The face outlined by the orange-red light took a deep look at Leyton, after which it dissipated in midair.
Following the disappearance of the face, the dead silent environment suddenly grew clamorous, as countless insects surged out from the shadows. They mated frantically, even self-splitting, replicating rapidly, and spreading out into a pitch-black wave that submerged everything.
One distorted face after another rose and fell within the tide; there were humans and monsters, like imprisoned resentful spirits.
In the sky, the crimson firelight manifested once more, and a blazing rain of fire crashed down upon the ground in patches, smashing the pitch-black insect tide into disarray, grinding them into fine powder, and burning them into ashes.
"A bunch of lunatics..."
Shaking his head with a low sigh, Leyton's figure, along with the wilderness beneath his feet, blurred, became transparent, and turned into a heap of bubbles.
Under the illumination of the firelight, these bubbles reflected a dreamlike color.
The bubbles dispersed and drifted away, vanishing in an instant, leaving behind only the various insects that densely blanketed the ground, continuously dying yet continuously splitting and breeding, alongside the firelight continuously crashing down from the sky.
Gradually, those insects on the ground seemed to adapt to the environment, no longer being scorched by the flames. They raised their wings one after another, flying into the sky, submerging the entire sky as if blotting out the sun. They began to devour the flames and convert them into nutrients to nourish the next generation.
.....
Above the gray fog, inside that palace resembling a giant's residence, Klein and The World Gehrman Sparrow sat respectively at the absolute head and foot of the mottled long table.
After a moment of silence, Klein raised his hand, attempting to drag two projections out from the historical voids.
Roselle's Historical Projection materialized very quickly, but when summoning Leyton's Historical Projection, Klein suddenly froze. That segment of history seemed to have experienced some sort of alteration; he could not even touch the Historical Projection belonging to Leyton.
...What's the situation... Just as a doubt flashed through Klein's mind, a heavy feeling of touching a solid object appeared in his hand, looking as though Leyton's Historical Projection had run into his hand on its own.
Although somewhat puzzled, Klein still used force to drag Leyton's Historical Projection out. Even though he himself already possessed the status of a Sequence 0 and had the help of Sefirah Castle, he still felt the exertion.
Not long after summoning the historical projections, Leyton's and Roselle's eyes consecutively became agile and vivid. With Klein's permission, they projected the consciousness of their true bodies over, causing the surrounding gray fog to instantly surge.
After pressing down the turbulent gray fog, Klein looked toward Leyton and smiled:
"Merely consciousness alone, yet Sefirah Castle is resisting you."
Pausing, he added further: "After becoming a Great Old One, I seem to have become unable to actively summon your Historical Projection. Even here, and even though I already control Sefirah Castle."
Leyton nodded, explaining calmly:
"I possess absolute control over information, and historical projections also count as a part of me. As knowledge itself, I can even directly let a Historical Projection become the true body. Your action of summoning a Historical Projection is, in a certain sense, equivalent to summoning me myself. Without my cooperation, this naturally could not succeed."
Roselle raised his eyebrows, following up with a query with quite some surprise: "In other words, you can break free from the Western Continent right now and appear directly in the outside world?"
Leyton nodded gently and said:
"Indeed I can, but I plan to stay for a period of time. This is a decent opportunity; I can fleece those Sefirot of the Western Continent."
"Furthermore, aside from the River of Eternal Darkness which awakened its self earlier, and the Key of Light and Nation of Disorder which symbolize relatively safe and positive aspects, those others are all lunatics, difficult to communicate with. Releasing them directly is not a good thing for existing civilization."
"Their mental states are similar to those ancient gods of the Second Epoch—not quite as chaotic, but more insane. Although they do not have composite characteristics, as pure activated Sefirot, their mental aspects are heavily influenced by their own symbols."
"I would prefer it if you told me that the living Nation of Disorder is also a lunatic. That way, I can have more ways to capture it."
Roselle leaned back against the high chair, lamenting in a neither fast nor slow tone.
Leyton shrugged his shoulders and said: "A pity, its degree of activation belongs to the higher category."
Klein cast a glance at the pocket watch he had manifested in his hand, opening his mouth to interrupt the duo's topic:
"It's starting."
Following the fall of his voice, streams of crimson light flared up within the palace hall, condensing into individual blurred human figures on both sides of the mottled long table.
With the consecutive appearances of the Tarot Club members, this week's Tarot Club officially commenced.
After everyone had stood up one after another, Audrey faced the absolute head, lifting her skirt slightly as she offered her salute:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
After everyone paid their respects in turn and nodded to greet one another, they took their seats consecutively. Sitting at the absolute head, "The Fool" Klein spoke unhurriedly:
"You may begin."
...It seems that ever since Mr. Emperor joined the Tarot Club, Mr. Fool directly skipped over the diary segment that might exist. Is there some connection between the two?
Justice Audrey subconsciously let her thoughts drift. Her intuition as a Spectator always made her feel that this Mr. Emperor was not simple... His performance always gives me a feeling that he is on equal footing with Mr. Fool. There is also Mr. Tower; they both belong to the relatively special category within the Tarot Club.
Sweeping his gaze across the members of the Tarot Club, Klein tapped the edge of the table twice with his finger before "The Star" Leonard could open his mouth, making a knock-knock sound.
After everyone shifted their gazes over, he leaned back against the high chair, speaking in an unhurried tone that carried a slight sensation of exhaustion:
"I have a commission directed at everyone, or to be exact, it should be two."
"What commission?"
Justice Audrey directly voiced her inquiry. Emotions of curiosity, astonishment, and fluster involuntarily arose within her... A commission that Mr. Fool personally issues would certainly not be simple.
Everyone looked toward the absolute head of the mottled long table with faces full of curiosity and tension, staring at the hazy figure enveloped by the gray fog, waiting for Mr. Fool's detailed description.
Pausing slightly, Klein gave a light laugh and said:
"Spread my name more widely. Except for the Southern Continent, where there is extra danger for you. In addition, do not conflict with the orthodox churches; when necessary, you can cooperate with them, or spread faith through concealed means."
"This will help me adjust my own state more quickly, reclaim the remaining authority, and welcome the impending apocalypse."
"The World has already grown active in a concealed manner at sea. You can travel alongside him, or provide some help from the sidelines. The various countries of the Northern Continent also have Angels dispatched by me moving about. You can choose freely, or act alone on your own."
"As for the reward, it is the convenience you have already enjoyed, as well as the corresponding help you can pray for in the future."
Pausing a bit, Klein then continued to speak:
"The second commission is relatively dangerous; you can refuse it."
"To cope with the apocalypse, the deities of the Astral World and the True Creator have reached a unification. The various orthodox churches will dispatch teams led by Angels or Saints to the Southern Continent, helping to clear out the remaining cultists of evil gods."
"Among them, those that mainly need to be dealt with are the believers of the Primordial Moon and the Mother Tree of Desire, but as time passes, there will certainly be more organizations worshiping other evil gods appearing. These likewise need to be cleared out."
"Distinct from ordinary Beyonders, these Beyonders who worship evil gods are relatively dangerous. Their Beyonder abilities are very likely to exceed the domain covered by the 22 Pathways of the Divine, and changes difficult to predict based on your past experience are very likely to appear during combat."
"Aside from Beyonder abilities, they themselves are also very dangerous. Even for Saints, if they are not careful, they might suffer corruption, falling because of it, or even turning into monsters."
"This commission overlaps with the tasks assigned by the various orthodox churches. You can accept it based on your own circumstances. The reward is a wish; when you require advancement, you can seek some help from me."
"Likewise, if you encounter danger that you find difficult to predict and resist during the mission, you can pray to me, or seek help from The World. He can now appear at any place at any time."
"Furthermore, regarding this matter, Amon will not make things difficult for you; the True Creator will restrain Him."
"Yes, Mr. Fool."
The Tarot Club members accepted the first commission without much hesitation. For the second commission, temporarily only The Star, The Moon, and The Chariot accepted it, which overlapped with the tasks recently assigned by their respective organizations.
After the Tarot Club members accepted the commissions suitable for themselves, they looked at one another for a while, working hard to digest the information revealed in Mr. Fool's words just now.
Justice Audrey lowered her head, a touch of anxiety coloring her face... The apocalypse is truly coming. Even Mr. Fool has no choice but to place complete importance upon it, and the deities of the Astral World and the True Creator have also put down their mutual conflicts to unite together. The apocalypse is perhaps far more cruel than I imagined.
...As the apocalypse approaches, Mr. Fool's humanity seems to have grown a bit more concentrated; a bit of a caring connotation was added into the commission just now... "The Magician" Fors heard a relatively subtle emotion from Klein's tone.
...The war just ended, and the apocalypse is already coming. Does this world not intend to let people rest... "The Chariot" Anderson leaned sideways against the high chair, lampooning in his heart as he found joy in sorrow. His gaze subconsciously looked toward Leyton to one side.
Before Anderson could raise a query, the voice of The World Gehrman Sparrow echoed in his ears:
"When spreading Mr. Fool's name or clearing out the cultists in the Southern Continent, if you encounter difficulties, you can directly recite my honorific name. I have already switched to the Door pathway and become a King of Angels, capable of appearing at any place in this world at any time."
"My honorific name is: The never-stopping Wanderer, the favored of Sefirah Castle and the Spirit World, the door that guards ancient history."