Chapter 216: The Briefly Arriving Desire Apostle

Lei Kedun's joke caused a brief lull in the room for a second or two, and before the teasing could ruin the atmosphere, he spoke again:

"I'm here to see how your recovery is going, and also to ask whether you have any plans for advancement lately."

Lao Lunsi fell silent for a moment, apparently calculating the time until the full moon or bolstering his own resolve, then said:

"In a few days it will be a full moon; I intend to give my answer after I get through the ramblings that come with a full moon."

"No problem," Lei Kedun nodded lightly, then changed the subject, saying:

"Abraham family, do you know the whereabouts of the half‑god‑level traits of the Universalist path?"

"Universalist?" Lao Lunsi shook his head with slight doubt, saying:

"Sorry, I don't know, and the family has no records on that."

"Since our ancestors vanished and the Abraham family began suffering the bloodline curse, we have been gradually withdrawing from the stage of history, so we don't know much about external information."

Having anticipated the answer, Lei Kedun felt little disappointment.

Foersi glanced at Lei Kedun unexpectedly; the other party had mentioned this need at the Tarot gathering.

After a moment of hesitation, he couldn't curb his curiosity and asked:

"What are you collecting the Universalist path traits for?"

"To cultivate a group of artisans," Lei Kedun said without concealment.

"A group?" Foersi was stunned for two seconds. "Does anyone describe training extraordinary ones as a group?"

"Are you planning to form a faction?"

Lao Lunsi, reacting quickly, asked.

Lei Kedun saw the worry in his eyes, assuming he feared Lei might pull the Abraham family into it.

He chuckled and said, "I do have that plan, but it has nothing to do with your Abraham family; you are too weak."

Hearing the remark that the Abraham family was too weak, Lao Lunsi was momentarily unsure whether to be angry or pleased. But as long as the other had no designs on the Abraham family, it didn't matter.

He let out a helpless sigh:

"The Abraham family can no longer endure such turmoil."

"Mr. Men will surely return, after a not‑too‑distant time."

Lei Kedun murmured a line, then rose to take his leave, stepping into the spirit realm and departing.

"The Traveler's ability, but it seems no magical items were used."

Lao Lunsi frowned, pondering for a moment, then turned his gaze to the opposite‑seated Foersi, saying:

"Do you know which path this extraordinary one follows?"

"Reader."

Lao Lunsi, with a dawning realization, murmured for a moment, saying:

"Reader? No wonder."

"In my family's records I once saw an ancestor's appraisal of this path: 'All‑knowing, and thus all‑powerful.'"

Returning to Mingsike Jie, a strong sense of being watched and malice made Lei Kedun furrow his brows slightly.

A violet glow lit his eyes; following the direction his inspiration pointed, his gaze pierced layer after layer of walls, seeing a pitch‑black silhouette standing not far from the street.

The figure was shrouded in darkness as if cloaked by a shadow, its exact features indistinguishable.

Behind him loomed a slightly ethereal massive form, its head crowned with countless mysterious patterns on curved goat horns, bearing a pair of gigantic bat‑like wings, and surrounded by many crimson flames tinged with pale blue.

Just by staring, Lei Kedun felt his emotions surge rapidly, a tide of malice welling up inside him.

Using the Reader path's ability to control his own rationality, Lei Kedun finally

stared at the towering demonic silhouette in his view, furrowing his brows, and murmured softly:

"Desire Apostle. Jie Sen. Bei Li Ya?"

Perhaps his overly direct gaze triggered a response from the other, and despite several walls between them, their eyes met.

The next instant, Lei Kedun's figure became instantly transparent, turning into a cascade of brilliant starlight that surged through the overhead obstruction toward the roof, then re‑coalesced within the specks of starlight.

Standing on the roof, Lei Kedun fixed his gaze on the figure in a crisp tailcoat across the street, locking onto him with his sight.

He gently rubbed his fingers, and a few golden illusory flames ignited before him; in an instant, those golden flames transformed into swift arrows that shot outward.

The golden arrows left a faint golden trail in the air, then vanished into a layer of illusory, viscous black liquid without a ripple.

"Sun!" Lei Kedun whispered a single word of draconic language.

Golden light imbued with a strong solar aura surged around him, rippling like water and flowing toward the crisp tailcoat figure ahead.

Around the opposite figure, more illusory, viscous black liquid erupted, resembling a conglomerate of the deepest, most unsavory desires in a person's heart, sweeping forward to contaminate everything.

The water‑like light and the illusory, viscous black liquid quickly merged in mid‑air.

"Sizzle!" After a harsh screech, everything returned to calm.

The surrounding water‑like golden light vanished, as did the illusory, viscous black liquid.

Lei Kedun slightly furrowed his brows and looked toward the spot where the other had been; it was now empty.

Surrounded by the violet glow in his eyes, Lei Kedun quickly scanned the surroundings, seeing no trace of the Desire Apostle, but spotting Desitini on the opposite side of the street.

A rough hypothesis formed in his mind, and Lei Kedun raised his hand, opening a "door" in the air.

Beside Desitini, Lei Kedun's figure stepped out of the void, and with a faint smile asked:

"Mr. Desitini, did you scare the Desire Apostle away?"

Desitini nodded lightly, saying:

"You could say that; I sensed some abnormal fluctuations in fate, and out of curiosity, I came to observe."

His gaze lingered behind Lei Kedun for a moment, as if watching something invisible to the naked eye.

"Abnormal fluctuations in fate?" Lei Kedun furrowed his brows lightly, his smile gradually turning solemn.

Desitini stared at the spot where the Desire Apostle had vanished, then withdrew his gaze and walked toward his rented house:

That Apostle of Desire shouldn't be approaching you at this time.

The demon's premonition of danger may not perceive my existence, but it is enough for him to sense peril when he entertains the idea of coming to you for vengeance before his birth; moreover, without adequate preparation, he would not be your opponent.

I didn't just now entertain the thought of killing him; I was concerned about the ordinary people nearby and the possibility of being discovered by officials and the Church's extraordinary beings.

But with my ability, I can isolate the battlefield and conceal any movement.

Lei Kedun gradually furrowed his brows; he felt a hint of familiarity.

"Someone is interfering with the flow of fate, and it's more than one person!"

Desitini's voice unintentionally deepened, and his tone carried obvious disgust.

It seems that the extraordinary beings of the fate pathway despise such casual meddling with others' destinies; no wonder Wuluoliu Si chose the True Creator rather than A Meng's brother.

Muttering under his breath, Lei Kedun looked at Desitini and said earnestly:

"Mr. Desitini, can you foresee this abnormal shift in fate in advance?"

"This does not belong to normal fate fluctuations; I cannot foresee it. After all, I am merely an ordinary misfortune mage."

Desitini shook his head slightly and replied softly.

"I hate the audience!"

After a low hum, Lei Kedun passed through the "gate" back to his study.

Leaning back in his armchair, Lei Kedun furrowed his brows; he still couldn't understand what was happening with Jason Beliya's act.

Jason Beliya also carries the task of assassinating Duke Nigen; that person shouldn't be coming to find me for vengeance at this moment, which would be a death sentence, so is it arranged by 0-08? That feathered pen seems especially keen on giving me trouble; this doesn't look like something Insi Zangweil would do. Did it act on its own?

"When did I offend that feathered pen?"

Lei Kedun muttered helplessly.

"It might be an instinctive SOS."

Sasilier's voice echoed directly in Lei Kedun's mind.

Lei Kedun was stunned for a moment, then closed his eyes and performed a spiritual scan of his own body.

After confirming there were no issues, he exhaled and said:

"It seems your condition has recovered well."

"What does 'SOS' mean? It's just a magical item, and this way of calling for help is absurd!"

"It's merely a magical item, so it must act according to its own instinct. Alesuhuo De is a prankster who creates all sorts of tragedies, and that feathered pen clearly inherited that trait."

Sasilier's voice reverberated in his mind.

Ridiculously absurd. Yet, thinking it over, it makes some sense, Lei Kedun paused in silence; while this can explain 0-08's SOS method, seeking help from oneself is itself a bizarre act.

"As a characteristic of a Sequence One fairy‑tale writer, it always knows its situation; whether Adam becomes a god or An Ge Er Wei De returns, it will vanish."

"Perhaps it has contacted you, discovered something special about you, and therefore seeks your assistance."

Sasilier seems able to sense his inner thoughts through the state of residing within Lei Kedun.

Almost the instant a question arose in Lei Kedun's mind, it answered.

Ah, the right to vent this pain in my heart.

"Unless something unexpected occurs, I will not probe your thoughts."

Sasilier defended himself.

Lei Kedun gave no reply; his gaze turned to the space directly ahead, where a dark, twisted, crawling spirit descended from the ceiling.

It resembled a mass of writhing waterweed that had grown limbs, falling to the ground; the weed‑like tendrils quickly coiled and twisted, forming the image of a woman with long loose hair, holding a billowing long skirt.

It even had a few fissures at the positions of eyes and mouth, from which tiny emerald glows seeped out.

(End of Chapter)