Chapter 3: Directions of Investigation

Chapter 3: Directions of Investigation

The first person Klein suspected was, without a doubt, the Elf King, Soniathrym.

This ancient god had invented chopsticks, knew how to make “blood curd,” liked eating animal organs, and was very skilled at using pungent spices. The mainstream facial contours, hair colors, and eye colors of His descendants were all close to those of Asians on Earth. Not only had Klein once suspected that He was a transmigrator, Emperor Roselle had felt the same way.

Of course, after further investigation, Roselle had preliminarily ruled out that possibility from the perspectives of linguistics, symbolic inheritance, folk customs, and proverbs. Klein, meanwhile, believed that chopsticks as tableware, a fondness for eating offal, and the introduction of spices were not exclusive traits. For a race close to nature, all of these could very well have gradually emerged in daily life!

As for why the elves, who controlled the Sailor pathway, were a race close to nature, Klein did not know. He could only say that their surviving murals and writings described them that way.

“Before, I felt the Elf King probably wasn’t a transmigrator. But after seeing that there are three broken ‘cocoons,’ I no longer dare to be so certain… Perhaps He really was a ‘fellow countryman’… Mm, it also can’t be ruled out that the ancient god Himself wasn’t a transmigrator, but that some high-ranking elf around Him was. That could still allow those customs to be passed down in the Elf King’s name…” Klein lightly moved his fingers and muttered soundlessly to himself.

Almost at the same time, he found a direction for investigation and confirmation:

Inside Groselle’s Travels, there was an elven singer who had once served Soniathrym’s queen, the Queen of Calamity, Cohinem—Siatas!

As long as he could enter her sea of collective subconscious, he should be able to see, or come into contact with, fragments of memory connected to the elves and to ancient gods!

He could also use methods such as “hypnosis” to directly make her subconscious speak… The problem is, I’m not good at this kind of thing. Last time, when I tried to go deeper into Groselle’s subconscious, I was agitated and unable to calm myself. Although I am already a demigod now, the madness and inclination toward losing control that I need to resist are even greater and more serious. My mental state will also be difficult to fully adjust for quite a long time… Forceful spirit channeling doesn’t suit this kind of situation, or this kind of target… Klein frowned slightly, feeling that he might need a relatively high-level mystical item from the Spectator pathway, or an assistant who was at least a Hypnotist.

He began seriously considering the feasibility of asking Miss Justice for help.

“There shouldn’t be any operational issue. Entering in spirit body form above the gray fog won’t make it impossible to leave…

“I also don’t need to worry that Miss Justice will glimpse the secret of transmigration. As long as Siatas herself doesn’t have any cognition in this regard, her subconscious and collective subconscious won’t point toward a similar conclusion. I, meanwhile, can find the clues I want from details they do not notice or value…

“The greatest problem is that Miss Justice has no real experience in adventuring. She lacks sufficient practice. Exploring the subconscious ocean of an ancient figure is very dangerous for her. The residual shadows of ancient gods might appear at any time… And without the help of a Psychiatrist, the same is true for me…

“Even if I do ask Miss Justice to assist, I’ll have to wait until she reaches Sequence 5. The rise in level can make up for her lack of experience. At that time, we’ll first try hypnotizing Siatas to see whether we can learn anything from her mouth. If we can’t get information of much value, then we’ll consider entering the dream, going deep into consciousness, and stepping into that ‘sea.’

“Right, the Dream Charms I make now aren’t effective enough. I’m afraid they won’t be able to sustain such a long exploration. Sigh. For a small matter like this, the Goddess won’t directly respond. She’ll only provide fixed feedback according to the fixed ritual… And I’ve already returned all the corresponding Beyonder characteristics to the Church… Do I need to bring Leonard along? I wonder whether pulling someone in on the spirit body level can avoid the old grandpa inside him noticing. I’ll research that over the next few days…”

Klein withdrew his thoughts and began considering the second object of suspicion.

On the surface, this person seemed to have no particular peculiarity, and Klein had never previously thought He might be a transmigrator. Yet now that his mind had calmed, and he was sorting through and reexamining things from the beginning, Klein discovered that many details he had taken as common knowledge in the past were not so simple when examined carefully. They contained a terror difficult to describe.

The one he suspected was:

The ancient sun god, the Creator of the City of Silver!

“The scriptures of the seven major Churches all carry shadows of Western religions from Earth… Their mass rituals are the same!

“From Little Sun’s descriptions, from what Emperor Roselle saw in that small chapel of Adam’s, and from the murals in the ruins of the Forsaken Land of the Gods, it can be clearly seen that one of the ancient sun god’s main symbolic elements was the cross!

“He named His children Adam and Amon…

“The angels beneath Him all had wings of light. At least, I haven’t seen that with the other pathways yet…

“No one knows where He rose from. He suddenly emerged in the late Second Epoch, killed several ancient gods, and took back many authorities…

“When I didn’t think too deeply about these details before, they seemed like nothing. But now that I do, they’re terrifying.” Klein hissed softly, unexpectedly feeling that the ancient sun god was even more suspicious than the Elf King Soniathrym.

The other party’s experience was far too legendary—more like the protagonist of an era than even Emperor Roselle!

Of course, His ending was also quite tragic. He had actually been treated as a feast by the Kings of Angels surrounding His divine throne, divided and consumed by them. No matter how miserable Emperor Roselle’s final fate had been, it had not reached that level.

“Can this explain Amon and Adam’s attitudes from another angle? They both believe that the gray fog is connected to Their father, but because Their pathways differ, They made different choices? Mm, there’s a certain chance Adam can’t see the gray fog. He isn’t a high-sequence Beyonder of the Fate, Marauder, Seer, or Apprentice pathways…” Klein gave a very slight nod.

Regarding these clues, he likewise had a direction of investigation that did not require contact with angel-level big shots:

Inside Groselle’s Travels lived a Third Epoch ascetic who had served the ancient sun god—Snowman!

“The problem returns to the one just now… There’s no one else worth suspecting for the time being.” Klein slowly exhaled, reached out with his right hand, and picked up the newly obtained Card of Blasphemy:

The Red Priest card!

As his spirituality poured into it, streak after streak of scarlet radiance shone from the card, building into a palm-sized illusory book.

The book flipped page after page, revealing vivid, brightly colored portraits of Roselle Gustav, each one as large as a Tarot card. In some, he wore hunting attire. In some, he raised his middle finger. In some, he walked among burning buildings. In others, he stood behind a trap. He wore all kinds of clothing and performed all kinds of actions.

“Sequence 9: Hunter… Sequence 8: Provoker… Sequence 7: Pyromaniac… Sequence 6: Conspirer… Sequence 5: Reaper… Sequence 4: Iron-blooded Knight… Sequence 3: War Bishop… Sequence 2: Weather Warlock… Sequence 1: Conqueror… Sequence 0: Red Priest…” Klein’s gaze swept across the Tarot-card-sized portraits one by one, engraving the contents into his mind.

He was not surprised by the Sequence 0 apotheosis ritual of this pathway. In fact, he had long expected it, because Hermes had once told Roselle that the “red” in “Red Priest” referred to the red of war.

Therefore, when Klein saw the phrase “Start a war that sweeps across the continent and obtain sufficient victory,” his heart did not ripple in the slightest.

Closing the Red Priest card, Klein rubbed his temples. Having focused his mind on thinking through problems, his mental state had improved somewhat again, and only now did he finally feel tired.

“First, set a short-term goal. Uncover the mastermind behind the Great Smog of Backlund. That’s something I hadn’t finished before. Mm, continue the arms transaction according to the original plan, and once I’ve received the money, return to Backlund. Right now, there are two leads: Viscount Stratford, the Chief Equerry, and Major General Qonas Kilgor, Deputy Director of MI9…” Klein forced himself to rally his spirits and intended to find something for himself to do first.

Before leaving the gray fog, he threw the formula for the psychiatric medication Miss Justice had given him into the crimson star symbolizing Emlyn, The Moon, asking this vampire—who was skilled at concocting medicine—to prepare a week’s supply for The World at the price of one pound per bottle.

…

Backlund, inside the Odra family’s villa.

Emlyn White, who was waiting in the sitting room, curled his lip and muttered inwardly,

“It’s only a seven-pound transaction in total. I really don’t feel like taking it… The World could mix it himself if he were just a little careful.”

He did not raise any objections to The World’s request, because he had only just spent 5,000 pounds purchasing the Sequence 5 Sanguine artificial vampire Beyonder characteristic, leaving him with only 730 pounds in cash.

Just then, Kasimi, looking like a middle-aged gentleman, walked in.

After exchanging greetings, the Sanguine baron asked,

“Emlyn, what brings you here so suddenly?”

Emlyn instantly felt somewhat guilty. Then he remembered his previous experiences, along with the words of The Hanged Man and The World. Raising his chin slightly, he answered as though speaking casually,

“I obtained a Sequence 5 Scarlet Scholar Beyonder characteristic. I was wondering when the ritual can begin so that I may become a viscount.”

Kasimi froze for a moment and asked in astonishment,

“You obtained a Scarlet Scholar Beyonder characteristic?”

Emlyn glanced at him and nodded, a barely noticeable smile at his lips.

“Yes.”

He did not explain how he had obtained the characteristic, adopting the posture of You do not need to know.

Kasimi opened his mouth, fell silent, and after several seconds finally said,

“During the next full moon.”

He paused, then changed the subject.

“There is also something I needed to find you about.

“My grandfather asked me to tell you that a certain important personage will soon come to Backlund. He wishes to meet you.”

He? Emlyn’s pupils instantly enlarged.

With how ancient the Sanguine were, having survived from the Second Epoch to the present, even counting Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, the number of angel-level figures among them would not exceed the fingers of one hand!