Chapter 7: Choice

Chapter 7: Choice

After writing a little more about his impressions of Tingen, Klein briefly mentioned that he had completed the ritual, become a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries, and resolved one of the shadows that had long hung over his heart—the leader of the Secret Order, Zaratul.

He did not describe his predicament in detail. Instead, he earnestly discussed the mental problems of angels.

Putting away his fountain pen and folding the paper, Klein reached into Sefirah Castle, took out Azik’s copper whistle, brought it to his lips, and blew.

Inside the cheap café, white bones surged up like a fountain, forming a messenger of enormous stature.

The messenger immediately shrank its body until it was only the height of an ordinary person.

At the same time, it dropped to one knee and extended its palm.

“You don’t need to be so afraid of me.” Seeing this, Klein laughed. “It’s not as if I’m going to do anything to you.”

As he spoke, he picked up the letter and placed it in the bone messenger’s hand.

The messenger nodded heavily several times, though no one knew what it was agreeing with.

Then its body collapsed, turning into bone after bone that sank into the ground.

At that moment, the owner brought over the coffee, oat bread, and lamb stewed with tender peas.

While eating a breakfast that was not especially delicious but richly steeped in the style of the common people, Klein gazed out the window, admiring the morning street scene without any purpose at all: the pedestrians, carriages, trees, fog, food, and machinery that composed it.

“If there were no apocalypse, and I wanted to maintain my life in Tingen while living fairly comfortably and handling most cases, Sequence 7 would be best. A Magician has many methods; with preparation, even against Sequence 6s or Sequence 5s, he wouldn’t seem too weak. As for Faceless and Marionettist, one is easy to lose oneself while acting, while the other is easy to lose control during advancement. Relatively speaking, both are quite dangerous. Of course, if I could also have a sealed Creeping Hunger, that would be perfect…” Klein casually let his thoughts wander, and they drifted toward Creeping Hunger, which had fallen into Amon’s hands.

He did not know how Amon would treat that Sealed Artifact. He only felt that to the Angel of Time, an item of that level would have little value. After playing with it for a while, Amon would probably toss it into some dark and hidden “warehouse.”

“I wonder if I’ll have a chance to take it back.” The thought had only just crossed Klein’s mind when he suddenly felt a little guilty.

Because even if he could seize Creeping Hunger back from Amon, he would still throw it into his miscellaneous pile, waiting to bestow it upon a Blessed or believer who needed it.

That was not very different from leaving it in Amon’s hands.

Klein quickly shifted his attention.

“This time, I lost the Magic Mirror again.

“Adam probably won’t care much about a mirror only at the level of a Saint. Perhaps I can retrieve it after a few twists and turns…

“No, Arrodes seems to have been spat out from the Chaos Sea. In certain matters, it may not be incapable of serving as a medium… Sigh. I only hope Adam doesn’t damage it before I find a way to bring it back…”

After becoming an Attendant of Mysteries and gaining deeper control over Sefirah Castle, Klein already possessed a certain amount of authority over Concealment.

Whenever he thought about important matters, a faint layer of shadow invisible to others would always appear around him.

This was the Realm of Mysteries, equivalent to the prototype of a divine kingdom.

Because of that, he now dared to think Adam’s name directly.

After sighing, Klein suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly had the Worms of Spirit on duty in Sefirah Castle “graft” over a certain region of the spirit world that he had used as positioning during his advancement.

Immediately afterward, he finished the remaining lamb stewed with tender peas, the final piece of oat bread soaked with soup, and the coffee at hand.

Putting on his top hat and standing, Klein took a step forward and directly entered the spirit world region corresponding to Utopia.

Then he undid the graft and returned through that region of the spirit world to Utopia, which had already become ruins.

—This used “grafting” together with his own ability to freely enter and leave the spirit world, indirectly achieving the effect of Teleportation. Of course, the prerequisite was being able to locate the corresponding region of the spirit world. In this regard, Klein, as the owner of Sefirah Castle, possessed a uniquely special advantage, while Zaratul and other Attendants of Mysteries could only rely on preparations.

Stepping into the ruins of Utopia, Klein looked around and saw rays of different colors flickering among the collapsed houses and charred corpses.

They were the Beyonder characteristics within the monster marionettes—wealth Klein had accumulated in the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

To him, they might no longer be useful. But he still had many believers, and the number of his Blessed would gradually increase. As a “deity,” he had to stockpile some Beyonder characteristics for bestowment.

“Good thing the Lord of Storms didn’t sweep them all away while He was at it…” Klein muttered silently, unable to resist thanking Leodero.

…

East Chester County, at the Hall family manor.

After the sun finally rose, those who had been tormented through the night returned to their rooms one after another to make up for lost sleep. Only Alfred, Earl Hall’s private bodyguards, the deacons dispatched by the Church of Evernight, and the Nighthawks remained to investigate the cause of last night’s events.

While Audrey monitored developments through the golden retriever Susie, she turned the handle of her bedroom door and walked inside.

In the faint sunlight that slipped through the curtains, a figure sat quietly on a high stool, like a large stuffed toy.

It was a giant rabbit with snow-white fur.

Audrey’s brows moved slightly, and she spoke in a low voice.

“Mr. Wrath.”

This was Mr. Wrath of the Psychology Alchemists, who had previously pursued the mind dragon Ankewelt—an existence suspected to be one of Hermes’s identities.

As she spoke, Audrey reached back and closed the door on her own initiative.

Using that movement as cover, the back of her hand flashed with a crimson “tattoo” that resembled stars.

“I am sorry for using you,” the giant white rabbit said of its own accord once the door closed. “However, I may also have been used by someone.”

Audrey thought of the doors and windows opening in the middle of the night. She took two steps forward and replied thoughtfully, “There is no need to apologize. It is enough if you do not disturb me again in the future.”

This was her tactful way of stating that she wished to leave the Psychology Alchemists, hoping no one from the organization would seek her out again.

The giant white rabbit looked at her for several seconds with its red eyes.

“Your former wish was to protect your parents and relatives. But do you not feel that you have become involved in too many troubles, and that the danger you bring them has already exceeded the help you can provide?”

Audrey fell silent for a long time.

“Under normal circumstances, a Saint can indeed provide greater safety to their family and loved ones. But the premise is that the Saint is not involved in conflicts between angels, or even gods—or that they have a sufficiently powerful organization to rely on, truly rely on,” the giant white rabbit said slowly when it saw her reaction. “I have two gifts of apology. You may freely choose one.”

“Two?” Audrey asked in a low voice.

The giant white rabbit nodded, making its ears tremble and sway.

“One is to truly become Miss Pride of the Psychology Alchemists. We can ignore your other secrets and tacitly permit your other actions, provided you do not reveal our affairs and bring danger to the Psychology Alchemists. Of course, there are drawbacks. You will have to bear certain matters and may become involved in considerable trouble. The only difference is that you will be able to obtain much assistance and timely rescue.”

“And the second?” Audrey had no intention of receiving compensation from the Psychology Alchemists at all. The best apology this secret organization could offer was to no longer disturb her.

Moreover, she deeply doubted the true purpose behind Mr. Wrath’s apology. Perhaps this was merely another attempt to use her.

The giant white rabbit answered very calmly, “I can help you split off an identity and allow ‘her’ to remain beside your relatives, providing them with a certain degree of protection and emotional comfort, while you stay far from them and live in this world under another identity.

“In this way, the troubles you are involved in will not spread to the people you wish to protect.

“In the Beyonder world, at certain times and under certain circumstances, distance is the best form of love and care.”

Audrey fell silent again. Her emerald eyes seemed like a lake that had stilled completely.

“You do not need to answer me immediately. You may also combine the two methods,” the giant white rabbit said as it left the high stool and stood. “You know how to enter Eden.”

As it spoke, its figure gradually vanished, merging into the sea of collective subconscious.

…

Bayam, inside a room of the Sea God Church.

Danitz, dressed in a gorgeous robe as a divine envoy, sat in a chair and silently looked at Alger Wilson across from him.

All the sleepiness he had accumulated after getting up in the middle of the night had been scared away without a trace.

A cardinal of the Church of Storms actually wants to defect to the Sea God Church!

In the field of religion, in the mysticism world, and in international politics, this was an extraordinary matter!

Even with only a superficial understanding of the Church of Storms, Danitz believed that, given their style, there was no way they would let this matter pass. Perhaps a natural disaster capable of destroying the entire Rorsted Archipelago was already on its way.

Moreover, a cardinal was bound to be highly valued by the Lord of Storms. Alger’s betrayal could attract divine punishment at any moment… The more Danitz thought about it, the more he trembled, afraid he would be dragged into it.

It reminded him of a proverb from his hometown:

“Do not go near those abandoned by the gods.”

Because when those fellows were struck by lightning punishment, bystanders were very likely to be implicated.

If Gehrman Sparrow hadn’t passed me a message in his capacity as Mr. Fool’s attendant, telling me to settle Alger Wilson here, I would’ve already tied up this out-of-control bomb and sent him back to the Church of Storms… The more frightened Danitz became, the more he could not help muttering inwardly.

Of course, he was merely thinking casually. He had not even considered the difference in strength between the two sides.

After a while, someone knocked on his door.

Danitz sprang up and quickly went to the door, opening it a crack.

“What did you find?” he asked in a suppressed voice.

Outside the door, the Sea God Church’s intelligence chief said concisely, “Lord Divine Envoy, the Church of Storms has replaced its cardinal.”

“What about the previous one?” Danitz asked in astonishment.

“He is said to have been transferred back to headquarters,” the intelligence chief said, relaying information gathered from certain servants of the Waves Cathedral.

Transferred back to headquarters… Just as Danitz felt confused, a grayish-white fog suddenly appeared before his eyes.

At the same time, Mr. Fool’s words sounded beside his ears:

“From this day onward, Alger is to wear a mask and serve as the pope of the Sea God Church.”