Chapter 151 - 151: Betray the Planet?!

Smack! The dream shattered, and Edward jolted awake. "Huu—" He exhaled slowly, calming the lingering dread in his heart. If it weren't for his immunity to corruption, he wouldn't have dared to divine anything about that castle built atop what looked like the entrance to the Chaos Sea. At least now he was sure—the location was correct, and the wraiths truly existed. But the problem was...the Sanguine had handed over the address far too easily. Could this be a trap? But I'm just after those two wraiths, simple as that... Maybe...I should let it sit for a while? After all, I haven't fully digested the Astrologer potion yet, and the rest of the ritual materials aren't in place either. No need to rush. Or maybe I could force the outcome using [Madman to the Right] and use the Cloak of Invisibility to silently take down the two wraiths? Just as Edward was tangled in these thoughts, a voice came from his pouch—Audrey. "Edward, I need to talk to you. Can I come out now?" "Hold on." He quickly left the Harvest Church, Apparated, and returned to the villa. Lilith, who had been lounging on the couch, perked up the moment he arrived. "You're back!" "Mm-hmm." Edward opened the pouch and helped Audrey out. She had barely lifted her head when she noticed Lilith staring at her with a pouty, wounded gaze. "…What's wrong, Lilith?" "Nothing at all~" She turned her head away and flopped back down. Edward leaned close and whispered a few words into Audrey's ear. She immediately smiled gently and stroked Lilith's head. "I won't stay long, alright? Don't be upset." "Miss Lilith is not upset!" Two of them shared a soft chuckle. Then Edward turned serious. "What's going on?" Audrey's expression shifted into solemnity. "Helena sent me a letter a few days ago. She said the woman who seduced Prince Edessak—Trissy—has vanished. Of course, we already knew that. But the strange part is, the prince soon brought back another woman!" "It's like he completely forgot about Trissy and poured all his affection onto this new one. Helena says…the new woman gives her the same eerie feeling that Trissy once did." Edward's brows jumped. "Another witch?" "Most likely." So the Church of Evernight has given up on chasing Trissy? Makes sense. Trissy only served two real purposes—being the scapegoat for the coming Great Smog, and acting as a vessel for divine descent. If they can't recapture Trissy, the divine descent will have to be delayed. But the Great Smog cover-up and the human trafficking scheme still need to proceed—so they've simply swapped in a new witch? What on earth did Prince Edessak do in his past life to be tormented this much? Audrey continued. "Yesterday, Fors and Miss Xio came to me. While investigating that tall man, they uncovered something else." "What did they find?" "They followed someone who had previously interacted with the tall man…all the way to a hotel in the Hilton Borough…" She quickly recounted what Fors and Hugh had experienced the previous night. Edward froze. "Botis? The Saint of Secrets of the Aurora Order? So he was really looking for me all this time…Wait!" His face darkened dramatically. "He slaughtered everyone in that hotel? Those maniacs at the Aurora Order!" Audrey's face paled slightly—she was both furious and frightened. She'd read many times in the papers about the Aurora Order assassinating this person or doing that deed, but seeing Botis's actions firsthand had shaken her with just how terrifying the cult truly was. Edward's first reaction wasn't even guilt over implicating others. It was fear—fear that if Boutis could murder an entire hotel for a single clue, then tomorrow he might kill everyone Edward had ever interacted with: Fors, Xio, Klein, Dunn…and Audrey. No. This can't go on. Then, Edward suddenly recalled his earlier conversation with the Serpent of Mercury, Will Auceptin. Will had told him to "take the initiative"—but hadn't specified what that meant. Thinking deeper, their discussion had been about another massive serpent—a Sequence 1 Angel. So Will couldn't possibly have meant that target. Who else was a major threat to him? —Botis, of course. The Saint of Aurora Order, who was still hunting him. So now I have to find that "better at divination" person…to help me hunt down Botis?! Hunt…a demigod from the Apprentice pathway? Audrey took a deep breath and added, "Oh, and one more thing—they mentioned the Rose School of Thought. Said something about a possible collaboration." Botis wants to collaborate with the Rose School of Thought? Is this a personal decision, or…is this the rational side of the True Creator, trying to form an alliance with the Mother Tree of Desire? Suddenly, Edward remembered what the frenzied consciousness had once said: "He's collaborating with that hateful bastard." That hateful bastard—was it the Mother Tree of Desire? …To kill me? The rational side of the True Creator—once the human side of the Ancient Sun God—actually partnering with an Outer Deity? How is that even possible?! In the world of mysteries, there's a common consensus: the Churches of the Seven Orthodox Gods hate the True Creator, the Primordial Demoness, the Dark Side of the Universe, and other evil gods. But they loathe the Primordial Moon and the Mother Tree of Desire even more. It's the same on the other side. The Aurora Order, the Demoness Sect, the Sanguines, and the Moses Ascetic Order don't get along with the Rose School of Thought either. That's because the Primordial Moon and the Mother Tree of Desire are Outer Gods—foreign invaders who want to seize Earth and the Sefirot sealed within. The Seven Gods and the True Creator? That's just internal conflict. But the real threat lies in resisting invasion from outside. If the rational side of the True Creator is really cooperating with the Rose School... That's…planetary betrayal! Am I really that much of a thorn in their side? A cold chill ran down Edward's spine. For a moment, he could only hope he was overthinking it all. "You...thought of something?" Audrey asked cautiously. "Whew—this could be serious," he exhaled. "You should head back for now. I need to pay a visit to the Church of the Evernight Goddess." "Alright." Once Audrey was safely back in the pouch, Edward apparated straight to St. Samuel's Cathedral. Back at the villa, Lilith looked blank and dazed. She pouted. "Hmph…I hate Edward! I hate Audrey! I hate Susie!" Susie, dozing at home, sneezed several times in a row. She lifted her head warily and glanced around, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, slowly drifted off again. ——— Edward headed straight for the library, where he normally prayed to the Goddess. He set up the ritual circle with a solemn expression and began his prayer: "I pray for the power of the Night; I pray for the power of Secrecy; I pray for the favour of the Goddess; I have just received word that followers of the True Creator may be cooperating with the Rose School of Thought. Does this indicate an ominous change in the True Creator's disposition? Night-vanilla, flower of the Crimson Moon, Please carry my prayer to the Goddess! Moonflowers, blossoms of the Crimson Moon, Please carry my prayer to the Goddess!" Hum— A formless energy swirled throughout the room. The ashes of the burning herbs and surrounding soil lifted into the air and assembled into a single word: "No." Edward instantly let out a sigh of relief. But then, the ashes shifted again, rearranging themselves into a sentence: "They simply reached a shallow consensus—to kill you, that's all. Don't worry." ...??? No? Lady, was that final "don't worry" meant to be reassuring? How am I supposed to be reassured? Even if you were the one being targeted by those two, I doubt you'd be at ease, right? Or are you just showing off how well your humanity is functioning? Though his mind was grumbling a thousand complaints, Edward's lips could only form a respectful response: "Then what should I do?" The ashes rolled once more, forming new words: "No one dares make a move against you in a church." A gust of wind swept through the room, taking everything with it. Edward stood in place, frowning in confusion. No one dares make a move against me in a church? Was she telling him to hide out here? But he couldn't possibly stay in a church forever, doing nothing. So the unspoken message was: if you want to be safe, stay in the church—but if you want to solve the problem, you're on your own. Tch. That was the same attitude the Goddess had toward Klein, wasn't it? "Fair enough." The bigshots in this mysterious world—no matter how much they wanted to invest in or cultivate you—would never babysit you. No one was going to spoon-feed you everything. If you didn't have the strength, then you dying was simply what you deserved. "If the Rose School of Thought is involved now, I should go find Sharron and Maric again…Hope they're still at the Bravehearts Bar." He moved to a secluded corner and summoned his messenger bird. The moment it appeared, Edward noticed that its feathers were visibly different from earlier that morning. Not only were they brighter, but faint crimson streaks had begun to appear at the tips of its wings. So this is the evolution from eating phoenix feathers? Can a Pidgey really turn into a Ho-Oh? "Do you need to send a message? To whom?" Edward paused—come to think of it, the bird hadn't seen Sharron before. So he said, "Please deliver a message to your headless friend. Ask her if she knows whether Sharron and Maric have been targeted by the Rose School of Thought's Indulgence faction. If she knows, ask where they are now. If she doesn't, warn them to relocate ASAP—and tell me where I can find them afterwards." The black bird blinked, hovering in the air with a blank stare as it tried to process the lengthy instructions. Edward rubbed his forehead, gave up, and scribbled everything down on a piece of paper. He handed it over. "Here. Just give her this." "Got it~!" It spread its wings and vanished into the Spirit World. A few minutes later, it reappeared. "She says she's already informed those two to move." "Where did they go?" "She says…you don't need to know." Edward blinked. "What?" The black bird hovered and spoke with mechanical inflexion: "The headless woman says: You…are…full…of misfortune…must…stay away…the Rose School…matter…they…will…handle…themselves…" It tilted its head after speaking. "That's exactly what she said." Seriously? Then why did you even bother delivering my message? "She also said: Sharon…owes you…" Edward quickly waved his hand. "No need to mimic her." ——— [Note]: Here's the Extra Chapter. Enjoy~ And, if you guys want one tomorrow, we'd need to hit 640 Powestones. Go, VOTE! And if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome~ Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]