.

"What if I thought of this level as well?" Amon said with a smile as "He" used "His" knuckle to nudge the bottom of his monocle.

At the same time, the remaining marionettes, which were still alive, took out crystal monocles out of thin air and wore them on their right eye. All of them cast their gazes at Klein.

This left Klein's scalp tingling. He discovered that the connection between the marionettes and himself had instantly been severed.

"Although you've improved, failure still demands some level of punishment." With a smile, Amon turned around and walked towards the cathedral.

As "He" took a step forward, the marionettes revealed smiles one after another as they collapsed to the ground stiffly. This caused Klein's soul to be torn apart again and again as the blood vessels on his forehead visibly bulged.

As he endured the pain, he stood rooted to the ground and calmed down after a long while.

During this process, although he had always been in the depths of the darkness, he didn't suffer any attacks from the terrifying monsters, nor did he turn into a concealed state.

When did Amon steal the concealment powers in this city? If I had tried to commit suicide, I definitely would've had the thought stolen from me... My preparations still aren't enough. I don't have enough confidence when dealing with Amon, having not considered the things "He" might have stolen into consideration... I really didn't expect "Him" to release the "day" that "He" stole from the ruins of the battlefield of gods... Regarding what else "He" stole in the past, or whatever "He" has on "Him," I have no idea. I can't make targeted preparations... That monocle is some sort of vessel used to store stolen items? Or is it part of Amon to begin with? So every time he parasitizes someone, a monocle will be taken out... Klein rubbed his temples and walked into the cathedral. Looking at Amon before the door of light, he asked, seemingly casual, "Why do you have so many monocles? Where do you usually place them?"

Amon stroked the monocle on "His" right eye and smiled indifferently.

"Why don't you ask me why every avatar of mine has eyes? And where do I usually place them?"

"...I understand." Klein nodded in enlightenment.

Amon cast "His" gaze back to the door of light that had yet to calm down from the rippling. "He" casually said, "I have the nagging feeling that this operation of yours is a major preparation piece, and not an attempt.

"What cheap trick did you pull off during that process?"

After some deliberation, Klein replied with a smile, "Guess."

"I do have some guesses. Do you think I've guessed it correctly?" Amon asked with interest as "He" pinched the edge of his monocle.

"Perhaps, or perhaps not." Klein didn't give a clear answer as he cooperatively walked to Amon's side. He saw "Him" reach out again and press down on the pale white door of light.

Above the door of light, ripples appeared once again as they became more intense and exaggerated.

After about ten seconds, the ripples spread the surroundings, causing the door of light to expand twice in size.

Amon glanced at Klein, gesturing for him to take a step forward.

Klein instinctively turned his head and looked around the cathedral.

Beyonder characteristics left behind by the mutated monsters were shimmering outside the area that the lantern had lit up. They weren't all Beyonders when they were alive. After those ordinary people turned into monsters, a large part of the power came from the darkness and degeneration. The powers didn't belong to them, so no characteristics were purged.

"I almost forgot." After taking a look together with Klein, Amon suddenly shook "His" head and smiled.

Just as "He" finished his sentence, a bunch of Beyonder characteristics floated up and entered "His" body. They merged with "Him," leaving only a small portion behind.

"Most of the people who chose to transform into monsters are of the Apprentice pathway, Beyonders and their family members who can enter the city's 'dark' side," Amon said casually as "He" retracted his gaze.

Even if it's a similar pathway's Beyonder characteristic, it would be problematic if it's directly "eaten," right? Shouldn't it only be possible to jump to a higher level of a neighboring pathway? It also allows the accommodation of lower Sequences? Seeing this, Klein was a little stunned as he asked curiously, "Won't this accumulate madness?"

This wasn't just a matter of accumulating madness. Klein suspected that if he did it himself, there was a high chance that he would go crazy.

"Others will," Amon said with a smile, "but not me."

A true "bug"... Klein couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Then, the distance between him and the door of light disappeared.

Subconsciously, he forgot about the remaining Death pathway's Beyonder characteristics, and he entered the mutated door of light with Amon.

Endless darkness and squirming lines of light were mixed together, giving rise to the feeling of a sudden descent.

About ten seconds later, he discovered that he and Amon had appeared on a square. The dim yellow light of the animal hide lantern seemed to be stopped by an invisible force, causing it to only illuminate half the square.

Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the surroundings.

With the help of the lightning, Klein saw several incomplete statues erected around the square. They either had their hands tied to their backs, had their bodies entangled with the thorny roses, or looked like mummies. They gave off the feeling of being "restrained."

"This city first believed in the Mutant King." Like a qualified tour guide, Amon introduced the situation of each "scenic site" to Klein. "They're very interesting. They're usually restrained and quiet, just like ascetics. However, once they encounter prey, or in special moments in time, they will release a bloodthirsty desire to kill. You can imagine that on the night of the full moon, this is a city where werewolves roam."

From the looks of it, the Mutants originally had the concept of temperance... Later on, it was led astray by the Mother Tree of Desire... Using the new round of lightning, Klein took a few more looks and asked thoughtfully, "The Mutant King's image is close to that of a mummy?"

"No. Although 'He' is an ugly and twisted man, 'He' likes to entangle 'Himself with thorny roses." Amon scoffed.

Klein took the opportunity to ask, "What kind of idols will your believers worship?

"In mysticism, your symbol is a clock and a Worm of Time?"

Amon scratched "His" chin and said, "In theory, my believers are all 'me.' I don't need to trouble myself with building an idol."

My believers are all 'me'... Thankfully, I have a Blessed like Danitz now... Klein suddenly realized that he was quite similar to Amon in certain aspects.

Of course, when I say "my believer is myself," it's a funny story. When Amon says that "my believers are all 'me,"1 it becomes a horror novel. The difference in style is quite huge... Klein finally mocked himself.

As Amon walked forward, "He" continued, "However, in my father's era, quite a number of people believed in me. Some of them set off with the name 'Angel of Time,' using the emblem of the clock to construct my idol. Some of them used the title of 'God of Mischief and used a crow covered in mysterious patterns as my image, while others combine the two together."

Having said that, the monocled Amon suddenly turned "His" head and glanced at Klein before curling his lips.

"We're less than three days away from our final destination."

That is to say, I only have three days left... Klein nearly drew in a cold breath of air. The pressure increased rapidly, making him feel as though his nerves were being crushed.

He had yet to determine the true purpose behind this game Amon made, nor did he discover any traces of what he was being driven to do. This meant that he was unable to grasp the key, and he was unable to find a real opportunity to escape.

The performance of Amon's avatar made him understand that he might not even be able to last ten seconds before "Him."

As his thoughts raced, Klein fell silent. Following that, he walked out of the square covered in ruins.

There were few pedestrians on the streets as they came and went in a hurry. In Pritz Harbor, where many houses were covered in bum marks, the chestnut-haired Queen Mystic placed a newspaper on the table.

The first page of the Tussock Times was about the king's assassination. It also claimed that the assassin came from Feysac or Intis.

"This isn't stopping the disaster, nor is it worsening the disaster..." Bernadette muttered to herself with a serious expression.

She pondered for a moment, picked up the cloth on the table, and wrapped it up. Then, she released her fingers and allowed it to relax.

This time, the coffee cups, pens, newspapers, and other items in the tablecloth disappeared. What appeared were ritual items like silver-made candles.

Following that, Bernadette held a ritual and summoned Gehrman Sparrow's messenger.

As a partner, she felt that she needed to ask about the other party's situation and see if there was anything else she needed to help with.

The moment the ritual ended, four blonde, red-eyed heads walked out of the burgeoning candle flame. Dressed in a dark and complicated long dress, Reinette Tinekerr's neck was empty.

Bernadette's eyelids twitched indiscemibly before she picked up the letter and gold coin that she had prepared earlier and handed it to the messenger.

One of Reinette Tinekerr's heads bit on the letter and gold coin while the other head sized up Queen Mystic for a few seconds.

"She" shifted "Her" gaze back and walked into the void. However, just as Bernadette was about to put away the tablecloth, Miss Messenger suddenly appeared again.

One of the two heads with blonde hair and red eyes spoke one after another:

"He..." "Has disappeared..."

-x-X-x-

Gehrman Sparrow has gone missing... Bernadette had a vague sense of foreboding when the abnormally terrifying messenger returned. She had roughly figured out what had happened. Therefore, after hearing the other party's response, her expression sank slightly. There was no obvious reaction.

Queen Mystic's blue eyes, which resembled a condensing sea, instantly turned darker. They temporarily lost focus, as though she was looking at a torrent of fate through Reinette Tinekerr.

Two to three seconds later, Bernadette suddenly closed her eyes, as if a blinding light had appeared in front of her.

Blood-red liquid trickled from the corner of her eyes, accentuating her pale face.

With her eyes tightly shut, Bernadette said in a slightly ethereal voice, "Gehrman Sparrow is in grave danger. Darkness is devouring the light, leaving behind only a sliver of hope."

This was a prophecy.

The Sequence 3 of the Mystery Pryer pathway was "Clairvoyant."

The four heads held by Reinette Tinekerr spoke one after another:

"What..." "Does..." "Darkness..." " Symbolize..."

Bernadette maintained her composure and said, "Desolation, aberration, apocalypse, negativity, error."

Reinette Tinekerr, who was wearing a dark and complicated long dress, didn't let the head in her hand speak any further. Throwing down the letter and gold coin, she turned and walked into the void, disappearing into the room.

Queen Mystic Bernadette stood rooted to the ground for a few seconds without moving.

Finally, she opened her eyes again. Her blue eyes were hazy and lifeless, as though she needed more time to restore her eyesight.

Bernadette thought for a moment and reached out her right hand.

The tablecloth was stowed away before being spread open once again. The ritual items were replaced with a fountain pen, paper, and ink bottle.

The fountain pen suddenly leaped up, as if it was held by an invisible sprite. It quickly wrote down the matter of Gehrman Sparrow's disappearance onto the paper.

...

In the captain's cabin of the Future.

Despite looking at the fried mushrooms on her plate and taking in the fragrance of the fat, Cattleya didn't pick up her cutlery for a long time.

Suddenly, her spiritual perception was triggered. She turned her head to look at the spot where the brass sextant was placed, and she realized that a letter had appeared there at some point in time.

Cattleya immediately revealed a smile as she reached out to pick up the letter and eagerly began reading it.

Gradually, she frowned.

"Gehrman Sparrow has gone missing..." Cattleya repeated the key point of the letter in a low voice. She acutely felt that this matter was somewhat serious.

She easily understood the meaning behind Queen Mystic's letter. Without any hesitation, she bowed her head, clasped her hands, and recited an honorific name in ancient Hermes:

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

Above the gray fog, the crimson star representing The Hermit came alive. It began expanding and contracting, spreading out ripples of prayers.

They intertwined with the ripples created by the two crimson stars that corresponded to The Magician and The Sun. They surged towards the ancient and majestic palace, like tidal waves.

...

Someone is praying to Mr. Fool again... The echoes are getting even stronger, and the sound is becoming more clear... Hmm, I can hear it clearly, and the image is also clearer... This prayer seems to be from Ma'am Hermit. Only she likes to wear ancient warlock robes...

Queen Mystic discovered that something has happened to Gehrman Sparrow? Although I was worried that I would die this time and needed a certain amount of time to revive, I had already hinted to the members of the Tarot Club that I might cancel the gathering next week, but that was just a hint. It wasn't a formal notice, nor was it clear enough. When Monday comes, they'll definitely panic, pray, and try to make contact, only to discover that Mr. Fool has also disappeared. No, "He" has run off with The World. Klein used a deprecating comment to ease his feelings.

He glanced at Amon, who was walking beside him. Without a word, he lifted the lantern in his hand and said, "It should've been extinguished long ago."

Wearing a pointed hat and black mage robe, Amon nodded slightly and said, "I left it in a magical state. It can maintain its light for a week without needing any fuel."

Klein thought for a moment and asked, "Is this the deceiving of natural laws?"

Amon turned "His" head and used his monocled right eye to look at Klein for a second before smiling.

"Smart.

"The 'Error' pathway's Sequence 3 is a more profound version of 'Swindler,' known as 'Mentor of Deceit.'"

It's about the same as my guess... However, it isn't only the Error pathway that can do such a thing. The Black Emperor can use "Distortion" and "Exploit" powers to achieve that... In his mind, Klein began comparing the differences between the Marauder and the Lawyer pathway.

At this moment, Amon stroked "His" chin and asked with interest, "There are less than three days left. If you don't think of a way to escape, it will be too late.

"Do you plan on making a new attempt tomorrow?"

"...Make a guess." Klein forced a smile as he answered in the same rhetoric manner that Amon was best at using.

To be honest, he didn't believe that the effects would be better given more attempts.

On the one hand, frequent attempts were indeed able to test the limits of Amon's powers. By expending the "items" that "He" had previously stolen, Klein could establish a good foundation for the final battle. But on the other hand, he would also expose his trump cards. After all, he was in a passive state and had no chance to prepare. To force Amon to showcase more of the means available to "Him," it required him to use the few trump cards he had.

If his countermeasures were all figured out by Amon after his repeated attempts, he wouldn't have any chance of escaping.

An attempt to escape was a double-edged sword. If one wasn't careful, one would cut oneself!

It was precisely because of this that Klein didn't blindly take action, and carefully made plans in his heart.

As he spoke, he walked out of the city that originally worshiped the Mutant King and later believed in the ancient sun god. There were only white bones and several stone structures that had been weathered by the elements here that showcased its former prosperity.

Outside the city, there was an endless wilderness that couldn't be seen in the lightning.

...

At 7 Pinster Street, Leonard sat on a sofa. He placed his feet on the coffee table and leisurely flipped through the day's newspaper.

Yesterday, George III's death had brought them copious amounts of work. He had spent the entire night on duty, and he received five hours of rest today.

After sleeping for two hours, Leonard woke up in high spirits, attempting to understand the current situation from the normal media.

In fact, as the captain of a Red Gloves team, he knew more than the reporters about certain aspects. For example, in the outskirts of Backlund, where the Tudor ruin was located, it had collapsed into a rather large lake. It had nearly affected Dwayne Dantès's Maygur Manor. Another was the death of George III, who had self-destructed at the square, but wasn't the actual person. The search for his corpse was to no avail, as though he had vanished into thin air that night.

Of course, Leonard was extremely certain that George III was already dead. The eldest prince was about to inherit the title of Balam Emperor and Loen King.

Back then, something had happened at Sefirah Castle. This matter definitely has something to do with Mr. Fool... Klein had long warned us about George III... The reactions of the three Churches were very strange. Even the Church of the Lord of Storms, which is most prone to acting rash, wasn't too angry... As Leonard flipped through the newspaper, his thoughts wandered casually.

At this moment, his mind was filled with the slightly-aged voice of Pallez Zoroast:

"Gehrman Sparrow's messenger is here."

Leonard suddenly looked up and saw the angel-level messenger wearing a dark and complicated long dress appear in front of him.

The four blonde, red-eyed heads held by Reinette Tinekerr spoke one after another:

"Gehrman..." "Sparrow..." "Has encountered..." "Extreme..."

"Danger..." "He has..." "Gone..." "Missing..."

Klein has encountered danger and disappeared? Leonard immediately retracted his legs and stood up.

Without waiting for the reminder provided by Pallez Zoroast, his spiritual perception stirred as he blurted out, "Is it related to the death of George III?"

"Yes..." "He..." "Destroyed..." "The Apotheosis..." "Ritual..." "Of..." "George..." "III..." The eight red eyes on Reinette Tinekerr's four heads looked at Leonard.

Apotheosis ritual? Although Leonard was anxious, he was still shocked by the phrase.

For someone to hold an apotheosis ritual, one had to be a Sequence 1 angel at the very least. Yet, Klein was able to directly participate in something at that level... Mr. Fool's plan? Leonard's green eyes glimmered slightly. Relying on his relatively rich experience, he pointedly asked, "What happened to Klein the last time you saw him?"

The four blonde, red-eyed heads of Reinette Tinekerr shook and said, "Possibly..." Under..." "Zaratul's..." "Pursuit..."

As Gehrman Sparrow's messenger, this Ancient Bane was able to sense that "Her" employer had also left the Tudor ruins after escaping.

And as for those who understood the means of a Scholar of Yore, they were undoubtedly High-Sequence Beyonders of the same pathway. Therefore, Zaratul would definitely be able to obstruct and pursue him.

Zaratul? The leader of the Secret Order, the Sequence 1 angel, Zaratul? As Leonard was worried about Klein, he felt fear and concern for the life of his former colleague.

At that moment, a deep voice sounded in his mind:

"Ask 'Her' what other clues 'She' has."

Leonard immediately did as he was asked.

Reinette Tinekerr seemed to know that Leonard wasn't simple. She repeated Queen Mystic's prophecy word by word.

After listening to what was said, Pallez Zoroast fell silent for a while before sighing.

"Error...

"I think I know about your former colleague's current situation."

Leonard subconsciously wanted to ask, but because there were outsiders around, he held back his urge.

Pallez paused and continued, "The anomaly with Sefirah Castle attracted Zaratul. How could Amon not notice it?

"This should be related to the struggle for Sefirah Castle."

Sefirah Castle... Leonard slowly took a deep breath and said to Reinette Tinekerr, "He might've fallen into the hands of Amon."

After Miss Messenger's four heads nodded and turned to leave, Leonard immediately sat down and clasped his hands. Closing his eyes, he prayed.

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

-x-X-x-

Above the gray fog, the crimson star representing The Star also burgeoned and contracted. The rippling light gradually overlapped with the other ripples created by the other three crimson stars, turning into a tidal wave that surged through the entire mysterious space, causing the space to vibrate slightly.

After describing the matter related to Klein, Leonard ended his prayers and waited for Mr. Fool to respond.

However, he still didn't receive any feedback after nearly fifteen minutes.

Mr. Fool has always been very responsive... Leonard couldn't help but mutter.

After a few seconds of silence, Pallez Zoroast reminded with a slightly-aged voice, "Recall what The Fool said recently.'

Leonard thought carefully and slowly said, "In the middle of the week, 'He' reminded us not to head into the woods in the northwestern outskirts of Backlund... Yes, 'He' seemed to hint that the gathering might not be held as planned..."

"As expected." Pallez Zoroast let out a long sigh and said, "The Fool had predicted Amon's appearance to a certain extent. 'They' might be fighting in different domains now. One of them wishes to hold onto Sefirah Castle, while the other wishes to become the new owner of Sefirah Castle. Your former colleague has unfortunately been embroiled in this matter."

"Mr. Fool had expected this? Is this a trap 'He' laid for Amon?" Leonard's green eyes lit up as he blurted out.

Pallez spent a significant amount of time thinking as "He" spoke much slower.

"Perhaps that's the case. Perhaps it's because Amon exploited the trap and took the initiative. Don't underestimate a Blasphemer, a powerful King of Angels."

According to what Leonard knew, Mr. Fool was either the owner of the Sefirah Castle who was slowly recovering, corresponding to some unknown deity in history, or "He" was the embodiment of sefirot. Currently, "He" was unable to control "His" authority and strength very well, something that could be fixed with a further qualitative change.

And regardless of the possibilities, Mr. Fool was still unable to reach the level of a true deity. He was likely on the same level as the King of Angels.

Under such circumstances, it was rather normal that Mr. Fool and the terrifying Blasphemer would undergo an intense battle. After all, that person was one of "Them," one of the strongest hidden existences beneath the deities. "He" was even more powerful than the Hidden Sage that was usually categorized as an evil god. Even deities were somewhat apprehensive towards "Him."

"..."Leonard couldn't help but tense up. He asked in a low voice worriedly, "Old Man, do you have any way to provide any help? Isn't Amon your greatest enemy?"

Such help might be limited, but it should be able to pull Klein out of the maelstrom.

Upon hearing that, Pallez Zoroast laughed and said with an obvious self-deprecating tone, "Aren't you expecting too much from me?

"Indeed, if Amon obtains Sefirah Castle, I'll definitely die at 'His' hands. I might not be able to survive this winter. And if Sefirah Castle is left with The Fool, I might have a chance of surviving in the future.

"But would an old man like me, who has just recovered to Sequence 2, have the ability to interfere with a battle at this level?

"Even if I were to use the Yesterday Once More charms, what can I do in the short time span of two to three seconds? Yes, yes. At the critical moment, I might be able to help The Fool warp the situation, but I don't even know where 'They' are fighting. How can I seize the opportunity?"

Leonard fell silent after hearing Old Man's long answer. He immediately bowed his head and raised his hands to press them against the sides of his head. He muttered to himself, "Don't tell me that I can only watch helplessly..."

Pallez sighed and said, "Be patient. All we can do now is be patient.

"The Fool and Evemight, and some other deities and Kings of Angels seem to have some tacit understanding with each other. They might even be cooperating with one another. 'They' will not allow Amon to take away Sefirah Castle.

"Wait patiently. Perhaps it won't take long for a window of opportunity to appear."

Leonard straightened his body and leaned back. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I understand."

The Blue Avenger, which had been ordered by the Church of the Lord of Storms to attack the port and Feysacian merchant ships near the waters of Sonia Island, was hiding somewhere outside the safe sea route.

Alger Wilson stood behind the window of the captain's cabin, using his extremely distant vision to stare at the long coastline.

To this "newly advanced" Ocean Songster's point of view, many captains who received similar missions were the cream of the crop of the Mid-Sequence Beyonders. Their joint operation would definitely be able to effectively harm the traffic flow of Feysacian waters.

This also meant that an attack from Feysac would be reasonably fierce, with a high chance of a Sequence 4 demigod leading the attack. Of course, one couldn't eliminate the possibility of a Sequence 3 War Bishop or Silver Knight appearing.

This was a dangerous development for Alger. He didn't wish to put himself in such danger.

At the same time, his crew, colleagues, and partners would monitor each other, preventing anyone from deserting. If Alger were to skive and walk on the edge of danger, it wouldn't take long for him to consider killing most of the crew members and become a true pirate, or lose the Blue Avenger and return to Pasu Island for an internal probe.

After this operation ends, the captains who could still survive wouldn't exceed a third... Alger calmly analyzed the situation and quickly came up with a plan to avoid danger.

That was to participate in the operation, but not take center stage.

Alger planned on using a "surprise attack" on the port while his brethren frenetically attacked the Feysacian merchant and supply ships. This would bring the people on board his ship onto Sonia Island, allowing them to lay in ambush in a primeval forest. Occasionally, he would cause some minor disturbances to the port which were easily managed. This way, the Feysac demigods would definitely cast their gazes at the sea, and not towards him.

At the same time, in the eyes of the crew, he would be a role model who was willing to take great risks to enter the enemy's borders.

After thinking through all the details, Alger immediately gathered the crew and repeated his plans. Finally, he emphasized, "This will be very dangerous. Trust me, it's very, very dangerous. We won't be able to advance and retreat like we can at sea. We might be surrounded by enemies at any time, but such an attack will definitely exceed the expectations of the Feysacians, and it will give us the outcome we want.

"Are you willing to remain on the ship as cowards, or do you want to follow me into battle as a hero to show your devotion to the Lord?"

The crew members felt their blood boiling as they rashly said, "F*ck the Feysacians!"

Very good." Alger felt relieved as he struck his right fist on his left breast. "May the Storm be with us!"

"May the Storm be with us!" the sailors saluted and shouted.

After making the necessary arrangements, Alger believed that he needed to borrow the Unshadowed Crucifix as soon as possible so as to purge the excess Ocean Songster's Beyonder characteristic. Although he had exaggerated the danger of landing on the island, there was still a certain level of danger involved. Therefore, he wanted to quickly recover to his optimal condition.

And he had long understood Mr. Fool's earlier hint. He felt that tonight or tomorrow morning, Mr. Fool would officially inform them that the gathering was to be canceled.

Of course, there were some ideas in the deepest depths of Alger's heart. He suspected that every time Mr. Fool canceled the Tarot Club, something had happened to "Him." He wanted to use this prayer to test if this mighty existence was still normal.

No, I can't. Thou shalt not test God... This isn't a test. Mr. Fool didn't hint that I can't pray to "Him" recently. Besides, borrowing the Unshadowed Crucifix is something I really need to do within the next few days... Alger paced back and forth, unable to make a decision.

At this moment, he heard the sound of waves crashing. Through the additional type of vision provided by the ghost ship, he saw the water part as a huge fish-type creature appeared.

The strange-looking giant fish opened its mouth and spat out a small metal ball that landed on the deck.

Alger nodded and expressed his gratitude with his singing.

This was a sea creature that the Church of the Lord of Storms had tamed. In this operation, it and its companions were the messengers between the various ships and the islands.

Upon receiving his gratitude, the giant fish-like creature trembled. With a flick of its tail, it headed deep into the sea and swam into the distance.

Alger looked at it silently for two seconds before summoning a gust of wind to bring the metal ball into the captain's cabin.

He twisted open the metal ball and took out the piece of paper inside. Alger's eyes froze from a mere glance at it.

George III has been assassinated... Alger repeated the content with a heavy expression before recalling The World Gehrman Sparrow's reminder and Mr. Fool's hints.

This time, he no longer hesitated. He locked the room and softly muttered the honorific name, "The Fool that doesn't belong to this era..."

These prayers are almost becoming a choral symphony... Mr. Hanged Man wants to borrow the Unshadowed Crucifix from Little Sun? Leonard... Yes... These voices are stacked over one another, undulating in pitch and volume. It's making the surroundings tremble... Klein rubbed his temples, having a feeling that he had been struck by lightning from every direction.

At this moment, he followed Amon deeper into the desolate moors and saw the grayish-yellow fog that blanketed the area. There were a few ravines and in the deep, dark depths, there were plenty of things roaming.

Compared to the quiet, lurking monsters from before, the ones here were rather special.

The pointy-hatted Amon raised his hand to nudge his monocle and pointed ahead with a smile.

"Another half a day and we should be reaching our final destination."

Haifa day... It hasn't been a day yet... Didn't you say three days?" Klein's pupils seemingly dilated.

Amon smiled and said, "I said not more than three days.

"One day is not more than three days, too.

Upon saying that, the King of Angels paused and asked with piqued interest, "Did I hamper your arrangements? "Are you feeling more despair?"

Klein didn't answer as he suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed into the void beside him.

-x-X-x-

Although Klein had been a Beyonder for less than two years, his experience could be described as rich and exciting, even among Sequence 4 and Sequence 3 saints. The things he possessed or encountered before that could be summoned from the Historical Void, and the ones that were capable of quickly killing him didn't number many.

Here, he chose the Flaring Sun Charm that he had used in Tingen City. He had already recited the incantation, injected his spirituality into it, and was about to activate the charms!

Indeed, to a demigod of the Seer pathway that meant bizarreness and change, it wasn't very effective against him. He mainly depended on the damage it did to his body, but Klein didn't dodge or defend himself. Instead, he released his body and mind to embrace the light of "hope."

Even at the level of a Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore, the defense of a Seer pathway's Beyonder remained low. His offensive ability was also equally insufficient compared to his peers. This resulted in a sad fact:

When Klein wanted to commit suicide, he didn't have any powers that could quickly kill himself. After all, it was impossible for him to control his Spirit Body Threads and transform himself into his marionette. This would result in logical contradictions. Towards the end of the process, he would lack the ability to continue making himself a marionette.

And when he was searching for ways to kill himself through external means, he realized that, as long as he didn't use methods like Marionette Interchange, Paper Figurine Substitutes, and Historical Void Hiding, there were too many options that he could consider.

The Seer was such a powerful pathway that veered towards the extremes.

Seeing that Klein was about to take out a Flaring Sun Charm from the fog of history, along with having a strong desire to commit suicide, Amon only smiled. Without even raising "His" hand, "He" stole the entire idea, causing the crystal monocle to glow slightly.

Klein immediately forgot what he was trying to do.

But his actions didn't stop!

His shocked reaction when he heard that they were only half a day away from the final destination was mostly faked. This was because he had always been wary of the God of Deceit. He didn't trust anything that "He" said.

There were too many interpretations of "not more than three days," so Klein had long prepared for the worst. After hearing what Amon said, he immediately arranged the things he needed to do into a sequence: After having the idea of summoning the Flaring Sun Charm to commit suicide; it was to summon that existence; summon that existence; summon this, that, and those existences. He made it cyclic, hoping that no matter how many thoughts Amon stole from him, he would still follow his original plan and perform the corresponding actions.

Regarding this matter, back when he dealt with 0-08, he had been thinking about it above the gray fog. He had used the experience of treating the real him as a marionette and only following a predetermined set of actions. This helped him greatly.

At that moment, although he didn't know what he was trying to do, to the point of not realizing that he had forgotten something, he knew very well what he would do next.

The past wasn't important, but the present and future were key!

Klein reached out his palm again and grabbed the void in front of him. His entire arm sank.

However, when he retracted his right hand, nothing came out.

At the same time, Amon raised "His" palm and gently swiped forward.

"He" had stolen the Historical Void projection that Klein had summoned!

A figure quickly appeared beside Amon. It was an elder dressed in a hooded black robe. His eyes were deep black, like a dark water surface, and the white beard around his mouth was long and dense.

Zaratul!

The leader of the Secret Order, the Sequence 1 angel, Zaratul!

The existence that Klein had attempted to summon was actually Zaratul, and he had succeeded in one try!

This was because he had made preparations in advance.

Back in the city that the phoenix believers had built, when Klein had split his marionettes into three groups, he was actually attempting to summon Zaratul from the Historical Void.

Without a doubt, it was impossible to succeed at that time. However, as a Scholar of Yore, it would be a massive failure if one failed to notice that someone else was trying to summon their historical projection. As for Zaratul, he was definitely a senior, excellent, and experienced Scholar of Yore.

After such a failed summoning, Klein had established a connection with Zaratul.

This was the tacit understanding between Scholars of Yore!

As for a Miracle Invoker, an Attendant of Mysteries, "He" was able to respond to "His" historical projection. It was just like how a Scholar of Yore had a hundred percent chance of success when borrowing strength from his past.

In addition, a Scholar of Yore had no contractual connection with the Historical Void projection. They relied on the other party's lack of intelligence, or them having good relationships with them, to control it. And in this world, the few high-level existences most unwilling to see Amon obtain Sefirah Castle was Mr. Door, followed by Pallez, and then Zaratul!

In other words, the two of them were short-term allies when it came to resisting Amon.

Due to these factors, Klein believed that he could summon Zaratul in one go. And the facts proved that he was right.

And it was precisely because of this that he wasn't worried at all that Amon would steal away his historical projection that he had summoned. He even hoped that the Angel of Time would do so.

As for the reason why he first came up with the idea of committing suicide before summoning Zaratu, it was to let Amon steal his thoughts. And for Amon, "He" would be happy to try since "He" was a King of Angels in search of excitement. With too many choices for "Him" to choose from, it was unlikely "He" would repeat another "Thought Usurpation." It might be the "Theft" of a Historical Void projection.

This was one of the few trump cards that Klein had.

In the next second, Zaratul's gaze turned from a glazed one to a spirited and real one.

Clearly, this Attendant of Mysteries, a senior Scholar of Yore, had entered the Historical Void and allowed "His" projection from the same era to receive "His" consciousness!

And having "His" own consciousness meant that Zaratul's projection didn't hesitate at all to firmly cast "His" gaze at Amon.

The eyes of Amon—the ones wearing and not wearing the monocle—narrowed at the same time. "He" saw the lightning around "Him" increase in frequency as the vast wilderness with many ravines instantly turned empty and dark. They were speckled with twinkling stars.

"He" had apparently been pulled beneath the cosmos by Zaratul.

This was a miracle.

As for the projection opposite of Amon, it had already transformed into a gigantic, mysterious whirlpool formed by squirming mysterious. They extended out in all directions with transparent tentacles. Just looking at them would make humans lose their minds and turn crazy.

At that moment, Klein abandoned the other thoughts in the "queue." He took the opportunity to control a monster deep in the darkness and transform it into his marionette.

Immediately following that, he switched places with his marionette.

After coming to the depths of the darkness, Klein reached out his hand once again to grab at the air in front of him a few times in succession. His marionette did the same action as well.

Finally, he dragged a new figure out of the void.

It was a figure dressed in a simple linen robe, with a tree bark as a belt. Standing there, barefooted with long, black hair, Arianna's facial features were ordinary and her eyes dark and cold.

The Evernight cloister's matron, the ascetic leader, the Servant of Concealment, the Grounded Angel, Arianna.

As soon as Arianna appeared,"Her" dark eyes turned normal. She didn't look like a projection at all.

"Her" true body seemed to have entered a concealed state, allowing the summoned Historical Void projection to also possess intelligence.

This was also one of the reasons why Klein had chosen to summon "Her," and had given up on summoning Mr. Azik and Miss Messenger who gave him a higher success rate. This way, even if an accident happened during his "suicide," preventing his success, there was still a chance to fight Amon in the subsequent battle!

After a Historical Void's projection possessed their own consciousness, it made it much easier for Klein to maintain them. This resulted in an extension in time for the maintenance of the projection.

Following that, he used the connection between the Scholar of Yore and their summoned Historical Void projection, quickly communicating to Servant of Concealment, Arianna, his intent to kill him!

Arianna suddenly bent "Her" body, and "Her" right hand reached behind her back. "She" pulled out a bone sword covered in strange patterns from the depths of the darkness.

Then, "She" suddenly took a step forward and swung "Her" sword forward.

The entire darkness literally stirred as it wildly spread towards where the spot Klein was standing.

An unlucky monster happened to be situated between the two of them as it melted away when drowned by the tide of darkness.

This wasn't the authority of concealment. This was a combination of repose and horror. It symbolized danger in the darkness, a symbol of silent destruction and vanquishment.

The Beyonders of the Sleepless pathway had to reach Sequence 3 Horror Bishop to grasp such powers.

Subconsciously, Klein's survival instinct made him attempt to escape. But at that moment, he felt that the surrounding darkness was an enemy. If he was infected by that force, he would become a part of the tide. There was no avoiding it.

There's no need to use all your strength. You can easily kill me with just a portion of your strength... Klein restrained his primal instincts, and he stood on the spot, waiting for the destruction to sweep through him.

At that moment, a distant, illusory bell sounded.

It was as if it had traveled through a long stretch of history, causing everything around it to slow down, including the surging darkness.

In midair, swaths of darkness were pierced, revealing a gigantic wall clock carved out of stone.

It was ancient and mottled, and its surface was separated into twelve segments by grayish-white and bluish-black colors. Each segment had different symbols, and the needle had a total of three hands—short, medium, long. It seemed to be formed from the twelve rings of a Worm of Time.

As the second hand ticked, the bell rang again.

Gong!

As the sound echoed, the surging darkness like a tide slowed down even more. Then, the ancient clock's projection dissipated, turning back into Amon with "His" pointed hat and monocle.

Behind "Him", the projection of Zaratul was also in a sluggish state.

Right on the heels of that, Amon levitated in midair, extending "His" right hand, and "He" pressed down at the darkness.

The darkness quickly returned to normal, drowning Klein without causing him any damage. It was unknown if there was a bug or if a Beyonder effect had been stolen.

At the same time, Amon's body instantly became abnormally huge. It was nearly twenty meters tall, but none of "His" clothes suffered any damage.

"He" looked down at Klein and raised "His" hand to adjust his monocle. He ignored the attacks from the Zaratul projection behind "Him" as "He" curled "His" lips and said with deep interest, "Interesting."

-x-X-x-

As Amon spoke, the transparent tentacles covered with mysterious patterns extended out from the gigantic vortex behind "His" back, and they wrapped around "His" many different Spirit Body Threads.

In the blink of an eye, the illusory black threads were lifted up without any resistance.

And with that, one strange monster after another was hoisted up in the air, like ham waiting to be dry-aged.

The Spirit Body Threads beside Amon were all stolen by "Him" at some point in time!

While Zaratul launched "His" attack, "His" other slippery tentacle kept extending into the void, attempting to pull something back.

In just a few seconds, a figure quickly appeared.

"He" had long chestnut-colored curly hair, blue eyes, high nose bridge, thin lips, and a very beautifully manicured mustache. He wore a dark red coat with rusted golden threads. It was none other than the former Emperor of Intis, Roselle Gustav.

The moment this Knowledge Emperor stepped into the real world, "He" looked down at the gigantified Amon, and complicated and illusory symbols instantly formed in "His" eyes.

"He" wasn't worried that Amon would steal "His" attack at all, because "He" had prepared an extremely large amount of useless miscellaneous knowledge. Be it the forceful injection or Amon's theft of it, "He" could achieve the goal of blowing up the other party's mind.

Just as Emperor Roselle's projection was fully formed, another figure appeared from Zaratul's transparent tentacles.

The figure had a young face, but his long hair was already half-white—pulled back and flailing in the air. In the darkness, half of it was hidden, and the other was prominent.

This was an angel that Klein didn't know. "He" looked like a man with eyes that were dark and filled with the vicissitudes of life. "His" facial features were considered pretty good, but there was a bunch of thick, short black hair on "His" cheeks. "He" emitted the feeling that "He" was both old and youthful, both rational and crazy.

"He" immediately transformed into a cluster of squirming worms that extended out transparent, smooth tentacles akin to Zaratul's projection.

Clearly, this was also an angel from the Seer pathway.

At that moment, Klein didn't even dare to look straight at the situation occurring in midair. However, when his spiritual perception triggered, he had already sensed something familiar.

The second angel that was summoned by Zaratul was the son of an ancient god, the original ancestor of the Antigonus family!

This was the historical projection "Him" before "He" became The Half-Fool.

Clearly, Zaratul had made sufficient preparations in this period of time.

As Antigonus displayed "His" complete Mythical Creature form, the surrounding environment changed once again. The darkness became even darker, as though it had a life of its own as it surged towards the massive manifestation of the classic black-robed, pointy-hatted, and monocled Amon.

In the area enveloped by darkness, all the monsters instantly turned into marionettes.

Antigonus seemed to have moved a portion of the ancient divine kingdom from "His" memories into the real world, so as to separate Amon from Klein.

This was also a miracle.

When the miracle happened, Zaratul's transparent tentacles pulled out a third projection from the fog of history.

This was a knight in full black armor. "He" was a demigod from the Fourth Epoch's Solomon Empire, and had not left an illustrious name in history.

However, "He" had another identity. "He" was a member of the "Red of War" army, and the leader of this army was King of Angels, Medici.

In this division, every member could connect with Red Angel Medici's mind and become one.

In other words, if Medici could converge their powers, then they too could also transmit their own powers to the collective pool.

The powers of a Scholar of Yore powers couldn't summon anything associated with the Uniqueness. Even if they were to raise their Sequence and receive a qualitative change, it remained the same. However, there was no doubt that Seers would seek ways to push the envelope by attempting to bypass the restrictions and obtain help from the Uniqueness to a certain extent.

Klein had summoned the Goddess's descent vessel to accomplish this point, while Zaratul summoned a powerhouse of the Red of War army.

At this moment, that projection was equivalent to a portion of Medici!

The knight in black armor stepped onto the battlefield. "He" scanned the battlefield in a sluggish manner before laughing out loud.

Yo, Lil' Raven, have those feathers I burnt recovered?"

Due to the fact that his historical projection had summoned another three angel-level historical projections, Klein suspected that he couldn't maintain it for ten seconds.

If it wasn't for this change, then he would most likely have felt that he had found a way to indefinitely increase his combat strength. That was to summon two angels and one projection of himself every time. Then, he could use his projection to summon two angels and himself again. If this continued, he would have an infinite number of projections available.

At that moment, the ascetic leader of the Church of Evernight, Arianna's body faded and entered a concealed state. Following that, "She" suddenly appeared behind the gigantified Amon, slashing out with the bone sword that was covered in strange patterns.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when Amon was being attacked by the five angel projections' attack, Klein kept converting monsters into his marionettes, getting them to aim at him. He opened his mouth and let out a bang.

Air Cannons whistled towards him.

At the same time, Klein stretched out his hand and easily took out a Flaring Sun Charm that had already been activated and was just short of releasing its effects.

He didn't believe that he would be able to survive such repeated attacks.

Amidst the booms, Klein suddenly heard a "tick-tock" noise.

The entire world seemed to stop for a moment before it returned to normal.

Following that, he saw a huge hole in the dark sky. A ray of pure hot sunlight shone in and lit a golden charm.

It was the Flaring Sun Charm. It had turned into a huge ball of light that was engulfed by countless balls of flames.

However, the target it attacked wasn't Klein. It had made an error and, instead, wrapped around the Red of War demigod.

Meanwhile, the vast amount of knowledge that Roselle Gustav had injected, the miracle created by Antigonus, the destructive sword which Arianna had swung out, the transparent tentacles that Zaratul extended, they all pointed at the same target in an erroneous manner—Medici's black-armored subordinate.

At some point, the projection that consisted of a part of Medici's will first suffered an explosion in "His" mind. Even "His" instinctive reaction seemed to have disappeared. Then, "He" was assaulted by the barrage of heavy attacks, and quickly dissipated in midair.

Wearing a pointed hat and a classical mage robe, it was unknown when Amon had returned to the size of a human and landed at the bottom of the battlefield.

"He" raised "His" right hand and adjusted the crystal monocle as a beam of light lit up.

Behind "His" back, the ancient mottled clock phantom appeared once again. The longest second hand quickly spun half a round at an extraordinary speed.

It took less than a second, but everything on the desolate moors seemed to have lost ten to twenty seconds.

The projection of Antigonus's historical projection disappeared. Following that, Roselle's historical projection faded away. Finally, it was the historical projections of Zaratul and Arianna.

The amount of time "They" could be maintained had been stolen.

Klein, who was just about to commit suicide for the third time, couldn't believe his eyes.

He had expected Blasphemer Amon to resolve the five angel projections. After all, they were merely projections. A projection was much weaker than the actual body. However, Klein never expected the other party to be so casual about it that he didn't even have a chance to commit suicide.

He had used his trump card in exchange for such an outcome. It was inevitable for him to feel disheartened and despair.

Amon nudged his monocle and took a step forward to appear in front of him. "He" smiled.

"If 'They' were all 'Their' true bodies, it would indeed be more troublesome.

"However, the Historical Void projection has a very huge flaw. And grasping the 'problem' of something is what I'm best at."

Looking at this Angel of Time whose smile remained the same while his expression was one of delight, as though "He" hadn't been in a difficult situation just now, Klein's heart slowly sank, as if he had fallen into an abyss.

His spiritual perception was triggered as scenes quickly flashed through his mind.

After entering the Forsaken Land of the Gods, Amon changed his clothes—going from a dark colored jacket, trousers, and black top hat that met the aesthetic standards of modern times to a classic mage's robe and a pointed hat.

After that, "He" suggested a game of escaping and obstructing;

"He" appeared extremely confident and wasn't worried about any mishaps...

As his thoughts raced, Klein's throat turned dry, and he said in a low and hoarse voice, "You... are the true body...

"After entering the Forsaken Land of the Gods, your true body merged with your avatar?"

He seriously suspected that the person in front of him was Amon's true body, the true Blasphemer, the whole King of Angels!

The corners of the monocled Amon's mouth curled up bit by bit.

"This is very interesting, isn't it?

"The expression on your face after knowing the truth is what I wanted to see in this game."

"He" had clearly admitted that "He" was the main body. "He" was born accommodating the Uniqueness of the Marauder pathway. "He" was peerless amongst the ranks of those beneath that of deities.

This meant that, unless a true deity descended, no matter how hard Klein struggled, he wouldn't be able to escape from Amon's hands. And this was the Forsaken Land of the Gods. The only active deity was the True Creator, and "He" wasn't too interested in Sefirah Castle.

Although he had suspected that the Amon beside him had swapped with "His" actual body, Klein, who had experienced countless instances of hope, only to have them destroyed, experienced what was the ultimate sense of despair when he was truly certain of it. If it wasn't for the fact that the Tarot Club involved Miss Justice, Leonard, and company, as well as how he knew that Amon was best at deception, he would've admitted defeat and expressed his willingness to become "His" Blessed.

Isn't it normal to join the ranks of the opponents if you can't beat them... As he lampooned, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He recalled the words that Amon had previously said.

This... His eyes lit up, and he completely calmed down. Looking at Amon, he leisurely stretched his body and said with a smile, "Kill me."