Intis, Trier.
Having just returned to reality from above the gray fog, Ebner lay on the sofa in his mansion. He idly played for a while with the necklace strung together from five dazzling gemstones, then casually set it aside.
This necklace was clearly the long-lost "Fallen Morningstar." After a full year, Mr. "Fool" had finally recovered it and, before the small meeting following the Tarot Club gathering began, solemnly returned it to Mr. "Tower."
To be honest, this necklace was now something that Ebner could take or leave, but giving it to a friend would be a good choice—for example, Fanny, whose methods were relatively limited.
"Mm, my date with Klein and 'Pale Admiral' Maria is at midnight. There's still plenty of time now—just right to go see that 'Saintess of Toulon.'"
Thinking this, Ebner picked up the "Fallen Morningstar" again. Instead of choosing teleportation, he had the butler arrange a carriage, and only then did he head for the Surrey family's villa.
...
At the same time, inside a train station in some city of East Balam, a monstrous steam locomotive spewed smoke as it dragged its long body into the platform, slowing more and more.
A man with dark brown skin, gentle features, and a swollen red lump on the side of his face boarded the carriage shortly after the train stopped.
He lowered his head, pressed down on his top hat, passed quickly through the cars, and went straight toward the front of the train.
The man knocked on the isolation door, slipped into the driver's cabin, and said to the conductor:
"All the train crew have been replaced with our people. The bridge ahead will be the place where the sacrifice is carried out."
The conductor, who had a thick beard, nodded and said:
"May the god be satisfied with this trainload of offerings.
"May we obtain eternal life in His kingdom."
However, at that moment, a voice suddenly echoed eerily behind them:
"I'll send you to see your god right now."
"Who's there?!" The man with the swollen face and the conductor turned their heads at the same time, but perhaps because they used too much force, their heads actually spun more than ten times on their necks before stopping…
Looking at the conductor and the man, who stood up, reattached their heads to their proper places, and bowed to him, Alvin casually nodded once and then vanished.
—This was the application of "trick"-related abilities at the angel level.
The reason Ebner had Alvin make a trip to the Southern Continent was that, through "Insight," he had discovered that even with his own "butterfly effect," this "train sacrifice" incident from the original story would still occur—and would even happen several days earlier.
And since Klein, who should have stopped this incident, was not on the Southern Continent, he had no choice but to deal with the trouble himself.
"Klarman already died in that great battle before I became a demigod. I wonder who the organizer of this sacrifice has been replaced with this time?"
As his thoughts turned, Alvin stepped out of the spirit world and directly descended into a luxurious room of a hotel.
But the cultists gathered in the room turned a blind eye to his arrival. Instead, they lowered their heads, raised their hands, adopted a praying posture, and knelt before a cloth doll.
Two or three seconds later, the doll's lifeless, completely immobile eyes turned toward a region untouched by the crimson moonlight. Just as it was about to open its mouth—one that had no tongue at all—and emit a voice not belonging to this "body," the surroundings were suddenly enveloped in "darkness," and silence instantly became the room's sole "theme."
The doll still tried to draw power down and break free of the "darkness," but upon sensing Alvin's aura, it suddenly stopped its attempt.
And the power that was about to descend vanished without a trace.
"Ran away really fast!" Alvin—namely Ebner—cursed inwardly, then withdrew the power of "darkness" and began to "divine" the doll's past.
But very quickly, he frowned, because the level of power involved with this doll was extremely high. Even angel-level "astrology" couldn't yield many results.
"But I still 'saw' some clues after all…
"For example, the existence that just tried to descend through the doll should belong to the 'Prisoner' pathway!
The Rose School of Thought's people actually being controlled by the 'Red Moon'… Could it be that the Mother Tree of Desire really has run into trouble?
Or have the two Outer Gods begun cooperating?"
After thinking for a bit, Alvin put away the doll, planning to hand it over to Klein the next time Ebner and Klein met.
—Tracing the source of power carried great danger. It was better to let Klein go and court death with it… He was more experienced in this line of "work," after all—truly a "professional"!
After casually killing all the cultists, Alvin also left the place.
...
In an unknown valley, a gigantic tree that looked as if it had been drenched in crude oil was letting out agonized howls.
One eyeball after another, bloodshot and rolling about on its arms that bulged with all manner of strange things, alternated between black and blood-red, an eerie sight indeed.
And in the position of its abdomen, resembling a tree trunk, there seemed to be an inlaid crimson full moon!
Moonlight diffused outward, enveloping the "Godspawn." Its pain gradually faded, but at the same time, the area of that "full moon" began to bulge little by little, as if filled with liquid—or as if it were gestating something.
...
Fog Sea, aboard the Pale Saint.
"Pale Admiral" Maria stood on the deck at the bow, leaning on her longsword, gazing toward the setting sun that was about to dip below the horizon, lost in thought.
—There was a time difference between the Fog Sea and East Balam.
At this moment, her first mate Kent walked over. The young man, who had slightly curly brown hair, bowed and reported:
"Captain, we're about to approach Lars Harbor."
Lars Harbor was a private port on a small island not too far—but not too close either—from the western coast of Intis, and it was not under official jurisdiction.
But that didn't mean this port town was a chaotic pirate haven.
On the contrary, because the one currently occupying the harbor was the fleet led by the renowned "Lady Dragon's Might," this place, as her base, actually had better order than many cities on land.
And the place Maria had agreed to meet Klein was at an inn in this port town.
"Don't approach the harbor. Drop anchor in a secluded area of the open sea. I'll take a small boat to Lars by myself," Maria ordered expressionlessly.
"Yes!"
Because the Pale Saint was far too eye-catching, sailing into the harbor would definitely cause a disturbance, so Kent initially felt there was nothing wrong with the captain's decision.
But he quickly reacted and said in surprise, "Captain, you're going to Lars by yourself?"
"Yes. To meet someone. It's not convenient to bring you along," Maria nodded.
Kent frowned and said, "Then you'd better disguise yourself… After all, your current image is far too 'classic.' It's hard not to be recognized."
Maria shook her head. "No need."
As a "Wraith," it was very easy for her to avoid being seen by ordinary people.
Knowing that once the captain made a decision she wouldn't change it, Kent didn't try to persuade her further. After a few reminders, he was about to return to his post.
But at this moment, Maria seemed to think of something and called out to him, hesitating as she asked:
"If one day, you discover that someone you know well—his essence and character—are completely different from what you originally understood… would you be able to accept it?"
(End of chapter)