"Additionally, this time Amon ambushed me. Apart from 'disgusting' me a bit and repaying the grudge from when I took down His avatar in Tingen, He was probably also using this to probe the Goddess's state… No, more precisely, to probe the Goddess's attitude.
"And He obtained the result He wanted… Since even when I encountered a life-and-death crisis, the Goddess still did not make a move… that means either the Goddess truly cannot act, or what She is plotting is so significant that She will not act lightly…
"Either possibility means that Amon is about to enter Backlund!
"His primary objective will, in the end, be to search for the whereabouts of Pallez Zoroast, as well as the location of the holder of 'Sefirah Castle'…
"As for me, this 'Alvin Abraham'… I'm afraid I haven't really been placed in His sights at all, have I?
"Most likely I'm just regarded as an 'interesting' 'toy.'
"It's just unclear whether He truly only knows that Ebner is Alvin, or whether He is 'deceiving' me and actually knows more…
"However, what I can be certain of is that He definitely still doesn't know about 'Liu Bo'… Otherwise, I would be able to sense it."
While pondering this, Ebner noticed that the power of the "Abomination" Suah was also gradually receding, while the fleet below that had been besieging Tracy had already been finished off back when Suah appeared.
Those sailors had almost all gone mad. Some had even lost control and turned into monsters—some raised swords and hacked at their companions, some tore at each other with their teeth, and some raised their guns, aimed at themselves, and pulled the trigger…
In short, this new fleet formed by the Rose School of Thought, which had absorbed the legacy of the "Admiral of Blood," was wiped out here before it could even make a name for itself.
As for the three Sequence 5s, five Sequence 6s, and even more low-sequence Beyonders within the fleet, most of them were either out of control or already dead by now.
Just as Ebner was shaking his head and preparing to clean up the aftermath, he suddenly discovered a man in his forties quietly crawling out through a breach in the bottom of one of the ships, intending to use the seawater as cover to escape.
The man had a high nose bridge, eyes that were close to blue, relatively gentle facial lines, thick black hair with a slight curl, and a complexion that was neither dark nor particularly fair. He seemed to be of mixed Loenese and Bayamese blood.
Ebner thought for a moment, then directly placed a concealed "door" in front of the man, intending for him to walk right into the trap.
However, the man suddenly changed direction and drilled into the seabed through another hole in the ship's bottom.
"Huh? A 'Winner'? Right—this appearance, plus that ring on his hand… This person is probably the only 'marionette' of Klein's in the mid-to-late stages of the original story—Enzo, Enyuni!
"No wonder he could remain unscathed under Suah's aura… If I remember correctly, he later went through multiple major battles without being destroyed. He truly was a 'Winner.'"
Under the "Cognizer" ability, the other party's background was quickly grasped by Ebner.
With a thought, the uniqueness of the "Wheel of Fortune" within the "Pure White Eye" began to turn. Immediately after, dozens of leeches unique to this sea area surrounded Enzo from all directions and continuously gnawed at him, forcing him to turn back and crawl into the ship through the breach.
—The ring on Enzo's hand was called "Green Splendor." Its effect was very simple: treating various not-too-serious illnesses and injuries. Precisely because of this, its negative effect was also very small—merely attracting mosquitoes.
But under the influence of the "Wheel of Fortune," this negative effect was clearly magnified infinitely.
"In fact, this negative effect is actually extremely terrifying… after all, 'Time Worms,' 'Spirit Worms,' and 'Star Worms' are also 'mosquitoes'! For example, the disaster your fleet encountered ultimately came from 'Time Worms,' and now you've even encountered me, a 'Spirit Worm' that turned over from a 'Star Worm'!" Ebner stood before Enzo, who was struggling to crawl into the cabin, and joked with a smile.
Enzo looked at the terrifying man who had appeared before him at some unknown point. He had no time at all to think about what those words meant and immediately tried to smash through the ceiling of the cabin to escape onto the deck.
But just as he jumped, something hooked his foot, and he fell flat on his face right beside Ebner's feet.
Enzo was still trying to struggle to his feet, but at that moment, as he raised his head, he suddenly met a pair of pure white eyes…
In the next instant, he let out a piercing scream, both hands clamping tightly over his eyes.
Streams of fresh blood immediately seeped out from between his fingers.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ebner also used a secret art to "seal" him into a card.
"A 'School of Life' traitor who defected to the Rose School of Thought… Should I give him to Will as a birth gift… or to Klein as a demigod congratulatory present?"
After hesitating briefly, Ebner decided on the latter. After all, a single ice cream was enough to placate the little snake.
Putting away the card, then briefly tidying up the battlefield and killing off all the remaining out-of-control monsters, Ebner tossed a large handful of characteristics into the treasury of the "Traveling Palace," then turned his head to look at a mirror inside the captain's cabin of the ship he was on.
Suddenly, the surface of the mirror rippled like water, and then a woman with ash-gray long hair, azure eyes, vivid red lips, and an overall mature, enchanting charm emerged from it.
She was precisely Siglinde Cheek, the "Saintess of Gray," who had dragged Tolzna into the mirror world.
Only now, the terrifying "destruction" aura that had once made Ebner uneasy was gone from her body, and Tolzna's figure was reflected in her azure eyes.
Clearly, she had already been possessed by the "Abomination" and was completely under Tolzna's control.
"How did you catch her?" Ebner asked curiously.
Judging from Siglinde Cheek's earlier performance, she had not been inferior to Tolzna's doll.
"Cheek suddenly withdrew her power…" Tolzna replied succinctly while controlling the body of the "Saintess of Gray."
Suddenly withdrew her power? Vera must have succeeded on her end, then. Just what was her objective, though… Completely sealing Cheek within the divine kingdom of the "Night Emperor"?
Cheek had once been a close friend of the "Night Emperor." Back when Trunsoest besieged Leticia Tamara, she had most likely also taken part… Perhaps this was Vera taking revenge?
Nodding thoughtfully, Ebner decided to go find Vera tonight and ask her about it.
"Can you give me this 'Unaging Demoness'?" At this time, the "Saintess of Gray" pointed at her own head and asked again.
Hearing this, Ebner came back to his senses and said with a smile, "Of course. This is your spoils of war."
Tolzna nodded slightly and said no more. She simply opened her mouth and released a soundless "curse."
Immediately after, the body of the "Saintess of Gray," Siglinde Cheek, began to shrink continuously, becoming only palm-sized in an instant and turning into a finely crafted doll.
At the same time, the gorgeous dress on the "Ice Queen" doll flew out of the mirror and slipped onto the "Demoness" doll.
Then the doll directly hopped into Ebner's hand and continued, "This doll is more useful than the 'Ice Queen' I modified before. It can carry more of my power… You keep her with you, and I can descend through her at any time."
Ebner subconsciously played with the doll for a moment and discovered that the tactile sensation was extremely good, almost no different from a real person.
"Bringing another 'Saintess' with me? Am I really about to take the entire Demoness Sect under my command…
"Among the 'Seven-Colored Saintesses,' aside from the 'Saintess of White' and the 'Saintess of Purple,' the remaining five all seem to already be under the control of me, or my friends…
"The 'Saintess of Yellow,' Natalia—her soul fell into 'Eternal Sleep,' and her body was turned into a 'marionette' by me;
"The 'Saintess of Red,' Margaret, was brainwashed by me using the 'Land of the Unknown' and became the head of my 'charity foundation,' repaying the sins she committed;
"The 'Saintess of Black,' Medea, signed a contract with Vera and became her slave;
"The soul of the 'Saintess of Blue,' Veranica, was devoured by 'my' creation, the 'Succubus Progenitor' Monica, and her body was also taken over by it;
"The current 'Saintess of Gray,' Siglinde, is even more miserable… Although she didn't die, she can only watch helplessly as her enemy freely uses her body. Having one's mind permanently 'imprisoned,' completely unable to act, is not a pleasant experience at all…
"This can be considered a form of 'punishment' for her past actions.
"Demonesses—especially Demonesses who have advanced step by step to demigodhood—are never innocent.
"Still, I really do have some kind of fate with 'Demonesses'… Is it because, as Monica said, I was once the so-called 'Father of Succubi, Lord of Desire, Source of Corruption'?"
After mocking himself a few times, Ebner placed the doll formed from the "Gray Demoness" into his pocket.
In the process, he casually asked, "Since you can turn people into 'dolls,' why did you always 'buy' them from Emlyn before?"
Tolzna replied simply, "I didn't encounter any suitable ones…"
She paused for a moment, then added, "That vampire always orders Aitris around."
Emlyn was a priest of the Church of Harvest, while Sheriff Fassin's entire family believed in the "Earth Mother." On top of that, Freya often went to the church to help out—how could Aitris possibly not listen to Emlyn's orders?
So that was the root cause of Emlyn always getting fleeced by Tolzna… Was she helping her brother "take revenge"?
(End of chapter)