Did the truth of Lairding's return, which he had searched for by every means imaginable, really matter?
As for the goal of finding the Witch with less than a day left?
The answer was yes.
For one thing, his target for this mission had become far more valuable to squeeze for information.
This was a nightmare that had existed since before the apocalypse, and the agent, as a nexus of power, even possessed its own will. It was undoubtedly an excellent observer of the real world.
It should know far more than the cult, the bloodsuckers, or even the Fallen Star race and the Awakened Ones, whose identities he still couldn't distinguish.
For an existence as cautious as this one, the best way to squeeze it was to make it fight for its survival.
For example, by sharing his countdown.
This was one of the wonderful uses he'd imagined soon after swallowing the fragment and experiencing the side effect of his unstable sense of self.
To do that, though, he first had to draw the agent out.
With time running short, keeping up his ravenous glutton act in front of the sacred object and making himself seem vulnerable to exploitation had clearly been a good choice.
At the same time, the whole process needed to feel natural, like his clash with the four members of the Fallen Star race.
Devouring, ambushing, having his trick seen through and turning that into a trap, then unleashing a powerful move at any cost to escape.
Lady Xia had given him the biggest surprise of all, making the whole process spiral out of control so naturally.
Otherwise, he would have had to be much more careful about how hard he hit.
As for now, the fish that had taken the bait would have to