Chapter 9: Witness

Chapter 9: Witness

As a Beyonder who had joined Intis’s General Directorate for External Security as a member of the Secret Order, Antoine was not encountering such a thing for the first time.

In the past, under certain circumstances, and at every advancement, he would hear the ravings of “Hornacis… Flegrea… Hornacis… Flegrea…” More than once, he had nearly lost control because of them.

What differed from the past was that this time, the content of the whispers seemed to have changed.

When the ravings subsided and his vision returned to normal, Antoine frowned slightly and muttered inwardly, My recent mental state has been very stable. I haven’t drunk any potion or attempted advancement either. Why would I hear the whispers of a hidden existence?

This seems somewhat different from before…

What does Auville represent? I lack enough information. I can’t interpret it at all…

Diran, Diran… Hmm, the higher-ups of the Order once mentioned that our mysterious and terrifying leader hid away an ancient castle called Diran…

Hiss. Just thinking about that existence makes me shiver. Although He has returned to normal over the past two years, the terrifying legends and substantial destruction He left behind before that are enough to give someone nightmares for a lifetime…

Antoine steadied his mind, temporarily suppressed his doubts, and continued assigning tasks to his subordinates.

…

Before a tombstone, Klein, who had just set down a bouquet of white flowers, tilted his head slightly, as though listening to something.

Although he heard nothing, as a King of Angels who had already come to wield part of his pathway’s authority, he could still keenly sense that certain abnormalities were occurring, and that certain concealed information was being transmitted to specific targets.

“Zaratul isn’t completely dead?” Klein withdrew his gaze and murmured under his breath.

At the time, relying on level, status, and authority, he had forcibly prevented Zaratul from reviving and had not sensed anything abnormal. Yet afterward, when he examined himself, he discovered a problem.

What he had gathered from Zaratul’s main body was a complete set of Beyonder characteristics from Sequence 9 to Sequence 1.

In other words, it included only one Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic.

But the Snake of Fate, Will Auceptin, had said that Zaratul, like the ancestor of the Antigonus family, had also occupied an extra Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic.

Thus, reality made one thing very clear: one Miracle Invoker characteristic had vanished from Zaratul. As for whether excess characteristics of Scholar of Yore, Bizarro Sorcerer, or other Sequences were also missing, Klein did not know Zaratul well enough to guess.

Based on this, Klein had long suspected that Zaratul was not completely dead.

Of course, if He wanted to revive, it would definitely not be so simple. Any method that was too simple would inevitably not be concealed enough, and would surely be discovered by higher-level existences of the same pathway, allowing them to stop it effectively.

—When Zaratul had been able to split off a Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristic, He had undoubtedly already been a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries. There were not many enemies He had to face who could restrain Him, but each one was the sort that had to be treated with the utmost caution.

Therefore, Klein believed Zaratul must have made use of that severed Beyonder characteristic in some way—not to revive directly through it, but to build multiple layered arrangements through indirect means, requiring an opportunity or certain mediums to activate them.

“It looks like He hid the portion containing the Miracle Invoker characteristic somewhere by a specific method and covered it up with multiple layers. Otherwise, when I advanced to Attendant of Mysteries, I would have been able to see it directly through Sefirah Castle…

“Hmm. After that, He should be using some reserved, concealed method to guide particular targets toward reviving Him. Heh, He never accommodated the Uniqueness, so He can’t make an ‘all-channel broadcast.’ And He also has to guard against me after my advancement, or Amon, overhearing the corresponding content and interfering. That means the group He can guide is rather limited… all members of the Secret Order, or only some of them?” Klein, crouched on one knee, nodded thoughtfully.

Immediately afterward, he exhaled and openly complained, “Why are high-Sequence Beyonders of the Seer pathway so hard to kill completely?”

There were always all kinds of preparations, all kinds of trump cards.

This gave him a true understanding of why the Goddess had not directly killed the ancestor of the Antigonus family.

For half a Fool, perhaps death itself meant new life!

“Still, exquisite and complicated concealed arrangements often mean poor risk tolerance. Perhaps Zaratul’s revival arrangement will end up benefiting some lucky member of the Secret Order. That may even be more likely than Him miraculously returning from the fog of history. Also, there is the possibility of interference, influence, and exploitation by an Outer Deity…” Klein sneered inwardly and slowly stood.

For the time being, he had no intention of searching for that Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic. Under the immense pressure brought by Amon, Mr. Error, he had no choice but to seize every moment to strengthen his humanity, stabilize his mental state, and travel to the depths of the spirit world city of Calderón to obtain water from the River of Eternal Darkness, so that he could accommodate The Fool Uniqueness. He had no time to waste on unrelated matters.

Once he successfully improved and the situation regained balance, he would not mind heading to Intis, starting with the members of the Secret Order, finding Zaratul’s hidden “treasury,” and letting this angel who had survived from the Fourth Epoch sleep forever.

After restraining his thoughts and lowering his head to gaze at the tombstone before him for a while, Klein slowly stepped back. He put his hands into his pockets, turned sideways, and entered the spirit world.

During this period of time, he had been like a traveler in the mysticism sense. Sometimes he returned to places he had once stayed. Sometimes, guided by fate, he wandered aimlessly through the spirit world, arriving in different parts of reality and witnessing different scenes.

Because of this, the portion of self-recognition and self-awareness that belonged to him had gradually recovered and strengthened little by little. At present, it could better cooperate with his anchors to suppress the will of the Celestial Worthy that had recovered to a certain extent.

This made the stability of his mental state much better than when he met the Evernight Goddess.

Within the spirit world, where blocks of color layered richly upon one another like abstract oil paintings, Klein walked a few steps without purpose, without distinction between up and down, left and right, front and back.

Then, following the guidance of fate and spirituality, he left that place and returned to the real world.

The first things to appear before his eyes were a small square and a church belonging to the Evernight Goddess.

At that very moment, many people were entering the church with joyful expressions.

I’m back in Backlund? Klein looked up at the sun piercing through thin clouds. Then, along with the crowd, he walked toward the church doors.

The moment he passed through the entrance, his gaze suddenly froze.

He saw Benson.

Benson Moretti.

This man, with black hair and brown eyes, whose features slightly resembled Klein’s but who looked rather older, had combed his hair neatly back, revealing a broad forehead.

He stood beside the altar, dressed in a crisp formal suit, looking rather nervous.

Klein stared for two seconds, then quickly withdrew his gaze and looked to the side.

His eyes swept across the front row and saw Melissa, who wore a conservative beige dress.

Compared to before, the girl’s face no longer carried childishness, and she had gained some flesh, no longer appearing so thin.

She constantly spoke with the people around her, skillfully handling all kinds of tasks and social interactions.

“She still dresses so old-fashioned. At least she didn’t get a black outfit…” The corners of Klein’s mouth lifted slightly as he muttered. He walked to a corner of the church and found a seat.

After more than ten minutes, Melissa finished her work and sat down in her place.

Festive, cheerful music began to sound, gradually taking on a somewhat sacred quality.

A lady dressed in a holy wedding gown entered through the doors, one hand holding her father’s arm and the other holding her mother’s. Step by step, she walked down the aisle toward the altar.

Near the altar, Benson faintly swallowed, then revealed a smile he could not suppress.

This was his wedding.

Seeing this from the corner, Klein leaned back slightly, lowered his head a little, and muttered, “Smiling like a curly-haired baboon…”

After the bride’s parents escorted her before the altar, she first gave Benson a small curtsy before turning toward the sacred emblem and the clergyman.

Benson returned the bow, then turned as well.

Once the bride’s parents had taken their seats, the clergyman spoke.

“Under the gaze of the merciful Goddess, I shall witness a sacred marriage.”

“Praise the Goddess.” Among the guests, all believers of the Evernight Goddess raised their right hands at the same time and tapped their chests clockwise four times, drawing the symbol of stars.

Klein was among them.

After everyone settled, the clergyman turned his head toward the bride and said, “Miss Ruth Brooke, are you willing to take this man beside you as your husband and enter into marriage with him? Are you willing, throughout the long life to come, whether in poverty or wealth, in sickness or health, to love him, respect him, accompany him, and care for him until the end of life?”

The lady named Ruth looked at the Evernight Goddess’s sacred emblem and nodded solemnly.

“I am willing.”

The smile on Benson’s face overflowed again.

The clergyman then looked toward him.

“Mr. Benson Moretti, are you willing to take this woman beside you as your wife and enter into marriage with her? Are you willing, throughout the long life to come, whether in poverty or wealth, in sickness or health, to love her, respect her, accompany her, and care for her until the end of life?”

Benson immediately nodded.

“I am willing!”

Seeing this and hearing those words, Melissa’s vision instantly blurred. Her heart was both aching and joyful.

After all that had happened, their family had finally welcomed a new member.

Suddenly, she instinctively turned her head and looked toward the corner, seeing a seat standing empty, with no one sitting there.

Melissa pressed her lips together and shook her head slightly.

Her gaze swept back and forth across that area for several seconds before slowly withdrawing, returning once more to the altar.

Only after the clergyman announced that the marriage had been established and Benson and Ruth had officially become husband and wife did Melissa’s face reveal a smile again.

…

East Chester County, within the Hall family manor.

Klein’s figure stepped out from the void.

The stability of his mind had recovered somewhat. He could now seek treatment from a psychiatrist.

At the same time, he also had to resolve a problem.