"Lady Cipher, aren't you being a bit too hasty!"
Seeing Cipher's desperate demeanor, Derrick quietly commented from the side.
"Shouldn't this kind of thing be discussed with Lady Aglaea and Teacher Tribbie first, so we can carefully study the situation?"
"Unlike a young man like you who hasn't even become a demigod, I live under the pressure of death every single day." Cipher waved her hand at Caenis dismissively, her tone self-righteous. "Do you have any idea? To avoid my fated death, for over a thousand years, I haven't dared to spend any of the wealth I've acquired."
"Not a single Liheng coin!" Cipher said, her voice growing agitated.
As she spoke, her gaze fixed on Derick, her intensity making him instinctively recoil.
"I get it, I get it. I'll prepare to absorb the energy of the Titan of Deceit for you soon," Derick quickly promised.
"Hmph, that's more like it." Cipher nodded in satisfaction.
"Later, once the Oracle's Prophecy on me is resolved, I'll find a rich merchant, and we'll split the take fifty-fifty."
Expressing gratitude with someone else's wealth… that's so you, Cipher! Your inability to spend money has nothing to do with any prophecy, does it? You're just a natural-born miser. I should have just led you down the Path of Voracity.
Derick thought to himself.
Castorice said to Cipher, "Lady Cipher, what you do is your own business. However, Derick's reputation is important. Please don't involve him in this kind of thievery."
"Tch, maybe after a couple of heists with Derry-boy, he'll start to like the feeling." After saying this, Cipher even puffed out her chest and said to Derick, "Besides, this is also for the sake of experiencing the power of the Titan of Deceit."
"The Titan of Deceit… isn't that about trickery? He's not the god of theft," Derick asked doubtfully, hearing Cipher's words.
"It's a gradual process, isn't it? Start with theft, then move on to deception, and finally…"
"Finally, end up in prison, judged by all the citizens of Okhema at the Citizen's Assembly." Derick had no intention of letting his good name be ruined.
"Only failures get caught. The successful become heroes!"
Although Cipher looked eager for Derick to take the authority of the Titan of Deceit from her, after saying her piece, she didn't continue to press him. Instead, she picked up her food and resumed eating. Castorice, not entirely reassured, kept a wary eye on her.
Krateros had originally come to persuade Mydei and Derick, but seeing Derick's situation now, he was at a loss for words and could only leave in a hurry.
I'll find another chance to persuade Mydeimos and Derick later, Krateros thought to himself.
After they finished eating, Castorice quickly pulled Derick along to find Aglaea. Just as Caenis had said, it was best to inform Aglaea and the others about Derick's increased strength and his ability to absorb a new Titan's power. With ample time now, it was best for everyone to discuss how to proceed with the Flamechase Journey.
Derick and Castorice headed towards the Marmoreal Palace. Cipher, as the subject of the matter, naturally had to follow.
"Why bother telling that seamstress? I could just give you the energy and Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit directly," Cipher grumbled as she walked.
Just as she was muttering, a figure appeared beside them.
It was the Spirithief, Bartholos.
Bartholos said to Cipher, "You think everyone is as frivolous and lazy as you? Boss Derick is meticulous and cautious in his actions."
Hearing this, the others were somewhat surprised. After all, he had been in Okhema for a while now, and they all knew his personality. Normally, he'd be calling Cipher 'Big Sis' left and right. To see him now, seemingly turning against her to vigorously support Derick, was truly unexpected.
Seeing everyone's surprised expressions, Bartholos proudly placed his non-existent hands on his non-existent waist and declared, "But of course! Cipher is planning to hand over the power and abilities of the Titan of Deceit. So from now on, Boss Derick is the one I'll follow!"
As he spoke, he even used a non-existent hand to pat Derick on the back.
"Boss Derick, how's that? Feel comfortable? If not, I can adjust the force."
His tone was fawning. Derick felt that if Bartholos's voice were in the imperial palace of his previous life, becoming a high-ranking eunuch would be no problem at all.
"You little rascal, you really know which way the wind blows. Damn it, I haven't even given my Titan's Core Flame to Derry-boy yet. Here, take this!"
Cipher came up to Derick and threw a punch at Bartholos.
Derick watched with amusement. But at that moment, he noticed she was holding a coin in her other hand.
Hmm!? Something is ten, no, twelve-tenths wrong here.
The thought had just crossed Derick's mind when he suddenly felt a powerful force emanate from Bartholos, temporarily restraining him.
Derick truly hadn't expected Bartholos to possess such power and was caught off guard. Although the restraint would only last a second or two, that was more than enough time.
Cipher wrapped her arms around Derick's waist and started running.
"Castorice, I'm taking Derry-boy! Don't worry, I'll bring him back soon!" Cipher shouted to Castorice before she left.
Castorice was stunned.
She couldn't help but tighten her grip on the scythe in her hand.
"Cipher…" Castorice whispered softly.
The aura emanating from her at that moment made even Polyxia instinctively shy away.
Scary, so scary, Polyxia thought to herself.
Derick hadn't anticipated Cipher would do something like this either.
In the blink of an eye, they appeared in Janusopolis.
Derick's current strength was naturally not something Cipher could resist. He easily broke free from her grasp.
"Why did you bring me here?" Derick questioned Cipher.
After speaking, he turned his gaze to Bartholos at the side, his tone even less friendly. "And you, Bartholos, you were in on this with Cipher from the beginning, weren't you?"
"Boss Derick, you haven't received the authority of the Titan of Deceit yet, have you? So for now, Big Sis Cipher is still the one in charge. Please, you must forgive me. If you want to blame someone, go blame Big Sis Cipher," Bartholos pleaded with Derick.
Cipher, from the side, said to Derick, "Later, I'll tell you where Bartholos's secret stash is. We can rob it together."
"Nooo!" Bartholos cried out, but he was casually swatted aside by Cipher.
After swatting him away, Cipher continued speaking to Derick. "As for why I brought you here, it's naturally to give you my authority and Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit, all at once."
"Hmm?" Derick looked at Cipher with a questioning gaze.
"Couldn't this have been done in Okhema? Lady Aglaea wouldn't have stopped you from doing this, would she?"
Although Cipher always seemed to avoid Aglaea and their relationship didn't look great, Aglaea had never voiced any opposition to him taking on the Titan of Deceit, had she?
"If it were just a matter of giving you the power and authority, then of course, I could have done it in front of that seamstress…" Cipher's tone changed.
"But what if I'm giving you the Core Flame as well?"
As she said this, she reached out and patted Bartholos, who was standing beside her.
"Quick, don't waste time. Take it out for me."
"I know, I know," Bartholos nodded repeatedly. Then, right in front of Derick, he opened up his body and took out a Core Flame from within.
Derick looked at the pattern on the Core Flame; it was indeed that of the Titan of Deceit.
"Isn't the Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit in the Vortex of Genesis?" Derick asked with confusion, looking at the flame.
"Hmph, you wouldn't understand." Cipher said smugly. "As a thief, do you think I would just sit around doing nothing all this time in Okhema?"
"I secretly stole the Core Flame long ago."
"You… why did you steal the Core Flame of Deceit? Was it just for me?"
Cipher nodded. "Yes, it was for you. The Core Flame of the Titan of Death is on you now, and it can even be nurtured. But the Core Flame of Deceit in the Vortex of Genesis can't do anything. Rather than leaving it there as a decoration, it's better to give it to you to increase your strength."
"That seamstress believes in the Flamechase Journey. I believe you can bring change. I… I'm just on your side."
"If we were to transfer the power and authority of the Titan of Deceit near that seamstress, even without transferring the Core Flame, she would be able to see that something is amiss. So, I had to pull you over to Janusopolis to transfer the Core Flame."
As Cipher said this, she leaned her body closer to Derick, who was lost in thought. Her full thigh even brushed against his.
Derick turned to look at her.
"The problem is, if the Core Flame of Deceit is missing from the Vortex of Genesis, Lady Aglaea will definitely find out."
"Naturally, I've already prepared for that." Cipher then took out another Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit.
Derick couldn't see anything wrong with this one either.
"I am the demigod of Deceit; deception is what I'm best at. Right now, in the Vortex of Genesis, there is a fake Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit. Of course, these two are also fake."
As Cipher's words fell, Derick saw the two Core Flames in front of her both turn into clay pots.
Derick's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't seen anything wrong with either of those flames. Yet in Cipher's hands, they had become clay pots.
Cipher then put the clay pots aside and leaned close to Derick, asking, "How about it? Regret not getting the Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit sooner? All that stuff about Discord and Death is just fighting and killing, not interesting at all. Look at mine, it's much more fun than theirs."
As she spoke, she nuzzled her nose against Derick's cheek like a kitten.
"Yes, yes," Bartholos also clapped his hands repeatedly.
Derick quickly put some distance between himself and Cipher.
"So? Have you grasped the essence of the Titan of Deceit? Lies… they are our greatest ability."
Cipher once again took out a Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit.
"Don't worry, this one is real. I'll transfer the energy of the Titan of Reason to you in a moment. If it's not a Titan's Core Flame, you'll be able to tell at a glance."
She handed the Core Flame to Derick.
Derick took the flame, and at that moment, Cipher pulled out a giant magnet from somewhere.
"Huh? What are you going to do with this?" Derick asked, puzzled.
"This is the ritual for transferring the power of the Titan of Deceit." Cipher handed the giant magnet to Derick, tickling his palm as she did so.
"Here, you can use this magnet to absorb the energy of the Titan of Deceit from my body."
After saying this, she said to Derick, "Alright, now you can absorb it properly!"
Derick said, exasperated, "You can't just absorb it whenever you say so. I need to prepare for this first. I need to get into the right state of mind before I can absorb it. You can't expect me to absorb it right after gaining this ability."
"Alright then, let's rest here for a while," Cipher said to Derick, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Anyway, if we stay here, it's Castorice who'll be anxious, not me. We can stay here and have a nice little chat."
"That's not necessary. I'm going to check the surroundings. I ran into that dark monster here last time. Since I'm absorbing the Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit here, I'm worried it might show up again," Derick said to Cipher.
He had to find his clone to devour the Titan's energy.
But this time, he didn't plan to have his first clone take a bite out of Cipher. He would use a different method.
He would take a bite out of his own first clone. After biting the clone, he would gain its devouring ability. That way, he could directly absorb the Titan's power. Otherwise, having to bite someone every time he needed to absorb energy wasn't very practical.
"Oh, alright then. Derry-boy, you be careful."
Derick walked into the distance and soon disappeared from sight.
Watching Derick walk away, Cipher stroked her chin. "I have a feeling that Derry-boy is hiding something from us."
"That's a given. Why don't we go and see?" Bartholos nodded.
Cipher rapped Bartholos on the head.
"He has many secrets, but don't we have even more than him? If you go, will he discover us, or will we discover him? Especially this time…"
The pattern on the Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit in Cipher's hand gradually faded, replaced by another pattern. Then, Cipher continued to use the power of the Titan of Deceit, making the flame once again look like the Core Flame of the Titan of Deceit.
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