Edward was confused.
He would rather believe there was sothing wrong with his ears than believe that Saint Anthony had any connection to this situation.
Wasn't he supposed to be preaching sowhere near Backlund?
Then again—
Co to think of it, this Archbishop had been gone an awfully long ti on this particular missionary trip.
Wait—hold on.
What did Anthony's appearance have to do with Jessica?
Akasha continued, "The strange aura I sensed was coming from that small chapel. I originally wanted to go in and check it out—but then I sensed the presence of that Archbishop."
"You know how it is. We Sanguines don't really have any bad blood with the Church of the Evernight, but we're not exactly on good terms either. Once I confird your friend wasn't inside, I chose to retreat."
Edward still couldn't wrap his head around it.
"But why would an archbishop of the Church of the Evernight Goddess be involved in this?"
Akasha grinned wide, "Why don't we go take a look and find out? Haha, I have a feeling the real show is just about to begin…Can't wait~!"
——
Outskirts of Backlund, more than ten kilotres away.
This used to be a rather prosperous village—Nofel Village.
At its centre stood a chapel belonging to the Church of the Evernight Goddess: Nofel Chapel.
But after the early implentation of the Grain Act, wealthy officials and rchants had hoarded the farmland, forcing many farrs off their land.
The village gradually fell into decline.
If not for the existence of the church, the entire area might have been bulldozed and turned into farmland long ago.
Inside the dilapidated chapel, Saint Anthony sat in the last row near the main doors, holding a copy of the Church's black-bound Bible.
He recited with deep emotion:
"Take and eat—this is my flesh.
Drink—this is my blood.
Whoever forsakes shall be forsaken by God.
Whoever loves shall be loved by "Him"…"
Suddenly, he stopped mid-recitation and turned to look outside.
"I had been wondering who would be the first to arrive…But I never expected it to be you, Mr. Edward."
Akasha gave a cheerful wave,
"Yo, we et again!"
The two walked side by side into the chapel.
"Your Excellency, mind telling us what exactly is going on here?"
If Edward had to pick a single word to describe what he saw inside the chapel,it would undoubtedly be: twisted.
From floor to ceiling, and all along the surrounding walls, the entire place was covered in thick, sticky webs of fluid.
Huge, writhing tentacles filled the space.
Each one varied in shape, but all shared the sa sickening, visceral presence—A pollution that assaulted both body and mind.
At the centre of it all was the source of the tentacles:
A massive, indescribable creature—
Upper body vaguely humanoid, lower half like a lizard, covered in scales, and several ters tall.
Its humanoid torso clutched a book in one hand, and a quill in the other.
Its drooping head, barely attached to its neck, stared blankly at the pages.
From ti to ti, it would write a few lines with the quill.
A novel (book).
A quill.
Everything checked out!
Anthony gently closed his Bible and said in a calm voice:
"By the ti I discovered her, she had already lost control…But strangely enough, she retained most of her rationality—and held an obsessive attachnt to what she was working on."
"Do you know what it's doing?" Edward asked.
The Saint nodded slightly, "She used a Sealed Artifact to construct a book world,
and then pulled nearly a hundred people into it—to complete her story."
"Then why didn't you stop her? And why are you…" Edward's brow furrowed. "Protecting her?"
"Not protecting," Anthony replied.
"I'm containing her—keeping her locked in this chapel, to prevent the situation from escalating further. I also borrowed a bit of power from my Lord to conceal this place."
"Why?!"
Anthony sighed.
"Because she threatened to destroy the book—along with everyone inside it—if I made any move against her. She's using the lives of nearly a hundred people as hostages."
"…"
Edward was speechless.
He hadn't expected that developnt.
"If you're here to try and save the people inside, then you'd better act quickly," Anthony said.
"There are others…who don't want them to co back out."
Just as he spoke, the air tore open with a sharp rip—Phoenix flew out from the rift.
It dropped a letter at Edward's feet, preparing to return to the spirit world, but suddenly froze, gaze locked on the book held in the monster's hand.
"I…think I've found him."
Edward's heart leapt.
"Is it Klein Moretti?"
"Yes."
"Can you reach him? Bring him back?"
Phoenix thought for a mont, then shook its head.
"That place is too strange—even I might not be able to enter it, let alone bring soone else out."
"Then try to find Klein first. If you succeed…"
Edward pulled out a notebook, scribbled a few lines, tore out the page, folded it, and handed it over.
"Give this letter to him. Then stay there—help however you can."
"Understood."
Phoenix grabbed the letter, turned into a blur of flas, and dove into the rift.
Only then did Edward open the envelope Phoenix had delivered just now.
It was from Captain Dunn:
---
"MI9 operatives are en route to the outskirts of Backlund.
They seem to have made a major discovery.
Their team is led by a powerful high-sequence Beyonder.
I can't follow them any further."
---
"MI9 is on the move!"
Edward looked up at Anthony,
"When you said there are people who don't want the ones inside to co out…Did you an them?"
"…"
Anthony fell silent for a few seconds.
But that was an answer in itself.
"Is there still a chance to rescue the people trapped inside?"
"There is. But whether they co out or not…That's not sothing we can control from the outside."
"Then is there nothing we can do?"
Anthony shook his head.
"There is one thing—Until they escape, you must ensure that the book isn't destroyed."
He said "you".
Which ant—he himself…would not be taking action?
Why?
After a mont of confusion, Edward gradually ca to a realisation:
The ones trying to destroy the book and prevent certain people from escaping were MI9—the official hounds loyal to George III.
They were behind most of the shady dealings: human trafficking, ruin excavation, and so on.
For MI9 to go so far as to dispatch a high-sequence powerhouse, Edward had good reason to suspect this was connected to George III's godhood plan.
And George III's apotheosis…had the tacit approval of the Seven Churches!
If even the Goddess had turned a blind eye, what could a re Archbishop like Anthony, even as a demigod, possibly do?
Damn it all.
I'm just a Sequence 5, and I'm already being pulled into this kind of high-stakes ga?
"Is there a restroom nearby, Archbishop Anthony?"
Anthony shook his head.
"It's inside the chapel."
Akasha teased brightly, "We're surrounded by wilderness. You're a man—just pick a spot and let loose."
"…"
Edward silently activated Apparition, disappearing into a secluded area nearby.
There, he prayed to The Fool, reporting everything from the letter he had written earlier—and requested another Blessing.
Just as he returned to the chapel—
BOOM!
A trendous rumble split the air from the sky above.
The figure hadn't arrived yet, but the sound had.
Flashes of lightning and sweeping gales surged together—
Unexpectedly, the first to arrive…was the old dove from the Church of Storms—Spellsinger of God, Ace Snake.
———
Inside the snowy town—
Jessica, clad in priest robes, looked calmly at Fors and said,
"If you remain here, I can guarantee your safety."
With that, she lowered her head again.
"Do you know that woman?" It was the bell-ringing girl who spoke.
"Who is she?"
Fors thought for a mont and replied, "Honestly, I wouldn't say we're close. She's a novelist."
Klein stepped up and pulled her aside, lowering his voice.
"Is she a Beyonder?"
"I'm not sure. But based on what I heard about her at the publishing house, it's unlikely."
"That's what's strange."
Klein looked toward Jessica.
"Her behaviour is too abnormal. I could feel how confident she was when she said that just now—that staying here really is safe. And in truth, it has been."
He paused, then added seriously, "Did you notice? Since we entered this church…I haven't felt hungry or thirsty at all."
"You're right!"
Fors patted her stomach in surprise.
"Even my cigarette cravings are gone. Hmm, should we test it out?"
"Yeah."
After days of facing life and death together, the two had built up quite the mutual understanding.
Just one look was enough to grasp each other's thoughts.
Fors had just taken a step forward when Klein grabbed her arm:
"Wait—let do a divination first."
"…"
He unhooked the chain and let the citrine pendulum swing freely.
Suddenly, the light in the chapel dimd slightly.
A cold wind blew from sowhere unseen, sending a chill down Klein's neck.
He instinctively turned toward the source and clicked his teeth—activating Spirit Vision.
He saw a tiny black bird, wings outstretched like arms, awkwardly trying to squeeze through a narrow rift.
It was…Edward's ssenger!?
Klein was overwheld with joy and quickly turned to rush over.
At the sa ti, Fors also darted toward the bird in excitent.
They both blurted out at once:
"Did Edward (Mr. Edward) send you here?"
"???"
"You know Edward too?"
"You're his friend?"
" too!"
"….."
The two of them stared at each other, completely in sync and slightly bewildered by how in-tune they were.
Klein quickly caught on:
Right, Fors is Miss Magician.
She joined the Tarot Club through Edward's recomndation, of course they know each other.
"Heave-ho!"
Phoenix finally squeezed through the rift, circling twice in the air to vent its frustration,
then landed before Klein and dropped the letter.
Klein unfolded the note as Fors eagerly leaned in to read over his shoulder:
---
"Klein, if you're reading this, it ans my ssenger has successfully entered the book world."
"That's right. What you're currently in—is a world created within a book. The author is a woman nad Jessica."
"She likely stumbled upon the Sealed Artifact once held by Ince Zangwill and used it to build this world."
"Unfortunately, my ssenger might not be able to extract you. Which ans…you'll have to rely on yourself."
"But—I can offer you a possible solution: Find the main plotline of the book and complete its ending. Once the story concludes, you might be able to escape."
"Oh, and if you co across a woman nad Fors Wall, please pass along this ssage: among all those trapped in the book, she is the most unique one. My investigation shows this was done intentionally by Jessica—perhaps that fact can offer you a clue."
"Stay in touch!"
---
That was the end of the ssage.
Klein suddenly understood why—every ti he had the urge to ask for help, he'd quickly suppress the thought.
As for Fors, she stood there stunned.
As a novelist herself, she'd never imagined that one day…a fictional world could actually co to life, and she would be trapped inside it.
But on second thought, wasn't this the secret dream of every author?
"Did that Jessica woman have a grudge against you?" Klein asked.
"Kind of."
She recounted how they had clashed, "I really wasn't trying to belittle her work, and I don't think I was being arrogant either. I simply offered suggestions from one author to another."
"…"
Klein couldn't help but think:
No! If it were …
I'd probably hold a grudge against you too.
———
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