..Max arrives after several minutes at the place of Lady Theobi's family palace, where the guards receive him and let him in.
..Max rings the bell and waits calmly at the palace door.
"[This place is extremely luxurious. That garden is huge. I wonder what Lady Theobi's husband was doing in the white building despite having this place. Could his death have been the result of traitors or something like that?]"
..Maria opens the door herself, leaving the servants to bring lunch, and she is surprised by Max's beauty and elegance. She smiles and says:
"Please come in, Mr. Max. My mother, Lady Theobi, is waiting for you inside."
..Max enters and smoke comes out of his mouth, and Maria notices that and admires it greatly, as she looks toward the pipe and says:
"Would you allow me to try it?"
..Max is silent for a moment, then smiles and says:
"Of course, go ahead."
..Maria tries the pipe and takes a puff while Max is stunned.
"[I think that girl is no more than 19 years old?! And she smokes something like that.]"
..Maria coughs a little, then gives the pipe back to Max and asks him to make this a secret between them and not to tell her mother.
..Maria takes Max's private number so she can contact him if her mother needs anything.
..Max and Maria arrive at the hall, where countless books are present on the shelves everywhere, the ceiling is extremely high, and the seats and tables are extremely luxurious.
..Lady Theobi warmly welcomes Max and asks him to sit, then looks toward Maria and says:
"Mr. Max, Maria wants to apologize to you. She thought you were a fool when she asked us to go out suddenly without hearing a single word from her."
..Max smiles and says:
"No problem at all. This is actually normal. Anyone I deal with the first few times thinks I am a fool."
..Theobi asks Maria to go and change her clothes, so Maria leaves and glances at Max out of the corner of her eye with an admiring look.
..Theobi speaks and says:
"You did not tell me that you work for the Star Organization. I do not want to burden you. I really only have a simple request."
..Max speaks and says:
"No problem at all, go ahead, what is it, my lady Theobi?"
..Lady Theobi feels relieved and raises her voice, saying:
"Leitha, come and set the food now."
..Then she looks toward Max and continues, saying:
"Just a minute, go ahead. Leitha will come with the drinks. You are my guest today. After we finish lunch, I will explain to you."
..Leitha comes and sets the food down and smiles at Lady Theobi, then leaves in silence, and Max notices a strange ominous presence from that girl, which increases his suspicion about something specific.
..Leitha notices Max's gaze toward her and smiles wickedly.
..After several minutes, everyone sits at the large table decorated with pure gold while the servants place food of various kinds and forms.
..Max thinks internally and says:
"[I cannot believe that the supreme god called I am who I am, the source of the entire Origin pathway, placed laws in existence that force entities to need food, drink, and sleep, and they tire and reproduce. There is indeed something strange here. Why does he do this? What is the purpose?]"
..Leitha places the plates while Max remains extremely calm, and then Maria arrives wearing a very beautiful red dress while her black hair decorated with red flowers moves with every step she takes.
..Then Maria sits beside her mother Theobi on the left, and Max directly on the other side.
..Max sighs, then smiles at Theobi and says:
"My lady, excuse me, but where is the restroom?"
..Suddenly Leitha speaks and says:
"Come with me, sir. I know where the restroom is."
..Theobi asks Max to go with the maid.
..Max smiles at Theobi and places his pipe on the dining table, then goes with the maid.
..The maid walks in front of him in silence while Max remains extremely cautious and uses the Entity Vision ability. He sees the frog on his shoulder whispering to him and saying:
"Do you see what I see? Do you think she is the one who did it, the one who was the reason for the man's death?"
..The frog focuses on her aura and confirms that her aura is intertwined with a second aura, which leaves Max confused, unable to understand what the frog means.
..Max disables Entity Vision and passes iron knights standing empty, holding sharp iron swords, and then Leitha suddenly stops.
..Max speaks and says:
"Where is the bathroom? I cannot see it."
..Leitha does not turn around and makes sure they are completely outside the range of vision of the lady and her daughter Maria, then suddenly turns while her hand transforms into a monstrous hand with sharp claws, and at lightning speed Max pulls the sword from the knight and blocks her hand, causing Leitha to retreat suddenly and reveal her fangs.
..Max is shocked and thinks, saying:
"[She is a vampire.]"
..Then a symbol of the sun, half of it black and with a serrated arrow above it, appears above Leitha's head.
..Max is shocked and thinks, saying:
"[She is from that strange organization.]"
..Leitha stands, and then a very large tongue full of saliva comes out of her mouth, then she says:
"I can feel it. I can feel your aura in my mouth. It is completely different from any aura I have ever felt. Prepare to die."
..Max grits his teeth and notices tarot cards on a small table beside him and thinks to himself:
"[I can use it. I used it before in the lower worlds, which are a manifestation of this world, so I think I can create a binding seal with it.]"
..Leitha, the lady from the Underworld pathway, sequence 6, "Lower Shepherd," rushes toward Max, transforming her hand into a terrifying and extremely powerful dragon hand.
..Max rushes and passes between her legs quickly, then takes the tarot card in his hand and moves the card rapidly while speaking incomprehensible words.
..The card responds to him, which makes him smile, and then a binding seal appears, rushing toward Leitha and completely binding her.
..Max sighs and feels a bit tired, and suddenly Maria calls him, so he whispers, saying:
"This is not the right time for that. I will have to answer."
..Max answers, and Maria speaks and says:
"What is happening? I hear a loud sound. What is wrong, and why are you breathing so fast like that?"
..The seal begins to break, and Max grows tense, then speaks and says:
"My stomach hurts terribly. Do not worry, I have to hang up now. Goodbye."
..Maria speaks, and suddenly Max ends the call, then Theobi looks toward Maria and asks her about the reason for Max's delay.
..Maria smiles and says:
"He is in the restroom, mother, and it is difficult."
..The seal suddenly breaks, and then Leitha summons small creatures from the world of chaos that rush toward Max to attack him.
..Max is struck by blows for no apparent reason, so he is surprised and uses Entity Vision, where he sees them as tiny insect-like entities, many of them, on the verge of gnawing at and devouring his existence.
..Max grows tense, and with his sword he interacts with them and pushes them away from him while Leitha rushes quickly toward him, so he activates the tarot cards again and seals her, then grabs her head and uses the mind manipulation ability, trying to make her lose consciousness.
..At that moment Max struggles greatly with Leitha until she loses consciousness, and then Leitha gives in and completely loses consciousness.
..Max breathes quickly then whispers, saying:
"At last it is over. Do I hand her over, or tie her up so I can interrogate her?"
..Max tries to read Leitha's memories.
..Countless memories intertwine from Leitha's mind, unclear memories due to the difference in sequence, and Max sees something strange. He sees a paper with small sentences that say:
"The abandoned city of the gods, the land of ruin and destruction upon which the curse has fallen, awaiting the Lord's satisfaction so that it may return to what it once was."
..Then a report appears at the end of the paper saying:
"Kill all the innocents in it so that this land may become the birthplace of the god for the coming magical ritual."
..While an X symbol appears at a specific location in the City of Stars.
..At that moment Max feels pain in his head as a result of his attempt to breach the consciousness of a being stronger than him.
..After several minutes Max returns holding that lady and explains everything and hands her over to Lady Theobi, while Leitha is still in her strange demonic state, held by the guards. Theobi thanks Max greatly and says:
"Thank you very much, all thanks to you indeed for discovering who was the reason for my husband's death. She will soon be tried."
..Max replies and says:
"You are welcome, my lady. Always at your service. By the way, what was the simple task you wanted me for?"
..Lady Theobi laughs and confirms that the task was to investigate who was the reason for his death from the beginning.
..Max smiles and says:
"That means my work here is finished, right?"
..The lady confirms that while Leitha suddenly regains consciousness and speaks strange and incomprehensible words only Max understands, saying:
"The reckoning is coming. You are trapped. There is no place to escape. It will always pursue you, only it and no one else. That city will perish, will perish, will perish."
..Leitha repeats the words hysterically.
..Suddenly the girl's head explodes, causing Maria to scream at the sight while Max stands coldly.
..Max wipes the blood from his face while Maria stands stunned, with some blood above her right eye. Max wipes it and asks her to go take a shower and rest, then bids farewell to Lady Theobi and says:
"Thank you very much for this hospitality. Have a nice day."
..Theobi speaks quickly and says:
"Wait a little. I wanted to talk to you about something specific."
..Max turns and says:
"Go ahead, what is it?"
..Maria brings the pipe to Max while feeling embarrassed, as she realizes what her mother is about to say.
..Theobi continues and says:
"My daughter admires you and sees that you are a suitable husband for her."
..Max is surprised, and Maria feels extremely embarrassed and covers her face.
..Max thinks for a moment, remembering Guanda's innocence, playfulness, and vitality, then speaks and says:
"I am sorry, my lady, but I am married."
..Maria is extremely surprised and feels sad and goes directly to her room, while Theobi smiles at Max and says:
"Well, no problem, Mr. Max. I hope I did not bother you with that word."
..Max smiles and confirms that there is absolutely no inconvenience about the matter and that she can contact him when needed.
..Then Max leaves and returns home at the Star Hotel and enters the restroom and showers while some scratches remain on his body from the effects of the worms and strange insects.
..Max comes out of the restroom and sends a message to Guanda confirming that he is coming now and asks her to prepare for him the same order as before, a cup of coffee and a croissant, and he will pay for it when he arrives.
..Max takes 3000 coins and changes his clothes to wear the previous clothes with the V letter, then leaves the hotel.
..Max heads toward a flower shop and decides to buy a bouquet of flowers of various colors and scents for her, and places with it a box of chocolate hidden among the flowers, then heads toward the shop.
..After several minutes Max arrives at the shop and enters with a beautiful smile on his face, standing at the preparation area and saying:
"Guanda, where are you?"
..Guanda, who is inside the storage area, speaks and says:
"I am just preparing some coffee from inside. I will come in a few moments."
..Max waits very calmly, and suddenly Azek comes out from inside the storage area and looks toward Max very calmly. Max is shocked and becomes extremely tense, quickly hiding the flowers behind his back and smiling, saying:
"Hello, Mr. Azek. How are you? What are you doing here?"