Lord of Mysteries:Fire of Destruction

"You're sick." Klein growled as he sat on the sofa in his living room. A few fingers rubbing his forehead at the bizarre mental image he now had of the Emperor in a dress.

Something bizarre indeed, an elegant man with a good mustache wearing an extremely detailed woman's dress...

"If I had to suffer through that page, so will you." Adryan rolled his shoulders, one leg over his knee and his arm resting on the sofa's edge.

"Thank you very much. That's an image I could have done without having etched in my mind." Grinning with tremendous sarcasm, Klein chuckled and sighed.

Adryan laughed softly, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "Although it's not like we can't see what Roselle would look like in a dress..."

Klein narrowed his eyes, "If you show me a photo of the Emperor in a dress I'm going to smash the console over your head."

"Hahaha! If such a thing existed, I'm sure Roselle destroyed them all!" With his shoulders trembling slightly with laughter, Adryan calmly added, "I'm talking about the Cards of Blasphemy, genius."

His interest was immediately piqued, and the Detective quickly had an idea, "Wait, does each Card have a picture of Roselle on it? That guy loved his face…"

"You have no idea…" Adryan added in a breath.

"So…" Klein began slowly, "… the Demoness Card will have a female Roselle?"

"At first I thought he wouldn't have the guts to genderbend himself but after reading the page I showed you... The guy definitely did it." The redhead paused for a moment.

"I just wonder if he went the extra mile and made her beautiful? Considering his ego, maybe that's the safest bet."

"… A beautiful woman who is actually Roselle…" Klein muttered a little.

The mental image changed from a man to an elegant woman, and the dress that had looked strange before now really suited her…

"If you consider her beautiful there's nothing wrong with it, just a little weird." Adryan joked a little, patting the detective on the shoulder.

That mental image was broken, and Klein, with a strange chill running down his spine, gave the redhead a flat look.

"Haha." Laughing dryly, he removed his hand from his shoulder.

Although he enjoyed talking to the man, he decided to move on to the subject that bothered him, "Do you have any idea what the Hanged Man was talking about?"

"There are several legends at sea," Adryan began calmly. "Some of these are legends, while others may have traces of truth. The one that comes to mind is..."

Pausing momentarily, he smiled, "Although, to explain it you would need to have some general knowledge of the Fourth Epoch, how is your grasp of that time?"

Knowing it was time for another possible class, he decided to be honest, "I know a little about what the War of the Four Emperors meant, along with the Pale Disaster brought by the mad Death and the Primordial Demoness. Along with some angel families of that time, such as Abraham, who supported the Solomon Empire."

"Hiss. Not bad, that means this will be quick." Adryan smiled like a teacher and raised a finger.

"First, we start with The First Solomon Empire led by the Black Emperor, Solomon. It wouldn't be wrong to call this empire the master who made sure everything remained in order in the disharmony of that time.

"Solomon had behind him not only the True Creator but also several angelic families: the Abraham Family, the Zaratul Family and the Zoroast Family, all of which had dukes. In addition, he also had the support of the Medici Family and Ouroboros, who, although they did not have any aristocratic titles, their standing was not worse than the major aristocratic families..."

"He saw the complete Blasphemy Slate when it appeared in the Fourth Epoch along with the Ancestor Zaratul, Augustus, Einhorn, Sauron, Castiya, Zoroast, Stiano, Constantine, and last but not least..."

Adryan smiled and held up two fingers; "Alista Tudor and Trunsoest. They were his most loyal angels, but even lower in rank than the dukes I mentioned... Heh heh, it's ironic to call them the most loyal, since it was their betrayal that led to the fall of the First Solomon Empire.

"With the support of the then Six Deities - the God of Steam and Machinery was not yet born - these two mischievous men betrayed Solomon and killed him, destroying the empire and forming the Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire.

"Clearly with the fall of Solomon, the characteristics of Sequence 1 were released again, both being angels of the same pathway they grabbed them and advanced to Sequence 1- I don't know why they did it instead of one of them advancing to Sequence 0, but my theory is that it was because of the Six Gods who didn't want a new Black Emperor so soon after the fall of the previous one.

"They still needed time to take their profits after all~" Adryan laughed darkly before shaking his head and continuing.

"This United Empire didn't last long, using the qualities of the Black Emperor, Solomon was about to be resurrected and with it the law of convergence would tear away the characteristics of Sequence 1 from Tudor and Trunsoest killing them.

"Trunsoest jumped to the path adjacent to Black Emperor with the support of the six Gods and advanced to Sequence 0 Justiciar of the Arbitrer pathway. Thus was born the Night Emperor.

"Tudor, with no other option and the support of 'a certain existence' and the God of Deception, killed the Ancestor of the Medici Family, Sauron and Einhorn. With all that, he jumped to a non-adjacent path and successfully ascended to Sequence 0 Red Priest of the hunter pathway, going mad in the process and becoming the Blood Emperor.

"Thus with the resurrection of Solomon, the United Empire fragmented giving birth to the Tudor Empire and the Trunsoest Empire. With the restored Second Solomon Empire and the Balam Empire in the South Continent, everything was in place for the War of the Four Emperors.

"Are you still with me? I can repeat myself if you missed anything." With a little wink, the redhead stopped his explanation.

"... You know a lot..." Klein rubbed his forehead at the influx of information he had suffered, that it would not be crazy to say that it was much greater than what he obtained to advance to Sequence 7.

Not only had he learned the names of three Sequence 0s and the adjacent paths of two of them, but he now better understood Emperor Roselle's entries about this mysterious Epoch—the reason for the Blood Emperor's madness and a little of why the war that followed.

The same question from before echoed in his mind: how had Joa obtained so much information when he had only been in this world for barely 5 months?

Was the Scarlet Monarch really that good at teaching?

Knowing he wouldn't get an answer if he asked, he just lowered his hand and nodded to the man, "Continue."

Such valuable information was not something that came along that often, he had to take every opportunity to take everything he could!

'It's okay to be hungry once in a while...' Klein murmured to himself with a slight sigh.

Smiling at the man, Adryan closed his eyes and spoke, "As I'm sure you know, The Black Emperor, Blood Emperor, and Night Emperor fell here, with Death reaping the greatest benefits.

"This is where we get to the good stuff. There is a legend at sea related to the Night Emperor. The mysterious and ghostly Specter Empire...

"Legend has it that the Trunsoest Empire constructed an immense ship, equivalent in size to a city, and loaded it with all their treasures. However, the ship mysteriously disappeared, leaving only whispers of its existence. Even today, tales persist of a colossal vessel silently gliding through the fog on Sonia Sea nights. Known as the Specter Empire, it remains a spectral apparition haunting the waters…"

Klein's eyes widened. "So what the Hanged Man saw wasn't an island but a giant ship? Full of treasure?"

"Is the treasure part the only thing you heard? Are your pockets that empty?" Adryan looked at the detective with a flat face and scratched his hair with a slightly furrowed brow.

"And whether or not it's the Specter Empire I have no idea, it's one possibility but it could be something else entirely, I don't know."

Being a Conspirator, always on the lookout for information, he related it to what he already had every time he obtained something new. Everything the Hanged Man said pointed to that, but the redhead wasn't sure. This was something that was eluding him.

Receiving the blow to his wallet, his greatest weak point, made Klein wince.

'Not all of us are crazy enough to steal money from gangs and hunt Admirals on land!' Restraining his complaint, he controlled his expression to calm down and sighed a little.

"You don't think the Hanged Man is going to go for it, do you?", Klein asked.

He couldn't help thinking about this, and although he doubted that the man would do it, it wasn't a bad idea to ask someone else for a different opinion.

"That old fox? Ha! He's no idiot," Adryan laughed mockingly.

"With his current level he knows full well that he has no chance of dealing with whatever is inside and it's not like he can go looking for it either, because of the legends and his experience it only manifests itself in random banks of fog so it's very difficult for him to find it again."

"That's good..." Klein breathed a sigh of relief.

With the calm atmosphere that fell over this room, he finally decided to clear up a doubt in his mind, "Joa, what is your pathway?"

"Isn't it obvious? The Hunter Pathway" Adryan winked mischievously.

'Somehow, that path suits you...' Murmuring to himself, he asked another question; "Do you know which paths are adjacent to the Hunter?"

Immediately a chill ran down his spine and Klein felt his bully instinct kick in.

Realizing his mistake, he noticed nervously how the scarlet eyes had taken on a strange glow.

Tilting his head slightly to one side, letting his red hair fall, Adryan said calmly, "The Assassin Pathway. Why the curiosity? Oh, don't tell me that...

Dragging his tongue a little, he laughed, "Little Zhou is interested in seeing a Miss Chariot?"

"..." Klein rubbed his hands on his trousers to clean off the dirt that had washed over him because the idea was actually quite curious.

Looking sternly at the man, he repeated to himself that he was a man, Klein growled, "Don't do that again, I like women."

Adryan raised his hands in defense, but even so pointed out the obvious, "At that point I would be a woman-

"You know what I mean!" Klein quickly cut the man off, a slight blush covering his cheeks.

"Well, let me tell you if you've seen a real witch. Believe me when I tell you, you'd never know he was ever a man."

Klein clicked his tongue in offense, "Until I see one I won't believe it, Joa. Even though knowing she was once a man wasn't enough to stop Roselle from tasting that fruit, it doesn't mean anything considering who he is."

He would repeat it as many times as necessary, knowing she was once a man would be too much for his soldier.

For a few seconds, there was silence in the gray fog.

"You never met a witch?" Adryan asked slowly, his voice with a hint of curiosity.

Klein nodded. "Never. There were too many problems in my situation, so all my attention was on dealing with the True Creator's child..."

'That means Klein never met Trissy, just as he never dealt with Madam Sharon. So Kensley is still alive as Madam Sharon... How annoying...' The redhead did not show on the outside how troubled his mind was now.

Sighing a little as not speaking could draw Klein's attention, the redhead nodded.

"I understand." Adryan did not comment on the subject; he just looked calmly at the dull TV on the wall in the living room.

After thinking momentarily, he smiled at Klein, "Is there anything you want to know about when you were not on Earth?"

Pausing for a moment, Klein frowned slightly and considered it deeply.

Obviously, the most he wanted to know was how his family was doing, but that was impossible for the man to know, he was on another continent in those 5 years, so to his great disappointment it would have to be something else.

He wanted to ask who Ouroboros was and who that certain someone was who helped Alista Tudor ascend to Sequence 0, but he calmed down. If Joa hadn't said anything about them, it was because of something.

So, he went for something he knows was a priority.

With a somewhat low voice, he asked, "Who is the God of Deception?"

Adryan looked calmly at him, "The greatest enemy and danger that Mr Fool and you will face. 

"'He' is the youngest son of the Ancient Sun God and the King of Angels of the Marauder Pathway. An extremely terrifying existence that should not be underestimated...

With a slight sigh, he said, "He is Amon. A very dangerous raven."

"Amon..." Klein repeated the name with a slight shiver.

That was the name of the God of Deception whom the Scarlet Monarch had promised to help him face...

But why had Joa said King of Angels? Wouldn't it be better to call Him a God?

Or, perhaps He is not yet a true God but not far from it?

Considering all this and what it meant for his future survival, Klein quickly asked, "What is a King of Angels?"

"A King of Angels is an Archangel who has either accommodated an extra characteristic of Sequence 1 or the Uniqueness of its corresponding path." Adryan said, "The case of Amon is that he is an Archangel of Sequence 1 with Uniqueness."

Again, Klein pressed his lips together. Another term he didn't know.

"Uniqueness?"

"Uniqueness is the unique characteristic of a pathway, and is the most important ingredient for promoting to sequence 0. For each pathway, there is only one uniqueness." Adryan explained before rolling his shoulders.

"You can see it as his daddy giving him hacks as soon as he was born."

'Hacks? That's cheating!' Klein was astounded.

'Being born with the Sequence 1 characteristics and the Uniqueness of His path makes Him the best candidate for Sequence 0! If He knows what He's doing, even if another Archangel is born, Amon would crush Them with His level! It's cheating!' Klein was not only frustrated by this but also incredulous.

Among all his knowledge, there was only one being who could do what Joa described.

The 'Lord who created everything' of the Silver City!

'But to be able to discard a Uniqueness together with a Sequence 1 characteristic like that, what level was he at?'

Also, another name for that Lord was Ancient Sun God...

Knowing how valuable the information he had just obtained was, Klein knew that he had nothing to pay the man back at the moment.

'This information could even be considered invaluable. But he gave it to me as if nothing...' Klein looked attentively at the man before him.

Even if they came from the same place, this kindness was going-

"Don't overthink it," Adryan said suddenly and calmly.

"I wasn't thinking anything," Klein replied, showing no reaction other than a raised eyebrow.

As if he didn't know what the man was talking about.

The redhead laughed softly at that, "You'd make a good Faceless, no doubt about it. But I repeat, don't overthink what I do.

"If you really can't understand that I only do this because I care about you, then why don't I give you a reason? You can consider this my way of investing in you and a benefit for me.

"What kind of benefit do you gain from giving me all this information for free?" Klein asked with genuine curiosity.

"It's not exactly free," Adryan said mysteriously. We both know that free things are the most expensive. Fate already set their price a long time ago, one that we will have to pay sooner or later..."

Pausing for a few seconds to set the mood, he finished playfully;

"Luckily for you, though. My prices are quite cheap. I'm preparing my ritual to ascend to Sequence 4 and one of the requirements is to make my friends stronger."

Klein blinked, lost, not knowing if the man was being honest or joking again. But considering his personality, it was probably a combination of the two.

'So all this is to prepare your ritual to ascend to Demigod...' Feeling a weight lift from his shoulders, Klein just smiled and laughed amusedly.

"In that case, I'll make sure I make myself as strong as possible."

"Please. The stronger you are, the better my ritual will be." Adryan smiled back and nodded, "Do you have another question? Or is that it?"

After giving it some thought, Klein gave a slight nod.

"I never got to see the next movie after Avengers Infinity War, so I never knew how it ended. The Avengers won like every superhero movie, but I'd like to know how."

"Oh boy," Adryan pursed his lips slightly.

This was going to be awkward.

Scratching his nose, he slowly nodded, "Okay... To understand what I'm about to explain, I must first tell you about another movie... Do you want the summary or a detailed explanation of Ant-Man and the Wasp?"