“….” Lukas Brust looked down at himself and quickly raised his right hand, gesturing toward the side. His gray-green eyes deepened to a rich black. The golden strands that had been interwoven with the stairs instantly detached and coalesced in midair, forming a thin armor that settled neatly over Lukas's body. As he moved his arms, testing the effect, he explained: “The Stianno Golden Armor Technique—equivalent to the defensive level of a Sequence 5 Defender.” “Stianno?” Caine asked casually. Lukas spoke with the tone of introducing a historical figure: “One of the founding members of the Moes Monastery. It’s said that Emperor Rosel once refined this Golden Armor Technique—though I’m not sure what the final outcome ultimately turned out to be.” "...I can probably imagine...perhaps the 'Golden Armor' has twelve different forms..." After muttering a few thoughts to himself, Caine steered the conversation back on track: "Has Feneport and the Church of the Earth Mother officially joined the war?" Audrey, who had opened her eyes when Luca introduced the 'Stianno Golden Armor Art,' managed to suppress the urge to turn her head and maintained a steady gaze upon the shimmering half-god. Luca sighed and said, "Regardless of their previous intentions, they will definitely officially join the war starting tonight." "Of course, they're unlikely to target Roon just yet. Most probably, they'll launch an attack on one of Lünburg, Masy, or Segal—otherwise their front lines will stretch too thin, too many enemies will be established, and their strength will be scattered. Moreover, the Great Mother Goddess Church may not be willing to commit substantial resources..." After this reflection, the half-divine scholar of the Knowledge Church sincerely addressed Odile, who wore a silver-white mask: "I wonder what kind of consultation fee I should pay?" Odile glanced at the man representing 'The World.' "He's already settled that." Luca Brust then turned his gaze toward Dauan Thantès. After a moment's thought, Caine said: "I'd like to ask a few questions." "Please go ahead." At that moment, Luca showed no trace of his half-divine, half-human grace—he simply resembled a professor waiting for students to answer questions in a classroom. Of course, if he could remove his golden armor and don a formal three-piece suit, he would be even more like one. Klein didn't hesitate, simply asking, "What do you know about pollution originating from beneath the earth?" He believed that, given the saint of the learned Church of Knowledge, he himself should be able to grasp the level of impact—especially since if it were unsuitable for the "Justice" lady to hear, he was certain that Luca would have raised it, after all, not being a mere bookish scholar. Since the discussion on subterranean pollution stemmed from their exploration of the collective unconscious sea described in *The Grolscher Travels*, Audrey had a certain level of familiarity and thus felt no sense of being completely lost, instead focusing intently on awaiting the half-god across the table to respond. Luca furrowed his brow slightly, saying, "I know very little myself—it seems that simply gaining knowledge brings about pollution. 'I once came across a sentence in an ancient text stating that the higher the sequence, the more dangerous the proximity to the earth's depths.'" So that's why "The Dragon of Imagination" Angerwied left such a profound shadow and a certain sense of fear? Audrey instantly recalled the matter of the bronze gate sealing the city of Leviathin—the city of miracles. She then turned to the "World" gentleman beside her, but found no subtle change in his expression. However, Caine had gently nodded to the "Justice" lady, signaling that he and she shared the same association. This gave Audrey a sense of returning to the past, when she had still been a low-tier member of the "Audience" path and had been utterly unable to extract useful information from the "World" gentleman's expressions and movements. Did higher-tier beings pose greater threats from beneath the earth? That seemed a bit illogical. When Lukas could no longer offer further insights, Caine thought for a moment and asked, "My second question: what prophecies do you have regarding this war?" Upon mentioning prophecies, Lukas Brust instantly brightened: "This is merely the beginning. It has far from reached its peak." "Moreover, the greater destruction stems from war, yet occurs outside of war itself—exactly what that is, I'm not sure." The curtain of war had just begun to rise... Audrey's mood grew increasingly heavy. Stemming from war, yet occurring outside of war? Was it the deification ceremonies of the Amun brothers? Or the ascension of the "Black Emperor"? Or perhaps, Roxel's return? Klein nodded thoughtfully, offering his third question: "Have you heard of the End-Time Prophecy? What do you interpret it to mean?" Luca Brust's expression instantly grew serious: "No, this is not a prophecy. 'Those who possess the gift of prophecy are certain that the End is near.' The divine texts reveal that the End will occur in the 1368th year of the Fifth Age. Of course, the divine texts also speak of a Savior." The Prophecy of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom? By 1368, there would be just a few years left... Perhaps the goddess is determined to preserve the uniqueness of the "Path of Death," even at the cost of breaking her alliance with the War God—could this not also be a sign that the end is near? Klein's expression had grown increasingly serious without his realizing it, yet this shift went unnoticed on the secret figure's face. By 1368, the end would be just a few years away... Audrey found herself somewhat bewildered, reflecting on the half-god's words across from her. Honestly, she felt this narrative was fabricated—crafted by the so-called experts in mysticism and religious charlatans seeking to deceive the public and secure financial gain. Though a large-scale war had indeed erupted, Audrey had never imagined that the world was so close to its final destination. This was the shared perception of nearly every ordinary person and extraordinary being. "Why 1368?" Klein couldn't help asking. Luca Brust shook his head. "I don't know. That's exactly what the gods have prophesied." Thinking that he was only in sequence 4, and truly felt like facing the end of days with little ability to resist, Caine calmly concluded the conversation with Luca, the saint of the Order of Knowledge, saying, "That will do." The question he truly wanted to ask, Luca likely didn't even know—much less what the pollution originating from the stars was, or whether Roselle could return, or how she was doing. Luca Bruce nodded and said, "Should you need any assistance later, feel free to come to me, specifically through Edwena." He remembered that the transaction involving General Doane Tanghates selling his artillery to Mesanyes had been facilitated by Edwena Edwards. Edwena—Edwena, the "Ice-Crowned General"? Audrey paused for a moment, then suddenly recalled, with a curious glance toward the "World" gentleman beside her. She remembered having read an article once, a serialized one, about the story of Germán Sparrow and three female pirate generals. "Very well," Caine never worried about having too many helpers. After nodding in greeting to "Justice" Audrey, Lukas Brust's form quickly became transparent, as if merging seamlessly with the spiritual realm. Then, he simply vanished. Looking at where Lukas Brust had stood, and then at the hall now devoid of golden light, Caine silently exhaled, pausing for two seconds. He then instructed the secret figure to turn toward "Justice" Audrey beside him: "I originally thought it would be more complicated." "It was the Saint who managed to save himself in time and chose to believe in me, allowing me to plant psychological suggestions," Audrey replied with a gentle smile, making a conscious effort to appear both sincere and humble. Don Tanghiz nodded in agreement. "This will count toward your accumulated contributions—return as soon as possible, the situation here is quite dangerous." Seeing that even a half-god had nearly lost control, Audrey had no doubt when the "World" gentleman spoke of the danger, and immediately activated "The Crawling Hunger," using the spiritual realm's teleportation to return to the Northern Continent. When she had sacrificed that human skin glove to Mr. The Fool and settled the remaining matters, it was only then that Count Holbe and his eldest son, Hiberth, returned home. Audrey was just about to go out to see her father and have a chat when she heard her mother, Countess Katharine, asking from the hall: "What's happened again? You've come back much later than scheduled today." Count Holbe sighed and said: "Feneport has invaded Lungenburg." ... "Breaking news! Breaking news! Feneport has launched a sudden invasion of Lungenburg!" As Leonard, wearing a red glove, stepped down from the carriage, preparing to enter St. Samuel's Church, he saw the newsboy waving newspapers and swiftly running through the streets and squares. He stopped the newsboy, produced a one-penny coin, bought a newspaper, and while flipping through it, lowered his voice: "Perhaps not long from now, the south will also become a battlefield." "Yes, indeed." Palais Soloyasde’s slightly weathered voice echoed in Leonard’s mind. “But why am I still stationed in Bekland?” Leonard mused, puzzled. Since his promotion to “Spirit-Witch,” he had become the captain of a small “Red Gloves” unit, composed of members drawn from other squads, including his familiar Cindy and Bob. After the war began, Leonard had assumed his unit would be recalled to the Hall, like Sost’s, to join the fighting in the Amanda Mountains. Instead, he had been assigned as the mobile force for the Bekland parish. The city, due to wartime measures such as night curfews, had remained remarkably stable—no extraordinary beings had emerged to disrupt the peace, even the typically violent “demons” had stayed calm. As a result, Leonard found himself unusually relaxed, even more so than during peacetime. At that moment, Palais Soloyasde smiled. “I have a hunch.” "What guess?" Leonard hurried to ask softly. "Not yet," Palais replied calmly. "..." Leonard said nothing. He straightened his collar and entered St. Samuel's Church, where he spoke a few words with the archbishop and prayed for five minutes. Then he went underground and pushed open the door to his temporary office with the "Red Glove" team. "Good morning, Captain," Bob and Cindy, along with the rest of the "Red Glove" team, rose to greet him. Hearing the title, which he had come to feel comfortable with, Leonard felt a little disoriented once again. It was already Friday afternoon, and after assigning tasks to his team members, Leonard found a lounge and waited for the Tarot gathering to begin.