The Terror of Option Chapter 917 917: 65 LOTM

The visitor was a man in a dark green postman uniform. He smiled at Klein in a fawning manner.

"Are you Mr. Sherlock Moriarty?" he asked.

"Yes." Klein could vaguely guess the purpose of the other person's visit.

The visitor raised his right hand and handed over a palm-sized item that was wrapped in layers of black gauze.

"Please sign and accept your package."

Klein deliberately revealed his doubts.

"Shouldn't you give a slip and let go to the corresponding post office for collection?"

The Loen Kingdom's postal system was a perfect replica of the Intis system, and even the flaws were copied quite significantly. Anything that couldn't be stuffed directly into the mailbox, no matter what it was, would only be given a "collection slip" by the postman, making the recipient go through the hassle of collecting it himself.

"... Haha, because it's rather precious, so I have to personally deliver it to you," the postman said after a montary shock.

It seems you're not professional enough to be a real postman... Without further questions, Klein accepted the package, pen, and slip before signing them.

He closed the door and returned to the living room. He didn't rush to open the package, but he took out a gold coin and threw it into the air.

Pa!

Klein caught the gold coin and looked down to see if it was heads or tails.

A number faced up, indicating a negative response. There's no latent danger...Klein nodded slightly and put away the gold coin. He touched the paper figurine in his pocket and carefully opened the package.

After one layer after another of black gauze was removed, the objects inside clearly presented themselves to him. They were a pale gold-colored, elegantly patterned pocket watch; a handkerchief stained with dark red blood; seven or eight brown short curly hair tied together; and a stack of notes.

Talim's belongings, his hair, his blood, and his daily records, are all present... Prince Edessak sure is a very efficient man. It's not even nightti... Klein looked at the items on the coffee table and suddenly felt that there were many people staring at him at that very mont.

An ancient Angel Family with a heritage of more than two thousand years would definitely have an unimaginable background. Being involved with the royal family's internal strife makes it possible for to be pulverized at any mont and anywhere... Maybe I'm already being monitored now... I have to appear diocre and useless enough, to ensure my safety... Klein had already decided what to do, so he took his ti checking the pocket watch, handkerchief, and hair.

During this process, his spiritual intuition didn't give him any warnings, nor did it prevent him from attempting divination.

After having a better grasp on the situation, Klein took out the letter, picked up a pen, and wrote his divination sentence:

"The true cause of Talim Dumont's death."

He acted big-hearted and poised, as though he didn't feel that he was being monitored at that very mont.

Picking up the curly hair and handkerchief, Klein chanted the divination sentence while leaning back against the back of the sofa. His eyes turned deep as he entered Cogitation.

After repeating it seven tis, he ca to the dream world and saw the familiar lobby of the Quelaag Club.

And then he saw Talim Dumon clutch at his heart, his face contorted once again.

"This revelation shows that Talim did die of a sudden heart disease..." Klein opened his eyes and muttered softly to himself.

He frowned, wearing a puzzled, confused, and thoughtful expression.

He tried several different divination statents and received the sa result.

He got up and paced back and forth several tis.

He punched himself in the head, as though he was angry that he wasn't good enough to help his friend or find out who the culprit was.

In the end, he dejectedly sat down and didn't move for a long ti. In the dark room, he was like the silhouette of a stone statue.

That should be enough. I can't go overboard... If there's no one monitoring , then I would've been fighting with the air just now... Klein shook his head in a self-deprecating manner, got up, and walked to the kitchen.

After dinner, he seed to perk up again before he read the stack of notes carefully, including what Talim had done and who he had t on the day and the days prior to his death.

Ho, Red Rose Manor, Quelaag Club, Viscount Conrad's mansion... There's nothing out of the ordinary about it... Klein picked up a sharpened pencil and drew circles, marking out the places he would visit and the targets he would ask about in the next few days.

After doing all of this, he let out a long sigh. Without confidence, he packed up his things, washed up, and went to bed.

In the middle of the night, when the red moon was hidden by layers of clouds, Klein suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.

He got out of bed, opened the door slowly, and went into the bathroom next door, hiding himself with a Paper Figurine Substitute in the process.

Walking four steps counterclockwise, he arrived above the gray fog and sat down at the seat which belonged to The Fool.

His eyes had beco clear, no longer dispirited, dejected, and pessimistic.

Soon after, Klein took the blood-stained handkerchief from a hidden pocket in his pajamas made out of old clothes.

When he was packing his things, he had used his Beyonder powers as a Magician to hide the handkerchief on his body.

After taking a deep breath, Klein conjured a pen and paper, and he wrote down the divination sentence that was no different from the beginning:

"The true cause of Talim Dumont's death."

After he repeated it seven tis with his body and mind in peace and quiet, he leaned back in his chair with the paper and handkerchief in his hand and fell asleep in the silent and empty old palace.

In a gray, separated, and illusory world, Klein saw a completely different scene from before.

Presented before his eyes was a palm-sized wooden puppet, carved with eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

There were a few drops of dark red blood on the puppet's body, giving it a demonic appearance.

A palm stretched out. The skin was white and exquisite, smooth, and beautiful, with five slender and delicate fingers that accentuated the hand's flesh and bones.

The most eye-catching thing was a unique ring with an inlaid sapphire on the hand's pinky finger.

Pa!

The hand's index finger was wreathed in black flas as it pointed at the heart of the wooden puppet.

Without a sound, the scene shattered and Klein woke up from his dream.

His initial judgnt wasn't wrong. Talim had died under a curse!

But there was a problem. He had already seen the scene of the curse happening, so why wasn't the scene displayed in its entirety?

The mysterious space above the gray fog is able to get rid of all interference... Klein was puzzled for a mont.

Normally speaking, receiving a revelation that too abstract and easy to misread was a problem with his limited divination abilities. It ant that the difficulty of the matter he was divining was too high and that it had nothing to do with the gray fog. It was an understandable outco, but he had clearly seen the scene of the murderous curse, but he was limited to a small scope of the situation. It didn't provide a relatively effective revelation and was rather baffling.

Have I... encountered such a similar situation in the past? Klein dug through his past experiences.

Suddenly, he sat up straight, rembering a similar experience.

In Tingen, when he was divining the real reason behind the countless coincidences, sothing similar had happened!

He could clearly see the house with the red chimney, but he couldn't reach Ince Zangwill and Sealed Artifact 0-08!

Th-this is the power of soone or sothing that's at the level of a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact that's resisting the power of the gray fog? Klein's eyes abruptly narrowed.

No, not necessarily. There are still quite a few possibilities. I have to confirm it again!He put in a lot of effort in order to calm down.

As for the thod used for confirming, it wasn't daunting for the experienced him. The thod was simple—redoing the sa divination again.

If the revelation doesn't change, it ans that things aren't so terrible, and if divination is no longer successful, then sothing around the target or the target is resisting the gray fog to so extent, like 0-08!

Taking a deep breath, Klein calmly repeated the previous divination.

"The true cause of Talim Dumont's death."

...

He leaned back in his chair and chanted in a low voice, his eyes growing darker.

In the dream, all he could see was a hazy, shattered gray fog. There were no more wooden puppets or fingers.

Whoosh!

Klein straightened his back, his expression abnormally grave.

What did Talim get himself involved in? he frowned as he muttered to himself.

There's no question as to what I should do next. It's to be passive and perfunctory. I'll first lie to Prince Edessak before telling him that I'm incapable of figuring out the truth.

Phew, this world is really scary. Just the slightest bit of carelessness would cause to co into contact with sothing extrely terrifying... Klein sighed. Without daring to stay any longer, he quickly returned to the bathroom in the real world.

...

Tuesday, 9 a.m. at the Crown Cetery.

Klein stood at the edge of the crowd, wearing a black shirt, black vest, and a black tweed coat whilst he was carrying so fresh flowers he bought for 12 soli. He looked gravely at Talim Dumont's coffin being carried over, had his soul put to rest, and was buried bit by bit into the earth.

During this process, Talim's mother's eyes were red and swollen. She wanted to speak a few tis, but she couldn't find her voice. His father's hair was gray, and his expression was haggard. He just stood there, trembling slightly.

When the scene reflected in his eyes, Klein tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

He waited until the mourners had left before he walked over, bent over, and placed the white flowers on top of the others.

I'm sorry... he silently said inwardly.

Standing up, he stepped aside and was about to leave when Klein noticed Reporter Mike and Surgeon Aaron, closing in.

"What a pity. I never thought that Talim would actually... actually... Sigh..." Mike's expression was pained as he couldn't finish his sentence.

Aaron, who was always cold, took off his glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes. He sighed and said, "He's a warmhearted guy. He shouldn't have ended up like this."

"Yes, he could've gotten rid of his grandfather's bad reputation," Klein echoed.

Just then, he saw a female figure in a thick black dress with a veil covering her face walk up to Talim's grave. She, too, was also carrying a bouquet of white flowers.

Klein looked away, not paying much attention, just keeping watch through the corner of his eye.

The woman bent down to release the flower, revealing her left palm, which was covered by a black gauze glove.

A blue gem faintly appeared on the pinky of her left palm.

Klein's scalp tingled instantly.

His entire body felt numb.

-x-X-x-

A similar feeling that wasn't unfamiliar. The experienced Klein imdiately used his Clown powers to control his facial expression and the slight trembling of his body.

Without rushing, he gently retracted his gaze, making the casual glance from before appear normal.

"Sigh, Talim was so young. He wasn't even married and has no children." Klein sighed as he went with the flow.

He had said this because it gave him a plausible explanation for his subtle reaction towards the woman who had offered the flowers—he had turned sad having seen a woman who had so connection with Talim, associated her to marriage and family, and then finally how his friend had passed away at an early age.

"Yeah, actually, at his age, he should've been married four or five years ago. Unfortunately, the matter with his grandfather left him with an extrely strong psychological trauma. He had always rejected marriage, and only recently did he improve." Reporter Mike sighed.

At this mont, the seemingly normal Klein seed to have a cluster of thorns stabbing at his back, slowly piercing into his skin and flesh, causing him to feel extrely tense.

The girl in the black dress with the sapphire ring on her left hand pinky had straightened her body and calmly surveyed her surroundings. Afterward, she quietly left Talim's grave with two maids accompanying her. She silently walked further and further away from Talim's grave.

Phew... Klein secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

The feeling of his back being stabbed quickly turned into a cold sweat.

Just who is she, and why did she co to the grave to offer flowers? Talim's lover? However, how could Talim, who had no wealth or status, have a relationship with a terrifying person who is involved with a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact or that of a demigod? This isn't a novel! Furthermore, she should be the one that used a curse to kill Talim... This matter runs deep... Klein listened quietly as Mike and Aaron recounted Talim's past.

His thoughts quickly dispersed, feeling that the most puzzling thing about this matter was that Talim's death—an ordinary person who had no money, power, status, or strength—was actually involved with a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact or a powerhouse of the sa level. This was simply inconceivable!

*But this isn't an isolated case. There's another similar case that has happened around ... *Klein suddenly thought of sothing and looked at the surgeon, Aaron.

This ordinary person's ho might very well be hiding a Sequence 1 Snake of rcury!

Following this train of thought, Klein recalled the nearly five months that he had spent here since he transmigrated. He was stunned to discover that he had unconsciously beco involved with many demigods and terrifying Sealed Artifacts.

The woman who had killed Talim; the Snake of rcury, Will Auceptin; the Blaspher Amon; the mysterious woman at the Royal Museum; a High-Sequence Beyonder of the Rose School of Thought; 0-08; 1-42; Ince Zangwill; the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem; the Antigonus family's notebook; Mr. Azik Eggers, who's suspected to be a descendant of Death; Mr. Door; the Twilight Hermit Order... Each na flashed through Klein's mind, and every single one of them made him feel like drawing in a cold breath.

He cald his heart and carefully thought, These don't include the True Creator and the Eternal Blazing Sun, who are ranked high above these... Strictly speaking, I can be considered to be among their ranks. After all, I ca from a dark divination, and I'm a strange alternate world soul who controls the strange gray fog... Could this be another "crest of the tis" after Roselle? So all the demigods and terrifying Sealed Artifacts are making an appearance in real life...

As these thoughts flashed through Klein's mind, the grief-stricken Reporter Mike and Surgeon Aaron excused themselves. He then left the cetery at a leisurely pace.

Just as he was looking around for a rental carriage, a familiar carriage drove out of a secluded spot and stopped in front of him.

Although the coat of arms on the black carriage was skillfully concealed, Klein was still able to recognize it as Prince Edessak's carriage.

Without a sound, the door of the carriage opened, and the old butler with his ticulously combed hair alighted. He politely made a gesture of invitation.

"His Highness is waiting for you."

"Alright." Klein didn't feel guilty at all as he entered the spacious and warm carriage. @@@@

Prince Edessak was dressed in a dark blue coat with a large collar and a golden ribbon across his chest, which made him look very abnormally noble.

He rubbed the diamond brooch, and his long and narrow eyes showed hints of a sigh.

"I'm restricted even when participating in the funeral of a friend. I couldn't appear in person and could only watch from afar, sending soone to offer flowers for . This is the royal family's lack of freedom."

"If Talim's grandfather hadn't lost his aristocratic title, then you wouldn't have to avoid anything." Klein abided by Prince Edessak's gesture and sat across from him.

Edessak picked up a cup of blood-red wine and said, "Sigh, I had originally planned to find an opportunity to help Talim's father recover his aristocratic title, but unfortunately..."

Instead of going deep into the subject, he asked, "Sherlock, did you receive the package?"

"Yes," Klein answered any questions he was asked, never giving any additional descriptions.

Edessak nodded slightly.

"Any progress?"

"I made several divinations using Talim's hair, blood, and belongings, but all of them led to the conclusion that he had died of a sudden heart disease." Klein used his emotionless, smooth narration to imply that "my Sequence isn't high enough," "my standards are limited," "although I'm good at divination, the other party is stronger," and "I'm sure that I can't figure out the truth."

Edessak looked disappointed and sighed.

"How do you plan on continuing the investigation?"

"Starting with the people Talim ca in contact with a few days before his death and the places he went," Klein replied according to the plan.

Edessak looked at the old butler.

"There will definitely be no lack of threatening interrogations or bribery. Hmm... Pay Sherlock 100 pounds for his investigation fees."

"Yes, Your Highness." The old butler took out a stack of bills that he had prepared earlier.

A hundred pounds straight out? Once again, Klein felt Prince Edessak's generosity.

"I'll do my best." He took the hundred pounds in cash and pocketed it without counting it in detail.

"I hope that we can put Talim to rest." Prince Edessak clenched his right fist and tapped the left side of his chest.

He turned his head to look out the window at Crown Cetery which wasn't too far away.

His friendship for Talim still remains strong... Klein sighed before he was led out to a carriage by the old butler.

...

In Empress Borough, the opulent villa of Earl Hall.

Audrey looked at her psychology teacher, whose long hair reached her waist, and she pretended to carefully look from side to side.

She imdiately lowered her voice and said, "Miss Escalante, I recently joined a new Beyonder gathering. There were high offers for a Human-skinned Shadow characteristic and the Wind-blessed potion formula. Uh, different people. These are likely Mid-Sequence items, right? It sounds quite interesting. Ah, right. Will the Psychology Alchemists be interested?"

Escalante was startled. She pondered for a few seconds and said, "I'll ask when I return."

"Alright," Audrey responded briskly, as though she were simply intrigued by such Mid-Sequence transactions.

Escalante retracted her attention and said in a serious tone, "Miss Audrey, although you are already a Sequence 8 Beyonder, you have yet to receive formal education in mysticism. You still don't understand enough about the techniques and applications of a Spectator and Telepathist, as well as the foundation theories. Starting today, I'll guide you to beco a true Beyonder."

"That's what I wish," Audrey said sincerely.

The huge golden retriever, Susie, who was sitting by her feet, wagged its tail happily, as if happy for her mistress.

...

Having made up his mind not to work, Klein took the carriage back to 15 Minsk Street.

He opened the door and was just about to take off his hat when he froze.

His spiritual intuition told him that a stranger had entered the living room. Soone had entered his room!

This... He barely hid his tracks... Is it considered a warning? Having a warning is better than not having one... Klein stood in the hall for a long ti in silence.

Imdiately, he turned around and went to the Steam Cathedral in a rental carriage.

The cathedral towered over the chimneys and clock tower, the forr representing the power of steam, while the latter represented the beauty of machinery through the hanging of its intricate clocks.

It was neither the weekend nor noon or the evening, so there were only a few devotees in the hall quietly praying.

Klein sat down in the aisle, leaned his cane, took off his hat, and pretended to pray for ten minutes in front of the Sacred Emblem.

Then, he picked up his things and walked along the aisle to the altar. He said to the bishop standing to the side, "I wish to make a confession."

"Good, God is watching you." The bishop, who had a kind face and hoary hair at his temples, walked to the confessional by his side.

Klein followed closely behind and closed the door.

He sat down on a chair and said to the bishop through the wooden board, "I confess that I didn't adhere to my principles when facing danger, and I chose to retreat."

"What were you thinking at the ti?" the bishop gently asked.

Klein imdiately described in detail about Talim's death; his suspicions; the reminder from the Machinery Hivemind; Prince Edessak's entrustnt; and, after how he failed to obtain any answers from his divination, he expressed his heartfelt cowardice in the face of the royal family's strife.

The reason he didn't go straight to Carlson was that he was afraid that not only was he being watched, but Prince Edessak's n were also watching him from the shadows. Once he made his intentions clear, he couldn't be sure if he would encounter another calamity.

The Steam Cathedral was the headquarters of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, and it was one of the three Great Holy Temples. No one could spy on whatever happened inside.

What Klein intended to do was to use the Church of the God of Steam to convey his true thoughts and avoid getting caught up in a deeper conflict.

Simply put, it was to comply with what his heart wanted.

The bishop listened quietly and answered without changing his tone, "Your choice derives from human instinct; God will not bla you.

"Go back, God will protect you."

That's good... Klein understood the hint and quietly left the Steam Cathedral.

Standing on the street outside, looking at the misty sky, he sighed silently.

I need to advance as soon as possible.

-x-X-x-

Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the pitch-black city walls.

Carrying a leather bag on his back and the Axe of Hurricane in hand, Derrick Berg stood outside the doorway to a cave with nearly ten of his teammates. @@@@

Lifting his eyes up, he saw that, between the stone cracks of the city wall, the dry and hardened black soil was crusting, but a bunch of tenacious weeds had grown out; they were densely packed and resembled human hair.

At that mont, he hurriedly withdrew his gaze and looked towards the city gate when he heard light footsteps.

As the lightning and darkness alternated, a tall figure slowly walked over, carrying two straight swords which were crossed on his back.

Then, his pale, disheveled hair; his ancient eyes; his twisted, deep; old scars; and his perennially-unchanged brown coat and flaxen-colored shirt entered Derrick and the others' sight.

The approaching person was the Chief of the six-mber council of the City of Silver, Colin Iliad, a powerful Demon Hunter.

After greeting him, Derrick subconsciously looked at the Chief's waist. There was a leather belt divided into many compartnts, each with a different tal bottle inside.

This was a symbol of an experienced and powerful Demon Hunter.

Derrick had previously heard his parents ntion that Demon Hunters were good at discovering the weaknesses for different monsters, identifying the uses of various materials, and were able to use their special Cogitation state against the forr. With the latter, they could concoct corresponding magical dicine, holy ointnts, essential oils, and special imprints. Then, through consumption, saring, and using these items, they could achieve the effect of restraining the target.

In a sense, experienced, knowledgeable, well-prepared, and sharp Demon Hunters were the nesis of the vast majority of monsters. The amount and variety of small tal bottles at their waist represented their "experience."

Of course, this was only a portion of the Demon Hunters' Beyonder powers. Just by relying on these, they couldn't be called demigods or Saints.

Collin looked around and confird that all the team mbers were present. He then said in a low voice, "Light up. Let's go."

Two team mbers imdiately lit the candles in their lanterns, letting the faint yellow light shine through the extrely thin leather.

During "dayti," when the frequency of lightning was relatively high, there was no need to use candles in the City of Silver as there was "illumination" every two to three seconds. Furthermore, the monsters in the nearby area had been cleaned out again and again. However, once they left the City of Silver and entered the darkness, they had to maintain sufficient candlelight. Otherwise, once the lightning failed to illuminate the skies, causing a dark environnt that exceeded five seconds, there was a high chance for the team to suffer from an assault by certain monsters.

Intense fighting wasn't the most frightening developnt. What Derrick rembered so vividly was a story his parents had told him.

Once, while they were exploring the depths of the darkness, because of a previous battle with a horde of rotting corpses, the candles couldn't be replaced in ti. This led them to endure being engulfed in darkness for as long as eight seconds. When the lightning flashed again and the candlelight appeared, they were stunned to see that only five of their original eight teammates remained. The other three had vanished in silence, never to be seen again.

Taking a deep breath, Derrick gripped the Axe of Hurricane tightly and walked in the middle of the team, following the Chief in a predetermined direction.

A bolt of lightning flashed, causing the plains covered in tall black grass to appear like an eerie oil painting.

The exploratory team of 10 Beyonders walked along the path filled with craggy gravel, venturing deep into the black grass.

The lightning subsided, and the dense darkness instantly swept over them, almost completely engulfing them.

The yellow candlelight pierced through the leather and, weakly, swayed to and fro, guarding the surrounding area.

...

East Borough, in a greasy and cheap coffee shop.

In accordance with the previously agreed upon appointnt, Klein found Old Kohler, who was applying butter to his toast.

He glanced at the crumpled cigarette on the table and smiled.

"Newly bought?"

"No, it's from the past. I haven't smoked since, but I would always carry it with , occasionally taking it out to sniff at it. Heh heh, this will remind of that vagrant life of mine. Back then, I really felt like I could die at any mont." Old Kohler's tone carried a hint of fear.

Klein took 20 soli in change, which he had changed earlier, and pushed it across the table while sitting down.

"I was very satisfied with the information from the last ti."

Without waiting for Old Kohler to give a modest reply, he turned his head and looked towards the counter.

"A loaf of oatal bread, two slices of toast, a block of butter, a serving of beef stew with potatoes, and a one-pence cup of tea."

"Mr. Moriarty, didn't you have dinner yesterday?" Old Kohler was stunned for a mont as he held the cash.

Klein shook his head and smiled.

"I'll be very busy later and might not have ti for lunch."

He needed to pretend that he was active and serious; after all, he had received a hundred pounds from Prince Edessak.

Old Kohler didn't ask any more questions. He looked around cautiously while stuffing the notes into his pocket.

"There are so results from the matter you previously asked to find out more about. Azik Eggers's bounty cos from a few gang leaders and so intelligence dealers. Well, I don't know who entrusted the task to them since it's difficult to make contact with them."

MI9...

Klein nodded.

"That's enough. There's no need to delve deeper. It's too dangerous."

Old Kohler heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Two days ago, soone at a budget hotel on Golden Cloak Street saw soone who appeared to be Azik Eggers. It's said that the person was basically a carbon copy of the picture on the bounty notice."

"..."

Klein's heart palpitated as he smiled instead of showing surprise.

"And then? Could it be that the mont I prepared to try for this bounty, the matter is over?"

"And then? With that clue, quite a number of bounty hunters rushed over, but they didn't find anything. Well, they said that there were traces of a fight in the room." Old Kohler tried his best to recall the information he had gathered.

The intelligence would definitely be sent to MI9 first... Did Mr. Azik have a secret standoff with them? I wonder what the outco was... Klein took a glance at the boss who was coming over with a plate. He pretended to mutter to himself and said to Old Kohler, "Take to Golden Cloak Street later. Maybe I can find so clues."

It was past breakfast ti in East Borough, and there were very few custors in the cheap coffee shop.

"Alright." Old Kohler agreed without hesitation.

"A total of sixteen and a half pence." The boss placed Klein's breakfast on the table. There wasn't much beef with the potatoes, but the stew was very overcooked. It was obvious that it had been prepared beforehand. The thick aroma tantalized Old Kohler's taste buds to the point that he involuntarily gulped a mouthful of saliva.

After paying the bill, Klein picked up a fork and spoon and said to Old Kohler, "Continue."

"There aren't many people looking for the believers of The Fool anymore, except for a few stubborn bounty hunters... Many unemployed textile won, including so male workers, left East Borough..." Old Kohler went down a list of matters.

"What?" Klein swallowed the beef and looked up. "Left East Borough?"

"They must've found so other job. As for where they went, I couldn't find out," Old Kohler answered truthfully.

"Their families aren't aware?" Klein pressed.

"So left with their unemployed family mbers, while others had co alone from outside the city to search for work." Old Kohler had already done so investigations.

Judging from the target's choice, there's sothing wrong... Klein made a ntal note of it and continued to eat while he listened to Old Kohler talk about matters that had happened in East Borough recently.

After making an appointnt for the next eting, he put down the cutlery, wiped his mouth, picked up his hat, and said, "Let's head for Golden Cloak Street."

...

In the only budget hotel on Golden Cloak Street.

After the boss accepted a two pence tip, he led Klein and Old Kohler to the room which was suspected to be where Azik Eggers used to live.

"There have been many bounty hunters visiting over this period of ti. Hehe, It made earn quite a bit, so I have maintained its original state." The hotel owner opened the door with his key and pointed inside.

At first glance, Klein saw overturned chairs and rags scattered everywhere. There were no other signs of a fight.

With his considerable spiritual perception, Klein cast his gaze under the bed.

After staring for two seconds, he walked over and bent down to pat the bed.

Dust flew into the air with a poof as a gray rat jumped out from under the bed.

It looked normal, without any problems, but in Klein's Spirit Vision, its aura only had the colors: black and green.

The rat turned a corner and climbed up a wall, exposing its belly to Klein's eyes.

In that soft spot, its flesh was green with flowing pus. One could see that his internal organs had similarly rotted away.

Klein thoughtfully looked back at Old Kohler, who wasn't paying attention to the rat.

"Has the bounty for Azik Eggers been withdrawn?"

"No." Old Kohler shook his head in confirmation.

Klein examined it again, he then stepped out and said, "Let's go, there's no valuable clues."

...

15 Minsk Street.

Klein, who had been "busy" all day, lay down on his bed and entered the dream world.

Scenes that were continuous at tis, and at other tis fragnted, swept past and all of a sudden, Klein woke up. He knew that he was dreaming.

A power has invaded my dreams... Klein maintained his previous dazed state, casually sizing up his surroundings.

He found himself in a suburb of fertile fields.

A river flowed over from the distance and made a turn around the cliff in front of him.

One side of the cliff was bare, revealing a pure white rock. Looking from afar, it seed to have a kind of holy beauty.

Nearly ten n and won wearing black coats or dark jackets surrounded a hidden underground entrance to the bay, among them was Klein's acquaintance, Ikanser Bernard.

White Cliff Town... Stratford River Creek. Machinery Hivemind... Are they exploring the Amon family tomb? But why would there be scenes of it in my dreams? Klein was puzzled.

At that mont, he saw the water on the surface of the river undulate, rapidly forming a line of white words: "Your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, is here to report to you on the exploration's situation."

"..."

Klein's mouth turned agape, montarily losing the ability to speak. Then, a voice echoed in his head: Tell , why would a perfectly good mirror be a snitch?

-x-X-x-

In an instant, Klein switched to his unfathomable state as "The Fool who overlooked everything." He nodded and said, "Not bad."

Ahead of him, the river surged, and the white words squird and changed before taking shape again.

"What follows is the exploration process your loyal servant, Arrodes, has recorded. You can choose to speed up or skip certain scenes at any ti."

This sentence froze for two seconds, and then the scene abruptly zood in. Klein instantly appeared beside Ikanser Bernard, but no one noticed him.

He looked around and felt that he was surrounded by living people with lifelike scenes. Nothing about his surroundings looked unreal, making him feel as if though he was there in person.

I can even speed up or skip certain scenes... The original form of this mirror, Arrodes, is a virtual reality family cinema... Klein couldn't help but lampoon.

He took another look at the Machinery Hivemind mbers and saw that it was led by an old man in white priest robes and a cleric cap. His face was unusually kind, and his expression was calm and gentle.

"Your Grace, everyone is ready," Ikanser approached the elder and said with a bow.

Archbishop... This is the archbishop of the Church of Steam and Machinery's Backlund diocese, the demigod, Horamick Haydn? The Machinery Hivemind really is cautious, and not careless...

Who knows, they might have even brought along a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact and perford a divination in advance. After all, they're in control of the Mystery Pryer pathway. Luckily, I can basically confirm that the fog's anti-divination or divination interference abilities are similar to the Cards of Blasphemy, allowing the result to be as ordinary as possible and the least bit suspicious; otherwise, certain matters might be exposed... @@@@

However, there's a certain probability that the eting between Miss Sharron and I will appear, because, to , that isn't sothing harmful. It depends on whether a Wraith's instinct to interfere with divination will affect the Machinery Hivemind's attempt. Wait, the Machinery Hivemind is highly likely to have relied on Arrodes, and based on its performance from just now and previously, it isn't impossible for him to curry favor with by adding so mosaics... Klein thought in enlightennt.

At this point, Horamick Haydn drew a triangular Sacred Emblem on his chest.

"Begin the operation. God will protect us."

Nearly ten Beyonders headed down as Klein followed closely behind. He didn't "fast-forward" at all.

He had always been curious about the combat styles of Low- and Mid-Sequence Beyonders of the Machinery Hivemind, and he wanted to take this opportunity to experience it.

In addition, he was also greatly concerned about how a demigod really did in combat, as well as the secrets hidden in the Amon family tomb.

After being ransacked by ti, in a period spanning one or two thousand years, the black marble staircase still retained its hardness without any signs of corrosion. The Machinery Hivemind mbers followed it all the way underground, where they saw the unique asymtrical stone pillars and axe-and-blade scuffing from the period of the Fourth Epoch.

The pillars stood on either side of the wide road, and in front of them was a large, heavy, dark gray stone bifold door.

The stone door had already cracked open, wide enough for two people to walk alongside each other. It was completely dark inside.

The Machinery Hivemind mbers were in no hurry to enter. They carefully searched the surrounding area with lanterns, but they found nothing of value.

"According to the plan, the first group will begin with a preliminary clean-up." With the archbishop's approval, Ikanser pushed down his hat, compressing his fluffy hair.

Clean-up? By the side, Klein ruminated over the word.

Amidst his puzzlent, the two strongest and burliest male Machinery Hivemind team mbers each laid down a long black box on their backs and opened them up.

Inside one long box was a sturdy, heavy, iron-black cannon-shaped object. Its surface was engraved with dense and arcane patterns. In the other box was a complex and exquisite firearm with a chain of pale golden bullets inserted into it.

One of the two team mbers carried the cannon-shaped object and trudged to the open stone door.

Another Machinery Hivemind mber picked up the peculiar gun, adjusted the bullet chain, and followed slightly behind.

After the two of them glanced at each other, the cannon-shaped object on the forr's shoulder rapidly lit up, outlining burning patterns and imprints before a loud salvo.

Boom!

A golden fireball, akin to a miniature sun, flew out from the "cannon barrel" and into the darkness.

Boom!

The ground trembled slightly, and intense light was emitted from the crack.

The body of the Machinery Hivemind mber, who was holding onto the "cannon barrel," clearly sank a little as his feet trembled.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He repeatedly used the Beyonder weapon to launch one golden "cannonball" after another at different spots, causing the tomb to sway without a speck of dust falling.

After he ca to a stop, the team mber with the peculiar gun stepped forward and pulled the trigger.

Da! Da! Da! Da! Da!

The sound of machine-gun fire echoed as one pale golden bullet after another flew out, purifying the danger in the depths of the darkness.

... Isn't this the bombardnt effect I've always wanted? Furthermore, they're using Beyonder expendables like purifying bullets and exorcism cannonballs... How extravagant! Is this the combat style of the Machinery Hivemind? Klein's stared with his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly agape.

After the series of savage bombardnts, Ikanser raised his voice above the rumbling echoes and said, "Group two, do the follow-up clean-up."

There's more... Klein felt a little numb from what was happening.

The second group was also made up of two team mbers who used scrolls made of different kinds of leather.

They chanted simplified incantations, activated the scrolls, and tossed them inside.

The construct behind the stone door was suddenly shrouded by gentle and pure light. Droplets of golden holy rain pattered down, "cleansing" everything in the area.

Klein looked at this scene and suddenly found it sowhat ridiculous.

Wait, aren't you guys here to engage in archaeological studies? Aren't you professional "archaeologists?" Aren't you afraid that the tomb would collapse from using such clean-up thods?

While these thoughts flashed through his mind, the second team was done, and they shouted at Ikanser, "Deacon, as expected, the construct's structural integrity hasn't been destroyed."

They were clearly prepared.

"Alright, continue forward." Ikanser gave the order.

Klein walked in the middle, through the stone door, and saw piles of dirt and debris on the ground. It was impossible to tell what kind of monsters had once been active here, and no one could guess the functions of the chanisms that had been set up here.

After these "cleaning up" procedures, as long as one didn't dodge in advance, no Beyonder below that of High-Sequence Beyonders would be able to withstand it...Klein once again gained a deeper understanding of what the aesthetic of violence was like and what it ant to be simple, direct, and unreasonable.

In what followed, the previous scenes were repeated over and over again. The Machinery Hivemind team mbers smoothly approached, exploring one area after another, occasionally harvesting so Beyonder characteristics that were beginning to gather.

"There are no murals..." Seeing the main tomb chamber in sight, the archbishop of the Church of the God of Steam, Horamick Haydn stopped and muttered to himself in puzzlent.

Klein, who was considered half a historian, was equally puzzled.

Generally speaking, a noble family mber's grave would more or less express their position and honor when they were alive.

And when a grave beca a tomb or even a mausoleum, it was very common for a mural to be used to describe its master's life when it possessed enough space. In even older and more obscure eras, this wasn't rare, and it was even the most common thod—the first thing humans learned was drawings, not writing.

Thus, it really was a little strange that there were no similar murals in the tomb of a Fourth Epoch noble family.

Upon hearing the archbishop's question, Ikanser imdiately ordered the n to spread out in groups of two to search the vicinity for relevant traces of murals.

Watching from the sidelines, Klein couldn't help but want to "fast forward" a little to imdiately see the outco.

At that mont, he noticed that the two Machinery Hivemind mbers in the left corner had suddenly turned into three!

One of them looked identical to Ikanser Bernard, his fluffy hair propping his hat high.

This... Klein was first stunned before he made a guess.

The mont he had the thought, Ikanser walked over to the team mber closest to him.

"Any discoveries?" He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

The team mber turned around warily, but imdiately relaxed when he saw that it was Deacon Ikanser.

"No..." Before he could finish his sentence, the "Ikanser" in front of him suddenly turned into a piece of human skin and enveloped his body.

The pale human skin tightly wrapped around him, and his face began to form the outline of his facial features. During this process, there were no additional sounds, nor were there any abnormal movents that were triggered.

All of a sudden, the human skin began to emit rays of light, just like the rising of the sun!

The human skin imdiately turned translucent and quickly soared into the air as if it was being burned.

A black whip imdiately lashed out, striking its body, causing its movents to clearly slow down.

In such a battle, slowness was an "Original Sin." One Beyonder weapon after another, burning scrolls, and pale golden bullets were released towards the human skin.

After a brilliant burst of light, countless ashes fell from the sky.

All of them coruscated faint light and slowly "struggled" to gather together.

It really is a Human-skinned Shadow... Klein turned his attention to the Machinery Hivemind mbers who had just been attacked.

The man pulled at his collar and pulled out a protective charm. There were many symbols and magic labels related to the sun on it.

"Thankfully, the archbishop got us to wear these things!" he held the lantern and sincerely praised.

It was only then that Klein realized that his brooch had the quality of the night, his ring had the intensity of the storm, and his belt exuded the sense of physical strength...

Although they aren't all mystical items, most of them are in the category of charms and Beyonder weapons. Even if their effects will quickly decline, they're still worth a lot! If you weren't an Artisan or a rich Beyonder, there's no way to gather that much... Is this the combat style of the Machinery Hivemind? Burning money... Klein felt a sudden setback, and it took him a long ti to recover.

At that mont, the Human-skinned Shadow characteristic gathered and took form. It was like a huge diamond with countless sides reflecting light, and each side reflected a different face.

The faces were densely packed, layered, and left one dizzy.

I'm just short of it... Klein was overjoyed.

After the Machinery Hivemind handled the spoils, they continued to search for the murals, but they didn't find any traces of them.

They had no choice but to gather again and head for the passageway that led to the main tomb.

-x-X-x-

After another series of bombardnts, the passage into the main tomb was revealed to the mbers of the Machinery Hivemind.

The ground was littered with debris. The diamond-shaped Beyonder characteristic that reflected a human face lay silently at the bottom of the right wall, glowing with the light of two other objects.

The entire tunnel, including the two walls that lined the sides and the stone ceiling, was filled with potholes. However, one thing remained undamaged.

It was a fra that was hung up ahead about seven ters away. It was brown in color, and the wood grain was obvious, but only the side of the fra was revealed.

Without anyone ntioning anything, all the Beyonders present could tell that it was strange.

At this mont, the archbishop of the Church of Steam and Machinery, Horamick Haydn stepped forward and said in a gentle voice, "This is likely to be the Specter Portrait Fra that belongs to the Amon family according to the records. As long as one walks into its range and is illuminated by it, their Spirit Body will instantly be separated from their flesh and blood, turning into a portrait and be forever sealed inside. In this state, even if the portrait is replaced, there is no way of rescuing the person without the corresponding thods.

"If the duration of being sealed is too long, the body would already be dead; then, even if one grasps the correct thod to remove the seal, the spirit will quickly dissipate."

As he spoke, Horamick moved forward, step by step, closing in on the strange fra.

Klein was a bit worried, not daring to watch the demigod fight against the Sealed Artifact, but he quickly realized that he was just watching a scene provided by the magic mirror, Arrodes. What was there to be afraid of?

This is very normal — it's just like watching a horror movie or playing a dark ga...Klein cald himself as he quickened his pace and caught up with Horamick Haydn.

The demigod archbishop quickly reached the confines of where the mystical item that needed to be sealed was. He wore a white priest robe and a clerical cap, and his figure gradually appeared in the glass on the surface of the picture fra.

Glass... Glass in the Fourth Epoch? Seems to be the case. There has at least been glass in the Fifth Epoch's history all this ti, and there has been no ntion of who invented it... Klein waited with great interest for the "battle" between the demigod and the strange Sealed Artifact. @@@@

Horamick's upper body fully appeared within the Specter Portrait Fra, but his eyes didn't lose their luster!

He walked towards the fra, face to face.

The silhouette within the painting flickered, as though it was constantly shrinking, yet it was unable to succeed.

Horamick stopped, took out a large, almost opaque black cloth he had long prepared, and he covered the Specter Portrait Fra.

The fra trembled a few tis, but in the end, it was completely covered by the black cloth and turned silent.

Horamick seed to be unaffected as he effortlessly removed the Specter Portrait Fra and finished wrapping it with the black cloth before tying a knot on its back.

This... This isn't mystic... Didn't you say that your Spirit Body would be absorbed into the fra and be turned into a portrait? Why is the archbishop fine... Is this the uniqueness of a demigod, or is it because of another reason? Klein sized up Horamick Haydn, but he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

His eyes are filled with spirit, his expression genial, and he's rich in flesh and blood... It's a pity that I'm not there in person. Otherwise, I could activate my Spirit Vision and have a look... Klein retracted his gaze and waited for the Machinery Hivemind mbers, such as Ikanser, to co over.

Horamick handed the Specter Portrait Fra to a mber of the team and walked towards the main tomb at the end of the passage.

There was a black stone door filled with scrapes carved by blades and axes. In the middle of the door was a grayish-white disc.

The surface of the disk was divided into twelve segnts. There was a black needle, just like a clock from the outside world.

However, the segnts weren't evenly distributed across the disc. They were of varying sizes and extrely incongruous. Furthermore, each grid had half of its surface covered in a shadow.

"The coat of arms of the Amon family." Archbishop Horamick made a brief introduction.

He didn't explain the symbolic aning of the coat of arms, because presently only Deacon Ikanser Bernard was qualified to know.

Klein, on the other hand, relied on his own knowledge of mysticism to attempt to decipher it.

Disc, twelve segnts, and a needle. Combined together, they clearly represent ti. It matches the Worm of Ti which Amon's avatar left behind after it was wiped out. What should be twelve equal segnts on a disc, are unequal in size, and there's a shadow over a portion of it. Does this an that the Amon family is the dark side of ti? Then, where does their title as a Blaspher family show itself?

While Klein was thinking, Archbishop Horamick pushed open the stone door without any protection.

The heavy stone door opened, revealing an extrely spacious tomb chamber.

In the center of the chamber was a dais with a deep-black coffin on top of it.

The surrounding walls were decorated with iron lampstands, each holding a burning white candle.

All the candles didn't flicker. It was so quiet that it seed like a scene that was fixed in place, completely devoid of any signs of it suffering the effects of ti that spanned one to two thousand years.

On the straight path from the stone door to the coffin, there were corpses lying on the ground. They were all wearing black tweed coats, half top hats, or even ordinary worker clothes with a cap on their heads. It was obvious that they had entered in recent years.

The Beyonders that previously recruited helpers? How did they get past the area at the front? The Human-skinned Shadow and the other monsters were clearly still alive... With a mind filled with questions, Klein looked at the corpses.

What he saw left him imdiately shocked.

The corpses all had sparse white hair, dry and wrinkled skin, and obvious markings on their skin. They looked like eighty- or ninety-year-olds.

There were no obvious wounds on their bodies as though they had died of old age. Furthermore, it appeared as though they had died recently and hadn't even rotted yet.

It's very obvious that there wouldn't be this many aged Beyonders exploring the tomb. Even if the discoverers of the tomb were old, they would still try their best to choose the young and strong when recruiting helpers... There's sothing odd about it! Klein frowned and looked around again.

He quickly thought of the Worm of Ti left behind by Amon's avatar, and the coat of arms of the Amon family that represented ti on the stone door.

Making people age rapidly is one of the Amon family's Beyonder powers? The dark side of ti... The loophole in ti... Could it be that as others rapidly age, the mbers of the Amon family would regain their youth and extend their lives? Wait a minute, for these Beyonders to easily barge into this place like that, perhaps it was deliberate on the tomb master's part. He wanted to rob them of their ti in order to maintain his own existence... Klein looked suspiciously at the black coffin on the platform.

At this mont, the demigod, Horamick Haydn, raised his left hand and pressed it down.

"You will stop here."

"Yes, Your Grace," Ikanser and company answered without any hesitation.

As mbers of an official organization, they had read up on a large number of past Beyonder events. They knew that under similar circumstances, they had to obey the will of a High-Sequence Beyonder and absolutely couldn't act rashly or else they would die without knowing how.

Horamick looked ahead, and his eyes fell on a picture fra that hung upside down at the bottom of the dais.

His expression didn't change as he continued to walk forward at a leisurely pace.

Not making any preparations at all? The hallmark of demigods is to be "rash?" Klein was stunned.

He seed to be able to imagine Horamick's teeth dropping, his white hair wilting, and his skin shriveling as he rapidly aged.

One step, two steps, three steps... Horamick, who seed fine, suddenly trembled, and a sharp and piercing grinding sound could be heard from his body.

His pace began to slow down, his movents beca stiff, and his skin visibly dried up.

There's sothing wrong with that... That isn't the aging process of a normal human being... What was that grinding sound just now? Klein muttered inwardly.

Four steps, five steps, six steps. Ripping sounds ca from Horamick's body as sothing fell to the ground.

Klein subconsciously looked over and saw a gear.

A gear covered in rust!

Horamick continued on as items kept dropping from his body from ti to ti. There were rusty screws, lted wax, yellowed bones, and loose springs... His figure beca increasingly thin and unsteady, as if it could collapse at any ti.

This is just like a robot... Well, in this era's terms, "like a living doll"... Klein was suddenly enlightened.

He rembered that before Old Neil died, he had said that the Church of Earth Mother's Sequence 4 was good at Alchemical Life, and that the Savant pathway's corresponding Sequence was barely able to do so too.

As for Horamick, he was a High-Sequence Beyonder of the Savant pathway!

The Horamick in front of isn't the real him, it's just a refined doll. Just now, the reason why the Specter Portrait Fra was ineffective was that a doll doesn't have a Spirit Body! The real Horamick should still be far away... As expected of a demigod...Amidst Klein's enlightennt, the archbishop walked up to the dais, bent his knees and back, and turned the upside-down fra over.

Generally speaking, when exploring a tomb involving Beyonder elents, it was necessary to avoid flipping items over, but this ti, Horamick had made the opposite choice.

Following the flipping of the portrait fra, a wind suddenly blew in the sealed tomb, dispersing the formless imprisonnt and silence.

The candles on the iron-colored light fixtures rapidly ignited, becoming unusually bright. However, they soon reached the end of their lives and lted away.

The old corpses on the ground rapidly rotted and stank.

In just a few seconds, the tomb's main chamber had turned dark, leaving only the lanterns that the Machinery Hivemind mbers were holding onto to barely illuminate the area ahead.

Horamick picked up the picture fra from the floor and went up the stairs to the dais.

He ca to the black coffin, stretched out his right palm, and forcefully pushed.

Creak. The heavy coffin lid opened up a crack with a creaking sound, as though it wasn't nailed shut at all.

Horamick looked down and said in the sa unchanging voice, "There's no corpse."

As the scene drew nearer, Klein saw that the coffin's interior was empty except for a pale gold cushion embroidered with a worm with twelve rings.

At that mont, Horamick turned around and the picture fra in his hand was reflected in the eyes of Ikanser and the others.

With just a glance, Klein's gaze suddenly froze.

It was a portrait of a smiling young man.

He had black eyes and black curly black hair.

He had a broad forehead and a thin face.

A crystal monocle hung over his eye.

He wore a black pointed hat.

Amon!

-x-X-x-

Amon... Klein said the word in his mind. @@@@

He had originally thought that the Blaspher who appeared in the Forsaken Land of the Gods' City of Silver was a descendant of an ancient family like Amon. Through inheriting the legacy of his ancestors, step by step, he stepped into the demigod ranks. To his surprise, it was very possible that that particular person could very well have lived for more than two thousand years and was a mber of the Amon family when it was at the peak of its strength!

An old antique... Why would he, for no good reason, build a tomb for himself? Did he fake his death to get out of a situation, or is there another reason, such as leaving traces so as to have ti fixed onto his body? He was able to live from the Fourth Epoch to the Fifth Epoch, all because he was siphoning the lives of others? I originally guessed that he's a Sequence 3 or Sequence 2. Based on what I've seen today, it's not impossible for him to be a Sequence 1. After all, long periods of ti would eventually bring about an intrinsic improvent... Klein switched back and forth between puzzlent and speculation. His thoughts were like boiling water, gurgling non-stop.

The Horamick "doll" tugged at his throat and accidentally pulled off a piece of skin, revealing the complicated chanical structure within.

His voice ca out from that spot and brought with it the impression of leaking air.

"Search the corpses on the ground; don't co any closer."

"Yes, Your Grace!" Ikanser and company heaved a clear sigh of relief.

The corpses on the ground had long since produced their Beyonder characteristics. So of them had even combined with certain parts of the body to form a terrifying mystical item.

In addition, the dead carried all sorts of items on them.

The Machinery Hivemind sure has reaped quite a harvest this ti. Together with the Specter Portrait Fra and the Human-skinned Shadow characteristic, this completely makes up for the crazy expenses of the "clean-up"... A huge investnt for a high return... Klein's eyes lingered on the ground for quite a while.

He inhaled, tore his gaze away, and followed Horamick, who didn't carry a lantern, to the wall on the other side of the coffin.

At this mont, the magic mirror, Arrodes, brightened up the scene, allowing the things in front of him to be seen clearly.

Klein saw that the wall across him had beco mottled due to the rapid "weathering" just now. Many of the murals had been destroyed and could no longer be restored to their original states.

The only one that was more complete and could barely be seen clearly was a colorful mural at the top of the wall, which took up a small half of the do.

It described a towering mountain range, and on the highest mountain peak, there was a huge cross that was taller than the mountain.

The cross was covered in layers of radiance, making it seem unusually holy.

In front of it, a tall and domineering figure could be seen vaguely. The mountain range was like a pet that lay prostrate at its feet.

This figure was surrounded by two-winged, four-winged, and six-winged angels. They were holding bugles, playing harps, or playing flutes, looking pious and sprightly.

At the foot of the mountain range, two twelve-winged angels were humbly walking towards the mountaintop, each holding a baby in their arms.

The baby on the left had curly black hair, and the baby on the right had pale blond hair.

One of their eyes was black; the other golden.

Elsewhere in the mountain range, there was a vague depiction of a giant with chains at its legs and a dragon that had its legs bound and never be able to land.

Horamick first looked at the baby on the left, and his genial expression beca increasingly serious.

He said a word in a very low voice, "Amon."

Then, he turned to look at the baby on the right, and after a few seconds of silence, he said another na, "Adam..."

Amon, Adam... As Klein repeated the nas, he felt that the fog that hung over the history of the Fourth Epoch and the Third Epoch was growing thicker.

He combined all the information he had learned and quickly made a guess.

On the mountaintop, the figure in front of the glowing cross is surrounded by angels, with giants and dragons submitting to it. It's definitely a real god that's at Sequence 0... Another being who likes to partially use the cross as a symbol is the True Creator... It's said that Amon is the descendant of an ancient sun god, but the one at the top of the mountain doesn't seem like a pure sun god...

Could it be that "He" is the "Lord that created everything, the omnipotent and omniscient God" that the City of Silver believes in?

This is in accordance with the legends of the City of Silver. The awakening of the Creator who stripped the King of Giants and the Dragon of Imagination and other ancient gods of their authorities...

The so-called ancient sun god is actually the Lord that created everything as spoken about in the City of Silver? "He" may be in charge of the domains such as "sun" and "ti." In addition, the authorities of the Giant King, Aurmir, and the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt, has likely returned to "Him"...

Th-this can no longer be completely contained within Sequence 0...

So, the original Amon was the descendant of the City of Silver's "Lord that created everything, the omnipotent and omniscient God," who inherited the Beyonder characteristics of the ti domain? This seems to slightly explain why he remained silent in the City of Silver's dungeon for decades.

Apart from him, there's also another descendant of the "Lord that created everything, the omnipotent and omniscient God," nad Adam...

What did Adam inherit in the beginning? Does he still have a descendant alive, and if so, where would he be...

What's the relationship between the True Creator and that person? Is it simply an imitation by using the Creator's title and the symbol of the cross? Or is there so deeper connection between the two?

Klein didn't let his doubts show too much. After all, the magic mirror, Arrodes, could be sizing him up.

Horamick stared at the mural for a while, then he suddenly took a few steps forward and pressed his extended palms against the wall.

Without a sound, the majestic mural disintegrated, turning into pieces of stone fragnts that landed on the ground. Even the color quickly evaporated, disappearing without a trace.

The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery is consciously concealing the history of the Third and Fourth Epochs... Are the other Churches the sa? Klein frowned and followed the Horamick "doll" to the other side.

After making a half-circle, they discovered another thing.

A stone door, which only had an outline, lood in the corner.

At this mont, the Horamick "doll's" joints were constantly creaking, but this didn't stop him from quickly approaching the stone door and reaching out with his right hand to attempt to push.

Above the stone door, there was a sudden burst of aqueous light that condensed into a scene that looked so real that it seed possible to directly touch it.

Dark blue waves were surging forward, and there was a dense black mist that looked like liquid.

A craggy mountain protruded from the mist, continuously flowing with viscous liquids.

Behind this mountain, the black mist seed endless, with no end in sight.

There was also no limit to its depth. The deeper one looked, the more placid it felt. It was as if once sothing fell in, it would fall forever.

What is this place? Klein's expression didn't change as he muttered inwardly.

Horamick retracted his palms and watched as the scene gradually faded until it disappeared.

He leaned his head back and sighed to himself while feeling perplexed.

"The Abyss..."

Abyss? That's the source of all corruption. It's said that it's an abyss that can even corrupt a true god? Klein was amazed, but as a forr Clown, he regulated his expression and limbs to appear unperturbed.

He imdiately thought of sothing. Roselle, who was exploring the Fog Sea, had once deviated from his path, leaving behind a puzzling sentence: "I saw the abyss."

As Klein pondered about the layers of waves that were surging towards the black fog, he made a conjecture.

There's an entrance to the Abyss sowhere in the Fog Sea?

Imdiately after, he looked towards the stone door. He suspected that Amon, who lurked around the City of Silver, had employed a certain ritual. After finishing the tomb, he didn't depart from it normally; instead, he used a special tunnel to head for the Abyss. Thus, in the eyes of most people, he was already dead.

As for whether the City of Silver or the Forsaken Land of the Gods was located sowhere in the Abyss, Klein couldn't be sure. After all, the history of this tomb was at least 1500 years old, so Amon had plenty of ti to use the Abyss to go sowhere else.

Would he still occasionally co back to siphon off ti? If he finds out that soone has dug up his grave, the expression on his face would definitely be very marvelous... Klein rejoiced for a baffling reason.

At this mont, the Horamick "doll" held his left hand in his right palm and abruptly twisted it.

With a creaking sound, his left hand was bent at the wrist, but there were no bones that pierced out of his skin, spewing out flesh and blood.

There was a heavy, black tal tube inlaid in his left wrist!

His entire left arm was a small-caliber mystical cannon!

To hide a mole of advanced technology, he truly is worthy of being from the Machinery Hivemind. However, the requirents and costs for such a thing are too high. Clearly, it could only be provided to specific personnel and not for military troops... Klein felt that today was an eye-opener for him, an opportunity to see another developnt path in the mysterious world.

The only problem is that Beyonder characteristics are conserved, Artisans are limited, so many things cannot be mass-produced.

The Horamick "doll" put his left wrist against the stone door.

Inside his body, the sound of gears grinding against each other as they revolved emitted an intense spirituality radiance.

A ray of light that was as bright as day appeared and disappeared.

The stone door suddenly turned into pure powder, as if it had never existed.

H-he destroyed the door? If Blaspher Amon encounters an ergency situation and attempts to return here, only to find the door gone, that would be fun... Klein almost laughed when he imagined that scene.

This was the end of the Amon family's tomb exploration. The scene surrounding Klein quickly shrank and beca the background.

An illusory, ancient, and bizarre silver mirror appeared in midair. The black, eye-like gemstones on the mirror flickered.

White words were quickly outlined in the mirror:

"Your loyal servant, Arrodes, has finished reporting and is ready to serve you at any ti again."

Klein was a bit wary and unaccustod towards the fellow who appeared too enthusiastic. He nodded and said, "Well done, you may leave first."

"Yes, the mighty existence above the spirit world." As soon Arrodes produced that line of words, the scene around him shattered into pieces.

After confirming that its power had left his dream, Klein thoughtfully said to himself, The mighty existence above the spirit world? It really has vaguely sensed the gray fog...

Does this magic mirror with a wicked sense of humor really wish to rely on , or does it have so other purpose?

I have to watch carefully; otherwise, with it at the Machinery Hivemind, I don't want to be repeatedly blasted with cannon fire...

Rounding up his thoughts, Klein began looking forward to the next day.

After the Machinery Hivemind tidied up their spoils, they were likely to get him to choose an item!

-x-X-x-

In Empress Borough, inside the opulent villa of Earl Hall.

The cold air was kept out by the windows and walls. The building's interior was warm as though it were spring, and the fireplace was elegant.

Audrey Hall was having her asurents taken by the fashion designer, Mrs. Guinea, so that she could create a costu for Audrey for the new year banquet in consideration of her recent physical and emotional state.

At this mont, her personal maid, Annie, ca close to her ear and whispered, "Lady Escalante is here."

Such a fast response? Audrey was delighted, but she didn't make an obvious show of it on her face. With a faint smile, she said, "Please get her to wait in my art studio. Hmm, for five minutes."

"Art studio?" Annie asked in surprise.

"Yes, I'd like to ask her to admire my recently completed oil painting. She says that content that is painted in a relaxed state easily allows one to express their true thoughts and emotions," Audrey explained unhurriedly.

Annie suddenly felt enlightened.

"Yes, Miss."

Less than five minutes later, Audrey entered the studio and saw Escalante admiring the paintings on the walls.

"That's Mr. Cenci's Inner Heart's Night, a masterpiece that allows one to feel peace," she smiled and introduced the painting to Escalante.

"Cenci's Inner Heart's Night? One of the top ten works of last year's 'top hundred century-old paintings' that the Tussock Tis voted for?" Escalante was obviously the kind of person who often read newspapers.

And as a Beyonder of the Spectator pathway, she had a good mory.

"Yes," Audrey replied simply, as though it was a trivial matter.

"I actually have the honor of seeing the real deal..." Escalante looked up at the painting again.

She swallowed back the words "this is worth at least a manor," unwilling to appear too philistine.

Audrey didn't continue introducing the other paintings. She found a reason to send Annie away and motioned to Susie to "stand guard" outside the door.

Susie read her hint without any hindrance, wagged her tail, and scampered out.

Escalante closed the door and went back to the easel's side. Before Audrey could ask, she took the initiative and said, "We have both the Human-skinned Shadow's characteristic and the Wind-blessed potion formula. However, there is no need for us to sell it unless the other party is able to provide an irresistible offer."

The willingness to negotiate ans there's hope! Audrey's green eyes darted slightly as she asked with a chuckle, "What do you wish to receive in exchange?"

Escalante stroked her hair and gave her pre-prepared answer.

"2,500 pounds for the Human-skinned Shadow characteristic, and 3,000 pounds for the Wind-blessed potion formula."

Quite a huge premium... Although Audrey didn't find them expensive, she lanted the fact that the Psychology Alchemists' premium had exceeded 50%.

According to the description given by The Hanged Man, under normal circumstances, the formula for Sequence 6 would've cost less than 2,000 pounds, but the closer it was to a High Sequence, the fewer potion formulas there were to circulate, making it very difficult to buy them. There was no normal situation, and what was even more important was that even if one chanced upon a sale, it was very difficult to ascertain their authenticity.

At that mont, Escalante added, "If the other party can barter with mystical items, all that's needed is for them to be of roughly the sa value."

That is to say, you want mystical items more and can accept a price reduction for them... The Psychology Alchemists is one of the youngest secret organizations. They clearly haven't accumulated enough in this area compared to the others... Audrey pursed her lips and said, "I'll inform them, but I can't guarantee that they'll accept it."

She wasn't the least bit worried that the Psychology Alchemist would notice that she hadn't been involved in any Beyonder gathering recently. After all, her schedule was rather tight—afternoon tea, music lessons, dinners, dances, equestrian training, language lessons, dancing lessons, and so on. There were too many opportunities for her to interact with different people. In that case, perhaps a particular dinner was a cover for Beyonder gatherings, or perhaps the music teacher was a senior Beyonder, and it was almost impossible for the Psychology Alchemists, who hid in the shadows, to investigate it when they couldn't act openly.

Having said this, Audrey curiously asked, "Ms. Escalante, I thought you wouldn't sell the Wind-blessed potion formula since it's already at Sequence 6."

"Heh heh, if there's a chance, it might be more useful to spread this information out," Escalante answered vaguely.

In her mind, although Miss Audrey was a new mber who had a high level of importance attached to her by the organization, she was still a new mber after all. There were many things she couldn't know about.

Why? Audrey suppressed her doubts and smiled sweetly. She asked innocently, "Ms. Escalante, if this deal succeeds, can you count it as my contribution?"

Escalante broke into a laugh.

"Yes."

...

Klein "busied" all morning, until he returned to Minsk Street. He filled his stomach and prepared to rest; only then did he have the ti and opportunity to listen to prayers above the gray fog.

Soone on Miss Justice's side has the Human-skinned Shadow characteristic? Seriously? Either it doesn't co, or it cos in pairs... As a secret organization, the Psychology Alchemists is quite qualified in the field of resources... Klein was suddenly left in the throes of happiness from having a choice.

Even if he counted the 500 pounds which The Hanged Man still hadn't paid him, he only had 1,335 pounds in cash. This didn't prevent him from seriously considering the request for a deal with the Psychology Alchemists.

After thinking for a dozen seconds or so, he passed Justice's words to The Hanged Man to see what choice the latter would make.

...

3,000 pounds? Alger Wilson, who was still in Rorsted Archipelago's capital, the City of Generosity, felt as if soone had struck him hard.

After he beca captain of the Blue Avenger, he sotis played the role of a pirate and sotis a law enforcer, secretly exterminating several groups of pirates. But even so, the total value of his spoils of war didn't exceed 2,000 pounds, and a portion of it had to be distributed to the sailors under him. Of course, this didn't include the ships and cannons which were captured as they had to be handed over to the Church of the Lord of Storms.

This made Alger often sigh that most pirates weren't rich, that they were used to squandering on having opulent lives—liquor, barbecue, whores, marijuana, and gambling had drained the pirates of their money.

Unless I et a pirate crew with Beyonders, it would be very difficult to get rich so suddenly... Alger paced a few steps, then he made up his mind.

He took out a gold mask from his undergarnt pocket.

The mask had rough facial features, and the way they were ford had the characteristics of a primitive human being from an ancient forest.

Alger sat down, humbly recited the honorific na of The Fool, and said, "... I'm willing to use this mystical item to barter for the Wind-blessed potion formula.

"As long as the user wears this mask, they will beco extrely calm and emotionless. At the sa ti, they will also obtain an extrely strong regenerative ability, exaggerated speed, and outstanding strength, as well as grasp a certain amount of black magic and primitive curse techniques.

"Its weakness is that as the number of tis it's used increases, the wearer will beco more and more unlike a human being. They will turn colder and colder, eventually treating themselves as a god."

...

Sitting in his seat as The Fool, Klein looked at the 500-pound note in front of him, the 5 strands of dark-blue hair as thick as a tiny snake, and the simple golden mask. He tapped the edge of the long table with his finger, thinking carefully about what mystical items he could use for a trade.

The All-Black Eye? Certainly not. This is the main ingredient of a Sequence 5 Nimblewright Master. It's just short of having Little Sun to obtain the thod to remove the ntal corruption.

Dark Emperor card? This card which cannot see the light of day has a value countless tis higher than that of a Human-skinned Shadow's characteristic...

Mr. Azik's copper whistle? At the mont, its only function is the summoning of a ssenger, and it's an important tool for communication. I can't sell it...

The copper whistle of the Numinous Episcopate mber who left behind white feathers? Similarly, it can only summon a ssenger, but the target on the other side of the ssenger seems to be very dangerous...

Sun Brooch? This is sothing I want to use for myself. It effectively makes up for my weaknesses.

Master Key? It involves Mr. Door and has too many hidden secrets. In addition, just from the value of its effects, it pales in comparison to the Human-skinned Shadow's characteristic...

Biological Poison Bottle? This is very compatible with my Spirit Body state. If I use it well, I can even fight a group of Beyonders...

Demon hunting bullets, purifying bullets, exorcism bullets? There are not mystical items and are considered consumable Beyonder weapons. They are of very low value...

The Book of Secrets? This isn't a mystical item either. The Psychology Alchemists likely do not lack such knowledge...

At present, only the Beyonder characteristic of an Interrogator can be sold. However, the Psychology Alchemists wants mystical items. Furthermore, the trading venue is in Backlund, so it would easily expose information pertaining to Hero Bandit Dark Emperor...

Klein took this opportunity to sort out what he had and finally ca up with a perfect plan.

He first took the form of Mr. World, manipulating him to take up a praying posture, and then he responded with a hoarse voice, "... I accept the price of 2,500 pounds, but give two days to raise the money."

Imdiately following that, Klein threw the reply scenes of The Hanged Man and The World to the crimson star which symbolized Miss Justice.

...

After receiving affirmation from Miss Justice, Klein waited patiently all afternoon at Minsk Street.

It was late afternoon when the Machinery Hivemind mber, Carlson, rang his doorbell.

Klein didn't ask anything further. He followed the man to the Lever Cathedral near the West Balam dock and entered a three-story building next to the cathedral.

The signboard wrote: "Backlund Institute for chanical Research."

How academic... Klein suddenly thought of the Blackthorn Security Company and cracked the corner of his lips into a smile.

Under Carlson's guidance, he passed through so strange devices and found himself in a windowless room.

On the long table in the room, there were many items emitting strong spirituality, including the Human-skinned Shadow characteristic and the Specter Portrait Fra which was covered in black cloth. However, there were no characteristics left behind by the dead Beyonders.

Obviously, the higher-ups of the Machinery Hivemind don't want to know about the Law of Indestructibility and Conservation... Klein wasn't the least bit surprised.

"You can choose one." The hatless Ikanser pointed at the long table.

Klein "scrutinized" the items several tis before sighing.

"There's nothing I want.

"If I were to convert it into gold, how much would I get?"

He had already made up his mind that he wouldn't obtain the Human-skinned Shadow's characteristic from the Machinery Hivemind.

Although this could be explained as the need to create so mystical item or to try out a unique ritualistic magic, there was still a chance of exposing his own Sequence. In a situation where there was a better choice, Klein didn't want to take the risk.

Thus, he intended to take only money!

Not only would this help him gather the 2,500 pounds that the Psychology Alchemists quoted, but he could also effectively dispel the Machinery Hivemind's wariness towards him.

Ikanser was visibly relieved. He smoothed his hair and answered with a smile, "1,500 pounds.

"However, we encourage you to choose money, so a total of 2,000 pounds."

Klein imdiately revealed a sincere smile.

"Alright!"