On the outskirts of Tingen, in a house with a lush green lawn.
The garden had begun to wither even though it was only early September. It featured a dark-red chimney.
Behind the bedroom window of this house stood a desk, and upon it sat an ordinary-looking notebook.
A charred, withered, and severely mutilated arm, emitting a thick stench of burning, tore the notebook apart in a fit of extreme rage. Among the scattered pages, lines of fresh text recounted the root of its fury:
"Poor Ince Zangwill. His 'perfect' plan has endured so many variables that he was forced to step onto the battlefield himself, all for the sake of taking the long-coveted ashes of Saint Selena."
"Though the defensive strength of the Blackthorn Security Company was reduced to only three Beyonders, Ince Zangwill, out of caution toward fate, still killed that Klein Moretti--who had repeatedly caused variables in his plan--at the first opportunity after breaking in. However, two advanced charms that appeared for no known reason still gave him quite a 'surprise'. The charms, possessing power nearing that of a demigod, evaporated all the spirit bodies he controlled and still nearly killed him on the spot."
"Fortunately, these two Solar domain charms likewise shattered the Evernight domain constructed by Saint Selena's ashes. In the riot of Beyonder items behind Chanis Gate, he successfully seized Saint Selena's ashes. And through a ritual arranged with the characteristics of a descendant of Death, he forcibly advanced to a Sequence 4 'Nightwatcher', thereby obtaining divinity and becoming a powerhouse that is half-god and half-human."
"However, completing the advancement while in a state of heavy injury has caused irreversible damage to Ince Zangwill. In such a state, will he be able to evade the pursuit of all the Beyonders in Tingen?"
"Ince Zangwill indeed did not fail. He indeed obtained what he wanted. But was it all worth it?"
...
In the Raphael Cemetery under the cover of night, before a newly erected tombstone, the stone slab of a freshly sealed grave pit was overturned. A charred arm reached out from the soil.
Whoosh!
The stone slab was pushed aside, and the coffin lid followed. A charred corpse dressed in formal wear crawled out of the coffin. The flesh carbonized by high temperatures was rapidly writhing and regenerating, but the sight only made one feel increasingly uncomfortable.
"Hiss--burning to death truly is an extremely painful way to go..."
The beyond-recognition facial features contorted into a hideous expression that could scare away even a spirit body. Soon, however, new skin slowly crawled over those horrific cheeks.
'Is Ince Zangwill dead?' Klein's memory was still stuck at the moment he had been pierced through the chest and instinctively uttered the activation phrase for the Solar Siphon Charm.
He stood up with effort. After briefly organizing his personal belongings, he found only a copper whistle on him, along with a double-breasted suit that might have been purchased specifically for his burial.
'Benson and Melissa truly don't know how to be frugal!' Klein sighed. He stood up and began searching the cemetery--one grave, then another... There were quite a few new graves in the cemetery, but fortunately, he didn't see any familiar names on those tombstones.
'Good, it seems Leonard and Rozanne are okay... The Captain and the others didn't have any accidents either.' Klein breathed a slight sigh of relief. Watching his body gradually recover to a presentable level, he immediately left the cemetery. He was currently desperate to know if that guy who had killed him had actually died from the Solar Siphon Charm.
...
"Meow!"
In his villa in Backlund's West District, Snow, who was busy typing, suddenly heard Lily let out a shrill cry. He immediately turned to look and found a lump of flesh writhing in a bizarre way within the shadows of the room's corner.
"Be quiet." Snow gently soothed Lily, his attention remaining fixed on the lump of flesh. Only after it recomposed itself into a pale but exceptionally handsome man did he breathe a slight sigh of relief. He respectfully placed a hand over his chest.
"Mr. A, you've returned."
"Mmm." There was an irrepressible anger and madness in Mr. A's tone, but he pressed down that full-chested rage and commanded, "I need to stay with you for a while. Just maintain your usual state."
"Understood. I'll go prepare some food for you." Snow didn't "court death" by asking about the evil god's spawn. Looking at Mr. A's current state, it was likely he himself was still heavily injured.
"No need." Mr. A stopped Snow, speaking solemnly. "That swindler named Lanevus has now arrived in Backlund. He has our Lord's divinity within him and is a living sacrifice for our Lord's descent. Find him, but do not let him discover you."
"Our forces in Backlund have suffered great losses. I'm afraid there aren't many people we can mobilize." Snow expressed the Aurora Order's situation as tactfully as possible. Mr. A didn't seem to care.
"There are as many lambs at the bottom as you could want. Once I recover..."
Instantly, Snow felt as if needles were pricking his back. He was certain Mr. A's words were a probe, but he didn't show any hostility, maintaining his respectful expression.
Mr. A's brief silence didn't last. As if he had simply taken a breath while speaking, he continued, "How is your digestion of the 'Secrets Supplicant' potion?"
Snow easily understood his intent. He immediately mapped a reverse cross--long at the top and short at the bottom--upon his chest and answered respectfully, "With our Lord's blessing, it was completely digested half a month ago."
"Very good. Take me to your basement; I will concoct the 'Listener' potion for you."
As he spoke, Mr. A took a lump of ear-shaped flesh from his own body. This looked exceptionally disgusting to Snow, but considering Mr. A's dangerous nature, he followed his heart and suppressed the urge to gag. He led Mr. A--who was clearly heavily injured yet still seeking benefits for his subordinate--to the basement. He watched as Mr. A skillfully selected auxiliary materials from the powders of flowers and plants. As for why Mr. A was so familiar with his basement...
Because Snow's previous potion had also been concocted here by Mr. A.
...
"Drink it, and you will be able to directly hear our Lord's gospel."
Ten minutes later, Mr. A--who didn't even have time to change his clothes and could only wear a coat made of flesh--completed a bottle of pale-purple potion. In a tone similar to the one he used over a month ago, he pushed it toward Snow.
Looking at the potion, Snow strongly doubted if Mr. A had truly followed the potion formula. However, even a heavily injured Mr. A was not someone a Sequence 9 peak "rookie" like himself could deal with. He picked up the flask and swallowed the pale-purple slime--which looked as if it were swirling with countless bubble-like cochleae--in one gulp.
An indescribable nausea slid down his throat and into his stomach, then began to expand continuously, as if it were going to tear Snow's body apart.
Snow felt as if every single one of his nerves had turned into a branding iron. The intense, burning pain nearly made him cry out.
He forced himself into a state of semi-meditation to restrain his spirituality. But at that moment, an indescribable voice suddenly exploded in his mind.
Unquestionably, that was the whisper of the True Creator. But simultaneously, a long-prepared statement surfaced:
'Mr. Fool's whispers are the whispers of a hidden existence. The True Creator's whispers are also the whispers of a hidden existence. I can hear Mr. Fool's whispers without being polluted; therefore, hearing the True Creator's whispers will likewise not result in pollution!'
The layered murmurs of "A White Horse is Not a Horse" turned into a filter, straining the True Creator's whispers layer by layer. Finally, only a voice resembling the gentle greeting of a passerby reached his spirit body. And he finally captured a small fragment of it relatively clearly. It seemed to say--
"Suka Blyat!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
---
A/N: In the original, the Battle of Blackthorn Security Company is a tragedy where Dunn dies. Here, the presence of the Solar Siphon Charms (provided by Snow to Klein) allows for a different outcome, though Ince Zangwill's promotion to demigod still occurs.
A/N: Paradox Pathway's "Equivocation" - Snow uses a logical logic-gate ('A and B are both C') to filter mental pollution. It's an application of his unique pathway's theme.
T/N: "Nightwatcher" (守夜人) - Sequence 4 of the Evernight pathway.
T/N: "Saint Selena's Ashes" (圣赛琳娜的骨灰) - A potent Beyonder artifact of the Evernight Church.
T/N: "Secrets Supplicant" (秘祈人) - Sequence 9 of the Secrets Supplicant pathway.
T/N: "Listener" (倾听者) - Sequence 8 of the Secrets Supplicant pathway.
T/N: "Suka Blyat" - A vulgar Russian interjection. Snow's perception of the True Creator's "raps" or "gospels" often filters into memes or bizarre sounds due to his "Paradox" perspective.