"I've seen similar statues before in a Fourth Epoch ruin."
Klein manipulated The World puppet and spoke slowly.
As he said this, his eyes couldn't help but glance at Silas.
That was the underground ruin Silas had also visited, the place where the Red Angel Medici had died.
Those statues were placed in other rooms beyond the corridor. Compared to the evil forms in the murals, these statues appeared much more holy.
However, Silas had fled the scene immediately and hadn't investigated, so he didn't know about these things.
The Tarot Club members looked at the statues displayed by The World.
A lady wearing black classical robes adorned with stars; a plump woman cradling an infant, surrounded by plants; a majestic man holding a trident and standing on ocean waves; a young man holding a golden orb and grasping a book of contracts; a youth sitting high on a throne, wielding a sword; a wise old man holding a tome, wearing a hood that revealed only wrinkles and a beard...
Below each statue was drawn the holy emblem of a certain deity from the Northern Continent.
"Could these be... statues of the various gods?"
Everyone quickly matched the holy emblems with the deities. While feeling astonished, they also grew confused.
In the current era, the churches of the gods had no images of the deities themselves, only symbols as substitutes, proclaiming this to be a manifestation of the true gods.
"So the murals show distorted versions of the six Orthodox Gods.
This means the True Creator was their enemy..." Alger murmured in a daze, appearing very interested in such divine secrets.
"So in the Fourth Epoch, the Orthodox Gods also had human forms."
But why did they stop such propagation in the Fifth Epoch?
The Hanged Man, Alger, guessed there must be a reason, but his current self couldn't yet know it.
Everyone had various reactions to this and discussed it earnestly for a while.
After the atmosphere gradually quieted, Justice Audrey glanced at Silas and said in a normal tone, "Just yesterday, that Beyonder who caused the 'Capim Case' and killed Lanevus appeared again.
Count Andes's mansion in Backlund's Queens Borough was attacked. The Count himself died, and there were signs that other Beyonders were present at the scene."
"Investigators discovered afterward that this Count was connected to an evil organization called the 'Rose School of Thought.'
As for that Beyonder, the authorities are currently calling him the 'Blood Reverend.'"
Blood Reverend?
That sounds quite fitting for Silas...
Klein, seated at the head of the long table, couldn't help but think.
What a terrifying name. Mr. Anderson has done something big again in the past couple of days.
The Magician, Fors, thought similarly.
The Rose School of Thought was another organization worshiping evil gods.
This guy called the "Blood Reverend" seemed very interested in opposing evil gods.
The Hanged Man, Alger's attention focused more on the other party's purpose.
At this moment, his heart suddenly stirred, as if he'd thought of something.
According to internal information from the Church of Storms, it was basically confirmed that the Blood Reverend was a Beyonder of the Secrets Suppliant pathway.
However, unlike typical Beyonders of this sequence, he not only didn't worship the True Creator but had even killed Lanevus, who carried an evil god's offspring!
A powerful figure of the Secrets Suppliant pathway at odds with the True Creator, this rare combination... he'd just seen one himself!
Mr. Temperance of the Tarot Club.
Temperance was very likely the Blood Reverend!
So this name is set in stone now?
Silas had some objections to this title, but there was no way he could ask the people at MI9 to change it for him.
He glanced around at everyone and directly opened another topic:
"Everyone, what do you think is the reason Duke Negan keeps being targeted for assassination?"
Just counting what Silas himself knew, there had been two assassination attempts on Duke Negan.
This Conservative Party bigwig's life could be described as crisis-ridden.
For this kind of topic, The Sun Derrick from the Forsaken Land of the Gods and The Magician Fors, an ordinary citizen, clearly had little to contribute.
Only Justice Audrey and The Hanged Man Alger could offer opinions.
"It's probably related to his position."
Audrey boldly speculated, "Duke Negan is a major supporter of the Conservative Party and also the brother of current Prime Minister Aguesid.
In Backlund, he belongs to the wealthiest and most powerful group."
"If Duke Negan were to die, from the results, the Prime Minister would lose support, and the Conservative Party would consequently suffer a setback.
New political forces would replace them, namely the new nobles and merchants who gained enormous profits from the Industrial Revolution."
Her father, Earl Hall, basically belonged to the latter group.
"I don't think this is political struggle... or rather, it shouldn't be merely political struggle."
The Hanged Man, Alger, pondered, "The mastermind's purpose is very clear. The resources being mobilized are increasing, obviously determined to achieve their goal."
In Duke Negan's two assassination cases, the first perpetrator was former Pirate Admiral Qilangos, a Sequence 6, while the second perpetrator was a Demon family member lurking in Backlund, a Sequence 5 "Desire Apostle."
Getting a Pirate Admiral with power at sea to come ashore, making a long-entrenched Demon reveal itself, indicated that the mastermind had offered extremely generous conditions, generous enough to make them willing to abandon their current situations and take risks.
"I'm afraid the assassinations will continue until Duke Negan truly dies."
He continued.
"Then who do you think the mastermind is?"
Justice Audrey felt what he said made some sense and pressed further.
"..."
Alger wanted very much to say it was the royal family, but discussing such things with Justice, who was a noble, seemed somewhat risky.
Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard the great existence at the head of the table move.
"Tap, tap."
The Fool lightly tapped the table with his finger.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and instinctively looked at the mysterious being shrouded in gray fog.
That person chuckled softly and spoke a name:
"The Twilight Hermit Order."
---
At the same time, in Queens Borough, Count Andes's mansion.
"Phew..."
After completing the investigative work assigned to him, Kons let out a long sigh.
He looked troubled.
The incident he'd experienced last night made Kons realize his own rashness and the danger of Beyonder events.
He wanted to meet with his family and re-examine himself.
But he hadn't expected that the Blood Reverend's energy would be so abundant. After killing the werewolf, he'd rushed to Queens Borough for another operation.
The result of the Blood Reverend's activity was that before Kons could make it home, he'd been called over for mandatory overtime.
"What's wrong, Kons?"
He heard someone ask from behind. Turning his head, he saw it was his team captain, Levi.
"Nothing, Mr. Levi."
Kons smiled with difficulty, "Just a bit tired from the overtime, that's all."