Chapter 201: Possibility of Cooperation
When he saw the woman in front of him vanish on the spot, Rhone's pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpricks.
He instinctively tried to throw himself to the side, but how could a physically fragile "secretary" withstand the terrifying explosive power of the dual Pathways of "Witch" and "Hunter"?
In less than half a second, Rhone's chest was directly pierced by a fair-skinned arm, adding a splash of crimson to her pitch-black robe, making Lumianna look even more like a blood-stained Death.
"What a pity. I'm not a Pyromaniac yet, so I have no way to burn his corpse to ashes with fire. But leaving them here isn't necessarily a bad thing—"
Lumianna's lips curled up slightly. She used her blood-stained fingers to pull down her pitch-black hood. Viscous plasma dripped from her fingertips, staining the black robe with a pattern.
And from Lumianna's mouth, four lines of mysterious incantation were murmured as if to herself: "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings—"
As she chanted the incantation, she flicked her wrist, arranging four small candles around her.
Under the stimulation of the "Witch's" abundant spirituality, spiritual flames instantly ignited upon the candles, establishing a mysterious connection with the four lines of the incantation—within the dim firelight, a figure with an obscured face slowly emerged.
In this world, Nimrod could do almost everything that "The Fool" could do in the world of mystery. In Lumianna's ritual, Nimrod responded to her prayer, naturally allowing him to appear here in the form of a summoned spirit.
[Not bad. One Sequence 9 and one sequence 8 Beyonder boon, Believers of the King of Decay.
Celestial Worthy said with a smile on his lips:
[Though they lack direct combat power, they are quite useful when it comes to organizational matters.]
"You know this so well because you've made marionettes out of the King of Decay's Believers?"
Nimrod responded casually, but Celestial Worthy only smiled:
[How could that be?]
[I just can't bear to refuse those who want to turn to a better god.]
Nimrod wasn't particularly surprised; after all, Celestial Worthy had done plenty of shameless things. Perhaps influenced by Celestial Worthy, he was now also used to mingling with low-Sequence Beyonders.
He felt that this really wasn't "smurfing," but just being cautious.
After all, fighting Beyonders of a higher Sequence required calculating many things, and sometimes others might even reap the benefits of their conflict. But fighting Beyonders of a lower Sequence was completely different.
Low-Sequence Beyonders only needed to wait to be beaten, but Nimrod had to consider a lot more.
While Nimrod and Celestial Worthy were conversing, two Beyonder characteristics belonging to the King of Decay had already been completely extracted, and he gathered two translucent talismans into his hand.
Nimrod nodded slightly to Lumianna. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Lumianna call out to him, "Godfather, what should I do next?"
Meeting Nimrod's somewhat puzzled gaze, Lumianna added, voicing the thoughts she had just had: "You arranged for me to come here to kill those two evil god Believers. Wasn't it because you hoped to use me to communicate with the deity who is orchestrating my path?"
Her tone was also somewhat puzzled.
"Oh, you mean that?" The speed of Nimrod's body dissipating slowed down slightly. He spoke to Lumianna, "That is not important. My purpose in arranging for you to come here was very pure—just to eliminate those two evil god Believers."
"As for the deity orchestrating your path, you can choose to negotiate with His messenger, or you can choose the exact opposite direction."
"Lumianna, you have my support behind you. Although my strength has not fully recovered, I—"
Nimrod laughed softly. "I still believe I am not inferior to those deities orchestrating your path. Therefore, you only need to ensure that your actions align with your inner self. Maintaining consistency between your actions and thoughts helps you maintain your state and stay away from losing control."
"In my hometown, there is another description for this state. It is called 'a clear Dao heart.'"
"99"
This could perhaps be called seeking the Dao even unto death—
Thinking of this, Nimrod suddenly felt an intense sense of crisis. He immediately halted his thoughts, gave Lumianna a gentle smile, and then vanished on the spot.
Before vanishing, he left only one sentence: "I have already reported the whereabouts of those two to the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. Clean up your traces as quickly as possible and leave this place to avoid running into the Church's Purifierss and clashing with them."
After Nimrod's figure vanished before her, Lumianna stood in silence for a moment. One by one, she gathered the four lit candles and stuffed them into the pocket beneath her black robe.
She briefly sorted through everything she had experienced so far.
Among the deities who wished to utilize her, there was one who excelled at arranging coincidences to achieve His goals. If this incident indeed bore that deity's handiwork, then as long as she returned to her residence as originally planned, there was a high probability she would meet His messenger.
Having cleared her thoughts, Lumianna immediately acted according to her original plan. Of the two corpses on the ground, she only erased Tibert's spirit, leaving Rhone's intact.
Tibert's spirit had been completely incinerated by the "Witch's" black flames, leaving no possibility of spirit channeling. She deliberately left Rhone's because such a vicious murder occurring here would inevitably be discovered and reported to the "Purifierss" of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
At that time, as long as spirit channeling was performed, they would discover that a Witch in a black robe had killed these two evil god Believers.
This was precisely Lumianna's goal. She hadn't revealed her face, but the evil god Believers were indeed lying dead on the ground.
Lumianna methodically cleaned up her traces, hid herself once more in the Darkness, and quickly rushed toward her safehouse.
Of course, before returning to her safehouse, she also planned to make brief stops at the strongholds of the Sava Party and several other gangs. Even if there were Beyonders among these gangs, given her concealment abilities, a brief stay would not be detected.
And Lumian also intended to erase these traces. Although it was somewhat like outwitting an imaginary enemy, if they were discovered, he could still conveniently set up these gangs.
Of course, the probability of this was extremely low. First, the "Purifierss" would have to find a trace she hadn't cleaned properly—and Lumianna believed she had cleaned her traces very thoroughly. Then, there would need to be a high-enough Sequence Beyonder to break through her anti-divination, and finally, track down step-by-step the person who had eliminated the evil god Believers.
It wasn't that Lumianna looked down on the members of the "Purifierss," but they had limited manpower. Accomplishing all these points would be far too difficult.
As Lumianna traversed the dark alleys, she suddenly felt an intense sense of being watched from the shadows she had merged into.
She abruptly raised her head, her body drifting out of the shadows. Black flames ignited around her black robe as her gaze swept toward the source of the observation.
There, a figure completely enveloped in a pitch-black robe stood quietly, making no further moves.
Was this the messenger of that deity?
Lumianna's eyes narrowed slightly, standing her ground to confront the black-robed figure. After a few seconds, the black-robed figure slowly spoke, as if finally gathering his emotions: "I have come here by the revelation of the Omnipotent and Omniscient God, the Creator of all things."
The Omnipotent and Omniscient God, the Creator of all things—when this name was mentioned, the corresponding information surfaced in Lumianna's mind:
An oracle of the Aurora Order? The Mr. K that Madam Magician had previously asked me to approach?
Because my situation changed, Madam Magician canceled those missions. No new mission has been issued to me to this day. I don't know if she is hesitating, or testing whether I can be trusted—
"What is it?"
Lumianna spoke quite coldly to the black-robed figure before her. She had no warm feelings toward the Believers of this deity, but Mr. K did not mind: "The Lord has sent down a revelation."
"On the fourth day, a tree shall burst forth from the soil in Trier. Its roots shall delve deep into the abyss, and its canopy shall grow upward."
Lumianna found this rather baffling. She fell silent for a moment, then asked Mr. K directly, "You could speak more clearly. I am not a Believer of the Lord you worship; I do not understand His revelation."
"That is indeed a bit of a pity." Mr. K seemed genuinely regretful as he spoke to Lumianna, withdrawing his gaze from her face beneath the hood. "Believers of Desire will unleash a disaster. I will assist you on the day the disaster erupts, by the Lord's will."
Do you even know that a portion of this disaster is facilitated by your Lord?
Lumianna laughed mockingly in her heart, choosing not to provoke the devout Believer before her. "If you want to cooperate with us, I have no objections. The Market District is my turf, after all. If you want to combat evil gods, I am ready to join you at any time."
But if there is an opportunity, I will definitely make the Lord you worship feel the same pain I do—a trace of intense malice surfaced in the "Witch's" heart. The Mr. K before her nodded, seemingly completely unaware: "No problem."
Having said this, he grabbed the fingers of his left hand with his right hand, and with a sharp crack, tore off four of his own fingers alive, causing Lumianna to feel a phantom pain for a moment.
Yet Mr. K shook his hand with complete indifference. Those four fingers turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye, while Mr. K's left hand regrew and became whole again at an incredibly rapid pace. "Use this directly when you encounter evil god Believers, and I will rush over as quickly as possible."
After saying this, Mr. K scanned Lumianna once more, as if trying to engrave her appearance into his brain.
Lumianna's lips curled up slightly. As she pocketed the four fingers, she said to Mr. K with a smile, "Aren't you afraid that I will use your fingers to curse you?"
Even when facing a Beyonder of a higher Sequence, a "Witch" could still achieve a certain effect with a "curse" if they had enough items related to that Beyonder, causing the target to gradually weaken and die.
Mr. K shook his head, as if this was not something that required concern. "The Lord has arranged everything."
Hearing Mr. K's words, Lumianna immediately felt a sudden urge to burn Mr. K's fingers with black flames, and a subtle wave of annoyance toward the Lord Mr. K worshiped surfaced once again.
In the end, however, she suppressed her thoughts, merely putting Mr. K's fingers into her pocket and doing nothing more.
However, the tree, the Apostle of Desire—Lumianna pondered for a moment, seemingly thinking of something, and prepared to go back and contact Anthony.
Long ago, she had discovered some people who might have issues. But after "Passion" took control of most of the Market District, these people seemed to have suppressed their movements instead, lying low as if obeying someone's orders.
She felt she could take the initiative and eliminate some problems before the disaster erupted.
"What a gruesome sight."
A "Purifiers" member wearing a "Purifiers" uniform murmured softly, looking at the shattered pieces of flesh scattered all over the alley and the gentle-looking secretary with a hideous expression and a hole in his chest. He felt quite emotional. Another member of the "Purifiers" squad stood up after finishing his examination and said to the members beside him, "It looks like a full-strength strike from an 'Assassin.' Judging by the force, it's at least a Sequence 6 'Pleasure.' Traces of pathogens having once existed were detected nearby; it might even be a Sequence 5 'Agony'—"
"No, these pathogens are not mysticism-related illnesses." Just then, Angouleme, the captain of the "Purifiers" squad responsible for this operation, said with a heavy expression:
—
"Both of these individuals are Beyonders of abnormal Sequences."
Hearing the "Purifiers" squad captain's words, the surrounding "Purifierss" suddenly became somewhat surprised. They said to the captain, "But aren't they members of Hugues Artois's campaign team? Could it be—"
The expressions of the two changed instantly, seemingly pointing the finger of suspicion toward Hugues Artois.
After all, Beyonders of abnormal Sequences were practically equivalent to evil god Believers!
But just then, Angouleme shook his head. "Do you know who reported this matter?"
"It was that Member of Parliament, Mr. Hugues Artois."
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#202Chapter 202 Tree
Chapter 202: Tree
"Why do you think Hugues Artois is putting on this act right now? Is he pretending, or does he genuinely hope these people get compensated?"
Amidst the clinking glasses of the banquet, the two Purifiers responsible for protecting Hugues Artois were whispering to each other.
They occasionally cast glances at the members of Hugues Artois's campaign team, who were performing their duties with their usual composure.
It seemed everyone's demands had been met at this banquet, except for the culprit behind the chemical plant explosion, Bono Goodville. He looked grim, as if he had just paid a heavy price.
Yet, with substantial compensation and a seemingly sincere apology, the victims' attitude toward him had changed significantly.
The surrounding gaudy decorations and the exquisite food at the banquet left the families of the victims of the factory explosion feeling dizzy, as if they had stepped onto the edge of high society, so constrained that they didn't know how to behave.
"I heard the captain say before that there might be many possibilities."
The Purifier spoke to his companion. As he walked slowly through the banquet, observing the ordinary people to see if any Beyonder power was influencing them, he said, "It's possible Hugues Artois just wants to buy people's hearts, or maybe there's a conflict of interest between him and those two exposed Believers of the Evil God. Of course, it's also possible it's just for, um, what was that saying by Roselle?"
"Called, 'The brave will cut off their wrists in dangerous situations,' perhaps he's afraid that those two Believers of the Evil God will expose his faith, causing him to be implicated as well."
The Purifier finished speaking in one breath and returned to silent patrolling.
His companion cast his gaze back toward Hugues Artois's campaign team. The remaining members of Hugues Artois's campaign team looked perfectly normal, but could members mixed in with a'secretary' really be—normal, non-Evil God-believing people?
Constrained by the Holy Contract, they couldn't subject Hugues Artois and his campaign team to torture or more extreme actions and tests. Without substantial evidence, they could only observe and question Hugues Artois's campaign team.
At the very center of the banquet, Nimrod, wearing the appearance of Hugues Artois, stood there, comfortingly addressing the victims' families with a heavy expression, promising each of them the compensation they deserved.
The Purifiers were distributed throughout the banquet, watching for anyone blinded by rage attempting to assassinate Hugues Artois, while also observing whether Hugues Artois's campaign team would reveal anything unusual because of this.
Believers of the Evil God often couldn't control themselves; they might do things to please the Evil God because of their boon—the Purifiers had originally suspected that this chemical plant explosion was the work of the Believers of the Evil God, but now they weren't so sure.
Valentine stood to one side, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, seemingly dissatisfied with this councilor. But as a group of people walked toward him, Valentine suddenly felt his back bumped by someone, vaguely sensing something being stuffed into his hand.
He immediately turned his head and saw the grim-faced Hugues Artois walking toward the side, surrounded by his campaign team. He calmly said a few words to his companion from the Purifiers and then walked quickly toward another place.
After reaching the corner, Valentine opened the paper in his palm, his pupils slightly contracting.
Written on that paper was a short message in Intis: "The Believers of the Evil God are planning to cause a disaster; they have coerced me."
Lumianna walked in the Darkness. At her feet lay several corpses with expressions of pain and despair, seemingly unaware of why they had died. She didn't choose to set up a ritual to summon Nimrod to collect these boons, but instead stood in place, the corners of her mouth slightly curling up: "What, you have the guts to send people to deal with me, but no guts to face me directly?"
Lumianna recognized these people. After meeting Mr. K yesterday, she had begun a hunting campaign against these boon-receivers who worshipped desire.
Among the Assassins who attacked her today, some were theater actors she had seen at the Old Pigeon Cage Theater and other theaters.
When she killed their companions, she hadn't avoided the presence of ordinary people; after all, for them, reporting Beyonder cases rather than living with those boon-receivers as if nothing had happened was the best outcome.
However, it seemed that a significant portion of those ordinary people were also boon-receivers.
A sense of caution subconsciously arose in Lumianna's heart. Her eyes flickered slightly, and she suddenly pulled out the silver-black dagger stuck in the side of her thigh, her body floating backward, approaching the wall of the corridor in the Golden Rooster Inn.
She couldn't be sure what kind of abilities these boon-receivers had. Although from her understanding and brief observation, their abilities were to induce various desires, enhance their bodies, or disguise themselves as other figures, no one knew if any Beyonders were mixed in among these boon-receivers, or if they could launch an attack on her from a strange angle.
—
Just then, several rapid footsteps suddenly approached from outside the Golden Rooster Inn. Lumianna stood halfway in the shadows, looking in the direction from which the footsteps came.
Two squad leaders working under Lumianna ran upstairs hurriedly. One looked around cautiously, while the other walked slowly toward Lumianna. As he walked, he spoke, seemingly wanting to report something to Lumianna: "Boss Trieuna, someone suddenly attacked us just now—"
Lumianna, wrapped entirely in a black robe, was just about to respond when she noticed that this squad leader's movements seemed a bit rushed.
Lumianna immediately inserted her hand into her pocket without changing her expression, raised her head to look at the gang squad leader, and gestured with her eyes for him to continue speaking, as if she hadn't noticed anything unusual.
In the blink of an eye, the captain suddenly revealed a strange smile on his face. He suddenly raised his hand, pulled out a brown-green dagger from somewhere, and lunged toward Lumianna like a ghost.
In the process of the lunge, his body was still changing, shrinking rapidly!
Lumianna had long been prepared and dodged to the side, simultaneously taking the opportunity to raise her left leg and whip it toward the attacker in front.
However, the angle of the attack launched by the attacker disguised as the squad leader was extremely tricky. While being kicked by Lumianna, the brown-green dagger still tore through Lumianna's black robe, grazing across her chest.
A few traces of blood stained the brown-green dagger, and the squad leader, whose face and body shape had been changing during the attack, finally revealed his true appearance. He rolled and got up from the ground, turning into a young girl with deep features and a pure temperament.
This attacker in front of her looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere—this was information that flashed through Lumianna's mind, but this wasn't what she needed to consider.
Lumianna didn't hesitate after seeing the person in front of her change; instead, she pressed forward, the dagger in her hand flashing, and a cold light slid toward the girl's abdomen, intending to slash the attacker's most vulnerable spot, allowing the "Depravity Mercury" in her hand to have the possibility of exchanging the other's fate.
For a "Witch", the bloodstains sticking to the "Depravity Mercury" had other uses.
With the "Depravity Mercury" exchanging fate plus the "Witch" curse, even if this attacker escaped temporarily, Lumianna had enough ways to make this attacker suffer.
The attacker didn't seem to expect Lumianna to not dodge her attack, so she had to turn around hastily, breaking free from the dizziness of her internal organs feeling dislocated when kicked by the "Assassin".
The silver-white dagger cut into her arm, severing more than half of it, but her body quickly assimilated with the surrounding environment, leaving only a sentence full of hatred: "We originally spent a lot of effort to determine that Lumian possessed an angel-level status, the best sacrifice—"
"But your brother escaped very quickly, but it's a pity, you have a certain relationship with him, so using your blood can also achieve a certain effect—"
"If your brother hadn't escaped so quickly, we wouldn't have needed to consume so many Believers to find a breakthrough from you!"
"We had already prepared everything!"
As she spoke, her figure suddenly disappeared in front of Lumianna. A violent tremor came from outside the Golden Rooster Inn, but the expression hidden under Lumianna's black hood looked somewhat subtle at this moment.
In her hand, the edges of four pale fingers were now slightly sticky, and scarlet flesh and blood were flowing on Lumian's body surface, forming a blood-red flesh cloak under the black cloak.
So, the flesh and blood the attacker took from her body didn't come from Lumianna, but from Mr. K, who worshipped that "Omnipotent and Omniscient God, the Lord who created everything".
"My blood?"
Lumianna laughed in a low voice, slowly clenching the fingers in her palm. These fingers melted slowly in Lumianna's hand like candles, as if having a will of their own, merging with the blood-red cloak on her body.
Are you Believers of the Evil God all this confident?
Although she didn't know what they needed this blood for, she could see it was definitely not a good thing. After Lumianna prayed for Mr. K for half a second in her heart, she quickly withdrew her gaze to the "Depravity Mercury" in her hand.
At this time, the "Depravity Mercury" was stained with large splashes of blood. Lumianna placed the "Depravity Mercury" horizontally in front of her and stroked the bloodstains on the "Depravity Mercury" with one hand.
With a "Zhu" sound, black flames immediately burned on the blood.
As the black flames burned on the bloodstains, a silver-black "ring" seemed to appear before her eyes, seeing many tributaries of fate spreading out from it.
It was a pity that she hadn't been able to exchange for too many fates that could cause immediate death or serious injury during this time, but there were still some lesser fates.
What she was doing now was exchanging these lesser fates for the attacker, and then using the "Witch" curse ability to burn the blood the attacker left on the "Depravity Mercury", so she could severely injure this attacker in a very short time, or even directly take her life.
As scenes familiar to her emerged in her eyes, Lumianna suddenly remembered the identity of the attacker who looked somewhat familiar:
She was Charlotte, an actress from the Old Pigeon Cage Theater!
Lumianna frowned slightly; she always felt that there was a deeper connection among the several things she had experienced.
Previously, the Believers of the Evil God in the Old Pigeon Cage Theater had always been hiding. Except for the time related to Charlie, she had never really met those people from the Old Pigeon Cage Theater.
And now it was even more so. She had changed her gender and was no longer the original "Lumian". They could still find her, which meant some high-Sequence Beyonders had performed divination on her.
However, there were a few points in this matter that gave Lumianna some comfort.
From the performance of those people at the Old Pigeon Cage Theater, they believed she was Lumian's sister, not Lumian himself, which showed that the "Anti-Divination" on her, added to the Godfather's "Favor" for her, had brought her some specialness; even high-Sequence Beyonders above demigods hadn't been able to divine her.
Suddenly, as her spirituality was touched, Lumianna raised her head, and black flames spread rapidly from her hair to the surroundings, spreading to all living objects around her.
At this moment, the surroundings of the entire Golden Rooster Inn seemed to have turned into endless green. Countless branches and vines frantically drilled into the Golden Rooster Inn from every window, and a somewhat illusory scene unfolded in Lumianna's eyes.
She suddenly remembered the revelation from their "Lord" that Mr. K had said when he handed her the finger: "On the fourth day, a tree will break through the soil in Trier, its roots will go deep into the abyss, and its crown will grow upward."
Lumianna saw a tree at this moment.
She seemed to have been transferred from the Golden Rooster Inn to another space in an instant. She stepped on thick tree roots, and the blue sky and white clouds above her head presented a solidified beauty like an oil painting.
Every branch of this giant tree was covered with disgusting tumors, and between the intertwined vines and branches, pieces were half-illusory and half-real, held up on every branch.
The scene in the Golden Rooster Inn where Lumianna had been was clearly among them. She saw her familiar subordinates and the guests in the Golden Rooster Inn.
And in the other scenes wrapped in vines and branches, a hazy feeling like history was presented.
Chapter 203: The Betrayer
After being pulled into this space filled with bizarre sights, Lumianna determined her goal:
That was Charlotte Calvino, who had just been fighting her!
Charlotte's state was not good either; her body had taken on a translucent texture, rapidly merging into the tree trunk covered in disgusting tumors, and a look of pain was clearly visible on her face.
Large patches of black traces could be seen on the arm severed by "fallen mercury", spreading towards her palm and shoulder like bone-gnawing maggots.
However, the giant tree she was merging with seemed to be helping her purify this curse, binding the injuries Charlotte was currently suffering to the tree in a peculiar way.
But just then, Lumianna suddenly felt a sharp pain in her body. She felt countless sharp teeth grow within the flesh robe draped over her within seconds, piercing deeply into non-lethal areas like her arms and legs, using the stinging sensation to wake her up.
No, this was wrong.
Lumianna suddenly realized that what she should be doing now was not continuing the pursuit, but finding a way to get herself out and escape the current danger!
After all, this area was so bizarre, pulling her into this weird world without her having any ability to resist; it didn't look like something she could handle alone!
Lumianna didn't rush to find a way to escape. Information related to this abnormal Pathway suddenly emerged in her mind, and in an instant, she understood why she had focused all her energy on eliminating Charlotte.
She cautiously raised her head, her eyes instantly reflecting the direction she had come from—the illusory scene of the "Golden Rooster Inn" wrapped in countless branches and vines.
Undoubtedly, if she wanted to leave this place now, that was the most likely direction for her to escape.
In mysticism, all things have symbols. Many auxiliary materials in occult rituals are composed of materials that possess no Beyonder power but hold certain symbolic significance, thereby resonating with certain high-level powers.
Lumianna's thoughts spun like lightning. After determining the next direction, she chose not to wait but to take the initiative.
Lumianna did not fear using the most malicious thoughts to speculate about Mr. K. Mr. K had not arrived here until now; either he was trapped, or he was waiting for a certain opportunity—a moment to decide friend from foe.
But regardless, Lumianna knew Mr. K was not a true ally. She did not intend to wait for Mr. K's arrival in place but wanted to use her own methods to try and break through the obstacles here.
Lumianna was not one to hesitate. After thinking of this, she immediately took action.
The four candles previously used to summon the Godfather flew out from under her black robe towards the surroundings. Under the heat of the flames, the bottoms of the candles softened instantly, standing steadily on the ground made of tree roots.
At the same time, the wicks of the candles were ignited by the friction of spirituality. Lumianna did not hesitate to raise her feet and walk four steps in reverse, reciting the incantation Nimrod had taught her.
She wanted to report the matter here to the Godfather. Matters involving high Sequences naturally required another high-Sequence individual to resolve.
After doing all this, her body seemed to melt into the shadows, and she ran quickly along the tree roots with vigorous steps.
But just then, Charlotte, who had attacked Lumianna earlier, suddenly emerged from the surrounding giant green trees, walking gracefully towards Lumianna like an elf.
Wherever her footsteps fell, pale flowers bloomed one after another, and a strange fragrance seemed to drift through the surroundings.
This was similar to the hypnotic gas used by the pervert who tried to kidnap Jenna—Lumianna thought silently, holding her breath the moment she smelled this fragrance.
Although this could not completely prevent the intrusion of this hypnotic gas, it could keep her from being knocked down by it in a short period.
The next moment, she revealed a smile at Charlotte. This smile was full of charm and had a dangerous aura, making the approaching Charlotte pause involuntarily.
Black flames spread across Charlotte Calvino's body, and some silver-black traces appeared on the blade of "fallen mercury".
Silver-black water droplets seemed to appear before Lumianna's eyes. She held the short blade and stabbed straight at Charlotte's body.
Charlotte was currently in a state of detachment from the "shadow tree". Under the curse of the "Witch" and the choice of "fallen mercury", her fate inevitably slid towards the worst direction.
That was a fate representing death!
The short blade stabbed straight into Charlotte's body. Before the blade struck, she wanted to imitate what she had done before and etherealize her body, but the severed wound on her arm happened to emit intense pain, causing her transformation speed to stall for a moment.
And this moment was enough to cost her life.
Lumianna had no thoughts of cherishing the fairer sex. As the "fallen mercury" in her hand pierced into Charlotte's abdomen, she immediately twisted her wrist, slicing upwards along Charlotte's soft internal organs.
Under the sharp silver-black blade of "fallen mercury", the "Actor"'s physical fitness, which was not very strong to begin with, naturally could not withstand Lumianna's attack.
Blood sprayed, bones shattered. A fierce light seemed to flash in Lumianna's eyes for an instant. One hand pressed down on her shoulder, while the other hand snapped the bones in her chest, driving "fallen mercury" fiercely into Charlotte Calvino's skull from below!
Black flames burned into her body along with the blood as "fallen mercury" pierced into Charlotte's skull, causing Charlotte, who had just half-spiritualized to avoid injury, to wail immediately.
However, the pain was temporary. She would soon not need to worry about her serious injuries. Charlotte's gaze dimmed slightly, falling into deep Darkness under this blade of Lumianna's that burned the spirit body.
In her view, Lumianna had simply stabbed forward with this blade, and all her abilities had suddenly failed. The old injuries that had been suppressed by the great sacred tree suddenly erupted, and then she had muddledly lost her life.
Lumianna laughed with extreme contempt. She knew her choice just now was correct; otherwise, Charlotte, who wanted to prioritize stability, would naturally not have come to stop her escape while her injuries had not yet been completely smoothed over by this "shadow tree".
They didn't want to kill her, but wanted to keep her here as a sacrifice for some living ritual.
At the same time, Lumianna's movements did not stop at all. Taking the time while holding her breath, she once again cast her gaze in the direction of the illusory scene representing the Golden Rooster Inn.
But just when she wanted to blend into the shadows and sneak over again, a branch as thick as a wine glass descended from the sky like a spear.
Lumianna hurriedly pressed her left hand to the ground with agility and turned sharply, narrowly dodging this sudden attack. She raised her head to look at the direction of the branch. In the canopy, Susanna Mattise, covered in blue-green long hair with eyes of the same green, stood there in a semi-illusory appearance.
Those tree trunks and branches that were originally covered in disgusting tumors had changed their appearance. On the branches, large pale flowers were growing wantonly.
Lumianna narrowed her eyes slightly, pinched her thumb, and drew it fiercely across the front of her neck as if in Provocation.
"Hugues Artois, you traitor!"
Red-haired Cassandra was held down by several official Beyonders, looking at the sanctimonious Hugues Artois standing there with hatred. Oh, no, it was Nimrod now.
Neither Cassandra Sauron nor the surrounding campaign team members who believed in the Outer Deity expected why this councilor, who had been cooperating with them, would suddenly turn against them. His foundation for becoming a councilor was these campaign team members who believed in the Outer Deity!
Could it be that he didn't want this councilor position anymore?
"It is just as I told you."
Nimrod ignored Cassandra's roar and said heavily to Angouleme beside him: "They are all Believers of the evil god and possess abnormal Pathways. I was deceived by them before, and it was only when Rhone and Tibert blew up the chemical plant that I discovered their sinful acts."
"You are crazy. Do you think you can escape the Church's sanctions?"
Marguerite on the side was no longer as delicate as before. Her hair was messy as she was pressed to the ground by the Purifiers. All these surrounding Purifiers were ready to go; once someone tried to use Beyonder powers to escape, they were prepared to kill them on the spot.
"Think about the things you did. Those things left evidence. Do you think we won't expose what you did?"
But just then, Nimrod sighed faintly: "What did I do? Can you state what specific things I have done that are related to the evil god faith?"
Marguerite froze for a moment. Her expression quickly became confused, then frightened, then extremely resentful. She roared at the Purifiers on the side with a twisted face: "Evidence, there is still evidence, the evidence of the things he did before, I can submit it to you too!"
"He is a liar, you must not believe him!"
Angouleme's expression was heavy. He did not pay attention to what these evil god Believers said, only letting his subordinates take these evil god Believers away without a sound.
After doing all this, he then took Nimrod, who wore the appearance of Hugues Artois, to the side and asked him with a serious tone: "Do you have anything to say about the accusations they made against you?"
"I am not prepared to refute. I believe the Church can give me a fair result."
Nimrod said to Angouleme beside him in a leisurely manner: "During this period, I will cooperate with the Church's work at any time and reorganize my team. If the Church believes I cannot serve as a councilor for the Market District, they can also submit a request to the council to remove me from office."
"But Mr. Purifier, I hope you can also understand me. Although I am a devout Believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun, I have no Beyonder abilities. When encountering these people whose abilities far exceed ordinary people wanting to become members of my campaign team, any rational councilor candidate knows how to choose."
Nimrod had been Hugues Artois for nearly a week. In the situation of possessing all the memories of "Hugues Artois", if he couldn't modify their cognition without them noticing, then he would have wasted his time as a "Dream Stealer".
"Dream Stealer" is a Sequence potion at the same level as "Marionettist" and "Wraith", which have terrifying abilities!
That evidence had now been properly modified and deleted by Nimrod; this was one of the things a Marauder was best at.
As for whether these Outer Deity sects would take revenge on him later, this was, at any rate, just a clone. Even if they took revenge, where could they take it?
Angouleme hesitated for a moment, seemingly judging whether there were lies in the words of Hugues Artois before him.
After a long time, he nodded: "I will keep an eye on this matter later. I hope what you have done is no different from what you have said."
"Of course." Nimrod nodded slightly and said to Angouleme: "My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror; everything I do is for Justice. If the Church has any needs, I will do my best to cooperate."
Angouleme's expression changed imperceptibly, then he nodded. After waiting for several Purifiers to replace the original protectors of Hugues Artois, he turned and left.
Nimrod walked slowly towards the balcony not far away, picked up a glass of champagne from the side, held it in his hand without tasting it, but stared silently into the distance.
"How does it feel to watch everything you painstakingly managed turn to nothing in a day?"
"Coincidentally, I am a very vengeful person—I will oppose everything you want, whether it is communicating with those 'plebeians' you look down upon or other things, you can only watch here."
Nimrod provoked Hugues Artois in his heart.
Hugues Artois, who was already quite weak and being gradually devoured by Nimrod, let out an unwilling roar in his heart, becoming even weaker.
Nimrod raised his head, took a sip of champagne in a good mood, and gradually turned his attention to another body.
The sun in the sky was just right.
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#204Chapter 204 Divine Descent
Chapter 204: Divine Descent
In a world resembling an oil painting, Lumianna and Susanna engaged in a fierce confrontation.
However, there was a gap of two full Sequences between them, and Susanna was now infinitely close to being a demigod.
She was now equivalent to a Sequence 5 with a trace of divinity; naturally, Lumianna was no match for her and could only rack her brains to stall for time.
However, in her mind, Termiboros kept trying to offer hints to Lumianna, but no matter how Termiboros tried to persuade her, Lumianna acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, ignoring all of Termiboros's suggestions.
The previous remark about "doing the opposite of whatever Termiboros says" was naturally just something said to tease Termiboros.
Lumianna's true intention was to completely ignore Termiboros so that she wouldn't be influenced by any of His words.
Lumianna never underestimated an angel. She knew that given the vast gap in their experience, the slightest difference in information could cause her to instantly fall into an irredeemable situation.
While entangled with Susanna, Lumianna was also searching for a way to break the deadlock. If she were truly trapped here, even if she eliminated Charlotte Calvino, she would have no way to escape the ritual Susanna had set up for her.
This ritual was definitely not just about killing her and offering her as a blood sacrifice to their Mother Tree of Desire; it was about trapping her here.
It was like being trapped in a living creature's stomach, waiting for the "Mother Tree of Desire" to slowly digest her.
But just then, Lumianna saw a spark of starlight light up in the distance. The somewhat tattered flesh robe on her body suddenly seemed to come alive, automatically peeling off Lumianna and uncontrollably drifting toward the illusory scene where the Golden Rooster Inn was located.
In the solidified world resembling an oil painting, a figure draped in a black robe merged with the robe made of flesh.
The black-robed figure extended his left hand, and the flesh, as if possessing vitality, flowed into his palm. The wind pressure generated by the high-speed movement of the flesh caused his black robe to flap loudly.
It was Mr. K from the Aurora Order!
On the other side, within the illusory scene representing the Golden Rooster Inn, a figure floated down lightly from the second floor, holding an exquisite pistol in hand.
Franca exhaled softly and ran quickly toward where Lumianna was, muttering something while cursing.
After the "Magician" tore open the space between the inside and outside and opened that door emitting starlight, Mr. K and Franca arrived at Lumianna's side simultaneously, assuming a posture of fighting alongside Lumianna.
But just then, Termiboros's voice rang out in Lumianna's mind. The voice was deep and layered, as if pouring a vast amount of knowledge into Lumianna's mind in a single instant: "Do you really think your current predicament is fortunate?"
What did that mean? Lumianna didn't react immediately, but she soon understood what Termiboros meant by that sentence.
"Oh, Abomination that should not have been born—"
Susanna chanted the honorable name rapidly: "You are the cage that imprisons curses, You are the filth that erodes history—"
This honorable name was—Lumianna's gaze suddenly froze.
If she were still the person from before who didn't understand much about the various knowledge in the Beyonder world, she might not have realized what was happening, but she had already learned many honorable names and complete knowledge related to high Sequences under the Godfather's guidance.
And the honorable name Susanna had just uttered belonged to the "Abomination" Suah.
This was a genuine Great Angel!
Pitch-black liquid and various twisted, grotesque limbs began to flow on the tree trunk. At this moment, this giant tree seemed to have extended its vines and branches into the real world.
Upon realizing that an angel of the "Door" Pathway in the real world of Trier had torn open her exotic space, and that the descent of the Divine Tree was highly likely to fail, Susanna, as an evil spirit with extreme emotions, began to drive the vines of the "shadow tree" to spread toward all the residents of the Market District in the real world.
Fallen Dryads had the ability to copulate with people in dreams and drain their energy, and Susanna, fused with the "shadow tree," could use the vines of the "shadow tree" to forcibly drain the life force of these people, accelerating this process.
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Franca quickly moved toward where Lumianna was and asked her in a low voice: "Damn, what do we do now? What on earth is happening?"
"And that person over there is Mr. K, right? Why is he here too? Does he look like our ally now?"
Lumianna nodded heavily: "We can only try to defeat Susanna and forcibly stop the process of the angel's descent. If that 'Abomination' really descends here, we will all die."
"Angel?" Franca was stunned on the spot, clearly not expecting that she would get involved in such a major event.
Before coming here, she had just requested help from Lady Judgement. In her view, those high-Sequence powerhouses should currently be fighting against the high-Sequence members of the Tarot Club and the angels of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun!
How, why was there a smurf mixed in here?
"Abomination." Mr. K uttered a single word, then turned to Lumianna and said: "I will stop her prayer from the front; you attack with full force."
As soon as he finished speaking, his body rapidly enlarged. Sinister patterns quickly grew on Mr. K's body, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a "Devil" that seemed to have emerged from hell.
As the favored herding target of a "Shepherd" and a relatively easy-to-kill Beyonder, the "Devil" was a soul that almost every divine messenger of the Aurora Order herded.
But just then, a voice rang in Lumianna's ear. Termiboros said in a grand, layered tone: "It's useless; you will all die."
"Although I don't know why that Believer is assisting you, Fate is as such. If you do not bow to Fate and release me from the Seal, then everything you do will fail."
"I have been watching you. I saw what you did during this time. Admit it, when you protect others, you also feel joy from the bottom of your heart."
"But you cannot stop the will of the Great Beings. The Abomination will inevitably descend, the shadow tree will inevitably grow, and I will inevitably break free."
"Everyone will die, including you."
Listening to Termiboros's words, Lumianna felt a surge of anger being incited within her. For a moment, she wanted to clench her fist and strike Termiboros hard, and her movement toward the "shadow tree" hesitated for an instant.
No, it's trying to use words to lure me into making an irrational judgment—Lumianna's expression changed several times in a short period.
But just then, she heard a soft laugh coming from the sky: "This is forcing me to come out, isn't it?"
"Why are you so desperate to confirm if I am the one you anticipated?"
"Then I'm coming."
In the sky that seemed to be solidified like an oil painting, a figure walked out of thin air from the Golden Rooster Inn. This figure wore a black robe and a classical wizard's soft hat on his head.
He took a monocle with crimson edges that resembled blood vessels from his embrace and put it on his face.
The moment he put on the monocle, his face suddenly became somewhat blurred, as if he had instantly severed all metaphysical connections with his surroundings, completely turning into someone else.
Lumianna subconsciously called out: "Godfather!"
Only then did Lumianna notice that the four candles she had thrown out earlier were still burning quietly, seemingly guiding the way and providing coordinates for the Godfather's arrival.
"The angel within you is right; you indeed cannot stop the descent of the Abomination in time, because this is the result He declared. He is waiting for an additional variable."
"If this variable does not exist, then He will proceed according to the original plan; if this variable is powerful enough to break through the blockade of the angel of fate and break through the declaration of the Visionary, then He will change His plan and push this matter in the direction we anticipated."
With every word the figure in the sky uttered, his body became a bit more blurred. Gray mist seemed to spread out from under his robes, and a cyan-black light door actually appeared at the center of his forehead. Although extremely blurred, it still looked as if it possessed some kind of great power.
After saying all this, the black-robed figure seemed to be left with only a silhouette. Suddenly, he opened his arms and performed a mysterious and eerie dance in the air with elegant movements.
This was the "Dance of Summoning" of the "Dancer."
Target: "Fool"!
[Hagil, even when summoning the "Fool" onto yourself, you are unwilling to summon me? You guy—]
At Hugues Artois's banquet, the voice of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings rang out in the heart of this avatar of Nimrod, sounding slightly aggrieved. Nimrod chuckled: "Even if I severed the metaphysical connection of that avatar with the outside world, I wouldn't dare let you descend onto that avatar of mine."
"Celestial Worthy, you must know that the credibility gap between you and the Fool is like heaven and earth. Even if I exposed my identity and told the Fool straight out, he might even want to share half of his characteristics with me, letting me sit with him on the throne belonging to the Lord of the Mysteries."
"Although I have told many lies, I truly and genuinely regarded Zhou Mingrui as my friend. Would you worry about your friend backstabbing you? Oh, I actually forgot, you really would."
The characteristics originally just borrowed in this body of Nimrod were transferred here one by one. Now, this body had practically become his new main body.
He smiled and drained the champagne in his hand, then raised his hand to look at the back of it: "Besides, dealing with an 'Abomination' that I have never lost to doesn't require your appearance, my dear Celestial Worthy."
Outside the exotic space constructed with the shadow tree as the benchmark, covering this exotic space with the "Other Shore World," the "Lady of the Moon," who was heavily pregnant and whose face was filled with maternal radiance, suddenly widened her eyes, uncontrollably revealing a hint of fear and incomprehensible expression.
And at the moment when the gaze of the "Judgement" opposite her was also attracted, she opened her eyes and looked there, her eyes also filled with disbelief.
On the other side, Magician Fors said as if sleep-talking: "Mr. Fool has descended—"
"Who is helping him fight against the 'mystery'—"
Within the exotic space, the figure in the sky suddenly opened his eyes. His face remained blurred, but the aura on his body had undergone a distinct change.
He scanned his surroundings, his eyes filled with a bit of confusion and a bit of bewilderment.
He beckoned, and a cane shimmering with starlight emerged from the void and fell into his hand.
The "Fool" summoned by the "Dance of Summoning" only had a short duration of existence. Just like when Trissy Cheek used her own body to accommodate the Divine Descent of the Primordial Demoness, this body of Nimrod was not yet Sequence 4 and could only bear the will of the "Fool" for a few seconds.
But that was enough.
Three seconds might be very short for an invincible man, but for an Outer Deity, three seconds were enough for him to wipe this place out countless times.
And why could the "Dance of Summoning" summon the will of an Outer Deity onto himself? That was because Nimrod possessed a portion of the authority of Sefirah Castle.
From this perspective, he could be the "Fool," and the "Fool" could be him; he could be the mystery, and the mystery could be him.
The "Fool" did not hesitate. While gripping the cane in his hand and pointing remotely toward where this shadow tree was, he said to the spirit body within this body that seemed to have become extremely weak: "You are—"
Nimrod replied with a smile: "You really haven't remembered who I am, Mr. Fool?"
The "Fool" was stunned for a moment, seeming to fall into deeper contemplation.
He had been fighting with the Celestial Worthy for control of Sefirah Castle during this time, competing over who could become the dominant will of this body. But he had inexplicably awakened from a dream and briefly projected a portion of his consciousness onto this shell.
The "Fool" only felt that this voice was familiar, but he couldn't recall who it was.
After a long while, a spark of inspiration seemed to emerge from the "Fool's" eyes. He gripped the cane shimmering with starlight and realized with a start: "So that's it—"
The next second, the "Fool" waved his cane without hesitation, and the giant tree before him was as if erased by some great power, disappearing into thin air along with the upper half of the sky like a magic trick.
Chapter 205: Lumian's Expectations
Lumianna only felt that Franca's gaze at her at this moment was somewhat strange, looking as if she were looking at some rare animal.
They had already escaped that alternate space. After the upper half of the alternate space was completely sheared off, the remaining portion naturally vanished into thin air.
Lumianna felt goosebumps all over from Franca's staring. After a few seconds, she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Franca's expression changed several times before finally settling into a deeply meaningful remark: "I never expected that you, motherfucker, are actually a minor arcana directly under Mr. Fool—"
Since Mr. "Fool" is also one of the major arcana, it is only reasonable that he would have a minor arcana card, right?
It was just that Franca now felt there was a tragic, thick barrier between herself and Lumianna.
The scene that had just unfolded before Franca's eyes was both thrilling and satisfying. That figure in the sky had merely pulled a cane from the void and, in an instant, erased the entire upper sky of the alternate space.
Without a doubt, this was a mighty power that only Angels, or perhaps only deities, could achieve!
For Franca, she had just personally summoned Lady "Judgement" to assist her and block the opponent's high-Sequence powerhouse.
She had originally thought that only she could achieve such a feat, but she never expected that Lumianna—whom she knew and didn't know whether to call a fellow transmigrator's younger brother or sister—would go a step further and directly summon the very first major arcana of the Tarot Club, "The Fool"!
That was a true deity, one of the Seven Orthodox Gods!
This small Trier really is a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons—Franca sighed softly, her eyes gradually warming with more affection for this younger sister left behind in this world by her fellow transmigrator.
If she had previously felt a certain closeness to Lumianna solely for Aurore's sake, Franca now felt a bond that belonged specifically to a "companion".
Lumianna clicked her tongue, ignoring Franca's words.
No one knew better than her that she was not Mr. Fool's favored, but instead served another god-like existence—but she couldn't very well say this directly to Franca, whose previously hidden identity was clearly a Believer of Mr. Fool.
Moreover, Lumianna still had many more questions in her heart.
Why was her godfather able to summon Mr. Fool?
How is her godfather doing now?
Recalling what her godfather had said to her in the past, and thinking of the mission Lady "Magician" had given her, Lumianna's doubts deepened.
However, at this moment, one thing in her heart had settled:
That was, her godfather and Mr. Fool could never be enemies fighting for divinity or locked in a life-and-death struggle. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her godfather to borrow Mr. Fool's Divine Descent power here.
Suddenly, various rich patches of color and overlapping scenes materialized before Lumianna's eyes. Her vision blurred, and after a brief experience, she suddenly felt the solid ground beneath her feet.
Lumianna looked around. She was currently standing on a lush, green grassy hillside, with Franca, who had also just recovered from a state of dizziness, beside her.
In front of Lumianna stood two ladies. One had brown hair and carried a lazy temperament—it was Lady "Magician", who had been responsible for matters related to Lumianna. The other lady, whom Lumianna had never seen before, was petite with delicate features and short golden hair.
This petite, golden-haired lady nodded to Franca. Franca gave Lumianna a look, quickly walked over, and vanished on the spot along with the golden-haired lady under Lumianna's gaze.
"'Two of Cups' has left with her major arcana. She is a minor arcana directly under 'Judgement'."
Lady "Magician" spoke to Lumianna in a calm and gentle tone. Lumianna did not answer, merely turning her gaze to "Magician", waiting for her next words.
"Magician" didn't mind Lumianna's reaction, continuing, "If not for the things that happened before, we would have had to arrange more missions for you before you could officially join us."
"But now, with Mr. Fool's attention, this step can be skipped."
Lumianna knew what Lady "Magician" meant by "the things that happened before"—it was highly likely because of her godfather.
But having said this, "Magician" did not continue. Instead, she asked Lumianna in return, "What do you want to do next?"
"I mean you, not your godfather."
Lady "Magician" is asking me what I want to do?
Lumianna was taken aback. She didn't rush to answer, but instead fell into deep thought. Lady "Magician" wasn't in a hurry either, patiently waiting on the spot as the young girl sitting on the grass pondered.
"...Lady Magician, I have a question. Is my godfather really Mr. Fool?"
After a long while, Lumianna did not answer Lady "Magician's" question but asked one instead.
In the space centered on that tree earlier, Lumianna had subconsciously blurted out her godfather's title. She believed Lady "Magician" had heard her voice as well.
"Magician" nodded slightly, but then shook her head, leaving Lumianna completely confused.
"My inclination is that he is both the Fool and not Mr. Fool."
"Magician" met Lumianna's puzzled gaze and smiled. "Don't understand? Indeed, matters of deities are not so easy to comprehend. You can understand it this way: Mr. Fool is currently in a deep sleep, fighting against an evil god who wants to destroy this world."
"Therefore, there are many possibilities regarding things related to your godfather."
"He could be an avatar of Mr. Fool, an avatar of another evil god, or he might have nothing to do with either."
"But seeing that he was able to trigger Mr. Fool's Divine Descent, I lean more towards him being an avatar of Mr. Fool."
What "Magician" did not say was that for a deity of the Fool's level, there were many other possibilities, but it was indeed difficult to explain to Lumianna.
Many avatars are equivalent to the Fool, but the Fool is not equivalent to them; some avatars might even have their own independent self-awareness. Of course, it was also possible that the mystery and the Fool had reached some sort of balance in their game, sending out an avatar that possessed the will of both to assist Lumianna.
But some of that knowledge was very dangerous for Lumianna, so "Magician" did not elaborate on it.
Lumianna nodded and said to "Magician", "What I want to do next is very simple. Advance my Sequence, continue to track down the murderers who killed my sister, and hunt down the Believers of evil gods."
"By the way, Lady Magician, before this, Mr. K of the Aurora Order contacted me. He said that there was a revelation from their Lord in this matter. Does this contain some kind of trap?"
Upon hearing Lumianna's words, "Magician's" expression grew more serious. She nodded slightly. "There should be a trap. No, it shouldn't be called a trap; He is probably just testing certain things. Tell me everything that happened before, I need to analyze it."
"The event you encountered this time has exceeded the scope of normal Beyonder incidents you might be involved in. I will discuss this with several other major arcana, and then issue you missions after that."
At this point, "Magician" chuckled. "Well, get ready. If you want to advance your Sequence, don't stay in Trier forever. This place won't be of much help to you."
Anthony Reid walked out of the damaged house in a slightly disheveled state. He did not spend too much time sighing but quickly gathered the other gang members of the Passion organization.
Some of the team leaders of these gang squads were Beyonders, while others were not.
But even the Sequences of those who were Beyonders were not very high, resulting in the loss of several people in this incident—among the traps set by the actors of the Old Cage Theater targeting Lumianna, the leaders of the gang squads who had disguised themselves were also on the list of the deceased.
"Notify their families and inform them of their deaths."
Anthony Reid stood by the ruins in an orderly manner, saying to the survivors, "Give their families sufficient compensation, and announce this matter to the other members of these gang squads so they are aware of it."
"At the same time, draw up an acquisition list for properties within the Market District. We are about to undergo our next round of expansion. The remaining remnants of the Stinger Gang are completely finished now, and many other gang thugs have died. Next, we will develop real industries and gradually expand our actual sphere of control."
"As long as it's legal, you can boldly go ahead and do it. There will be someone protecting you behind the scenes."
"Understood, Boss!"
Several people dressed in squad leader attire spoke to Anthony Reid with loyalty and fanaticism, quickly departing from his side.
Anthony silently scanned his surroundings.
Strangely, in this disaster, the civilians did not suffer many casualties. The disaster seemed to have stopped abruptly halfway through its descent.
He lifted his feet and walked towards the Member of Parliament's office. On the way, his body suddenly jolted as he discovered that the 'Sex Addict' boon within him had been abruptly drawn away.
Upon realizing this, Anthony Reid understood what his boss was currently going through—the Believers of the evil god had most likely been wiped out by the churches in one fell swoop, just as his boss had previously said.
Anthony's lips couldn't help but curl up slightly. A touch of satisfaction surfaced in his heart, though his face appeared even more cautious and normal.
There was no revenge more satisfying than watching the career and very meaning of existence that an enemy had painstakingly spent everything to build being ruthlessly ground into dust.
He walked into the MP's office and saw Hugues Artois sitting on the sofa chatting with several "Purifiers". He noticed that the temperament in those eyes had undergone a massive change.
Thus, Anthony quickly nodded to Hugues Artois and the Purifiers, beginning to cooperate with their work.
There were also several other merchants with clean backgrounds present.
This included, but was not limited to, rebuilding the Market District, cooperating with the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun to investigate this evil god worship, and investigating the parliament incident.
As Anthony participated in the meeting, he cautiously observed the expressions of everyone around him.
On the faces of some "Purifiers", he saw suspicion and confusion; on the faces of some merchants, he saw ill intent and the relief of surviving a disaster; while in the eyes of Hugues Artois—no, in his boss's pupils—he saw a deep, detached look.
He did not seem to be putting all his heart and soul into this meeting that would determine his future identity.
1
Amidst the eternal, unchanging grayish-white fog, crimson stars lit up one after another. The seats were gradually filled with blurry figures.
There was the iconic deep blue hair, a tall giant of a man, a poet wearing bright Red Gloves, a Sanguine with blood-red eyes—
If they were in the outside world, each of them would be leaders or key decision-makers of various factions, big shots capable of making the Beyonder world tremble.
Yet at this moment, where the gazes of these prominent figures converged, upon the throne at the very head of the stone table, sat a figure dressed in formal attire. His face and form were somewhat blurry, looking as though he were both asleep and awake.
The master of the Tarot Club, a true deity, "The Fool" Klein.
After a brief convergence, their gazes filled with doubt. They turned their eyes to the side, focusing on an empty stone chair.
Beside the seat belonging to "The Hanged Man", which was closest to "The Fool", another chair had now appeared.
An empty chair.
The back of this chair bore a pattern resembling a clock, possessing a peculiar texture.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
"Justice" lifted her skirt slightly and spoke to "The Fool". Her gaze drifted to the seat beside "The Hanged Man", her eyes revealing a hint of confusion. "Mr. Fool, this seat is...?"
"The Fool" lightly tapped the chair beside him with his finger, a calm and gentle smile appearing on his lips, like the realization of waking from a dream. "I had a dream."
"In this dream, a friend whom we had forgotten helped me, allowing me to briefly escape my slumber and temporarily gain the upper hand."
With that, his fingers moved slightly, and a tarot card fell between his index and middle fingers.
"The Fool" flipped the tarot card over, revealing the pattern drawn upon it: "The Lovers" card!
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#206Chapter 206 Return, Rising from the Coffin
Chapter 206: Return, Rising from the Coffin
Amidst the gray fog, Nimrod gazed at the gray mist silently rolling before him. He slowly rubbed his chin, beginning to analyze the current situation: "The body I initially possessed in the Lord of the Mysteries World, which belonged to Amon, has now collapsed. So, what will happen to this body after I return to the Lord of the Mysteries World?"
The numbers on the back of his hand ticked away bit by bit. Judging by the countdown, it wouldn't be long before he was sent back to the world where he originally resided—however, the body Nimrod had initially used, which belonged to Amon, had completely collapsed previously when he accommodated Klein's Divine Descent.
For Nimrod, whether it was the "Amon" body or the "Yuge Atuva" body, both were simultaneously his true self and his avatar.
After this body collapsed, he had originally assumed that his Beyonder characteristics and spirit body would both transfer to his existing "Yuge Atuva" avatar.
But that was not the case; although his Beyonder characteristics had indeed transferred to this avatar, his spirit body had not.
His spirit body had returned to Sefirah Castle.
Now, this situation was worth pondering—given that it was known that the avatars he parasitized would follow him to the Lord of the Mysteries World along with the timeline jump, where would his bodiless spirit body, currently at Sefirah Castle, appear after the timeline jumped?
At the same time, Nimrod had also discovered how to determine which avatars he could bring from the Circle of Inevitability world into the Lord of the Mysteries World: avatars with this characteristic would all have the same countdown on the back of their hands as the one currently on Nimrod's hand.
However, Nimrod's expression was a bit strange as he looked at this countdown.
For some reason, this countdown seemed—compared to before he had finished digesting the "Dream Stealer" potion—a bit blurrier.
[There are two possibilities.]
The Celestial Worthy gently stroked his chin and diligently said to Nimrod beside him:
[The first possibility is that after returning, your spirit body will appear at Sefirah Castle. But in the Lord of the Mysteries World, your compatibility with Sefirah Castle is clearly not as high as it is now, so this possibility is relatively smaller.]
[The second possibility is that, due to your "Error" status, you will be deposited into a body in this world that is most compatible with you, thereby replacing the original owner's will.]
[You do not yet possess divinity, therefore, this range should not be too large, at most no more than a single city—]
The Celestial Worthy was now accustomed to using his own name and that of the Circle of Inevitability to distinguish the names of the two timelines.
He continued: [So, just as you thought, it should be in Backlund.]
[After all, I have never possessed the status of the Original level, and the Original is inconceivable—there are too many possibilities within you.]
Hearing the Celestial Worthy's analysis, Nimrod was not surprised; this confirmed his conjecture.
After all, his situation was unique in the entire Lord of the Mysteries World, and every step was very likely to result in unexpected situations.
However, since several possible options had been analyzed, he needed to prepare early.
"In other words, the target of this crossing is very likely to be—"
Nimrod quickly and agilely locked his suspicions onto a certain Angel of Time who was unwilling to reveal his name.
Undoubtedly, Amon, who possessed the Error Uniqueness, was the individual—or perhaps group—most similar to himself.
This was an "advantage" that other Marauders did not possess.
And in Backlund, there were traces of Amon's actions in many places.
In other words, he could potentially appear in any one of Amon's avatars.
Before this happened, he needed to gauge Amon's personality as much as possible to prevent himself from suddenly appearing in the middle of a group of Amons.
Amidst the gray fog, Nimrod began to repeatedly deduce the situations that might occur next in his mind.
Nimrod opened his eyes, and as the gray mist dissipated, he became vigilant, disguising his expression to be indistinguishable from Amon's.
—A gloomy and decaying aura crept into his nostrils.
He opened his eyes but saw only pitch-black Darkness.
"Did I cross into an Amon parasitizing a blind man this time? No, that's not right—"
Nimrod quickly confirmed the situation around him.
He slightly raised his upper body and pressed his hands forward with force, and sure enough, he touched a smooth, hard, and cold surface.
At this moment, he seemed to be hidden within a square, rectangular, narrow, and enclosed space.
Nimrod pushed against the obstacle in front of him, but couldn't move it—the body he occupied now had no Beyonder characteristics, but had left behind a Worm of Time, which became the object Nimrod devoured.
When Nimrod was sent to this Worm of Time, the Worm of Time immediately evolved into an Amon body.
"This is much better than the situation I originally imagined where I might land in the middle of a bunch of Amons—"
Nimrod did not speak, but closed his eyes again.
On the other side, the "Yuge Atuva" avatar had just put away the Devil card at this point in time and was walking into an alley.
He closed his eyes at the same time as well.
First were the five Beyonder characteristics of the Error Pathway, then the Robot and Mendicant Monk—at the very end, an inverted black cross slowly emerged on the neck of this Amon body.
This was the Angel characteristic that the True Creator had left in Nimrod's spirit body; it was a gift, and also a curse.
The next moment, a faint gray mist covered the pitch-black cross, shielding it from the True Creator's perception.
Nimrod's arms moved slightly forward, his whole body exerting force.
The immense power brought to him by the Robot and Mendicant Monk allowed him to instantly flip open the heavy stone slab on the coffin.
He sat up and scanned the scene around him:
He was currently located on a deep black platform, and the place he had just been in was a coffin of the same color as the platform.
On the surrounding walls were iron-colored brackets, and on each bracket was a burning white candle.
Both these brackets and the candles seemed frozen in place, as if they had not been baptized by time.
Directly in front of him was a tightly closed stone door.
On both sides of the path from the stone door to the coffin, corpses lay there, all looking like elderly people of seventy or eighty years old.
These were the grave robbers whose lives and time had been stolen by Amon.
A layer of faint gray appeared in Nimrod's eyes as he rose from the coffin and walked down from the platform.
His gaze cast downward; at the bottom of the platform, a picture frame lay face down—this was the backup plan Amon had left behind, a means to steal life and time.
Nimrod did not flip it over directly.
Although this body was also borrowed from Amon, he was not sure if this picture frame would absorb the Amon body, after all, the Beyonder characteristics of the Error Pathway on his own body only reached Sequence 5 and did not possess divinity.
Therefore, he only lightly touched the edge of the picture frame with his finger, and then a thin, gray mist, like a living fluid, wrapped around the entire picture frame, and it disappeared into the air.
After a few seconds, Nimrod beckoned, and the gray mist flowed upward from his palm, and the picture frame reappeared in his hand.
He held the edge of the picture frame with one hand and carefully examined the portrait on it: "Hmm, an Amon with a smile on the corner of his mouth."
The moment Nimrod took out the picture frame again, the time around him accelerated as if the fast-forward button had been pressed: the flames quickly burned out, the iron frames rusted, and the withered corpses that had originally been lying on the ground simultaneously decayed rapidly.
Beyonder characteristics either precipitated or combined with certain parts of the bodies, leaving behind shimmering colors in the rapidly darkening tomb.
Nimrod scanned the surroundings, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
He raised his hand, and the shimmering Beyonder characteristics around him fell into his hand one after another, being sent into Sefirah Castle.
Even though the Sequences of these Beyonder characteristics were not very high, they were numerous and satisfying, and added up, they already exceeded the number of fingers on two hands.
He took a deep breath and walked towards the gate of the tomb chamber, the stone gate of the tomb chamber splitting open to both sides.
Nimrod blinked gently, activating the keen observation exclusive to Marauders.
In an instant, the luster of the valuable items around him was reflected in his eyes.
He twisted his wrist, and one after another, beyonder items and materials fell into his pocket.
He still hadn't forgotten the incident when he had just arrived at the Aurora Order branch in Tingen City, where the Amon avatar had swept away the Aurora Order's beyonder items.
Of course, Nimrod felt this was not him holding a grudge, but rather him hoping that Amon would compensate for his losses.
However, since there was no way to negotiate with Amon, he had to helplessly choose to spend a little more effort to take them himself.
Soon, these items were sent by Nimrod one by one into Sefirah Castle.
No matter what backup plans Amon had prepared within them, the Celestial Worthy's will within Sefirah Castle could clean them up.
"A bountiful harvest—" Nimrod walked out of the mausoleum, feeling a sense of emotion in his heart.
But just as he walked to the entrance of this Amon's mausoleum, he seemed to suddenly remember something.
He casually took out a pen and a slip of paper from Sefirah Castle and wrote a line of words on the slip of paper.
After doing all this, he stepped back two steps, reached his hand deep into the tomb chamber, and the paper in his hand immediately disappeared from his hand, being sent to a certain place in the tomb chamber.
This Amon's mausoleum was not something he could explore in depth for the time being; it was enough to just take the things inside.
He remembered that there was also a portal leading to the Abyss in this mausoleum, but if he went to the Abyss to challenge the Mother Tree of Desire now, that would simply be delivering himself to be eaten.
To be cautious, after leaving the mausoleum for several hundred meters, Nimrod snapped his fingers, summoned his messenger, and had the animated void send him back to Dionysus's residence under the cover of night.
"—The above is my experience during this period, Captain Dunn."
Klein reported earnestly to Dunn Smith.
After accepting Prince Edessak's commission and telling Prince Edessak of his identity as a Red Gloves and connecting with him, he had been hunted down by the Demoness Sect.
However, fortunately, he finally entered the church and escaped the pursuit.
After receiving protection for a period of time, he was sent out again.
Of course, the Church of the Night had not been idle during this time.
On the contrary, the reason Klein was able to escape the pursuit of the Demoness Sect was because the Church of the Night had taken this opportunity to strike at the Demoness Sect again, making the demigods of the Demoness Sect afraid to appear in Backlund openly.
But just recently, the Demoness Sect seemed to have new movements again.
After combining the suggestions of Creste Celcima and after Dunn Smith learned the intelligence shared with them by the Church, Klein retold it again from his own perspective to prevent any omissions.
—Dunn nodded gently: "I understand."
"During this period, Daly and I will not accept new commissions; we will protect you in the dark."
Dunn paused: "Ince Zangwill is very likely to regard you as the first target. If he chooses to launch an attack on you, Daly and I will still be able to protect you from being instantly killed by the traps he sets."
"But Ince Zangwill might not necessarily be unaware that you are also protecting me in the dark—"
A hint of emotion emerged in Klein's heart.
Dunn's decision was equivalent to exposing the two of them to danger first; after all, "0-08" could likely know Dunn's thoughts and actions and make certain arrangements for them—in this way, if Ince Zangwill wanted to strike at him, he would first have to find a way to quietly deal with Captain Dunn and Ms. Daly.
Klein thought for a moment and told Dunn his thoughts from the previous two weeks: "Then, Captain Dunn, I will still go and normally accept some commissions related to the East Borough. This coincides with what we previously investigated about Ince Zangwill assisting the Demoness Sect and the military in their operations in the East Borough, and it is also most likely to detonate his preparations in advance."
"In this way, if we obtain substantial evidence, the Church can directly pressure the military to make the military abandon the Demoness Sect and Ince Zangwill. By that time, Ince Zangwill will have no choice but to act!"
As the saying goes, there is the principle of a thief for a thousand days, but no principle of guarding against a thief for a thousand days.
This was currently the situation for the members of the Tingen Squad regarding Ince Zangwill.
Dunn held his pipe without lighting it, just nodding gently: "Which item are you planning to start investigating first?"
Klein nodded and said earnestly: "My plan is to start with Prince Edessak. For us, he is currently the only high-ranking person we can access who can directly reach both the military and the Demoness Sect."
"When necessary, we can even have the Church protect Prince Edessak, thereby protecting this important lead. Because of the affairs and clues regarding the Demoness Sect, the Church of Storms should not forcefully refuse our request."
Dunn was silent for a moment and said to Klein: "Do as you say. I will wait a moment—no, I will go and report this matter to the high-level officials of the Church now."
"High-Sequence members of the Church will also join the investigation of this matter."