Choosing a Pet

Neph had considered countless possible reactions from the "Witch of Gold," but she never imagined she would be so decisive and resolute.

suicide.

Neph knew the characteristics of the "Demoness of Unaging." It was said that Demoness at this stage were eternally youthful, unpredictable, and skilled at resurrection. Seeing the "Witch of Gold" decisively commit suicide, she finally understood what it meant to be skilled at resurrection.

Neph reached out and the "Eye of God" lying on the ground fell into her hand. As she ran her fingers over the "0" level Sealed Artifact, she realized that the "Witch of Gold's" decisiveness was partly due to this Sealed Artifact.

This is Sealed Artifact formed by the Beyonder Characteristic of the "Wisdom Angel," namely Sequence 2 of the "Reader" Pathway. As beings named after Wisdom, the holders of the "Eye of God" can always foresee changes in the situation and make the most correct and timely choices.

The "Witch of Gold" did not anticipate Neph's appearance, but she chose to abandon the Sealed Artifact and commit suicide to escape, because her Wisdom made her realize that this suddenly appearing Angel was too lazy to hunt her down and was only interested in the Sealed Artifact in her possession.

Neph sighed, shook her head helplessly, and suddenly said, "Viscount, if only you were as sensible as that Demoness —if possible, I'd still prefer you to be alive."

Viscount Stratford was crawling laboriously on the ground, suddenly froze, afraid to move. Neph let out a soft groan, and an invisible chill seeped into Viscount Stratford's body. Neph said to him, "Since you like crawling, then keep crawling like this."

"Your body will forget how to walk, and other skills, regressing to the crawling stage of infancy, until you regain it through practice."

"Keep it up, I believe in you."

She winked at Viscount Stratford.

This bizarre scene startled Hugh, who had just mustered the courage to speak, causing him to shut his mouth again. Instinctively, he gripped Fors tightly beside him. Fors also very nervous, but she had seen this "Pure White" lady several times, and even through the Gray Fog, she was much more composed than Hugh. She nervously began, "' Pure White ' lady—"

"Hmm?" Neph smiled and looked at her.

Fors pinched Hugh hard, causing Hugh to let out a short scream. When Neph looked at Hugh, Hugh understood Fors's intention and tentatively asked, "Sherman —is there any hope for her?"

Neph didn't speak; she glanced at Sherman, or rather, Shermane.

Her condition was actually very bad; Neph could clearly see her life slipping away, and even without her Beyonder Ability, she could see that something was wrong with her.

Her hair all flew up, each strand becoming thick, like thin snakes. Some of these snakes sprouted eyes, while others split open mouths, making her look extremely eerie and terrifying. On her face, mysterious black, oil-paint-like patterns peeked through the texture of her skin and rapidly spread outwards and across her body.

Frankly, she was still a ways off from being truly beyond saving, but Neph simply shook her head and told Hugh, "Your friend might not want you to save her."

Neph paused slightly, then sighed and continued, "Go and say a few words to her."

"Well, I've preserved the Viscount's ability to speak; he should still be able to answer your questions, but be careful not to ask him what the King's secrets are. Hand him over to Gehrman."

Neph shook her head, and her figure disappeared from the spot.

When Klein found Neph, she was standing in front of a horse, chatting with a Rat Ais.

As Klein approached, the wind carried their conversation. "Shapeshifting isn't possible? Okay, but what about changing the Parasite Host? Can't that be done either? Hmm, I'd need to replenish Beyonder Characteristic, that's a bit of a hassle—should I go and dig up the Jacob Family's Treasure? But if I did that, Amon really wouldn't need to consider becoming a god, because he wouldn't be able to find Pallez —hmm, he could peacefully await the arrival of the Angel of the Circle of Inevitability'— "

"What do you want to do?" Klein asked, standing behind her.

Neph turned around and asked quite politely, "Could you turn into a horse for me to ride?"

"?" Klein's gaze fell on the white Rat, and he felt that the Rat's eyes were full of pleading.

"I'm afraid that won't work," he replied apologetically. "I'm a person."

Neph stared at him for two seconds, sighed, and turned to look at the tall horse again.

"It may sound immoral, but I'm a little curious—" Klein approached her and continued, "Why don't you just ride this horse? Or sneak into a horse farm or equestrian Club or something—"

"I didn't want to ride a horse," Neph shook her head, "I was just wondering, wouldn't it be strange for the God of Winter to keep Rat as a pet?"

"Raising horses wouldn't be any better," Klein reminded her. "I've never heard of any god who raised horses."

"Yes," Neph told him earnestly.

Klein asked curiously, "Who?"

"The Bima Wen," Neph replied, "He raises more than one horse; he's in charge of all the horses in the entire Heavenly Court."

"----That's true," Klein's lips twitched, "But I don't think you're referring to this kind of 'raising'."

"Tang Sanzang also kept horses," Neph argued. "Not only did he keep them, he rode them, and those horses could even transform into dragons—"

Klein's lips twitched even more violently. He finally couldn't hold back and exposed Neph: "She is a dragon!"

Neph looked at him with a disappointed expression, forcing him to give up arguing and instead ask, "Why did you suddenly have this idea?"

Neph told him, "Because I've never seen a god keep Rat —but there was one god who kept a cat."

"Who?" Klein asked instinctively.

Neph didn't speak, but looked at him with a pitying gaze. In an instant, an image of a Black Cat wearing a top hat appeared in Klein's mind.

"I don't know," she said. "If you were a cat, who would you call your owner?"

Klein understood. He took a deep breath and changed his question, "Does Qonas Kilgor also know the King's secret?"

Neph nodded, then asked him in return, "Haven't you interrogated Viscount Stratford yet?"

Klein gave a wry smile and told her, "You instructed Miss Magician and Miss Hugh not to ask Viscount Stratford about the King's secrets, which is very good."

But Viscount Stratford heard it too.

"At first he hesitated, still hoping for a chance to survive, but when the Justice 'Miss' finished the interrogation and was about to hand him over to me, he shouted that the King's secret was," and then, before he could finish speaking, his head exploded.

"That's terrible," Neph shook her head, "It sounds like a Author has gotten involved."

She didn't say who it was, but Klein knew perfectly well, because at present, there was only one "Author" who was still active.

Klein sighed and asked Neph, "I want to deal with Qonas Kilgor, do you have any suggestions?"

"I think so," Neph said after thinking for a moment, "You can trade this secret for your Potion ingredients."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Klein nodded slightly and walked back into the house. "The Chef should have already started packing up, but for you, it shouldn't be a problem if you want something to eat—or perhaps you'd like to take a stroll around the manor?"

"I've already looked around," Neph retorted. "I came over and took a look around right after you told me you were planning to buy this estate, but I didn't tell you."

"Alright," Klein nodded, "If the Sealed Artifact on the ' Sun ' Pathway you're referring to is that verdigris Cross, I'll give it to you once I get it."

"That's it," Neph nodded, "Then I'm off."

She waved her hand and headed straight for the kitchen.

As she turned around, Klein noticed a sparkling diamond pendant on her waist and couldn't help but ask, "What's that?"

"Oh," Neph smiled, "the Eye of God of Ice Element."

"?" Klein frowned as he looked at her.

"Alright, this is a level 0 Sealed Artifact called the Eye of God,'" Neph shrugged. "The user can use their Wisdom to analyze everything, including the opponent's weaknesses, the current situation, ways to break the deadlock, etc. They can destroy the opponent's attack by targeting a specific point, and can also foresee events before they happen. However—"

Neph frowned, then continued, "But its effects are also very strange. I've discovered it's the kind of Sealed Artifact that's easily addictive—I know that word sounds strange, but that's the word, and I didn't use it wrong."

"When you get used to the feeling of having Wisdom, you can no longer accept the Affliction of not having Wisdom. That's how the Eye of God is. Once you put it on, you no longer have the courage to take it off or give up using it, because that would make you feel hopelessly stupid."

"And the Eye of God will gradually make you lose your mind and become its puppet as you wear it—this is the consequence of already possessing Divinity. If you don't even possess Divinity, as long as you wear it, you will be transformed by the power of Wisdom and become a truly Wisdom figure."

"What exactly constitutes an image of Wisdom?" Klein couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know," Neph shook her head. "That's what they say, but as far as turning into a puppet is concerned, I guess it means being obedient or something."

"Listen to me—" Klein repeated thoughtfully, "Well, I thought I could define what constitutes an Wisdom image."

"Then I should be playing Miracle Neph now," Neph reminded him softly, "Or maybe Miracle Klein."

Klein's lips twitched slightly. He realized that Neph was referring to the dress-up game called "Love Nikki." Even if he hadn't played it, he had at least heard of it. So he simply asked, "----Do you know what I'm thinking about?"

Neph shook her head.

"School Uniform," Klein said, "it sounds like the Beyonder Characteristic here must come from the Reader's ' Pathway. Since Angel can decide what is Wisdom, could the Church of Knowledge use this method to give people School Uniform? After all, wearing School Uniform is also Wisdom— "

"No," Neph denied seriously, "I don't think that's Wisdom."

She paused for two seconds, then looked at Klein thoughtfully and muttered, "Speaking of which, you seem to have always played Miracle Klein —and you're much better than Nikki. You didn't just change clothes, you changed your face and your body—"

"Alas, if it weren't for the fact that building Deity Statue is bad for the True God, I would really like to remind future Church of the Fool to build an Deity Statue for each of your identities, and to specifically remind them that Klein Moretti's height is 172------"

Klein's mind Blank for a moment. He seemed to want to say something, but then gave up. He told Neph, "I'm going to pray to the Goddess. Otherwise, if this drags on any longer, I'm afraid Qonas Kilgor will come back."

"Go ahead," Neph waved her hand.

She didn't remind Klein of any precautions, and Klein didn't ask any more questions. In Backlund, he didn't need Neph to explain every little detail. Arrodes was a more patient and pleasant option to communicate with. He asked Neph mostly for hidden information that Arrodes might not be able to answer.

For example, Klein once tried to shirk his responsibility by asking Arrodes about the King's secrets. Arrodes answered the question without hesitation, telling him that George III was working closely with the "Demoness Sect" behind the back of the Church to carry out Human Trafficking.

But Klein clearly didn't believe this was the secret Neph was hiding. He knew it must only be one part of a larger secret. The real secret must involve the changes of the times, the war that was brewing. George III must want to do something or gain something from this war, but Klein had no clue about it.

As for Arrodes, he was more like a fool in this regard.

So Klein had no choice but to add Human Trafficking to the clues list and wait for things to develop. Qonas Kilgor was now his closest target, and he certainly wouldn't hesitate. He adopted a praying posture and chanted in Ancient Hermes: "Evernight Goddess, more sublime than the Cosmos, more enduring than eternity, you are the Lady of Crimson, the Mother of Concealment, the Empress of Calamity and Fear, the Lord of Slumber and Silence— "

He recounted his complete discovery, and after waiting for a dozen seconds, the figure of a woman appeared in the air. The figure wore a simple linen robe with patched marks, a belt made of twisted bark around her waist, long black hair cascading down her back, and her feet were barefoot and covered in dust and scars.

Klein's mind fell into a long silence when he saw this figure. He recalled the chill that lingered around Neph and realized that this was probably one of the Angel beside the Goddess.

However, He appeared so quietly, without any—well, in Neph's words, without any entrance effects—is this a characteristic of the "Evernight" Pathway? Or—I'll have to ask Neph later if she added those White Mist herself—

Thinking this, he bowed and asked, "How should I address you?"