Putting away the slightly dull white feather pen, Ince Zangwill's face showed a playful smile. Standing on a ridge on the outskirts of the Hornacis mountain range, he looked at the nearby City of Tiris and muttered leisurely to himself:
"Sauron, your descendants are truly becoming more and more desolate now, actually being suppressed by an organization that only appeared in the Fifth Epoch."
"Since that's the case, why not merge with us."
Cracks reappeared on both sides of Ince Zangwill's Cheeks, and a gloomy, low voice emerged:
"Hmph, the decline of the Sauron family was caused by little Zaratul and that fellow named Roselle!"
"Otherwise, with the foundations I left behind back then, the family wouldn't have fallen to this extent."
"Medici, there's no need for those petty tricks. As long as we can recover quickly, one or two bloodline descendants are nothing."
"However, compared to the Sauron family, Einhorn is still an imperial family, and they might even have a portion of the 'Conqueror' Beyonder characteristic preserved."
Raising his hand to rub his face, allowing the mouth on his Cheek to slowly disappear, Ince Zangwill simultaneously said with a smile:
"No need to rush, everyone will have a chance. It is their honor to contribute everything to our resurrection."
"Once I recover some strength, I'll take you to see the current Binsy."
Saying that, he ignored the curses coming from the Spirit World within his body. A bloody banner mark faintly appeared on Ince Zangwill's forehead. He looked towards the area with the strongest iron-blooded aura in the City of Tiris, and his figure gradually disappeared.
-----------------
The dim and silent sewer pipes were lit by black flames, and hurried footsteps echoed. A shadow was moving quickly along the bottom of the stone wall towards a certain direction. It was Trissy, who had escaped from the Red Rose Manor.
Thanks to the Darkness vision and strong physical fitness granted by Sequence 9 "Assassin," even in the narrow and confined sewer, her speed was faster than that of an ordinary public carriage.
Although as a Demoness, Trissy also mastered other witchcraft, such as Mirror Jumping, using these witchcraft in front of a Demoness of Unaging would make it easier to expose her location.
Trissy's eyes gradually deepened, and the sapphire ring on her left ring finger silently exuded grayish-white fine lines, continuously merging into her body.
Accompanying the spiritual tremor, Trissy abruptly stopped, found a nearby exit, and instantly returned to the surface, where she saw the majestic and tall building towering in the distance.
It was Saint Samuel Cathedral, once the headquarters of the Church of the Lord of Storms, now the headquarters of the Backlund Diocese.
As soon as she took a step forward, Trissy's brain was struck by a needle-like pain, and layers of endless depression filled her mind, almost reducing her consciousness to chaos.
Her hair stood up one by one, all becoming as thick as small snakes. Their outer layers were slippery and sinister, with either clear black and white eyeballs embedded at the tips or snake-like heads growing out, their mouths slightly agape, flicking their tongues.
Floating in the sea of pain, after an unknown period, Trissy reopened her eyes, and the previous abnormalities in her body had strangely returned to normal.
Struggling to stand up, Trissy looked at the familiar yet strange face reflected in the puddle at the street corner, a hint of venom flashing across her face.
She hated the Demoness Sect, hated her manipulated fate, but in the end, even after selling her soul to the Primordial Demoness, her last bit of freedom was still false.
Not to mention exposing the secrets she knew, she couldn't even get close to the church. Even the patrolling police, when they occasionally looked in the right direction, couldn't detect her presence.
Feeling a surge of sadness, Trissy looked unwillingly at the distant Saint Samuel Cathedral and suddenly recalled the only person who had caused strong obstruction from 0-08 during her many escape attempts when she was still in the Red Rose Manor.
"Sherlock Moriarty…"
Trissy's eyes flickered. If she remembered correctly, this great detective's address in Backlund was in Cherwood Borough, where Saint Samuel Cathedral was located.
Glancing at the crimson moon obscured by the thick yellow-green haze, Trissy gritted her teeth. Not knowing when Katarina would arrive, she no longer hesitated and decided to take a gamble, making a final attempt.
-----------------
The streetlights on both sides of the road appeared indistinct under the cover of the haze. Klein slowly got off the carriage and couldn't help but murmur to himself:
"Backlund's weather is getting worse and worse…"
Searching for the two-story building at 44 Sifield Street took him a lot of time, so much so that by the time he left with the paper crane, night had already fallen, and he had missed the last public carriage.
Although he didn't want to travel in such bad weather, given Emlyn's lesson, Klein still gave up on using a skeleton key to take a shortcut home and reluctantly called a private carriage.
Putting the paper crane, which he had examined all the way without any results, into the inner pocket of his clothes, Klein sighed, planning to divine the true use of this item above the gray fog tonight.
Just as he was thinking this, he turned the doorknob and saw the living room lit by warm candlelight, his expression freezing in solemnity.
An unprecedented sense of crisis exploded in his heart, like clusters of thorns slowly and deeply piercing his skin and flesh.
Fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead. Klein's Adam's apple bobbed. He managed to force out a stiff smile and spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice:
"Your Royal Highness, why are you at my house? Is His Royal Highness not with you?"
Trissy sat expressionlessly on the sofa in the living room. The spider silk burning with black flames had completely enveloped 15 Minsk Street after Klein entered the room, taking in all of Klein's emotional changes.
"It seems I was right. Among so many escape attempts, you were the only one who showed something different. You truly aren't simple!"
"Let's reintroduce ourselves. Heh, you can call me Trissy, Trissy Cheek."
Cheek… Even with psychological preparation, Klein's face still twitched, and his gaze subtly withdrew from the sapphire ring.
Although he didn't know what this fellow wanted, Klein, out of spiritual instinct, frantically pondered how to seek help from Duke Aaron without alarming this Demoness.
-----------------
At Saint Samuel Cathedral, Aaron directly traversed the Spirit World, dropping the disheartened Edessak before Archbishop Anthony. After giving a few instructions, he immediately departed.
He directly used the historical projection of the "Staff of Stars" to instantly return to Osel, arriving at the hall covered in red copper rust. A strong iron-blooded aura, accompanied by a terrifying, almost tangible pressure, emanated.
Aaron's steps paused slightly. He saw Varna, clad in ancient full body armor with red hair and brown eyes, already standing in the center of the hall. The entire hall was currently enveloped by an ancient array pattern.
Looking at the law array pattern left by the Night Emperor himself, which had been activated and was recovering, the last appearance of the crippled Weather Warlock in Bansy Harbor still seemed vivid. Aaron's consciousness connected with the Nation of Disorder, and the "Sun Chaser Scepter," entirely golden-red and resembling the Sun, immediately appeared in his hand.
He inserted this Sealed Artifact of Grade 0 into the light cluster formed by intertwined silver-white and blood-red patterns, which was also the center of the entire array. The already obscure and terrifying aura of the grand array deepened even further.
Amidst the swirling dark gold mist, after Aaron's sub-consciousness within the Sefirah bestowed the "Sun Chaser Scepter" into reality, he took out the mass of flesh, subtly pierced by spider silk and sustained by the Stone of Life, from the pile of sundries.
The divining pendulum hovered above Tracy's flesh and blood. Aaron absorbed both the Black Emperor card and the Judgement card into his body, beginning his divination within the vortex formed by the dark gold mist:
"The current location of Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy's Mother, Katarina!"
Repeating the divination statement in a low voice seven times, Aaron entered a dream and saw a two-story terraced attic, enveloped by a deep, dark mirror world, standing out in a gray world.
At the top of the attic, Katarina, wearing a sacred white robe, had a smile on her lips as she watched Trissy and Klein, who were talking about something in the attic's living room.
The dream world shattered with a roar. Aaron abruptly opened his eyes, his brows unconsciously furrowing.
He had been plotting for the "Conqueror" Beyonder characteristic in Katarina's hand for a long time, but previously, due to 0-08 and Amon hidden in Backlund, he hadn't found a good opportunity to act.
The Great Smog event was the best and last chance. Once missed, if this Beyonder characteristic were sent to the Demoness Sect headquarters, whether sacrificed to the Primordial Demoness or not, it would be very difficult for him to obtain it again.
After a moment's thought, Aaron took out the "Red Priest" card and a black crystal card-like charm from the pile of sundries, throwing them both into the illusory Door of Bestowal.
And that was his last remaining "Fate Siphon" charm, made by Pallez Zoroast using his own Worm of Time, powerful enough to affect an angel.
Standing at the edge of the array pattern, where divine patterns protruded and the aura was strong, Aaron put away the Red Priest card and the "Fate Siphon" charm. He looked at Varna, who had turned his head, and spoke in a deep voice:
"There's a slight unexpected change in the plan. It might need to be moved up. I'm returning to Backlund immediately."
Varna nodded slightly. With the "Sun Chaser Scepter" as the array core, the "Crown of Stars" flew out from the light cluster of the grand array and landed in Aaron's hand.
Regaining control of this Sealed Artifact of Grade 0, Aaron immediately activated Wander, his figure seemingly merging into the brilliant Cosmos, disappearing in an instant. Not even the law array that enveloped the entire underground hall, almost forming a small world of its own, could stop him.
-----------------
At 15 Minsk Street, Klein's body was tense as he listened to Trissy's narration. Especially when he heard that she was being hunted by a Sequence 3 Demoness, he almost turned and ran.
Restraining that instinctive impulse, Klein's face grew darker and darker. Finally, he spoke in a deep voice:
"I'm just a small Sequence 6. I don't want to get involved in the affairs of the Demoness Sect and the Royal Family. I'm afraid I can't help you much."
"With just me, let alone the Church of the Lord of Storms or the Church of Evernight, even MI9 might not believe it."
"And," Klein thought for a moment and rephrased it more subtly:
"What are you doing this for? Simple revenge or repentance?"
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Trissy's face showed a captivating smile:
"Why?"
"Heh, shouldn't the ending of a good story be that all the bad guys die?"
"Like me, and like those who toyed with my fate…"
Looking at Trissy, who seemed to have gone through something and now regarded life and death with indifference, Klein opened his mouth, somewhat at a loss for how to respond.
Just then, crisp applause accompanied by an alluring, charming voice rang out:
"Too bad, good stories are just self-deceiving tricks of the cowardly. Always deceiving themselves with illusory imagination, Trissy, you disappoint me greatly."
Who is it now… Klein was already somewhat numb. Ever since he stepped into his home tonight, his premonition of danger seemed to have malfunctioned. Immediately, he felt an invisible force binding him.
Trissy's expression changed, and a large amount of black flames suddenly erupted around her, illuminating dense, invisible spider silks, but she couldn't ignite them.
In an instant, Trissy and Klein were "sealed" within transparent "cocoons," unable to move or escape.
At the staircase on the second floor, a figure materialized, wearing a simple, sacred white robe, with black hair and blue eyes, clear and graceful, possessing an indescribable charm.
"Katarina Pelei, when did you…" Trissy seemed to have used all her strength, finally letting out a low cry.
Katarina chuckled softly, feigning a careful recollection, and said playfully:
"Hmm, let me think. When you wanted to go to Saint Samuel Cathedral, I was standing right behind you. I even helped you pull back from the brink of losing control and coincidentally created an illusion to cover your screams."
Trissy's expression grew even more somber, and an unconcealable anger flashed in her eyes. As her emotions changed, the sapphire ring on her pinky finger began to glow.
"It's a pity you are just a Demoness of Pleasure. Even if you gained the Primordial Demoness's recognition, the power you can exert has its limits. Escaping one restraint changes nothing."
Katarina's smile remained unchanged. She gently shook her head, her tone gradually becoming respectful and low:
"The Source of All Catastrophes;
"The Symbol of Destruction and the Apocalypse;
"The Demoness who controls Chaos."
Her figure suddenly faded, as if stained with the luster of a nighttime lake. A faint halo merged into the sapphire ring, instantly smoothing out all abnormalities.
Trissy groaned, held up by the spider silk so she didn't fall to the ground, but still let out a piercing, painful wail, making Klein's mood even heavier.
"Pain will bring you closer to the Primordial Demoness…"
Katarina chanted in a low voice. After dealing with Trissy, she then looked at Klein, who was enveloped in transparent "amber," with great interest. She licked her bright red lips and chuckled:
"After finding Trissy, I observed her secretly and didn't immediately capture her because I wanted to see what was special about this child chosen by the Primordial Demoness."
"Until she came here and found you, what an ancient and familiar aura…"