Hearing this, Jenkins's brow furrowed. Lady Broniaons's recent divination had revealed that the Mysterious Realm wasn't just a Mysterious Realm, but also contained the power of the past. Combined with the Ti Paradoxers' warning, a very grim suspicion began to form in his mind:
"You're saying that inside that tal tower, each floor holds the power of a different Beast of Calamity?"
The origins of the Difference Engine were lost to ti, but it had certainly existed through at least nine different epochs. It was entirely possible, then, that it had witnessed nine Beasts of Calamity and acquired their powers.
"We know nothing of a tal tower. But in the city that serves as the stage for this epoch's end, there are indeed an uncertain number of powers belonging to Beasts of Calamity. Our kind travels through different tis and has encountered various Beasts of Calamity on more than one occasion. We would never mistake their aura."
Even a fraction of a Beast of Calamity's power was more than Jenkins could easily handle in his normal state. This ti, he'd had the Ti Paradoxers, the natural enemies of the Paradox Bugs. Otherwise, he would have had no choice but to use that drop of divinity; he had no other way to deal with the chanical Paradox Bug.
Forget nine different imitation Beasts of Calamity in the tal tower—even if there was one every other floor, or even one every three, it would still be more than Jenkins could handle.
Not unless he could find the natural enemy or a specific counter for each Beast, just as he had this ti. But there wasn't much ti left before midnight. Oviya's *Great Sins: The Beasts of Calamity* made no ntion of any explicit predators for those monsters. Jenkins couldn't possibly find the ans to counter all those Beasts of Calamity in the ti he had left.
Even if he were sent back to the mont he first transmigrated a year ago and had to relive the entire journey, the chances of him finding a way to defeat every Beast of Calamity by the ti he reached this point again were infinitesimally small.
"Speaking of which, in just over twenty hours, it will be the one-year anniversary of my arrival in this world..."
He had arrived in the evening, just as night was falling. Now, it was the night before that day, so there was indeed less than twenty-four hours to go.
He realized with a start that the final battle occurring at this specific ti was anything but normal. In the mont his thoughts had drifted, the Ti Paradoxers had already taken their leave.
He stood there for a long mont, staring at the corpse of the chanical Paradox Bug on the ground, before finally raising a hand to the sky.
A thick bolt of lightning materialized from thin air and struck the bug's corpse. The flash also drew the attention of the others in the convoy, and soon, the scattered wagons converged on the spot. Jenkins took the opportunity to dispel his projection and return to his body in the carriage.
He didn't hide what had just happened. Aside from the fact that he was already acquainted with the Ti Paradoxers, he told the church mbers everything else. Of course, he made it clear the Ti Paradoxers had appeared on their own and had no connection to him.
The fact that he had defeated the chanical Paradox Bug with the help of the Ti Paradoxers wasn't the most shocking part; the most astonishing revelation was the new intelligence about the nine-story tal tower.
"The powers of nine different Beasts of Calamity?"
Audrey was at a loss for words.
"Even a fraction of a Beast's power is still completely beyond the mortal realm. Part of a Beast of Calamity is still a Beast of Calamity. From the confidential, restricted files I've seen, this is sothing only gods or their emissaries can handle. I've read the records of other epochs' ends... why has ours produced such a dangerous enemy?"
It was probably related to the Savior being too powerful, but even so, Jenkins felt the enemy he faced was utterly unreasonable.
"We still don't know the situation in the Evergreen Forest. The white mist is dissipating, so the enemy over there will soon realize the chanical Paradox Bug has been defeated. I'm going to continue to the forest to investigate. I want the rest of you to return to the church and have the various churches gather all possible intelligence on the Beasts of Calamity. By the ti I've dealt with things in the forest and returned, I hope to see so valuable information."
That was his plan, but in the end, only a third of the group returned to the Sage's Church to deliver the ssage. The others insisted on going to the forest with Jenkins. After all, it was impossible to say what might have happened there.
The convoy set off again, driving without pause through the dissipating white mist until they reached the checkpoint outside the forest. The area was eerily silent. There was no sign of the Enchanters who should have been on guard.
Jenkins scanned the area. His eyes detected no unusual auras, and the life-spirit of the forest seed perfectly normal. He could even see nearby squirrels and rabbits sleeping soundly.
The Evergreen Forest itself was fine—at least, it appeared to be. So Jenkins said to Alexia,
"Fly up. I want to get a look from above."
Then he addressed the others:
"Don't enter the Evergreen Forest just yet."
Alexia took his hand and lifted him high into the air. From that vantage point, he imdiately spotted a red dragon perched on the giant tree in the center of the forest, looking down nervously.
At the sa ti, the expansive view and the monocle he had put on allowed Jenkins to see much more. No one was dead, and there were no signs of a fierce battle. At that mont, most of the church Enchanters in the forest were gathered in the clearing at the base of the giant tree.
And besides the church Enchanters, there was one other person in the clearing who radiated a black aura. The aura wasn't particularly strong, not even on the level of a Cursed Item.
"What is that?"
he asked quietly, then told Alexia what he was seeing. Alexia seed to guess the situation:
"It looks like the Difference Engine has already made its preparations. The Evergreen Forest is safe. It's waiting for you."
Just as she had guessed, the black aura in the center of the forest emanated from another manipulated chanical body. The Difference Engine's craftsmanship was exquisite; it had even covered this chanical body in skin, making it look remarkably human.
It stood with its hands behind its back, silently gazing at the inverted white shadow in the pool of water. It only turned around when the footsteps of Jenkins and his companions echoed from the end of the path leading to the clearing.
"Savior, I knew that even the power of a Beast of Calamity wouldn't be able to stop you."
It looked human, but its face was featureless, as if covered by a layer of white cloth. The black clouds, gray mist, and ash were affecting this forest as well. There were no lamps, so the only light ca from the candles held by the Enchanters whom the Difference Engine had forced to gather here.
Its faceless appearance was utterly terrifying, but Jenkins just snorted.
"You're not going to try to persuade to surrender again, are you?"
"No, no, I've thought it through. You were able to orchestrate such a grand deception, and even after fooling the entire world, you still managed to win its support. Your ambition is certainly no less than mine. In that respect, my thods may even be inferior to yours. My power might be greater, but it's only recently that I've co to understand the importance of the human race to this world."
"What exactly did you co here for?"
The Numbered Items stored in the Evergreen Forest had not been taken by the Difference Engine. This was a containnt site for such items, and these sites were the most heavily guarded areas under the churches' control. Without multiple layers of verification, not even the people stationed in the Evergreen Forest could hope to remove a single item. The Difference Engine had evidently not succeeded.
"I rely wanted to see you one last ti before you enter my tower. And to confirm that you can truly handle the power of a Beast of Calamity, so you don't fall on the very first floor. That would be so boring... Using the Numbered Items is indeed an excellent idea, but did you really think I wouldn't anticipate that?"
"No, I anticipated that you would anticipate that."
"Well then, since you anticipated that I would anticipate it, do you think I would have prepared a counterasure for your anticipation of my anticipation—a counterasure you couldn't anticipate, but I could?"
If it hadn't asked, Jenkins might not have thought about it. But now that the question was posed, he understood.
"So you're saying... that vampire, the Countess, fleeing to Bel Diran and using the Scarlet Banquet arcane lock... that wasn't a coincidence?"
"I'm glad you were able to figure that out. Of course it wasn't a coincidence."
Over the past year, Jenkins had seen many arcane locks and had even participated in the use of a few. But of all of them, the Scarlet Banquet was the most unique. It was certainly dangerous—if the Blood Mosquito Curse within it were to leak, the na Bel Diran would truly beco a thing of the past.
The crucial point was that this arcane lock was, to date, the only one that restricted the power level of those who entered. Reality wasn't like a novel. Even though the outlander had read countless stories in his own world about mystical realms that could only be explored by those below a certain power level, in reality, that was extrely difficult to achieve.
The arcane lock rituals of this world all had historical roots, founded on occult powers that predated the modern Enchanter system. As a result, arcane locks that restricted an entrant's power were exceedingly rare; one could consult the entire archives of the Hall of Fa Library and scarcely find ten examples.
For such an arcane lock to appear in Jenkins's path surely had a purpose. A purpose that was only being revealed today.
"My tower is both a Mysterious Realm and a ritual. I have used the entire world as the ritual's foundation, with the tower as its core. It took a thousand years of preparation to complete this arcane lock. One of its rules is that no more than one being may enter the tower at a ti. And the other rule is that any object with mystical or supernatural properties brought into the tower must have been touched by the entrant at least one month prior to their entry."
The face was expressionless, yet Jenkins could have sworn he saw a smile on it.
"In other words, Savior, you can only bring Numbered Items into the tower that you ca into contact with over a month ago. I was originally going to save this surprise for when you entered, but I simply couldn't wait to see the look on your face. This, perhaps, is the strange wonder of possessing a soul of my own."
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