Chapter 158: A Contradiction

Chapter 158: A Contradiction

Above the gray fog, silence returned once more, as though the gathering that had just taken place were only an illusion.

Klein bent his finger and lightly tapped the edge of the mottled bronze long table, causing the Roselle diary pages just offered by The Hermit Cattleya to appear again.

In an indescribably frozen atmosphere, Klein solemnly cast his gaze toward the first paragraph on the first page:

“September 27th. I met Miss Isaka again and had a tense, exciting, yet sufficiently wonderful experience with her. As expected, I still prefer women of this age. This isn’t merely nostalgia for youth, but something that hasn’t changed after so many years. Heh, how faithful I am.”

…Here I am, reading your diary so seriously and solemnly, and this is what you show me? The corner of Klein’s mouth twitched slightly as he silently ridiculed the Emperor, whom he had only ever seen in portraits.

He quickly restrained his wandering thoughts and began moving his gaze downward.

…

Beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral, inside a resting room.

After Leonard Mitchell opened his eyes, he considered his words briefly, then lowered his voice and said, “Old Man, Zaratul of the Secret Order seems to be in Backlund too.”

Inside his mind, that slightly aged voice quickly rang out.

“As expected…”

Hearing such an answer, Leonard immediately asked, “Old Man, were you familiar with that Zaratul? Didn’t you once say that both the Zoroast family and the Zaratul family were great noble families of the Solomon Empire?”

In his view, since the old man and Zaratul had once been colleagues, and had perhaps even shared the camaraderie of fighting side by side, how could they not be familiar?

Pallez Zoroast gave a heh.

“The Zaratul I knew fell during the War of the Four Emperors. This current one should be His descendant. I may have seen Him back then, or perhaps I never did.

“Sigh. At that time, Zaratul had already obtained a clue to a second Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic from the True Creator. He only needed to wait until the War of the Four Emperors ended before going to search for it. If He succeeded, He could also have counted as a King of Angels. Unfortunately, during the War of the Four Emperors, He directly encountered the one from the Antigonus family—the existence called half a Fool. Bethel Abraham also took part. He could appear anywhere, anytime. If He had not been driven away and sealed by Evernight and Storm soon after, I doubt I would have lasted until the end of the War of the Four Emperors either.”

Half a Fool… Leonard’s eyelid twitched at that title. For some reason, he immediately thought of the one above the gray fog.

He then forced himself to control his thoughts and turned his mind elsewhere.

Even from a bystander’s description, Mr. Door was clearly among the very top existences within the Kings of Angels. Even two true gods working together could only drive Him away and seal Him… Uh, it was probably because He was especially good at fleeing and extremely hard to kill. And with the battle situation so tense at the time, any threatening enemy who could be eliminated quickly had to be eliminated quickly…

Heh, the old man must have remembered the past and become a little emotionally unsettled. He actually said so much in one breath…

As thoughts surged, Leonard suddenly said, “Was I kept in Backlund because the Church wants to use you to attract Amon here?”

The nostalgia in Pallez Zoroast’s tone instantly vanished. He clicked his tongue and said, “Who made that guess? I doubt it was you.

“Still, knowing how to use your own resources to investigate the truth of a matter can be considered decent.”

I’ve been very good at that since the day I joined the Nighthawks! Leonard replied inwardly, but he did not say it aloud.

Pallez Zoroast continued, “That is my guess as well.

“To be honest, the relationship between your former colleague and Evernight truly leaves me rather puzzled. If not for the hidden power that appeared that day feeling familiar to me, I wouldn’t dare make such a guess.

“Heh. Zaratul and I are in Backlund, and Amon is soon to arrive as well. This forms a perfect triangular balance.”

What does that mean… The hidden power that dealt with Amon came from the domain of Evernight, not Mr. Fool? Does that mean Mr. Fool and the Goddess are cooperating to some extent, or that some high-ranking member of the Church actually believes in Mr. Fool? Leonard suddenly felt strong confusion and uncertainty regarding his own position.

Seeing that Pallez had openly admitted He was rather puzzled as well, Leonard restrained the corresponding thoughts and did not ask about that matter. Instead, he frowned slightly and said, “Two Sequence 1 angels, and one King of Angels. Won’t that bring a catastrophic disaster to Backlund?”

He remembered that Amon was the sort of terrifying existence who could silently kill countless people, then happily experience life while wearing the identity of a victim.

Using that as reference, Zaratul of a neighboring pathway definitely possessed equally terrifying, horrifying abilities. If He and Amon clashed, half of Backlund—or perhaps all of Backlund—would become a “city of death,” a “city of strangeness.”

Pallez Zoroast laughed.

“Balance means everyone will restrain themselves. Besides, Amon most likely won’t let His true body enter Backlund. At most, He will gather a large number of avatars there. After all, Evernight being unable to act doesn’t mean Storm and Steam cannot descend.”

“What do you mean?” Leonard keenly caught the key point in the old man’s words.

Pallez Zoroast’s tone suddenly became rather leisurely.

“Whether because of the war, or because of something else, Evernight should currently be unable to interfere with earthly matters. Otherwise, why would She need to lure Amon over and form a balance? She could simply lay a trap. Perhaps She could capture Zaratul, or scare off that cowardly Seer.”

“…Has something happened to the Goddess?” Leonard suddenly grew tense.

That slightly aged voice answered, “Not necessarily something bad. It might also be something good.”

Without waiting for Leonard to ask further, Pallez Zoroast sighed again.

“Amon is being drawn to Backlund by me. Then what about Zaratul? And what about me?”

“Zaratul should also be because of you, while you are in Backlund because I am here…” Leonard answered after some consideration.

“Heh. And why do you think you are in Backlund?” Pallez immediately gave a derisive laugh.

Leonard answered at once, “It was the Church’s arrangement. Surely it can’t be the influence of the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence?”

“That isn’t necessarily impossible.” Pallez’s tone turned slightly more serious. “Many times, the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence does not directly manifest in a way you can notice. More often, it influences fate. It is like boarding a train, then suddenly feeling that a certain place along the way has beautiful scenery, getting off early, and lingering in a small city. That might well be because there are Beyonders or mystical items of neighboring pathways nearby.”

“In other words, Backlund still has something else that drew you and Zaratul here, and through you, affected my fate, causing the Church to arrange for me to be in Backlund most of the time?” Leonard gained a certain understanding and sought confirmation.

Pallez Zoroast slowly sighed.

“That possibility cannot be ruled out.”

…

Above the gray fog, Klein soon turned to a valuable diary page.

“November 21st. Because I made too many preparations in advance, I obtained that chaotic and terrifying Grade 0 sealed artifact faster than expected.

“Then, after a difficult struggle—and with help—I finally restored it into a pure Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic.

“In a few more days, once the ritual is ready, I should be able to advance to Sequence 1 of the Mystery Pryer pathway: Knowledge Emperor.”

“November 26th. Clear weather, light breeze.

“The ritual went very smoothly. My digestion was thorough enough, and my anchors were extremely stable. I didn’t encounter many difficulties throughout the entire process.

“I am now a Sequence 1 angel, an Emperor of Knowledge. From now on, Bernadette no longer needs to worry about the Hidden Sage’s influence. She can follow the maxim ‘Do as you will, but harm none’ and continue forward on this path!

“At the same time, the status of a Sequence 1 angel means I can, to a considerable extent, resist the gaze and corruption from the starry sky, ascend to the crimson moon, and see what exactly exists there.

“Regardless of whether Mr. Door is lying, everything indicates that the crimson moon is the key to the problem. If I wish to become a true god, I must understand the reason.

“I will prepare for another three days, then attempt the moon landing!

“This is one small step for me, but one giant leap for mankind! Haha, I wasn’t the one who said that.”

Reading to this point, Klein again remembered Roselle’s hysterical diary page, and he grew even more suspicious that it had been written after the Emperor’s “moon landing.”

Setting aside the remaining unread diary pages, Klein began using Dream Divination to recall the contents he had seen over the past year or more, hoping to compare them and find clues to Roselle’s abnormal mental state in his later years.

Before long, in the dream, he saw several lines of text. In theory, this belonged to Roselle’s final diary entry:

“I cannot offer any specific advice, because I cannot see through the Seven Gods, nor can I see the true faces of those evil gods. This may be related to part of the content hidden within the second Blasphemy Slate by that ancient organization. Unfortunately, I have only roughly guessed that there is a hidden portion and cannot verify it.”

In this entry, the Emperor had also solemnly warned any possible “companions” to beware of the moon.

The dream abruptly shattered. Klein instantly woke, and there was actually clear terror in his eyes.

He clearly remembered that Roselle had confirmed the second Blasphemy Slate had hidden content long before this.

“July 19th. Night of the blood moon.

“Mr. Door’s answer allowed me to confirm one thing: within that ancient and secret organization, the second Blasphemy Slate I saw was not complete!”

This… The Emperor forgot? No, how could he possibly forget something so important? He had clearly seemed only somewhat extreme, somewhat radical, without any major problem. Why would this happen… Klein could not stop himself from muttering silently. A strange and terrifying feeling rose within him:

The Emperor Roselle who wrote the final diary entry—or at least that one sentence—seemed like a different person.