As Klein's spirituality made contact, the constantly expanding and contracting crimson "star" presented the images and sounds contained within.
A black-haired woman in a classical robe had fallen to the ground, writhing in pain.
She held an ordinary-looking celestial globe in one hand, and in the other, she held a short scepter that wasn't even the length of a small arm. Her strong will to survive almost broke through the binding of the crimson stars and directly entered Klein's ears.
Like Justice and The Sun, this woman's figure appeared rather blurry, making it difficult to discern her exact appearance, but there were some things Klein could clearly see, such as her facial features, such as her splitting cheek muscles and the flesh inside that was contracting into eyeballs. Other features included her ears stretching outwards like a trumpet, or her fingers which were scratching at the floor to create bright streaks of blood, as well as a pair of cold, lashless eyes that were almost transparent and were situated above her.
The black-haired girl's mutation didn't decline. Her body was tenaciously healing itself, causing the flesh and blood which resembled an eyeball to melt away. Her ruptured muscles fused together, and her extended ears shrunk inward... Every detail was in a repetitive see-saw-like struggle between the two states.
Klein was dazzled by the illusory, lashless eyes. It was as if he had returned to Tingen, back to the time when he had first mastered Spirit Vision.
Back then, he had seen a pair of eyes like that on Old Neil's back!
Hidden Sage? Klein leaned back in his chair, stretched out his hand, and took hold of the Sea God Scepter that once again flew out of the junk pile.
He planned to lend a helping hand and smite those evil eyes with a few bolts of lightning.
However, after careful examination, he sharply realized that the black-haired woman's abnormality had stemmed from the crazy ravings that no one else could hear. This was because the source of everything was in her ears, deep within her Spirit Body, her Soul Body!
It's very similar to the situation when Miss Magician suffers from the ravings of the full moon... Fortunately, I'm experienced; otherwise, I would've given the wrong response... Klein thought for a moment and thought of a way to save her. It was to pull her Spirit Body above the gray fog and directly block out the crazy ravings. As long as the source of the power was gone, the mutation would be quickly dealt with by the lady's self-recovery powers.
As for whether she was worth saving, or if she harbored malicious intentions, the current him was no longer as troubled as he was in the past.
If the black-haired lady had committed a heinous crime to a certain degree and had already established a connection with the mysterious space above the gray fog through the crimson star, Klein could give her a few lightning bolts at any time and let her be thrown back to where she belonged.
If she really has any kind of malicious intentions, or if she causes any accidents, I, who possess the Sea God Scepter, the Dark Emperor card, and am capable of using the gray fog's power to some degree, wouldn't lack the ability to resist... Klein held onto the white bone scepter in his right hand and pointed at the remote star.
His spirit energy surged and poured into the crimson red light that was like flowing water.
This time, he was able to establish the mysterious and stable connection with ease.
The black-haired lady's figure instantly appeared at the side of the long bronze table, sitting on a chair that didn't belong to any of the current members of the Tarot Club.
As for Klein, he could see from the final image of the crimson stars that the mutation on her body had weakened significantly.
He nodded indiscernibly, patiently waiting for the other party to speak.
The black-haired lady was still somewhat adrift. One second, she was struggling in extreme pain, with her vision gradually turning black, and the next second, she was inside a towering domed palace. Beneath her was an endless and silent gray fog that extended outwards endlessly. How couldn't she be taken aback?
After a brief moment of silence, she turned her gaze to the figure leisurely sitting at the very end of the mottled long table. She asked with an ethereal voice, "Is this the Underworld?"
"You aren't dead." Klein laughed.
At this moment, he saw that the symbol tainted with starlight quickly changed on the back of the black-haired lady's high-back chair, forming a pair of eyes that contained countless resplendent stars. They were cold and indifferent, and they lacked eyelashes.
Based on his past experiences, he believed that this was a symbol representing the Mystery Pryer pathway.
The black-haired lady froze, gradually regaining her senses.
Instinctively, she scanned her surroundings before finally casting her gaze at the mysterious man shrouded behind the gray fog.
White shirt, tailcoat, no tie, black pants, bright leather boots, seemingly black hair, and a blurry appearance. There's nothing strange about this... He casually holds a milky-white scepter that's slightly longer than an arm in his hand, and that scepter... The black-haired lady's pupils contracted as the depths of her eyes reflected, in its entirety, the blue "gemstones" and the aura of a storm from the surroundings that it stirred. Furthermore, there were countless points of light that surrounded it, giving it a holy and majestic feeling.
It's a scepter at the demigod level! He's playing with it like it's a toy... He doesn't care about it at all... The lady in black narrowed her eyes and cautiously asked, "How may I address you?"
"You may call me Mr. Fool," the experienced Klein answered.
The Fool... The black-haired lady ruminated over the word before asking with deliberation, "I've heard of your honorific name from the Aurora Order's Mr. Z."
She waited for his assertion or denial.
You know the Aurora Order's Mr. Z... He can be considered an old friend... Klein laughed but didn't reply; instead, he said, "Do you not plan on introducing yourself?
"This is the most basic of etiquette."
The black-haired lady recalled what had happened to her and fell silent again.
After a few seconds, she said in a slightly muffled voice, "My name is Cattleya, and I have the nickname ‘Admiral of Stars.'
"Mr. Fool, were you the one who saved me?"
Admiral of Stars? The Admiral of Stars, one of the seven pirate admirals, someone with a bounty of 37,000 pounds? I've saved a treasure trove, no—a person of high status... Klein shifted in his seat slightly, half surprised, half amused.
He chuckled and replied, "Wasn't that obvious?"
Admiral of Stars Cattleya immediately stood up and said, "Thank you for your assistance. If you have anything you need me to do, you can directly instruct me—as long as it is within my capabilities and doesn't violate my principles."
That's nice of you... Very seasoned and experienced... She's indeed worthy of being the well-known Admiral of Stars... Klein couldn't help but sigh.
Among his Tarot Club members, with the exception of The Hanged Man and his incarnation, The World, all of them were rather inexperienced when they first participated.
Miss Justice was one of those who vaguely understood the mysterious world, but she hadn't really stepped into it yet. The Sun was one of those who received sufficient "education," but due to the isolated environment and his relatively young age, he was very simple and honest. The Magician may have been stuck at Sequence 9 for several years, but she had always been an unaffiliated Beyonder. She didn't know much about all sorts of hidden factions, and she lacked experience. The Moon, Emlyn, comes from a Beyonder race, with a faction with a deep heritage backing him. However, due to his preference of staying home to play with dolls, he is greatly lacking in experience in certain aspects. He was very gullible as a result.
That fellow, Emlyn, is smart, but if he were to, heh heh, meet Tris, no, Demoness Trissy, he would be tricked by her into selling his dolls... Klein secretly teased the vampire which could be considered a friend in the real world.
He looked at Admiral of Stars and didn't directly respond to the matter of her repaying him for saving her life. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Are you a member of the Moses Ascetic Order?"
"Yes." Cattleya didn't believe that this was something she could hide from Mr. Fool.
Klein smiled.
"What did you just do to provoke that guy?"
He wasn't sure that the pair of eyes belonged to the Hidden Sage, so he used a vague term ‘that guy' instead, so that, no matter what, The Fool was absolutely correct and upheld his standing.
After a moment of silence, Cattleya said, "No, I didn't provoke him."
She paused, then she continued, "The members of the Moses Ascetic Order believe that all objects are numeric, and we pursue knowledge itself.
"However, Emperor Roselle once said that we aren't pursuing knowledge, but that knowledge is pursuing us. The Hidden Sage is an embodiment of knowledge itself. ‘He' is chasing us—every single Moses Ascetic Order member. When too much knowledge is injected into us, without us being able to quickly digest and master it, a situation like before would happen. Either I lower my defenses and open my mind to accept the modifications from the Hidden Sage, or I would tenaciously resist it or end up losing control."
If that's the case, you aren't specifically targeted by the Hidden Sage. Even if you managed to escape from the previous predicament, you wouldn't be suspected of anything... According to what you said, you are very knowledgeable... Back then, Old Neil only wanted to obtain the knowledge of human body refining and of a perfect revival... Klein suddenly sighed, but he didn't show it on his face.
The reputation of Admiral of Stars isn't too bad. She's the kind of pirate with a code of honor... Klein stopped his thoughts and calmly said, "If something similar happens again, you can recite my name."
Recite your name... Cattleya's lips quivered, instinctively wanting to refuse.
In the end, she didn't say anything as she fell silent for a long time.
After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, she stood up, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and slightly bowed as she said, "How may I be of service?"
Klein laughed and said in an indifferent tone, "In the future, provide some assistance to my Blessed."
"By your will." Cattleya sat down again and asked cautiously, "Is the honorific name provided by Mr. Z yours?"
She then repeated the honorific name of The Fool to him.
Klein nodded his head, indicating that she was right.
Cattleya looked at the other empty seats and asked after some deliberation, "Honorable Mr. Fool, will there be others here as well?"
Klein laughed and replied, "People like yourself.
"They set up a regular gathering, and I bear witness."
After a few seconds of silence, Cattleya asked, "Can I participate?"
She thought that since she wasn't connected with the mysterious existence known as The Fool, it was better to know more than to do nothing.
Of course, you have money, knowledge, influence, and needs... Klein casually leaned against the back of the chair.
"Sure.
"Without my permission, you are not to leak this matter."
"Alright!" Cattleya answered without hesitation.
Klein tapped his left index finger and revealed the rest of the tarot cards on the bronze table.
"They use tarot cards as their code names. These are the remaining ones.
"Pick one."
Cattleya scanned the cards and immediately said, "The Hermit."
