Chapter 214: The Choice of the Times

Chapter 214: The Choice of the Times

Filthy water flowed through the drainage channels. There was no light inside the sewers. If ordinary people walked here, they would have to carry lanterns before they could see what they needed to see.

But to Klein in spirit-body state, none of this was an obstacle. Everything around him had long since entered his “vision.”

Therefore, when the Apostle of Desire discovered him, he also discovered the Apostle of Desire.

Without opening his mouth in speech, without the slightest hesitation, he directly opened his mouth and let out a soundless scream.

This was an attack that directly harmed the soul!

The Apostle of Desire’s body, just about to move, abruptly froze, as if someone had struck him heavily.

Large patches of black fell from his shadow-like surface, as though he were shaking off snow tainted with the deepest desires.

In that instant, the already heavily injured Apostle of Desire nearly fainted on the spot.

Without a substantial body to support him, he was like a candle flame in a violent gale under such an attack, swaying unsteadily, ready to go out at any moment.

His shadow abruptly spread apart, turning into pitch-black liquid that flowed in all directions, making it impossible to know which stream should be chased.

And at that moment, from the darkness behind Klein, a shadow suddenly darted out and fiercely pounced forward!

Those black liquids, no longer truly viscous, were nothing but props the Apostle of Desire used to confuse attention and create an opportunity for his own ambush!

Klein seemed completely unable to react and allowed the shadow to pounce onto him.

Yet the Apostle of Desire abruptly shuddered, as though he had touched the coldest, most chilling thing imaginable.

That shadow rapidly slowed, as if it had already been “frozen” stiff.

He knew very well that wraiths and shadows had innate freezing effects, but he had never expected that the figure wearing a black crown could make even him, likewise a spirit body, suffer from such an effect.

This was complete suppression on the level of status!

Klein had long since anticipated this result. He half turned his body, extended his right hand, and pressed it onto the stiff shadow’s head.

Then the dark-golden Sun Brooch, hidden beneath the black armor, flashed faintly.

The Apostle of Desire sensed danger. He felt the arrival of the end. He wanted to resist, but for a brief moment he was powerless to do so.

A clear, sacred light appeared out of nowhere and fell upon the shadow’s head, enveloping his body.

The surroundings were abruptly lit up. The black shadow struggled desperately, yet continued evaporating. In the blink of an eye, he had become extremely thin, and his spirituality was filled entirely with the radiance of the blazing sun and mad screams of unwillingness.

Klein gave him no chance to breathe, summoning another pure, bright Holy Light.

The feeling of daylight remained for two seconds. The Apostle of Desire collapsed to the ground, losing all signs of life.

His body still maintained a shadowy state, so thin it seemed to have no thickness at all.

This Sequence 5 powerhouse, who had just assassinated a duke, died just like that, without even managing to leave behind last words.

At the same time, Klein saw the other party’s heavily damaged spirit, which was about to dissipate.

It will take a while longer for the Beyonder characteristic to precipitate… Should I imitate Miss Sharron, possess the shadow, and speed up the process… But I don’t know that technique… Klein began considering what he should do next.

Suddenly, he felt the ground tremble slightly.

Following his spiritual intuition, he looked toward the direction he had just passed through.

A tall, heavy suit of silver armor was charging toward him. From its left shoulder diagonally downward, large patches of congealed blood stained the surface.

Sealed Artifact “1-42”… Klein’s heart tightened. Without hesitation, he wrapped up the spirit of the Apostle of Desire and ended the summoning.

The original plan had been exactly that: even if he had not been able to eliminate the Apostle of Desire in time, the moment official Beyonders arrived, he would immediately “return” and leave the rest to them.

The Red Glove wearing the bloodstained silver armor had only just seen a figure in a black crown and same-colored cloak before that figure silently vanished, leaving no trace behind.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully examined where the other party had just been, discovering the lifeless Apostle of Desire.

“Erasing clues, destroying evidence?” he said in a low voice.

Thud, thud, thud. The Red Gloves behind him arrived one after another.

…

After returning above the gray fog, Klein did not rush to channel the spirit. He left the mysterious space directly and entered his body in the real world.

With practiced movements, he cleaned up the candles and other ritual items, swiftly removing the final traces.

After doing this, he again created a substitute, took four steps counterclockwise, and arrived above the gray fog inside the ancient palace.

Here, he could directly communicate with a remnant spirit like a true Spirit Medium, without praying to anyone and without the aid of a ritual. He had already verified this when channeling the Secret Puppet Master Rosago.

Considering that the Apostle of Desire Beria’s spirit had undergone purification and might dissipate at any time, Klein prepared to ask the relatively more important questions first.

As for the potion formulas of the Demon pathway, he intended to consider them last. In any case, even if he obtained them, he did not plan to sell them, lest he raise a few cold-blooded serial killers.

Looking at the Apostle of Desire, who had brown hair and brown eyes, yet empty eyes, Klein spread his spirituality and asked, “What exactly were you plotting?”

The Apostle of Desire’s connection to the outside world had been completely severed by the gray fog. He could only answer muddleheadedly:

“To assassinate Duke Negan.”

Duke Negan… Him again? Who wants him dead so badly? Somewhat astonished, Klein asked, “Did you succeed?”

“I succeeded,” the Apostle of Desire answered calmly, giving no extra details.

In this state, he would only answer what he was asked.

Poor Duke Negan. Even the Lord of Storms could not protect you… Klein drew a crimson moon over his chest.

He did not attempt to understand the details and directly asked, “Who ordered you to do it?”

Was it the same organization that previously hired Hurricane Lieutenant Qilangos? Klein recalled the previous assassination attempt.

The Apostle of Desire spoke without fluctuation in his tone.

“An organization. The most secretive and ancient organization. The vast majority of Beyonders do not know of its existence. Its members are said to be important figures from all fields. Perhaps certain high-level members of the various Churches and the militaries of different countries are also among them.”

That sounds very familiar… Could it be the secret organization Emperor Roselle joined, the ancient organization that controls the second Blasphemy Slate? Klein’s heart stirred, and he asked, “What reward did they promise you that made you willing to abandon an identity you had maintained for more than ten years?”

The Apostle of Desire’s voice changed slightly as he answered,

“A Card of Blasphemy. The Abyss card!”

A Card of Blasphemy? One of the twenty-two Cards of Blasphemy Roselle created—the Abyss card! That most likely corresponds to the Demon pathway. No wonder the Apostle of Desire was willing to pay everything he had accumulated over the previous decade… Within it lay his hope of becoming a High-Sequence powerhouse!

This reward is worth far more than the mission itself!

But Hurricane Lieutenant Qilangos should not have been attracted by such a reward, unless—unless that organization also had another Card of Blasphemy that he needed, or some other item…

If it really is the mysterious organization Roselle joined, then it would be normal for them to have collected several Cards of Blasphemy… Even if they haven’t, they still possess the Blasphemy Slate…

After his initial shock, Klein asked in puzzlement, “Why were they targeting Duke Negan?”

The spirit of the Apostle of Desire had faded considerably, his tone hollow.

“I do not know. I only considered whether to accept the mission.”

“Then have you heard anything?” Klein pressed.

The Apostle of Desire remained in that same state, without any rise or fall in his voice.

“I heard that their purpose is to revive, or rather, awaken the true Creator.

“They interfere with the progress of history, making it conform to their needs, so that at a certain node they may complete their goal.

“If the tide of the times does not flow as they predicted, they will do all they can to reverse that trend.

“Other than that, they merely watch in silence, watch coldly. They may go decades or centuries without a single action or commission…”

A secret organization in the truest sense… This matches Roselle’s description of a group that secretly manipulates the world’s general direction… And it is also connected to the original Creator… Seeing that the Apostle of Desire’s spirit body was about to dissipate, Klein hurriedly asked one more question.

“What is the name of that organization? How do you contact them?”

The Apostle of Desire gazed forward emotionlessly as his figure rapidly collapsed.

Before he vanished completely, he answered the question.

“Their name is:

“The Twilight Hermit Order.”

…

Inside the house with the glass greenhouse.

The slim secretary wearing gold-rimmed glasses and white gloves sat with a dark expression. Deep sorrow was hidden in his face.

“What is your name? What is your Sequence, and which Beyonder pathway do you belong to?” Deacon Ikanser asked solemnly.

The blond secretary slowly answered in a low voice, “Lockhard Siakam. Sequence 5. As for which Beyonder pathway I belong to, you may apply to MI9 to view my file.”

“All right.” Ikanser changed the question. “Did the duke come here at a fixed time every week?”

“No. He was not someone who liked following a schedule. After the assassination attempt by Qilangos, this became even more so. Before today, no one knew he would come here. I only heard about it this morning at Parliament,” Lockhard Siakam answered seriously.

Ikanser thought for a moment.

“If there is a spy among you, who do you think it is? Do you have a suspect?”

Lockhard considered for a few seconds, then shook his head.

Ikanser asked again about the details of the battle at the time, roughly grasping the exact process.

Seeing that Lockhard’s face was pale and that his injuries were not light, he politely rose and first went to investigate the other members of the duke’s guard.

Watching this deacon of the Machinery Hivemind leave, Lockhard inhaled, then walked with heavy steps to Duke Negan’s corpse.

The great noble was no longer naked as before, but what remained on his face was still extreme terror.

After staring deeply at Duke Negan’s corpse for several seconds, Lockhard whispered sorrowfully, “I’m sorry.”

At that moment, with his back to everyone, the corners of his mouth suddenly lifted slightly.

With extraordinary calm, he silently added in his heart:

“This is the choice of the times…”