Xio, dressed as a man, was wearing boots with high heels and a patched canvas jacket. He was sitting with several homeless people.
Her gaze intermittently swept across the East Bayon Dockyard Union across the street, carefully scrutinizing each passerby.
After scrutinizing a group of workers heading to the café. Xio was about to look away when the café door was pulled open, and a rush of heat blasted out, causing one of the men to take off his gold-rimmed glasses and wipe the fog from them with his sleeve.
Xio glanced at it casually, then his gaze suddenly froze
Klein wore glasses, his hair was neatly combed back, and his previously messy beard was now just a dark bluish-black stubble around his lips. He was at least five centimeters taller than before, a clear difference from his previous worker image.
He glanced at the man guarding the door, then moved closer and said:
"I am a reporter from the Backlund Daily News, and I would like to interview your association' s staff to understand your demands and aspirations."
The person in charge led him into the office directly opposite the stairwell and introduced him to the people inside:
"This is Mr. Statham, a reporter from the Backlund Daily News ..."
Upon hearing this, the people in the office all looked towards the door.
One of the figures had a bronze complexion, sharp features, and wore long. gold-rimmed glasses. The man's gaze subtly swept over Klein before quickly averting its eyes, behaving no differently from any other staff member.
However, in the next second, a faint phantom of a cross appeared behind the man in the picture.
Having learned from their previous experience, the extraordinary individuals present did not lose their composure as they had last time, but a few more cautious ones still looked away and only turned their attention back to the film after confirming that nothing had happened.
Melissa and Benson were slightly taken aback, clearly recognizing this being who had appeared once before.
"This...this is the evil god from before?"
Melissa asked in a low voice, glancing at Audrey, who was more familiar with her, beside her.
"Yes." As soon as Audrey finished speaking, she saw Melissa and Benson's bodies suddenly tense up.
In a flash, a reassuring smile appeared on her face: "Don't worry, he'll be fine."
Although she couldn't use her extraordinary abilities, her flawless smile still contained a calming power. The brother and sister then relaxed slightly.
Although they knew little about the extraordinary world, the mere fact that the true creator was plotting in Tingen was enough to fill them with immense fear of this evil god. Last time, His unborn offspring was one of the reasons for Klein's sacrifice; and now Klein had crossed paths with Him again, how could the brother and sister not be worried?
Although Klein had twice miraculously returned from the dead, neither of them were fools; they knew that a being of a higher rank could abandon a mortal's life at any time.
Fortunately, judging from Audrey's reaction, Klein, who is in the same organization as her, should be alright this time.
The wandering magician, who was not far away, also noticed the small commotion and immediately guessed what Melissa and Benson were worried about.
Sigh... This isn't the last time I'll deal with the true creator. Next, I'll have to stop His descent again and outwit the Aurora Society... I don't even know what grudge or hatred we have... Recalling the past, Klein couldn't help but mutter to himself.
Poor Melissa and Benson, having a brother like me means they have to play these high-stakes games with me...
In that instant, Klein 's body trembled slightly, and the smile on his face almost went out of control.
"No, excuse me, I suddenly have a stomachache. Excuse me, where is the restroom?" He covered his stomach with his hand, which was not holding a pen or notepad, and asked with an awkward laugh.
None of the people suspected anything, and they all pointed to the door and said:
"Go out, turn left, walk to the end, and you will see the sign."
Klein smiled apologetically and stepped back, leaving the room and heading quickly towards the bathroom.
Once inside, he chose the toilet stall closest to the window, sat on the toilet, and locked the wooden door.
He bent over, his mouth stretched into a wide grin, and laughed silently, laughing so hard he seemed unable to straighten up, until a single, glistening drop of liquid fell to the ground.
At the same time, Audrey, who was watching her father train the hunting dogs with Susie, suddenly saw a gray mist appear before her eyes, followed by the deep and indifferent voice of "The Fool":
No confirmation required.
That 's Lanevus.
"We can inform the Church of the Goddess of Night and tell them that Lanevus possesses the divinity of the 'fallen creator'."
This... Leonard couldn't help but frown.
Contrary to his previous guesses, what he was seeing now seemed more like that Mr. Fool already knew all this, but chose to keep it from Klein, not telling him about the existence of the true creator, but letting him investigate on his own!
If that's the case, why did Mr. Fool help Klein issue the task? Wouldn't it have been better to let him do it himself? Was it just to test the two ladies, or was he not entirely at ease with them?
The fact that Mr. Fool refers to the True Creator as the "Fallen Creator" and repeatedly sabotages His plans suggests that the two are mortal enemies. Therefore, preventing the True Creator from descending upon Lanevus should also be Mr. Fool's wish...
Thinking about it this way, it seems that both of Klein's revenge attempts were like this... On the one hand, Klein himself had enough autonomy; on the other hand, Mr. Fool was also able to achieve his own goals through Klein's actions... It feels as if everything was arranged!
Leonard immediately recalled the phrase "the king of yellow and black who holds good fortune" from Mr. Fool's name, and the angels who guided the "path of destiny" under His command....
Moreover, the goddess who collaborated with Mr. Fool also possessed abilities in the realm of destiny... Leonard became increasingly terrified as he thought about it, feeling that Klein's destiny could very well have been predetermined from the very beginning!
Why? Is this necessary for the divine vessel to descend? Judging from Lanevus, the divine vessel shouldn't require such a complicated process, right?
However, Mr. Fool is someone closely connected to the Source Castle, something even the old man doesn't fully understand... So it seems that Mr. Fool's divine vessel might not require any other conditions...
Or perhaps, the one interfering with Klein's fate is not Mr. Fool or the goddess, but other gods who are cooperating or playing a game with Mr. Fool through Klein.
Leonard's mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts, and he just regretted that the old man was still silent.
"Lanevus? Involving divinity related to the 'true creator'?"
"Kresta Cecima, with his short, golden-brown hair, asked in a deep voice, his dark green eyes as deep as a still, windless lake."
"Yes," the Night Watchman replied, then added, "This information came from an ordinary bounty hunter. He just felt that the target had changed a lot, seemed very dangerous, and had a feeling of praying to an evil god, so he reported it to the church."
"...We performed divination to verify the authenticity of the reported content, but all related divinations failed."
"...In the end, it was decided that you would be in charge of this incident."
Cecima nodded slightly, then spoke:
"Although the authenticity of the information cannot be completely confirmed, we must not be negligent when dealing with events that are suspected to be related to evil gods."
"Have El investigate the whistleblower further. I will immediately lead the Night Watch to the dockworkers' association at East Baron Shipyard. For this operation, we should probably bring... the members on the airship responsible for surveillance..."
As the night watchman listened, he seemed to sense something was amiss and hesitantly spoke:
"Lady Cecima, aren't you going to bring Deacon Daly along on this mission? After all..."
His voice gradually faded.
Cecima pursed his lips, remaining silent for a moment. After a long while, he shook his head, his tone gentle yet firm:
"Don't tell Daly."
"As the person in charge of the operation and the senior deacon of the Night Watch, I must eliminate any unstable factors."
"When issuing the notification, ensure that no non-operation personnel are present, and tell all operation personnel that this information must be kept secret and can only be discussed after the event is over."
After leaving the dockworkers' association and returning to the Kragg Club, Klein prayed, then put on some beard, changed his hairstyle, and stared at himself in the mirror for several minutes.
His eyes held a mixture of anticipation, excitement, melancholy, and helplessness.
"I'm still too weak..."
Xio suddenly recalled his own words from the past.
Despite a slight fear of the "world," at this moment, she couldn't help but feel that the dazed young man in the film shared the same thoughts as her.
But we are still different... Mr. "World" has become an angel. He can participate in the actions to stop George III, hunt down the "Witch King" of the Rose School, and personally accomplish many things he wants to do...
And me... even though the end of the world is coming, all I can do is try my best. Of course, I'm still so weak....
A strong sense of powerlessness welled up in Xio's heart, but amidst this painful helplessness, a small flame was burning.
Night had fallen, and Klein stood in the shadow of the clock tower. above the enormous wall clock. He was surrounded by a deep yellow fence, and above him was a spire that he could reach out and touch.
A night breeze swept by, silently lifting a few strands of jet-black hair.
Klein gazed at a two-story brick-red building in the distance, then took a step back, blending even further into the darkness.At the same time, he took out the newly bought mask and put it on his face.
This is a clown with upturned corners of his mouth and red paint on his nose.
A happy clown.
In the area where the brick-red building stood, the gas streetlights suddenly went out, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
Klein, who had been standing quietly, suddenly trembled all over and bent over, as if he had sensed something extremely terrifying.
Just then, the surrounding gas streetlights began to glow brightly again, and the airship that had been unable to stop falling resurfaced.
Klein straightened up abruptly, pondered for a moment, then unfastened the pendant from his left sleeve, held it in one hand, and said in a low voice:
"The current Lanevus is no longer dangerous."
"Lanevus's escape route."
Having just escaped the corruption of the True Creator with the help of the Night Watchers' attack, Lanevus fell into the manhole cover and fled quickly into the labyrinthine depths of the sewers.
Suddenly, he instinctively stopped and leaned back.
puff!
A playing card was plunged deep into his right chest, and blood began to drip from the edge.
Lanevus looked up and saw the attacker.
He was a man of medium build wearing a worker's uniform, and his face was covered by a mask with upturned corners of his mouth and a bright red nose.
He was a happy clown.
So the one who killed Lanevus was indeed Mr. "World"...? Seeing the clown's radiant smile on the mask, Audrey sighed inexplicably in her heart.
Did he also scatter the tarot cards? Was this his own doing, or was it at the behest of Mr. Fool?
A gust of wind whipped through Klein's hair, and he took the opportunity to utter a low, hoarse Hermes word:
"Crimson!"
But Klein didn't throw out the talisman. Instead, he clenched his left fist tightly, with dark red flames dancing inside.
A soft crackling sound followed. Lanevus's eyelids immediately drooped heavy, but he struggled to stay awake.
Klein, who was also within the spell's range, offered no resistance and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
But in just a moment, he forcefully broke free from his slumber, his brown eyes clearly reflecting the swaying Lanievus.
Klein took a deep breath, twisted his waist and back, pulled his shoulders, and thrust his fist forward with all his might!
Bang! Crack!
His fist struck Lanevus hard in the throat, making a sound of bones breaking and causing blood and flesh to splatter.
Can he wake up immediately after falling into a deep sleep?
Upon seeing this scene, Cattleya instantly recalled a sentence the other party had said to her in the Sea of Ruins:
"This is a gift from my Lord."
Despite his severe injuries, the injured Lanevus lunged forward, but Klein, anticipating this, turned sideways and took a step back.
Immediately afterward, taking advantage of the moment when Lanevus lunged into empty space, he rushed behind his opponent in two steps. grabbed him with both hands, and wrapped them around the enemy's neck.
Snap!
Klein used his arms to twist his neck and snapped it!
Blood streamed from the eyes where the playing cards were stuck, and Lanevus's body slowly slumped down. At the same time, he asked in a very confused tone, haltingly:
"Why..."
"You...want to kill...me..."
Klein stared at his enemy and replied rather indifferently:
"No reason."
"No..." Lanevus's eyes widened, and he collapsed onto the sewer floor. unable to find peace, his pupils losing their luster.
Just then, Klein, who seemed very calm, suddenly stepped forward, tensed his right leg, and kicked out with all his might, striking Lannus in the head.
Bang!
The neck, already a bloody mess with shattered bones, could no longer withstand the pressure. Lanevus's head flew off like a ball, crashing heavily against the wall, leaving a red and white mess!
Klein watched this scene and suddenly bent over.
"Hahaha, hahaha."
Hahahaha.
He chuckled maniacally, the clown mask on his face radiating pure joy.
Those upturned corners of her mouth, that bright red nose, that pale face she looked so happy.
"Haha, haha... hahaha..." Klein laughed so hard he could barely breathe, his laughter sounding worse than crying.
After a few seconds, he finally calmed down, slowly straightened up. and winked his left eye at the darkest part of the sewer. Then, he curled up the corner of his mouth, but drops of liquid quietly slid down and landed on his collar.
"Captain...
"Look, we've saved Loen again..."
The familiar address lingered in his ears, and as memories flooded back in an instant, Leonard couldn't help but tear up.
Melissa and Benson stared silently at the familiar face hidden behind the mask, and couldn't help but feel a lump in their throats.Outside the film, there was a tacit silence, just like the last time when Klein, also dressed as the "Joker," presented a bouquet of flowers.
Anderson curled the corners of his mouth and muttered a complaint under his breath:
"Honestly, revenge is supposed to be a happy thing, but this guy has made the atmosphere so oppressive."
"However, this scene is very suitable to be drawn."
Azik watched quietly, as if remembering something, a silent sigh in his deep eyes.
Klein, who had finally calmed down, seemed to fall into thought. After a while, he turned to the headless corpse of Lanevus, squatted down and rummaged in the other man's pockets, took out a badge the size of an eyeball, and then stood up again.
He glanced at Lanius's corpse, then took out the remaining tarot cards with his left hand, which was gloved in black.
Immediately afterwards, he stretched out his left arm, placing his palm directly above the body of Lanius.
Suddenly, Klein released his grip. letting the tarot cards fall to the ground with a clatter.
The camera pans to the headless corpse, where tarot cards are spread like leaves over Lanius's body. Some are reversed, some are upright, and some are still unopened, their backs dark red with faint patterns, as if a large-scale, eerie tarot divination is taking place.
The scene looked spectacular; no wonder it was the first operation marked in this way... Leonard noticed the red-stained star-shaped plaque on the corpse's ankle and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Heh," Pales suddenly chuckled, "Why is a sewer so bright?"
"That's right!" Leonard was taken aback. Although the sewers in the footage were slightly dark, they had been within the visible range from the beginning, so he hadn't realized it.
At night, it is impossible to see anything with the naked eye deep inside the sewers!
"The scene you see is likely a result of being deliberately processed to appear brighter. The Sequence 8 of the 'Diviner' pathway lacks darkvision. Your former colleagues were probably using clairvoyance in battle, but since they couldn't quickly retrieve the ordinary tarot cards afterward, they simply used this method to confuse you." Pales paused here. "And after the 'Fool' learned of this, they simply adopted this method as the operational symbol of your organization."
"Of course, there are other possibilities, such as your former colleague using tarot cards as a weapon because Mr. Fool instructed him to."
When the camera panned back up. Klein's figure had already disappeared into the darkness deep within the sewers.
The scene shifts from dark to light, moving indoors. Beside the pale, veil-like moonlight, Klein, his disguise removed, smiles slightly upwards as he silently murmurs:
"Captain, Benson, Melissa, you probably prefer to see me like this now..."
Benson's lips twitched, and a complex mix of relief and worry flickered in his brown eyes, which resembled Klein's. After a long while, he finally uttered a few words softly, his voice slightly dry:
"That 's good....
Melissa nodded vigorously.
The woman, dressed in a black hooded robe, with blue eyeshadow and blush, exuding an eerie and cold beauty, glanced at the documents in her hand. Her cool gaze suddenly froze, then her brows furrowed, and she asked as if suppressing something:
"Lanevus?"
Why didn't I know about this?
"Why wasn't I notified about last night's operation?"
Upon hearing this, Daly raised her eyes and then scoffed:
Why do you think I would lose control of my emotions? I am calm and I will not act impulsively!
"My anger will only erupt after Lanevus is captured! That's the professionalism of a seasoned night watchman, a deacon!"
"If I capture Lanius, I will make him understand that men are also vulnerable! I will make sure there is a cold, rotting, but stiff corpse behind him, a skeleton full of barbs and stench in front of him, and let those cold little creatures come and go in every place on his body that they can enter or leave!"
"Damn it! You just let him die like that!"
Kresta Cecima calmly looked at Daly, listened silently to her words, and then sighed:
How long have you been holding back?
Daly paused for a moment, then suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon and whispered dejectedly:
"It's been a long time..."
Ms. Daly has always liked Mr. Dunn, and judging from some of Mr. Dunn's behavior, he should also have feelings for Ms. Daly. Why does he keep his feelings hidden in his heart... Audrey thought to herself.
As a writer, Fors had already imagined a series of heart-wrenching scenes for the two of them, but this time, the emotion in her heart was no longer the joy of finding inspiration, but a solemn sadness.
Xio's eyes were already slightly red. She remembered the two vengeful spirits who had lingered in front of the abandoned castle for thousands of years, passing each other time and time again, yet unable to recognize one another.
Having completed the first step of his revenge, Klein seemed much more relaxed. He quickly gathered the ingredients for the "Magician" potion through the Tarot Club and successfully advanced to Sequence Seven a few nights later.
After getting used to the feeling of Sequence Seven, Klein looked out the window and saw the outline of the incomplete red moon rapidly fill out, turning into a blood-red full moon in just a second or two.
"Is this the 'Blood Moon'?" Klein's lips moved slightly as he muttered to himself with a hint of relief.
At the same time, in another house in Backlund, Fors fell off the sofa and struggled, his body contorted in pain.
She recited the names of the gods with great difficulty, but her excruciating pain did not ease in the slightest. Her slightly curly brown hair continued to grow longer, and her fingernails, which she was scratching at the coffee table, broke off.
"I'm going to die... I'm going to die..." She writhed and rolled, and suddenly saw a piece of paper with words written in ancient Hermes.
She struggled to look over, and with all her might whispered:
"A fool who doesn't belong to this era..."
"Above the gray fog, a mysterious ruler..."
"In command of good fortune, King of Yellow and Black..."
"Help me, help me..."
Xio couldn't help but glance at Fors with concern. She was well aware that Fors was affected by the Full Moon Talk, but because Fors had deliberately downplayed it for a long time and later received help from Mr. Fool, Xio didn't know that the Full Moon Talk would bring such painful torment to her friend..
When Fors saw her disheveled appearance on the screen, she felt a mix of embarrassment and relief. After silently praising Mr. Fool in her heart, she turned her head and gave Xio a nonchalant, languid smile.
On the gray, majestic palace, at the end of an ancient and mottled bronze table, the "Fool" thoughtfully reached out his hand to the side. towards a halo of light that rippled continuously.
A figure then appeared inside the hall.
"Mr. Fool, may I join this party?"
"Sure, every Monday at 3 PM, to eliminate distractions." The Fool smiled and pointed to the playing cards that had suddenly materialized on the bronze table. "They' ve decided to use the names of the Tarot cards as their respective codes. You can choose one yourself; the following already have owners, so you can't choose one..."
Fors nodded, shuffling and cutting the cards with great interest, while muttering something under his breath:
"Let fate decide my title..."
She quickly drew a card, glanced at it, and said:
"magician!"
This evil god doesn't act like an evil god at all. Not only is he nice-tempered, but he can even save people... Anderson muttered to himself.
...No wonder that group of cultists looked at me like that. In their minds, "The Fool" was a gentle and benevolent being.
Tsk, are you kidding me...
Edwina had a similar thought.
The Fool is suspected of collaborating with the Goddess of Night. Although He is not a righteous god, He may not be an evil god in the conventional sense either.
But as long as they are gods, there is one thing they all have in common:
Believe in the power of God, but do not believe in His mercy.
She thought calmly.
After the blood moon ended and Fors left the gray fog, only the "Fool" remained, sitting alone in the palace.
A deep red star slowly magnified, and the interwoven red light gradually distorted into a picture.
"Where did you learn 'Spirit Dance'?"
Under the influence of illusion, Klein, whose face was blurred, sat on a sofa in a living room and asked leisurely.
"He taught me the dance of death and taught me a lot of knowledge. Unfortunately, the time was too short. I had just gotten into the zone when he died, leaving behind only a bronze whistle."
Before he could finish speaking, the simply dressed, high-cheeked faculty member pulled out a finely crafted, yet not old-fashioned, bronze whistle:
"This is it."
Kapusky Reid was terrified when he dug up the grave and found only a large patch of white feathers. Without hesitation, he gave the bronze whistle to Klein.
Feathered Serpent? A member of the Spirit Cult via the "Death" pathway? Cattleya quickly made her judgment.
Another bronze whistle? Could it attract undead too? Danitz blinked, a sudden realization dawning on him.
If that's the case, it makes perfect sense that Klein would give the other bronze whistle to Gehrman, who is also a member of the Familiar!
Of course, it could also be a gift from Mr. Fool, but why didn't I receive it...?
The scene shifts, and Klein stands in the shadow of a building, his face painted with oil paint. He then sneaks to the side of the building.
This is a small church with a prominent spire and the emblem of life engraved on the exterior wall, which is quite different from the surrounding buildings.
Upon seeing this, Emlyn's lips twitched suddenly.