Chapter 188: Calderón’s Origins

Chapter 188: Calderón’s Origins

Bayam, in the slums.

The Hanged Man Alger, masked and with his hood pulled low, once again met Admiral of Stars Cattleya.

The two sat opposite each other across a table. For a long while, neither spoke.

At last, Admiral of Stars Cattleya opened her mouth.

“Have you heard that intelligence?”

Alger did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Gehrman Sparrow’s?”

Cattleya was silent for several seconds before nodding.

“He turned Admiral of Hell into his marionette.”

Whether it was Blood Admiral before, or Admiral of Hell now, they were both pirates with bounties higher than hers. No matter how confident she was, she did not believe these two outstanding Sequence 5s would be obviously weaker than herself!

“You learned earlier than I expected.” Alger tactfully confirmed that the Hermit’s information was correct.

As part of the Church of Storms’ control over the seas, he could obtain intelligence directly through official channels.

The corner of Cattleya’s mouth curved slightly.

“If the Future were currently sailing at sea, I might have had to wait days, even weeks, before learning it. But I have been in Bayam recently.”

She did not reveal her source.

After pausing, Admiral of Stars frankly asked, “What else do you know about this matter?”

The Hanged Man Alger shook his head.

“I was just about to understand the specific situation when I saw your contact sign and rushed over to meet you.”

Cattleya nodded slightly.

“Gehrman Sparrow and Admiral of Hell did not fight. Ludwell himself gave up resistance because the man who boarded the Black Tulip together with Gehrman Sparrow was addressed by him as Death Consul.”

Death Consul…

Alger’s pupils abruptly widened, and he felt an indescribable pressure.

Such a title was not something just any demigod could bear!

Furthermore, it had not been the other party’s self-proclamation. Admiral of Hell Ludwell had taken the initiative to honor him that way and had given up resistance for that reason, preferring to lose his own life!

Seeing that the Hanged Man did not speak, Cattleya continued on her own.

“In the Death pathway, Death Consul is the name of Sequence 2. Of course, emperors of the successive Balam Empires would also be given this title.”

As expected, an angel—an angel of Death’s domain…

Alger automatically ignored the latter possibility. After all, according to the acting method, before the Balam Empire’s fall, the throne of emperor must have been held by a Sequence 2 angel. And to make Admiral of Hell become Gehrman Sparrow’s marionette without the slightest resistance was absolutely not something a mere title could accomplish.

At that moment, Alger suddenly thought of something, something that had left an extremely deep impression on him.

After Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos succeeded in escaping, he had stiffened beside the artificial lake. His face had rapidly rotted. His flesh had fallen away piece by piece, and even his eyeballs had left his head.

There was no doubt that this had originated from damage inflicted by a powerful force in Death’s domain, and Alger later confirmed that this had been done by Mr. Fool’s Blessed.

To make a Pirate Admiral, one who carried a powerful sealed artifact, die so quickly and without the slightest ability to resist, the level and status of the one who acted could be imagined!

At the time, Archbishop “God’s Singer” Ace Snake of the Church of Storms had immediately judged that this was the work of a high-Sequence powerhouse of the Death pathway, and not the one he knew.

Alger had no doubts about that and had preliminarily believed that it had been done by a Sequence 4 or Sequence 3 demigod—that is, a saint. He had been shocked and terrified that among Mr. Fool’s subordinates there was already a high-Sequence Blessed.

Now, he quietly yet with great difficulty swallowed, realizing that back then, he had still underestimated Mr. Fool and that Blessed.

The other party was not a saint, but an angel walking the earth—an existence on the same level as the triple-crowned leaders of the orthodox Churches!

—In religious contexts, “triple-crowned” referred to the pope, pontiff, or patriarch of the major Churches.

A Death Consul as a Blessed… Although Mr. Fool Himself is still in the process of reviving, the forces He can mobilize are not few at all…

Alger’s thoughts surged, and his eyes flickered. For a brief moment, he did not know what he should say.

Admiral of Stars Cattleya noticed his silence and proactively said, “You seem to have remembered something.”

After considering for two seconds, Alger answered vaguely, “As far as I know, among Mr. Fool’s Blessed, there is a Death Angel.”

That lines up…

Cattleya spoke as though to herself: “Why was the mythical creature blood promised by the World not from this Death Angel? Because the other one is closer and easier to obtain?”

“Perhaps.” Although Alger felt Admiral of Stars’s speculation was not a problem, he still habitually gave no definite answer.

Cattleya did not continue this topic. Instead, she said, “Tonight, between 7:30 and 8, we take action.

“If you can participate, come with me.”

Have they finally finished investigating the Artisan’s situation?

Alger secretly breathed out in relief. Somewhat puzzled, he asked, “Why between 7:30 and 8 in the evening?”

This was not the most suitable period for covert operations. Once anything went wrong, official Beyonders would be able to notice and quickly arrive.

Cattleya pushed up the heavy glasses on her nose. Her smile was somewhat complicated as she answered, “Because that is their dinner time.

“And tonight, their dinner is mushrooms.”

What connection does that have…

The experienced Alger discovered that he actually did not understand the hidden meaning in Admiral of Stars’s words.

…

East Balam, inside a dense, humid jungle.

Klein deliberately deviated from the main road and entered an uninhabited area, preparing to have marionette Ludwell proactively remove the silver-white mask on his face.

This was not only because he was curious; there were also practical factors. That silver mask was far too conspicuous. If it was not handled, no matter how Klein disguised Admiral of Hell, he could not prevent others from noticing him.

The greatest difficulty for a Marionettist should be the identity of one’s marionettes… The more powerful a marionette is, the more famous they must have been when alive. Carrying one around will inevitably risk exposure… If I had handled the pirates aboard the Black Tulip back then, there would have been ways to avoid it to a certain degree. For example, let Ludwell continue serving as captain while I disguise myself as his subordinate. For a Faceless, that would be very easy…

As Klein sighed inwardly, he continued walking through the jungle.

There were many mosquitoes and insects around him, yet not a single one came to bother him. They all circled around Admiral of Hell Ludwell, wanting to suck his blood but unable to obtain anything.

—Klein had assigned the mosquito-attracting Green Flower ring to his new marionette because its effect was completely covered by the Blood Flower ring. There was little meaning in Winner Enzo wearing both at the same time. In addition, Klein had confirmed that Ludwell’s situation was special, and he was not especially afraid of mosquito bites.

After walking for a while longer, Klein tossed a coin seemingly at random and stopped.

After considering for a few seconds, he decided to finish another matter first before removing his new marionette’s mask, because during that process, he could confirm exactly how dangerous what was hidden beneath the mask might be.

Taking out the corresponding items, Klein quickly arranged a ritual and transferred the radio transceiver from above the gray fog to the real world.

He wanted to contact the Magic Mirror Arrodes!

Before leaving Gurain, he had already paid 350 pounds to obtain the spirit-world coordinates of Calderón City from Miss Magician and had received a warning that it was extremely dangerous. Therefore, he planned to obtain more intelligence from two sources in order to prepare for the “hunting operation.”

Those two sources were, first, asking the Magic Mirror, and second, asking the Red Light. With Mr. Azik about to sleep for a very long time, Klein had decided to stop hesitating and proactively expand his “connections.” At the very least, he could not hang himself on the single tree that was the Evernight Goddess. He had to find some strength to balance things out, and the relatively friendly seven lights of the spirit world were currently the best targets!

With the appearance of the radio transceiver, the surrounding jungle suddenly became cold and dark, as though the spirit world had merged with reality here.

In barely more than ten seconds, tapping sounds rang out. An illusory white sheet of paper timidly poked out:

“Great, supreme, transcendent master, your loyal, humble, lowly servant Arrodes has come in response to your summons.

“There is temporarily no danger here. What do you think?”

Seeing that title so full of flattery, Klein silently relaxed. He finally confirmed that the one connected was the Magic Mirror Arrodes.

Earlier, he had been very afraid that the white paper might display something like “I want to give birth to your child.”

Of course, he had performed divination above the gray fog in advance regarding the danger level of contacting the Magic Mirror Arrodes and had received the answer that there was no problem. However, with the prior example of the Mother Tree of Desire successfully interfering with his divination, and the later example of his mistaken interpretation of the revelation concerning his infiltration behind Chanis Gate beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral, he truly did not dare relax too much.

“Indeed.” Klein nodded reservedly, then asked, “What do you know about the spirit-world city of Calderón?”

Tap, tap, tap. A section of illusory white paper hesitantly left the radio transceiver.

“I cannot see that city very clearly and do not know the specific situation inside. I can only confirm that saints have once fallen there, and that certain angels, Travelers, and spirit-world creatures have also entered to explore it and left alive with relative smoothness, but without any great harvest.

“Also, I know the origins of that city.”

Without waiting for Klein to ask further, amid tapping sounds, the illusory white paper spat out more:

“Its former name was the City of the Dead. It was the earthly divine kingdom of an ancient god, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace.

“Ever since this ancient god opened the Underworld, Her divine kingdom shifted there. The City of the Dead gradually became the holy land of Her descendants and believers.

“Before the ancient god Gregrace was grievously injured and shattered by the ancient Sun God, She tore this city from the earth and threw it into the depths of the spirit world. None of the residents there ever came out again. The name Calderón comes from the first Abraham family angel who entered. In the language of the dead, it means ‘unknown soul.’”