Annan opened his eyes in the dungeon.
He was still in the dungeon, but Maria was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he had entered the Dream Realm.
Annan got up, picked up the Magic Lamp beside him, and walked to the next Cell. He resumed his unfinished conversation with Iron Maiden. "Because what?"
In the context of their earlier conversation, whatever came after "because" should have been a threat. Iron Maiden had not expected Annan to return and press her for an answer. After a brief silence, she said, "Because... I can help you..."
"Then let's be honest with each other. Tell me who you are first."
"Knowing too much will only bring misfortune upon you..."
"Do you know who I am?" Annan asked.
"Who are you...?"
"I'm... Never mind. You've been locked in this dungeon all this time, so you wouldn't know what's happening outside. My position is much higher than you imagine. Go ahead and tell me."
In this new millennium, with the Gods out of contact, Annan felt he had nothing to fear. Even a Demon Lord could do nothing to him—
"I'm a priest of the Maiden of Misfortune..."
The Maiden of Misfortune... Legend said that fortune and misfortune had once been two sides of the same God. Then they had split apart: fortune went to the Goddess of Fortune, while the Maiden of Misfortune departed with misfortune.
As a Deity of Fate, the Maiden of Misfortune was not especially powerful, only somewhat stronger than Cat and Midnight Maiden. But no one wanted to cross her. Both the Maiden of Misfortune herself and her followers could manipulate luck, leaving their victims miserable for a long time. For example, they might be attacked by the relatives of an enemy who appeared out of nowhere.
That raised