Chapter 197: Miss Kelaien: My Stage Name Is Kaitou Kid

January 3rd, Saturday, the Divine Battle Ruins.

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Immortal Sovereign."

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Heavenly Lord."

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Celestial Venerate."

Amon recited the incantation and took the final step according to the ritual; before Miss Kelaien's eyes, a boundless expanse of grey-white fog suddenly appeared, and layered, overlapping prayers sounded in his ears.

"Looks like it failed." Amon adjusted the monocle on his right eye, his expression unchanged as he smiled and said: "How about this, let's play a game."

"Go ahead and kill me." Miss Kelaien said expressionlessly.

Amon shook his head and said: "Boring."

He brought Miss Kelaien through the severed azure seawater, across the bottomless "Gloom," and flew up into the sky along seawater surging upward like a fountain.

Amon adjusted the monocle on his right eye mid-air and said:

"Earlier we were talking about the Abyss."

"I had originally planned to tell you an interesting piece of news if you won."

"About the Abyss?" Miss Kelaien absolutely would not play any game with Amon; that would just be another round of gender-swap fraud.

"About the Outer World, and about the Abyss too. Just now, an earth-shattering major event occurred." As he spoke, the monocle on Amon's right eye lit up briefly, and then darkness descended.

He stole the daylight?!

"But we still have proper business to attend to. What a pity, these things had to happen just as I was about to leave. Looks like other avatars will have to benefit instead." A look of longing appeared on Amon's face; he seemed somewhat regretful that he could not personally investigate and enjoy the fun himself.

Miss Kelaien refused to voice any opinion; he was worried that going along completely with Amon's words would lead him into another trap.

Not long after, Amon brought Miss Kelaien down onto an island and had him lean against a Shi Zhu to sleep.

When Miss Kelaien passed through the hazy grey dream world and woke once more, what greeted his eyes was a black monastery and a cliff edge, with a sea of clouds drifting over a bottomless rift, and the faint glow of dusk ahead.

He could only be forced to follow Amon forward, picking up bits of hidden information from Amon's mouth every now and then.

"I have a question I want to ask you." Amon pushed his monocle and asked with great interest: "Why do you wear a monocle both on your marionette and on yourself?"

"This way I don't even need to prepare one myself."

Amon walked up the spiral staircase, took out a monocle carved from crystal, its side chain ornament rather exquisite.

Miss Kelaien answered without thinking: "I once carried out a theft in Backlund. Wearing a monocle and a white tailcoat to commit the crime is my style."

"I have a stage name: Kaitou Kid."

"At last year's 'Roselle Memorial Exhibition' held by the Royal Museum, I stole a diary."

Amon suddenly paused, turned his head to glance at Miss Kelaien, a smile gradually appearing as he said: "Interesting. How about you try switching to the Thief pathway? I can provide you with a potion."

Miss Kelaien kept his mouth shut. Of course he would not agree to Amon's proposal, but he was a little puzzled—that theft had indeed happened, and he had even been chased half a street by a Hound of Corruption.

But why did I wear a monocle and take that stage name back then? Did I watch too much Conan?

"Then why are you still wearing one now?" Amon continued asking.

Miss Kelaien answered:

"Not long ago, I wanted to obtain your honorific name from the 'Red Angel' evil spirit Medici, and at the same time, in order to digest the 'Trick Master' potion, I specially prepared two."

"I scared Him twice before fully digesting the potion."

"Didn't expect that Medici fellow to still be alive. That explains how you learned my honorific name."

"Next time I'll try that too, it must be very interesting." Amon mused, then smiled and said: "You really have guts, actually scaring Him twice, hehe."

"You really won't consider becoming my Beyonder? I can provide you with a Sequence potion."

"This offer is genuine and valid, because someone like you is rare."

"Go ahead and kill me." Miss Kelaien's answer remained the same.

Amon wasn't annoyed either. The two of them, one in front of the other, walked down along the spiral staircase.

————————

Backlund, Dwayne Dantes's Rose Song Manor.

On the lawn.

"Sigh."

Su Lin had long since turned off the livestream, lying on his side in a lounge chair with a sigh.

After a while he rolled over and sighed again: "Sigh."

Zhongli sat on a white stool not far away; a servant brought some refreshments, set them on the small round table to the right, then withdrew.

"Care for some afternoon tea?" Zhongli raised the drip-bag cup in his hand in a gesture. Su Lin happened to roll over to face his side, and their eyes met.

"."

Su Lin's gaze was hollow and lifeless, curled up in the lounge chair as if his body had been hollowed out: "Yes."

The effects of the Fengling Yueying Trainer were too exhilarating; after exiting the trial experience, all that remained was wave after wave of emptiness.

Su Lin picked up a piece of pastry—taking in some sugar could alleviate negative emotions—and while eating, he took out a small dark-gold card with a groove on it.

The original Fengling Yueying trial card had become a dark-gold business card with an indestructible property, and the groove beside it could be recharged.

Su Lin glanced at the price of Hongmeng Purple Qi in his shop.

Forget it.

He tossed the card into his warehouse to gather dust—one purple qi tube costs a year. Can't afford it, can't afford it.

"Sigh." Su Lin propped up his head and sighed again.

"Why the sighs, Mr. Savior?" Zhongli smiled lightly, his voice warm and magnetic, while the servants in the distance were whispering among themselves about what had happened today. "One day you will reach that realm again; I firmly believe that."

"The psychological gap brought on by spending beyond one's means." Su Lin shook his head and said:

"Right now I just want to go home and crank the Heavenly Will Blessing straight up to one hundred percent."

"Perhaps you should cultivate Gu Tianwang," Zhongli suggested. "It's probably been a long time since you circulated your technique. Sometimes absolute rationality isn't a bad thing."

"It can help you avoid unnecessary emotions effectively."

Su Lin nodded and affirmed: "Makes sense."

"Senior Su Lin, you just wiped out the Outer God—won't Kleine be freed immediately?" In the chat group, Song Shuhang, who had read "The Master of Mysterious Origins," used the online nickname for Kleine and asked the question.

Ye Fan: "I just passed through the Dark Forbidden Zone; someone there said one hand could crush you. I went to argue with them, and they beat me out the door and told me to come get you themselves! @Su Lin"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Hun Tian Di just called you a pathetic little worm and ordered the Hun Clan to use your portrait as a rag."

Zhang Chuyan: "Big Boss! I just heard that Behemoth said he's going to capture you and dissect you!"

Weigong Shilang: "Golden Flash. He didn't say a word."

Weigong Shilang's face flushed red—he sometimes couldn't help it; after spending too much time with these people, he unconsciously started saying strange things.

Su Lin: "You're overthinking it. The Outer Gods are already slowly reviving; the methods of resurrection in this world are too elaborate."

Han Li: "Brother Su, are you planning to keep them as opponents for Zhou's training?"

Su Lin: "No, I just ran out of money to renew my cheat."

Han Li: "Ah..."

Ye Fan: "So you're still...?"

Su Lin: "A Golden Core Stage Radiant God."

Ye Fan: "Never mind, I must've misheard when I passed by."

Song Shuhang: "I thought I could freely add points to my panel, but those moves and actions were definitely awesome."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Your cheat requires a subscription?"

Su Lin: "Yeah, to keep using it, you need an annual membership."

Lu Mingfei: "Ssshh—"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Ssshh—"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Lu Mingfei, you go first."

Lu Mingfei: "Horse"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Emperor Horse!"

Zhang Chuyan: "To be honest, I have a friend... cough, cough... could you tell me where to recharge? How much?"

Su Lin: 【Image】

Su Lin: "A modifier produced by the Heavenly Dao of the Wind Spirit Great World. If interested, contact me—only four Hongmeng Purple Qi needed to activate one year."

Yeah, two of them are handling fees.

Zhang Chuyan: "Sorry to bother you!"

Hongmeng Purple Qi!? That's the foundation of the Dao! Why would I use this to recharge!?

Yi Leina: "I'm back. I just turned off the livestream... Su Lin, how many babies are you carrying now? Are you okay?"

Su Lin: "I really want to see what's going on in your head every day."

Yi Leina: "Huh? Are you okay? I thought you'd been devoured by the Fallen Mother God and the Desire Mother Tree..."

Yi Leina: "Haha, never mind."

Yi Leina buried her head and cleared her phone's search history. Congratulations, indeed, congratulations.

After chatting a bit more in the group, Su Lin did not continue immersed in the experience brought by Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.

Next, wait for the Great Fool Mr. to escape from Amon—my setup for him shouldn't cause trouble, right...

Probably.

Two days later.

The wars between kingdoms continued, but the orthodox churches remained largely silent and did not investigate where two new gods had suddenly appeared on the surface.

They merely issued a unified explanation: beyond the Seven Gods, there was a sleeping deity; that day, the deity awoke and descended to earth, exterminating numerous evil gods and protecting the world.

Beyond that, the churches offered no further elaboration.

For the humans of this world, the existence of gods was common knowledge—the Pope of the Storm Church had lived for centuries.

The populace eagerly recorded the divine pronouncements of that day, treating the god's phrase "lesser gods of the mortal realm" as demons of the earth.

The authorities never officially confirmed it, but the people spontaneously created secondary adaptations and lavished praise upon it.

Though these stories and lines would terrify certain Old Era survivors who had encountered everything in the past, making them wonder if they'd somehow been transported to some cursed place.

For the Seven Gods, a being far stronger than the Old Era, the wisest course was to remain cautious and avoid contact.

The one standing against the Outer Gods might not necessarily align with them.

The Astral Plane, where abstract concepts and cosmic symbols converged.

On the transparent barrier, more and more indescribable giant faces gradually surfaced and pressed against the barrier, casting terrifying gazes toward the earth.

The number of these giant faces had decreased; some entities were still recovering but could still move, while others were slowly reviving through their own preparations—slowly emerging from the river of time, from fate, from the bodies of their followers.

It was merely a matter of time.

These Outer Gods still fixed their gaze upon Earth, conveying one message to the Seven Gods.

For now, that being should be unable to achieve the same level again.

The Undying Whisper, the Fallen Mother God, the Desire Mother Tree, the Uncertain Mist, the Supra-Stellar Sovereign were absent; the remaining few gave off an impression of extreme weakness and a sudden drop in their ontological rank.

The orthodox gods had considered seizing this opportunity to strike, but they could almost certainly confirm this was a deception.

Even weakened to this degree, the being still had ways to firmly consume them.

Those gazes were greedy, as if licking everything within the barrier with their eyes—but when they focused on certain regions, they still carried fear.

On this matter, both the earthly representatives of the orthodox churches and the high-ranking cultists who worshipped the Outer Gods received the gods' will.

"Do not investigate what happened that day." / "Do not provoke the light force different from the Sun Cult."

Except

Members of the Rose School's hedonist faction, worshippers of the Mother Tree of Desire.

【Bear offspring with one who wields the power of light but does not worship the Eternal Solar Flame.】

【The more, the better.】

In a corner of the starry sky, on a planet that reveres the Holy Life Goddess, Mother of All Things.

The planet's ruler received a divine oracle today, instructing him to send the Life Gem, granted by the Goddess tens of thousands of years ago, into the depths of the starry void. Standing atop the altar, he cast one final glance at the treasure inside the box—a nest-like object, entirely snow-white, as if radiating all the vitality of the world.

"May the Goddess's radiance bathe the entire starry sky."

Under the Goddess's protection, our people rose from the brink of extinction to prosperity; without her, we would have become blood-food for those demonic gods.

"The age of the demonic gods has ended."

Watching the incomparably sacred treasure fly into the vast darkness, the ruler issued an edict.

"The Supreme Life Goddess has sent a message!"

"The demonic gods are extinguished; we no longer need to control population numbers."

"Procreate! My subjects, procreate to bring forth more life and give thanks to the Great Mother of All Things!"

Unbeknownst to him, along the path as the pure white Life Gem entered the starry void, countless scattered Mother Nest Source-Matter were drawn and gathered into this nest.

Gradually, the nest, composed of pure life energy, was tinged with a faint crimson.

Even the Mysterious Servants can deceive fate and erase original concepts; the Outer Gods can certainly do the same.

A similar situation occurred on a lifeless planet without faith.

Here, all sentient beings had a linguistic habit of frequently using a peculiar-sounding word at the beginning or end of their speech.

Unlike before, as they communicated, a writhing, grayish-brown entity emerged within the planet, growing larger with every exchange.

It began uttering indescribable babbling, which closely resembled the words spoken by the beings.

In the Abyss

Once the Dark Side of the Universe, Fabuti slowly opened his eyes and sneered at his body, transformed by pure holy light:

"This form is truly ironic for me."

He gazed at the Abyss, now utterly twisted, filled with holy light, and teeming with vitality.

Turning demons into holy beings is akin to angels falling into demons—a great disgrace.

"Enough."

For thousands of years under the control of the Mother Tree of Desire, the Abyss was so corrupted that even demons could not survive; the king, symbol of corruption and decay, had himself been invaded by an even fouler force.

The Mother Tree of Desire is currently in poor condition, attempting to revive.

Since I cannot outplay Him in "Darkness," perhaps I should try another path—this power called "Holy Light."

"That One does not intend to control me, which is better than the Mother Tree of Desire; and His purpose is likely to reduce the chance of the Mother Tree of Desire reclaiming Source-Matter."

The Holy Light of the Holy Light World is gradually fading; it will eventually revert to the "Shadow World." But if I absorb some Source-Matter before then—ha ha ha—Mother Tree of Desire, let's see who wins.

Thinking this, Fabuti grinned and turned toward the "Shadow World" connected to the "Abyss"—now perhaps it should be called the "Holy Light World."

That is a further possibility.

He influenced the believers of the Bai Xue Sect and transmitted a divine oracle.

The names "Dark Side of the Universe" and "Fabuti" must no longer be used in the mortal realm; past anchors must be severed to prevent the Mother Tree of Desire from exerting influence.

To show gratitude and make a statement, he followed the link of Holy Light and requested that One grant a revered name for dissemination among mortals.

【Holy Messenger. Uther】

End of chapter