Lord of the Mysteries

Although there weren’t many supplicants in the Storm cathedral in the evening, Klein chose to appear on a corridor that led to the garden so as to avoid conflict.

“How magical…” Pasha muttered to herself as she looked at the settling surroundings.

Roy suppressed his emotions and looked around.

“If that chief shepherd comes to the cathedral to tide over the curfew, he could be somewhere like this.”

“If one isn’t worried about accumulating the number of crimes they commit, an angel has too many ways to fool the average person,” Klein said casually. “I’ll send you to the other cathedrals later. Try to stay in places with glass windows and mirrors. Once you discover any outsiders that might be from Feysac, find an opportunity to draw a symbol…”

Before he could finish his sentence, his head suddenly turned as he looked at the door leading to the garden in the prayer hall.

A figure over 2.6 meters tall slowly walked out. He was wearing a long black robe with white edges, one completely filled with his bulging muscles.

This was an old, white-bearded man wearing a square hat. His eyes were pale blue, and he had few wrinkles. He had an aura of superciliousness.

The chief shepherd of the Church of the God of Combat, Larrion… Without needing to identify the figure, Klein’s spiritual intuition told him that the person opposite him was an angel, the reason for coming to the cathedral.

Larrion glanced at him and said in surprise, “It’s not Arianna…”

“He” immediately restrained “His” expression and said rather indifferently, “Appears to be ‘Her’ helper.

“You can tell ‘Her’ that I’ve reached an agreement with 0-02, which has come alive to a certain degree. I’ll give up sealing it in exchange for permission to leave. And y’all will stay here, enduring the changes in the rules and the increasingly stricter laws until y’all are completely dead…”

The chief shepherd didn’t seem to be worried that Klein would stop “Him” at all. This was because when “He” spoke, “His” body was rapidly aging. The surface of “His” skin quickly became covered in wrinkles, with aging spots appearing on it, dripping with a rotting liquid.

In just a few blinks of an eye, Larrion looked as though he was about to evaporate into thin air from his aging.

Then, “He” turned into a pool of rotten liquid that completely evaporated.

The impact of this scene sent shivers down Biles and company’s spines. They felt as if their minds were about to go haywire and that their emotions were about to collapse.

This was just like the countless tiny worms that had crawled out from the wound on Mr. Magician’s wrist when he reformed his hand. It was just as terrifying and harrowing!

A strange ability; it has something to do with Twilight? Klein didn’t have any intention of stopping Larrion. He only nodded in thought.

In the spirit world corresponding to Belltaine, Larrion’s figure appeared and returned to normal.

Right on the heels of that, as though “He” could control spirit world creatures, he passed through an invisible barrier and escaped the many restrictions of Belltaine City.

But just as Larrion was about to begin “tearing” through space, everything suddenly darkened and “He” saw a seamless patch of dark “cloth.”

It was like a wall that blocked Larrion’s path!

Larrion cautiously stopped his actions, looked up at the infinitely high area where the Seven Pure Lights were. However, “He” could only see an illusory “curtain” hanging down from it, enveloping the spirit world of the area corresponding to Belltaine, isolating it and creating an independent world.

At the same time, Larrion’s intuition as a Demon Hunter had told “Him” that the barrier formed by the “curtain” was extremely strong and difficult to break through. “He” needed to spend a lot of time and effort to do so.

To this chief shepherd, what was happening had a strange comical feeling, making him unable to contain his rising anger.

This was akin to “Him” finally finding the key to a secret chamber after countless hardships. Just when “He” had the chance to open the door and leave before others could, “He” was surprised to find that there was an additional lock on the chamber’s door—a rather sturdy lock!

It lacks a sense of realism. It’s a projection from the Historical Void… It’s fraud! No, it’s outside of Belltaine City, out of the law’s jurisdiction… This historical projection should’ve existed here a long time ago. It can’t last more than two minutes, so it will dissipate on its own… Larrion quickly regained his composure, allowing his anchors and inclination towards madness to once again form a balance.

…

In the corridor of the Storm cathedral, Roy and company finally recovered. They turned their heads to look at Mr. Magician, who was in no way inferior to the angel from before.

Pasha hesitated for a moment before saying fearfully, “‘He’… ‘He’ seems to have escaped.”

This way, they wouldn’t be able to obtain any information about 0-02’s location. Relying on a carpet search would be too late.

Furthermore, no one present knew what the terrifying Sealed Artifact looked like. Describing it as a book made it too wide a scope.

“I can only think of other solutions,” Klein replied with a smile. “Do you have any suggestions?”

He had been waiting for Larrion to return and negotiate with him, but he realized that the chief shepherd would rather wait in the spirit world for the “curtain” historical projection to disappear. And although he could enter the spirit world as well, he was unable to break through the strange barrier created after 0-02’s law-changing.

As he spoke, Klein seriously considered other solutions and made a few Worms of Spirit control his body. He spoke to the Beyonders beside him in an attempt to find inspiration through their discussion.

“We should take the initiative to create a ‘contradiction’ that’s similar to what happened to Biles so that we’ll be in a relatively safe state. Only by doing so will we be able to begin our search.” Phil brought up the idea that he had previously had.

Pasha shook her head.

“But if we use this kind of ‘contradiction’ to do something, 0-02 will definitely add new rules to resolve the corresponding problems.”

“But this can still buy us some time,” Phil emphasized.

“That is something that can be done,” Roy agreed, and added, “but our focus should be on finding 0-02. Perhaps we can create some ‘contradiction’ that will make it expose its location?”

As for what kind of “contradiction” could achieve such an effect or how to create it, he hadn’t come up with an idea.

In the event of a contradiction… New rules will be added to resolve it… Klein wore a smile as he listened silently. Sparks flew as his thoughts crashed in his mind.

At that moment, aqueous light appeared on the surface of the magic mirror in his hand as silver words appeared:

“Pasha, do you want to know what the new content on the noticeboard is?”

The mirror directly asked me… Why did it ask me directly? Pasha was taken aback for a moment before she hurriedly nodded and answered, “Yes.”

The aqueous light in the silver mirror quickly returned and presented a scene of the noticeboard.

There were two new rules:

“…In compliance with the curfew order, the various cathedrals will shut down early…”

“…All hotels shall only accommodate guests who have registered their identities…”

Phil panicked.

“…Where do we go now?”

He had no idea how he, Roy, and Pasha could escape the punishment.

Roy and Pasha exchanged looks as various thoughts surged through their minds, but none of them were viable.

At this moment, Klein, who had been maintaining his silence, smiled and cast his gaze at Biles.

“Where’s your house in Belltaine?”

“A rental apartment on 18 Maple Street, but that apartment has already collapsed from the blast of an artillery shell,” Biles answered, slightly perplexed.

Klein smiled and said, “You can make a wish to return your house to its original state. I’ll grant it.”

“…Can that be done?” Although the magical “magician” had healed Phil’s severed hand with unbelievable powers, Biles still felt that it would be much more difficult to restore a collapsed house to its original state. After all, Dr. Weber, the military doctor who Roy mentioned, was capable of doing that.

“Of course.” Klein smiled and reminded him. “Make haste.”

At that moment, the supplicants in the cathedral were leaving one after another.

Biles didn’t dare to delay any further as he immediately said, “I wish that my house will return to its original state.”

“Alright.” Klein raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. “Your wish has come true.”

Uh? While Roy and company were in a daze, Klein activated Teleport once again and brought them to 18 Maple Street. He stopped outside a two-bedroom room.

Biles stared blankly at the familiar wooden door in front of him. Subconsciously, he reached out his right hand and pushed it open.

The cupboard, gas stove, bunk bed, wooden table covered in oil, and the messy old newspapers strewn everywhere were reflected in his eyes as his eyes immediately moistened.

Before the war broke out, he often saw his mother busying herself around the coal stove when he came back from the mines. His father and brother either made use of the time to do some repairs or help to handle the spoiled parts of the fruit and vegetables. They did some of the work that could be taken home. His young niece learned the alphabet from old newspapers under the guidance of her mother while she put together matchstick boxes.

Although such a life was tough and didn’t have any ability to avoid risks, it was still a wonderful memory for Biles. It was many times better than the dark mine paths, heavy ores, and the whipping from the supervisors.

But now, even this tiny bit of beauty was completely destroyed.

“Aren’t you going to invite us in?” Phil stood at the door, not daring to trespass on the private property.

After snapping back to his senses, Biles hurriedly said, “Please come on in.”

After entering the unoccupied house, Klein pulled a chair that could break at any moment and sat down. He then fell silent.

Roy, Pasha, and the others did not dare to disturb the gentleman as they waited quietly by his side.

After twenty to thirty seconds, Klein suddenly looked around and said with a smile, “I have an idea that requires verification. Who wants to work with me on this?”

“I’ll do it,” Roy replied without hesitation.

Klein smiled and replied, “Afterward, don’t truthfully answer the questions. I’m looking for the loopholes hidden in 0-02’s rules.”

Roy nodded and said, “That wouldn’t be an issue.”

Klein immediately took out the magic mirror and said to Roy, “Ask it a question.

Roy thought for a moment and said, “Where can I find my next potion?”

A scene appeared on the surface of the silver mirror. It was the chief shepherd of the Church of the God of Combat, Larrion, who was pacing around the spirit world!

“…” Roy’s expression instantly stiffened. Then, he heard Mr. Magician say, “It’s your turn to answer its question. Remember, don’t give it the correct answer.”

Roy hurriedly reined in his thoughts and looked back at the mirror. He saw that the mirror had already transformed into Mr. Magician himself and a few more lines of blood-like text appeared:

“Who did you give your first time to?”

Roy instantly recalled the past as his face flushed red. Then, he answered according to Mr. Magician’s instructions, “I’m not sure.”

“A lie!” The blood-colored text on the silver mirror instantly condensed into the terrifying words.

Pa!

A bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck Roy.

Roy convulsed in pain as his body was charred black. His hair stood on end, but his life wasn’t truly in danger.

Biles, Pasha, and Phil were all startled, unsure what had just happened.

At this moment, Klein looked around and smiled.

“Look, the mirror didn’t get punished for voluntarily causing harm.

“A real opportunity lies in here.”