Chapter 172: Klein’s Fear

Chapter 172: Klein’s Fear

The former Rose of Redemption could practically have been called an alliance of gods… Yet even an organization like that, under the pressure of the ancient Sun God, could only develop in secrecy, skulking and hiding while plotting within the palace of twilight… Just how powerful had the ancient Sun God been? Klein exhaled uncontrollably, a deep emotion welling up in his heart.

He examined his own Tarot Club and discovered that, compared to Rose of Redemption, it was practically a children’s game. Even if he counted the peripheral members Will Auceptin, Pallez Zoroast, Azik Eggers, and Reinette Tinekerr, it still could not compare with Rose of Redemption at its peak.

No. Even compared to the current shrunken version of Rose of Redemption, the Tarot Club still has no small gap. Who asked its leader and convener to be only a Sequence 4 saint… Klein very clear-headedly mocked himself, then turned his attention to the eleven figures.

“Combining their images, titles, and true names, it is already possible to confirm that the Wind Angel, Wisdom Angel, and Pure White Angel are the current Lord of Storms, God of Knowledge and Wisdom, and Eternal Blazing Sun. They really did betray the ancient Sun God, the Creator of the City of Silver, and share the body of the god they served…

“The God of War and Earth Mother were indeed survivors from the Giant King’s Court. One was the Giant King’s eldest son, and the other was the Giant King’s queen. They share a mother-and-son relationship. In that case, Feynapotter not directly declaring war on Loen and helping the Feysac Empire becomes rather strange and worth pondering…

“Also, the Goddess really was once a subordinate god of the Demon Wolf of Destruction, the Goddess of Misfortune, Amanises. After that ancient god fell, She not only grasped authority related to Evernight and successfully ascended to the Sequence 0 throne, but also single-handedly destroyed all of Flegrea’s descendants, sealed an angel of the Antigonus family inside the Nation of the Evernight, and used the body of the Mother of the Sky as a vessel for Her descent… Ruthless. Truly ruthless…”

As a blessed of Evernight, Klein instinctively raised his head and looked around after thinking that, afraid the hidden thoughts in his heart might leak into the outside world.

After entering the foggy town and learning that both Antigonus and the Mother of the Sky were descendants of the ancient god Flegrea, Klein had already developed a certain guess regarding the true identity of the Evernight Goddess. After all, the historical records of the City of Silver had clearly written that the Demon Wolf of Destruction held authority over Evernight and possessed many strange, bizarre abilities.

Combining this with the Antigonus family’s possession of the Seer pathway, and the fact that the Mother of the Sky in the Nation of the Evernight clearly belonged to Evernight, Klein suspected that Flegrea, the Demon Wolf of Destruction, had been an ancient god who had mixed Beyonder characteristics from two non-neighboring pathways. That explained why He was extremely insane, almost devoid of reason, and driven by a desire to destroy and contaminate everything.

From there, he had speculated that the Evernight Goddess might be connected to the ancient god Flegrea. After learning from Groselle’s Travels that the Demon Wolf King’s two great subordinate gods—after His fall—had respectively vanished and submitted to the Phoenix Ancestor, and that one of their true names corresponded to the Fourth Epoch Death, Mr. Azik’s father, Klein had faintly connected the Goddess of Misfortune Amanises with the Evernight Goddess.

However, because of his temporary identity as a blessed of Evernight and because of instinctive fear, Klein had not dared think too deeply about it. He had instead focused his attention elsewhere.

Now, seeing that true name, he was not overly shocked. Instead, he mostly felt relief, as though the other shoe had finally dropped. In addition, his fear of the Evernight Goddess deepened.

“Was it because She did not want the ancient god Flegrea to revive that the Goddess controlled all matters relating to the Seer pathway, preventing Beyonders without Her permission from advancing further?

“Right. In Afternoon Town, when that clerical shadow mentioned who had tempted the Dark Angel Sasrir, the Left Hand of God and Deputy of Heaven, the name could not be spoken, as though it had been erased. Isn’t that a manifestation of Concealment?

“Outside a place like the Giant King’s Court, any words directly linking the Evernight Goddess and Amanises cannot be spoken at all. Even if they are spoken, others will be unable to hear them…

“Rose of Redemption had two conveners. One was the Dark Angel Sasrir, and the other was the Goddess…

“Beyond the meeting place, the power of Concealment permeated the surroundings…

“In other words, the Goddess personally directed the fall of the ancient Sun God, began the Cataclysm, and ended the Third Epoch…

“Compared to Her, Adam and Amon are both still far lacking…

“Would such a true god truly be trapped so simply by Adam’s arrangements, unable to interfere with matters in reality?

“Although that was not a conspiracy, but rather made use of what the Goddess desired most, causing Her to willingly walk into the trap Herself, would the Goddess, who commands Concealment and once plotted the fall of the Creator of the City of Silver, truly have no extra preparations?

“Also, what does ‘This is also His idea’ mean? Who does that ‘He’ refer to?

“Uh… After learning so much hidden history, when I drink the Scholar of Yore potion, will it digest on the spot…?”

At that point, Klein raised his right hand, rubbed his temple, and forced himself to shift his thoughts elsewhere.

“The clerical shadow destroyed itself after mentioning the fourth King of Angels. Was that because the remaining three later became true gods?

“But people of the City of Silver occasionally say the names Badheil and Herabergen in Giant language. Why has nothing abnormal happened?

“What exactly is the difference here?

“The strongest among the Kings of Angels, the Left Hand of God, Sasrir—why did He later vanish and disappear into the river of history? Hmm. Perhaps He is now a certain evil god: the True Creator, the Dark Side of the Universe, or the Mother Tree of Desire?

“The fallen divinity lingering outside the secret meeting hall—could it have been left behind by Him?

“Mm. The birth of the True Creator is related to Rose of Redemption. If He sees the mural in this hall, what reaction will He have?”

With that thought, Klein turned his gaze toward the Shepherd elder Lovia.

This lady appeared slightly bewildered. She seemed not to understand those titles and names well enough, though she did recognize some of them, such as the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros.

After all, it had been in the temple ruins containing murals left behind by Ouroboros that she became a believer of the True Creator.

Derrick also “sneaked a glance” at Elder Lovia, but failed to discover any particularly obvious emotional change.

As The Sun of the Tarot Club, Derrick was the one present who understood the outside world the best. He had also long known who the Kings of Angels were and suspected that three of them had later become gods. At this moment, he was the least confused and bewildered person there, though he was still shaken by the level of Rose of Redemption.

It was even more exaggerated than he had imagined.

No wonder the Lord fell because of this… Derrick first felt enlightenment, then an oppressive heaviness.

At that moment, his gaze swept over and he noticed that the Chief’s profile had turned unprecedentedly pale and grim. From the Chief’s mouth came a low murmuring of several words:

“This is impossible. Impossible…”

In all the time I can remember, the Chief has never lost composure like this… Did he think of the Lord’s fall from the members of Rose of Redemption? Is he unable to accept that He can no longer return? But he learned that from me a long time ago… Just as Derrick became puzzled, he found that the Chief’s expression had returned to normal, except that his lips remained tightly pressed together.

Meanwhile, what surfaced in the minds of the other exploration team members was the prophecy they had learned earlier in Afternoon Town:

“Almighty Lord, I repent… [someone] tempted Sasrir, and the Kings frequently entered the palace belonging to twilight to conspire…

“…I discovered all of this, but it was already too late. Depravity, bloodshed, darkness, rot, slaughter, filth, and shadows have flowed out and drowned this land.

“A great disaster will begin here!”

Haim, holding the Unshadowed Crucifix, took quite some time to soothe his emotions. His voice was slightly hoarse and heavy as he spoke.

“This is the palace of twilight. These are the Kings of Angels and the subordinate gods of the Second Epoch?

“They conspired everything and caused the great disaster to occur, causing the Lord to abandon this land?”

Colin Iliad pulled the two swords before him from the ground, half-turned, and answered steadily, “Very likely.”

“If we can figure out what exactly happened back then, would we have a chance to please the Lord and make Him turn His gaze back upon this land?” Hearing the Chief’s reply, Antilna asked anxiously.

At that moment, Derrick seemed to see a trace of pity and grief in the Chief’s eyes, and heard him give an “Mm” before saying, “Perhaps.”

“Then let’s continue exploring forward!” the remaining members of the team all requested, their eyes blazing.

This was the closest the City of Silver had come to hope in two or three thousand years of suffering. None of them were willing to let it slip by. Even if they had to pay with their lives, they would not hesitate.

Colin Iliad slowly looked around and said, “Do not forget the exploration rules. Never act impulsively at any time.

“Now that we have confirmed this place is related to redemption, we can return a second time, a third time, and even more times. There is no need to be so eager.”

After he said this, the remaining members of the exploration team calmed down considerably and answered one after another:

“Yes, Your Excellency Chief.”

Under Demon Hunter Colin’s arrangements, the remaining team members divided into groups and thoroughly searched the hall, but discovered nothing of value besides the murals.

Of course, that did not mean there was truly nothing. This was, after all, an ancient god’s divine kingdom. Seemingly ordinary long tables, chairs, stone pillars, and torches would all possess certain peculiar effects if taken outside, and those effects could last for a very long time. However, to the City of Silver exploration team, they were difficult to carry and lacked practical value.

As for the other murals, they depicted the main mural from different angles. When combined, they happened to form a three-dimensional scene.

After completing the search, Derrick and the others gathered again and followed the Chief to the exit at the rear of the hall.

There stood a gray-blue door, not a double door.

Colin Iliad observed carefully from across that door, which was more than ten meters tall. Finally, he spoke:

“There are powerful guards outside.”