Very soon, a round of illusory sun rose, illuminating this stretch of night sky shrouded in concealment as brightly as day, while at the same time revealing Ebner's true body, which had originally been hidden by "Evens's Concealment Barrier."
At this moment, Ebner no longer wore his usual "pleased" expression. In a state of "Absolute Rationality," he was like the return of the "Ancient Sun God."
Such "divine might" made even Amon put away His smile. He carefully observed for a few moments, then resumed a casual posture, shook His head, and said, "For that brief instant just now, I thought Sasrir had revived…"
As His words fell, He seemed to lose interest in play. The monocle on His right eye flashed as He prepared to directly "steal" that round of illusory sun.
This was also the reason He had long since noticed Ebner's actions yet allowed him to continue preparing.
To Him, although seventy percent of His attention was focused on the struggle between His own "Worms of Time" and Alvin Abraham's "Spirit Worms," and of the remaining thirty percent, twenty percent was spent guarding against other angels, He believed that even with only ten percent of His strength left, it would still be enough to deal with that "Cognizer."
Although a "Cognizer" was said to pry the greatest power at the smallest cost, that "power" ultimately did not belong to him. It could be easily "stolen," and in this world, was there anyone better at "stealing" than Him?
However, in the very next instant, Amon's expression suddenly changed. He looked at Ebner in astonishment, and for the first time truly regarded him seriously:
"So it was you… No wonder that madman always arranged coincidences to keep me at a distance from you… That truly isn't something I can bear…"
As He said this, He leisurely stretched His body and said with a smile:
"Kill me."
This time, it was Ebner's turn to be slightly stunned, but he immediately noticed the additional black specks appearing within the "Unknown Land." He nodded thoughtfully, then withdrew from the "Absolute Rationality State," curled his lips, and asked, "Have you considered becoming my 'Blessed'?"
Since Amon had gone and sought death himself by "stealing" things from the Unknown Land and even incidentally exploring some knowledge, He was already meat on the chopping block and no longer needed to be treated with full force.
Amon shook His head and said, "If you can't do it, I can also self-destruct. It's just that in that case, part of the Beyonder characteristics might return to my main body."
"But wouldn't that bring 'contamination' back to your main body? You should know Him well. He won't be able to resist the temptation to explore the 'unknown,'" Ebner said with a smile.
Amon also curled His lips, speaking in exactly the same tone as Ebner: "This level of 'contamination' is indeed very troublesome for the main body, but if He really can't handle it, He can still go find that madman."
He naturally did not want to bring contamination back, but if there truly was no other way, it wasn't as if there were no solutions.
Ebner thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "You're right."
"So, kill me," Amon repeated the sentence, chatting as if with an old friend.
You stole Klein's line, you know that? Could this also be part of 'theft' acting? Ebner complained inwardly. Then, without further hesitation, he raised his right hand and pointed at Amon, solemnly proclaiming in Ancient Hermes:
"God says, you are a 'Devil,' you are a 'Blatherer'!"
Silently, Amon's form began to change. He was no longer as refined and gentle as before. Horns grew from his head, wings spread from his back, and he truly transformed into the appearance of a demon.
When "God" declares that you are "evil," then you are evil. You will even briefly transform into an evil form, to support the correctness of "God's" words.
This was an upgraded application of the "Justice Mentor" ability… Good and evil were determined by me—this was "Justice Mentor"!
Originally, at Sequence 3, this ability could at most define an enemy as evil, allowing one's side's "holy light" to deal "special damage." But after being sublimated by the illusory "Pure White Angel," its effect underwent a qualitative change, becoming capable of truly transforming the enemy's form.
This was also a manifestation of the "Sun" pathway within the "Omnipotence" domain.
Speaking of which, Ebner had originally planned to blast Amon with a burst of "Solar Flame," using extremely high energy and ultra-high temperatures to kill Him…
But now that this avatar of Amon was already under control, there was no need to go that far. So after "defining" the other party as a "Blatherer," he took out the "Holy Sword · Bernadette" and handed it to the just-awakened Hazel.
—"Justice" also had its limits. At most, it could reduce this Sequence 2 avatar of Amon to a Sequence 3 "Blatherer." Going any lower would be extremely difficult.
That holy sword had received the blessings of the "Knowledge Emperor" and the "Knowledge Mentor." Against "Devils" and "Aberrations," it could deal damage at the level of Sequence 1, enough to kill this avatar of Amon.
The reason for handing the holy sword to Hazel was also to completely sever the "destiny"-level entanglement between her and Amon.
Hazel opened her eyes. She had not lost the memories from when she had been parasitized, so toward Amon she felt both fear and hatred.
Fear of His bizarre abilities, and hatred because He had killed her two friends.
—Because she had just regained control of her body, Hazel had not yet understood the situation and believed that Melissa and Elizabeth were already dead.
After listening to Ebner's description of the holy sword, Hazel bit her lip, picked up the longsword with her "Metal Arm," and chopped it down toward Amon's avatar without the slightest hesitation.
"To escape the convergence of 'destiny'? As expected of the former…" Amon did not even finish His sentence before being instantly reduced to powder by the "Holy Sword · Bernadette," enhanced with "Group Attack," "Multiple Attack," and "Lethal Attack."
However, in the final moment before His death, He wore a trace of a "relieved" smile.
"Although the 'God of Pranks' might do things that pursue stimulation regardless of risk, Amon's main role is still the 'God of Deceit'!" Ebner sighed, then supported Hazel, who looked as if all her strength had been drained, and said with a smile, "Well done."
"But… but it was me who harmed Melissa and Elizabeth…" As she spoke, Hazel's eyes reddened.
Ebner retrieved the holy sword while smiling and patting the back of her hand, comforting her. "They're fine. I swapped them out long ago, back when you checked into that hotel."
"Swapped them out?" Hazel stopped crying and looked at Ebner in surprise.
"That's right… Back in Backlund, I already sensed that your 'destiny' was somewhat abnormal, so I took some protective measures on you," Ebner briefly explained the preparations he had made, then also brought Hazel into "Alvin's Quiz Labyrinth," letting her take care of the still-unconscious Melissa and Elizabeth.
After doing all this, Ebner expressed his thanks to the angels who had come to assist—including Alvin—before finally walking toward Leonard.
Ebner had known in advance that Alvin's return would be difficult to conceal, so since the two were friends, helping each other was perfectly reasonable.
Seeing the old monster mentioned by the old man approach, Leonard immediately became nervous and prepared to fight desperately, even though he knew it would be useless.
"Don't be nervous. Since you've become His believer, we're companions now. Besides calling me Ebner, you can also call me 'Mr. Tower.'"
Ebner exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Leonard and, using Leonard's perspective, "informed" Klein that he was now free. Only then did he pick up the remnants left behind by Amon and disappear from the cemetery.
Leonard Mitchell stood there blankly for a long while. Only when the "concealment" dissipated and the patrolling Nighthawk Frye was about to approach did he suddenly snap back to his senses and begin filling in the empty coffin.
At the same time, he lowered his voice and asked, "Old man, Amon's avatar has fallen?"
"Six angels came, along with that old friend of mine… Even if Amon's main body had come, it might not have won, let alone just a Sequence 2 avatar," Pallez said with deep emotion.
"Six? But Amon only pointed out four," Leonard said as he shoveled dirt.
"The 'Spirit Artifact Angel' should also have come, but He was guarding against another god-child…
"Additionally, there was a trace of 'Desolation' aura hidden there, but it wasn't complete. It was unlike the 'Mother' of the Earth Mother Goddess Church, and more like a Beyonder creature possessing the rank of a 'Desolate Mother.'
"They weren't on guard against me, so I was able to 'see' these things that Amon didn't."
After filling the soil and resetting the tombstone, Leonard glanced once more at Klein's photograph and asked gravely, "Among the angels Amon mentioned just now, was there a 'Servant of Concealment'?"
"Yes. If my perception wasn't wrong, it was Her Highness Arianna, the abbess of the Evernight Monastery," Pallez replied in his aged voice.
"So that means… the Goddess tacitly approves of my turning to 'The Fool'? The Goddess and 'The Fool' have a certain mutual understanding? Or are they simply allies?" With his life at stake, Leonard's highly tense mind was far more agile than usual, leading him to think of countless questions.
"Probably," Pallez gave a vague answer.
...
Above the gray fog, "World" Klein, after listening to Ebner's abridged "showing off," could not help but sigh. "Your days really are thrilling."
"You're not any worse," Ebner replied meaningfully, then changed the subject and asked about Melissa. "She's still trapped in a dream by me. If you don't want her to know the secret that you're still alive, I can help make her and Elizabeth forget this experience… Mm, I'll also remind Hazel to keep it confidential."
Klein hesitated for quite a while after hearing this, before finally letting out a long sigh. "Forget it. If she knows, then she knows. Just don't let her know that I'm currently 'Dwayne Dantès'… Mm, if possible, hide the identity of Gehrman Sparrow from her as well…"
Is it because Gehrman's deeds are too abnormal for Melissa to accept? Ebner muttered inwardly. On the surface, he nodded in agreement, then casually took out the "Trojan Horse of Destiny" characteristic left behind by Amon and handed it to Klein.
"As an exchange for me helping you wrap things up, I'll leave the task of safeguarding this characteristic to you, Mr. Fool."
"World" Klein subconsciously took it, but in the next moment, unstoppable shock surged through his mind. Mr. "Tower" could bring items above the gray fog without the permission of "The Fool"?
Fortunately, Klein had the abilities of a "Clown," allowing him to restrain himself from losing composure. He also did not overstep by questioning on behalf of "The Fool."
Seeing through Klein's thoughts, Ebner merely smiled faintly and did not take it to heart.
He was already a "Miracle Invoker" and had mastered the correct way to enter "Sefirah Castle." He might be powerless before those light doors beyond, but bringing some items above the gray fog was not particularly difficult.
...
After "Tower" left, Klein held the "Trojan Horse of Destiny" and pondered for a long time before finally smiling in relief.
He and Liu Bo each held the other's secrets. If Ebner truly harbored malicious intent toward him, he would have been dead long ago.
"As friends, it's better to be open and honest… Tomorrow—no, this afternoon after the Tarot Club gathering—I'll go directly to Ebner and ask him about it!"
With his mental burden lifted, Klein devoted himself fully to studying that Sequence 2 characteristic. He then discovered that by coordinating the "Error" card with this characteristic, his spirit body above the gray fog possessed a genuine "angel" level of status and power!
Although this power could not be brought into reality—in reality, his spirit body could not withstand the contamination of a "Sequence 2" characteristic—it was more than sufficient to accurately distinguish Leonard's mental body and intimidate the old grandfather behind him!
Thinking of this, Klein estimated the time, did not hesitate further, directly had his spirit body fuse with the "Error" card and the "Trojan Horse of Destiny," and then pulled Leonard's mental body up above the gray fog.
A moment later, Leonard, from a large pile of "Star" cards, unsurprisingly drew a "Star" card.
(End of Chapter)