Edward thought for a moment, then asked again, "Tell me—if I wanted to hunt Zaratul and obtain His Miracle Invoker characteristic, what would you recommend?"
"Hunt Zaratul?"
Krismona looked genuinely surprised. "You should be a Door Pathway beyonder, right? Why hunt Him? Are you planning to switch to the Fool Pathway?"
"No. There's another reason. You just said you were familiar with Zaratul—are you friends?"
"Not really. He's one of those old bastards who survived from the Fourth Epoch. There's no path conflict between us—we're merely at the level of acquaintances who nod when we meet."
She lowered her head to think. "Hunting Zaratul…would be difficult. Even if Mother were here, when Zaratul flees with every fibre of his being; it would be hard to keep him."
"What if he willingly walked into our hands?"
"That wouldn't change much."
Krismona said, "He can at least summon three Sequence-2 historical projections, plus he has several high-level sealed artifacts historical projections in his possession, and he has the Miracle Invoker's resurrection… "
Edward understood then—no wonder the Coward families were so slippery.
"I wonder—if I used Regression now, could I drop Zaratul down to Sequence 4, and keep him there for a few seconds?"
Thinking this, Edward said, "Miss Krismona, would you mind cooperating with a test?"
"What?"
"I want to use a special ability on you to test how it actually affects a Sequence-2 being."
Krismona refused without hesitation. "Sorry. I must decline."
"Uh."
Edward finally realised how overreaching his request had been; he felt sheepish and hurriedly apologised. "...Sorry. That was thoughtless of me."
Although they appeared to be getting closer, in truth they had only known each other for half an hour. All the "trust" between them was built on Lilith—and Lilith was not here. Krismona still kept a final sliver of wariness toward him, just as Edward couldn't wholly trust her either.
In short—he blamed his childishness.
"Ahem. One last question." Edward quickly changed the topic. "What is Lilith's attitude toward Amon and his brother?"
"Mother didn't like Amon. She said not a single word from his mouth could be trusted. Mother liked Amon's brother even less—His possessiveness was too strong."
"???"
"That's all? Weren't they the ones who, together with Cheek, killed Lilith back then?"
Krismona answered, "Amon merely helped block those who went to aid Mother at the time. As for His brother, He did take part in Cheek's betrayal, but afterwards He reached some kind of agreement with Mother. She didn't seem to hold much hatred toward Him after that."
"What kind of agreement?"
"To help Mother…jump to the Red Priest."
Crack.
The floor beneath Edward split and cracked. He ground his teeth and hissed, "That old dog!"
He had suspected this, but the confirmation still left him unable to accept it—Red Priest was the apex of the Hunter path. Once one jumped to Red Priest, one truly became a man!
Even if Lilith eventually killed Cheek and seized Her Beyonder characteristic and Uniqueness—becoming a dual pathway True God, being able to accommodate the City of Calamity and ascend to a Great Old One, but she can't go back to being a female, right?
Forgive Edward for his limited rank, narrow mind, and constrained vision—he simply could not accept it.
Seeing Edward's reaction, Krismona pursed her lips and said, "To be honest, I don't like that Mother—whom I've called 'Mama' for so many years—suddenly becoming a 'Papa.' But Mother said that was the only way she could possibly take revenge on Cheek."
"Moreover," she continued, "it was also for self-preservation. Without sufficient strength, if Cheek found an opportunity, there would be no turning things around."
Edward clenched his jaw. "If I could take out Cheek for her, would she then not have to jump to Red Priest?"
"..."
Krismona watched him calmly. There was no contempt in her expression, but neither did it show trust. She stated evenly, "If you truly are as special as Mother claims, perhaps one day you could reach that point. But Mother may not be able to wait that long."
She can.
Edward silently thought to himself: At least from what I know of the future, Lilith hadn't succeeded in jumping to the Red Priest Pathway by that time. That means I still have about a hundred and ninety years left. I don't believe that, given a hundred and ninety years, I still wouldn't be able to ascend to Sequence 0…
Just as that thought arose, his heart suddenly jolted—
Advancing to Sequence 2 is fine.
But the three "Key of Stars" Beyonder characteristics are all with Mr. Door…how am I supposed to advance to Sequence 1?
Even if he somehow managed to advance to Sequence 1, what about Sequence 0 after that?
As a special Pathway beyond the twenty-two standard Sequences, would the Uniqueness he needed to ascend to Sequence 0 truly belong to the Door Path?
It wasn't that Edward had never considered this problem before—but every time, he would dismiss it as something too distant to worry about, convincing himself that there would surely be some unexpected opportunity when the time came.
But now, when he had no choice but to face it directly, he realised he didn't have the slightest clue.
Krismona stood quietly beside him, saying nothing, not disturbing his train of thought.
After a long while, Edward asked softly, "You and Lilith dealt Cheek a setback in the underground of Trier, but that also exposed your position. Why are you still staying here?"
She smiled lightly. "With the gaze of the Seven Gods upon this place, Cheek wouldn't dare make another move anytime soon. If She rashly dispatched the Demoness Sect's angels to Trier, the God of Steam and Machinery certainly wouldn't allow it."
"But that means you're basically using Stian—uh, the God of Steam and Machinery as your shield. Are you sure that won't anger Him?"
Krismona replied, "In truth, that 'disaster' in Trier a few weeks ago, though witnessed by the Seven Gods, was ultimately resolved by Mother herself. If not for the sudden disappearance of the corruption from Cheek's descending body at that moment, Mother and I would have suffered immense losses, even if we'd survived intact. After putting in that much effort, borrowing a bit of the God of Steam and Machinery's protection shouldn't be too much to ask, don't you think?"
She paused for a moment, then continued, "Of course, once Mother returns safely, we'll definitely leave this place immediately."
"Where to?"
"That depends on Mother, but I suspect it will most likely be Feynapotter."
Edward was startled. "Feynapotter? Isn't that vampire territory? I heard Lilith once…offended them, had some unpleasant dealings with them?"
Krismona covered her mouth and chuckled. "Are you talking about the time Mama impersonated the Ancestor of the Sanguines?"
"…Yes."
"In fact, those Sanguines should be grateful to her."
Edward's surprise deepened. "Why's that?"
"Because if it weren't for Mother, all of them back then would have followed the 'Goddess of Beauty' Auernia into serving the 'Night Emperor' and joined the Trunoest Empire."
Krismona went on to explain, "That way, when the Night Emperor and Auernia both perished later, the vampires would have suffered catastrophic losses. In a sense, Mother saved their entire race."
Edward suddenly realised. "...So that's how it was."
So, when Lilith impersonated the Sanguine Ancestor, was that something they had agreed on from the very start? If that's the case, the relationship between the two Liliths shouldn't be too bad, right?
"Then why do they still seem…to bear a grudge against Lilith?"
He briefly recounted what had happened during his previous trip to Feynapotter.
"It's not really hatred—more like pride," said Krismona. "You should know what the Sanguines are like. They've been the same for thousands of years—arrogant, looking down on everyone equally. But it's mostly just talk."
That did make sense.
People like Emlyn…even if his entire body went soft one day, that mouth of his would still stay hard.
"So if I go to—"
Just as he began, Edward suddenly recalled that the identity of the vampire Lilith as the Earth Mother was still a secret, so he stopped himself and instead asked, "Did Lilith say how long she'd be gone?"
"Mother said, if everything goes smoothly, about a month."
"I see. Understood."
———
After leaving Krismona's place, Edward went straight to find the Little Snake.
The moment they met, the boy grinned and said, "So, you met that witch, huh?"
"Mm."
Will's eyes widened in surprise. "Eh? I thought you'd come to scold me for not telling you their whereabouts earlier." He raised one hand. "But I swear, I really didn't know before."
"Uh, wait—you're not mad that I sold you out to Krismona without hesitation, are you?"
Edward shook his head. "Of course not. No matter what, I should be thanking you."
At once, the Little Snake's eyes gleamed. He extended his hand. "Still, just saying thank you like that—don't you think that's a bit insincere?"
Edward quickly took out an ice cream.
"Not enough!"
Will shook his head, rubbing his chin in thought. "How about this—you write me an IOU. Just say…you owe me one favour, and you'll try your best to fulfil whatever request I make in the future!"
"This…"
"Relax. It's just a simple note—no notarization, no binding power. And I won't ask for anything outrageous."
"…Alright."
Edward took out a pen and paper, wrote the note as requested, and handed it over. Will glanced at it and nodded with satisfaction. "Nice! So, what did you come to me for?"
"I'm planning to enter the astral world to digest the Wanderer potion. Do you think that's possible?"
"Of course! Bethel did the same back in the day."
"…I mean, is it safe?"
Will arched an eyebrow. "That, I can't guarantee. I'm just a poor, weak, helpless little kid. The astral world is the gods' domain. Besides, what in this world is ever truly safe?"
"Still, I can give you a little bit of good luck—but honestly, it won't help much."
"I understand. Thank you."
Will waved a hand. "Then I wish you a smooth digestion."
Watching Edward's figure fade away, Will frowned slightly. "Strange…why has his fate suddenly shifted so drastically? Is it something about him—or the influence of Lilith?"
"Lilith has gone deep into the mirror world…what exactly is she up to now?"
He hugged himself with both arms and shivered. "Ah…why does Trier suddenly feel so unsafe all of a sudden?"
———
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