Seeing a stranger break into her room, Audrey felt a trace of fear, but still forced herself to remain calm as she grabbed the "charm" sealed with spirituality from her bedside, ready to loudly question the intruder and summon her family's bodyguards.
Yet before the words could leave her mouth, her spirituality gave a warning—if she made a loud sound, it would cause irreversible and terrifying consequences.
Instinctively, she glanced at Susie and found that her golden retriever, while maintaining a "vigilant" stance, was also suppressing the growl in her throat.
At that moment, the figure hidden under a black robe lowered her voice and said:
"Miss Audrey, it's me… also, please don't make too much noise…"
A woman? And that voice sounded familiar… Audrey had just thought this when the figure stepped out of the shadows, pulling back her hood so that a cascade of waist-length black hair fell loose.
"Isslant Ossisleka?" Audrey immediately recognized the visitor—it was none other than Miss Isslant, the "psychological alchemist" who, though posing as a psychiatrist, was in fact only at the level of a "Telepathist."
And I'm already preparing for my promotion to Hypnotist!
Letting out a small sigh of relief, Audrey's gaze was suddenly drawn to the suitcase at Isslant's feet.
Because from that box, she "read" a few stray "thoughts," and realized it was very fond of her appearance, as if it wanted to strip off her "wrapping," wash her clean, and slowly consume her…
Although the compliment about my looks makes me happy… but what does "slowly consume" mean? Ugh! And I don't need a suitcase's compliments!
The suppression from something higher on the food chain made Audrey tense again. She dared not look at the suitcase further and lowered her voice:
"Miss Isslant, can you explain why you've appeared in my room at this hour?"
"Good evening, Miss Audrey." The baby-faced Isslant curtseyed first, then said with some embarrassment, "I'm very sorry to disturb you so late… but I've actually come to ask for help!"
"Help?" Audrey furrowed her brow, summoning Susie back to her side. She then saw her big dog signal with a glance, indicating that the intruder meant no harm and that she could listen to her first.
She just gave me a look… Audrey's expression grew complicated, but she gave a soft "mm" before continuing:
"Miss Isslant, can you explain more specifically?"
Isslant didn't hide anything. She recounted how she had been coerced by a suitcase into traveling to East Chester County to await a certain "task," how she had the misfortune to encounter an "Arbiter" conducting a search, and how she had no choice but to unseal the suitcase and use its power to escape.
But this time, after being "unsealed," the suitcase had clearly gone wrong. Its "appetite" was growing, and it had become picky about the quality of flesh and blood…
Driven to desperation, Isslant dared not confess to the Church. With no other choice, she suddenly remembered that Miss Audrey Hall was currently in East Chester, and that her family was surely protected by powerful Beyonders. So she had slipped inside to seek help, only hoping to have the box sealed again.
A hunger for flesh, capable of using abilities from multiple pathways, and bearing the trait of being "alive"… That's at least a Shepherd-level sealed artifact! Father's hired bodyguards will hardly be able to handle it. One misstep, and not only Susie and I, but even Father and Mother could be in danger!
As a member of the Tarot Club, Audrey had been exposed to far more advanced knowledge than Isslant, who was only a mid-to-lower tier member of the Psychological Alchemists. From the description alone, Audrey had already made a preliminary judgment about the box.
At the same time, though she understood Isslant's thinking, she was still angry that the woman had brought such danger to her home.
Calm down, Audrey… anger won't solve the problem. Even if I want to punish Isslant, I have to resolve the crisis first! Hmm… from what I know, Father's bodyguards are only mid-Sequence, and many are placed here by the Church of the Night…
Even if they could handle this box, they'd definitely take Isslant away afterward. And that would inevitably expose my membership in the Psychological Alchemists. Because of Father's status, the Church likely wouldn't arrest me… but it would draw far more scrutiny, and I'd lose my freedom…
More importantly, if the bodyguards make a mistake and the box runs wild, my entire family could die!
So… the safest way is still to pray to Mr. Fool, and ask Him for protection!
As Audrey pondered, sweat beaded on Isslant's forehead. She spoke anxiously:
"Miss Audrey… it—it has at most five minutes before it starts going 'mad.'
"Please, think of something quickly."
Hearing this, Audrey came back to her senses and made a decision. She instructed Susie to watch Isslant, while she herself pretended to leave in search of help…
In reality, once she left the bedroom, she did not alarm the night maids. Instead, she used the "Open Door" charm Ebner had once given her to slip into a separate room.
There, Audrey sat down, leaned forward, clasped her hands together in prayer, and pressed them against her forehead.
In Hermes she whispered:
"Oh Fool who does not 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."
…
Above the gray fog, seated in the Fool's chair, Klein—after divining the potion formula for "Priest of Light"—picked up the slender blood crystal extracted from the body of Gilchies the Slaughterer.
This was not the opponent's "Beyonder characteristic." After all, Gilchies' soul and characteristic had already been swallowed into the "Creeping Hunger."
Klein thought for several seconds before carefully writing a divination statement:
"Its origin."
Holding the item and the paper, Klein once again silently recited the words and entered the dream.
In the gray foggy world, he saw the great sailing ship "Death Announcer," with its bow and stern both sharply raised. He saw Gilchies' bottomless loyalty and reverence for that ship, so deep that he had no sense of self before it.
Moments later, Klein opened his eyes.
Sitting up straight, he looked at the slender blood crystal and silently murmured to himself:
"'Death Announcer' is alive?
"A sealed artifact with the trait of life?
"This crystal is the source of its control over its crew, with intense corruption. Whether human or object, anything without sufficient rank would be corroded… becoming an actual part of it?"
Lifting the crystal, inhaling its faint sulfurous scent, Klein faintly felt the corrosive power hidden deep within.
"It's said the Abyss is the most corrupting place of all. Even angels would lose control and fall there, and those who guard the Abyss would eventually be assimilated… The traits of the 'Death Announcer' match this perfectly.
"And perhaps it's not just an illusion—I feel Liu Bo's way of 'transmigrating' might actually be somewhat similar to this…
"Right, Ebner once told me that in his life as the God of Fortune, he seemed to have separated an imprint of the 'Shadow World' connected to the Abyss, and even conducted 'experiments' with it…
"Though he never revealed to me what the 'Shadow World'—or rather the 'Sefirot'—truly is, I suspect Liu Bo's research into the Tenebrous World affected the Abyss somehow… Perhaps the 'Death Announcers' method was a byproduct of his experiments."
Klein let his thoughts wander further, then considered another question:
"So the true 'King of the Immortality' is actually the 'Death Announcer'? Agalito is merely its agent—or perhaps just a manager with partial authority? Ha, as Bernadette guessed, Agalit might not even be a demigod!"
He fell silent for a few seconds, then attempted another divination, this time to seek insight into the purpose of the slender blood crystal.
He wasn't worried about attracting calamity—in fact, he was prepared for it. Even if it linked him to the Abyss, to the "Cosmos' Dark Side," or to Liu Bo in his era as the God of Fortune, at worst it would be like the backlash from the True Creator or the Eternal Blazing Sun, and Klein was confident he could withstand it.
Soon, in the foggy gray world, he saw an ancient altar drenched in blood. Upon it were inscribed filthy words and symbols, as if they were shouting.
The scene shifted. A tall, handsome man over three meters in height placed the condensed blood crystal and a soul onto the altar. He performed a ritual that turned the soul into an "egg."
"It really works…" the man muttered just as the foggy world shattered. Klein slowly opened his eyes and sat upright.
"An egg… Roselle's diary recorded that Yaldabaoth hatched from an egg…
"So this 'blood crystal' has the ability of resurrection?
"And who was that tall man? The God of Fortune? Was that one of His experiments?
"Also, the blood crystal I just saw was far more 'complete' than the one in my hand… So the 'Death Announcer' must have been a byproduct, a half-finished result of that man's experiments… What I have here is only a defective version?"
Hmph, why am I thinking so much? I have no intention of using something demonic anyway. Better to hand this over to the 'Tower' to research, and just wait for the results.
Thinking this, Klein casually tossed the slender, damaged blood crystal together with the gleaming crystal—the Beyonder characteristic left behind by the "Priest of Light"—into the junk pile.
Just as he prepared to return to reality, he saw the crimson star symbolizing Miss Justice expanding and contracting.
…
(End of Chapter)