A series of ethereal, slender black threads extended from Senyol's body and entered the palms of Kline, responding differently with each surge of spiritual energy. In truth, manipulating the "spirit threads" didn't necessarily require both hands—Kline simply preferred doing so, which gave him the sensation of genuinely controlling the spirit figures. "Given the current situation, the companions can already perceive each other's puppets; the anomalies on the spirit threads cannot go unnoticed. Therefore, we must remain particularly cautious in this regard," Kline summarized the initial observations, then quickly shifted his focus back to Senyol himself. This "General above the Blood" had effectively passed away, his spirit now reduced to a mere appendage of the puppet, losing its own distinct qualities. As a result, many divinatory methods no longer applied to him. Of course, the method of identifying corpse types remains useful. Klein intends first to have this "spirit of resentment" undergo a purification through the gray mist, then to envelop the mirror-like entity it inhabits within a "paper angel," and finally to place the entire arrangement inside an iron cigarette box sealed by a spiritually charged wall, where it will remain alongside the Azk copper whistle, creating a triple interference. In this way, Klein believes it will be nearly impossible for the Rosicrucian angels, seeking to locate him through divination, prophecy, and other means via the "General of Blood," to succeed. As for whether the "Mother Tree of Desire" has left any "backdoor" within Senior's body, he is not overly concerned—since if the "Mother Tree of Desire" had indeed made alterations to the "General of Blood," it could have caused Senior to undergo a sudden transformation during the earlier semi-divine conflicts, thereby turning against Klein. Given the circumstances, such a maneuver would surely have succeeded. "The rigorous control that the 'Mother Tree'—or the 'Bound God'—exerts over our organization's personnel relies on deep-seated oaths and binding vows, a point that can be inferred from Miss Sharon's account, her current condition, and my own direct experience with these characteristics... As long as I don't actively seek out the secret of the 'Blood General' through the Rose School's divination or the 'Heterogeneous' pathway's magical recipes, no issues arise. The 'Wolf-Man' extraordinary trait, which has been resting atop the Gray Mist for so long, is entirely normal under such circumstances. Moreover, there will be another round of 'disinfection' from the Gray Mist shortly—any latent problems will be purged then." Kline paused, withdrawing the Azk copper whistle from within his body. With a gentle rotation of his right hand, he positioned the area with fewer patterns toward the sunlight, where it mirrored the light like a polished surface. Instantly, the figure of Senyoir began to emerge on the whistle and quickly became clear. And suddenly, the "General of Blood" before Caine vanished. "Perhaps the 'Mother Tree of Desire' can still pinpoint me through vows and other vague agreements—yet that doesn't matter, since it can already sense my gray mist essence, detecting me within a certain range... And who knows, this very puppet might at any moment be used by me as a shield and shattered." Caine felt like a jobless, over-indebted urban dweller, convinced he had nothing left to fear. Of course, he did indeed owe a great deal. Once he became a half-god, he could conceal his traits and have his puppets simply vanish at will. Caine glanced around, bent down, picked up the silver necklace, and walked backward four steps, softly reciting the incantation. —This time, he had not chosen to enter through summoning a spiritual entity, so he could not return directly. A gray-white mist spread swiftly, and the frantic whispers and roars echoed eternally. The Azkian bronze whistle in Caine's hand remained unchanged, indicating that there were no major hidden issues within the body of the "Lord of Blood." After seating himself at the head of the bronze long table, Caine placed the Azkian bronze whistle before him, bringing Senior—dressed in a dark red coat and wearing an old triangular hat—into view beside him, as if a servant waiting for his master's command. "What other items do you have with you?" Caine asked, as though the "Lord of Blood" were still alive. He was attempting to embody the role of the "Master of Secret Figures!" Then, he directed Senior to search each of his pockets, and one by one, the items were retrieved: 325 pounds, 16 shillings, and 8 pence in cash, including thirteen gold coins. Aside from these, perhaps due to the frequent need to transform into the form of a "wandering spirit," Senior carried no additional belongings. "Truly poor... a pirate general, yet possessing only one magical item?" "Is this being passed on to the Rosicrucian order, to be distributed among the pirate underlings?" Kline seriously considered whether to liquidate the "Blood Above the General" through the black market channel. It was worth 42,000 pounds just within the realm of Roon! "Well, it's not practical to claim the reward from Roon. Whether it's the Storm Church or the royal military, they're both eager to follow this lead—tracking down Germain Spargo, who's currently engaged in a battle with several half-gods, and investigating the organization behind him. They won't even pay; if they do, it'll be as a trap. The same logic applies to the churches and governments of other nations—they'll certainly have similar intentions, though perhaps with a slightly more favorable attitude. Still, claiming the reward would entail significant risk. "And we don't need to rush. I'll send Senior out when I'm ready to replace my puppet. After all, spending a few days as a secret figure won't affect his identity or value." Kline settled his thoughts and turned his gaze to the silver necklace, hanging with a pendant resembling ancient coins. He immediately used divination to gain a broad understanding of the necklace's origin and function: it stemmed from a Sequence 5 "Winner" of the Life School, whose extraordinary nature, combined with his personal silver necklace, was transformed into a magical artifact after he was killed by a half-god of the Rose School. The reason this ordinary silver necklace had been carried closely by a Sequence 5 strong individual for so long was that, over time, the world had become contaminated, and Caine had been unable to receive effective guidance. This magical artifact served two purposes: first, it passively made the wearer fortunate—on a daily basis, the owner would frequently encounter good fortune, achieving success in various endeavors, while during life-threatening blows or catastrophic events, dramatic rescues would unfold, though such rescues could only last for ten minutes. Second, it actively brought misfortune to enemies, making the target prone to setbacks, whether in daily life or in battle, often due to minor issues. The necklace's negative effect is "conservation of fortune"—after a period of good luck, misfortune immediately follows. The more fortunate one has been, the more severe the subsequent misfortunes become. The wearer must remain deeply focused and diligently vigilant, otherwise they are likely to die in a comically dramatic fashion, often affecting those around them as well. Daily luck typically reverses after one month, regardless of whether the wearer is wearing the necklace, though this misfortune unfolds gradually and is not particularly severe. Luck gained during battle, however, returns with equal intensity just ten minutes later. "Overall, it's a quite good magical item, though it hasn't been particularly useful to me—after all, even the 'Fate Senator' Rijord couldn't alter my fortune... Well, I'll keep it with me at all times; it hasn't had any negative effects on me. I'll sell it whenever I can, to pay off the debt to the messenger girl. She wants gold coins, and what I have is gold pounds. To exchange my gold pounds into ten thousand gold coins through the bank and the formal markets would be nearly impossible. So, I'll have to break it down into portions and assign parts of it to each member of the Tarot Circle." Kline quickly settled on the plan, casually naming the necklace: "The Lucky Scales!" Then, he once again turned his gaze to the "General Above the Blood," Senior, who stood respectfully beside him, carefully examining the abilities the specter possessed. Forced to take physical form, to control the enemy, the spectral wail rose, the mirror shimmered, piercing through obstacles—death-based spells, rarely noticed by most mid- and lower-tier practitioners, especially the "invisibility" that remained undetected... Caine identified each one, comparing them against what Sharon and Marij had described and what he had personally experienced in battle. He swiftly concluded this process, fearing the candles in the real world would burn out, leaving the dimly lit cave—an environment profoundly unwelcoming to someone who was already afraid of darkness. Immediately, he pulled out a paper figure from among the clutter, combined it with the "Black Emperor" card, and infused it with a touch of power from the gray mist, transforming it into an angel of counter-divination. This angel swiftly spread its wings and embraced a coin, upon which the reflection of Senior's form was clearly visible. Then, Kline brought the gold coin, Azk's copper whistle, the "Tomb of the Clock," and the suitcase back into the real world. As for "The Thirsty Hunger" and "The Grolsch Travels," one had no food to sustain it temporarily, and the other had been carried for too long—perhaps at any moment it would swallow Kline whole and leave him stranded among the clutter atop the gray mist. Upon returning to the cave, Kline busily placed the gold coin and Azk's copper whistle into an iron cigarette box and sealed them with the "Wall of Spirit." He tidied up the scene, donned his formal attire, and carried the suitcase, following the shoreline until he found a settlement—only to discover he had ended up near Port Priz. He did not immediately return to Beckland. Instead, he changed his appearance and took a steam train to Conner's City in the Dizzy Gulf, intending to make a circuit there and assume a new identity. Port Bensie. Alger Wilson gazed at this ruined city beneath the afternoon sun. He saw the entire house collapsed, with deep furrows cutting through the ground, and blackened traces scattered everywhere. This scene extended all the way to the island's heart, where even mountains had crumbled. At that moment, there were no storm-watchers stationed at the ruins, for nothing remained here, and the plans for rebuilding the port had not yet been initiated. Alger stepped off the "Azure Avenger" and, along with the sailors, walked through the ruins, finding nothing of value. "Let's go," he said calmly. They soon boarded the ship and set sail, leaving the island behind. After some time had passed, a figure suddenly emerged from the depths of the ruins. He wore a long, double-breasted black clerical robe, with dark gold hair and a face like a classical sculpture, free of any wrinkles. One pupil was deep blue, almost black, while the other appeared dim and faint, yet densely veined with fine blood vessels.