Chapter 46: Arrodes’s Congratulations

Chapter 46: Arrodes’s Congratulations

“Who are you?” Klein asked in a rather complicated state of calm.

The lady wearing a simple robe nodded lightly.

“Arianna, Servant of Concealment.”

Servant of Concealment… Arianna… Klein’s gaze focused slightly. He already knew the identity of the lady before him.

As a Beyonder who had started as a Nighthawk, how could the name Arianna be unfamiliar to him?

The abbess of the Church of Evernight’s cloister, first among the thirteen archbishops, someone who could become the future pontiff—any one of those identities was basic knowledge impossible to avoid in theology and mysticism.

As for the title “Servant of Concealment,” Klein had read of it in Emperor Roselle’s diary. Combining it with similar names such as Attendant of Mysteries, he suspected it pointed to the angelic rank. At the same time, based on the law of conservation of Beyonder characteristics, and on the fact that Arianna could not possibly be a Sequence 1 angel while a Sequence 0 of the pathway existed, Klein believed that Servant of Concealment was most likely Sequence 2 of the Evernight pathway.

This… The Goddess did not fail to respond. Her method of response is simply very special… She directly sent her own “servant” here… Klein’s feelings became complicated, difficult to describe.

After several seconds of silence, he bowed solemnly.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness Arianna.”

In the major Churches, if a demigod of angelic rank walks the earth, one adds “Your Highness” when addressing them in person to show respect. Similarly, toward popes, pontiffs, patriarchs, and other representatives of a deity’s will, one adds “Your Holiness.” In addition, for the head of a Church, one can also use terms such as “Apostolic See” or “Holy See.” Of course, in many circumstances, “Holy See” can also refer to the location of the Church’s headquarters.

Arianna tapped her chest four times clockwise and replied with a devout posture:

“May the Goddess bless you.”

She then said,

“I am an ascetic. You may address me directly as Madam.”

“Yes, Madam Arianna.” Klein did not insist in the slightest.

Arianna looked at him peacefully for two seconds, then asked directly,

“You wish to deal with the Blasphemer Amon’s avatars in Backlund?”

“Yes. I hope to receive the protection of Concealment,” Klein answered frankly.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a little troubled, because this was somewhat different from what he had expected.

His original idea had been for the Goddess to return a blessing and provide protection, after which he and Pallez Zoroast inside Leonard would join hands to clear out every one of Amon’s avatars in Backlund. During that process, the matter of Leonard and that angel of the Marauder pathway would not be exposed. But now, the protection had become an “entity” that would participate in battle. Once Pallez Zoroast took action, He would inevitably be discovered, and the ending would be difficult to predict!

Should I not cooperate with Pallez Zoroast, then? Should I have Him only provide intelligence and take a portion of the spoils? As Klein’s thoughts spun rapidly, Arianna spoke at an unhurried pace:

“I can provide the power of Concealment so that everything that happens cannot be spied upon. However, I cannot guarantee that I can clear out all of Amon’s avatars in Backlund.”

Pallez Zoroast said He can accomplish this… The one who understands Amon best really is a Sequence 1 of the same pathway… Klein thought for a moment, then said,

“Madam Arianna, I already have a mature and complete plan. You only need to provide the power of Concealment and do not need to participate in the actual battle. I will handle the rest.”

Arianna nodded. She raised her right arm and opened her palm.

One point of light after another lit up, deep and brilliant, rapidly outlining a medal in her palm.

The medal was crystal clear throughout, as though cast from black gemstone. It gave off the feeling that when one looked at it, it truly existed there, but when one did not look at it, it would vanish.

“This is my Crest of Evernight. It itself possesses no characteristic or power. Its only function is to establish a connection with me once activated, regardless of where you are in the real world,” Arianna briefly described. “Before you begin your operation, remember to use it. I will provide you with the power of Concealment. If you require more direct assistance, while activating it, recite the name ‘Arianna’ in ancient Hermes.”

This is equivalent to a fixed altar and ritual pointing to herself… Mm, at the angelic rank, the range in which one can respond to prayers expands to the entire world? Klein instantly grasped the essence of that Crest of Evernight.

As a Bizarro Sorcerer, he could not yet respond to prayers. That was a trait only available at Sequence 3. Of course, as the Sea God and as The Fool, he was sufficiently practiced in this regard.

Klein did not refuse. He accepted the Crest of Evernight and bowed sincerely.

“Thank you for your bestowment.”

After speaking, he tapped his chest four times clockwise, drawing the crimson moon.

“Praise the Goddess!”

In this way, he could still work together with Pallez Zoroast, as long as he did not recite the name “Arianna” in ancient Hermes when activating the Crest of Evernight.

“Praise the Goddess,” Arianna replied devoutly.

Her figure then vanished, as though erased by an eraser.

Did she leave by transforming into a concealed state? Klein guessed thoughtfully, pressing his lips together.

At the same time, he was filled with confusion over Arianna’s ability to arrive so quickly. After all, the Evernight pathway was not one skilled in teleportation. It would definitely take some time—perhaps not too long, but certainly not short—for someone to travel from the headquarters in Winter County to Backlund.

And my ritual was not the kind requesting direct descent… Could Madam Arianna just happen to be nearby, in the greater Backlund area? Is that not too much of a coincidence? If it is not a coincidence, then the problem is even more serious. Why has she come to the Backlund region? The undercurrents are surging… Klein withdrew his gaze, patiently waited for a while, then changed back into Dwayne Dantès.

He again found paper and pen, drawing a symbol that combined “concealment” and “peering.”

The last stroke of that symbol had only just fallen when the full-length mirror in the master bedroom emitted a dim yet pure glow, like quiet undercurrents rushing at the bottom of a lake.

Immediately afterward, rows of ceremonial cannons appeared within, firing fireworks into the sky.

Gold, silver, red, and blue exploded one after another, forming word after word inside the mirror:

“Welcome back, my great master!

“Your loyal servant Arrodes has witnessed You reclaim another portion of Your authority. I tremble before Your gradually recovering aura. You will eventually return to that supreme position and make the entire world become peaceful under Your gaze!”

This is really enthusiastic enough… Always coming up with something new… Klein nodded lightly without speaking.

Amid the blooming fireworks, those words broke apart and reformed into new sentences:

“Great Master, what are Your orders?”

“I have a question,” Klein said calmly. “In a place where one encounters danger upon entering darkness, how can one create darkness that is both safe and pure? There are roughly two kinds of danger. One makes people directly evaporate and vanish inside the darkness. The other causes attacks by strange monsters that appear from nowhere.”

On the surface of the full-length mirror, the fireworks settled, watery light rippled, and silver words surfaced one by one:

“Great Master, are You referring to the Forsaken Land of the Gods?”

This Magic Mirror knows quite a lot, and it also gave me one question for free… Klein nodded.

“Yes.”

Without pause, Arrodes displayed line after line of Loenese words on the full-length mirror:

“The formation of the Forsaken Land of the Gods is connected to the fall of the Second Creator. The danger of the night there should originate from the mutation of two essential powers.

“The first is the remnant divine power of the Evernight Goddess. The second is the influence left behind by that Creator. He Himself held partial authority over shadows, darkness, degeneration, filth, and mutation. The former can cause living beings to vanish into thin air, while the latter directly causes darkness to give birth to monsters.”

So the two dangers come from different powers. No wonder their manifestations are so different… Arrodes calls the ancient sun god the Second Creator… This is very close to my guess… Amon and Adam’s father was not the awakening of the Original Creator, but a transmigrator who inherited a large pile of “legacy”? Klein asked thoughtfully,

“In that case, the fall of the Second Creator involved, involved the Evernight Goddess?”

Klein had vaguely expected this, because the fact that humans evaporated and vanished inside the darkness of the Forsaken Land of the Gods greatly resembled the bizarre disappearance that would certainly occur in the ruins of the battle of gods if one did not sleep when night fell. According to Little Sun’s descriptions, the Demonic Wolf King Flegrea, who had originally held authority over Evernight and Concealment, had already fallen in the Second Epoch and could not have been the cause.

Therefore, unless another deity of the Evernight pathway had been born in between, those two bizarre phenomena could hardly be unrelated to the Evernight Goddess.

On the mirror’s surface, the silver light quickly contracted, forming a single word:

“Yes.”

Yes… Klein was just about to ask further when he suddenly closed his mouth, because he remembered his own identity: a favored one of Evernight. Therefore, even under circumstances where no one was watching, he still had to maintain respect toward a deity and could not probe the related secrets. Of course, this did not apply when he was in the mysterious space above the gray fog.

He was just about to return to the earlier question and urge the Magic Mirror Arrodes to list the methods when he saw the silver words inside the full-length mirror wriggle on their own and change:

“Great Master, Your loyal servant Arrodes has a small request. Could we, could we stop discussing matters related to the Evernight Goddess?”

At the end of that question appeared a simple line drawing of a figure curled into a ball.

That suits me perfectly… Klein deliberately pondered for two seconds.

“All right.”

On the mirror’s surface, the silver traces suddenly flowed with far more lightness, and words formed one after another:

“For Your previous question, there are two methods:

“The first is to actively accept pollution and transform yourself into a monster of the darkness. The reason these creatures do not vanish into thin air in the night is because they are protected by the authority of degeneration. In that way, all darkness will be pure and safe.

“The second is to create darkness that carries a temporary dream world, allowing the spirit body to be protected by the ‘dream.’ This can effectively delay the corrosion of the dangerous night.”