Lord of the Mysteries

The Grain Act was abolished… The Civil Servant Unified Examination… A concession was made, bringing the Church’s forces into the military… These seem to be in line with the trends of the times, but in essence, they’re oppressive, weakening the nobles, and supporting a new class. Compared to the previous thousand-year rule, this can really be considered to be against the norm. It’s the order needed to become Black Emperor…

In the past decade or so, the changes in architecture style have been very drastic as well…

For Roselle to be able to obtain the Uniqueness and obtain the corresponding Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, that ancient secret organization must’ve put in quite a bit of effort. It might’ve even provided part of it directly. When this emperor perished, who took away those characteristics?

Also, Bernadette has been in Backlund for the past few months and has been coming here frequently…

Sigh, the main issue is that the asymmetrical aesthetics of the empires in the Fourth Epoch had affected my understanding, making me believe that rules that violate normal circumstances are odd and against the order that humans would strive for. Now that I think about it again, what does it mean by normal circumstances? Isn’t it just something that everyone has already gotten used to and therefore, won’t have an instinctive sense of resistance towards it? From the tribes to the countries, from feudalism to republicanism, don’t they all violate the normal circumstances of the period they were in, with countless people wishing to return to the past?

The phrase “old fogies and left-overs from the old dynasties” encompasses this problem…

From the looks of it, as long as a deity doesn’t intervene, the revolution that the Black Emperor needs will definitely happen. It’s just a matter of time… With the tides of the times surging over, it’s really hard to stop it. That brother of Amon is indeed a powerful and terrifying Author…

In the depths of the Blood Emperor’s ruins, there should be a mausoleum similar to a pyramid. And according to the ritual requirements, one has to drive one’s citizens to build it. Therefore, there are cases of people going missing in the East Borough and overseas slave trade…

When the war develops to a certain stage, using the excuse of praying for victory, or the nation’s mourning for soldiers, a huge gathering with a large number of citizens can be convened to participate in the sacrificial ritual in the various cities in the royal capital…

Yes. Many years ago, the Loen royal family obtained the crown of the Balam Empire, and they connected the king’s name to the title of “Emperor.”

What a great plan!

When he was alerted by the Red Angel evil spirit’s questions, Klein’s mind tensed up. Many thoughts flashed through his mind, and at the same time, he had another question.

He looked at the tall, thin, young Gatekeeper who didn’t look rosy. He said after some deliberation, “George III wishes to directly become Black Emperor?

“But he isn’t even at Sequence 4…”

Even if George III could act ahead of time to make himself “more talented” and reduce the impact caused by the mental imprint in the potion, Klein didn’t believe that a Sequence 5 Beyonder could become a god directly. Unless he was lucky enough with that very slim chance of success.

And such luck wasn’t something that could be described simply as being “sufficient.” The Snake of Mercury who represents fate, Will Auceptin, didn’t even dare to directly devour the Die of Probability, and he had to seriously find a way to accommodate it.

The Red Angel evil spirit scoffed when “He” heard that.

“How do you know that George III is only Sequence 5?

“How are you so sure that the George III under investigation is the real George III? Could it be that he was ‘imagined’ into existence, or could it be a Faceless at the angel level?

“These are truly very difficult things to accomplish, but to a certain zealot, these are all within the scope of one’s ability and the resources in one’s grasp.

“I suspect that George III is an official member of the secret organization that was created to mimic our Rose Redemption. His true level might already be at the angel level. Heh heh, I wouldn’t be surprised if “He” is already at Sequence 1.”

… This, Emperor Roselle once said that the members of that ancient secret organization are all important figures that he couldn’t imagine. When they combine forces, other than dealing with the seven Churches, there’s nothing that can’t be done… This actually includes the king of a country? That’s right, later on, the emperor also became the ruler of Intis… Zealot… Is this what the Red Angel evil spirit thinks of Amon’s brother? Although this is clearly a little extreme, with a strong bias, there’s a certain reason for it. A nickname isn’t given randomly… Klein made his marionette frown slightly.

“You seem to be able to see through the truth of this matter easily, but why hasn’t the Church of Evernight, Storm, and Steam realized this problem?

“Their understanding of the Black Emperor is no less than yours…”

After all, the two Churches of the Evernight and the Storm had supported the Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire!

The Red Angel evil spirit wore an amused expression again as “He” sized up Dwayne Dantès and his valet.

“How old are you?

“Why are you still so naive and childish?

“The six deities and the six Churches are not necessarily equivalent at times. The things the six deities know might not be told to the angels and saints beneath ‘Them.”

The Red Angel evil spirit let out a chortle again when “He” saw that Dwayne Dantès was still frowning in confusion.

“Trust me, what I said, and what I’ll be saying next, is undoubtedly a form of provocation to ruin the image of the six deities, but you can consider whether it’s the truth.

“Let’s put it this way. In regards to someone wanting to become the Black Emperor, the attitude of the six deities—uh, the seven deities is rather ambiguous. They’ often have conflicts of ‘Their’ own. More precisely, ‘They’ are happy to see a mentally-sound Black Emperor be born, but they also wish that it’s one ‘They’ support. Therefore, ‘They’ will not give any detailed revelations to the various Churches. ‘They’ will only follow the normal procedure and deliver punishment if there are results to the investigation. Otherwise, they will tacitly approve of its development.

“Of course, during this process, we cannot eliminate the possibility that a certain existence might want to do some damage, but it will not be so direct and obvious, because it will definitely be stopped by the other deities.

“If it wasn’t because he knew of ‘Them’ taking such attitudes, how could George III dare take the risk?

“Alright, now that the war has broken out, he has overcome the crisis. He can wait for the next opportunity.”

At that moment, Klein thought of the news that had been leaked out during the operation launched at the Blood Emperor ruins. He was momentarily unsure if he should suspect that the upper echelons of the three Churches had a member of the ancient secret organization, or that a certain deity had personally reminded Amon’s brother. And if it were the latter, the suspect was undoubtedly not the Lord of Storms.

After a moment of silence, Klein hesitantly asked, “So, as long as nothing goes wrong, George III will carry out the ritual to become a god, despite everything that he has done? And if everything goes smoothly and he survives the backlash from the potion, will he ascend to the throne of Black Emperor?”

The Red Angel evil spirit replied in a relaxed tone, “Is there a problem?”

“Why would the seven deities…” Klein couldn’t help but ask.

The Red Angel evil spirit tsked and said, “Do you want to know? If you want to know, I can tell you now.”

Just as he was about to say “of course,” Klein suddenly recalled the warning that Ma’am Arianna had given him.

“There are some things that make it easier to be ‘infected’ the more you know. Both your body and soul will be infected. Once you become an angel, you can seek out the exact answer.”

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Klein made his marionette smile.

“Forget it then.”

“Very good. You nearly died out of curiosity and foolishness.” The Red Angel evil spirit shook “His” head regretfully.

“He” then looked out the window and said, “If there’s nothing else, you may leave.”

“Alright.” Klein made the marionette stand up and raise his right hand.

At this moment, the half-slumped Red Angel evil spirit suddenly asked, “I have this nagging feeling that if I had attacked you just now, you wouldn’t be completely helpless, am I right?”

Of course, why do you think I chose Flaming Jump instead of “Teleporting”? That was to hide the burning of the paper crane in my wallet! This way, Snake of Fate Will Auceptin’s gaze would silently land on me. If anything happens, “He” would use the Yesterday Once More charm… To “deal” with an existence at your level, one can’t be too careful. How could one not be careful and keep a trump card hidden? Klein didn’t directly answer the Red Angel evil spirit’s question. He smiled and expressed his tacit agreement.

Pa!

He snapped his fingers, causing scarlet flames to surge out of his pocket and envelop him.

As the scarlet streams dispersed, Klein’s figure disappeared in front of the Red Angel evil spirit.

Backlund, at Dr. Aaron Ceres’s home, in a black pram.

The chubby baby rubbed his eyes and muttered silently, “Backlund really isn’t suitable for children to live in!”

39 Böklund Street. Having done a divination, Klein saw Member of Parliament Macht who was about to head to West Borough.

“Didn’t you go to Maygur Manor? I’m planning on letting Riana and Hazel hide in Moose Manor.” Macht pinched the sockets of his eyes.

I wonder when this side effect will disappear… Klein retracted his gaze from this action and sighed.

“I have to prepare some weapons for the manor, so I came to seek your help.

“Also, if you have the means to get food, you can help me buy some.”

In his opinion, the low-level citizens weren’t able to stock up on food because they didn’t have any money at all. At most, they would stock up a few days’ worths of food. Therefore, his purchase wouldn’t affect them for the time being. Once the food situation worsened, he could donate more of it through Miss Audrey. Before food rationing was implemented, if Klein didn’t stockpile, other rich people would do so. Furthermore, they might not donate it.

“No problem,” Macht agreed without any hesitation.

Klein didn’t ask about the price, because he had given Housekeeper Taneja a total of 5,000 pounds for such matters.

Of course, after confirming that Zaratul was in Backlund and that Dwayne Dantès being equivalent to Gehrman Sparrow was known to the Red Angel evil spirit, he decided not to return to Maygur Manor. He planned on changing his identity so as not to affect the innocent.

As for the excuse, it had been arranged by the Church of Evernight that he would perform certain tasks and that he was unable to return for a long period of time. If there was a charity event that required his help, he gave Miss Audrey the authority to stand in his place.