Chapter 107: “Sowing Discord”

Chapter 107: “Sowing Discord”

For one instant, Klein almost thought Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy would attack outright, because her face had already flushed from anger. Her blue eyes had darkened greatly, resembling the surface of the sea when a storm was about to arrive.

In the end, however, Tracy did not act rashly. She turned her head to look at Caterina Pelle, waiting for this Unaging Demoness to make the decision.

She knew very clearly that although Sequence 5 and Sequence 4 differed by only one rank, their essence was fundamentally different. The gap could no longer be bridged by tactics or performance. One belonged to extraordinary yet still normal humans, while the other had stepped into the domain of demigods. They were divine creatures—mythical creatures.

Moreover, the two people before her were clearly not merely Sequence 4. Standing before them, Tracy felt as though she herself had become a low-Sequence Beyonder.

The Unaging Demoness Caterina Pelle showed no anger. Looking at Klein, who wore Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos’s face, her eyes shimmered as she laughed softly.

“What an interesting young man. If Mr. Death Consul were not here, perhaps I would hide the vicissitudes within my heart, have a chance encounter with you, and begin a pure romance.”

No, you do not want that… That sounds terrifying… Klein did not dare look straight at her. He could only keep his gaze fixed on the Maiden of Sickness, Tracy.

Seeing that Azik Eggers showed no response, Caterina withdrew her gaze and spoke to Tracy in that beautiful, singing voice.

“Endure the torment of pain. Perhaps that will be a good thing for you.”

Then, holy and dignified, she looked toward Azik.

“I remember that batch of documents. They recorded the Balam royal family’s various attempts to resurrect Death. Unfortunately, they all seemed to fail. By the end, they appeared to be considering the creation of an artificial Death.

“Are you still interested?”

Artificial Death? How does one artificially create Death? Aside from the Uniqueness and Beyonder characteristics, how could there be any other method? It is not as if growing cabbages… Was the former Balam Empire mad? Is the current Numinous Episcopate mad too? Klein inwardly muttered a few lines, but he did not interrupt the conversation between the two half-god, half-human existences.

After two seconds of thought, Azik asked again, “What price must I pay?”

Caterina smiled with a youthfulness unsuited to her age.

“No, no price.

“After thinking it over carefully, helping you slowly recover your memories, regain the past, and once again become that Death Consul should be a rather interesting matter. It can bring more changes and more amusement to this world.”

That sounds like something a rebellious girl would say… Does the “unaging” of an Unaging Demoness refer not only to the body, but also to the mind? Klein found himself somewhat unable to grasp her way of thinking.

Perhaps one would need to be Sequence 6, Sequence 5, or even Sequence 4 of the Spectator pathway to understand it? he guessed subconsciously.

Azik nodded and extended his right hand outward. The papers and fountain pen in the room flew over on their own, as though invisible spirits were serving him.

He swiftly wrote something, then tossed the paper over.

“You may summon my messenger.”

So there is only one copper whistle… The fact that it has remained effective for more than a thousand years means that copper whistle truly is not simple… Klein instinctively wanted to reach out and touch Azik’s copper whistle in his pocket, but he forcibly held back.

The Unaging Demoness Caterina caught the paper, glanced at it, and smiled with pursed lips.

“I thought you would directly tell me where the underworld is.”

She lifted her head. Her blue eyes carried an indescribable gentleness as she said with a faint smile, “I still remember how powerful and cold Mr. Death Consul was back then. It left me with an extremely deep impression.

“I am very curious why your heart has become so soft now.”

Azik brought his fist to his mouth and shook his head with a bitter smile.

“I am undying, not unaging. Once a person grows old, he inevitably becomes gentler.”

“No.” Caterina’s gaze deepened. Without concealing her meaning, she said, “I look forward to the day you completely recover your memories. I want to see how you will evaluate the current version of yourself then.”

At this point, the corner of her mouth curled slightly. She blinked at Klein.

“Perhaps we are releasing an existence more evil and more terrifying than a devil.”

…This is sowing discord, is it not… Klein murmured inwardly. Yet he could not help remembering the Pale Disaster recorded in history books and in the scriptures of the various Churches. It had caused the deaths of vast numbers of living beings and turned the Northern Continent into a living hell. The leaders of that disaster were Death and the Primordial Demoness, the followers of Death from the Southern Continent and the Demoness Sect. And within that disaster, Mr. Azik, known as the Death Consul, must certainly have played a very important role…

Azik fell silent for several seconds. Then he grabbed Klein by the shoulder, brought him into the spirit world, and swiftly traveled away. Inside the Black Death’s captain’s cabin, only the Unaging Demoness Caterina Pelle and Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy remained.

The latter stared at the place where the two had vanished. After taking quite some time to calm herself, she gritted her teeth and said, “I will not forget this!”

Caterina regained her holy bearing and smiled faintly.

“Feel pain. The more pain you feel, the more you can sense your own weakness. Only when pain reaches its limit will the desire to change yourself become strong enough to help you endure the potion, obtain divinity within the ritual, and become a demigod…”

Hearing that, Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy suddenly thought of something. Her expression froze, and she blurted out, “Elaine was able to escape the Black Death because…”

Caterina’s smile was light and shallow.

“You are my youngest child, yet you are also the one most likely to become a demigod. As your mother, of course I had to help you.”

The muscles on Tracy’s face twitched, twisting as she said, “Yes. I have a mother like you, and I also have a mom…

“Why did you not tell me the truth back then? You clearly possessed several pathways’ low- and mid-Sequence formulas!”

Caterina turned away. Her white robe swayed lightly, and her tone grew distant and drifting.

“We must all draw closer to the Primordial.

“We are all Her children.”

As she spoke, surging yet silent black flames rose upon the several-dozen-meter-long sailing ship. They covered every corner, burning soundlessly, yet harmed none of the pirates aboard the Black Death. It was almost like sweeping away accumulated dust.

…

Layered blocks of color retreated rapidly, and indescribable transparent figures moved farther away. Klein’s spirituality suddenly stirred, making him sense that all the items he had left behind on the Black Death had disappeared.

As expected of an Unaging Demoness… Klein sighed and was about to speak, but the sensation of plummeting appeared again. Together with Azik, he left the spirit world.

They stood in a valley. The land unfolded along a river, with fertile fields, Loen-style manors, and a small town.

Klein looked around and realized that the place where they currently stood was a dark, abandoned cemetery.

“Mr. Azik…” he called in confusion.

Azik walked to a grave where the stone stele had snapped and weeds had grown over everything. In a low voice, he said, “After seeing Caterina Pelle, I remembered more things.

“I once told you that in one of my dreams, during one of my lives, I had a daughter. She had smooth black hair and liked sitting on the swing I built with my own hands, asking me for candy.

“While traveling through the spirit world just now, I suddenly sensed a call from my bloodline.”

Affected by the other man’s emotions, Klein asked quietly, “This is her…”

Azik nodded and crouched down, gently stroking the half-broken tombstone. His bronze side profile showed tenderness, sorrow, and bewilderment.

“This is her grave.

“If I remember correctly, she has been dead for nine hundred and twenty-six years…”

Nine hundred and twenty-six years… Klein originally wanted to say something, but that vast span of time cut his words off.

If not for the Churches mandating that the dead be buried in cemeteries, and if not for the cemeteries being at least somewhat watched over, and if not for the Fifth Epoch having suffered no all-encompassing war, this grave and tombstone would have disappeared long ago.

A human life lasted only several dozen years. Yet this was nine hundred and twenty-six years.

The abandoned cemetery remained quiet for a long time. At last, Azik stood again and took Klein by the shoulder.

“I will send you back first.”

After several minutes of traveling through the spirit world, Klein once again saw white bedsheets and a yellowish-brown wooden floor.

Azik pressed down on his top hat and said gravely, “I will continue my journey. You should continue your adventure.”

Klein nodded and was about to speak, but he saw Mr. Azik curl the corners of his mouth into a faint smile.

“Were you worried just now that, after fully recovering my memories, I might become someone evil like a Demoness?”

Without waiting for Klein to answer, Azik sighed softly.

“I am worried as well.

“However, I want even more to find myself again.”

After speaking, ripples like water spread through the empty air around him, and his figure vanished from the room.

Klein stood where he was for a long time, saying nothing.

Then he shook his head and laughed soundlessly, almost as if comforting himself.

“Perhaps by then I will already be an angel-level powerhouse and can establish a hospital for treating antisocial personality disorder, with Miss Justice serving as the attending physician…”

Collecting his thoughts, Klein sat down and habitually began reviewing and examining this operation:

“I originally thought I could shepherd a Witch of Pain, obtain the Death documents, and gather further clues regarding the population disappearance cases. Who would have thought both the development and the result would be outside my expectations? I only achieved the most basic objective.

“Sigh. I could not possibly urge Mr. Azik to attack. After all, he has not fully recovered, and the other side is an Unaging Demoness… Becoming stronger myself is still more important. Asking others for help is inferior to relying on oneself. Heh, thinking carefully, many times I truly am relying on myself…

“The population disappearance case can be approached from the buyer’s side: that Mad Captain, Connors Victor.”

Klein adjusted his sitting posture and nodded to himself, muttering inwardly, “The greatest gain this time was preliminarily establishing the Faceless acting principle: both immersed and detached. I overcame a psychological barrier and became alert to the problem of becoming too absorbed in a role.

“In that case, a potion that might have required one or two years to digest through simple, ordinary, authentic acting may perhaps be fully absorbed in three or four months, or half a year…”

After finishing his reflection, Klein prepared to sleep. Once morning came, he would bring the wireless telegraph receiver down from above the gray fog and contact the magic mirror Arrodes.

Of course, the prerequisite was first performing a divination above the gray fog to determine the degree of danger.