"It's been in your hand all along, hahahaha!"
"..."
Watching his own fingers deftly turn and perform all sorts of tricks with the Card of Blasphemy, Edward was speechless.
"May I ask where you plan to find a suitable body?"
He spoke again.
Medici's voice laughed. "The Beyonders best suited to hosting evil spirits like us are Gatekeepers of the Death Pathway. Of course, if we can't find a suitable Gatekeeper, a Spirit Warlock of the Darkness Pathway would just about do." (The original novel didn't specify this; it's speculation and a secondary setting based on certain plot points. Please bear with me.)
"But this is Evernight's territory, after all, so forget about Spirit Warlocks."
"The mid- and High Sequence Beyonders of the Death Pathway seem to be in East and West Balam on the Southern Continent. Are you going there?"
"Not 'you.' Us."
Edward thought for a moment. "I do know a friend from the Death Pathway. Perhaps you could try him?"
"Hahahaha, spare us. If it's coming from your mouth, brat, you're definitely up to no good."
"..."
Edward wasn't discouraged. "Then I also have a Messenger from the Death Pathway. Want to give that a try?"
The Medici Trinity went quiet for a few seconds before saying in surprise, "For a moment, I can't tell whether you're plotting something or selling out your allies."
"I don't see much difference. Look, here comes my Messenger."
The air before him suddenly split open, and the Messenger Bird flew out of the Spirit World. Trailing increasingly fiery-red tail feathers, the bird circled Edward once, then hovered before him, black eyes staring straight at Edward (the Medici Trinity).
His footsteps stopped at once.
"This bird... does seem to meet our requirements for a host."
"Idiot, do you think this brat would