Chapter 37: Questions and Answers

Chapter 37: Questions and Answers

As for what her mission would be, Judgment Xio had always felt both expectant and uneasy.

She was expectant because, since she had chosen to accept Mr. Fool’s bestowment, she would inevitably have to pay the corresponding price. Learning what the mission was as early as possible would prevent conjectures from arising because of the unknown—and prevent those conjectures from breeding even stronger fear.

She was uneasy because she knew the reward she had obtained was far too generous. She believed the final mission would not be simple, and would certainly be filled with danger.

At that moment, after hearing Mr. Fool’s words, her heart finally settled back into place, and she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Investigating the whereabouts of the three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics of the Red Priest pathway and the corresponding Uniqueness, and even confirming the Primordial Demoness’s current state, were indeed dangerous tasks. One careless mistake might lead to contamination and horrifying mutations. But at the very least, it was far better than seizing the Uniqueness and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics, or directly facing the Primordial Demoness.

If it had been the latter, even with official forces as support, Xio did not believe she could complete it. She would only have been able to write her will in advance and prepare to sacrifice herself at any time. But if it was merely the former, then some clues could be obtained through more roundabout and indirect methods, without necessarily encountering high-ranking, powerful existences. As a Sequence 4 demigod, Xio believed she had a certain degree of confidence.

Without hesitation, she immediately replied, “Yes, Mr. Fool.”

The Fool Klein had originally intended to look toward the other side. After thinking for a moment, he added, “Be careful of Bansy.”

Without giving the Tarot Club members time to start making associations, Klein said to The Star Leonard, “Your mission is similar to The Moon’s. When encircling and purging the Rose School of Thought, collect from its members the blessings, auras, and items bestowed by the Mother Tree of Desire. This is likewise very dangerous.”

He gave only this warning, without saying as much as he had when assigning The Moon Emlyn’s mission.

This was because Leonard was “parasitized” by an experienced angel of the Marauder pathway. He understood many secrets and knew just how dangerous the Outer Deities were. He would not allow Leonard to act recklessly.

Seeing that Leonard was about to nod, The Fool Klein continued in the same tone, “As for spreading my name, you do not need to do too much. You may even choose not to do it.”

As one of the twenty-two most powerful high-ranking members of the Church of Evernight, and as one of the few senior deacons among the Nighthawks, if Leonard secretly spread The Fool’s faith, problems could easily arise. His colleagues might misunderstand, leading to unnecessary conflicts.

Yet, strangely enough, in Klein’s eyes, it seemed that The Moon Emlyn would not be misunderstood for doing the same thing. To the people around him and to the Sanguine, nothing he did seemed all that strange.

That’s true… The Star Leonard had already recovered from his earlier impatience and recognized the cruel reality of the situation.

Even so, he still wanted to do something.

At that moment, The Fool Klein added, “You can focus on spreading The World’s deeds in the form of poetry.”

Poetry… The Star Leonard instinctively furrowed his brows and, surprisingly, did not immediately respond to Mr. Fool.

Klein then said, “Apart from these things, work hard to raise your Sequence and prepare for the apocalypse.”

“The payment for all missions is one wish.”

When the God of Combat fell, many Beyonder characteristics had fallen into the real world, bringing about a batch of extraordinary creatures, mutated monsters, and abnormal regions. Klein did not know how many Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics of the Warrior pathway the Evernight Goddess had obtained besides the Twilight Uniqueness. But at the very least, this meant that some Sequence 2 angels of the Church of Evernight now had the possibility of changing pathways and becoming Sequence 1.

At the same time, if They had obtained excess Beyonder characteristics, They could also change to the corresponding Sequence of the Death pathway.

This would open paths of advancement to the saints—more than one path, in fact.

Of course, not every Sequence 3 saint wished to become an angel. But Leonard was currently only a Sequence 4 Nightwatcher. Moreover, if the corresponding Sequence 3 position of Dread Bishop was limited, he could consider Silver Knight and Ferryman. Klein had one Beyonder characteristic of the former.

The Star Leonard remained silent for two seconds, then slowly exhaled and said, “Yes, Mr. Fool.”

The Fool Klein then turned his gaze to Miss Justice, who had been waiting all along.

“Besides spreading my name, you have two missions. First, assist Judgment in investigating the whereabouts of the Red Priest pathway’s Uniqueness and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics, as well as confirming the Primordial Demoness’s current state. Second, work hard to raise your Sequence.”

One of the missions is to raise my Sequence… Justice Audrey felt somewhat puzzled by this task.

In her view, this seemed like telling an ordinary person: your mission is to earn more money.

Furthermore, it had no value to Mr. Fool. Could it be that He wants me to treat Mr. World? Just as this thought flashed through Audrey’s mind, The Fool Klein added, “The higher your Sequence, the more likely you are to awaken The World.

“In this regard, you may borrow help from external forces. The Psychology Alchemists that Hermes reestablished is one option, but you must remain cautious and vigilant.

“For this, you must pay a certain price.

“You may also give up the reward you previously received. This depends solely on your own will and thoughts.”

Justice Audrey no longer had any doubts. After a moment of silence, she nodded solemnly.

“Yes, Mr. Fool.”

The Fool Klein’s gaze fell on The Hanged Man Alger’s face.

“After some time passes, you will know what your mission is.”

Klein had already foreseen the corresponding scene.

Without waiting for Alger to speak, he continued, “You may take the Sea God Scepter with you, but during that period, all prayers from the Sea God’s believers will be transferred to The Sun and directly point to me.”

Although The Hanged Man Alger could not accurately guess what his mission would be, he already had a faint premonition. After brief thought, he answered with proper solemnity.

“Yes, Mr. Fool.”

Klein withdrew his gaze and swept it around once more. Then he said slowly, “In the future, on the first Monday afternoon of each month, you may still gather here. However, there will no longer be a convener.

“If you need to hold private, hidden small discussions, pray in advance and await a response.”

At this point, The Fool Klein closed his eyes briefly.

“That is all for this gathering.”

An indescribable sorrow uncontrollably surged within the Tarot Club members, as if a grand ball had reached its end.

They stood at the same time and solemnly bowed toward the highest seat of the mottled long table.

“Your will is our will.”

Klein waited until they had finished speaking before ending his maintenance of the gathering, watching the crimson rays of starlight scatter one after another, rapidly fading into loneliness.

After gazing at that scene for several seconds, he manifested a yellowish piece of parchment and a dark-red, round-bellied fountain pen.

After thinking for a moment, Klein simply wrote:

“Dear Mr. Azik:

“Because of certain complicated reasons, I may be asleep for a very long time. I am sorry. Perhaps I will be unable to write to you for a long while…”

After writing only that one sentence, Klein stopped and made the fountain pen vanish.

Although that piece of paper was something he had manifested, with his present status, level, and power, he could maintain it for over a hundred years, even if it were taken into the outside world.

He closed his eyes again, summoned Azik’s copper whistle, and blew.

At the same time, he loosened a little of the restriction that came from Sefirah Castle itself.

The skeletal messenger appeared. From top to bottom, every bone in its body trembled violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.

If Klein had not already handed over the letter, it might have directly prostrated itself on the ground.

After the skeletal messenger accepted the letter and hurriedly left Sefirah Castle, Klein raised a hand and rubbed his forehead.

This was not because the Celestial Worthy’s will had broken free from eternal slumber, nor because maintaining his lucidity was painful. It was simply a habit.

Slowly leaning back against the chair, Klein let out a soft sigh.

On both sides of the mottled long table, Justice Audrey, The Hanged Man Alger, The Sun Derrick, The Magician Fors, The Moon Emlyn, The Hermit Cattleya, The Star Leonard, and Judgment Xio appeared one after another in the order in which they had joined the Tarot Club.

But this time, they were not real people, only projections. They were no longer blurry and indistinct; all of them revealed the appearances Klein remembered.

Immediately afterward, even more figures appeared. They were:

A mature gentleman with a receding hairline and deep, profound eyes; a glamorous witch wearing blue eyeshadow and blush; a middle-aged and elderly man with black hair streaked with silver and an exceptionally loud voice; a woman around fifty with ear-length hair; a young man enjoying food while playing with his phone; a little girl giggling happily; a government employee who looked old for his age and had a rather high hairline; a young lady in old-fashioned clothes focused on machinery; a pale-faced miss like a doll; an instructor with gentle features and bronze skin; a child licking ice cream; a lady carrying four heads; an elderly man solemnly studying bills…

Some sat and some stood, gathering beside those they knew. Under the candlelight flickering upon the long table, some discussed different matters, while others followed the music and danced gracefully.

Klein quietly watched this lively scene, his expression gradually softening.

After an unknown amount of time, he stood, passed through them, and walked toward the depths of this space.

Behind him, those figures, those candles, and that music faded one after another, disappearing.

When the strange door of light above the grayish-white clouds came into view, Klein beckoned and drew over Arrodes the Magic Mirror.

At this moment, the light spheres formed from transparent or opaque insects clustered together in the middle of the strange door had completely joined into one, turning bluish-black.

It was like a thick layer of fog, preventing one from seeing what lay behind the door.

After Klein arrived, he did not immediately enter. He only felt as though an extremely terrifying monster were hidden behind the door, waiting to devour him.

He raised his head and looked at the transparent “cocoons” hanging above the door of light, looking at the “modern” humans of different skin colors inside them.

After closing his eyes and sensing for a moment, Klein raised his right hand and closed his fingers.

The “cocoons” shattered one after another. The people inside turned into specks of light, flew out of Sefirah Castle, and descended toward some people in the real world who had just died.

After finishing this, Klein lowered his head and looked at the Magic Mirror in his palm.

“Are you afraid?”

On the surface of the ancient silver mirror, water rippled, and pale-white words outlined themselves:

“No.”

The next second, in accordance with the rules, Arrodes asked its own question:

“Great Master, are you afraid?”

The corners of Klein’s mouth moved slightly.

“Yes.”

After speaking, he took a step forward, holding the Magic Mirror, and walked toward the bluish-black fog in the middle of the strange door of light, passing through it.

His figure vanished behind the door, where no one knew what was hidden.

The shattered “cocoons” still swayed gently.