Chapter 37: In Your Name

Chapter 37: In Your Name

Snap!

The tumbling gold coin fell into Klein’s palm, but he did not look to see whether it had landed heads or tails, because an image had already fixed itself inside his mind:

Towering trees stood among shrubs. The thin clouds high above failed to cover the many stars adorning the “black velvet” sky. The chirping of insects carried far through the quiet night, mixed with the commotion from Elk Manor after the two “explosions.”

Klein immediately used his knowledge of astrology to roughly determine the specific area corresponding to the image. Then, in a flash, he appeared beside Winner Enuni, who had taken the appearance of Gehrman Sparrow, and grabbed his shoulder.

During this process, Klein retrieved the transparent Worms he had implanted into the rat and insect marionettes, then severed the two-way connection through Spirit Body Threads.

In only one or two seconds, he took Winner Enuni with him and vanished from the increasingly panicked and noisy Elk Manor, teleporting to the area symbolized by the image in his mind.

Just as the revelation Klein had received suggested, this place was exceptionally quiet. One could even hear the sound of the wind brushing through leaves and shrubs.

One illusory black thread after another surfaced in Klein’s eyes, representing every living creature with spirituality in this area.

There were far, far too many of them—far beyond what could be described by a few dozen. If Klein wished to locate each one, match it to a corresponding creature, and distinguish the problematic one among them, it would absolutely not be something that could be completed in a short time.

However, he did not feel anxious, because he could at least confirm one thing:

As long as the demigod of the Marauder pathway did not possess an item of an especially high level, his divination result should be accurate. After all, after becoming a Bizarro Sorcerer, not only had his corresponding abilities improved again, but the amount of power from the gray fog seeping into reality had also increased. With the two combined, even without going above the gray fog, his divination ability was absolutely outstanding at the level of a Saint. It probably would not be inferior to that of Beyonders of the same Sequence from the Fate pathway. As for that demigod of the Marauder pathway, his condition was worrying, and his strength had already fallen to its lowest point.

Therefore, Klein believed the other party was hidden within this small shrub-filled wood and had not escaped farther away.

For that reason, he trusted that patient waiting was the best method.

That demigod of the Marauder pathway was already extremely weak, his condition highly unstable and close to losing control. After going through such an intense battle and then abandoning the rat’s body, his situation would only become worse. It would not improve in the slightest. Under such circumstances, if “he” could not obtain replenishment or recovery, problems would sooner or later arise. Thus, Klein could afford to wait, while he “could not.”

The chirping of insects continued in waves. While waiting, Klein seized every moment to convert marionettes. He had Winner Enuni leave this area and hide nearly one kilometer away. At the same time, Klein remained on guard against having his own Spirit Body Threads manipulated, because he remembered that the enemy had “stolen” this Beyonder ability from his marionette.

Suddenly, a gasp that seemed to come from the depths of the soul sounded beside his ear.

Immediately afterward, a hysterical voice came from a large tree diagonally ahead of him.

“Why are you forcing me?

“Why are you forcing me?

“Why are all of you forcing me!”

Amid the venomous, shrill voice, the bark of that tree rapidly peeled away, revealing the wood beneath. On the wood, holes split open one after another, and strange insects with seven or eight segments crawled out.

In their transparent portions floated many three-dimensional patterns, while on their segments, it seemed as though time itself was flowing.

Abruptly, Klein lost all thought. He lost the two Beyonder abilities of Air Cannon and Paper Figurine Substitute. He lost his belt, his coat, and his top hat. For a short moment, he was like a statue carved from human flesh.

However, for a marionette, this was not too serious. After all, it did not need to think in the first place, and the abilities it had lost could be regained by switching out the corresponding Worm.

Yes—at the instant he heard that gasp, Klein had swapped positions with Winner Enuni!

And such a Winner did not need to worry that losing his belt would cause his trousers to fall. Under the influence of Faceless powers, his waist rapidly expanded and wedged the trousers in place.

New marionettes, including insects and rats, emerged from different places, surrounding the tree that was in the midst of mutation.

At this moment, a voice carrying the faintest hint of a smile came from an unknown direction.

“Do not be impatient. Do not be angry. The matter will be resolved.”

This voice was filled with a convincing force. The tree’s mutation suddenly slowed, and the segmented insects that had crawled out one after another slowly withdrew.

“Is that so?” From within the tree whose bark had fallen away, the previously venomous and hateful voice became calm and carried hints of confusion, as though it was about to be persuaded.

At this moment, Klein also felt that the words just now made excellent sense. He could not help reflecting on why he had forced a demigod to the brink of losing control.

He vaguely felt that he seemed to have forgotten something, and he could no longer quite remember his main purpose for coming here.

Then he saw a figure walk in from outside the shrub-filled wood and chuckle.

“Relax. I have a way to stop your loss of control, as long as you follow my instructions.”

This figure wore a black windbreaker that resembled a long robe, paired with black trousers and black leather shoes. His forehead was broad, his face was thin, and he wore a tall top hat and a distinctive crystal monocle. He appeared extremely refined.

Klein’s gaze froze. Inside his mind, a single word exploded and echoed:

“Amon!”

The person before him was the Blasphemer Amon, the Angel of Time Amon, the King of Angels Amon, the Son of the Creator Amon!

Although he knew that the other party had only sent an avatar, Klein still did not think further. He directly followed the will of his heart and, using Creeping Hunger, made his body rapidly become transparent.

During this process, Winner Enuni snapped his fingers, igniting matches in his pocket and fallen leaves in the distance. By relying on Flaming Jump, he appeared beside Klein in a flash.

Klein grabbed him and vanished together with him.

According to Klein’s thoughts, if Amon tried to obstruct him, or if Winner Enuni did not return to his side quickly enough, he would directly give up the marionette and Travel far away.

In this situation, exchanging the death of one marionette for his own survival was simply too worthwhile!

Fortunately, Amon’s avatar’s attention was mainly focused on the tree whose bark had peeled away. He did not make any obstruction—or rather, he did not have time to.

After Klein and his marionette vanished, Amon finally stopped walking and tilted His head to glance at where the two had originally stood. As though thinking, He nodded faintly and gave a soft “heh.”

“A Bizarro Sorcerer of Evernight’s family.”

He then withdrew His gaze, looked at the half-mutated tree, and asked with a smile,

“A descendant of the Jacob family?”

“Y-yes. You know my ancestors?” Inside the tree, the previous rat demigod asked back in the tone of someone drowning who had just seized a floating plank.

Amon raised His hand and touched His chin, then nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Of course.

“They tasted quite good.”

The Jacob family descendant inside the tree fell silent at once. After several seconds, he cried out in terror,

“You—you are the Blasphemer, Amon!”

Inside the holes in the tree, those segmented insects began crawling outward again.

But they quickly turned rigid, “freezing” in place.

Amon pinched the upper and lower edges of His crystal monocle and smiled.

“It is too late, is it not?

“If you had struggled and resisted from the very beginning, it might have had some effect. But now… you cannot possibly think I came alone, can you?”

As He spoke, the surrounding shrubs swayed. Leaves on different trees rustled lightly. Birds hopped onto branches and released crisp calls. Even the night wind passing nearby seemed to carry some indescribable flavor.

“You…” The Jacob family descendant inside the half-mutated tree had only just made a sound when it abruptly stopped.

Amon placed both hands into the pockets of His windbreaker and smiled leisurely.

“I heard that your family split into small households that have no contact with one another because you feared that if I caught one, I would catch a whole group. Ah, right. Did you and the descendants of Zoroast, along with other Beyonders of the Marauder pathway, establish a secret organization and call yourselves the Hermits of Fate?

“You should be one of them, yes? Let me see whether I can replace your identity and sneak into that organization. Heh. A secret organization established to guard against Amon and deal with Amon, yet with Amon participating in it—just thinking about that is rather interesting.”

At this point, He glanced at the half-mutated tree that had begun shaking violently and continued,

“What a pity. I took a look at your fate. You did not receive a very good education in mysticism, so you cannot be a member of that organization. Is your branch of the Jacob bloodline down to only you?

“You came to Backlund to look for the secret treasure left behind by the Jacob family, only to somehow suffer serious injuries and encounter a seal?

“Ha. There are remaining traces of you parasitizing an ordinary animal and then not speaking with humans for a long time… Are you confused as to why, when you advanced to Sequence 4, among the knowledge you received from the potion and the hidden voices you heard, there was no ‘reminder’ about this? Mm, I deleted it.”

“No!”

A sharp cry rang out, filled with resentment, hatred, and indescribable pain.

The half-mutated tree shook even more violently, but immediately afterward, it fell silent.

Streams of flowing light flew out from within and poured into Amon’s body.

Amon took out a piece of silk, removed the monocle, and murmured while wiping it,

“How foolish. I said it was too late, and she actually believed me. The greatest flaw of someone close to losing control is that they have no brain. They are easily deceived.

“As long as she had thought carefully, how could she not have understood the problem? If I could quickly resolve her and take away her fate, why would I talk so much with her? An avatar is still only an avatar…”

By the time Amon put the monocle back on, all the flowing light that had surged out from the half-mutated tree had been absorbed by Him.

At that moment, a figure passed outside the shrub-filled wood. It was Hazel, who had changed into hunting clothes.

Seeming to sense something, she subconsciously turned her head to look over and saw Amon.

Then she revealed a delighted smile.

“Teacher, have you recovered?

“Mm, someone discovered your problem. You had better hide somewhere else!”

Amon listened quietly. The corners of His mouth rose little by little.

“All right.”