Chapter 118: Drawing Closer

Chapter 118: Drawing Closer

Cultists who believe in Evernight… Hearing Snowman’s words, all three people present felt awkward to one degree or another.

Klein, Audrey, and Leonard, every single one of them, had some connection to the Evernight Goddess. One was a textbook cultist who believed in Evernight. One was not only a cultist, but also a quasi-high-ranking member of that cult organization and the captain of an elite squad. The last was even more impressive—directly a favored one of an evil god.

“Ahem… Looking at it this way, the Church of Evernight appeared earlier than historical records indicate. Its origins can be traced to long before the Cataclysm. It was merely in the form of a secret organization at the time.” Klein cleared his throat and made a simple analysis, breaking the atmosphere that had suddenly grown somewhat silent.

Audrey pressed her lips together and nodded. She continued guiding Snowman’s dream, having him speak any information hidden in his subconscious related to Kings of Angels.

Unfortunately, Snowman was only a Sequence 5 ascetic. In the Fifth Epoch, that would count as quasi-high-ranking, enough to come into contact with many major figures and historical secrets. But before the Cataclysm, he did not possess such status. He could not even enter the divine kingdom on earth. His understanding of the Kings of Angels and the ancient Sun God was naturally not extensive, limited only to what had been recorded in various religious scriptures.

However, Klein keenly noticed that Snowman mentioned one point:

Traces of giant descendants had appeared in the northern Spine Mountains.

That mountain range was now called the Antals Mountains and lay within Feysac territory. This made it very easy for Klein to connect that information with the Feysac people calling themselves descendants of giants and the God of Combat’s true body being a giant.

Seeing that there was nothing more related to the Kings of Angels, Audrey changed direction and guided Snowman’s dream to present the matters that were most important and had influenced him the most.

The majestic church where they stood began to shake, silently changing.

In only a few seconds, the church’s scale shrank. Outside it was a square that had been repaired.

Snowman knelt before the cross and divine statue, pure sunlight spilling all over him.

Beside him appeared a blurry figure dressed in plain clerical robes. In a grand and solemn voice, the figure said,

“You have freely chosen the path of asceticism. You will give up love, distance yourself from enjoyment, hold no power, polish your body, temper your spirit, and step by step enter heaven, drawing close to our Lord.”

Snowman devoutly kissed the ground and repeated,

“I freely choose the path of asceticism. I will give up love, distance myself from enjoyment, hold no power, polish my body, temper my spirit, and serve my Lord. From this day forth, this shall never change.

“From this day forth, this shall never change!”

The more Snowman spoke, the firmer his voice became. By the end, his expression was solemn as he repeated that promise.

“…This is the matter that left the deepest impression on him and had the greatest influence on him.” Audrey turned her head and said to The World and The Star.

Recalling Snowman’s behavior all this time—how even after being trapped inside this book’s world, he had not abandoned his faith or ceased ascetic practice—Klein nodded lightly and sighed.

“He is a true ascetic.”

Audrey withdrew her gaze. After guiding Snowman to speak or present several more things that were comparatively important to him, she returned to the sides of The World and The Star. Her voice remained gentle.

“There should be nothing more.”

Klein looked at Snowman and said,

“Let us go to the next place.”

…

Inside a house in Pesot City.

Mobet, with flaxen hair, dark-brown eyes, a tall nose bridge, and thin lips, wore a somewhat fluffy nightgown and lay on a bed that was higher on one side than the other. He stared at the ceiling and murmured to himself:

“This year’s winter is much colder than usual. It has even started snowing…

“Although it is almost noon, I do not want to get up at all…

“Shatas, why does an elf like you insist on lazing in bed too? And why are your hand and foot pressing on me…

“I truly miss life when I was single. I could roll freely across the bed. Every corner was mine. Unlike now. Sigh…”

On that bed, the Elven Songstress Shatas slept on her side, very comfortably stretched out. Not only did she occupy almost half the space, she also left a large amount of empty room on her own side and leaned closer to Mobet overall. One hand and one foot rested on him, squeezing Mobet to the edge of the bed until he was nearly falling off.

After pulling the blanket up from where it had been pinned down, Mobet sighed, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep a little longer.

Then he really fell asleep.

In the dream, he sat before the bar counter of a tavern, sometimes tasting hard liquor and sometimes gulping beer. If he said he would not go home, then he would not go home, waiting for Shatas to come begging him pitifully.

“So this is that Fourth Epoch noble?” At the tavern entrance, The Star, Leonard, glanced at Klein and said.

Klein gave an answer without any doubt.

“Yes.”

Mm, Mr. Star’s tone and movements indicate that he is a little more nervous than before… He seems to care about this Fourth Epoch noble… According to what Mr. World revealed earlier, someone Mr. Star knows may have seen the second Blasphemy Slate, and that is an extremely ancient divine object… Although it is possible that this person saw it only in the Fifth Epoch, relatively speaking, a powerhouse from the Fourth Epoch would have had more opportunities to come into contact with it… Therefore, this Fourth Epoch noble has some connection to the person Mr. Star knows? Justice Audrey, through detailed observation and interpretation, grasped some clues.

With that premise, she quickly made a judgment:

Mr. Star would take the initiative to suggest that he guide the dream this time.

“As expected, the Fourth Epoch worshiped asymmetrical beauty. This outfit makes my whole body uncomfortable.” After teasing briefly, Leonard looked toward Miss Justice and The World, Klein Moretti. “I will do it this time.”

“All right.” Audrey responded with a faint smile and a light tone.

This was exactly the development Klein was happy to see, so he naturally did not stop it.

“No problem.”

Leonard immediately tugged at his shirt collar, walked a few steps to the bar, and sat beside Mobet, ordering a local Sungen beer.

After taking a gulp, he suddenly said,

“You look like a member of the Zoroast family.”

“Everyone here knows that. No—not only people.” Mobet took a sip of wine, still looking straight ahead.

Leonard smiled and shook his head.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am a student of Pallez Zoroast.”

He intended to use this identity to draw closer, reduce rejection, and facilitate later guidance.

As expected, the person Mr. Star knows is also a Fourth Epoch noble, a member of the Zoroast family… I wonder what level they are… So Mr. Star’s secret identity is that he is the student of some major figure. No, his sentence was not confident enough… A self-acknowledged student? Audrey confirmed her guess, and her smile grew a little more apparent.

After hearing Leonard’s introduction, Mobet finally turned his head. He looked the other man up and down a few times and gave a heh.

“Student?

“You mean someone being parasitized, don’t you?”

“…” Leonard’s expression instantly froze.

Someone being parasitized… Mm… Although Audrey had already made some mental preparations, her brows still could not help moving.

As for Klein, he was working very hard to suppress his laughter.

Of course, he did not think there was anything wrong with Leonard borrowing the identity of Pallez Zoroast’s student. In his place, Klein would have said the same thing. He could hardly directly say, “I am someone being parasitized,” while relationships such as friend would appear too distant and would not help later inquiry.

The problem this time was that no one had expected Mobet to directly guess the truth.

After laughing twice, Mobet looked at Leonard’s slightly stiff face and said,

“You are not a member of our Zoroast family. How could you possibly become the Old Man’s student? You can only be someone being parasitized!”

At this point, his speaking speed slowed slightly.

“Relax. The Old Man is not that bad. He will not truly occupy your body. After the parasitism ends, at most, He will take a few years of your life. You are still young anyway. Raising your Sequence by one level will make it back. Heh-heh. In truth, most Beyonders do not live until the end of their natural lifespan.”

“Why must He take a few years of life?” Leonard asked subconsciously.

Mobet lifted his glass, took a gulp, and replied rather blankly,

“He has already parasitized you. He has to steal something…”

“…” Leonard recovered and asked in slight astonishment, “You call Him Old Man too?”

“Of course. We all call Him Old Man. Heh-heh, He never objected.” Mobet suddenly sighed. “He is my great-grandfather. I have not seen Him in a very long time. One thousand years? No, perhaps two thousand years…”

So the Old Man indulges me in calling Him Old Man because it lets Him recall certain beautiful things from the past… I wonder whether any of his direct descendants are still alive… Leonard suddenly felt emotional.

Justice Audrey, meanwhile, found the phrase “He has to steal something” rather funny, while also rather astonished by the word “Him.”

That meant the old gentleman Pallez Zoroast was an angel!

As expected… Audrey had already anticipated this to a degree.

At that moment, Mobet also keenly caught a key word.

“Too? Why did you say ‘too’? Do you also call Him Old Man?”

Leonard nodded seriously.

Mobet immediately looked slightly confused. He examined Leonard again in detail.

“Could you have the bloodline of our Zoroast family?”

“I do not know…” Leonard answered honestly.

Mobet shook his head.

“No, no. It doesn’t look like it. Perhaps the Old Man suffered some tremendous blow and changed somewhat.”

I know about that… Leonard weighed his words and said,

“He was nearly killed by Amon the Blasphemer. Even now, He has not fully recovered.”

—Groselle’s Travels was currently above the gray fog. Inside it, even if one mentioned the true name of a deity, it did not matter, because it would not be sensed. Therefore, Klein, Leonard, and Audrey could freely speak of matters involving Amon and Adam.

“The powerful and terrifying ancestor of the Amon family really exists…” Mobet’s voice unconsciously lowered.

Leonard finally gained the initiative and began asking,

“The great nobles of the Solomon Empire seem all rather cold and evil. Why is the Zoroast family not like that?”