The one speaking was a young man wearing a tall, stiff, pointed black hat and a mismatched, asymmetrical coat.
"This is already the height we forced them to settle on after strongly objecting. If the Church of Earth Mother had crafted your new body according to your original one, no matter where you went, everyone would immediately know a giant had revived."
"Besides, isn't this body far more convenient for you to go out and find women to...uh...you know...for leaving behind a—"
Bang.
Before he could finish, the woman at the front punched him on the shoulder, cutting him off. Then she pulled down her hood, revealing an exceedingly gentle face and a pair of pointed ears.
She looked at Danitz and Emlyn and said, "We were ordered to come assist you in resisting the colonists and the Church."
Before Danitz could speak, Emlyn blurted out in astonishment, "Elves? You're actually elves?"
Siatas raised an eyebrow. "You've seen elves before?"
"No, but my clan has records." Emlyn widened his eyes and looked her up and down. "You really are elves? But weren't you…weren't you supposed to be extinct?"
The elven woman immediately showed displeasure. "Hmph, even if vampires went extinct, we never would!"
Emlyn instantly shouted, "It's Sanguine!"
Danitz shoulder-checked Emlyn out of the way and stepped forward, giving a formal salute. "Friends, I am Danitz, the person in charge here. Welcome."
Siatas nodded. "I'm Siatas."
She then introduced the others one by one: "Groselle, Mobet, Frunziar, and Snowman. As for the rest…remove your hoods."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone walking behind them removed their hoods. There were both men and women, all with exquisite features and the iconic pointed ears of elves—
They were an elven strike team.
———
Inside a dark, deep tomb.
Azik, who had been missing for many days, was descending the stairways layer by layer toward the depths of the burial site. From within the black fog ahead came low, laboured breaths. Each exhalation stabbed painfully through his mind, stirring up fragmented memories he had once experienced.
At last, Azik reached the very bottom of the tomb. As the black fog dispersed, the phantom entity coiled at the bottom slowly revealed itself.
It was a feathered serpent so enormous it seemed capable of occupying an entire island.
The exaggerated creature looked both illusory and real. Pale flames burned within its eye sockets, and its face—shockingly—was a human face. Its skin was bronze-colored, its features gentle, and beneath its right ear sat a tiny black mole. It was unmistakably another Azik.
In an instant, Azik Eggers remembered everything. He finally understood the reason he had died and revived again and again, the reason he had repeatedly lost his memories only to recover them each time:
His soul was incomplete.
And the feathered serpent in the depths of the black mist was precisely the missing portion of his soul. All of this had been orchestrated by his former father—Salinger, the God of Death in the Fourth Epoch—who intended Azik to be His contingency plan for resurrection.
Once the time was right and the two halves of the soul reunited, the former God of Death Salinger would return, and Azik Eggers would disappear from the world entirely.
The moment Azik understood this, he lost control of his body. He suddenly strode forward toward the colossal feathered serpent. His eyes beneath the pale flames twisted in agony, his expression contorting to the extreme. On the exposed parts of his skin, black-scaled gaps began sprouting white feathers stained with a faint yellow grease. From his forehead, an ancient ornament—like one forged from gold—began to "grow" out.
He simply could not resist the call embedded deep within the core of his soul.
Just then, the air to the side split open, tearing into a narrow rift. From it flew a palm-sized black bird trailing fiery red tail feathers. It darted straight between Azik and the massive feathered serpent.
The moment it opened its beak, an ancient bronze door materialised out of thin air, blocking Azik's path and severing the serpent's summons.
"Huff…huff…!"
Azik stopped before the door, drenched in sweat and breathing raggedly. The abnormal transformations on his body faded just as quickly. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. If you hadn't shown up in time to save me last time, I would've been dead long ago."
The black bird—Phoenix—spoke.
"Besides, I can only hold it back for a while. The key still depends on Her."
It turned its head. At some unknown moment, a woman in an ancient robe had appeared beside them. Her beautiful face was expressionless. She gazed calmly at the distant feathered serpent and said:
"Have you made your decision?"
Azik nodded slightly. "Of course. Just as You said earlier, I will give up everything and continue as before. I've long grown used to it anyway."
"Good."
The elegant woman closed her hand, gripping tightly onto the bird-shaped golden ornament. Bit by bit, she drew her arm back, forcibly pulling the ancient object out from the crack in Azik's forehead.
The process was undoubtedly excruciating. Azik could not stop himself from trembling all over, and his face rapidly turned somewhat pale and faintly translucent.
After a long moment, his body swayed slightly. He bowed to the elegant lady. "Thank you for Your help."
Perched on a collapsed and broken stone column, Phoenix asked, "Is it all over now?"
The elegant lady's expression remained unchanged. "Azik, you haven't forgotten, have you? The reason that child is still alive is because she is being sustained by Artificial Death's power."
"Once I begin accommodating the authority of Death, I will inevitably draw back the power she relies on to live. That would result in irreversible death."
Azik said, "I understand…May I ask what can be done to prevent this outcome?"
The elegant lady looked toward Phoenix. "We need its assistance."
Azik fell silent.
"It is a mythical creature born from a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness. By nature, it possesses a portion of the Immortal Bird's bloodline as well as the River's power. If it is willing to abandon the River's power, it can compensate for the Death's power the child will lose. At the same time, it will also be able to somewhat heal the influence caused by your missing half of a soul."
Before Azik could speak, Phoenix tilted its head and asked, "If you take away the River of Eternal Darkness's power, will I die?"
"No. But you…"
"Then take it."
Phoenix said, "Azik saved my life. I'm paying him back."
Azik lowered his voice. "But from now on, you'll be stuck where you are. You won't be able to advance anymore."
"That…isn't unacceptable."
Phoenix raised its head. "At first, my desire to become stronger came from instinct. But as my Sequence rose, my self-awareness grew stronger as well. I don't feel much desire to continue advancing anymore, so it doesn't matter."
"Have you decided?"
"Go ahead."
The elegant lady waved her hand.
Phoenix's body distorted violently, melting into a puddle of black liquid. A slender, fire-red–flecked tributary peeled away from the mass and flowed toward the elegant lady's hand. It circled Her fingers a few times before finally merging into Her body.
Soon, the puddle of black liquid gradually reformed into Phoenix. It looked almost the same as before, except the fiery red of its tail feathers was now gone.
Hopping up and down on the stone column, it looked itself over. "Aside from it hurting a bit just now, nothing else feels different. Much better than what you went through!"
At that moment, the elegant lady flicked Her fingers. A drop of red-streaked liquid separated from Her and sank into Azik's forehead.
"It's done."
The next instant, She vanished.
Azik looked toward Phoenix and said softly, "Thank you."
"I originally thought I'd have to sleep for a very long time after this…"
He thanked it again. "Truly…thank you."
"Let's go."
Man and bird stepped into the layered, vividly interwoven blocks of colour corresponding to the Berserk Sea in the spirit world and returned to Bayam.
Almost the moment they landed, Azik's gigantic skeletal messenger drilled up from the ground, holding a stack of letters which it handed to him.
Azik accepted the letters and rapidly flipped through them, discovering that most were from the girl Priscilla, with one or two from Klein.
He turned to the most recent letter. His expression grew slightly surprised. "Feysac has launched a war against Loen?"
"Are they aiming at Her? Are they just using this to force Her not to fuse the Death's Uniqueness—or do they truly intend to fight to the bitter end?"
———
Backlund, Hillston Borough, the East Bayam Retired Officers' Club.
Klein, controlling the Lawyer Pathway's demigod marionette—MI9 Deputy Director Qonas Kilgor—walked through the crowd with a glass of red wine in hand, skillfully greeting the various people he encountered. Eventually, he arrived at a table where a game of Texas Hold 'em was in progress. He sat down and joined them.
The other players at the table were all well-known figures in Backlund: Earl Hall, a major banker; the newly appointed young Member of Parliament, Macht; an army colonel named Luke; and—one Klein found especially familiar—Admiral Amyrius, Governor of Bayam. Klein had impersonated him not long ago—this was a genuine demigod.
He had not expected Amyrius to be transferred back to Backlund. Probably because of the war with Feysac.
The war between Feysac and Loen had already been going on for four or five days. Klein had no way of knowing the exact situation on the front lines, but Loen's upper-class nobles and high-ranking officers behaved as if nothing were happening. They continued attending gatherings every day, drinking and playing cards to pass the time.
Meanwhile, the common folk had already begun to feel the impact of the war—most notably in the rising prices. For the same amount of money as before the war, one could now only buy a third of a loaf of bread, and prices continued to skyrocket by the hour.
There was nothing Klein could do. His top priority was to digest the Marionettist potion as quickly as possible. He had to admit—thanks to the demigod marionette gifted by Edward from MI9, his digestion was progressing exceptionally fast.
Not only because the marionette's Sequence was higher, but also because of its interpersonal connections and its daily encounters with all sorts of high-Sequence Beyonders.
At that moment, Earl Hall looked at 'Klein' and said, "You may reveal your cards."
Klein smiled faintly and flipped his hole card—a queen. Combined with the exposed cards, he formed a full house: three queens and two kings. That was already quite a strong hand in Texas Hold 'em.
General Amyrius smiled mildly. "It seems you're quite lucky today."
Klein shrugged. "Not bad."
Hmm…He could win at least fifty pounds with this hand. Who would've thought that playing the role of a Marionettist could earn him money—it was quite an unexpected delight!
But before he could enjoy the moment, Earl Hall burst into laughter.
"Looks like my luck is even better."
He flipped over his hole card—a seven of diamonds—forming four sevens. Four of a kind. A hand stronger than Klein's full house.
Klein's smile froze.
Very good. Miss Justice, your father certainly has guts—daring to win the Fool's money!
———
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