"Amon?!" Although he was inwardly stunned to the extreme, Klein still trusted that Old Liu would not conspire with Amon to harm him — otherwise he would have been done for long ago. So after steadying himself, he asked in a low voice: "Why?"

Seeing that Klein was still keeping his composure, Ebner deliberately muttered: "I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get to see you scared into ’scattering’ into a pile of ’caterpillars.’"

You didn’t get your twisted little wish and I’m truly sorry about that... Also, what on earth is a ’caterpillar’ supposed to mean? Klein’s eye twitched a few times, but he still fixed his gaze on Ebner and waited for his explanation.

"There are roughly three reasons.

"First, because of certain arrangements I made previously, Amon has in fact already taken notice of the abnormalities surrounding Hvin Rambis and that Demoness... Rather than have Him lurking somewhere watching the fun while we make our move, it’s better to proactively draw Him into the operation and keep Him in plain sight.

"Second, with Amon’s involvement, we can further deepen the conflict between Him and the Loen royal family, and reduce the attention they have fixed on you.

"After all, compared to that ’Blasphemer,’ your German’s level of strength and reputation doesn’t even register on the scale..."

Ebner paused at this point and cast Klein a sidelong glance.

Being looked down upon has its advantages too... Klein mocked himself inwardly, then shifted to ask: "Amon wouldn’t fail to see through such a transparent ’provocation’ scheme, would He?"

"Ha, you may not be familiar with His personality... Even knowing full well that I’m provoking Him, even knowing it would deepen the conflict with the Augustus family, Amon wouldn’t particularly mind. He would instead find it to be quite an interesting ’game’... After all, the Augustus family has no way of truly threatening His life.

"Besides, He still harbors a degree of wariness toward me. If I weren’t pulling these kinds of ’little tricks,’ He might not even feel at ease."

Ebner paused here, giving Klein a moment to digest what he had said, before continuing:

"Third, and most critically... As the recipient of ’Sefirah Castle’s’ favor, your ’fate’ is bound to intersect with Amon’s... This cannot be avoided!

"That is to say, He will find you sooner or later, and that time is not far off...

"So rather than encountering Him passively, it is better to take the initiative.

"Since Lady Arianna will be acting alongside you this time, you may as well disguise yourself as a ’Bizarro Sorcerer’ from the ’Church of the Evernight’ and present yourself before Him.

"In any case, you are already capable of concealing the aura of ’Sefirah Castle,’ and with the protection of ’Concealment,’ Amon’s avatar most likely will not be able to see through it.

"Hmm, at the very least, He should not be able to see through it before you reach Sequence 3.

"Of course, this is only my personal suggestion... If you do not wish to come face to face with Amon just yet, I can also find someone to temporarily intercept His avatar."

In any case, the "Red Angel" still owes me one "request." Giving Him a "Yesterday Once More" talisman and having Him hold off Amon’s avatar for a few minutes is something He can manage.

After hearing all of this, Klein immediately sank into deep thought. Countless ideas collided and folded back upon one another, and in the end his gaze gradually grew resolute. He raised his head and looked toward Ebner: "Let me ’divine’ first. I’ll give you an answer in a moment."

From the way you looked just now, as though you had already made up your mind, I thought you were going to agree on the spot... Truly worthy of being a ’Seer’! Ebner nearly threw out his back at the answer, but still nodded helplessly and gestured for him to go ahead.

A moment later, Klein dismissed all the paper, pen, pendulum, and other materialized objects and asked: "When do you plan to make the move?"

If he still could not see by now that Hvin had been under Ebner’s surveillance all along, Klein might as well have been counted among those three members who had been absent from the "small meeting."

Ebner thought for a moment, then reached directly into a "gap in history" and pulled out a "quill pen," then materialized a sheet of parchment and wrote upon it:

"Although Hvin Rambis is quite self-assured, he is still somewhat worried that the ’Legendary Detective’ might discover Audrey Hall’s ’hypnotized’ state, given how prominent the detective’s reputation is.

"Therefore, on Wednesday afternoon at two o’clock, when Audrey Hall is visiting at her friend’s home, he will move in to check on Audrey’s condition.

"Of course, before doing so, he made a point of praying to a certain existence, and learned that there was no Demigod lying in ambush around Audrey."

Seeing Ebner’s series of actions, Klein stared blankly for a few seconds, then said in disbelief:

"This is... ’0-08’? "You can even pull out its ’projection’? I don’t recall you ever having held it before."

He finally understood how "Hvin" had been "monitored" by Ebner...

Casually dispersing the projection of the quill pen, Ebner answered with a smile: 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Before ’0-08’ was stolen from the Church of the Evernight by Ince Zangwill, it had always been kept in the ’Serene Cathedral.’

"And when I was still Alvin Abraham, I was already very well acquainted with all the Sealed Artifacts of Grade 1 and above held by the Goddess."

...

Wednesday afternoon, inside Viscount Graylint’s manor.

Audrey, who had made a detour to this side of the city, was dressed in a simply accessorized white lady’s blouse, matching trousers that allowed ease of movement, and knee-high gleaming leather boots, with a fitted black jacket-style riding coat over it all. She stood inside the viscount’s study, turning over in her mind the conversation she had earlier at the riding grounds with the Second Prince.

Hmm... I don’t think I said anything that could easily be misunderstood... But this kind of meeting, even an accidental one in itself, is very easy to set people’s imaginations running... Even Graylint just now made a veiled inquiry to me about it.

Does this kind of behavior align with the hypnotic suggestions Hvin planted before? Hopefully it won’t make him suspicious.

Pressing her lips together, Audrey walked out of the study, intending to first regroup with Susie and Annie, and then go find Graylint for a casual chat to put his unease to rest.

But she had barely taken two steps when a gentle, smiling voice suddenly sounded in her ear:

"Well done."

"..." Audrey’s pupils dilated in an instant. She quickly turned her head to the side, and there, standing beside the elegant wall lamp bracket diagonally across from her, was Hvin Rambis — silver-haired, pale blue-eyed, and immaculately dressed!

This was entirely beyond Audrey’s expectations and beyond "The Hanged Man’s" analysis as well, for in their earlier discussion everyone had unanimously concluded that Hvin would not dare appear near her again in the short term. After all, his probing this time had been somewhat excessive, and would very likely draw an ambush.

How can this be... Does he not fear at all that Mr. "Tower" or the Church of the Evernight might have seen through his methods? Is this confidence, or is this "Pride"?

Thoughts surged through Audrey’s mind in rapid succession, only to be swiftly suppressed by her.

She let her eyes first appear bewildered, then gradually show a look of dawning realization, as though she were finally waking from a long dream and recalling all the things that had previously been forgotten and overlooked.

"Mr. Rambis, what brings you here..." Audrey made her voice sound slightly unsteady, as though she were still somewhat adrift in a haze.

As she spoke, she drew upon her "Psychiatrist’s" mastery over her own emotions, allowing the unavoidable trace of anxiety to flash past like an ordinary thought, without causing the slightest abnormality.

"Hvin Rambis’s" pale blue eyes narrowed slightly as he fixed his gaze on her and stared for a moment, then suddenly smiled:

"Why were you so frightened when you saw me?"

...I, I was too caught off guard, such that a small amount of emotion slipped through my control? Audrey felt a faint tingling across her scalp beneath her golden hair. Her thoughts turned rapidly, and with an expression full of genuine confusion she countered:

"Was I?

"Isn’t that perfectly normal? When someone suddenly appears beside you, a brief startle is unavoidable."

"No — within the ’suggestions’ I gave you before, there was content instructing you not to be startled upon seeing me, and to treat me as someone close to you." As he spoke, "Hvin’s" pale blue eyes turned vertical, rapidly taking on a golden hue.

Within those two golden slit pupils, the image of Audrey in her riding coat was reflected with crystal clarity.

With a hum, Audrey’s thoughts became extremely muddled.

Just as she was on the verge of being completely "controlled" by the other party, darkness suddenly enveloped the afternoon garden, and a great red moon rose above the rooftop of the nearest building.

And a figure stood there — dressed in a black trench coat, wearing a semi-tall top hat, his face blurred against the backlight.

In the next moment, another translucent female figure was sketched out from above his head. She wore a deep black court gown and a matching small soft hat, her hair a pale gold, her eyes a vivid blue, her face porcelain white — like the most exquisitely crafted of dolls.

They were "The World" German and "Temperance" Sharon, who had timed their arrival down to the second.

The moment Sharon appeared, her body twisted and contorted, and she transformed into a life-sized puppet.

This puppet was the spitting image of "Pride" Hvin Rambis, with a pair of blue eyes that seemed to hold within them a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.

Immediately after, the puppet-form Sharon took the "Death Knell" revolver that Klein had passed to her, pressed it against her own forehead, and activated this remarkable item’s most powerful "fatal attack."

This was one of the "Puppet’s" core abilities — "Source of Curse" — which could transform into a corresponding "cursed object" and harm enemies by harming oneself.

Sharon, having transformed into the "Hvin" puppet, had her skull pierced through in an instant, but Klein gave a casual wipe and her wounds were transferred onto a "paper figure" prepared in advance, causing the area around its head to tear apart into two halves.

On the other side, "Hvin" under Ebner’s control had already been on guard against Klein’s attack before the "darkness" descended — after all, he had known full well that Klein would certainly make his move.

But even so, he was still somewhat caught off guard by the combination attack pulled off by the "Bizarro Sorcerer" and the "Puppet" working in tandem, because "Hvin" was merely a "Manipulator" and could not fight using other abilities.

However, because he had come prepared, he still managed to transform into his mythical creature form one second before the "curse" landed, and using the "Dragon’s" defensive power, he took the "fatal attack" of the "Death Knell" revolver head-on. Although he was still left with a bloodied and battered head, he was ultimately not in any mortal danger.

Yet in the very next second, his dragon body stiffened, and even the wings on his back froze in place. It was fortunate that he was merely a "Marionette" — otherwise even his thoughts might have ground to a halt.

"Good grief... A headshot from the ’Death Knell’ revolver was already something, but they used a ’Spirit Controlling Bullet’ on top of that... This couple is truly ruthless!"

(End of Chapter)