"Yes, it was one of His avatars," Derrick answered. "But it was purified by the Fool, so I wasn't harmed."
Purified by the Fool…
Cattleya resisted the urge to turn her head and pondered the significance of that statement.
She had assumed that the resurrecting Fool couldn't exert much power yet, but this suggested otherwise. It seemed that under certain circumstances, He could temporarily break free of His limitations and unleash divine-level strength…
But wait—why was Miss Fate possessed by Amon?
Cattleya turned to Alice and, without hiding her curiosity, asked, "Miss Fate, how did you end up getting possessed by Amon?"
Alice put on a deep, serious expression. "Amon wanted to use me to escape His destiny."
Klein immediately recalled the two absurd books and understood what Alice was referring to.
Yeah… that's definitely something worth escaping.
Cattleya, however, wasn't focused on the same thing. She wasn't confused about Amon's supposed fate but rather something else. After choosing her words carefully, she asked again:
"So… you allowed Him to possess you?"
Alice instantly grasped her meaning. With a half-smile, she glanced at Cattleya and replied,
"Only an idiot would allow something like that."
She continued in a casual yet weighty tone:
"As a 'Blasphemer' and former 'Angel King,' even true gods must be on guard against Amon.
"After all, 'Lord of Storms' himself had a donation box stolen by Amon once. He's still listed on the wanted posters in Backlund."
After a pause, Alice added, "Amon personally admitted to that crime—it's not me slandering Him!"
Klein, seated above the gray fog, felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.
Amon admitted to it…?
Given the events of the last Tarot gathering, Cattleya immediately realized that Amon couldn't have been the real culprit.
Still, what is an Angel King?
She made a mental note to investigate the term later. Then, rather than hesitate, she asked directly, "What does 'Angel King' mean?"
Alice pondered for a moment before responding, "Are you asking about their power or their role?"
"Both," Cattleya answered, masking her emotions.
Alice explained:
"The Creator surrounded Himself with countless angels. Among them, the leaders were known as the Angel Kings.
"There were eight Angel Kings in total—Amon and Adam were among them.
"As for their power… They surpass Sequence 1 but fall short of true gods."
Unnoticed in a quiet corner, Emlyn silently committed every word to memory, planning to research this further once he returned home.
Cattleya's pupils contracted slightly. She carefully avoided looking at the Fool and cautiously refrained from probing Alice further.
But Alice didn't need prompting. She continued on her own:
"The 'Fate' pathway isn't suited for combat, and besides, when I met Amon…"
She clicked her tongue and explained, "Let's put it this way—Amon was treating me like a toy.
"Then, out of curiosity—probably—He tried to steal my fate.
"…Well, I'm sure you can guess what happened next."
Alice trailed off, but Cattleya didn't need her to finish. The outcome was easy to imagine.
Though the exact details remained unclear, one thing was certain: Alice's fate contained something deeply unnatural.
After all, she was suspected to be the former god of the Fate pathway.
Stealing Alice's fate had undoubtedly backfired on Amon.
At that moment, Audrey suddenly recalled something and turned to Cattleya with a question:
"Miss Hermit, when Amon's avatar was purified by Mr. Fool, it left behind a worm-like creature with twelve transparent rings. It was called a 'Time Worm'—is that true?"
"Yes," Cattleya confirmed after a brief moment of thought.
Audrey pressed on, "Which pathway does it belong to? I mean, the 'Blasphemer' pathway—what supernatural sequence does it stem from?"
"I know!" Alice raised her hand eagerly. "'Thief'—or rather, 'Error.' It's a pathway full of thieves and con artists."
Audrey hesitated. "That sounds like a rather… sinister pathway. But also…"
Clearly, she found it hard to reconcile the idea of such petty crimes with higher-sequence powers.
Cattleya stepped in to clarify:
"It is said that once a 'Thief' pathway Beyonder reaches the Saint or Angel level, they can deceive fate, defraud the laws of the world, and become parasites of time."
She then turned to Alice and remarked, "While 'thieves and con artists' isn't entirely inaccurate… 'Error' is the sequence name for…"
"If Amon became a god, He would be called 'The Great Error,'" Alice interrupted with a smirk.
She then added, "But really, think about it—He's the Creator's child. Born an Angel King. And after all this time, He still hasn't become a god?
"That's just embarrassing!"
The others stared at Alice as she made her final decision: "I'll write Him a letter mocking Him about this when I get back!"
At that point, the conversation had drifted so far that none of the Tarot Club members dared to comment.
Audrey wisely redirected the discussion:
"Miss Hermit, do you know what Time Worms can be used for?"
Klein, seated above the gray fog, perked up and silently praised Audrey for her quick thinking.
Cattleya didn't hesitate to share her knowledge.
"They are highly spiritual materials with unique properties. They can be used in certain rituals or to craft high-grade charms. However, I don't know the exact methods."
Alice suddenly thought of something. She raised her hand and asked curiously, "In that case, can you eat them?"
Cattleya's composed expression cracked slightly.
Alice propped her chin on her hand and elaborated, "I mean, like a normal meal—cooked, fried, something like that… Have you ever looked into it?"
For the first time in a long while, Cattleya was at a loss for words. After a long pause, she forced a smile and said, "No."
Alice let out a disappointed sigh but then perked up again. "Well, if they could be eaten, how do you think they'd taste best?"
This time, Cattleya fell completely silent.
After gritting his teeth for several moments, Klein finally controlled "The World" and said:
"Miss Fate, if you're really that curious, you could ask Amon in the letter you're writing to mock Him.
"I'm sure He'd be delighted to tell you."
Alice actually considered it.
"Hmm, maybe not… But you're right, it's probably safer to ask in a letter rather than face-to-face."