"Sir?"
"Cheng Shi" and Zhen Xin had also stopped, both looking up at Lord Ultraman who had suddenly halted in his tracks.
With his back to the two of them, Cheng Shi's eyelids were twitching wildly. It took him a good while to force the shock back down.
It really was Order!!
He'd assud that Order's presence here involved so kind of chess ga between gods. But now it was clear... to hell with chess — the Fun God and Chaos had straight-up kidnapped Order!
No wonder They'd dared to so brazenly replace Order. With the only legitimate holder already captured, what was there to fear?
But still...
'Isn't this a bit reckless? How could you leave a loose end like this lying around?'
Hsss—
'Wait — is the Fun God expecting
to help Them deal with this loose end?'
"..."
Cheng Shi blinked and sank into thought.
' — a con artist — deal with a true god?'
'Am I even qualified for that?'
For a mont, the Clown was frightened by his own conjecture. But he quickly collected himself.
Maybe he was overthinking it. Even if he was, the current lineup — one fake Envoy plus two diluted Chaos followers — had absolutely no business visiting a true god in prison.
What if the other party saw through his identity and forced a full-exposure showdown, ripping off every last disguise?
At this thought, Cheng Shi started to panic.
He didn't want his spur-of-the-mont performance to once again devolve into a clown show. But with Zhen Xin watching, he had no choice but to keep the act going. Reluctantly, he continued toward the elevated platform, guided by "Cheng Shi's" cues, and finally ca to a stop before the divine throne.
Seeing that Lord Ultraman had at last halted, "Cheng Shi" — who'd been theatrically examining the surroundings and gasping in admiration — fell quiet. He looked left and right with apparent wonder, then pointed at the divine throne and ventured cautiously:
"Sir, are you saying the prisoner... is tied up behind this throne?"
"..."
'So you just strapped Order to the back of the throne?'
'Fine, fine, fine!'
Cheng Shi turned around and shot "Cheng Shi" a half-amused look, practically on the verge of applauding his own shadow.
'Kataro, oh Kataro — you really held that in. You've been coming to this temple for ages, and it never occurred to you that there was a secret behind the throne!'
Zhen Xin's eyebrows shot up in surprise as well. Having an audience with Order inside the Chaos Temple was already mind-boggling enough, but when she heard the word "prisoner" from "Cheng Shi's" mouth, even this brilliant Magician froze.
She suddenly realized that this opportunity to face Order was not an audience — it was a prison visit. Chaos had actually imprisoned His rival here!
Was this how Chaos had managed to beco Order?
A personal gambit — switching heaven and earth?
Zhen Xin held her breath. The confusion and alarm of monts ago gave way to exhilaration. She knew she was close to finding her answer.
anwhile, the mysterious Lord Ultraman had no idea how to open the throne's restraining chanism. So he turned once more to face Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin, "generously" offering both players the chance to approach Order first.
But this was no kind "opportunity." It was more like a loyalty test — a statent of allegiance before the Chaos Envoy himself.
If the person leading the prison visit was Lord Ultraman, then these two mortals were rely witnesses to Order's disgrace — hardly accomplices to Chaos's actions.
But if one of them personally exposed Order's cage for all to see, that act would be tantamount to blasphemy.
No one wanted to take that risk, because as mortals, they had no way of knowing whether Order might one day break free — and then, in Order's na, co knocking to judge them for their blasphemy.
Of course, that was a concern for the real Cheng Shi. The problem right now was that if the "Cheng Shi" played by Kataro didn't step up, no one else on scene could open the cage.
The standoff froze.
Lord Ultraman remained breezy and unhurried, seemingly unbothered by the wasted ti.
Zhen Xin and "Cheng Shi" exchanged several glances but couldn't bring themselves to act. Zhen Xin's thoughts were straightforward — she was simply weighing the cost-benefit of committing blasphemy. Kataro's mind, however, was a whirlwind.
This act was exhausting. He had to keep Cheng Shi's persona consistent while avoiding character drift, couldn't defy Cheng Shi's nature by taking the initiative, had to guard against the Magician's scrutiny at every turn, and needed to maintain the right distance from Lord Ultraman. His brain was like an engine revving at maximum RPM, on the verge of overheating.
Thankfully, it was Zhen Xin who made the first move. Seeing the cautious "Cheng Shi" refuse to budge no matter what, she reluctantly stepped forward, resolving to trade one act of blasphemy for one monuntal secret.
But the throne's chanism wasn't sothing just anyone could undo. Without temple authority, even a Chaos follower couldn't rotate the throne to reveal what lay behind it.
So just as Zhen Xin was about to take a step forward, "Cheng Shi" grabbed her arm. Seeing the slight surprise and questioning crease on her brow, he offered a soft laugh, full of aning.
"I'll do it. I'll handle this.
You may be a Chaos follower now, but I'm the one who dragged you into this. It wouldn't be right to make you shoulder more risk.
Besides, I have a bit of experience when it cos to blasphem— ahem, this sort of thing. So leave it to .
But considering I'm taking the bullet for you, Zhen Xin... you'll compensate
a little, won't you?"
At these words, both Zhen Xin's and Ultraman's expressions shifted.
Zhen Xin thought she'd underestimated the Clown's greed — even committing blasphemy, he wanted to squeeze intelligence out of her. But then again, without this "skill-makes-the-bold" brand of greed, the Clown would never have accrued so many intelligence sources.
So with a peculiar look on her face, she studied "Cheng Shi" for a mont and quietly agreed to the trade.
Watching "himself" score yet another windfall, Lord Ultraman nearly lost his composure trying to keep a straight face.
'Not bad, not bad — only now do I feel like Kataro truly gets .'
"Cheng Shi" probably guessed what the real Cheng Shi was thinking. He pursed his lips with resignation, walked up to the throne like a duck being pushed onto a perch, fumbled around theatrically for a bit, and then — with great "effort" — rotated the throne around.
The mont the chaos chains and mockery spikes pinning down the codex ca into view, Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin's expressions hardened. Their pupils contracted.
Order!!!
It really was Order imprisoned here.
Except this Order felt nothing like the fair and just Order one would expect. Instead, there was a strange, lofty arrogance about Him.
As the three stood examining the codex, He didn't even spare a glance at the mortals around Him. He simply spoke, as if to Himself:
"Bring Him to see ."
Order's divine voice reverberated through the temple. Two mortals certainly weren't about to respond carelessly. Their expressions varied — thoughtful, cautious — while only Lord Ultraman maintained an easy smile, as if this scene was old hat.
In truth, it was all an act. Cheng Shi's thoughts were racing. After lengthy deliberation, he decided to adopt an "old friend" posture and replied with a smile:
"Whom would You like to see?"
"I said — bring Him to see ."
The shackled Order didn't even look at Cheng Shi.
Cheng Shi didn't mind the snub. He chuckled. "He may not have the ti. After all, the justice and order of this universe require His watchful eye."
The codex fell abruptly silent. Then its pages began flipping in a frenzy, the Order symbols between them blazing with holy light, thundering like a storm — as if, any second now, He would shatter His cage and descend upon the world bearing the universe's supre laws.
But instead of loosened restraints, the chains only tightened further!
Every wisp of Order's escaping power was swallowed whole by the laughing mouths carved into the mockery spikes. Before long, the codex that had been thrashing violently went rigid once more, slumping back against the throne like a departing soul.
Yet even so — even drained and weakened — His tone remained unbending.
"In this world, no one but
is fit to speak of Order!"
Listening to this arrogant declaration, Cheng Shi slowly began to understand.
This didn't sound like the Iron Law of Order. Could it be another fragnt of Order?
So he looked at Kataro and gave him a questioning glance. When he received an emphatically affirmative wink in return, he threw his head back with a grand laugh and introduced the prisoner to the two players before him.
"Behold — this is Pride of Order. The forr Order...
or rather, one of them."
...
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