Listening to the veiled threat in the jibe, Aaron's eyes dangerously narrowed. He glanced at Pallez, whose expression had subtly changed, and without avoiding the subject, responded indifferently, "If you obtain the last portion of the Worm of Time characteristic, wouldn't Adam be afraid that his ascension ritual would be usurped by you?"
Shrugging his shoulders with a playful expression, Amon said to Pallez with a peculiar smile, "That's why only a clone of mine came."
Aaron didn't bother to discern whether this was a deceptive attempt to cover up. At worst, he would have Pallez separate the Worm of Time characteristic and throw it directly into the Nation of Disorder. Without his permission, this Blasphemer would never achieve Error.
However, doing so would be tantamount to tearing off the facade, breaking the tacit understanding between Adam and the Evernight Goddess regarding the candidate for the Lord of the Mysteries. He naturally wouldn't take the initiative to do it. Since that was the case, it was better to maximize the benefits.
Ignoring the somewhat hostile attitude of the other party, Amon slightly raised his head, looking at the gradually calming Astral World and the dissipating crimson figure beyond the barrier. His playful smile receded, replaced by a rare seriousness:
"With your current Beyonder Pathway, you should be very clear that Above the Sequence 0 are Great Old Onees. And to become one, in addition to gathering the Uniqueness of neighboring Pathways and at least one Sequence 1 characteristic, there is one more indispensable item."
"For example, Sefirah Castle, or Chaos Sea..."
Before Aaron could respond, Amon's lips curled into a meaningful smile as he added, "Or like the Nation of Disorder on you. Tsk, after the Western Continent was sealed, it's rare to see someone in the outside world capable of fusing a complete Sefirah. No wonder that fanatic values you so much."
Aaron frowned imperceptibly, suddenly unsure if this guy had learned some secret from Adam.
After all, he, who didn't even have an Angel Beyonder Pathway, was able to persevere through several epochs of integration with the Nation of Disorder. Apart from his soul being a true outsider, unaffected by the initial imprint's revival, the most crucial factor was the gifts from the two pillar-level Outer Deities, Celestial Worthy and God Almighty, based on their mutual goal of keeping each other suppressed.
And the Ancient Sun God, using Adam as an alias, had truly experienced the awakening of God Almighty within him. Based on the authority of Omnipotent and Omniscient and a certain degree of spiritual fusion, it was not surprising for him to know some of God Almighty's arrangements.
Aaron pondered the risk of meeting this pseudo-"fellow countryman" before Adam achieved Visionary, while maintaining his usual expression.
Considering that with the Mother Goddess of Depravity's retreat, the gaze of the Gods in the Astral World could fall on this forsaken land at any time, Aaron avoided the topic and, according to the conditions he had previously discussed with Pallez, proactively spoke:
"One Worm of Time characteristic for one Trojan Horse of Destiny characteristic and one Weather Warlock characteristic."
"If you agree, we can sign the contract now!"
The Trojan Horse of Destiny characteristic was a gift Pallez had left for Mobet, and also the foundation for the future revival of the Zoroast family.
This world-sweeping war was the fastest opportunity for the Red Priest Pathway to quickly digest potions and advance. If there were additional Weather Warlock characteristics, it wouldn't be impossible to create another Angel in a short time.
As for the Weather Warlock characteristic obtained in Bansy Harbor, Aaron planned to reserve it for his father, Gusman Weil, whose War Bishop potion was about to be completely digested.
Amon adjusted the monocle on his right eye, glanced at Pallez, who had tacitly agreed, and clicked his tongue:
"I thought you would ask me to deal with George III, or that crippled fellow from Castiya."
"The Trojan Horse of Destiny isn't difficult, but unfortunately, you just missed a Weather Warlock characteristic..."
Missed? Aaron frowned. Before he could press further, he saw Amon's lips curl into a smile, but his body was gradually disintegrating, leaving only an echoing voice:
"I agree to your terms. I look forward to our next meeting!"
Almost at the instant Amon disintegrated, an arm entirely composed of distorted vines reached out from the chaotic Spirit World, only to grasp a twelve-segment Worm of Time.
An invisible, chilling wind swept by, and Astolfo's body stretched open the Spirit World. Behind him, strange creatures hung from the distorted vines, a significant number of them bearing faint circular marks on their right eyes.
Just by being swept by those blood-red eyes, Bernadette felt a stinging pain deep within her Spirit Body. The oppressive feeling, comparable to Ouroboros, made him hold his breath—another King of Angels!
-----------------
Deep within the Forsaken Land of the Gods, at the peak of a majestic and continuous mountain range, stood a gigantic cross, existing between reality and illusion.
There, a blurred figure, shrouded in a faint shadow, hung upside down. Several ancient wooden stakes pierced his body, nailing him to the cross.
And at the base of the cross, the place with the densest aura of depravity, a figure stood at this moment.
Blood-red hair casually draped over blood-soaked black armor, and a flag-like red mark on his glabella was vividly crimson, clearly the Red Angel Medici.
However, unlike before, the two deep, bone-visible putrid wounds on his face had healed, leaving only mouth-like scars. At this moment, his aura was no longer inferior to an Angel!
A winding, illusory river, shimmering with light, stopped at the base of the mountain range. Ouroboros ascended towards the mountaintop with an indifferent expression, while Steph remained in place, sitting devoutly and praying in a low voice.
In a few breaths, Ouroboros arrived at the base of the cross. He glanced at Medici, who had his eyes tightly closed, and took out a bronze-patinated cross with thorns from his linen robe.
Almost simultaneously, the inverted figure on the giant cross suddenly faded, spreading into a curtain of shadow that connected the sky above and the earth below. Behind the curtain, a pair of cold eyes seemed to be watching the entire world.
The next second, the shadow curtain split open, revealing a dark, lightless void within, where the faint sound of illusory tides echoed.
Under the influence of the power seeping from the Chaos Sea, the bronze-patinated cross instantly disintegrated. Infinite light enveloped the golden blood droplet, which radiated light and heat, gradually transforming into a figure composed of pure light.
From the cold eyes behind the curtain, a dark, dense shadow surged out, merging with the radiant figure into the flag-like mark on Medici's glabella.
Two terrifying wills, opposing yet intertwined, surged within Medici's body. Utilizing the True Creator's own authority of "Grazing," they brought the corruption within Medici's body to a balance, no longer being unilaterally assimilated by the Red Priest Uniqueness.
Ouroboros stood quietly nearby, his layered wings obscuring this mountain range, preventing the terrifying anomaly from affecting the Forsaken Land of the Gods.