Roselle glared fiercely at Leyton, saying with a somewhat gritted-teeth tone:
"You win. One day, I will conceal all the diaries and delete them from this world."
Leyton chuckled and reminded him:
"That falls within the Evernight Goddess's authority, but unfortunately, you can't defeat her, so you won't get the authority of Concealment."
Roselle glared at him, saying in a very displeased tone:
"Let's drop this topic. Let's go. It's been a long time since I've been to the Southern Continent anyway, so I can revisit old haunts."
"And recently, Bernadette has been showing less and less respect for me, her old father. I think we need some distance to maintain our beautiful father-daughter relationship."
Leyton looked at Roselle opposite him with pity. Given Bernadette's personality, evasion wouldn't solve the problem. If he were to confess, he would likely be in even worse shape.
Seemingly provoked by Leyton's gaze, Roselle mumbled with some dissatisfaction:
"What kind of look is that?"
Leyton smiled and said nothing more. He again brought his left thumb and forefinger to his lips and whistled.
Soon, the pumpkin carriage pulled by two fat rats reappeared on the Dawn's deck. The carriage door opened automatically, transforming into a step to board the carriage.
Roselle looked at the two fat rats, a hint of disdain in his eyes as he averted his gaze and said:
"Can't you use something normal to pull the carriage? You've made a perfectly good fairy tale magic into this; even children would have nightmares seeing it."
Leyton lowered his head in thought for two seconds, then seriously retorted:
"Isn't this very fitting? This is in line with the true essence of a fairy tale; this is the aesthetic of absurd strangeness!"
"Your childhood must have been very different from others'." Roselle sighed, somewhat speechless.
In a few steps, he crossed a large section of the deck and reached the strange carriage.
In Berens Port, the northernmost part of West Balam on the Southern Continent, under the dim streetlights, a figure in a black double-breasted long formal suit and a tall black top hat emerged from the Spirit World.
The hair under the black top hat was dark gold, and the pupils were so blue they appeared almost black, but one was blind. In the remaining eye, a fiery red figure was reflected.
This figure was exactly Ince Zangwill, the traitor from the Church of the Evernight Goddess, but his current state seemed to be poor. The Red Angel Evil Spirit sealed within his body was too powerful and had taken over his body's control.
A flamboyant smile suddenly appeared on Ince Zangwill's face, his nostrils flaring slightly twice as he greedily inhaled the scent in the air.
A moment later, Ince Zangwill, under the Red Angel Evil Spirit's control, finally stopped his exaggerated movements and sighed to himself:
"I feel the aura of my Lord. Even if I don't actively seek him, someone will soon come looking for me."
"Haha, Sauron, Einhorn, you two fools, after all that trouble, aren't you still following me to my Lord's presence?"
The next moment, a slightly illusory mouth appeared on Ince Zangwill's left cheek, and a somewhat sharp, hoarse voice came from it:
"The True Creator is still sealed in the Southern Continent. At most, there might be one or two of his dependents here, which doesn't affect anything."
As the words fell, a slightly illusory mouth also appeared on Ince Zangwill's right cheek, and it continued:
"Don't forget, without my cooperation and Sauron's, you wouldn't be able to control Ince Zangwill's body."
Medici, who held the initiative, whispered disdainfully:
"Heh, you two fools, you'd be better off continuing to be women. Hunter doesn't suit you."
The next second, the illusory mouths on Ince Zangwill's left and right cheeks seemed to be enraged, and they became deadlocked with Medici, who held the initiative.
The struggle between the Red Angel Evil Spirit's three consciousnesses caused Ince Zangwill's body to twist strangely. His left hand tore at his right cheek, his right hand tore at his left cheek, and his two legs pulled forward and backward, forming a split.
Under the dim streetlights, this scene appeared absurd and bizarre.
Close to the Dawn, Leyton brought Roselle to Paz River Valley and handed him over to Glenn, who would arrange work for him.
After Leyton left, Roselle suddenly changed his expression, speaking like he was chatting with an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time:
"Did you leave the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery just to change locations and continue this boring work?"
"Do you know, my daughter is now a Sage too, Sequence 2, just like you."
Glenn rolled her eyes at this guy, her tone filled with disdain:
"It seems dying once didn't teach you any lessons. You're still as annoying as before."
"If I had known that the person the little guy was talking about was you, I would have refused directly then."
Roselle seemed not to hear Glenn's disdain and laughed loudly: "Haha, little guy, in what way do you mean he's little?"
Glenn's expression changed, then quickly returned to calm. She looked at Roselle, who was smiling obscenely on the side, and said calmly:
"Do you need me to help you change to a mechanical body? Conveniently, I haven't separated the Alchemist characteristic yet."
"I was talking about age. Why are you reacting so strongly? Is there something you can't say…"
Roselle waved his hands repeatedly, and before he could finish speaking, there was a bang. Several metal coils, like magnets, flew out from the corner, firmly binding his mechanical body and hanging him upside down from the ceiling.
"I remember you said you liked bondage games. As an old friend I haven't seen in a long time, I'll fulfill that wish for you."
As she spoke, Glenn gently rubbed her fingers, and specks of starlight overflowed from her palms, outlining strange symbols in mid-air before merging into Roselle's mechanical body, disabling the abilities of this mechanical puppet.
Ignoring Roselle's shouts, she walked back to the bedroom on the second floor without looking back.
Once Glenn disappeared from sight, Roselle distorted the Beyonder ability applied to him and simultaneously lowered himself from the ceiling.
He stretched his body, and seeing no hidden dangers, he tutted twice:
"He's hundreds of years old, and still can't take a joke."
The next morning, Leyton had just finished breakfast and was about to check on the preparations for his avatar's advancement ritual to Cognizer when the shadow beneath his feet suddenly began to squirm on its own.
To Leyton's surprise, the shadow flowed like water, forming a phrase in Dutanese on the ground:
Come to Red Rose Church.
"What could make Sasrir actively seek me out?"
Muttering to himself, his body gradually dematerialized, disintegrating into pure knowledge, flowing through the walls of the house and surging outwards.
By the riverbank on the south shore of Paz River Valley, a cluster of spired buildings had appeared at some unknown time. They were all predominantly dark and solemn, with deep red rose patterns painted on their walls, surrounding an inverted cross.
A towering bell tower stood by the fountain-encircled plaza, its hour hand pointing exactly to the eight o'clock mark.
Dong~ Dong~
The melodious chime spread through the air, startling a flock of gray pigeons resting at the top of the bell tower. As they flew away, the bell's echo resonated along both banks of the river.
On the gray-white marble-paved plaza below, several clergy members in black robes with gold-embroidered patterns were distributing simple food, newspapers, and books to the surrounding volunteers.
Leyton's figure quietly appeared in the plaza. His gaze briefly swept over the surrounding crowd, then he walked directly into the magnificently built church ahead.
Passing through a long corridor adorned with thorns and murals, one reached the prayer hall. High on the walls on both sides of the hall were several stained-glass windows, through which the morning sunlight could penetrate, leaving distinct colorful traces on the upper part of the prayer hall.
The prayer hall was very quiet, with no extra believers praying there. Sasrir sat on the frontmost bench, his back to Leyton, praying towards the inverted statue of God on the cross.
Leyton stood quietly by for a while, and only after Sasrir finished his prayer did he speak to him:
"This church was built quite quickly!"
"We do not belong to the alliance of the Seven Gods; we do not need to abide by their conventions." Sasrir's voice was calm and rational.
Meaning, you directly used Beyonders as construction workers, or even built this church yourself? Leyton raised an eyebrow and chuckled aloud:
"Indeed, and this is the Southern Continent."
He paused, then continued to ask: "Did you find something that made you suddenly call me here?"
Sasrir rose from his seat, his black robe with ornate accessories rustling softly. He clasped his hands, leaning on a paintblack cane, his eyes seemingly covered by a thick, impenetrable shadow.
His gaze pierced through the church walls, looking towards the north-west, and he sighed softly:
"Medici has come to West Balam. He is currently staying in the Northern State. Sauron and Einhorn's consciousnesses have clashed with his, and they are in a stalemate there."
Leyton followed his gaze outwards, and his unique Beyonder status allowed him to perceive some colors of war gathering in the north.
After two seconds, he retracted his gaze and looked at Sasrir, saying:
"What do you plan to do? He cannot be entirely regarded as the former Red Angel now."
Silent for two seconds, Sasrir said in a low voice:
"Help me transfer that Conqueror characteristic to him. The rest is for him to choose."
"That matter Amon and Adam conspired about back then… Their conflict is irreconcilable. I have no standing to interfere with this. He can choose to return to me, or find new allies."
Leyton tutted twice, sighing with a tone of regret:
"It's truly not easy, is it? On one side, a disobedient son, and on the other, a once most loyal subordinate…"