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With a wave of his hand, George deactivated the Mirror World, and the group instantly found themselves standing back within the charred and mangled ruins of the Blackthorn Security Company.
"Thank you, sir, for slaying the Evil God and saving Tingen," Dunn Smith said, his voice laced with a heavy layer of caution. "Might I ask... how should we address you?"
While this stranger had just eliminated a terrifying threat and an unknown assailant, Dunn remained a seasoned Nighthawk. He knew better than most that power did not always equate to friendliness toward the Orthodox Churches. It was imperative to ascertain the identity of such a powerful entity.
George raised a hand, silently signaling Dunn to wait. He stepped toward the remains of Megose. Following the birth of the spawn, her body was a grotesque sight—headless, missing an arm, and twisted into a misshapen, mutated heap of flesh.
He reached out, his fingers brushing the air as he caught Megose's soul, which was currently drifting in a state of dazed confusion as it attempted to leave its physical vessel. Then, George channeled a specialized Light-based healing magic, focusing on reconstructing her physical form and purging every trace of the Evil God's corruption.
The magic George wielded was not merely limited to the spells of the Fairy Tail world; he had spent years refining and improving healing arts from various other dimensions he had visited.
Under the stunned gazes of Dunn and the other Nighthawks, Megose's mangled, deformed body began to knit back together at a rate visible to the naked eye. Flesh regrew, bone realigned, and the ghastly green pallor of corruption was washed away by a soothing, golden glow.
"There. She should wake up after a few days of rest," George said. With a final rhythmic tap, he pressed Megose's soul back into her restored body. He turned toward Dunn and offered a casual, enigmatic smile.
"As for my name... you can just call me Passerby A."
Before Dunn could even process the absurdity of the name, George's figure blurred and vanished, leaving the ruined hall empty.
"Passerby A? What a strange name..." Dunn muttered, a look of profound bewilderment crossing his face. It was only after George had completely disappeared that Dunn realized a glaring problem. "Klein, Leonard, Kenley... did he just walk away with the Saint's Ashes?"
The three younger Nighthawks nodded in unison. Klein, however, felt his mouth twitch uncontrollably.
Only he, a fellow transmigrator, understood the specific flavor of humor behind a name like "Passerby A." He could already envision it: this blatantly dismissive alias was about to circulate through the highest echelons of the Church of Evernight, the Church of Storms, and the Church of Steam.
At that same moment, deep within her divine kingdom, the Evernight Goddess shared a nearly identical expression with Klein.
She was currently preoccupied with a grand scheme involving the Uniqueness and characteristics of the Death Pathway, so she wasn't constantly monitoring her "fellow countryman" Klein. However, she had tuned in just in time to see the conclusion of the battle.
She had been wondering who this mysterious Beyonder was—someone who seemingly wielded the powers of both the Sun and Demoness pathways. The moment George introduced himself as "Passerby A," she knew exactly who it was.
Even as an ancient deity, she found herself increasingly unable to see through George, this enigmatic figure whose status as a fellow transmigrator remained a mystery. However, she didn't dwell on it. George hadn't displayed any hostility, and she was simply too busy; her plan, which had been thousands of years in the making, was finally reaching its endgame.
Shortly after George's departure, the Beyonders from the "Punishers" and "Machinery Mind" arrived, panting and hauling their own Sealed Artifacts.
Less than half an hour later, High Deacons from the Holy Cathedral arrived in Tingen, aided by a high-ranking deacon from the Church of Storms who possessed the ability to fly.
When these powerful Sequence 4 High Deacons were briefed on the entire sequence of events, they looked at one another in stunned silence.
Passerby A. They had never heard of such a powerhouse in all their records. To be able to instantly kill Ince Zangwill and a Spawn of the True Creator suggested a level of power that likely reached Sequence 3—a Saint-level existence, or perhaps even higher.
The name "Passerby A" began to spread like wildfire among the top brass of the three Orthodox Churches. They utilized every divination and intelligence network at their disposal to investigate this mysterious figure. They even reached out to the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, but even the Sun worshippers had no information to offer.
This master—who was theorized to be a "Justice Mentor" of the Sun Pathway—seemed to have materialized out of thin air.
"Done!"
Back in Backlund, George felt the Faceless potion within him digesting at an incredible speed as the legend of "Passerby A" grew. He wore a satisfied smile as he entered his Mirror World once more.
With a flick of his wrist, he released the battered and dying Ince Zangwill from the nesting doll.
Upon being freed, Ince Zangwill realized he was no longer at the Nighthawks' headquarters. He immediately surmised that George was likely not a member of the Church of Evernight. His eyes darted around frantically as he tried to find a way out of his predicament.
"Whoever you are, we can cooperate!" Ince rasped, gasping for air. "I was once an Archbishop of the Church of Evernight. I know secrets... secrets that could shake the world!"
As a captive, Ince knew the first rule of survival: prove your utility. If he could demonstrate that his value was greater than the cost of keeping him alive, he might find a chance to turn the tables. As long as George wasn't a zealot of the Goddess, there was still hope.
"First, tell me about yourself. And then, tell me about this."
George crooked his finger, and the quill tucked into Ince's coat—Sealed Artifact 0-08, the Quill of Alzuhod—flew into his hand.
This former Archbishop of the Death Pathway had managed to play the Nighthawks like puppets and scheme against an Evil God's child almost entirely because of this quill, which possessed the terrifying power to write reality itself. Naturally, George was far more interested in the artifact than the man.
"My name is Ince Zangwill... I was indeed an Archbishop... This artifact is the Quill of Alzuhod, a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. I took it with me when I defected..."
In an attempt to build trust, Ince didn't dare tell a blatant lie. He revealed his history and the basic properties of the quill. However, he wasn't foolish enough to tell the whole truth. He employed the "nine truths, one lie" tactic, weaving a narrative that painted his defection as a desperate act of survival rather than cold-blooded ambition, hoping to elicit sympathy.
He also downplayed the quill's horrific side effects, hoping that if George used it, he would be more susceptible to its inevitable backlash.
So, it contains the Sequence 1 'Author' Beyonder characteristic of the Spectator pathway. No wonder it has such power; even I was slightly influenced by it, George mused to himself while inspecting the quill.
The reason George hadn't looked too deeply into Megose's situation earlier was precisely because the quill had been "writing" a story that encouraged his indifference. Under normal circumstances, George would have sensed such a mental intrusion instantly, but because he had been suppressing his spiritual and mental power to avoid detection by the deities, he had been momentarily nudged by the quill's influence.
In this world, they say you can't consume characteristics from non-neighboring pathways without going mad or losing control, George thought, his eyes glinting with curiosity.
Once he reached a higher sequence and converted more high-level magic, he might just try to "swallow" this Sequence 1 characteristic. Rules that applied to the Beyonders of this world didn't necessarily apply to a Universal-level powerhouse like him.
"Now," George said, stowing the quill away and looking coldly at Ince Zangwill. "Tell me every piece of valuable information you possess. Only your knowledge can justify your existence. Otherwise... I'll end you right here."
(End of Chapter)