As the emotional resonance reached its climax, perhaps due to the excellent ritual effect, combined with the experience of entering the Sea of Collective Subconscious multiple times, or perhaps due to the blessing of good luck, Audrey's advancement was smooth and without any setbacks.
Feeling the unique fluctuations echoing in the Sea of Collective Subconscious, Aaron looked at Audrey, who slowly opened her eyes, and was about to speak when his brows furrowed slightly. He sensed a familiar power entering the nascent divine kingdom's embrace.
Aaron relaxed the constraints of the rules, and in the void not far away, Pope Dabomachie of the Church of the Evernight Goddess emerged from her hidden state and said concisely, "Feysac declared war without warning, invading Lenburg, and their combined fleet with Feysac attacked Desi Bay. War has restarted!"
The cold words echoed in this isolated space, not affecting the High Mass outside, which was nearing its end.
Audrey's body suddenly tensed as she used self-hypnosis to remove the pollution and re-integrate her many fragmented virtual personalities. Her face, still stained with tears, immediately showed a complex expression.
-----------------
As the largest port city in Desi Bay, Conant City had an airship hovering above it.
After learning from the air raid on Backlund, Loen's entire airship fleet had been placed on war alert.
The air defense standards of key coastal cities were all raised. Thanks to this, Conant City did not suffer irreparable losses in the previous attack.
"Cooperate with the military and the Governor's Mansion to appease the public!"
After a brief instruction to Daly and Leonard, Dunn immediately activated Spirit World Travel and went alone to Esiksen Port, the southernmost part of Desi Bay.
That was the main target of the combined Feysac and Feysac fleet's attack. Once it changed hands, not only would Desi Bay be directly blockaded, but even the long coastline of Southville County would fall into war.
At this thought, Dunn's expression was somewhat gloomy, but a sudden, anachronistic, authoritative voice rang in his ears:
"Spirit World Travel is forbidden here!"
The colorful blocks around Dunn rapidly faded, and he was uncontrollably forced out of the Spirit World. He immediately pinpointed the source of the Imperative, a man in luxurious clothes with an indifferent expression.
Dunn did not recognize this strange "Imperative Mage," but he could roughly guess that he was probably a prince or duke of the Feysac royal family.
The Church of the Lord of Storms' support had arrived.... Glancing at the surging tsunami not far away, Dunn's expression relaxed slightly, and he no longer held back his strength, directly taking out the Death Ring from his internal Underworld.
-----------------
Above the gray fog, Klein slowly opened his eyes. Layers of whispers echoed within each Spirit Body Thread, almost assimilating him.
Fortunately, he had already digested a good portion of the Bizzaro Sorcerer potion, and the dream he had during his advancement had solidified his understanding of his own identity, allowing him to resist the erosion of divinity.
Leaning back in the bronze high-backed chair, Klein wearily pinched his brow. After checking his condition, he extended his spirituality to light up the newly appeared crimson star, which was the prayer light spot formed by him manipulating Panatiya to chant The Fool's honorific name before returning to Sefirah Castle.
The image was extremely blurry. Although the perception of the Spirit Body Thread was extremely weak, Klein could still use that Spirit Body Thread to simply control Panatiya to do some not-so-complex instructions, such as a simplified version of the mystical ritual.
"Sefirah Castle is hidden in the historical gaps of the Spirit World. To remotely control a puppet from here is equivalent to controlling a Spirit Body Thread through the Spirit World and historical fog. At my current level, I can't do it at all."
"Although Spirit Body Threads won't work, a Spirit Body Thread is like a part of me. With this connection and Sefirah Castle's status, I can simply control Panatiya, who has been completely puppetized by inserting a Spirit Body Thread into her."
After trying it out and confirming his guess, Klein began to use the mystical ritual and dream divination to review Panatiya's memories, to understand the true secret of the Backlund Great Smog.
In the hazy dream world, images flickered, many scenes flashed by, finally stopping at a deep black mausoleum engraved with distorted patterns and complex text.
At the center of the mausoleum's high platform stood a black throne with a backrest extending upwards into the shape of a crown. King George III of Loen sat upon it, wearing the Balam Empire's crown, proudly looking down upon everything.
The terrifying, suffocating pressure, even through Panatiya's memory, made Klein feel as if he were there. This was a suppression of life levels!
"George III is an Angel!"
As this thought surfaced in Klein's mind, before the shock could even rise, the dream world collapsed with a roar.
Suddenly opening his eyes, Klein was stunned for a moment. After a brief contemplation, he closed his eyes and divined again, but could no longer obtain any useful information.
He had encountered similar situations many times, such as 0-08 in Tingen City, and the sapphire ring on the Demoness's hand in Backlund, but without exception, these were all influenced by high-level powers.
With the answer already in his heart, Klein exhaled lightly, dispelled the prayer image, and sat silently in the high-backed chair.
After a long time, Klein finally got up and came to the deepest part of this gray fog space, standing at the very top of the light staircase that led to heaven.
This time, his vision was no longer obstructed. He saw the brilliant Door of Light stained with a hint of dark green, and within the countless layers of light spheres inside, he saw the people dressed in modern clothes, sleeping.
After a long silence, Klein's gaze shifted, finally stopping on the three "cocoons" that had already broken open, were empty inside, and swayed in the wind.
"Roselle...Aaron..."
"Evernight Goddess...Lord of Order..."
Muttering silently in his heart, a sudden impulse surged within Klein, wanting to return directly to reality and find Aaron to question him about all the truth.
But reason ultimately suppressed that impulse. Klein gave a bitter laugh, returning weakly to slump in the high-backed chair, his voice mixed with unspeakable fatigue:
"I still can't go back..."
Before this bewildered emotion could spread, Klein heard Miss Justice's slightly hurried prayer:
"Feysac declared war without warning, and their combined fleet with Feysac attacked Desi Bay. War has restarted!"
...
"The Holy See has approved Dunn Smith's advancement to Nighthawks Senior Deacon, responsible for the defense of Desi Bay diocese."
.....
"Captain!" Klein's originally somewhat unfocused pupils suddenly sharpened, and he immediately broke free from his wavering emotions.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and raised his hand to summon the "Creeping Hunger" that he had brought to Sefirah Castle earlier.
This Sealed Artifact had become even more terrifying after absorbing the remnants of Mr. A, personally purified by Madam Arianna. With the seal, it could even herd a demigod.
He condensed an image and transmitted it to Miss Justice as a response, and Klein no longer hesitated, immediately returning to reality.