Chapter 427 — The Choice of The Times
9 min read ·
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The murky river in the sewers flowed beneath the unlit surroundings. If a normal person walked in here, then he would have to carry a lantern in order to see the necessary details of the situation clearly.
However, to Klein, who was in his Spirit Body state, this wasn’t an obstacle. Everything around him had long been reflected in his “eyes.”
Therefore, when the Desire Apostle discovered him, he also discovered the Desire Apostle.
He didn’t speak, nor did he hesitate. He opened his mouth and let out a soundless screech.
This was an attack that directly damaged the soul!
The Desire Apostle suddenly stopped moving, as if someone had delivered a heavy blow to him.
Large patches of shadow-like black substances fell off his body, as though he was shaking off the snowflakes that had been tainted with the deepest desires.
In that instant, the Desire Apostle, who was already severely injured, almost fainted.
Without the support of his physical body, he was like a candlelight in the middle of a raging wind, swaying back and forth, on the verge of being extinguished at any moment.
His shadow suddenly dispersed, turning into a pitch-black liquid that flowed in all directions, making it impossible to know which shadow to pursue.
At that moment, a shadow suddenly jumped out from the darkness behind Klein, and it suddenly rushed forward!
The black liquid, that could no longer be considered sticky, was merely a tool used by the Desire Apostle to confuse and make it easier for him to launch a surprise attack!
Klein didn’t seem to react at all, allowing the shadow to lunge onto him.
However, the Desire Apostle suddenly shivered, as if he had touched the coldest and chilliest object possible.
The shadow rapidly slowed down, as if it had been “frozen” stiff.
He knew that wraiths and shadows came with freezing effects, but he didn’t expect that the fellow wearing the Dark Emperor’s crown would have such an influence on a Spirit Body like him.
This was a case of being completely suppressed when it came to their lives’ natural order!
Klein had expected such an outcome. He half turned his body, stretched out his right hand and placed it on the head of the stiff shadow.
Then, the dark golden Sun Brooch, which was concealed by the black armor, flashed with a faint light.
The Desire Apostle sensed the danger and could perceive his imminent doom. He tried to resist but was temporarily powerless.
A ray of pure and holy light appeared out of nowhere and landed on the shadow’s head, enveloping his body.
The surroundings were suddenly illuminated as the black shadow struggled with all its might but didn’t stop evaporating. In just a blink of an eye, it had become abnormally thin, and its spirituality was filled with the radiance of the blazing sun and cries of indignation.
Klein didn’t give him a chance to catch his breath, and he summoned another pure and bright Holy Light.
The feeling of daylight lasted for two seconds before the Desire Apostle fell to the ground, losing all signs of life.
His body remained in his shadow state, thin as though it had no density.
This Sequence 5 expert who had just assassinated a duke had died just like that. He didn’t even have the time to pass on his last words.
At the same time, Klein saw that the deceased’s spirit was on the verge of dissipating after suffering the blows.
The Beyonder characteristic will take a while to appear... Should I mimic Miss Sharron by possessing the shadow and speeding up the process... But I don’t know how... Klein began considering what to do next.
Suddenly, he felt the ground tremble slightly.
Relying on his spiritual intuition, he looked back at the place where he had passed by before.
A tall, heavy silver armor was rushing over. Diagonally down from the left shoulder, it was stained with a large amount of solidified blood.
Sealed Artifact 1-42... Klein’s heart tightened. Without any hesitation, he wrapped the spirit of the Desire Apostle within him and ended the summoning.
His original plan was that as long as the official Beyonders arrived, he would “return” immediately even if he didn’t manage to finish off the Desire Apostle, handing over the rest to them.
The Red Glove in the blood-stained silver armor only saw a silhouette wearing a black crown and a similarly colored cloak before it disappeared without a trace.
He narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the spot where the man had just been, and found the Desire Apostle who had lost his life.
“Clearing clues and destroying evidence?” he said in a low voice.
Tap. Tap. Tap. The Red Gloves who were behind him arrived one after the other.
...
After returning above the gray fog, Klein wasn’t in a hurry to channel the spirit. Instead, he directly left the mysterious space and returned to his body in the real world.
He skillfully packed up the ritual items like the candles, and soon, the last traces were removed.
After doing all of this, he once again created a double. He took four steps counterclockwise and arrived at the ancient palace above the gray fog.
Here he could communicate directly with a remnant spirit, as a real Spirit Medium could do, without having to pray to anyone or use the help of a ritual. He had confirmed that when he communicated with Nimblewright Master Rosago’s spirit.
Considering that the spirit of the Desire Apostle had been purified and might dissipate at any moment, Klein prepared himself to ask the relatively more important information.
As for the potion formula for the Devil pathway, he planned to consider it only at the end. In any case, even if he obtained it, he didn’t plan on selling it, lest he would nurture a few cold-blooded serial murderers.
Looking at the Desire Apostle with brown hair and brown, blank eyes, Klein emanated his spirituality and asked, “What were you plotting?”
The Desire Apostle’s connection had been completely severed off from the outside world by the gray fog and could only reply in a muddled voice, “Assassinate Duke Negan.”
Duke Negan... Him again? Who wants him dead so much? Klein was stunned as he asked, “Did it succeed?”
“Yes,” the Desire Apostle answered calmly without giving any additional descriptions.
In this state, he only replied to whatever he was asked.
Poor Duke Negan, the Lord of Storms wasn’t able to protect you... Klein gestured the sign of the crimson moon on his chest.
He didn’t attempt to understand the details and directly asked, “Who instigated you to do so?”
Was it the organization that had commissioned Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos?Klein recalled the assassination attempt.
The Desire Apostle calmly said, “An organization, the most secret and ancient organization, most Beyonders don’t know of its existence. Its members are said to have important figures in various fields, maybe the higher-ups of the various churches and militaries of different nations.”
Sounds familiar... Could it be that secret organization which Emperor Roselle joined, the ancient organization that wields the second Blasphemy Slate? Klein’s mind stirred as he asked, “What kind of reward did they promise you, that you would be willing to give up your identity of more than ten years?”
The Desire Apostle replied in a slightly changed voice, “A Card of Blasphemy, the Abyss card!”
A Card of Blasphemy? The Abyss card, one of Roselle’s twenty-two Cards of Blasphemy! This most likely corresponded to the Devil pathway. It’s no wonder that the Desire Apostle was willing to sacrifice everything that he had accumulated over the past ten years just for this... In it lies the hope for him to become a High-Sequence Beyonder!
The reward is much more valuable than the mission!
However, it’s unlikely that Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos would be attracted by such a reward, unless... unless that organization has another Card of Blasphemy or some other item...
If it’s really the mysterious organization which Roselle joined, finding a few Cards of Blasphemy is quite normal... Even if they don’t, they still possess the Blasphemy Slate...
Klein was alarmed at first before asking in confusion, “Why do they want Duke Negan dead?”
The spirit of the Desire Apostle thinned significantly again, and he said in a hollow voice, “I don’t know. All I did was consider taking the mission or not.”
“Then, have you heard anything?” Klein pressed.
The Desire Apostle remained in the same unperturbed state.
“I have heard that their purpose is the resurrection or awakening of the Creator.
“They interfere with the progress of history, making it fit their needs, in order to achieve their goals at a certain point in time.
“If the trend of the times aren’t as they expect, then they will try their best to reverse it.
“Other than that, they just quietly watch from the sidelines, apathetic. Perhaps they wouldn’t act or entrust something even once every few decades or centuries...”
A secret organization in the true sense of the word... It’s consistent with Roselle’s description of the powerful faction that secretly manipulates the world... It also seems related to the original Creator... Seeing that the Spirit Body of the Desire Apostle was about to disappear, Klein quickly asked, “What is the name of that organization? How can they be contacted?”
The Desire Apostle looked ahead emotionlessly, his figure quickly disintegrating.
Before he disappeared completely, he answered the question, “They are called the...
“Twilight Hermit Order.”
...
Inside the house with the glass greenhouse.
The thin secretary with the gold-rimmed glasses and white gloves sat with a sullen face and a look of deep grief.
“What’s your name? What Sequence are you? Which Beyonder pathway are you from?” Deacon Ikanser asked solemnly.
The blond secretary replied slowly in a deep voice, “Lockhart Siakam, Sequence 5, as for which Beyonder pathway I’m from, you can apply for access to my records from MI9.”
“Alright.” Ikanser then asked, “Does the duke come here at a fixed time every week?”
“No, he doesn’t like to work according to a schedule, especially after the assassination attempt by Qilangos. Before today, no one knew that he would be here today, and I only heard about it in the morning at parliament,” Lockhart Siakam replied seriously.
Ikanser thought and asked, “If there’s a spy amongst you, who do you think he is, and who do you suspect?”
Lockhart thought about it for a few seconds, then he shook his head.
Following that, Ikanser asked for details of the battle and got a rough idea of the process.
He saw that Lockhart was pale and badly hurt; hence, he politely rose to check on the rest of the duke’s guards.
After watching the deacon of the Machinery Hivemind leave, Lockhart took a deep breath and trudged over to Duke Negan’s corpse.
The great noble was no longer naked like before, but the remnants of terror still remained on his face.
After looking deeply at Duke Negan’s corpse, Lockhart murmured sadly, “I’m sorry.”
At this moment, with his back facing everyone, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.
He calmly added inwardly, “This is the choice of the times...”