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The moment the Corpse Cathedral emerged, mottled starlight spread from the Evernight imprint onto Aaron's body, as if enveloped by a deep night. A sense of tranquility and peace calmed Aaron's inner tension.
The instant he entered this place, Aaron lost his connection to the Spirit World. Fortunately, Adam, who had not yet achieved the Visionary, could not sever the connection with the Nation of Disorder.
Although the gaze from the Cosmos made Aaron feel much safer, the Nation of Disorder could not allow him to revive like Sefirah Castle. When necessary, even if it meant exposing some things, he would decisively flee.
As Aaron pondered what Adam intended to do, he saw streams of light shining through the stained-glass windows high up in the Corpse Cathedral, transforming into layers of illusory, pure wings.
Under the shroud of these wings, the Corpse Cathedral instantly reverted to its initial state, where only dark stone pillars had just begun to rise.
Fate restarted… Feeling the familiar fluctuations and watching the Corpse Cathedral collapse bit by bit, Aaron, as expected, saw the indifferent "Angel of Fate" Ouroboros. The moment his gaze met those emotionless silver pupils, Aaron's face twitched slightly.
Before Aaron and Ouroboros could react further, a hundred-meter-tall cross heavily impaled the center of the unformed Corpse Cathedral, and the blurred figure bearing it then raised his head.
Infinite light burst forth, engulfing Ouroboros and Aaron once again. The illusory river filled with the Serpent of Fate vanished, and the Corpse Cathedral, filled with bones of different races and countless distorted souls, reformed.
Aaron felt his consciousness blur for an instant, and the thought of using the "Crown of Stars" to escape solidified in his mind. The coldness from his palm and the echoing prayers in his ears pulled Aaron's consciousness back.
Aaron's heart pounded violently as he abruptly looked forward. The church filled with dark stone pillars had vanished, replaced by layers of ancient stone steps. They led to the top of a towering mountain, where a giant cross stood.
In front of the cross, a blurred giant figure stood, bearing everything, gazing with pity at Ouroboros, who was surrounded by the River of Fate. Clusters of brilliant light, carrying an aura of destruction, expanded and contracted.
Aaron, at the foot of the mountain, carefully checked himself. After confirming that the starlight-like night curtain had not changed, he breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up at the mountain peak, which was gradually becoming chaotic and unclear, with only shifting light and shadow, Aaron admirably suppressed his curiosity and did not try to peek.
As King of Angels, closest to deities, merely peeking at their battles would bring some backlash. Although at Aaron's current level, these backlashes would not cause any damage, given the unknown circumstances, caution was the best choice.
"Ouroboros's arrival must have been caused by 0-08 sensing the danger from Adam and forcibly manipulating that evil god's offspring to draw him here. Damn it, I need to find a way out quickly…"
No sooner had this thought flashed through Aaron's mind than he heard a strangely familiar voice echoing from the boundless foot of the mountain, precisely the thought he had just had.
While looking around in astonishment, Aaron restrained his thoughts from wandering to avoid thinking about "Groselle's Travels," and continuously chanted "The Revelation of Night" in his mind.
Just as Aaron turned his head to look, his body suddenly stiffened. Rows of black, high-backed chairs had appeared there at some unknown time, but there was only one worshiper.
This worshiper sat in the center of the first row with his eyes closed, wearing a rather simple white robe and a light-gold beard that covered the lower half of his face. His hands were clasped in front of a silver cross pendant on his chest, and his expression was gentle and serene.
Aaron had no idea when he had arrived.
At this moment, Adam raised his head, revealing eyes as clear as a child's. He released the cross pendant and gestured to the seat beside him, his expression peaceful.
With his vigilance at its highest, Aaron stopped pretending and directly replaced the "The Revelation of Night" he was chanting with the Evernight Goddess's honorific name. Amidst the rising and falling prayers, he sat beside Adam.
Ignoring the layers of prayers and not looking at the battle on the mountaintop, his clear, light-gold eyes gazed at Aaron for a moment. He spoke calmly:
"All gifts of fate require a price. I look forward to our next encounter."
Adam, dressed in a simple white robe, withdrew his gaze, slowly rose, and walked step by step towards the ancient stone steps, which stretched towards the chaotic mountaintop.
After Adam rose, the rows of prayer chairs rippled, distorted, and then dematerialized, finally forming a palm-sized bone cross. On the cross was outlined a grayish-white stone dragon, covered entirely in scales, each one like a solid stone slab. Its mere vague outline seemed to draw one into its depths.
Looking at the cross floating before him, Aaron did not touch it, but the voice in his mind echoed outside:
"Is this… a gift?"
Adam stopped on the grayish-white stone steps, tilted his head slightly, and quietly admired the light-shrouded mountaintop. His gentle voice, however, echoed in Aaron's ears:
"This is an invitation… You may leave."
Before Aaron could form another thought, he suddenly felt an irresistible repulsion. His body involuntarily floated up and flew out.
During this process, he saw Adam walk to the top of the mountain and merge into the brilliant light.
A familiar sensation of disorientation swept over him. When Aaron opened his eyes again, he saw the blazing midday Sun, the nearby clock tower, and the bone cross clinging to his side like a maggot on a bone.
An invitation from the Twilight Secret Order… Looking at this creation given by Adam, Aaron, after processing the information in his mind, was momentarily unsure how to deal with this item.
Carry it with him? Wouldn't that constantly tell Adam his location? Hand it over to others for safekeeping, or just leave it in the Nation of Disorder? What if Adam had a hidden trick inside? That would be terrible…
Amidst his swirling thoughts, Aaron suddenly saw the "Night Curtain" on his body slowly retract, taking the bone cross with it, and disappearing into the Evernight imprint. As if long expected, there was no resistance throughout the process.
This… Aaron shook his head, directly connected to the Nation of Disorder, and used his True Vision to look at the sky. Through the dark-gold mist, he saw the huge cathedral, dark-based and inlaid with bones, standing in the void. Only after confirming he had truly left did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Aaron withdrew his gaze from the Corpse Cathedral, which flickered with light and shadow but remained silent, and looked at the graffiti-like writing on the wall at the top of the clock tower:
"After Tingen City received the True Creator's boon, the offspring within Megose's body actually exceeded Ince Zangwill's expectations. Even with all their methods, the Nighthawks could not escape their fate of being hunted."
"The rampaging evil god's offspring will continue to destroy St. Selena's Church after killing the Nighthawks, which will allow Ince Zangwill to successfully obtain the ashes."
"Due to Ouroboros's appearance, the existence hostile to the True Creator did not intervene. The great Quill of Alzuhod successfully led the fortunate Ince Zangwill away from Tingen, evading pursuit."
Looking at the writing, which seemed to have just been inscribed, Aaron's lips curled into a cold smile, and his figure instantly blurred and vanished.
-----------------
"You want to kill my child!"
A sharp shriek, accompanied by an infant's cries, echoed through Blackthorn Security Company. Amidst the terrifyingly sharp sound, Dunn pressed down on St. Selena's cinerary urn and opened its lid.
Inside was an extreme Darkness, within which were countless brilliant specks of sand. This scene presented a dreamy beauty, like the night Cosmos contained within a box.
The surroundings suddenly darkened, and a profound gloom enveloped the entire reception hall. The air was filled with countless black, cold, and slimy threads.
They surged towards Megose, who barely resembled a human anymore. At this moment, she had fleshy protrusions on each shoulder, mixed with blood vessels and blue veins, round like a child's head.
Seizing the opportunity, with Leonard's "Slumber Charm" as a combined effort, Klein endured the stinging pain in his mind and spoke in a low voice, uttering an ancient Hermes word:
"Light!"
Without hesitation, Klein directly threw the "Flaring Sun Charm," which had transformed into a small Sun, at the restrained Megose.
The reception hall instantly became bright. The profound gloom and dimness vanished simultaneously, and the black threads Entanglement around Megose sharply retracted, as if instinctively avoiding something.
A brilliant, Sun-like white light exploded. Before Klein could breathe a sigh of relief, an arm-length, exceptionally sharp white bone knife appeared from nowhere and slashed out.
Even with his Clown's danger premonition and timely evasion, Klein was still almost cut in half. The flesh on his chest split open, and intense pain filled his head, driving away his thoughts.
"Slumber!"
Leonard's eyes were bloodshot, and the black charm in his left hand disintegrated bit by bit. Seeing the Monster stop, Klein also seized the opportunity to roll in another direction, leaving a trail of crimson blood.
Megose's head exploded on its own. Charred skin and flesh splattered everywhere, directly knocking the exhausted Leonard flying. His bones cracked, and blood continuously overflowed from his mouth. He had no desire to struggle and simply fainted.
Yet, that headless body managed to break free from the influence of the "Slumber Charm"!
Looking at the terrifying Monster charging towards him, and at Leonard, who was unconscious, Klein deeply regretted not preparing more "Flaring Sun Charms" and why he was so weak.
The cries of infants pierced his brain, one after another. His severely injured body also prevented him from taking four reverse steps to the gray fog above. Klein had lost his greatest trump card.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A crying sound, like a Nightmare in the deep night, arose. The countless black threads, carrying an exceptionally cold and serene feeling, tightened again, firmly and tightly restraining the charging Megose!
Captain… Klein watched wide-eyed as Dunn, who stood in front of him, almost without hesitation, spread his five fingers and, with a squelch, plunged them into his own chest.
Splattered blood dripped into his eyes, staining the world crimson. Even the gushing tears could not wash it away. Klein watched as the Captain placed his still contracting and expanding heart, filled with the tranquility of night, into St. Selena's cinerary urn.
Dunn, wearing a thin black trench coat, turned his head and looked at Klein. His pale face bore a gentle and relaxed smile, and his voice was as mellow as ever:
"Actually, I've always wanted to indulge in dreams. There, everything I cherished was not lost. This time, I want to sleep a little longer."
Dunn's gray eyes seemed to shimmer with light. His composure and depth dissolved considerably at this moment, along with his gradually weakening breath:
"I'm sorry, I might have to break my promise. If you can survive, if you can still see Daly, if she still remembers me, she will tell you my story with her."
"If possible, please apologize to her for me…"
Looking at Klein, who was desperately trying to crawl up from the ground, Dunn's tone became serious:
"As your Captain, please let me be self-indulgent one more time. I cannot protect Tingen, but I want to protect my team members one last time."
"Klein, now, I order you, run! Escape and await rescue from the Church!"
It shouldn't be like this… There must be a way… Klein's expression froze on his face. Intense emotions overpowered his physical pain. Struggling, he stood up. He had to go to that gray fog world!
Before he could take four reverse steps, he suddenly saw Dunn, whose eyes were dim, trembling as if trying to pounce on him. Klein's pupils contracted, and he froze on the spot.
He lowered his head and stared blankly as a slightly pale hand pierced through his left chest, covered in blood.
Megose isn't dead… No, a new enemy… that mastermind… Am I going to die…
Klein's thoughts rapidly scattered, his gaze almost losing focus, and his body slumped sideways.
His breathing gradually stopped. He only felt that hand suddenly pull back, and he only saw a pair of shiny leather boots and a descending hand, a slightly pale hand.
As his consciousness plunged into Darkness, Klein saw a figure in a pure black clerical robe. His left hand held a beating heart, and his right hand clutched a dull, lusterless Quill of Alzuhod.
Ince Zangwill casually crushed the heart in his hand, looked back at the lifeless Klein, and a smile played on his lips.
Ignoring Dunn, who lay on the broken floor, Ince Zangwill picked up St. Selena's urn that had fallen to the ground. Looking at the brilliant, sand-like particles and feeling the craving from the depths of his spirit, the smile on his face was no longer suppressed.
Despite all the unexpected events, he had succeeded. Before the smile could spread across his face, a large hole suddenly ripped open in his chest, splattering blood.
An ancient longsword, covered in blood-red patterns and without a speck of rust, pierced through Ince Zangwill's chest, pinning him to the ground.
Because this Spirit World was disturbed by the battle of two King of Angels, Aaron's teleportation was interfered with, so he could only throw the "Sword of Judgment" first.
Ince Zangwill, instantly severely wounded, his smile froze. The Door of the Underworld on his forehead slowly opened, and countless souls wailed. He finally pulled out the "Sword of Judgment" that had pierced his chest.
For a Gatekeeper, as long as the core of the Underworld is not damaged, physical injuries can be recovered.
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