Chapter 13: Closing In

Chapter 13: Closing In

Above the gray fog, the crimson star representing The Star also began to swell and contract. The rings of light it spread gradually overlapped with the ripples produced by the other three crimson stars, turning into a tide that surged and echoed throughout the mysterious space, causing it to tremble faintly.

After recounting the matter concerning Klein, Leonard ended his prayer and waited for Mr. Fool’s response.

Yet nearly fifteen minutes passed, and he still received no feedback at all.

“Mr. Fool has always responded very promptly…” Leonard could not help murmuring aloud.

Inside his mind, Pallez Zoroast was silent for several seconds. Then, in a slightly aged voice, he reminded him, “Think back on what The Fool has said recently.”

Leonard carefully considered it and slowly said, “In the middle of the week, He reminded us not to go to the mountain woods in Backlund’s northwestern suburbs recently… Mm, He also seemed to hint that next week’s gathering might not be held as scheduled…”

“As expected,” Pallez Zoroast said with a long sigh. “That Fool had some anticipation of Amon’s appearance. They may now be clashing covertly in different domains—one trying to preserve Sefirah Castle, the other trying to become Sefirah Castle’s new owner. Your former colleague was unfortunately drawn into this matter.”

“Mr. Fool anticipated it? Is this a trap He arranged for Amon?” Leonard’s green eyes brightened, and he blurted out the question.

Pallez seemed to spend some time thinking, and even His speaking pace slowed significantly.

“That is possible. It is also possible that Amon used that trap and seized the initiative. Do not underestimate a Blasphemer, a powerful King of Angels.”

In Leonard’s current understanding, Mr. Fool was either the slowly awakening owner of Sefirah Castle, corresponding to some unknown deity in history, or the embodiment of a sefirah. At present, He could not yet properly control His own authority and power, and still needed to undergo a further qualitative change.

Whichever possibility was true, Mr. Fool had not yet reached the level of a true deity and was most likely on the same level as Kings of Angels.

Under such circumstances, it would be quite normal for Mr. Fool and that terrifying Blasphemer to engage in fierce conflict without either side being able to defeat the other for a long time. After all, that one was among the strongest hidden existences beneath the gods. He was even more powerful than the Hidden Sage, who was often classified among evil gods. Even deities would hold a certain degree of wariness toward Him.

“…” Leonard’s nerves tightened uncontrollably. Rather worried, he asked in a low voice, “Old Man, do you have any way to provide some help? Isn’t Amon your greatest enemy?”

Such help might be limited, but it should at least be able to fish Klein out of this vortex.

Hearing that, Pallez Zoroast laughed once, His tone carrying obvious self-mockery.

“Do you not hold too many expectations of me that you should not?

“Indeed, if Amon obtains Sefirah Castle, I will undoubtedly die at His hands. I may not even make it through this winter. And if Sefirah Castle remains with The Fool, perhaps I will still have a chance to live in the future.

“But I am only an old fellow who has just recovered Sequence 2 strength. Do I have the ability to interfere in a conflict of that level?

“Even if I use a Yesterday Once More charm, what can those brief two or three seconds do? Yes, yes, at a critical moment, perhaps it might help that Fool twist the situation, but right now I do not even know where They are fighting. How could I possibly grasp the opportunity?”

Leonard fell silent under the old man’s string of words. He immediately lowered his head, raised both hands, pressed them against the sides of his head, and muttered to himself:

“Am I only able to watch helplessly again…”

Pallez sighed.

“Patience. At present, all we can do is remain patient.

“That Fool should have a certain tacit understanding with Evernight and with certain gods and Kings of Angels. Perhaps even a cooperative relationship. They will not sit by and let Amon take Sefirah Castle.

“Continue waiting patiently. Perhaps it will not be long before an opportunity appears.”

Leonard half-straightened his body, tilted his head back, inhaled deeply, then exhaled.

“I understand.”

…

In the sea near Sonia Island, the Blue Avenger, which had been ordered by the Church of Storms to attack the island’s ports and Feysac merchant ships, was currently hiding a little outside the safe route.

Alger Wilson stood behind the captain’s cabin window, using his extraordinary long-range vision to gaze at the still-distant coastline.

In this newly advanced Ocean Songster’s view, multiple “captains” had accepted similar missions, each outstanding among Mid-Sequence Beyonders. The joint operation they launched would certainly effectively damage Feysac’s maritime transport lines.

And that also meant that Feysac’s counterattack would be sufficiently fierce. Most likely, it would be led by a Sequence 4 demigod; the appearance of a Sequence 3 War Bishop or Silver Knight could not be ruled out.

To Alger, this was a dangerous enough development. He did not wish to fall into that kind of trouble.

At the same time, the crew members, colleagues, and collaborators would all monitor one another, preventing anyone from avoiding the operation. If Alger worked passively, skirting along the edge of danger, it would not be long before he had to consider whether to kill most of the crew and immediately become a true pirate, or lose the Blue Avenger and return to Pasu Island for internal judgment.

“After this operation ends, the captains who can still survive will not exceed one-third of the original number…” Alger calmly analyzed the situation and quickly formed a line of thought for avoiding danger.

That was: participate in the operation, but not remain in the core position.

Alger planned that when his colleagues launched frenzied attacks on Feysac merchant ships and supply vessels, he would use the name of a “surprise attack” on the port to lead the people aboard his ship onto Sonia Island, lurking in the primitive forest. From time to time, they would conduct controllable and ineffective harassment against the port. This way, the gazes of the Feysac demigods would certainly be directed toward the sea, not toward him.

At the same time, in the eyes of his crew, he would be a model and example willing to take enormous risks by penetrating deep into enemy territory.

After thinking through all the detailed issues, Alger immediately summoned the crew and explained his plan once. At the end, he emphasized, “This will be very dangerous. Believe me, very dangerous. We will not be able to freely advance and retreat as we do at sea. At any moment, we may fall into the enemy’s encirclement. But an attack like this will certainly exceed the Feysacians’ expectations and bring us the results we want.

“Are you willing to stay on the ship as cowards, or will you follow me and become heroes, showing your devotion to the Lord?”

Those crew members were stirred until their blood ran hot. One after another, they shouted impulsively:

“Kill the Feysacians!”

“Very good.” Alger clenched his right fist and struck his left chest, his face full of gratification. “The Storm is with us!”

“The Storm is with us!” The sailors saluted along with him and shouted loudly.

After arranging this matter, Alger felt it necessary to borrow the Unshadowed Crucifix as soon as possible in order to expel the excess Ocean Songster Beyonder characteristic.

Although he had exaggerated the danger of landing on Sonia Island, there would indeed still be some risk, so he wanted to recover his best condition as soon as possible.

He had long understood the hint Mr. Fool had previously given and believed that tonight or tomorrow morning, Mr. Fool would formally announce that this Tarot Gathering was canceled.

Of course, deep down, Alger had some guesses as well. He suspected that every time Mr. Fool canceled the Tarot Gathering, there was some issue with His own condition. He wanted to use this nominal prayer as an opportunity to test whether that great existence was still normal.

No, no. I cannot test a god… This is not a test. Mr. Fool did not hint that I cannot pray to Him recently. Besides, borrowing the Unshadowed Crucifix is truly something I need to do in the next few days… Alger paced back and forth, unable to make a decision for a time.

At that moment, he heard the splash of water. Through the extra perspective granted by the ghost ship, he saw the seawater by the ship’s side part, revealing a huge fish-like creature.

This strange-looking giant fish opened its mouth and spat out a small metal ball, letting it fall onto the deck.

Alger nodded and expressed thanks with a song.

This was a sea creature domesticated by the Church of Storms. In this operation, it and its companions served as messengers between the ships and the islands under actual control.

Receiving the gratitude, the giant fish’s body trembled. With a flick of its tail, it abruptly burrowed deep into the water and swam into the distance.

Alger watched silently for two seconds, summoned a gust of wind, and made it send the metal ball into the captain’s cabin.

He unscrewed the small metal ball and took out the paper inside. With only one glance, his gaze froze somewhat.

“George III assassinated and killed…” Alger repeated the contents above with a slightly grave expression, immediately recalling The World Gehrman Sparrow’s warning and Mr. Fool’s hint.

This time, he hesitated no longer. He sealed the room and murmured the honorific name:

“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era…”

…

These prayers are almost becoming a chorus… Mr. Hanged Man wants to borrow the Unshadowed Crucifix from Little Sun? Leonard, er… These voices are overlapping layer upon layer, rising and falling, making the surroundings seem to tremble… Klein raised a hand and rubbed his forehead, feeling as though electric drills were coming from every direction.

At that moment, he followed Amon deeper into the barren wilderness. He saw grayish-yellow fog permeating the area and several ravines crisscrossing the land. In the depths of darkness, quite a number of things could vaguely be seen wandering.

Compared to the monsters that had quietly lurked before, the creatures here seemed rather special.

Amon, wearing the pointed soft hat, raised His hand and stroked the crystal monocle. Pointing ahead, He smiled and said, “In another half day, we should reach the final destination.”

“Half a day… It has not even been one day… Didn’t you say three days?” Klein’s pupils seemed to dilate.

Amon smiled.

“I said no more than three days.

“One day is also no more than three days.”

At this point, the King of Angels paused. With great interest, He asked, “Did that disrupt your arrangements?

“Has it made you more despairing?”

Klein did not respond. He abruptly reached out and grabbed toward the void beside him.