"Don't you feel that what happened tonight was resolved a little too easily?"
Hastur still had quite a few doubts about what had happened tonight.
Since the Mother Goddess of Depravity had already corrupted the Abraham family, there should definitely be more than one Sequence 5 who could be used.
Moreover, would a Sequence 5 Traveler dare to search so recklessly for the followers of the Stars in Backlund?
"I've only found this one member of the Abraham family for now."
Bernadette glanced down at Saint Samuel Cathedral.
"The higher the Sequence of a Beyonder, the more careful they have to be in Backlund. Even if I want to find someone, I need quite a bit of time."
Hastur nodded and casually asked about the matter concerning the Angel of Fate, Uroboros.
"I didn't sense His aura. For an existence like that, unless He is willing to reveal Himself, only the gods can know His movements."
"It's getting late. I should go back and rest."
Naturally, Hastur asked Bernadette to send him on his way.
Beneath the clouds, at Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Archbishop Anthony's expression was solemn. For a filthy aura to dare appear so openly in front of the entrance to Saint Samuel Cathedral was nothing less than provocation!
He quickly summoned a Red Gloves team and ordered them to search the surrounding area through the night. He absolutely would not allow any filthy existence to remain!
Leonard was also among those who had been called in. There was no unnecessary expression on his face, and he had no intention of investigating what exactly had happened tonight.
Just as the old man had said, there was no use asking too many questions about things that could not be changed.
Instead, the old man suddenly spoke from the depths of his mind. "The Abraham family… Has it already fallen to this extent?"
Leonard's curiosity was piqued, but he still did not ask about the Abraham family.
"Not bad. It seems that the fall of that Klein has allowed you to truly mature."
Leonard replied calmly, "I just don't want to waste my thoughts on too many useless things."
...
The next day, around ten o'clock.
Hastur took a carriage to Sodrak Palace to meet with George III.
This time, Earl Hall was not present, leaving only Hastur and George III alone together.
Hastur deliberately made himself appear somewhat restrained, showing his respect for the king. George III was quite pleased with this attitude.
"What you did in Southville County has already been reported back to Backlund. You did very well when it came to dealing with pirates. Those disgusting and filthy bastards deserve to be hanged on the gallows and die amid their cries of agony."
George III spoke these brutal words with a genial expression. He walked over and patted Hastur on the shoulder.
"You look a bit like the former Grand Duke of Southville. If you have the time, you can go and ask him for advice about pirates. Sometimes, listening more to the opinions of your elders can save you from taking many unnecessary detours."
Hastur naturally understood the warning hidden within those words.
Before leaving, George III also asked him to attend the royal banquet tonight.
Naturally, he had no reason to refuse such an arrangement.
After ending his meeting with George III and arriving outside Sodrak Palace, Hastur did not immediately board the carriage and leave. Instead, he silently sensed the cold and austere order surrounding him.
Countless invisible black chains of order were cold and merciless, yet incomparably tough, jointly supporting the Loen Kingdom.
And he, together with all the other Loen nobles and ordinary citizens, lived under these rules of order.
The difference was that the nobles could stand within the shadows of order, avoiding the restraints of the rules while also using the existing order to profit for themselves. All ordinary citizens, meanwhile, were destined to be the group crushed at the very bottom, unable to move freely.
The stricter the laws and the more stable the situation, the harder it was for those at the bottom to rise. They could only carry one mountain after another on their backs and struggle forward.
Hastur did not take the potion at this time. Instead, he chose to wait for tonight's banquet.
At that time, many nobles would gather together, and the aura of order and chaos would become even more intense.
That would be the most suitable moment to consume the potion and advance.
After returning home, Glaint had already been waiting in the hall on the first floor for quite some time.
Seeing Hastur return, Glaint immediately came forward.
"Hastur, long time no see."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Glaint said proudly, "Hastur, I've completely digested the Beast Tamer potion. I'm about to advance to Sequence 7!"
It took more than half a year just to digest the Beast Tamer potion.
Glaint, it seems you really don't have much talent when it comes to taming animals.
Hastur still smiled and said, "That's great. Your growth has already exceeded my expectations."
"Really?" Glaint was delighted and continuously shared with Hastur how he had spent the past half-year becoming a qualified Beast Tamer.
Besides training the pets at home, he had even spent his own money to establish a circus outside and personally took up the position of animal trainer there.
He had also gone out to perform with the circus many times, winning plenty of flowers and applause.
Hastur simply listened in silence, occasionally mentioning a few things about his daily life in Southville County.
Toward the end, Glaint smiled awkwardly. "Hastur, do you know what the next Sequence of this Beyonder pathway is?"
"Have you ever heard of vampires?"
"Vampires? You mean those filthy creatures from novels who hide inside castles and like to suck the pure blood of human maidens?"
That was quite a strong reaction.
Hastur could not help thinking of a certain vampire who liked dolls. If he were here, he would definitely argue loudly, "We are the noble Blood Clan! We're not some filthy vampires!"
Seeing that Hastur did not say anything, Glaint's expression changed slightly.
"Hastur, don't tell me that Sequence 7 of this Beyonder pathway is a vampire?"
Hastur nodded.Glaint's expression changed several times before he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it. I won't rush to advance for now. I'll only consider advancing once I can overcome the obstacle of drinking blood."
Hastur did not force him.
For Glaint to have made it this far was already enough. The Beyonder path ahead was not suitable for him.
It would be better for him to peacefully remain a Viscount who enjoyed life.
After Glaint left, Count Richard, who lived nearby, also came to pay a visit.
Hastur had a deep impression of this somewhat mentally troubled Count Richard.
He had originally thought that Richard would once again ask about the god existing inside his mind, but instead, he behaved completely normally, appearing to be engaged in nothing more than an ordinary social visit.
After staying for about half an hour, he got up and said goodbye.
This change instead made Hastur somewhat worried.
There were two possibilities. The first was that Count Richard had completely escaped the influence and fully returned to normal.
The second was that Count Richard had completely accepted the abnormal phenomenon inside his mind.
But Hastur did not pay too much attention to him.
In any case, he would be leaving Backlund in a few days. If something really happened, the people from the Church of the Evernight Goddess would naturally handle it.
A little after three in the afternoon, Hastur went to Backlund University and met with Professor Wayne and Lecturer Frohn. He chatted with them until nearly six o'clock before returning.
At ten past seven, he boarded a carriage heading for the royal banquet.
Tonight, the crimson moon happened to be full. Like a huge crimson disc, it cast down its radiance, complementing the lively and brilliant lights of the banquet.
The same crimson moon could appear in different people's eyes as something entirely different, perhaps even a deadly full moon.
In the Northern Borough, inside a room on the second floor of an inn, suppressed yet intense banging sounds could be heard.
"Fors, what exactly is wrong with you?!"
Xio looked at the red-eyed Fors in front of her with an anxious and uneasy expression.
Fors's hair was disheveled, and her fingers repeatedly scratched at the wooden door while she sometimes clenched her hands into fists and pounded against it.
Everything inside the room had already been thrown into a complete mess. If Xio had not decisively closed the door, Fors would definitely have gone mad and run outside.
"Xio! Go away! It's the full-moon murmuring! It's a curse!"
Fors gritted her teeth before finally managing to spit out these words. Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth, staining her light-blue pajamas red.
"Ah!"
Another painful scream rang out.
Fors crouched on the ground and desperately clawed at her own hair. Strands of hair, carrying traces of blood, were torn from her scalp.
The sight made Xio's eyelids twitch violently.
If this continued, even if Fors managed to survive the curse of the full-moon murmuring tonight, she would definitely become bald tomorrow.
Xio had always known that Fors would suffer from the curse of the full-moon murmuring whenever the moon was full.
However, ever since Fors began believing in the Stars, symptoms like these had never appeared again.
Yet tonight, the curse of the full-moon murmuring had returned. And the symptoms were fiercer than ever before.
Xio did not dare delay any longer. She hurriedly knelt on the ground and devoutly prayed to the Stars, hoping that the Stars' blessing could save Fors once again.
About five minutes later, the familiar starry sky once again descended into this small room.
The starlight was brilliant, and Fors, who had been desperately suppressing her madness, finally returned to her usual calm appearance.
"Fors? Fors, are you all right?" Xio stepped forward twice, wanting to check Fors' current condition.
But just as she was about to approach Fors, Fors suddenly stood up.
She raised her head, revealing a face covered in bloodstains. Yet what came from her mouth was a tone completely different from her usual manner of speaking.
"Stars, is such a meeting unexpected?"
Deep within the hazy starry sky, above the Hall of Stars, Hastur looked solemnly down at Fors below.
A distorted, overlapping door was firmly attached to Fors' body.
Fors had been corrupted.