The Gray Fog fell silent once more, as if the previous gathering had been nothing but a phantom.
Klein tapped the edge of the mottled long table with his bent finger, calling forth the pages of Roselle's diary that "The Hermit" Cattleya had just offered.
In an indescribable stillness, Klein directed his gaze with solemnity at the first paragraph of the first page:
"September 27th. I met Miss Isaca again, and we had a thrilling yet wonderful experience. I really do prefer women of this age. It's not just nostalgia for my youth; I've never changed all these years. Heh, so devoted."
...I'm reading your diary so seriously and earnestly, and you show me this? The corner of Klein's mouth twitched as he silently mocked the Emperor, whom he had only seen in portraits.
He then reined in his straying thoughts and began to move his eyes.
…………
In a restroom beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Leonard Mitchell opened his eyes, thought for a moment, and lowered his voice: "Old man, Zaratul of the Secret Order seems to be in Backlund too."
In his mind, the slightly aged voice quickly sounded: "As expected..."
Hearing this response, Leonard immediately pressed on: "Old man, are you familiar with that Zaratul? Didn't you say that the Zoroaster family and the Zaratul family were both great nobles of the Solomon Empire?"
In his view, having been colleagues who fought side by side, how could the old man not be familiar?
Pallez Zoroaster gave a "heh": "The Zaratul I knew perished in the War of the Four Emperors. This one should be his descendant. I might have seen him or might not have back then."
"At the time, Zaratul had already obtained clues for the second Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic from the 'True Creator' and was waiting for the War of the Four Emperors to end to seek it out. If successful, He could have been considered a King of Angels. Unfortunately, during the War of the Four Emperors, He directly encountered that one from the Antigonus family, an existence known as half a 'Fool'. And Bethel Abraham was also involved—He could appear anywhere at any time. If He hadn't been quickly banished and sealed by the Night and the Storm, I'm afraid I wouldn't have survived to the end of the War of the Four Emperors."
Half a "Fool"... Leonard's eyelids twitched at this title, and he inexplicably thought of that being above the Gray Fog.
He then forcefully controlled himself and turned his thoughts to other matters: Even just from the observer's description, Mr. "Door" was clearly among the top existences among the Kings of Angels. Two true gods had to join forces to banish and seal Him. Well, probably because He was especially good at running away and very difficult to kill. And given the tense situation at the time, any threatening enemy that could be eliminated had to be eliminated as quickly as possible...
Heh, the old man is recalling the past, his emotions a bit unsettled, to talk so much at once...
While his mind was racing, Leonard suddenly spoke: "I was left in Backlund because they want to use you to draw Amon here?"
Pallez Zoroaster's sentimentality vanished instantly. He clicked his tongue and said: "Who guessed that? I think it's not you. But still, knowing how to use your own resources to investigate the truth is not bad."
I've been good at that since I joined the Nighthawks! Leonard retorted inwardly, but didn't say it out loud.
Pallez Zoroaster continued: "I think so too. Frankly, your former colleague's relationship with the Night is really confusing to me. If not for the concealed power I felt that day being familiar, I wouldn't have dared to guess so. Heh, Zaratul and I are in Backlund, and Amon is about to arrive. It really forms a perfect triangular balance."
What does that mean? The concealed power used against Amon that time came from the domain of the "Night", not from Mr. "Fool"? Does this mean that Mr. "Fool" and the Goddess are cooperating to some extent, or is some high-ranking member of the church actually a believer of Mr. "Fool"? Leonard suddenly felt a strong sense of confusion and disorientation about his own position.
Seeing that Pallez also admitted to being puzzled, he suppressed his thoughts and didn't ask any direct questions. He frowned and said: "Two Sequence 1 Angels and a King of Angels—won't that bring catastrophic disaster to Backlund?"
He remembered that Amon was a terrifying existence who could kill countless people silently and then happily experience life in the victim's identity.
By that reference, Zaratul, being on a neighboring pathway, must also have extremely frightening and horrifying abilities. If He and Amon came into conflict, half or all of Backlund would become a "City of Death" and a "City of Anomalies"!
Pallez Zoroaster laughed and said: "Balance means everyone will be very restrained. Besides, Amon likely won't let His true body enter Backlund; at most, He'll gather a large number of avatars here. After all, the Night can't do anything to indicate that the Storm and the Steam might descend."
"What do you mean?" Leonard keenly caught the key point in the old man's words.