Chapter 19

66

Lights lit up in succession beside the Bronze Long Table. Watching Miss Justice, Mr. Hanged Man, and Mr. Sun take their seats, Klein, seated at the head, sighed softly with a touch of emotion. This magnificent temple seemed unchanged since time immemorial, and the mysterious Tarot Club continued as usual. No one knew that the powerful, mysterious Mr. Fool had already died once.

Before Miss Justice could offer her customary greeting, Mr. Hanged Man spoke first. "Mr. Fool, I obtained nineteen pages of Roselle's Diary this time. Furthermore, I must thank you for sending your Believer to help me eliminate Qilingus. These diary pages are the payment I owe you."

That business with Qilingus? Mr. Azik said someone else killed him... But Miss Justice was the one who passed on the information, so, rounding things off, that counts as my contribution. Mr. Azik also spent a fortune buying the spoils back from the other party, so it's not as though I can't accept this payment... Klein the Fool chuckled.

"Very well."

Mr. Hanged Man wore an expression that said, "I knew Mr. Fool wouldn't think anything of a mere Admiral of the Pirates. He truly is a great being. How terrifying," and materialized Roselle's Diary. Seeing that Miss Justice had no intention of speaking either, Klein deftly brought the six newly materialized pages before him and began reading.

"December 16th. I contacted that poor fellow trapped in the Depths of the Storm and lost in the darkness again."

At last, a continuation of that earlier diary entry... Delight stirred in Klein's heart, and he focused more intently.

"He calls himself Mr. Door and is trying to get me to help him return to the real world, promising to grant three of my requests in exchange. Does he think I'm an idiot? I've lived more than sixty years across two lifetimes. Wouldn't I recognize the usual tricks of evil gods and devils? Oh, devils. These days, I spend practically every day with a greater devil. Even ordinary devils can forget about fooling me!"

"Some of the Fourth Epoch history he described was genuinely fascinating, but Edward came from the end of the Fourth Epoch. I can ask Him. There's absolutely no need for me to pay anything for knowledge from Mr. Door. At most, I'll use it as a reference and see how their accounts differ."

There he is again, that high-sequence Beyonder of the Devil pathway... Roselle switched to a divine pronoun for him here? That foreign friend, his transmigrator predecessor, is an Angel? Klein smacked his lips, keeping his physical reactions in check.

"Death went mad, but also grew stronger!"

"Gods can go mad too? What a terrifying thought!"

"To verify it, I asked my foreign friend and received confirmation. He happened to transmigrate right at the end of the War of the Four Emperors, and witnessed the entire period from Death's descent into madness to His demise. He was very curious about where I'd learned this, but I fobbed Him off."

"Still, this also confirmed one of my conjectures: before the Fifth Epoch, gods did indeed frequently descend into the real world."

"I asked Mr. Door whether he participated in the War of the Four Emperors. If so, what role did he play? He didn't answer. Heh, trying to keep me dangling again. I'll ask my foreign friend later."

"...Furthermore, he mentioned two laws: the law of indestructibility of Beyonder characteristics, and the law of conservation of Beyonder characteristics within neighboring Sequences. These match what I learned at that ancient, secret gathering... If the total quantity was fixed at its source, neither increasing nor decreasing, does that prove there really was an Original Creator, and that everything originated from Him?"

This was the longest entry in Roselle's Diary Klein had ever read, spanning two full pages. Its sheer wealth of information forced him to divert some of his attention several times to suppress his instinctive reactions, lest Miss Telepathist detect Mr. Fool's inner emotions.

I really envy Emperor Roselle. He had a fellow transmigrator who arrived before him right beside him. He didn't have to pay an unknown price to acquire knowledge from that mysterious powerhouse, Mr. Door, and could even verify what he learned through multiple sources to establish the truth. That predecessor transmigrated at the end of the Fourth Epoch and has already become an Angel. There isn't even a trace of anything "devilish" about him in the diary... After reading several more pages written on the eve of the coup that brought about the Intis regime reform, Klein couldn't help sighing repeatedly. But then he thought of how the knowledge Roselle had obtained from his predecessor had fallen into his own hands through the diary. He hadn't entirely lost out, and that offered him some consolation.

But Roselle was assassinated and fell over a century ago. Where might this Angel predecessor be now?

His imagination wandered. Resisting the urge to shake his head and sigh, he smiled at the three people waiting with bated breath beside the long table for him to finish reading. "Roselle mentioned some concealed history in his diary, as well as some basic common knowledge. The latter reminded me that I don't seem to have ever told you about it."

All three perked up and sat straighter.

67

"Saint Tenebrous has finished reorganizing the Aurora Order internally."

Holding a seafood-and-cheese pizza slice as large as his face in his two little hands and nibbling it slowly, the True Creator suddenly spoke. "It's time for the next step. I'm about to issue an oracle."

"Oh." Edward leisurely cut a steak with his knife and fork, turning his gaze toward him at that. "What's the next step?"

"Rebirth inevitably brings affliction. If I am to reclaim my radiance and hint to my believers that I will soon return to the image of that original, omniscient and omnipotent Creator, then I must abandon some of my believers." He calmly took another bite of pizza. "I've decided to increase cooperation with the Charitable Organization under your name. First, we'll gradually change the impression among the lower classes that the Aurora Order is a terrorist organization, then slowly exert influence from the top down through the Shepherd pathway. Of course, this will take a long time. We'll have to plan it gradually."

The Abyss Angel glanced at him. Then glanced at him again.

"...You want all the Aurora Order's lower-ranking members to volunteer?" he couldn't help saying. "Fine. We'll start by working with the lowest-ranking members, so those mad believers of yours don't rush in praying, scare off everyone receiving aid, and finally attract Official Beyonders to hunt them down, smash things, loot, and kill."

The True Creator pretended not to hear and continued planning solemnly. "The gods are all shortsighted. They only pay attention to nobles who can bring their churches money and widespread faith, neglecting the lower classes, who make up the largest share of the population and truly need saving. This is our opportunity."

"Fine," Edward said. "Start with Backlund?"

"We'll begin by trying it in the East Borough. As it happens, when I was making a second set of contingency plans in case the Descent of the True Creator failed, I arranged for believers to preach there."

Finishing the pizza in a few bites, the True Creator manipulated the shadows to fetch another slice, speaking as he ate. "By the way, what day is it? How are the follow-up matters from the Descent of the True Creator coming along?"

"Nothing major. It's Wednesday." Edward took a bite of the Feynapotter pasta accompanying his steak, dipping it in sauce. "That Fraudster who found a vessel for your Descent of the True Creator arrived in Backlund the day before yesterday."

"If the Descent of the True Creator failed, he was to be the next vessel. Since it succeeded, he became a Blessed after being granted your flesh and blood. But instead of coming straight to Backlund as I instructed, he took a detour by carriage around the Sonia Sea. When he passed through Backlund along the way to check on the situation, members of the Aurora Order spotted him and brought him back. He's being comfortably housed and well fed now."

"He didn't take sides with either faction this time and kept observing from the shadows, so I didn't receive any corresponding reports either."

The True Creator looked thoughtful. "A clever man. But judging by your description of the Descent of the True Creator, he'd most likely side with the faction committing evil. If he runs away in the future, I hope you can help me retrieve my flesh and blood so our resources don't leak out. Hopefully, he really is clever."

Edward murmured an acknowledgment. A few seconds later, something occurred to him. "I have a gathering in my writers' circle this Friday. I'll be going."

"So?"

"So I'll prepare your meals in advance on Friday. You've been eating takeout every day lately. It's time for some pollution-free, handmade food."

The Abyss Angel looked kindly at the True Creator, who somehow felt that every inch beneath that kindly expression was inscribed with ill intent and gloating. "What would you like? Square dumplings filled with pickled mustard greens and rice? Wonton-and-eight-treasure-congee pizza? Roast turkey stuffed with octopus? Or black pudding?"

"Oh, right. You still haven't eaten the Stargazy Pie I gave you last time. Whatever happens, you'll have to try it this time."

Seeing his best ally plainly wearing an expression that said, "I'm doing this to torment you," the True Creator, a Sequence 8 Evil God with nothing but the standing of a mythical creature, clenched his fists behind his back. He lay back down, his voice emerging from behind the thin blanket. "I'm a mythical creature. I don't need to eat!"

Then, remembering the half-pizza in his stomach, he added, "Eating is only a way to pass the time and maintain my humanity!"

"I'm sure those dishes can help stabilize your humanity too," the devil coaxed. "Look how lively you are now."

"Business. Let's talk business." The True Creator tried to change the subject. "You helped the Descent of the True Creator succeed, so I've already arranged for people on the Southern Continent to seize that Sequence One characteristic you want from the Primordial Moon's believers. It should take a month or two. You can continue advancing."

"Besides, there's something else I may need your help with."

"What is it?" Edward grew a little more serious at the mention of business.

"Help me find one of my subordinates." The True Creator poked his head out from beneath the thin blanket, his expression somewhat complicated. "He's already dead. If dead, I want to see his corpse; if alive, I want to see his... evil spirit. While I was mad, I could never locate any trace of him. Some power seems to have hidden him away."

"Finding him isn't a formal commission. It would be best if you found him, but simply keeping an ear out for news will do."

At this point, the True Creator couldn't help growing a little gloomy. His successful Descent of the True Creator was wonderful news, but immediately afterward, he had learned that the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros, had been gravely wounded while helping him against the Evernight Goddess and had undergone an emergency reboot. There had been no time to leave any signs in advance of this reboot. The Angel of the Holy Word, Stiffer, had already spent several days searching the Forsaken Land of the Gods, while looking for Ouroboros in the outside world was even more like searching for a needle in a haystack.

He didn't want his ally to learn this news. Edward was about to advance to Sequence One and interacted with him at close quarters every day. Though he seemed perfectly normal, the madness and cruelty of the Devil pathway were always buried deep in the bones. If he let Edward learn that he had temporarily lost a Sequence One King of Angel under his command, it would undoubtedly make Edward regard him with far greater contempt. It wouldn't be surprising for a devil to do something as a result.

Searching for the War Angel, meanwhile, had always been something he needed to accomplish. This was a good opportunity to entrust it to Edward as well, while also serving as a deterrent.

"All right." After thinking for two seconds, the Abyss Angel agreed. "Who do you want me to find?"

"Medici," the True Creator said, looking into his eyes. "A loyal subordinate who followed me for thousands of years without ever betraying me. An Angel killed at the end of the Fourth Epoch, whose whereabouts remain unknown-the War Angel, Medici."

TBC

*The Backlund arc begins. I need to sort out the plot, so updates may slow down a little.

For ease of reading, I'll divide the volumes here.

The seemingly fragile yet indestructible Evil God Alliance: when there is no common enemy, one's ally is the greatest danger.

*More comments, more!