Too late? After Klein's heart sank, he suddenly felt the Box of the Great Old Ones in his hand shake violently.
He hurriedly looked down and saw that the surface of the corpse cathedral's door, which had shrunken into a toy, emitted rays of light. Every twisted face on the white skull seemed to come alive.
Adam's corpse cathedral has such a high level? It can withstand the first level of 0-61 with just one door? Without any hesitation, Klein used the crimson star representing Leonard and locked onto a gas lamp on 7 Pinster Street.
Suddenly, the door with white bones protruding out with a distorted face returned to the real world. And on the first level of the Box of the Great Old Ones, there was an additional toy street lamp.
Right on the heels of that, Klein aimed at the Amon inside the corpse cathedral as he swiped his right hand, opening the second level of 0-61.
At that moment, Pallez Zoroast was no longer present on the battlefield. Without any qualms, Klein could move Amon elsewhere.
He had designated the destination to be the astral world, hoping that the seven deities would show "Him" "Their" love, but it was unknown if there would be a random anomaly.
At this moment, the door returned to the corpse cathedral. Then, the majestic building that overlapped with 7 Pinster Street quickly disintegrated.
The process of the collapse was very organized. First, it began from the dome, followed by the arches and the walls. It finally ended with the pitch-black stone pillars.
The item that fell didn't hit the ground and instead disappeared in midair.
Standing in front of the cross, Amon also began to dissipate along with the collapse of the entire corpse cathedral. It was as though "He" had also been "envisioned," an entity that could be removed at any time.
Of course, Klein knew very well that this was only Amon exploiting a loophole to use the expiration of the "imagined" corpse cathedral, so as to also become a figment of imagination to leave Backlund.
Boom!
At some point in time, a thick dark cloud appeared in midair. A ball of lightning the size of a house dragged a silvery-white stream of light as it ruthlessly smashed onto the corpse cathedral and Amon's body that had not completely disintegrated.
A fine crack appeared on Amon's crystal monocle as the pointed hat on "His" head collapsed.
However, this Angel of Time didn't panic. When "His" face twitched uncontrollably, "He" maintained "His" smile and held the crystal pillar formed from light and shadows. Like an illusion, "He" completely disintegrated as the sea of light that filled the corpse cathedral vanished.
In the next second, the pitch-black and bone-embedded towering cathedral returned to the realm of fantasy.
The house on 7 Pinster Street remained, but there were exaggerated marks on the living room's floor.
The mark was like a person lying there, having turned to ashes.
This was left behind by the countless avatars of Amon after they were smitten apart. However, Klein knew that Amon's true body had successfully escaped and had achieved "His" desired goal.
When "He" recovered, this King of Angels was just short of a ritual to reach the divine throne and become the embodiment of all that was erroneous in the world.
After I swapped the main door of the corpse cathedral, the first one to notice and react with "His" powers was the Lord of Storms... The Goddess really has no way of performing a divine descent. "She" can only use various mediums to interfere with reality, making it difficult for "Her" to affect "Him" when "He" is prepared...
...I was still feeling happy for myself that I managed to escape from Amon. I was satisfied that I had repeatedly avoided "Him" and didn't fall into "His" traps, but in the end, "He" ended up pulling off such a huge stunt without any prior warning...
...When did "He" transfer "His" focus to Backlund? Hmm, it should be after I deceived the laws to resurrect elsewhere. "He" caught a hint of Pallez Zoroast, as well as the fact that there's a connection between him and me. He began to target the last Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic so as to become a true god...
...Back then, Leonard didn't explain in detail when he was praying. He only mentioned that there was a problem with the treasure trove of the Jacob family... For a Sequence 1 angel who's so familiar with Amon to not notice anything amiss and fall into the trap, Amon must have done something incredible again...
Phew, although I've rapidly grown in my battle of wits with Amon and completed a transformation, I'm still far from being a top swindler like "Him." I'm still too tender...
Once Amon becomes a Sequence 0 Error and can even traverse the land, it will be tough for me...
No, I have to figure out the Marauder pathway's ritual to become a god. I need to think of a way to do some damage. I can't let Amon easily ascend to the divine throne...
But can this be what Amon wants? "He" will deliberately hold a ritual and wait for me to knock on "His" doorstep? As his thoughts raced, Klein let out a long sigh.
Then, he sent a message to Leonard in the tone of The Fool.
"There's no need to pray."
...
In Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard had just emerged from the soil in the garden. He was trying to rush into the prayer hall when he heard Mr. Fool's words.
There's no need to pray... Leonard slowed down as he repeated the sentence in a daze.
He slowed down and finally stopped beside a stone pillar. He lowered his head and raised his hands to cover his face.
At this moment, a slightly-aged voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
"What are you sad about? I haven't died yet!"
"Ah?" Leonard released his hands and said in a daze and pleasant surprise, "Old Man, you haven't died yet?"
His eyes were already slightly red.
"Look at you, what are you saying!" Pallez Zoroast's voice was clearly weak. "Ahem, to put it simply, I've died once, but not entirely yet."
Leonard finally heaved a sigh of relief and looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice and said, "Did you successfully deceive Amon?"
"I can't really call it deceiving." Pallez Zoroast sighed and said, "All these years, the thing I've thought about the most is what I should do if Amon's true body finds me. After repeated experiments, I've also ‘created' a technique. After my true body dies, I can revive in my avatar. However, I will lose the Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic and passively lower my level. Heh, I haven't been left behind by the times either."
"In other words, Amon killed you once and obtained your Sequence 1 characteristic while you resurrected at the Sequence 2 level?" Leonard had a rough idea of what was going on as he asked in confirmation.
Pallez Zoroast sighed and replied, "Something like that. Actually, it's not like Amon didn't notice it. ‘He' didn't do anything to stop it when I pushed you out of the corpse cathedral. ‘He' just wanted to leave some hope for me, and make me lose my will to fight to the death in the upcoming battle. Sigh, if not for that, I wouldn't have been finished by ‘Him' so quickly. After all, I'd basically recovered after absorbing the treasure trove's Beyonder characteristic...
Leonard blurted out in surprise, "Old Man, you pushed me out of the corpse cathedral because I have your avatar in me?"
Pallez immediately scoffed.
"What do you think? Do you really think I'm treating you like a grandson?"
"...Don't you have other avatars?" Leonard muttered.
Pallez grunted and sighed.
"Amon actually lied to ‘His' avatar. I must admit that ‘He' pulled a fast one on me."
If it wasn't for the fact that "He" learned that the Angel of Time didn't know the exact situation of the Jacob family's treasure trove back when "He" absorbed Amon's avatars, "He" definitely would've taken more caution on the matter, and would've made more adequate preparations for Amon's appearance.
This was the most important reason. As for the other matters regarding the Jacob family's ancestor or Klein Moretti playing hide-and-seek with Amon's true body in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, none of them were key in "Him" making up "His" mind.
Leonard thought for a moment and consoled, "Old Man, you would've fallen for this most fatal of traps in the treasure trove regardless, so it isn't bad for you to have survived it."
"That's not it," Pallez immediately refuted. "If I had a premonition that something dangerous would happen, I would've directly taken up the faith of a true god and become ‘Their' Grounded Angel. With ‘Their' protection, I would head to Jacob family's treasure trove. Sigh, after I absorbed the characteristic and regained the strength of a Sequence 1, I was considering this problem. Should I join the Church of Evernight, or work with The Fool of yours, or remove the Parasitizing and hide from Amon like before."
Upon saying this, "His" emotions became very complicated again.
...Old Man really has quite a plan... Why are you so familiar with seeking refuge from a deity... Leonard sighed inwardly as he focused his attention on the most important matter.
"Old man, after Amon obtained your Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, will ‘He' be preparing the apotheosis ritual?"
"Yes." Pallez replied in a deep voice, "This means that, for a very long period of time, your former colleague and ourselves would, at most, be harassed by Amon's lower-level avatars, or nothing at all."
"What is the requirement of ‘His' apotheosis ritual?" Leonard pressed.
Pallez fell silent for a second before saying, "To replace someone during ‘Their' apotheosis ritual."
At this point, Pallez laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Amon's next focus will definitely be the apotheosis ritual. This will be our last moments of peace and quiet.
"Once ‘He' becomes a god, ‘He' will definitely come to you to deal with The Fool through you.
"Although I can abandon you and run ahead of time, I have to worry that ‘He' has the intention of retrieving all the characteristics at the angel level.
"Gain control of those rare spirits as soon as possible, digest the potion, and become a demigod. Wield a Holy Artifact, and obtain the favor of Evernight."
Leonard's expression turned serious as he slowly nodded.
He immediately found a quiet spot and informed Mr. Fool through a prayer of the key information.
...
Someone else's apotheosis ritual? The only one who seems to be able to become a god anytime soon is Adam... It's good if the two brothers end up fighting... The final period of peace... I hope that the avatars that Amon leaves behind to interfere with me won't be too strong. I hope that I can find traces of the Dark Demonic Wolf as soon as possible. I hope that Dorian will agree to the deal... Klein sighed and returned to the real world. He continued walking in the dark with his lantern raised.
