Chapter 9: A New Journey

Chapter 9: A New Journey

Bonova Gustav… Klein’s gaze slipped across the face of the young man before him, then fell on the objects floating around them and the puppet pieced together from metal components.

The puppet has a very postmodern style… Some of the physical laws in this place seem to have been altered to a certain degree… Klein nodded thoughtfully and said,

“I would like to take that Magic Mirror.”

He stated his request with complete frankness.

Bonova’s expression did not change, as if he were merely a puppet.

“You are a Blessed of Evernight?”

“For now, I suppose so.” Klein smiled.

Bonova immediately nodded.

“Then take it.”

He thinks I’m claiming spoils of war on behalf of the Evernight Church? Klein did not explain. He merely removed his hat politely, bowed slightly, and said,

“Thank you very much.”

As he spoke, Klein’s figure suddenly faded and vanished from where he stood.

The one who had come was only an image from the historical void.

In the carriage where Ikanser and the Machinery Hivemind member were, however, nothing changed.

Of course, what they were inside was merely a historical scene. The carriage’s true condition had been covered up without them realizing it.

More than ten kilometers away from the steam train, inside a carriage, a mirror suddenly appeared in Klein’s hand.

It was entirely silver in color. Ancient and mysterious patterns decorated the back, while the front had an eye-like ornament on each side.

“Do not speak,” Klein instructed the mirror simply.

“Yes, great and supreme Master.” Pale silver words floated up lightly from the depths of the mirror.

Klein then took out paper and pen. Using the Magic Mirror as a writing board, he prepared to write a letter.

After thinking for a moment, with a faint smile, he began writing:

“Dear Mr. Azik,

“It seems it has been a very long time since I last wrote to you, because I went to the Forsaken Land of the Gods and had a wondrous journey.

“The living beings there are of only two kinds: living intelligent creatures, and monsters. As for those intelligent races, they either bear curses or have already undergone obvious mutations. Their situation is far more tragic than I had imagined.

“I tried to help them. This was not merely for a ritual, for anchors, or to satisfy my own pity. The act itself was meaning…

“Apart from its suffering, the entire Forsaken Land of the Gods is entirely different from the outside world. It is like a series of oil paintings dominated by black… What surprised me was that Artificial Death could exert limited influence over the undead creatures there. At the time, I was very confused. Today, I finally have a conjecture: perhaps this is connected to one of the nine sefirot, the River of Eternal Darkness…

“That reminds me of the spirit world city, Calderón, and of the golden phoenix accessory you once mentioned… It is said that the Phoenix Ancestor and the Death of the Fourth Epoch could both, to a certain extent, make use of the River of Eternal Darkness. I wonder what you know about this?

“The war that lasted more than a year has finally ended. The Evernight Goddess obtained the final victory, and the God of Combat fell as a result. I believe that, with your status and level, you should understand what this means…

“No matter what, long-awaited peace has descended. People are gradually returning to ordinary life. This is a scene I like, though some wounds may never be healed…

“I do not know whether the apocalypse will arrive on time, nor do I know when you will awaken. I can only hope everything develops in a good direction.

“Finally, let me mention one insignificant matter. I have already advanced to Sequence 2 and become a Miracle Invoker. This is both a curse and a hope.

“Best wishes,
Your eternal student,
Klein Moretti.”

After finishing the letter, Klein carefully checked it once before folding the paper. Then he blew Azik’s copper whistle and summoned the skeletal messenger.

When the enormous messenger emerged from the ground, all the bones in its body trembled, as though it had sensed the aura of the “Great Ruler Above the Spirit World.”

Klein gave a low laugh and handed the letter to this messenger whose number he no longer remembered. He watched it awkwardly bow, then collapse into a fountain of bones and drill back into the earth.

After doing this, Klein turned his gaze toward the Magic Mirror resting on his thighs.

Sensing his attention, ripples appeared on the mirror’s surface, and pale silver words emerged one after another.

“Great Master, where shall we go next?”

Where shall we go? Klein repeated the question inwardly. He very much wanted to teleport directly to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range and enter the ancient palace between reality and the foggy town to see whether he had a chance to take the Card of Blasphemy most useful to him from beside the half-Fool of the Antigonus family.

With his current strength, equivalent to more than half a Sequence 1, this was not an impossible task. After all, when Zaratul was Sequence 2, He had managed to obtain the main ingredient of Attendant of Mysteries from the half-Fool.

Of course, the premise of everything was that the Evernight Goddess continued to suppress and seal the ancestor of the Antigonus family.

And so the matter circled back once more, back to his transaction with the Evernight Goddess.

Right now, I’m already the master of Sefirah Castle. I can split off a portion of Spirit Worms and leave them above the gray fog, responding to prayers at all times. That way, aside from certain hidden dangers to my mental state, there are quite a few benefits in other aspects. Mm, I can support my main body at any time, and I’ll have another method of resurrection… Even if my main body is completely destroyed, I can use the Spirit Worms above the gray fog to reconstruct my will and body… However, if the portion of me walking through reality is concealed and its connection to Sefirah Castle is severed, the remaining Spirit Worms will lose control, go mad, and become monsters, just like Zaratul back then… Klein swiftly analyzed the situation and felt that, with his present strength, it was still best not to venture too deeply into the spirit world city, Calderón, for now.

Even if he wanted to search for clues to the River of Eternal Darkness, he would wait until he had fulfilled many wishes and truly reached the standard of a Miracle Invoker.

Thinking of this, Klein patted the Magic Mirror and said with a smile,

“Next, we will wander together.

“Is there anywhere you wish to go?”

“Trier—no, wherever you wish to go, I shall go,” Arrodes answered humbly in words.

Klein smiled, abruptly leapt from the carriage, and walked toward the nearest city.

The carriage continued forward for several meters before vanishing inch by inch, returning to the fog of history.

At the same time, Klein’s trench coat became a black robe, and his top hat changed shape, gaining an air of antiquity.

This made Klein look like a wandering magician traveling through streets and alleys.

…

Backlund, inside a relatively intact house.

The Ageless Demoness Katarina, wearing a holy white robe and possessing an ethereal beauty, put down the mirror in her hand and tilted her head toward the young man beside her, who was rocking in an armchair.

“The war is over. They have finally decided to summon me back to headquarters.”

“I’ve been waiting for this day far too long.” The young man sitting in the armchair clicked his tongue.

He wore a black robe patterned with red and had a face with soft lines, slightly brown skin, and a faint pallor. He was none other than the Gatekeeper possessed by the Red Angel evil spirit.

Katarina pressed both hands down on the table and sat atop it. With the corners of her mouth lifted, she said,

“You don’t seem impatient at all.”

“When you’ve been locked underground with two hateful fellows for one or two thousand years and couldn’t get free, you’ll know that waiting one or two years is very easy and pleasant. I’m not impatient in the least.” The Red Angel evil spirit chuckled. “Once this matter is over, if you’re curious, I can let you experience it. Of course, I’ll remember to throw in two male companions for you. How long they can be used will depend on whether you have restraint.”

As He said this, the two mouths did not appear on the Red Angel evil spirit’s face to rebut Him, because to Them, this was the truth:

They really had been locked underground with two hateful fellows for one or two thousand years, unable to break free.

Hearing this answer, Katarina’s eyes shifted slightly, and she asked with a faint smile,

“Aren’t you worried that if you go to our headquarters, the Primordial will discover you?”

“So what? Doing anything always requires taking risks. Besides, the worst result would be merging with Her. I’m already three-in-one. Becoming four-in-one won’t be much of a problem.” Sauron-Einhorn-Medici acted as though He did not care at all.

“Then let us depart.” Katarina lightly hopped down from the table, smiling as she spoke.

The instant her words fell, reflected in her eyes was a red-haired man with the mark of a banner between his brows.

The Gatekeeper in a black robe patterned with red suddenly lost his aura. His skin and flesh rapidly rotted, turning into yellow-green pus.

In only a few seconds, the armchair held nothing but a white skeleton and the Beyonder characteristic that had separated out.

Katarina beckoned, and the Beyonder characteristic, pulled by invisible threads, fell into her palm.

Immediately afterward, her body lost its sense of reality and plunged into the mirror she had used earlier.

A dark, illusory, not-quite-real road immediately appeared before the White Saintess. It connected with similar things in the surrounding region, forming a complex and mysterious “spiderweb,” weaving together a strange world different from reality.

Katarina rapidly shuttled through this “mirror world,” drawing close to her target node.

At that moment, she felt a powerful suction. Unable to control herself, she deviated from the road and was pulled toward a patch of dark, blurry fog—that corresponded in the real world to a mirror.

In the blink of an eye, Katarina, together with the Red Angel evil spirit, left the mirror and arrived inside an unfamiliar room covered by carpet.

At the edge of the room, a young man with ordinary features and common clothing leaned against the stair railing, smiling as he looked at the White Saintess.

His left hand was tossing an object up and down. It was a strange crown covered in rust and bloodstains.

Before Katarina could react, the young man took out a monocle made of crystal and put it over his left eye.

“Heh…” A scoff from the Red Angel evil spirit immediately echoed in Katarina’s mind.

The next second, the young man removed the monocle, moved it to his right eye, and, with a noticeably brighter smile, said,

“Sorry. I put it on the wrong side just now.”