By now, Raphael had gained a new understanding of the organization behind Audrey.
Previously, he had assumed that Audrey, a Sequence 5, must have been among its leaders.
But now, it seemed the organization had a demigod.
Faced with the charlatan-like words of the man before him, Raphael gave a somewhat arrogant laugh. "I don't know whether fate has given me any gifts, but I do have to thank you for the gift you just gave me."
From the mysticism knowledge Raphael had acquired, he knew that Beyonders of one particular Pathway could manipulate other people's fate.
The Zombie had been so unlucky just now, while he had been so lucky. That was far from normal.
At that moment, Klein was a kilometer or two away, working with Sharron to deliver the final blow to the Shaman King. He made his Marionette smile and say, "You're not as arrogant as you make yourself out to be."
As he spoke, the Marionette snapped his fingers, manipulating the Spirit Body Threads to accelerate the separation of the Beyonder characteristic from Ackerman's body.
Raphael asked, "Is the battle over there finished?"
The Marionette Enzo did not answer immediately. He stared at the separating characteristic for a second or two before saying, "It's over."
"How did it go?"
"Both the Shaman King and the Wraith were killed," the Marionette said casually.
By now, Klein had digested most of his Sequence 4 potion and was already highly proficient in using his abilities. With Mystical Items supporting him, and the advantage of a surprise attack, he had severely wounded the Shaman King with his opening strike.
In fact, Klein had only been able to join the battle in time thanks to his cautious nature. To prevent anything unexpected from happening, he had personally come to watch from nearby, allowing him to intervene promptly.
Raphael sucked in a sharp breath. When he had been preparing to set up the Rose School, he had never dreamed that they would kill one of its demigods!
He thought, The organization behind Audrey must have sent a demigod too. That's how we achieved such a huge victory in this battle.
Then Raphael thought, That means Audrey's organization has at least one demigod, two Sequence 5s-Audrey and this man-and Miss Susie, a Sequence 6. The Temperance Faction also seems to work closely with this organization.
At the very least, this was a medium-sized Beyonder organization.
At that moment, the Marionette Enzo bent down to pick up the Zombie characteristic and found a Mystical Item shaped like a gold bracelet on Ackerman's body.
He tossed the Mystical Item to Raphael. "You've already received the Werewolf Beyonder characteristic. Under our earlier agreement, there's no need to give you another share of the spoils.
"But you did play a part in tonight's battle. This is your share."
Raphael accepted without standing on ceremony. "Thank you."
Then he said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
Raphael was crazy, not stupid. Naturally, he had to show a Sequence 5 Beyonder a certain amount of respect.
The Marionette Zorn gave a quiet grunt of acknowledgment and gestured for him to go ahead.
Raphael figured the official Beyonders would be arriving soon, so he immediately turned and left. Only after running out of the alley did he end his transformation.
After giving it a little thought, he decided that continuing to act as the Mafia boss was the safest way to handle things.
And so Raphael returned to his apartment under cover of the fog and darkness.
He had barely taken a few steps when Maric's figure suddenly appeared in a windowpane. In a very flat tone, he said, "I'll come see you tomorrow. We need to talk."
Without waiting for Raphael to answer, he vanished from the glass.
Raphael paused only briefly before reaching the foot of his apartment building. He carefully surveyed his surroundings and, once he was certain no one was nearby, climbed through the window into his apartment.
He immediately changed into his pajamas and sat on the sofa, pretending he was about to turn in for the night.
In truth, Raphael was checking his current condition. Thanks to his powerful recovery ability, the injuries he had sustained in battle had already healed completely. There was no sign that he had just been through a fierce fight.
To Raphael's surprise, his Werewolf potion was actually showing signs of digestion!
He pondered it for a while, but could not figure out what he had done to digest the potion!
Then Raphael had a glass of liquor and smoked two cigarettes, feeling the excitement of battle settle completely.
Raphael took out his spoils for a look. It was a gold bracelet in a Southern Continent style. After infusing it with spirituality, he realized that he had gained the ability to perform Spirit Channeling.
For Raphael, that was quite a practical ability.
However, he was not sure what negative effects the Mystical Item had. He would have to study it slowly later.
By midnight, no official Beyonders had come looking for him. Raphael could now be certain that his guess was correct: they had found no clues pointing to him.
So he lay down in bed to rest as usual.
Not long after he fell asleep, he once again felt that familiar tugging on his spirit body. When he came to his senses, he found himself inside a prison with iron bars.
Raphael raised a hand and saw numerous wounds as wide as his little finger on his bare arm. His body was still bound in iron chains.
He immediately understood that he had crossed over once again to the other world where the Dark Hut existed.
"The Demon Lord is awake... Hurry and report to the branch master! The Demon Lord is awake!"
Raphael looked up and saw two guards outside, panic written across their faces.
He ignored the guards and quietly experienced this strange sensation.
Raphael could sense that his other self was asleep in his apartment bed. The two consciousnesses did indeed operate without interfering with each other, yet their sensations and thoughts remained synchronized.
Soon, a mass of black shadow appeared outside the prison. It took human form, becoming Chen Qingzhi in his black robes.
Somewhat surprised, he said, "Greetings, Demon Lord!"
Chen Qingzhi's subordinates had just filled this body with magic power. The master of this Dark Hut branch had originally planned to hold a ritual that afternoon to summon the Demon Lord again.
He had never expected the Demon Lord to come on his own.
Along with his surprise, Chen Qingzhi felt a little worried.
Summoning the Demon Lord and having the Demon Lord arrive of his own accord were two entirely different matters.
In the former case, the initiative lay with him. In the latter, things were no longer under his control.
With the air of a seasoned elder, Raphael said, "This body is too weak."
Chen Qingzhi offered an ingratiating smile. "I'm sorry you have to endure this, Demon Lord, but divination determined that this Demon Body was the most compatible with you. Several previous attempts to summon you using other Demon Bodies all failed."
Then, after dismissing his subordinates, he added, "I have some new questions I would like to ask you, Demon Lord."
With his previous experience, Raphael was now quite adept at pretending to be a superior being. He smiled and said, "You don't look very old, yet you're quite forgetful."
Chen Qingzhi froze. "Why do you say that, Demon Lord?"
"Before asking any new questions, shouldn't you first fulfill the terms you previously agreed to?"
In their previous deal, Raphael had told Chen Qingzhi how to act as an Archduke of Blood to solve the problem he faced. In return, Chen Qingzhi was to tell Raphael about the lore of his world.
Hearing the Demon Lord's words, Chen Qingzhi smiled. "I was simply too eager to hear the teachings of a venerable expert. Please forgive me, Demon Lord."
He paused, then continued, "The most powerful faction in this world is called the Penglai Immortal Sect..."
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