The face covered by the Persona showed no change in emotion. "Sloth" was silent for a few seconds, his tone no longer as lazy as before, and he asked in a deep voice:
"What happened? Why has it come to this?"
Pauli Derlau withdrew his hands from caressing the wheelchair, clasped them over his chest and abdomen, and replied calmly:
"This is for your safety, to avoid collateral damage and prevent the Psychology Alchemists from losing another councilor."
Something big is about to happen in Feynapotter City! "Sloth," who had vaguely inferred a clue from the President's attitude, lowered his eyes slightly. His thoughts inevitably wandered, but he no longer pressed for answers. After standing up and bowing, he quickly disappeared into the collective unconscious sea.
Pauli Derlau watched silently, then turned back to the giant cross in the center of the hall, lowered his eyes, and prayed.
After an unknown period, his expression shifted slightly. When he opened his eyes again, he was already outside the Corpse Cathedral.
Without the slightest surprise, Pauli Derlau raised his hand and made a cross on his chest, then calmly looked up, meeting the gaze of the skulls embedded in the black giant pillar.
The next second, this massive cathedral, over eighty meters tall, silently vanished from Eden.
---
On the outskirts of the Backlund region, at the entrance to the South Bank of the bridge, three figures quickly materialized in the deep night: Klein, dressed as a ruthless adventurer, and two demigod puppets.
He had learned the follow-up of the City of Silver through Derrick and chief Colin's prayers. Although he was curious why Aaron was so concerned about the "Gift of the Land," having already received his reward and advanced to Sequence 3, it was not appropriate for him to delve deeper.
In recent days, besides familiarizing himself with the Scholar of Yore's Beyonder abilities and occasionally responding to the City of Silver's increasingly frequent prayers, Klein's most important task was creating "Yesterday Once More" Charms.
Thinking of the painful experience of constantly separating his Spirit Body Threads to try and make Charms, Klein couldn't help but raise a hand to rub his temples, his fatigue evident.
His gaze swept over the flowing river. Klein took out two "Yesterday Once More" Charms from his pocket and flicked his Spirit Body Threads. "Despair's Nightingale" Panatiya, behind him, immediately held a full-length mirror.
Strange symbols drawn in blood dissolved on the mirror's surface. Just a few seconds later, a graceful figure materialized in the mirror. Even the gloomy, dark, antiquated long dress couldn't conceal her captivating smile.
"A mirror clone, Trissy, is this your sincerity?"
Ignoring the allure of this demigod Demoness, Klein's tone was cold and hard as he let out a low growl. The puppet Panatiya's hair flew, as if she was about to directly shatter the full-length mirror.
Just then, a delicate, fair arm stretched out from beneath the mirror's surface, as if passing through layers of water ripples, pushing away the gathering strands of hair. A clear, melodious voice followed:
"This is Backlund. It's always right to be cautious."
Glancing at Trissy, who had stepped out of the mirror, Klein silently threw out the two Charms in his hand, adding succinctly:
"These are the Charms I mentioned last time. You can call them 'Yesterday Once More.'"
Trissy examined the two rectangular "diamonds" in her hand with interest. From the constantly refracting light, she saw layers of complex symbols extending into the void. Her demigod-level spirituality was also impacted, and her head felt slightly dizzy, as if witnessing a segment of history.
Her heart instantly grew solemn, but Trissy showed no outward emotion, subtly reining in her spirituality. She used the Demoness Pathway's mirror divination to confirm the charm's ability, but after a moment, her expression couldn't conceal her strangeness.
Taking in Trissy's expression, Klein suppressed the corners of his mouth from turning up. Although the raw material for the charm was his Spirit Body Threads, the power solidified within it truly came from Sefirah Castle. He then coolly reminded her:
"Ordinary divination has no effect on it. The reason I prepared two is for you to personally verify it."
Trissy's eyes moved. After a moment of consideration, she took out a charm and chanted in ancient Hermes:
"Yesterday!"
Trissy immediately saw gray-white mist and observed scenes from the past, like countless stars, finally settling on a manor under a dim, yellow sunset.
Observing Trissy, who seemed somewhat lost in thought, Klein was guessing whether she was trying to summon back the sapphire ring, comparable to a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, from the past, when he saw a young figure dressed in luxurious formal wear.
This is… Prince Edessak?
Klein was momentarily stunned, quickly recognizing him as his former employer when he was a great detective. He then looked at Trissy with a strange expression, inwardly clicking his tongue.
Trissy gazed at the hollow-eyed Edessak with a somewhat dazed expression until his figure slowly dissipated. After a moment of silence, a charming smile mixed with madness appeared on her face:
"A very magical charm. Can you now tell me the location of the mausoleum and how to enter it?"
Klein shrugged, looked around, and said helplessly:
"You're a King of Angels. If you came, you came. What's there to hide? I can't answer her question."
King of Angels!
Having experienced being transformed into a vessel for the Primordial Demoness's descent, although it didn't fully succeed, she had passively received some knowledge during the process. Trissy's eyes suddenly constricted.
Before she could react, she was astonished to find that she could no longer use her Beyonder abilities. The surging river around her had, at some unknown point, been replaced by an endless expanse of dark golden mist, as if she had been isolated in another space.
On the Tussock River bank, Klein watched a demigod disappear without any resistance right before his eyes. His mouth twitched slightly, and he coughed dryly, reminding Aaron:
"She agreed to participate in the operation to destroy the Black Emperor's mausoleum..."
Aaron's figure appeared in the Starlight Door, waved his hand, and replied casually:
"It's just temporary detention, and a display of strength, otherwise why would she believe that you, a mere Sequence 3, can stop George III from ascending to godhood."
"After all, she is barely considered Cheek's divine general vessel. Using her as bait might even lure out important figures from the Demoness Sect."
Seeing that Aaron had his own plans, Klein didn't ask further, but remembering the Miracle Invoker who came to the City of Silver, he hesitated for a moment before continuing:
"I have already digested a portion of the Sequence 3 potion. The next step is to prepare for advancement to a complete Mythical Creature."
"I can feel this is an opportunity to further control Sefirah Castle, but the Sequence 2 advancement ritual of the Door Pathway requires going to the Cosmos, which is too demanding and dangerous. So I want to pre-request the Miracle Invoker potion formula from you."
Pre-request? Aaron clicked his tongue, looking at Klein, who remained expressionless and composed, and teased:
"I still trust Mr. Fool's credibility very much, but I just got all the potion formulas for the 22 Pathways from Roselle, so you'll need to repay me with something else."