"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;
The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog;
The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
thank You for Your grace, granting me a wonderful morning…"
At dawn, Snow, as usual, "woke" Mr. Fool with his prayer, then rang for room service to bring breakfast.
With Mr. A staying next door, praying to another deity almost face-to-face was quite the thrill.
But to Mr. A, Snow's actions appeared as fervent devotion to the True Creator, making him increasingly fond of Snow.
Unlike Snow, who was under police scrutiny, Mr. A's arrival was clandestine. After praying to the Lord at dawn, he left the inn swiftly to track down the woman.
Snow withheld nothing about Megose, detailing her relationships and her reasons for visiting the Divination Club. As he'd said, an evil god's heir in Tingen spelled apocalyptic disaster, but in Backlund, it wouldn't even make a ripple.
If Mr. A could take the heir and Megose to Backlund, Snow would wholeheartedly approve. Yet, he suspected Mr. A's mission would more likely end in failure…
…
As Snow concluded his prayer to Mr. Fool, in a Tingen suburb, inside a house with a red chimney, a notebook lay open. A quill, unheld, scribbled furiously—
"How unexpected. Mr. A, who should be in Backlund, has come to Tingen. Undoubtedly, he'll take Megose away. Though this lacks the True Creator's sanction, as a mad, devout follower, Mr. A won't tolerate the Lord's heir languishing abroad. It's entirely logical."
"Oh, poor Ince Zangwill, a mere Sequence 5 Gatekeeper. No matter what, he can't stop a Shepherd who's pastured seven Beyonders! His plans seem to be sliding inexorably toward failure. Perhaps he's just not skilled at storytelling? Admittedly, as a writer, he's quite shod—"
As the quill danced, a rough, pale hand emerged from the darkness, seizing it forcefully. The hand's owner brusquely started a new line, writing in a different script—
"As the Aurora Order's divine emissary, Mr. A's movements always draw attention. His departure from Backlund undoubtedly alerted the three major Churches. Three elite Beyonder teams followed his trail to Tingen, intercepting him as he searched for Megose."
"As a Sequence 5 Beyonder, his presence naturally drew the focus of all Tingen's official Beyonders. To prevent this madman from causing irreparable disaster, all official Beyonders halted their tasks to hunt him down. This is perfectly reasonable."
…
"Red Gloves? Damn it!" After several divinations, Mr. A pinpointed Megose's address. But as he neared his target, a team of Red Glove Beyonders blocked his path.
As a Shepherd, nearly invincible in skirmishes, he wasn't concerned for his safety. But taking the divine child under the pursuit of these hyena-like heretics was now unlikely.
Activating his shadow-melting ability to enter stealth, Mr. A pondered the reasons for this failure.
Among his pastured Beyonders was a Demon, yet its malice detection hadn't triggered, suggesting this was merely a "chance" encounter.
But was it truly so coincidental?
As a seasoned Beyonder, Mr. A connected this to the intel Snow provided last night. A ferocious expression crossed his beautiful face—
"As expected, this was all someone's scheme! Daring to exploit our Lord! Damn them!"
But if the enemy used the Red Gloves to intercept him, they likely weren't adept at direct combat—at least not capable of defeating him quickly.
Realizing this, Mr. A abandoned the idea of fighting the Red Gloves head-on. Instead, he unleashed a wide-area dream induction.
As a Sequence 5, such a crude ability couldn't harm the Red Gloves' elites, but the momentary distraction was enough for him to slip away.
"He got away!" a Red Glove Beyonder grumbled. An older teammate placed a hand on his shoulder.
"No, he let us live…"
Sighing, he added, "It seems this lunatic doesn't want to escalate things. This suggests his trip to Tingen wasn't a whim. We must report this immediately… Anything tied to the Aurora Order spells trouble!"
…
"Lord of the Mysteries is just a novel…"
Layered whispers echoed in Snow's ears again. He knew 0-08 was once more seeking those disrupting its script.
Snow felt both troubled and pleased by 0-08's frenzy. The headache was annoying, but its madness meant Ince Zangwill's script had been torn apart again.
"Looks like Mr. A's actions gave Ince Zangwill a headache. Pity—if Mr. A had gone while that guy was asleep, he might've actually taken Megose."
Snow said this, but everything unfolding was within his calculations.
Ince Zangwill's interference with Mr. A was almost certain. But if Mr. A could draw the attention of official Beyonders, Snow's plan was already half-successful. The other half…
The other half depended on our Mr. Fool…
…
"Captain, what's this about?" Meanwhile, roused early by Mr. Devil's prayer, Mr. Fool arrived at Blackthorn Security Company. While studying occultism with Old Neil and pondering how to subtly inform the Captain about the evil god's heir, both he and Neil were summoned to the office.
There, he found not just himself and Neil but Frye, Kenly, Grey… even Seeka Tron, who was off-duty, had been called in.
Though unsure what was happening, Klein knew it was big!
(End of Chapter)
--
Author's Notes:
I. Tingen's events likely aren't under Adam's scrutiny—
First, 0-08 is the Dragon of Imagination's contingency. Sensing Adam's gaze, it would likely flee rather than play games with Ince Zangwill.
Second, at this time, Adam's focus is likely on steering historical tides (e.g., eliminating Duke Negan). Given 0-08's range, Adam's attention is finite. Compared to 0-08, which aligns with the Goddess's consensus, the ritual is far more critical and delicate.
Third, Adam and the True Creator are mortal rivals. The True Creator wouldn't let Adam seize 0-08. The original novel notes the True Creator saw 0-08's traces on Lanevus but ignored it, proving Adam isn't involved here.
Fourth, though Ince stole 0-08 with the Goddess's tacit approval, Adam likely must wait until the Goddess achieves her goal before touching 0-08, or the deal breaks. Pre-apotheosis Adam isn't the Goddess's match, so he likely avoids or dares not focus on 0-08 in Tingen (or the Goddess may have hidden it).
II. Klein is still green, with low vigilance. By Volume 2's Detective Sherlock, he'd likely avoid pulling Snow up to probe details directly, but at this stage, he would.