In the dark, sturdy room, Derrick Berg, who had been feigning unconsciousness, suddenly turned over and stood up.
His 'Hurricane Axe' had been taken away for inspection, and the pockets of his clothes had been emptied, leaving nothing.
Derrick took a breath and calmly looked around.
Suddenly, two rays of light like small suns shone in his eyes, reflecting everything in the room one by one into his pupils.
The furnishings here were only a table and two chairs; besides that, there was a stone floor with strange patterns.
On the table was half a used candle. This was standard equipment for every room in Silver City, because if darkness persisted for too long, monsters might suddenly appear.
Derrick didn't hesitate. He sat down and reached for the half candle.
Then, he broke and twisted the candle into three pieces: one piece taking three-quarters of the original, and two pieces sharing the remaining quarter.
After Derrick's adjustment, the wicks of all three candle segments protruded.
Crack!
He rubbed his fingers together, creating a golden flame, and lit the three candles.
The two at the top represented Mr. Fool, and the remaining one symbolized Derrick himself.
Having made preparations, Derrick did not follow the normal procedure of burning herbal powder and dripping potion essence. Instead, he leaned back and very softly recited the honorable name of 'The Fool', quickly entering a meditative state.
He recited it over and over, monotonously and repetitively, as if hypnotizing himself constantly.
With the help of meditation, Derrick entered a strange state where his mind was asleep but his spirit dispersed. He was both dazed and strangely awake, with his spirit floating upward, higher and higher.
This was 'Artificial Sleepwalking'.
And with Mr. Fool's permission, Derrick could simplify some non-essential steps.
...
Above the gray fog, inside the lofty ancient palace.
Playing with the 'All-Black Eye', 'The Fool' Klein suddenly saw the deep red star symbolizing 'Little Sun' expand with light, condensing into a humanoid shadow, and the power of the mysterious space was stirred a little.
Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief because it meant that 'Little Sun' had completed the relatively more dangerous preliminary matters, leaving only the final 'cleanup work'.
Klein didn't delay. He immediately put down the 'All-Black Eye' and picked up the 'Black Emperor' card.
His level, his rank, instantly increased, making the stirred forces above the gray fog submit one by one.
Then, he grabbed a paper figurine, flicked his wrist, and threw it towards the deep red star corresponding to the 'Sun'.
The paper figurine merged with the flowing water-like force, rapidly expanding into a huge angel with twelve pairs, twenty-four black feathered wings.
The 'Angel' penetrated the deep red light and overlapped with the shadow of 'Little Sun'.
It burned silently and turned to ashes in less than a second.
At this point, Klein could no longer influence the situation in Silver City. As for whether his 'Angel Substitute' could help Little Sun successfully pass the subsequent questioning and investigation, he wasn't absolutely sure and could only inwardly sigh:
"After doing what needs to be done and trying my best, I can only wait for the arrangement of fate. I hope it's a good result..."
...
In his daze, Derrick saw an angel descending before him with an aura that covered the sky, wrapping him layer by layer with its twelve pairs of black wings.
He suddenly woke up, and in his eyes were three candle flames burning quietly.
After sincerely thanking Mr. Fool, Derrick ended the ritual and extinguished the two candles that accounted for only a quarter of the original.
Then, he pulled them out and created a golden and pure flame in his palm.
Drip, drip, the two candles melted quickly, 'tears' falling continuously, dropping onto the remaining candle's body or around it.
As the wick completely burned out, only one candle remained on the table. It was a bit shorter than originally, but not very obviously, as if it had just been burning for a longer time.
After handling the remaining traces, Derrick extinguished the last dim candle flame.
He sat up silently, staring blankly ahead, motionless for a long time.
He worried that the 'Council of Six' wasn't reacting fast enough, allowing those exploration team members to use the 'mushroom' and 'Doom Fruit' to pollute more Silver City residents.
He feared that the 'Chief' and others would find other clues elsewhere, making his preparations futile.
He hated those 'outsiders' hiding in the depths of darkness, always carrying strong malice, including Amon, including the 'Fallen Creator'.
He felt guilty for avoiding this exploration but not warning Dak and the others, causing them to become polluted monsters.
He was pained to have personally eliminated a classmate who could be called a friend. — Although Derrick hadn't seen Dak's final fate, he believed that the other who had transformed like that was already dead.
In complex and chaotic emotions, Derrick didn't know how long he waited, and at some point he relit the candle.
Finally, he heard the sound of the seal being lifted and the door being opened.
Turning his head, he saw, by the dim candlelight, a woman in a black dress with her hair braided into a long plait hanging down to her vest walk in.
"Ms. Avroll?" Derrick called out subconsciously.
Avroll had delicate features but already a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She smiled and nodded in response to Derrick, then walked briskly to sit opposite.
"Is there anything you want to say?" she asked gently.
Derrick instinctively looked up and noticed that the other's pupils had somehow turned into pale golden vertical slits.
His thoughts instantly became dazed, and Derrick seemed to enter a sleepwalking state.
Avroll adjusted the candle flame, letting the dim color completely illuminate the face of the boy opposite.
Her pale golden vertical pupils grew even more indifferent, like an emotionless spectator.