Silas's consciousness split into two parts.
One part controlled his physical body, confronting [Gluttony], while the other hovered above his mind island, watching [Gluttony's] clone ascend the stone steps onto his island.
"Heh heh..."
The dragon with gray-white scales let out a terrifying laugh, looking at the Black Knight opposite him with satisfaction.
Multiple clones of his had already landed on the island. Even for a demigod, being controlled by him was only a matter of time!
"Thud, thud, thud..."
Those sinister clones had scales covering their bodies, their eyes golden vertical pupils.
They charged step by step into the depths of the island, ready to invade Silas's mind and control his consciousness.
"Boom!"
The waves around the island surged up, seeming to echo their movements.
A few more seconds, just a few more seconds!
[Gluttony] saw that in reality, Silas had stopped moving, as if falling into a daze.
And in the mental world, the masks on several clones' faces cruelly opened their mouths wide, as if preparing to devour something...
But at this moment, above the island, Silas's seemingly dazed phantom suddenly moved.
He lowered his head, looking down at those clones whose faces showed astonishment.
"Regrettably, I'm the one who caught you."
"Whoosh..."
From the center of the island, phantom ocean tides suddenly surged out.
Those tides were viscous and pitch-black, heavy and chaotic, instantly covering the entire island and easily devouring those clones.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The dragon let out a piercing shriek. This time it wasn't a dragon's roar, but a human voice.
Strange changes began occurring on its body surface.
The mystical symbols on its scales became twisted and bizarre, as if about to completely cover its body.
And as the symbols spread, its eyes gradually grew manic, its body beginning to swell and bloat, as if about to slide toward loss of control and madness!
But at this moment, it suddenly whipped its head around and bit viciously into its own back.
"Swish!"
Invisible force suddenly sliced at its spirit. It forcibly tore off the corrupted mental fragments and spat them on the ground.
"Hiss, hiss..."
The dragon scales corroded the instant they hit the ground, emitting a thick stench.
And the dragon's body had already begun slowly shrinking at this time, transforming back into a human.
"How is this possible!"
[Gluttony's] body swayed unsteadily, his spirit seemingly having endured tremendous pain.
His gentlemanly groomed hair was now disheveled, his eyes staring fixedly at Silas.
"You're not an ordinary Black Knight at all!"
"Didn't Barros tell you these things?"
Silas asked calmly, looking at him.
Queen Mystic had already told him that Barros Hopkins wasn't just the King of the Black Throne; he had many other identities, including president of the Psychology Alchemists.
Judging from the fact that [Gluttony] was a demigod, the so-called "Council" should be this organization's core members.
"Could it be..."
Silas saw that [Gluttony] opposite him revealed an expression both terrified and suddenly enlightened, as if understanding something in that instant.
"President... you actually deceived me..."
He shouted resentfully.
As his words fell, [Gluttony] no longer looked at Silas.
Without hesitation, he immediately turned and jumped into the seemingly empty air.
"Swish!"
His body suddenly vanished.
This time it wasn't "psychological invisibility," but truly disappeared!
"Want to run? Too late!"
But Silas sneered coldly.
Because he had mastered the Spectator pathway, he easily saw through the other's ability.
It was "Dream Traversal," the ability to achieve rapid transfer by traveling through the dreams of intelligent creatures!
He also raised his sword and, following the traces [Gluttony] left behind, jumped in.
At the edge of Toscarter Island, a two or three-year-old baby, unaffected by the island's disturbance, was still sleeping soundly beside his mother on a simple bed.
Suddenly, near his head, brilliant and bizarre colors bloomed, and from within those colors, two figures rushed out.
"Swish!"
The first to appear was Mr. [Gluttony]. After landing, he didn't pause at all.
Completely ignoring the child's mother's shriek, he pushed open the window and jumped out.
Close behind was Silas, holding his greatsword. Following [Gluttony], he also pursued outside.
"Damn it, damn it!"
Sweat seeped out on [Gluttony's] face.
The development of events had completely exceeded his expectations.
The [Blood Reverend] Barros described at the Council meeting and the [Blood Reverend] he actually encountered were completely different things!
What did he mean by [nearly mad, just needs a push to go insane]? He himself possessed high-sequence abilities of the Spectator pathway!
What did he mean by [excellent material, can greatly help you digest your potion]? He's not someone I can handle at all!
By now, [Gluttony] finally discovered the problem.
His decision this time had been too impulsive, as if he'd been subtly manipulated by someone in the shadows...
Thinking carefully about it, it was because of that meeting that he formulated this plan, rashly taking action right after receiving word that the [Blood Reverend] had landed on the island.
At this point, how could he not understand that he'd been used? Not only had he failed to digest his potion, but his own situation had become extremely dangerous.
President Barros!
[Gluttony's] heart filled with both shock and anger. He recalled the meaningful expression on the other's face when holding that meeting.
No, I must save myself!
He quickly touched the semi-transparent mask on his face, making that mask with its wide-open mouth devouring everything emit light.
And so, everything around began to blur, as if the barrier between reality and illusion had been twisted.
The surrounding scenery rapidly extended forward, becoming strange.
The daylight faded away.
What appeared around [Gluttony] was a city shrouded in night.
This city stood with magnificent buildings filled with mysterious auras, with gentlemen walking about wearing top hats and trench coats, and women in elaborate, somber dresses.
However, these well-dressed gentlemen and ladies weren't normal people.
Some were covered in black fur, with protruding snouts and exposed fangs, clearly werewolves.
Others were covered in feathers with sharp beaks and elongated necks, essentially birds wearing clothes.
Simply put, all the residents of this entire city were clothed beasts!
"Huff, huff..."
[Gluttony] ran into the street, gasping for breath.
His body had also changed, covered in fine, smooth scales, his head flattened, his mouth split all the way to both sides of his skull.
He'd become a snake wearing formal attire.
"Thank goodness... Eden is still safe..."
[Gluttony] thought to himself.
A moment later, his heart filled with intense rage, wanting to run and confront Barros, to ask him what exactly he was trying to do!
But at this moment, the street behind him became illusory once more. Someone had entered.
"You run pretty fast."
Silas smiled, holding a mask in his hand - fragments of [Gluttony's] clone.
And in his other hand, the black greatsword was already raised high.