Klein had been utterly baffled when he tried to pull Wilt into the Gray Fog Space.
With the other members, whether Justice Audrey or the Hanged Man Alger, Klein only needed to touch their corresponding stars lightly to pull them up.
But Wilt was different. When Klein tried to pull him up, he felt as though his Spirituality had sunk into a quagmire, and he could not pull him at all.
No, to be precise, I can still pull him, but he's moving even slower than a snail, while my Spirituality is being drained away like running water.
Just as Klein was about to give up, thinking Wilt's Sequence was too high for him to pull him up, the feeling of resistance against his Spirituality suddenly vanished.
The next second, Klein pulled Wilt up into the Gray Fog Space.
It worked!
Delight appeared on Klein's face, and he instinctively activated Spirit Vision to check Wilt's condition.
The Sarira is still in his chest, suppressing a mass of white energy inside it. That's the same as what I saw before.
"Hm?" Klein noticed some things that differed from before.
Several faintly glowing stars hovered above Wilt's spirit body.
Behind him on the left was a mass of illusory white energy, within which Klein saw a pair of vertical golden pupils. On the right was the phantom of a giant bell that had nearly materialized. More than a dozen Contorted Lines stretched from the bell to Wilt's spirit body, maintaining a faint, barely perceptible connection with him.
Below were two nearly transparent masses of shadow and black fog.
Klein: ???
What the hell is going on!!?
It was the first time Klein had seen a spirit body in such a complicated state.
Just then, Wilt spoke from below. "Your Excellency, where is this?"
"Did you bring me here for something?"
For a moment, Klein did not know what to say. The state of Wilt's spirit body had left him too stunned to use the words he had prepared.
But inspiration quickly struck Klein, and he recalled what Azik and Wilt had told him.
Wilt's situation is complicated anyway, so there shouldn't be much of a problem with saying this.
So Klein spoke. Leaning back slightly in his high-backed chair, he said in a calm yet inscrutable tone:
"There's no need to be afraid. I merely saw signs that someone had been manipulating your fate, which is why I brought you here."
Wilt: ???
Wilt: !!!
Once Wilt understood, he nearly jumped on the spot.
It would have been one thing if someone else had said it, but this was Sefirah Castle, and Klein was the one saying it. The weight behind the title Beacon of Destiny was no joke.
He had to take it seriously!
Who's manipulating me?
Ince Zangwill? No, he shouldn't have the nerve. Could it be 008? If it's that Nightmare Dragon, perhaps he could have secretly made a move against me while Ince Zangwill wasn't paying attention.
Or could it be Adam? The Evernight Goddess? Even the Circle of Inevitability?
And what are They manipulating me for? The Sefirah I possess, or information about the Western Continent?
Wilt's expression darkened and shifted as numerous guesses surfaced in his mind, all kinds of conspiracies constantly intertwining.
Hidden in the Gray Fog, Klein was somewhat confused by Wilt's reaction. I just said that offhand. Is it really that powerful?
Did I frighten Wilt too badly? Should I comfort him?
Just then, Klein noticed that many of the strange manifestations he had seen on Wilt's spirit body had vanished under the scouring and erosion of the Gray Fog, leaving only the two masses of power inside him and the giant bell's phantom behind him.
So Klein said to Wilt in a relaxed tone, "This may not be a bad thing for you. Besides, now that you've come here, many of the influences previously affecting you have already disappeared."
Well, although I don't know exactly what's going on with you, the Gray Fog here has gotten rid of those things. That shouldn't be a bad thing for you.
So, strictly speaking, I didn't lie, and I'm not deceiving you. As for what you think, that's your business.
"Gone?" Wilt stood there, somewhat dazed.
The influences affecting me have disappeared. Does he mean the Gray Fog disinfected me after I came here, and that's how I got rid of them?
After all, perhaps something you blurt out was said unknowingly under the influence of Sefirah Castle.
But looking at Klein, who had fallen silent after those two sentences, he knew it would be impossible to get him to speak of his own accord, because he had to maintain an air of mystery and play the part of a great being.
So Wilt decided to speak first and see if he could draw more out of Klein.
Looking grateful, he respectfully said to Klein above him, "Thank you for your help, Your Excellency. May I ask what I can do for you, and what price I should pay?"
Excellent!
I've finally heard those words. I like people as sensible as you!
Klein chuckled. "It was merely a small effort on my part. However, I follow the principle of equivalent exchange. You need only answer a few questions for me."
"Please ask. I'll tell you everything I know, without leaving anything out!"
Klein nodded in satisfaction and voiced the question that puzzled him most:
"Last night, you tampered with Sir Deville's dream. I'd like to know where you learned about the Eighteen Levels of Hell, the judge, and Ox-Head and Horse-Face that he dreamed of."
Hurry up and show your true colors. Let me see whether you're a transmigrator.
The next second, Klein heard Wilt reply, "I learned about those things from the Holy Monk."
The Holy Monk?
Klein instinctively pricked up his ears and straightened his back, looking ready to listen closely and attentively.
And then nothing. Wilt shut his mouth after saying that and said no more.
Klein: "..."
Finish what you were saying!!!
Who exactly is the Holy Monk? Where did you meet him, and how did you hear him talk about it?
Klein now wanted to pry Wilt's head open and see what secrets were hidden inside.
But he could not.
Wilt, meanwhile, was delighted. You stopped halfway through what you were saying just now, so I'll let you have a taste of it too.
Once he was certain Wilt really had no intention of continuing, Klein decided to approach the matter indirectly. "What was your purpose in creating that series of strange incidents in Tingen City recently?"
"Your Excellency, I was acting as a Monster to digest the Potion in my body."
Monster?
Which Pathway and Sequence does that name refer to?
"There seems to be something unusual about you. Two-no, three different powers coexist within you..."
"Do you understand your own condition?"
Wilt was silent for a moment before finally nodding. "Yes, I do."
"I was corrupted by an existence in the starry sky, so I had no choice but to become a Beyonder of three Pathways at once."
Klein: ???