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Klein watched the masked man stand up and leave, then silently gazed at Azik's portrait in his hand, a smile suddenly appearing on his face after a long while.
Originally, he was still hesitant about how to reasonably report Lanevus's matter to the official organizations, but since he had the identity of a MI9 spy, he might as well use it.
Furthermore, Lanevus, possessing the True Creator's divinity, would definitely attract the attention of MI9's powerhouses, and perhaps even reduce the pressure on Mr. Azik.
The next step was how to reasonably expose Lanevus's matter while tracking Mr. Azik's whereabouts…
Klein's eyes darkened. He strolled back to the washroom and, using the sound of water, performed another divination. Only after confirming that no one was monitoring him did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Should I blow the copper whistle and send a letter to Mr. Azik, explaining the situation while also cooperating with me to trick MI9 into providing operational funds?"
Klein hesitated for a moment but still gave up on the idea:
"Forget it, don't contact him for now. Ince Zangwill, who has 0-08, might still be observing him in secret. Rashly contacting Mr. Azik could easily expose the secret that Klein is not dead to that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. I can't take the risk."
"However, as an 'old Monster' who has lived for thousands of years, Mr. Azik should be able to understand 'resurrection'," he thought.
Sighing in his heart, he glanced at the wall clock; it was already 2:30. Klein skillfully set up a Wall of Spirituality and performed the four-step reverse ritual to arrive above the gray fog.
Sitting at the head of the ancient long table, Klein waved his hand and retrieved the various items he had previously sacrificed from the pile of sundries to cope with the search.
After integrating Azik's copper whistle, which was full of mysterious charm and peculiar patterns, into his Spirit Body, Klein felt his spirituality overflowing and opened the iron cigarette case containing the "All-Black Eye."
He was somewhat surprised to find that the "All-Black Eye" had become calm, tinged with a grayish-white, like a dead object, as if it had fallen into hibernation.
Klein glanced at the unchanging grayish-white fog around him in astonishment, his brows slightly furrowed. Immediately, he materialized a man in a hooded robe on the chair opposite the ancient long table.
Looking at the dull, stiff "alt," which was clearly not a real person, Klein reached out and grasped the "All-Black Eye." The terrifying feeling of splitting his consciousness into countless parts seemed to be suppressed by the power of the gray fog space, with only a slight dizziness appearing.
After adapting to that feeling, Klein used the gathered Beyonder characteristic. He saw black threads drifting out from the fake person opposite him.
With a surge of joy, Klein carefully allowed his spirituality to spread out through the "All-Black Eye," touching a few of the illusory threads.
Suddenly, he felt as if he was holding something.
This was… With a thought, the fake person immediately raised a hand.
It really works! I can use the Marionettist's ability to create a fake Tarot Club member!
It's just that the consumption is huge, and it requires the assistance of Mr. Azik's copper whistle every time…
Klein joyfully began to practice repeatedly, even mastering how to manipulate the other party's throat and mouth to make it speak.
A few minutes later, the fake person sitting at the far end of The Fool's side, opposite the bronze long table, suddenly raised its hand to stroke its chin and chuckled hoarsely:
"From now on, please call me Mr. World."
Klein looked at his alt with satisfaction, secretly praising it with a comfortable feeling:
"From now on, many things I find inconvenient to say or requests I can't make can be handled by 'World.' This will greatly reduce the possibility of The Fool's image collapsing."
"A The Fool with a vest, no, with a Blessed, is worthy of being a hidden existence."
Hiding the "All-Black Eye" in his palm, amidst the dense gray fog, Klein sat at the head of the bronze long table. He first conveyed the intention of preparing for a gathering to the crimson star symbolizing the Sun.
After a pause, Klein somewhat expectantly poured his spirituality into the other crimson stars. Just as he was about to summon the Tarot Club members as before, the crimson star representing Mr. Emperor burst forth with dazzling dark golden light, creating ripples within the ancient palace.
-----------------
Desperate wails echoed, and various thoughts, spirits, desires, and wills swept through like a storm, half-illusory and half-real, invading the islands of consciousness in this isolated subconscious sea.
This was a combination of "Mind Deprivation" and "Mental Plague," which could cause every affected and corroded creature to be corrupted and go mad on the spot.
For creatures with divinity, such attacks were the most insidious, because their mental states were always somewhat problematic, constantly fighting against their divinity. They could lose control at any moment due to the imbalance!
Veins bulged grotesquely on his grayish-blue skin, and dark green symbols bloomed with light in his single eye, suppressing the awakened bloodlust in his heart. Although Bayer Baile's will was incredibly firm, the madness, cruelty, and bloodlust inherent in his incomplete mythical creature form were still aroused.
Even if he had to divert his spirit to resist these influences to avoid immediate loss of control, this desperate counterattack could not change the final outcome.
Light like dawn shimmered from the blood-stained bone sword, and Bayer Baile completely extinguished the last vitality of the dying grayish-white giant dragon.
Golden light emerged from various parts of the "Domain of Judgment" and merged into Bayer Baile's body, calming the agitation of his Spirit Body and successfully dispelling his incomplete mythical creature form.
Aaron's figure appeared, and he spoke softly to Bayer Baile, who was kneeling on one knee and in very poor condition:
"You should recuperate first. Using your incomplete mythical creature form too frequently is ultimately a burden on your spirit. There's no need to rush the ritual."
As he spoke, Aaron carefully savored the digestion of the potion within his body, but his brow furrowed. Perhaps because he only played an auxiliary role, the potion digestion brought about by the demise of this Sequence 4 demigod creature was not as effective as expected.
At this rate, it might take 10 demigod creatures for his potion to be fully digested.
What if it were an Angel?
A golden gleam flashed in Aaron's eyes. He slightly raised his hand, and specks of light seeped out from the lifeless grayish-white giant dragon, quickly converging to form a peculiar object.
It was the size of a fist, shaped like a heart, but its surface was covered with grayish-white wrinkles, like an unusual brain—it was the Beyonder characteristic of a Manipulator.
Gazing at the wrinkles on the "brain," his spirituality extended along the countless symbolic patterns and strange designs, as if penetrating the surrounding environment and directly seeing the Collective Subconscious Sea.
Thanks to the demise of this Manipulator, Aaron could clearly feel that the rules within his "Domain of Judgment" were becoming more precise and complete, and more targeted.
If he could only broadly prohibit "the subconscious sea here from being isolated from the outside world" before, now he could directly issue decrees to more specifically prohibit Beyonder abilities that rely on the subconscious sea, such as "Mindstorm" and "Mental Plague."
"Hunting chaos to supplement oneself, gradually constructing a prototype of a Divine Kingdom that fits and even covers the world's rules…"
Feeling the subtle connection with the subconscious sea, Aaron composed himself. The Manipulator Beyonder characteristic in his hand, along with the giant dragon's remains on the sand, disappeared.
Some mid-sequence materials of the Spectator Pathway, such as the pituitary gland and blood of a Mind Dragon, could be harvested from the remains. The leather and blood bones were Beyonder materials full of spirituality, and the remaining unusable parts could be left to Bayer Baile to serve as part of the ritual.
Aaron, who was calculating in his mind, suddenly felt an anomaly from the Nation of Disorder, like dissatisfaction after being provoked. After his Spirit Body felt a familiar pulling sensation, Aaron instantly understood what had happened.
With a slight thought, he instantly calmed the anomaly in the Nation of Disorder. The next moment, crimson light surged, enveloping a wisp of spirituality that Aaron had intentionally separated, and disappeared.
...
The surging fog obscured Klein's slightly trembling fingers. Fortunately, the golden light appeared and then faded instantly; otherwise, the Tarot Club would have made a Fool of himself before it even began.
"Why did this unexpected change occur? Could it be that Mr. Emperor has advanced…?"
Klein's mouth twitched slightly, inexplicably recalling the duke's request for leave the time before last. "Sequence 3, this…"
Just as The Fool fell silent, beams of light rose within the giant's residence-like palace, projecting several vague figures tinged with faint red.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool, good after…"
Audrey, who hadn't attended a meeting for two weeks, was about to greet every member of the Tarot Club when her gaze suddenly swept over two new figures seated at the very end and beside her.
One was a strange man in a hooded black robe, and the other was a slightly thin young girl who seemed a bit nervous, much like herself when she first joined the Tarot Club.
Having made her judgment, Audrey, feeling the Tarot Club growing stronger, looked at Mr. Fool with a mix of confusion and joy:
"Mr. Fool, who are these two?"
From behind the dense gray fog at the head of the bronze long table came a majestic and indifferent voice:
"These are new members, Mr. World and Ms. Priestess."
As he spoke, Klein used his Spirit Vision, enhanced by the gray fog, to scan everyone except Mr. Emperor.
He was surprised to find that the Sun's Astral Body's surface color was slightly purer, but it hadn't reached the level of Sequence 8. His initial judgment was that the other party had completely digested the Bard potion.
Melissa's Astral Body color had also become much purer. Such an effect in just one week indicated that Melissa had indeed strictly followed the knowledge he had imparted to her in her acting.
Klein, feeling quite gratified, began his old routine of "reading the diary" after the members had introduced themselves.
Taking advantage of Klein's diverted attention, Aaron looked at the two new members with interest, clicking his tongue in his heart:
"It seems he still isn't at ease leaving his sister to her own devices. Heh, 'World.' It seems he still gloriously sacrificed everything…"
After reading the diary, Klein's mood was somewhat complex. Out of four full pages, only one was useful, mentioning the Blasphemy Card "Black Emperor" made into a bookmark. As for Mr. Emperor, on whom he had placed high hopes, both diary entries he submitted this time were about Roselle's love life.
If every diary entry contained extremely important information, it would be abnormal… Klein comforted himself inwardly, but on the surface, he spoke with authority:
"You've waited long enough. You may begin."
Unable to contain his questions, Derrick the Sun immediately stood up and asked with some curiosity:
"The City of Silver recently organized an exploration into the Darkness, discovering a half-destroyed temple. The idol enshrined within was a naked man nailed upside down on a cross."
"Do you know which deity this is?"
An inverted cross? Hearing this somewhat familiar description, Klein's forehead twitched, and he was astonished. There was actually a True Creator temple in the Forsaken Land of the Gods!
Just as he was pondering how to answer, a slightly amused voice suddenly rang out. The confused Tarot Club members immediately looked in a certain direction. Mr. Emperor, who rarely spoke, actually spoke first:
"That is the 'Fallen Creator.' Of course, outside the Forsaken Land of the Gods, he has another name, the True Creator, who is also the evil god worshipped by the Aurora Order."
"He is a deity who controls the domain of corruption. Heh, you'd best be careful of the team members who returned from exploring the temple. Perhaps they have already been secretly corroded by the power of corruption."
Derrick was stunned, almost unable to speak the rest of his words. Melissa, on the other hand, clenched her fists tightly. Ever since she decided to become a Beyonder, she had already learned from Leonard that Klein's death was related to that evil god.
Glancing at the different reactions of the members, Aaron looked back at Derrick and continued to add:
"I forgot to tell you, the Fallen Creator controls the Secrets Supplicant Pathway."
Secrets Supplicant? Elder Lovia the Shepherd? Derrick's face immediately paled. Fortunately, having experienced the death of both parents and exploration missions, his temperament had matured quite a bit. Clenching his fists, he asked nervously:
"Mr. Emperor, what reward do you want for telling me this?"
Looking at the sensible little Sun, Aaron glanced at the curious gazes cast his way and did not hide it:
"I want you to make a deal with the City of Silver for me. Hmm, a mutually beneficial deal."
Derrick was startled, then quickly reacted, responding with some shame and vigilance:
"Sorry, my Sequence is too low. It's even hard to meet the Elder Council. Besides, Mr. Emperor, don't you have subordinates in the Forsaken Land of the Gods? Why would you still…?"
Catching the fleeting vigilance in his eyes, Aaron smiled indifferently, not caring much:
"The City of Silver is adjacent to the Giant King's Court, and that is where the True Creator's Divine Kingdom is located. Hmm, for some reason, I don't get along well with that evil god, so it's really inconvenient for me to send people to the City of Silver."
Giant King's Court? Divine Kingdom?
Derrick no longer knew how many times he had been shocked. The surrounding Tarot Club members, including Mr. Fool himself, were also stunned by this massive amount of information. For a time, silence fell within the palace.
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