Chapter 183: Pressure

Chapter 183: Pressure

The present Abyss was a place where even most demons could no longer survive? Upon hearing Mr. Fool’s answer, The Hermit Cattleya and the others inevitably felt a strong surge of shock.

In mysticism, the Abyss was universally acknowledged as the filthiest, most fallen, most chaotic place in existence—the dwelling of demons. And now, most of its “natives” could no longer survive there!

Has the environment of the Abyss deteriorated so badly that even demons can no longer adapt to it? Or has the filth, chaos, and depravity there somehow improved, making it unsuitable for demons? Alger, The Hanged Man, quickly came up with two guesses, but he did not know which was correct.

The Hermit Cattleya had similar thoughts, but she was even more puzzled as to why the Queen had raised such a question, what deeper meaning lay hidden in Mr. Fool’s answer, and how it might help with the secret the Queen wished to uncover or the matter she wished to accomplish.

As for Justice Audrey, she immediately thought of the demigod Prophet from the Church of Knowledge. He had once said that the apocalypse would arrive in the year 1368 of the Fifth Epoch—a fact recognized by all Beyonders skilled in prophecy. Even the deities proclaimed the same.

It is now 1350. Only eighteen years remain until the apocalypse… So, has the Abyss begun showing signs of it? Has that already abstractly symbolic environment of filth and chaos exceeded its limits and become even worse? Audrey formed a rough judgment, and anxiety instantly rose in her heart.

Originally, because the apocalypse had shown no signs at all, she had not entirely believed it. In ordinary times, she paid more attention to the present war and to the people dying, being wounded, and suffering within it. Yet now, the abnormal change in the Abyss filled her with inexplicable dread. She urgently wished to improve herself, to digest her potion as quickly as possible, obtain the Beyonder characteristic left behind by Hvin Rambis, and advance to demigod.

Only then would she possess a certain amount of power to intervene in and resist those things she did not wish to see.

May Mr. World bring more commissions… Justice Audrey silently prayed in her heart and quietly soothed her restless emotions.

Members such as The Star Leonard, The Magician Forsi, and Judgment Xio actually had some doubts about whether the Abyss truly existed. After the Second Epoch, the Abyss had never appeared before the world again, and the vast majority of demons active in reality came from the Blood Sanctify Sect. Even the high-ranking demons and evil existences pointed to by rituals had a high chance of being the upper echelons of the Blood Sanctify Sect.

Of course, the evil god known as the Dark Side of the Universe was widely regarded as the embodiment of the Abyss. Yet His sense of presence was extremely low. If He did not occasionally respond to rituals and display traits of the demon domain, He would probably be regarded as nothing more than a pure mythological legend—like Giant King Aumir.

Even so, the confidential information from the Church of Evernight that Leonard could currently access still indicated that the possibility could not be ruled out that the Dark Side of the Universe was a disguise created by some other evil god or hidden existence.

The Sun Derrick, however, was not especially surprised. In certain areas far from the City of Silver, deep within the boundless darkness, there were many demons who could not maintain a calm state. Among them were even Devil-level demigods. They seemed no different from the Abyss.

If not for landmark things like the Giant King’s Court, the people of the City of Silver would absolutely suspect that the truth behind their abandonment was that they had been thrown into the Abyss.

As thoughts flickered through the minds of the Tarot Club members, The Hermit Cattleya restrained her doubts and continued asking, “Honorable Mr. Fool, my second question is: were the things Emperor Roselle did in his later years affected by any external, unnecessary influence?”

That question immediately made Klein think of the frightening contradictions and details in Roselle’s later diary entries, and he could not help feeling somewhat emotional.

Maintaining The Fool’s bearing, he slowly shook his head.

No… those things were what the Emperor himself wished to do… Just as The Hermit Cattleya found uncontrollable disappointment and dejection welling up inside her, she heard Mr. Fool give a half-smiling, half-sighing reply:

“It was not influence. It was corruption—corruption that the person himself would find very difficult to detect.”

Corruption… Emperor Roselle was corrupted in his later years? By then, he had already become a He, an angel walking the earth, yet he could still suffer corruption? Did it come from some true god, or from the underground corruption that even ancient gods feared? Shocked, Justice Audrey combined this with the secrets she knew and formed a certain guess.

The Hanged Man Alger and the other members likewise had not expected something like this to have happened to Emperor Roselle in his later years. Their thoughts regarding his purpose in creating the Cards of Blasphemy grew somewhat suspicious.

At the same time, they believed that Mr. Fool’s collection of the Cards of Blasphemy very likely contained a far deeper intention, involving much more than what they had originally inferred.

“In this ‘card game’ involving the entire world, only a great figure like Mr. Fool has the qualifications to become a player. We are only cards—or perhaps some chips… Kings of Angels and Sequence 1 angels might be qualified to participate…” Alger, The Hanged Man, sighed inwardly. For a moment, he even felt a desire to become a “player.”

So the story of the Emperor’s later years changed from turning into a tyrant to turning into an evil god? A novel that begins with romance, inspiration, passion, love, adventure, and the decadent life of Intis high society somehow becomes a horror story in the end? I wouldn’t even dare write it like that! If I wrote it, I’d make the Emperor’s tragic ending come from betraying love, betraying marriage, and betraying his promises… The Magician Forsi could not help letting her thoughts drift. She felt quite an impulse to pick up a pen and write Emperor Roselle’s biography.

Of course, there were already plenty of Roselle biographies on the market, and some of them were even prohibited items.

Corrupted… so it was corruption… For a moment, The Hermit Cattleya felt both sorrow and emotion.

What moved her was that the Emperor had ultimately not become the evil dragon in the dragon-slayer tale he had once told. He remained that legendary figure worthy of worship. What saddened her was that only today had this misunderstanding finally begun to clear.

After her emotions gradually settled, Cattleya thought back over the matter of corruption, and the more she thought about it, the more terrified she became.

She believed herself to be the one among all the Tarot Club members who understood Roselle best. She knew very clearly just what heights the Emperor had reached in his later years—Mr. Fool was the convener and witness, not a member.

And yet such a Sequence 1 angel, aiming for the throne of a true god, had been silently and imperceptibly corrupted. Neither he himself nor those close to him had detected a single sign!

This is more terrifying than terror itself… The Hermit Cattleya silently inhaled, then slowly exhaled to regulate her emotions.

Then she once again bowed toward the head of the mottled long table.

“Thank you for your answer, honorable Mr. Fool.”

…And I thank all of you for not asking questions beyond the syllabus… The Fool Klein mocked himself inwardly, leaned back against his chair, and lightly nodded.

“You may begin.”

As before, the members of the Tarot Club had either just advanced, were still digesting, or had no items to trade. For the time being, they had no needs. After exchanging glances, they decided to proceed directly to the free discussion segment.

Of course, among them, The Moon Emlyn was an exception. He very much wanted to make a commission and ask someone to help rescue him from beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral. Yes, even now, he was still under “protective custody” behind the Channis Gate at the Church of Evernight’s Backlund diocese headquarters. Next door was Bishop Utravsky, and during this period, no Nighthawk had come to interrogate them.

If not for the internal personnel guarding the sealed area bringing them a certain amount of water and food every day, Emlyn would definitely have believed that he and Father Utravsky had been forgotten.

The dark and silent environment is bearable. It’s just a little cold… But there are no dolls, no newspapers, no books, no historical documents. This kind of life has no meaning at all… And the Nighthawks only provide cow blood. It tastes awful, and the effect isn’t very good. I’ve grown weak… Emlyn opened his mouth, but did not speak. He felt that this matter was far too embarrassing. After all, the one who had asked The Star for advice and pushed forward the idea of “custodial protection” last time had been himself. In the end, he too had been placed under “custodial protection.”

I hope that fellow hasn’t forgotten me and is thinking of a way to get me out… Emlyn glanced at The Star Leonard and remained silent.

Leonard maintained a fairly proper sitting posture and did not respond to The Moon’s gaze.

He had no good method for the moment, because he had been the one to propose “protective custody” before the archbishop. Emlyn White was a Sanguine viscount, equivalent to a Sequence 5 Beyonder. He was a mobile humanoid bomb, and he believed in the Earth Mother. There was no reason to release him now.

I can only wait until the Sanguine protest to us through other channels. Then I’ll have room to operate… The Star Leonard decided that he would later request a private exchange and have The Moon Emlyn think of a way to get the Sanguine upper ranks to contact the Church of Evernight.

Their interaction was observed by Justice Audrey, who immediately connected it with the question The Moon had asked last time. She suspected that some mishap had occurred in the implementation of “protective custody,” though it did not appear to be too serious.

I heard that the priest of the Church of Harvest saved many people during Backlund’s Great Smog. I hope nothing happens to him… Audrey nodded ever so slightly and turned her gaze to Little Sun.

The other Tarot Club members, aside from her, also looked toward The Sun Derrick.

They all knew that the City of Silver had planned to explore the Giant King’s Court last week. By now, the results should have come out.

The Sun Derrick sat straight. He glanced at Mr. Hanged Man, then very consciously said, “We completed our first exploration of the Giant King’s Court. Three died, one went missing, and five survived… First, we reached the main gate of the King’s Court and saw two Silver Knights of unknown condition guarding there. That is the name of Sequence 3 of the Giant pathway…”