Chapter 1300: Traveler
Previously, after noticing that Sauron had a hidden connection with the other party, and combining that with his analysis of Viscount Ebner Bryan’s personality... although the Sequences didn’t match, dici still speculated that the "Hero Detective" was most likely the vessel of the resurrected forr Sanguine alternative duke, Rhine Carendia.
But now, upon suddenly seeing the historical projections of Auernia and Isis, dici beca uncertain of his own judgnt.
As everyone knew, the "Queen of Blood Moon" greatly detested Rhine, while Rhine had always remained detached from the Sanguine. With such a relationship, pulling out Auernia’s projection wasn’t impossible, but the success rate would likely be extrely low—it certainly wouldn’t be as effortless as this one-ti success.
As for the "Goddess of Life," Isis—when She fell, dici had only just begun following at the side of the "Lord," secretly helping Him contact allies...
Therefore, the existence capable of pulling out Isis’s projection was, in all likelihood, even more ancient than him, the "Red Angel"!
Moreover, any "person" capable of establishing a close relationship with the "Goddess of Life" wouldn’t have a low Sequence themselves, which narrowed the possibilities even further!
"Who exactly are you?
"Could it be that so ancient god has revived? Or are you actually a manifestation of Herabergen?"
Facing the "Red Angel’s" question, Ebner smiled slightly and did not answer, only saying, "Who I am isn’t important. The urgent matter now isn’t to proceed with the ’surgery’ as soon as possible?
"You should know that I can’t maintain their projections for long."
In truth, it was because Ebner wasn’t rely a "Scholar of Yore," but a "Cognizer" capable of leveraging power for his own use, that he could so smoothly pull out the projection of the "Goddess of Beauty," Auernia.
After all, the "people" familiar with Auernia were actually the "God of Luck" and the "Ruler of the Dead." Ebner had leveraged that connection to successfully "summon" her.
But being able to pull out the projection of the "Goddess of Life" so easily had also surprised Ebner when he tested it privately before, because in Auernia’s dream, the "Goddess of Life" didn’t seem to trust the "God of Luck"...
However, that might have only been from Auernia’s perspective and not necessarily accurate...
Of course, it was also possible that the "Goddess of Life," Isis, had been reincarnated as Giuseppe’s "adopted son," thereby establishing a "connection"...
While Ebner was muttering inwardly, the "Red Angel" dici stared at him for a long ti before finally nodding. "That’s true. At this point, no matter who you are, I can only choose to trust you."
As he spoke, He closed His eyes. Then a soul body separated from the "Gatekeeper" carrying Him, revealing a faintly visible form.
It was a young and handso spirit with a head full of red hair, many signs of decay on his face, a banner-like mark on his forehead, and clad in black armor stained with blood.
"Co on!" The soul vibrated the air, producing a deep voice.
At the sa ti as He spoke, a card shot out from His spirit body, flying straight toward the detective opposite Him.
Ebner casually caught it and glanced at it, discovering that the card depicted a chariot and a deep crimson priest.
And that deep crimson priest’s face was unmistakably Roselle Gustav.
This was one of the rewards—the "Red Priest" card.
After putting away the card with satisfaction, Ebner took out the "scalpel" obtained through "Calling a Deer a Horse," then handed it to the projections of the two "goddesses," allowing Them to begin this "surgery," which was destined to beco material for a new "Mystical Reenactnt."
...
After setting a special coordinate deep within the spirit world, Fors was brought back to the real world by Alvin Abraham.
However, Alvin did not reveal himself in front of her, lest the dual identity of an angel and an ancestor of the Abraham family frighten her.
"I feel so tired, even more tired than... It must be that high-sequence Beyonder abilities consu too much spirituality..." Fors covered her mouth and yawned, looking at Xio with a haggard expression.
This ti, it wasn’t makeup—she was genuinely exhausted.
"That’s possible," Xio agreed with her friend’s judgnt.
Ebner’s background was definitely not simple. This was sothing he had never concealed from her since their first eting in that poorly conditioned small restaurant in the East Borough... She had once thought his uniqueness ca from his belief in Mr. Fool, but after joining the Tarot Club herself, she dismissed that guess...
Even within the Tarot Club, Ebner was very special—just like "The World," Mr. Fool’s Blessed, special in the sa way!
So it was normal that pulling out his projection placed a heavy burden on Fors.
After hesitating for a mont, Xio said:
"You should sleep a bit more. Don’t try to advance in this condition.
"In a case I investigated before, the murderer was ntally deranged. He would deliberately let his friends, his students, and the vagrants he took in consu potions while in various negative states, watching them lose control and mutate into all kinds of monsters—disgusting and terrifying monsters."
"...What was his purpose?" Fors was stunned for a second upon hearing this.
"Two purposes. First, to observe whether the loss of control caused by the sa potion was identical across different people. Second, to record those scenes in oil paintings. He believed that madness, pain, and distortion possessed unparalleled beauty and could inspire his strongest creative passion." Xio recalled the scene during the interrogation and added, "He was a complete madman."
"Soone like that deserves to be destroyed humanely!" Just imagining it made Fors shudder as she bared her teeth. "Was he a cultist?"
"Possibly from the Psychology Alchemists, but I had no evidence... However, judging from how His Majesty later handed
over to ’Pride’ for hypnosis, it’s very likely...
"Anyway, back to the point. On the surface, he was an outstanding painter, famous internationally. If not for more than five of his students and friends disappearing in recent years, drawing our attention, it’s possible the matter wouldn’t have been discovered until he completely went mad and lost control into a monster." At this point, Xio paused before continuing, "When the enforcent team that captured him opened his hidden basent, all of them vomited. Inside were one horrifying mutated corpse after another, along with oil paintings that were terrifying yet strangely captivating..."
"A detestable person, but also a very compelling story." Fors thought for a mont, then asked, "What pathway was he from? ’Devil’? ’Werewolf’?"
"No, he was a ’Psychiatrist,’" Xio denied her guess.
"...What was his final outco?" Fors asked expectantly.
Xio narrowed her eyes slightly and replied:
"At the ti, I was a Disciplinary Paladin, and my ntal state already had so issues. Under the stimulation, I didn’t let him make it to ’trial’ and directly gave him the punishnt of death."
"You killed him directly? If you kill soone privately without going through a trial, wouldn’t MI9 investigate?" Fors asked in surprise.
Xio brushed her now long blonde hair and forced a slight smile.
"If a criminal is killed while resisting arrest and attempting to escape, then it’s not a problem... Heh, I only gave a subtle hint to a few colleagues at the ti. They already loathed him deeply, so they cooperated with
and gave him an opportunity to escape."
"Alright, you’ve definitely learned bad habits from Ebner!" Fors yawned again and pointed to the armchair by the fireplace. "I’ll sleep for a while first..."
"There’s no need to go through all that trouble. I have a way to restore you imdiately," Xio shook her head and said.
Fors was montarily confused, but quickly reacted, her eyes lighting up. "Right, I almost forgot about that!"
As she spoke, she began to softly recite an honorific na in ancient Hers—the "safe" honorific na Ebner had told them—before concluding:
"I wish to restore all my spirituality."
Within two or three seconds, she felt her mind beco exceptionally invigorated, as if she had slept for an entire day.
"You really think fast!" Fors praised Xio, earning a glare in return, but she didn’t mind. Then she took out the "Traveler" Beyonder characteristic and supplentary ingredients that Ebner had obtained after killing the Aurora Order’s divine emissary Louis Wien, and prepared a potion.
The potion was pale and transparent, like half-lted snow water, with light green bubbles occasionally rising within it.
Holding the potion, Fors glanced at her friend standing guard nearby and smiled.
"If I lose control, rember to recite that honorific na and make a wish to restore ."
"..." Xio nodded slowly. "Maintain your current state."
Fors silently exhaled and, without hesitation, raised the potion and gulped it down.
In an instant, she felt streams of light surge within her body and before her eyes. They rampaged wildly, opening one illusory door after another. Her consciousness uncontrollably entered one of them, and her entire body turned transparent and vanished from the spot.
In this state of drifting and chaotic thoughts, Fors almost lost her sense of self. Fortunately, she had endured considerable tornt recently and possessed a fairly strong will. From ti to ti, she could also sense the four special coordinates within the spirit world, allowing her to gradually regain clarity. Slowly, she "traveled" back to a familiar place, escaping the overlapping dense colors and the faint, diffused mist, and stepped out of the spirit world.
Exhaling once more, Fors shifted her thoughts and looked at Xio, smiling slightly.
"I’m a Traveler now."
...
At the sa ti, Ebner, who had just finished performing surgery on the "Red Angel," felt a slight stir in his heart, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile.
Letting Fors conduct the ritual and consu the potion while he wasn’t by her side had been part of his plan all along.
After all, Fors’s journey had been even smoother than in the original story, and she had beco overly reliant on him. She was no longer well-suited to the ntal state required of a "Traveler."
A "Traveler" was "lonely." What they should rely on were coordinates and their own will—not others...
Therefore, if he had been there watching, it would actually have been detrintal to Fors’s advancent.
Pulling back his wandering thoughts, and considering what kind of gift he should prepare for Fors as a congratulatory present, Ebner looked at the three evil spirits in front of him—who had imdiately distanced themselves and begun confronting one another after being "separated"—and cleared his throat.
"Ahem... you three, even if you’re going to fight, you should at least leave my place first... my palace can’t withstand your destruction."
As if acknowledging Ebner’s words, or perhaps noticing that the "Goddess of Beauty" and "Goddess of Life" beside him had yet to disperse, the three forr Archangels spoke in unison:
"How do we divide the ’Gatekeeper’ body?"
"And how do we divide that armor condensed from the Sequence 3 ’War Bishop’ characteristic?"
(End of Chapter)
Reviews
All reviews (0)