Bekkan, East District. Just returned from the ice rink, Folsie wrapped in thick garments, gazed at the stove burning wood, as if once again plunged into the harsh conditions, and shivered slightly: "King George III is dead. The previous events will surely come to an end. Perhaps we can move out of here—north to the Hillsdown District. The houses there have fireplaces!" Hew sat across from her in the chair, equally staring at the warm stove, his expression slightly puzzled, responding: "Wait another week or two. Honestly, I still can't believe King George III was blown to pieces like that... I haven't even had time to do anything yet." The now-judicial bounty hunter's tone carried clear signs of disappointment, confusion, and bewilderment, as though his sense of purpose had suddenly vanished. Forsyth briefly forgot the injuries caused by the cold, pondering as he said: "I believe this incident was either orchestrated by Germain Spalro, or by those who previously exploited Sherman—only they were still investigating George III's secret schemes. You've certainly contributed to George III's demise, effectively carrying out a form of indirect revenge. "Hmm... The monitoring and pressure on your family should now cease. You might begin a new life. If the opportunity arises, you could even formally appeal on your father's behalf through official channels." Hearing the latter part, Thorne lifted his head slightly: "Yes, the situation is growing increasingly chaotic, and I'm deeply concerned about how the war will affect them. "Forsyth, which do you think is safer—Becland, or a more ordinary, border-remote town?" Forsyth thought seriously for a few seconds, then shook his head honestly: "I'm not sure." She added immediately: "I'd like to ask Mr. World about the overall situation—he's certainly got a more accurate view, don't you remember? He warned us earlier that trouble would arise around George III, and advised us to stay clear of him." Furthermore, Firth wanted to find out where "Travel" was headed next, so she could make early preparations. "Ah!" Hugh nodded instinctively. Firth flipped through the newspaper on her lap, finished off her remaining coffee, and then rose slowly, entering the inner room, whispering a quiet prayer to "The Fool," asking her to convey her questions to Mr. World, Germaine Sparo. Although Amun gave him the opportunity to try every possible way to escape, he did not rush to act, because he was well aware that Amun now possessed at least the status and strength of Sequence 2—truly an angel in his own right, someone he could not easily match head-on. Moreover, the "Thief" was renowned for his errors, flaws, and bugs, with abilities that were both unusual and elusive, making him hard to anticipate. Klein believed that any conventional escape strategies he could think of were likely to fall short. One can only remain patient, waiting for opportunities to arise... continuously making attempts, observing Amun's responses along the way... Hmm, there's another point to keep in mind—not to place too much faith in Amun's words. While He may have truthfully withdrawn the 'Chrono-Beetle' and lifted my 'parasitic' condition, this might not be the full story. It's possible that He has left a 'Chrono-Beetle' dormant within me, ready to take control of my body at a critical moment. As Klein's thoughts fluctuated, preparing to engage in a casual conversation with Amun and inquire about the 'Dark Angel' Salsir, he noticed the setting sun fading, darkness spreading, and thunderous lightning flashing intermittently in the sky. They had now reached the boundary of the 'Kingdom of the Giants,' marking their departure from this mythical land. Once immersed in this darkness, either vanishing into thin air or being suddenly attacked by terrifying monsters emerging out of nowhere… A sudden thought struck Caine. He feigned ignorance, simply continuing forward, from the orange-hued evening toward the deepening dark. At that moment, Amun, dressed in a black classical robe, wearing a pointed soft hat and carrying a single eyeglass, reached out and gently pulled back a lantern draped in a thin layer of animal skin. Inside, a wick made of some unknown oil emitted a dim, slightly pungent glow. "Take it," Amun said, handing the lantern to Caine. ...Caine caught the lantern, silent for a moment. A few seconds later, he hesitated and asked, "Where did you get this?" Just moments before, Caine had assumed Amun could summon a projection from the historical fissures. Amon adjusted his single-piece crystal spectacles, smiling. "Stolen from the human settlement ahead—oh, that was the afternoon town settlement of Silver City." Stolen... Klein's eyes briefly widened, and he didn't press further, simply lifting the lantern and stepping into the endless darkness. The warm glow spread swiftly, forming an invisible protective barrier and creating a cozy, warm zone within the deep night. At this moment, lightning flickered across the sky with irregular intervals, spaced quite far apart, and thunder was rare, only occasionally breaking through. According to Klein's childhood knowledge from the "Sun," this was the most perilous time of night in a land forsaken by the gods. As he moved forward, Klein first utilized his transformed ability as the "Faceless One," combined with the "Crawling Hunger," to adjust his eye structure to suit this unique environment, then, guided by inspiration, began to observe his surroundings. He felt that within the formless darkness, there were countless eyes watching him, countless beings whose shapes he could not describe—yet whenever lightning flashed and illuminated those areas, nothing remained. ——Klein had no concern that, despite consistently using the phrase "the creeping hunger," he might suffer severe repercussions from being unable to feed it in this current setting. In his view, the outcome would only be one of two possibilities: either the creeping hunger attempted to consume him but was stolen the idea by Amun, or the creeping hunger successfully devoured the wearer, allowing Klein to be reborn and thus escape his present predicament. The latter outcome was precisely what Klein hoped for; the former would only leave the creeping hunger somewhat bewildered, with no significant loss. Thus, after walking on for a while, Klein spotted the Silver City Afternoon Town Camp, constructed from abandoned buildings. Behind the walls formed by massive stones and stone pillars, fires burned steadily, illuminating most of the interior and setting it apart from the outside world. A few scattered members of the Silver City exploration teams patrolled or guarded under the glow, on watch for any unforeseen incidents. Among them, a "Dawn Knight" standing nearly two meters and three decimeters tall on the rampart gazed out toward the distance, alert for monsters concealed in the darkness. Suddenly, he spotted a faint yellow flame emerging from deep within the shadows. His pupils dilated instantly, and his heartbeat quickened. Aside from newborns and children still uneducated, every resident of Silver City knew that, on this land abandoned by the gods, no one—except humans—used fire to create light in the dark. Even the most flame-mastery adept monsters typically remained hidden in darkness until they launched an attack. As for other humans, every city settlement Silver City had discovered had already been destroyed and turned into ruins, with no survivors. The only outsider they had ever encountered was the odd child named Jack. And at this very moment, flames emerged from the depths of darkness, moving continuously! What could this mean? The "Dawn Knight" standing atop the rampart found himself momentarily at a loss, his body trembling subtly. The golden glow of the flames moved slowly from far to near, passing before the camp and heading outward toward the town in the afternoon, and faintly, the "Dawn Knight" made out two human figures walking in the deep darkness, their forms blurred and indistinct under the light. They carried objects resembling lanterns, stepping steadily away from the camp, and eventually fading into the endless darkness. The "Dawn Knight" had not realized it, but he had already held his breath, until the golden glow completely vanished. Were there others of humanity? No—perhaps not even humans! The "Dawn Knight" narrowed his eyes, carefully turned around, and prepared to inform the senior elder of the "Six-Body Council" in charge of the camp. At that very moment, he noticed that one of the lanterns hanging from the stone pillars had disappeared without him realizing. The body of the "Dawn Knight" went rigid, and cold sweat broke out simultaneously across his forehead and back. Amun, standing beside him, gave a slight upward curve to his lips. "The 'Turned One' shows little interest in the 'Source Keep,' of course, though His rationality may not always reside firmly in His mind." "By the 'Turned One,' do you mean the Sequence Zero path of the 'Shepherd'?" Klein himself hadn't expected his earlier outburst to truly succeed—mainly, he simply wanted to gauge Amun's reaction and observe His response. At this moment, he displayed no sense of disappointment, and with genuine curiosity, posed the question. Amon brushed his single spectacles and chuckled, "I have always held the gods in the highest regard." The phrase "a profaner of the gods" sounded rather out of place... Caine had to drop the topic.