Chapter 5: Walking in Darkness

Chapter 5: Walking in Darkness

Backlund, East Borough.

Forsi, who had only recently returned from that world of ice and snow, was wrapped in thick clothing. Looking at the charcoal burning in the stove before her, she felt as though she had once again fallen into that dreadful environment and could not help shivering a few times.

“George III is already dead. The earlier matters should come to an end, shouldn’t they? Maybe we can move away from here—to the North Borough, or to Hillston Borough.

“The houses there have fireplaces!”

Xio sat in the chair opposite her, similarly staring at the stove radiating warmth. Her expression was somewhat dazed as she replied, “Let’s wait another week or two.

“To be honest, even now I still don’t quite dare believe George III was blown up just like that… I didn’t even have time to do anything.”

This bounty hunter, now a Judge, spoke with obvious disappointment, confusion, and bewilderment in her voice. It seemed as though she had suddenly lost the driving force of her life.

Forsi briefly forgot the harm the cold had done to her. After some thought, she comforted, “I think this matter was either done by Gehrman Sparrow, or by those people who used Shermane before. Only they were still investigating George III’s secret schemes. You can be considered to have contributed somewhat to George III’s death as well, which means you indirectly completed your revenge.

“Er… The surveillance and suppression targeting your family should be gone now. You can try starting a new life. If an opportunity appears, perhaps you can even appeal for your father through proper channels.”

Hearing the latter part, Xio abruptly lifted her head.

“Right. The situation is getting more and more chaotic. I’m very worried they’ll be affected by the war.

“Forsi, do you think Backlund is safer, or would an ordinary small city away from the borders be safer?”

Forsi considered it seriously for a few seconds, then honestly shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

She then added, “I plan to ask Mr. World. He should have a much more accurate grasp of the overall situation. Do you remember? He warned us in advance that something would happen around George III and told us not to get close.”

In addition, Forsi also wanted to ask where the next destination for Traveling would be, so she could make some preparations ahead of time.

“Mm!” Xio nodded by instinct.

Forsi flipped through the newspaper on her lap, finished the remaining coffee, and only then slowly stood. She entered the inner room and quietly prayed to Mr. Fool, asking Him to pass her questions to The World Gehrman Sparrow.

…

The Forsaken Land of the Gods, near the Giant King’s Court.

No longer deeply parasitized, Klein followed Amon along the foot of the mountain. Amid the frozen twilight, they circled around to the front of that mythical land.

Although Amon had given him an opportunity and allowed him to use every method he could think of to escape, Klein did not act rashly. He knew very well that Amon now possessed at least the status and strength of Sequence 2. He was an angel in the true sense of the word, not someone Klein could confront head-on. Moreover, the Marauder pathway was known as Error, Loophole, Bug. Its powers were peculiar and bizarre, impossible to guard against. Klein believed that any self-rescue method he could normally think of would basically be ineffective.

I can only remain patient and wait for an opportunity I can exploit… During this process, I’ll keep making small attempts and observe Amon’s responses… Mm, there is another issue I must pay attention to. I cannot trust Amon’s words too much. He may not have lied about retrieving the Worm of Time and undoing my parasitized state, but that might not be the whole truth. It can’t be ruled out that He left another Worm of Time hidden inside me, ready to take over my body at the critical moment… As thoughts rose and fell in Klein’s mind, he was just about to “chat” with Amon and ask about Dark Angel Sasrir when he saw the twilight in the distance vanish, darkness covering the area as jagged lightning flashed now and then in midair.

They had reached the boundary of the Giant King’s Court and were about to leave this mythic kingdom.

Once one entered the darkness here, one would either vanish into thin air or be attacked by terrifying monsters that appeared suddenly… Klein’s heart stirred. Pretending he knew nothing, he continued forward from the orange-red twilight toward the deep darkness.

At that moment, Amon, wearing a black classical robe, a pointed soft hat, and a monocle, extended His hand forward and pulled back a lantern covered with a thin layer of beast hide.

Inside the lantern, a candle made of unknown fat emitted a dim yellow glow and a slightly pungent smell.

“Carry it.” Amon tossed the lantern to Klein.

…Klein caught the lantern and fell silent.

Several seconds later, he asked tentatively, “Where did you get this?”

In that instant just now, Klein had almost thought Amon could summon projections from the gaps of history.

Amon pinched the crystal monocle and said with a smile, “I stole it from the human camp ahead. Oh, that is the City of Silver’s camp in Afternoon Town.”

Stole it… Klein’s eyelid twitched slightly. He asked nothing further and entered the endless darkness with the lantern in hand.

The dim yellow light spread quickly like an invisible defensive barrier, creating a warm patch of ground in the pitch-black night.

At that moment, lightning flashed high above only occasionally, with rather long intervals between each bolt. Thunder was almost nonexistent, appearing only once in a while.

According to the common knowledge Klein had learned from Little Sun, this was nighttime in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, the most dangerous period.

As he advanced step by step, Klein first used the qualitative change in his Faceless ability, together with Creeping Hunger, to adjust the structure of his eyes and adapt to this special environment. Then, with the help of spirituality, he examined his surroundings.

He felt that in the lightless darkness were hidden pairs of eyes watching him, and indescribable creatures of all shapes and forms. Yet every time lightning flashed and illuminated those places, nothing could be seen.

Klein was not at all worried that constantly using Creeping Hunger without being able to feed it in the current environment would bring some serious backlash. In his view, there were only two possible outcomes: first, Creeping Hunger might try to devour him, only to have Amon steal the thought; second, Creeping Hunger might successfully eat its wearer, allowing him to resurrect and escape his current predicament. The latter was what Klein looked forward to, while the former, aside from leaving Creeping Hunger rather confused, would cause no real loss.

After they had walked like this for a while, Klein saw the City of Silver’s Afternoon Town camp, built from abandoned structures.

Behind the barricade formed from huge stones and stone pillars, bonfires burned quietly, illuminating most of the interior and making it utterly different from the outside world.

Groups of two or three City of Silver exploration team members, bathed in the light, either patrolled or kept watch, guarding against accidents.

Among them, a Dawn Paladin nearly 2.3 meters tall stood atop the barricade, gazing into the distance, on guard against monsters hidden in the darkness.

Suddenly, he saw a point of dim yellow firelight coming from the depths of the dark.

This… The Dawn Paladin’s pupils abruptly widened, and his heartbeat sped up fiercely.

Aside from newborns and children who had not yet received education, every person in the City of Silver knew that on this land abandoned by the gods, aside from humans, no one used fire in the darkness or created light. Even monsters skilled at controlling flames would lie hidden in a lightless environment before launching their attacks. As for other humans, every city-state the City of Silver had discovered so far had long since been destroyed, becoming ruins with no survivors. The only outsider they had ever seen was that strange child, Jack.

And now, at this very moment, firelight had appeared in the depths of darkness—moving firelight!

For a time, the Dawn Paladin standing atop the barricade could not grasp what this meant. He only felt his body trembling faintly.

The dim yellow firelight slowly drew near from afar, passed in front of the camp, and headed outside Afternoon Town. Indistinctly, the Dawn Paladin saw two human-like figures walking deep within the darkness, their silhouettes blurred abnormally by the glow.

They carried what seemed to be a lantern and moved step by step away from the camp, disappearing into the endless deep gloom.

At some point, the Dawn Paladin on the barricade had held his breath. Only when the dim yellow firelight vanished completely did he breathe again.

There are other humans? No, not necessarily humans! The Dawn Paladin’s eyes contracted. He carefully turned his body, preparing to notify the elder of the six-member council who oversaw this camp.

At that moment, he discovered that one of the lanterns hanging from the stone pillars had disappeared without him noticing.

The Dawn Paladin’s body instantly froze. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and back at the same time.

…

As they moved step by step away from Afternoon Town, Klein endured the gazes of countless eyes in the darkness and secretly used his Scholar of Yore abilities and his connection to Sefirah Castle to sense that grayish-white fog woven from history.

He succeeded.

This proved that the Forsaken Land of the Gods was not isolated from anything related to Sefirah Castle.

The True Creator’s sanctuary, perhaps even His divine kingdom, is on this land… If I stir Sefirah Castle and create an abnormality, will it draw His gaze and cause Him to clash with Amon… He is a true god. I won’t hope to escape amid the chaos, but I can seize the chance while He deals with Amon to kill myself… Klein’s thoughts stirred, and he was just about to make Sefirah Castle tremble lightly.

The next second, that thought vanished.

Walking beside him, the corners of Amon’s lips lifted slightly.

“The Hanged Man has little interest in Sefirah Castle. Of course, His rationality may not always be in His brain.”

“Does The Hanged Man refer to Sequence 0 of the Shepherd pathway?” Klein had never expected that earlier impulse to truly succeed. He mainly wanted to test Amon’s reaction and observe His response. Therefore, he did not feel particularly dejected at the moment and asked with undisguised curiosity.

Amon nodded faintly.

“Correct. It symbolizes fallen nature. Of course, if you wish to interpret it positively, then it means sacrifice and bearing the burden.”

Klein thought for a moment and probed, “I thought that was a nickname you made up.”

Like Medici.

According to what Klein knew, the True Creator had been born because of Rose of Redemption and was very likely related to the fall of the ancient Sun God. Therefore, he wanted to know what kind of attitude Amon held toward this evil god and whether it was the same as His brother’s.

Amon stroked His monocle and laughed softly.

“I have always been very respectful toward the gods.”

It really feels strange hearing the Blasphemer say that… Klein helplessly ended the topic.