In the end, after some back-and-forth talk, Lucian rearranged Acheron's room to stop her from complaining again.
He knew that Acheron, convinced that her destination lay deep within the rift between reality and nothingness, wanted to find the 'Dark Web' where the mysterious faction known as 'Device IX' was hidden, believing it to be the Nihility's end and the key to killing IX.
Truth be told, even if she achieved her goal of finding Device IX, he still did not recommend that she confront IX.
If she wanted to confront IX, she would have to become his follower first.
At the very least, with infinite resurrection from the Godly Script System as a trump card, there would be nothing left to fear.
Of course, he wouldn't tell her this yet and would wait until he got Acheron's script and completed it before mentioning it.
Done listening to Acheron's complaint, Lucian went downstairs, intending to take a walk in the garden, but...
*Squelch—*
Just as he stepped into the garden, he stepped on something soft and squishy on the ground.
'A dog crap?'
As this thought flashed through his mind, Lucian looked down and saw that it wasn't dog crap, but a smiling mask.
He didn't need to guess—given Acheron's earlier account, this mask was obviously related to Aha, the Aeon who had followed him all the way to Penacony.
As expected, the next moment, the mask grew out of the soil, then turned into a living human body, with the mask covering the face—the smile on the mask stretched to the ears, so close that it almost brushed against Lucian's nose.
"My, my~! Look who it is! Aha's number one sweetheart! Aha's own Emanator!"
Aha jumped around and exclaimed with a voice filled with gleeful mischief.
"How was the 'big gift' I sent you yesterday? A Self-Annihilator and Emanator of Nihility! A beautiful woman searching for a way to sever the Nihility itself—what a thrill, right~?"
"My goodness, your popularity's unstoppable! Everyone wants to play with you! Aha's so jealous—jealous enough to lose my head~!"
Hearing this, Lucian rolled his eyes.
"Lose it then."
*Thud!*
"HaHaHaHaHa!"
Aha took Lucian's words literally—THEIR masked head rolled off THEIR shoulders, landed at his feet, and laughed hysterically.
"Hey, why aren't you laughing? Don't tell me you don't like that woman~? Not pretty enough? Or too strong for you to handle~?"
"Hmph, I like women," Lucian replied with a frown. "But when others meddle in my love life—that, I don't like. Either you compensate me, or I'll just slack off and step into the Nihility, becoming a couch potato."
"Extortion! You use Aha's affection to threaten a pure and innocent Aeon!"
Aha pretended to wipe nonexistent tears, while the smile on THEIR mask stretched even wider, radiating trouble.
"But hey… Aha's soft-hearted! Just remembered a fun place—the tavern of the Masked Fools—Tavern World's End! Rumor has it there's a 'Holy Grail' that grants wishes in one of the Taverns! You want compensation? Go get it yourself! Brand-new fun awaits—have a blast~! HaHaHaHaHaHa~"
Right after saying this, with a soft pop, Aha's figure vanished like a bursting bubble—only THEIR deranged laughter lingered, echoing in Lucian's mind like a curse.
"Tch, Holy Grail my ass..."
If he remembered correctly, the said Holy Grail was originally stolen by Sampo, then sold to Oti, which resulted in the First Holy Grail War of Penacony.
Just like in the Fate series, the Holy Grail of this world could summon Heroic Spirits to fight alongside their Masters as Servants, and the victor of the Holy Grail War would claim the Holy Grail and be granted a single wish.
He knew the Holy Grail's way of granting wishes was ridiculous, so he didn't place much hope in it.
However, when he thought about Heroic Spirits, his mind immediately went to the Ahoge King, who had appeared in the game due to a collaboration event—Saber, Artoria Pendragon.
"I wonder if the Godly Bandage can restore a spiritual being like a Heroic Spirit… Maybe I should test it...."
Lucian, suddenly becoming interested, wanted to visit the said Tavern and claim the Holy Grail early, but the problem was that he didn't know the coordinates.
Tavern World's End, also simply known as the Tavern, was the base of the Masked Fools, followers of Aha. It was mentioned numerous times in relation to the Masked Fools and had gradually become synonymous with the group itself.
It was said that the Tavern was not just one, but many, spread across various planets in different star systems.
Just as Lucian pondered how to find the said Tavern among so many Taverns, words suddenly appeared in the mud beneath his feet.
Surprisingly, they were the said Tavern's coordinates.
===
Somewhere in another star system, a massive building of strange design floated in space, its crooked sign reading 'World's End.'
Inside, the lighting was dim, while the air was filled with noise, clinking glasses, and the acrid scent of alcohol, sulfur, and gunpowder.
In a relatively quiet corner, a petite, twin-tailed young woman wearing a white fox mask and a short, sleeveless, backless red kimono lazily stirred a glass of multicolored liquid with a straw, looking completely out of place among the other people around her who were all indulging in their own amusement.
As for who she was, she was none other than Sparkle, the very one Sampo had feared messing up Belobog before.
"Tch, boring..."
Sparkle muttered to herself in a bored, listless voice, biting her straw with a sharp crack.
Just as she began to feel like she was dying of boredom, nearby, several Masked Fools were suddenly chatting about recent events in the Asdana star system.
"Y'know, when I went to Epsilon yesterday, I almost got myself killed. You've got no idea how bad it was. As soon as the guys there saw my mask, they dragged me off right away, asking why I kidnapped Robin! I didn't kidnap Robin, dammit!"
"Yeah, I heard about that. Apparently, one of us kidnapped that singer, messed with her, and seriously pissed off her fans."
"What kinda lame prank is that? What's that gotta do with the rest of us?"
"Hahaha, that's the thing! No one knows who did it. All they know is it was someone wearing a Fool's Mask. I watched the recording—the guy was wearing Aha's mask."
"Oh, c'mon. Aha wouldn't care about something that dull. THEY only mess with big stuff—like blowing up the Astral Express, not kidnapping some random star."
"Fair enough. Probably some dumbass impersonating Aha. Who knows who it really was?"
From their chatter, the whole story became clear enough—someone had kicked a hornet's nest.
It should be noted that Robin's fans were basically almost everywhere—countless and fanatical, worshiping her like a goddess.
As a result, upon learning that their goddess had been kidnapped and humiliated, they naturally wouldn't stay quiet, causing a massive storm of outrage to spread across the cosmos.
However, the problem was that the kidnapper had actually been wearing a Fool's Mask!
Thanks to that, the Masked Fools had to bear the blame.
"Pfft—hahaha!"
Sparkle couldn't help laughing when she heard their chatter.
"Now that's funny. Some idiot wearing Aha's mask caused trouble, ran off, and left us Masked Fools to take the fall? What a genius."
Truth be told, she had to admit that such mischief was next-level—escalating from simple kidnapping to outright framing their own drinking buddies.
And the best part?
Even now, none of the Masked Fools had figured out who the true culprit was.
As the chatter grew more heated, the Tavern's crooked door suddenly creaked open, and a tall, well-built man walked in.
He wore a simple white smiling mask on his face, with two holes for the eyes and a curved slit for the mouth, while his body was clad entirely in black clothes that consisted of a black shirt covered by a black coat, along with black pants, black boots, and black gloves.
He emitted a mysterious and charismatic air, especially those golden pupils that pierced through the mask's two eye holes—they made others unable to look away from them.
Needless to say, the newcomer was none other than Lucian.
As soon as he obtained the Tavern's coordinates, he immediately changed his appearance before using Absolute Hit, teleporting straight to the location.
"..."
As Lucian stepped inside, his arrival was like dropping a stone into a pond of writhing serpents—the place instantly falling silent as every masked head turned toward him, the gazes behind those masks sharp, predatory, and filled with amusement.
"Well, who are you? Newcomer? Take off your mask first. Let me see your face if you want to enter."
Before Lucian could take another step forward, the bartender, wearing a crying mask, called out to him.
Evidently, it was a trick meant to expose the identity of newcomers and then mess with them, but unfortunately for him, Lucian didn't fall for it.
At the bartender's demand, Lucian only gave a calm reply.
"I'm just a passing Masked Rider—I mean, a passing Masked Fool—just here to grab something and leave. You don't need to know who I am."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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