175 LOTM

As he had personal experience, Klein placed himself in the shoes of the Dark Demonic Wolf and pondered.

Usually, he would shut down the automatic prayer response to prevent an enemy from using the feedback to establish a connection and lock onto his position;

Under this premise, to receive a sudden prayer from a stranger would no doubt lead to "Him" relying on the corresponding point of light to observe the supplicant and grasp more information. This allowed "Him" to make preparations for what might happen in the future;

If the person chanting the honorific name was a powerful existence like Amon or someone relatively more familiar, it would be best to destroy that point of light immediately. However, if the person was a stranger, under such a situation where "He" was completely safe, "He" would monitor him for a long period of time to understand the exact situation and see if there was a need for a counterattack. It was something that every rational creature would most likely do. At the very least, Klein would do so.

The essence of this matter was that non-Mythical Creatures were marked by high-level existences. They could die in a baffling and tragic manner at any moment. To the supplicant, this was equivalent to suicide or something even more terrifying. To the Dark Demonic Wolf, it was only a positive outcome, nothing negative.

At the beginning, the suspicious Dark Demonic Wolf would definitely suspect that there was a conspiracy. "He" wouldn't dare to establish a connection and influence Klein from a distance. However, with the passage of time, as the observations deepened and a confirmation was made that the other party was a non-angel weakling who possessed the aura of Sefirah Castle with signs of being unprepared, "He" would definitely find an opportunity to attack from afar. At the time when Klein was most unprepared, "He" would mark the prayer light and deal a remote attack.

This aligned with Klein's previous conclusion about his advantage that Klein—"I'm very weak."

The only problem with this plan was that the initiative was completely in the hands of the Dark Demonic Wolf. Everything Klein did would be monitored, and there was no way to prepare ahead of time. Once the other party tried to exert "His" influence on him, he would not be able to fight back and wouldn't be spared.

Phew, by doing so, I would successfully bait the prey, but kill the hunter as a result... It's meaningless... Yet, if I don't place myself in such a passive position, it will be difficult to bait an angel of the Seer pathway, the paranoid demonic wolf... This is something that a marionette or others cannot do in my stead... If only I can be certain that the Dark Demonic Wolf wouldn't rashly attack remotely because of "His" paranoia and will only choose to monitor and observe... Thoughts raced through Klein's mind as he sought out the possibilities amongst numerous impossibilities.

With regards to this, he could only sigh inwardly, feeling regretful for not being an angel from the Spectator pathway.

According to his assumptions, the angels of the Spectator pathway would more or less have some special characteristics of "the more others know about you, the more you understand them." When the Dark Demonic Wolf monitored him closely through prayer light and ended up carefully observing an angel from the Spectator pathway, "His" position would undoubtedly be exposed to the other party.

Unfortunately, I'm not... Besides, the Spectator pathway's Sequence 2 might not be able to do so. I can only be certain that a Sequence 1 has this special trait... Summoning 0-08 from the fog of history? No, let's not talk about whether I can summon that quill without Groselle's Travels. Even if I successfully create a projection, the quill is a quill while I am still myself. The Dark Demonic Wolf's understanding of me doesn't make 0-08 do the reverse. Also, I can only use it for a mere two minutes. It wouldn't be enough to sense anything... It can be used as supplementary to the plan, writing the development I wish to see happen, making the Dark Demonic Wolf's "choice" appear reasonable so as to eliminate uncertain elements... Klein considered for a long while, but he failed to find a suitable plan to bait his prey.

Apart from feeling regretful that he wasn't a Sequence 1 angel of the Spectator pathway, he had also thought of the cosmos:

Just learning of it would result in corruption from the cosmos!

If I had the nature of the cosmos, then after the Dark Demonic Wolf uses the prayer point of light to monitor me, "He" would be corrupted, allowing me to lock onto "His" position. However, the cosmos's nature is higher than that of an angel. How could I have it... I keep feeling like I've forgotten something... Klein made The World Gehrman Sparrow shake his head indiscernibly as he surveyed the area.

"There's no need to discuss the answer now. You can go back and communicate with the right person with suitable methods."

He focused his attention on The Star Leonard and The Hermit Cattleya, hoping that they would be able to get advice from the existences that were more experienced such as Pallez Zoroast and Queen Mystic Bernadette.

As for himself, he would return to Backlund with the aid of the historical projection. He would seek advice from Miss Messenger, Will Auceptin, and the ascetic, Arianna.

This is what it means to seek the opinions of angels or quasi-Angels before making a major decision... Klein made a self-deprecatory comment.

When Leonard and Cattleya heard that, they nodded in unison.

"Alright."

Following that, the members of the Tarot Club began discussing the situations of the various battlefields until the end of the gathering.

...

After returning to the real world, Leonard, who was resting in Saint Samuel Cathedral's basement, spoke in a low voice, explaining all the questions that Klein had posed to him and said, "Old Man, do you have any suggestions?"

"This is him trying to obtain the Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic left behind in the Forsaken Land of the Gods..." Pallez Zoroast was first enlightened before he chuckled. "Tell your former colleague that there's no way he can resolve this matter himself. I only have one suggestion. That is to seek help from The Fool!"

Leonard knew Old Man's character very well. He hurriedly asked, "Is this really the only suggestion?"

Pallez Zoroast harrumphed and said, "That's a Mythical Creature that even Amon can't capture. It's possible only by relying on The Fool's help."

Only then did Leonard nod and sigh.

"It seems that's the only way..."

...

Two days later, two minutes before the meeting time that The Moon Emlyn had agreed to meet Maric.

Fors sat on a reclining chair beside the fireplace and listened to the commotion on the second floor. She cast her gaze at her friend, Xio.

"If the war continues, Backlund will definitely suffer more attacks. Are you really not going to evacuate your mother and brother to the surrounding villages?"

Xio's short, light-blonde hair was parted in an asymmetrical fashion and was neatly combed. Compared to last year, she looked more serious and had the bearing of an adjudicator. She was like a high-ranking knight leading an order of knights.

She hesitantly said, "The population in the surrounding villages has reached its limit. Besides, I can still get enough food from MI9 now."

Having said that, she paused and said, "If the flames of war really reach Backlund, take them 'Traveling' to Intis and Feynapotter..."

"It seems that's the only way..." Just as Fors was about to mention the matter of her buying food in Intis a few days ago, she suddenly heard the alarm ring.

She shivered and suddenly sat up straight. She stretched out her right hand, which was wearing a red string, and grabbed into the air.

Her arm sank as she pulled out Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a silk top hat and a black trench coat without glasses.

The cold adventurer's eyes rolled and gained consciousness, reducing the amount of spirituality that Miss Magician had to expend.

He nodded gently as he made the glove on his left hand become transparent.

In less than a second, Gehrman Sparrow "Teleported" away and disappeared from Fors and Xio's rented apartment.

"..." Fors was stunned for a moment before the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. She turned to Xio and said, "I think I'm just a tool..."

...

The sky was already dark, but the street lamps weren't lit up. Only the crimson moon illuminated the entire city.

When Klein arrived at the agreed-upon place, he looked around and saw the unusually cold streets, the burning marks on the walls, and the collapsed buildings not far away for a few seconds.

Just based on what he saw, Backlund was desolate and dilapidated. It even had the smell of gunpowder wafting through the city.

At this moment, Emlyn White walked out of an alley and nodded at the crazy adventurer.

According to Gehrman Sparrow's instructions, he didn't say a word or bow. To prevent any delay in whatever precious time Gehrman Sparrow had, he led him to a nearby house and knocked on the door rhythmically.

With a creak, the door opened automatically, revealing a dark environment blanketed with faint moonlight.

The moment Emlyn and Klein entered, they saw the white-shirt and black-vested Maric sitting on the sofa. The door behind them seemed to have a life of its own as it slammed to a close.

After taking a glance at him, Emlyn smiled and pointed at him.

"This is my partner, Mr. Gehrman Sparrow."

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that the way Maric looked at him was even odder, as though he was examining an idiot.

"Long time no see." Maric immediately stood up, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed at Sherlock Moriarty.

Since the other party didn't appear in the image of Sherlock Moriarty, he definitely wouldn't take the initiative to mention such matters.

"Long time no see." Klein took off his hat and surveyed the area. "Miss Sharron, please come out for the discussion. I have limited time."

As he spoke, he took out a silver adventurer's harmonica and blew into it.

A figure wearing a dark and complicated long dress holding four blonde, red-eyed heads walked out from the void.

The messenger summoned by the harmonica's historical projection was an objective existence. It didn't increase the spirituality burden of Fors.

At the same time, Maric nodded and said, "Alright."

He cast his gaze on the high stool on the other side of the room.

Emlyn looked at the Wraith in a daze, then at Gehrman Sparrow and the spirit world creature he summoned. For some reason, he felt like he had been ostracized and didn't belong here.

And on that high stool, a figure quickly outlined itself. Her skin was fair like a doll, and she wore an exquisite black regal dress and a small bonnet of the same color. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were slightly pale in color.

-x-X-x-

Emlyn subconsciously looked at the high stool on the other side of the room, and saw the "exquisite doll."

His eyes immediately revealed a look of amazement, admiration, ardor, and other mixed emotions. He opened his mouth and almost blurted out the question of where he could buy such a doll and who was the master behind this piece of work.

However, he was already an adult and had experienced plenty of things. He knew that bringing up such a question was very impolite, so he planned to find an opportunity to ask after the discussion on serious matters were finished.

Sharron frowned indiscernibly as her body floated up. She bowed at Reinette Tinekerr and Sherlock Moriarty.

"There's no need for small talk," Klein said simply. "Our initial plan is this..."

He shared how he would let his historical projection take the initiative to step into a trap to attract the attention of the Rose School of Thought and described it in detail.

Sharron with her black bonnet listened quietly and said with a slightly ethereal voice, "They might not fall for it.

"After realizing that you are the attacker, that Shaman King will likely choose to retreat under the protection of Sealed Artifacts or angels."

This way, it could only implicate a portion of the Rose School of Thought's strength.

Without waiting for Klein and Emlyn to respond, Reinette Tinekerr's four heads opened their mouths and said at a faster pace, "Their..." "Main..." "Target..." "Should... "Likely..." "Be..." "Me..."

Emlyn was a little lost hearing this, but he could roughly tell that the spirit world creature that Gehrman Sparrow had summoned had quite a status. Furthermore, it had a deep relationship with the Rose School of Thought's temperance faction.

That's right... Even if the Mother Tree thinks highly of me, the setup would most likely attract Miss Messenger... After a moment of silence, Klein gave an addendum:

"Madam, you and I will attack the other Shaman King in the form of Historical Void projections."

"..." Gehrman Sparrow is very respectful towards this spirit world creature... Just as this thought flashed through Emlyn's mind, he saw the eight eyes on the four heads sweep at him.

He shivered and instinctively joined in the discussion.

"Can this fool those from the Rose School of Thought?"

Since Klein had suggested that, he must have thought of a corresponding solution.

"I have an item that can be lent to Miss Tinekerr."

Having said that, he looked at Reinette Tinekerr and said, "That item can mimic the Beyonder powers that surface in your mind.

"I hope you can use it to summon your past self, then move yourself into a concealed state and inject your consciousness into the projection. This way, the Rose School of Thought won't be able to discover anything abnormal in a short period of time. It's very likely that they will fall for it and gather all their strength to surround and kill you and me, allowing Miss Sharron and Emlyn to find a chance to launch a surprise attack.

"If they're more cautious than I thought..."

Klein paused for a moment before revealing a smile.

"In that short period of time, if you join forces with me in your peak condition, there is a chance of killing the Shaman King despite him being under the protection of a Sealed Artifact.

"Now, the main point is, do you know enough about the Beyonder powers to summon Historical Void projections, as well as entering into a concealed state?

"I can demonstrate the former to you, but I will think of a way for the latter."

Reinette Tinekerr's four heads shook up and down at the same time.

"I..." "Can..." "No..." " Problem..."

"That's the general gist of it. You can confirm the details in the next few days." Klein silently estimated the time, as if he made his delivery succinct.

Sharron nodded indiscernibly and said, "The most important thing is intel. Teacher can provide a portion of it. The rest can be obtained through magic mirror divination."

Maric echoed, "I remember the symbol you drew back then."

She also remembered that the question posed by the hidden existence didn't violate much of her privacy, and didn't bring about too much shame.

Emlyn thought for a moment and carefully asked, "How do we communicate on both sides?

"If we can't grasp the timing accurately, the plan will definitely fail."

The Blood Clan's Oath of Rose was unable to transmit what they saw and heard at such a great distance.

Sharron glanced at Reinette Tinekerr and said, "Teacher's main body can stay on our side. Ten seconds after 'She' enters a concealed state, we will take action.

"Once 'She' exits the concealed state, we will immediately leave regardless of whether we succeed."

"She"... Emlyn jumped in fright as he instinctively turned his head to look at Gehrman Sparrow.

He remembered very clearly that "She" was summoned by Mr. World.

How terrifying... Emlyn didn't know if he was referring to the spirit world creature or Gehrman Sparrow.

"After the intelligence gathering is done, you can communicate again." Seeing that it was almost time, Klein took off his hat and bade farewell.

Emlyn's lips quivered, but he didn't ask anything in the end. He followed Gehrman Sparrow out of the house where Sharron and Maric were.

Miss Messenger actually didn't ask for any gold coins... This is because I'm helping "Her." If "She" really wants payment, all the gold coins I have are historical projections. I can only rely on Emlyn... I have to say, the Bangle of Spirituality that Emlyn provided to Miss Magician has pretty good effects. On the one hand, it can strengthen Miss Magician's spirituality, and on the other hand, it can speed up her spirituality recovery, allowing her to last this long... Just as the thoughts ran through Klein's mind, he heard Emlyn asked in puzzlement, "That ma'am—uh, Miss Sharron is a Sequence 4 demigod of the Mutant pathway?"

"That's right. The potion's name is Puppet," Klein kindly informed him.

Emlyn was instantly enlightened as he fell silent for two seconds before saying with a complicated expression, "If only she didn't speak or move, then she would be perfect."

...If it wasn't for the fact that a Clown could be described as a master in terms of expression management, Klein nearly spewed a mouthful of water at Emlyn.

He thought that the other party would praise Miss Sharron's beauty and doll-like characteristics, showing his infatuation and fervor, but in the end...

I can't understand what's on this fellow's mind... After controlling his urge to spew out whatever was in his mouth, Klein sighed inwardly.

Emlyn glanced at him and seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. He scoffed and said, "Which two things do you like the most?"

With Gehrman Sparrow's character, he wouldn't have answered such a mundane question. However, he was still Sherlock Moriarty—a friend of the vampire in front of him. After some thought, he walked into the alley and casually said, "Money and delicacies."

"Then, I'll give you a stack of edible gold pounds. Would you like it?" Emlyn asked further as he walked beside Gehrman Sparrow without any fear of the crazy adventurer like Miss Magician.

Klein imagined it and felt that this would taint the value of the gold pounds, but also caused the delicacies to lose their attractiveness. Hence, he slowly shook his head.

"So..." The corners of Emlyn's mouth curled up. "Although I also like exquisite, beautiful dolls and pure girls, if they were to combine together, it would inevitably make me find it a little odd. Yes, I believe that every doll of mine has their own character and story. If they suddenly come to life and not be like what I imagined. I would be very disappointed and worried... Of course, if I had the chance to obtain the Puppet potion and sprinkle some on all my puppets, I might try it..."

As Emlyn spoke of his contradictory thoughts, he acted like a philosopher.

If Miss Justice were here, she should be able to analyze Emlyn's mental state from such a reaction... Before he could respond, Klein's figure instantly faded and vanished.

...

In the rental apartment where Fors and Xio lived.

In front of the fireplace, Fors leaned back against the reclining chair with a pale face. She pulled up the wool blanket covering her body and, with the help of Cogitation, entered a deep sleep.

Two hours later, she woke up feeling energized, but there was still some fatigue on her face.

This Miss Magician took a slow, deep breath and extended her hand again, pulling Gehrman Sparrow out of the air in front of her.

Half of her demigod-level "Records" were the summoning of Historical Void projections.

Klein glanced at her. This time, without even nodding his head, he directly "Teleported" out of the house and entered an empty room in a hotel.

Two hours ago, he had been busy with Emlyn and Miss Sharron's matters. This time, he had "returned" to Backlund for himself.

Without wasting any time, Klein immediately took out the adventurer's harmonica and blew it.

When Miss Messenger stepped out of the void once again, Klein recounted how he wanted to hunt the Dark Demonic Wolf and finally asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"

Reinette Tinekerr's four blonde, red-eyed heads bobbed up and down at the same time.

"Sefirah Castle!"

In essence, it's the same as Pallez Zoroast's answer... Klein pressed curiously, "How?"

"I don't know!" Reinette Tinekerr's four heads answered in unison.

Klein silently exhaled and thanked "Her."

"Sorry to trouble you.

"You can leave now."

The blonde, red-eyed heads held by Reinette Tinekerr immediately replied:

"Bill..." "Records..." "For..." "1351..."

"September..." "For..." "Gehrman... "Sparrow..."

"Owes..." "Me..." "One..." "Gold coin..."

With that said, "She" turned transparent and returned to the spirit world.

"..." Klein was stunned for two seconds before he slowly took out his wallet from his inner pocket and picked up a paper crane.

"I have some questions to ask of you." He wrote on the paper crane he carried with him.

After doing all of this, Klein lay on the bed and fell asleep.

In the hazy dream world, he once again saw Will Auceptin, who was lying in a black pram and wrapped in silver silk.

You're already over a year old. Do you still think you're a baby that's a few months old? Pretending that he didn't see him sucking his fingers, Klein quickly described his conundrum.

The plump Will Auceptin retracted his thumb and sized up Klein.

"Isn't the answer obvious?"

"Ah?" Klein was pleasantly surprised and puzzled.

Will Auceptin smiled and said, "You must've been eating too few desserts recently, causing your memory to be bad... Do you still remember what happens to a Beyonder below an angel of the Fate pathway when they see you directly?"

This... Klein's eyes lit up.

-x-X-x-

After becoming a demigod and gaining some level of control over Sefirah Castle, Klein was able to prevent its aura from permeating out into the real world and augmenting him. This made him stop considering similar problems. After all, this would result in abnormalities, causing him to be recognized by the Beyonders of the "Fate" pathway at a glance—it was rather unsafe. And at this moment, once he received Will Auceptin's reminder, he felt that it opened up new possibilities.

When I was only a subsidiary to Sefirah Castle and only had the right to use it, the aura and projection of Sefirah Castle made a saint of the Fate pathway not dare to look at me directly. I was equivalent to a Mythical Creature in the eyes to the corresponding Low- and Mid-Sequence Beyonders. Now that I have initial control over Sefirah Castle, there's a high chance I can make the "effects" better... This can affect angels who are complete Mythical Creatures "Themselves"? Sefirah Castle's level reaches that of Sequence 0 at the very least? Yes, according to my deductions, it might even be higher than Sequence 0... It has the trait that just knowing of it will result in corruption? Klein's mind whirred with activity as though streaks of lightning were flashing across his mind.

He quickly made up his mind. After returning to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, he would find the monsters in the depths of the darkness and do some experiments with the marionettes in the fog of history, so as to deduce if his idea worked.

He smiled and said to the one-year-old child in the black pram, "I understand what you mean. I'll get someone to send you ice-cream soon."

Will Auceptin, who was wrapped in silver silk, slowly turned his head and looked to the side.

"No, there's no need.

"I've been eating too much ice-cream during this period of time, and it's starting to affect my body's development..."

Klein pricked up his brows and asked, "Genuine, top-grade ice-cream produced right from the Intis capital, Trier."

"...Give it to me next week." Will Auceptin hesitated before answering.

With that said, the plump one-year-old child turned around and buried his face into a tiny pillow in the pram.

Due to the limited time Miss Magician had at maintaining the Historical Void projection, Klein didn't say anything else. Using his unique trait, he forcefully escaped the dream and woke up before getting out of bed.

Right on the heels of that, he stretched out his right hand and repeatedly pulled at the air.

Four to five times later, his arm sank as he dragged out a woman wearing a simple linen robe with a tree bark belt. She was barefooted and had long black hair. She was a lady with average looks.

The leader of the ascetics of the Church of Evernight, Servant of Concealment, Arianna!

At the same moment, in Hillston Borough, in an apartment, Fors, who was sitting in a reclining chair, seemed to be pulled by invisible threads as she sat up abruptly. Her body straightened as the blood vessels on her forehead throbbed.

She felt that her spirituality was like a flood that flowed towards the void in front of her, one that she couldn't stop no matter how hard she tried. She was on the brink of being sucked dry.

In the next second, this sudden surge eased quite a bit, but it remained frightening. It wasn't something that she could handle now.

In a hotel room, Klein spoke succinctly once he saw the Historical Void projection of Ma'am Arianna gaining sentience.

"I plan on cooperating with others to deal with a particular Shaman King of the Rose School of Thought."

Arianna nodded gently, indicating that she understood, but she didn't give any suggestions.

Seeing that the ascetic leader didn't give him any warnings, Klein felt a lot more at ease with the plan to hunt the Shaman King. He then said, "I've been planning on targeting the Dark Demonic Wolf recently."

Arianna opened her mouth slightly and said, "Be careful."

...Did "She" mean to say that I shouldn't belittle the Dark Demonic Wolf, Kotar? Just as he was about to ask a question, his consciousness suddenly blurred. He saw the woman opposite him and his reflection in "Her" eyes fade away as they quickly disappeared.

Thud!

Fors collapsed into the reclining chair as her facial muscles twitched slightly.

"This is more tiring than writing all night long..." She gritted her teeth and tried Cogitating to fall asleep.

Extreme exhaustion might sometimes paradoxically cause insomnia to a person.

...

In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, near Nois ancient city in the north, there was no one in the dark wilderness.

With the lantern emitting a faint yellow light, Klein circled around to confirm his surroundings.

Then, he found a rock and sat down, no longer shielding the aura of the gray fog from seeping into reality.

On this foundation, Klein consciously strengthened the projection that Sefirah Castle placed on him.

After he was done with his preparations, he quickly turned a monster hidden in the darkness around him into a marionette.

The marionette walked out of the darkness. Under the illumination of the lantern, it approached Klein and cast its gaze on him.

In the eyes of this monster marionette, other than the coated and hatted Klein having deeper, more profound eyes, his temperament had also become even more indescribable. There wasn't much of a difference from before.

After repeatedly testing the different types of monster marionettes, Klein confirmed that ordinary people, or most Beyonders, were unable to discover that he had the aura of Sefirah Castle on him.

Following that, he reached out with his right hand and pulled out his body from half a day ago. He controlled the rather dull historical projection to cast his gaze over.

This time, "Klein" saw a layer of grayish-white fog covering his body. Its interior was shimmering with light, but it didn't reveal its actual appearance.

He then removed the projection's support and attempted to pull out Marionettist Rosago and other Beyonders of the Seer pathway to repeat the experiment.

Yes, after enhancing the projection, Beyonders of the Seer pathway can directly discover something abnormal. However, those below the level of an angel can at least confirm that I'm related to Sefirah Castle. There's no way to directly see the strange door of light, which is also the projection of Sefirah Castle... This outcome wasn't too surprising for Klein.

He took a deep breath and, after preparing himself to "rescue himself," he raised his hand and pulled out Winner Enuni from back when he hadn't been his marionette for long.

Enuni raised his head bit by bit, and his eyes gradually reflected Klein's figure. There was a faint gray fog that emanated outwards.

Deep in the fog, transparent or translucent twisted maggots were clustered around countless spherical lights. The spherical lights formed a door of light that was dyed bluish-black.

The door of light was much clearer than before as it appeared even more textured. At the same time, its shape changed as it extended even higher up.

This made it look like a tall and thin, brilliant figure. And the grayish-white fog around it was the figure's hooded robe.

The spherical lights constantly flashed, making Klein feel like he was being watched by this deep, mysterious, towering, and terrifying figure with his numerous eyes.

With a boom, Klein's head involuntarily tilted back as blood mixed with transparent maggots spurted out of his pores.

The Worms of Spirit fell to the ground as they frantically rolled and struggled. Some of them rapidly dissipated, while some eventually calmed down before crawling back into his body and into his pores.

Man... It's much better than directly losing consciousness and suffering memory loss the last time... Klein rubbed his temples and sighed silently.

Enuni, who was standing in front of him, had already vanished because of the impact that Klein had received. Unable to maintain the Historical Void projection, Enuni vanished.

This was also one of the reasons why Klein didn't suffer too much damage this time.

Without Winner Enuni, he was unable to see the mutated strange door of light. This reduced the continuous assault on his senses.

After two seconds, Klein entered the fog of history, took four steps counterclockwise, and went above the gray fog.

Looking at the faint dark glow rising from his body and melting away, Klein finally heaved a sigh of relief and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

I nearly corrupted and corroded myself...

In the future, I'll use Rosago and the other Beyonders of the Seer pathway to do additional experiments: If there's no direct assault, I need to confirm if there will be a reverse corruption from Sefirah Castle's projection with the increase in observation time...

...

The Southern Continent, East Balam, Faoltec City that was under attack.

Under the illumination of the crimson moon, the Loen soldiers hiding behind a simple shelter took turns to rest to recover their energy.

Their faces were black and covered with traces of gunpowder. Occasionally, someone would wake up and take out some dried tobacco leaves and casually roll it. Then, they would use the remaining matchstick to light it up and bring it to their mouths to suck deeply at it. In turn, their eyes exuded mostly numbness and blankness.

When the soldiers guarding this line of defense smelled the tobacco, they instinctively sniffed and looked over.

"Do you still have any more tobacco leaves?" a soldier with a rifle asked his companion in a low voice.

His comrade shook his head.

"I've already finished smoking it."

"I don't know when the next batch will arrive... I'm going crazy without the tobacco!" The soldier who first spoke gestured outside the shelter with his chin. "Do you see that? There are so many corpses, so many hands and feet. They all belonged to living people."

Before the sun set, the Resistance had launched a fierce attack by feverishly storming the various defensive lines at Faoltec City. Their disregard for their own lives frightened the Loen soldiers and servant-army who had been guarding the city. They almost had victory at hand, but ultimately failed to break through the critical line of defense. They left behind copious numbers of corpses before receding like the tide.

His comrade fell silent for a moment before saying, "Maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will be joining them."

Having said that, he looked up at the crimson moon and said in a dreamy voice, "I wonder how Backlund is. I haven't received a letter from home in a long while... I wonder if they have enough food, or if they can find a doctor when they are sick..."

The soldier who had wanted to smoke was about to curse at the damn war and the damned enemy when his eyes suddenly widened. Trembling, he raised his right hand and pointed ahead.

"Th-they... They're alive..."

One by one, the soldiers looked over and saw that under the crimson moon, the dismembered corpses that the Resistance had left behind were beginning to crawl up one by one, swaying as they tried to approach the defense line.

In the distance, a mysterious hooded person in black robe with embroidered crimson patterns stood behind the Resistance and spread out his arms slightly.

The spirituality of the entire battlefield was rapidly being nourished.

-x-X-x-

Ever since the war became prolonged, the Loen soldiers had seen countless unnatural phenomena. It happened so many that they were somewhat numb to it. However, the scene of the dismembered corpses crawling up remained a shocking scene. It left them horrified and confused. They felt as though they were unable to survive the impending disaster, and would eventually become zombies.

Of course, there was a reason why they were able to maintain their morale after seeing such unnatural phenomena.

Just as they were feeling extreme fear, a series of chants sounded from behind them.

"Lacking clothes and food, they have no shelter in the cold.

"...

"The Evernight did not forsake them, but bestowed them with love[1]."

The holy and sympathetic prayer reverberated across the entire defense line, causing the fear in every soldier to quickly dissipate, their bodies and minds turning tranquil.

Then, a number of the soldiers followed orders and moved out cannons covered in silver patterns. They adjusted the muzzles and aimed at the dismembered corpses that were rushing at them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sparks flew as shells landed in different spots on the battlefield, exploding and emitting a thick darkness.

The dismembered corpses collapsed, the strength within them vanishing; otherwise, they were directly destroyed, returning to their eternal slumber.

The mysterious black-robed man behind the Resistance army raised his arms upon seeing this, as though he was hugging the crimson moon.

At that moment, his body suddenly turned incorporeal, his body dyed a faint red as he transformed into a hazy ray of moonlight.

The moonlight shattered instantly, turning into red scales before dissipating in place.

Moonlight Transformation!

This was a Beyonder power that a Sequence 5 Scarlet Scholar of the Apothecary pathway possessed. To a Sequence 4 Shaman King, it was almost instinctive.

And at the spot where the Shaman King had been, a figure quickly outlined itself.

It was a huge cloth doll. "It" had blonde hair and bright red eyes, and wore a long black gothic dress with countless mysterious patterns engraved on it. Swirling around it was sinister vines. Its skin had a luster that no human should possess.

Reinette Tinekerr!

"She" had used the Staff of the Stars to summon "Herself" back when she was in perfect condition.

Of course, the Staff of the Stars that was lent to Miss Messenger was the real one. Klein had brought it back to the real world from above the gray fog ahead of time.

If that wasn't the case, it would be equivalent to Klein's historical projection summoning a Staff of the Stars projection; then, the projection of the Staff of the Stars would summon Reinette Tinekerr in her peak state. The whole burden would be placed on Fors, causing her spirituality to be quickly drained.

A solution to this problem was to temporarily lend the actual Staff of the Stars to Reinette Tinekerr. The draining of spirituality would be borne by this Ancient Bane.

At the same time, Reinette Tinekerr was probably one of the existences that were the least afraid of the negative effects of the staff.

As a key representative of the temperance faction, and as a Puppet and a "cloth doll," "She" could stop unwanted scenes from surfacing in "Her" mind. And after changing into a concealed state, the Staff of the Stars could hardly affect "Her" Historical Void projection.

The peak state Reinette Tinekerr had attempted to sneak closer to directly possess the Rose School of Thought's Shaman King and instantly end the battle. However, the other party had discovered the danger ahead of time. Using the moonlight's illumination, he was one step ahead of the Wraith's possession.

Amidst the crimson glow that enveloped the ground, red scales rapidly reformed into the black-robed, hooded Rose School of Thought Shaman King. His eyes were closed eyes tightly, not daring to look at the Ancient Bane opposite him.

At the same time, on the other side of the battlefield, a figure rapidly appeared. It was none other than Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a black trench coat and a half top hat. He had a transparent glove on his left hand as he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Scarlet flames rose up from various parts of the battlefield, as if they were announcing the beginning of a grand performance.

Just as the Shaman King finished reforming, he reached out his left hand and tore apart the clothes on his chest. At that moment, Reinette Tinekerr's bright red eyes reflected his figure.

If things went as expected, the Rose School of Thought Shaman King would've transformed into a rabbit or a goat in the next second. He would "lose" most of his characteristics and Beyonder powers, but his body only emitted a faint glow without any change.

His exposed chest revealed a long, thin brown puppet which was embedded there.

The puppet seemed to grow out of the Shaman King's body, its body connected to his internal organs. Its eyes and mouth were like crescents. The surface of its body was grown with dried flowers and withered grass, giving off an indescribable bizarreness in the moonlight.

Suddenly, the puppet was dyed red as though it was soaked in blood.

It immediately turned into a pool of mud that surged into the organs of the Shaman King.

Amidst the mud, an arm stretched out.

Its surface was flowing with a black sticky liquid that kept protruding out with strange objects. Some were skulls, some had barbed tongues, while others had three-dimensional eyes.

Abomination Suah!

This Rose School of Thought's leader, an existence at Sequence 1, had crossed the vast distance and descended with the help of prior arrangements!

That evil aura instantly caused the surrounding members of the Rose School of Thought and supporting members to either die, mutate, or wildly attack their comrades. Apart from the Shaman King, no one was spared.

...

West Balam, in a port city.

Shaman King Klarman, who wielded the highest authority here, stood at the top floor of a cathedral that once belonged to the Church of Evernight as he looked down at the sparsely-lit city.

In a house not far away, Emlyn White glanced at the doll-like Sharron and took out a bronze box with many ruby gems embedded in it.

Inside the box was an eyeball-shaped glass sphere. It was a Sealed Artifact which Emlyn had requested from the Sanguine, known as the Vision of White—an artifact of the Sun domain.

It was very effective at dealing with the Mutant pathway's demigods and Shaman Kings. It could even be considered able to restrain them in certain aspects.

Of course, it wouldn't feel any sense of pity and kindness just because Emlyn and Sharron were Beyonders on its side.

Upon seeing Sharron nod slightly to indicate that there were no problems, Emlyn's body phased away as the moonlight that shone into the room, and he disintegrated into a series of colorful red scales.

At the apex of the nearby cathedral, Klarman was pacing back and forth with his puffy, black-and-white hair. He sneered at the city's Nighthawks and Mandated Punishers for moving the Loen citizens and all the Sealed Artifacts away ahead of time.

If the group consisted only of Beyonders, it wouldn't be impossible to escape, but with so many ordinary people, how can you effectively move without being noticed? There's no need for me to send people to track you. Simply locking down the surrounding docks and food supplies is enough to break you down without my interference...

As he muttered silently to himself, this Shaman King, who had been active in the Southern Continent since the early Fifth Epoch and was even suspected to be dead, cast his gaze out the window and stared at the crimson moon high in the sky.

Previously, the abnormal phenomenon of the "crimson moon turning white" made Klarman feel the anger of the Primordial Moon. He had always felt uneasy and disturbed.

He had become a Primordial Moon believer over time while researching natural interactions, secret deeds, and other mysterious knowledge.

Normally, it was relatively easy for a Shaman King to live a thousand years, but later on, his physical condition waned—an irreversible form of aging and the decay of his Spirit Body. Therefore, 1,200 years was commonly the natural limit of Shaman Kings and Sanguine Earls. To continue living, one could only rely on various methods to survive. For example, sealing oneself and sleeping in a coffin deep within a castle.

Klarman was nearly 1400 years old and still brimming with energy. He didn't need to limit his movements, because he had received the Primordial Moon's blessings.

This was also the reason why he had disappeared for so many years.

Later on, he received a revelation from the Primordial Moon and joined the Rose School of Thought.

In this aspect, Klarman always had his suspicions. Sometimes, he believed that the Mother Tree of Desire and the Primordial Moon were one entity. They were different sides of the same great existence. Yet, there were other times when he felt that the Mother Tree of Desire and the Primordial Moon were not only different, but there was also a deep conflict between them.

This resulted in the Primordial Moon believers not getting enough attention when they later joined the Rose School of Thought. Apart from receiving some bestowments in the form of items, they were placed in noncritical positions.

Just as Klarman was focused on sensing the crimson moon in an attempt to gain a revelation, the crimson moonlight that fell onto the cathedral's bell tower had pure red scales of light appear as they gathered together. It then manifested into Emlyn White who wore a tuxedo and a bow tie.

Behind this Sanguine, a thick black gas emanated, forming a pair of illusory bat wings.

Emlyn had already consumed the corresponding potion to remove his scent and spirituality fluctuations, allowing him to approach his target in secret.

Of course, he was up against a demigod, a Sequence 4 demigod of the same pathway. Even if he was fully prepared, he didn't dare get too close, or else he would easily be discovered.

Looking at the window where Shaman King Klarman was, he examined the projection on the glass for a second. Emlyn White opened the bronze box with the rubies embedded in it, and he used his black velvet-gloved left hand to pick up the Vision of White.

His expression twisted as he experienced the pain that came from being exposed to the blazing sun.

Suppressing the pain, Emlyn pushed the eyeball-shaped glass sphere to his right eye.

All the buildings in front of him had suddenly disappeared from his vision, leaving only shadows of cold, crimson, or fallen evil.

Among them, there was a figure that was like a huge black whirlpool that was crazily devouring the light around it, causing his body to become distorted.

This was Emlyn's target, the ancient Shaman King, Klarman.

A ray of light immediately lit up, condensing into a scorching, blinding light. It shot out from the Vision of White and went straight for the figure behind the glass window.

-x-X-x-

The blinding white beam penetrated the glass window and landed on Shaman King Klarman.

It then burst into an intense light, melting away all the undead, darkness, and evil.

Klarman's figure burned with a white flame, as though he was a paper figurine that had been brought near red embers.

But it really was a paper figurine, one that seemed to be condensed from the crimson moonlight.

The Shaman King's substitute spell, Moon Paper Figurine!

As the paper figurine turned to ash, the ancient Shaman King appeared at the top of the cathedral and cast his cold gaze at Emlyn White, who was standing near the bell tower.

At that moment, within Klarman's blood-red eyes, it reflected the figure of Sharron, who was wearing a black regal dress and a tiny bonnet. Her body stiffened as if she had lost control of herself.

Seeing this, Emlyn didn't hesitate. It was as if he had practiced it a thousand times before. He aimed his Vision of White at the Shaman King's left chest and prepared to activate the Sun domain's "Unshadowed Spear."

As long as this attack struck Klarman's heart, this Shaman King Klarman wouldn't be able to use "Moonlight Transformation" to resolve it. It would also be difficult for him to recover using an artificial vampire's super-recovery abilities.

Of course, this would definitely cause more serious damage to Sharron who had possessed Klarman. However, if they could quickly resolve their target, she was willing to pay the corresponding price.

In the previous discussions, Emlyn, Sharron, and Maric had already discussed a few similar plans and had come to a consensus.

This was also the reason why Sharron didn't restrict Shaman King Klarman by tightening his clothes. Compared to a Wraith's possession, that was easier to resolve for the opponent who could use "Moonlight Transformation." As for whether Klarman would be ashamed of running naked, the answer from the magic mirror was no.

Taking all these under consideration, they eventually chose to let Emlyn White attack the target, so as to deplete his Moon Paper Figurine to create an opportunity for Sharron to possess him.

The transparent glass sphere in Emlyn's hand glowed once again, extending out into a blazing spear that had turned extremely white. But at this moment, Klarman, who was standing at the top of the cathedral, suddenly underwent a transformation.

A crack quickly split open in the middle of his forehead, as if there was a blood moon embedded in it.

Moonlight surged out like a tidal wave, causing the illusory, blonde, blue-eyed Sharron to float out of his body uncontrollably.

Klarman's stiff and slow movements barely restored to normal and, under the radiance of the full moon, he turned into a pool of blood, splitting into countless fragments of light.

His figure rapidly took form on another steeple of the cathedral. Clinging closely behind him was Sharron. As for the Unshadowed Spear that Emlyn had created, it passed through the spot where Klarman was originally standing and flew into the distance, expanding into a miniature sun.

The entire port city was illuminated.

At the same time, Klarman's right shoulder began to squirm before something tore through his black robe and burrowed out.

This was an exquisite male doll. It was only the size of a palm and wore a dark red, gold-patterned tuxedo. Its eyes had been dug out, leaving behind two black holes.

The puppet sat on Klarman's shoulder and raised its hands, tapping all its fingers as though it was playing an invisible instrument.

Sharron's figure was immediately ejected from Klarman's back, as though she suffered a serious repulsion.

Emlyn felt his clothes tighten as they bound him tightly.

His bowtie also came alive in a bid to strangle him to death.

That doll was a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact given to Klarman by the Rose School of Thought. It was called the "General of the Pupil-less Eye." It was an item formed by a Sequence 4 demigod of the Mutant pathway who had suffered a sudden death due to an accident.

It had a living characteristic and could possess objects with spirits and awaken objects that didn't according to its wielder's will. However, the wielder needed to feed it with their flesh and blood; otherwise, it would gradually grow its eyes.

Once this Sealed Artifact was in a good condition, it would transform into an evil spirit that chased after its original owner while abhorring all humans.

When Emlyn heard the sound of his bones crying in pain from the burden, the Vision of White that was burning his soul emitted a bright glow, turning the surrounding area into a land without shadows or evil.

The effects of General of the Pupil-less Eye had on his clothes were severed.

However, at that moment, Klarman had already indiscernibly muttered a particular word with a cruel smile. He reached out his hands and pulled out an illusory door with many mysterious symbols engraved on it out of thin air.

This was the Door of Summoning!

The Moon pathway's Sequence 3 was Summoning Master!

Under the illumination of the "full blood moon" on his forehead, Klarman, who was only at the Shaman King level, was able to complete a summoning!

However, because of this, there was a certain change in his overall aura. He had lost a lot of his rationality, and his madness had deepened.

Amidst the illusory creaking, the Door of Summoning opened up a crack.

In the gaps, two human palms reached out. Their skin had no luster to it, and they lacked texture. They were like a most inferior cloth doll.

...

Outside Faoltec City, the Rose School of Thought believers and followers who had originally planned on attacking the Loen army's defense line after the corpse horde's attack had begun to kill each other, their rationality completely gone.

Some of them, who were originally ordinary people, bent their backs and grew grayish-black wolf fur. The corners of their mouths tore open as sticky saliva constantly dripped. Some of their skin was dyed black and had become as hard as steel. Some lost their hearts and fell to the ground, only to get back on their feet as though nothing had happened. Some of their bodies turned transparent, as if they had become shadows...

The descent of Abomination Suah's aura had tainted all the living creatures in the vicinity, causing them to either break down and suffer a tragic death, or turn into werewolves or zombies.

As a high-ranking Sequence 1, "He" could directly bestow the power unto "His" believers, but there was a time limit. However, this method might not be the hope of the Resistance.

On the other side of the battlefield, over two thousand meters away, behind the Loen shelter. Although the soldiers didn't see or hear anything, transparent blisters began growing on the surface of their skin, and their minds were filled with thoughts of venting all kinds of emotions and desires.

It wouldn't take long for them to go mad one by one and turn into irrational beasts. Across this base, even to the interior of Faoltec City, it would be a challenge to find humans who could still maintain their clarity of mind.

Suddenly, they heard a chant.

It was a chant formed from sacred and ethereal voices.

This chant came from the Evernight cathedral in the city. It was as though there were many choirs praising the Goddess.

The soldiers, citizens, and officers fell asleep one after another behind the shelter, inside the trenches, and on the streets.

They dreamed of a tranquil darkness, moon flowers, and night vanilla. Their bodies and minds became extremely peaceful, and they were no longer affected by evil.

In the Evernight cathedral in Faoltec City, the high-ranking deacon of the Nighthawks, the Goddess's Eye, Ilya, tried her best to maintain the dream that enveloped the entire city. She was unable to interfere with the demigod battle outside.

At the same time, Klein and Reinette Tinekerr felt the change in the surrounding spirituality. It seemed to transform into layers of barriers that attempted to restrain them and restrict their actions.

And in the bloody mud on the Shaman King's chest, a lump of squirming flesh covered in black sticky liquid drilled out right on the heels of Suah's arm, forming the body of this Abomination.

"He" was like a huge tree that had been splashed with oil. The extended branches were arms which had various strange objects protruding out.

On the surface of the trunk that was covered in thick black liquid, bloodshot eyes kept rolling. It cleared the minds of the onlookers, turning them into rabbits, goats, and pigs.

The dozens of arms rapidly extended outwards. Some of them sealed off the sky, while others burrowed into the ground. The rest either surrounded them from all sides or headed straight for Klein and Reinette Tinekerr.

At the same time, Abomination Suah let out a roar that pierced straight into one's Spirit Body. It caused the two targets to tremble at the same time, causing a certain degree of stiffness to rear its head. It made the crimson moonlight in midair become even richer, allowing a scene to appear on the red "screen."

The core to this scene was a mummy wrapped in a yellowing bandage. "It" had been pierced by countless brown tree branches and was suspended in midair.

Its stomach bulged, and at times, different parts bulged and shriveled, as if it was giving birth to new life.

The mummy's mouth was agape as it kept screaming. Although Klein couldn't hear any actual sounds, he felt pain resonating with his body and soul, slowly burdening him with the mummy's predicament.

The Chained God!

The roar of Abomination Suah was formed from ancient Hermes words that exceeded the imagination of humans. It was essentially praying to the Chained God and "He" had successfully received a response!

The Mother Tree of Desire was unable to infuse too much power into reality. If one wanted to pray to "Her" and obtain feedback at the angel level, they required a large-scale ritual. Of course, the influence the Mother Tree of Desire directly exerted and "Her" attention via the Chained God had qualitative differences.

The Chained God was originally not a true god, but "He" had contained the Mutant pathway's Uniqueness and two Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics, making "Him" a King of Angels. After giving birth to Abomination Suah, "He" even lost a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic. When "He" was completely overwhelmed by the Mother Tree of Desire, "He" similarly suffered a life of isolation.

Therefore, regardless of the essence of the Mother Tree of Desire, the effect "She" had on reality was limited due to the indirect methods used. But no matter what, the trap targeted at Reinette Tinekerr was luxurious enough!

As the projection of the Chained God appeared, the entire land was dyed with a dark red color. Klein felt that his connection with the spirit world had been severed, and he could no longer use Teleportation.

His figure instantly leaped into a sea of flames. Taking advantage of the opportunity when Reinette Tinekerr was fighting against Suah, he reached his hand into the void and grabbed at different spots.

Finally, Klein pulled out a silver-black jewelry box embedded with various gems. Then, without any hesitation, he opened the second level.

Box of the Great Old Ones!

This Grade 0 Sealed Artifact's second level could transfer all living beings within its range to a particular scene recorded by it!

-x-X-x-

The silver-black, three-tiered accessory box with many embedded gems quickly opened, revealing the interior of the second level.

It was dark. Even the surrounding barriers seemed to blend in with it. It gave one the feeling that it was a pocket of infinite space.

In an instant, the darkness lit up with countless resplendent speckles, as if they had transformed into a miniature cosmos, a miniature universe.

These bright points of light rapidly spun as the surrounding scene changed several times in a second.

What Klein expected was to move Abomination Suah, the Rose School of Thought Shaman, and many of their followers to the ruins of the battle of the gods. By making them leave the Southern Continent, they wouldn't be able to immediately sense that Klarman had been attacked. This way, they wouldn't be able to provide any timely and effective assistance. However, the second level of the Box of the Great Old Ones had an element of randomness to it. The act of sending things to the designated scene succeeded a handful of times. Most of the time, the selected destination would suffer an unavoidable change. This was something that couldn't be influenced with luck, and at the very least, no one below Sequence 0 could do so.

Therefore, when he opened the second level of the Box of the Great Old Ones, Klein didn't know what would happen. It was the same as not using any Beyonder powers to cheat at gambling. He had to rely solely on observation to push out all his chips. This left his heart filled with anxiety. Of course, he wasn't too worried. No matter where the Box of the Great Old Ones brought him and Miss Messenger, it was impossible to harm him in any way. After all, Reinette Tinekerr was fake, the Box of the Great Old Ones was fake, and even he himself was fake.

With this in consideration, even if he was thrown underground by the Box of the Great Old Ones and faced a terrifying corruption, Klein could instantly dispel the Historical Void projection, enter Sefirah Castle to do a complete "disinfection" and sever all connections.

Building on this foundation, he had the ability to help Miss Messenger's main body resist the corruption. Since it wasn't directly experienced—through the layer of a historical projection—the outcome was relatively better.

The only thing he needed to worry about was that the random scene selected by the Box of the Great Old Ones was where Miss Sharron and Emlyn were attacking Shaman King Klarman. That way, it would be equivalent to leading the main enemy force to head straight for his headquarters. This meant that they could only consider giving up on the operation, and he and Reinette Tinekerr would undertake the responsibility of helping all participants escape from the battlefield and escape the Southern Continent.

The probability of this happening was very low, but he had to be wary.

At that moment, due to the influence of Abomination Suah's aura, Klein's spirituality had "frozen" quite a bit. It seemed to bind his body and soul, but it still flowed into the Box of the Great Old Ones, maintaining its open state.

In the blink of an eye, the scene in the second level of the Box of the Great Old Ones changed, revealing a tiny, vast sea.

Klein, Reinette Tinekerr, Abomination Suah, the hooded Shaman King, and many Rose School of Thought believers and subordinates saw endless yellow sand and the extreme cold of the night.

Other than the projection of the Chained God, all the living beings on the battlefield were instantly transported to a desert!

As for the projection, due to the departure of Abomination Suah, the connection was severed, preventing "His" powers from seeping into reality.

Without the luxury of time to examine where he was currently, Klein dispelled the Box of the Great Old Ones and snapped his fingers, summoning a scarlet flame as he constantly jumped within them.

He had done so to avoid the attention of Abomination Suah, as well as grab the opportunity to complete the summoning of the Historical Void projection.

At that moment, he heard an extremely evil roar. His mind suddenly went blank, and he temporarily lost all his thoughts.

The scarlet flames he was immersed in came alive as well and, like a cage, bound him to the ground.

With just a roar and the influence of some auras, Abomination Suah had already restrained him to a certain extent.

If it wasn't for the fact that Reinette Tinekerr, who was in "Her" peak condition, was his teammate, Klein's projection would've been helplessly executed. Perhaps his actual body would suffer certain effects.

At this moment, the huge doll the size of a castle took a step forward and opened its tightly shut mouth.

There was no sound, but the distorted "wood" that was covered in pitch-black liquid seemed to encounter a flood dike. It repelled backward and raised the arms with strange protruding objects.

This was a curse that Reinette Tinekerr had been silently accumulating for a very, very long time. The root of the curse was the anger, hatred, and "Her" grudge that had emerged after "She" suffered an attack!

However, Abomination Suah didn't show any obvious changes. "He" only staggered a little and froze for a second before returning to normal.

High-level existences were always able to restrain low-level Beyonders of the same pathway. They could even exert a certain influence over space!

And using this opportunity to escape the restraints of the flames, Klein used Creeping Hunger to flash to another side, avoiding the Blood Moon Arrow created by the Rose School of Thought's Shaman King.

He didn't dare to look directly at Abomination Suah. He seized the opportunity and reached out with his right hand to pull out from the void ahead.

This time, he didn't drag anything out.

Klein continued Blinking about and repeated his actions. Then, he successfully dragged out a figure. It was none other than the leader of the Church of Evernight's ascetics, the angel of the Concealment domain, Arianna, who wore a simple linen robe and a tree bark belt!

My report from before worked after all... A thought flashed through his mind as he activated Creeping Hunger once again and teleported elsewhere.

The eyes of Arianna's projection darted slightly as her eyes instantly turned dark and deep. Following that, she joined in the battle between Reinette Tinekerr and Abomination Suah.

With "Her" help, Reinette Tinekerr, who was in a rather difficult situation and trying hard to create opportunities for him, finally managed to catch "Her" breath. "She" didn't get possessed by Abomination Suah, nor did "She" become a real doll.

The Rose School of Thought's Shaman King showcased his well-rounded aspect towards the Darkness and Moon domains. He attempted to use spells like "Abyss Shackles" to restrict Klein's movement, but the short-distance "Blinking" was simply too effective. Without the projection of the Chained God and "His" influence of the surrounding area, and the interference of Abomination, Klein was like a fish in water. He was free and relaxed. He only needed to consider how to deal with his enemy's spells every two "Teleports."

However, the Shaman King could hardly stop him in an effective manner due to the unpredictability of where he would appear next.

During this process, Klein grabbed at the void a few more times until he dragged out a figure.

This figure had bronze skin, black hair, and brown eyes. His facial features were soft and his gaze was cold. He wore a deep black robe embroidered with golden thread. He wore a golden crown and was none other than the former Death Consul, Azik Eggers!

Another angel... The Shaman King's eyelids twitched as he watched. At this moment, Abomination Suah suddenly inserted multiple black arms into the desert.

The desert nearby boiled and was blanketed with a thick black liquid. This extended into the distance and invaded the void, disrupting the overlapping of reality and the spirit world.

Taking advantage of the fact that his teleportation wasn't completely affected, Klein "Blinked" behind Mr. Azik. With "Him" shielding him, he quickly grabbed at the air a few times.

His arm suddenly sank and he pulled out a silvery-white snake's tail.

Another angel!

The reason why he dared to directly summon the three angels was because this Historical Void projection of his was summoned by Reinette Tinekerr using the Staff of the Stars. The spirituality consumed was borne by this Ancient Bane, not Fors.

Otherwise, Fors would've already fainted the moment the Servant of Concealment, Arianna, descended. There was no way she could endure spirituality expenditure such as this.

Fors's purpose was to first summon Gehrman Sparrow's historical projection so that he had plenty of time to set up the ritual and bring the Staff of the Stars to the real world. Then, the maintenance of the historical projection would be dispelled, allowing him to return to the fog and have Reinette Tinekerr summoned another him.

In less than ten seconds, as Abomination Suah had focused his attention on Reinette Tinekerr and subconsciously belittled Klein, leading "Him" to not only losing the help of the Chained God's projection, but also being thrown from the state of being the one who had laid in ambush to the one being besieged by four powerful angels.

Without any hesitation, this Sequence 1 angel opened "His" mouth and chanted in ancient Hermes words. "He" had once again prayed to the Chained God.

...

When the Door of Summoning opened in front of Shaman King Klarman, just the extension of two trembling hands was enough for a thought to abruptly flash across Emlyn White's mind.

The other angel of the Rose School of Thought, the King of Curses, Barranca!

This was information provided by Sharron and Maric.

Upon seeing this, Emlyn's mind tensed up. Without any hesitation, he waved his arm and threw the Vision of White at the Door of Summoning!

This was partly because he was experiencing a battle at the demigod level for the first time, so he couldn't help but overreact. On the other hand, he wasn't worried about losing the Vision of White. After all, it belonged to the Sanguine. At worst, he would repay it in the future over time.

At the same time, even without the Sealed Artifact, he still had other mystical items to use, such as Leymano's Travels.

With the notebook, Emlyn could summon the Unshadowed Crucifix to replace the Vision of White.

After the eyeball-shaped glass sphere flew out, it continuously absorbed the light along the way, bringing with it extreme darkness.

When it got close to the Door of Summoning, the Vision of White suddenly exploded into an extremely brilliant glow. Like a blazing sun at noon, it enveloped both the hands and the door, melting away all evil, degenerate, darkness, filth, and undead auras.

The full blood moon on Klarman's forehead was clearly affected. All the light beams were compressed to his side, preventing him from affecting his surroundings.

Seizing this opportunity, Sharron's figure that appeared in midair distorted, turning into a human-sized puppet.

This puppet was identical to Shaman King Klarman. It had messy, black-and-white hair and a pair of bright red eyes.

As for Emlyn, he raised his left arm and revealed a translucent ring that was worn outside his gloved index finger.

The ring seemed to be made of light-red amber, and there was a blood-colored gem embedded on it.

Lilith's Ring!

This was a ring personally made by the Sanguine Ancestor, the ancient goddess, Lilith.

It could project a door that led deep into the spirit world for a certain amount of time, summoning an unknown creature.

Emlyn wasn't sure what he would obtain. He only knew that, under normal circumstances, the summoned object was usually slightly stronger than him, but the possibility of directly pulling out a demigod wasn't impossible.

At the tip of the ring, the blood-colored gem emitted a faint glow as an illusory door covered in mysterious patterns appeared in front of Emlyn.

The door creaked open, the gap in the door widening.

Shaman King Klarman had just recovered his senses from the Sun's illumination when he saw a moon rise up behind the Door of Summoning.

It was a bright moon, one that was slightly silver in color.

-x-X-x-

In the eyes of Shaman King Klarman, a bright silver moon rose, quickly filling his irises.

This was completely different from the normal crimson moon. It also wasn't the Blood Moon that occasionally appeared. It was similar to the abnormal state of the moon from not too long ago, but there were also certain differences.

It illuminated Klarman's eyes and body, causing him to instantly lose contact with the crimson moon.

That also meant that, before things went back to normal, Klarman could no longer attempt "Moonlight Transformation," nor could he teleport within the range of the crimson moonlight's illumination.

Suddenly, a word appeared in the mind of this Shaman King of the Moon Domain.

Lilith!

The ancient goddess, Lilith, who once controlled the Moon pathway!

Such a change was out of Emlyn's expectations, but Sharron, who was good at controlling her emotions and thoughts, wasn't affected. Despite having become a Klarman puppet, she raised her right hand and yanked some of her messy, black-and-white hair.

Almost at the same time, on the Shaman King's head, a tuft of white hair fell on its own without him suffering any attacks.

The Door of Summoning he had just opened had been dissolved by the full might of the Vision of White's sun rays.

This wasn't because the Rose School of Thought's angel, who had been summoned, was unable to resist the Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, but that the Door of Summoning couldn't withstand such a special attack.

In addition, the King of Curses, Barranca, had only extended two hands out. This limited the amount of power that could remotely be projected via "His" descent. The evil aura that permeated into the real world had also been purified by the Vision of White, preventing it from affecting Sharron and Emlyn.

At that moment, without the Door of Summoning, Barranca could only retreat to where "He" was originally. "He" had to wait for the next summoning or for Shaman King Klarman to pray.

As an angel, "He" had the status required to respond to prayers throughout the world!

When that strand of hair fell, Sharron, in her Klarman puppet state, didn't hesitate. Her right hand naturally slid down from her forehead. She grabbed the exaggerated crack that had the "full blood moon" embedded there and forcefully pressed it down.

Klarman couldn't help but let out a blood-curdling scream. The flesh on his forehead turned into a bizarre blur as they filled up the terrifying crack, blocking the miniature "full moon."

This was one of the Beyonder powers of a Sequence 4 Puppet of the Mutant pathway, called the "Source of Curses."

Apart from being able to influence non-living creatures, Puppets could also turn into mystical puppets and magical paper figurines. Through the connections established, they could use various methods to curse their targets.

This Beyonder power would undergo a qualitative change when they reached Sequence 3. At the current stage, it resulted in mutually destructive damage. Under normal circumstances, Puppet demigods rarely used it.

In other words, a Puppet had to hurt themselves to hurt their enemy.

The reason why Sharron dared to do so was because she was certain that since both she and her target were at Sequence 4, as a Wraith and Zombie, she would definitely be able to withstand the damage better than a Vampire.

After knowing in advance that Shaman King Klarman had a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, General of the Pupil-less Eye, Sharron had never thought of truly succeeding with Wraith's possession. Her main goal was to use this method to establish a connection with Klarman to prepare for the subsequent curse.

The tuft of hair she plucked symbolized the official start of the curse. Destroying the target's full blood moon on his forehead was to prevent him from establishing the Door of Summoning once again which would lead to pulling a Rose School of Thought's angel into the battlefield.

Of course, as a demigod, Klarman wasn't going to die so easily from a curse.

In the past, he would be able to use "Moonlight Transformation" and "Illusory Bats" to weaken the damage brought by the curse. Then, via constantly moving at high speeds, he could avoid attacks while chanting the honorific name of a Rose School of Thought's angel. However, under the silvery-white moon's illumination, his body seemed to freeze, preventing him from completing the series of actions.

While Klarman's mind raced, the General of the Pupil-less Eye puppet on his shoulder, stood up and let out an ear-piercing scream.

The glass windows around them shattered, transforming into bullets that shot towards the floating Sharron. Without anyone controlling the eyeball-like glass sphere, it flew up on its own, causing a gigantic pillar of light that had flames swirling around it to descend.

The pillar of light enveloped Sharron, causing the surroundings to turn bright as though it was daytime.

The General of the Pupil-less Eye could influence ownerless mystical items, allowing them to help it!

Amidst the "Flaring Sun," Sharron, who had transformed into Klarman, showed clear signs of melting as her face contorted uncontrollably. Half the large number of glass fragments melted into the pillar of light while the other half pierced through her body.

Klarman once again let out a tragic cry. It made Emlyn's body turn cold as his blood seemed to frost up.

One bloody hole after another appeared on the Shaman King's body. He was like a candle that had been thrown into a furnace as he slowly softened and the oils from his fats dripped.

Any damage from "Source of Curses" would be reflected onto the target!

As a demigod of the Rose School of Thought, there was no doubt that Klarman knew of this. His action just now was to use this exchange of damage to force Sharron to stop the curse.

The theurgical spells of the Sun domain clearly dealt more damage to evil creatures that were the likes of Puppets, Wraiths, Zombies, and Werewolves than Vampires, Potions Professor, Scarlet Scholar, and Shaman Kings!

That was to say, the continuous "Flaring Sun" strikes caused Sharron to dissipate, but it would only be able to severely injure Klarman. As for the demigods of the Moon pathway, they had extremely strong self-recovery abilities.

In just a second, Shaman King Klarman used his rich experience and deep knowledge of mysticism to accurately grasp the problem of the "Source of Curses" and chose the most suitable method to see results in the shortest time possible.

However, at that moment, having lost the Vision of White, Emlyn White, who had summoned the strange moon, regained his senses. He took out a bronze-green hard-covered notebook and flipped it to one of the pages.

A crackling sound could be heard as bolts of lightning appeared out of thin air, interweaving into a storm that emitted a strong destructive aura. Instantly, the Shaman King Klarman was swept in.

Leymano's Travels, Thunder Storm!

Having temporarily lost "Moonlight Transformation" and the ability to "Blink" within a certain range, Klarman was unable to dodge the attack. He was smote by bolts of silver lightning.

Sharron took the opportunity to dispel "Source of Curses" to prevent the damage dealt to the target from being reflected onto her.

However, her face was clearly much paler than before, and her breathing became weaker.

The pillar of light from "Blazing Sun" had indeed caused quite a significant amount of damage to her.

The silvery-white blob that blasted quickly extinguished, and Klarman's body was already pitch black.

His charred skin and flesh were constantly peeling off. Pieces of flesh were squirming and growing.

The General of the Pupil-less Eye's body rapidly turned incorporeal, as though it had turned into a specter. It was prepared to possess Klarman and move him away from the area to prevent any subsequent blows.

At this moment, a blonde, red-eyed head suddenly appeared and bit the head of the exquisite doll.

Klarman, who remained groggy, subconsciously looked over and saw a headless lady.

This lady was wearing a dark and complicated gothic long dress and holding four blonde, red-eyed heads.

Reinette Tinekerr!

...

In that vast desert, the eyes of Reinette Tinekerr, who was attacking Abomination Suah with Azik, Arianna, and the giant silver serpent, suddenly glazed over. Her actions turned stiff as she attacked purely on instinct.

This was part of Klein's plan. When the battle on this side had stabilized, with Abomination Suah was unable to extricate "Himself" from it within a short period of time, Reinette Tinekerr's main body would dispel its concealed state. She would then return to the real world and quickly help Sharron and Emlyn finish the battle.

Looking at the tragic-looking mummy projection in mid-air, as Klein controlled the three angels to hold back Abomination Suah, he used "Their" auras to influence the environment around him. He switched from "Teleportation" to "Flaming Jump," and he continued to deal with the Rose School of Thought's Shaman King.

During this process, he appeared carefree and relaxed, but in fact, he realized that the affinity between his body and his soul was decreasing bit by bit. His body was gradually becoming a spirit cage, causing his actions to become stiffer and heavier.

This reminded him of the core description of Prisoner:

The body was the cage of the heart, and the world was the cage of the body.

As time passed, he understood the meaning of this sentence from another angle.

After Abomination Suah began to direct "His" attention at him, even if "He" didn't have the chance to attack him directly, "He" was still able to make him suffer some form of corrosion!

...

After one of Reinette Tinekerr's heads was in control of General of the Pupil-less Eye, another head raised the black staff that it was biting down on with its teeth.

The gem-embedded staff lit up with a misty glow.

A figure quickly took shape. It was none other than Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a top hat and a trench coat while holding Death Knell.

Bang!

A silver-black stream of light flew out and accurately hit Klarman's body.

Klarman's thoughts came to a halt as he froze on the spot.

Control Spirit Bullet!

This was the Control Spirit Bullet shot by Gehrman Sparrow that the Staff of the Stars had reenacted!

This 0-62 Sealed Artifact could allow the Beyonder powers and people that surfaced in the minds of the wielder to descend upon reality, while the latter could launch a single attack.

On the other side, Sharron immediately turned into a puppet that looked identical to Klarman. She retracted her right hand and ruthlessly stabbed it into her chest.

Blood sprayed out as Klarman gaped his mouth, unable to make a sound.

To a Wraith, the heart definitely wasn't a vital point, but to a vampire, it was lethal.

Without giving Klarman any chance to resist, Emlyn flipped through Leymano's Travels once again and released the recording of "Historical Void Summoning" and took out the bronze Unshadowed Crucifix.

His fingers pressed down on a spike, allowing blood to flow out to "cleanse" the mottled cross.

A pure, burning-white spear instantly condensed.

After Sharron removed "Source of Curses," Emlyn threw out the long spear of light and watched it pierce through Shaman King Klarman's chest, pinning him to the high walls of the cathedral.

Bright light suddenly expanded and completely extinguished Klarman's last breath.

Unshadowed Spear!

...

In the vast desert, Klein suddenly stopped, and while facing Abomination Suah and the Shaman King, he took off his hat, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed.

His body faded and disappeared.

During this process, Klein wasn't worried about being disturbed at all. This was because it wasn't that he was attempting to leave, but that Reinette Tinekerr had dispelled the Historical Void projection.

This also meant that the operation at the other battlefield had succeeded!

-x-X-x-

As the golden rays of light shone down, Klarman, a Shaman King, who had lived for more than a thousand years, collapsed into pieces at the entrance of the Evernight cathedral. Every part of his body was charred black, completely drained of its blood.

Amongst them, something fell out of his black-robe ashes. It was a normal-sized palm. Its skin's texture didn't appear human at all, and it had a dim luster. Its fingers were slender with balanced amounts of flesh and bone.

If he hadn't seen it on such an occasion, Emlyn definitely would've believed that the palm was a part of an exquisite doll.

Another head in Reinette Tinekerr's hand swung forward as it quickly bit the palm.

At the same time, Sharron's figure turned incorporeal as she entered the remains of Shaman King Klarman, speeding up the expelling of his Beyonder characteristic.

Emlyn composed himself and looked at the Door of Summoning created by Lilith's Ring. His body suddenly turned into a hazy moonlight.

The crimson moonlight shattered into countless fragments of light.

The bright and devilish red scales swam around the area enveloped by the moonlight, restructuring beside Klarman's corpse into Emlyn White in his tuxedo and bowtie.

Without looking at the Beyonder characteristic that had seeped out, he dispelled the Unshadowed Crucifix, bent down, and picked up the Vision of White that he had previously thrown to the side using his black velvet glove.

His other hand shook Leymano's Travels as he flipped the book to one of the pages. The symbols and mysterious patterns on it all belonged to "Traveling."

Emlyn's figure turned transparent as he vanished from the scene.

He followed the plan and was the first to leave after the operation ended. He didn't interfere with Sharron and company's cleanup of the scene and their clearing of traces. After all, he was the weakest one there. He had used up a considerable amount of energy in battle while relying on the Sealed Artifacts and mystical items.

As for the spoils of war, they would be distributed once they returned to Backlund.

In this aspect, Emlyn fully believed in Gehrman Sparrow's promise and the Rose School of Thought's temperance department's credit.

After "Teleporting" back to an empty house in Backlund, he suddenly threw down Leymano's Travels. He took out a bronze box with many red gems embedded in it, and he placed the Vision of White inside.

Only after doing this did Emlyn have the energy to take off the glove on his left hand. He saw that his fingers were filled with blisters, swollen.

With the Sanguine's regenerative ability, damage at such a level should've long been healed, but in reality, it hadn't improved at all.

The burns brought by the Vision of White will last at least seven days. Emlyn took out ointment he had stored in a metal tube and squeezed out some of it to apply it on his wound.

The soul-stabbing pain was immediately eased by the cooling sensation. Emlyn slowly exhaled as though he had finally resurrected.

He had used a great deal of willpower to restrain himself from throwing the Vision of White onto the ground. This was because once the Sealed Artifact left his control, it would automatically absorb the light around it and emit a radiant glow. To a Sanguine, this was an excellent way of committing suicide.

Right on the heels of that, Emlyn took out a bottle of his blood that he had extracted beforehand and smeared it on the surface of Leymano's Travels. Then, he drank another bottle of blood to ease the bloodthirst that Lilith's Ring brought about.

After such an operation, he finally removed the negative effects the Sealed Artifact had on him.

Only at this moment did Emlyn have the time to recall the accident that had happened during the battle.

The Door of Summoning that he projected with Lilith's Ring didn't summon creatures from deep in the spirit world, but he ended up summoning a strange moon.

The moon hung behind the Door of Summoning and silently illuminated Shaman King Klarman, suppressing the various Beyonder powers that belonged to the Moon domain.

If not for this change, even if Lilith's Ring had summoned a saint-level spirit world creature, the battle wouldn't have ended so quickly. Perhaps they would have had to wait until the Rose School of Thought temperance angel descended to gain an overwhelming advantage.

...A silvery-white moon... Could it be that the Ancestor had provided me with some help? Emlyn had a thought and made a corresponding guess.

This matched the identity of the Sanguine savior that the Ancestor had appointed.

After careful consideration, Emlyn no longer had any doubts about this guess, but unlike the past, he wasn't that excited or thrilled.

After experiencing a battle at the demigod level and confirming that he was shouldering such an important responsibility, he felt no sense of pride. His heart was heavy from the pressure.

Phew... A few seconds later, Emlyn opened his mouth and whispered, "I'm the savior of the Sanguine."

When he said this, his expression was abnormally solemn, somewhat dignified, without any hesitation.

...

In the house where Emlyn met Maric and Sharron.

When the Sanguine saw the perfect doll-like lady take out two items, he heard her slightly ethereal voice say, "According to the agreement, we will only take one thing. This is the rest."

The two items were:

A fist-sized gem condensed from thick blood. It emitted a crimson glow, like a miniature crimson moon. The other item was an exquisite male doll with two black holes as its eyes.

Shaman King's Beyonder characteristic... General of the Pupil-less Eye... Emlyn nodded and saw that the two items seemed to have a life of their own as they flew over.

Just as he reached out to catch it, he heard Miss Sharron add, "The Shaman King Beyonder characteristic has some strange traces of corruption. Even the Unshadowed Spear was unable to cleanse it."

It means that I need to find an angel to help me shatter it to remove the corruption? Emlyn completely understood what Sharron was saying as he nodded slightly.

"I understand what to do."

Sharron, who was wearing a small black bonnet, immediately floated up and gave a curtsy.

"Thank you for your help."

"Likewise." Emlyn took off his hat and bowed in return.

...

Above the grayish-white fog, inside the ancient palace.

Klein looked at the wisps of black gas emanating from his body, shook his head, and sighed.

I actually got cursed by the Abomination without realizing it... The projection of the Chained God could be the culprit as well...

I was even separated by a historical projection...

If it were any saint without Sefirah Castle, they would probably experience a sudden death after thinking they were safe.

As for Miss Messenger, there wasn't much of a problem even without the historical projection in between because "She" was a real angel. Therefore, Klein wasn't worried.

After the black gas dissipated, Klein waited for a while. He waited until Emlyn sacrificed the items and requested Mr. Fool to help purify the Shaman King Beyonder characteristic.

Strange corruption... From the Mother Tree of Desire or the Primordial Moon? Klein picked up the miniature crimson moon and carefully observed it for a few seconds.

During this process, he was on high alert, constantly preparing to mobilize Sefirah Castle's powers.

If he wasn't at the level of an angel level here, he wouldn't have agreed to Emlyn's sacrifice. Instead, he would've chosen to smite down with power at the Sequence 2 level, shattering the characteristic and separating the corruption remotely.

Back then, Klein didn't even dare to divine the Werewolf Beyonder characteristic that had been slightly influenced by the Mother Tree of Desire. He had even hurriedly sold it.

After examining it seriously, Klein pressed his right hand, causing the entire mysterious space to vibrate.

The miniature crimson moon shattered with a crack, splitting into tiny red dots of light.

Amongst these light dots, there was a small amount of red mist that evaporated, eventually forming a drop of fresh blood.

Then, the red light dots gathered again, constantly condensing before transforming into the miniature crimson moon. However, compared to before, it was more translucent and pure.

Klein conjured a fake hand, picked up the drop of seemingly fresh blood, and discovered that it contained immense vitality.

It's not at the angel level, but it's a little strange... It seems to have received an evil god's blessings... As Klein cut off all the invisible connections that resulted from the blood, he took a paper figurine and attempted to press the drop of blood onto it.

The moment the blood came into contact with the paper figurine, it immediately seeped in. In the next second, the paper figurine's stomach strangely bulged and exploded.

At the moment the paper figurine tore apart, a new paper figurine with a hint of crimson crawled out from its stomach. It seemed to have fully-developed features.

The power of reproduction... Klein frowned slightly as he stabbed with his right hand, reducing the newly born paper figurine into powder.

A tiny amount of blood-colored mist emanated again, condensing into a drop of blood.

The characteristic and spirituality were only slightly weakened... It needs to be repeated more than a hundred times before it can be completely removed... Klein silently assessed as he gathered the powers of Sefirah Castle to seal the drop of blood.

He then looked up and cast his gaze at the male doll on the long mottled table.

The palm-sized doll in a formal suit was prostrating; it didn't dare to look up.

Oh, how easy is it to deal with those with living characteristics... Klein chuckled as he gathered the sealed drop of blood and brought it close towards the doll named General of the Pupil-less Eye.

General of the Pupil-less Eye pushed itself up with all four limbs and quickly retreated.

After a pause, it pressed its forehead against the table, emitting a sound indecipherable to humans.

"Declaring your subservience? Very good..." Klein replied with a smile and casually instructed, "Show me your abilities."

After a series of demonstrations, he confirmed that General of the Pupil-less Eye could possess a target and affect lifeless items. It also had some level of control over mystical items that no one possessed or had spirituality injected into.

The latter power might be very useful at certain times... Klein nodded slightly and beckoned for it to jump into a box he conjured.

After carefully sealing it, Klein threw the box and the drop of blood into the junk pile to let them familiarize themselves with their future lives.

As for the negative effects of General of the Pupil-less Eye, Klein believed that they could discuss and resolve it amicably and normally.