"Truly… interesting!" Amon pressed a hand against the frame of his monocle, then looked north. "Alvin deliberately brought everyone connected to Him to Belldan—is it to prevent me from taking the opportunity to lead Zaratul and Augustus toward Him?
"What a 'good' ally!"
With that thought, Amon twirled the parasol in his hand and then vanished.
…
Within a "mirror world" shrouded in mist, Alvin Abraham let out a slight sigh and said:
"Amon indeed didn't switch his main body over… he didn't even send an avatar to follow!
"Looks like we'll have to continue with Plan A."
Beside him, Vera said with a smile, "Wasn't revealing Zaratul's and 'Order's' aura exactly to deepen His misunderstanding?
"You should know He never acts without certainty—how could He so easily send His main body over…
"Through this setup, it's enough that He now suspects the Augustus family is involved."
Ebner nodded slightly. To deceive a being like Amon, one must not be impatient—otherwise all prior efforts would be wasted.
Fortunately, he didn't need to completely fool Amon. As long as he could trick the Augustus family into joining, it would already count as more than half a success.
"As for the king's side, we don't need to worry. After the 'Saintess of Purple' fails, she'll definitely want to find out who the angel parasitizing Trissy is…" Vera said with a smile. "And as far as I know, the Loen royal family happens to possess a Grade '0' Sealed Artifact that can request answers from an 'unknown' existence."
"An 'unknown' existence?" Ebner froze for a moment and repeated Vera's words.
Before this, he truly hadn't known about this. He had only planned to act once Augustus began investigating, using the Sequence 2 characteristic Amon had once dropped in Tingen.
"It's exactly the 'unknown' you're thinking of!" Vera said meaningfully.
"Where did the Loen royal family get an item related to the 'unknown'?" Ebner asked, frowning.
"Naturally, it's something left behind by one of your past selves… but I'm definitely not 'Rhine.'" Vera replied simply, then continued, "That item is designated '0-37,' called the 'Gate of Truth.' By 'sacrificing' a person or object to it, one can obtain the answer to a question.
"Although the price is extremely high, its accuracy is beyond doubt…
"It's said that the Augustus family obtained that 'Conqueror' left behind by Death precisely by making a deal with it.
"But that Sealed Artifact cannot be used at any time… I suspect it only works during eras when you are 'active.'
"And once the 'value' of the question exceeds the 'value' of the initial sacrifice, the questioner will become the property of the 'Gate of Truth,' serving it until the debt is repaid."
This ability sounds familiar… could it be that the 'White Saintess' Katarina is now a puppet of the 'Gate of Truth'? So she's being controlled by the owner of that Sealed Artifact?
If that's the case, she might have been set up by the Augustus family!
But when she 'prayed to the unknown existence for an answer'… why didn't I sense it?
Ebner was puzzled and voiced the question.
Vera smiled and replied, "Very simple—because the one that item points to is someone you have not yet come into contact with, so naturally you wouldn't sense it.
"However, if you constantly pay attention to changes in the 'Unknown Land,' you should now be able to interfere somewhat with the 'responses.'"
The version of myself I haven't yet come into contact with… since it's not Rhine, then it's either Vincent or Oliver…
…
Inside the warehouse, seeing the dragon chase into the mirror world, Viscount Stratford finally let out a sigh of relief. He then removed the cross pressed against Sherman's neck, glanced at the girl—who looked utterly lifeless—with a somewhat complicated expression, and quickly returned to normal.
"Trissy is truly patient. To deal with me, she actually spent several months cultivating a new Demoness." Viscount Stratford shook his head with a chuckle. "What exactly did she want you to obtain from me?"
At this moment, with the connection to Trissy severed, the spider silk around Sherman had already loosened, no longer binding her.
The beautiful girl wore a blank expression, her gaze hollow as she replied:
"She wanted me to find out who you truly serve."
Without waiting for him to speak, a trace of complicated emotion appeared in her eyes as she hesitated and asked:
"Those things you said to me… those promises you made… how much of it was real?"
Viscount Stratford was stunned for a moment, then chuckled:
"You're probably the dumbest and most naïve Demoness I've ever met…"
Before he could finish, a cold voice interrupted him: "And you're one of the most despicable men I've ever seen!"
"Who's there?" Viscount Stratford immediately became alert, but the next moment, as a sudden "whooo" sound rang out, a visible tornado rose beneath his feet and surged into the air.
The court chamberlain, caught in such a terrifying attack, couldn't maintain his balance at all and was directly lifted by the tornado, slamming heavily into the warehouse ceiling.
Boom!
The roof was torn apart by the gale—some parts collapsing downward, others spinning higher into the air.
The impact nearly knocked Viscount Stratford unconscious. He could no longer hold onto the "cross," letting it fly from his grasp.
The spikes tore free with a trace of blood, and the mottled verdigris once again covered the surface of the cross.
That flawless radiance disappeared.
Just as he tried to adjust his posture and retrieve the cross, he suddenly felt his "fear," "nervousness," and other emotions forcibly amplified and detonated, severely injuring him in an instant.
He had no way to counter it and could only rely on the formidable physique of a Disciplinary Paladin to endure.
But in the next moment, the court chamberlain saw a petite figure reveal herself—holding an open "notebook" in one hand and clenching the other into a fist as she slammed it downward.
"Execution!"
Suspended in midair with no way to dodge, Viscount Stratford could only watch as the power of "Execution" descended upon him. Immediately after, his neck was severed, and a large amount of blood sprayed from the stump, scattered everywhere by the still-not-fully-dissipated gale.
The one who executed Viscount Stratford using "Leymano's Travel Notes" and her own ability was naturally Xio. She glanced at the head flung to the other side of the warehouse, confirmed his death, and paid it no further attention, walking straight to Sherman, her former friend.
Seeing that the viscount who had mocked her just moments ago was now decapitated, Sherman was caught in shock and confusion. As Xio approached, her hollow eyes gradually regained some focus—but also gained a trace of pain.
She opened her mouth and said in a broken voice:
"Xio… I regret it… I can't bear this kind of price… I'm in so much pain…"
Sherman did not resent Xio for killing her lover. What had just happened had already revealed the viscount's true nature.
Xio sighed softly. After checking her and confirming she was unharmed, she said, "You just didn't meet a good person…"
Sherman took a breath, revealing a sorrowful smile as she choked out:
"For this love, I… I did too many things that need repentance… thinking back on it now, I can't forgive myself… Xio, kill me."
Clearly, due to her lover's betrayal, she had lost all will to live.
Slap!
Xio directly slapped her across the face and scolded, "Even if you want to die, make up for the mistakes you made first!"
After saying that, she ignored her and went to collect the spoils.
Sherman stood there stunned for a long time before finally breaking into sobs: "Xio… you're right… I shouldn't run away… I have to make up for my mistakes before I die…"
Only then did Xio walk back to her and say earnestly:
"There's nothing wrong with pursuing love—but your choice of target was far too blind…
"Ask yourself—did you really love that so-called viscount that much?
"You were just someone who had never received affection from men, and you were deceived by his surface."
Compared to Ebner, a man who only spouts sweet words like that is just "canned wolf-fish"!
Throwing your life away for someone like that simply isn't worth it.
…
(End of Chapter)