Ritual

Neph's words startled Klein. His attention had just been focused on Melissa becoming Sequence 9, which actually sounded alright, and he wasn't too alarmed.

On the one hand, the "Savant" Pathway is a relatively stable and safe Pathway; on the other hand, the Sequence 9 level is low enough that he is not worried about Melissa getting involved in too dangerous events.

However, the matter still needed to be dealt with. He had originally planned to find an opportunity to go home after the matter of George III was settled, to find out how Melissa became Beyonder, and to find a way to teach Melissa the Acting Method.

As for the future, he could spend more time and effort looking after Melissa, or ask someone to take better care of Melissa.

Before he could come up with a plan, Neph dropped a bombshell: it was irrelevant that she told Melissa he was also Beyonder; Melissa, already aware of the Extraordinary world, would find it hard not to consider this possibility. His exposure was only a matter of time, but the problem was... "Messenger?" Klein asked.

Neph smiled and nodded.

Klein quickly recalled the information about his Messenger. His first thought was that Melissa would definitely scold him for having to deliver a Gold Coin every time. His second thought was—

"Wait a minute," he exclaimed, his eyes widening, "The name Messenger summon me was Gehrman Sparrow, wasn't it???"

"Yes," Neph said lightly, "I told her that was your alias."

"????" Klein's eyes widened. "No???"

After Neph nodded in confirmation once more, Klein took a breath, his expression filled with despair. Neph gave him a strange look and asked doubtfully, "I thought you were mentally prepared to be exposed? From the moment you came back to life in front of those two, you should have known this day would come."

"I—" Klein moved his lips, but couldn't utter a word.

As Neph said, from the day he decided to come back to life, exposure was something that could happen at any time.

Moreover, this wasn't the first time he'd faced such a situation where his identity was exposed. The first time in a true sense was when Leonard, relying on Spider Silk clues, connected Gehrman Sparrow, Dwayne Dantès, and Klein Moretti, and then dug up his grave.

Perhaps it could even be traced back to when Neph prayed—

In short, Klein was no stranger to such experiences and had considered the possibility. He even worried about his identity being exposed at the Tarot Club. However, what one imagines and what actually happens are different. Moreover, if the person in question was Melissa, there was another huge problem— Gehrman Sparrow's image was far too different from Klein Moretti's. He knew he was playing a role, but Melissa didn't!

Klein asked through gritted teeth, "Why did you do this?"

Neph shrugged and said, "You have to understand, if your sister knew you were also Beyonder, she would be eager to contact you. I just provided her with a way to do so."

Klein closed his eyes.

He believed Neph's words, but he didn't believe Neph was oblivious to the underlying issue. He bared his teeth, opened his eyes, and glared at Neph: "What else did you say?"

"You're saying you'll never be in a relationship in your life?" Neph thought for a moment and replied, "And by the way, I swear we're not in that kind of relationship. I didn't say a word more than necessary during this part."

She raised her hands under Klein's threatening gaze, but Klein merely sneered, "You don't need to say anything more, because the name Gehrman Sparrow says it all."

"You can relax a bit," Neph patted his shoulder. "Your sister doesn't know who Gehrman Sparrow is yet, or rather, she's heard or seen the name briefly but doesn't know the specifics."

This was neither good nor bad news for Klein. He shook his head hopelessly and said, "Well, you and I both know she can easily find out the story behind that name from the newspapers and other people."

"Maybe she won't ask?" Neph said.

"Even if you want to defend yourself, there's no need to come up with such a ridiculous excuse," Klein rolled his eyes. "Oh well, it's better that she knows. It'll help me deal with Benson —sigh, I hope she doesn't ask me any difficult questions—"

He paused, then suddenly asked, "By the way, do you know how I'm usually described in Backlund's newspapers?"

"This—" Neph's expression turned strange, "Have you ever heard of a newspaper called ' the Sea News '?"

"I think I know—" Klein frowned, "This newspaper isn't very popular because the news is seriously outdated—well, maybe it would be better with telegraph technology? But I remember this newspaper seems to have changed its style—"

"Yes," Neph nodded, "It's more like a storybook or magazine than a newspaper now. I mean, Adventurer as famous as Gehrman Sparrow must have had his stories woven into it."

"To be honest, I'm not too worried about that," Klein's lips twitched slightly, "because Gehrman Sparrow's reputation is already outrageous enough—up to now, those pirates outside still think he's incredibly charming, having actually seduced a Demigod- level Demoness— "

"Why not?" Neph shrugged.

"I'd rather it were true," Klein rolled his eyes at her. "I believe Katarina would never be as outrageous as you."

"But she'll force you," Neph said. "She'll take your virginity, strip you naked, lock you in the Underground, keep you like a dog, and come in to see you at the same time every day—"

"Wait a minute," Klein interrupted her, "Where did you get this from? What do you usually read?"

"I must say, I haven't seen any of these since I woke up in the Forsaken Land of the Gods," Neph swore, raising her hand. "After all, there's nothing like this for me to see here."

That was the truth, Klein acknowledged, and he asked, "So you haven't seen the ' the Sea News ' report either, is that right?"

"I haven't read the content, but I've seen a few headlines—" Neph began quietly, "How should I put it, the headlines in this newspaper are a bit—"

She paused, then hesitated slightly before speaking, "Have you ever heard of a book called—"

"The Crazy Senior Wants to Kill Me Every Year"

9

"No," Klein said decisively.

"And what about Harry Potter?" Neph asked him.

Chapter 53 Ritual

"Of course I've heard of that." Klein nodded.

Neph smiled and said, "It's the same book."

"???" Klein stared in disbelief.

Neph nodded heavily and concluded, "This is probably how ' the Sea News ' is named. To be honest, I don't think their naming skills are that high."

"Fine," Klein understood, "Taking things out of context, huh? Clickbait, huh?"

"I don't know how it's written either," Neph said, shrugging.

Klein didn't seem to care much about this. After all, as he said, Gehrman Sparrow's story was outrageous enough, and no matter how much the "the Sea News" embellished it, it was just adding fuel to the fire. "That word is 'adding fuel to the fire,'" Neph couldn't help but correct him.

This made Klein look at her, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "No, you can look at my head all you want, but why did you have to say it out loud?!"

"Because that's what Adam did," Neph smiled. "He would listen to my heart and then speak with it."

"----?" Klein's expression turned almost sympathetic. "I hope I never have to see Him."

They didn't continue their conversation because George III's speech finally began, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am your Emperor, Ruler of the Loen, East Balam, and Rorsted Islands, Augustus III—"

All discussion ceased with this opening remark. George III began his speech in the square, and Klein stopped chatting with Neph, his gaze becoming serious.

Before today, he had used the "0-08" in the Historical Projection as a last line of defense, but he would not place all his hopes on "0-08". At this moment, he had already contacted his Marionette.

Despite being certain that George III would take the Potion today, Klein did not wait in the stands. He already knew that George III had a stand-in who was not Demigod, used to help him deal with various inspections by the Church and others. Therefore, the person giving the speech here today might not be the real George III, or it might not always be the real George III!

Regardless of whether the person providing cover was Adam himself or the "Spectator" of Adam's Angel Pathway, Klein didn't think he could detect them!

He had a grand plan, but Neph was more interested in hearing what George III had to say. She smiled gently as she listened to the King talk about the war and the casualties.

This was a rare occurrence. Neph was surprised to find that although George III's speech lacked charisma, he himself possessed considerable theatrical talent, and although his performance was somewhat exaggerated, it was generally commendable.

Moreover, the grief of the crowd was real enough, and when his aim shifted to arousing people's sadness and anger over the war, many people shed tears.

Neph stared meaningfully at the King until he solemnly spoke, "Let us observe a moment of silence here for our heroes. Ladies and gentlemen, repeat after me in your hearts: 'In the name of Emperor George III, may the Heroic Spirit of the fallen find peace, and may they live forever in the land of their God.'"

This is it!

Neph's eyes lit up, a slight glint in them. When the message was relayed, its meaning had changed: " In the Winter's End Empress— "

When these words were Oldest One uttered, no one noticed anything amiss. Those present, subdued by the weight of the words, instinctively bowed their heads and silently recited: " In the Winter's End Empress— "

Who is this?

Audrey, who was mixed in with the crowd, suddenly woke up. She looked up in alarm, but it seemed that no one in the square noticed anything was wrong. Everyone was bowing their heads in silent mourning. Only a cool snowflake fell beside her ear, bringing a light female voice. "Shh."

"Look, it's snowing."

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Audrey looked at the snowflakes falling from the sky and belatedly realized that it referred to Miss "Pure White".

this----

Thinking of how much importance "The World" Gehrman Sparrow attached to this matter, she lowered her head again.

Neph hid in the Pure White Space and stroked her chin.

She ultimately couldn't resist and tampered with George III's Ritual. It wasn't entirely her fault; the opportunity was simply too perfect— the George III standing in the square was a fabricated illusion. The Royal Family Angel and the "0" level Sealed Artifact were all in the Mausoleum. There were Demigod in the square, but what could Demigod do to her?

Ha, even Demigod couldn't sense anything was wrong— Audrey's case was only possible because she specially opened a back door for her.

The Uniqueness threat she could pose at this moment was probably the "Lord of Storms" far away in the Astral World. As Neph said, she was still afraid of the "Lord of Storms '" lightning strikes, but Klein's previous reassurances had played a part. Since the "Lord of Storms '" lightning could not truly kill her through the Sefirah matter, she dared to tamper with the Ritual.

Besides, the "Lord of Storms" might not even react to this.

Neph lowered her eyes slightly, allowing the snowfall to intensify.

George III's speech was still ongoing. As the "Black Emperor's" inaugural address, He needed to proclaim the new order He had established. Therefore, after the moment of silence, He began to read the laws established in Parliament.

But the snow that began during the moment of silence did not stop; it expanded further, and everyone became aware of this silent snow, which fell on everyone's hair and shoulders, adding an inexplicable sense of desolation and silence to this solemn declaration.

As Audrey felt the snowflakes falling and watched George III speak eloquently, an ominous premonition rose in her heart.

Following the trail of Klein and the others, Neph's consciousness sank deeper into the Mausoleum.

Without Zaratul and Suah, the difficulty of disrupting the Ritual was actually greatly reduced.

Neph shifted her attention from Klein, who was fighting Hermes, to Trissy —the one she was most worried about of the three.

As a modified Divine Descent Vessel, Trissy can draw upon a portion of the "Primordial Demoness's" power through the Ring on her hand. The upper limit of this draw is determined by her capacity to withstand it; once this limit is exceeded, as a not-so-sturdy vessel, she will naturally—

--

split.

Trissy agreed to stay, but Neph still suspected that Trissy was contemplating suicide. Her gaze lingered silently on Trissy, her voice carrying a soft chill. "Are you still planning to kill yourself?"

Trissy's summoning, which was halfway through, came to an abrupt halt. She awoke abruptly, and then, with a sigh, she smiled and said, "You see."

"I told you, I wouldn't have had the chance to commit suicide in front of you."