By the time Leonard reacted, towering stone pillars had already appeared in front of him. They stood above the endless grayish-white fog, propping up a magnificent palace that looked like a giant's residence.
His green eyes were in a daze. After being stunned for a second, Leonard realized that he had unknowingly sat at the side of a long, mottled bronze table. Beside him and opposite him were high-back chairs that exuded a dignified and dignified feeling.
And at the very end of the long mottled table, a figure was shrouded in thick gray fog. He leisurely leaned back in his chair, as though he was looking down at everything in the world.
The moment this figure entered Leonard's eyes, he felt as though he had boarded a liner and was facing an abyss with no end or bottom. Or perhaps he had walked out of the city and arrived in the suburbs, looking up at the towering mountains that pierced through the clouds.
In the blink of an eye, thoughts flashed through Leonard's mind. He had a rough guess of his situation, and as a Beyonder of the Church, a believer who believed in the true existence of deities, he couldn't resist the feelings in his heart. He subconsciously wanted to leave his seat and worship the existence in front of him.
The might of a deity was like a mountain or a sea!
Just as Leonard stood up, he was pressed back down by an invisible force. Following that, a low and calm voice echoed in his ears.
"There's no need to go through so much trouble.
"You can address me as Mr. Fool."
The Fool … Indeed … Leonard's heart, which was originally filled with fear of the unknown, immediately calmed down. Although he was still worried about what would happen next, he was no longer as perturbed, restless, and thirsty.
He got up halfway, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed.
"Honorable Mr. Fool, why did you summon me here?"
As a Nighthawk with many years of experience, and as a Red Glove who had participated in many major cases, Leonard knew how dangerous it was to establish a connection with a secret existence. He knew that he was beginning to slide from the edge of the abyss, and there was no chance of salvation.
The moment he decided to recite The Fool's honorific name, he could foresee a tragic outcome, but for the sake of revenge, he made the choice regardless of the consequences.
However, humans had an instinct for survival. Thinking of how Klein Moretti, who believed in The Fool, was still alive and had even become a demigod, Leonard couldn't help but feel a sliver of hope.
At that moment, he heard The Fool, who was shrouded in gray fog, chuckle.
"Since you asked me for help, then according to the principle of equivalent exchange, you must give something in return."
Leonard's body trembled as he lowered his head even further.
"What do you want?"
After a short pause, The Fool's voice sounded again.
"Don't worry. Maybe I'll ask you to do something in the future and help some people.
"Sit down."
Leonard slowly heaved a sigh of relief, sat down, and looked around.
Did he, Klein Moretti, come here like me?
The Fool in the gray fog said in a monotonous tone, "That's right.
"In a different way."
Different way … Indeed, Klein didn't enter this place by reciting the honorific name. He became a believer of Mr. Fool through the guidance of the Death Consul, Aztec Eggers … Leonard couldn't help but look around again and discovered that there were a total of twenty-two high-back chairs around the long mottled table.
Twenty-two Beyonder pathways, and it's twenty-two tarot cards … The Fool … Just as Leonard had a guess, he heard Mr. Fool chuckle.
"Apart from you, there are other living beings that have been pulled here for various reasons.
"They earnestly requested that I convene regular gatherings to exchange information, buy and sell ingredients, formulas, and help each other. This will help them quickly advance and become High-Sequence Beyonders."
This is a little different from the secret organization I imagined using tarot cards as code names. It's rather loose … What's Mr. Fool's goal in agreeing to such a request? Ever since he arrived at the ancient palace above the gray fog, Leonard's mind had been highly tense. It made his thoughts a lot sharper than usual as he thought of many questions.
After successfully exacting his revenge, he had actually felt depressed and empty for a while, as though he had lost his goal in life. However, he quickly pulled himself together. This was because Daly's death had told him that he wasn't strong enough. If he wanted to reduce the number of casualties among his companions in future missions, he had to raise himself to at least Sequence 4 and become a demigod.
Therefore, The Fool's words had stirred his heart. He felt that this was an opportunity. At the same time, he also believed that by joining the gathering and gaining a deeper understanding of the internal situation of this secret organization, it would help him avoid the dangers of establishing a connection with The Fool to the greatest extent possible.
After some deliberation, Leonard asked, "Is Klein Moretti also a member of the regular gathering?
"Is Klein Moretti also a member of that regular gathering?
The Fool casually answered, "Is Klein Moretti also a member of the regular gathering?
The Fool casually answered, "Yes."
"Yes."
Leonard fell silent for a second.
"Honorable Mr. Fool, can I join that regular gathering?"
The Fool, who was shrouded in the gray fog, said with a smile,
"Sure.
"But when you return, remember to mention this matter to Pallez Zoroast. Don't attempt to hide it from 'Him.'"
"He" … Old Man is really an angel! It's no wonder the Fate Siphon charm is so magical … Although Leonard had some knowledge of it, he couldn't help but be astonished after receiving Mr. Fool's confirmation.
He hesitated for a moment.
"Why must I tell Pallez Zoroast?"
Although he had a good relationship with Pallez Zoroast and had established a certain level of trust, he was still rather wary. The reason why he had taken the initiative to make the request was because he hoped that by joining Mr. Fool's secret gathering, he could balance out the potential danger brought about by the ancient Parasite.
He then heard Mr. Fool laugh.
"Many a time, deterrence is more useful than combat."
Deterrence is more useful than combat … That's right. Forcing a balance might agitate Old Man. Regardless, the final battlefield will definitely be within my body. It's extremely disadvantageous to me, and deterrence can make "Him" understand the situation. Even if "He" has ill intentions, "He" will think of another solution and another way out … Leonard lowered his head in enlightenment.
"Honorable Mr. Fool, I have no more questions."
At the end of the long bronze table, The Fool conjured a deck of tarot cards and raised his hand to point.
"They each chose a tarot card as their code name. You can also draw one.
"The cards with owners have already been eliminated from this list."
As expected, tarot cards are used as code names … Leonard exhaled and couldn't help but ask another question.
"Which card did Klein Moretti draw?"
"World," The Fool said casually, "That's him, but also not him."
What does that mean … Leonard didn't dare to ask further. He stretched out his right hand and drew a card from the deck.
After flipping it open, he saw a sky filled with stars and the Goddess pouring holy water.
The Star card!
This didn't match Leonard's taste, but since he had completed the ritual under Mr. Fool's witness, he had no choice but to accept it.
"Go back. There's a gathering every Monday at three in the afternoon, Baekeland time." The Fool, who was shrouded in the gray fog, raised his hand and made the hurriedly bowing Leonard disappear from the ancient palace.
The Fool Klein chuckled and flipped all the tarot cards to face up.
They had the same image, the same sky filled with stars.
Every single one of them was a Star card!
After laughing for a while, Klein cast his gaze back at the crimson star representing Leonard.
Back when he attempted to pull the poet above the gray fog, he had made careful observations ahead of time and discovered that there was a blob of light hidden in Leonard Mitchell's body. The blob of light seemed to be formed from countless ringed worms, and it was hidden deep within his Soul Body.
This made Klein confirm that Pallez Zoroast was only at the initial stages of parasitizing. He didn't control Leonard's Body of Heart and Mind, Astral Projection, Ether Body, and Body of Flesh and Blood. And after advancing to a demigod, he had a deeper grasp of the mysterious space above the gray fog. He could no longer target the soul as a whole when pulling someone. He could effectively divide and choose them.
Therefore, Klein decided not to touch Leonard's Soul Body and only pulled his Astral Projection above the gray fog. This could prevent him from agitating Pallez Zoroast or bringing "Him" into the mysterious space. Of course, this Sequence 1 angel of the Marauder pathway would definitely be able to sense what was happening.
And the ability of Beyonders of the Evernight pathway to enter the dreams of others stemmed from the Astral Projection, so it didn't affect Leonard's ability to do what he was good at in this mysterious space.
I hope he can slowly extricate himself from Pallez Zoroast's parasitism … Klein suddenly sighed.
The reason why he allowed Leonard to enter the Tarot was to help this teammate gradually become stronger, allowing him to escape the shadow that Pallez Zoroast left behind.
If the Marauder pathway angel didn't have any ill intentions, he could get Leonard to help "Him" hide from Amon and help "Him" recover. Otherwise, he could force "Him" to find another parasitizing target.
Retracting his gaze, Klein thought for a moment before throwing the Hunter pathway's Sequence 6 Conspirer potion formula into the dot of light representing Dhaniz. Then, he instructed him in the tone of a German Sparrow to leave the Southern Continent and return to the Golden Dream.
…
Hunting Black Spider's compound eyes, lion-bodied brain … Dhaniz recalled what he had "seen" in a daze as he stood up in delight.
He decided to immediately bid farewell to Anderson Hood and flee the dangerous Southern Continent.
When he arrived outside the Fog Sea's Strongest Hunter's room, he knocked gently and saw the wooden door open.
Anderson hadn't closed the door!
Dhaniz was surprised as he hurriedly cast his gaze over, only to see Anderson holding a dagger and gesturing at his stomach.
PS: I went to celebrate Chinese Valentine's Day yesterday. Ahem, I'll update later ~
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