Chapter 8: Joint Action

Chapter 8: Joint Action

Pope… Danitz was so startled that he almost could not believe the oracle he had heard.

If this instruction had not come directly from Mr. Fool, he would definitely have blurted out a curse.

Of course, if the one opposite him had been Gehrman Sparrow, he would also have managed to hold it in.

“Lord Divine Envoy, is there anything else?” Outside the door, the intelligence chief of the Sea God Church saw that Saint Danitz’s expression had become rather strange and grew somewhat afraid.

Danitz gathered his thoughts and squeezed out a faint smile.

“Keep a close watch on any movement from the Waves Cathedral.”

“Yes, Lord Divine Envoy.” The intelligence chief secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly bowed, and took his leave.

Danitz turned back and looked at Alger Wilson. With a radiant smile, he said, “Mr. Fool has delivered an oracle.”

Alger did not dare neglect it at all. He immediately stood and pressed his right palm against his left chest.

Danitz straightened his back and spoke solemnly.

“God says: from this day onward, Alger shall wear a mask and serve as the pope of the Sea God Church.”

“Mr. Fool’s will is my wish!” Alger could not conceal the smile that appeared on his face as he bowed.

Half of his smile was for Danitz, displaying his humility. The other half was sincere, because this oracle signified two things:

Mr. Fool and the Lord of Storms had reached a certain agreement and understanding. His defection would no longer be pursued. Of course, he had to wear a mask and use an alias, so that the Church of Storms would not lose face.

Becoming the pope of the Sea God Church was a key step toward the throne of Sea God.

In Alger’s view, this meant he had officially become one of Mr. Fool’s subordinates. In the future, whether he exchanged for the identity of Sea God or went one step further and served as the leader of the Church of The Fool, there would be a considerable chance. And Mr. Fool was a gradually awakening great existence, on the same level as the true gods—or even slightly higher. How could His representative possibly not be an angel?

After finishing his bow, Alger waited patiently for a while, until Divine Envoy Danitz brought him a silver-black mask.

He received the mask and solemnly put it on his face.

…

Leonard, wearing red gloves, strolled along the coast of the Midseashire, enjoying the rare leisure after having just dealt with a supernatural case.

As for the strange opening of doors and windows last night, he had already received an order from the Sanctuary: he did not need to investigate it and should not look too deeply into it.

Leonard wanted to obey this order, but he was unable to, because he had already learned the rough truth from the old man, Pallez Zoroast.

Mr. Door had returned to the real world, and the Angel of Time, Amon, had seized the opportunity to steal His apotheosis ritual, advancing to Sequence 0 Error. Almost simultaneously, Mr. Fool had recovered further, establishing weak, fleeting connections through Sefirah Castle with Beyonders of the Seer, Apprentice, and Marauder pathways.

—As an angel of the Marauder pathway, Pallez Zoroast had undoubtedly been able to sense Amon becoming a god, experience the corresponding changes in authority, and discover that Sefirah Castle had established some kind of connection with Him.

“Old man, now that Amon has advanced to Sequence 0, you shouldn’t be of any use to Him anymore. Why are you still ‘parasitizing’ inside me?” After breathing in the fresh morning air, Leonard asked in a lowered voice, half puzzled and half concerned.

In his mind, Pallez Zoroast gave a “heh.”

“Naive.

“Do you feel that, now that you’ve become a Saint and mastered a great deal of mysticism knowledge, you no longer need my instruction?”

“You can teach me face-to-face,” Leonard said after considering his tone.

To him, having an angel “parasitizing” inside his body had both benefits and drawbacks.

The benefit was that, even if he encountered a true mythical creature now, it was not as if he had no strength to resist. As long as he whispered “old man,” perhaps the problem would be solved. In addition, knowledge of Fourth Epoch history and various uncommon mysticism matters was extremely useful.

The most obvious drawback was that his life was controlled by the parasite. If the other party harbored ill intent, Leonard had no way to stop Him.

This problem had once been Leonard’s greatest worry, but it was no longer important now. Mr. Fool’s recovery had advanced further and could completely suppress Pallez Zoroast. Moreover, Leonard had become a high-ranking deacon of the Church of Evernight and would certainly be under the Evernight Goddess’s gaze, perhaps even specially marked. Under such circumstances, that deity who held authority over concealment could not possibly fail to notice Pallez Zoroast. If the old man had malicious intentions, he would have been dealt with long ago.

Leonard’s current greatest frustration was that many things were not very convenient.

Although he had already grown used to entering and leaving the washroom while an old fellow “parasitized” inside him—and even chatting with the other party while squatting on the toilet—in such situations, he still preferred to be alone.

Therefore, he felt it would be better if the old man left his body and lived in his home like an elder. When he needed to handle a more dangerous matter, the old man could temporarily “parasitize” him again.

Hearing Leonard’s suggestion, Pallez Zoroast sneered.

“Are you also thinking that, after returning home, you’ll undo the parasitism, and when you need to go out, I can parasitize you again?

“You think I’m your bodyguard?”

Leonard laughed dryly twice and changed his words.

“If you haven’t fully recovered yet and want to continue parasitizing me, I have no objection.”

Pallez Zoroast was silent for two seconds. Then His slightly aged voice echoed once more in Leonard’s mind.

“The next period will be the most dangerous. For the position of Lord of the Mysteries, The Fool and Amon are bound to have a battle. When that time comes, under the influence of the various laws of Beyonder characteristics, angels of the same pathways like us might be affected. Heh. It is still safer to take shelter within Evernight’s gaze.

“Once the Lord of the Mysteries is born, even if you beg me to parasitize you, I won’t care to!”

Leonard was slightly stunned and instinctively repeated a title.

“Lord of the Mysteries?”

“That is not something you can understand in depth. Of course, with me here, there is no need to worry too much.” Pallez Zoroast spoke with both a sigh and a measure of pride.

Leonard was just about to seize the chance to ask further when he saw a Red Glove member running over with a telegram.

“Your Excellency, a telegram from the Sanctuary.” The team member bowed respectfully.

Leonard gave a slight nod, took the telegram, and quickly read through it.

“Proceed to the Southern Continent and participate in the operation to encircle and purge the Rose School of Thought.”

Southern Continent… Rose School of Thought… Leonard extracted the two most important terms.

He swiftly returned to the largest church in the city and, through a large-scale ritual magic, established contact with the Sanctuary. In a dream, he saw the pope, Lady Arianna, and other high-ranking figures.

After a brief exchange, Leonard roughly understood the essence of the mission.

Each of the orthodox Churches would dispatch three to four demigods to the Southern Continent to encircle and purge the Rose School of Thought, which had been extremely active ever since the total war.

This was a long-term mission, because the demigods of the Rose School of Thought all knew how to conceal their whereabouts and acted with great secrecy. They were not easy to find, not easy to lock onto, and not easy to deal with.

According to the pope, achieving sufficient results within three years would already be considered good.

During this process, the Sanctuary would rotate the demigods depending on the situation, ensuring that the archbishops and high-ranking deacons responsible for the matter maintained relatively stable mental states.

After leaving the dream, Leonard looked around and said in a low voice, “Old man, something feels strange. Why would all the Churches suddenly want to encircle and purge the Rose School of Thought?”

This was not an easy task. Over the past few centuries, it was not as if the orthodox Churches had never attempted similar operations. But they could only suppress and weaken the Rose School of Thought; they could not truly eradicate it.

On one hand, the allies had rifts between them, suspicions, and a lack of coordination. On the other, although the Rose School of Thought’s demigods were indulgent and mentally unstable, when facing danger, they still knew how to evade, hide, and conceal themselves. They would not simply rush to their deaths.

Moreover, they had the protection of the Chained God and the Mother Tree of Desire, making it difficult for the gods to provide precise guidance for such operations.

Pallez Zoroast did not answer Leonard’s question immediately. Only after more than ten seconds did He sigh and speak in a slightly aged voice.

“This is to clear hidden dangers and prepare for the apocalypse.”

Prepare for the apocalypse… Leonard opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he fell silent.

…

Backlund, Harvest Church.

Emlyn White had just entered the hall and had not yet had time to go to the room to change when he saw Father Utravsky stand up from the front row like a mountain rising from the earth.

“The Mother Goddess has commanded us to head to the Southern Continent and bury those evil ones,” the Blessed said in a low voice.

His voice echoed through the hall like slowly spreading, muffled thunder, startling the Sanguine believers who were praying and causing them to open their eyes one after another.

So last night’s dream was real… Emlyn listened in a daze of realization.

Last night, he had dreamed of the Ancestor. He had dreamed that She ordered him and Father Utravsky to join forces with the Temperance faction of the Rose School of Thought and head to the Southern Continent to deal with the members of the Rose School of Thought who believed in the Primordial Moon.

Of course, if there was an opportunity, enemies who believed in the Mother Tree of Desire could not be spared either.

Because there were often false revelations, Emlyn had not taken the dream to heart. He had planned to change clothes, complete his prayers, and then seek confirmation from Father Utravsky.

He gave a soft “Mm” and responded to Father Utravsky with surprising steadiness:

“There is no need to hurry.

“I will first contact the members of the Temperance faction of the Rose School of Thought.”

Father Utravsky nodded without minding at all.

“Also choose some voluntary Sanguine.”

…

Intis Republic, capital city Trier.

A supervisor of an intelligence agency was currently assigning tasks to his subordinates.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and beside his ears sounded a voice that seemed to come from somewhere impossibly far away:

“Auville… Diran… Auville… Diran…”