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As Aaron poured his spirituality into it, this "star" continuously contracted and expanded, not by much, but persistently. Amidst the illusory, overlapping whispers, Aaron saw a slightly blurry image.
Thin mist permeated the azure sea, where a massive, three-masted sailing ship, nearly a hundred meters long and covered in pure black, floated.
Three paint black sails hung high like banners. On its deck, leaning against the cabin, stood a mottled stone chair two to three meters tall. Seated on the stone chair was Nast, wearing a spired crown and a magnificent long robe with a black base and silver trim.
The entire Black Emperor was far from as bustling as when Aaron first encountered it. It seemed only Nast's most trusted confidants remained. In any case, as the most renowned ghost ship of the Five Seas, the Black Emperor did not need people to pilot it.
Aaron's gaze, however, did not linger on Nast but on the crow's nest, where a figure was looking out towards the mist-shrouded west.
It was a lady wearing a lace-collared blouse, with an ankle-length gray skirt and high leather boots that seemed somewhat unconventional. Her soft hat, from which a fine black veil hung, had chestnut-colored long hair flowing naturally down both sides.
"Bernadette is here too?" Aaron's brow slightly arched. But putting himself in Nast's shoes, the best helper would indeed be this former princess.
"However, this is also good. It's a chance to show these two the rallying power of me, the 'Lord of Order.' Although not yet revealed to the world, my high-end combat strength is already comparable to more than half of a righteous deity's church. This might even reduce the difficulty of incorporating Nast."
Suppressing the thoughts in his mind, Aaron raised his perspective. As his true vision, through the thin mist, marked the Spirit World coordinates corresponding to the Black Emperor, he suddenly detected something unusual to the west. However, limited by his vision, he could not determine the source of that feeling.
"Bernadette seemed to be looking in that direction earlier…" This thought flashed through his mind. Aaron reopened his eyes and found that several Angels seemed to be watching him.
A faint golden light flickered in his eyes, and the somewhat stagnant pressure immediately dissipated. Aaron transmitted the marked Spirit World coordinates to every member present, finally adding:
"The remnant of the Solomon Empire from the Fourth Epoch hid its final treasure within 'Lost Nuinus.' Besides the dangers of that hidden place itself, one must also be wary of the Solomon descendants, who may or may not still be alive."
"For easier exploration, I have also invited the 'King of the Five Seas' and the 'Queen Mystic.' They have been searching the Fog Sea for a long time. The Spirit World coordinates I just provided are the current location of the Black Emperor."
Duke Liana "Purple Moon" listened with an eager expression, without a hint of tension. The "Door of Summoning," inscribed with numerous mysterious patterns, appeared behind her. She then continued Aaron's words:
"You can come with me. With the 'Door of Summoning,' the fluctuations caused by several Angels traversing the Spirit World can be minimized. I think it's best not to make a grand display at this time."
Nodding slightly, Aaron said no more. Holding the "Bizarro Pendant," which housed Pallez Zoroast, in his right hand, he stepped into the "Door of Summoning" with Alvin Gallows.
Siatas's silver right eye had faded. Seeing Aaron's figure disappear behind the door, she hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.
After all the members had entered, Liana's aura suddenly intensified by several points. A blood-colored bat pattern appeared on her forehead, seemingly echoing the "Moon Kingdom" located in some space behind her. After completing all this, her figure and the "Door of Summoning" vanished simultaneously.
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Fog Sea, a certain sea area west of La Cha Island, where Emerald City is located.
Sensing a vague summons, Bernadette, who was gazing westward, suddenly looked up sharply.
The thin mist was swept away by an invisible fluctuation, forming a vacuum area, and an illusory portal abruptly appeared.
Nast stood up abruptly, his deep black eyes flowing with dark red light. Black patterns rapidly spread from his body to the entire Black Emperor.
The remaining confidants, such as Viscount Byrd Mustang, instantly felt a pressure originating from their life level. They only avoided kneeling by relying on the distorted power diffused throughout the Black Emperor.
Under the hidden shock of the two pirate kings, Aaron was the first to emerge, followed by the remaining Angel Demigods, who stood quietly behind Aaron, their meaning self-evident.
"Two unfamiliar Angels…" This thought appeared almost simultaneously in the minds of Bernadette and Nast. Both of them had risen after the Roselle era, so they naturally did not recognize the two Angels who had been dormant since the Fourth Epoch.
His gaze swept over the elf, who, despite being only Sequence 4, gave him a strange sense of trepidation, and Aaron, who stood at the forefront of the Angels. Nast was shocked by the strength of the "Council of Entropy" and extremely glad that he had brought Bernadette.
There was no superfluous pleasantry. After giving a show of force, Aaron motioned for Alvin Gallows to restrain his pressure and landed on the deck of the Black Emperor. Looking at Nast, whose massive figure was comparable to an ancient giant, he asked:
"You should understand the purpose of my visit. Tell me, what have you gained from your search during this period?"
Looking at Bernadette, who appeared beside him, Nast was silent for a moment before his deep, majestic voice rang out:
"I used the Solomon bloodline to activate the token, and with Bernadette's prophecy, the sea area where 'Lost City of Newins' is located has been delimited to this vicinity."
"But no matter how I continue, I cannot make further progress to find the specific location."
Looking at the token that appeared in Nast's broad palm, Aaron, with permission, took it. An unusual feeling instantly arose in his heart, as if separated by an invisible barrier.
No wonder it could only be used by a Solomon descendant. However, the Solomon survivors who fled into the "Lost City of Newins" back then certainly wouldn't have set such a high difficulty. This could only mean that Newins had influenced the arrangements left by the Solomon survivors.
Thinking of this, Aaron frowned slightly, looking at the azure sea, while his peripheral vision noticed Siatas's somewhat strange expression, and Bernadette, who had been gazing westward.
Recalling the anomaly he felt after raising his perspective in the Nation of Disorder earlier, and relying on their current numerical superiority, Aaron pointed directly at where Bernadette was looking and said:
"What did you find?"
Bernadette's azure eyes blurred for a moment, and she replied in a dreamlike tone:
"I feel that there is something there that is intertwined with my destiny. It is being subjected to an invisible interference; the sensation is very vague, yet I cannot confirm it."
This clearly indicated that she had already used her Clairvoyant abilities to make a prophecy, but had not received any more specific revelation.
Aaron tried hard to control his expression and immediately dismissed the idea of going to investigate. He had overlooked one thing earlier: Roselle's last resting place, an island, was also in the Fog Sea.
Recalling his repeated offenses against Outer Deities, Aaron was unsure whether Roselle's self-seal, which had been corrupted, had loosened, allowing Bernadette to sense certain auras.
Moreover, characteristics of the same Sequence attract each other. In the ethereal realm, Beyonders, Sealed Artifacts, and Beyonder items of the same Sequence would gradually converge towards higher-level existences.
The fact that "Lost City of Newins," which contained the Solomon Empire's treasure, Nast, a Sequence 3 Frenzied Mage, and the original island housing the tomb of the previous Black Emperor, all appeared in the same sea area within the vast Fog Sea, was too coincidental, making Aaron worry if it was a trap set by that Outer Deity.
Aaron did not want his hard-won powerful allies to be unknowingly corrupted, so he could only look at Bernadette and persuade her:
"The hidden dangers in this sea area might be beyond your imagination. My previous promise to you is still valid; I should be able to help you complete the ritual and assist you in advancing to Angel within half a year."
"Many things, only at the Angel level do you have the qualification to understand them. Otherwise, merely understanding them will bring irresistible corruption."
A flicker of something unusual passed through Bernadette's azure pupils. She looked at Aaron, who was still only Sequence 4, and a slight curl appeared at the corner of her lips beneath the fine black veil, but she still nodded and no longer gazed westward.
Nast, who also heard Aaron's words, saw the dark red light in his eyes flicker slightly. The sense of urgency and uncontrollable curiosity made him even more eager to achieve Sequence 2 Duke of Entropy.
Seeing that his objective had been achieved and the united front ideology established, Aaron then looked at Siatas, who was gazing at the azure sea.
Sensing Aaron's gaze, Siatas, whose right eye had turned silver at some point, curled her lips. After nodding, silver-white electric arcs surged around her, and she leaped directly into the sea.
Signaling Bernadette with his eyes, the deep red in Nast's eyes grew even darker as he stared at the azure sea. Although he didn't think the elf could solve the current predicament, this was also a good opportunity to observe the other party's true capabilities.
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Tingen City, Oulsna Street. The afterglow of the setting sun cast its light upon a luxurious detached house.
A lady in a black dress, with fair and smooth skin, half-knelt before an open safe. Her brown hair flowed like a waterfall, yet it could not conceal her ample figure.
Madam Sharon stared intently at the black and white photograph on the bottom layer of the safe. It depicted a young man with delicate features. Her eyes flickered with disgust, pain, and finally, transformed into madness.
Amidst suppressed cries of pain and madness, Madam Sharron, surrounded by black flames, took out a deity statue carved from white bone and placed it before her, beginning to pray in a low voice.
The statue was palm-sized, vaguely depicting a beautiful woman with extremely long hair that extended down to her ankles, each strand distinct and thick like venomous snakes.
At the tip of each strand of hair, an eye was carved, some closed, some open, densely packed.
The prayer, whose meaning was unknown, was suddenly interrupted by a maid's knock on the door. A dark glint flashed in Madam Sharron's eyes. After putting away the Primordial Demoness statue, she opened the door.
The maid, also dressed in a black dress, stood outside and spoke softly:
"Madam, Councilman Maynard invites you to be his guest tonight."
A smile blossomed on her exquisite face. Madam Sharon, picking up the maid's face with her right hand and looking at her blushing cheeks, said alluringly:
"No rush, tonight, I have all the time in the world…"
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