Just as the black cat's gaze locked onto the young girl, the space-time around her suddenly twisted, and then she vanished just like that.
"Realm of Mysteries… and I vaguely sensed Zaratul's aura!
"It seems Pallez has indeed joined forces with Zaratul…
"That's not strange. The Zoroast family and the Zaratul family were both Solomon's subjects. Having some ties is perfectly normal.
"And although it only flashed by for an instant, there seemed to be a faint feeling of the Hand of Order within the Realm of Mysteries… The Loen royal family?
"Or is that the condition they used to cooperate with the royal family?"
The black cat narrowed its amber eyes but made no move.
First, because the strength He could gather in a short time was limited—not enough to defeat the joint forces of a Worm of Time and an Attendant of Mysteries, even if the Worm of Time appeared to be in poor condition, barely maintaining the angel level.
Second, the girl Pallez was "parasitizing"—no, the demoness—also had issues. Directly stealing her fate would carry significant hidden dangers. Amon would not attempt it lightly without confidence.
Third, He had left the black cat at the ball while the Angie Lavran avatar went to the garden with Ebner precisely to conceal Himself, hiding His existence in the shadows. Naturally, if He could avoid acting, He would.
Pallez was an extremely troublesome opponent. If He realized His host had been exposed, He would likely switch "parasite" targets immediately.
For these reasons, Amon did not choose to act at once and merely memorized Trissy's aura…
…
At the same time, in the garden, Angie Lavran pointed the rose Ebner had exchanged with Her toward the illusory curtain outside the estate and said with a smile,
"This is also part of my 'sincerity' in forming an alliance.
"A Secret Saint who has accepted the power of the True Creator, temporarily lost his sanity, and cannot think is far easier to catch than one who usually hides everywhere and is determined to escape you."
Amon thinks I'm Alvin Abraham, and as a traitor to the Abraham family, the Secret Saint naturally bears a grudge against me—so He's offering him as a token of sincerity?
No, perhaps there's also an element of probing and testing… He wants to know what kind of relationship I truly have with the True Creator!
Sure enough, nothing Amon does lacks deeper meaning. Even an action that appears insignificant may be laying groundwork for some future "deception."
As his thoughts turned, Ebner did not act immediately, because he had already seen that if this "ritual" were interrupted, the resulting destruction would likely be even greater!
In that case, it would be better to let the Secret Saint complete the ritual and successfully allow the True Creator's power to descend upon him. Once the ritual and the "connection" to the True Creator were gone, dealing with him would actually be easier.
Thus, Ebner turned his head to look at the seemingly "delighted" Amon and asked, "How do you know the one receiving the power isn't that 'Prophet'?"
Hearing this, the corners of Amon's lips slowly lifted, as if boasting.
"Very simple. I said earlier that the Trojan Horse of Destiny can make pleas for help lose their original effect. So no matter how Botis and that 'Prophet' prayed to 'True' before, they would receive no response.
"Their only hope was the loophole I deliberately left—the extremely 'fortunate' circumstance that while they were praying, 'True' just happened to look over.
"Because of my restriction, that 'Prophet' couldn't use the luck he had accumulated on himself. So today, the one 'True' happened to see could only be Botis.
"And with so many demonesses and Medici present, the likelihood of 'calamity' occurring at the venue rose to a terrifying degree, which indirectly increased the probability of 'True' looking over.
"After all, for ordinary people, the descent of the True Creator's power is a most dreadful calamity.
"Additionally, the fallen aura of Viscount Lavran's wife also serves as an attraction to 'True.'"
"You're truly good at scheming… Botis and that 'Prophet' are really pitiful!" Ebner could not help but sigh upon hearing this.
If nothing unexpected happens, that "Prophet" has probably already been deeply "parasitized," and everything is under Amon's control.
Hearing Ebner's "praise," Amon actually lifted Her chin proudly and said with a smile, "As your ally, I've already told you my entire plan… Shouldn't you show some gesture as well?"
"What do you want?" Ebner glanced at Her.
"Naturally, proof afterward!" Amon spread Her hands slightly and said with a smile, "Poor Miss Angie Lavran spent the entire evening in the garden with the heroic Ebner Bryan who resolved the incident. She knew absolutely nothing about the terrifying sacrifice or the dreadful ritual."
So you still want to keep this identity?
Mm, Viscount Lavran himself should be innocent in this incident. But when his wife, son, daughter-in-law, housekeeper, servants, even hired secretary and bodyguards all turn out to have problems—or even die—Amon's status as the acknowledged "daughter" will naturally rise.
But what's the use of that… She's just a viscount's daughter. What exactly does Amon intend to use this identity for?
Or is this His misdirection, and my thinking this way is itself part of His "deception"?
Ebner narrowed his eyes but did not question Amon further. His intuition told him that even if he asked, Amon would not answer.
In fact, among the various "rivers of fate" he had discerned, the answer he received was always the same: "You guess…"
At this moment, the illusory curtain in the sky had disappeared, but the ominous aura surrounding the estate had not diminished in the slightest. Instead, it had grown even stronger.
That trembling sensation, as if something were gnawing at flesh and soul, became almost tangible, pressing down upon the heart of every attendee.
Crying, shouting, wailing, manic laughter rang out incessantly. The gentlemen and ladies in the ballroom displayed every kind of disgraceful behavior. If not for the oppressive terror preventing them from moving, something even more unspeakable might have occurred.
But merely exposing such ugly behavior is already enough to offset Amon's retaliation for those earlier whispers.
Ebner muttered inwardly, then nodded to Amon, agreeing to Her request to testify. He was just about to "blink" to the underground altar to capture the Secret Saint—
—this location having naturally been relayed earlier by the Saintess of Black—
when, in the instant he activated his ability, he saw a "phantasmal" monocle appear over Amon's right eye. Immediately afterward, several of the most advanced cameras from the Bryan Film Company appeared in the ballroom, beginning to "faithfully" record the loss of composure among the various ladies and madams.
"I knew it… Offending Amon would never have such a simple consequence…"
…
Beside the blood pool in the basement, having completed the "sacrifice," successfully drawn the "Lord's" gaze upon himself, and received bestowed power, Botis finally broke free of Amon's restraints and cleared the Worm of Time from his mind.
However, his face was filled with "madness," and his already unattractive features had grown even more twisted.
While "devoutly" offering his faith to the Lord, his mind was filled entirely with the Lord's grandeur and radiance, almost completely losing the ability to think.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that someone had appeared before him—someone he had longed day and night to kill!
"Alvin Abraham!" After shouting the name, Botis did not hesitate to reproduce the "authority" of "Degeneration" belonging to the Lord that he had just "recorded."
Under this authority, even Amon's Trojan Horse of Destiny ability would "degenerate."
This was a gift from the True Creator. Otherwise, at Botis's current level, successfully "recording" it would have been extremely difficult.
Seeing that Botis did not immediately choose to flee and even appeared as though filled with "wisdom," Ebner could not help but laugh, allowing the authority of "Degeneration" to descend upon him.
The next moment, Ebner disintegrated into pools of black liquid. Under the authority of "Degeneration," he had directly lost control!
Even Botis, who was in a state of "madness," was stunned by this change. But he soon discovered that the surrounding scene shattered apart—it had clearly only been a "dream."
If it had been the normal Botis, facing an angel with such varied methods, he would have long since "teleported" away. But now, with his thinking nearly halted, he only felt more irritable, more eager to tear the Alvin before him to pieces.
However, at this moment, Ebner—having bought a little time through the dream—had already pulled a child from the gaps of history. The child appeared no more than ten years old and had only one leg.
After taking in the situation, the child muttered, "Using child labor again," then extended a hand and pointed forward.
"Restart!"
The bonus chapter will still be around nine.
(End of Chapter)