"Prepared... of course not..." Klein forced a smile and pointed to the Marionette Enzo:
"That glove still needs to be sealed."
As he spoke, Enzo skin was red and peeling, used his left hand, adorned with the " Flower of Blood " and " Viridescent " rings, to remove the human skin glove covering his right palm.
This is " Creeping Hunger ".
Normally, when not using it, Klein would prefer to leave " Creeping Hunger " on the Gray Fog. After all, since the glove had mutated and the original seal had failed, it would have to eat a living person every day, or it would feed on the wearer. However, considering that Mr. Azik had replied and might come to meet him soon, he finally decided to leave " Creeping Hunger " in the real world unless there were special circumstances.
After all, he had already anticipated Mr. Azik's arrival and did not want the following conversation to occur:
"Didn't you say that the previous glove needed to be resealed?"
"Yes, please wait a moment, I'm going to the restroom."
or:
Are you ready?
"No, please wait a moment, I'll go to the restroom."
Just thinking about similar scenes and lines made Klein feel embarrassed and strange. Even without considering the possibility that Mr. Azik might discover the secret of the Gray Fog, it would cause his image in the other party's mind to slide in an unpredictable direction.
So, after acquiring the new Marionette and completing the attempt to "see himself," Klein brought " Creeping Hunger " back to the real world and made up for the meal he had before.
The difference from before is that the wearer has changed from him to the Marionette Enzo.
In addition to this, to curb the " Creeping Hunger's " daily cannibalistic urges, Klein carried several ordinary mushrooms with him and kept the Marionette at least 5 meters away from him at all times.
Hearing his words and seeing the Marionette's actions, Azik nodded and reached out to take the human skin glove.
Taking advantage of the situation, Klein took a few mushrooms out of his pocket and threw them into a nearby trash can.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers, causing the mushrooms to burst into flames, rising crimson, without affecting anything else in the surrounding area.
This is the " Magician's" ability to Flame Manipulation.
Having done all this, and seeing that Mr. Azik's gaze inevitably fell upon him, Klein chuckled dryly twice and said:
"The previous incident made ' Creeping Hunger ' a little afraid of mushrooms, and I used this weakness to curb its usual impulses."
In reality, this is not very useful, because carrying mushrooms to suppress " Creeping Hunger " will cause the Sealed Artifact that is enduring hunger to immediately backfire after the mushrooms disappear. Unless there is other easily obtainable "food" in front of it, it will only become an ally of the enemy.
"Mushrooms..." Azik muttered to himself, holding the gloves that were beginning to turn blood-red, making the surroundings suddenly darken, even refusing to let in the sunlight from the window.
Pale, gloomy green, and complex symbols, signs, and patterns appeared out of thin air, as if written by invisible Wraith, Specter, and other spiritual beings.
They intertwined and combined in mid-air, evolving into a mysterious, illusory double bronze gate, as if connecting to another world—a deep, silent, and terrifying world.
This illusory gate shrank smaller and smaller, eventually settling on " Creeping Hunger," causing its surface to quickly lose its color, leaving only pallor.
A few seconds later, the human skin glove returned to normal, still a thin layer, but even without the mushroom's suppression, it did not show any signs of agitation or impulsiveness.
"Same as before." Azik handed " Creeping Hunger " to Klein.
"It feels so good to have a powerful backer!" Klein exclaimed, sincerely thanking him, and then placed the " Creeping Hunger " pendant on his left palm.
He thought for a moment and then brought it up on his own initiative:
"Mr. Azik, when I was carrying the bronze whistle you gave me across the Raging Sea, I had the same dream over and over again."
The main part of the dream was a dark and cold, upside-down mausoleum deep underground, filled with countless coffins, each containing a dead body with dense white feathers growing from its back.
"The feathers were stained with pale yellow oil, and deep within the mausoleum, a black mist enveloped everything."
"In the dream, you and I were exploring this mausoleum when we disturbed something, causing the black mist to make a panting sound and extend out illusory black tubes."
"Every time I dream about this place, I wake up in a fright. It seems somewhat similar to a byproduct of the Spirituality Religion's Artificial Death Project."
Klein incorporated the Divination he had performed using the copper whistle into his Dream Divination and recounted it in detail to remind Mr. Azik not to be careless. After all, " Dream Divination " was, in a sense, equivalent to a dream, and since Mr. Azik knew that he was Beyonder through the " Seer " pathway, it was not surprising that he had a similar experience.
The only difference between the insights gained from normal dreams and those gained from " Dream Divination " is that one is passive and the other is active.
Azik listened quietly without interrupting Klein's description, and finally nodded, saying:
"This must be related to something Death left behind in the Raging Sea."
"It seems the Spirituality Religion's Artificial Death Project has made some substantial progress."
Mr. Azik truly lives up to his title as the " Death Consul " of the Fourth Epoch; he didn't underestimate my dream at all... Klein raised his right hand, rubbed his face, and transformed into the appearance of Gehrman Sparrow.
He then said:
"There's only one preparation left: confirming that ' Admiral of Hell ' Ludwell isn't in any dangerous place, and that there aren't Demigod from the Spirituality Religion around."
As for whether the Merfolk Cufflink was still on the other ship, Klein didn't bring it up, because he would check every now and then. He believed that " Admiral of Hell " Ludwell had not yet discovered the magical item, or had discovered it but deliberately hadn't moved it, waiting for the mad adventurer Gehrman Sparrow to take the initiative to "visit" and fall into the trap.
Azik responded calmly:
"We can confirm that once we get to the vicinity."
"Okay." Klein immediately directed the Marionette Enzo to the coat rack and pulled out the gold-inlaid cane.
Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Azik reached out his right hand and grabbed Klein's shoulder.
Klein also reached out his right hand and grabbed the Marionette Enzo's shoulder.
The colors of the surrounding scenery changed abruptly again: the reds became redder, the blacks became blacker, and the blues became bluer, overlapping each other yet remaining distinct and separate.
The two of them then began to travel through the Spirit World, while the black, gold-inlaid staff flew "ahead," pointing out the location and direction of Klein's lost Merfolk Cufflink.
Not long after, the cane stopped, hovering in mid-air. Azik also stopped traversing, but did not leave the Spirit World.
He seemed to be watching something, or perhaps listening to something, and after a couple of seconds he said:
"No problem."
After saying that, he led Klein, and Klein led his Marionette, and "walked" out of the Spirit World.
At the same time, Klein recalled his previous experience searching for clues to Mr. Azik's memories, where the target was the ancient book in the possession of " Vice Admiral Ailment " Tracy.
At the time, Azik also said "it's not a big problem," but then they encountered the " Demoness of Unaging " Katarina on the other side...
"No problem... Okay, if you say there's no problem, then there's no problem..." Klein muttered as he looked around.
This was a familiar environment to him: a massive ship with a dark, eerie green hue, a pale mainsail painted with jet-black tulips, and undead creatures— Living Corpse, skeletons, Wraith, and Specter — Manipulation the sails, patrolling, or practicing their cannons, all testified that this was the flagship of " Admiral of Hell," the " Black Tulip."
Unlike what Klein had seen before, there were quite a few living Beyonder on the " Black Tulip " this time.
The captain, " Admiral of Hell Ludwell," with a thin rapier at his waist, wearing a lace shirt, a magnificent coat, a white skull cap, and a silver mask covering his face, stood at the entrance of the cabin, looking in this direction.
Suddenly, the square, dark ring on Ludwell's right hand trembled slightly, and a flash of light Blink.
The pale flames in the arrogant pirate general's eyes flickered noticeably, eventually shrinking to their minimum size.
Immediately afterwards, Ludwell bent over, and amidst the crew's blank, surprised, or lifeless gazes, he faced Azik Eggers, prostrated himself on the ground, and began to kiss the deck.
P. S.: I was out and about all day today, so the word count is a bit low. I'll update this first and revise it later.