Ebner had said upon their first meeting that the "Full Moon Ravings" could only be solved by seeking the protection of a deity... And after all this time traveling together, there was no way she could hide her condition during the full moon from him... He must've already known she had placed her faith in a certain "great being"... He might've even guessed it was Mister Fool.
Hearing the third point Ebner mentioned, Fors couldn't help but show an awkward smile.
But Mister Fool doesn't allow members of the Tarot Club to reveal His name without permission... Besides, Ebner also has a great being behind him and is even a Blessed of a deity... It's unlikely that Mister Fool would want him...
While Fors was tangled in her thoughts and didn't know how to respond, Ebner chuckled lightly and said gently, "No need to feel conflicted. I'm not digging for an answer—just stating a possibility."
In truth, he had considered a fourth possibility—that the setup here was aimed at him... But after thinking it through, he found it implausible.
Roselle or Benjamin had clearly made their arrangements via Fors. Even if some transmigrator senior had mentioned Fors to Roselle, there was no way they could have predicted over a century ago that he and Fors would become friends...
As these thoughts turned in his mind, Ebner heard Fors hesitantly say, "Ebner, I'm sorry... It's not that I don't want to tell you some things... I just can't..."
"I understand." Ebner smiled to show he didn't mind. Just as he was about to comfort her in return, he suddenly sensed danger stirring in the darkness beyond the firelight.
Something's being drawn here by the light? Ebner frowned slightly, though he wasn't too nervous. After all, that thunderbird and the official Beyonders had managed to survive here for nearly twenty years. Whatever dangers existed in the ruins were likely within acceptable limits.
Still, to be cautious, Ebner quickly summoned four more types of flame outside the crimson fireball—pale white, pure black, light blue, and golden yellow.
The crimson flame was high-temperature fire from the Hunter pathway, meant to burn and destroy all physical matter.
The pale white flame belonged to the Corpse Collector pathway, a flame that drove all living things into death.
The pure black flame of the Witch pathway ignited all things imbued with spirituality.
The light blue flame was the Infernal Sulfur Flame of the Demon pathway, corroding both flesh and soul.
The golden yellow flame was the Light of Fire from the Sun pathway, purging evil and cleansing wraiths.
Now, the five fireballs formed from these flames flew upward, orbiting around Ebner and Fors like satellites.
"What ability is this?" Fors, having instinctively moved closer to Ebner, watched the dazzling spectacle with eyes full of wonder and asked curiously.
"This is a new secret technique I developed. It combines offense and defense. With the special effects of each fireball, it should be enough to deal with most enemies...
"Come to think of it, I built a model for this secret art back when I was a Scholar, but I could never solve the 'balance' issue... Yesterday, during a certain research session—ah, during an inspiration I had—I decided to use the highest-tier 'Pale Flame' as the core to govern the others. That finally stabilized the balance and completed the secret art."
Ebner casually explained as he kept an eye on the situation in the dark.
You don't need to go into so much theory—I don't get any of it... Just tell me what it does... Fors grumbled inwardly. Just then, she saw hordes of undead closing in from all sides—flesh rotted away save for heads and legs with scraps of meat.
At the same time, all sorts of bizarrely shaped spirits were swooping down from the sky.
Before they could get close, the fireballs orbiting Ebner and Fors launched their assault first!
One by one, the fireballs shot out like cannonballs, shattering the ground around them in an instant! Yet their number didn't diminish—each time a fireball launched, another one materialized to take its place, as if they were endless.
The undead had no souls, rendering the black flame ineffective. But under the relentless bombardment of crimson fireballs, large numbers of them quickly fell.
As for the spirits, they were reduced to ashes under the Sunfire...
"These monsters are only visually scary. They're not actually any stronger than ordinary people... Especially the undead—they move slowly. Even if someone isn't a Beyonder, as long as they overcome their fear and escape before being surrounded, they could easily outrun them.
"The spirits don't seem to have any special abilities either—not even basic wailing..."
With multiple layers of protection cast on both himself and Fors, Ebner felt like he was fighting thin air. It was frustrating, but he didn't drop his guard. Instead, he began analyzing the origin of the undead and spirits:
They're probably all former 'citizens' of this ruin—or more accurately, Roselle's mausoleum. After the mausoleum was destroyed, most of them must have died immediately and turned into these monsters... The reason Fors didn't encounter them before is likely because she hadn't truly entered the dream-ruin. She hadn't emitted the aura of a living person or produced any light...
But there's a problem. Judging by the size of this city-state, the number of citizens shouldn't be too high—maybe a thousand at most. Subtract a few 'survivors' and the total's even lower...
Yet the number of monsters drawn to me is close to that!
Did the official Beyonders not clear them out over the past twenty years? That doesn't make sense!
Unless... these undead and spirits don't actually die and can regenerate after some time...
Just as Ebner thought this, he suddenly heard a hawk-like screech from the sky. A flash of silver light burst forth—dozens of branching bolts of lightning crashed down!
It was the three-eyed thunderbird, drawn here by the firelight. Its three eyes gleamed blood-red, radiating insatiable greed.
—This "world" was on the brink of destruction. Food was extremely scarce. The thunderbird, long surviving on fungi, craved meat with desperate hunger!
So you're the first to show up after all. Ebner sighed. He had anticipated the thunderbird would take advantage of the chaos. The reason he'd shown off that flashy but moderate "Five Flames" secret art just now was to bait out any lurking dangers in the ruins.
The ideal outcome would've been drawing out something Roselle or Benjamin had left behind. Then, through "Analysis" and "Decryption," he could've understood the situation without needing to explore further.
But now that the thunderbird had ruined that chance, clearly the ideal outcome was no longer achievable...
Fortunately, this stupid bird was Fors's target to begin with, so it wasn't a loss.
While sighing to himself, Ebner gently brushed the mirror at his cuff. Immediately, the descending lightning bolts lost their target, scattering into countless electric tendrils that jumped from the ground toward the surrounding undead.
At the same time, Ebner extended his right hand and solemnly declared in ancient Hermes:
"No flying allowed in this domain!"
The moment the words fell, the thunderbird felt as though something ten or even a hundred times its own weight had suddenly latched onto its wings. No matter how it flapped or summoned gales, it couldn't resist the pull—its body helplessly slid toward the ground.
It had never experienced anything like this before. Starved to the point of near-insanity, its already deteriorating mind blanked out completely. The whole bird froze, momentarily forgetting even to attack.
"Bribery – Enchantment!"
"Combat Hypnosis!"
Using these two abilities, Ebner successfully guided the thunderbird into his pre-set rhythm. A faint smile played on his lips as he manipulated the five orbiting fireballs, launching a relentless barrage at the sliding bird.
Soon, amidst sorrowful cries, the three-eyed thunderbird—roughly at Sequence 5—let out its final breath in unwilling defeat.
To the current Ebner, such a single-minded, low-intelligence mid-sequence Beyonder creature wasn't a threat at all. He hadn't even needed to use any of the demigod-level mystical items he carried—he'd taken it down effortlessly.
But just then, a dry female voice echoed from the darkness:
"You two... actually killed that thunderbird?!"
(End of chapter)