"Therefore, I will suggest that the Church of the Evernight give him a job he's always dreamed of."
Aaron shrugged, finding it a bit boring to see Klein, who was clearly confused but held back from speaking, and added:
"He will follow an Archbishop to investigate the whereabouts of Ince Zangwill and won't have time to bother you."
Hearing the name of his mortal enemy, Klein's expression changed for a moment, and he almost blurted out:
"Ince Zangwill is in Backlund. Talim's Death is related to him. This is the story woven by 0-08…."
Noticing the calm, unperturbed expression on Aaron's face, Klein's voice grew weaker and weaker, finally almost a whisper:
"You, you know all this too?"
Feeling the changes in the surrounding dream world, Aaron could probably guess Klein's current mood and explained with a light chuckle:
"This isn't too difficult for me to guess. Back in Tingen City, although Ince Zangwill escaped due to the influence of that evil god's offspring, I permanently kept his left arm."
"Heh, the Church isn't aware of this. If you want to personally seek revenge on Ince Zangwill in the future, I can give you a friendship price."
Looking at Klein, who still wanted to say something, Aaron reined in his smile, his expression somewhat solemn:
"I know what you want to ask, but now is not the time."
"You've been behind Chanis Gate in Tingen City. You should understand what's back there and how strict the corresponding protective measures are."
"Heh, and do you think a failed Archbishop has the ability to steal a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact from the Quiet Cathedral alone?"
Klein's pupils constricted slightly, and he opened his mouth, asking back in disbelief:
"Are there traitors within the Church cooperating, or are there other hidden forces secretly intervening?"
Waving his hand to interrupt Klein's wild thoughts, Aaron advised in a low voice:
"Klein, the water here is very deep. Even if you knew some things, they would only be a burden to you right now."
"I'll give you a piece of advice, well, this is also a reminder."
"The will of the Church does not represent the gods, and the gods' plans will not be fully disclosed to their respective Churches!"
Glancing at Klein, who was deep in thought, Aaron chuckled lightly, his figure becoming illusory, his lingering voice echoing:
"Once you embark on this path, there's no turning back. I hope you always remember this, and I wish us successful cooperation."
The power that had been maintaining the dream, preventing it from collapsing due to Klein's intense emotional fluctuations, suddenly disappeared, and the gray dream world trembled accordingly.
Klein suddenly opened his eyes, sat up from the bed, looked at the still deep night, his expression solemn, and gazed at the Crimson Moon outside the window, remaining motionless for a long time.
-----------------
Berserk Sea, Mid-Range Island.
The disguised "Eloquent Speaker" Misol Kane pressed down the brim of his hat, walked through the quiet, deserted street, and stopped in front of a very Feysac-style attic.
He deliberately controlled his strength, making the rhythmic light knocking sound not too abrupt in the silent night. After completing the agreed signal, the door quietly opened.
Misol was about to ask what his subordinate, who was stationed on Mid-Range Island and responsible for investigating intelligence, had discovered that necessitated an in-person meeting, when his body was seized by an indescribable terrifying chill.
His proud ability as a Baron of Corruption, which had dominated the Berserk Sea, hadn't even been used, and this war without smoke had already ended. His brown pupils were filled with despair and panic.
He seemed to want to say something, but his throat felt blocked, only letting out some meaningless whimpers.
It wasn't until a figure in a Gothic court gown was reflected in those brown eyes that the low whimpering stopped abruptly. Sharron's voice came from "Eloquent Speaker" Misol's mouth:
"I need some time to completely corrode and devour his Spirit Body to obtain the corresponding memories."
The originally closed curtains moved without wind, and crimson moonlight poured in through the window. Louise, dressed in a very capable and uninhibited manner, walked slowly out of the Darkness, threw the corpse of Misol's secret contact onto the floor, and nodded gently:
"You've worked hard, Sharron. When we find the 'Black Death,' you don't need to act."
After a moment, the back door of the attic suddenly opened, and Misol, wearing a hood, got into a carriage. The shadow cast on the ground by the crimson moonlight seemed to possess life.
The carriage left the city, bypassing the port of Mid-Range Island and arriving at a secluded private port. "Misol" silently boarded a fishing boat that had been prepared in advance, and under the cover of night, left Mid-Range Island.
After nearly an hour of sailing, "Misol" saw a ship moored in the shadow of a cliff on an island, with a large flag depicting white bones fluttering on it.
The shadow behind him glowed red, gradually transforming into a woman's figure, but hidden by the loose black robe, it didn't attract attention.
After boarding the deck via a dinghy, "Misol" stopped a blonde maid who was about to walk deeper into the cabin and said coldly:
"Important intelligence! I need to report to the captain now!"
The blonde maid angrily shook off the hand that had gripped her shoulder, snorted coldly, and somewhat unwillingly walked in front.
Seeing the captain's cabin door at the very end pushed open, the blonde maid was about to turn and leave, but she was astonished to find that Misol's shadow had strangely stood up.
Before she could cry out in alarm, Sharron's figure was reflected in her pupils. For ordinary people and even low-Sequence Beyonders, "Wraith Possession" would almost never encounter any resistance.
Tracy, inside the captain's cabin, frowned slightly, averted her gaze from the disheveled Elaine, and was about to reprimand her unruly subordinate, but she discovered a hazy crimson moonlight rising in the spacious captain's cabin, subtly isolating the area.
Ethereal chains formed from dense black mist appeared out of thin air. Louise's figure had already emerged from Misol's shadow, and the five fingernails on her right hand instantly grew longer, their tips sharp, covered with black patterns and symbols.
This was the "Corrosion Claw," which could only be used after becoming a Viscount. Its sharpness was enough to cut through steel, and it possessed powerful corrosive abilities. It was also Louise's most proficient close-quarters combat method at the moment.
With Sharron's assistance, Louise, who had seized the initiative and launched a surprise attack, did not succeed with one blow. Tracy didn't even try to dodge; she merely raised the diamond-studded bracelet on her right arm, while her other empty hand shielded the terrified Elaine behind her on the bed.
A dawn-like light surged from the diamond-studded bracelet, erecting an unbreakable invisible wall on both sides of Tracy, forcefully blocking Louise's well-prepared sneak attack.
Tracy gritted her silver teeth, having already recognized the attacker's identity, and roared furiously:
"Vice Admiral Moon! How dare you!"
If it weren't for the Sealed Artifact formed by a Guardian that her nominal Mother, "Saintess of White" Katarina, had bestowed upon her after the last shipment of slaves this year, she might have fallen this time.
Tracy saw the greatly dimmed bracelet, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes. Her beautifully curved chin suddenly lifted, and her pale lips slightly parted, emitting an invisible shriek.
Accompanying the shriek, a ghostly blue halo surged out from inside her body. Wherever it passed, ice condensed, layer upon layer.
In just a second or two, she and Elaine behind her, Louise opposite, and the dazed Misol were all simultaneously enveloped within a frozen world.
Thick, transparent ice surrounded them, covered with soft white frost. They seemed close to each other, yet they would need to break through numerous obstacles to meet again.
A sinister smile appeared on Tracy's heroic and bright face. Quiet black flames ignited from within her body, rapidly melting the surrounding ice and paving the way for Tracy's counterattack.
At this moment, however, a never-before-seen glimmer of hope flashed in Elaine's eyes behind Tracy. Her hesitation then turned into firm resolve, and she suddenly grabbed the diamond-studded bracelet.
Tracy, who had no defenses against Elaine, seemed to have flames spewing from her eyes, looking incredulously at Elaine, who had snatched the bracelet.
Before she could snatch back the Sealed Artifact, Louise's body instantly turned ethereal, dyed light red, and transformed into a hazy moonlight. This moonlight instantly shattered, turning into crimson scales that passed through the surrounding hard ice layers, appearing between Tracy and Elaine.
Louise directly used her body to block Tracy's hand reaching for Elaine, and the "Corrosion Claw" swung fiercely towards that delicate, fair neck.
In a flash, Tracy's arm had pierced through Louise's body, but this also restricted her from using the "Magic Mirror Substitution Method" to escape her predicament.
This life-for-injury fighting style made Tracy curse inwardly. She could only forcefully manipulate the silk threads in the ice to move her body to avoid vital points, while doing her best to retract her restrained right hand.
Two muffled groans sounded almost simultaneously. The hard ice layer quietly shattered. Tracy, who had retracted her hand, stiffened in place, struck by the pursuing "Corrosion Claw," and then shattered like an illusion. The full-length mirror placed in the captain's cabin cracked with a crunch, rapidly disintegrated, and scattered across the floor.
"Mirror Substitution Method"!
Tracy's figure then appeared in the corner on the same side as the full-length mirror. A deep, bone-visible scratch appeared on her right chest, and it had already begun to rot.
Tracy glared fiercely at the two women not far away, her lips rapidly opening and closing twice. Ethereal black flames suddenly emerged from her palm, scorching the trace of Louise's blood on her right hand.
This was black magic! This was a Witch's curse!
Louise's figure trembled uncontrollably, igniting with black flames from inside out, from her soles to her head, just like a paper figure brought close to burning charcoal.
That was indeed a paper figure, a paper figure seemingly condensed from crimson moonlight.
This was the substitution technique, the Moon Paper Figure, that Count Mistral had specially left for Louise before returning to Backlund!
As the paper figure turned to ash, Louise appeared at the captain's cabin door, single-handedly clutching Elaine's neck, secretly hiding the flesh torn off by the "Corrosion Claw" under the cover of the full Moon, and said in a deliberately cold, low voice:
"As expected of someone who can subdue the 'Admiral of Hurricane's' fleet, you truly have some skill. You have earned my recognition."
"Hand over the key to the Death's treasure that you obtained, and I will give this woman to you. Otherwise…"
Averting her gaze from the paper figure's ashes, Tracy gritted her silver teeth, glaring venomously at Louise standing at the door:
"You Lunatic! I have never obtained the key to the Death's treasure. Give Elaine back to me, and I can let you leave."
Having successfully completed the task, Louise didn't care about the entanglement between these two, but the fluctuations from the battle just now were too great. Even though she had set up a blockade in advance, it still alarmed the crew of the Black Death.
The situation was already unfavorable for her; finding a way to escape as quickly as possible was her primary goal. Just then, the footsteps that had been rapidly approaching from the deck suddenly paused, and louder voices than before came through.
"Black Emperor!"
Tracy's and Louise's expressions changed almost simultaneously; the former's face grew even darker, while the latter was merely somewhat astonished.
Sharron… Louise seemed to have thought of something, feigned annoyance, cursed under her breath, and her body disintegrated into crimson scales, wrapping Elaine and rapidly escaping.
Tracy shrieked, and countless spider silks appeared, but they failed to stop that crazy woman. She reappeared on the deck and instinctively looked outwards.
A huge, pitch-black sailing ship had appeared in the distance at some unknown time. It was nearly a hundred meters long, with sails fully unfurled, and rows of broadside cannons on its flanks.
It had not yet approached, and its direction of travel was also off, but it still made the surrounding area feel as if it had gained a Black Emperor.
Tracy's face twitched slightly. She clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and with a hint of madness in her eyes, took a small, exquisite mirror from her neck. The mirror surface was as black as ink, reflecting nothing, like an Abyss that swallowed everything.
This was her last trump card, a one-time token that could be used to seek help from "Demoness of White" Katarina. This was also why she hadn't used it earlier when she sensed that the attacker was only Sequence 5, but the mysteriously appearing "King of Five Seas" had clearly exceeded her capabilities.
Tracy's expression, as she was about to crush the mirror, paused slightly. She noticed that the Black Emperor, which was approaching the Black Death, seemed to have been subtly diverted by something.
Her hand movements paused slightly, and Tracy's expression became somewhat unpredictable, her face flashing with ruthlessness, venom, and a faint hint of regret.
The bracelet that Elaine had unexpectedly snatched had a spiritual seed personally planted by Katarina, so the direction in which she sensed the attacker escaping was precisely the direction the Black Emperor was currently pursuing.
"Vice Admiral Moon…" Tracy's face twitched slightly. Feeling the stinging pain from her chest, she flashed back into the dilapidated captain's cabin.
Looking at Misol, who was already a corpse and whose Beyonder characteristic had long been taken, Tracy's eyes grew even darker. She used her hand as a knife to directly cut open Misol's heart and took out a lifelike crimson paper figure from within.
With her back to the belated crew members, Tracy shrieked in a chilling tone:
"Spread the word about tonight's events! Say that I was severely wounded, and the key to the Death's treasure has been stolen by the Vice Admiral Moon!"