The moment he saw the "Saintess of White," Katarina, Ebner inwardly muttered that things were bad.
After all, the other party was merely a Sequence 3 "Unaging Demoness," and it was absolutely impossible for her to evade his "Cognizer" ability that had been reinforced by the "Omniscient Eye"…
Not to mention that even now, when they were already facing each other directly, he still had not been able to detect the true arrangement of the hidden enemy at all!
The existence planning to ambush me has strength far beyond my expectations!
After making this judgment, Ebner raised the "Staff of Stars," which had not yet been withdrawn from the historical void, without the slightest hesitation, intending to leave immediately.
As for the "Vice Admiral of Ailment," Tracy? Since her mother was here, at the very least her life was guaranteed…
However, Ebner's plan failed. In the instant before "teleporting," he keenly sensed that the surrounding Spirit World and Astral World were both filled with the aura of "destruction" and "apocalypse." Entering them rashly would likely be even more dangerous!
At the same time, another beautiful female figure appeared inside the captain's cabin.
She looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Her ash-gray long hair was gathered up, her azure eyes carried a smiling warmth, and her lips were vividly red and sensual. Paired with a tight-fitting dress, her entire being exuded a mature, bewitching charm that naturally stirred admiration and desire. She was a rare beauty.
Although he had never met her in person, Ebner—who had once "seen" the memories of the "Saintess of Yellow"—recognized her identity at a glance: Siglinde Cheek, the "Saintess of Gray" of the Demoness Sect.
She was also one of only two Demonesses among the Demoness Sect's high-ranking "Seven-Colored Saintesses" who had been granted the surname "Cheek"… the other being the "Saintess of Purple."
According to what the "Saintess of Black," Medea, had said, although the "Saintess of Gray," Siglinde, was only at the Sequence 3 "Unaging Demoness" level, she was closely connected to the "Primordial Demoness" and even wielded a "0"-grade Sealed Artifact, allowing her to borrow Cheek's power.
Even angels such as the "Saintess of Yellow" and the "Saintess of Black" were rather wary of her and the "Saintess of Purple," and within the Demoness Sect their rank was lower than those two.
And now, Ebner personally felt the "power of Cheek" Medea had spoken of. The aura emanating from the woman before him was absolutely not that of a mere Sequence 3, but a genuine, near-divine level!
After just one glance into her captivating azure eyes, Ebner felt his body begin to stiffen, as if his entire form were turning to stone.
Fortunately, this change lasted only an instant before completely receding, because a delicate "doll" flew out of Ebner's pocket and dispelled the "petrification" curse.
This was precisely the limited-edition "Ice Queen" doll, worth 450 pounds, that was possessed by the "Spirituality Angel" Tolzna.
But the opposing "Saintess of Gray" seemed to have anticipated this long ago. Seizing the instant when Tolzna dispelled the curse, she suddenly extended her palm and created a "mirror space," dragging the doll—and herself—into it together.
This was well prepared! Ebner's heart sank slightly. He was not worried about Tolzna; after all, she was in a possessed state and had already recovered as the "Spirituality Angel," an Angel King. Against an Unaging Demoness who was merely borrowing the power of a True God, she should have the upper hand.
What Ebner truly worried about was that since the enemy had used the "Saintess of Gray" to pull Tolzna away, there must be other methods prepared—and those methods were very likely even above the "Saintess of Gray."
Moreover, although Demonesses possessed endless varieties of black magic and had corresponding countermeasures against divination and prophecy, to make his "Pure White Eye" fail to detect even the slightest piece of information was something that even Cheek herself might not be able to achieve!
As his thoughts raced, Ebner himself did not remain idle. Since he could not "teleport," he directly smashed through the hull of the Black Death and relied on high-speed flight to distance himself from this sea area.
—Since it was an ambush, the enemy's arrangements were naturally concentrated here. As long as he left, some flaw would inevitably be exposed.
What was more, leaving the Black Death was also a form of protection for the "Vice Admiral of Ailment," Tracy…
The methods used by Tolzna and the "Saintess of Gray" had still been relatively restrained, but who knew what terrifying attacks might follow?
Perhaps Tracy would lose control and die just by accidentally glancing at them.
Yet just as he reached midair, an attack imbued with the authority of "death" struck head-on. Ebner felt his vitality rapidly draining away, his soul about to leave his body and be thrown into a suddenly appearing miniature underworld.
Ebner's heart tightened. Immediately afterward, he tossed a wand no larger than a chopstick into the air. Accompanied by stirring music, the wand began to "evolve," and moments later transformed into a petite "girl" with a rose blossom above her head, transparent wings on her back, and tight-fitting clothes.
This was the living "Rose Beast" Ebner had created using the extraordinary characteristic of the "Desolate Matriarch."
The moment she appeared, she replenished Ebner's vitality, then immediately moved to meet the source of that "death" authority attack.
At the same time, Ebner continued fleeing at high speed while glancing over with the corner of his eye. He discovered that there was no figure in the direction the "Rose Beast" charged toward—only a massive black vortex spinning endlessly, draining the vitality of the surrounding fish and shrimp before devouring their souls.
This feeling is definitely that of a "Death Consul"… Is it Heitel, the Grand Priest of the artificial Death God faction of the Numinous Episcopate?
Did he notice the problems with the artificial Death God plan? But why would he join forces with the Demonesses to attack me?
Just as Ebner was puzzled, another sudden change occurred. From within the fleet of the Rose School of Thought that surrounded the Black Death below, an arm extended outward.
Its surface flowed with pitch-black, viscous liquid, bulging with one bizarre thing after another—some were skulls, some were barbed tongues, and some were three-dimensional eyes.
"Abomination" Suah!
He was actually attacking me while in the crucial moment of devouring what the Chained God left behind? How deep was this grudge? Ebner frowned, then seemed to think of something, revealing a contemplative expression.
But facing an attack from an Angel King, even though the other party had not yet digested that share of Sequence 1 left behind by the Chained God, Ebner did not dare to be careless.
He reached forward and grabbed, pulling the projection of Rhine Carendia out of the historical void.
At first, the projection's silver eyes were somewhat dull, but they quickly became lively, and in an instant the entire body completed the transformation from androgynous to fully female.
Lilith descended across space!
However, just as Lilith revealed the might of the "Beauty Goddess" toward Suah, the enemy opposite her suddenly turned into a young man with slightly wavy black hair, a broad forehead, gaunt cheeks, pitch-black pupils, and a monocle over his right eye.
Meanwhile, Suah's attack charged toward Ebner from another direction.
It was obvious that the monocle-wearing man was Amon. Using his authority, He had exchanged destinies with Suah and restrained Lilith's historical projection.
Ebner's gaze turned grave. He dispersed the "Staff of Stars" in his hand and reached forward again. This time, he pulled out a lady wearing a hood and a classical long robe, with a beautiful face yet completely expressionless.
The Goddess's descent vessel, "Mother of the Sky"!
However, although the woman's black eyes were deep, they lacked spirituality. Unlike Lilith, she did not "come alive," but fought purely on instinct.
Thus, she only managed to block one of Suah's strikes before suffering fairly heavy injuries.
Ebner was not surprised by this. Instead, as if confirming something, he relaxed slightly, then withdrew the projection of the "Mother of the Sky" and instead pulled out Princess Vera's former self—Leticia Tamara from her time as a Great Angel.
—As a mere Sequence 3, he could maintain at most two angelic projections at the same time.
Although she also did not descend across space as Ebner had expected, as the Sequence 1 "Hand of Order," even relying purely on instinct, she was enough to hold Suah back for a short time!
I have more or less exhausted my remaining cards… The mastermind behind this attack should finally show himself, right?
Ebner's gaze grew profound. As his pure white pupils continued to flee at high speed, they finally detected something amiss.
A "radiance" that most Beyonders were unable to see descended straight down from above, landing directly upon Ebner.
This radiance had no physical form. It seemed to be composed of waves upon waves of vast, complex information. In a phantom-like posture, it surged like a torrent through the "purification barrier" formed by Ebner prying into the power of the "White Angel," then hovered above his head… as if, with a single thought, it could use information to destroy Ebner's current body at any time.
"The Hidden Sage"!
The greatest black hand behind this sudden ambush finally revealed itself.
At the same time, the "scroll" meant to descend upon Ebner to display human civilization was abruptly blocked by a suddenly appearing "Abyss."
At that moment, time seemed to freeze. And the "Hidden Sage," who had gone to great lengths to finally control Ebner, seemed to have no intention of killing him, instead waiting for something.
After several seconds of such a stalemate, in a small town at the border between the southern part of Loen Kingdom's Winter County and the northern part of East Chester County, the hidden power suddenly dissipated for a brief moment. Immediately after, a beautiful silver-haired, red-eyed woman threw out a "picture" of a crown constructed from "information," then vanished without a trace.
That was a "Knowledge Emperor" characteristic—the very one Roselle had once exchanged to Yaloran, his own share of the "Knowledge Emperor" characteristic.
After the characteristic was sent out and the town's concealment was reconstructed, above the sea outside East Bayam, the radiance formed from waves of complex information abruptly vanished. Ebner regained his freedom as well.
At that time, Amon—who had been fighting Lilith—also stopped. Allowing the crimson moonlight of the "Beauty Goddess" to engulf him, he turned to glance at Ebner before being submerged, then laughed, laughing quite happily. Before completely disappearing, he made a gesture and said:
"The current score is one to one…
"Alvin Abraham!"
(End of chapter)