Chapter 172: Half-Fool

The Angels watching Antigonus's eerie eyes all felt the pressure.

It seemed that some kind of terrifying will remained within them.

"Little brother..." the "Mother of Heaven" could not help but take a step forward.

Hum!

Hearing this call, Antigonus turned his head to look at the "Mother of Heaven" on the edge; the previous attack had been too terrifying, and even a Sequence 2 Angel could not get close.

"Sis... Sister?" Antigonus muttered the entire term, seemingly in thought, as if he were being affected by the blind stupidity.

A few breaths passed, and the eeriness in Antigonus's eyes suddenly dissipated, replaced by a flickering of normal spiritual light.

The "Mother of Heaven" was pleasantly surprised and was about to walk forward.

"Stop!" Adam spoke softly; the "Mother of Heaven's" legs froze in place, and her body stiffened.

Adam and Antigonus stared at each other quietly for a full few dozen seconds; during these seconds, Amon and Bethel were both gathering their strength, ready to kill him again the moment Adam shook his head.

"It is acceptable." Finally, Adam withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly, making a judgment on Antigonus's current mental state.

"Huu!" Amon and Bethel both let out a sigh of relief.

As long as it was not that "Lord of the Mysteries," it was fine.

"Looking at it this way, it is not as if there is no chance..." Amon's thoughts had already drifted to a certain possibility.

"Do not attempt it." Only then was Antigonus able to speak.

But his voice remained low and filled with pain; the "Fool Mask" on his face gradually faded, merging into his body, yet his complexion was abnormally pale, as he endured unimaginable agony.

"You will die." With a single sentence, Antigonus extinguished all of Amon and Bethel's thoughts.

"King of Angels is the highest stable status, and that is still built upon the protection of the Creator or the Supreme Dream."

A long time later, Antigonus's body gradually warmed up, the pain subsided, and his tone became slightly gentler.

"Even the slightest thought of touching a True God will lead to that one's return."

This was the assessment of Antigonus, who was trapped deep in the mire.

To pay the price for this time, he revealed the situation inside his own body to the others.

Within a sphere composed of Spirit Worms, the "Fool Mask" inside was reflected, and surrounding the "Fool Mask" was a black cloak with countless tentacles looming.

This was the manifestation of the "Lord of the Mysteries'" will, now fallen into silence due to the simplified ritual, the "Anchors" provided by believers, and that Dream Mark.

"I even have a certain intuition." Antigonus looked at the thoughtful ones, "I should not go looking for that final 'Attendant of Mysteries' Characteristic."

"Becoming a 'Half-Fool' is my limit."

"Heh." Amon sneered, though it was unclear if he believed it; afterward, he left the Hornacis Mountain Range directly.

Adam also nodded slightly and left immediately.

"I can take action for you once." Bethel said to Antigonus.

He had contributed the least to this ritual, but he had also observed everything; under the condition of equivalent exchange, he still needed to help Antigonus once.

"Then I would like to ask Mr. 'Door' to help me retrieve that Characteristic of Zaratul's." Antigonus directly stated his request.

"Of course, there is no need for me to do it myself; you only need to tell me Zaratul's coordinates."

After merging the Unique, Antigonus was to Beyonders of the same Pathway what Amon was to the "Error" Pathway.

"... Very well." Bethel thought for a moment and nodded gently.

"It is about time." Chumen also unfolded the Dream Book at this moment, returning the entire Hornacis Mountain Range to the Real World.

The replacement of reality and illusion by the "Authority of Reality" was very marvelous; even now, no one had discovered that the real Hornacis Mountain Range had gone to the Dream Kingdom.

"You were somewhat reckless." This referred to Adam and Chumen, taking the risk to probe the state of the "Lord of the Mysteries'" will.

"Who knows if he is using us?" Chumen shook his head slightly.

Even now, he had not given up on monitoring Antigonus; to deal with a top-tier "Marauder," one could not relax for a moment.

"This cannot be verified." Once reaching the Angel status, one's mind would more or less be stitched together with mental imprints that did not belong to oneself; madness was unavoidable.

In such a situation, almost every Angel would, from time to time, fall into a state approaching madness.

So sometimes they could not distinguish whether, when making a certain decision, all the thoughts were under their own control, or if it was the choice they most wanted to make.

This could neither be proven nor falsified.

Because once that part of the "self" was denied, even an Angel would degenerate into a Monster.

"Flegrea..." the Evernight Goddess did not continue to ask; she trusted Chumen's judgment.

"No need to worry." Chumen gave a clear answer, "This time, that Demon Wolf's backup plan on Antigonus has been completely severed."

To be devoured by the "Lord of the Mysteries" and have one's Authority and power occupied—there was no fate more miserable than that.

"The 'Mother of Heaven'." Amanises suddenly spoke a name.

She was Flegrea's daughter, carrying his bloodline, and also an Angel of the "Night" Pathway; under normal circumstances, she was also an excellent choice for a resurrection vessel.

In this regard, Ancient Gods and True Gods were all the same.

"Her..." Chumen shook his head slightly, "The 'Destruction Demon Wolf's' residual spirit has already been devoured by the 'Lord of the Mysteries'; there is no hope of resurrection left."

"Good." Amanises was silent for a moment, nodded gently, and dismissed the thought of destroying the Night Kingdom.

Afterward, Amanises's figure slowly dissipated; Chumen was not in a hurry, remaining here to observe Antigonus.

As for the hunt for Zaratul by Bethel and Antigonus, that was unremarkable.

Under the schemes of two Kings of Angels of the same and adjacent Pathways, even an "Attendant of Mysteries" had no power to resist.

"The second 'Attendant of Mysteries'..." Antigonus did not delay, directly accommodating this Characteristic into his own body.

At the same time, he was also using Zaratul's residual spirit to balance the influence of the "Lord of the Mysteries" upon him.

At this moment, that calm Dream Symbol flickered with specks of phosphorescence, borrowing enough power from the Dream Book to neutralize the madness and hypnotize the will of the "Lord of the Mysteries."

No accidents occurred; under Chumen's gaze, Antigonus showed no signs of losing control.

Antigonus had truly become a "Half-Fool"; such a status had enough self-preservation capability even in this era where True Gods walked the earth.

"Deception..." Chumen stared for a long time, only then pulling Bethel back to continue reinforcing the Grey Fog.