Chapter 30: Different Effects

Chapter 30: Different Effects

The Forsaken Land of the Gods, deep at night, when lightning had already become extremely infrequent.

“Two slices of white bread with roast meat between them taste pretty good… And the sweet-and-sour drink that’s a specialty of the Fog Sea is better than I expected…” After Klein swallowed the last bite of food, he praised it sincerely and casually tossed the remaining packaging into the depths of darkness. In any case, this place had no concept of environmental protection, nor were there any trash cans.

Of course, he had already handled the connection between those objects and himself in advance, just as he now needed to go to Sefirah Castle for “disinfection” every time he abandoned a marionette, lest Amon’s avatars use that connection to lock onto his trail.

“Mm, lifeless objects won’t be turned Concealed by the darkness here…” Klein raised the lantern Danitz had sacrificed and shone it on the items he had just discarded.

After resolving the issue of food and warmth, he finally had the mind to attempt certain matters whose danger level he had already divined.

Amid the swaying dim yellow light, Klein reached forward with his right hand and dragged another version of himself out from the air.

It was him from the gaps of history, also holding a lantern.

The next second, Klein entered the gray-white fog, allowing his consciousness to “awaken” inside the projection he had summoned.

Surrounded by teams of monsters and wrapped in endless darkness, this projection opened its mouth, intending to pronounce the name Amanises:

“…”

He could not produce any sound. The words he wanted to say seemed to have been Concealed.

“As expected. This matches my conjecture.” Klein, wearing a half top hat and black knee-length trench coat, slowly exhaled.

Glancing at the lantern emitting dim yellow light, he suddenly recited in Jotun in a deep voice:

“Leodero!”

Before his voice had fully faded, hundreds of lightning bolts descended like a response to a summons, twisting and intertwining with one another as they instantly covered the entire area.

Klein had no time to dodge at all. Even if he swapped positions with a marionette, he was still within the attack range.

Amid the dazzling silver-white radiance, he collapsed on the spot. His body turned blackened, convulsing violently, as though he had become a giant piece of coal.

Then his figure rapidly disintegrated, vanishing like an illusion.

Klein, wearing a real hat, an Intis-style trench coat, and carrying a simple lantern, immediately “returned” to reality and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

After walking for a while, his figure suddenly blurred, then became clear again.

Immediately afterward, Klein opened his mouth once more and recited another name in Jotun:

“Au…”

He had only just uttered the first syllable when transparent flames burst from within his body, instantly burning him to ash and giving him no chance to swap positions with a marionette.

Klein’s figure reappeared. Pressing down his hat, he calmly continued walking across the hill covered in strange plants.

“Herabergen.”

…

“Badheil.”

…

“Omebella.”

…

“None of them produced anything abnormal. There is no corresponding residual divine power around the City of Silver…

“Medici, Ouroboros, Sasrir… Those are even more useless. They aren’t gods… I had thought Afternoon Town and the Giant King’s Court were special cases, and that using Sasrir’s true name outside could activate the power of Depravity in the Forsaken Land of the Gods… Red Angel was a King of Angels with a Uniqueness. That should count as half a true god. Yet He didn’t leave even the slightest trace. How embarrassing—not for a human, but for a King of Angels!” As his black trench coat fluttered slightly behind him, Klein descended the hill and, following his spiritual intuition, headed northwest toward the ruins of the city-state Nois.

From time to time, he took detours. From time to time, he used Flame…