Chapter 475: Lady Despair

Mr. A? Mr. A of the Aurora Order? Klein, who had intended to

cling towards the walls and shadows and proceed towards the door, shrank

back silently.

*Ince Zangwill should be working with some faction of the royal

family... Those who are able to excavate and hide such a large

underground ruin near Backlund must be one of the main powers in the

Loen Kingdom...*

*With Ince Zangwill and 0-08 participating in this matter, the Church of

the Goddess can be ruled out. Although the people of the Lord of Storms

are a bit reckless and male chauvinists, it's unlikely that they will

work with the Demoness Sect. At least until now, there have been no

Beyonders who appear to be of the Sailor pathway... In the same way, the

Church of Steam and Machinery aren't likely suspects...*

Even the Aurora Order is involved? What are they trying to do?

Klein leaned his back against the wall and slowed his breathing,

thinking and listening to the conversation in the middle of the hall.

After a short period of silence, a hoarse voice sounded, "It's done."

The answer was so concise that Klein couldn't make out what they were

planning.

The melodious and pleasant voice from before laughed in a low voice,

"You don't seem to trust us very much?"

"That's right," Mr. A answered bluntly.

"Heh heh, then I'll be frank and describe our goal and why I'm seeking

your cooperation." The gentle female voice didn't sound angry at all.

"We've done certain things and left behind clear traces. Before we're

discovered by the Churches of Evernight, Storm, and Steam, as well as

the military, we must do the corresponding cleanup, and this requires

your help. Yes, it seems like you don't really understand what I mean,

so let me give you an example. Imagine---Imagine you performed a heinous

crime like murder in a house, so what's the best way of eliminating any

evidence and clues?"

"There's no need for that. It's our goal to have others witness such an

act," Mr. A said indifferently.

*...As expected of a member of the Aurora Order... They're all a bunch

of lunatics...* Klein made a preliminary identification of the

speaking man to be "Mr. A" who had killed the Intis Ambassador.

"...Suppose it were me, not you." The clear, soft female voice had a

faint wheezing sound.

After a second, Mr. A. replied, "Burn that house and bury all the clues

there."

The clear and gentle female voice had a smiling tone.

"That's exactly what we planned. I'm in charge of 'committing arson,'

while you can use this opportunity to go with this development to create

a passageway or vessel, so as to allow your Lord to descend upon this

world.

"And the only price you guys have to pay is to bear all the infamy and

gain the most enmity from the military and the three Churches. But I

don't think you would mind that."

"As long as we can welcome the return of the Lord, even if we're

abhorred by every single force, we won't show any sign of cowardice."

Mr. A's tone no longer appeared indifferent and distant.

*Arson? The Aurora Order will take this opportunity to complete the

ritual for the arrival of the True Creator? This is probably the third

time... Why did I bump into this again... What a f\*cking bad twist of

fate...* Klein couldn't help but curse inwardly in Chinese.

At this very moment, he was extremely curious and wary against the

things that were plotted by this particular royal family faction, Ince

Zangwill, and the Demoness Sect. It was terrifying enough to even use

the descent of the True Creator as a scapegoat!

*Perhaps they've kept some cards up their sleeves and will eventually

destroy the Aurora Order's ritual in the end and destroy all the other

factions except themselves...* Klein calmly thought while

feeling tense.

"It appears like you have no other questions," said the gentle female

voice. "This place is sufficiently well-hidden and can be used for the

required set-up. You can do your ritual here at ease and won't need to

worry that it'll be interrupted before you succeed. As for the things

outside, we've already finished our preparations a long time ago. It's

just waiting for the ignition of a 'spark.' If you still have doubts,

then you can make another round of checks."

Just as Mr. A was about to speak, Klein heard a dull thud. It was the

sound of the door opening.

"Who permitted you to enter? Didn't I declare that no one is to approach

this area?" The gentle female voice suppressed her rage.

"Lady Despair, there's an emergency! Someone has infiltrated the

basement! The higher-ups sent me to arrange for a follow-up and close

the corresponding passages," a male voice with a distinct Backlund

accent responded very quickly.

The so-called "Lady Despair" maintained her silence for a few seconds,

as though she was communicating with an unknown existence to confirm the

situation.

Finally, she said without changing her tone, "Go back inside. Don't come

out again, nor allow anyone out. Wait until further notice."

"Yes, Lady Despair!" The man ran towards the stone door, with a heavy

thud sounding in the background.

From the place where Klein was hiding, he could clearly see the stone

door leading to the back area. He waited for seven or eight seconds

before a figure of normal height and build appeared.

Phew... The man took a deep breath, stretched out his hands,

and bared his teeth as he pushed open the heavy stone door with a

ferocious expression.

In that instant, Klein had completely taken in the man's appearance and

characteristics without missing a single detail. This was the Beyonder

power of a Faceless!

That man's skin was reddish-brown, and he was clearly of Southern

Continent descent. His facial features had no special characteristics,

making it difficult to remember him.

Due to him gritting and baring his teeth, he revealed a portion of his

teeth. The third tooth on the upper left of his mouth flickered with a

golden light. It was a fake tooth.

This... Klein, with the spiritual intuition of a Seer, frowned

as he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Very quickly, he used his skills to recall the source of his

familiarity.

The Hanged Man had once requested the Tarot Club members to find a man

with reddish-brown skin and a thick Backlund accent who had the third

tooth on his left missing.

The man's name was Baelen, and he was involved in the escape and

disappearance of many colonial island slaves!

And at this moment, the man in front of Klein was almost identical to

the Baelen that was described by The Hanged Man!

The disappearance of the colonial island slaves...

*The many tribes of the Southern Continent vanishing into thin

air...*

Baelen's appearance here...

*Capim, who took a large share of the underground slave trade, was

protected by four Beyonders suspected to be of the Arbiter pathway.

Among them, the strongest was a Sequence 6, and even a Sequence

5...*

*Capim constantly targeted relatively innocent girls in his

abductions...*

*The passing of the Grain Act, the improvement of the textile machines

all resulted in a large number of people losing their jobs...*

*Many female textile workers silently left East Borough after receiving

new jobs, not leaving any clues...*

The scattered dots instantly formed a line in Klein's mind, pointing

directly into the depths of the earth!

*What are they up to, that they need such a large number of people, as

well as so many pure and innocent girls? A ritual? An extremely

terrifying ritual that takes a very long period of time while being held

in secret?* Klein's pupils suddenly contracted.

Creak... Bang! The stone door closed and Baelen disappeared

from his sight.

The hall was silent for a few seconds before Mr. A's deep and hoarse

voice rang out again.

"I smell an accident. Let's begin. We need to hurry before it arrives."

Lady Despair responded slowly, "That's exactly what I was thinking.

"But I need you to send me to East Borough."

East Borough? Klein had a bad premonition.

"No problem," Mr. A answered with a lack of emotion.

Under the hood, a transparent and blurry book appeared in front of him.

Accompanied by a distant and indistinct chant, he said, "I came, I saw,

I record."

The book quickly flipped open and stopped at one of the pages. Soon

after, it began to emit a light blue and illusory light.

The light enveloped the white-robed Lady Despair, causing her figure to

blur at first, then becoming indistinct.

In an instant, Lady Despair saw countless indescribable silhouettes. She

discovered lustrous brilliances which contained the bright and pure

splendor of endless knowledge at the highest point.

Her body was being dragged forward by a strange force as she rapidly

tore through space. Not long after, she left her original spot and

arrived at a secluded, uninhabited, and filthy corner of an alley.

She pulled down her veil to cover her face and looked up into the sky.

The afternoon sun had once again been obscured by clouds and fog,

turning pale and dark.

The light yellow fog wasn't particularly thick, and it sank down to

every corner of Backlund, giving off a slight choking sensation amidst

its coldness and moisture.

*It's a pity that the smog didn't reach the point when it's in its worst

and calmest state... The accident that happened to Trissy, the sudden

and temporary loss of control over 0-08, the appearance of Azik, the

destruction previously caused by Black Emperor, these had complicated

matters, garnering the attention of others. It forced the operation to

be brought forward to today...* Lady Despair surveyed the area,

walked out of the alley, and into the streets.

Her steps were slow, as though she were wandering in a sea of fog.

Wherever she passed, the fog would unnoticeably thicken. Tinged with an

iron-black color, it silently lowered the range of one's visibility.

As she left the street, a sallow-faced tramp in an old jacket suddenly

coughed violently and fell to the ground.

The two poor people close to the tramp retreated in horror, and then

they covered their throats with their hands as they gasped for air. It

was as if they were suffering from severe lung disease or bronchitis and

could no longer breathe.

A smog which was a mixture of iron-black and pale yellow colors

descended upon East Borough, the dock area, and the smoke-spewing

factory district as it continued to spread throughout Backlund.

Various scenes in the distance were "drowned," and even the towering

clock tower was only a pale shadow. One by one, workers and poor people

felt the discomfort as they fought against the cold, and the disorderly

tramps fell one after another in the woman's wake, their lives as

fragile as the bubbles formed during laundry.

Lady Despair's expression was calm and gentle, as though she were

finishing a work of art.

Like an ordinary person, she walked among the pedestrians as she

chuckled and said in a low voice, "The Loen Kingdom's history will

remember this day.

"The Great Smog of Backlund."

The dark valley had been completely covered by the black, incorporeal

water, but 0-08 didn't stop writing.

It fabricated ridiculous and terrifying stories wherever it could land

its tip on.

*"...The dropping of pants didn't affect Ince Zangwill's performance,

because he was wearing a long robe, perhaps having anticipated a similar

accident...*

*"The Imperative Mage stunned Azik Eggers in the spot, robbing him of

his two most powerful Beyonder powers at the last

moment---truly a great assistant in every meaning of the word.

However, the stacked door of the spirit world and the Underworld were

attracted by Azik's characteristic. It began being stirred by the powers

of their battle, causing unpredictable changes.*

*"At that moment, an unknown existence was attracted, resulting in 'Him'

passing by. 'He' took this opportunity to extend his hands into the real

world. Oh no! 'He' caught Ince Zangwill!"*

In midair, two bloody arms which were covered in squirming flesh

suddenly appeared behind the clergyman-robed Ince Zangwill!

They caught Ince Zangwill's shoulders, dragging him into the void and

into the spirit world.