Inside a cramped rental room in Backlund, East Borough.
Wearing a thick jacket, Klein stood behind the desk, gazing at the glass window in front of him, carefully sensing the speed at which the " Bizarro Sorcerer " Potion was being digested.
"That's fast! More than I digested in the previous three months combined... But there's nothing I can do about it. Before I get the ' Staff of Life,' I can't provide enough treatment. I have to be careful about whether the frightened person's heart can handle it, so I can't go to the hospital to create urban legends..."
"Similarly, if it weren't for the outbreak of war, it would be quite difficult to find other Demigod. Most of those whose whereabouts can be traced are in their own territory. To sneak in and create a sense of eeriness and horror, one would inevitably have to turn innocent people into Marionette. Even if there were no other choice, I wouldn't consider it..." Klein shifted his attention away from himself and sighed silently.
He then repeated a word in his mind:
"War..."
At this time, the streetlights still shone in the distance, but the East Borough was already pitch black, with only occasional police officers carrying lanterns patrolling by.
Normally, these police officers wouldn't be so proactive, but now, due to the outbreak of war, they must enforce relevant prohibitions to ensure good public order.
"War..." Klein murmured the word again, vaguely already seeing part of the ending:
King George III of Loen has finally broken free of his shackles and is no longer worried that any of the Seven Gods will strongly obstruct him. He can now officially proceed with the various rituals of the " Black Emperor." The rest depends mainly on himself, or rather, on Himself. As long as He can withstand the impact of the Potion and maintain the necessary rationality, He will ascend to godhood and advance to Sequence 0.
By taking advantage of a war that could affect the entire world, the Einhorn Family of Feysac had their key members greatly absorb the Potion, making it easier for them to prepare the corresponding rituals, and their overall strength would rise to another level.
Amon's brother, caught in the turbulent tides of this era, consumed Potion, underwent a transformation, and became a " Visionary," adding another true god to the world...
As his thoughts drifted, a question suddenly popped into Klein's mind:
"Do you accept this ending?"
Can you accept this ending...? Klein opened his mouth, then slowly closed it again. Everything he saw seemed to transcend the limitations of time and distance, returning to the past, returning to another place:
It was a thick, slightly pungent and acrid, cold and damp smog that permeated the entire Backlund; it was a pale yellow tinged with iron black.
He was a homeless man slowly approaching death under the blows of disease, hunger, pain, and cold, struggling to survive. For a piece of food and some pay, he desperately pushed himself, daring not to slack off at all. Finally, he saw the dawn of life and bought the ham he had longed for, but in the hazy smog, he collapsed and never got up again.
She was a hardworking and diligent widow. To survive and for her two children, she abandoned all dignity, becoming shrewish and using foul language and the daily dampness that caused her joint pain to build a roof that could shelter her from the wind and rain. However, in that great smog, that roof collapsed, and the child she tried so hard to protect died in her arms.
She was a young girl who yearned for reading, dreamed of a bright future, and loved her mother and younger sister. She worked in a steamy room, always carrying a small hope. However, after a severe smog hit, she could no longer see the future she longed for.
She was a girl who studied diligently under the care of her mother and sister. She endured so much hardship, overcoming difficulties step by step, hoping to become a better person, hoping to ease the burden on her mother and sister, and hoping to provide the life she envisioned for her small family of three. But all of this was ultimately shattered. In that terrible smog, the girl was left all alone. No matter how much pain or joy she felt, she could no longer share it with her mother and sister. The family life she had dreamed of never materialized was gone forever.
Those were lives that fell like straw, families and individuals, a pain etched into their very bones that can never be erased;
Those were students who clearly had bright futures, but now they were left with only half a body, their intestines spilling out onto the ground;
Those were children who came home from school only to find they had lost both their parents and had suddenly become orphans;
Those were ordinary people writhing in pain, crawling with difficulty, wanting to get closer to the future, but unable to take their last breath;
Those were the people in the cemetery, silent to the point of being heartbreaking, weeping so hard they fainted several times;
That was a land stained with blood;
That was the sky filled with the smoke of gunpowder;
Those were cold and merciless shells.
The mastermind behind all of this, the biggest culprit, will ascend to the throne step by step on the steps piled high with corpses, receive cheers, and escape Aging.
Do you accept this kind of development?
Do you accept this arrangement?
Do you accept this ending?
"No, I won't accept it." Klein was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, his voice low and deep.
The sound then echoed throughout the room, layer upon layer, resonating and intertwining:
"No, I won't accept it!"
With the lingering echoes still ringing in his ears, Klein's lips slowly curved into a self-deprecating smile:
" The Seven Gods have tacitly approved, so what's the point of you not accepting?"
Klein fell silent again, and after a long while, he exhaled and muttered to himself with a calm expression:
Even if it's meaningless, some things still need to be done.
In this world, how many things are guaranteed to succeed, or to have value and use?
Klein's lips curled up slightly, he looked away, turned around, and went into the room inside the rented apartment.
Although he had already made his decision, he did not intend to act rashly. Given his current level and status, no matter how much he stirred things up, it would be difficult to have any impact on the affairs of George III. Apart from losing his own life, there would be no other result.
Moreover, if this causes chaos within Loen during a critical period of the war, leading to a successful invasion by Feysac's army, the resulting innocent casualties would be ten times, or even a hundred times, greater than the Great Smog of Backlund Incident.
"All I can do right now is prepare. On the one hand, I need to improve myself, and on the other hand, I need to make more arrangements and patiently wait for the opportunity..." Klein muttered to himself, took out a lump of black paste, divided it in half, and spread it evenly on a mirror.
This is how to contact the Witch Trissy.
However, the mirror showed no abnormalities until the black object completely "evaporated" and disappeared.
"No response... After being frightened by the messenger Angel, Trissy has decided to cut off all contact with Gehrman Sparrow...?" Klein sighed inwardly and sat down beside the bed.
His thoughts quickly shifted to the reasons why the Demoness Sect was helping King George III:
"... Firstly, the Witch need disaster to digest their Potion and perform rituals. Secondly, George III made some promise to them? A promise that they could openly proselytize—no, this should be something the Seven Gods wouldn't allow. Even if the ' Black Emperor ' is Sequence 0, plus the ' Primordial Demoness ' and the ' True Creator,' they still can't fight against the Seven Gods' alliance. Of course, whether the Seven Gods' alliance will still exist after this war is also questionable..."
"Therefore, the Seven Gods, who knew about George III's collaboration with the Demoness Sect, should not have made Him the ' Black Emperor '..."
"Is the promise something else? The ' Witch ' pathway has a true god, and very few valuable things fall into the outside world... A similar pathway? Isn't that the ' Red Priest ' pathway...? George III, no, Amon's brother, not only obtained the secret tomb needed by the ' Black Emperor ' from the ' Blood Emperor ' Alista Tudor, but also acquired the Angel -level Beyonder Characteristic or '0' level Sealed Artifact of the ' Red Priest ' pathway?"
"With Sequence 0 present and no Sequence 1, this is probably the greatest hope for the higher-ups of the Demoness Sect to advance further. Hmm, the ' Primordial Demoness ' should also be very interested..."
"That does explain why the Demoness Sect offered help... The ' Red Angel ' Evil Spirit's search for the ' White Witch ' Katarina isn't as simple as it claims... No, it didn't say anything, it just guided me to think that way with common sense and my own reactions..."
Klein's thoughts gradually became clearer, and he decided to use " White Witch " Katarina as a breakthrough point and make her his next target. However, before that, he wanted to hear what the " Mystery Queen " Bernadette's prophecy was and what she wanted to do in Backlund.
Only by understanding the situation better can we find and seize opportunities!
The next morning, " The Hermit " Cattleya relayed the words of " The Mystery Queen " Bernadette:
"Between 12:00 and 12:30 today, at Serenzo Restaurant, Golden Theater."
That was the name of a private room.
Klein arrived at 11:55. He used Illusion to deceive the waiter and walked unimpeded to the target room, where he patiently waited.
After a while, he took out his gold-cased pocket watch, snapped it open, and glanced at it.
Klein then put away his pocket watch, silently counted to ten, and then raised his hand to knock on the door of the " Golden Theater ".
At this moment, his Marionette, Qonas, was sitting on a bench across from the restaurant, leisurely reading a newspaper, while Enuni and a group of students were distributing leaflets promoting the evil image of Feysac. Of course, the three of them would switch places from time to time, making it impossible to make an accurate judgment.
"Please come in," Bernadette's voice came from inside the private room.
"Impressive. I didn't even notice anyone inside, nor did I see anyone go in... Hmm, it's also because I didn't activate ' Spirit Body Threads ' vision..." Klein muttered to himself, turned the handle, and pushed open the door.
The first thing that caught his eye was a vast expanse of gold, and then the chestnut-haired woman sitting at the head of the table.
P. S.: Requesting monthly votes and recommendation votes on Monday!