Above the endless gray-white mist, inside the magnificent and imposing palace.
Leonard Mitchell had barely appeared beside the bronze table when he instinctively stood up, intending to bow to Mr. The Fool.
However, when he glanced around, he found that the seat was empty and no one was sitting there.
"Isn't Mr. The Fool usually here?" Leonard thought to himself, turning his gaze to the bottom of the weathered long table.
The world sat there silently, as if blurred by Gray Fog.
"... It's just the two of us, there's no need to deliberately use Gehrman Sparrow's image," Leonard casually remarked to "the world" as he sat down again.
Upon discovering that Mr. The Fool was not there, he immediately became extremely relaxed, no longer as reserved as he had been at the last Tarot Club meeting; he was practically ready to put his legs up on the table.
"Habit," Klein replied briefly.
Leonard nodded thoughtfully.
"I've heard that Gehrman Sparrow's image at sea is cold, reserved, refined, and polite. Your current performance fits that description perfectly. But, Klein, you weren't like this before. You need to remember that you're just Acting; you can't let the identity of Gehrman Sparrow influence you."
Hey, I brought you up here to talk about Amon, not to chat! Are you really that indifferent to your grandfather's affairs? Klein did habitually use the persona of "the world" in such situations, but after Leonard's comment, he felt embarrassed to revert to his original self and simply hummed in agreement.
"Did Pallez Zoroast teach you to 'just Acting '?"
"Yes," Leonard replied readily.
This old man seems alright; he's shared such crucial and important knowledge with Leonard... Compared to Him, that rat Demigod was truly malicious, barely teaching Hibbert any common sense, and even when he did, he Distortion to some extent. Heh, even a wild Beyonder, once they reach the Demigod level, how could they be completely ignorant? Even that half-mad sea serpent, Kavithua, knows how to respond to rituals, how to demand sacrifices, and can even bestow some divine magic... Klein began to form an initial image of Pallez Zoroast in his mind.
However, he did not draw a conclusion based on this, since fishing involves preparing bait, and a single incident cannot prove much.
Seeing that Klein remained silent, Leonard ended the pleasantries and got down to business:
"Where did you discover the new trail of ' Blasphemer ' Amon?"
Klein picked up on the key points:
"I was tracking a near-out-of-control ' Marauder ' who was Demigod, but I encountered Amon on the outskirts of Backlund and had no choice but to escape with the help of Mr. The Fool."
" Amon's clone is still in Backlund after all..." Leonard remarked, then asked with a mixture of curiosity and casualness, "Why are you tracking that nearly out-of-control ' Marauder ' pathway Demigod?"
After asking the question, he realized his mistake and quickly added:
"If it involves one of Mr. ' The Fool's' plans, then disregard what I asked."
Why? Isn't it the responsibility of the Nighthawks to deal with Beyonder are close to or have already gone out of control? Klein sighed upon hearing Leonard's question.
He then recalled his experiences in Tingen City.
In those short two months, he dealt with several similar incidents, including the Church of Storms's " Mandated Punishers " turning into Monster, Hood Eugen going out of control, and Old Neil being corrupted by the " Hidden Sage." Although the total number was not large, they left a deep impression on him and engraved some behavioral principles into his bones.
Therefore, based on the information he had gathered in the past, he deduced from the news of the rats going mad and biting people that the " Marauder " was on the verge of losing control as Demigod. Without hesitation, he immediately used Illusion downstairs and received confirmation from Hibbert. Then, without waiting or thinking about preparing for a day or two, he simply went above the Gray Fog to perform a Divination, and with a general plan in mind, he began his operation.
For him, this was like putting out a fire!
In addition, Klein himself had long wanted to eliminate that " Marauder " Demigod, because the malice he showed to Hibbert was too obvious, and he even tried to lure the " Magician " into a trap disguised as a treasure. If it weren't for the fact that his level was not high enough at the time, the difference in strength was too great, and he was afraid of causing unnecessary accidents, he would have taken action earlier.
Therefore, after confirming the Demigod's status as the " Marauder," he began the elimination according to his pre-arranged plan.
His first objective was to lure the enemy out of the Elk Manor, so that the incomplete Mythical Creature Form that the enemy displayed before its death would not affect ordinary people. The result was not bad. He used himself as bait and achieved his goal. However, the salvo of Air Cannon failed to end the battle, allowing the " Marauder " to escape to the bushes through the Demigod and Parasitism a large tree.
Klein originally had a second phase plan, and even prepared contingency plans in case he couldn't successfully Purification the target. However, Amon's sudden appearance forced him to abandon all plans and flee without hesitation. Klein's contingency plan was to send a Marionette away from the battlefield and write a letter to Patrick Bryan, the experimental Demigod of the Spirituality Religion, to come and help. This " Undying " should already have some ability to Spirit World Traversal. If there were any unexpected problems, they would summon the messenger and do the work first, then pay later.
As memories swirled, Klein responded to Leonard's question with a sigh:
"Secret."
After a pause of one second, he asked:
"Why didn't you find an opportunity earlier to inform the Church of Evernight about Amon's avatar's arrival in Backlund?"
Leonard quickly began to explain, roughly describing how "if Amon's true form arrives, a god will surely descend Amon can see the corresponding changes in Fate through the death of his clones, thereby finding the source of the disturbance and grasping the approximate range of activities of the manipulator Manipulator; Amon's style revolves around a surface clone, hiding dozens, even hundreds of clones; Amon's clones can Parasitism various Spirituality beings, and since they are not Demigod, they cannot detect being Parasitism," and so on.
Finally, Leonard explained to Klein in detail the example the Old Man had given of Stealing Fate.
This sent a chill down Klein's spine. He was glad he hadn't acted rashly against Amon last time; otherwise, "Mr. The Fool " might have been replaced.
No wonder Leonard hadn't reported it before... Amon's brazen appearance was actually a trap, and he had even more clones lurking in the shadows, capable of Parasitism tiny creatures in the air... Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine. The creatures I can currently Manipulation are nowhere near that level; the smaller they are, the less obvious the Spirit Body Threads become—quite peculiar... Sigh, I can't use the Church's power now, unless someone who is absolutely right to report this should do it... Klein felt a pang of regret, his understanding of Amon's terror deepened, and the impression became even more profound.
In his view, Leonard was originally a good candidate to report to the Church of Evernight, but with Pallez Zoroast Parasitism his body, he dared not expose his existence to Amon's gaze.
Furthermore, while the " The Hanged Man " could also assume this responsibility, he couldn't provide a source of information that Amon could trust, which suggests there's a problem and warrants further investigation.
One choice after another Blink through Klein's mind, but ultimately it settled on himself, on the identities of Klein Moretti and Gehrman Sparrow!
"As a Blessed of the Evernight, it was perfectly reasonable for me to inform the church about Amon's presence in Backlund; even Amon couldn't find fault with it."
"As someone who fought the Demigod who was the ' Marauder ' tonight, and witnessed Amon's ' Bizarro Sorcerer ' firsthand, it's quite normal for him to know that the ' Angel of Time ''s avatar has arrived in Backlund. It wouldn't arouse Amon's suspicion. At the same time, as Blessed of the Evernight, Amon, who only lost a few avatars, is unlikely to retaliate. After all, what awaits him is likely a trap, or a divine descent!"
"It feels so good to have a powerful backer... However, every gift of Fate comes with a hidden price..." Klein quickly gained a preliminary understanding of the situation.
Then, as was his habit, he changed his position and began to think about tonight's events from Amon's perspective:
" Amon is certainly no stranger to ' Bizarro Sorcerer,' he can tell my method just from Manipulation Marionette and swapping positions;"
"Since Amon allowed a ' Bizarro Sorcerer ' to escape, he must have been prepared for his whereabouts to be exposed, and may even have hoped to attract the target he was looking for;
"I'm using Gehrman Sparrow's appearance, but that doesn't prove anything. The appearance of the ' Faceless ' is the least important thing... Hmm, so how will Amon determine my identity? A powerful figure walking in the shadows, a Demigod the ' Seer ' pathway... Because of the Church of Evernight and the Secret Order the formulas, materials, and mermaids, there are almost no wild ' Bizarro Sorcerer,' and the descendants of the Antigonus Family are all extinct. Therefore, a ' Bizarro Sorcerer ' is either a member of the Secret Order or Concealment Mandated Punisher secretly cultivated by the Church of Evernight..."
"With Backlund added as a location, the answer becomes obvious..."
"Based on these reasons, it's not hard for Amon to conclude that the Church of Evernight will soon discover his whereabouts and launch a purge. My reporting him was within his expectations; it would have been abnormal not to report him..."
"Yes, He'll definitely be hiding for now. Even if He takes the place of that ' Marauder ' Demigod, He won't come to Böklund Street anytime soon!"
With this assessment, Klein felt much more at ease, as he would have ample time to prepare!
"What are your thoughts?" Leonard couldn't help but ask when he saw that Klein remained silent for a long time after hearing his description.
Klein snapped out of his thoughts and, instead of answering, asked a question:
What advice does Pallez Zoroast have on this?
"He said that if you want to deal with Amon's clone in Backlund, you must first obtain Concealment protection," Leonard said truthfully.
Concealment protection... Pallez Zoroast is openly testing us. Half of the symbol behind the " The Fool's " chair is Concealment... Using the " Paper Angel," the " Red Priest " card, and the mysterious spatial power above the movable Gray Fog, interfering with Amon's clone shouldn't be a problem, but preventing His true form from prying into Fate might be impossible... However, I still have the identity of the Evernight's Blessed, and the goddess's other title is " Mother of Concealment "... Is eliminating Amon's clone a payment or an acceptance of a gift? It feels like both... Klein thought for a moment and replied in a deep voice:
"Tell Pallez Zoroast that I am Concealment Blessed, and I will try to pray for help."
He was referring to the Blessed of the " Mother of Concealment," but Pallez Zoroast would certainly have interpreted it as the Blessed of the " The Fool."