Zarathus?
When Angel heard this name, the first thing he thought of was the Angel family of Fourth Epoch and Solomon Empire. Then he noticed the limitation in the description of Klein:
The leader of Secret Order, the Seer Angel who was trapped in Mist Town.
If their understanding of the history is correct, the Sequence 1 at that time had fallen in the subsequent divine war, and the Secret Order leader of Fifth Epoch was probably just his descendant, inheriting the "Little Zarathus" of Beyonder Characteristic.
But even so, the arrival of a Archangel who has most likely been promoted to Sequence 1 and successfully escaped from Mist Town to Backlund will also put a lot of pressure on their subsequent actions.
After all, under the premise of possessing True God, the pope of Three Great Churches and Archbishop can only be Sequence 2 at most, and now that the war is about to break out, it is inevitable to defend important places of the church, and it is unlikely to stay in Backlund. A Sequence 1 is the strongest without the arrival of True God.
"How are you sure that He has arrived at Backlund? Even Amon's true form would not dare to step into this city easily..."
Angel asked curiously.
"There are many reasons. For example, Arrodes discovered that his body is no longer in its original place. For example, my attraction to Seer and Marauder Pathway. For example, and I recently Sanguine, cooperated with Temperance Faction to deal with the abnormal situation that occurred during the operation of Rose School... But the arrival of Red Angel evil spirit to Backlund was the trigger..."
Klein replied, involuntarily looking at the chaotic streets outside the window.
"Not many people know that I am Dwayne Dantès and I am also Gehrman Sparrow and may have come into contact with Zarathus. Fourth Epoch has been with Medici, whom Zarathus worked with, is one of them. The 'Gatekeeper' possessed by him should be Numinous Episcopate sent to The messenger of Backlund, I thought that he was just taking this opportunity to return to the North Continent from the Southern Continent, and would leave soon, and I did not get a response after praying to Goddess. I didn't expect that he would stay here... Then there was the possibility of communicating this matter to Zarathus and leading him to Backlund."
Members of the Spiritual Religion... No wonder the "Red Angel" evil spirit appeared with confidence. It turned out that he thought that with the help of Sequence 1 Zaratul, there was no need to worry about being attacked by me, and he also got the information that the goddess was not in a good condition by virtue of the goddess not responding in time... No, if Zaratul was hiding nearby at that time, he could have directly made me into a marionette and then attacked Klein. This is easy for a Sequence 1 who dares to enter Backlund...
Angel thought about it and told Klein about his doubts, and the latter fell into thinking for a long time.
"So, 'Red Angel', for some reason, has not yet reached a cooperation with Zarathus, or has concealed my relevant information... Why would he do this?"
He muttered, then shook his head and said with determination:
"No matter what, Dwayne Dantès's identity may be exposed at any time. As long as Zarathus knows about it, next time I return to Böklund Street No. 160, what awaits me may be all the servants showing me the same smile... I, or Dawn, need to leave."
Angel nodded clearly, understanding what the other party meant.
Since Zarathus, who had seen Gehrman Sparrow, had escaped from Mist Town, and Aggregation Effect, who was interested in the mysterious power of Klein, came to Backlund, once he knew that Gehrman was equal to Dawn, he would definitely take action.
But when Klein hides in the dark, Zarathus will hesitate and continue to observe. Even if he knows that Dawn has a problem, he will suspect that it is a trap and is unlikely to cause harm to ordinary people.
"What about me? Do I have to give up my current identity? After all, half of Backlund's upper-class social circle knows about our relationship."
she asked immediately.
"Yes, this is the best way. You can leave your property to the church to take care of it temporarily and let Miss Audrey help take care of it. Otherwise, if you can't find me, Zarathus will probably target you."
Klein said with a serious expression.
No, this is not the best way... Angel pursed his lips, pressed the hand Klein put on his shoulder at some point, and said:
"You should know that my best choice is to continue to appear as Christine, and associate her with 'Irene Watson' in the world of occultism, confirming the identity of Goddess's favored one, so that unless there is a direct conflict of interest, Zarathus will not be against her I take action... and if we are in the dark, it will be beneficial to all subsequent actions. Otherwise, even if I hide in the dark, Helene or even Anne may be targeted by Zarathus, and I will be caught by him sooner or later, but it is not as safe as Backlund."
Klein's expression was a little tense. He looked at Angel and then spoke after a long time:
"But there is still a risk. If Zarathus is desperate and thinks that catching you will get my clues, he is willing to take the risk of Goddess or other God gods..."
"Would a Archangel of Sequence 1 be so reckless? Even 'Red Angel' is willing to communicate calmly when he knows that he is not my opponent. Zarathus will only hide Collect all information in secret, and then attack cautiously after judging that there is no risk... just like you usually do. Moreover, I don't think 'Red Angel' will tell Zarathus your information... They lack reason to cooperate."
Angel tried to make his tone lighter and analyzed the thinking mode of the two imaginary enemies.
Looking at Angel who was trying hard to find reasons to stay in Backlund in order to do something for the next war, Klein sighed with half distress and half worry, and said:
"They actually have reasons for cooperation. Out of adjacency or confrontation with Pathway, 'Red Angel' wants to deal with you, and Zarathus wants to find me... But you are right, you stay in God is a safer choice in sight. After all, before getting the new Beyonder Characteristic, that three-in-one evil spirit can't do anything to you, and the main target of Zarathus is me, not you..."
If He catches me, "Fool", the battle will be over, but if he catches Angel, he will face the danger that the benefits will be less than the risks. "Seer", who is good at calculation, will not do such a high-risk, low-return thing... Klein added silently in his heart.
After deciding that one person would hide in the dark and the other would continue to work in the light, the two discussed the next targets to visit and contact, such as Bernadette, Trissy, and even Will Auceptin who was less than half a year old. In order to obtain their help and support, Klein took Marionette with him and quietly left Angel's bedroom.
Looking at the empty and deserted room, Angel let out a sigh of relief, opened the door, went to the first floor, and found the butler Ribak who was instructing the servants to load valuables into the carriage.
After returning home from the battle today, Angel, even as he fell into depression, still managed to gather his energy and issued many orders to the housekeeper, asking him to organize the servants to buy enough food as soon as possible before Backlund fell into panic, and transport it to Iris Flower Winery in the suburbs as soon as possible. Then he took all the servants out of the city and went to the winery to avoid possible attacks again.
In order to appease the emotions of the servants and protect as many people as possible, Angel asked the butler to announce that they could bring their families with them. The manor was large anyway, and more manpower would be needed in the coming war period to prevent public security chaos.
Regarding this point, Ribak, as a retired soldier, has enough experience and does not need Angel to worry too much.
As for the reason for purchasing excessive amounts of food, Angel believes that this will help her have the power to donate and help others when famine occurs. After all, most people at the bottom do not have the money to store enough food. Even if she does not buy it, other nobles and Rich Merchant will buy it, and they will not donate if they do...
Seeing that the wine in the cellar and the food reserves had been loaded onto the carriage, Angel stopped the servants who were loading murals, vases and other useless items in the war, and asked them to go directly to Iris Flower Winery while it was still dark. Then he got on a light two-wheeled carriage and rushed to Saint Samuel Cathedral at North Borough.
On the way, she found that except for North Borough, which was directly hit by air strikes, the streets in other areas still maintained basic order. Although everyone had an uneasy expression on their faces, walked eagerly, and looked to the sky from time to time, in general, they had not fallen into real chaos.
But this peaceful scene may not last long...
According to the information in the newspaper, the air strike launched in Backlund this morning caused hundreds of deaths in North Borough and injured as many as a thousand people. From North Borough The airship unit that divided into West Borough focused on bombing facilities such as City Hall, Lower House and Kingdom Grand Theater. Before being intercepted and destroyed by the arriving Loen troops and the hidden official Beyonder, it also caused the death of more than two hundred people and almost paralyzed the political center of Backlund; East Borough destroyed several large factories. The casualties are still being counted, but the attack time was on a weekday morning, and the factory was operating at full capacity, so the situation was not optimistic.
In addition, Pritz Harbor to the south of Backlund was also attacked at almost the same time. Taking advantage of the cover of thick fog, Fosac Sonia Sea Fleet approached the Royal Navy base and bombarded the Royal Navy base and the surrounding shipyards, destroying several warships on the dock. Fortunately, the three ironclad fleets were out fighting pirates or conducting daily training, and did not stop in the port and suffered no losses.
Under such an attack, it is inevitable for Loen to fully declare war on Feysac. Even if Backlund strengthens its defenses and is no longer subject to sneak attacks by Feysac, rising prices, declining incomes and other problems will still plague this big city of five million people, and this will make it even more difficult for the people at the bottom who are already living in difficulty to survive.
I hope I can do something, even if I have to go back to the battlefield... Angel looked away from the window and closed his eyes.
When we arrived at Saint Samuel Cathedral, the sky had already darkened, but the square in front of the church was still full of people who believed in Goddess. Some of them were driven here to seek solace due to inner confusion, and some were simply afraid of subsequent air raids and came to the safety of the church to take shelter.
Angel noticed that a bishop kept walking through the crowd, comforting the believers. There was a peaceful power around him, which seemed to come from a certain Sealed Artifact with special functions. After his persuasion, most of the people felt at ease and left the place, replaced by a new group of panicked and confused people.
This means that the church believes that there will be no follow-up air raids... Angel felt slightly relieved that the carriage that brought him did not have to wait for him, and went directly to the Suburban Manor, and then entered the church.
On the way, she had received the message from Trissy through Magic Mirror, and learned that Demoness, who had obtained the method of contacting Mr. "Door" from "Primordial Demoness", made corresponding preparations.
According to the agreement, Trissy must communicate with this being of unknown good and evil under the supervision of Angel, so the most critical "blood of the Abraham Family members" is provided by Angel kept it herself, and she planned to find Trissy after confirming Goddess's attitude, otherwise she might bring Misfortune to the unlucky Demoness.
After passing through the tall but narrow doorway and arriving at the Great Prayer Hall, Angel found that the hall, which was usually only filled during high mass, was already overcrowded, so she found a corner, chanted Goddess's Honorific Name in a low voice, and briefly conveyed everything that happened today to this God through prayer, including what she and Klein thought Zarathus had come to Backlund, and what she was willing to stay in the open.
Finally, she thought of her previous guess, took a deep breath, and continued to chant in a low voice:
"... Dear Goddess, I would like to know if I can continue to serve you and gain your favor as the dead Irene Watson and Angel Granger..."
After praying, Angel leaned against the wall, quietly looking at the Prayer Hall filled with North Borough people, his thoughts gradually diverging.
Suddenly, she was Spirituality touched, and there was a momentary change of light and shadow at the edge of her gaze. Archbishop Anthony, wearing a black robe with the Crimson Moon logo, appeared in the hall at some point without making any sound.
Follow me - he motioned, then walked towards the side door of the church.
At least Goddess made him respond instead of making no move at all, otherwise I really have to consider hiding in the dark and avoiding Zarathus and "Red Angel"... Angel muttered and followed to a remote corridor.
Under the stained glass depicting Night Emblem, Anthony stood still and turned around, showing a kind smile and said loudly:
"'Goddess Shadow' Your Excellency, Christine Teresa who protected the people in the war, Irene Watson who calmed Great Smog, Angel Granger saved Tingen from the evil god. Now the war is about to break out. As the favored one of Goddess, are you willing to continue to dedicate your strength?"
Listening to this series of names, Angel's expression gradually changed from a formulaic smile to full expression of surprise and horror.
Because the Potion in her body is being digested at an astonishing speed, and it is far more than the amount of Saint that can be successfully completed in front of a Saint!
Her guess was correct, Goddess really provided some help!