Seeing that nothing unusual happened in the Marionette Town, Klein began to ponder the fate of Miss " Justice ":
"The operation against the Mind Dragon Arihogg was not orchestrated by Adam, but rather led by Hermes?"
"Otherwise, Adam would not have been able to escape without divine intervention, and Arihogg would not have been able to escape so easily. They would have needed the help of a second ' City of Miracles ' to have any hope."
"If Hermes was in charge, then the whole thing makes sense... Hermes never intended to capture or kill Arihogg; he just wanted to get some information from this ancient Mind Dragon. When Arihogg said, ' Adam is not necessarily Adam,' the operation naturally ended."
"Hmm, it seems that Hermes had long suspected Adam's true state, but due to the limitations of her own identity, she couldn't get Arihogg to appear on his own initiative, so she resorted to using Miss ' Justice '."
" Adam isn't necessarily Adam, Arihogg isn't necessarily Arihogg... This statement is really interesting. The higher levels of the ' Spectator ' pathway are even more mysterious than the ' Seer.' Back then, ' Dragon of Imagination ' Ankewelt clearly occupied the Sequence 0 position, yet he still had a son of the same pathway, Sequence 1, ' Dragon of Nightmare ' Alzuhod..."
"If Adam really wasn't Adam, then who was He? Was He the Adam from pre-First Age myths and legends, or a part of the ' Primordial '? Or perhaps, was He related to the resurrection arrangements of the Ancient The Sun God? In that case, Medici's calling Him a 'paranoid' truly has profound implications..."
Klein quickly conjured a gold coin, flicked it into the air, and performed a Divination.
The Divination results indicate that today's events will not cause any harm.
Klein then dispersed the gold coins, preparing to descend into his consciousness and return to his body, which was slumbering in the Saint Arianna Church.
Just then, his movements slowed slightly:
The encounters between "Miss Justice " Arihogg Hermes, and the return of the Military Intelligence Section 9 agent to Utopia to testify in court, all occur almost simultaneously.
Individually, neither side seemed problematic, but the word "simultaneously" made Klein somewhat wary.
He is very sensitive to words like "just right," "coincidence," "at the same time," and "almost," which are imprints left on his mind by his past experiences.
Klein tapped the edge of the weathered table lightly with his fingers, deciding to prepare himself for his worries.
He swiftly condensed a beam of light containing certain words and a certain will, and cast it into a point of prayer.
After completing this task, Klein lowered his consciousness, left the Sefirah Castle, and allowed his spirit to return to his physical body.
He then began to influence Utopia, intending to use various arrangements to temporarily "leave" the outsiders currently in the city.
In this way, even if something unexpected happens, innocent people will not be affected.
This also means that Klein is prepared to abandon Utopia and rebuild the Marionette Town elsewhere, since rituals can be repeated many times, but a person can only be resurrected once after death.
"Get some rest these next couple of days. The court appearance will be a while away." Byers escorted Wendel to the entrance of the " Iris " Hotel.
Wendel responded with a smile:
I'm feeling sleepy now.
It was the middle of the night. He had been too anxious and nervous to sleep, so he thought he would wander around the headquarters of Military Intelligence Section 9 to calm down. However, he overheard his colleagues on night watch talking, which completely ignited his emotions. He decided to return to Utopia and confront the problem head-on.
After checking in, Wendel, without taking any luggage, walked briskly up to the third floor and entered his room.
As he passed through the doorway, he had a vague feeling that the surroundings were unusually dark.
To sleep better, Wendel went to the window and drew the curtains.
During this process, he inexplicably felt that the scenery outside the window was strangely familiar.
However, under the cover of night, he couldn't make out anything clearly. Thinking that it might be a scene he had seen in Utopia before, he raised his hand to cover his mouth, yawned, and walked towards the bed while taking off his clothes.
Monica woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly felt the urge to urinate.
She held it in for a long time, but couldn't take it anymore, so she finally got out of bed and went to the bathroom in the room.
When she pushed open the bathroom door, she felt it had become a little heavier.
Rubbing her barely open eyes, Monica ignored the minor change, quickly took care of her personal hygiene, rushed out of the bathroom, and dashed back to her bed.
When she crawled into bed, she felt the temperature had dropped significantly, so she wrapped herself up tightly in layers of clothing.
She fell asleep again in no time.
About fifteen minutes later, Byers, who was patrolling the street, rubbed his hands together and turned onto the street where the police station was located, preparing to hand over to his colleagues.
Suddenly, his body froze at the alley entrance.
The thin, dark " Spirit Body Threads " on his body simultaneously detached and floated upwards.
An exquisitely cut paper figure fell down and connected with the " Spirit Body Threads," quickly transforming into another Byers.
At the same time, a torrent of complex knowledge surged in, Reorganization into a man dressed in magnificent clothes with long chestnut hair.
The man Blue Eyes, a high nose, and thin lips; he was Roselle Gustav's Sequence 1 Historical Projection.
Immediately afterwards, the projection reached out and grabbed all the surrounding information, gathering it into its palm and condensing it into a phantom sphere of light.
This information includes various details about the problems Byers encountered.
The next second, Roselle Gustav's Historical Projection fabricated a perfectly normal message, sending it along the " Spirit Body Threads " connected to the paper figure to the Saint Arianna Church in the city square, and then to the church's underground.
Following this series of actions, another torrent of information surged into the air, Reorganization into three figures with Roselle's help:
An old man with a long, thick white beard, wearing a black robe and a hood; a middle-aged man with black hair, Blue Eyes, a square face, and a dignified demeanor, wearing a cloak; and a huge tree that looked as if it had been drenched in oil, from which arms protruding with all sorts of strange things and rolling black and white eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
They are:
Zaratul, the leader of the Secret Order order!
Historical Void vignettes of William Augustus I, the Protector Loen and the Original King!
Historical Projection of " God's Abomination " Suah!
After making the necessary preparations, and using the location information provided by previous Historical Projection, Zaratul quietly infiltrated Utopia.
Without any hesitation, He reached out with his right hand and, using the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence, sucked the " Worm of Spirit " out of Byers' body.
On the other side, on one of the palms of the " God's Abomination " Suah's Historical Projection, there was a palm-sized, rather ugly Puppet.
The Puppet was wet and sticky, with no eyes, no ears, no nose, only a hole-like mouth that spewed out grayish-white mist.
As the " Worm of Spirit " and the Puppet approached, the black and white eyes rolling on the trunk of the Suah tree simultaneously turned to look at them.
Without a sound, the " Worm of Spirit " merged into the ugly Puppet. The Puppet Distortion and wriggled, growing eyes, a nose, and ears, becoming like Klein Moretti.
At this point, Zaratul could no longer conceal it, nor could he. He took out a dark shroud and suddenly wrapped the Klein Puppet up!
Throughout the entire Utopia, the " Spirit Body Threads " of all the Marionette were simultaneously severed, making it impossible for them to reconnect with their original bodies.
It's not that there's something wrong with them, but rather that the entity itself is isolated from them.
In an instant, the guards at the police station, the hotel guests, Trissy and the thieves in the detention cell, and Anderson, Alersu, and other citizens in different houses all stopped breathing and became stiff.
Whether they were sleeping or doing something else, it was as if the pause button had been pressed at this moment.
Klein, who was at the bottom of Saint Arianna Church, suddenly woke up, realizing that the unexpected had indeed happened.
Without hesitation, he turned his attention back to the " Sefirah Castle " and used his status and strength as the Angel King to fight against the enemies who had already surfaced and those who had not yet.
This is the optimal choice under the current circumstances.
Even if he fails to protect his original body, Klein still has one chance to revive.
Just then, his rising consciousness encountered an invisible, dark barrier, unable to penetrate it and enter the " Sefirah Castle ".
This... Klein tensed up, realizing that the enemy might be more troublesome than he had imagined.
Not many high-ranking beings knew that he could return to the " Sefirah Castle " with a single thought without needing any ritual!
The next second, the enormous tree, coated in a sticky, oily substance, was already above the Saint Arianna Church.
In addition, a deep and authoritative voice echoed out:
No Roaming allowed!
Teleportation is prohibited in this area!
Klein was not swayed by his emotions. Seeing that he could not return to the " Sefirah Castle " immediately, he changed his strategy and leaped into the Fog of History.
The moment the grayish-white mist came into his view, it transformed into a vortex composed of countless transparent worms, from which extended slippery tentacles covered with strange patterns.
Unlike before, this time the vortex emitted a powerful suction force, propelling Klein's figure forward at an accelerated speed, where he was entangled by countless tentacles.
The Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence!
The Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence Among Angel!
A subtle, eerie light flashed, and Klein, who was firmly controlled by the Zaratul Mythical Creature Form, turned into a paper doll.
This is both an Angel application of " Paper Figurine Substitute " and an aid of " Grafting ".
Although Klein could not return to the " Sefirah Castle," he could influence the " Worm of Spirit " guarding the Gray Fog, causing them to bring the " Curtain " to provide assistance.
Having escaped Zaratul's Fatal Strike, Klein fled through the Fog of History, heading towards the City of the Great Old One that existed before the First Age.
At this time, many long-dead Marionette in Utopia, having lost the " Spirit Body Threads " to sustain them, either experienced rapid decay of flesh and blood, or lost limbs, or underwent various mutations due to their Beyonder Characteristic, transforming into terrifying Monster of different forms that surpassed imagination.
They swallowed their own heads; some were left as nothing but writhing clumps of flesh, while others grew countless eyes...
Soon, Klein raced into the City of the Great Old One shrouded in the Fog of History.
This was a safe haven for him, because only " Scholar of Yore " and prehistoric humans were qualified to enter.
Without hesitation, Klein glanced around as usual, then began to pray to the " Evernight Goddess " amidst the layers of urban ruins.
puff!
A soft sound rang out, and an ancient, blood-stained cross-shaped wooden stake pierced Klein's heart from behind.
A figure then appeared behind him—a stern-looking man wearing a top silk hat and a black trench coat.
Gehrman Sparrow.
Klein's pupils dilated instantly, and the crazed adventurer spoke in a low voice:
Adam gave me humanity.
P. S.: I'll update first and then revise later. Please vote with monthly tickets in the last half day!
PS2: There will be an early update at midnight, but it will probably be updated first and then revised later. Well, after all, it's the curly-haired baboons' birthday, so we still need to have some sense of ceremony.