"No problem." Klein tried to keep his tone deep and unchanged.
He rested his left elbow on the armrest of the high-backed chair, propping up his slightly tilted forehead with his fingers without much force, striking a pose of calm listening.
Alger weighed his words and said:
"The Antigonus is an ancient family. Their history can even be traced back to the Cataclysm Era before the Fourth Epoch, and it's related to the second 'Blasphemy Slate.'"
The second Blasphemy Slate? There could be a second Blasphemy Slate? How many were there in total? Klein's pupils contracted slightly, and he nearly changed his posture.
According to what "The Hanged Man" and "Justice" had said before, the 'Blasphemy Slate' contained records of the twenty-two divine pathways!
Something so important actually had two pieces, or even more?
Twenty-two divine pathways... Sequence pathways... er, could these two terms be equated? Was each complete Sequence pathway a road to a god's throne?
In that instant, Klein's mind raced with one thought after another sparked by the description of "the second 'Blasphemy Slate,'" and he believed that if not for the thick gray-white fog concealing him, his emotional reactions would likely have been discovered by Miss "Spectator."
As for the term "Cataclysm Era," as a professional he was no stranger to it — it was the designation for the Third Epoch.
After this period of review, Klein even knew that the Third Epoch was divided into two ages: the Age of Light and the Age of Catastrophes.
"The second 'Blasphemy Slate'?" Audrey voiced her doubt without concealing it.
She hadn't yet calmed down and fully returned to her "Spectator" state.
Good question! Klein silently cheered for Miss "Justice."
This was a question inconvenient for the "Fool" persona to ask.
Alger glanced at The Fool, saw that the posture hadn't changed and no objection was raised, so after a moment's thought said:
"The first 'Blasphemy Slate' appeared during the Dark Epoch — that is, the Second Epoch when humanity struggled to survive under divine protection. The second 'Blasphemy Slate' appeared at the end of the Third Epoch. You could even say that its appearance marked the curtain falling on the Age of Catastrophes."
"The information on these two 'Blasphemy Slates' is strictly classified by the seven churches. I only know one thing — that they both involve divine pathways. As for what differences exist between them, I'm not clear."
"Did Emperor Roselle see the first or the second Blasphemy Slate?" Audrey asked curiously.
Hearing this, Klein recalled Alger's description of potion names from the first gathering — he had said that Sequence potion names all came from the 'Blasphemy Slate'!
"Similarly, the captain also mentioned that the formation and refinement of the potion system relied on the appearance of the 'Blasphemy Slate'... This indirectly proves that divine pathways are Sequence pathways!" Klein silently answered the question he'd raised earlier.
At this moment, "The Hanged Man" Alger said plainly and directly:
"The second one."
Audrey's gaze turned calm as she re-entered the "Spectator" state, no longer pressing further with questions, and simply watched "The Hanged Man" with focused attention.
This made Alger visibly uncomfortable. He suppressed the emotions churning within him and continued in a low, measured voice:
"During the Fourth Epoch's Solomon Dynasty, the Antigonus family was already a prominent noble lineage, but they left behind no particularly impressive deeds. It wasn't until they supported the establishment of the Tudor Empire that they truly took center stage on the Northern Continent."
"At that time, names like Antigonus, Amon, Abraham, and Jacob shone brightly across the human kingdoms. But after the War of the Four Emperors, the Blood Emperor of the Tudor Empire fell, and they tumbled from the pinnacle, hunted by the present Seven Gods."
"I don't know the specific details. All I know is that the Antigonus family was ultimately destroyed at the hands of the Church of Darkness. Mr. Fool, if you wish to learn more, I'm afraid you'll have to obtain that information from the Church of Darkness itself—or perhaps make contact with those ancient secret organizations. You know which ones I mean."
I don't know... Klein nodded with a bitter taste in his heart:
"Mm."
The Secret Order would count as one. The Moses Ascetic Order that Captain and Old Neil had mentioned would count as another. As for the psychology alchemy association—he wasn't sure whether that one qualified...
While he was silently running through the list, Alger delivered his final piece of information:
"Which Sequence Pathway the Antigonus family had access to, I don't know either. I only know that in the relevant descriptions, two adjectives appear again and again: bizarre, terrifying."
Bizarre and terrifying... Considering that notebook, considering what happened to the original owner and his classmates, to Real Bieber's mother—the descriptions did seem rather fitting... Klein's fingers from his other hand lightly tapped the edge of the long table, several times in succession.
Only then did he speak in a low, measured tone:
"Very good. I'm satisfied with this payment."
The reason he kept tapping the long table with his fingers was to reinforce the habit—to make "Justice" and "The Hanged Man" believe that he had a tic of tapping things, thereby masking the activation and deactivation of Spirit Vision.
"It's my honor." Alger didn't seize the opportunity to bring up anything else.
Audrey glanced at "The Hanged Man," then at "Mr. Fool," and said with a faint smile:
"Then I'll ask my second question. What are the subsequent potions in the 'Spectator' pathway called? And where can one find clues to them?"
I'd love to ask directly like that too, but different choices mean bearing different difficulties... Klein said nothing, directing his gaze toward "The Hanged Man."
Alger was silent for a few seconds before saying: