This time, the Demoness Sect had dispatched two Sequence 3's, one in the open and one in the shadows. Combined with the power of the Loen royal family, there was basically nothing to fear in Backlund.
As for divine descent, the gazes of the gods were currently focused on the Southern Continent. Unless things were taken far too far, a divine descent would not occur in Backlund.
Yet the Aurora Order, which had always been bold and aggressive, had actually retreated, without even providing a proper reason. Clearly, they too needed to absorb the negative emotions of the Dockyard to allow their lord's offspring to descend.
Now, even Ince Zangwill, the archbishop who had defected from the Church of the Evernight, was thinking of fleeing Backlund.
There had to be reasons behind all this that they did not understand.
"I have a premonition that if I continue to stay in Backlund, I will be in danger." Ince Zangwill honestly stated his reason for choosing to leave Backlund.
"Where does the danger come from?"
"Unknown. It is precisely unknown dangers that are the most terrifying."
"Where is the source?"
"A person I can't see through, Baron Hastur Campbell."
A subtle light flickered in Ince Zangwill's eyes as he recounted his discoveries in detail.
Since the other party did not want him to leave Backlund for the time being, he would let them handle matters related to that Baron Hastur Campbell themselves.
"Stay. You can only leave after everything is over, unless you want to be a traitor again."
Katarina gave Ince Zangwill no chance to refuse, then continued, "The closer we are to the final chapter, the more we must guard against extra variables that could interfere with the plan."
"Yes." Panatiya nodded respectfully. She was the one in charge of this cooperation with Ince Zangwill and the others.
As for the Demoness of White, her visit to Backlund was for other matters.
"Have the Followers of the Stars been found?"
"Not yet. Recently, all factions have been very quiet. The last incident with the fake Followers of the Stars made many people act with greater caution."
"Hurry it up." After asking a few more questions about that girl, Katarina disappeared, no one knowing where she had gone.
"So your Demoness Sect actually sent out a Sequence 3 this time. That's really unexpected." Ince Zangwill spoke with suppressed anger. It was supposed to be just cooperation, yet now they were using force to pressure him and stop him from leaving Backlund.
"There are many things you wouldn't expect." Panatiya was in a good mood and urged Ince Zangwill to go back and finish writing the script, to avoid any incidents outside the plan.
...
Hastur, whose good mood had been interrupted repeatedly, grew increasingly dissatisfied with Ince Zangwill hiding behind the scenes and using 008 to arrange a series of coincidences.
He had only just learned that a few days ago, when Prince Edessak was riding in a carriage to come see him, he had accidentally run into a countess.
There was also Edessak's subordinate, Talim. When Talim came to look for him, Hastur just happened to be out, causing another missed opportunity.
One coincidence after another made Hastur suspect that Ince Zangwill was already watching him from behind the scenes.
Since that was the case, he would help Leonard and Klein flush Ince Zangwill out. At the very least, he couldn't let him remain too idle.
What Hastur couldn't figure out was why Ince Zangwill had suddenly set his sights on him. During this period, he had either been staying at home or busy arranging the aftermath for the factory and the law firm. He hadn't done anything extra at all.
He hadn't even paid attention to the much-discussed Capim case from some time ago.
"Ince Zangwill, you really are going too far." Hastur sighed, checked the time, it was already past ten at night, then went to take a bath before lying down on the bed and entering the Hall of Stars.
He planned to use his ability to peer into fate to track down Ince Zangwill's whereabouts.
Since Ince Zangwill had once used 008 to arrange things around him, there would definitely be corresponding connections of fate. He refused to believe he couldn't catch this rat hiding in the dark.
In the dark world, images related to Ince Zangwill quickly appeared, along with traces of 008.
Although they had means to shield divination, within the relevant strands of fate, neither Ince Zangwill nor 008 could hide.
While in the Hall of Stars, he could even peer into Great Old Ones.
Soon, Hastur opened his eyes and materialized a sheet of paper, on which he sketched Ince Zangwill's current residence as well as prominent nearby buildings and surroundings.
To prevent 008 from discovering in advance that he was targeting Ince Zangwill, Hastur used the power of the Hall of Stars to enhance his authority over concealment and bestowed corresponding good luck upon himself.
After finishing all this, Hastur attempted to peer into Ince Zangwill's final fate.
He had never tried directly peering into a person's fate before. This was a good chance to practice with Ince Zangwill.
In the pitch-dark world of his eyes, fragments of Ince Zangwill's fate streaked past like meteors, until the final fragment appeared.
Under the illumination of the crimson moon lay a dense forest, with a castle-like structure at its edge. Ince Zangwill was half-kneeling, his head raised as he gazed at the crimson moon in the sky.
This was the final scene. As for whether it was the very last moment before Ince Zangwill's death, Hastur couldn't tell.
The only thing he could be sure of was that Ince Zangwill's fate had changed. According to the original trajectory, he should have died under Klein's Death Knell gun, but in the image just now, Klein's figure did not appear.
"That makes sense. Klein's own fate has already changed, so it's normal for Ince Zangwill's fate to change as well."
Hastur opened his eyes and began to think about how to reveal Ince Zangwill's residence to Klein and Leonard.
As for how Klein and Leonard would deal with Ince Zangwill, that was their business.
After resolving Ince Zangwill's matter, Hastur's gaze habitually swept across the stars before settling on the star where the True Creator resided.
Did the True Creator know about the divine revelation he had bestowed upon Mr. A last time?
After observing for a while, there was nothing unusual. In the image, Ouroboros, with long hair flowing down to his waist, stood atop a mountain, gazing into the distant sea.
If no one disturbed Him, it seemed He could continue watching like this forever.
Hastur withdrew his gaze and observed the two new stars.
The planet resembling a gigantic mouth, suspected to be the Primordial Hunger, continued to maintain its disguise. The Ring of Destiny endlessly cycled through unknown fates, showing no abnormal reaction to the him gazing at it.
Calm and confident.
This would be a very troublesome Outer Deity.
...
Morning, at a royal manor.
On the bed, the young girl nestled in Prince Edessak's arms, complaining to him about what had happened these past days.
"I also think it was far too coincidental. How could you suddenly run into Countess Kaysman that day? According to the coachman's recollection afterward, he didn't notice anyone ahead at all at the time. It was only when he hit someone that he reacted, and then he saw Countess Kaysman already lying in the road."
Prince Edessak also remembered that day vividly.
"I've already made a promise in front of my friend Germani that I would definitely invite Baron Hastur Campbell. You wouldn't want me to lose credibility in front of my own friends, would you?"
The girl's sorrowful yet coquettish, gentle tone made Prince Edessak's heart nearly melt.
"Alright. Today I'll go see Baron Hastur Campbell again and see if anything unexpected happens."
Prince Edessak made this promise, but in the afternoon, the king suddenly summoned him for something, forcing him to give up his plan to see Hastur once again.
When the girl learned of this, she became even more convinced that Baron Hastur Campbell had the ability to change her situation. Otherwise, such coincidences wouldn't keep happening.
She summoned Prince Edessak's loyal subordinate, Talim, and told him to go to Baron Hastur Campbell's residence again tomorrow. Even if he had to wait there the whole time, he had to see Baron Hastur Campbell!
The next day, the servants brought news of Talim's death.
Panatiya came specifically to see the girl, pinching her chin as she spoke coldly, "Stay here obediently and don't do anything foolish again, unless you want to get more people killed."
"So Talim really was killed by you!"
"A close of the prince infatuated with your charm, dead is dead. No one will feel sad about his death, including Prince Edessak."
The girl fell silent for a long while, then sneered, "If you're truly omnipotent, why don't you dare let me see Baron Hastur Campbell? What are you afraid of?"
Panatiya frowned slightly. This was the second time she had heard that name, the first time had been from Ince Zangwill.
"This isn't something you should concern yourself with." Panatiya released the girl's chin and turned to leave the room.
She felt it was necessary to go see Baron Hastur Campbell, lest he ruin the bigger plan.
"Should I report this to the higher-ups first?" After thinking for a while, Panatiya decided there was no need.
He was just a baron, and a young one at that. Simply observing him from afar wouldn't cause any major trouble.
Late at night, Panatiya left the manor and headed toward Baron Hastur Campbell's residence to see for herself.
To avoid drawing attention, she didn't choose to travel through the spirit world, instead taking a carriage.
Since it was in the same Empress Borough, it should take about twenty minutes by carriage.
The carriage rattled along, soon exceeding twenty minutes without any sign of stopping.
It wasn't until more than half an hour later that the carriage finally came to a halt.
Panatiya lifted the carriage curtain, preparing to get down, only to suddenly discover that directly ahead from her stood the Holy Wind Cathedral!
She had actually arrived at the Church of the Lord of Storms' headquarters in Backlund! And she was right in front of the main entrance of the Holy Wind Cathedral!