Chapter 13: A Sense of Urgency

Chapter 13: A Sense of Urgency

The apocalypse…

Although Justice Audrey had long since learned of the prophecy concerning the apocalypse from that demigod of the Church of Knowledge, she had never had any real sense of it. She had always felt it was a kind of propaganda used to deceive the public.

Even after she had experienced a war in which the individual was terrifyingly insignificant, she still did not believe the world had only a little more than ten years left before the apocalypse.

There were no signs of it at all!

And yet, the one who now spoke of the apocalyptic prophecy was Mr. Fool’s Blessed, the ever trustworthy Mr. World, the man who dared scheme against angels. Moreover, his tone was so certain, as if he had truly seen what would happen more than a decade from now.

This made Audrey instinctively choose to believe him. Her heart abruptly sank, tense and flustered.

Aside from that, she also felt much of her confusion vanish at once. If the apocalypse was only a little more than ten years away, then even a drowning person would struggle, much less a Sequence 4 demigod in good condition.

The apocalypse… As a Cardinal of the Church of Storms, The Hanged Man Alger had recently read quite a few apocalyptic prophecies. But how could those unverifiable things compare with Gehrman Sparrow’s extraordinarily solemn warning? The impact brought by the two was not on the same level at all.

At the same time, he sharply noticed one detail: The World had said that even gods would be destroyed.

Alger’s first reaction was that Gehrman Sparrow had been disrespectful toward Mr. Fool, because Mr. Fool was also a god.

But he immediately rejected that idea. After all, The World Gehrman Sparrow was Mr. Fool’s Blessed and His most devout believer. The other members of the Tarot Club might, perhaps, accidentally blaspheme Mr. Fool with their words. The World Gehrman Sparrow absolutely would not.

Based on the two premises of “Gehrman Sparrow would never disrespect Mr. Fool” and “he said even gods would be destroyed,” The Hanged Man Alger quickly reached another conclusion:

In Gehrman Sparrow’s mind, Mr. Fool’s status was higher than that of true gods!

This… Alger had never doubted Gehrman Sparrow’s knowledge and experience. After all, this was a powerful figure who frequently dealt with angels.

That realization left him both shocked and doubtful. For a time, he could find no more reasonable explanation.

The Hermit Cattleya, who had advanced to demigod using the blood of the Snake of Fate and whose corresponding Sequence 3 was called Prophet, would occasionally dream of scenes resembling the arrival of the apocalypse. Combined with the Queen of Mysteries Bernadette’s periodic reminders, she did not feel astonished or shocked by Mr. World’s words. She only felt as if dust that had been raised into the air had finally settled to the ground.

Regarding the future, this Mysticologist was just as confused. Aside from improving herself, she did not know in which direction she should exert her strength.

The apocalypse… Judgment Xio and The Magician Fors exchanged a glance across Madam Hermit, each sensing the stormy waves that had risen in the other’s heart.

They had never imagined that the good life they had believed they possessed, if no other accidents occurred, could at most last a little more than ten years.

At that time, they would still be in the prime of life. Even if they had not become demigods, they would not need to worry too much about losing control more easily because their bodies had grown old.

Because the person speaking was The World Gehrman Sparrow, neither lady doubted the truth of the apocalyptic prophecy. For a time, both felt panic and heaviness.

At first, The Sun Derrick inevitably felt a measure of dejection. The City of Silver had just left the apocalypse-like Forsaken Land of the Gods and come to the world of light, only to soon face a new apocalypse.

But he quickly adjusted his mindset and chose to believe in Mr. Fool.

Since that great existence had been able to save the City of Silver from the Forsaken Land of the Gods, He could likewise stop the arrival of the apocalypse.

Although I am the Sanguine savior during the apocalypse, I never thought the apocalypse would come this quickly… I’m only an earl… The Moon Emlyn could not help faintly furrowing his brows, like a student who had only attended class for a few days before suddenly having to face an exam.

Of course, this also made him somewhat excited. After all, it would not be long before he fulfilled his mission and displayed his greatness before his kind.

The Star Leonard had heard about the apocalyptic prophecy from the old man, Pallez Zoroast. Although he did not know why things would develop this way, he had already been mentally prepared to a certain extent. He was the first to recover and ask,

“Why would the apocalypse suddenly descend? There are no signs of it now…”

Klein controlled the dummy World and replied,

“It is only that you have not noticed the signs.

“Did you think the divine war broke out without reason?”

Seeing all the Tarot Club members stunned and plunged into thought, The World Gehrman Sparrow added,

“For the time being, you are not qualified to know the specific reason. Merely understanding it will bring corruption that is difficult to resist. Only existences at the level of angels and above have any possibility of withstanding it.”

That is roughly the same as what the demigod from the Church of Knowledge said… It is also close to the corruption from the cosmos… I seem to have forgotten something… Mr. World seems to already know the truth… He isn’t afraid of being corrupted? Has he—has he already become an angel? Has he become Him? Thought after thought flashed through Justice Audrey’s mind. She keenly sensed that The World Gehrman Sparrow might have completed his advancement and become a true mythical creature.

In ancient times, such a being could even be called a subsidiary god, one of the divine!

Immediately afterward, The Hanged Man Alger, The Hermit Cattleya, and the other members of the Tarot Club all interpreted that fact. They realized that The World Gehrman Sparrow had already reached the summit of the real world and become an angel walking the earth.

Some guessed this had to do with Gehrman Sparrow’s earlier scheme against a mythical creature. Others believed it was the benefit brought to a Blessed by Mr. Fool’s further recovery.

But regardless, for the first time, the Tarot Club—excluding its host and convener—had a member with angelic status!

Of course, regarding The World Gehrman Sparrow advancing to Sequence 2, none of them felt too surprised. They had long since grown numb to such things.

Klein controlled The World, making him look around as he said,

“You may carefully consider what you intend to do next, and how you intend to do it.”

Judgment Xio, The Magician Fors, and the other Tarot Club members nodded slightly, indicating that they understood.

After that came a little more than ten minutes of free discussion. This Tarot Gathering gradually came to an end.

…

After returning to the real world, Xio looked around her bedroom. Her expression slowly turned grave.

She felt that sense of urgency again.

After leaving her room, Xio saw that Fors had come into the hallway at the same time. Unlike usual, she had not collapsed for a while before finally coming out.

“Where are you planning to go?” the two of them asked at the same time, then fell silent at the same time.

A few seconds later, the door of another guest room opened, and a delicate-looking young man walked out. He wore narrow-framed glasses, had slightly fluffy hair, and carried several thick books in both arms.

“Damn it, I forgot I have class this afternoon!” the young man muttered to himself as he rushed toward the staircase, completely ignoring the two ladies.

He was Xio’s younger brother, Lo Dilcha, who had just entered a school that prepared students for the preliminary lawyer examination.

In Backlund, one had to pass a preliminary examination before becoming a trainee solicitor. A trainee solicitor then needed to study and work under a barrister for at least five years before being permitted to take the qualifying examination and obtain a solicitor’s license.

And if one wished to advance further and become a barrister, one had to enter Backlund Law School and receive a university education.

Watching her younger brother thump down the stairs, Xio unconsciously revealed a faint smile.

She then raised her head and said to Fors,

“I’m going back to MI9 and working hard.”

“I’m planning to visit my teacher,” Fors answered the earlier question as well.

Immediately afterward, the Traveler’s figure swiftly turned transparent and vanished.

In only a few seconds, Fors appeared in the still-rebuilding Port Pritz, before a house that remained mostly intact.

Then she took paper and pen from a hidden pocket and wrote a note, intending to inform her teacher that she had finished digesting the Traveler potion.

After putting away the fountain pen, she slipped the note into the mailbox by the door.

This was not Dorian Gray Abraham’s residence. It was the place Fors and the gentleman had previously agreed upon for passing messages.

When Fors came here again the next day, she would see the meeting place and time Dorian had left for her.

…

Emlyn opened his eyes in his room, changed into a stand-collar coat suited for going out, and prepared to visit Marquis Nibbs.

When his carriage passed Rose Flower Street, he instinctively glanced out the window and was somewhat astonished—but not particularly surprised—to find that the doors of the Harvest Church had opened.

After a brief hesitation, he had the coachman stop by the roadside and paid the fare.

Wearing a top hat and carrying a cane, the scarlet-eyed Sanguine earl climbed the steps and entered the Harvest Church. He saw Father Utravsky, who seemed to have grown a little taller again, bending over as he swept the prayer hall.

As expected, he has already been released… That really was protective custody… Emlyn inwardly shook his head.

At that moment, Father Utravsky raised his head, glanced at him, and said,

“Wipe the candlesticks.”

“…I am pleasing Mother Goddess,” Emlyn muttered. Then he walked to the room at the back, changed into the brown clergyman’s robe of the Church of Earth, and began working.

He and Father Utravsky said nothing more. Each worked on his own tasks, trying to restore cleanliness and peace to the Harvest Church.

After an unknown length of time, a group of people suddenly entered through the door.

Emlyn instinctively looked over and saw Baron Kasimi Odora, Viscount Ernest Boyar, who had once come to “work” at the Harvest Church, and one familiar face after another.

Before he realized it, the corners of Emlyn’s mouth had risen.