Ever since he handed over information on the "Shifter" suspected to be a Trickster Evil Being to Mr. World, Derrick had been thinking that perhaps the other party would give him a commission to obtain the corresponding materials; however, his strength was insufficient, and even with friends, he could not complete the hunt. Moreover, similar explorations were always organized by the Six‑Member Council; private teams were not allowed to leave the
Unexpectedly, it had been only a short while when an exploration team to Noc City was formed, and the leader was none other than Chief
Combined with the conversations with Mr. Hanged Man and Miss Justice during previous
This was an inevitable attempt to curry favor, and also a kind of balance… The words of the Hanged Man echoed in Derrick's mind, dispelling his doubts. Seizing the time before setting out, he prayed to Mr. Fool, asking Him to tell Mr. World that such an exploration would take place.
He quickly received a response, hearing Mr. World's voice: "…If hunting the Trickster Evil Being is difficult and dangerous, you can lower the requirements appropriately and try to obtain its blood.
"As long as you can get it, I will trade it for the Beyonder characteristic of the 'Light Priest'."
The Beyonder characteristic of the "Light Priest"? Did Mr. World already have the Beyonder characteristic of the "Light Priest"? Or had he set his sights on it and would soon obtain it? Merely obtaining blood, with the Chief's strength and the cooperation of the exploration team, had great hope… Derrick felt relieved, took his "Thunderous Roar," and left home, heading straight for the training ground.
As soon as he arrived, he saw the figure of Chief Colin Iliad, carrying two straight swords on his back, tall and steady, his mere presence reassuring.
Beside this "Hunter" stood another person, wearing a black robe with purple patterns and long, wavy silver‑gray hair: the "Shepherd" Lovia.
Lovia, who seemed to also be participating in this expedition, turned her head, and her pale gray eyes reflected the figure of
Derrick suddenly felt a chill, and his steps unconsciously slowed a little.
…………
Above the
Klein deeply appreciated that the Chief of the City of Silver had taken the initiative to organize an exploration team to Noc City, and told Little Sun that there was no need for a risky hunt; as long as he could obtain a little blood from the target, it would be considered mission accomplished.
He could then smear the blood on the cover of "Grosell's Travels," bring all necessary equipment, and "duel" the Trickster Evil Being in his own domain to obtain the required supernatural materials.
As for whether the special isolation of the "Land of the Forsaken" would interfere with "Grosell's Travels" ability to draw people into the book world, Klein had also considered this and came up with a solution: to grant "Grosell's Travels" to Little Sun, and once the objective was achieved, have him sacrifice it back.
Moreover, he wasn't worried that the Trickster Evil Being might be a creature akin to Spirit World beings and lack blood, because the potion formula for "Faceless" clearly stated: "Supplementary materials: 200 ml of Trickster Evil Being's blood…"
There's always a way… Klein muttered in satisfaction and returned to the real world.
Before sleeping, he received a reply from
"They have to be supplied in a day, and only two… The old gentleman inside Leonard is really in a bad state… Cannot leave his territory, has a limited range of movement… Their common trait is a craving to devour the souls of living beings and a desire for the supernatural materials of their pathway from when they were alive… That means the evil spirit, when it had the advantage, would use
Suddenly, he remembered something: When he encountered Ince Zangwill on Cheng Island in the Turbid Sea, the latter was being pursued by a powerful demigod of the "Hunter" pathway!
"Could this… have been caused by that evil spirit?
"I previously thought that Ince Zangwill, entrusted by some faction of the royal family, did something against the Republic of Intis, and somehow something went wrong, exposing his whereabouts, leading them to send an expert to hunt him down.
"Now it seems there might be another possibility… That evil spirit craves the Beyonder characteristics of the 'Hunter' pathway, and during the stages when it could control the body, it actively hunted Beyonders of the same pathway. Perhaps it succeeded, perhaps it failed, but in any case, it ended up catching the attention of a powerful demigod of the 'Hunter' pathway, who pursued it based on hunting instincts." The more Klein thought about it, the more he felt the latter guess was closer to the truth.
This was the only way to explain how Ince Zangwill, wielding "0‑08," had been discovered!
At this moment, the marionettes
"One can preliminarily guess that it is an evil spirit of the 'Hunter' pathway. In the reply, have Leonard guide the 'Red Gloves' to investigate in this direction. Sigh, that guy isn't much of an actor and doesn't have a background in psychology; I don't know if he can do it without leaving any traces. Maybe he'll pin it on a non‑existent informant… An evil spirit of the 'Hunter' pathway, an evil spirit of the 'Hunter' pathway…" Klein's pupils dilated, and he abruptly sat up straight, startling the two marionettes.
He didn't know many evil spirits; he had only seen one, and that one happened to be from the "Hunter" pathway too!
It was an evil spirit formed by the "Red Angel"