Chapter 640: A Meng's Surprise

In the prayer hall of the Steel Cathedral, Bono Va sits at the foremost spot nearest the triangular holy emblem, hands clasped and pressed to his mouth and nose, calmly praying.

Behind him, the Archbishop of the Trill Diocese of the Steam Church, Thomas Morais, with neatly trimmed silver‑white short hair and deep features, reports to Bono Va the Steam Church's encounters and losses in the previous incident.

His ash‑brown eyes suppress an unmistakable anger, his voice hoarse; as the Trill Diocese Archbishop, he had not even seen the intruder's figure, yet let the opponent leave unharmed.

After listening quietly, Bono Va nods calmly, draws a triangular holy emblem on his chest, and whispers:

"Praise you, great God of Steam and Machinery, you are the embodiment of essence, the guardian of artisans, the brilliance of technology."

As the prayer words fall, Bono Va rises from his seat, turns to face Archbishop Thomas Morais, and calmly says:

"I have received a divine oracle: the god says—let war come, let conflict begin, let the brilliance of technology blanket the Southern Continent; all rebels, the ignorant, and blasphemers shall be purified!"

Thomas Morais places his hand on his chest, taps three times, draws a triangular holy emblem, and devoutly bows to the emblem ahead, saying:

"We revere your will!"

Then he looks at Bono Va, his tone firm and solemn, and says:

"Prince Bono Va, I will go to the council center of the Eratto District to convey the god's will to the council members, but must we contact the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' Church? Launching war rashly, they may not agree."

"They will agree; that is what they wish to see."

Bono Va replies with certainty, a faint emotion flickering in his light‑blue eyes.

After a pause of two seconds, he strides toward the back of the prayer hall, heading to the mechanical hall beneath that stores sealed artifacts and wondrous items, where everything must be resealed.

In Laisdon Province south of Indis, at the mist‑sea port of Rayak, an illusory "radiance" composed of countless tangled data streams rises rapidly from the distant horizon, surging toward the city.

A torrent of terrifying, chaotic information converges at a private port on the city's southern edge, rapidly reconstituting the body of Leiketon.

He lifts his right hand, clad in a mechanical glove, snaps his fingers; fine starlight flutters past, his appearance, image, and temperament swiftly change—half flesh, half starlight coalesce into a complete mortal body, even the cold, oppressive, frantic sensations seem to fade quickly.

The "Cinderella" who can alter outward form, augmented with some illusion, successfully masks his problems.

Gently exhaling, Leiketon scans the surroundings, then proceeds to the location described in the letter previously delivered by the "Speedster" messenger at Bernade's request.

Beneath a splendid clock tower adorned with gold inlay, several teal vines hang from mid‑air, cascading like a waterfall over Leiketon's form, drawing him into a forest woven from countless teal vines, isolated from reality.

Bernade's figure appears on a vine‑woven swing ahead; she leans half‑against it, her aura wavering, seeming injured from the earlier stalemate and tug with Bono Va.

She looks straight ahead, her voice tinged with fatigue: "Your condition isn't good; is there an issue with the properties contained in that sealed item?"

Leiketon calmly nods: "There is some contamination; I need time to resolve it."

Bernade lightly nods, skips the topic, and says: "I just foresaw some futures—war will ignite on the Southern Continent, spreading little by little across the whole Southern Continent, reaching the Five Seas, and extending to the northern nations."

"It is an inevitable development; some entities wish to start a Divine War and seize the opponent's authority, some seek a total war to hide their true purpose, some need to relieve pressure by unleashing disaster and chaos, and others aim to complete a grand ritual."

Leiketon pulls his mouth into a slightly mocking smile, his deep eyes gaze forward as if he can see the hidden figures in the tangled information.

Bernade does not press who wants to start the Divine War nor who needs a grand ritual; after a brief silence she sighs lightly and says:

"I will be staying in Beckland for a while; if things go smoothly, I'll have the 'Dawn' help you intercept some Indis troops on the Mist Sea."

Leiketon smiles at Bernade and says: "Thanks for your help; I'm considering placing a bounty on the sea‑pirate generals and pirate kings."

"Adventurers and bounty hunters have always made pirates bounty targets; you're the first to place a bounty on pirates," Bernade murmurs, and as her words end, her body suddenly dematerializes, breaking into countless streams of chaotic information that surge away.

With Bernade's support gone, the layered teal vines quickly retract and vanish, and Leiketon's figure reappears beneath the dock's clock tower.

Watching the sun slowly set over the distant sea, Leiketon sighs and murmurs: "A bit troublesome; without a month or two I'll struggle to adjust my condition; I hope not too many incidents arise during that time."

As he sighs, his disguise fades rapidly; his half‑flesh, half‑starlight body becomes ethereal, disintegrating into pure chaotic information streams, turning into a pure information‑flow entity that drifts toward the crowded dock area.

In the western district of Beckland, near Burke Lunde Street, inside a three‑story standalone cottage, countless starlight shoots from the void, swiftly constructing a dim "Traveler's Gate" etched with myriad mysterious patterns and symbols.

Leonard, in good spirits, steps out of the "Traveler's Gate" holding two wondrous items retrieved from the underground hall of the Steel Cathedral; although he has not yet examined their effects, anything the Steam Church can place in the mechanical hall below must be powerful and dangerous.

"Old man, do you know what the effects and side‑effects of these two items are?"

"I think I should know their side‑effects."

A light‑hearted, slightly amused young man's voice intrudes into Leonard's ears; he looks up, sees a figure on the sofa that had appeared there at an unknown time.

It is a young man with black hair and black eyes, wearing a black classical long robe, a matching pointed soft hat, a broad forehead, a thin face, fiddling with a single crystal‑ground eyepiece.

He seems to have been there all along, waiting for him, quietly watching him emerge from the "Traveler's Gate".

A Meng, while placing the single eyepiece back onto his right eye, smiles and asks:

"Parles, do you enjoy the surprise I prepared for you?"

As he makes the motion, the surrounding light suddenly brightens; a hundred‑meter‑tall cross descends from above, embedding heavily into the living‑room floor; centered on this massive cross are gray‑white stone pillars, towering walls, colorful stained‑glass that burst upward from the ground.

In an instant, a Bone‑of‑the‑Dead Church materializes; in this church, every pillar, every arch, every dome is inlaid with dense skulls—from wolves‑of‑the‑wild‑spirit, dragons, giants, demons, monstrous birds—each gazing at Leonard, at the Parles that parasitizes him.

Around the church's walls, windows, and doors, distorted transparent faces emerge, as if souls sealed here have blocked the realms of spirit and star.

"That obsessive lunatic killed himself not long ago; as his sole legitimate heir, I had to endure the pain and inherit his estate."

"Within this Bone‑of‑the‑Dead Church, even the gods' gaze will be blocked; no one will disturb us."

While speaking, A Meng rises from the sofa; his figure suddenly expands to a mountain‑like height, twelve transparent segments of a time‑worm's phantom emanate from his body, some wandering within the Bone‑of‑the‑Dead Church, intertwining, others converging overhead into an ancient, mottled massive phantom.

Leonard stands bewildered; thoughts and ideas that surface in his mind are instantly stolen, plunging him into a dazed, vacant state, unable to react to the outside world.

"Alas~" a somewhat hoarse sigh sounds from Leonard.

The next second, a white‑haired, gray‑bearded Parles floats up from Leonard, his figure rapidly swells, and in the blink of an eye becomes as tall as A Meng.

A stone‑carved wall‑clock phantom appears atop his head, divided into twelve panels, each gray‑white or teal‑black, intermingled yet distinct, each bearing a different symbol.

Dong! Dong! Melodic phantom bells ring out in no particular order, and an indescribable invisible torrent surges around, as if traversing a long stretch of history.

It seems something has changed nearby, yet upon close inspection, it appears nothing has changed.

With A Meng's thought‑stealing gone, Leonard finally snaps out of his daze, staring in shock at the Bone‑of‑the‑Dead Church that has reappeared, the two towering opposing figures, the freely roaming time‑worm phantoms, filling him with unprecedented panic and fear.

Parles looks down at Leonard, waves dismissively, and a cobalt‑blue talisman in Leonard's pocket silently shatters; his body instantly dematerializes, becoming a non‑existent thing that uncontrollably flings backward.

(End of Chapter)