“You’re going to give it back?”
Hearing the Believer of Lies’s words, the demigod from the Church of All Things and Nature glanced up at him in surprise.
“My apologies, but you can’t be serious, can you?”
“You don’t want it back?”
It was only then that Jenkins realized he hadn’t ntioned it beforehand. He froze internally, fighting to maintain a neutral expression and conceal his awkwardness.
“Of course you can return it, it’s just... Yes. This is better. To be honest, we’re actually more uneasy when things like this are outside the Church’s custody. But what exactly do you plan to do with these things?”
“That, I cannot say. But I can assure you it is for nothing nefarious.”
Perhaps as a show of good faith, and also to thank the Believer of Lies for proactively providing information for the first ti, the second contained item provided by the Orthodox Church was equally dangerous and terrifying, perfectly matching Jenkins’s request.
The creature in the second wooden box was called the Candy Phantasm. Not only did its na not sound like a creature, but its appearance didn’t resemble one either, for it was a cloud of white mist.
The Candy Phantasm, a peculiar creature that looked like white smoke, was not a single individual but an entire species. It was an ancient aberrant species, but its habitat was not in the material world.
Currently, there was no known way to summon the Candy Phantasm from its otherworldly dreamscape. All Candy Phantasms that entered the material world did so by accident. This aberrant species appeared very rarely; there were no records of it in the entire Eighteenth Epoch. The one the Church provided was captured by the Church of the Storm Lord in the Seventeenth Epoch, making it an incredibly ancient contained item.
“I don’t know what the person who first nad this aberrant creature was thinking, but don’t be fooled by the na. If it were up to , I’d have called it the ‘Rampaging, Cannibalistic Dream’.”
The demigod from the Church of All Things and Nature stated grimly.
The origin of this aberrant species, which appeared as a white mist, was unknown. It possessed the ability to infiltrate the dreams of any living creature, with a preference for human dreams. This skill itself was quite common; even Jenkins could do it. But once it invaded a dream, it was as if a noose was already around your neck and your feet had left the ground.
Humans invaded by the Candy Phantasm initially experienced a series of pleasant and fantastical dreams about candy. Subsequently, while awake, they developed a love for candy and their dietary habits shifted towards sweets. Within one to two weeks of the first candy-related dream, their daily food intake would increase dramatically, with a preference for at and sweets.
Within the following week, they would attempt cannibalism for the first ti, believing they were only eating candy. In the later stages, this would develop into an uncontrollable craving for sweets, and they would begin to see all humans as candy.
These invaded individuals could not be killed. Even lightning strikes or fire could not stop them. They possessed the ability to teleport, entering the Shadow Realm and Astral Plane at will, making them impossible to contain.
As they consud more people, their appearance would deviate from a human form, and within one to two weeks of their first act of cannibalism, they would attempt to eat themselves. Only in this way could these cannibals be eliminated. And only when the host died and the Candy Phantasm left the host’s dream could it possibly be captured.
This aberrant species was like a malicious race created specifically to target humans. Its ancient nature had even led the Church to suspect it might be a dream weapon created in a distant epoch by an enemy of the human race, designed specifically against them.
Fortunately, once captured, the thod for containing the “white mist” was simple. Any ritual that suppressed dreaming was effective in containing them. So, while dangerous, the Candy Phantasm was nowhere near as terrifying as the Pale Lord.
Jenkins was very satisfied with these two contained items. Likewise, he stated that the Candy Phantasm would also be returned to the Church in half an hour.
Holding the two stacked boxes, he rode a unicorn into the sky, landing in the middle of a pre-selected field where no humans were likely to be found.
He sent the unicorn away for the ti being and made his cat keep its distance.
Jenkins placed the two boxes far apart. Without opening the lids, he used Blasphemous Creation on himself.
“Wait!”
He hastily stopped the surging vines that rushed towards him.
“The target isn’t .”
If anyone else had been there, the scene would have looked very strange, as Jenkins was speaking to thin air. It was even stranger from his own perspective; talking to vines was not exactly a normal thing to do.
“It’s those two things. I need to make sure that once I open the boxes, you don’t give the things inside a chance to escape. Understand?”
Jenkins had long known that the vines summoned by Blasphemous Creation possessed their own intelligence, but this was the first ti they had received such a direct command. Jenkins only dared to do this because he himself had beco the World Tree Seedling.
The vines obediently left Jenkins’s side and coiled around the two boxes instead.
Jenkins first carefully opened the one containing the Candy Phantasm. Before the white mist could even erge, the vines eagerly plunged inside.
The sucking sound was so loud that even the cat, waiting in the distance and licking its paws, could hear it.
Once the vines withdrew from the gap in the lid, Jenkins imdiately shut it again. Two coins were spat out onto the ground, which was about what Jenkins had expected.
Next was the more dangerous Pale Lord. For his own safety, before taking action, Jenkins carefully coated the surface of the box with ink, staining the surrounding ground black as well.
But even so, the mont the lid was lifted, all the ink on the box turned white, and the green of the vines themselves paled considerably. Fortunately, the vines were not afraid of such power and still eagerly plunged inside.
This ti it took longer, but the wait was worth it, because before they left, they gave Jenkins a full five Sin Coins.
He originally had only one Blasphemy Seed and one Jewel of Ages left. Adding the two from the Candy Phantasm and these five, he now had nine. Even after paying the coachman for a round trip, he would have two and a half left. Although taking Alexia with him in the carriage might make the fare more expensive, nine Sin Coins would be more than enough.
“What kind of creature is this Pale Lord a descendant of? Even Herfis the Two-headed Serpent, a direct descendant of the Calamity Beast Ouroboros, only gave six coins—actually seven, but Chocolate pocketed one. This lizard actually gave five... Could it also be a direct descendant of a Calamity Beast? Why are there so many dangerous creatures in the material world?”
After that, he returned the two boxes to the Evergreen Forest as promised. While exchanging pleasantries, he also shared the information about the “Reverser of Fate” that he had received from the Star Spirits the previous night as a gesture of gratitude to the Church.
After leaving the Evergreen Forest, he rode the unicorn back to the city. Then, without stopping, he changed back to his own appearance and went to the Sage’s Church. Just as he reached the entrance, he ran into Miss Bevanna, who was hurrying out.
“Jenkins?”
Miss Bevanna stopped in her tracks.
“Are you here to see ?”
“My business isn’t urgent. If you have sothing else to attend to, you can go ahead. I can co back this evening.”
With that, he turned to leave.
“It’s alright. A new spatial anomaly has appeared near Nolan—one of those thick fog banks. The Church has asked to take a look. Let’s talk in my office. I’ve recently acquired so excellent tea.”
“Alright... Where does this spatial anomaly connect to? Cheslan again?”
“No, this one connects to the Hamparvo Kingdom, and it’s near Ruen. King Salhir II hasn’t been inford yet, but I imagine once he finds out, he might want to go back and take a look.”
The two chatted as they walked, and on the way, they ran into Old Jack. Since being transferred from Shire City by the Church, he had been living in the church, concocting various potions, so Jenkins rarely saw him.
Once inside the office, Jenkins was sowhat interested in the tea Miss Bevanna had ntioned, but his palate for tea was limited to green tea; all black tea tasted the sa to him.
Having solved his Sin Coin problem, he had rushed to the church to discuss what the Star Spirits had told him about the fusion of the King Souls. Jenkins needed the Church’s help, and he needed it as himself, not as a Believer of Lies. The Church would never help a Believer of Lies obtain another Savior qualification.
“It was the Star Spirits who gave the revelation. They’ve taken a liking to , sothing I’ve ntioned to Papa Oliver before.”
He explained the source of his information this way, then described in detail what he needed. Of course, he only ntioned the Thunder God’s Wrath and the fla bestowed upon mortals by the Sun God, leaving out the part about being able to enter the Astral Plane and converse freely with the Star Spirits at any ti.
“Although the Dragon Soul is with the Believers of Lies, making it difficult for to obtain all four souls, I think there’s still hope. If I can acquire the other three, even if the Believers of Lies have the Tree Soul, they might be willing to trade with us in exchange for so benefit.”
Jenkins said, hoping to paint as bright a picture of the future as possible. Miss Bevanna nodded, slowly stirring her teacup with a small spoon.
“You have a point. The matter of the Thunder God’s Wrath is manageable, since we did play a part in recovering that Bestowal. But the fla related to the god is another matter... It will be difficult to persuade them to part with it. The people from the Church of Sun and Justice are as stubborn as rocks. I think unless you can obtain two King Souls and prove that you truly have a chance at a second Savior qualification, the followers of the Sun Church will not agree to provide the fla... Not to ntion, we’re still not sure if one person can even bear two Savior qualifications. Although the Believer of Lies who appeared on the day the Dragon Soul awakened showed the characteristics of other Believers of Lies, it doesn't prove he actually possesses two Savior qualifications.”
“Regarding that question, I can ask Miss Audrey. I heard Miss Brolignans is also coming to Nolan, so she might be able to offer so insight then.”
Jenkins used his astronomy... divination teacher as an excuse.
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