Silence, deafening.
"The Mask of Fools and the Stellaron Hunters. Hmm~ Whether new faces or old acquaintances, I'm quite fond of all of you."
"Officer Gepard, could you kindly grant us a bit of… reunion time for old friends? Rest assured, I swear in the name of the Aeon of Eternity that there will be no physical conflicts with them."
"Friendship is the first tenet of our church."
After Gepard led the Iron Guards away, Blake pulled three bars of soap from his pocket. "Full of sincerity—surely you won't refuse?"
"You bastard, if you've got the guts, don't use that trick… Dare to face me one-on-one!"
Silver Wolf, standing nearby, was fuming. No matter how masterful her stealth skills were, she couldn't escape Blake's eyes. She was caught red-handed.
For Blake, the best way to apprehend Silver Wolf was to seal the imaginary energy within her body. Fortunately, he had a rudimentary understanding of such techniques, having been blessed to witness THEIR divine miracles.
To be precise, it wasn't exactly sealing… Blake had actually bound them with invisible threads, but for the sake of appearances, he claimed he could suppress their imaginary energy.
"Miss Silver Wolf, let's not struggle." Sampo gave up any futile resistance, fully aware of the vast gap in their strength. Even with Dan Heng in the equation, they might only manage to scratch Blake.
Damn it, the Aeon of Eternity and his own trickster god weren't that far apart in power, so how was this church leader so strong?
"Hmm… Why would the Stellaron Hunters show up here?" Dan Heng pondered, suspecting it had something to do with Adrian. For some reason, Blake hadn't targeted him.
"Is this some kind of interrogation scene now?!"
"Miss Silver Wolf, let's not quip right now… Focus on staying safe," Sampo whispered, reminding her. It hadn't even been a year since his last visit to the church, and this man had grown even stronger.
Silver Wolf's face soured—an excellent gaming experience. Next time, she'd still mark "very easy."
"I'm telling you, I came here on my own. Believe it or not?" Silver Wolf glanced at Dan Heng and Blake, her mind racing. This was no different from getting banned for cheating in a game!
That damned Aeon of Eternity—somehow, whenever anything related to THEM came up, Silver Wolf's luck would plummet, her misfortune debuff maxed out.
Kid, don't mess with Eternity, or you'll end up unlucky!
"Where are your companions?"
"See? I tell the truth, and no one believes me. Sigh~ The Stellaron Hunters' credibility across the cosmos is just too low." Silver Wolf hung her head, her face a mix of resignation and indifference.
"Miss Silver Wolf, cheer up!" Sampo panicked. If she didn't pull herself together, those two would turn their attention to him next!
"Hahahahaha… Interesting, truly interesting. The church could use talents like you! Fool, I'll ask you one more time—want to join the Church of Eternity? Join now, and you'll get a personally signed letter from the leader~"
"Who needs that kind of thing!" Silver Wolf mustered her last bit of energy to retort.
"Ugh! Rejected!"
Thud!
Blake dropped to his knees, the holy light surrounding him dimming as his expression turned sorrowful.
…
Iron Guard Restricted Zone, Mechanical Causeway.
"Wow… Those Iron Guards really didn't notice you guys. That's an incredible ability!"
Serval checked repeatedly, confirming that Adrian and his group of four were right in front of her, yet the Iron Guards behind them were completely unaware, as if their existence had been erased.
"Hmph, the protection of Eternity is invincible. How could mere guards detect us?"
"Stelle, she truly lives up to the title of priestess," March 7th acknowledged. Freesna was the first Emanator she'd met who was so devoted to Eternity.
In contrast, how did Teacher Adrian manage to attract the gaze of the Aeon of Eternity? Just by drinking Immortal's Delight Tea every day without fail?
March 7th had already subconsciously listed this as one of the "Top Ten Unsolved Mysteries of the Astral Express."
"No, I'm a saintess," Freesna said with a serious expression.
"Alright, Priestess Sister."
"You… mmmph?!"
Just as Freesna was about to protest, Adrian pulled out a bundle of Belobog's specialty red sausages and stuffed them into her mouth.
"Calm down, Saintess of the Church. If you get any louder, Eternity's protection might just fail."
Freesna instantly quieted, her mood shifting so quickly that March 7th and Stelle barely registered it.
"Teacher Adrian, is there some kind of magic in your words? How do you make this priestess sister obey you so completely?"
"I know why. He's the Milk Tea Aeon. Everyone knows an Emanator is the spokesperson for an Aeon's will, so she listens to Adrian."
"Eternity has nothing to do with milk tea!"
"Ahem, do you see that mechanical causeway in the middle? Cross that bridge, and the other side is a living hell."
In an instant, the cheerful banter stopped, and everyone turned serious, listening intently to Serval's explanation.
"The Architects who follow the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth, believe in hell?"
"Exactly. The Architects believe that hell can exist in every world—a state that will inevitably descend if not intervened."
"In the future, some terrifying catastrophe will arrive. Without building walls under Qlipoth's guidance, that disaster will sweep through the stars, turning every world into hell."
"That's the Architects' belief… And for us, hell is the endless Rift, a group of exhausted Silvermane Guards, and… the air thick with the stench of death."
"If you want to keep heading north, you'll have to cross that hell. Are you ready?"
March 7th stepped forward confidently. "Don't worry, I'm full of energy—let's charge through in one go!"
"Then let's move. First, we need a way to get to the other side of the bridge. I've worked on the underlying logic of these causeways—they're controlled by a few terminals. Let's go find them."
"No need for all that trouble."
Under Freesna's adoring gaze, Adrian stepped forward. "My Gate of Myriad Paths isn't meant to gather dust in the warehouse. In games or reality, I've always loved using skills as soon as they're available."
"Yeah, I know why you're so bad at games," Stelle nodded in agreement. Back at the space station, after testing Herta's Simulated Universe, Stelle had gotten hooked on mobile games in her free time.
Stelle considered herself pretty skilled—at least the best on the Express!
Himeko and Welt had never seen them play games, Dan Heng and March 7th rarely played, and after ruling out the others… the only ones left on the massive Express crew were Pom-Pom and Adrian.
Ignoring Pom-Pom, the mascot, Adrian was Stelle's final target!
If she could beat Adrian, she'd be the best gamer on the Express!
The result? A complete and utter defeat.
Even now, Stelle couldn't figure out how Adrian had beaten her. He had no technique, just mindlessly clicking whatever lit up. In gaming, Adrian was a certifiable old-timer.
Yet… this old-timer somehow managed to win every duel against her in the most unexpected ways!
And Adrian's explanation? The power of Eternity, kid!
Yeah, next time, she'd still mark "very easy"!