As the False Voice of Faith and Life of Pain took effect, the residents of the Town of Pleasure began to change. Their faces twisted, as emotions like fear, despair, hatred, shame, and numbness surged through them all at once.
The strong clenched their teeth and endured, though their expressions grew increasingly distorted.
The weak and the ordinary, however, collapsed to their knees and prayed desperately to their gods for salvation—only for their prayers to be redirected by the Mentor of Deceit's ability, all flowing instead to Liu Bo.
Once Ebner judged the timing to be right, he resealed the False Voice of Faith and gestured for Terance to try persuading the townsfolk again.
Although Terance didn't quite understand what had just happened, he trusted Ebner and obeyed.
To his astonishment, those who had previously argued with him now looked upon him as though he were their savior. Many nearly clung to his legs, begging him to take them away from this cursed island.
Lord Bryan is truly incredible! So this is the power of a demigod? It's far beyond human reach! Terance thought in awe, a thrill of vindication running through him. After all, these people had refused to listen before—some had even mocked him, and he hadn't been able to argue back.
Now, seeing them pleading before him filled him with a quiet satisfaction.
Of course, he didn't realize this was entirely deliberate—a little catharsis that Ebner had arranged for his descendant.
"Ebner really is amazing," Miss Gwen murmured in admiration, though beneath her praise lingered a trace of frustration. She had worked so hard to grow stronger, yet the gap between them only widened further.
After a round of pleading and persuasion, the townsfolk began heading toward the dock under the direction of Terance, Lydia, and the sailors, preparing to board the ships.
It was worth noting that Miss Gwen had anticipated the relocation of the islanders. In addition to her flagship, the Black Throne, she had brought along over a dozen Segar galleons.
Those ships had been supplied by a southern warlord supported by the Segar Duchy, and the islanders would soon become his subjects.
This arrangement was, in truth, the primary reason Gwen had worked so hard to convince them to leave—not merely pity, but an agreement she had made with that general.
And as for how Gwen had come to know a southern warlord? That was thanks to Ebner. Feeling guilty about the immense value of the Laurel, he had asked the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom's local prophet, Luca, to connect them.
Moreover, now that "Lady Dragon Might" was wanted by both Intis and Feysac, it was only natural that she would find new allies.
And once they became allies, cooperation followed naturally.
While the townsfolk were boarding the ships, Gwen returned to Ebner to thank him once more and bring up their earlier unfinished topic.
"Madam D of the Aurora Order left Corsica Island last weekend," Gwen reported. "They say she's been reassigned to Trier to oversee missionary work."
Madam D sent to Trier? Ebner's eyes narrowed slightly. Did the True Creator sense something and wish to protect her—or is He deliberately sending her into my reach?
After all, in Trier, his influence and resources were second only to Backlund's.
Could it be that the True Creator also wants me to completely decipher the secret of those five survivors—and perform another of those hidden, 'important' rituals?
Hmm… Since the God of Luck once joined the Rose of Redemption, the Ancient Sun God must have known "me." And whether Adam or the True Creator, in some sense, both stem from the Ancient Sun God…
Not to mention, the "Machine Emperor" Evans once had a tacit understanding with the True Creator as well.
Could this be the same kind of arrangement again?
Though, honestly, that Russian priest's "tacit understandings" don't have a great track record—one cost the God of Luck, another killed the Machine Emperor…
With such thoughts spinning in his mind, Ebner decided that once he returned to Trier, he would have his "Owen" persona handle the capture of Madam D.
It fit perfectly with Owen's "Lustful Gentleman" persona—no one would suspect a thing. And even if something went wrong, it was only a clone lost.
After discussing Madam D, Ebner struck up a conversation about mysticism with Gwen.
Naturally, he did most of the talking. The books left behind by Emperor Roselle aboard the Black Throne were too scattered, and Gwen was not one for systematic study. Often, a few of Ebner's sentences were enough to make her eyes light up in sudden comprehension.
This, too, was his way of repaying her for the Laurel.
Although Gwen always insisted that the map to the Laurel had been payment for saving her from Owen, Ebner knew better than anyone how contrived that "rescue" had really been.
Since he couldn't exactly explain that, this was the least he could do to make amends.
When all the townsfolk were finally aboard, Ebner concluded the impromptu lesson. Around that time, Cullen approached.
Seeing this, Gwen tactfully excused herself under the pretense of supervising the division of supplies and returned to the Black Throne.
—After all, they weren't leaving empty-handed. The remaining goods of the Town of Pleasure had become spoils to be divided between Lady Dragon Might and the Segar-backed general.
Cullen glanced at Gwen's tall, graceful back, and said with a faint, teasing smile, "I take back what I said after the Demoness of Affliction Ray's death—you're growing more and more like Roselle."
Roselle? Compared to me, he might still fall short… Ebner thought dryly. His diaries alone show how much he envied "me."
He didn't voice the thought, instead replying evenly, "What did you want to talk about?"
"I've searched the island," Cullen said seriously. "Owen Delien and Hal Constantine are nowhere to be found. Did you let them go?"
Both men had once harmed his sister, Lydia—one nearly causing her to be lost at sea. His coming along this time was as much to protect her as it was to settle that score.
Ebner looked at him, faintly surprised.
So, Cullen didn't know Owen was his own clone? Helen and Crossfia certainly did—after all, that "Lust" aspect had once pathetically taken on nine opponents at once…
Since Cullen doesn't know, there's no need to tell him.
After a moment of thought, Ebner replied vaguely, "Owen still has his uses. I'll be keeping him for now. As for Vice Admiral Deep Sea…"
He paused, then briefly recounted how Hal had been controlled, how he'd secretly betrayed the sea monster, and how he had ultimately chosen to submit to Ebner. He ended with a request:
"I've already promised not to pursue his past actions. Could you give me that courtesy? After all, Lydia wasn't actually harmed."
Cullen studied him for a long moment before nodding. "If you can forgive him, I suppose I shouldn't keep holding on either."
Then, after a brief silence, he changed the subject. "By the way, thanks to Terance's efforts, Lydia's bloodline flaw has been corrected. She can now advance to Sequence 6."
Ebner immediately caught his meaning and nodded. "I'll procure the materials for a Potion Professor soon."
Ever since Lilith reclaimed the Goddess of Beauty characteristic from the Original Moon, the surviving vampires—those who hadn't been brainwashed—were few. Most had taken refuge under other deities or never truly believed in the Original Moon to begin with.
Even so, their states were unstable; they struggled to suppress their thirst for blood.
And whenever they acted on it, they left traces. With prophecy, tracking down a wild Potion Professor wouldn't be difficult.
After that, Ebner didn't linger on the island. He bid his friends farewell and teleported back to Backlund.
—He planned to wait until next week to have "Owen" appear in Trier. Since that persona didn't have teleportation, showing up too soon would raise suspicions.
No sooner had Ebner returned to his villa than the three young relatives introduced at the previous night's ball by Patrick Braine arrived at his door.
Ebner welcomed them warmly, personally interviewing each one. He gave them each a relocation and settlement allowance of 100 gold pounds, instructing them to tie up their affairs and prepare to move to Belden City for work.
During this time, he arranged for a doctor to draw their blood under the pretext of a health examination.
Only Patrick's illegitimate son showed any hesitation; the other two complied readily. After a brief pause, even he agreed.
Once that business was settled, Ebner took the collected samples and teleported to the steam workshop in Mr. Surrey's West Borough villa.
Since the Surrey family was still consolidating power, Fanny had gifted the villa to him, making it one of Viscount Braine's Backlund estates.
There, Ebner planned to conduct a private experiment—testing the power of the Rank 1 Sealed Artifact Wild Hunt obtained from the City of Dawn, and researching its underlying mechanisms to create a similar artifact capable of summoning "Incomplete Mythical Form" entities.
After all, he still held the characteristic of the Despair Nightingale. If this worked, he would no longer need outside help to study the Demoness pathway's incomplete mythical forms.
Thus, after more than a full day of experiments, Ebner stared at the woman now standing before him—radiant yet languidly seductive—and fell into silence.
I was trying to craft an item like the Wild Hunt, something that could summon an Incomplete Mythical Form creature…
So how did I end up summoning Panatia, the Despair Nightingale herself?
The experiment had failed.
(End of Chapter)