West Borough, Green Park.
The winding path meandered through dense woods. The lush vegetation made the air here very fresh, and at night, as the evening breeze stirred, it became tranquil and cool.
It was a good place for many elderly people to come for a walk. Occasionally, some young couples also liked to stroll here, and then slip into the small groves to experience a different kind of thrill.
Qilangos leaned on a cane he had taken from an old man now lying in a pond, imitating the walking habits of the elderly as he slowly made his way down the path.
His sharp and flamboyant gaze was restrained, replaced with the muddled daze of an old man.
Yet, the occasional sweep of his peripheral vision still revealed an edge of piercing sharpness.
Tonight, he was badly injured. Fortunately, there were no overly obvious wounds or the stench of blood.
This allowed him, after changing his appearance, not to be discovered too quickly by the Beyonders' of the Church of Storms.
As for who had exposed his plan to assassinate Duke Negan tonight, he already had a likely suspect in mind.
The only one who both had conflicting interests with him and knew his movements, was Alger!
But he couldn't figure it out. Even if Alger knew he had secretly entered Backlund, he couldn't possibly know what he truly intended to do.
The matter of assassinating Duke Negan was known only to himself and the organization that had promised him the Blasphemy Card.
Alger couldn't possibly know his true plan.
Then who had the ability to see through his disguise at tonight's ball?
Qilangos recalled one by one the people he had interacted with at the ball.
There had been six with whom he spoke: four male nobles, one noble lady, and most memorable of all, Count Hall's daughter, Miss Audrey.
Could it be her? Otherwise, why did she approach him at that exact moment?
Was it because she suspected something, so she used conversation to confirm whether he was really Baron Germani in disguise?
Hmm… her gaze had been well-hidden, and she seemed very skilled at observing… She was a Spectator!
Qilangos suddenly understood the key. That Miss Audrey was a Spectator!
She knew Baron Germani's conversational responses and living habits well, so she was able to recognize his disguise instantly and then inform her father, Count Hall!
Heh, to think it was this so-called "Jewel of Backlund" who had unmasked him.
He had heard that this Miss Audrey might even marry into the royal family?
A chilling glint flashed in Qilangos's eyes as he already began planning how to take revenge on Miss Audrey once he escaped.
He looked up, he was about to leave the park and step onto Green Street, where the crowds were several times denser than inside.
All he needed was to change into a new guise afterward and hide away. With the brainless bunch from the Church of Storms, there was no way they could ever find him.
"Qilangos!"
A sudden shout made his body tense sharply. But he suppressed the instinct to turn around, pretending not to hear, remaining wary while walking into the crowd ahead.
"The Creeping Hunger on your left hand, does it work well? Whose life will it devour next?"
The voice rang out again, directly exposing Qilangos's greatest reliance at this moment.
He instantly realized his new identity had been completely seen through, there was no longer any chance of luck.
Damn it! How had those brainless fools from the Church of Storms arrived so quickly?!
Qilangos seethed with rage, but reacted swiftly. A gale burst forth around him, obscuring sight, and he dashed toward the crowd ahead!
At that very moment, a spirit clad in dark-red armor suddenly manifested midair on his path. A massive great sword, shining with dawn-like brilliance, cleaved down fiercely!
Blinding light engulfed Qilangos' figure in an instant.
Members of the Mandated Punishers rushed up behind and witnessed together as Qilangos' body was split in half with a single strike.
When the light faded, the mysterious spirit vanished into the void. Even those who opened Spirit Vision could not trace its presence.
In that instant, it had completely erased its tracks.
Alger, too, had seen this scene. While relieved, he was also shaken by Qilangos's death.
No tricks, no embellishments, just one simple downward strike, and the Sequence 6 Qilangos was cleaved in two!
And then, before so many Mandated Punishers, it vanished into nothing.
How unfathomably mysterious! Could this have been one of Mr. Fool's Blessed?
A sudden thought surged in Alger's mind.
Back when he sought Mr. Fool's help, Mr. Fool hadn't refused, only said, "If he has the time."
Now it seemed that earlier Mr. Fool's Blessed hadn't acted because he hadn't the time. But now, he had, and casually dealt with Qilangos.
At that moment, furious gales swept across a wide area, probing, but still found nothing.
The dark-red armored spirit did not reappear. Even a demigod could not sense his traces, truly mysterious indeed.
Alger felt yet another degree of reverence in his heart.
…
"Phew, finally back." Hastur returned to his bedroom, let the spirit merge back into his body, endured a wave of scorching heat, and at last truly relaxed.
Traveling a long distance in spirit form, then channeling the power of the War Emblem to cleave Qilangos in half, then hiding his spirit form from the probing of that Ace Snake and flying back, it had indeed been exhausting.
Lying on the bed, Hastur recovered his spirituality while reviewing the night's events in his mind.
Tonight, the reason he could take down Qilangos was partly thanks to the divination at the Hall of Stars, which let him lock onto Qilangos' location. A simple probe exposed his new disguise.
On the other hand, his Spirit Invisibility was formidable, preventing Qilangos from detecting him in time, and so he blundered straight into his sword.
Being able to kill, yet remain hidden afterward, this was truly a divine skill for murder and arson.
Fortunately, by the time the Spell Slinger of God arrived at the scene, he had already put a good distance between them. The wide-area probing hadn't reached him, otherwise, the result would've been uncertain.
Only after a long rest did Hastur recover from the War Emblem's side effects.
"Killed Qilangos, corrected the deviating world line, the anomaly is resolved, but what should I do with this Creeping Hunger?"
At the instant he killed Qilangos, Hastur had casually flicked away the Creeping Hunger with his blade, taking it with him.
Better in his hands than left to the Church of Storms.
Though, at present, this Beyonder item wasn't very useful to him.
After all, each use required devouring a soul, that side effect was too great. And he didn't need to change appearances.
As for handing it over to Klein to restore the proper world line… Backlund was far too distant from Tingen, and he had no good reason to give it away yet.
Better to hold onto it and consider it again when Klein eventually came to Backlund or else see if he would need it in the future.
In any case, he couldn't use Creeping Hunger anytime soon, or it would draw the Church of Storms' attention.
Hastur got up, found a suitable box, and locked Creeping Hunger inside. Then he took a bath, returned to his room, and had a good sleep.
…
The next day, news spread quickly: one of the Seven Pirate Admiral, Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos, had died in Backlund.
The newspapers reported it was the Church of Storms who had slain him.
Glaint, upon hearing the news, was momentarily stunned, then laughed: "Last night Hastur warned me to be careful, and to think that Vice Admiral Hurricane couldn't even survive the night."
Audrey heard the news from her father, Count Hall, and learned that Qilangos hadn't been killed by the Church of Storms, but by a mysterious, unknown existence.
Mysterious, powerful.
Could it have been one of Mr. Fool's Blessed?
Very likely, since Mr. Fool hadn't refused to grant the Hanged Man some help at that time.
Her curiosity surged, but today was only Sunday. There was still a day before the Tarot Meeting on Monday.
At least now, she no longer needed to worry about Glaint being implicated.
Audrey sighed with relief inwardly. She had felt quite guilty for pinning the blame on Glaint.
As for the story's protagonist, Hastur, he heard the news from Greg. He could only feign great shock and joy, playing along with Greg.
In the end, Greg gave Hastur a clear promise: when it came to his future ennoblement, the Negan family would give him their full support.