Roselle, now only a faint, dark figure, looked over at the sound, his tone puzzled, "Hidden Sage?"
Bernadette quickly composed herself and turned to Leyton behind her, asking with a hint of anticipation, "Do you have a way to resolve the Primordial Moon's corruption?"
"Not for now..." Leyton shook his head gently, paused for two seconds, then explained, "He's already thoroughly marinated, and on this island, the Primordial Moon could interfere at any moment."
Roselle, whose figure was now even fainter, paused at the few Chinese phrases mixed in the speech, looked over again, then waved his hand, his tone full of disdain, "Then don't disturb my father-daughter time."
Leyton looked at Roselle's shadow, which was a mixture of consciousness, aura, and power, for two seconds, a profound, pale purple color flashing in his eyes.
The Eyes of Mystery Prying's gaze easily penetrated the figure, taking in Roselle's current condition.
"Don't look!" Roselle's voice suddenly became deep and hoarse.
Leyton's gaze was distorted by him, and the scene he saw turned into the wall of the megalithic mausoleum behind him.
The earlier excitement caused several cracks to appear on Roselle's figure, from which deep red moonlight shot out.
"Don't get excited. If you kick the bucket, I can't bring you back."
Leyton raised his hand to stop Roselle's movements. As he spoke, his right hand, wearing a mechanical glove, gently rubbed, releasing an "Annulement."
Bernadette looked at her father with worry, stabilizing his condition temporarily. Only then did she turn to Leyton and ask, "Does 'not for now' mean that once you reach a certain Sequence, you're confident you can clear the corruption from him?"
"Is it the Hermit's power that's needed?"
"No, it requires a few Miracles..." Leyton slowly shook his head.
Roselle, now just a faint figure, sighed, "Miracles? What a shame, that old man Zaratul is missing, otherwise you could look for him."
"But a Miracle Invoker is only a Sequence 2. Although their abilities are strange, they are still far from being able to contend with the Primordial Moon."
Leyton didn't explain why he needed "Miracles..." but instead spoke of Zaratul:
"He's currently a guest in the Evernight Goddess's Fog Town. When the struggle for Sefirah Castle enters a critical phase, he will be released."
"Fool, can I exchange for a Miracle from Him, and what price would be required?" Bernadette asked with some uncertainty.
"Not for now." Leyton shook his head. As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized card from his pocket—a Card of Blasphemy, the Hermit Card.
Roselle's figure turned his head to look at the card in Leyton's hand, and chuckled, "The Hermit Card? You got it, huh? Good luck, I don't remember leaving any clues for this card."
Leyton didn't answer, but gently held the card in his hand.
Whoosh~
Inside the quiet mausoleum, the sound of wind roared, and one brilliant star after another emerged, enveloping the entire mausoleum in a hazy starlight.
Leyton stood calmly in place, letting out a soft sigh. Then, a dazzling, bright deep blue, almost purple, radiance surged from his eyes. The surrounding stars began to move according to a certain pattern, gradually separating and isolating the mausoleum from the real world.
In a moment, Roselle's last mausoleum was pulled by him from reality into a wondrous place isolated from the outside world.
Through the megalithic walls of the mausoleum, one could see the urging Cosmos outside with countless twinkling stars, and below, the boundless wilderness reflected from the Cosmos.
On the illusory, flickering wilderness, there were countless figures walking aimlessly. Among them were humans, non-human Monsters, and even strange machines.
Beams of clear, bright starlight fell from high above, penetrating the megalithic mausoleum and landing on Roselle's figure, gradually eroding the deep red moonlight beneath the darkness.
"Hiss!" The sudden surge of intense pain made Roselle almost unable to resist screaming out.
Even though he no longer had a body, only this figure mixed with his spirit, aura, and a little will, the soul-deep tearing sensation was still unbearable.
Leyton, with pure light flickering in his eyes, calmly said, "If you can't bear it, you can cry out. Don't force it. The Primordial Moon's corruption has merged with you. Cleaning this corruption also dissolves your spirit, will, and soul."
Now, he gave off an exceptionally sacred, wise, yet extremely indifferent feeling.
"Hmph!"
"No need..."
Roselle's voice, now only a faint figure, sounded quite gritted.
In his extremely rational state, Leyton didn't care about Roselle's stubbornness for his image and dignity as a father. He nodded calmly, turned to Bernadette, who was already showing discomfort, and extended his right hand forward.
Sticky, thick blackness secreted from the surrounding air, rapidly flowing and converging, forming a black giant cocoon about two meters tall around her.
After isolating Bernadette from her surroundings, he refocused his gaze on Roselle's faint figure.
Pale blue starlight gradually encroached inward on his figure. Because he was isolated from reality and received no replenishment, the deep red moonlight gradually dimmed.
Roselle's figure also became increasingly faint, somewhat transparent and illusory. The dark figure was covered in countless cracks, as if it could shatter into countless fragments at any moment, from which deep red moonlight and a small amount of hazy starlight burst forth.
The will emanating from Roselle due to the pain caused the rules within the entire mausoleum to twist and become chaotic, making the starlight falling from high above constantly sway, as if it could be cut off at any moment.
He could only rely on his will to fight against his instincts, trying his best to guide more starlight onto himself.
Just as he finally couldn't help but want to roar out, Leyton suddenly squatted down and placed his right hand in front of Roselle's dark figure, which was covered in countless cracks.
A dull red light, neither bright nor dazzling, bloomed on the bronze mechanical hand. This light gradually separated the Fallen will from Roselle's figure and combined it with the surrounding shadows, forming an uncontrolled, independent creature.
The dark figure lying on the ground rapidly distorted and recovered. The cracks on his body quickly disappeared, and his appearance became clearer. Traces of his facial features could already be seen, his blue eyes were exceptionally bright, and pale blue stardust overflowed from them.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You have this method but didn't use it earlier. You just wanted to see me rolling on the ground to be satisfied?" Roselle's voice sounded somewhat weak.
"Quickly deal with your Fallen aspect. Its Sequence is too high; I can't control it."
Leyton expressionlessly watched the independent creature peeled from Roselle's body, the deep blue, almost purple, radiance in his eyes subtly flickering, as if it could shatter at any moment.
"Hmph!" Roselle snorted coldly, and his dark figure instantly stood up from the ground.
He calmly gazed at the deep red and dark mixed figure in front of him, his lips parting slightly as he spoke:
"Die!"
The sound of a heart exploding echoed in his ears. The next second, the deep red and dark mixed figure suddenly froze in place. The deep red moonlight constantly overflowing from its body suddenly dimmed, leaving only a layer of darkness.
The dark figure's abdomen suddenly swelled, growing larger and larger, as if it would burst open the next second.
"Die!" Roselle shouted again.
The dark figure's abdomen instantly stopped swelling, deflating like a leaky balloon.
Silently, the dark figure transformed into flowing shadows, sliding downwards and disappearing into nothingness, leaving only a deep red midget floating in mid-air.
This midget was like an underdeveloped infant, strangely shaped, with an unregressed tail behind it.
Leyton looked at Roselle's figure beside him and swallowed, "Congratulations, you've experienced a painless birth."
"Get lost! That's not me." Roselle's voice was somewhat exasperated, and his entire figure distorted into a dark blob.
This state lasted only for a moment. The blurry, distorted dark figure quickly became clear. One could clearly see his high nose, thin lips, and the two beautifully groomed small mustaches. Even dark shadows extended outwards, forming a loose coat.
Roselle sighed as if reborn, "Finally, I feel comfortable. I feel like I'm alive again."
Leyton glanced at him, saying in a serious and earnest tone, "That's just your illusion. This place is isolated from reality, so your resurrection process hasn't progressed yet."
"Also, your problem isn't completely solved. Your Fallen aspect, in its self-inflicted torment, has given birth to this child that needs to be aborted."
"It's a pity you didn't become a Hunter!"
Roselle said through gritted teeth, glaring fiercely at Leyton. His standing position was distorted, instantly becoming inverted on the mausoleum hall's ceiling.
"Waaah!!"
The infant's cries instantly echoed throughout the entire mausoleum. This sound was even more unbearable than the shrieks emitted by a Disciple of Silence.
Even with his Sequence 2 angel body, Leyton briefly lost focus. In a trance, he seemed to see a Crimson Moon rising.
As soon as the Crimson Moon appeared, it was submerged and disintegrated by the brilliant starlight.
The unbearable wailing instantly vanished, and the entire mausoleum became silent. The rules here were modified, preventing sound from propagating.
The next second, Roselle's figure appeared in front of the deep red midget. He clenched his right hand into a fist and forcefully punched downwards.
Although it was seemingly just an ordinary punch, it unleashed a power capable of shattering an island.
The deep red midget was instantly sent flying backward, slamming into the megalithic wall. Still, no sound was made, and the mausoleum wall remained undamaged, as if it had truly been a light, airy strike.