Nimrod's voice echoed above Sefirah Castle, but just then, a voice from the Tarot Club's stone table in the distance seemed to pass through the gray fog and reach his ears.
"...Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
The Tarot Club meeting had begun... Nimrod exhaled deeply, took a few steps forward, and sat down at the edge of this patch of gray fog.
Although he had no idea why his current situation was so strange, he still carried out a basic investigation of his surroundings.
As he sat down, he gently pressed the edge of the gray fog with his hand. It felt like rough stone beneath his fingertips. As Nimrod heard that voice, the previously indistinct scene of the Tarot Club before him rapidly came into focus.
"The scenery within this area seems to change according to my wishes to some extent. It's just that I can't leave this area yet..."
Nimrod reached out and gently touched the constantly writhing gray fog before him. He felt a resistance he could not break through, confirming that he could not leave this place for now.
Just then, a voice reached him from the distance. Nimrod listened carefully to that unfathomable voice, and his expression turned rather odd:
"The Tarot Club meeting has officially begun..."
"Miss Justice has obtained the Spectator potion formula, and Alger seems to have activated his Spirit Vision to secretly examine the Fool... Was he really this bold at the beginning?"
He could not help commenting:
"Good thing the Sailor pathway's spirituality isn't very strong. It's not much better than the Hunter pathway, which can only see 'red and very healthy.' Otherwise, the consequences of a Sequence 7 looking directly at a god would probably be pretty gruesome..."
Just now, Nimrod had used his own fairly powerful Spirit Vision as a Mystery Pryer to confirm that Klein had already become a Beyonder.
Although Klein had only just stepped onto a Beyonder pathway and was merely a Sequence 9 Seer, his entire body was genuinely enveloped in Sefirah Castle's fog. Any Beyonder with slightly more sensitive Spirit Vision would probably have dropped dead on the spot.
"But the fog enveloping them doesn't seem to block my vision... Just what kind of state am I in right now?"
Muttering to himself, Nimrod stood up and walked toward the "square" hung with numerous Light Cocoons, listening to the voices reaching his ears with perfect clarity.
His gaze swept across the faces of the figures sealed inside the Light Cocoons, while the Tarot Club's discussion continued to reach his ears.
Just moments ago, our esteemed Mr. Fool had told the Tarot Club's two members about the Acting Method despite knowing nothing himself, and had asked them to collect Roselle Gustav's diary entries.
When Nimrod heard the Tarot Club discussing Roselle's diary, he could not help feeling a little mournful on Roselle's behalf.
After all, while the Black Emperor could return to life again and again, social death offered no such option. Dead meant dead.
There would be no salvaging it unless Roselle distorted the memories of everyone in the world who knew about Roselle's Diary.
Time passed quickly during the Tarot Club meeting. Nimrod listened as the three moved from Roselle's diary to the Spectator potion, then to Loen's system of government. He heard Klein speak as an "armchair politician," offering several proposals that had once existed on Earth.
Sensing that the meeting was nearing its end, Nimrod quickened his pace toward the Light Cocoons he had yet to examine.
He suspected that, since the opportunity for him to enter Sefirah Castle had come when Klein ascended to Sefirah Castle to hold the Tarot Club meeting, he might also be taken out of here when Klein left.
Light Cocoons swept past the edges of his vision. Soon, Nimrod stopped once more. Standing still, he looked at the brilliant door of light tinged with bluish black and the "cocoons" formed from light before him, then tilted his head up slightly.
Beneath the door of light, three, and only three, broken "cocoons" swayed in the wind.
The gray fog slowly dispersed before Nimrod's eyes. Just as he had imagined, the moment Klein left Sefirah Castle, he felt a powerful falling sensation, then returned to his study.
"Just as I thought..." Nimrod had barely exhaled when he felt a faint burning pain on the back of his hand. He hurriedly raised it before his face and saw a mark slowly appearing beneath the gray countdown on the back of his right hand.
The mark was bluish black, with curved ends. It resembled the door of light he had just seen above Sefirah Castle, only simpler, without those curled, writhing worms. It was merely a symbol resembling "Ω."
"Is this... a change that appeared on my body after entering Sefirah Castle?"
Soft sunlight fell across Nimrod's face. He gently stroked the bluish-black mark on his right hand with his left index finger, attempting to pour the spirituality he had been able to sense ever since transmigrating into the mark.
Soon, as spirituality flowed into it, the bluish-black mark on the back of Nimrod's hand rapidly changed. The Gray Fog Space hung with Light Cocoons that he had just seen appeared before him again, and his spirituality began to drain rapidly.
Looking at the gray fog appearing before him, Nimrod suddenly had a bold idea. He grabbed a stack of papers beside him and quickly shoved them into the gray fog.
Then he immediately stopped supplying spirituality.
Without spirituality to sustain it, the gray fog quickly dissipated. Several seconds later, Nimrod took a deep breath and once again used his spirituality to activate the mark on the back of his hand. Gray fog appeared before him again. He reached inside and pulled out the papers he had just put in.
"This is similar to the use of Sefirah Castle that Klein developed later..." Nimrod casually placed the stack of writing paper on the nearby table and murmured to himself:
"From the looks of it, although I can't go above Sefirah Castle for now, I can still have a 'storage space'... Whether I return to my original world or transmigrate again when the countdown ends, I can use Sefirah Castle to store some things..."
"I'll go check the Aurora Order's little treasury right now and see if there's anything useful. It might come in handy later..."
"...Oh, for fuck's sake, why is Amon such a bastard? He even steals from his own father's subordinates?"
When Nimrod entered the completely empty storeroom, his face immediately darkened.
He stared grimly at his surroundings, where not a single glimmer of Beyonder spirituality remained, and could not help thinking, Why is Amon such a bastard?
The Aurora Order member standing respectfully to one side already had sweat beading on his forehead. Pale-faced, he explained what had happened earlier, trying to excuse his dereliction of duty.
If this were the original Mr. L, he might have "physically" fired you the moment he heard you trying to excuse your mistake, you know? Nimrod glanced at the Aurora Order member beside him and said flatly:
"Buy some high-powered firearms before tonight, and replenish the supplies here."
"I don't want you messing up even these simple tasks. Tonight, go repent before the Lord."
Late that night, crimson moonlight spilled through the window into Mr. L's bedroom. Nimrod stood quietly by the window, watching the countdown on the back of his hand tick steadily toward zero.
[00:00:31]
I've already put enough food and medicine, along with the weapons the Aurora Order purchased in a hurry, into the mark on my hand. The mark shares its origin with Sefirah Castle, so there's a good chance it'll still work after the countdown reaches zero...
I've also marked both my body and my clothes. If I'm still using this body after the countdown reaches zero and those marks haven't changed, then it's very likely that I've transmigrated along with my current body.
[00:00:03]
As long as I don't drop dead when the countdown reaches zero, I can accept the outcome...
[00:00:02] [00:00:01] [00:00:00]
Gray fog and familiar pain once again surfaced in Nimrod's mind.
An intense streak of deep crimson appeared immediately afterward.
Nimrod opened his eyes and saw a blond, blue-eyed boy holding an axe, watching him warily.
He was just about to speak when he saw unspeakable terror appear in the boy's eyes. Without hesitation, the boy turned and ran.
Uh... Nimrod was momentarily stunned. He was about to say something when he suddenly felt a sharp sting on his hand.
He lowered his head and watched the countdown on his hand begin ticking strangely.
[72:00:00] [71:59:59] [71:59:58]
"Wonderful. It's Cordu Village. We're screwed."
After surveying his surroundings, Nimrod spoke with resignation.
Before you continue