As that voice rang out, the chaos in the prayer hall instantly froze.
Even Hulk's massive body stiffened for a moment, a look of encountering a natural predator appearing in his green eyes.
Lin Huai's hair stood on end, and a chill rushed from his tailbone straight to the top of his head.
He turned his head stiffly, inch by inch.
There was no one behind him.
Only the flickering candlelight stretched his shadow long.
"Where are you looking?"
That laughing voice came from his left this time, right next to him, its warm breath almost blowing against his ear.
Lin Huai turned his head sharply, his pupils shrinking abruptly.
A young man wearing a crystal monocle, a well-tailored black formal suit, and a top hat had stood beside him at some unknown time.
He was playing with a gold coin in his hand, the coin flipping up and down between his slender fingers, tracing trails of golden afterimages. A mischievous smile hung on the corners of his mouth.
Amon.
Angel of Time, Amon.
Lin Huai's heart contracted sharply, nearly stopping. His mind went blank; all his thoughts and plans shattered the moment he saw that face.
How could he be here?
Why would he be here?
"First meeting—no, I should say, long time no see." Amon bowed slightly, performing a standard aristocratic salute, his eyes behind the monocle looking at Lin Huai with great interest. "How should I address you, my Lord? Your believers actually treat me as your Angel."
"Ah, I remember now." Amon tapped his palm as if suddenly realizing something, then, like a magic trick, he grabbed something out of thin air and casually tossed it to Lin Huai.
It was a middle-aged man in an expensive suit with meticulously combed hair—Alexander Pierce.
"Sorry, my hands were itching just now, and I accidentally snapped the thread between you and it." Amon's tone was very casual as he pointed to the [Main Eye of the Bizzaro Creature] in Lin Huai's hand. "But it doesn't matter. You've already received the first gift I sent anyway. This Marionette can be my apology."
A gift?
Lin Huai's brain was buzzing.
So, the appearance of the Trickster Evil Monster was not a coincidence at all, nor was it the law of beyonder characteristics convergence.
Instead, this existence had personally delivered this Sequence 4 level Monster "express" to Eastern Europe, and then watched the show from behind the scenes for several days with great interest, just to deliver this material into his hands.
And his so-called "fishing" over the past few days was, in His eyes, nothing more than bait teasing the fish that had already taken the hook.
"Don't be so nervous, I have no ill intentions." Amon seemed to see through Lin Huai's thoughts, and He snapped His fingers again.
Snap.
A humanoid object formed by countless writhing worms, filled with colorless liquid and foam, abruptly appeared in His hand, radiating a Spirit World aura that made one's soul tremble.
[True Soul Body of a Spirit World Raider].
The other main material for Sequence 4 [Bizzaro Sorcerer]!
"Here, this is the second one." Amon casually tossed the material, which was enough to drive any demigod mad, to Lin Huai as if He were throwing a piece of candy. "I just happened to run into it while wandering in the Spirit World, so I conveniently turned it into a collectible."
Lin Huai subconsciously caught it. The material squirmed in his hand, cold and eerie, as if countless tiny insects were burrowing in through his pores.
"You... what exactly do you want to do?" Lin Huai's voice was dry. He knew that this existence never did anything without a purpose. Every "gift" He sent came with an unimaginably expensive price tag.
"Don't misunderstand, Adam asked me to give these two materials to you. I have no interest in Adam's plan for you to help the 'Fool' awaken." Amon adjusted His monocle, the smile on His lips widening. "I think it's too boring, and basically impossible to succeed. The will of the Celestial Worthy is not something that can be resisted by collecting that pitiful bit of humanity."
"I came to find you because I want to play a more interesting game."
"A game?" Lin Huai's heart sank.
"Yes, a game about 'humanity'." Amon's eyes sparkled with a child's pure curiosity. "I have wandered the Universe for a very, very long time, seen the birth and death of countless civilizations, and watched the struggle between the divinity and humanity of many deities. But I still don't understand why you humans, and even the gods, think that bit of insignificant humanity can help Klein defeat the will of the Celestial Worthy?"
He spread His hands as if showing off an interesting toy.
"What is it? Love? Sacrifice? Protection? Or hatred? These emotions seem laughably fragile to me, something a gust of wind could blow away. Do they really have such great power?"
"So, I would like to ask you to tell me the answer."
Amon's tone became lighthearted, like a child about to get a new toy.
"I just 'borrowed' a Mother and son from that little servant of Evernight for you."
Lin Huai's heart skipped a beat.
Arianna! The Mother and son being hunted by Mephisto!
"I will use them as bait to lure out that fellow who calls himself a Demon." Amon announced it like an interesting event, His eyes shining. "I want to see what kind of choice a Mother, who could sell her son's soul to a Demon just to stay alive, will make at the moment of life and death."
"You're crazy!" Lin Huai blurted out, his voice trembling with a tremor he didn't even notice. "They are innocent! And Mephisto is a Hell Lord; once His true body descends, many people will die! The entire city will turn into hell!"
"Dead people? What about it?" Amon tilted His head, His gaze as innocent as a child's as He asked back curiously.
"Don't you think that staging a play about maternal love and redemption in a city about to be destroyed would be more touching and impactful?"
Lin Huai looked at Amon's smiling face, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He wanted to persuade Him, to stop Him, to tell Him the weight of life, but all the words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say a single word.
Arguing with a curious dragon about whether the ants it stepped on were innocent was itself a ridiculous thing.
"Alright, I've finished what I had to say." Amon brushed off non-existent dust from His hands and elegantly straightened the bowtie of His formal suit, as if He had just finished a brilliant speech.
"Instead of trying to persuade me on this boring issue, you'd better spend more time thinking about how to kill Mephisto and save that poor Mother and son."
"After all, that is the ending of our game, isn't it?"
As the words fell, Amon's figure began to turn illusory, as if merging into the air, or like a sand painting being blown away by the wind.
"Oh, right."
Just as He was about to disappear completely, His voice rang in Lin Huai's ear again, carrying a hint of a smile after a successful prank.
"That Marionette of yours is much worse than the previous one."
With Amon's complete disappearance, the invisible pressure that had shrouded the entire hall also dissipated.
Time seemed to begin flowing again.
"Roar!"
Hulk recovered from his stiffness and let out an angry roar at the empty space in front of him.
The Hellfire on Johnny Blaze's body flared up again, and he looked around blankly, not understanding what had just happened.
Dean Daniel, Father Moreau, and the others were also confused; they only felt a blur before their eyes, and that Trickster Evil Monster had turned into an eyeball, and the battle had ended mysteriously.
Only Lin Huai stood in place, clenching his fists tightly, his nails sinking deep into his palms, bringing a wave of sharp pain.
He looked at the two heavy potion materials in his hand that radiated a terrifying aura, then glanced at the Puppet-like shell of Pierce at his feet, feeling a surge of anger and powerlessness.
This Lunatic!
This brat!
Lin Huai gritted his teeth, every word squeezed out from between them.
"Amon!"