Astolfo's body stiffened for a moment, and a three-dimensional symbol composed of a scale representing order and a scepter symbolizing dominion emerged between his eyebrows.
Thick, solidified dark golden mist surged out, swirling around Astolfo, like a mummy wrapped in dark golden bandages.
Within the boundless Nation of Disorder, Aaron, using the Sefirah's authority, completed the mystical ritual with Astolfo's active cooperation. Almost simultaneously, a bloody slit tore open from the withered brown flower bud on Astolfo's chest.
Not only Astolfo, but even Aaron, who was deeply bound by the mystical ritual, looked at that bloody rift, as if peering through the mists of history to some unknown place.
In a fleeting glimpse, what entered their consciousness was a giant figure wrapped in yellowed bandages; "It" was impaled by countless reddish-brown branches and suspended in mid-air.
Its belly was bulging, and its mouth was opening and closing, screaming incessantly. Even without hearing any actual sound, even just glimpsing through the mists of history via the medium of a curse, both angels seemed to be affected by that indescribable pain.
Below the figure pierced by branches, a mountain of flesh-like distorted Monster exuded a terrifying pressure no less than that of the Abomination, Suah. Bloody pupils opened up on the writhing, distorted chunks of flesh, constantly spreading an ethereal bloody mist, coldly looking at Aaron and Astolfo, who were gazing upon it.
The entire scene completely collapsed at this moment, leaving only the last image in Aaron's mind before the picture shattered: at the core of the flesh-mountain Monster was a face indescribable by words, seemingly a convergence of all beautiful symbols in the world, forming a strong contrast with its deformed and hideous body.
As a muffled roar echoed, the withered brown flower bud on Astolfo's chest finally could not withstand the onslaught of the dark golden tide, and was torn apart and separated along with the part of the Spirit Body that had been attached and corroded.
The illusory world that enveloped the entire historical mist suddenly shrank, sealing and suppressing the peeled-off curse originating from the Mother Tree of Desire.
Skillfully tossing it into the pile of sundries, Aaron's brows remained tightly furrowed. Although Astolfo's problem was resolved, the scene he had just glimpsed through the curse medium reminded him of Barranca, the "King of Curses," the only remaining angel of the Rose School of Thought, whom he had previously asked the magic mirror Arrodes to display.
If he was unable to judge the specific situation back then due to Arrodes's ability, now he could be certain that the Monster exuding the pressure of a Sequence 1 Great Angel was Barranca.
"The Sanguine's lost Beauty Goddess characteristic...."
A somewhat grotesque yet seemingly the only logical explanation emerged. Aaron rubbed his temples with a headache. If two Outer Deities cooperated to create a cross-Pathway Sequence 1 Great Angel...
"I must inform the Sanguine and the Earth Mother about this as soon as possible!"
Having quickly made a decision, Aaron's figure slowly disappeared from the majestic palace, returning to the locked historical mist.
He directly abandoned the idea of using the previous medium to reverse-locate the Chained God and Barranca. Their gaze had already made Them react, and They must have hidden Themselves by now.
He was neither a Seer, nor did the Nation of Disorder provide any bonus to divination, so he could no longer locate their true forms.
Looking at the relieved Astolfo, Aaron directly stated his deduction and, incidentally, lifted the virtual divine kingdom's restriction on this historical mist.
The dark golden mist on his body receded, and Astolfo, whose aura was slightly listless, remained silent for a long time, then slowly nodded in agreement with Aaron's deduction. Immediately, a low, ethereal voice echoed:
"Before Suah was born, that Lunatic once wanted the 'Chained God' to accommodate that 'Beauty Goddess' characteristic, even if it meant distorting into a mad Ancient God to forcibly ascend to godhood, completely controlling the Chained Pathway, and even coveting the Moon's authority."
"It was thanks to the Primordial One's barrier at the time being extremely repellent to the erosion of Outer God powers, or perhaps other forces interfering, that this attempt failed, and as the price of that failed advancement, Suah was born."
Aaron's expression had returned to calm. The matter had already occurred, and being prepared in advance was much better than being caught off guard. After thinking for a moment, Arianna's Night Emblem suddenly appeared in his hand.
He took out the virtual personality of Hvin Rambis, imprisoned and sleeping within it, and spoke indifferently to Astolfo, who was struggling to restrain his own madness and malevolence:
"This is the virtual personality of a 'Manipulator.' His true body hasn't discovered this sleeping personality. It's a good curse medium. He won't need to see the Sun tomorrow."
Without asking for the reason, an invisible, chilling wind emerged, carrying the virtual personality and disappearing into Astolfo's hideous and terrifying body.
Putting Arianna's Night Emblem back, Aaron tilted his head slightly, looking beyond the historical mist.
Within the thin gray-white mist, a tall lady vaguely appeared, wearing a black gothic dress adorned with countless mysterious symbols and entwined with sinister vines. She held four identical heads in her hand, and her eyes were blood-red.
The Chained God's former Blessed, Reinette Tinekerr!
-----------------
On the turbulent Fog Sea, the Black Death sailed steadily. Pirates moved about on the deck, arguing fiercely about whether to hoist the sails.
The rather lively scene was out of place in this dead silent sea, like directing a self-amusing play. Yet, every pirate participating in this play had a remarkably consistent demeanor: a smile on their lips and a monocle over their right eye.
This was Amon's carnival!
"Is this your hobby?"
The respectful address could not conceal the hidden charm in the soft voice. A beautiful lady appeared in front of the pile of Amons on the deck.
Her body was covered in jewels, their surfaces faintly flashing with wailing souls, making a strange "clinking" sound when she moved, as if playing a symphony with souls.
Her dark gown was like a long river in the void, its hem winding and varied, with jewels of different colors adorning the hem and body, symbolizing her.
"Saintess of Black" Clarice!
Standing by the ship's rail, Amon, wearing a pointed soft hat, curled the corners of his mouth, pushed his monocle on his right eye, stretched lazily, and chuckled:
"This is very interesting, isn't it?"
"Saintess of Black" Clarice was silent for a moment, recalling the Primordial Demoness's will she felt when leaving the altar. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly looked up at the sky.
The originally normal Crimson Moon had once again become eerie, and the dense feminine power made even her gasp in surprise.