Cold spread silently through the room, white frost crystallizing upward. As Neph gathered her thoughts in the chill, she instinctively shook herself. Shards of ice then pattered down, reflecting a crystalline gleam on the floor.
Neph raised a hand to her head. The aura of corruption seemed to have dissipated, leaving the air fresh and clean, with a lingering chill. She looked around, her gaze finally settling on the ice scattered across the floor.
She stepped down, crushing the tiny ice crystals into powder beneath her foot. Neph quietly drew her leg back, her brow knotting tightly.
A self-defense mechanism? That's not quite right either. I keep feeling that if I hadn't woken up in time, I might have turned into an ice sculpture... This thing works a lot like a high fever. Either the virus or I... No, either the corruption or I had to die, huh?
But why didn't I hear anything last time? Was it not a matter of status, but the amount of power? That might be part of it, but it shouldn't be the only reason... The difference in the Blank Canvas should be the main reason!
Neph looked at the Blank Canvas. A distinct ink dot marked its surface, its color seemingly deeper than before, with a faint hint of red mixed into the black.
Neph looked away and silently sorted through the information in her mind. She discarded the nonsensical syllables, then combined those that carried actual meaning to decipher the information within. This seemed to be a method of conveying information unique to higher beings. Neph scratched her head and muttered to herself:
"So the Secrets Suppliants go mad entirely because you, the Hanged Man, stuffed too much meaningless chatter into it... What's this? Are you really cursing those three? Ah, what a shame I never learned Russian... Still, being able to piece together both words and images is really amazing..."
In the end, she extracted the details of several rituals, including an unfamiliar symbolic emblem. It was dark red, consisting of two inverted crosses, one large and one small, separated by a rose.
An ominous aura radiated from the image, as though proclaiming its master's malice. Neph, however, beamed. With genuine sincerity, she raised her hand to her chest and, after a brief pause, traced an inverted cross.
"Praise be to you," she whispered.
The image on the Blank Canvas had already faded in that brief interval. Neph also opened the spirituality barrier and walked out with the Blank Canvas.
The True Creator's message was too fragmented, but the series of rituals seemed to indicate his attitude. Neph had even seen a Descent Ritual-a ritual she had never learned.
Of course, Neph was never going to use it. She wasn't Mr. A, willing to offer her body to the True Creator. Even setting aside the possibility that the Blank Canvas had cleared away the corruption, any remnants would not have been enough to turn her into a fanatical believer.
...Still, I need to get Miss Justice to become a Psychiatrist as soon as possible, so I won't be left with no one to treat me if I go mad.
Neph sighed, then looked toward the Black Tower and smiled enigmatically.
-Now, if she encountered Amon again, she would be able to fight back.
Though I might not have time to pray anyway... Uh, if I asked Klein for Rosago's belongings, could I attract, um, attract my Lord's attention?
On Wednesday evening, Klein followed Neph's instructions and headed to the Bravehearts Bar after dinner. This would also help mislead the police and the opposing Marionettist.
Klein believed that his opponent definitely couldn't divine anything involving Sefirah Castle. If he was extraordinarily lucky and did manage it, some unknown mutation would probably occur, just as it had when Klein divined Neph and the Eternal Blazing Sun.
Klein didn't think his opponent had a Sefirah Castle of his own.
Under the pitch-black sky, Klein entered the bar.
Before he could order a beer, he spotted Kaspars, the old man with a bulbous red nose, standing with his arms crossed in front of the Dog Catching Mice arena.
"Good timing. Maric's looking for you." Spotting Klein, Kaspars immediately limped through the crowd toward him.
"Maric's looking for me?" Klein asked in surprise.
His surprise wasn't feigned. Although he knew he would gain a helper today, he hadn't considered the possibility that the helper would be Maric. He instinctively felt his pocket, where Mr. Azik's Copper Whistle rested. It was highly likely to cause zombies to mutate, and the last time they met, Maric had been playing cards with a roomful of zombies.
Before Klein could finish thinking, the pale-faced Maric approached from the other side. His eyes still held undisguised malice, but there were no zombies surrounding him.
Half puzzled and half relieved, Klein watched as Maric pointed toward the card room and led the way. Klein peered inside from a distance and only followed him in after confirming there were no zombies.
"What is it?" Klein asked first.
Maric planted himself on the card table and stared into Klein's eyes. "Is that commission of yours still open?"
Just as expected... Klein nodded. "It is."
"A friend of mine is short on money lately and is willing to accept the commission. She's stronger than I am, so she should be able to protect you. However, she'll only protect you for three days, and the price is 1,000 pounds," Maric said in a low, indistinct voice.
So it isn't him? That's good too... Klein instinctively felt his pocket, then said excitedly:
"That's wonderful!"
Although he had obtained charms powerful enough to affect Mid-Sequence Beyonders from the Beyonder Characteristic left behind by the Listener, Klein had learned about his opponent's abilities beforehand. He knew that without help, he might not even get a chance to throw a charm.
Klein made a show of reining in his emotions, and his voice lowered again:
"Give me some time to raise the money. That's no small sum.
"Also, it's best to protect me discreetly. No one can know. As for which three days, I'll decide that too. They'll definitely be within the next two weeks."
"Miss Justice hired Mr. A to assassinate Beckland?" Above Sefirah Castle, Neph leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow. "All right, that's the answer I expected... Did you just say she's already paid 2,000 pounds in advance?"
"Yes," Klein replied. "Add the 1,000 pounds for hiring the bodyguard, and-hiss-I'm now 11,000 pounds in debt..."
Neph's lips curved with mischievous amusement as she told Klein in a low, husky voice:
"Didn't Mr. A also ask for a potion formula? I have the Unshadowed potion formula. The complete version."
"!" Klein held his breath and focused on her, his eyes shining.
"I'm the White Angel who serves at the Lord's throne, after all." Neph turned her head,
then said with a faint, elusive smile, "How could I not know the potion formulas for my own pathway?"
Klein said nothing. He merely let his gaze settle on her skin, which was just as pale as Maric's, his expression full of words he wanted to say but held back.
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