He?
The Hermit Cattleya, the Hanged Man Alger, and the others were stunned. They suddenly felt as if they no longer truly knew the "Tower."
A mere demigod could speak as an equal to a Being addressed as He?
Ebner saw their shock. After a brief moment of thought, he still gave an explanation:
"My reply represents the existence behind me… just like that Elder Lovia."
This avatar of mine is already speaking on behalf of my real body—this explanation is perfectly valid.
So that was it…
Alger and Cattleya both showed clarity, though their curiosity toward the Tower's background grew stronger.
Especially Alger. He'd guessed many times, but none of his guesses fit.
"I understand."
Although the Sun Derrick didn't fully understand, he still chose to trust Mr. Tower and prepared to deliver the message.
But at this moment, the Hanged Man Alger warned:
"When you deliver the message, try to stay hidden. Don't let your Chief discover you secretly contacted Elder Lovia."
Derrick froze for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Thanks to the teachings of the Hanged Man, the World, and the Tower, he already knew that although the Chief trusted him somewhat, he had never given up using the Shepherd Elder to balance him.
If the Chief found out he secretly met Lovia, the fragile trust he had built could collapse instantly.
But Ebner shook his head:
"I think it's better to be honest with your Chief, and tell him the promise has nothing to do with Silver City."
Hiding it would be ideal—but given Ebner's understanding of the Chief, Derrick would never be able to hide anything.
Better to be open than suspected.
"This…"
Derrick glanced at the Tower and then at the Hanged Man, unsure who to trust. In the end, his gaze drifted toward the World.
This made Mr. Moon quietly unhappy:
So you're not even going to ask for my opinion?
The World, Klein, felt both sides had merit, but he trusted Ebner more. So he asked hoarsely:
"Do you have the confidence to completely avoid your Chief noticing?"
Derrick recalled the Chief's imposing figure and lowered his head:
"No…"
"Then follow Mr. Tower's suggestion," Klein said with a small laugh.
The Hanged Man exhaled softly, realizing his mistake, and added:
"It was my oversight. Do as Mr. Tower said."
"Yes…"
Derrick bowed even lower, mistakenly believing his incompetence caused the Hanged Man's "error."
After this, "Justice" Audrey looked around and raised her hand:
"Does anyone know about the 'Bloody Butcher' case in Tingen a dozen years ago?"
The case had halted her progress on the seventh level of the Dream Labyrinth Tower. Even knowing she probably wouldn't encounter it again, Audrey still wanted to understand the truth—where exactly had she gone wrong?
The Hanged Man, Judgment, Magician and others frowned. They didn't understand why Miss Justice brought this up.
But Klein immediately guessed—
She must have encountered that scenario in the Dream Labyrinth Tower.
The Bloody Butcher case? Isn't that the one Mrs. Orianna from Blackthorn Security once experienced? I remember it was a "devil ritual" event. Without Nighthawks intervening, she would've been the sixth victim.
The case happened sixteen—no, seventeen—years ago, and the culprit had long since been arrested.
Explaining it shouldn't be a problem.
Thinking this, Klein controlled the World to speak hoarsely:
"I know a bit about that case…"
He then summarized the file he had read at Blackthorn Security.
Unexpectedly, Audrey shook her head:
"No, no… In the scenario, the Nighthawks and I captured the killer you mentioned, but the mission still failed… That means the mastermind was someone else."
"What?"
Even Ebner was intrigued.
He considered, then said:
"If the sixth target survived more than a decade without incident, that means the ritual already succeeded long ago. The sixth person wasn't needed at all… The mastermind must have completed the ritual after killing the fifth victim."
The surviving sixth victim was Mrs. Orianna of Blackthorn Security. Klein hadn't said her name, so Ebner only referred indirectly.
"Five victims, five organs removed… what kind of devil ritual is that?"
The World, Klein, frowned.
"Maybe… it wasn't a devil ritual at all."
Ebner replied.
The number five also made him inexplicably think of the "five" survivors of a certain ritual eleven years ago.
Klein had the same intuition but didn't speak it aloud.
Instead, he planned to investigate later.
Thus the discussion continued, and the Tarot Gathering gradually drew to an end.
After the meeting—ignoring the private discussion between Klein and Ebner—Derrick returned to Silver City.
He first memorized the strengths and weaknesses of Notary as described by the Hanged Man, then headed to the Twin Towers again to select a magical item and deliver the Tower's message to Elder Lovia.
He hadn't chosen his Extraordinary weapon earlier because his newly advanced state was unstable; he feared losing control upon touching a magical item.
Inside the round tower, after completing the procedures, Derrick listed his needs and reviewed the shortlisted magical items.
After careful reading and examination, he quickly settled on one called "Thunder God's Roar."
It came from a ruined city-state, extremely heavy, shaped like a giant hammer, its surface a deep ghostly blue wrapped in silver-white lightning. The handle seemed to be a creature's leg bone.
In battle, it produced a fear-inducing sound, as though the Thunder God Himself had descended, roaring endlessly.
Every strike carried terrifying destructive power, lightning always present.
Its negative effects weren't severe for the mild-tempered, self-radiant Derrick.
After choosing his weapon, Derrick tightened his lips and proceeded to the Chief's room at the top of the round tower, knocking on the door.
Moments later, Shepherd Elder Lovia was summoned as well.
Upon hearing Derrick recite Mr. Tower's message, a mechanical-sounding female voice rang by Lovia's ear:
"I know…"
Lovia wasn't surprised. Ever since she obtained the Shepherd potion formula from a destroyed city-state, this voice had followed her.
...
Pasu Island, Headquarters of the Church of Storms.
After his examination concluded, Alger was once again questioned by a deacon about several female pirate generals.
With his previous experience, he cautiously asked:
"Did Gehrman Sparrow cause trouble again?"
The deacon said with thinly veiled glee:
"The mission originally assigned to you all was completed by Gehrman!"
"He gathered four or five demigods— including that mysterious 'Professor'!"
"And according to our intel, an Angel of the Einhorn family descended upon the port that day—but was blocked as well."
Alger's mouth hung open wider with each word.
Who would have imagined that capturing a sea monster below demigod-level would result in such an escalation?
"And the Trident was taken by three demigods of the Demoness Sect working together.
Given Gehrman's relationship with the Admiral of Ailment, they were likely brought by that lunatic adventurer!" the deacon added.
Counting them—seven or eight demigods plus at least one angel.
No wonder the World demanded extra payment!
Alger didn't hide his shock—and a sense of lingering terror.
Given the Fusac Empire's arrangements, without the World's intervention, he would have been unquestionably dead.
...
5 p.m., Backlund, Empress Borough, Hall Family's luxurious villa.
Ebner stepped off the carriage, entering the main hall with the elegantly dressed Xio and Fors.
Soon, a handsome noble youth with radiant golden hair approached with a butler behind him.
(End of Chapter)