The Sealed Artifact in "Gluttony's" possession was called "Heavenly Feast." Its essence was an extraterrestrial-pathway extraordinary characteristic that began with the "Gourmet" sequence, capable of reverting devoured bloodlines to their origin and obtaining the power of the powerful existence at the source of that bloodline.
Although its exact sequence was unknown, it was undoubtedly a high sequence.
As for why "Heavenly Feast" had appeared on Earth, that originated from a single "summoning" performed by the "Blood Moon Queen."
The "Ornia Ring" currently in Cullen's possession was precisely an important item crafted by the "Blood Moon Queen" to manage her summoned creatures.
—When a "High Summoner" directly established a "contract" with their own summoned creatures, it could sometimes be extremely dangerous, because the summoning ability itself had a chance of mutating. Such mutations could be good or bad: some summoners died because of them, while others obtained powerful abilities or items that were outside the twenty-two sequences.
Therefore, the "Blood Moon Queen" forged such a ring to serve as an intermediate "buffer," indirectly establishing connections with the "summoned creatures."
According to legend, when the "Blood Moon Queen" Ornia married the Evernight Queen, this ring also received the empowerment of the "Justiciar" authority, allowing that vampiric "Beauty Goddess" to better restrain her own "summoned creatures."
Unfortunately, after the fall of the "Blood Moon Queen," the "Ornia Ring" vanished without a trace, and those "summoned creatures" from the depths of the dark universe scattered across the world…
It was not until the later years of Roselle that he somehow found this ring and handed it over to Mother… However, Mother did not submit the ring, instead secretly keeping it, so the upper echelons of the vampire race were actually unaware that the "Ornia Ring" had already returned to the clan's hands.
And before coming to Indore this time, Mother had specifically sought me out and lent me the ring, saying that through the connection between the "Ornia Ring" and "Heavenly Feast," it could be used to find "Gluttony."
As his thoughts turned, Cullen entered another building. He extended a finger, his spirituality spreading into the ring he wore, sensing for several seconds before muttering,
"Not here either… This 'Mr. Gluttony' really knows how to hide…
"According to Roselle, Mr. Azik's earlier actions were 'beating the grass and startling the snake.'"
Although, as the "administrator" of "Heavenly Feast," the "Ornia Ring" could sense its location, nearly two thousand years had passed, and both the "Blood Moon Queen" and the "Evernight Queen" had long since died. That connection had already become extremely weak. Only by getting close enough could there be a definite sensing; otherwise, there would have been no need for Cullen to search house by house like this.
Shaking his head, Cullen withdrew his arm, transformed once more into "moonlight," and headed toward the next building.
Not long after he left, a lady with a voluptuous figure suddenly appeared inside the building. Her body was adorned with various gold and gemstone ornaments, yet her face could not be clearly seen.
She was a historical projection of the "Goddess of Wealth," sent by Ebner to secretly protect Cullen and retrieve the "Gourmet" pathway Sealed Artifact belonging to "Gluttony."
Moreover, the "Collector" pathway to which the "Goddess of Wealth" belonged, like the "Gourmet" pathway, was an extraordinary pathway controlled by the Outer Deity "Primordial Hunger." On Earth, there was a certain degree of "Convergence Effect" between them. With her following along, Cullen would be able to find Mr. "Gluttony's" true body more easily.
As a "Cognizer" who had effectively turned on cheats and who already "knew" a great deal of information, Ebner had now gained the qualifications to intervene in the "chessboard" as a "chess player."
Although more than half of his qualifications as a "chess player" came from the goddess and Lilith standing behind him.
...
At the entrance of the Pitt Grand Hotel, Owen's disguised avatar handed over the invitation and, together with Closfia, easily passed the inspection conducted by the official Feysac organization.
Speaking of which, Ebner's true body was currently hiding inside the "Alvin Palace." Owen's avatar possessed the "Faceless" ability thanks to the historical projection of Audrey's "Lie."
That way, even if someone saw through the disguise and stripped away the façade, what would be revealed would only be "Lust" Owen, having nothing to do with Ebner.
As for Closfia? After putting on the "Personality Mask," she truly became another person altogether, with changes in both temperament and aura, making her difficult to recognize.
Since there were still nearly two hours before the celebration officially began, the arriving guests were either finding acquaintances to chat with, enjoying food and wine in the dining area, listening to the band's performance beside the central stage, going to the underground cinema to watch films, or heading to the auxiliary building on the left side of the hotel to view the collections brought by the Einhorn family from the "Ormir Palace"…
"Laziness" was clearly more interested in Ince and "0-08," so after entering this hotel that resembled an ancient castle, she separated from Ebner and went to look for "Greed" Ksenia.
Ebner did not stop her. Although matters related to "0-08" were not something a Saint like her could really get involved in, this "Laziness" lady had plenty of life-saving methods and was not someone who would easily die, so he let her go.
And Ebner took the opportunity to complete some of his own arrangements… For example, at this very moment, he walked straight ahead and stopped Leonard, who had shaken off Cindy and was approaching Ince alone.
"Sir, who are you?" Leonard warily sized up Ebner, who was blocking his way, suspecting that his identity as a "Red Glove" had been exposed.
However, he immediately tilted his head and listened for two seconds, surprise flashing in his eyes as he lowered his voice and said, "'Mr. Tower'?"
"It's me." Ebner nodded, then smiled. "I didn't expect to actually run into you in Indore."
As he spoke, he directly took out a magic wand with a yellow gemstone set into its tip and continued, "This is the item I helped craft for you before… Since we ran into each other, I'll give it to you now.
"As for its specific effects, you can explore them yourself, or ask that 'grandfather' of yours and you'll know.
"Oh right, after using this item to 'transform,' you'll be able to directly gaze upon 'incomplete mythological creatures' for a short time. I hope you'll make good use of it.
"I still have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first."
After speaking, Ebner patted Leonard, who was still stunned, on the shoulder and turned toward the other side of the hotel lobby.
It was only after his figure was "swallowed" by the crowd that Leonard came back to his senses. He slightly tilted his head and said in a low voice,
"Old man, what do you think that old monster meant? Did he really come specifically to give me an extraordinary item?"
Pallez did not answer immediately. He first "sensed" the functions of the "Transformation Wand," then said in a somewhat strange tone, "I can only say that you might really have a chance to 'take revenge' later…"
"Old man, are you serious?" Clear delight appeared on Leonard's face. "Was this arranged by Mr. 'Fool'? Did Klein manage to get this for me?"
"Probably…" Pallez's wording was very vague.
But that was already enough for Leonard. He clenched the palm-sized magic wand, identified the direction, and walked toward the passage leading from the hotel to the auxiliary building.
—Before Ebner stopped him, he had already noticed Ince Zangwill moving in that direction.
...
After handing the "Transformation Wand" to Leonard, Ebner had not gone far before he unexpectedly ran into Mr. Azik.
This gentleman wore a white curled wig, and his features were still as gentle as ever, though there was a bit more weathered weariness than the last time they had met.
He nodded to Ebner and said meaningfully, "If something happens later, you can come find me."
"I might really have something to ask of you later." Ebner did not stand on ceremony and replied directly.
"What is it?" Azik stared at him for several seconds before asking.
Ebner reached into the void and took out the "Divine Sword" from among the three divine artifacts he had already "tamed," handing it to Mr. Azik.
Azik took the "Divine Sword" and examined it for a while, then looked deeply at Ebner once more and nodded slightly. "I understand… If the timing is right, I will cooperate."
"Thank you." Ebner slightly bent forward in a bow. "As for compensation, you don't need to worry about Kallen's side. I've already made arrangements and will definitely redeem the missing 'spirit' of Silica."
After that, the two casually chatted a few more words. Ebner then temporarily took his leave of Azik and, guided by "fate," blocked Anderson—who was wearing full armor—and the female-transformed, conservatively dressed Danitz at the entrance to the passage leading to the hotel's auxiliary building.
After sweeping his gaze over Danitz a few times, such a level of disguise naturally could not fool Ebner's eyes, but what concerned him more was the armor on Anderson's body.
It gave him a feeling very similar to the Sauron family helmet collected by Associate Professor Michel in Stone City, and the overall style was extremely consistent. It should have been different parts of the same set of equipment.
And according to Xio, that helmet was later suspected to have been stolen by Ince Zangwill.
The evil spirit residing within Ince was very likely the evil spirit of the last angel of the Sauron family that had escaped from the counterfeit "Seal."
At this point, after observing the "Rivers of Fate" of many relevant individuals through the "Cognition" ability, and with the cheat-like support of the "Omniscient Eye," Ebner finally managed to infer most of what the various behind the scene existences in this game were plotting, and he pondered silently:
Adam's methods look simple on the surface, but his hidden backup plans are actually the most concealed…
Additionally, the fact that the collections originally in the "Ormir Palace" were brought to Indore for exhibition means that the battlefield of this 'Author' struggle has been set here… Heh, have the God of Combat and the Einhorn family already decided their stance? It seems they've also chosen Adam, because of the 'Twilight Hermit Order'?
What the goddess wants to achieve through this is still unknown, but She most likely won't act personally… Instead, She'll create the illusion of having dispatched 'Red Gloves' while being unable to intervene herself… Combined with the discovery of Klein entering 'Calderón City,' the God of Combat, whether he believes it or not, will have to prepare to launch a 'Divine War.'
The 'Dragon King' Ankewelt has most likely told the 'Lord of Storms' that Adam is the 'Ancient Sun God'… At the critical moment, He will certainly come, but there's an eighty percent chance He'll be stopped by the God of Combat.
As for the 'Eternal Blazing Sun,' it's uncertain… But even if He intervenes, the 'Earth Mother' will stop Him… After all, right now the 'Earth Mother' and the 'God of Combat' are still 'mother and son'…
The 'True Creator' is the one who least wants Adam to become a god… There must definitely be His handiwork in this situation as well… This is actually my fault… It was when I was the 'Mechanical Emperor' that I used part of my future information to make a deal with the 'True Creator,' letting Him know about this plot point.
'Two-Five Dragon'… His stance is unclear. It depends on whether He has seen through that one detail… If He has, then He's helping Adam; if not, then He's boarded the 'True Creator's' ship…
Heh, the latter is almost impossible. If I can notice it with the 'Omniscient Eye,' then as the 'White Tower,' and one who is skilled at choosing sides, there's no reason He wouldn't know.
As for my own final stance, it should be similar to that of 'Two-Five Dragon'…
In short, on the surface, the focus of this struggle lies in Adam wanting to obtain '0-08' to complete the final piece of the puzzle for his ascension to godhood; while the 'True Creator' hopes that the 'Dragon King' can use his connection with Him and '0-08' to advance to Sequence 1 first, creating an obstacle for Adam's apotheosis.
This is also the opportunity the 'Dragon King' has been waiting for all along—the chance to advance while Adam is held back by angels and true gods and unable to spare attention to interfere.
Of course, that's only on the surface… In the shadows…
Just as Ebner reached this point in his thoughts, Anderson in front of him revealed a "gentle" smile. "Sir, may I ask what business you have?"
As he spoke, he raised a hand to brush back his hair, then casually pointed at the female Danitz beside him and said lewdly, "If you've taken a fancy to her, you can take her away anytime…"
Bullshit! Danitz cursed inwardly, then warily looked at Ebner, preparing himself to defend his chastity to the death.
Ebner was speechless for quite a while at this. He narrowed his eyes, then extended his left hand to show Anderson and Danitz. At some point, a human-skin glove had appeared there.
At the same time, a familiar "warning" appeared in Danitz's intuition. He opened his mouth, and after a long moment, silently mouthed, "Gehrman Sparrow?!"
That human-skin glove was undoubtedly "Creeping Hunger," though it was a historical projection pulled out by Ebner.
Seeing that Danitz and Anderson had recognized "him," Ebner deliberately imitated Gehrman's attitude and coldly nodded once. Then he "manifested" a note in his hand, folded it into a square, and handed it to Danitz. "If you encounter danger later, and you don't want to die, recite the name written on it. It can save you once."
With that, he did not linger and left the entrance to the passage.
Danitz and Anderson looked at each other, not understanding what Gehrman had come here for.
"Open it and take a look." Anderson suggested with a grin.
Danitz hesitated somewhat, but he had spent a long time with Gehrman and knew that although the man was crazy, he still had principles and would not harm his friends.
Thus, he cautiously unfolded the note. Immediately after, he saw what Gehrman Sparrow had written:
"After seeing something you shouldn't have seen, use Hermes—preferably Ancient Hermes—to recite the following honorific name:
'The Fool that does not belong to this era;
The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;
The Yellow and Black King who wields good fortune.'"
This… this was a god-level hidden existence? Looking at the note in his hand, Danitz subconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air, only to choke on the hotpot aroma drifting over from the dining area, coughing several times in succession with a twisted expression.
He could now confirm a previous suspicion:
Gehrman Sparrow belonged to an extremely powerful and extremely secretive organization, and that organization worshiped a god-level existence called "The Fool"!
Sure enough, someone so powerful and so crazy couldn't possibly have no background—he didn't just randomly grow out of the ground…
But what did that first sentence mean? Would something go wrong here? Would I end up seeing something I shouldn't?
Danitz's expression grew solemn. He glanced at the bustling hotel lobby and felt that if something really did go wrong, this would probably be the most likely place. It might be better to go hide in the exhibition hall of the auxiliary building first.
As for leaving directly… that would look extremely suspicious. He would probably be arrested by the authorities before anything even happened.
Hmm, if large-scale chaos really broke out on the hotel side, maybe he could even take advantage of it to steal the captain's family's items, without having to wait until midnight to come back…
With these thoughts in mind, Danitz put away the note and said to Anderson, "Let's go see the exhibition first."
After their figures disappeared, Ebner, who had been observing the two from afar, finally withdrew his gaze. The pure white in his eyes gradually faded, and he then went to the dining area to casually take some pastries, eating as he waited for something.
...
At the same time, deep within the Spirit World, inside Calderón City, Klein's spirit body and Sharon's projection, after a "grueling" battle, also hunted down the Spirit World Plunderer.
(end of chapter)