Beside her, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared simultaneously, quickly changing from blurry to clear.
One was a bipedal, translucent rabbit, and the other was a young man in a double-breasted long formal suit, wearing a semi-tall silk top hat, with an expressionless face.
As soon as their figures solidified, the translucent rabbit turned and burrowed back into the Spirit World.
After all their figures had solidified, Fors realized that everyone seemed to be shrouded in a layer of night, making them hard to see clearly.
Were those eyes just now casting a Concealment spell here? Could this achieve the same effect as the Gray Fog in Mr. Fool's divine kingdom?
As thoughts swirled, Fors rose from the sofa and greeted Audrey and Klein, who had just appeared:
"Good evening, Mr. World, and Miss Justice."
"Good evening, Madam Magician." "Good evening, Mr. Tower."
"And Mr. World, good evening to you too ~"
Audrey lightly lifted her skirt and took two steps forward, greeting everyone in turn with a very cheerful tone.
The moment her figure appeared, she had already keenly noticed the faint layer of night shrouding everyone, as well as the eyes growing from the shadows and crevices around them. Although the scene looked a bit unsettling, the Concealment effect should be very good. At least, my Spectator ability is severely suppressed.
Klein maintained his Gehrman Sparrow persona, nodding slightly to everyone and blandly saying "Good evening" before walking directly to the sofa beside Leyton and sitting down.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the book bound with parchment on the table, then quickly retracted.
He had already examined this Groselle's Travels above the Gray Fog, and nothing special had happened. One could only say that it truly was a method left behind by the former Dragon King; even with the Gray Fog's enhancement, he couldn't detect any problems.
Leyton placed the already brewed coffee in front of everyone, then leaned back against the chair, saying:
"Just a moment, that Nightmare should arrive very soon."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure abruptly appeared beside them, casually leaning back on the sofa, as if he had been waiting for Leyton's words.
Klein's eyes narrowed slightly. He used his Faceless ability to control his expression, calmly observing Leonard, noticing the Red Gloves he wore on his hand.
It really is Leonard, but he actually joined the Red Gloves. Also, the way he appeared just now was definitely not his own Beyonder ability. Was it a Mystical Item that allowed short-distance displacement? Or was it that Zoroast Family angel?
Leyton expressionlessly pushed a cup of brewed coffee in front of Leonard, saying calmly:
"He's here."
Leonard leaned casually on the sofa, picked up the coffee in front of him, and took a sip. His peripheral vision inadvertently swept over everyone, but nothing but tranquil, deep Darkness entered his eyes.
It's a bit like Captain Soest's ability. Is there a Beyonder of the Darkness Pathway here?
Leonard put down his coffee, his eyes slightly lowered, hiding his emotions very well.
Fors, who was holding a Knowledge Rabbit, was still trying to recover from Leonard's sudden appearance. As an Astrologer who had already roamed the Spirit World several times, she was very curious about the way this Nightmare appeared.
This isn't Spirit World traversal, or a similar "Door" ability; there's no trace of using the Spirit World at all. How did he do it? Is it the way a Nightmare travels through dreams? It doesn't seem like it either; no one here is sleeping, so there shouldn't be any dreams.
Audrey, sitting next to Fors, instinctively wanted to glean some information from this suddenly appearing Nightmare. After observing for a while, she somewhat disappointedly withdrew her gaze.
The Concealment effect applied by Mr. Tower is too restrictive for a Spectator; I can't observe subtle expressions or movements at all.
Leyton's gaze swept around everyone. He leaned forward, picked up the book bound with parchment, Groselle's Travels, and said in a calm voice:
"Let's begin! To enter the book world, you need to smear a drop of your blood on the cover. After some time, we will be directly pulled into the book world."
As he spoke, he stretched out his right hand above the book. A glimmer of starlight passed over his thumb's nail, then lightly grazed the pad of his middle finger, dropping a drop of bright red blood onto Groselle's Travels.
Then he handed the Groselle's Travels in his hand to Leonard, who took it and directly rubbed his gloved right hand over the cover, smearing out a crimson mark.
He withdrew his right hand, rubbing his thumb against the pad of his middle finger, feeling no wound. The old man's ability is really useful.
Muttering to himself, he casually handed the book to the two ladies opposite him.
Fors reached out and took the book, then pulled a pre-prepared translucent glass vial from her neck, which contained blood.
After dripping her blood onto the book's surface, she casually put away the glass vial before handing the book to Audrey beside her.
After everyone had successively smeared blood on the cover, the restaurant suddenly fell silent.
Audrey looked around, wondering how to break the silence, when she heard the Nightmare suddenly speak:
"The Church of the Lord of Storms people have become much more irritable recently. Like, if you just look at them for too long, they'll immediately start fighting you."
If the Tingen Nighthawk Church was stolen right in front of them, you'd be like that too. Klein muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on Leyton.
Why is Mr. World looking sideways at Mr. Tower? Does he think Mr. Tower knows something? Or...
Audrey's thoughts abruptly stopped. She saw Leyton's figure suddenly vanish from the sofa.
"What happened?" She turned her head, somewhat surprised and uncertain, to look at The World beside her.
The next moment, Leonard's figure also abruptly vanished from the sofa.
Audrey and Fors, beside her, exchanged glances, then almost simultaneously turned their gaze to the parchment-bound book on the table.
"They entered the book world?"
After waiting for a moment, Audrey, not getting a response from her companion beside her, turned her head in confusion, only to find that no one was beside her.
"It's your turn soon."
"Get ready; we might be scattered upon entry."
Klein maintained his persona, speaking in a flat, emotionless voice.
Audrey paused, then smiled and nodded to Klein:
"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Mr. World."
As she looked up, her mind suddenly became dazed. The surroundings quickly blurred and then cleared. When she regained her senses, she was already in a vast expanse of white snow.
A mournful cold wind blew, and Audrey shivered, shrinking back:
"So cold! Why is the book world also winter, and such a snowy, icy place!"
Audrey looked around. The surroundings were a vast expanse of white, and she couldn't even distinguish basic directions. I should have brought Susie; although she's not a qualified hound, she definitely has more wilderness survival experience than I do.
After a brief thought, Audrey decided to find a place to shelter from the wind for a while, then wait for her Tarot Club companions to come find her.
In the real-world restaurant, Klein silently watched the sofa, which had been speaking just moments ago but was now empty.
He sighed slightly, picked up the coffee he had set aside, and prepared to take a sip before waiting to be pulled into the book world.
His mind suddenly became dazed, and the surrounding temperature instantly dropped, taking him directly from the relatively warm indoors to a world of ice and snow.
Klein looked around for a while. Besides snow, there was only snow; he saw no living creature in the vicinity.
"It really is scattered!"
With a slight sigh, he looked at the coffee cup he was holding. Because I was holding it, was this cup of coffee also pulled into this book world as part of me?
Looking at the coffee, which had completely cooled down, he casually tossed the cup onto the ground beside him, then, while silently chanting a divination statement, discarded the cane he was holding in his left hand.
On the other side of this icy land, Leyton had already met with Leonard. To be precise, Pallez had directly brought Leonard's body to Leyton.
"First, let's find the others. After we've gathered, we'll go find your direct descendant."
Leyton's gaze swept around, and he said in a calm voice.
No sooner had he spoken than his eyes instantly deepened, lost focus, and became a blank white.
After a moment, his eyes cleared again, and he said with a slight smile:
"Let's go, I've found someone."
"The old man has gone back to sleep; he said he needs to adjust his state."
Leonard spread his hands, speaking in a helpless yet calm voice.
Leyton nodded lightly, then placed his left hand on Leonard's shoulder. Layers of starlight emanated, substantial as they enveloped the two figures and merged into the Spirit World, roaming into the distance.