"Merely knowing could cause 'corruption'? Sounds fellow transmigrator 'Liu Bo' has quite the prestige... This must be power only a true deity could wield."
Klein reflected on his mysticism knowledge. The honorific names and true names of angels—even deities—could leverage certain natural forces. This amounted to borrowing "mystique" and "power" from them... of course, provided they consented... Without consent, it would incur their wrath.
For instance, I once considered using the mystical connection of the "Demoness" card to have a spirit engrave the true name and leverage the power of "The Primordial Demoness" Cheek, the only deity whose true name I know... But after some thought, I deemed it too dangerous and didn't proceed... Because the more likely outcome was that while engraving the honorific and true names, "The Primordial Demoness" would descend her power and drain me dry on the spot... After all, this constitutes an extremely precise supernatural targeting...
Liu Bo's situation was probably similar—those he permitted might know, while others faced "corruption". Hmm, this so-called "corruption" must be a manifestation of his power, right? His origins are clearly extraordinary!
But when did he permit me to know?
Pondering this, Klein recalled the medium through which he learned of Liu Bo—Roselle's diaries—and suddenly had an epiphany. "Of course. The 'Calamity Seal' stayed by Roselle's side for so long; it must have known about his habit of writing diaries in Chinese... And since the 'Calamity Seal' didn't stop Roselle from writing about 'Liu Bo,' it naturally permitted anyone who could read Chinese to have the right to know!"
Klein initially wanted to ask how Liu Bo's "corruption" manifested, but his spiritual intuition sensed that "Arrodes" was genuinely terrified of questions related to him. Instead, adopting Gehrman Sparrow's tone, he asked, "Then I'll change the question: Where can I obtain the potion formula for 'Bizarro Sorcerer'?"
The name "Bizarro Sorcerer" came from the "Red Angel" evil spirit beneath Williams Street. Now that he possessed the "Marionettist" characteristic and knew how to purge its mental corruption, Klein naturally needed the subsequent formula.
The telegraph machine spat out an unusually long stretch of paper filled with complex symbols, forming a mirror-like surface that displayed a dark hall containing a writhing, indistinct mass. Arrodes appended an explanation:
"This is Zaratul. He lost control during his advancement to Sequence 1 'Attendant of Mysteries'... You cannot obtain the formula from any Secret Order demigod, as Zaratul directly provided high-sequence potions back then."
Such a detailed answer—and it even revealed that Sequence 1 of the "Seer" pathway is "Attendant of Mysteries"... An angel serving the Lord of Mysteries? So the only way is confronting Zaratul directly... and I can't even look at him properly...
Klein was momentarily moved by Arrodes' help. Were he more capable, he might have accepted it as a true servant.
Next, Arrodes showed the Antigonus treasure in Hornacis Mountain and their notebook in Backlund's St. Samuel's Church—both painfully familiar to Klein. After all this time, everything circles back to the beginning!
When Klein asked about the "Dreamland Labyrinth Tower," Arrodes replied: "Like me, it cannot directly disclose demigod-level formulas... only clues."
Similar to Arrodes indeed—one requires clearing challenges for knowledge, the other demands answering embarrassing questions... Though the Tower has more... punitive measures.
"Hmm," Klein acknowledged before stating, "Your turn to ask."
The machine printed a smiley face. "I've already asked, and you've answered."
This... Being flattered really does feel good! Though he'd anticipated it, Klein couldn't help but compare this to the miserable experiences of "Machinery Hivemind" senior deacon Ikanser, feeling a wave of satisfaction.
His eyes flicked to the earlier questions on the paper: "Might you ask another question?" and "Are you referring to the 'Dreamland Labyrinth Tower' created by Roselle?"
So that's where the Q&A happened... This thing's rules are quite subjective...
Before Klein could speak again, Arrodes suddenly clattered out another message:
"The aura above the spirit world is fading. I await my next opportunity to serve you, my great master."
With this final transmission, the wireless telegraph machine fell silent, losing its eerie, profound atmosphere.
To contact Arrodes again, I'd need to leave the telegraph on the gray fog for days? Klein immediately grasped the core issue but also recognized the risks—after all, numerous entities watched for traces of the "gray fog," from the distant "True Creator" to potential nearby threats like the "Primordial Demoness" and the "Visionary Angel" behind the "Twilight Hermit Order," whose plans he'd disrupted.
At least the Earth Mother and Blood Emperor who seem to have "invested" in me hold little influence at sea...
Fortunately, with "Creeping Hunger" and "Burial Blade," I've gained some self-preservation capability.
Turning to the earlier exchange between Arrodes and Danitz, Klein barely suppressed a smirk, taking a quiet deep breath.
"...So it revealed all the little schemes he'd hidden from Edwina?"
"He must realize that new 'Grammar' lectures by Talim on the Golden Dream were added because the 'Vice Admiral Iceberg' found his love letter?"
Maintaining his persona, Klein glanced toward the cabin door where Danitz had returned, likely hoping to "dispose of the evidence" from those questions.
Wednesday Noon, Backlund Steam Train Station
On the platform, Ebner, Fors, the disguised Fanny and Helene, and the orange cat "Leon" waited to board, while Xio, Hazel, Aetris, and the Scards came to see them off.
—Emlyn was absent; his friendship with Ebner wasn't close enough to justify skipping his "funding acquisition" from the vampires.
Fors had joined the trip to Intis last-minute. Having heard of her procrastination habits, Leon insisted she stay nearby to complete their commissioned novel before release. Though reluctant, Fors agreed after an emergency—learning the "Flesh Trigger" required 50kg of meat daily forced her to beg Ebner for a teleport to Pritz to deliver the artifact to her mentor Dorian. Surprisingly, this led to a mission in an Intis border town, making the journey a chance to earn money, complete tasks, and perform "tricks" to digest her potion.
As for Fanny, with the Surry family abandoning their Loen assets, leaving Ebner's protection posed risks. Her enemy Johnson had also returned to Trier, making the Intis trip her safest option.
Choo-choo! The steam whistle blew as the locomotive's boiler heated up. After farewells, Ebner's group boarded their first-class compartment.
Without electric lighting, passenger trains halted at dusk, forcing an overnight stop at Buekenburg before reaching Linster City by Thursday night. Beyond Linster, two more days of travel would bring them to Toscok—the border city where the "Vice Admiral Iceberg" awaited, and where the Surry family had first settled under Roselle's arrangement.
Meanwhile, Linster City Outskirts
In a Gothic castle, a bloodless hand received a letter from a messenger.
"Ambush detective Ebner Bright's group in West Balam?"
Sulfur-scented flames consumed the paper to ashes.