Chapter 204: Not Wanting to Miss It

Chapter 204: Not Wanting to Miss It

Accompanied by the da-da-da sound, a piece of illusory white paper spat out of the radio transceiver. Written on it in Loenese were the words:

“Supreme, great, eternal Master, your insignificant, humble, loyal servant Arrodes has answered your summons!

“Did you know? The child of Doctor Allen Kriss’s family was born the night before last.”

Good thing I contacted the Magic Mirror in time… Klein gave a slight nod.

“I know now.”

Da-da-da. More words were printed on that strip of illusory white paper:

“According to the principle of equivalence, it is now your turn to ask a question.”

Klein had originally intended to ask about Ince Zangwill, 0-08, and that Red Angel evil spirit. But thinking of how he had failed to divine the matter even above the gray fog, he knew Magic Mirror Arrodes certainly would not be able to see it clearly either. At most, Arrodes could provide more detailed information about 0-08. In that case, without the gray fog shielding him, Klein would truly “know” 0-08, and thus be known by it in return, which would not help him hide behind the scenes and direct the drama.

He thought for two seconds and said,

“Is there any way to digest a potion faster?”

“To act better.” Several black words were typed onto the illusory paper with da-da-da sounds.

Seeing the Magic Mirror’s answer, Klein first fell silent, then slowly exhaled.

For him, Ince Zangwill had appeared far too early!

He still needed about two months to digest the Marionettist potion. By then, with all the materials already collected, he could use revenge as the theme, direct a murder of the demigod Ince Zangwill, and merge his Sequence advancement with the fulfillment of his deepest wish. Then he would no longer need to consider a path of retreat. Yet Ince Zangwill would not wait until everything was ready before “appearing on stage,” nor would he act according to Klein’s prepared script.

According to Klein’s earliest plan, he should first gather intelligence and grasp the target’s movements, then wait until late August or early September before making a plan according to the actual situation. Later, he discovered that this was far too unrealistic. Ince Zangwill controlled the terrifying Sealed Artifact 0-08. If he had not been possessed by an evil spirit, his whereabouts would never have been exposed at all. If Klein could not make use of the problem with his current state, then once Ince expelled the evil spirit inside him, it was very likely that Klein would never find him again, always missing him because of all sorts of coincidences.

Moreover, if it truly was that Red Angel evil spirit, Klein was also worried that before he and Leonard could begin their revenge, Ince Zangwill would somehow die already—because of some conspiracy or ridiculous reason, rather than for the evil he had committed.

Based on these considerations, Klein had attempted to digest his potion faster, hoping to complete it within a week or two. But Magic Mirror Arrodes’s answer made him feel discouraged, and he understood that this kind of thing could not be forced.

In a short half month—or perhaps only a few days—where could he create better acting opportunities?

During that earlier silence, Klein had already made up his mind. He would not forcibly bind the two matters together. From now on, under the condition that there was a chance of success, taking revenge on Ince Zangwill would be his guiding priority.

He did not want to miss this opportunity.

Although only about ten months had passed since those events at the Blackthorn Security Company in Tingen—less than a year—Klein felt as if a very, very long time had already gone by. Long enough that he no longer wished to wait.

Glancing at the rather gloomy radio transceiver, Klein thought for a moment. His expression suddenly grew solemn, and in a steady, low voice, he asked,

“I previously looked at myself through my Winner marionette and came to understand why Beyonders of the Fate pathway react that way when facing me.

“Now, I would like to ask you: what do you see on me?”

The sentence was like a thunderclap, echoing inside the room. The radio transceiver abruptly fell still. Only after quite a while did the da-da-da sound resume.

A strip of black illusory paper was spat out. On it were pale white words:

“I, I saw pillar and dominion upon you.

“Does this answer satisfy you?”

Pillar, dominion… What does that mean? Klein wanted to ask further, but he also felt that Arrodes likely would not be able to explain clearly, due to lacking the corresponding knowledge itself.

Seeing that if this went on, the Mother Tree of Desire might come looking for him, he nodded.

“Acceptable.

“That will be all for today. Go back.”

The da-da-da sound of the radio transceiver immediately became light and cheerful. Even the paper it spat out returned to white:

“Very well. Goodbye, great Master~ Your loyal servant Arrodes awaits your service at any time.”

This time, the Magic Mirror seemed to forget to add a simple waving doodle.

It ran off pretty quickly… Klein muttered. He immediately took four steps counterclockwise and entered above the gray fog. There, he conjured The World, Gehrman Sparrow, and informed The Hermit, Cattleya, that the mythical creature blood she needed was ready, asking her to provide the method for briefly restoring a certain amount of power during a weakened state as soon as possible.

Before long, Star Admiral Cattleya arranged a ritual and sacrificed an item to The Fool, asking the great existence to transfer it to The World. She also informed him that the method was to activate the item and borrow a portion of power from history—from one’s past self—for a brief period of time.

This sounds very familiar… It’s quite like the ability of Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore of the Seer pathway… The Fool, Klein, listened in a daze and casually picked up the item Miss Hermit had sacrificed.

It was shaped like the head of a cane. Embedded in it were long, transparent gemstones, and it was carved with complex, mysterious symbols and magical marks that were three-dimensional and difficult to describe.

Klein recognized two of them. One was an incomplete Pupil-less Eye, and the other was an incomplete Line of Distortion.

“Could it really be an item pointing toward Sequence 0, The Fool? But wouldn’t that be a little too complicated… The feeling this cane head gives me is also very familiar. It’s like, like that crystal ball Little Sun once prayed about! Could it… could it also correspond to a crimson star?” Klein looked somewhat strangely beyond the ancient palace and saw that in the boundless gray fog, those illusory stars hung quietly, without any abnormality.

Thinking that similar items were one-time use, like charms, he gave up on the idea of testing it. Instead, he summoned a physical sheet of paper from the junk pile and carefully copied down the cane head’s extraordinarily complicated symbols and magical marks.

…

Loen Kingdom, Backlund, Doctor Allen’s house.

A maid stood watch inside the master bedroom, taking care of the sleeping infant, while downstairs in the hall, a banquet with many guests had reached its midpoint.

Suddenly, in a corner, three figures rapidly sketched themselves into existence. The person in the lead wore a silk top hat and black formalwear—it was Klein Moretti, undisguised.

He immediately took out a charm and recited a word in ancient Hermes in a low voice:

“Crimson!”

Dark red flames flashed and vanished. Amid a faint crackling sound, a gentle, tranquil power rippled outward. The maid was at once unable to resist her sleepiness and slumped beside the bed, sinking into slumber.

Klein had his two marionettes stand in place while he walked to the infant’s crib and cast his gaze inside.

There lay a child wrapped in silver silk. His skin was very fair, and his hands were plump, looking almost sectioned.

This infant was not afraid of “strangers” at all. Sucking on his finger, he widened his eyes and stared straight back at Klein.

“Ahem.” Klein unconsciously smiled, removed his hat, and bowed. “Congratulations on your birth.”

“You should be saying that to my parents!” The infant pulled out his finger and spoke in a clear voice utterly unsuited to his current age.

Klein chuckled and did not tangle with the Snake of Fate over such a meaningless topic. He went straight to the point.

“I have brought the method for temporarily restoring a certain amount of power during your weakened state.

“You can give me one drop of umbilical cord blood now.”

Will Auceptin spread his chubby palm.

“Let me see it first.”

“How did you know the method was an item?” Klein was not particularly surprised, but he was rather curious.

Will Auceptin snorted.

“Fate’s intuition.”

Same as saying nothing… Klein brought the cane head from behind his back to the front and handed it over.

The infant gripped it with difficulty, glanced at it twice, and raised his voice.

“This can only be used once!”

“Yes, only once. Is there a problem?” Klein said after choosing his words. “With your level and abilities, you should be able to replicate the symbols and magical marks on it, prepare the corresponding materials, and hold the correct ritual. Wouldn’t that let you use it many times?”

Will Auceptin abruptly interrupted him.

“Good. I accept.

“Remember, you said all of that yourself!”

…Klein was momentarily dazed, but also seemed to understand something. He vaguely felt that although he had clearly come here to take advantage of the situation, he had somehow ended up being the one taken advantage of by a tiny baby.

“Yes. I said it.” In the end, he drew a breath and nodded sincerely.

A smile appeared on the infant’s round, fleshy face. He stretched out his other hand.

“I already prepared them for you.

“Two drops in total. One is the item for the transaction; the other is your compensation for facilitating the deal.”

There’s compensation too? Klein was pleasantly surprised and hurriedly looked at Will Auceptin’s palm.

There were two silver drops of blood in total. Within each one, it seemed as if countless tiny, transcendent, illusory wheels were turning. They connected into a long band, nearly joined from end to end.

Just by looking at them, Klein felt as if he had lost the ability to think. All his thoughts seemed to be repeating over and over.

He hurriedly shook his head, took out the iron cigarette case that stored Azik’s copper whistle, and placed the two obviously sealed and processed drops of the Snake of Fate’s blood inside.

“Thank you for your generosity,” Klein said with complete sincerity. He then asked, “Can this be used to make charms?”

The baby sucked his finger again.

“Of course.

“The specific symbols to carve are the ones you just saw. Choose any portion of them and combine them as you like. What effect you get will depend entirely on your luck.”

Klein nodded and asked again,

“Then who should I pray to?

“You likely cannot respond to this kind of higher-level ritual for the time being. Praying to Ouroboros would be the same as provocation…

“Should it point to a Sequence 2 angel of the Fate pathway? But I don’t know any honorific names.”

Will Auceptin immediately grinned.

“There’s a more convenient one.”

“Who?” Klein asked with delight.

The baby answered cheerfully,

“The Queen of Calamity and Horror.”