Watching the speedster leave, Leyton let out a soft sigh. Although he could directly contact Bernadette through the Hidden Sage, asking for something from someone else through the Hidden Sage always felt strange, as if he were asking the other party to offer him tribute.
Bernadette's reply was swift, less than ten minutes in total. A folded letter and a square golden box, its surface engraved with numerous magical symbols and Sun patterns, appeared on the desk in front of him.
"The speedster truly has an advantage when it comes to delivering messages."
With a sigh, Leyton unfolded the letter that had appeared on his desk and read it carefully:
I've found some clues to a mausoleum hidden near Backlund and am currently investigating information about the former Blood Emperor Alista Tudor. It's inconvenient for me to leave Backlund at the moment. I have already sent the pale death with a messenger along with this letter. After you're done using it, just have the messenger bring it back to me in the same way.
My condition is that the Ferryman, who is seeking to advance to Death Consul, whether successful in his advancement or not, must provide certain assistance in the subsequent destruction of the Black Emperor's advancement ritual and my father's return.
"Conditions as expected."
As he spoke, Leyton's right thumb, holding the letter, gently rubbed the paper twice.
Crimson flames instantly shot up, igniting the letter and turning it to ash.
He then turned his gaze to the golden square box, removed the Wall of Spirituality that served as a seal, and opened the box. Inside was a shimmering, metallic, pale mask resting on yellow silk.
This mask had only empty eye sockets; there were no other gaps anywhere else, making it very simple, with no patterns or textures on its surface.
Leyton reached out and took the mask. It was cold to the touch, and the moment it was in his hand, a chilling sensation permeated with deathly stillness began to seep into his body through his skin, causing his flesh to die little by little.
"Even without using it, the negative effects still exist. Non-divine beings who touch it will quickly die within a very short time."
He muttered to himself, then slightly exerted force with his right hand, rapidly forming a slowly rotating cluster of stardust in his palm. Star after star emerged, densely packed and dazzlingly bright.
These stars cast rays of clear, pure light around them, engulfing the pale mask and segmenting the surrounding space.
Within the starlight, eyes sprouted from the void. These eyes glittered with pure light, giving a feeling of extreme sanctity and wisdom, yet they also appeared quite indifferent and devoid of warmth.
Under the erosion of the starlight, the metallic pale mask gradually disintegrated, reverting to its most basic Beyonder characteristic.
The information contained within these Beyonder characteristics was completely exposed under the gaze of the surrounding eyes, being rapidly analyzed and memorized by Leyton.
Sequence 1: Pale Emperor. Extremely noble, like an illusory deity enthroned above countless undead; can command all undead, and can also cause living beings to slowly die and become his slaves.
Sequence 2: Death Consul. The underworld within his body greatly expands, completely evolving into a kingdom of the dead, possessing absolute command over the undead within his underworld, with not the slightest resistance even if he orders them to commit suicide.
Sequence 3: Ferryman.
As he analyzed the surrounding characteristics, Leyton gradually felt as if he had established a connection with a higher existence, vaguely perceiving a place of absolute tranquility and Death.
A woman's face, as if veiled by layers of thin gauze, indistinct yet exceptionally beautiful, seemed to nod at him faintly.
The hazy image flickered for only an instant, as if it were just a hallucination produced after staring at something for a long time.
It seems that Night's mastery over Death's Uniqueness has deepened a bit. Leyton shook his head, collected his thoughts, and continued to analyze the mystical knowledge of the Death Pathway.
Time quickly moved to the afternoon. Leyton glanced at the wall clock; it was less than two minutes until 3 PM Backlund time.
He leaned his neck back. The eyes that had sprouted from the void around him retracted, and the starlight enveloping the surroundings instantly shattered, dissipating into specks of stardust.
The Death Consul characteristic, separated from the pale death, was sealed by him in a transparent amber. The remaining characteristics were integrated into a Feathered Serpent feather, which he hadn't yet had time to reshape into the pale death.
After carefully putting away the separated characteristic and the remaining ones, he rubbed his temples and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a short nap.
Time quickly reached three o'clock, and dense Gray Fog and deep red light rapidly filled his vision.
After a slight daze, when Leyton opened his eyes, he was already in the ancient and magnificent palace above the Gray Fog.
As always, Justice Audrey was the first to rise, curtsying to The Fool Klein at the head of the mottled long table, and bowing, she said:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
After everyone rose, bowed, and nodded to each other, today's Tarot Club officially began.
Leyton's gaze swept across the people on both sides of the mottled long table. He saw the uncontrollable spirituality on several members, which indicated that they had just completed their advancement not long ago and hadn't yet gotten used to it or managed to contain their suddenly surging spirituality.
The advancement of the potion system does not have a gradual process; it's always one potion down, and you directly advance a Sequence. This is one of the reasons why Beyonders are prone to losing control.
Klein, seated at the head of the mottled long table, also noticed this scene. His gaze lingered on Star Leonard, Sun, and Magician Fors for a moment each.
Leonard must have worked hard these past few days to digest all the potions on him. As for Little Sun, from his inquiry about the ritual last week, it was clear he'd advance soon. Magician Fors's advancement was a bit surprising; she hadn't sought materials at the Tarot Club before. Having the support of an ancient family is indeed very convenient.
As thoughts floated, he saw Justice Audrey make a gesture to raise her hand, then put it down, lowering her head somewhat unnaturally, like a student who had made a mistake.
What is this? Did Miss Justice want to tell me something, but then suddenly realized there was no need to speak about it anymore?
There hasn't been anything special lately, so, could it be that she just happened to get the Roselle diary last week, and so she instinctively wanted to make a request?
As he pondered, Klein suddenly thought of a problem: without the need for the Roselle diary, it seemed difficult for everyone to offer something they considered equally valuable or satisfying to him when they needed Mr. Fool's help. In the development stage of the Tarot Club, there still needed to be some simple and effective ways to obtain Mr. Fool's help.
Having made up his mind, Klein tapped the table twice with his finger. After everyone looked over, he leisurely spoke:
"Heh, I suddenly thought of a problem. Some content in Roselle's diary is still valuable. It can still serve as your contribution for exchanging certain things or assistance from me."
"Of course, it needs to be valuable content."
Emperor Roselle's romantic escapades and his post-event reflections don't count. Klein mentally added his unspoken words.
The members of the Tarot Club were all stunned for a moment, somewhat confused as to why Mr. Fool wanted to collect the Roselle diary again.
Did Mr. Fool discover some subtle details he hadn't noticed before and needs to confirm? No, impossible, this is not a mistake a great existence would make. So, is this simply a benefit for us, allowing us to seek His help with less burden when needed?
As thoughts drifted, Hanged Man Alger slightly turned his head to look at Mr. Fool at the head of the mottled long table, his thoughts constantly swirling, even his breathing became a bit heavier.
Also thinking this were Justice Audrey, Hermit Cattleya, and Chariot Anderson. Without the Roselle diary, it was truly too difficult to find something equivalent to Mr. Fool's response and the help he provided, because it was simply priceless.
Chariot Anderson leaned back in his chair, his emotions complex. The Roselle diary, no, this is simply Mr. Fool's special permit, allowing us to make effective and reasonable requests to Him.
Magician Fors, Star Leonard, and others also reacted afterward. At this moment, everyone looked at the head of the mottled long table with extraordinary tacit agreement, and said with firm and serious tones:
"Your will is my desire."
Klein, concealed by the Gray Fog, nodded slightly, signaling the end of the topic, while inwardly he sighed with a mix of laughter and tears, thinking, it was originally an unintentional act, but it suddenly turned into winning people's hearts.
Justice Audrey was in a rather pleasant mood. She turned to face The Fool Klein at the head of the table and spoke cheerfully:
"Respected Mr. Fool, I just happened to receive two pages of Roselle's diary last week."
After making her request to Mr. Fool, she materialized the two pages of the diary she had memorized.
Klein raised a finger, and the two pages of the diary appeared spontaneously before him:
May 27th,
My impression of Flenna Sauron has changed. Although he is as arrogant and annoying as ever, he has a beautiful and capable younger sister. She truly is a stunner. I even suspect whether she has switched to the Demoness Pathway, otherwise, how could she make me, someone so experienced in romance, remain so enamored.
Sure enough, this is the Emperor's usual style. Klein sighed inwardly, moved this page of the diary to the back, and began to read today's second page of the diary.