Chapter 101: Changes

Chapter 101: Changes

It isn’t the Dark Angel Sasrir… The projection of the marionette Enuni has been eroded by the power gushing from the Giant King’s residence. It has turned into a monster I can’t understand at my present level, and it looks like it can exist for a long time… Perhaps there’s a trace of Sasrir’s will within it… Klein covered the left side of his face with his left hand, allowing one Spirit Worm after another to crawl in and out between his fingers.

What he found most incomprehensible was something else entirely: he had clearly opened the palace where the Dark Angel slept, yet the gods and Kings of Angels who had been watching this place showed no reaction at all.

According to Klein’s expectations, once that surging “sea” had burst out, whether it was the True Creator, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Blasphemer Amon, or Amon’s elder brother who had always remained hidden behind the curtain, they should have immediately descended or appeared. They should have confirmed the current state of the Dark Angel Sasrir or fought to seize whatever corresponding item was there. Who would have thought that the entire Giant King’s Court would remain silent, with not a single external force exerting influence?

Are They still waiting for me to enter the Giant King’s residence and make contact with that vice-ruler of the heavenly kingdom? Mm, the True Creator’s wording was to “meet Sasrir”… The corroded portions of my spirit body and flesh haven’t returned to normal, which means the True Creator’s goal has yet to be fulfilled… Haha… As Klein’s thoughts raced, he realized that he was having trouble controlling his emotions. Whether he felt rage, grief, worry, or gloom, he could not stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward, nor could he stop himself from laughing.

The only thing he could be grateful for was that this had not affected the working of his mind. He could still think and use all kinds of Beyonder powers. It was only that, at times, his madness would suddenly intensify, making him reckless and aggressive.

I wonder if a demigod of the Mind domain could treat this condition. In any case, the Sealed Artifacts or Beyonder characteristics I can summon won’t be able to. This is a manifestation of my spirit losing its wholeness. Unless I resolve the shadow that was split off from me, it probably can’t be completely cured. There might be methods to let me recover temporarily, though, such as creating a virtual personality to make up for the missing part… Unfortunately, I can’t enter Sefirah Castle… Klein’s thoughts surged in disorder, and the scene that had appeared in his mind gradually vanished.

He then picked up the half top hat that had fallen to the ground and placed it back on his head. Through the enormous glass window polished from orange gemstone, he began observing the changes that had taken place throughout the Giant King’s Court.

Unlike before, there was now an illusory sun high in the sky, allowing the magnificent complex that had been frozen in twilight to bask in the light of noon.

The giant golems standing guard at one palace after another all seemed to be cloaked in mantles woven from shadow.

Enuni, whose back bore illusory black wings, and the pure shadow that had originally belonged to Klein, had leaped over the railing and were gliding toward this side.

Klein’s gaze sharpened. Almost by instinct, he took a few steps forward, intending to fight the enemy.

But he quickly came back to himself. After examining his current state, he swiftly retreated to the ancient “elevator,” moved the mechanism, and descended into the Barren Tunnel.

Then Klein “blinked” to the vicinity of the Forest of Decay and fled all the way to the edge of the Giant King’s Court.

Intuition told him that, in his present condition, he could not defeat the mutated Enuni together with the separated shadow.

Of course, if it were only the latter, he was still rather confident.

After reaching the edge where the brilliant sunlight shone, Klein looked back and discovered that Enuni, with his layered wings, and Klein’s own shadow had not pursued him. It seemed there was a limit to their range of activity.

They can’t leave the Giant King’s residence—or rather, they can’t stray too far from the Dark Angel Sasrir? Just as this thought flashed through Klein’s mind, he saw the illusory “sun” in the sky suddenly jump from the center to the west. The colors of twilight once again shrouded this divine kingdom.

Klein watched all this vigilantly and did not rush to leave the Giant King’s Court.

Before long, the illusory “sun” sank into the palace where the Dark Angel Sasrir slept, and darkness became the ruler of the Giant King’s Court.

This darkness was different from ordinary night. There was no moon, no starlight. Only faint outlines of shadows could be seen within it.

Standing in such darkness, Klein constantly felt as if someone were pressed against his back. Yet he clearly recognized it as an illusion and did not blindly turn around.

A few minutes later, the illusory “sun” rose, and the radiance of dawn drove away the darkness.

The power flowing out from where the Dark Angel sleeps has changed the Giant King’s Court, this divine kingdom of an ancient god… This is nearly the power of a true god. At the very least, it must involve control over a Uniqueness. But which pathway’s Uniqueness could it be?

The changes produced involve Sun, Darkness, Degeneration, and Mutation. That’s rather contradictory. It doesn’t seem like something derived from a single Uniqueness… Besides, the Sun pathway’s Uniqueness is definitely with the Eternal Blazing Sun… The darkness brought by Shadow and Degeneration undoubtedly belongs to the True Creator… When I opened the door, what I saw was an illusory, pitch-black, viscous sea… Is it connected to the Chaos Sea? Klein shook his head, continued observing, and waited for the City of Silver’s exploration team to arrive and rendezvous.

…

At the edge of Backlund’s urban district.

The moment Audrey entered the area, she discovered that the fog had become exceptionally dense. It had reached the point where she could not see a target five meters away.

Howling winds tore through the mist, occasionally granting a clear field of vision, only for surging, thick white fog to fill the gap again almost instantly.

Audrey’s eyes abruptly turned golden, allowing her to see farther.

As she walked with caution, the fog before her suddenly thinned considerably.

At the same time, her Beyonder powers showed signs of weakening.

Mysticism has been diminished… Audrey’s mind instantly flashed with certain concepts and pieces of information Mr. World had once mentioned.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One Backlund cannon after another roared madly up ahead, sending shells that trailed crimson, dark blue, silver-white, or deep black light screaming toward the enemy position.

But in the next second, those shells struck an invisible barrier and exploded one after another in midair, shaking that transparent “wall.”

At that moment, a somewhat indistinct, enormous figure appeared within the distant fog. “He” had an overall humanoid form, yet stood more than ten meters tall. Two arms extended from the ribs and another two from the waist, and “He” exuded a dense darkness.

For some reason, the instant that figure, as if from myth and legend, appeared, the Feysac and Intis allied positions fell into sudden turmoil.

Every soldier and every officer there seemed to have returned to childhood, walking alone down a dark road with no one around them. Everything was silent, and unease welled up from the depths of their hearts.

Fear of the unknown, and fear born from imagination, caused their emotions to collapse in an instant. One after another, they turned, ready to flee.

At that very moment, brilliant sunlight spilled down upon them, allowing them to see light and granting them courage.

Even so, a small number of soldiers still lost control. They cried out for “Mother,” or called the name of some woman, trying to escape the battlefield.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Amid dense gunfire, those soldiers fell. One blood-red flower after another blossomed across their bodies.

They dropped to the ground, twitched slightly, and then went still. No one cared what their names were, and no one knew what pasts they had carried.

Immediately afterward, under the commander’s orders, the invisible barrier enveloping the Intis and Feysac allied forces opened. Countless crimson lances of flame leaped out densely, blotting out the sky as they hurled toward the Loen positions.

Yet just as those fiery javelins approached their targets, they suddenly fell into chaos, scattering in all directions and plunging into the ground, where they created one charred hole after another.

This was the first time Audrey had seen such large-scale, coordinated use of Beyonder powers. For a moment, she was shaken by it. She couldn’t help thinking of the people she knew, and of the roles they played in this battle.

Glaint and other young nobles had joined the military, serving as officers at different levels. They were scattered across different parts of the battlefield and might be killed at any moment.

The Magician had taken Judgment’s family away from Backlund and hidden them in a small city somewhere in East Chester County.

As a middle-ranking member of MI9, Judgment was fighting on the covert front against the infiltration of Beyonders from Feysac, Intis, and other nations into Backlund.

The Star was leading official Beyonders, sealing off the churches of the Church of Steam and maintaining stability within the city.

Saint Anthony and the demigods of the Church of Evernight, the Church of Storms, the royal family, and the military were together forming Backlund’s final defensive line.

The vampires were currently maintaining neutrality…

A few seconds later, Audrey gathered her thoughts and prepared to use Psychological Invisibility to infiltrate the enemy position and spread a Psychic Plague.

Suddenly, her spirituality stirred, and she cast her gaze farther away.

Within the dense fog, a rather indistinct, thick tentacle wrapped in innumerable streaks of silver-white lightning rapidly extended toward a certain point in the allied camp.

A feather burning with golden flames fell soon after.

From the depths of the thick fog, an enormous grayish-blue hand reached out, gripping a silver broadsword.

…

In the Fog Sea, in waters that deviated from the safe shipping route.

Countless lightning bolts fell in rapid succession. The waves rose high, then crashed down heavily.

Bernadette’s Dawn was repeatedly thrown upward. Before the might of heaven and earth, the ship seemed exceptionally small, tottering as if it might capsize at any moment.

The Queen of Mysteries stood at the bow, calmly watching all this. From time to time, she used fairy-tale magic such as The Emperor’s New Clothes to maintain the ship’s balance.

Her gaze pierced the terrifying storm, searching for a primitive island that might exist.

…

After resting and regrouping, Colin Iliad led Derrick, Lovia, and part of the exploration team out of the camp in Afternoon Town. Following the mountain road, they entered the Giant King’s Court.

To their surprise, the frozen twilight there had changed. Brilliant sunlight illuminated every corner.

“…Where is the helper you invited?” Colin Iliad controlled the shock within him and turned his head to ask Derrick Berg.

Derrick was just about to speak when he suddenly saw a figure walk out from behind a half-collapsed tower.

The figure wore a black trench coat and a silk top hat. The right side of his face had sharp, cold, hard lines, while the left side revealed transparent, twisted worms crawling continuously.