Obtaining this scythe at this point in time was an unexpected windfall for Nimrod. From the brief introduction, he could tell that this Beyonder item's main abilities were all focused on combat, without allowing the other abilities of a Rose Bishop or Priest of Light to contaminate the weapon's other "attributes."
Whether it was the Purifying Slash, which could be used once every four hours without paying an additional price, or the passive trait derived from a Rose Bishop that was especially effective against spirits, both gave Nimrod considerable power against spirits and similar creatures, filling a gap in his current abilities.
Of course, the three negative effects of this Beyonder item were hardly negligible either.
For a devout believer in the True Creator, hearing praises of the True Creator naturally wasn't a negative effect. But for an ordinary Beyonder, both those praises and the praises of the Eternal Blazing Sun that would well up in their heart were troublesome side effects. Anyone who listened for too long to these two diametrically opposed yet equally extreme faiths would be highly likely to lose control.
Thanks to Nimrod's own peculiar nature, however, he would merely find the two voices noisy. They wouldn't affect him, worsen his condition, or gradually lead him into the abyss of losing control.
Besides that, there was the Fire Thief potion formula the Aurora Order's Saint had found.
Although Saint Tenebrous Kisma had previously told Nimrod that a Fire Thief Beyonder characteristic was difficult to find, Nimrod himself knew where he could obtain one:
-the Church of Evernight's Sealed Artifact, the Blood Vessel Thief, which could steal Beyonder abilities.
With Sefirah Castle at his disposal, Nimrod could attempt to use the power of the gray fog to shatter the Blood Vessel Thief and reduce it to a Beyonder characteristic.
The reason he was relatively eager to advance to Fire Thief was that this uneventful week had given rise to a new suspicion.
He now strongly suspected that there were two reasons his own Beyonder convergence ability had yet to bring him into contact with Amon. One was that Amon hadn't originally been present in Tingen. The other was that, on the stage Adam had built in Tingen to acquire "00-8," Adam had either actively or passively obstructed Amon's perception, preventing him from running into Nimrod through a "coincidence."
But that might not hold true in Backlund... As Nimrod thought this, he rolled the Fire Thief potion formula back into its original shape and tossed it back Above the Gray Fog.
Although the main ingredient for the Error Pathway was difficult to find, he already had a lead. Most of the remaining supplementary ingredients were easy to gather, and Nimrod felt he could confidently leave them to the Aurora Order.
After putting away the Fire Thief potion formula, he checked the time and resumed reviewing what he had experienced in the Circle of Inevitability timeline, unwilling to waste his precious time in Tingen.
The countdown reached zero.
The familiar gray mist surged toward Nimrod from all around, enveloping him completely.
He quietly watched the gray countdown on the back of his hand distort, then tick slowly a few times before once again becoming a countdown representing three full days.
The gray mist dispersed before his eyes. The instant it cleared, Nimrod's ears twitched.
Bang-
A muffled gunshot rang out in the distance.
An opening!
Lumian Lee's body was almost rigid. Just as he had moved toward the Shotgun Monster before him, an utterly terrifying power had descended in the distance. To Lumian, it felt as though some horrifying entity at an infinite height had reached a hand toward the real world, extending its power into reality.
Amid the gray mist that suddenly surged around him, Lumian slammed hard into the Shotgun Monster, forcing him a step backward-the Shotgun Monster had several sizable wounds, through which Lumian could even faintly glimpse the scenery on the other side.
Even so, the instant Lumian collided with him, he felt the explosive strength the Shotgun Monster still retained. If not for that overwhelming presence in the distance, the Shotgun Monster might already have seized the opportunity to counterattack!
Sure enough, I still wasn't cautious enough... A flicker of lingering fear rose in Lumian's heart, but his body instinctively tightened its grip on the axe in his hands. With all his strength, he swung it down, cleaving through the Shotgun Monster's flesh.
Once, twice, countless times.
Lumian swung his axe down again and again, hacking at the Shotgun Monster until he was well and truly dead.
Before this, his lack of caution had led him to make several mistakes that had nearly cost him his life. From now on, he would be especially careful when "hunting."
As Nimrod slowly approached Lumian, he could already see that Lumian was drenched in blood, his face stained red by the splattering droplets.
"...Godfather."
Lumian let out a heavy breath, lifted his head slightly, and greeted Nimrod with sincere respect:
"Were you the one who saved me just now?"
Lumian wasn't some muscle-brained idiot. He wasn't stupid-once the immediate crisis had passed, he suddenly realized who had saved him at the most dangerous moment.
Earlier, Nimrod had warned him that "the roles of hunter and prey can sometimes reverse in an instant." At the very moment that reversal occurred, he had felt that terrifying power-although it had instantly stiffened his body, it had held the Shotgun Monster in its thrall for even longer.
Lumian didn't believe this was a coincidence. Taking into account the gray mist he had seen rising around him, he could roughly guess who had caused the change just now.
Not to mention, Lumian had also noticed that Nimrod had changed his outfit-someone who could enter his dream and appeared to be connected to the gray mist above its sky had to be, if not a great entity himself, at least a great entity's Chosen.
Thus, the source of the changes he had just witnessed was plain to see.
Beyond that, Lumian had always adhered to the principle of treating well those who treated him well. Although he and Nimrod had only just met, and he thought Nimrod might be helping him to obtain something from him, regardless, Lumian would now show Nimrod the same goodwill.
So, both emotionally and logically, Lumian felt there was absolutely nothing wrong with calling him Godfather.
Before you continue