In the sunroom of Red Rose Manor on the outskirts of the Empress Borough of Backlund...
Prince Edessak poured out his misfortunes to his childhood friend as if venting. At last, he sighed, forced a small smile, and said, "Leland... no, I should call you Lina. It's an honor that you patiently listened to my complaints... after all, that proves I haven't completely failed as a person... I still have friends.
"However, it's time for you to leave... the person sent by the royal family to supervise my 'execution' should be arriving soon...
"And the fact that I've had time to say goodbye to you means Finkel has truly abandoned me... Otherwise, he would've stormed in to stop us long ago.
"Heh... he still cherishes some old friendship, at least. He didn't plan to act personally and even left me a window to escape... unfortunately, it's useless."
After hearing Edessak's account, Lina finally understood just how deeply her friend was entangled in this incident. She frowned tightly, clutching the "Witch" card he had just given her, and asked agitatedly, "You plan to just sit here and wait to die? To wait for this so-called 'ending of your story'?"
She stared straight into his eyes and said seriously, "The Edessak I know would never give up so easily!
"Besides, since you love that witch Trissy, shouldn't you fight to stay alive for her?"
Prince Edessak was momentarily dazed by her words, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Unfortunately, this matter is too serious. If I don't die, there's no way to explain it to the Church...
"Lina, you know... our fates are actually quite similar..." Both discarded pawns in unspeakable deals.
He had completely realized his situation. If Lina chose to leave, not many would stop her, but if she tried to take him along, it would likely provoke a Sequence 5 or even demi-god-level powerhouse into action.
"But I never intended to throw my life away! Edessak, some things can only change if you fight!" Lina, seasoned by hardship, was far more determined than the pampered prince. She closed her eyes briefly, made a decision in her heart, and continued, "Besides, what seems like a desperate situation to us may only be a small matter to certain beings."
"What are you planning to do?" Edessak looked over in astonishment, eyes wide.
From Lina's tone, he could more or less guess her intention.
"Just as you suspect, I'm going to pray for help from a hidden existence..." As she spoke, Lina took out various materials and began to set up a ritual.
Edessak watched her with a complicated expression and said, "I'm not worth you going this far for..."
"In those years when I 'disappeared,' you were the only friend who still cared about me and tried to find me!" Lina replied without even lifting her head. She then placed the "Witch" card onto the makeshift altar and for the first time uttered the honorific name of the "god" she had long claimed to believe in:
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era; You are the Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog; You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
Before, Lina had always relied on Shok... no, Shoko, to contact Mr. Fool. But to save Edessak, she had no choice but to take the risk of establishing a closer connection with that mysterious being herself...
Fortunately, Edessak's "Blasphemy Card" was a very valuable offering—it should be enough to please Mr. Fool. Lina thought this to herself even as she 'devoutly' prayed.
Hearing Lina's prayer, Edessak, though still worried, couldn't help but feel a faint glimmer of hope.
After all, regarding the Fool and the "Hero" and "Tarot Club" organizations under Him, Prince Edessak had once commissioned the great detective Sherlock Moriarty to investigate and had obtained considerable information, learning that it was a powerful force opposed to the Aurora Order and the "True Creator."
I didn't expect my friend to be a believer of the Fool... no wonder she was able to break free from the control of the Witch Cult back then...
.....
In a mountain forest outside Backlund, Klein had been fleeing after witnessing Mr. A being "erased" by a beautiful young woman in a dark robe. He was trying to find a small town to blend into the crowd and hide himself.
Only by staying within human society could a Faceless's abilities be fully utilized.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel uneasy about the woman—no, the witch—who had gone toward the East Borough...
Judging by the ritual, there was likely a large-scale massacre there. I don't know... With a Seer's spiritual intuition, Klein suddenly felt a heavy weight in his heart.
At that moment, all the colors before his eyes deepened, as if splashed with divine paint.
The feeling passed in an instant, and Klein realized he was no longer where he had been. Azik Eggers, with bronzed skin and gentle features, appeared beside him.
Klein quickly asked him about the outcome of the battle among the demigods and expressed concern over whether Mr. Azik had been injured.
Azik merely smiled and shook his head. He then gave a brief account of the fight and concluded, "Ince Zangwill is still alive, still wielding that '0'-level Sealed Artifact... and he likely has an item that allows him to completely hide himself... at least, I can no longer detect his whereabouts."
It must be the 'Fallen Morning Star'... the one I lost... Klein thought heavily, then began to describe the magical item crafted by Roselle to Mr. Azik.
"I think I've heard of that item..." Mr. Azik frowned slightly and, after thinking for a moment, continued, "It's fairly famous among Beyonders. I vaguely recall someone once relying on it to evade the tracking of an Augustus family angel."
Avoided an angel's pursuit? Klein hadn't expected that item to have such an "experience." For a moment, he felt a little guilty. After all, it belonged to Mr. Tower—the more valuable it was, the bigger his "debt" became.
Azik didn't say more about the "Fallen Morning Star." Instead, he shifted to talking about 0-08's functions and limitations. Although Klein already knew most of it, it still served as confirmation from Azik.
Klein had originally wanted to ask about the vampire Viscount Cullen, but Mr. Azik himself seemed to have caught the attention of a powerful Church of the Evernight Goddess member and couldn't stay too long. He could only quickly say, "Mr. Azik, I obtained a Blasphemy Card made by Emperor Roselle. It contains secrets of higher Sequences. I believe it can help you recall more things, but you'll have to wait a bit. It's hidden in Backlund."
Klein intended to use this method to thank Azik for his help and sacrifices. As for asking about Cullen, he could wait until he was safe and then write a letter.
Azik looked at him slightly surprised, but ultimately said nothing, merely nodded lightly and said, "Once you retrieve it, have the messenger bring it to me. I'll return it after studying it, or you can just transcribe the relevant parts and give me that."
He paused, seeming reluctant to accept such a gift outright, even though he understood it was out of gratitude...
After thinking for a moment, Azik pulled a thin glove from his pocket, so light it seemed made of human skin, and handed it to Klein. "This was the relic of that pirate general from before. I applied a seal so that it won't feel hunger ordinarily, but each time you use it, you must feed it with a human's flesh and soul, or it will devour you.
"Anyway, I have no use for it now. It's more suitable for you as a means of self-defense.
"Don't refuse... Heh, it's already been rejected once by Detective Brian... You won't turn your nose up at it too, will you?"
.....Creeping Hunger? Left behind by a deceased "Shepherd"? Klein immediately recalled what the glove represented.
But... Detective Brian? Mr. Azik knows Mr. Tower too? And from the way he spoke, it seemed he thought I was familiar with Detective Brian?
Klein was just about to ask when Azik suddenly looked toward the northwest. Leaving only the words, "Keep in contact through letters," he then used Spirit World Traversal and vanished.
Naturally, Klein didn't dare linger either. Even though thanks to Detective Isengard's endorsement he had obtained a semi-official identity through the Machinery Hivemind, given that the incidents involved the awakening of the Primordial Demoness and the descent of the True Creator—cases of the highest order—he would inevitably face a strict investigation, including being asked to "taste" red tea by the Machinery Hivemind, Mandated Punishers, and Nighthawks, repeating the entire process actively or passively.
And his identity would not withstand serious scrutiny...
Very soon, Klein blended into a nearby small town, changed his appearance, and lodged in a modest inn.
Afterward, he drew the curtains tight in his room, arranged a ritual, and brought Creeping Hunger above the gray fog for study.
In the silent, empty ancient palace, just as Klein was about to divine the thin human-skin glove, he saw among the crimson stars floating in the boundless gray mist, one suddenly lit up, radiating liquid-like light!
It expanded and contracted, contracted and expanded, extremely eye-catching.
Yet it wasn't one of the crimson stars belonging to any member of the Tarot Club, nor to his "Blessed."
Which reckless fellow just chanted the Fool's honorable name again? Klein thought as he extended his spirituality toward it, but didn't respond—just browsed.
As Klein's spirituality touched it, the crimson "star" that kept expanding and contracting revealed its images and sounds:
A woman dressed in a shirt and vest, disguised as a man, was praying with clasped hands.
Lina? She wants to offer a Blasphemy Card as a sacrifice to seek my protection for Edessak?
This...
Klein initially felt a little troubled, but then recalled what Mr. Azik had just said about the recent battle: a probable member of the Loen royal family, a demigod, had suffered backlash while cursing Mr. Azik and likely perished because of it!
And the demigod who fought Ince Zangwill back then was the "Goddess' Eye" of the Church of the Evernight Goddess...
A royal demigod's fall—the faction within Loen collaborating with the Aurora Order and the Witch Sect absolutely couldn't cover that up... After all, it was witnessed firsthand by the Goddess' Eye!
So, this would actually relieve the pressure on Edessak... After all, he couldn't possibly shoulder such a heavy blame! The Church could accept that he colluded with witches but would never believe he commanded a demigod to serve him.
The fallen demigod would be the perfect scapegoat! As for the prince... If he truly escaped, it might even draw the Church's attention elsewhere... Of course, that's assuming His Highness doesn't know too much of the inside story...
Thinking of this, Klein attempted a few divinations and concluded that the people sent by the royal family to handle the prince were not of high Sequence and weren't very dangerous. After a brief consideration, he decided to send a commission to Mr. Tower to see if he could take on the task of rescuing the prince.
Hopefully it's not too late... Klein sighed. He actually had a good impression of Prince Edessak—mainly because the man had been generous when paying, and Lina and Shoko had helped him a lot before, so he genuinely hoped to save him.
Of course, more crucially, he couldn't allow the royal faction that colluded with cults and caused massive casualties to succeed!
But just as he was thinking and reaching out with his spirituality to the crimson "star" belonging to Tower, he discovered that it seemed shrouded by a layer of mist, completely blocking communication with Mr. Tower's spirit.
What's going on?!
(End of Chapter)