Chapter 180: Worm of Time

Chapter 180: Worm of Time

After that brief moment of confusion, Audrey quickly understood what The Sun meant.

He had said that Mr. Fool had dispatched His angel to purify Amon’s avatar!

An angel!

Mr. Fool had sent an angel!

Mr. Fool really did have angels as His attendants!

Every angel possessed at least Sequence 2 strength…

Although this was only natural, and although I expected it long ago, it still makes me excited, because it has finally been confirmed!

And only a deity can command angels!

Audrey’s eyes shone with excitement as she could not help imagining what Mr. Fool’s angel might look like.

I wonder when I’ll have the fortune to meet one… Her gaze toward the seat of honor at the long bronze table was filled with worship and fervor.

At the same time, her spirituality told her that the perpetually gloomy Mr. World had also straightened up in shock. This somehow made her feel a little proud.

The Magician, Fors, recalled what she had encountered before. She had merely asked Mr. Fool to help interfere with divination, yet in the end she had seen a twelve-winged archangel descend and envelop her spirit body with its wings.

It really was an angel… An archangel with pitch-black wings, twelve pairs of feathered wings… And this truly is one of Mr. Fool’s usual operations. He casually dispatches an angel to help a gathering member escape disaster… Fors suddenly did not dare raise her head and look at the gentleman sitting leisurely at the seat of honor at the long bronze table.

Although she was still only Sequence 9, and although she had never received a complete education in mysticism, she had moved through different Beyonder circles for three years. Certain things would reach her ears even if she did not deliberately inquire.

Among them was one very important line:

“Do not look directly at God.”

In the past, this sentence had not left much of an impression on Fors. Yet at this very moment, she abruptly felt that it was truth—a truth summarized from countless lessons of blood and tears.

An angel? There truly are angels beside Mr. Fool! The Hanged Man was gripped by fear, yet he was also inexplicably excited, so much so that his body trembled slightly.

Previously, Mr. Fool’s revelation of His honorific name, His responses to prayers, and His answers to rituals had all indirectly shown that He was equivalent to a deity. But those were still somewhat lacking in direct evidence. Now, however, an angel had appeared! The angel’s very existence explained many things. Most importantly, an angel represented the most direct deterrence! Mr. Fool was not without influence over the real world… Even without relying on His Blessed, He could still allow His majesty to radiate into certain regions… In an instant, Alger thought of many things. He broke out in a cold sweat over his earlier shallowness, yet also felt that the future was filled with light.

Immediately afterward, he began considering the details in The Sun’s words.

Mr. Fool did not directly let the angel descend. Instead, He first taught The Sun a ritual, and only through that ritual did He dispatch the angel to purify Amon’s avatar. That means there were quite a few extra steps involved…

Does this indicate that Mr. Fool must break through many obstacles if He wants to influence the real world? This matches my earlier judgment that He is in a sealed and restricted state… But perhaps there is something special about the Land Forsaken by the Gods?

Did Mr. Fool never show such signs before because He has become slightly less trapped? Is He gradually breaking free?

Klein, seated in the position of The Fool, slowly swept his gaze around and clearly sensed Miss Justice’s reverence and fervor, as well as Mr. Hanged Man’s fear and excitement.

Haven’t they always treated me as a deity before? Why would they react like this when hearing about an angel? It seems indirect proof can never match the deterrence of a direct display… In the future, if a new member doubts me, I’ll prepare ahead of time, have The World jump out and make a wild declaration, then casually point and kill him to make an example of him… After the matter settles, I’ll just pinch out another World… Klein’s thoughts gradually began to wander.

The Sun, Derrick, could not quite understand Mr. Hanged Man, Miss Justice, and the others’ reactions. In his view, wasn’t it perfectly normal for a deity, for a great existence, to have angels serving Him?

After waiting for a few seconds, he said, “After Amon’s avatar was purified, I coughed out a little worm identical to the one from the dungeon. Do you know what it is?”

With the help of The Fool, Klein, The Sun smoothly materialized a translucent little worm marked with twelve transparent rings.

Justice Audrey and The Magician, Fors, looked over curiously and shook their heads at the same time, indicating that they had never seen nor heard of such a worm.

Twelve rings… In The Book of Secrets, similar symbolic signs are all connected to time… The Amon family are descendants of the ancient Sun God, and in ancient times, people believed that the sun and time were connected… That barely counts as an explanation, with two sides corroborating it… But why is the current Eternal Blazing Sun only the Undying Light, the Embodiment of Order, the God of Contracts, and Guardian of Commerce, no longer involving the domain of time… To maintain the image of The Fool, Klein did not rush to answer.

He wore a faint smile and looked gentle.

The Hanged Man, Alger, pondered for a while before saying, “It should be the medium Amon uses to create avatars.

“In myths and legends, there is a type of worm similar in appearance, also with twelve transparent rings. It is called the Worm of Time. However, no one has ever seen a Worm of Time, and many suspect that it is actually the name of a Sequence potion.”

Worm of Time… That’s very close to my guess… Although this is only a myth circulated among mid-ranking and higher Beyonders within certain Churches, the information itself still has considerable value. Mr. Hanged Man simply shared it so everyone could hear it because he has already received compensation, because he has learned many important circumstances from Little Sun? Klein listened with both emotion and amusement.

“Worm of Time… The medium Amon uses to create avatars…” The Sun, Derrick, murmured, as though many of his doubts had been resolved.

Curious, he asked, “What can it be used for? I mean, after it has died.”

“I don’t know.” Under The Sun’s trusting and respectful gaze, The Hanged Man, Alger, suddenly felt somewhat ashamed.

At that moment, The Fool, seated at the seat of honor at the long bronze table, spoke in an even voice.

“The main ingredient for certain rituals.”

This was Klein’s deduction based on the contents of The Book of Secrets.

However, he was not worried in the slightest that he might be wrong, because this was almost impossible to disprove.

If no ritual requiring the Worm of Time can be found, that merely means you have not seen enough! Klein added leisurely in his heart.

Certain rituals… Justice Audrey and the others’ thoughts instantly ran wild.

“Thank you, great Mr. Fool.” The Sun, Derrick, half rose and bowed. Then he guided the topic toward the matter that concerned the very existence of the City of Silver. “The exploration team returned. I mean the team led by Elder Lovia the Shepherd. They completed their exploration of the half-destroyed temple of the Fallen Creator and returned to the City of Silver. I discovered that several team members I know have experienced certain changes in personality.”

“They have been corrupted by the True Creator,” The Hanged Man, Alger, stated without the slightest hesitation, his tone firm.

“True Creator?” Justice Audrey could not help glancing toward the seat of honor at the long bronze table.

She remembered very clearly that the descent of the True Creator had once been ruined by Mr. Fool’s Blessed. She had even previously guessed that the leader of their Tarot Club intended to become the “bane of evil gods.”

“Really?” Derrick asked, as though unwilling to believe it.

The Hanged Man said without any fluctuation in his voice, “Describe the changes in detail.”

“They still feel like the same people, but they have become very different from before. Those who were optimistic have become low-spirited, and those who smiled brilliantly now only have polite smiles left…” The Sun, Derrick, described every abnormality he had discovered, including the sudden improvement in Elder Lovia the Shepherd’s condition.

The Hanged Man, Alger, weighed his words and said, “The situation may be even more serious than you imagine. Being corrupted is the best possibility.

“If they already believe from the bottom of their hearts in the True—uh, the Fallen Creator—then that will be truly troublesome. They can no longer be saved.

“No matter what, their personalities, thoughts, and perspectives will all be distorted, turning them into hidden lunatics. You can start from this angle and allow the other members of the Six-Member Council to discover that something is wrong.”

“I already reported it, but the Chief didn’t seem to believe me very much,” Derrick said in a low voice, feeling rather aggrieved.

The Magician, Fors, could not help sighing.

“That’s because your Chief suspects that you have been possessed by Amon and are now attempting to plot something harmful to the City of Silver.”

“Then what should I do? Even if I tell them that the Fallen Creator exists, they won’t believe me?” The Sun, Derrick, asked anxiously.

The Hanged Man pondered for two seconds.

“In truth, your Chief should already be paying attention to the Shepherd and the members of that exploration team. For your City of Silver to have continued until now, its higher-ups must at least have the most basic vigilance. They will not let go of any possible threat. The only issue is that they certainly are not paying enough attention to it, and they may even care less about it than they do about you and Amon.”

Without waiting for The Sun to speak, he continued after careful consideration, “Perhaps you can use this matter to wash away suspicion from yourself… Find an opportunity to make a member of the exploration team reveal the most thorough abnormality, then enter into conflict with him. This way, the other members of the Six-Member Council will be able to discover that something is wrong and increase the importance they place on it.

“At the same time, hand over the item suspected to be a Worm of Time. Say that during the conflict, you suddenly became dazed and had no idea what had happened. You only vaguely heard someone shouting, ‘True Creator!’ By the time you regained clarity, you had already coughed out that worm.

“Since this involves an evil god, many methods and abilities will not dare be used. Your Chief will logically suspect that Amon’s avatar clashed with the mental corruption left behind by the True Creator and ultimately perished, turning into a dead worm. The monitoring placed on you will definitely be reduced by quite a bit. Behave yourself for a period afterward, and the suspicion on you will disappear entirely.”

Why does Mr. Hanged Man seem so practiced at this sort of thing… Justice Audrey thought, her mouth slightly open.

The Sun, Derrick, listened with shining eyes. He felt that Mr. Hanged Man truly was reliable, having come up with such a good method!

“Then how should I make that exploration team member reveal his most thorough and abnormal state?” he hurriedly asked.

The Hanged Man, Alger, fell silent at once. Only after several seconds did he speak.

“I don’t know.”

He immediately added, “If only there were an item related to the True Creator…”

With a swish, Justice Audrey looked toward Mr. Fool at the seat of honor at the long bronze table.