Organizing his thoughts, Don considered several contingency plans that could make use of this module.
The remaining gains...
"Apart from that, there's only one Ironblood Knight Beyonder characteristic left."
A demigod-level Beyonder characteristic... emmm, not too shabby a haul either.
After some thought, Don buried his face in the pillow. "This is killing me."
After rolling around a few more times, he looked up at the ceiling with vacant eyes, his mind wandering.
"What happens next depends on what the Church of the Evernight Goddess means. The Angel of Concealment - being able to deploy a sealed artifact of that level, plus the Goddess's divine descent, She already knows what the Dark Side of the Universe is trying to do."
And he himself, in front of this Mother of Concealment, shouldn't have exposed anything yet.
Don began to review the scene from when he emerged from Euclidean space and fought against the Dark Side of the Universe's divine descender.
"I changed my face, and through the system's control of my body, indirectly released my own status. Euclidean space, the system, and my own status can all demonstrate anti-divination and anti-prophecy abilities."
The system belonged to the Knowledge Moor, his status and Euclidean space both belonged to the high-dimensional world, and he himself was tightly bound to the system. Euclidean space was also connected to his spirit body. With these three interconnected, plus the system's essence being related to the Knowledge Moor, with so many buffs stacked, it should be very difficult to see through.
"Add to that the erupting Abyss and Chaos Sea contamination, even if the Evernight Goddess had been in position from the very beginning, She might not have been able to see through anything via the Angel of Concealment."
"The only two problems are the Theater With Curtains That Never Draw and the Chaos Sea contamination that erupted from the Sun Scepter."
Who knew there was a goddess watching from above? Who could have thought of that?
Don wiped his face. This was also his fault - he trusted Euclidean space's observation abilities too much.
The Theater With Curtains That Never Draw - this sealed artifact had appeared in Tingen before, and afterward, to divert the church higher-ups' attention, Father had also left Tingen.
"The church higher-ups might not be able to tell that the sealed artifact that appeared in Tingen before was an Angel-level sealed artifact of the Seer pathway, but the Goddess knows about this. With a little investigation downward, She could easily discover that the sealed artifact I used is similar to, or even the same as, the one that appeared in Tingen."
Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Don banged his head against the pillow, engaging in some meaningless venting.
The Goddess knows that the Theater With Curtains That Never Draw is related to the Cosmic Dark Side, so Tingen's suspicion suddenly becomes very high, especially since the Theater With Curtains That Never Draw first appeared in Tingen as a sealed artifact.
The situation escalates, the church conducts another thorough investigation, dispatching higher-Sequence Beyonders - this isn't impossible.
"Moreover, if this matter involves Death's descendants and gets entangled with Source Quality..."
A Seer pathway Beyonder related to Death's descendants, carrying a Grade "0" sealed artifact and items related to Sephirot, fighting against an evil god - just thinking about it makes this whole affair seem bizarre.
"Even if Father made certain interferences, but in terms of the Concealment authority, the Evernight Goddess undoubtedly has extremely strong control. She might not be unable to see through the truth that Father wants to conceal."
Not to mention Death and the Goddess's relationship, and setting aside Sephirot - this high-status, high-level thing - just the fact that Death's descendants are connected to the Dark Side of the Universe, this evil god, would definitely change the church higher-ups' attitude.
When that time comes, if the Goddess delivers a divine oracle, perhaps Sequence 2 Servants of Concealment, earthbound angels, will come to visit Tingen.
The Goddess might not have locked onto his identity, but necessary investigations won't be few.
And whether there are arrangements by that priest old bastard in all this, whether the priest old bastard will come looking for him because of the Chaos Sea, whether he knows his true identity, and then directly sit next to him and listen to his inner thoughts... ahhhhh, he doesn't know, and doesn't want to know.
"The Spectator pathway is also one of the five omniscient and omnipotent pathways. The Ancient Sun God also mastered certain Chaos Sea authority, and the Visionary Angel also borrowed the Chaos Sea after ascending to godhood, fantasizing the might of a half-step Great Old One..."
Even the current Adam might not be unable to detect the secret of the Sun Scepter itself, knowing this is a mystical item that can mobilize Chaos Sea power (contamination) after meeting certain conditions.
It just depends on whether the double contamination mixed from Knowledge Moor and Chaos Sea, along with his own high status, can make this Angel King wary.
"Now that I think about it, being exposed under the noses of the Evernight Goddess and the Visionary Angel is truly hair-raising, just thinking about it is somewhat terrifying."
The Angel King of the Spectator pathway, ugh.
The Evernight Goddess, also... forget it, forget it, talking behind someone's back is wrong.
[Host, you're so hypocritical...]
"Compared to the Spectator old bastard, I'd rather deal with the Evernight Goddess. After all, with the Spectator pathway, who knows when they might sneakily pour something into my subconscious without me noticing. The Goddess, at least from what I know, conducts clearly marked transactions."
[Emmm, alright then~]
Of course, Don currently doesn't want to deal with either of them.
You can't choose between inedible and more inedible, right?
People can't, at least shouldn't.
"Better make preparations early."
Ahhhhh, don't want to think about it anymore. Shut down, sleep first and talk later. Whatever happens can wait until after he sleeps.
There's something called mental fatigue. Don, who had just advanced to Trickmaster and gone through another great escape, only felt he should sleep well and replenish his energy.
Rubbing his somewhat aching temples, Don's thoughts quickly settled down, and he soon entered dreamland... then was quickly woken up by the system again.
"What did you say?"
[Host, someone broke into your house.]
Don: ?
He was dumbfounded.
Ah no, did the Goddess come knocking this quickly?
---
Tingen.
Beside the castle built of dark blue bricks.
The baby-faced knight looked utterly hopeless. "Why do we have to come here? I haven't finished my work today yet."
If he doesn't complete his tasks, he'll probably have to go hungry tonight.
Just then, the unknown existence hidden within the baby-faced knight suddenly spoke, getting straight to the point and releasing what the Baby-faced knight most wanted to know: "Don't you want to know how to enter the beyonder world? Look, the opportunity is right in front of you. It just depends on whether you can seize this opportunity."
"You mean... Lord's place here?"
The baby-faced knight's eyes immediately lit up, though he also looked equally cautious. "Lord probably won't accept my visit."
He pursed his lips: "Besides, Lord couldn't possibly help me."
Only knight captains have the qualification to come to the Lord's residence. Someone like him, still at the bottom, would probably be killed on the spot upon entering.
His expression became dejected, and he muttered very quietly: "How could the beyonder world be so easy to enter? I don't have money... my family doesn't have this ability either."
In the depths of the baby-faced knight's mind, there seemed to be chuckling laughter. That voice said to the baby-faced knight: "Little one, once you truly understand what the Beyonder world of this world entails, you'll realize that money means nothing to Beyonders."
"...Of course, acquiring an appropriate amount of money during your Beyonder journey isn't a bad thing either."
"Sometimes, the gap between people isn't just a simple difference in status. Experience, ability, background, even through large amounts of money, can quickly bridge the status gap between two people."
The middle-aged man with meticulously combed white hair chuckled again. "Alright, approach the wall. Let's see what's inside, and after you meet the Lord here, then think about other things."
Of course, by now the entire castle had long been devoid of normal living people. Everyone, including the 'Lord and his family' mentioned by the parasite, were all marionettes.
As a Sequence 1 Worm of Time, he should have detected this long ago, but limited by the parasite's current state, plus the marionettes manipulator's nearly perfect puppetry, only when all the marionette in the castle fell at the same time not long ago did he discover the anomaly here.
"Tsk, a noble, along with his servants, butler, knights, and himself, all turned into marionettes. Done by a high-Sequence Beyonder of the Seer pathway?"
And it wouldn't be an ordinary high-Sequence either - Sequence 4, Sequence 3, very likely an earthbound angel, or a sealed artifact and mystical item of the same level.
Pallez Zoroast observed the surroundings with great interest. His current state wasn't too bad. As a Thief pathway angel, a Sequence 1 Worm of Time, just exploring a marionette castle like this - as long as it didn't involve Amon's main body, he was confident he wouldn't put himself or this parasite in danger.
"Or perhaps it's a trap deliberately set to lure me out? That's also possible, but this could also be my chance to recover some characteristics."
Facing Amon of the same pathway and sequence, Pallez Zoroast understood most clearly and knew best how to deal with this God of Trickery.
After all, sometimes the one who understands you best isn't yourself, but your enemy.
He hid himself very well and was certain Amon hadn't discovered his whereabouts. Even if there was a small possibility of facing an ambush from Amon's avatar and a high-Sequence Beyonder of the Seer pathway, this level of danger wouldn't threaten his existence.
"Hmm, not long ago, there was a sealed artifact in Tingen that should belong to the high-Sequence of the Seer pathway, then this sealed artifact was targeted by a Trickmaster from the Secret Order..."
"Then afterward, news spread of Death's descendants appearing."
This Sequence 1 angel keenly detected the subtle connections within.
Combined with the current state of the entire castle, a hypothesis slowly formed in Pallez Zoroast's mind.
So, he fearlessly stole the substance between the walls and entered the castle filled with marionettes together with the parasite.
"Indeed, parasitizing a Beyonder as the target is more helpful to me."
Pallez Zoroast sighed silently. Faced with the confused parasite whose mind was full of "so amazing, this is beyonder power," he could only shake his head helplessly.
But upon entering, this Sequence 1 angel also discovered the strangeness of the surrounding state.
He made a "huh" sound. The surroundings were very quiet - no passing servants, no guarding knights. Candlelight illuminated the castle's interior, but not a single person could be seen. It was as if this place had been abandoned long ago, yet the ground was spotless. Everything was filled with a sense of discord.
"I like the environment here. At least it makes me feel somewhat human."
The old grandfather sighed with emotion.
Baby-faced knight: "..."
He got it! He got it! He'll go back and clean his room right away!
A clean-loving old grandfather always makes people feel polite.
Don stayed inside Euclidean space, watching the chatter between the intruder and the old grandfather, silently lamenting, then took out a monocle from his pocket.
Just now, Don had split off a Spirit Worm, gave it to the War Bishop in Tingen through the 'Bionic Marionette' module, then had the War Bishop use the Bizarro Sorcerer's beyonder ability to catch an insect and make it into a marionette. He then completed an exchange with the insect marionette, thus accomplishing ultra-long-distance marionette replacement.
"After advancing to Sequence 4, with the help of the 'Bionic Marionette' module, catching me would be an extremely difficult task."
As for the monocle's purpose?
[New Mission updated.]
[Mission: 'Bizarro Sorcerer's Acting']
[After advancing to 'Bizarro Sorcerer,' you have truly gained essential transformation! Cunning, horror, terror, and madness are the truths that a Bizarro Sorcerer follows throughout their life. Please digest the potion quickly and summarize the Bizarro Sorcerer's acting principles!]
[Mission completion: 27%]
"Acting in advance was indeed correct." Look, isn't this another acting opportunity?
Don used his divinity and spirituality to form layers of ripples, leveraging the power of this space.
After becoming a demigod and gaining divinity, he could initially master certain powers of this space.
Of course, these still needed exploration. Currently, he could only apply them preliminarily.
For example, now, through Euclidean space's essence of being higher than reality's dimension, using divinity and spirituality as media, he could not only dimensionally reduce some of his beyonder powers but also dimensionally reduce part of Euclidean space, making this space's projection appear in the real world.
Another essential difference from false demigods...
Don's figure soon appeared in his own room.
After detecting someone trying to enter the castle, all the marionettes here had been recalled to the theater under the theater core's concealed power. The current entire castle was just an empty shell with nothing left.
Because of this, the entire castle felt eerie, giving people the sensation that there were people here one second, but everyone had disappeared the next - a sense of the uncanny.
The projection appeared, but the main body still remained in Euclidean space. Don naturally wasn't too afraid of this Thief pathway angel.
At the same time, he was also thinking about how Pallez Zoroast discovered this castle's secret.
Soon, he also figured out the problem.
"Earlier, when switching the theater core over, the spirit body threads were interrupted and control was lost. Even in the Miracle Invoker's hands, marionettes that have been separated for a period wouldn't directly die from losing their puppet state, but they would become unresponsive due to losing their puppeteer. Without the Miracle Invoker's concealment, being detected by this angel isn't strange either."
(End of Chapter)