Chapter 112: Which Symbol

Chapter 112: Which Symbol

From its appearance, the thin human-skin glove was not much different from before, but Klein did not dare be careless. He hurriedly relied on divination and performed a rough examination.

“Apart from the five fingers, the palm and the back of the hand can now each correspond to one grazed soul…

“And currently, all seven positions are filled. Some similar Beyonder characteristics show signs of merging…

“It also seems to have gained abilities related to Flesh Magic…

“The speed of switching souls has become much faster…

“It must eat one person every day, or it will feed on its owner. Heh. Creeping Hunger, you’ve swollen with pride again. When we get back above the gray fog, you can properly reflect on yourself.

“Other revelations cannot be obtained for now. I will perform more precise divination above the gray fog after leaving this place.

“Mm. It is still unclear whether there are other negative effects. I can only know that, for a short time, it will not harm me.

“Also, the grazed Mr. X has not been affected. Traveler’s Teleportation and Door Opening remain normal.”

Klein breathed out in relief, wore the upgraded Creeping Hunger on his left hand, and rushed straight for the church, wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

During the previous hide-and-seek with the giant “mushroom,” he had not forgotten to use illusions to create a formal outfit consisting of a trench coat and top hat.

As for the Beyonder characteristic left behind by Blood Admiral Senor, Klein suspected it was most likely in the hands of the Demoness of Despair, Panatiya. That demigod had already been hung inside the ancient palace, under the gaze of that cluster of transparent worms.

Sigh. Flesh and blood can be slowly eaten and stored for the future, but a Beyonder characteristic would definitely separate irreversibly. After so long, it should have long since formed. Even if the Demoness of Despair did not care about it and casually tossed it somewhere, in this environment where I cannot connect to the spirit world and divination is greatly limited, I have no way to find it quickly. And in this kind of environment, no one knows whether another change will occur next, or whether the obsidian slab will teleport away on its own. Therefore, I must grasp the time and escape as quickly as possible…

Klein’s thoughts were exceptionally clear as he returned outside the ancient church and passed through the half-open door.

Although he had once promised Miss Sharron that he would sell the Wraith Senor’s Beyonder characteristic to Maric, for one, that material itself had been contaminated and would be difficult to use for mixing a potion; and for another, his own safety was still more important.

It is not as if there is no way to resolve it. At worst, I can hunt another Wraith, or ask the Snake of Mercury, Will Auceptin, for help, having Him shatter the Beyonder characteristic in Maric’s possession and purify it. Mm, that will have to wait until a certain fetus is born…

Klein muttered silently. Passing beneath the dense mass of corpses swaying like wind chimes, he arrived beside the stone statue.

On the way, he also found the iron cigarette case that had previously been placed on the marionette and had not been devoured by the “mushroom.” Azik’s copper whistle and the Loen gold coin inside were likewise undamaged.

Putting these items away, Klein manipulated his own Spirit Body Threads so they would not drift toward the church’s highest point while bending to pick up the obsidian slab.

After confirming that this important item had not been damaged, he steadied slightly and inspected Zaratul’s tin-white urn.

Opening the lid and taking a careful look, Klein’s eyes contracted and instantly froze.

All the ashes inside the tin-white jar were gone!

Not a single trace remained!

Zaratul has already achieved His goal? Should I say, “as expected”…

Astonished and uncertain, Klein threw away the tin-white urn, straightened his body, and embedded the obsidian slab into the wall behind the statue.

That wall once again emitted light and became transparent, allowing him to see the ancient stone slabs, the walls filled with holes, and clouds floating in the air outside.

Thinking of that terrifying cluster of transparent worms, Klein did not immediately trace the symbol provided by the Antigonus family notebook. Instead, he first raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

He ignited a tree outside the church, preparing to use Flame Jump to move far away from this place if anything went wrong.

With preparations made, Klein held his fingers together like a pen and swiftly outlined the vertical eye made of numerous concealed symbols. Compared with the earlier symbol, the crescent moon and the zigzag had switched positions.

As his final stroke fell, pure rays of light surged upward, flowing along the complicated vertical eye’s patterns, gathering and erupting into brilliance.

The entire church abruptly turned illusory. Up, down, left, right, front, and back all inverted.

Klein felt as if he had suddenly arrived at the top of the hanging corpses. Ahead of him stood an illusory double door. Beyond the door was the familiar ancient palace, as well as the gently swaying corpses of the Demoness of Despair, Panatiya, and the others.

One transparent tentacle after another, all covered with strange and mysterious patterns, rushed over in a frenzy, striking the door. Yet no matter what, they could not open it. They could only let a small amount of power seep through, trying to “grab” Klein’s Spirit Body Threads!

Without hesitation, Klein snapped his fingers. While pulling at his own Spirit Body Threads, he jumped into the firelight outside the church.

Immediately afterward, he snapped his fingers several times in succession, flashing repeatedly until he had fled to the farthest edge of the misty town.

Only after the pitch-black church’s illusory state disappeared did Klein stop. His brows slowly furrowed.

“It also leads to that palace with the out-of-control angel…

“The symbol provided by the Antigonus family notebook is just as much of a trap as Zaratul’s!

“However, this symbol seems only capable of activating the ‘Door of Escape,’ not opening it. Otherwise, I might very well not have gotten away just now…

“Does it belong to the ‘entering’ symbol, while Zaratul’s is the ‘exiting’ one?

“What do I do… How do I get out?”

Klein subconsciously looked around at the mist-shrouded, deathly still, and frightening town. He forced himself to calm down and think of any other way to leave.

“Perhaps that wall is not the only place one can leave from, but that possibility is not high. Over so many years, batches of outsiders have entered the misty town. If clues existed outside the church, they should have been found long ago.

“Try another symbol?

“What symbol…”

Klein sank into thought, analyzing the internal connections among the various things to see if he could find inspiration.

“This place is related to the Nation of the Evernight, related to the Antigonus family. And no matter who the monster on the gigantic throne inside the ancient palace is, it must be an out-of-control angel of the Seer pathway…

“Zaratul, who is involved in this matter, is likewise an angel of the Seer pathway. The Antigonus family notebook that provided the symbol is also closely connected to this pathway…

“So the correct ‘door-opening’ symbol should be related to the Seer pathway?

“Sequence 0 of the Seer pathway is most likely called the Fool… This can be preliminarily confirmed. Otherwise, the owner of that Card of Blasphemy would not have been attracted to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range and become one of the Hanged Ones…

“Fool… Fool…”

As he mulled over the word Fool, Klein suddenly thought of himself, thought of the mysterious symbol behind the high-backed chair representing him above the gray fog!

Perhaps I can try using that?

Klein considered for a few seconds and decided to make a bold attempt. In any case, he temporarily had no other method.

He returned to the pointed-roof church. Beneath the “gazes” of one suspended corpse after another, he walked to the wall behind the statue and picked up the obsidian slab that had fallen again.

After the slab was embedded and the door swiftly turned transparent, Klein snapped his fingers to ignite another tree while taking a deep breath. He began outlining the Fool symbol, formed from half an Eye without a Pupil and half of Twisted Lines.

Very soon, he finished the final stroke, his mind growing increasingly taut.

This time, however, the transparent door did not change at all.

It doesn’t work…

Klein’s expression slowly turned bitter. He suspected that he would remain trapped here forever, fighting Beyonders who entered afterward until he starved to death or was eaten.

He shook his head, cast away the emotion of despair, and reorganized his thoughts, searching for other clues.

“This place is related to the Nation of the Evernight and the Antigonus family, both of which were destroyed by the Evernight Church…

“The ‘eraser’ angel suspected to be the Mother of the Sky who sent me in here is active beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral of the Evernight Church…

“It is said that in the God War Ruins, if one does not sleep at night, one disappears because the aura or power of a deity in the Evernight domain remains there…

“So, this is clearly a place connected to the authority of Evernight, and even to the Evernight Goddess—uh, to the Goddess.”

The more Klein thought about it, the guiltier he felt. Originally, he had been analyzing the problem from an objective angle. In the end, before he knew it, he had still changed the way he referred to the Evernight Goddess.

And this also gave him a new train of thought.

“Perhaps I can try the pattern corresponding to the Dark Sacred Emblem, or the symbol used in mysticism to represent the Goddess?”

With the mindset of having nowhere left to go, Klein breathed out, raised his right hand again, and traced a simplified pattern of the Dark Sacred Emblem.

All of a sudden, the scene behind the transparent door rippled like water and changed.

Although he could still see that ancient palace and the wall with holes, this time they were far away, only vaguely visible!

Behind the door was a cliff whose bottom could not be seen, rugged rocks, clouds floating in midair, stars and the red moon not yet obscured by sunlight. It was like part of a mountaintop!

…It really worked…

Klein stared at the scene in shock. Subconsciously, he reached out with both hands and pushed open the door.

Outside the door, the wind was light and cold, whistling softly.

Klein was just about to step out when he fell into thought again and stopped.

Then he tossed a gold coin, performed divination, and received the revelation that there was no danger outside.

Immediately afterward, he acted solemnly and drew a crimson moon over his chest.

After doing all this, Klein stepped out with his right foot and passed through the illusory door.

His vision first darkened, and he saw boundless night and brilliant stars. Then he discovered that he was standing on the top of a certain mountain. Beside him, apart from unmelted snow, rugged rocks, and the morning sunlight, there was nothing.

I’m out… Am I safe?

Without making further observations, Klein directly made Creeping Hunger become transparent and attempted to activate the Travel ability.

If it succeeded, it would mean he had left the misty town and returned to the real world. He could smoothly move away from his current location and avoid danger. If it failed, then he could quickly grasp the situation and guard against possible attacks.

In an instant, Klein’s body faded and vanished from where he stood. Before his eyes, reds became redder, whites became whiter, and countless indescribable shadows emerged.

He had successfully entered the spirit world!