Lord of the Mysteries

Klein sat in the seat belonging to The Fool and looked around.

“This is Miss Magician, our new member.”

Then, he looked at Fors and introduced the rest to her.

“This is Miss Justice, and that is Mr. Hanged Man…”

As Fors nodded her head as a form of greeting the members with the corresponding code names, she observed the other members.

Miss Justice is blonde and seems very young; she sits with a graceful posture. Mr. Hanged Man has dark blue hair, as messy as seaweeds; he doesn’t have a very bulky figure; he doesn’t like to talk, but when observed by him, it gives me a sense of unease; he must be a leader of some faction… Mr. Sun looks like a teenager; he’s very silent and reserved; other than that, I can’t tell anything else — maybe he’s just as weak as me. Mr. World’s eyes are very cold and quite gloomy; it’s obvious that he isn’t someone to be trifled with… As a writer who had written a best-selling novel, she showcased her unique traits.

While she looked at the other members, they were also looking at her. Among them, Justice Audrey was the most attentive.

From her figure, I can eliminate Miss Xio. Brown hair and slightly curled. Is she Madam Fors? Temporarily, I can’t rule out the possibility that Mr. Fool has pulled in someone else. Hmm, her pronunciation and the way her mouth moves is the same as her Backlund accent. Her aura and emotional colors match as well… It’s unlikely that Mr. Fool will specially create a fake image for the members, right? There’s no need for “Him” to hide anything… After a few seconds of sizing Fors up, Audrey had nearly superimposed the blurry figure with her impression of Fors.

If I can find another trait in other areas, I can almost be certain… She waited with interest to verify her Beyonder powers.

At the same time, she felt that there was no need to reveal her identity to Fors.

It would be better to keep some secrets. Yes… Let’s see when she finds out! Audrey withdrew her gaze, producing a faint smile on her face as she quietly watched from the sidelines.

At that moment, since there were no new Roselle’s diary entries, Klein controlled The World and said, “I want to know about the Devil and Guardian Sequences.”

He was certain that The Sun knew the details of Sequence 6 Devil because he had previously mentioned Devil Studies, and in order to not expose the fact that he was investigating a series of murders, he had deliberately added the Sequence 5 Guardian of the God of Combat pathway—also known as the Giant pathway. It was the mainstream path for Beyonders in the City of Silver, so it was impossible for The Sun to be unaware of it.

As for the corresponding Sequence 9 Warrior, Sequence 8 Pugilist, and Sequence 7 Weapon Master, Klein had long since learned of the details from the Nighthawks’ confidential information. As for information regarding Sequence 6 Dawn Paladin, he had just learned of its information from Bishop Utravsky. Therefore, the only thing that he could ask and be willing to pay a price for without wasting money was Sequence 5 Guardian.

In addition, he didn’t directly ask The Sun, but instead issued this request to everyone, because according to the way things had developed, it was impossible for The World, who had just joined the Tarot Club, to know that the City of Silver held the Giant pathway.

“If it’s just the Devil Sequence, I know a little about it.” Alger, who had some standing in the Church of the Lord of Storms, interjected.

Derrick Berg glanced at him and without a thought, straightened his back and said, “I’m very knowledgeable about these two Sequences.

“The payment I want is information related to the Fallen Creator.

“The equivalence of the two pieces of information will be determined by Mr. Fool.”

Having said that, he realized that he had not received Mr. Fool’s agreement as he hurriedly turned his head to Mr. Fool to make the request reverently.

Sun, don’t blame me. You were the one who made the request… The corners of Klein’s mouth twitched slightly as he said with a chuckle, “Sure.”

Furthermore, when it comes to the understanding of the True Creator, none of the ladies and gentlemen present can compare to me… he added boldly in his heart.

While they were discussing this matter, The Magician Fors was stunned upon hearing the conversation.

The Devil Sequence is the Devil pathway? Which Sequence number is it?

What is the Guardian pathway? Which Sequence number is it?

I’ve never heard of it…

Fallen Creator? The True Creator?

God, they are actually exchanging information regarding the True Creator!

That deity is known as the most ancient and powerful existence amongst the deities.

What kind of organization did I join?

After receiving a positive reply from The Fool, The World said without any hesitation, “Deal!

“I request a private exchange.”

I really want to hear it… However, I need to be frugal for the time being. There are still two more months until the new year. Endure it, Audrey! Audrey blinked her eyes, reluctantly withdrawing her gaze from The Sun.

Their sights, vision, and spirituality were then shielded by Klein.

The World quickly lowered his head and “wrote” on a conjured sheet of paper his own understanding of the True Creator, including standard likeness such as “The Hanged Giant” and the “Eye behind the Shadow Curtains,” including the information that members of the Aurora Order believed that this evil god was the original creator of everything.

At the end, Klein had included his impression of the evil god through his interaction with the evil god’s spawn, the sensation of the deity’s aura, and the sensation when listening to the True Creator’s voice.

“Fallen, twisted, bloody, crazy, evil.”

Then, as Mr. Fool, he gave a comment, “This piece of information is slightly more valuable than the information regarding the Devil and Guardian Sequences, but the difference isn’t that huge.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fool.” Derrick earnestly received the piece of goatskin and read through it carefully a few times.

The thing he was most concerned about was that the True Creator was known as the creator of everything!

Twisted, fallen, crazy… Derrick repeated the words, vaguely able to see the dark tragedy that had engulfed everyone in the City of Silver for more than two thousand years.

Did the Lord not abandon us? It’s just that “He” had gone mad… Derrick found himself able to resist using blasphemous thoughts to examine the Lord that created everything, the omnipotent and omniscient God who was worshipped by the City of Silver.

“It’s time for you to answer my question,” The World urged in a hoarse voice.

Derrick restrained his seething and sorrowful thoughts and said after two seconds of silence, “When different species of creatures consume the Devil potion, they will experience different types of mutation. They will have traits that are unique to them. Which kind of Devil would you like to know about?”

There are actually distinctions? Klein was puzzled.

He soon realized one thing—there was a blind spot in his thought process!

What if the serial killer wasn’t a human but an animal?

After consuming the corresponding potion, it could transform into a Devil animal!

Step by step, one Sequence at a time, it will turn into a Devil!

Although the probability of an animal losing control far exceeds that of a human’s, it was still not enough to deal with “what ifs”… I have to investigate this… But in that case, there would be more questions. Where did the Devil, mutated from an animal, obtain the potion and Beyonder ingredients? It should be impossible for it to join Beyonder circles… Klein maintained his silence and manipulated The World to say, “What I want to know is the common trait of all kinds of Devils.”

Derrick recollected and organized his knowledge before saying, “The most frightening thing about a Devil is that if you can cause lethal damage to it in a very short period of time and take action to put that into practice, then he can sense, notice, and grasp where the danger comes from and who it came from, and then selectively kill or seek revenge on them.

“And this period of time varies from a few minutes to a day. Different Devils have different instincts.”

This ability is a little scary… However, it’s different from a Clown’s intuition. It doesn’t seem like it can be used in combat but instead, detect the source of the danger ahead of time. It’s closer to the “Whim ¹ ” ability I’ve read in xianxia novels in my previous life… I don’t know if I can interfere with or even block this intuition in this mysterious space above the gray fog. Would Stuart end up in danger… Klein leaned back into his chair, seemingly uninterested in the subject of the discussion between The Sun and The World.

Seeing that The World didn’t show any signs of surprise, Derrick continued, “They all possess the ability to gigantify their bodies and thus break free from their bindings, temporarily increasing their strength and speed; their skin is mutable, equivalent to wearing a layer of hard armor; their blood and flesh can act as a retardant and reduce damage; they’re immune to most toxins and do not fear curses or flames to a certain degree; they have innate flame and corruption-type spells; they’re cold-blooded, don’t panic, don’t feel fear, and have a strong ability when it comes to physical combat; they’re also adept at using various items to inflict damage.

“Their greatest weakness is that they tend to lose control. Even if they don’t, they will often display a cold-blooded and cruel madness, being easily controlled by desires such as bloodlust and murderous intent.”

Really strong, as expected of a Sequence 6 Devil. Could it be that among the 22 Beyonder paths below the High Sequences, Sequence 6 or Sequence 7 are the thresholds of a qualitative change? In this respect, different Sequences differ, thus they have become the dividing lines between ancient and modern Mid-Sequences…Klein controlled The World and said, “I’m very satisfied with your information.”

Derrick didn’t act modestly. He nodded and said, “Guardians seldom suffer damage. Once they enter a defensive state and give up attacking, few can break through their defenses below that of the High-Sequences. It’s the same for numerous types of damage. When they attack, their corresponding defense will decrease significantly, but it will still be stronger than full-body armor.

“Their Sword of Dawn and their Hurricane of Light, as well as their other Beyonder powers, allow them to deal damage to any type of monsters.

“They’re not confused by illusions. They can help their comrades within a certain range by taking damage and protecting them.”

…

Following the descriptions given by Derrick, Klein couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

Compared to a Guardian, a Dawn Paladin’s defense is like that of a child versus an adult. A Guardian would probably be able to withstand the bullets of a steam rifle… In the wars of this era, they wouldn’t die unless they were focused on by large-caliber cannons.