Ambushing an Angel King of the Fate domain was by no means an easy task.
If not for the fact that two "Liu Bos"—the "God of Luck" and the "Mechanical Emperor"—had both died at Ouroboros's hands, creating a deficit owed to the "Liu Bo" on the level of "Fate," Ebner would never have been able to lure the "Angel of Fate" into the ambush circle he had set up.
Of course, the "secret ritual" that the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" had prearranged on Anderson—one that continuously "stole" Ouroboros's "misfortune" through its connection with Him—also played a significant role.
It was precisely because Ouroboros had just descended to Anderson's side under the "arrangement" of "0-08," allowing the latter to smoothly "return" all the stolen "misfortune," that the present situation existed, where the "Angel of Fate" could no longer escape the encirclement through "luck."
Speaking of which, the "True Creator" had also lent a hand. After descending upon Ouroboros, He ignored those instances of "misfortune," causing the "Angel of Fate" to overlook this point as well, only realizing it now.
However, the "Angel of Fate," Ouroboros, was not overly nervous. After all, those surrounding Him were merely three Sequence 2s. As an Angel King, how could He possibly fear enemies of this level?
But very quickly, He realized He was wrong…
Because this "hidden world" deep within the Spirit World was clearly a battlefield prearranged by the other side, reinforced by numerous rituals. Even more deadly were the three extraordinary items held by the angels!
When the "Divine Sword," the "Magic Mirror," and the "Holy Seal" reached their respective positions, Ouroboros suddenly felt a brand-new "authority"—an authority seemingly born solely to target Him—descend abruptly, binding Him tightly.
At the same time, the fully digested Sequence 1 "Great Serpent" characteristic within His body suddenly became "incompatible," as if it were about to detach itself.
The "Angel of Fate," Ouroboros, employed every method He could, yet was unable to stop this trend—the suddenly emerged "authority" was of an extremely high level, so much so that even the "cycle of fate" could no longer be "activated" normally.
Sensing that His "fate" was inevitably sliding toward a dangerous end, Ouroboros had no choice but to pray to His Lord, beseeching Him to descend with power and help Him break free of this terrifying "authority."
However, after more than ten seconds passed, aside from the "Great Serpent" characteristic within Him growing ever more alien, His prayer received no response whatsoever.
At that moment, Ouroboros suddenly attained enlightenment, realizing that this was the true punishment from His Lord for His rash action two hundred and three years ago—an action that had disrupted His Lord's plans!
Having understood this, the "Angel of Fate," Ouroboros—dressed in a simple linen robe, with silver hair flowing down to His waist—ceased all resistance. He collapsed to the ground, his expression gentle and devout, closed His eyes, and waited for the final end of His "fate."
In the next instant, dazzling light flooded the entire "hidden" world, causing Bernadette and Azik to lose their "perception" for several seconds due to being caught unprepared.
Only the already-prepared Alvin—or rather, Ebner—clearly saw what happened, yet he did not stop it.
When the light dispersed, all the surrounding rituals had been completely destroyed, and the figure of the "Angel of Fate," Ouroboros, had vanished without a trace. Left behind on the ground was only an illusory, silver-white little snake, constantly rolling and leaping within mist-like vapor.
It seemed to be desperately trying to chase its own tail, yet could never reach it…
This was undoubtedly the Sequence 1 "Great Serpent" beyonder characteristic that had been stripped from Ouroboros.
Stepping forward to pick up this characteristic, Ebner then turned to look at Bernadette and Mr. Azik, who were casting questioning gazes at him, and said after some consideration, "'The True Creator' took away the 'Angel of Fate' at the very end."
He did not intend for Ouroboros to truly perish—this was merely a punishment, and incidentally, a favor to repay my stance this time.
Although Azik and Bernadette did not hear this latter sentence, as angels themselves, they were capable of understanding many things through various means, and thus both nodded thoughtfully.
Ebner had no intention of explaining further. After properly storing the characteristic, he bowed to the two angels and said:
"My sincere thanks to both of you for your help this time."
Bernadette shook her head, then returned the "Holy Seal" to Alvin. Only then did she say expressionlessly, "No need for thanks. Ebner Bryan has already paid the price for this…"
As she spoke, she gently touched the mechanical doll in her hand—one of her father's avatars from when he was alive. Through it, Bernadette could glimpse many of her father's late-life secrets.
Moreover, Ebner had also promised her that, at an appropriate time, he would take her into the "world" where this mechanical avatar had been obtained, to have a look.
On the other side, Mr. Azik likewise returned the "Divine Sword." After sizing Alvin up for a few moments, he said meaningfully, "This is payment for redeeming Silika's missing soul, so there's no need for thanks."
It seems Mr. Azik's memories have almost completely recovered… At this point, the original story concerning Him is probably no longer of much reference value. One wonders whether He had made the Goddess's choice quite early on.
While thinking this, Ebner accepted the "Holy Seal" and the "Divine Sword," discovering that their condition was similar to that of the "Magic Mirror": the angelic wraiths within them had all fallen into dormancy due to excessive consumption, and they would likely be unusable again for quite some time.
At this moment, Bernadette suddenly asked, "Can the authority of the 'Knowledge Emperor' really reach this level with just a fictional story and three sealed artifacts containing angelic wraiths?"
She herself had once been the "Knowledge Emperor" for a day, and she was certain that she could not have done this at the time; otherwise, resisting the Abyss would not have been so hopeless.
"Relying solely on the 'Knowledge Emperor' is naturally insufficient… There is also the power of another great existence involved here," Ebner thought for a moment and replied vaguely.
"Another great existence…" Bernadette murmured, seemingly pondering something, but did not voice her suspicion: was it a "Liu Bo"?
…
Within the collective subconscious sea of Indo Port, the "Witch King," Cullen, after a grueling battle, finally defeated the true body of "Gluttony" and brought this fat man under control.
He then cast a discreet glance toward a not-too-distant lady whose figure was plump, whose entire body was adorned with various gold and gemstone accessories, yet whose face could not be clearly seen.
Speaking of which, after using the "Ring of Ornia" to locate Gluttony's hiding place and temporarily sealing the functions of the powerful sealed artifact in Gluttony's possession through the ring's "management" authority, Cullen had been dragged into a bitter struggle.
Cullen was, after all, a newly advanced "Witch King." Even though he was older, whether in terms of demigod-level combat experience or item accumulation, he was inferior to his opponent.
From reality into the subconscious sea, one human and one vampire fought continuously. Cullen even found himself at a disadvantage after Gluttony transformed into a mental dragon.
But at that moment, he received assistance from this golden-glowing lady. First, his rank was inexplicably elevated to Sequence 3, allowing him to withstand the dragon before him.
Next, Gluttony's condition strangely deteriorated, and he could no longer maintain his "incomplete mythical form," being forced to revert to human shape.
As one rose and the other fell, Gluttony's resistance grew weaker and weaker, until Karen seized the opportunity to "control" him.
Although this lady had assisted him, Cullen—having lived for several centuries—would not trust her just because of that.
Nevertheless, he was not foolish enough to show it on his face. Just as he was about to politely inquire, he heard her take the initiative to speak:
"Don't be nervous… You can call me Helena. I'm one of Ebner's people."
Another one… How did I ever think that detective was relatively simple back then? While complaining inwardly, Cullen still did not believe her words so easily. He merely nodded and introduced himself, "Cullen."
However, the historical projection of the "Goddess of Wealth" did not need Cullen's trust. With a single gesture, She summoned the sealed artifact named "Heavenly Banquet" into Her hand—Karen was completely unable to stop it.
After playing with it for a few seconds, the "Goddess of Wealth" consumed the "wealth" accumulated in Ebner's traveling palace and, at a price of five hundred thousand pounds, "redeemed" Silika's missing soul from within the "Heavenly Banquet."
—This price was somewhat high for a soul below demigod level, but since it had been devoured for too long, reclaiming it intact naturally required a greater cost.
Then, Helena tossed the light cluster belonging to "Silika" to Cullen.
Cullen hurriedly caught it. As a "Witch King," he naturally knew what it was.
"The price for redeeming the soul is five hundred thousand. Hand this 'Gluttony' and this item over to Ebner, and consider the debt settled," the "Goddess of Wealth," Helena, briefly instructed, before her figure completely vanished.
As a "historical projection," She had already reached Her limit.
Cullen stood there in a daze for several seconds before snapping back to his senses. He hurriedly cleaned up the battlefield and returned to reality.
…
Indo Port, Oates Street.
When the dust raised by the lightning strike dispersed, Klein, Leonard, and Dunn stepped forward together to check the outcome.
But to their surprise, there was nothing at all where Ince Zangwill had just been!
Seeing this, Leonard and Dunn immediately grew vigilant again, suspecting that Ince had used some ability to evade the hero bandit's "little trick."
Only Klein revealed a thoughtful expression, then tentatively called out in Chinese, "Invalid!"
In an instant, a massive black cocoon appeared out of thin air before the three of them.
Immediately afterward, the cocoon split open, and thick, viscous liquid mixed with black and red flowed out… It was precisely what had once been known as Ince Zangwill!
Clearly, at the instant Klein transferred "Leodero," Ince Zangwill, under the threat of death, had achieved a rare moment of clarity and, without hesitation, used the "Fallen Morningstar," hoping to preserve his own life.
In fact, he had been just a step away from success. Given enough time, "Vaulite's Perfect Restoration Technique" still had some chance of sustaining his life.
However, when that single word—"Invalid"—rang out, his final hope was reduced to bubbles…
The story of Ince Zangwill ends here.
(End of the chapter)