The cocoon beside the others split open right before his eyes, leaving behind only an empty shell swaying gently as though stirred by an unseen breeze. The "person" inside had vanished without a trace.
Klein jerked around, staring at the vast, silent palace behind him. But nothing had changed—everything remained quiet and empty. He turned back to the radiant gate, but still saw nothing unusual.
For a moment, bewilderment overtook him.
Had he seen it wrong?
Had there been four broken cocoons from the very beginning?
If not…where was that "person"?
Were they still somewhere above the grey fog?
Or had they left the moment the cocoon split?
If the former—why couldn't he see them?
If the latter—where had they gone?
Every hair on Klein's body stood on end. Even the depression he had felt upon learning the "truth" was momentarily forgotten.
———
Outside the secret mausoleum of East Chester County.
The Genie of the Lamp let out one heavy breath after another before growling in rage and unwillingness, his voice dripping with venom. "Your wish has been fulfilled. I curse you to share the same miserable fate as that damned bastard!"
Bernadette smiled faintly. "Thank you, Eternal Wishing Lamp Spirit."
She casually stowed away the magic lamp, then faced the descending figure of William Augustus I. From her items, she drew a pale mask shimmering with metallic light and a vertical diamond-inlaid eye—two powerful Sealed Artifacts she controlled, one at Level 0, the other at Level 1.
Then she took out a gemstone-studded, radiant crown and placed it atop her head—Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem.
The moment William Augustus I fully descended, an ancient horn resounded through the world. Its unstoppable might crashed down as a blood-stained spear split the heavens, scattering scarlet radiance while shooting toward the old and formidable powerhouse.
At the same time, Bernadette donned Hades' Invisibility Helmet. A cascade of white, illusory feathers unfolded from her back as she entered her mythic form. With both hands, she once again condensed two Spears of Longinus, hurling them at the mausoleum.
———
Awwa County—near the secret mausoleum.
Krismona emerged from invisibility and used the same method to open the mausoleum. She stepped inside unhurriedly, waving her hand lightly. In an instant, the power from a Sequence 2 Catastophe erupted—earth tremors shook the surroundings violently.
But before the disaster could fully unfold, another force intervened and abruptly halted it.
A beautiful woman materialised out of thin air—wearing an old-fashioned grey gown, her long black hair falling like a waterfall. She carried an air of mature charm, her eyes bewitching as she looked at Krismona and said with a soft, playful smile, "Big sister, you're not allowed to go any farther~."
Krismona showed no surprise. The crescent-shaped pendant on her chest rose on its own, releasing a wash of crimson moonlight that instantly enveloped the mausoleum and the surrounding area.
It was a Sealed Artifact of the Sanguines—one that created a domain under crimson moonlight, granting the artifact's creator tremendous enhancement, equivalent to the powers of a Sanguine Duke (Sequence 2), while weakening everyone else present. It was an extremely powerful artifact.
But its negative effects were just as dangerous.
The longer one used it, the more they would be corroded and influenced by an unknown force—until they became a puppet of that unfathomable being.
And that unknown being was none other than…the Mother Goddess of Depravity.
———
Near "Site 1" on the outskirts of Backlund, a figure dissolved her invisibility and revealed herself. She had glossy black hair, a slightly round face, delicate features with a hint of sweetness—an exceptionally charming woman.
The Witch, Trissy.
"..."
Staring at the ruin ahead, Trissy wore a bitter expression.
Why was her life so hard?
Why did a mere Sequence 5 like her have to get dragged into something this catastrophic?
Why did she have to care whether that damned Edessak lived or died?
If he wanted revenge—if he wanted to throw his life away—what did that have to do with her?
What she should be doing right now was hunting down the formula for the Sequence 4 Hunter pathway, gathering the ingredients, completing her advancement, and turning back into a man!
Though she thought all this furiously, her steps did not stop. She approached "Site 1," checked her surroundings several times, then took out a small metal vial and used the blood inside to draw a phantom door.
Passing through that illusory door, Trissy concealed herself once more and leapt directly from the cliffside at the ruin's entrance—diving into the bottomless, lightless abyss below.
But at that very moment, a voice suddenly echoed beside Trissy's ear:
"Concealment is forbidden here."
Her figure was forcibly revealed, completely unable to maintain invisibility. At the same time, above the towering mausoleum at the bottom of the dark abyss, a man had appeared without her noticing.
He wore a formal suit beneath a cloak, a white powdered wig perched on his head—his attire outdated by an entire era. It was the demigod supporting George III, Prince Grove Augustus.
Trissy's heart sank instantly.
I'm done for.
———
Inside a modest inn in the East Borough, a plain-looking man sat at a desk. Before him lay a notebook, and upon it, a quill pen wrote rapidly on its own:
"...Bernadette's target was the mausoleum from the very beginning, not William Augustus I. Therefore, every one of her attacks was aimed at the mausoleum. William Augustus I clearly knew this—so despite his higher Sequence, he couldn't take Bernadette down quickly…and as the two continued fighting, the mausoleum inevitably suffered the backlash…"
...
"Krismona and Judith's confrontation destroyed the Awwa County mausoleum in a short time—inevitable, when two Demonesses of Catastophe clash. And Judith's initial goal was precisely to pin her sister down and keep her from reaching other mausoleums."
...
"...Backlund's Site 1, a mausoleum where Trissy should not have appeared—yet she showed up anyway. Strange indeed. After the Great Smog Incident, she should have been completely free of the Demoness Sect's control, able to live out a peaceful second half of her life. But instead, she got involved in something beyond her ability."
...
"And the reason she chose to take the risk…was to repay what she owed Edessak, attempting to save his life. Oh, what a tragic and noble love story. Such a simple and pure-hearted witch. But alas…a mere Sequence 5 facing a Sequence 4 demigod, she was doomed to—"
...
Before the quill could finish, a hand closed over it with painful force. Knuckles bulged sharply; veins rose beneath the skin.
Edessak's eyes widened. He whispered harshly, "Why…why is she there? Was this your doing?"
The quill scratched quickly across the page, "I may constantly feel the urge to write you to death, but this time it genuinely wasn't my fault…Oh, if you continue sitting here doing nothing, Trissy is going to die."
...
"Wait—she actually obtained the Primordial Demoness' sapphire ring again. Whether to save herself or for something else, she plans to abandon her advancement into the Iron-Blooded Knight to return to being a man, and instead—relying on the ring—become a Sequence 4 Demoness of Despair."
...
Edessak grabbed the quill again with trembling hands, forcing it to write:
"At this moment, a passing creature of the spirit world took interest in the ring on Trissy's hand, and abducted both her and the ring into the spirit world."
...
"A meteorite that should have skimmed past the planet a week from now instead deviated from its orbit due to the clash between the two Demonesses of Catastrophe. It descended early, heading directly for Backlund's Site 1 mausoleum—forcing the demigod there to ignore Trissy entirely and deal with the falling meteorite."
Drip. Drip.
Scarlet blood dripped from Edessak's nostrils onto the notebook. His expression twisted in agony, his face becoming terribly contorted.
He released the quill and gasped for breath over and over.
The quill resumed writing freely, "Oh dear, never expected you would become just like that hack writer Ince Zangwill—forcing such illogical plot developments just for Trissy."
"When you use me to write the future, the fewer forced arrangements, the smoother the narrative, the less damage you suffer. But you—just for the sake of that man-turned-woman—recklessly meddled with destiny."
"I truly do not understand human love."
Edessak wiped the blood under his nose with one forceful swipe, expression dark and unreadable. Then he seized the quill once more and continued writing:
"Having successfully hunted down Ince Zangwill and advanced to Sequence 4, Klein Moretti now believed he possessed enough strength. He was long dissatisfied with George III's two centuries of schemes that resulted in countless innocent deaths—believing that even if the Seven wanted a Black Emperor, it should not be one so morally bankrupt."
"And coupled with his inexplicable connection to Emperor Roselle, he decided to take action…"
———
Downstream of the Tussock River.
Klein had just stepped through an illusory door with the marionette Qonas and the Traveler puppet when a scene suddenly projected itself into his mind:
A deep-black spire-topped church stood ahead. Its wide doors were open, revealing the people inside—a man in suspenders, a gentleman in formal attire and a top hat, a lady with lace trimming her cuffs, a young woman whose skirt was adorned with floral lace…
All of them hung suspended in midair, motionless.
"Caw!" "Caw!" "Caw!"
Black ravens circled the church spire, letting out unsettling cries.
Then, all the "people" inside the church began to sway with the wind, their voices overlapping—different tones yet speaking the same words:
"Welcome back…"
Klein's expression changed drastically. A name he had seen not long ago—but who had vanished after—surfaced in his mind:
Zaratul!
"Caw!" "Caw!" "Caw!"
In the ravens' echoing cries, the corpses hanging inside the black church dropped simultaneously, falling past the doors.
Every one of their gazes locked onto Klein.
Almost at the same moment, a figure outlined itself slowly yet firmly in the air.
Klein had no time to look. Maintaining his special "Spirit Body State" state, he snapped his fingers to attempt a flaming jump out of the church.
It failed.
A familiar figure appeared before him—an old man in a hooded black robe, beard covering half his face, his eyes dark as a lightless abyss, his long white whiskers draping like frost.
"I have been waiting for you."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.