A look of understanding appeared on her face. "New Moon" Jorna showed little reluctance, throwing the normal-sized leg bone, imbued with terrifying curses, to Reinette Tinekerr.
A look of surprise flashed in Reinette Tinekerr's scarlet eyes. One of the heads she was holding swung forward, quickly biting the leg bone.
On the turbulent sea, the "Tree of Flesh and Blood" was already in ruins. Count Mistral stood with his hands behind his back, looking at "King of Blood Moon" Tavari, whose body was torn apart on the bottom of the shattered deck. His ruined face still showed remnants of fear and malice.
Sharron's figure beside him blurred, entering "King of Blood Moon" Tavari's remains to accelerate the precipitation of the Beyonder characteristic.
In just a moment, a gem that seemed to be condensed from rich blood precipitated from Tavari's remains. It was the size of a fist, emitting a crimson glow, like a miniature Crimson Moon.
"Shaman King" Beyonder characteristic… Count Mistral nodded, seeing that the blood-colored gem seemed to have life and flew over on its own.
As he reached out to catch it, he heard Sharron's ethereal and distant voice:
"There are some strange residual contaminations within the 'Shaman King's' Beyonder characteristic…"
Knowing what Sharron wanted to convey, Count Mistral nodded gently and said:
"I know how to deal with it."
At this moment, the waves suddenly surged high, as if encountering a sudden tidal pull, directly throwing the dilapidated "Tree of Flesh and Blood" into the sky.
Mistral and Sharron's figures appeared in mid-air, both looking at the sky in surprise, their pupils filled with the crimson Moon, while vague stars faintly appeared in the remaining half of the sky.
Reinette Tinekerr, who was originally besieging "King of Curses" Barranca, swayed, and all four of her beautiful heads showed painful expressions. The "Yesterday's Reappearance" charm, which was already on the verge of exhaustion, also dissipated.
Under the eerie moonlight, which was completely different from before, Jorna frowned slightly, and her aura began to become unstable. Seizing this opportunity, "King of Curses" Barranca immediately tore open the Spirit World, enduring the risk of severe injury, and his figure disappeared into the colorful, dense patches.
Slowly retracting her raised arm, Jorna showed little regret. An angel was not so easy to hunt. With a somewhat inexplicable expression, she glanced at the strange Crimson Moon in the sky, and the greedy gazes behind the Crimson Moon, then exhaled a sigh of relief and said:
"It seems Duke Aaron has succeeded…"
-----------------
In the Spirit World space corresponding to the outer area of the Sea of Ruins, Aaron looked at the headless body standing in front of him with a strange expression. Its body had returned to the size of a normal human, holding a bluish-black one-eyed head. After a long while, he finally spoke:
"Astolfo, how do you feel now?"
A voice that could make spirits tremble suddenly rang out, allowing Aaron to directly feel the deep fatigue and the joy of rebirth:
"I am fine now, but I need some time to regain control of this body. This head, originating from Giant King Aurmir, is given to you as a reward. The ancient god's will contained within it has been mostly worn away."
"Although I'm not sure how you dealt with the corruption from the 'Mother Tree of Desire', I hope you treat it with caution and never underestimate it."
Aaron averted his gaze from Astolfo's current unique appearance, and a thought inexplicably surfaced in his mind:
"Your current appearance really matches Reinette Tinekerr quite well…"
This thought flashed through his mind, Aaron nodded, took the bluish-black one-eyed head, and watched his messenger disappear.
Looking into the violent single eye, Aaron heard a phantom whispering roar in his ears, but it quickly faded.
"After several epochs, and being worn away by the corruption of the 'Mother Tree of Desire' for a thousand years, this violent will is still so strong. He truly lives up to his name as the Giant King…"
With a sigh in his heart, Aaron tried to put the head into the Nation of Disorder. He hadn't held much hope, but unexpectedly, it succeeded on the first try.
Golden ripples spread, and the "Judgment Domain" dissipated. Aaron slightly closed his eyes, feeling the feedback from the complete digestion of the "Chaos Hunter" Beyonder potion, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up.
Although he was not the arbiter of judgment at the end of the hunt, the rank of the object of judgment directly filled this flaw, allowing the already scarce "Chaos Hunter" Beyonder potion to be completely integrated into his body.
"Balancer…" Aaron murmured, his gaze sweeping over a certain area outside the Spirit World, then retracting his gaze.
Compared to the transformation of advancing to a demigod and gaining divinity, the improvement brought by transforming into a complete mythical creature would only be more thorough, but correspondingly, the risks that needed to be borne were also rapidly increasing.
More importantly, once he advanced to a Balancer, both Augustus and Castiya would sense it. This was a mutual sensing between high-ranking individuals within the same Pathway, and ordinary methods could not block it.
Therefore, he must also be prepared for the worst, meaning that successful advancement would be tantamount to completely tearing off the facade and flipping the table prematurely.
Gathering his somewhat scattered thoughts, Aaron gently shook his head. He had more important things to do right now. He picked up the strange statue that had devoured the corruption of the "Mother Tree of Desire", and his figure left the Spirit World.
The Sea of Ruins were not pitch black at this moment. The strange Moon, occupying half of the sky, cast a crimson veil over this dark ocean.
Aaron only glanced at it, then averted his gaze, tutted, and paid no more attention. He immediately skillfully set up the ritual and chanted in ancient Hermes:
"Evernight Goddess, stands higher than the cosmos, more ancient than Eternity;"
"You are the Master of Crimson, the Mother of Concealment;"
"You are the Empress of Misfortune and Horror, the Mistress of Repose and Silence…"
The dense Darkness shrouding the Sea of Ruins quietly surged. Feeling this change, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief, then switched to normal Loenese and respectfully said:
"Goddess, the holy relic you bestowed has devoured the corruption from the 'Mother Tree of Desire' and consumed a drop of the River of Eternal Darkness."
"Furthermore, I used the 'Box of the Great Old Ones' to teleport the Abomination, Suah, to Calderon City. I am somewhat concerned that it might cause greater unforeseen circumstances."
After a brief report, Aaron cautiously expressed his concerns. The last time he entered Calderon City, it had already caused a disturbance in the River of Eternal Darkness, and he almost clashed with the two previous Deaths.
Moreover, when he left Calderon City, he almost fought with Haiter, the former Archbishop of the Death Pathway.
Amidst the dark and tranquil Darkness, a deep black gate inlaid with numerous starlight appeared. The strange statue that Aaron had placed in the center of the altar moved without wind, slowly drifting into the deeper world behind the gate.
During this process, Aaron did not receive any revelation, but this feedback itself indicated an attitude, which was that the worst-case scenario had not occurred, Adam had indeed fulfilled his promise, and the changes in Calderon were within the Evernight Goddess's acceptable range.
Just as Aaron was about to end the ritual, the deep Darkness around him suddenly enveloped him. A moment later, he looked at the wisps of black gas emanating from his body and shook his head, sighing:
"I was unknowingly cursed by an Abomination, but it might also be the doing of the 'Chained God's' projection. To think it could achieve this much in such a short time."
"My True Vision didn't even detect it. Perhaps only when I return to the Nation of Disorder will the Sefirah's self-purification ability make me realize this."
"If this were any Saint without 'Divine Favor', they would probably die suddenly after feeling safe."
After dealing with the most urgent matters at hand, Aaron did not linger in this place. With the strength of the Abomination, Suah, combined with the projection of the "Chained God", getting rid of Calderon was only a matter of time.
He was not sure if this enraged Abomination would revisit the place then. If they happened to run into each other, it would truly be a case of enemies meeting with burning eyes.
-----------------
Backlund, at the intersection of West Borough and Empress Borough, a core and livable location in Backlund, where a large number of nobles resided, and Williams Street was closer to Empress Borough.
Klein reluctantly spent a hefty 70 pounds to re-purchase a set of high-end clothing to make himself look more presentable and not too conspicuous in this area frequented by nobles.
Taking a sip of Sonia Blood Wine, Klein flipped through the information he had gathered from his investigations this morning, his expression somewhat solemn:
"The title of Viscount Pound was obtained in the 'Battle of the Violated Oath', but for some unknown reason, it suddenly declined decades ago, continuously losing heirs."
"A few years ago, Rafter Pound, who had already been demoted to Baronet Pound, sold his ancestral home to Duke Aaron, who was then only a Baronet."
Klein looked at the clearly recorded information on the table, his expression a bit conflicted. Ever since he saw Ince Zangwill in the scene shown by Arrodes, he had clung to this sole clue like a drowning man grasping at a straw, unwilling to give up.
But he never expected that the only place Ince Zangwill appeared was now the property of Mr. "Emperor."
For him, the simplest and most direct method was to directly ask Mr. "Emperor" in the Tarot Club, using his alternate identity "World," or request corresponding help.
Even if "0-08" was strong, it couldn't sense all of this through the gray fog, so he wouldn't need to investigate deeply and could still obtain the relevant clues.
The only thing that made him a bit uneasy was this series of coincidences. What he wanted to do always inadvertently connected with that Duke. Moreover, he didn't know why Ince Zangwill appeared on Williams Street at that time.
Due to the lack of useful information, Klein could only sigh and put away the papers on the table, planning to first find Baronet Pound to understand the situation.
Pulling down his hat brim, Klein left the luxuriously decorated restaurant and took a carriage back to 15 Minsk Street, only to his surprise find another carriage parked in front of his door.
Its exterior was dark and solid, with curtains on the inside of the windows, clearly not an ordinary vehicle.
Low-key yet luxurious, it seemed like a big business deal today… Klein focused his gaze and suddenly noticed an emblem in a prominent position on the carriage.
The main body of the emblem was a sword pointing vertically downwards, and the hilt of the sword had a red crown.
Is this the "Sword of Judgment"? The "Sword of Judgment" representing the Royal Augustus family? Is this a royal carriage?
A series of question marks floated through his mind. Klein, who had just stepped out of his somewhat shabby carriage, immediately stopped, a hint of nervousness mixed with his bewilderment.
Before he could continue thinking, the curtain moved, and a meticulously dressed middle-aged gentleman stepped out. His shirt was impeccably white and crisp, and his long tailcoat had clear lines, without a single flaw.
Compared to him, the clothes Klein had spent a full 70 pounds to custom-make seemed so shabby.
Rich jerk… This thought flashed through his mind as Klein looked at the middle-aged gentleman walking towards him, his gaze sweeping over the deeply lined face, finally resting on the pair of serious, light brown eyes that held no hint of a smile.
"Excuse me, who are you looking for?" Klein politely stepped forward and asked.
The middle-aged gentleman stopped, took off his hat, and held it to his chest, bowing in the most standard posture:
"I am a butler, here to invite you on behalf of my master, Mr. Sherlock Moriarty."
"Talim was his friend, and he is saddened and perplexed by his Death, and he heard that you were present at the time."
No, I wasn't… Klein instinctively wanted to deny it, but ultimately nodded:
"Yes, I watched Talim die in front of me."
"That is truly a sad and regrettable matter." The old butler said sincerely, "Are you willing to accept my master's invitation?"
Do I have a choice to refuse? Wouldn't that make me seem even more suspicious… Klein sighed in his heart, lifted the package in his hand, and looked at the other party, saying:
"Alright, but I was handling other commissions in West Borough this morning. May I first put these documents back in my room? If you are uneasy, you can come in with me."
"No need, Mr. Moriarty, please be quick." The old butler bowed slightly and extended his white-gloved right hand, making way.
Using his Clown ability, Klein controlled his steps, displaying a mix of frankness and slight nervousness. He casually placed the document bag on the bed.
He entered the washroom and quickly performed a divination using the sound of running water. Only after receiving the revelation that there was no danger did he breathe a sigh of relief.
I wonder which important person from the Royal family wants to see me. I've already relayed the information I know to MI9 through that golden-masked man. Why am I still being summoned today?
His doubts did not diminish in the slightest. Klein walked towards the carriage with the royal emblem, and as he opened the well-soundproofed door, he was slightly stunned, finding another familiar face. He instinctively spoke:
"Doctor Aaron?"