Pa!
When the flicked gold coin landed in his palm, Klein didn't even see if it was heads or tails. This was because his mind was fixed on a particular scene:
Amidst the woods, the clouds high in the sky failed to completely conceal the stars that dotted the black velvet sky. The humming, clicking, and thrumming sounds of the insects spread far into the night, mixed with the two commotions of the two "explosions" inside Moose Manor.
Klein rapidly used his knowledge from astromancy, and he roughly gauged the exact location of the scene. Then, his body phased away, appearing beside Enuni before grabbing his shoulder.
During this process, Klein collected the transparent maggots he had implanted in the rats and insects before severing the connection of the Spirit Body Threads.
In just two seconds, he vanished from Moose Manor which was gradually turning chaotic and noisy, teleporting to the spot that he had seen in his mind.
The area was identical to the revelation which Klein had received. It was extremely silent, to the point of being able to hear the breeze wafting through the leaves and trees.
Illusory black threads, representing all the creatures with spirituality in the region, surfaced in Klein's vision.
There were copious numbers of them, dozens being a gross understatement. To sieve through them and determine which was the problematic one couldn't be accomplished in a short amount of time.
However, he wasn't in a rush, because he had confirmed one thing:
His divination results could be trusted as long as the Marauder pathway demigod didn't possess any high-level items. After all, after becoming a Bizarro Sorcerer, not only were his powers elevated, the gray fog's powers also seeped deeper into reality. With these two combined, it made his divination powers far more outstanding than most saints, even without heading above the gray fog. It was unlikely that he was weaker than a Beyonder of the Fate pathway of the same Sequence. In contrast, the Marauder pathway demigod's condition was in shambles with its strength at an all-time low.
Therefore, Klein believed that the demigod was hiding in the woods and hadn't fled far.
Due to such reasons, he believed that waiting patiently was the best solution.
The Marauder pathway demigod was relatively weak, in an unstable condition, and close to losing control. After experiencing that intense battle and abandoning the rat's body, the situation only worsened. It was impossible to experience an improvement. Under such situations, if she didn't replenish herself or recover, it was only a matter of time before problems cropped up. Therefore, Klein could wait, while she couldn't.
As the humming, clicking, and thrumming sounds spread, Klein waited as he hurriedly converted marionettes. He made Enuni leave the region and hide about a thousand meters away. Meanwhile, he kept note of the possibility of having his Spirit Body Threads controlled, as he recalled that the enemy had "stolen" the Beyonder power from his marionette.
Suddenly, he heard a sound that resembled the panting that came from deep within the soul.
Right on the heels of that, a hysterical voice sounded from a tree diagonally ahead of him:
"Why are you forcing me?
"Why are you forcing me?
"Why are you forcing me!"
Amidst the sharp voice, the tree's outer bark rapidly peeled off, revealing the core wood beneath. And on it, holes cracked open as strange worms with about eight circles around them crawled out.
The transparent rings of these worms had many three-dimensional patterns as though time was swirling through them.
Suddenly, Klein lost all his thoughts, losing the Beyonder powers of Air Cannon and Paper Figurine Substitutes. He lost his belt, coat, and hat, making him appear like a sculpture of flesh.
However, to a marionette, this wasn't too serious a problem. After all, it was no problem for his actual body. The lost powers could be retrieved by switching maggots.
Yes, upon hearing the panting, Klein had swapped places with Enuni!
And a Winner like Enuni had no need to worry about his pants dropping after losing his belt. His waist swelled rapidly thanks to the powers of Faceless, stopping his pants from falling.
New marionettes in the form of insects and rats crawled out and surrounded the mutated tree.
At this moment, a voice with a hint of a smile sounded from an unknown location:
"Calm down. Don't be angry. Everything will be resolved."
The voice was filled with a persuasive force. The mutation of the tree slowed down as the ringed worms slowly shrank back in.
"Is that so?" Inside the tree, the vicious-sounding voice calmed down. There was some level of blankness to the voice, as though it was about to be convinced.
As for Klein, he found the words extremely reasonable. He couldn't help but reflect on the reason for pushing a demigod to the brink of losing control.
He had a vague feeling that he had forgotten something and was unable to recall the true reason for coming
Then, he saw a chuckling figure walk out of the woods.
"Relax, I have the means to stop you from losing control. All you need to do is to follow my instructions."
The figure was wearing a black trench coat that resembled a robe. He matched it with black trousers and leather shoes. He had a broad forehead and a thin face. Wearing a tall hat and a striking crystal monocle, he appeared extremely refined.
Klein's gaze froze as a word resonated through his mind: Amon!
The person before him was Blasphemer, Angel of Time, King of Angels, the son of the Creator-Amon!
Although he knew that it was merely an avatar, Klein didn't waste any time. He immediately abided by the deepest cries of his heart and used Creeping Hunger to phase away.
During this process, Enuni snapped his fingers and lit the matches in his pocket and fallen leaves a distance away, allowing him to appear beside Klein with Flaming Jump.
Klein grabbed him and vanished with him.
In the event that Amon tried to stop him, or if Enuni wasn't able to return fast enough, Klein's plan was to abandon his marionette and Travel far away.
Under such circumstances, the death of a marionette to ensure his survival was definitely worth it!
Luckily, Amon's attention was placed on the peeling tree. He didn't stop him or, should it be said, it was the case that he didn't have the time to stop him.
After Klein and his marionette vanished, Amon halted and turned to look at where the two were originally standing. As though in thought, he nodded slightly and scoffed.
"A Bizarro Sorcerer of Evernight."
He then retracted his gaze and looked at the half-mutated tree and asked with a smile, "A descendant of Jacob?"
"Y-yes, do you know my ancestor?" Inside the tree, the rat demigod asked as though it had grabbed onto a floating board while drowning.
Amon stroked his chin and nodded indiscernibly.
"Of course.
"They tasted excellent." Inside the tree, the descendant of the Jacob family fell silent. Only after a few seconds did a voice filled with horror utter:
"Y-you are Blasphemer Amon!"
Inside the tree hole, the worm with rings began crawling out.
However, they quickly stiffened and froze in their spots.
Amon adjusted the crystal monocle and said with a smile, "That's too late now, isn't it?
"It might've been of some use if you had struggled and resisted from the beginning, but now... Do you believe that I'm here on my own?"
As he spoke, the trees around him shook as the leaves of different trees ruffled. Birds leaped onto the branches and let out crisp chirping. And even the night breeze had an indescribable feel to it.
"You..." The Jacob descendant inside the mutated tree's speech came to an abrupt halt. Amon stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat and casually laughed.
"I heard that your family has split into tiny families with zero interaction, afraid that the lot of you will be caught by me, right? Ah right, didn't you establish a secret organization with Zoroast's descendants, as well as other Beyonders of the Marauder pathway? I believe it's called the Hermits of Fate.
"You're probably a member, aren't you? Let me see if I can replace you and infiltrate that organization. Heh heh, a secret organization meant to defend against Amon and deal with Amon has Amon participating in it. Just the thought of it is rather interesting."
Having said that, he glanced at the mutated tree that was vigorously shaking and said, "Unfortunately, from what I can see from your fate, you didn't undergo a good education in mysticism. You can't be a member of that organization. Are you the only one left of this Jacob family branch?
"You wished to seek out a secret treasure left by the Jacob family in Backlund, but you ended up seriously injured for some reason and ended up sealed?
"Ha, you even parasitized an ordinary animal. Yet, there are signs of you not talking to humans for an extended period of time... Aren't you very puzzled as to why you didn't receive any ‘warnings' about this from the knowledge contained within the potion or the murmurs when you advanced to Sequence 4? Yes, it's because I've deleted them."
"No!"
A sharp scream filled with anger and viciousness sounded. There was an indescribable pain in it.
The mutated tree's tremblings intensified until it calmed down at some point.
Streams of light flew out from within and surged into Amon's body.
Taking out a piece of silk, Amon took off his monocle and wiped it as he mumbled, "How foolish. She actually believed me when I said it's too late. One flaw with fellows who are on the brink of losing control is that they're brainless and easily fooled.
"If she had carefully thought about it, how could she not realize the problems within? If I could quickly finish her off and steal her fate, why would I be wasting so much time chatting with her? An avatar is an avatar after all..."
After Amon wore his monocle again, the stream of light that flowed out of the mutated tree had been completed absorbed by "Him."
At this moment, a figure was passing through the woods-Hazel in hunting gear.
She seemed to sense something as she subconsciously looked over, only to see Amon.
Then, she revealed a surprised smile.
"Teacher, have you recovered?"
"Oh, someone has noticed a problem with you. It's best that you hide!"
Amon listened in silence before curling the sides of his mouth slowly.
"Alright."
