964 Medici's Cause of Death

As expected… After confirming his hypothesis, Leonard didn't harp on the matter as he returned to the topic at hand.

"Old Man, didn't you ask whose dream I entered?

"Yes, on the day we sought revenge against Ince Zangwill, Amon's brother and a King of Angels appeared."

In his mind, the slightly-aged voice didn't immediately reply. After a few seconds, there was a sigh.

"It's just as I expected. Matters related to 0-08 will often attract Adam.

"Thankfully, I chose to sleep ahead of time."

Leonard didn't have the time to ponder over Pallez Zoroast's words as he instinctively cried out, "Old Man, y-you said 'His' name!"

Adam's gaze was about to be cast over, or might have already landed on them!

The slightly-aged voice chuckled.

"You actually know about Adam's trait… However, me mentioning 'Him' doesn't matter. 'He' will only imagine that someone else is talking about 'Him.' Of course, there's no need for you to know too much. That will definitely make you occasionally think of it. Once that happens too frequently or at a close physical distance, Adam will also know of it, just like 0-08. Furthermore, 0-08's influence is limited to a huge city, while Adam's is the entire world."

As horrifying as Amon… Another form of horror… Leonard composed himself and forced himself to stop thinking about Adam as he ruminated over what Pallez Zoroast had said.

Suddenly, he nearly blurted out without suppressing his voice:

"Old Man, did you sleep not because you were weak, but because you were afraid of encountering Amon's brother?"

"Ahem." Pallez cleared "His" throat. "It was a result of both reasons, but they don't contradict one another. After giving you the two Worms of Time, my condition deteriorated again. Under such circumstances, how am I to deal with a King of Angels and conceal my existence? I'm already old and feeble. There's no need for such developments, so it's almost necessary for me to hide."

Leonard was momentarily at a loss for words and said after a few seconds, "Amon and 'His' brother should be older than you. The ancient sun god is an ancient god before the Cataclysm…"

Without waiting for Pallez Zoroast's reply, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"That is to say that, because of your act of sealing yourself and sleeping, that King of Angels didn't discover a problem with me?"

Pallez chuckled.

"No, it was discovered."

"…" Leonard's expression sank as he nearly looked around frantically.

He suspected that Adam was sitting in some corner, silently listening to his conversation with Old Man!

At this moment, Pallez Zoroast added, "You were very close to 'Him.' Do you think you can hide from a King of Angels who has accommodated the Spectator pathway's Uniqueness?

"Besides, you likely cried out 'Old Man' impolitely at the most critical moment."

Leonard was taken aback as he subconsciously answered, "…Y-you heard it?"

He suspected that Old Man had heard him but had deliberately chosen to ignore him for fear of being discovered by Adam.

"No." Pallez's slightly-aged voice teased, "I don't have to hear it to know what you would do. How can I not be aware of what kind of person you are?"

Amidst Leonard's embarrassment, Pallez Zoroast continued, "Adam definitely knows that you've been parasitized, but as I'd sealed myself and was asleep, 'He' didn't discover who was parasitizing you. The demigods with such abilities aren't many, but it's also not a very tiny number."

Is that so… Leonard instantly heaved a sigh of relief. He was most worried about having Adam see Old Man before returning to inform Blasphemer Amon.

With this in mind, Leonard raised a question he had been wondering all this while:

"Old Man, what's a King of Angels?"

Pallez Zoroast didn't ask where Leonard had learned of this concept as "He" simply explained, "Those that exceed Sequence 1 but have yet to become a deity.

"If we are specifically talking about the eight Kings of Angels, apart from those that meet the previous definition, they're the ones who served the ancient sun god before the Cataclysm."

What does it mean to exceed Sequence 1 but have yet to become a deity? How is that achieved? By accommodating the so-called Uniqueness? Leonard had the intention of asking, but he suspected that Old Man wouldn't answer in detail. He gradually decided to first talk about other matters before finding an opportunity to raise this issue again.

He deliberated for a moment and said with a suppressed voice, "During the battle for revenge with Ince Zangwill, I faced immense adversity, to the point of not being able to look at my enemy head-on, much less use the Luck Siphon charm… When seeking your help failed, I chose to chant Mr. Fool's honorific name and had received a response.

"After everything ended, I found myself heading for an ancient palace as though I was dreaming. It was above the boundless gray fog…"

Before Leonard finished his description, Pallez, who had been listening quietly, cut him off.

"You met The Fool?"

"Yes, 'His' aura is vastly deeper than the sea, loftier than the mountains. His figure was cloaked in the gray fog, preventing anyone from seeing it clearly," Leonard recalled his encounter and described in a poetic manner. "'He' established an organization, holding a Divine Council—a true one—every Monday afternoon. I'm already one of the members."

Pallez fell silent once again and didn't say a word for quite some time. Only after a while did he say, "The Fool allowed you to tell me this?"

"Yes." Sitting there, Leonard nodded and let out a suppressed voice into the air as he said "Old Man, do you know 'Him'?"

Pallez Zoroast sighed and said, "No, but I can roughly guess of 'His' origins. You don't have to ask what it is because I won't tell you.

"Heh heh, this might be an opportunity for you. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to become a demigod."

Leonard turned agape before closing his mouth. He stopped mentioning the Tarot Gathering because Mr. Fool hadn't given him permission to go into the details of other matters.

He thought and said, "Old Man, is there another King of Angels named Medici, known as 'the War Angel'?"

Pallez tersely acknowledged:

"You can also address 'Him' as Red Angel. However, 'He' has long perished. You were even close to where 'He' died."

"Where?" Leonard was surprised, but he had no impression of that happening.

Pallez scoffed.

"Are the memories of you people from the Evernight pathway so terrible? I recall that your Goddess wasn't like that.

"Do you still remember the ruin found beneath Backlund?"

"The Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire? The place where Alista Tudor became Blood Emperor?" Leonard asked in enlightenment.

Pallez Zoroast's slightly-aged voice resounded once again:

"That's right."

As Leonard tried to figure out the logic embedded in this matter, he informed Old Man of the evil spirit.

"The remnant soul of Medici fused with the two angels of the Sauron and Einhorn family, becoming a brand new evil spirit?" Pallez repeated Leonard's words in disbelief. Following that, "He" couldn't hide his amusement and said, "The three of 'Them' are absolute archenemies, the kind that can't stand each other's existence. To think that 'They' are together in death, fused as one, is truly—haha, it must be quite lively."

Leonard didn't know what Old Man was laughing about as he subconsciously asked, "'They' are archenemies?"

Pallez held back his laughter as he said, "Yes, the reason why Medici failed and was captured was because 'He' was dealing with the Sauron ancestor who had fallen into 'His' trap.

"It wasn't that 'He' wasn't prepared, but that was mainly focused on the Primordial Demoness's side. Surprisingly, Alista Tudor suddenly went mad. Heh, on this matter, Amon and Adam had played a rather important role."

That evil spirit is an enemy of Adam… Why would the Blood Emperor want to capture Medici and the two angels of Sauron and Einhorn? The place "They" perished was in the palace where Alista Tudor was trying to become Blood Emperor… "They" were the ritual materials needed to become a true god? Hmm, according to Mr. Fool, Adam is one step closer to divinity after obtaining 0-08… Is this also considered a gathering of materials? Amon is dealing with Old Man because of similar reasons? Leonard had some theories and had the urge to ask, but he ultimately held back.

He was afraid that he touched on highly secretive matters, causing Old Man to react negatively.

He planned on finding an opportunity at the Tarot Club to ask about such matters.

After a brief silence, Leonard looked at the closed door and said with a suppressed voice, "Has Mr. Fool and the Church reached a certain degree of tacit cooperation?"

"That's the implication if no one is investigating you," Pallez Zoroast answered in a rather direct manner.

Leonard nodded indiscernibly.

"What will they arrange me to do next?"

"Arrangement? Reward you for the services rendered and allow you to advance to Sequence 5 after you finish digesting the potion. Then, you will be allocated a Red Gloves team, and you'll be sent to complete missions. Otherwise, they might send you to a large diocese like Backlund to be a deacon in charge of certain matters," Pallez said without much concern.

Back to Backlund… Klein seems to be planning something in Backlund… Leonard's thoughts were suddenly liberated.

He didn't converse with Old Man again as he slumped against the wall and cradled his head with his hands, sitting rather leisurely.

…

Late at night, in the border town of East and West Balam, outside a row of warehouses.

Dressed in a formal suit, Dwayne Dantès, with his white sideburns, was holding a gold inlaid cane. After exchanging signals and countersigns with the officer on duty, he watched as the officer opened the door to the warehouse and heard him say in a relaxed manner, "It's everything inside. Check the goods and move it yourself.

"Also, pay me the remaining amount before leaving."

Dwayne Dantès nodded slightly and weighed the suitcase in hand. In it was 5,000 pounds in cash—entirely from Maysanchez's down payment.

At this moment, two figures were silently watching this develop two warehouses away in a three-story building.