Chapter 44: I Can't Tell, I Really Can't Tell
When the two actions, at that instant, seemed to form a mirror-like resonance!
When Pales's scream, panicked to the point of losing composure, exploded in his mind.
What was Leonard's reaction?
"What?"
Leonard was startled by Pales's heart-wrenching scream in his mind, leaving him completely dazed.
Amon? Who is Amon? Run? Run where?
He didn't understand what was happening at all, only instinctively following Pales's terrified "gaze" to look at the door again.
That man with the Monocle was still standing there, his smile unchanged, looking like an ordinary, well-dressed gentleman with no apparent danger.
"Old man, what the hell are you doing? Who is that? Do you know him?" Leonard asked hurriedly in his mind.
He tensed his body, his adrenaline surging, yet he forced down his inner agitation and waited for Pales's answer.
However, Pales was in no state of mind to answer him.
"How could He be here? What is He doing in Tingen? No, why would He appear here? At this time? At this location?"
A series of questions tumbled frantically within Pales's spirit body.
How powerful He once was, calling the wind and rain in the fourth epoch, yet before "Him," He didn't even have the courage to look directly.
As a former Sequence 1 Angel of the "Error" Pathway, Pallez Zoroast's fear of the name Amon was etched into the depths of his soul.
During the fourth epoch, their Zoroast family was brought down by Amon, and He Himself was forced to parasitize various objects, barely surviving until now.
That period of being hunted and toyed with during the Darkness years was His eternal nightmare.
Now, this terrifying fellow had actually appeared in the small Tingen City, in an obscure Divination Club?
This was completely illogical!
His appearance heralded some unpredictable, massive change occurring, or He was simply here for "fun."
And no matter which it was, for Pales, it was a total catastrophe.
"Run! Leonard! Don't ask! Right now, immediately, use all your strength to run! Get as far away from here as possible!"
Pales's voice carried an unprecedented urgency, no longer lazy and full of mockery as it usually was.
Leonard finally realized the gravity of the situation.
Having known Pales for so long, he had never seen this self-proclaimed knowledgeable and fearless old antique lose his composure like this.
To scare an old Monster who survived the fourth epoch like this, what exactly was the background of that man at the door?
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Leonard's forehead, his heart pounding wildly.
He didn't dare hesitate any longer; his body's instinctive reaction was faster than his brain.
However, just as he was about to spring from the sofa and flee, Klein, sitting opposite him, spoke first.
"Leonard, what are you looking at? You're so engrossed."
Klein's voice was calm. He had already finished wiping the Monocle in his hand and was unhurriedly placing it over his left eye.
As the lens clicked into his eye socket, Klein's entire temperament seemed to undergo a subtle change in Pales's eyes.
And the "Amon" at the door also began to walk at that moment, stepping inside at a leisurely pace.
His target didn't seem to be Leonard; instead, he walked straight toward Klein.
Hearing Klein speak normally and seeing that the man completely ignored him, Leonard's tensed nerves suddenly relaxed.
Could it be... the old man was making a fuss over nothing and had recognized the wrong person?
It wasn't impossible; after all, he was an old antique, maybe his eyesight wasn't great.
However, as soon as this thought arose, it was snuffed out by a cold sneer from Pales.
"Heh, if the opponent is Amon, then every word He speaks and every action He takes could be an 'Error'! Do you think He would just rush over to catch me? That's a beast's way of hunting, not His!"
Pales's voice was still trembling, but His logic was terrifyingly clear.
Except, He was immediately dumbfounded Himself.
Because He discovered that the man walking toward Klein wore his Monocle... also on his left eye!
And most importantly, he didn't have the aura of the Marauder Uniqueness at all, not even a trace of the Beyonder characteristic fluctuations belonging to the Marauder Pathway!
Just like an... ordinary person?
No, an ordinary person with superb acting skills.
Pales "stared" intently as that terrifying man walked up to Klein, and then... then the man smiled and extended his hand to Klein, as if performing some friendly greeting.
From beginning to end, he didn't glance at Leonard's side once. That complete disregard made Pales Himself start to doubt Himself.
Could He really be getting senile in His old age, actually mistaking an ordinary person for "Him"?
Of course, He wouldn't act as if nothing had happened; instead, He began to analyze with extreme caution.
Or was this a trap?
Some ancient being who knew of His existence and His whereabouts had deliberately set this trap, using the image of "Amon" to bluff Him?
If that were the case, there might still be room for negotiation.
However, at that moment.
After the man and Klein exchanged a glance, those eyes filled with playful amusement looked straight toward Leonard's side.
This handsome young man took off his Monocle, spun it elegantly on his fingertip, and then handed it toward Leonard.
"Sir, you seem to be quite interested in my Monocle?"
His voice was gentle and Richness magnetic, but to Pales's ears, it sent a chill to the heart.
Before Pales could react, the young man pulled another identical crystal-ground Monocle from his pocket and, as if it were second nature, placed it over his left eye.
"Heh..." Pales's sneer immediately echoed in Leonard's mind, a laugh filled with the relief of having survived a disaster and self-mockery.
"Scaring myself."
In the next second, the smile on the young man's face grew even more brilliant. He raised his hand, unhurriedly removed the Monocle from his left eye, and under the gaze of Pales and Leonard, moved it to his right eye.
Then, with a clear smile, he said:
"My apologies, I wore it in the wrong position just now."
Meanwhile, Leonard, at the center of this storm and the host for Pales's parasitism, subconsciously took the offered Monocle. In a state of daze, he imitated Klein and the man, placing it over his own eye.
The moment the lens touched his eye socket.
An indescribable yet incredibly familiar aura erupted from that man!
That aura was filled with the authorities of "Deception," "Theft," and "Loopholes"—the unique divinity fluctuations of the Marauder Pathway!
It wasn't powerful, even somewhat illusory, but for Pales, it was more lethal than any divine might!
Then, a cold, playful voice, seemingly coming across endless years, exploded directly:
"Pales, when was it that you developed the illusion that I am not Amon?"