Wynchester.

  Outskirts.

  Invisible ripples spread through the void, as a mysterious gate was slowly pushed open.

  Four figures were outlined from nothingness, then fully solidified.

  “This is… the outside world?”

  Lily pressed a hand to her dizzy head, joy flooding her face. “We really got out!”

  “Yes, sis… I was terrified they’d use us in experiments and turn us into monsters…” Jessica’s voice trembled with relief after surviving the ordeal.

  Yevna watched the two of them, faintly puzzled. She did not understand why The Unseen Order would take an interest in two ordinary Transcendents.

  But a great existence must have its calculations.

  She turned, her calm gaze falling on Lattrell Lyte.

  Javon wore a light smile. He was more than satisfied with what he had gained from this trip. After all, he had entered the Bureau only to obtain intelligence on The Spear of the Sun King—yet this far exceeded expectation.

  And he had also obtained a great deal of the Bureau’s deepest secrets.

  As for the final battle, he did not believe an Malevolent Spirit plus a Shadowless would have changed anything. Unless Spirit of Null Observance intervened in the material world at once, even a World-Sanctioned Immortal descending from the Ethereal Realm might pay a heavy price when facing the God of Suffering holding The Spear of the Sun King.

  Through this, I’ve basically confirmed the God of Suffering’s layout… though it differs slightly from my earlier guess.

  Javon’s eyes darkened as he looked at the three women. “Lily. Jessica. You should fulfill your promise.”

  That promise, naturally, meant joining The Unseen Order.

  “Respected Mr. Lattrell Lyte, we’re willing to honor our word.”

  Lily and Jessica exchanged a glance. Even if they were uneasy, they had no intention of breaking the deal—especially with Yevna standing right beside them.

  Though this Beyond Mortality existence specialized in divination, they had also witnessed how she disposed of those prisoners earlier.

  “Good. The initiation rite is simple—repeat my lord’s honorific name after me…”

  Javon smiled faintly. “You already know the common sense: once you recite it, it’s the same as having your name registered before that existence. Perhaps you’ll be forgotten in daily life—but if you ever act in a way that harms the Order’s interests… heh.”

  “We would never dare!” Lily and Jessica shook their heads rapidly.

  Under Javon’s guidance, the two of them recited Spirit of Null Observance’s honorific name together with Yevna, and were formally dragged onto the pirate ship.

  Once aboard, Lily’s attitude changed noticeably. She took the initiative and asked Javon, “Your Excellency—what tasks do you have for us?”

  “There is one.”

  After thinking for a moment, Javon said, “Go to Baron Jacques’s residence and discreetly contact a lady named Metana Jacques. She may be under surveillance by an evil force, so you must be cautious. You need to protect her, and at the appropriate time, eliminate certain Transcendents for her.”

  That “appropriate time” would likely be when Pope Feret’s plan began.

  “Understood.”

  Lily drew a deep breath. She had not expected her first assignment after joining the Order to be a combat task.

  “You don’t need to worry too much.” Javon smiled at Yevna. “Lady Yevna will assist you. You’ve seen what she can do. Even if the plan fails, she can still get you out without any trouble.”

  “With my lord’s support, I see no possibility of failure,” Yevna replied calmly.

  “Then go. I still have things to handle.”

  Javon left them a safehouse contact address, watched Yevna take the two sisters away via Ethereal transposition, and chuckled to himself.

  “What a convenient ability. Pity that while an Malevolent Spirit can enter the Ethereal Realm easily, trying to travel through it to translocate… carries a high chance of getting lost.”

  As he thought, he guided Oclair and withdrew from the unlucky host.

  In the next moment, a plume of pure white flame roared up, burning both the scum and Lattrell Lyte’s skin-mask to absolute ash.

  After that, Javon laid down counter-divination and other interference across the area, then drove Oclair away at speed.

  Lower District.

  Inside a certain public rental flat.

  William heard a sound from the bedroom. The door opened—and Mr. Morley, absent for days, stepped out.

  “Boss!”

  William cried out in delight.

  “Mmm… you’ve worked hard these past days.”

  Javon smiled as he stroked the Greenforest Ring on his hand. A few days without eating only left a trace of fatigue thanks to his transcendent physique. The worst-case plan—reviving the Malevolent Spirit from scratch—had not been needed.

  Overall, he was in decent condition.

  “Here are your items.”

  William handed over Roberts’s Arcane Insect Box as well.

  “Good. Prepare some food for me.”

  Javon stretched, walked to the desk, picked up a fountain pen, and began to scribble instinctively across a blank sheet.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  This time I’ve collected far more intelligence. I’m certain the God of Suffering will act at the end of March. But the key is still my own advancement.

  He recalled the requirements for his Path’s fourth Sephiroth—The Omniforge:

  Advancement materials — one nonhuman-grade Essence remnant each from the Chrysalis, Mortis, Umbral, Sanguis, Tower, Veil, and Secret Paths.

  Rite requirement — obtain a blessing or grant from the source existence of Forged Light.

  Merit and impact — advance under the gaze of over ten thousand witnesses; affect no fewer than two hundred thousand; leave a clear imprint on history.

  The materials are ready. I only need the last one from Lilia via exchange.

  I already carry a clear imprint in history—so what I must fulfill is: advance under the gaze of ten thousand?

  And beyond that… a grant from the Velthyr of Forged Light…

  With the intelligence gathered these past days, a vague plan slowly took shape in Javon’s mind.

  His pen paused.

  He saw the page had become blurred, filled with strange script and twisted symbols. It had already picked up traces of the occult; if it leaked, it might drive an ordinary person mad.

  A pure white flame ignited on the paper, burning it away in an instant—yet it did not spread beyond the sheet, nor did it blacken the desk.

  My advancement is what matters. Materials and Essence have both reached their limit—time to step into the fourth tier.

  Just then, the door opened. William came in carrying a tray with milk and toasted bread…

  “Any big news in Wynchester lately?” Javon asked casually as he looked out at the morning sun.

  “Not really… aside from a few religious papers promoting that the pope of the Holy Spirit Church will give a major speech on March 29th, nothing explosive.”

  William answered honestly.

  Clearly, last night’s disaster at the Bureau had been classified at the highest level and suppressed by every faction. It had not made the papers.

  Verdant City.

  Lilia’s home.

  A sharp crack sounded from the basement.

  Lilia, who had been directing a maid to iron her dress, changed expression at once. She lifted her skirt and hurried downstairs.

  She checked the wooden door first—the lock was intact. She let out a breath, took out her key, opened the basement door, swept her gaze across the interior, confirmed that none of her secrecy measures had been disturbed, and only then fully relaxed.

  Inside the basement was a dedicated alchemy bench. Around it stood bookcases filled with occult volumes.

  In the corner, there was also a peculiar device—Transposition Drawer.

  During this period, Lilia had relied on it to contact the Divine Envoy. Yet now, a visible crack had appeared on the drawer’s surface!

  “This is…”

  Lilia stepped forward and opened it. Inside lay an iron-black box—along with a letter.

  “Madam White Dove, I need the Balance of Truth. Please send it through the Transposition Drawer. To compensate your loss, I will exchange Roberts’s Arcane Insect Box. Its capability and negative effects are…”

  When she opened the envelope, she saw Javon’s handwriting.

  “The Divine Envoy needs the Balance of Truth?”

  Lilia agreed without a second thought.

  Whether The Unseen Order needed it or the Envoy himself needed it, she was willing to hand it over—even if it was a nonhuman-grade arcane artifact.

  “So it’s more likely a personal matter of the Divine Envoy… and he’s even exchanging another nonhuman-grade item with me…”

  As she read the Insect Box’s capabilities and drawbacks, her lips parted slowly in shock.

  This nonhuman-grade item… has unbelievably mild side effects.

  In truth, after using the Balance of Truth several times, Lilia had already begun to feel she could barely endure it.

  If she were not a descendant of the ancient Sothos line—and had not gained a great deal of hidden historical knowledge from The Green Banyan Council and The Unseen Order—she might have been driven mad by those side effects.

  Even if Javon had not written, she had been preparing to seal the Balance of Truth away for a while.

  She never expected the Envoy to send something even better.

  “From this description, Roberts’s Arcane Insect Box is powerful and complete, while its negative effects are small enough to ignore. On the market, it would drive people insane with bidding. No—any organization that obtained it would keep it as foundation and never sell it!”

  Lilia murmured to herself. “Roberts… does it have something to do with that traitorous archbishop—John Roberts of Shale? Did our organization’s upper ranks hunt him and forge this from his remnant?”

  She did not overthink it. She opened another box in the basement, took out the golden balance, and placed it into the Transposition Drawer.

  “As the letter says, this should work, right? I hope it doesn’t break mid-transfer…”

  After waiting nervously for a moment, her Essence was suddenly stirred. She pulled the drawer open and found it empty.

  “It worked.”

  A smile rose on Lilia’s face—only for a crackling sound to follow immediately.

  Her smile stiffened. She watched the crack on the Transposition Drawer spread, then branch into many lines across the entire cabinet.

  Finally, with a sharp snap, the Transposition Drawer shattered into countless splinters and fragments.

  It’s broken… If it’s broken, how will I contact the Divine Envoy in the future?

  With a crestfallen face, Lilia prepared to leave the basement and consult her father.

  In the next moment, staring at the corridor that seemed to lead straight into an endless distance, her expression turned solemn. She called out loudly:

  “Julian! Julian! Go bring my father—quickly…”

  She was too embarrassed to admit she had gotten lost in her own home. At a time like this, she needed her father’s help.

  Wynchester, 27 Phoenix Street.

  Javon held the Balance of Truth in hand and looked at the shattered remains of the Transposition Drawer without surprise.

  “About what I expected. Once it touches the nonhuman tier, the burden becomes too heavy. This ‘fine piece’ is completely ruined.”

  “Still, while working for Mr. Havier, I privately stockpiled plenty of materials. I can transfer a replacement to Lilia later through the Ethereal Realm. Besides—now that we have Yevna, she can serve as a ‘messenger’ and ‘courier.’ The Unseen Order’s logistics finally have a breakthrough!”

  He stroked the Balance of Truth and could clearly feel the pure Secret Essence inside it.

  Before he had assembled all seven materials, Javon had kept the Balance of Truth and the Bell of Lost Sound in their arcane artifact form specifically to make full use of them.

  Now, he needed to rely on Spirit of Null Observance and his Forgebearer capacity to shatter these two nonhuman-grade arcane artifacts and extract the Mortis and Secret remnants within.

  “With that, the advancement materials are finally complete.”

  As for Roberts’s Arcane Insect Box—it was extremely handy, but after advancing to The Omniforge, its utility would drop. Rewarding it to Lilia was ideal.

  Once she became familiar with it, Lilia would no longer merely count as “half” a nonhuman combat asset—she would become a true one.

  The Balance of Truth was comparatively narrow in application and its negative effects were severe. In contrast, the Insect Box’s drawbacks were much lighter.

  “To destroy an arcane artifact and restore its primary material…”

  Javon pondered. “It seems other Artisans don’t have this ability… but I do.”

  This mainly relied on the Secret Power of Spirit of Null Observance—though the marvel of the Forgebearer Path was also a factor.

  If this ability became known, it would make many Artisans turn green with envy. It meant that if a Forgebearer was dissatisfied with his work, he could perform a process of re-forging in the furnace.

  Almost all auxiliary materials would inevitably be lost—but the primary material could be preserved, enabling endless retries and experimentation.

  This, too, was one of the Forged Light Path’s abilities that Dawnfall had “castrated.”

  True Forged Light was the path of the Crimson Creator. Compared to other paths, it had no “balance” to speak of—only overwhelming, crushing power.

  With that thought, Javon no longer hesitated. He entered the alchemy room.

  His eyes turned pure white in an instant. He laid out the rite with practiced ease, began the summoning, and prepared to re-forge these two nonhuman-grade arcane artifacts…