189 LOTM

Verdu subconsciously swallowed his saliva, feeling an indescribable sense of fear.

He didn't know what he was afraid of. There wasn't any real danger; yet, a drop of unknown liquid falling from above was enough to chill his spine and tighten his pores.

Perhaps it was because the environment was too eerie and silent, or perhaps it was because of the identity and unknown origins of the liquid... Verdu cautiously moved two steps outside and patiently observed.

In the next few minutes, nothing abnormal happened. No more liquid fell from above.

This made Verdu suspect that it was only a bird passing by. There was a freshwater fish from the island's streams or a sea fish in its mouth and a slightly sticky liquid dripped from its surface.

He calmed himself and then checked on the ruins of the telegraph office.

Ten minutes later, Verdu confirmed that there were only traces of blood and simple murals that were related to mysticism. It was worth researching.

He didn't rashly extract samples of the blood-colored soil or make copies of the strange mural. Instead, he took out a pure dreamy crystal ball from his pocket.

As an Astrologer, he naturally had to use his best techniques to confirm if he should take action.

Holding the crystal ball in his left hand, his right hand touched the top of the crystal ball as Verdu entered the state of an Astrologer.

In the next second, the crystal ball shone brightly.

Bang!

It exploded and scattered shards in every direction.

"..." Verdu's gaze froze. He stood rooted to the ground, completely ignoring the pain brought to him by the shards piercing into his body.

"It exploded... it actually exploded..." he muttered to himself in disbelief.

The crystal ball shards that stabbed into his body didn't seem to break through the classic robe. At that moment, they fell without any blood on them.

Of course, there were a few shards left on Verdu's jaw and face, peppering them with small wounds.

"Who is it?" Verdu suddenly came to his senses and turned to face another direction.

In the ruins opposite him, a figure walked out. It was the woman in scantily-clad clothes from the pirate ship.

She had hidden herself very well and wasn't discovered by Verdu. However, the explosion from the crystal ball gave her a fright and made her react excessively, causing her to fail to maintain her hidden state.

Verdu's injured face immediately twisted.

"Why are you here?"

The lady curled her lips and put on an indifferent attitude.

"This is Bansy Harbor, not your home. Why can't I be here?

"I felt bored and came down to take a stroll, hoping to pick up some jewelry from the ruins. Is there any problem with that?"

She retorted with a few questions without any intention of distancing herself from Verdu.

Verdu didn't argue with her. He took out the medicine and medical alcohol that he had prepared beforehand and treated his facial and chin injuries. He then pulled out the crystal ball shards and put them back into his pocket.

He didn't want his blood to remain in such a strange place.

Following that, Verdu pulled on an accessory on the classic robe.

It was a door-shaped symbol formed from three rubies, three emeralds, and three diamonds.

In an instant, the long robe tightened, accentuating the flesh on Verdu's body.

Just as Verdu's bones were about to be crushed, his figure gradually faded and he disappeared.

Then, he "Teleported" to the coastal mountain outside Bansy Harbor.

The mountain had collapsed and turned into rubble.

According to what Verdu knew, this was once the place where the Bansy residents used to worship the God of Weather. It was also the main target of the Church of Storms.

After the crystal ball exploded to warn him that the Bansy telegraph office was hiding an unknown danger, Verdu didn't dare to continue exploring the area or search for mysticism materials. He could only forcefully move to the next location.

And this allowed him to escape the woman's tailing.

As soon as Wilder's figure appeared, he bent down and took a deep breath. It was as if he had finally recovered from his suffocating state.

At the same time, Verdu felt a sharp pain in his right rib, as if a bone had fractured.

After taking several deep breaths, he endured the pain and walked a few steps forward with sweat on his forehead, arriving at the altar marked on the map.

Without a doubt, the altar had been destroyed. There was only a glassified, slightly-charred crater. There was gravel with different shapes scattered around it.

The gravel had traces of being engulfed in fire and lightning to various degrees.

After Verdu Abraham surveyed the area, he raised his right hand and waved his sleeve.

With a whoosh, a small portion of the gravel was "pushed" away from the spot, revealing the ground beneath it.

This was a Trickmaster's Wind Trick. Verdu used it to replace the need for manual labor to fully ensure his safety.

As the gravel flew, Verdu saw the charred ground. There were a few parts left in some areas that had extremely incomplete patterns, drawings, and symbols.

Woo!

The sound of the wind grew more intense as it resonated in Verdu's ears, causing him to look up in surprise.

The wind that could only blow small gravel had somehow turned into a hurricane. It even "pushed" him into a state of staggering about.

Wild clouds gathered in the sky, as if a storm was brewing.

Although he had heard that Bansy was a "Weather Museum," he had never thought that the changes would happen so suddenly.

For a split second, Verdu suspected that his "Wind Trick" had triggered a storm, or perhaps it had caused some changes to the cleared ruins of the altar.

This guess made his forehead break out into a cold sweat.

As the storm raged, Verdu saw the rubble in front of him fly up, revealing a boulder that was buried underneath.

The surface of the boulder was crisscrossed with deep cracks, giving off a feeling that it would shatter once it was touched.

At this moment, the wind had calmed down, but the heavy rain was still brewing.

Thinking about how he was already in Bansy Harbor, and couldn't afford to be scared off just like that, he mustered up his courage and approached the boulder covered in charred black cracks.

He then took out a magnifying glass that was engraved with strange patterns, and he seriously checked the state of the boulder.

Seven to eight minutes later, Verdu put away the magnifying glass, a mystical item, and sighed in regret and dismay.

He had already confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the boulder. It didn't involve anything related to mysticism.

Verdu was about to retract his gaze and leave when he suddenly saw that at the interface of the boulder's bottom and the earth, bright redness seeped out.

The bright redness gradually expanded, like blood flowing out.

However, it didn't spread into a huge area. It was limited to a very small area.

The two blood-red figures in the telegraph office's ruins instantly flashed across Verdu's mind. His scalp couldn't help but tingle.

His lips quickly turned dry as he instinctively thought that this wasn't a good development.

After swallowing another mouthful of saliva, Verdu raised his right hand and created another gust of wind, causing quite a number of miniature rocks to roll over to fill the bottom of the boulder completely, covering up the bright redness that seeped out.

He didn't stay here any longer. He forced himself to activate "Teleportation" again and headed for his final destination.

This time, another one of his ribs fractured again, causing him to almost faint from the pain.

In addition to the suffocation caused by the tightening, Verdu felt like he was hovering around the edge of death.

He took several seconds to recover and cast his gaze forward.

This place was also in ruins. A collapsed house covered the weeds.

According to a pirate who had once explored the ruins of Bansy, there was an item here worth researching.

It was an ordinary wooden door, but it was the only thing that remained intact in Bansy.

The pirate didn't find anything special about the wooden door, so he got his subordinate to carry it in an attempt to move it back to the ship.

However, they had only taken two steps when they suddenly collapsed. Dragging their spines, their heads separated from their bodies and rolled to the side.

This frightened the pirate. He didn't dare to stay any longer and led the rest of the crew away in a hurry.

Verdu didn't fully believe the story that the other party had told him. Although he hadn't experienced much life at sea, he knew that the sailors liked to exaggerate, often exaggerating something several times.

However, even if it was an exaggeration, Verdu believed that the door was worth studying.

After a round of searching, he discovered his target.

The ordinary-looking wooden door was leaning against a collapsed wall with brass locks and handles.

There were no corpses around it, nor were there any traces of blood. It was identical to the majority of the ruins.

Indeed, he's exaggerating. Heh, perhaps the pirate heard about this wooden door from somewhere else. Both he and his subordinates didn't dare to move it... Verdu looked around and suddenly said, "Who is it?

"Why are you monitoring me?"

He actually didn't notice anyone around him, but based on his experience and lessons, he could use words and a reaction to deceive the possible presence of a monitor.

A second later, a middle-aged man with a belly appeared in the shadows.

He said nothing and silently left the place.

Verdu heaved a sigh of relief as he didn't waste any time to approach the wooden door.

According to the information he had obtained, no matter which way he opened the wooden door, it wouldn't bring about any abnormal changes. There would be no danger if he didn't attempt to move it.

After thinking for a few seconds, Verdu retracted his hand into his sleeve and used his classical robe as a "glove" to pull the wooden door up.

He raised the wooden door, and the surroundings fell silent.

Verdu pushed the wooden door like he was normally opening a door, but there were no changes.

He tried many other methods, but he failed to make the wooden door display any abnormalities. It seemed to have just been lucky to be preserved in its entirety under the bombardment of the Church of the Lord of Storms.

Taking a deep breath, Verdu tried to calm himself down.

He thought for a moment and tried to open the door again.

However, unlike before, he held the handle and gently twisted it down.

After hearing the light click of metal colliding, Verdu pushed the wooden door backward and let it lean against a collapsed wall.

This time, a grayish-white fog appeared before Verdu.

In the fog, there was a faintly discernible street and a row of terraces.

Outside one of the houses, there was a wooden signboard. On them were a few Loenese words:

"Bansy Harbor Telegraph Office."

While Verdu's pupils dilated, a calm voice sounded from the telegraph office that was shrouded in fog.

"Are you... here to send... a telegram?

"Please come in."

-x-X-x-

Although the voice coming from the telegraph office wasn't anything out of the ordinary, it was just a little intermittent. It lacked the obvious changes in tone. Normally, it wouldn't strike terror in others, but Verdu's heart suddenly erupted with a surge of fear.

It was like a bullet with flames shooting into an ammunition dump. It accurately hit a barrel of flammable gunpowder and ignited the fear that Verdu had accumulated and suppressed previously.

The horror that swept into every corner of his body was like a hand that grabbed Verdu's heart and blanked out his brain. He turned around abruptly and ran frantically towards the remnant pier where the pirate ship was.

During this process, Verdu had completely forgotten to think. He didn't remember wearing a classic robe that could "Teleport." All he did was run through the ruins with his feet, occasionally tripping over random items and falling heavily to the ground. Sometimes, his face would turn purple from his tightening clothes, and he had no choice but to stop to catch his breath.

However, every time he composed himself a little, he would crawl up and continue running. He looked like he had lost his rationality and was acting purely on instinct.

Without the force he provided, the wooden door couldn't maintain its balance. It slid down from the collapsed wall and fell to the floor covered with bricks.

The grayish-white fog and the shadowy houses disappeared.

After five minutes, Verdu ran back to the pier under the storm.

His eyes were wide open, filled with panic and confusion. He didn't notice that there was a figure standing on the deck of the pirate ship, quietly looking down at him.

This was the young man wearing a half top hat and a long black trench coat. He had a cold expression.

Verdu didn't even think about it and immediately used the gangway to return to the pirate ship. He rushed into the cabin and rushed to the second floor before rushing into his room.

Bang!

He slammed the door shut and curled up on the small, narrow bed. He wrapped himself tightly with the blanket and shivered.

When another of his ribs fractured again, the excruciating pain struck him and he finally recovered from his horror. He realized that his limbs were sore and his body was hot. Every breath he took was like thunder.

He struggled with all his might, and finally, he took off his classic robe and fell back into the bed. He felt dizzy and nauseous. The air just felt insufficient.

Outside the cabin, the cold-looking man suddenly raised his hand. He took out a human-skinned glove and wore it on his left palm.

Suddenly, the man vanished into thin air and appeared in a corner of the ruins. He appeared beside the ordinary wooden door.

He bent down and raised the wooden door, allowing it to stand in front of the collapsed wall.

Right on the heels of that, the man in the black trench coat mimicked Verdu's actions. He reached out for the handle and twisted it downwards.

Then, he pushed the wooden door forward and let it lean against the wall.

Almost at the same time, he saw a grayish-white fog. He saw the faintly discernible streets and houses in the fog.

Amidst the houses, the clearest, most eye-catching one was the Bansy Harbor Telegraph Office. The rest were more or less blurry.

At this moment, the calm voice in the telegraph office asked through the door, "Who... are... you?"

"I'm... Gehrman... Sparrow," the young man in a half top hat replied in the same staccato.

The interior of Bansy Harbor Telegraph Office suddenly fell silent as though someone was walking silently towards the door.

At that moment, Gehrman Sparrow turned his head to the other side.

In the deep end of the street, a figure walked over. He was wearing a straw hat and had a towel around his neck. He was bending over to pull something.

As the figure approached, the outline of the object behind him gradually became clear.

It was a black vehicle with two wheels. It had a roof that could block the scorching sun and rain.

In the vehicle sat a lady wearing a waist-length dress with an embroidered fan.

Both she and the driver were concealed by thick fog, making it difficult for anyone to see their exact appearances.

When they passed Gehrman Sparrow, he barely managed to see a few details through the fog.

The hunched man pulling the carriage had a rotten face with pale-yellow pus flowing. In areas where the lady wasn't covered by the fan and clothes, her skin was swollen with a glisten amidst many blue and black spots.

With a ring, a bell sounded. A blue train with two carriages sped out from in front of Gehrman Sparrow.

At this moment, Gehrman Sparrow realized that there was an iron-black track on the ground. Above him were long lines.

On the top of the train carriage, there was a rather complicated metal frame that slid over the long lines.

Through the glass window of the train, Gehrman Sparrow saw the passengers inside.

They faced the streets, but only their heads remained. Each head was dragging a bloody spine.

Gehrman Sparrow's pupils dilated as he silently watched this scene without moving for a long time.

After nearly a minute, he took a step forward in an attempt to enter the blurry street beneath the grayish-white fog.

However, the fog blocked him. No matter what method he used, he couldn't pass through it.

Fifteen minutes later, Gehrman Sparrow stopped his attempts and closed the wooden door, eliminating the fog. Then, he dragged the wooden door and "Teleported" directly to the pirate ship. He wasn't worried about being cursed at all.

He then placed the wooden door on the deck and reached out his left hand again to grab the door handle.

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound from Gehrman Sparrow's neck. His head seemed to be raised by an invisible hand as it dragged out a bloody spine.

Gehrman Sparrow's expression didn't change as he coldly raised his right hand and pressed it above his head, pressing his head back to its original position.

Immediately after, he turned the handle as though unaffected and pushed the wooden door open again, allowing it to lean against the shipboard.

However, this time, there was no grayish-white fog to be seen, nor were there any visible streets, houses, or trains. It could be said that there was nothing unusual.

In the next second, the wooden door rapidly decayed, turning into a pile of mud, as if it was trying to avoid the fate of being tested.

Gehrman Sparrow didn't stop it. He took out a golden ring embedded with a ruby and wore it for nearly ten seconds.

After the ring vanished, Gehrman Sparrow reached out with his right hand and pulled out the same ordinary wooden door from the void before continuing his attempts.

After confirming that the wooden door would lose its effects once it left Bansy, Gehrman Sparrow casually waved his hand, allowing it to vanish in midair.

Two hours later, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dissipated. The storm that had been brewing for a long time ultimately did not descend.

When the pirate ship was far away from Bansy Harbor, Verdu, who had finished treating his injuries, took a bottle of medicine and allowed himself to quickly fall asleep so that he could adjust his mental state.

In the hazy dream world, he ran in a desolate moor, looking for something frantically, but he found nothing.

Suddenly, Verdu heard a faint voice coming from deep in the moor:

"The great... God of War...

"The symbol... of... iron... and... blood...

"The ruler... of... chaos... and... strife..."

This sentence repeated over and over again, but it didn't alarm Verdu enough to snap him out of his dreams.

After some time, Verdu woke up and opened his eyes.

At that moment, the morning sun shone into the cabin outside the window, bringing with it a faint light.

Verdu slowly sat up and realized that he didn't need to use the powers of an Astrologer to recall the three lines of the honorific name that he had heard in his dream.

And his relatively rich mysticism knowledge told him that it was referring to a hidden existence at the level of a deity.

Is this the result of the incomplete symbols and labels around the altar, or a result of me witnessing that street in the grayish-white fog? Verdu frowned and fell into deep thought.

He didn't rashly attempt to recite that honorific name, because he knew how miserable people who had done something like that had died.

God of War... Verdu vaguely remembered that he had seen this deity's name in a book in his family. He decided to do some research before considering how to deal with it later.

...

Bansy Harbor, on the collapsed coastal mountain.

Red, blazing-white, or orange flames emerged from the crevices of the gravel, forming a figure.

This figure was wearing a black blood-stained armor, with a half-grown fiery red hair. He looked young and handsome.

There was a blood-colored mark on his glabella that resembled a flag. There were traces of decay on his face. It was none other than the Red Angel evil spirit, Sauron Einhorn Medici.

"If 'He' didn't have Sefirah Castle and an Attendant of Mysteries characteristic to allow his marionettes to run around the world without considering the limitations of distance, I wouldn't need to take such a roundabout route." The Red Angel evil spirit tsked, a mystery as to who "He" was speaking with.

In midair, a raven landed on the top of a boulder.

There was a circle of white on its right eye, and a human voice sounded from its mouth.

"You actually used 'Him' and not him. This isn't like your style."

The Red Angel evil spirit chuckled.

"That's because 'He' wishes others to call 'Him' as him, and not 'Him.'"

As "He" spoke, Sauron Einhorn Medici glanced at the raven.

"This form of yours looks cuter than your true self, don't you think? Lil' Raven?"

The white-eyed raven replied without any hint of anger, "Your mockery is just like you. Still living in the previous epoch."

The Red Angel evil spirit smiled and said, "The developments have been rather smooth, and 'He' has been fooled. However, I believe that even if 'He' discovers it, 'He' will probably turn a blind eye. For the two of you to become Great Old Ones, 'Door' has to return. The hypocritical 'Him' might still be hesitating about whether to do it, because if 'He' isn't careful, it will bring about a huge disaster. Haha, I like disasters.

"Lil' Raven, when are you going to make your payment? If you don't have enough strength, I won't be able to gain the trust of the brainless Abraham."

"When he prays to you," said the white-eyed raven. "If you're worried that such a state won't last long, I can parasitize a Worm of Time into your body and help you maintain it. There's no need to thank me."

As "He" spoke, the raven spread its wings and disappeared into the vast night sky.

The Red Angel evil spirit turned "His" head and, with the advantage of the terrain, wore a solemn expression as "He" looked down at the Bansy ruins.

-x-X-x-

"This small city called Utopia is intrinsically no different from the ones I had been to in the past. Be it the folk culture, the people, or architectural style, it follows very closely to the standard Loen styles.

"I've heard that the Southern Continent has many peculiar and unusual traditions. I hope that I can experience it myself one day. Of course, that's after East and West Balam's peace is restored.

"Speaking of which, the most special thing about this place is that the weather is always changing and there's always a storm. As a result, most people have umbrellas and raincoats that are smeared with Donningsman Tree Sap. The hotel attendant told me that for a person of a certain income level, which also has a need to work outdoors, they would have to save quite a sum of money to purchase a raincoat. Otherwise, the sickness would only take more away.

"There are no meteorologists here. I have no idea why there are so many changes in the weather here. I can only guess that it has something to do with it lining the sea and being close to places with hurricanes. Yes, there's a deep water harbor a few kilometers away from Utopia. However, they're lacking in manpower, and it isn't very well-managed. It can only maintain its operations on a small scale.

"They don't have local newspapers either. After all, it's just a small city with a few thousand people. The paperboys mainly sell the Tussock Times, Desi Mirror, and Seawind News...

"The second reason I like this place is because many people in Utopia are optimistic and are very enthusiastic about life.

"When I wrote this down, a band happened to pass by outside the hotel.

"It's not a professional band, but a group formed purely from amateur enthusiasts. Among them, there are civil servants, law enforcement officers, solicitors, professional policemen, school teachers, candy factory workers, shop owners... Among them, those with the money are responsible for the larger musical instruments, such as cello, violins, and other difficult musical instruments. The lower- and middle-class citizens use relatively simple instruments like seven-string guitars and harmonicas.

"On some rest days, they will walk the streets and set off from the municipal square. They will circle the city before returning to the Saint Arianna Cathedral near the square. They call this a 'musical tour.'"

"In the tour, not only do they not reject other citizens from joining, but they even encourage them to sing or dance along with the procession. According to my observations, the participants are very happy and very satisfied as they freely express their love for life. This gives me a feeling of being full of vigor.

"I have to admit that it's very infectious. I've tried to join the tour, and I've forgotten my troubles in the revelry of music, dancing, and singing. I only remember happiness...

"They aren't on a tour today. Instead, they're showering their blessings to a newly-wed couple at the cathedral.

"Speaking of weddings, what I don't understand the most is that it only has the Evernight Goddess's cathedral. One ought to know that in most of the kingdom, even in a small town, there would be at least two cathedrals, one belonging to the Evernight Goddess and the other, the Lord of Storms.

"Before today, I couldn't imagine that an ordinary town in the kingdom would only believe in one deity.

"However, this doesn't cause too much trouble for me. Before I turned eighteen, I could only believe in the Lord of Storms under the influence of my family. However, after I graduated from grammar school, I came to truly understand that the Goddess is the most compassionate and benevolent deity.

"Back to the wedding, I participated in a wedding a couple of days ago. I discovered that Utopia has some special customs in this area.

"Out of all of them, what I admire the most is that when the priest pronounces them man and wife, the groom and bride will bow to each other. No one is superior in this relationship as they only sincerely express their gratitude to be able to spend the rest of their lives together.

"This might be an expression of equality between man and woman in the Goddess's teachings...

"In addition, there will be some special game segments after the wedding. For example, let the groom and the bride publicly describe their love story.

"This may be a rather embarrassing matter for them, but to the guests, it's rather interesting. Yes, I think so too, but I definitely won't add similar segments to my wedding.

"At the wedding, I heard the best love story I've heard so far. If there's a chance, and if you my dear readers of this particular column enjoy it, I'll consider retelling it. Of course, I'll change the names and some details to prevent the couple from feeling troubled...

"The most important reason why I like Utopia is its food. The food here is very delicious. The limited number of restaurants are all very good, and the best is undoubtedly the attached restaurant to the Irises Hotel I'm staying at.

"Be it the most basic beef steak, fried pig chop, charcoal barbecued meat, spiced fried fish, or even more complicated, more difficult stewed mutton with peas, thick cream soup, butter potatoes, and roasted potato skin, all of them have reached the level of a master chef in the city. In addition, the chefs here are quite skilled in creating unique dishes and food. There are sweet-and-sour meat cubes, and grilled fish smeared with various condiments...

"In the staples that don't seem to allow for experimentation, the chefs of Utopia haven't given up. I've eaten all kinds of toasts in this city: yam, potatoes, butter, creamed, and ones with fruits... As long as I was willing to, I could make it so that I don't eat the same thing twice during the week.

"The best food of praise here is their desserts.

"Cream pudding, fruit pudding, black forest cakes, carrot cakes, milk cakes, muffins, egg tarts...

"I feel hungry writing this. This is the reason why I still don't wish to leave after staying here for a week. What I'm most worried about now is not my wallet but my weight. I'm glad that the hotel doesn't have a weight scale, and at the same time, I blame them for not including one.

"The red wine in Utopia is also rather outstanding. The only problem is that they lack the age to settle down. It seems like the vineyards around the city haven't realized this.

"Here, I need to seriously recommend a drink. Utopia's Fizzling Ice Tea. It's very special, and it has an even more amazing experience besides the sweetness and bubbles...

"Every night, I would go for a stroll in the municipal square. That's also the place where most Utopians like to go for entertainment. They have an extraordinary love for the pigeons.

"I met an artist at the municipal square. His name is Anderson. He's handsome, and his artistic skills are superb. Unfortunately, he's a mute...

"I also know another writer. His name is Alzu. It's a rather strange name. He said that he's writing a long novel and asked me to appraise the beginning.

"I won't comment on his novel, but I was just curious about a few familiar names at the beginning of the novel.

"It included Anderson, Wendy, oh yes, this is the boss of my favorite bakery...

"I raised this question, and Alzu told me very seriously that when a writer can't think of names for characters, it's very reasonable for them to use someone they know as reference.

"I agree.

"...

"Since this column is too narrow to contain my thoughts, I'll end it here.

Love,

Charlotte"

Monica put down her fountain pen and seriously read the manuscript twice. She changed certain words and any grammatical errors.

She was a writer. She wasn't famous at first, so she could only rely on writing third-rate romance novels to maintain her life. After she changed her faith to the Evernight Goddess, her father had almost cut off all ties with her.

However, ever since Miss Fors Wall, who had written "Stormwind Mountain Villa," established a travel column, and had received quite a warm response after the war, Monica had also started to write about her travels in some Backlund newspapers. This perfectly matched her hobby, and her hobby gave her a unique vitality to help her become a famous travel columnist.

Charlotte was her pen name.

After her writing dried completely, Monica specially wrote another copy and stuffed it into an envelope before affixing it with a stamp.

After confirming that the address was correct, the black-haired lady with a Desi Bay style carried her handbag and left the hotel, heading to the Utopia post office.

The post office was next to the telegraph office. Whenever Monica passed by the latter, she would always find it a waste.

From her point of view, Utopia rarely needed to send telegrams. It was too extravagant to specially build a telegraph office.

After sending the letter, Monica looked at the sky and walked towards the municipal square.

When she arrived at the entrance of Saint Arianna's Cathedral, she met Biles.

He was a police officer. He had once questioned Monica at the Irises Hotel due to the homicide witness.

Unfortunately, Monica didn't know that man named Wendel.

After greeting each other with a nod, Monica entered the cathedral and found a seat. She listened quietly to the sermon of the priest named Townsend.

This was a priest she found to be most clergyman-like ever since she changed her faith to the Evernight Goddess. His hair was half-white, and he spoke slowly and mellowly. His voice was deep and low, always calming down people without them realizing it.

Monica closed her eyes and listened attentively to the sermon.

...

East Chester County, in a forest belonging to the Hall family.

Alfred, Hibbert, and Audrey led their respective foxhounds with their servants around the forest and chased after their prey.

This was the first time the three of them had hunted together since they became adults.

In front of their sister, Alfred and Hibbert had a great time—at least on the surface.

And to Alfred, the biggest problem was how to control himself and not show that he was too extraordinary. Otherwise, if a Disciplinary Paladin were to join the hunt, no one else would have the chance.

He knew that his sister was a Beyonder, but he also knew that a Sequence 7 Beyonder of the Spectator pathway didn't have any actual combat ability.

As they chased their prey, they rushed out of the forest and saw a wheat field.

"Where are we?" Audrey, dressed in hunting gear, asked casually.

This was her first time hunting in this forest, and she didn't know where it led to.

Hibbert wasn't too familiar with the area as well. He turned his head and said to his attendant, "Ask someone."

As they waited, the three siblings laughed as they discussed their trophies. As for the golden retriever, Susie, she glanced at the foxhounds that wanted to get close to her and made them distance themselves.

After a while, Hibbert's attendant returned and reported, "Sir, there's a village called Hartlarkh nearby..."

Hartlarkh... That village with the dragon-worship customs? I came here from somewhere else? Audrey was taken aback when she heard that.

-x-X-x-

After regaining her senses, Audrey maintained her faint smile as she became wary.

She could vaguely feel a mysterious force pushing her to Hartlarkh, the village with the tradition of dragon-worship.

This was like an arrangement of fate.

Audrey had once entered the Hall of Truth, and she discovered that the murals inside had turned into reality. Furthermore, she knew that the Spectator pathway's Sequence 1 was Author. From this name, she had made some connections, so it was inevitable for her to suspect that something was amiss.

At this moment, Hibbert laughed.

"I've heard of this village. I remember that our family has a manor nearby."

As he spoke, he looked up at the sky.

"It's almost evening. Why don't we stay there and continue hunting tomorrow?"

Alfred wasn't opposed to his elder brother's suggestion. To him, staying the night at whichever manor was essentially the same.

He nodded and said, "Send someone back to inform Father and Mother."

Audrey didn't say a word. Her green eyes turned slightly, and her gaze swept across the faces of her two brothers.

Hibbert's brows immediately furrowed as he said, "I think it's best we return. This manor wasn't informed in advance, so they definitely weren't prepared. Perhaps there's no way for them to service so many horses, hounds, and servants.

"Besides, there's still an hour before the evening. There's enough time for us to return."

When Alfred saw his brother change his mind so quickly, he wanted to act contrary to him. However, on second thought, he felt that what his brother said made sense.

Considering that his sister was also here, he tersely agreed and said, "Then let's head back quickly."

With that said, he didn't wait for Hibbert. Squeezing at the horse's side and brandishing the horsewhip, he led the way.

Hibbert frowned, then relaxed.

Without saying anything else, he led his sister, the group of attendants, servants, and hounds, and turned around, following the edge of the forest and returning to a manor on the other side.

Audrey quietly followed behind him, not expressing her opinion on the development of the matter.

...

Late at night, in a manor in East Chester County.

Having used her Manipulator powers to change the thoughts of her two brothers to prevent them from approaching Hartlarkh, Audrey lifted the velvet blanket and crawled into bed, entering a deep sleep.

In her reverie, she suddenly sat up.

She then looked around and saw the familiar dressing table and the bathroom entrance. She realized that she was still in the room, but the crimson moon outside the window was gone. There were no stars, only darkness.

This isn't the real world... Audrey instantly made a judgment and inspected herself.

Soon, she came to a conclusion:

This was a dream. It was a rather strange dream that made her remain lucid.

It's really here... Audrey didn't feel any panic. She was just a little vexed.

She hadn't handled the development properly in the afternoon, which led to the problem extending to the manor where her parents were.

In hindsight, she believed that she should've followed Hibbert's idea and headed straight to the family manor near Hartlarkh. Then, she could reasonably "arrange" for Hibbert and Alfred to return here, leaving her to stay behind and wait for any possible developments.

This way, even if anything happened, it wouldn't affect their parents, brothers, and most of the servants.

However, at that time, her main goal wasn't to follow the arrangement of fate. As long as she could avoid Hartlarkh, she would try her best to avoid it.

To her surprise, danger would, at times, spring on you even if you didn't seek it out.

To avoid it and stall for time wasn't a universal solution.

Audrey immediately got off the bed and stood barefoot on the thick carpet.

She had already confirmed that, with her level of a demigod as a Dreamwalker, she could directly escape this strange dream and return to the real world, avoiding the suspected "invitation" once more.

After looking around, Audrey pursed her lips, removed the blue cloak hanging on the clothes rack beside her, and wore it.

She took a deep breath and walked towards the door.

During this process, a crimson star "tattoo" appeared on the back of her hand.

The "tattoo" vanished as though it had never appeared.

This was the mark left on her after her first entry into the ancient palace above the gray fog. For a very long time, it hadn't shown any special traits. It was only at the beginning of this year that Mr. Fool informed them that in situations in which they couldn't pray, they could use the triggering of the corresponding "tattoo" to skip the chanting of the honorific name.

Simply put, this was a treatment that a Blessed of a deity enjoyed.

Of course, there was no way to transmit any information. It could only be used in critical situations, allowing Mr. Fool to cast "His" gaze over.

And more importantly, the star-like crimson mark was rather eye-catching. It could be easily discovered by others and people who were secretly monitoring them. Therefore, under a situation where she needed to hide her uniqueness, Audrey was more inclined to use the various abilities of a Manipulator to implant the idea of praying to Mr. Fool to some inconspicuous human nearby. She got them to complete the prayer at suitable times and locations and pray for her protection.

At this moment, she believed that the owner of the dreamscape knew that she was problematic, so she felt that there was no need to go through all that trouble. All she needed to do was to hide the entity she was praying to.

When she reached the door, Audrey reached out for the handle and gently twisted it before pulling it backward.

The slightly dark corridor entered her vision.

The main building of this manor had a history of over a hundred years. Many places still had their former characteristics, especially the corridor section. It didn't have any gas lamps, and the walls were decorated with candle stands made of silver or copper. There were countless candles placed on them, emitting a dim yellow light that illuminated the entire corridor and creating all kinds of shadows. They gave a feeling that a phantasm might appear on the corridor at any moment.

Even this has been replicated in the dreamscape ... Audrey looked around and entered the corridor.

As this thought flashed across her mind, a long, thick pale-yellow carpet appeared beneath her feet.

Stepping on the carpet, Audrey followed her spiritual intuition and walked to the right.

After taking two or three steps, she suddenly stopped. She felt as if there was something hidden behind the two tightly shut doors, giving her a strong desire to explore.

This is Father and Mother's bedroom. That is Hibbert's room. That is Alfred's room... Audrey made a slight note of it and frowned.

The ancient doors with relief were extremely mysterious under the dim candlelight. It made one eager to know what was hidden behind them.

As her thoughts raced, Audrey suddenly understood what they represented in a dream.

This was the door to the mind world. Behind each door was the mind world of their owner.

In other words, after Audrey pushed open Alfred's door, she would see the various secrets hidden deep in his heart.

By the same logic, she could pry into the secrets of Lord Hall and Lady Catelyn.

She slowly retracted her gaze. Audrey closed her eyes and continued walking forward, preventing herself from being affected.

After all her experiences, she gradually understood a principle:

A demigod in the mind domain needed to control themselves and respect others.

Under the premise that she could read people's true thoughts through their body language, facial expressions, and emotional fluctuations, if she wasn't satisfied, she could greedily explore the inner thoughts of others and dig out their secrets. In the end, she would suffer a backlash.

This was a very simple principle: Everyone had some darkness in them in varying amounts or nasty thoughts. However, they had control over them, preventing them from affecting their actions. Under such circumstances, if a demigod in the mind domain still insisted on digging these thoughts and dug out the ugly parts under the mask, it was very easy for them to be disappointed in human nature, be tainted by all kinds of negative thoughts, gradually becoming crazy without realizing it.

This was also one of the reasons why, despite Spectators being able to "Placate" themselves and treat corresponding mental problems, they were also one of the pathways who would easily go mad or lose their composure.

They were both safe and dangerous.

Therefore, Audrey established rules for herself to observe. She only did observations and read the minds of people she knew. She tried her best not to enter their dreams. This restriction didn't apply to strangers. If it wasn't necessary, she wouldn't enter the mind world of anyone.

Following the corridor, Audrey, who was wearing a blue cloak, reached its end.

She opened her eyes and cast her gaze at the room on the left.

It was a half-open solarium.

Pursing her lips again, Audrey held the door handle with her breathing steady.

As the wooden door opened, the scene inside was gradually revealed.

This was no longer a room. On the ground were round pebbles and bundles of bluish-black weeds. It was so dark deep within that space that one couldn't see clearly.

Audrey slowly walked in and closed the door behind her.

In the darkness, the silhouettes of some objects were quickly outlined.

A huge stone pillar that was tens of meters tall stood there. There was a tall lizard-like monster situated above it.

The monster was squatting at the top of the stone pillar like a tiny mountain. Its body was covered with huge grayish-white stone scales, and its eyes were pale-fold and vertical.

This was a mind dragon as spoken in myths.

With a whoosh, the two wings of the mind dragon spread open, almost covering the entire sky.

Their bones were like metallic leaf veins, covered with a gray membrane with mysterious patterns.

As Audrey looked up, the mind dragon emitted a buzzing sound:

"You've been to Liveseyd."

Without a doubt, it used Dragonese.

City of Miracles, Liveseyd... How does it know... Just as Audrey had these two thoughts, she heard the mind dragon say, "Everyone's consciousness in one's heart will make a certain exchange with the sea of collective subconscious. And for a unique place like Liveseyd, it likewise left a special impression in you. When your Virtual Persona roams the sea of collective subconscious and isn't too far from me, I can naturally sense this."

This exceeds the limits of my abilities, and it's not something a Dreamweaver can do... This mind dragon corresponds to a Sequence 2 Discerner? "He" actually didn't directly control me... As Audrey's thoughts flashed, the mind dragon spoke again.

"I'm sure you don't have any ill intentions at the moment."

Audrey fell silent for two seconds before looking up and asking, "Aren't you worried that it's a trap?"

-x-X-x-

At that moment, Audrey even suspected that the "arrangement of fate" wasn't for her to head to Hartlarkh to investigate the dragon-worshiping customs. Instead, it was to make her realize that something was wrong, causing her to feel conflicted. It made her use a Virtual Persona in the vicinity of Hartlarkh to secretly guide her two brothers into changing their minds without realizing it. This would inevitably result in her consciousness being specially related to Liveseyd to be discovered by the mind dragon, thus attracting "Him."

Despite being the one that had been arranged, Audrey couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. It had to be said that to achieve such an effect, one had to have an extremely high level of confidence in the reactions different people had. It struck fear into the bottom of her heart.

After all, Audrey, a Sequence 4 Manipulator, had felt that the development of the matter was in line with her expectations. She had completely fulfilled her wishes and wasn't alert at all.

The mind dragon retracted its huge wings and looked down at the blue-cloaked Audrey.

"This is a dream maze formed by many minds. Even if the one who set the trap personally descends, it will take some time to find this room. Besides, I won't stay long."

Clearly, "He" had been wary of traps, but "He" believed that certain matters were worth the risk.

Dream maze... This is a Beyonder power of a Dreamweaver, or perhaps the power after a qualitative change? Audrey reined in her thoughts and asked calmly, "What do you wish to know?"

The gigantic grayish-white dragon buzzed and said, "My name is Ariehogg, one of the three remaining ancient dragons."

"He" means that "He" is one of the three surviving dragons of the Second Epoch, and the rare, known dragons are only descendants of the dragons during the era of the ancient gods? Audrey nodded slightly and didn't interrupt "Him."

Behind her was a wooden door that stood without any support in the plains filled with bluish-black weeds. It looked extremely strange.

Ariehogg didn't waste any time. After introducing "Himself," "He" asked, "Where did you find Liveseyd?"

Audrey was already prepared as she answered frankly, "In a book named Groselle's Travels. Rumor has it that it was personally created by the Dragon King Ankewelt."

"Groselle..." Ariehogg clearly hadn't heard of this name before. After repeating it, "He" pressed, "What kind of book is that?"

The blonde-haired Audrey gave a simple description:

"That's a book with a world that's almost real inside it. At the same time, it can suck in people who meet the requirements or offer their own blood to be sucked in by the book, allowing them to live in that world."

Ariehogg fell silent for two seconds.

"Is there a sea of collective subconscious in that book world?"

"Yes," Audrey answered with great certainty. "The City of Miracles, Liveseyd, I saw was deep in the sea of collective subconscious in the book world."

Ariehogg suddenly breathed harder.

"What did you see in that Liveseyd?"

Audrey recalled and said, "A city filled with towering pillars and majestic palaces.

"In addition, I've also entered the residence of the Dragon King. That place can allow every living being's inner thoughts to echo in the surrounding area. I call it the 'Hall of Truth.'

"At the end of the Hall of Truth, behind the Dragon King's throne, there's an ancient and mysterious bronze door. I'm not sure what's sealed behind. In short, it's very dangerous and I didn't dare approach it at all."

Audrey was speaking the complete truth; she just didn't mention the speculations that Mr. World, Mr. Star, and she had come up with.

Ariehogg fell completely silent. It was unknown what "He" was thinking of, or if "He" was analyzing the current situation regarding Liveseyd.

During this process, "His" head drooped down bit by bit, as though "He" was going to fall from the top of a hundred-meter-tall pillar to the ground.

Just as Audrey tensed up from this rather bizarre scene and was about to ask a question, Ariehogg suddenly raised "His" head.

The golden vertical pupil in "His" eyes turned colder as "His" voice once again resounded in the wilderness.

"Liveseyd..."

With a low rumbling of thunder, the things that were hidden in the dark behind Ariehogg quickly became clear. In the gradually brightening scene, their outlines appeared.

They were huge stone pillars that were more than a hundred meters tall. They were either standing alone or collectively propping up numerous majestic and ancient palaces.

These stone pillars and palaces were mainly grayish-white in color as they landed on the island-like foundations. It was identical to the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, which Audrey had just described.

No, this was probably the City of Miracles, Liveseyd.

Only then did Audrey realize that the ancient mind dragon, Ariehogg, was squatting at the top of the thickest, tallest stone pillar.

At this moment, she could faintly feel a subtle change in Ariehogg.

Her green eyes darted about slightly, and the sound of a metal handle being twisted sounded from behind her.

This... Audrey held back the urge to turn her head abruptly. She turned her body warily to the side, allowing her gaze to fall sideways.

The individual wooden door that had lost its external support slowly opened, revealing the visitor's appearance:

A huge, white rabbit with wiggling ears that walked upright.

Above the gray fog, in the ancient palace, a figure was shrouded in grayish-white fog. He sat at The Fool's seat at the end of the long mottled table as he silently observed the crimson star representing Justice.

...

Backlund, West Borough, 9 Bellotto Street.

The closer Wendel was to the end of the two weeks, the more he suffered from insomnia. He had to rely on medication to fall asleep.

When he woke up, he was also restless and extremely anxious. He had lost all interest in food and only forced himself to eat the three meals sent by his colleagues to ensure his energy.

He didn't know what would happen on the date of the trial, nor did he know if there would be an irreversible change in his body.

This kind of fear towards the unknown often made him feel stifled. It was extremely tortuous.

Sometimes, Wendel would even think that it might not be a wise choice resisting his return to Utopia.

Based on his limited experience there, if he obediently returned to Utopia and testified in court, there was a high chance that he would leave safely.

At least up to this point, Wendel hadn't heard of anyone dying or going crazy because of Utopia. The people there were rather friendly apart from being a little bizarre.

I'm just going to help. They should be grateful to me instead of being antagonistic... The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it would be more comfortable to face the danger.

Of course, he had no doubts about MI9's protective capabilities. If it wasn't possible, he felt that he could only consider meeting the Lord of Storms early.

Phew... Wendel exhaled and sat down on his chair. He casually picked up a novel to pass time.

However, his frustration made it impossible for him to immerse himself in the plot. He flipped through the pages more frequently and finally, he snapped the book close.

He closed his eyes and prepared to take a nap.

In a daze, Wendel seemed to return to Utopia and arrived at the court. However, the role he was in wasn't as a witness but a member of the audience.

Tracey was deemed by the judge to have provided insufficient evidence to support a claim for self-defense and had been transferred to the criminal courts. He saw this lady tearing up in a daze, her smile extremely miserable.

Wendel woke up and stared silently at the wall lamp in front of him. He sat there motionless for a long time.

If the problem is Utopia, and not the residents of Utopia, then me avoiding it might end up killing a poor lady... Wendel retracted his gaze. His resolve had wavered slightly, but he was unable to overcome the fear in his heart.

With his hands on the table, he stood up and walked to the door. He planned to wander about MI9's headquarters to ease his mood.

After leaving the room and taking a few steps forward, Wendel suddenly heard a colleague in the office discussing the related case of the Utopia.

"Have you heard? The person who entered Utopia was a carriage driver. He sent a merchant from Utopia to the dock area, and with just taking two turns at a crossroads, he found himself somewhere unfamiliar."

"There's a need to warn all the carriage drivers in Backlund. Yes, it's best to draw a parallel between Utopia and the spies, so that they can understand."

"The way of entering and exiting Utopia is really frightening."

"Yes. Sometimes, I even suspect that the entrance to Utopia might appear anywhere."

"There's definitely a limit to this. It's not as omnipotent as we imagine... Otherwise, I might find myself in Utopia just by paying a visit to the washroom."

"According to the current patterns we've figured, this is theoretically valid."

...

When Wendel heard that, his blood vessels on his forehead began to throb. He suddenly felt that even if he was in the headquarters of MI9, he wouldn't be that safe.

Unless there's a demigod watching me the entire time, it's very difficult for me to avoid the fate of returning to Utopia. Perhaps, after I wash my hands and open the washroom door, I'll discover that it's the Irises Hotel outside... No, ordinary demigods might not be able to stop such a thing. This doesn't seem like it's something humans can accomplish. It's already extremely close to that of a deity... Wendel instantly panicked, unable to suppress the fear in his heart.

He returned to the room and took out the subpoena from the Utopian court.

Immediately following that, Wendel entered the washroom and held the document as he muttered in fear, "I'm willing to go to court to testify.

"I'm willing to go to court to testify.

"..."

After repeating himself a few times, he reached out to grab the handle of the bathroom door.

At that moment, a black raven flew through the ventilation hole like a ghost and landed in a corner of the washroom that no one would notice.

In the next second, Wendel twisted the handle, pulled the door back, and opened the washroom door.

It was no longer his familiar bedroom but an unfamiliar lobby.

-x-X-x-

I really returned to Utopia... Upon seeing the scene outside, Wendel felt a baffling sense of relief and ease. He no longer had any doubts about his choice to go to testify in court.

It had to be known that he was in the washroom of MI9's headquarters. It was a place that was impossible to invade even with a fully armed army.

Wendel slowly exhaled as he walked out of the washroom and towards the entrance of the lobby.

Behind him, in a corner of the washroom where no one was paying attention to, the pitch-black raven had draped over a shadow-like veil, losing its physical presence. Even if one were to directly look at it, it would be difficult to discover it.

Then, its body became more and more transparent as it rapidly dissipated until it vanished.

At this moment, Wendel had already walked a few meters out of the lobby when he saw a police officer in a black-and-white checkered uniform.

This was the young officer who had requested him to testify, Biles.

"I knew you'd come, because you're a kind person." Biles smiled at Wendel.

When he heard the compliment, Wendel's strung up heart finally returned to normal. Then, he instinctively turned his head back and saw that the bathroom that he had come out of had changed completely in style. It was no longer familiar to him.

...

In the dream maze formed by many minds, the huge white rabbit that walked upright squeezed through the open door and entered the vast wilderness with the grayish-white pillars and magnificent palaces.

Mr. Wrath... Although it wasn't wearing the persona mask, its unforgettable characteristics were enough for Audrey to recognize him at a glance.

This was out of her expectations, but it wasn't too surprising.

From her point of view, just Mr. Wrath alone likely wasn't enough to deal with an ancient mind dragon like Ariehogg. Even if Mr. Fool had warned her to be wary of Mr. Wrath.

After all, the leader behind the Psychology Alchemists, the former King of Angels, had already become a Sequence 0 true god. According to the knowledge shared by the Tarot Club, there shouldn't be any other Author Beyonders in the real world. This way, no matter how powerful Mr. Wrath was, as long as it was still part of the Spectator pathway, it would at most be on the same level as Ariehogg. The only things that would differ were combat experience, psychological research, and self-cultivation.

At this moment, as the giant white rabbit entered, the large, grayish-white, scaled Ariehogg spread open "His" wings which covered "His" skin. The surrounding area was instantly covered in a shadow.

With a leap, the white rabbit's legs suddenly became extremely huge, like a tiny hill.

At the same time, the gloomy sky above "Him" lit up. The ground beneath "His" feet cracked open, spewing out crimson lava.

Immediately after, a blurry and distorted figure appeared behind it.

This figure was dressed in a simple white robe. It was difficult to see his face clearly, and it was impossible to tell his age. One could only vaguely tell that he was a man.

A bright halo hung at the back of his head like a miniature sun. Beneath his feet was an illusory clock that was divided into twelve segments. Each segment represented a different symbol of time. Behind him, there was a shadow that looked like a curtain. Eyes seemed to be looking out from the shadow.

Just after this figure appeared, the entire dream maze shook violently, and gray fragments fell from the void.

The contrast of depravity and pure sunlight rapidly spread around the huge white rabbit, eroding or assimilating the area.

However, that simple white-robed figure had trouble truly taking shape. He was unable to enter reality from history and illusions.

Every time his silhouette became clear, his figure would distort like a machine that had its signal disrupted.

At that moment, Audrey instinctively retracted her gaze, not daring to look directly at the huge white rabbit.

Perhaps it was because she was in a dream and was closely connected to the mind island and the sea of collective subconscious. She didn't need anyone to explain to her because she knew what Mr. Wrath was doing.

The other party knew the latent psychological problems of Ariehogg and knew what "He" feared the most. Then, according to this, it produced a nightmare that contained the specific images.

In a battle between High-Sequence Beyonders of the Spectator pathway, if both parties were at the same level, it would be difficult to produce any true effects using the various means available to them. One could sneak into the island of consciousness and attempt deep hypnosis. The other could guard the door to the Body of Heart and Mind, preventing any foreign consciousness from entering. The other could spread a Mental Plague and use the sea of collective subconscious to intrude on the enemy without them realizing it. The other would be able to "Placate" themselves, treat the psychological ailments, and maintain their mental health...

Therefore, the battle between same-Sequence Spectator saints often had three fixed styles: First, set up a trap ahead of time as a multi-pronged attack preparation. Then, by secretly leading on and guiding the opponent, one could break down their mental defenses in one strike and complete the hypnosis. Second, one focused on their physical defense and as support, relying on powerful Sealed Artifacts to defeat their enemy. Third, when the Beyonder powers such as Mental Plague, Mind Deprivation, Dragon's Breath, Consciousness Control, and other Beyonder powers were unable to deal with their opponent, engaging in self-hypnotism and using Dragon Transformation would result in an intense melee battle that exchanged claw swipes and tail lashes.

In the third battle, whoever had a deeper understanding of the mind domain, and whose will was stronger and firmer, would be able to gain the upper hand by relying on the extended usage of 'Dragon Transformation.' Of course, the prerequisite was that the other party had no chance of escaping.

And at the level of an angel, everyone was a true Mythical Creature. The maintenance time of "Dragon Transformation" became meaningless. At this moment, it mainly depended on "observation." Whoever could find a flaw in the opponent's mind could weave a corresponding nightmare, directly attacking the enemy's weaknesses, slowly destroying their mental defenses and reaching the effect of going "mad" or "dying" out of fear.

As Audrey was in the same dream, even if the nightmare wasn't directed at her, she was still affected by the corresponding emotions, characteristics, status, and even corruption.

Now, she clearly knew that the nightmare that Mr. Wrath had weaved represented the ancient sun god. This was the most terrifying existence in Ariehogg's mind. At the same time, the ancient sun god's influence would uncontrollably corrupt the surroundings until it reached the entire dream.

When the time came, once Audrey woke up, she would either become an untreatable mentally ill patient, or she would become an incomplete Mythical Creature, completely losing all reason and ending up wildly attacking the surrounding creatures.

Of course, there was another possibility that she unknowingly became depraved. She would become cold, cruel, and bloodthirsty without realizing it, as if someone had replaced her.

At this moment, Ariehogg, who was squatting at the top of the grayish-white pillar, let out a painful howl.

As the dragon's roar echoed, the top of "His" head turned dark, revealing a "sea" of secrets and colors that was difficult to describe with words.

In the sea, an even bigger grayish-white dragon spanning a thousand meters long rose up. One of "His" vertical pupils was pale gold and the other was bright red color.

There was a third eye on the dragon's forehead. It seemed to be hiding a thick shadow.

Similarly, there was no need for anyone to explain. With the uniqueness of her present state, Audrey immediately knew what nightmare Ariehogg had weaved.

This was something that left a deep trauma in the giant white rabbit's heart. This was the Ankewelt that had been corrupted by the "underground world." This was the Virtual Persona and mental corruption which was sealed behind the bronze door—things that had been split off from that ancient god.

At that moment, Audrey was in an indescribable nightmare. Although she hadn't been corrupted, her mental state was in turmoil, as though she had been awed.

She immediately used "Placate" on herself, and didn't hesitate to rely on her own consciousness to forcefully escape the dream maze.

During this process, she didn't encounter any obstruction not just because she wasn't Ariehogg's and Mr. Wrath's target, but also because she had reached Sequence 4 and possessed a certain amount of godhood. Therefore, she quickly woke up from her dream.

Audrey suddenly opened her eyes and saw a crystal chandelier dyed in faint crimson. She saw the deep darkness of the room.

Without any delay, she got out of bed and ran to the window to look outside.

The entire manor was completely silent, as if it was deep asleep. Everything was normal.

Audrey frowned and immediately split out a Virtual Person, allowing it to enter the mind island of a night patroller.

She remembered very clearly that the dream maze was formed by many minds. Once the two nightmares spread, the result was unimaginable.

Therefore, before this, she had to wake up everyone in the manor.

In the next second, the patrolling guard suddenly raised his hand and removed the grenade hanging from his belt. He pulled out the pin and threw it towards an empty garden.

Boom!

The loud explosion jolted awake the sleeping people.

Immediately after, the guard shouted loudly, "Enemy assault!

"Enemy assault!"

Earl Hall and his wife were already over fifty years old, so as light sleepers, they jolted awake immediately. Regardless of how good Hibbert's sleep quality was, he woke up in a reverie thanks to such a loud explosion. Alfred had opened his eyes the moment the grenade was thrown.

The remaining butler, maids, footmen, and bodyguards woke up one after another. They looked confused and dumbfounded, not knowing what had happened.

And at the far end of the manor's main building, a few servants heard the commotion and didn't wake up in time.

A few seconds later, they struggled on the bed in pain. Like a snake shedding its skin, they broke free from their skin, turning into hideous bodies of blood.

They didn't wake up until they died.

At that moment, Audrey saw a grayish-white dragon spread its wings in the sea of collective subconscious as it rapidly departed. A huge white rabbit followed closely behind.

In the blink of an eye, the dragon's voice resounded in the illusory sea.

"Adam isn't necessarily Adam, just like how I might not necessarily be Ariehogg."

The giant white rabbit suddenly slowed down and gradually stopped.

All the abnormalities came to an end as the entire area returned to normal.

...

In the ancient palace above the fog.

Adam didn't attack? The Fool Klein frowned slightly as he turned his attention back to Utopia and replaced the instinctual monitoring of the Worms of Spirit.

He carefully inspected his marionette town and didn't find anything abnormal.

-x-X-x-

Seeing that there weren't any abnormalities in the town of marionettes, Klein began thinking about Miss Justice's encounter.

It wasn't Adam who set up an attack against Ariehogg, but Hermes who masterminded it?

Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for Adam to not descend. It would also be impossible for Ariehogg to escape so easily. "He" had to rely on the second City of Miracles to have some hope of doing so.

If Hermes was the mastermind, the development of this whole episode becomes logical... Hermes never thought of capturing or killing Ariehogg. "He" only hopes to learn some information from this ancient mind dragon. When Ariehogg said "Adam isn't necessarily Adam," the operation came to a natural end.

Yes, from the looks of it, Hermes already had some doubts about Adam's true state. However, due to the limitations of "His" status, "He" has been unable to make Ariehogg appear on "His" own accord, so "He" used Miss Justice.

Adam isn't necessarily Adam; Ariehogg isn't necessarily Ariehogg... This sentence is very interesting. The upper echelons of the Spectator pathway are more mysterious than Seers. Back then, Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt clearly occupied Sequence 0, but "He" had a Sequence 1 son of the same pathway as "Him"—Dragon of Nightmare, Alzuhod...

If Adam really isn't Adam, then who is "He"? Is it that Adam from the myth in the time before the First Epoch, or part of the Primordial One? Or is "He" related to the resurrection of the ancient sun god? From the looks of it, the meaning behind why Medici addresses "Him" as a zealot has a far more profound meaning...

Klein quickly conjured a gold coin and flicked it into the air, making a divination.

The results of the divination indicated that today's development was nothing dangerous.

Klein immediately dispersed the gold coin and prepared to descend his consciousness into his body beneath Saint Arianna Cathedral.

At this moment, his actions became slightly sluggish.

The moment Miss Justice met Ariehogg and Hermes was almost simultaneous as the moment the MI9 personnel returned to Utopia to testify in court.

Just looking at them individually, there was no problem; but the word "simultaneous" made Klein somewhat alert.

He was very sensitive to words like "happened to," "coincidence," "simultaneous," and "almost the same." This was a mark left behind by his past experiences.

He tapped his finger on the edge of the long mottled table and decided to make preparations for his worries.

He quickly condensed a light that contained certain words and some kind of will, and he threw it into a prayer light.

After doing this, Klein made his consciousness sink and left Sefirah Castle, allowing his mind to return to his original body.

Immediately after, he began to influence Utopia. He planned to use all sorts of arrangements to temporarily make all the foreigners "leave."

This way, even if anything happened, it wouldn't affect the innocent.

This also meant that Klein was prepared to abandon Utopia and change locations to rebuild his marionette town. After all, a ritual could be repeated many times, but he could only afford one resurrection.

...

"Have a good rest for the next two days. There's still some time left before court begins." Biles sent Wendel to the entrance of the Irises Hotel.

Wendel replied with a smile, "I'm already feeling sleepy."

It was in the middle of the night. He had trouble sleeping previously because of his anxiety and nervousness. That was why he thought of walking around the headquarters of MI9 to ease his mood. However, when he heard the conversation between his colleagues at night, it triggered an eruption in his emotions, and he decided to return to Utopia and face the problem.

After checking in, Wendel took his luggage and went to the third floor.

When he passed through the door, he vaguely felt that his surroundings were abnormally dark.

In order to sleep better, Wendel walked to the window and drew the curtains.

During this process, he felt that the scenery outside the window was unusually familiar.

However, under the cover of the night, he couldn't tell what was happening too clearly. Thinking that it might have been the scene he had seen in Utopia previously, he covered his mouth with his hand and yawned. He took off his clothes and walked towards the bed.

...

Monica slept until midnight when she suddenly needed to pee.

Unable to hold it in any longer, she eventually got out of bed and walked towards her room's attached bathroom.

When she pushed the bathroom door open, she found it a little heavier.

Rubbing her eyes that were almost unable to open, Monica didn't care about this small change. She quickly relieved herself and ran out of the bathroom to her bed.

When she entered the covers, she felt that the temperature was much lower and she had no choice but to wrap herself up tightly in layers.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep again.

...

About 15 minutes later, the patrolling Biles rubbed his hands and turned towards the street where the police station was. He was about to hand over duties with his colleagues.

Suddenly, his body froze in the alley.

The black and dense Spirit Body Threads on his body peeled off at the same time as they floated upwards.

A pruned and exquisite paper figurine landed and connected to the Spirit Body Threads, quickly turning into another Biles.

At the same time, a torrent of mixed knowledge surged over and reassembled him into a man wearing gorgeous clothes with long chestnut hair.

The man had blue eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips. It was Roselle Gustav's Sequence 1 historical projection.

Right on the heels of that, the projection reached out and sucked all the information in the surroundings into its palm, forming an illusory ball of light.

This information included all the details that involved Biles.

In the next second, Roselle Gustav's historical projection forged a piece of information that was completely normal, allowing it to follow the Spirit Body Threads connected to the paper figurine to the Saint Arianna Cathedral in the municipal square, moving straight underground of the cathedral.

After this series of actions, another torrent of information surged in midair. With Roselle's help, they reformed into three figures.

A middle-aged man wearing a black robe and a hood with a long, thick, white beard; another, who was draped in a cloak, had black hair, blue eyes, and a rather squarish face. He was a middle-aged man with a dignified bearing; on one of the trees, there was a huge tree that seemed to be drenched with petroleum. On the tree, there were arms with all sorts of strange protruding objects that rolled with bloodshot eyes.

"They" were:

The leader of the Secret Order, Zaratul!

Loen's Protector, the first King, William Augustus I's historical projection!

A historical projection of Abomination Suah!

After making the necessary preparations, Zaratul used the location provided by the historical projection to sneak into Utopia.

"He" didn't waste any time. "He" reached out with "His" right hand and used the law of convergence of Beyonder characteristics to suck out the Worm of Spirit in Biles.

Elsewhere, the palm of Abomination Suah's historical projection made an ugly doll the size of a palm appear.

The doll was wet and sticky. It had no eyes, ears, or nose. It only had a pinhole-like mouth that emitted and sucked grayish-white fog.

As the Worm of Spirit and the doll approached, the black-and-white eyeballs that rolled out on the Suah tree trunk looked at them at the same time.

Silently, the Worm of Spirit fused with the ugly doll, causing it to distort as it squirmed, growing out eyes, nose, and ears, making it look like Klein Moretti.

At this point, Zaratul no longer did any concealment, nor could "He" do so. "He" took out a black shroud and abruptly wrapped Klein's doll up!

All the marionette's Spirit Body Threads in Utopia were severed at the same time—they were unable to connect to the true body.

This wasn't because there was something wrong with them, but that the true body was isolated from them.

All of a sudden, the duty personnel in the police station, tenants in the hotel, Tracey and the thieves in the cell, Anderson in another apartment, Alzu, and the other citizens all stopped breathing and turned stiff.

Regardless of whether they were sleeping or doing something else, it was as if a pause button had been pressed.

Klein, who was at the bottom of Saint Arianna Cathedral, suddenly woke up. He knew that an accident had happened.

He didn't hesitate. With a thought, he returned to Sefirah Castle. With the level and strength of a King of Angels, he was able to resist enemies that had shown or had yet to show themselves.

This was the best choice in the current situation.

Even if he wasn't able to protect his true body, Klein still had a chance to revive.

At that moment, his floating consciousness touched an invisible, dark barrier, making it difficult to penetrate it and enter Sefirah Castle.

This... Klein's heart tightened, believing that the enemy might be more troublesome than he had imagined.

Few high-level existences knew he could return to Sefirah Castle with a thought!

In the next second, the thick, petroleum-slathered tree had arrived above Saint Arianna Cathedral.

In addition, a deep and dignified voice resounded:

"Wandering is prohibited here!

"Teleportation is prohibited here!

"..."

Klein wasn't led by his emotions. Seeing that he couldn't return to Sefirah Castle at the moment, he immediately changed his strategy and leaped towards the fog of history.

The moment the grayish-white fog entered his eyes, it turned into a whirlpool formed by countless transparent maggots. The vortex extended out slippery tentacles covered with strange patterns.

Unlike previously, the vortex emitted a powerful suction force, causing Klein's figure to speed up and be entangled by countless tentacles.

Law of Beyonder characteristics convergence!

The law of Beyonder characteristic convergence between angels!

A subtle beam of light flashed as Klein, who was firmly controlled by Zaratul's Mythical Creature form, turned into a paper figurine.

This was an angel-level application of Paper Figurine Substitutes, as well as the help of "Grafting."

Although Klein couldn't return to Sefirah Castle, he could influence the Worms of Spirit above the gray fog, allowing them to use the "curtain" to provide help.

After dodging Zaratul's fatal blow, Klein ran into the fog of history and fled towards the former metropolis from a time before the First Epoch.

At this moment, many marionettes, who had been dead for a long time in Utopia, rapidly decayed from losing the Spirit Body Threads maintaining them. Their limbs dropped to the ground or mutated because of their Beyonder characteristics. The latter transformed into different monsters, ones far more terrifying than imaginable.

Some swallowed their heads; others were left with only squirming flesh, while others grew dense eyes...

Soon, Klein ran into the old metropolis situated inside the fog of history.

To him, this was a safe room that could be trusted. This was because only a Scholar of Yore who was a human from before history could enter.

Without any hesitation, Klein habitually surveyed the area and began praying to the Evernight Goddess in the stacked city.

Oof!

A faint sound rang out as an ancient wooden stake with traces of blood penetrated Klein's heart from behind.

A figure phased into existence behind him. It was a cold-looking man wearing a half top hat and a black trench coat:

Gehrman Sparrow.

Klein's pupils dilated as the crazy adventurer said in a deep voice, "Adam has given me humanity."

-x-X-x-

Klein turned around and looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure.

He had imagined all kinds of attacks on Utopia, but he had never expected such a scene to occur.

If Amon had "Parasitized" the marionette, Gehrman Sparrow, then with Klein's current status and the Spirit Worms on Sefirah Castle, he definitely would have immediately discovered the problem. And if Zaratul were to swap the Spirit Body Threads, "He" could only temporarily hide it from him. Furthermore, "He" needed help from an angel like a Knowledge Emperor or a Servant of Concealment to ensure the element of surprise in the sudden attack. Only the humanity provided by a Spectator could slowly ferment, without revealing any abnormalities on the surface.

To prevent such a situation, he could only sever the Spirit Body Threads and allow the marionette to deteriorate till it died. That way, regardless of whether it had any humanity in it or not, it would ultimately cease to exist.

Unfortunately, Klein had never heard of such methods before. All he did was guard against the invasion of a Virtual Persona on his marionettes.

This might be the power of a Visionary, giving life to everything virtual and immaterial, a unique sense of humanity.

The carved and cold face was reflected in Klein's eyes as he felt a force pushing him away.

He immediately fell backward, falling from the layers of ruins of the old metropolis out from the fog of history.

During this process, he wanted to control himself, but there was nothing he could do. This was because the wooden stake at his heart had sealed all his Beyonder powers.

With a thought, Klein looked at Gehrman Sparrow and snapped his fingers.

Pa!

The Worms of Spirit in Sefirah Castle received his will and gave up the marionette's Spirit Body Threads. They also picked up the Staff of the Stars and prepared to give Klein a fatal blow so as to commit suicide.

After his main body completely died, Klein would be able to revive above the gray fog and escape from his predicament.

He no longer held any hope after finding out that Adam was the mastermind behind the scenes.

At this moment, a stone square floating in the void appeared beneath Klein's feet.

Black stone pillars rose up and propped up a grand and holy cathedral, enveloping Klein inside.

The corpse cathedral—Adam's corpse cathedral—the divine kingdom of a Visionary!

Boom!

Countless bolts of silver lightning smote down from Sefirah Castle, penetrating the fog of history and struck the cathedral, but failed to shake it at all.

At the same time, in the ancient palace, the figure sitting in The Fool's seat suddenly collapsed to the side, forming a vortex formed from transparent maggots.

The vortex extended out slippery and strange tentacles, crazily smacking the surroundings, overturning the junk pile, and destroying the long mottled table.

Klein's avatar had lost contact with his true body, and because his true body hadn't really died, they had lost control and went crazy, just like Zaratul from before.

In the old metropolis before the First Epoch, Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a half top hat and a black trench coat, looked up at Sefirah Castle, his expression mixed.

He was basically a corpse. After his Spirit Body Threads were abandoned, he naturally couldn't maintain his existence.

The only thing Adam gave him was humanity. There was no envisioned life for him, as that would result in the discovery of there being something wrong with Gehrman Sparrow.

Gehrman Sparrow slowly collapsed as he looked at the rooms in the old metropolis.

He died in this ruin.

...

Klein's feet landed on the ground and stood in the middle of the cathedral. He saw that every arch of each pillar was embedded with the skulls of different races. Most of them were pale-white in color as they were packed densely together, staring at the intruder with their hollow eyes.

On the walls, windows, and doors of the cathedral, transparent, distorted, and painful faces appeared, separating the interior from the outside world.

And in front of the cathedral stood a cross that was more than a hundred meters tall.

In front of the cross were rows of black pews.

Adam, who was wearing a simple white robe and had a pale gold beard, was standing under the cross with a silver cross hanging from "His" neck. "He" faced the pews like a priest who was preparing to deliver a sermon.

"His" expression was warm and "His" eyes were limpid, as though "He" was only inviting Klein to listen to the scriptures.

Klein lowered his head and looked at the cross-shaped wooden stake that was stuck in his chest. He slowly walked to the first pew and sat in the middle.

For a true Mythical Creature formed from many Worms of Spirit, the wound on its chest wasn't fatal. The main purpose of the ancient bloody cross stake was to seal his Beyonder powers.

If not for the true god standing in front of him, Klein could've used his physical strength to pull out the wooden stake and remove the seal.

At this moment, he didn't make any attempts because he was afraid that he would turn the thought of "not daring to" to "not willing to."

"I didn't expect you to directly interfere in this matter. If you wanted to deal with me, you didn't have to wait until today." Klein looked at his blood-stained shirt and seriously voiced his doubts.

He wasn't afraid at all, as if he was certain that Adam wouldn't kill him.

Adam held the silver cross pendant with one hand and calmly said, "Before now, you were able to be of quite some use in many ways."

"He" took two steps forward and continued with limpid eyes, "When Amon came to steal the corpse cathedral, I made a deal with 'Him.' By helping me obtain the first Blasphemy Slate, I'll help 'Him' capture you."

Is that so... Klein was instantly enlightened.

On the one hand, Adam didn't wish to be obstructed by existences like the True Creator when "He" became a god, and on the other hand, "He" wanted to obtain the first Blasphemy Slate. Therefore, "He" used the Unshadowed Crucifix and other methods to give Klein an impetus to head for the Giant King's Court, open the door to the chamber where Sasrir was sleeping, and attract the attention of the True Creator and other existences. On the other hand, "He" used "His" brother, Amon, to steal the first Blasphemy Slate at the critical moment.

And to capture Klein, who was about to obtain preliminary control of Sefirah Castle, it would definitely be most appropriate to have a Visionary arrange the developments for "Him."

Although Amon and Adam usually appear distant, "They" are still brothers and can work together more easily... Klein nodded slightly and looked at the stained glass that had distorted faces.

"I also didn't expect Zaratul to cooperate with you. Isn't 'He' afraid of becoming food for Amon?"

When Klein established Utopia, he had considered Amon's attack and Zaratul's destruction. However, he never expected that "They" would work together in a certain way.

From his point of view, the chances of Zaratul completely siding with the Mother Tree of Desire were higher than this, unless Adam had unknowingly arranged such a development for "Him."

Adam's limpid eyes showed sympathy.

"To 'Him,' you becoming a Great Old One means that 'He' will definitely perish. However, if Amon becomes one, as long as 'He' expresses 'His' loyalty, 'He' can still retain 'His' present level and status. A Lord of the Mysteries still requires an Attendant of Mysteries.

"Therefore, 'He' chose to cooperate with me. During this process, if 'He' can seize the opportunity and turn you into a marionette before I do, using you to enter Sefirah Castle and become the owner of the sefirah, then 'He' has the right to demand an opportunity to face Antigonus at Evernight's place and have an ultimate showdown with Amon. On the contrary, 'He' will completely admit defeat and pledge allegiance to Amon.

"On this point, 'He' was very decisive."

"It doesn't seem like your style to explain so much," Klein replied casually before frowning. "You don't need all the Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics of the corresponding pathway to become a Great Old One?"

He had deduced this from the relationship between the ancient sun god and the eight Kings of Angels. However, he believed that one had to first become a Great Old One or a quasi one before dividing the characteristics.

Adam replied gently, "For neighboring pathways, all that's needed is a Uniqueness and a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic. It's easy to lose control if one forcefully occupies more. Therefore, after Zaratul pledged allegiance to Amon, 'He' still has the chance to become a King of Angels. And 'He' isn't able to pledge allegiance to you because 'He' can't separate a Sequence 2 avatar like those from the Marauder pathway, and then stealing 'His' main body's Spirit Body, consciousness, and psyche over, turning the avatar into the main body."

This was the qualitative difference between a Seer's marionette and a Marauder's Worm of Time. The former involved Spirit Body Threads, while the latter relied on themselves.

Furthermore, the reason the Marauder angel could do this was because "Their" Sequence 2 was Trojan Horse of Destiny.

Just as Klein nodded, he suddenly saw Adam turn "His" body, revealing something beneath the cross.

It was a gray stone slab. There were many mottled marks on its surface, making it look rather ancient.

This was very similar to the first Blasphemy Slate, but it didn't have that abnormally ancient feeling to it.

It also had words that looked like the source of all languages. They were written with the names of Sequences and potion formulas.

"The second Blasphemy Slate?" Klein asked in surprise.

His gaze quickly swept across the stone slab. He didn't read the first few paragraphs, but instead looked at the last few lines.

His intuition told him that there was a very important piece of information there.

"There's no need to rush. Amon has to complete the ritual and become a Sequence 0 before stealing your fate. Otherwise, 'He' wouldn't be able to withstand the identity as Sefirah Castle's owner. And before that, it's best to let you continue staying in my kingdom." Adam acted as though he was consoling a repentant.

Kill me... Klein muttered inwardly.

At this moment, he figured out the last few lines.

God Almighty, Creator, Maker, The Omnipotent and Omniscient, Lord of the Astral World:

Sea of Chaos + Visionary Uniqueness + The Sun Uniqueness + Tyrant Uniqueness + White Tower Uniqueness + The Hanged Man Uniqueness + 1 Author Beyonder characteristic + 1 White Angel Beyonder characteristic + 1 Thunder God Beyonder characteristic +1 Omniscient Eye Beyonder characteristic +1 Dark Angel Beyonder characteristic.

Lord of the Mysteries, King of Space-Time, Beacon of Destiny, Embodiment of Sefirah Castle, Dominator of the Spirit World:

Sefirah Castle + The Fool Uniqueness + Error Uniqueness + Door Uniqueness + 1 Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic + 1 Worm of Time Beyonder characteristic + 1 Key of Stars Beyonder characteristic.

Upon seeing this, Klein turned his head to look at Adam and asked in puzzlement, "Why are you showing me these?"

Wouldn't it be safer to hypnotize me and put me to sleep until Amon becomes a god?

Adam's eyes were clear as "He" said with a warm expression, "To be frank, if the other party wasn't Amon, then I'd be more willing to help you become the Dominator of the Spirit World.

"We have too many things in common. In a sense, we are old friends who have met before."

With that said, "He" smiled and said, "We meet again, Mysteries."