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*****
"Alright, that's enough. There is no need to read any further. I believe you."
Bernadette reached out, cutting George off mid-sentence. Her lips twitched involuntarily, a sign of her internal agitation.
She finally understood why her father had never taught her the special script he used for his diaries. To be honest, she had felt a brief moment of warmth when she heard her father describe her as his most beloved daughter, but that sentiment evaporated instantly the moment the "Demoness" was mentioned.
In her heart, she knew that given the social climate of Intis back then, her father was unlikely to have been a paragon of purity. She could accept that; it was normal for the era. However, a Demoness? And twice? Father, you really are...
At her level of knowledge, she was well aware of the general nature of the Demoness pathway. Specifically, she knew that almost all Demonesses had originally been men.
"I understand that you are searching for my father's diaries, likely to collect the Cards of Blasphemy," Bernadette said, regaining her composure. "I possess a great many of his journals. I do not want the cards. I only ask that you tell me what happened to him during his later years."
"You don't think he's truly dead?" George immediately deduced her true motive. "Well, if he actually succeeded in his advancement, it's certainly a possibility."
He flipped the Black Emperor card open to the section detailing the Sequence 0: Black Emperor.
The advancement ritual for a Black Emperor required the aspirant to possess their own nation and establish a set of unconventional rules to drive the populace. They also had to secretly construct nine mausoleums, similar in structure to pyramids. Once prepared, they would enter one of these mausoleums and consume the potion to advance.
Once the advancement was successful, as long as the nine mausoleums were not all destroyed, the Black Emperor could potentially resurrect and return even if they were killed.
"One of my father's mausoleums has remained undiscovered to this day," Bernadette said, her eyes widening slightly. After years of searching, a spark of genuine hope had finally ignited.
Seeing this, George offered a small smile. "In that case, I accept your terms. If he is still alive, I happen to have a reason to look for him as well."
"You knew my father?" Bernadette asked, a look of confusion surfacing in her eyes.
This mysterious man's strength was likely somewhere between Sequence 2 and Sequence 3, and he could decipher her father's diaries. It was possible he had known him, but she had never seen or heard of this person before.
George didn't give a direct answer. Instead, he maintained an enigmatic expression. "The script your father used for his diaries is something no one else in this entire world can understand, yet I can. What do you think that implies?"
Think about it. Let that sink in.
Bernadette's mind raced as she began to form her own theories. "I will go back and retrieve the diaries. Let's meet tomorrow at the Backlund Bridge. However, before we trade, I require you to sign a Spirit World contract with me. Is that acceptable?"
Even though she felt he might truly have been an acquaintance of her father and his attitude was friendly enough, she felt it was necessary to sign a contract just to be safe. With a Spirit World contract as a constraint, if he tried to deceive her, even a Sequence 1 would suffer a significant backlash.
"Of course, no problem at all," George nodded nonchalantly.
He had no intention of lying to her anyway, and besides, a Spirit World contract held no real power over him. A backlash at the level of a Sequence 1 wouldn't even leave a scratch on him.
"I still don't know your name?" Bernadette paused before disappearing into the Spirit World, turning back to ask him one last question.
George's eyes shifted as a thought occurred to him. "You can call me Passerby A. I am a Blessed of the Great Fool."
He was of the Seer sequence; his future advancement to Sequence 0 would make him the Fool, the true deity of the Tarot Club. There was no harm in doing a bit of advance promotion. He could use this "Passerby A" persona as an Angel of the Fool walking the earth. Later, he could create "Passerby B," "Passerby C," and "Passerby D"—all of them could be Earthly Angels of the Fool.
"The Fool?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Bernadette's face. She had never heard of such a deity. Perhaps it was some ancient god who had recently awakened? Without dwelling on it further, she stepped into the Spirit World and vanished.
Having obtained the Black Emperor card, George initially intended to use a Flame Jump to return home, but he quickly changed his mind.
"I'll take a quick stroll before heading back."
On a night like this, he might run into a suitable candidate for a puppet or some prey he could hand over to the Church in exchange for the next sequence's potion formula.
In the East District of Backlund, George looked down into a dark alleyway. Below, a black dog the size of a small calf was gnawing on the heart of a young woman's corpse. He couldn't help but rub his chin thoughtfully.
"Quite lucky, aren't I? A Sequence 6 Devil from the Abyss pathway. Is it preparing for an advancement ritual?"
The calf-sized black dog wasn't just an ordinary animal; it was an extraordinary creature that had reached the level of a Sequence 6: Devil. It wasn't just humans who could consume potions to advance; animals could do the same. According to Klein, Miss Justice had accidentally let her pet dog consume a Sequence 9: Spectator potion, turning it into a Beyonder dog.
This large black dog was likely someone's Beyonder pet. The ritual for a Sequence 6: Devil to advance to Sequence 5: Desire Apostle involved a series of murders, where the killer had to consume the victim's heart each time. The minimum was thirteen hearts and the maximum was forty-nine. The more people killed, the more complete the ritual and the higher the success rate of the advancement.
To be honest, a Sequence 6 characteristic alone wasn't enough to trade for a Sequence 4 formula with the Church. However, the dog's owner was likely a Sequence 5 or even a Sequence 4. That made things more interesting.
Using a Flame Jump, George appeared directly in front of the demonic dog. Before the beast could even react, George swung his palm down onto its head.
CRACK.
The Devil dog's head was smashed instantly, and its life force vanished in a heartbeat.
As the Beyonder characteristic began to seep out, George extracted the dog's soul and began a soul-search to find clues about its master.
"A Sequence 5? Well, it'll do."
Through the dog's memories, George confirmed it did indeed have a master: a Sequence 5: Desire Apostle hiding within Backlund. If the master had been a Sequence 4, he could have definitely traded him for the Bizarro Sorcerer formula. Since it was only a Sequence 5, he'd probably need a few more to make a fair trade.
"The soul hasn't completely left the body yet, so there's still hope."
Looking at the young girl whose heart had been partially eaten, George reached out and pressed her soul, which was on the verge of departing, back into her body. He then used light magic to heal her physical form and erased the terrifying memory of being attacked and killed by the demonic hound.
He was happy to perform such effortless acts of kindness whenever he was in a good mood.
After stashing the dog's carcass, George transformed into a streak of flame and jumped to No. 6 Edward Street in the West District of Backlund.
It was a rather luxurious villa. The owner, Patrick Jason, appeared to be a cheerful, enthusiastic, and optimistic middle-aged man on the surface—a major shareholder in a small bank. In reality, that was merely a disguise. His true identity was a member of the Beria family, and his real name was Jason Beria.
The Beria family was one of the three major families of the Church of the Blood-Sovereign, which worshipped the Abyss. They were a quintessential evil cult family. The Abyss pathway they mastered was filled with bloody murders and depraved desires, making them every bit as dangerous as the Aurora Order.
A moment later, George was holding Jason Beria's corpse. An interested look appeared on his face.
"Another assassination plot against Duke Negan? And they even offered Roselle's Abyss card as a reward. The employer seems to have quite a lot of influence."
(End of Chapter)