1149 Escape
When Audrey and company below the platform saw this scene, it was as if they were admiring a large magic show. For a moment, no one realized what had happened.
A few seconds later, the scene started to turn disorderly. Amidst screams, the king’s guards all rushed up the platform.
The Cabinet ministers and the House of Lords n.o.bles subconsciously sought a place to hide, or they mustered their courage to follow the guards to check the scene.
Audrey looked on in a daze. She wasn’t too surprised, but she felt that it was surreal.
If Mr. World paid strong attention to someone, it meant that they were being watched by Mr. Fool. And to date, none of Mr. Fool’s goals had failed.
This was the will of a deity.
In the other munic.i.p.al square in Backlund, Melissa, Benson, and company also heard the explosion before realizing that the king’s speech had come to an abrupt stop.
After a moment of silence, people began to turn rowdy as they began breaking out into a discussion amidst hushed whispers.
Fear of the unknown and fear of the future slowly occupied their hearts.
…
In the outskirts of Backlund, inside Ruins No. 1.
George III’s mind was a blur. “He” felt something that couldn’t be resisted inside “His” body as a volcano of extreme madness erupted in his mind. It was changing “His” body while distorting everything around “Him.”
Indistinctly, “He” saw a huge black throne, one which “He” was sitting on. “He” wore an emperor’s crown, looking down upon the real world with great pride. “He” had rein over his subjects, and “He” was equal to the deities.
“He” reached out “His” hand in an attempt to grab this future, but countless curses and attacks of unknown origins kept striking “Him.” It prevented “Him” from touching that future.
“No…”
George III’s hand, which had faded, hung in midair as “His” consciousness tore apart as “His” body mutated completely.
Trissy, who had been reduced to a blob of flesh and blood, enveloped that shadow of order using her countless thick snake hair.
Boom!
In the outside world, in the area corresponding to Ruins No. 1, large amounts of dust were stirred up into the sky like the thickest of smog.
Boom!
The area became a humongous crater that was connected to the Tussock River, opening up an inlet for the river water to rush in.
Rumble!
High up in the sky, lights dimmed as a storm containing immense horror enveloped the area.
Further away on a mountain peak, two figures watched this scene without anyone speaking a word.
They were the Demoness of Unaging Katarina, who was wearing a pure white robe, and the pale, hooded Red Angel evil spirit.
After two seconds, Saintess of White Katarina sighed softly and said, “The reason we wanted to find her was because Primordial told us that she has strong inclinations towards self-destructing.”
The Red Angel evil spirit listened silently as “His” expression twisted slightly.
“I know who interfered with my response.”
Katarina thought of various answers, but she couldn’t be sure. Ultimately, she chose to remain silent.
The Red Angel evil spirit slowly said a word, “Evernight.”
After a pause, “He” suppressed “His” emotions and added, “Otherwise, I would’ve long found Trissy Cheek.”
Without waiting for Katarina to respond, the Red Angel evil spirit turned around and left.
…
In another ruin, a hint of joy flashed past Klein’s eyes when he saw the secret mausoleum collapse and spill out copious amounts of blood. But it was ephemeral because he had to turn his attention back to his situation.
With George III’s ritual failing and him not becoming Black Emperor, it meant that his goal had been achieved. What followed next was to escape!
At that moment, while the mausoleum’s destruction didn’t have any significant impact, Reinette Tinekerr followed “Her” agreement with Klein, and she didn’t stay any longer. “She” first entered the spirit world and fled deep inside it.
The power “She” borrowed from “Herself” was coming to an end!
The maintenance of the beautiful, concealment angel had already reached Klein’s limits. After it transformed into a strange world, it naturally disappeared.
Inside the half-collapsed ruin, Klein faced the arm of Abomination Suah, Hermes from an ancient time, Emperor Roselle’s projection, William Augustus I’s projection, and the Angel of Light projection, as well as the thunder that pointed at an unknown location. Anyone of them had the ability to easily kill him.
And for him to summon a Historical Void projection at the angel level wasn’t something that could succeed within a few attempts.
Without any hesitation, Klein’s body turned incorporeal as he attempted to hide in the Historical Void.
At this moment, a vortex suddenly appeared in the grayish-white fog in his vision. It was made up of countless transparent maggots that extended out transparent and slippery tentacles.
Zaratul!
Zaratul’s actual body had appeared!
“He” had been waiting in the Historical Void for Klein!
At that moment, Klein’s action of entering the Historical Void could no longer be reversed. All he could do was watch helplessly as he was pulled in by the vortex and thrown into the center!
He wanted to snap his fingers and ignite another paper crane, but he realized that no flames could rise up there.
Having probed him once, Zaratul was confident of “His” trump card. By relying on “His” level suppressing him, and the authority of bizarreness, “He” made Klein unable to control the flames anymore!
In addition, Klein’s intuition told him that the destination after making a “Teleportation” attempt was mysteriously connected to the vortex formed by the transparent maggots.
He was unable to escape, nor could he summon enough helpers.
However, Beyonders of the Seer pathway never perform unprepared.
The vortex formed by the transparent maggots slowly spun as it received a “visit” initiated by Klein. The transparent and slippery tentacles swam over in an unstoppable manner.
They reached towards him, but they only wrapped around the ancient book covered in dark-colored skin.
The blood on the book’s surface hadn’t completely faded.
Groselle’s Travels!
At the most dangerous moment, Klein p.r.i.c.ked his fingers, allowing his blood to flow onto the surface of Groselle’s Travels. Then, with a whoosh, he entered the book world and temporarily escaped the fatal trap set up by Zaratul.
The moment he entered the book world, he immediately stretched out his hand and grabbed forward, pulling out a marionette that he had temporarily possessed from the Historical Void.
Hvin Rambis!
He had once tested that he could summon the projections of true history here. After all, it belonged to Sefirah Castle, and praying to The Fool in the book world wasn’t obstructed. Of course, if that didn’t work, he had other ways to resolve it. He could summon Justice Audrey who existed in the book world’s history!
In short, he needed a Mid- or High-Sequence Beyonder from the Spectator pathway to bring him into the sea of collective subconscious, into the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, and into the Hall of Truth.
Time was of the essence, so the faster, the better. This was because he had no idea how long before this Sequence 1 would be able to grasp the secret of Groselle’s Travels, much less whether the other party would forcibly descend into the book world.
He could only race against time!
Hvin Rambis, who was wearing a formal suit and a dark red bow tie, held onto him with a stiff expression. He directly entered the sea of collective subconscious formed by countless shadows.
With the power of a Manipulator, they quickly shuttled through and arrived at the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, in seconds, appearing before the entrance of the Hall of Truth.
Klein released his control over his marionette, Hvin Rambis, and under the nudge from the strong winds, he “ran” through the door.
As he pa.s.sed by the colorful murals, his inner voice resounded in the hall:
The chances of summoning 0-08 here should be higher…
Using it to draw or write at the end of the mural on the left side can affect the real world…
Through its arrangements, I can make Zaratul make a mistake, allowing me to find a safe escape route…
No, it’s still easier to let Amon’s avatar join the battle royale and implicate Zaratul. That will be easier to fulfill…
It’s no wonder the G.o.ddess wants to “bait” Amon into Backlund…
The mural on the right represents the book world. I can use 0-08 to draw another temporary door for me to leave…
While “flying”, Klein’s right hand kept grabbing at the void ahead.
Five times, ten times, twenty times. When Klein borrowed strength from his former self, his right hand suddenly sank as he dragged out a dull cla.s.sic quill.
0-08!
In the next second, Klein arrived in front of the huge pillar that was multiple arm spans wide.
This had a clear sense of being worn down by time. It was the throne of the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt.
Klein circled around the stone pillar and arrived at the end of the mural. He raised the quill, 0-08, and was about to write.
He had never tested for any changes when using 0-08 in here before. He was afraid that it would result in an excessive accident and alert Amon’s brother, making his ploy of preventing George III from becoming the Black Emperor to be detected in advance.
At this moment, he no longer needed to bother about such matters. He could wholeheartedly weave the development that he needed.
Suddenly, 0-08, which was about to begin writing, disappeared. It disappeared before it reached the time limit!
What’s happening… Klein felt alarmed.
He then realized that his words in the Hall of Truth hadn’t been projected. There was silence all around him.
With his spiritual perception triggered, Klein slowly turned around and saw that the time-worn rock had turned into a hundred-meter-tall cross at some point in time.
In front of the cross was a huge, blurry figure standing there. Facing everything with its back, it was observing all life with compa.s.sion.
Inside the Hall of Truth, there were rows of black, high-back pews, but only one supplicant.
The supplicant had his eyes closed as he sat in the middle of the first row. He wore a rather simple white robe with a pale gold beard that covered half his face. His hands were clasping a silver cross in front of his chest as he wore a genial and calm look.
Adam.
Twilight Hermit Order’s Chair, King of Angels Adam.
Klein didn’t even know when “He” had arrived.
At this moment, Adam looked up, revealing his clear, limpid eyes that resembled a child’s.
He slowly stood up, speaking with a calm expression:
“George III’s death causes Loen to suffer a heavy blow. Unable to sit idle any further, Intis decides to take this opportunity to launch an attack. This war officially develops into a war that sweeps through the world.
“Can you accept such an outcome?”