Looking at the highly provocative gaze, Aaron's face under the mask twitched slightly. The thought of the person opposite him once being a effeminate man always sent a shiver down his spine.
Suppressing the discomfort in his heart, Aaron imitated the voice of the true Mr. Gluttony, Howard Philip, and let out a low chuckle:
"A very good suggestion, but I've been in the Midseashire County recently. If I go to Backlund, how should I find you?"
"And I'm only interested in items from the spiritual domain. Your Demoness Sect shouldn't be unable to produce items of equal value, right?"
The smile on her face grew even more charming, and Katarina licked her bright red lips, chuckling:
"This isn't a problem for us. If you come to Backlund, you can go directly to Red Rose Manor in the suburbs. You will get what you want."
After speaking, she glanced at Mr. Gluttony, whose mouth was split to his ears. A blurry ball of light instantly pierced through the seemingly solidified Twilight, enveloping Katarina, and then surged upwards, disappearing into the dark and obscure ocean.
They left just like that? Aaron was slightly surprised. Hermes played the role of a good teacher, gently explaining:
"Members of the Twilight Hermit Order can freely choose whether to attend the meeting and when to leave. There aren't too many restrictions."
"Heh, of course, there's one major prerequisite, and that is not to violate the established trend of the era."
"It's a bit of a pity that many old friends didn't come to this gathering. I think you'd be more interested in them."
Them? Aaron's eyes flickered slightly. He said nothing more, but subtly and quickly scanned the Twilight Hermit Order members whose faces were still visible on the mountain peak, silently memorizing their appearances.
-----------------
Backlund, Williams Street, back alley of the Pound Family ancestral home.
The crimson moonlight was obscured by clouds. In the Darkness, the sound of chanting poetry emerged, peaceful and tranquil, lulling one to sleep. From this "tranquility," a figure walked out.
He wore a black soft hat, with dark gold sideburns, a high nose bridge, tightly pursed lips, and deep, classical sculpture-like facial lines, without a single wrinkle. It was Ince Zangwill.
His sole remaining arm clutched a pure white Quill of Alzuhod, and a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. He took a deep breath, muttering with a hint of emotion:
"I've finally escaped the cage that held me for over a thousand years. The feeling of freedom is truly wonderful. It would be even more perfect if I didn't have to share a body with the two of you."
A blood-colored banner mark subtly appeared on Ince Zangwill's glabella, corresponding to the Underworld Gate, and a sneer emanated from it:
"If it weren't for that damned Tudor, do you think I'd be willing to share a body with you?"
Another, rougher voice also rang out:
"And before you express such meaningless sentiments, you should be more concerned with how we're going to recover our strength."
Not angered by this, Medici, who occupied Ince Zangwill's body, looked at Rafter Pound, who was unconscious and being dragged out of the Darkness by several rotten, bloated arms, and let out a light chuckle:
"Tsk, I just said it casually, and you two got anxious."
"It's not hard to recover strength. Just come to Binsy with me, isn't that enough?"
"Shut up!" Almost identical roars sounded simultaneously. The skin on both sides of Ince Zangwill's Cheeks slowly Creep, as if trying to form two new faces.
Medici shrugged. After appeasing Sauron and Einhorn, he used Ince Zangwill's Nighthawk ability to manipulate a natural spirit into Rafter Pound's body.
Rafter Pound's already pale complexion, due to excessive blood loss, grew even colder. He abruptly opened his hollow eyes and stiffly walked slowly towards the outskirts of the town.
"How unpredictable fate is. I suddenly wish that Lunatic hadn't completely fallen back then. If he could see what his descendants look like now, tsk, just thinking about it makes me excited...."
"Ince Zangwill" watched Rafter Pound disappear at the end of the alley with a meaningful expression, and casually wrote a few sentences on the wall with the pure white Quill of Alzuhod in his hand:
"Ince Zangwill didn't notice anything unusual about his body; instead, he would proactively begin collecting Beyonder characteristics of the Hunter Pathway."
"And as the price of the transaction, Sauron-Einhorn-Medici will promise to help the great Quill of Alzuhod find the 'City of Miracles' Liveseyd."
Watching the blood-colored text disappear as it was written, "Ince Zangwill" nodded in satisfaction, and his body vanished into the deep Darkness.
In mid-air, a raven descended and landed on the roof of the Pound Family ancestral home. It had a white circle around its right eye, and a human voice came from its mouth:
"What swift action. Backlund is becoming more and more interesting."
This was just a clone Amon left on Williams Street. As soon as his clone arrived in Backlund, he encountered Adam, who had been waiting for a long time in the Corpse Cathedral.
Although that fanatic was annoying, Amon still accepted a few of his requests, which was why he came to the underground ruins where Tudor was promoted to Blood Emperor as soon as he arrived in Backlund.
The purpose was to completely cut off Medici's other ideas, so that he would cooperate with 0-08 as soon as possible, and better allow the fanatic to firmly lock onto the last Author Beyonder characteristic through Medici.
-----------------
Backlund, Empress Borough, the Duke of East Tucker's residence.
Aaron suddenly opened his eyes. The semi-illusory, semi-real Gluttony mask on his face fell off by itself, transforming back into the Dream Weaver Ring, which fell beside the Guardian Bracelet.
The obscure and dark subconscious sea receded, and the bone cross was once again submerged by the surging Darkness, disappearing into the Darkness Emblem.
Recalling the sensation of entering and exiting the dream world constructed beneath the collective subconscious sea, Aaron's fingers unconsciously tapped the table, his thoughts drifting:
"The Primordial One's spiritual imprints are likely distributed not only in Beyonder characteristics but also in the subconscious sea, which is a precipitation of the collective mind."
"Whether it was the previous dream exploration or entering the Twilight Hermit Order deep within the collective subconscious sea, I felt the hidden tendency towards losing control."
"And the pollution caused by the Chaos Sea is somewhat similar to the Primordial One. The Dragon of Imagination's contingency plan was to control the Chaos Sea using the corrupted negative personality left in the depths of the 'City of Miracles' Liveseyd."
"Perhaps, besides the more 'real' and once more active underground pollution, the Chaos Sea might also contain a 'illusory' part, possibly existing in the subconscious sea."
"As the Ancient Sun God's divine personality, Adam, who wields the second Blasphemy Slate, cannot fully exploit the Sefirah, but constructing a secret gathering using the illusory part of the Chaos Sea in the collective subconscious might not be difficult."
"This might also be why the Seven Deities and the true high-level figures like the Popes of the Churches can tolerate the continued existence of such an organization that secretly pushes the world's trends."
Suppressing the thoughts in his heart, Aaron first put away the Dream Weaver Ring, which had returned to its original state. He glanced towards the suburbs, thought for a moment, and gave up the idea of going to Red Rose Manor right now.
Picking up the Guardian Bracelet brought down from the Nation of Disorder, Aaron skillfully set up the ritual and sacrificed this highly practical Sealed Artifact to Mr. Fool, transferring it to Mr. World.
Layers of prayers woke Klein. He groggily looked at the Crimson Moon outside the window, took a deep breath, and after taking four reverse steps in the washroom, arrived above the gray fog.
"Respected Mr. Fool, please transfer this Sealed Artifact to Mr. World, and inform him that the monthly rent is 100 gold pounds. If lost, the principal of 9000 pounds must be compensated."
The familiar voice entered his ears, and Klein's face twitched slightly. He didn't respond immediately. He beckoned and took the diamond bracelet that had passed through the Door of Sacrifice and Bestowal, then closed his eyes to divine the effect of this Sealed Artifact.
A moment later, he opened his eyes with some surprise, understanding why this Sealed Artifact could be valued at 9000 pounds.
"Guardian Bracelet"
"'Guardian's Vow': When the host faces a life threat, they will automatically enter a Guardian state, greatly increasing physical toughness and mental resistance, and can also bear damage for companions within a certain range, protecting them."
"'Hurricane of Light': Using spirituality as a guide, it activates the light of dawn, capable of directly destroying human bodies, eliminating Wraiths, and injuring evil spirits."
....
"Negative Effect: Each time the host passively enters the Guardian state, the pain received from attacks is doubled, and they will passively enter a severely injured state after 10 minutes."
Flipping through the information that appeared in his mind, Klein stroked his chin:
"Although the negative effects of this Sealed Artifact have many restrictions, I can transfer the severely injured state using the Magician's ability, so the only direct impact left is the so-called doubled pain."
"At my current Sequence 6 level, fully activating 'Hurricane of Light' is enough to affect a typical Sequence 5. 'Guardian's Vow' can also buy me some breathing room when facing a demigod, at least I won't be instantly killed."
With that thought, Klein no longer hesitated. He immediately condensed the image of his prayer response and threw it into the crimson star representing Mr. Emperor.
Perhaps it was the frank discussion last time that made the Duke finally understand the hardship of my earning money, which is why he changed from selling to renting.... Playing with the powerful Sealed Artifact in his hand, Klein's expression was somewhat complex.
-----------------
Ince Zangwill suddenly woke up from his bed. Scenes difficult to recall, carrying a strange sense of horror, filled his mind. His blue eye, almost black, subconsciously looked at the desk nearby.
In the exquisitely crafted crystal box, with its strange patterns flowing on the surface, a pure white Quill of Alzuhod lay quietly, seemingly without any abnormality.
He let out a slight sigh of relief. Ince Zangwill glanced out the window at the morning light piercing through the thin mist, then flashed to the desk. After undoing the array and Wall of Spirituality on the crystal box, he picked up the pure white Quill of Alzuhod and flashed into the dark corner where the morning light could not reach.
Deep blue light surged out, constructing a passage of overlapping light layers between the deep Darkness and the invisible creatures that roamed.
Ince Zangwill stepped forward indifferently, entering the light curtain that rippled like water. He saw a hall guarded by several stone pillars, and he also saw two figures standing within the inner circle of the hall.
The man in front, wearing a golden mask, said angrily in a deep voice:
"Why can that Trissy Cheek of the Demoness Sect always break through the dreams you weave? Last time, she took the opportunity to kill a believer of the Storm, thankfully the Royal Family intervened and suppressed the matter."
"Do you want the people of the Church to discover our secret?"
Ince Zangwill's bloodshot eye first glanced at the large array, which was already taking shape, and then he spoke in a deep voice:
"That woman has something capable of countering 0-08. It's that thing that repeatedly stirs up the story, and I can only patch up the loopholes after the story deviates."
"Instead of taking such risks, you two should go find that important figure from the Demoness Sect."
The man with the golden mask snorted impolitely, his voice growing even colder:
"Katarina has no other way either. According to her, it's an item bestowed by the Primordial One. She has no right, nor does she dare, to interfere."
Standing closest to the altar, Mr. A, whose face was extremely beautiful, like a woman's, said in a hoarse and rather uncomfortable voice:
"I'm not interested in your cooperation with the Demoness Sect. I just want to know when the 200 'lambs' you promised will arrive. The Lord's altar still needs blood sacrifice to be officially completed."
"During this time, I'll trouble you to ensure that Trissy Cheek doesn't cause any problems." After speaking, this golden-masked man from the Loen Royal Family first turned to glance at the altar in the center of the hall, thought for a moment, and then replied:
"The batch of slaves sent by the Demoness Sect just arrived at Pritz Harbor. It will take some time to secretly transport them back to Backlund without attracting attention. Does Mr. A not even have that much time to wait?"
A hoarse, crazed laughter rang out. Mr. A glanced at the golden-masked man and said coldly:
"Although I don't mind bearing all the infamy and incurring the greatest hatred from the military and the three Churches, if you want me to trust you, shouldn't you show some sincerity?"
The golden-masked man was silent for a few seconds, seemingly communicating with an unknown entity, and finally said in a low tone:
"I will give you an explanation for this matter, and I will send the promised slaves as soon as possible."
Then he looked at Ince Zangwill, who was standing at the entrance, and said in a deep voice:
"A Cardinal from the Church of Evernight's Sleep Cathedral has arrived and may reach Backlund very soon."
"I need you to temporarily leave Backlund, show your traces elsewhere to divert this trouble, and then return to Backlund."
"During this time, that Trissy Cheek will be left to the Demoness Sect to guard themselves."
The light in Ince Zangwill's sole remaining eye flickered, and he let out a chilling laugh. His single arm unconsciously tightened around the pure white Quill of Alzuhod, and he nodded silently.