Inside the captain's cabin of the Dawn, Bernadette listened to the familiar voice echoing in her ears, her eyes vaguely reflecting a blurred figure—a figure she was extremely familiar with—and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.
Aboard the Future, sailing on the Sonia Sea, Cattleya's body suddenly stiffened. A deep light purple flashed in her eyes as she meticulously surveyed the ship and the surrounding sea.
"This is Emperor Roselle's voice? He, no, it has revived?" Cattleya's voice was somewhat flustered.
She had never seen this legendary figure, but due to her relationship with Bernadette, she knew quite a bit about Roselle, and her heart was filled with admiration.
Feeling the voice still faintly echoing in her ears and the illusory figure appearing in her eyes, her intuition as a Mysticologist told her that this was Emperor Roselle, Emperor Roselle returned as a great existence!
Aboard the Black Emperor, currently traversing the Spirit World, the King of the Five Seas Nast's figure emerged from the cabin in a blink of an eye, appearing at the very front of the deck.
The Black Emperor's dark hull dematerialized, quickly exiting the Spirit World and appearing on the surface of the Fog Sea.
Nast gazed deeply at the sky shrouded in thin mist. Brilliant starlight broke through the mist's blockade, reflecting a hazy galaxy below, into the eyes of every Intisian, allowing them to see Roselle's figure and hear his voice.
In the Intis Republic on the Northern Continent, the entire nation fell into an eerie silence. Most people's eyes showed confusion, excitement, and helplessness, disbelieving what they saw and heard, yet unable to deny it.
Beyonders who knew and understood more were also silent, their emotions complex, both incredibly disbelieving and inexplicably excited.
Thanks to Roselle's legendary experiences and his outstanding contributions in both the mundane and Mysticologist fields, his reputation in Intis was excellent, as long as it wasn't the Sauron Family or other noble descendants he had suppressed. He was the goal and idol for many young people.
For a Black Emperor, a true god, this was a natural advantage, because every Intis citizen who revered him was his anchor, his faith to stabilize his own state.
Because of the existence of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, even the Sauron Family, as the former Intis royal family, could only suppress and reduce Roselle's influence, but could not directly smear him or prohibit everything about him.
And now, they deeply regretted not resisting the pressure from the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery and completely erasing Roselle from Intis's history.
On the Fog Sea, within the Intis fleet, almost everyone heard the words echoing in their ears and saw that hazy, illusory, yet extremely oppressive figure.
This influence did not last too long. As a lightning bolt stained with rust and blood flashed across, the Weather Warlock hidden in the mist used an angel-level "Mind Connection" to tightly link everyone on the fleet, stripping away the influence Roselle had exerted.
Within the illusory and abstract Astral World, dark shadows continuously flowed out, spreading outwards and making the entire Astral World appear much dimmer.
Beneath the intertwining shadows, a world of ordered darkness seemed to be constructed, where a dark, majestic throne stood. Roselle's figure sat upon it, overlooking the entire world, planning order, and ruling the land!
This state did not last too long. With the Black Emperor's authority, the Uniqueness was almost effortlessly accommodated by him.
With a foundation, he also transitioned from a conceptual and abstract state into reality, reappearing in the Astral World, bringing the Black Emperor's revival to its final step.
Roselle established a connection with the three unaccommodated Prince of Abolition Characteristics without any hindrance, utilizing and Magnifying the Convergence effect, causing them to spontaneously break free from their seals and fly into the Astral World.
However, this process was not as smooth as he had imagined. He only attracted two Prince of Abolition Characteristics; the third Characteristic was pulled by some force, and even with his Black Emperor authority, it was difficult to reclaim that Characteristic in a short time.
Following the connection between the Beyonder characteristic, Roselle turned his gaze to Loen in reality, to the palace in Backlund.
"The third Characteristic is in the Loen palace. Damn it, it must be the Genie's doing. I knew I shouldn't have let him corrupt William Augustus I so quickly."
While muttering to himself, he attempted to use his authority to interfere with William Augustus I, who had been corrupted by the Genie.
Chains like the shadow of order descended from the illusory and abstract Astral World, piercing into the palace in Backlund with an unstoppable momentum.
Almost at the same time, within the Astral World, in an illusory kingdom where Steam constantly rose and gears turned, fragments of light scattered.
These lights spontaneously condensed into projection-like scrolls that appeared thin but gave an extremely heavy feeling.
Scrolls carrying thousands of years of civilization, thick and vast scrolls of civilization, blocked Roselle's gaze and simultaneously obstructed the chains he cast down, preventing him from directly interfering with reality and retrieving the last Prince of Abolition Characteristic.
"Hmph, Steam!"
Roselle's enraged voice echoed in the Astral World. Without the last Characteristic, he could not truly return.
On the Dawn, space suddenly distorted. Layers of golden ripples spread out of thin air, condensing into a golden figure filled with distortion and chaos in front of Leyton.
The Genie briefly broke through the wishing lamp's restrictions, allowing him to interfere with reality and appear before Leyton.
"You deceived me."
His tone was filled with anger, like layers of noisy whispers.
Leyton looked at the Genie, who was distorted into golden whirlpools, and calmly replied:
"I have fulfilled my promise in our previous transaction. There was no deception between us."
The Genie snorted coldly and said unpleasantly:
"You did help me infect a Hand of Order, but when I tried to reclaim the authority belonging to the Shadow of Order, you forcibly pulled me away from the mausoleum."
"Without my consent, that last Prince of Abolition Characteristic wouldn't be so easily aggregated into the Astral World. Perhaps by the time that Black Emperor revives, everything will already be over."
As his words fell, the Genie's figure rippled back in layers, disappearing from Leyton's sight.
Looking in the direction where the Genie disappeared, Leyton murmured:
"How do you know I didn't want you to delay Roselle's revival?"
"Hmph!"
On the empty deck, the Genie's cold snort echoed around, soon completely disappearing.
In a coastal port at the easternmost part of the Northern State on the Southern Continent, one after another crimson-yellow flames intertwined in the air to form a scorching hot flame spear, which shot towards the street below, directly targeting the Saint of Secrets Botis, who stood dazed in place.
Beneath his black robe, Botis, with slightly curly brown hair and deep eyes, stood rigidly in place, his thoughts obscure and difficult to turn, his entire being like a machine completely corroded by rust.
As a Secrets Sorcerer, he could clearly feel the power appearing around him, the increasingly strong sense of danger, and his own abnormal state.
"...Marionette...ization!"
As his thoughts struggled to turn, he saw a figure silently appear in front of him. It was a middle-aged man wearing a silk top hat and a black suit.
He had distinct Southern Continent racial features: bronze skin, soft facial features, and eyes that appeared weathered and sharp, like a high-ranking noble.
Botis instinctively felt that the other party's appearance was somewhat familiar, but with his thoughts currently difficult to turn, he couldn't recall more.
The moment this figure appeared, his body and even his soul turned cold, as if dying little by little. Even his Beyonder characteristic were dying uncontrollably, and all his struggles and efforts vanished in an instant.
Boom!
A violent explosion sounded, and waves of fire surged, the scorching flames engulfing all of Botis's thoughts. Under the erosion of death's power, he finally felt a trace of warmth, a warmth that filled his entire body.
In less than two seconds, all warmth and coldness receded. He lost all consciousness and vitality, even his soul was annihilated.
The surrounding crimson-yellow flames surged forward, coalescing in mid-air to re-form Anderson's body, which landed nimbly on the ground.
He looked at the Saint of Secrets Botis, who was now just a charred stain on the ground, with considerable surprise, not expecting a demigod known for his agility and mystery to die so simply in front of him, without any struggle or resistance.
Withdrawing his gaze, he looked at Azik, whose expression was gentle and unreadable, chuckled, and bowed respectfully, saying:
"As expected of an angel in the death domain. A Saint died just like that, unable to put up any resistance whatsoever."
"To be honest, I had just envisioned dozens of different developments and countermeasures in my mind, but I didn't expect this hunt to end so simply, just as easily as when you helped Gehrman Sparrow hunt down Admiral Hell Ludwell before."
Azik turned his head to look at Anderson, then slowly shook his head and said:
"You don't need to underestimate yourself. A full-power 'Harvest' from an Iron-Blooded Knight is difficult even for those physically powerful demigods to withstand, let alone a fragile Secrets Sorcerer."
"I only imposed some restrictions on him, making it difficult for him to resist or call for help, while also interfering with any possible sight or divination."
As he spoke, pale flames dropped from Azik's palm, completely erasing the ashes and aura left behind by the Saint of Secrets Botis.
In just a moment, even the charred marks on the ground disappeared.