The silver-white lightning swirling around the 'Tree of Flesh and Blood' ship suddenly extinguished, and in the howling sea wind, the entire ship's pervasive dark green flames died out. However, for the Shaman King, who possessed night vision, this did not hinder his ability to see.
King of the Blood Moon, Tavari, with a hint of deeply hidden fear in his devout expression, carefully placed the palm-sized humanoid creature, which had no facial features and was covered in black branches and thorns, into a vessel made of white bone.
"Lord Tavari, what should we do next?"
Brando the Wraith, who had joined the fleet with the Shaman King and was now the first mate of the 'Tree of Flesh and Blood,' bowed slightly, not daring to look at the small figure, and asked respectfully.
Tavari's unlined face curved into a charmingly evil smile, and he said in a sinister tone:
"We have prepared for too long for Amyrius Rieveldt, and the grace of the gods can help us sense the 'Reproduction Necklace' hidden on Cynthia over a wider range."
"Hmph, what kind of waves can an Imperative Mage stir up after leaving the fleet? This time, we must turn Amyrius into a believer of the gods. If so, Lord Suah's plan will have a foundation for realization."
When the word Suah was spoken, King of the Blood Moon, Tavari's temple clearly twitched, as if that Lord's name alone could inspire fear.
As he spoke, the strange little figure in the bone vessel suddenly turned to face one direction, and a phantom, terrifying chewing sound echoed out of thin air, awakening the madness within every creature that heard it.
His eyes became increasingly blood-red, and the curve of King of the Blood Moon, Tavari's lips widened. The 'Tree of Flesh and Blood' ship was like a giant black vortex, madly devouring the surrounding crimson moonlight, causing itself to become distorted as it traversed the dangerous hidden waterways.
In another not-so-distant sea area, layers of dark clouds obscured the crimson moonlight, and candlelight flickered on the 'Moon Shadow'.
Louise curiously glanced at Reinette Tinekerr, who was holding four blonde, red-eyed heads, and poked Sharron, who was wearing a black court dress and a small soft hat, asking in a low voice:
"Is this your teacher?"
Sharron nodded silently, pointed to Cynthia on the bed, whose blonde hair flowed down, eyes closed, and face was delicate, possessing both feminine softness and a touch of girlishness, and said calmly:
"King of the Blood Moon should be arriving soon. Let's get ready first."
Amyrius Rieveldt stood silently to the side, his golden eyes gazing at Count Mistral and the uniquely shaped Reinette Tinekerr, wondering what he was contemplating.
Just then, the four blonde, red-eyed heads held by Reinette Tinekerr simultaneously lifted, looking towards the west shrouded in dark clouds. Count Mistral was half a beat slower, but his actions were more direct.
He extended his hands forward, pulling out a phantom, hazy Door inscribed with numerous mysterious symbols out of thin air.
As the low ancient Hermes echoed, the 'Door of Summoning' slowly opened, and the distorted, colorful light Door emitted a phantom creaking sound. A crack opened, and a beautiful, blood-eyed woman walked out.
A surging aura of life rapidly spread, followed by a pressure originating from the life level.
It was the youngest of the Sanguine's three dukes, and a descendant of Queen of the Blood Moon, Auernia's bloodline, New Moon, Jorna!
Casually suppressing Cynthia, who was about to mutate under the influence of the 'Reproduction Necklace,' the Duchess snorted coldly towards the west:
"What a disgusting aura...."
On the deck of the 'Tree of Flesh and Blood' ship, still traversing the storm, King of the Blood Moon, Tavari frowned slightly, looking at the strange Puppet in the bone vessel that seemed to have suddenly lost its sense of direction.
Amyrius discovered the anomaly and responded accordingly?
A mocking arc curved at the corner of his mouth. Tavari reached out and picked up the strange Puppet, casually slashed his wrist, and before the wound fully healed, forced out a drop of dark red, viscous blood.
The strange Puppet in his hand seemed to be greatly attracted, suddenly becoming agitated. A crack appeared on its faceless head, like a mouth waiting to devour someone, and it swallowed the Shaman King's essence blood.
The crack then healed, and the Puppet's head wiggled and distorted. Tavari's facial features strangely appeared, as if a connection had been established with a great existence.
In this uncontrollable sense of pleasure, the layered storm before King of the Blood Moon, Tavari, suddenly 'disappeared' from his sight, leaving only figures that were either sinisterly crimson or oppressively terrifying.
The smile on his face froze before it could fully form. Tavari's expression changed drastically. He clutched the Puppet in his hand and rapidly retreated, but his body stiffened, as if he had lost the ability to control himself.
The Tree of Flesh and Blood, which had occupied most of the deck, withered instantly, decaying into rotten mud, and finally dissolving into ashes, as if all its life force had been drained.
Casually scattering the ashes, New Moon Duke, Jorna's crimson eyes reflected Tavari, who was frozen in mid-air, and she pointed without hesitation.
The layered dark clouds seemed to be pierced by an invisible force, and the crimson moonlight, as if substantial, condensed into a pair of giant bat wings that obscured half of the Crimson Moon, flying towards Tavari.
Just as the terrifying bat wings magnified in Tavari's pupils, the strange Puppet in his hand, which had grown facial features, suddenly emitted a hazy, clear radiance.
This light instantly expanded and brightened, forming a seemingly giant 'Crimson Moon' above the 'Tree of Flesh and Blood' ship.
The 'Crimson Moon''s radiance dispelled the Darkness in this area, giving Amyrius and the other demigods the feeling that they were on the ground, looking up at the sky.
This 'Crimson Moon' was not merely a full Moon; it was closer to a Blood Moon, even exceeding it.
Unspeakable spiritual power thus emerged, making the rapidly approaching giant wings appear eerie and profoundly desolate.
Even Amyrius, who knew the strangeness of the Rose School of Thought and had forcefully suppressed his inner desires with an Imperative beforehand, could still feel his inner malice expanding and an unimaginable change brewing within his body.
Not to mention Louise and Count Mistral, who were already on the Moon Pathway, as the authority of the Moon itself included reproduction and fertility!
At the same time, on the giant bat wings that obscured the surroundings and created Darkness, countless white fine hairs grew densely, appearing exceptionally horrifying.
New Moon Duke, Jorna, snorted coldly, changing her point to a grasp. The giant bat wings covering the sky rippled with faint light, and all the white fine hairs fell off. Louise's slightly bulging belly also shrank back.
In these few short seconds, Tavari's clothes suddenly disintegrated, revealing his chest and abdomen.
There seemed to be an even stranger face embedded there, as if it had grown out of the Shaman King's body and was connected to his internal organs. Its eyes and mouth were like crescent Moons, exuding an unspeakable strangeness in the moonlight.
As the 'Crimson Moon' rose, this strange face was dyed a vivid red, as if soaked in blood.
It then visibly softened, turning into a pool of still-wriggling bloody mud, covering the Puppet along Tavari's arm, and an even more terrifying aura emerged.
Tavari, freed from the Puppet's control, ignored the large hole in his chest. This was not a particularly serious injury for a Shaman King. His figure instantly disintegrated into pieces of red scales, dissipating from his original spot, and rapidly reassembled in the distance.
From the mud that had swallowed the Puppet, two hands emerged, whose mere aura made people tremble. They were lusterless and lacked texture, like the shoddiest of Puppets.
Black, sticky liquid flowed on the surface of the hands, entwined with black thorns, and they struck away Reinette Tinekerr's spreading golden hair.
"This is another Angel of the Rose School of Thought, King of Curses, Barranca!"
Louise, standing behind her grandfather Count Mistral, endured the stinging in her eyes, recalling the intelligence Sharron had provided before the operation.
This second-in-command of the Rose School of Thought, a Sequence 2 existence, had descended from afar by leveraging prior arrangements on Tavari!
The evil aura instantly caused the Rose School of Thought members and their dependents on the 'Tree of Flesh and Blood' ship to either die directly, mutate, or madly attack their own people, with no one spared except Shaman King Tavari.
Unexpectedly, this Angel reacted so quickly. Knowing that staying here would only be a hindrance, Louise quickly abandoned her original plan, unhesitatingly grabbed Amyrius Rieveldt, and followed him to quickly leave the battlefield and return to the 'Moon Shadow'.
This was also what Amyrius Rieveldt and Aaron had agreed upon earlier: if an existence beyond a demigod appeared, he had the right to leave the battlefield, as his function as a decoy had already been perfectly fulfilled.
-----------------
Meanwhile, the battle in a certain chaotic Spirit World area had become increasingly fierce.
The Angel's massive body, covered in yellowish-green liquid, was already full of scorch marks, and the giant greatsword, shimmering with orange-red light, that he had condensed in his hand had already shattered.
Aaron's face was somewhat pale as he held the 'Sun Chaser Scepter.' Even with the blessing of the Nation of Disorder and the sublimation of the Judgment Domain itself, his Imperative could already affect Angel-level existences.
But ultimately, his spiritual strength was only slightly higher than that of a typical Sequence 3, far from reaching the Angel level.
Furthermore, he also had to maintain Miss Arianna's historical projection and the Judgment Domain, leaving him barely enough spiritual burden to maintain a single Imperative.
Considering the residual influence of the Mother Tree of Desire, Aaron dared not use methods similar to a full Moon to restore his spirituality, so he could only continuously borrow false spirituality from his past self through the 'Ring of Mysteries'.
Pallez Zoroast, whose hair had turned completely white and was neatly combed back, stole the Angel's ability to condense the Twilight Greatsword with a helpless expression. Every time Aaron sought him out, it was never an easy task.
Although his current body was not his true body, its essence was extremely high. It was a Worm of Avatar that Aaron had specifically sought in Backlund after obtaining the only Grade 0 Sealed Artifact of the East Tucker family, the 'Crown of Stars'.
As a neighboring Pathway, the 'Crown of Stars'' own authority, combined with the 'Yesterday Once More' charm, meant that even as a clone, Pallez Zoroast at this moment had already surpassed ordinary Sequence 2 Angels.
Besieged by several Angels and a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, coupled with Astolfo's interference with the main body, this Angelic body, which had already fallen into madness and chaos, was at an absolute disadvantage despite possessing the characteristics of a Glory.
Just then, the terrifying single eye at the top of the giant's greenish-black head, wrapped and entwined by evil vines, seemed to reach a critical point in its mad and violent aura.
An extremely frantic roar echoed in the ears of all living beings in this Spirit World area. This was the remaining madness, anger, and hatred of the former Giant King, Aurmir, before his death.
Aaron's mind, impacted by this terrifying will, suddenly went blank. He temporarily lost all thoughts, and Arianna's historical projection disappeared as the summoning was lost.
Without the hidden shielding, the Cyclops's chest suddenly turned crimson, like a red 'curtain,' and a strange scene then emerged.
At the core of that scene was a mummy wrapped in yellowing bandages. 'It' was pierced by countless brownish-black branches and suspended in mid-air.
Its belly was highly distended, and sometimes a certain part would bulge and then deflate, as if it were gestating new life.
The mummy's mouth opened and closed, constantly screaming. Although Aaron, who had just recovered, could not hear the actual sound, a pain still resonated within his body and soul, making him gradually bear the mummy's suffering.
The Chained God!
Enduring the pain coming from the depths of his Spirit Body, Aaron's eyes turned slightly cold. The Mother Tree of Desire could not infiltrate too much power into reality. If one wished to pray to her and receive feedback at the Angel level, a large ritual was required.
After a thousand years of erosion and assimilation, although there was interference from Giant King, Aurmir's remaining will, that was ultimately a rootless duckweed. This body had essentially been assimilated into a ritual altar that could be activated at any time.
However, there was also a certain difference and essential gap between the influence directly exerted by the Mother Tree of Desire and the gaze she bestowed through the Chained God.
The illusory, scaleless snake, previously hidden in the void and never participating in the battle, its body flowing with strange circular patterns, quietly appeared. A shimmering river enveloped this Spirit World area.
The solidified projection of the Chained God slowly etherealized, transforming back into a red 'curtain,' hanging solitarily on the Cyclops's chest, like an protruding heart.
Snake of Fate, Restart!
Looking at the concentrated pollution from the Mother Tree of Desire, formed by the ritual, Aaron's eyes suddenly blazed, but before he could act, a wriggling mass of flesh covered in black viscous liquid brutally tore through this Spirit World, forcing its way in.
Although Will Auceptin restarted the Chained God's projection, in just those few seconds that the projection appeared, as an important tool for the Mother Tree of Desire's interference with reality, the Abomination Suah had already sensed the change in the Spirit World.