Azik's body instantly swelled, transforming into a massive Feathered Serpent, shielding Klein behind him and blocking Suah's attack.
Before Klein could relax, his spiritual intuition suddenly issued a warning, and a blurry image appeared in his mind: Suah's grotesque and ugly ragdoll form materialized in his pupils, unleashing a terrifying attack that was difficult to evade or escape.
"Am I some delicious hot commodity?" As the thought flickered, Klein directly hid himself within the Historical Void.
Within the Historical Void, Zaratul, who had been waiting there, extended his tentacles, coiling around Klein from all directions.
In Klein's eyes, as soon as he entered the Historical Void, he saw a deep, dark worm vortex extending countless slimy tentacles, pressing towards him with an extremely terrifying aura.
His body seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, uncontrollably moving closer to the slimy tentacles.
"To capture a 'Seer,' the most important things are patience and waiting, waiting for them to step into the trap themselves."
A whispered murmur emanated from the worm vortex that Zaratul had transformed into. This whisper had a profound effect on Klein, who was not yet an Angel, causing his thoughts to stiffen unnaturally, like rusted and decaying machinery, making it difficult to think or react.
"This belongs to the convergence effect between Beyonder characteristic, an magnified and utilized convergence effect." Just as he realized what was happening in his mind, the surrounding Historical Void suddenly lit up, and various light and shadow flickered within the historical fragments, as if all of them had been illuminated.
Silently, streams of light continuously emerged from the historical fragments—not brilliant, not clear, without any color, like a misty glow composed of countless illusory things.
These faint lights quickly intertwined, forming a mottled scroll that appeared thin but felt extremely heavy, isolating Zaratul, who had displayed his mythical creature form and was attempting to directly devour and contain Klein.
Klein seized the opportunity and quickly withdrew from the Historical Void, returning to the reality of the mausoleum.
As soon as his figure appeared, he immediately turned his head to look in Leyton's direction, where no one was left.
"Indeed, it's a good thing that not only 'Scholars of Yore' can enter the Historical Void; otherwise, I would have truly stepped into Zaratul's trap and been unable to escape. The suppression of Beyonders with lower Sequences by higher-Sequence Beyonders of the same pathway is too severe."
Amidst his sigh, Klein ceased maintaining Azik's historical projection. He quietly prayed to the Evernight Goddess while attempting to pull out an Angel he had once seen—a Angel of Concealment!
Once, twice, thrice.
A young, black-haired female figure materialized beside Klein.
Her appearance was beautiful, but her face was devoid of any expression, and her black eyes were deep and dark, yet lacked spirituality.
The summoned entity was Sealed Artifact 0-17, held by the Church of the Evernight Goddess—a Angel of Concealment, an Angel that could serve as a vessel for the Evernight Goddess's descent!
Although there had been no prior communication, his ability to cooperate with Arianna itself represented the Goddess's attitude. Since he could summon the historical projection of Ms. Arianna, then this Angel of Concealment should also succeed, and her essence was higher, which could make the battlefield here even more chaotic.
The summoned figure did not look at Klein; she directly turned her head to gaze at the secret mausoleum below.
The entire underground ruin suddenly trembled, and ripples spread through the air, as if all the connected mausoleums around were about to be moved into the Concealed World.
Several mausoleums, whose spaces had been connected by George III using the "Black Emperor"'s abilities, suddenly separated.
Under the intense sense of crisis, he could only choose to abandon one mausoleum. As long as the advancement succeeded, there would still be a chance for everything to be remedied.
"No, you don't have a chance."
Amon's voice suddenly echoed in George III's ear, as if Amon was whispering right next to his head.
The pitch-black liquid, which had lost its human form, suddenly surged, violently churning as if making a final struggle.
As the connected spaces within the mausoleum separated, the crowd, which had been in a chaotic melee, was once again divided into different secret mausoleums.
Arianna and William Augustus I, who was struggling to resist the Genie's corruption, were separated into the same mausoleum.
Almost the instant the space stabilized, William Augustus I's body began to transparently vanish, as if being erased by an eraser, bit by bit, being sent into the Concealed World for sealing.
After briefly concealing William Augustus I, Arianna reached into the depths of darkness and drew out a bone longsword covered in strange patterns. She half-crouched and plunged the bone longsword into the mausoleum floor.
The entire mausoleum was rapidly swallowed by darkness, dissolving bit by bit, turning into a part of the dark tide.
In just a few breaths, the second secret mausoleum was also destroyed.
Inside Mausoleum Number One, where George III was located, George III, who had regained his form and put on a monocle, curled his lip and sighed with a rather helpless tone:
"What a pity, just a little bit more."
As his words fell, George III's body suddenly began to crack from within, revealing dense fissures from which dark, distorted liquid gushed out.
He struggled to control the speed of his body's collapse, raised a hand to pinch the monocle over his right eye, and murmured:
"Just a little bit, but the ritual to become an 'Error' is complete. So, I'll give Zaratul a little more time and see who can be the final winner and take all the chips on the table."
No sooner had his words fallen than a figure appeared silently in this mausoleum. The surrounding darkness surged like a tide, but did not engulf Amon, who was located in the center of the mausoleum.
The deep darkness surged violently and silently, carrying the power of slumber and death, capable of lulling one to sleep unknowingly, to die little by little in woven beautiful dreams.
In front of George III, who wore a monocle, the Angel of Concealment, whose face was devoid of any expression and whose black eyes were deep and dark yet lacked spirituality, calmly gazed at him. The power belonging to Concealment bloomed like a flower, devouring and dissolving everything in the darkness.
Her aura was even more immense and profound than the historical projection Klein had summoned earlier, as deep as boundless darkness. 0-17, stored beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral, had personally arrived!
"Heh, you actually came down yourself. Aren't you worried Badheil will launch a War of the Gods or a sneak attack on you at this time? Or rather, is this matter, or someone here, worth such a risk for you?"
"Since your attitude is so resolute, then I will temporarily give up on advancing. After all, I am not lacking in time, nor in opportunities."
As the words fell, George III's body completely collapsed, and Worm of Times composed of twelve-section patterns separated, transforming into transparent white light and shadow, quickly converging and reorganizing, returning to Amon's form.
He chuckled at the Angel of hidden in front of him and then vanished directly from the mausoleum. He used the connections between the nine secret mausoleums to steal his position and then placed himself in another mausoleum.
In Backlund's Memorial Square, George III, who was giving a speech to all the citizens of Loen, suddenly paused his words, and then, under everyone's gaze, his body exploded with a bang.
His flesh and blood sprayed into the air like fireworks, covering the entire podium.
After a brief silence, the surrounding crowd screamed loudly, and the scene instantly became chaotic. Soldiers of the Royal Guard quickly rushed onto the high platform.
In the restless Memorial Square, white doves, crows, ants, men and women dressed in worker's clothes, or appearing as gentlemen and ladies, all moved away from the scene, or took off their monocles.
Inside Ruin Number One, on the outskirts of Backlund, with Amon's departure, the Angel of Concealment looked down at George III, who had turned into a puddle of dark, rotten mud. Her body was gradually erased, disappearing within the mausoleum.
Heavy panting echoed inside the mausoleum. George III, abandoned by Amon, slowly regained consciousness. Like a brief moment of clarity before death, his consciousness at this moment became much clearer, allowing him to clearly feel his body and consciousness rapidly collapsing, that he was completely dying.
"No—"
His voice was barely audible, quickly dissipating into the air. No one in the mausoleum heard or saw his death throes.
As his life slipped away, he vaguely saw a giant black throne, with his own figure seated upon it—his own self as the "Black Emperor..." proudly looking down on reality, on par with the Gods!
He slowly extended his hand, trying to grasp this future, to twist it into reality, but he could not reach it.
Within the Historical Void, Leyton's figure, who was confronting Zaratul, suddenly disappeared. Klein had ceased maintaining his historical projection.
Without any obstruction, Zaratul quickly hid deeper into the Historical Void.
At the same time, his marionette, left in reality, once again summoned its historical projection and projected its consciousness into it.
Outside the secret mausoleum downstream of the Tussock River, Klein, who had prevented George III's apotheosis ritual and escaped from Zaratul and Suah, had not yet had time to rejoice when his vision blurred, and a figure suddenly appeared before him.
A figure wearing a black classical robe and a soft pointed hat of the same color.
He wore a crystal-carved monocle over his right eye and looked at Klein in front of him with an expression of great surprise, speaking as if seeing an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time:
"...Found you."
Amon! How could he appear directly here? Klein looked helplessly at Amon, who had suddenly appeared before him.
His actions were faster than his thoughts. He immediately reached out, attempting to pull out the Angel of Concealment he had just summoned from the Historical Void—the Angel of Concealment who could serve as a vessel for the Goddess's descent!