"Crack."
Silas's right hand gripped his left index finger. With a crisp snapping sound, his left index finger was easily torn off.
"Crunch, crunch, gulp."
"Brother!"
"Mr. Anderson, what are you doing!"
Both girls cried out in alarm simultaneously.
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly normal right now."
Silas endured the severe headache brought by the ravings, his tone calm as he said to Emily, "Miss Landlady, please excuse yourself for a moment."
"O-okay..."
Emily had never witnessed such a scene before. She quickly stood up and ran toward her own room.
"Rip..."
Silas tore a sheet of white paper from the landlady's homework notebook and spread it on the table.
Strange information was squeezed out from his flesh and blood, surging into his brain.
His body began swaying back and forth, moving involuntarily. Using the blood from his severed finger's wound as paint, he began drawing on the white paper.
"Swish, swish!"
His movements were swift and precise. He quickly sketched a familiar face on the white paper.
Lanevus.
"Find him."
Silas heard countless chaotic and mad ravings mixing together, compressing, condensing, suddenly transforming into a single clear and distinct sentence.
That voice was grand and lofty, as if echoing from the endless void all the way into the depths of his mind, inspiring fear and reverence.
No.
It wasn't that the ravings had become clear.
It was that the flesh and blood of that finger had brought about a change, allowing Silas to briefly understand the meaning of the ravings!
"Crash..."
As if some invisible barrier had shattered, his spirituality surged slightly at this moment, maintaining unity between spirituality and body.
The last remnant of the "Listener" was dissolved. In this instant, Silas completely digested the Sequence 8 potion.
The lucid words only maintained themselves in his mind for a moment before once again transforming into countless frenzied murmurs.
These insane voices filled Silas's mind, raging for quite a long time before quieting down.
Silas looked down at the portrait, his brows furrowing.
Even the True Creator has started urging people to find him...
He understood in his heart that the True Creator's notification definitely wasn't aimed at him specifically.
It should be similar to some kind of "all-channel broadcast."
All Beyonders of the Secrets Suppliant pathway who reached a certain sequence could probably "hear" this voice.
As for Silas, he was like a one-way receiver who happened to "tune in" to the True Creator's command to his subordinates.
It seemed the True Creator suspected Lanevus had already escaped from Backlund and had begun ordering divine messengers everywhere to search for his trail.
"Phew..."
Silas took a deep breath, feeling the changes within his body.
The madness accumulated within seemed to have lessened somewhat, but only somewhat.
A large amount of undigested potion still piled up inside his body, waiting for him to digest it.
Once I've completely digested it, the madness should be greatly reduced, right?
He thought to himself.
At the severed finger's wound, new flesh buds were wriggling and growing out. Before long, it had once again recovered into the shape of a finger.
---
Above the eternal gray fog.
"Honorable Mr. Fool, I have matters I wish to report to you privately."
After the usual greetings, [Justice] Audrey suddenly bowed to the great existence behind the thick fog.
Private communication?
[The Hanged Man] Alger instinctively began speculating about the content of the private conversation, but had no clue. [The Sun] Derrick, on the other hand, didn't seem as curious and appeared somewhat uneasy instead.
"You may proceed."
Klein nodded slightly.
With a wave of his hand, thick gray fog surged over, blocking the others' senses and leaving only him and Audrey facing each other.
She straightened her back and reported with dignity:
"Mr. Fool, the bait I cast has succeeded. Someone has attempted to contact me through certain nobles.
They are suspected to be members of the 'Psychology Alchemists Council.'"
"I'm inclined to join them, but I'm unsure what your opinion might be."
She really went looking for the Psychology Alchemists Council...
Klein secretly marveled at her high initiative.
From the information he'd gathered, this extraordinary organization leaned toward academia, focusing on research into the human mental world, soul, psyche, consciousness and such.
It didn't involve evil gods or dangerous philosophies... Thinking this far, Klein smiled at her:
"If you think it's appropriate, then do it. Remember to protect yourself."
"Thank you for your benevolence and magnanimity."
[Justice] Audrey immediately breathed a sigh of relief, her pressure considerably lessened.
To openly say she wanted to join another extraordinary organization before a deity was, frankly speaking, somewhat blasphemous.
Fortunately, Mr. Fool is magnanimous... Praise Mr. Fool!
After this, the Tarot Club proceeded as usual.
During this process, Audrey heard about a very peculiar matter.
It turned out that [The Sun] Derrick had accepted [The Hanged Man]'s suggestion and exhausted his spirituality to the limit, pretending to be slightly out of control.
He successfully separated from the exploration squad, but correspondingly, was also detained for examination.
During this process, he met an old man in the adjacent cell who had been detained for decades. He was the sole survivor of a peculiar incident.
In that disaster, their exploration squad had encountered a man named "Amon."
Amon came from an ancient family of the Fourth Epoch... known as the Blasphemer... wielding the power to steal divine authority... descendant of the Sun God...
After the Tarot Club ended and she returned from above the gray fog to the real world, Audrey still couldn't help but recall Mr. Hanged Man's introduction in her mind.
What a terrifying and powerful family... But fortunately, we have Mr. Fool.
She stretched her body on the luxurious silk bed, then picked up the hand bell from the bedside table.
"Ding-a-ling..."
With a slight shake, the crisp sound of the bell rang out. Soon, the bedroom door was silently opened.
"Miss."
The maid Annie appeared outside the door, performing a flawless curtsy.
"What arrangements are there for this afternoon?"
Audrey asked.
In order to attend the Tarot Club, she had sent everyone away under the pretense of taking an afternoon nap.
"There are no activities this afternoon, but this evening, there's a dinner party organized by the royal family that you need to attend."
Personal maid Annie said. Besides taking care of Audrey's daily needs, she also served half the role of a secretary.
"The royal family..."
Hearing this, Audrey's pretty face couldn't help but scrunch up, revealing some distress. "Can I not go?"
"Of course not."
Annie flatly refused.
"This is organized by the royal family specifically for young noble children.
If you don't go, rumors that Earl Hall is dissatisfied with the royal family will quickly spread through your circles."
"But those princes are really annoying..."
"Miss, please watch your attitude."
Annie reminded her with an unchanged expression.
"Alright, alright, I understand."
Unable to resist, Audrey sighed as if accepting her fate.
"Oh, remember to notify Miss Cecilia and have her accompany me."
She suddenly thought.