Above the Gray Fog, within that magnificent and ancient palace, Klein leaned back in the high-backed chair belonging to The Fool, listening to Magician Fors's narration.
The commission came from Mr. Lawrence of the Abraham Family, who wished to assassinate Mr. X of the Aurora Order. Indeed, Lawrence had already advanced to Traveler, and now he truly had the ability to begin his revenge against the Aurora Order.
This was the Tarot Club's first external business, and it was a collective action involving multiple participants.
Klein quickly gathered his thoughts. He looked down leisurely at the image coalesced from the prayer light, and with a faint smile, he asked Magician Fors, who seemed a bit uneasy, "So, who do you want to participate in this private gathering?"
In the rented house in Backlund West Borough, Fors heard the reply from the depths of the Gray Fog. She looked up in slight surprise at the figure within the Gray Fog, then quickly lowered her head.
"Mr. Fool means he can organize a small gathering for us? I thought it would be like usual, where we directly see and hear each other's requests. But this way is indeed more convenient for communication."
After a brief moment of contemplation, Fors began to seriously consider which Tarot Club members she could request. They had to be in Backlund, or possess Spirit World traversal, capable of quickly traveling back and forth to Backlund. Miss Justice, Mr. Moon… and Mr. Tower.
Fors quickly confirmed the Tarot Club members she wished to invite and informed Mr. Fool.
After receiving Magician Fors's reply, Klein couldn't help but sigh inwardly. "She didn't invite the experienced and seasoned The World. I was thinking I could use Creeping Hunger to shepherd a Traveler's soul. The Traveler's abilities are truly coveted."
Although he felt a bit regretful, considering he was currently on the Future, it was indeed inconvenient for him to rush to Backlund. Klein could only sigh inwardly about his bad luck.
He then edited Fors's words and cast them into the crimson stars representing Justice, Moon, and White Tower respectively.
Everyone's responses were quick. Klein waited above the Gray Fog for about three or four minutes, then extended his spirituality, drawing the members participating in this small-scale gathering into the space above the Gray Fog.
Crimson lights surged up, then quickly condensed, and four somewhat blurry figures appeared on either side of the mottled long table.
"Good morning, Mr. Fool~"
"Good morning, Mr. Tower."
"Good morning, Mr. Moon."
"Good morning, Madam Magician."
Audrey greeted everyone present with a joyful tone. This was her first time participating in a small-scale member gathering outside of the regular Monday meeting, so she was inevitably a bit excited.
After everyone greeted each other, Magician Fors lightly coughed twice to attract everyone's attention, then spoke, "Everyone, I have a rather special commission."
After her gaze swept over everyone, she continued, "Assassinate Mr. X, a divine messenger of the Aurora Order. He is currently in Backlund, and he should be a Sequence 5 Traveler of the Apprentice Pathway. This mission is quite dangerous, so you can refuse if you don't wish to participate."
"Just us?"
Justice Audrey looked at Magician Fors with a curious gaze. Fors must have already discussed it with someone and wanted to eliminate the Aurora Order's divine messenger as soon as possible, otherwise she would have posted a commission at next week's Tarot Club instead of convening a small gathering like this.
Moon Emlyn also looked at Magician Fors curiously. He didn't think that they alone had the ability to assassinate a divine messenger of the Aurora Order. The Traveler's flexibility made them very difficult to catch.
Unless this guy is willing to make a move... Moon Emlyn suddenly turned to look at Leyton, who was sitting on his right.
Leyton turned his head and met Emlyn's gaze, then turned to Magician Fors, who was slightly ahead of him, and said, "I'm in the Sea of Ruins east of the Sonia Sea. I can't participate in your assassination, but I can provide you with some items and Beyonder ability assistance."
"Alright." Although a little disappointed, Fors calmly nodded in response, then turned her head to answer Justice Audrey's previous question: "There's also a Traveler from the Abraham Family; this commission also came from him."
"What we need to do is create a suitable battlefield, stop any potential accomplices, and prevent Mr. X from escaping through Spirit World traversal."
After hearing Fors's explanation, Moon Emlyn chuckled, then leaned back leisurely in his chair. If The Fool hadn't been there, he would have even crossed his legs.
This Vampire seems a bit arrogant... Klein mentally complained about Emlyn, who had a proud expression, as he observed him.
Emlyn felt the gaze on him, which made the corners of his mouth curl slightly. With a hint of showing off, he leisurely said, "Is that so? Then I have no problem. Coincidentally, I've just mastered a Beyonder characteristic corresponding to a Sanguine Viscount, and I can completely use it to exert Sequence 5 level power for a short period."
"Don't use the Full Moon ability." Leyton glanced at Emlyn, whose mouth was curled up, and reminded him.
"Why?" Moon Emlyn turned his head to Leyton, not understanding, and asked.
Magician Fors suddenly widened her eyes, her expression also turning serious as she said, "Full Moon? Is it the Full Moon I'm thinking of?"
Leyton nodded gently and said, "Yes, the Sequence 5 of the Moon Pathway is called Scarlet Scholar. He possesses the Beyonder ability to make a certain area enter a Full Moon state."
Fors shivered slightly, as if recalling an unpleasant encounter, then looked at Moon Emlyn with a serious expression and said, "Mr. Moon, please do not use the Full Moon Beyonder ability during the assassination of Mr. X. It will bring very serious negative effects."
Klein, sitting at the head of the mottled long table, suddenly thought of Miss Sharron's scarlet moon coronet. So it corresponds to the Sequence 5 of the Moon Pathway. Fortunately, those Apprentices who betrayed the Abraham Family back then didn't have Mystical Items from this Pathway, otherwise the Abraham Family would have been completely wiped out.
"The Full Moon will bring very serious negative effects? Why? Did that Traveler from the Abraham Family carry a Mystical Item that would cause terrifying negative effects during a Full Moon?" Audrey looked at Fors with some confusion. Her serious expression made her realize that the negative effects brought by the Full Moon must be extremely terrifying.
Moon Emlyn was somewhat puzzled, but he still nodded seriously and said, "Alright, as darlings of the Moon, even without a Full Moon, we can still receive some blessings."
Mr. Moon truly cares about his Sanguine identity, always emphasizing that they are darlings of the Moon. Audrey's eyes curved as she observed Emlyn, then she shifted her gaze to Fors and said, "I can also participate, but the Spectator Pathway is not skilled in direct combat, so I can only provide some auxiliary interference around the area."
Magician Fors nodded lightly and said, "No problem. What kind of reward do you want?"
Justice Audrey pondered for a moment, then spoke, "We can discuss the reward after we successfully complete the assassination, based on each person's contribution. Under the witness of Mr. Fool, I believe everyone will receive a satisfactory outcome."
"Okay." Emlyn nodded, agreeing with Justice Audrey's idea.
"No problem. Even if the mission fails, I will still give each of you 500 pounds as compensation."
Fors nodded, then added, "1,000 pounds is all the cash I can spare, sigh~"
After confirming the participants, Fors, Audrey, and Emlyn began to actively discuss how to create a suitable assassination opportunity.
East of the Sonia Sea, the Future, sailing calmly on the surface of the sea, suddenly lurched violently.
Leyton, who was enjoying lunch in the dining room, reached out and caught the cup that had been tossed into the air. The spilled wine miraculously poured back into the cup.
The next moment, the scene outside the Future appeared in his mind:
The vast blue sea in front of the Future was abruptly cut by a massive fissure, and endless seawater cascaded like a waterfall, flowing into the bottomless darkness below!
Splash!
The Future did not stop, nor could it stop, as it plunged forward from the suddenly broken surface of the sea, then plummeted rapidly.
Inside the dining room, all the pirates enjoying lunch were thrown into the air, hitting the ceiling above. Scattered toasted bread, white bread, beer, roasted fish, and other food they were eating were everywhere in mid-air.
Streaks of starlight suddenly swirled around Leyton, condensing into a brilliant, solid form, suspending his body in mid-air, completely unaffected by the rapid descent.
He casually glanced around. Cattleya, using a method similar to his own, easily maintained her balance, standing quietly upon the solidified, dazzling starlight.
In addition, Klein, as a Faceless, also easily maintained and adjusted his posture, landing on the ceiling like an acrobat.
The one who avoided this sudden change most easily was Heath. He simply leaned back slightly, his figure instantly darkening, turning black, and wriggling into the shadows.
His gaze swept around, and Leyton lightly tapped the table twice with his finger. A fist-sized translucent crystal ball flew out from the shadow beneath him. The crystal ball shimmered with brilliant starlight, casting a dazzling blue glow throughout the surrounding cabin.
The gravity in the cabin was suddenly distorted. The crew members, who had been clinging to the ceiling in disarray, slowly but steadily fell down, pushed by streaks of starlight back to their original positions. The food floating in mid-air was also put back in place, though Leyton couldn't guarantee whether it was in their original plates.
Just as the Future was about to completely plunge into the bottomless darkness, an exaggerated gush of seawater suddenly surged upwards from below, lifting the Future and pushing it towards the other side of the great sea fissure.
The brilliant starlight pervading the area was like a safety belt, firmly securing every pirate in the dining room to their respective seats.
After a while, the sunlight streaming into the cabin from outside suddenly became bright and scorching!
Leyton's gaze pierced through the cabin, seeing the boundless sea outside. Under the sunlight, it looked as if countless golden, illusory flames were burning, carrying a rich aura of the Sun domain.
The transparent seawater was bottomless, revealing only endless darkness. The sky also had no clouds, no Sun, yet scorching sunlight, like that of midday, still bathed the entire sea area.
Although referred to as a sea area, it was not a truly existing ocean. It was more like a region, both real and illusory, formed by the intertwining of countless ruins and residual divine power.
There must be residual divine power of a Visionary here, which is why those Monsters exist with only power but no characteristics.
Sighing inwardly, Leyton lowered his gaze slightly, withdrawing his sight. He was worried that if he continued to look, he would be unable to resist using his Eyes of Mystery Prying to see more. "If I use Eyes of Mystery Prying now, I'm 100% sure I'll see Eternal Blazing Sun, and then be ignited from the inside out, leaving not even ash."
Even without using his Eyes of Mystery Prying, he could vaguely see the illusory shadow curtain covering everything. Behind that curtain, a terrifying gaze was watching him, and chaotic, unpleasant whispers constantly echoed in his ears.