Secrecy!
The authority of secrecy from the Evernight Goddess!
Ince Zangwill quickly guessed the reason for this scene. Previously, 008 had mentioned this point and had even suspected that this Hastur Campbell was a favored of the Evernight Goddess.
Now it seemed that this possibility was very high!
Of course, there was another possibility: Hastur Campbell had some kind of relationship with the King of the Five Seas before him, which was why he deliberately pretended to have discovered nothing.
Many guesses flashed through Ince Zangwill's mind, but he did not choose to step forward and expose Hastur's identity.
He quietly remained an observer.
No one else came out of the cabin. Nast's gaze turned toward it. The entire Black Emperor suddenly flashed with black light, which turned into a net that completely covered the entire cabin.
Then, under a tremendous force, the entire cabin was crushed into powder, leaving the ferry with nothing but a bare deck.
There were always people who believed they were smarter than others, thinking that as long as they hid and did not appear, they would be safe.
After dealing with those "clever" people, Nast withdrew his gaze and looked at the seven Beyonders he had dragged out.
"Give a reason for your life to be spared."
"I believe in the Lord of Storms. On the sea, aren't you afraid of offending the Church of Storms?"
"Foolish." Nast gave an appropriate evaluation. With a light tap of his finger, the man's body began to rot, starting from the feet.
He could still howl, but he could only howl. In front of the King of the Five Seas, his power was far too insignificant.
In the end, a neat skeleton was left on the deck.
"Respected King of the Five Seas, I am willing to join your fleet and become a blade that rides the seas for you."
"Your heart is not sincere."
Nast granted this man death as well. Another neat skeleton appeared on the deck.
"I, I am willing to offer all my wealth, as long as the great King of the Five Seas grants me a way to live."
"Your wealth is too insignificant to me."
Agonized wailing once again filled the air.
Whether intentionally or not, Ince Zangwill and another Beyonder became the last two who had not answered the question.
Standing on the other side, Hastur held Ariella in his arms, a slight smile on his lips as he looked at the two familiar faces across from him.
Ince Zangwill and Morey Abraham.
At this point, the situation had become clear. The person who had provoked Nast earlier was among the two of them.
Hastur personally believed it was Morey Abraham. Followers of the Mother Tree of Desire were always mad and terrifying.
As for Ince Zangwill, who wanted to flee to the Southern Continent, he would not do something that would attract Nast's attention.
"Your turn."
Nast's tone was calm and unhurried. He was not worried that they could escape from his hands.
"When I decided to act like this, I already knew I had no chance of surviving today. Escaping from the powerful King of the Five Seas is simply too difficult."
Morey Abraham spoke, but his gaze remained fixed on Hastur, filled with cruelty and madness.
"Wise King of the Five Seas, there is something you might not know."
"The one standing opposite you, whom you regard as an ordinary passenger, Hastur Campbell, is a Follower of the Stars!"
"He is also a Beyonder, and he walks the same Beyonder pathway as you!"
"In the future, he will certainly become your mortal enemy!"
Morey Abraham directly revealed Hastur's identity, his words urging Nast to kill Hastur.
The expressionless Ince Zangwill felt a secret joy in his heart. He also did not want Hastur to remain uninvolved, but unless absolutely necessary he did not dare offend him recklessly.
Now, someone had done what he always wanted to do but did not dare.
"A Follower of the Stars…"
Nast's expression shifted slightly. His gaze fell on Hastur.
"Are you truly a Follower of the Stars?"
"Everyone thinks I am."
"I truly misjudged."
Nast took a deep look at Hastur before turning his gaze back to Morey Abraham.
"This information is not enough to become your reason for living."
"Yes, I know." Morey Abraham nodded, smiling.
"I am already prepared to welcome death. I only want to know how the King of the Five Seas plans to deal with a deceiver, especially one who is a Follower of the Stars."
A smile appeared at the corner of Nast's mouth.
"Naturally, I will treat a Follower of the Stars as my honored guest."
"What!" Morey Abraham's face was filled with shock and disbelief. But before he could say anything further, his feet had already begun to rot, revealing white bones.
Soon, a complete skeleton lay spread across the deck.
Seeing this scene, Ince Zangwill's pupils shrank slightly.
He felt fortunate, fortunate that the one who had stepped forward to expose Hastur's identity earlier was not himself.
Sure enough, the good luck of fate had always accompanied this Count Hastur Campbell from Backlund.
Clearly this was a dangerous encounter, yet under fate's protection, not only did the King of the Five Seas have no intention of harming him, he even wanted to treat him as an honored guest.
Such treatment formed a sharp contrast with the miserable situation Ince had experienced along the way.
"You're the only one left, the traitorous archbishop."
Ince Zangwill, who had been called out by Nast, sighed.
"There is no real conflict of interest between us. Why must you force me onto a dead end?"
"You threw yourself into my net."
"…" After a moment of silence, Ince Zangwill said, "I am willing to offer a gift as compensation for today's offense."
"What gift could buy your life?"
"I can help you find a way to advance to a higher sequence."
Nast smiled without speaking and slowly shook his head.
It was not that he was unmoved. He simply did not believe Ince Zangwill could accomplish such a thing.
To advance from Sequence 3 to Sequence 2, the first step required him to pledge allegiance to a true Black Emperor, or serve a king with a complete kingdom system.
Then he had to become a duke who was formally appointed and genuinely recognized by the people of the kingdom.
Finally, he needed a Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristic.
This last requirement was the hardest. At present, only the City of Hope in the Kingdom of Loen possessed Beyonders of such a level.
And he did not dare approach Backlund at all.
High-level Beyonders of the same sequence were mortal enemies. The moment he approached Backlund, he would certainly be hunted down by the Loen royal family, and his Beyonder characteristics would be used to strengthen their power.
"In Backlund, I learned a secret. The current Duke of Southville County is the illegitimate son of the former Duke of Southville County."
Ince Zangwill threw out another piece of information. Through cooperation with the Demoness Sect, he had learned many secrets of the Loen royal family.
"The former Duke of Southville County…" Nast narrowed his eyes and fell into memory.
He was the King of the Five Seas who roamed the oceans, while the former Duke of Southville County was the iron-blooded hero guarding that territory. They had crossed paths many times.
If the Loen royal family had not supported him from behind, he would not have surpassed Nast.
Nast suppressed the memories and asked curiously, "You have the ability to scheme against a Sequence 2 angel?"
"That is my secret."
"Hand over your secret, and you may leave alive today."
Nast's gaze was oppressive. He had already prepared to unleash his full strength.
"Must you really force me to be buried in the sea together with your crew?"
Driven to the brink, the deep blue, almost black eyes of Ince Zangwill began to ripple with dark, lightless shadows. Dense patterns filled his eyes, forming one strange and twisted symbol after another.
Ince Zangwill revealed a portion of his mythical creature form.
At the same time, he took out 008 and fully prepared himself for any attack from Nast.
On the sea, in Nast's home ground, he had no hope of victory. But dragging a group of people down with him would not be difficult.
Especially since many of Nast's crew were nearby, including his first mate, second mate, third mate, and other important figures.
"This pen is very unusual. Its origin seems extraordinary." Nast sensed the extraordinary nature of 008 but could not see its true origin.
"This is my greatest reliance on this journey." Ince Zangwill gripped 008 tightly, ready to use its power to escape at any moment.
"Is that so?" Nast still chose to act.
The sky instantly darkened as he pulled Ince Zangwill into the spirit world.
Within the empty spirit world, Nast stood alone at the bow of the Black Emperor. There were no crew members around him.
Ince Zangwill reacted just as quickly. Holding 008, he rapidly wrote on the sleeve of his arm:
"Ince Zangwill is in excellent condition today and can effectively control his mythical creature form. Therefore, he decides to hold nothing back, use all his strength, and leave this place!"
As the final stroke of 008 was completed, the flesh around his waist and ribs swelled and wriggled, sprouting four arms entwined with blood vessels. Soon, white feathers covered them.
At the same time, Ince Zangwill's teeth elongated and sharpened, their surfaces embedded with many blurry, tiny faces.
In the end, Ince Zangwill transformed into a strange monster crawling in the void, with eight legs covered in white feathers.
This was the combination of the powers of Night and Death.
It was also the manifestation of Ince Zangwill's strongest strength.