Klein pressed against the gray-white walls, slowly straightening himself, and shook his head with a smile: "My brain resists work until my stomach is full." This was both truth and a lie—since before becoming a complete mythic being, saints still hungered and thirsted. Yet for a Sequence 3 half-god, going without food or water for ten to fifteen days was entirely manageable. For a fully realized mythic being, eating was more of a pleasure than a necessity. What Klein meant was that before officially beginning his escape, he needed to optimize his physical condition. "A magician's habit," Amun remarked with a smile. "I won't be responsible for providing meals, but you can figure out how to arrange them on your own." Klein glanced at the leather lanterns on the ground, thought for a few seconds, then extended his right hand and reached into the empty space before him. Instantly, a modest side table appeared in front of him—an item from the D'Ortiz estate. In the dim, golden light, Crane reached out once more, summoning from the historical fissures a beautifully packaged box. Inside lay a complete set of tableware—knives, forks, plates, and cups. Crane had chosen this item because he could not summon individual utensils to form a complete set; he could only maintain images from three historical fissures simultaneously. After calmly arranging the tableware, he politely turned his head, nodding to Amun, who wore a pointed soft hat. Only then did he summon a seven-minute-old sirloin steak, lightly seasoned with black pepper, which settled onto a porcelain plate, still emitting a gentle warmth. As the knife cut through it, the fresh, myoglobin-rich surface revealed itself. Crane forked a piece of meat and took a bite, experiencing a genuine, exquisite texture—nothing artificial—its authenticity soothing the discomfort in his stomach. "In just a minute, I won't only be full—I'll also receive a genuine replenishment." After swallowing the piece of beef, Caine smiled warmly and introduced himself to Amun, acting like a hospitable host rather than a unfortunate captive. Amun adjusted the edge of his crystal-framed spectacles, nodded with a smile. "I've tried it—it's quite good. You've adjusted so quickly. Truly, you're not considering becoming my servant, are you?" Caine cut off another piece of beef, lifted it with his fork, and responded as if chatting casually with a friend. "Kill me, then." At that moment, the land was ruled alternately by frequent lightning strikes and boundless darkness. In the areas where light failed to reach, countless eyes watched silently, unemotional, while the twisted, dark-red grasses at their tips swayed gently with the occasional breeze. Within the partially collapsed building, the warm, golden light cast a delicate, artistic glow over the elegant side table and refined tableware, while the aroma of seared steak lingered softly in the air—contrasting sharply with the otherwise densely adjacent and unrelenting external environment. Under the watchful gaze of the terrible creatures emerging from the depths of darkness, Crane savored his meal with graceful poise upon this desolate, somber ground, where profound terror was steadily gathering. After finishing the steak, he summoned a glass of chilled wine from the Mugel estate and drank it in one go. Then, one after another, creamy soup, seared cod, lentil-stewed lamb, baked potato skins, and various wines were brought forth and filled his stomach. Throughout this sequence, the initial steak had already surpassed its preservation time and vanished into thin air, yet Crane’s stomach and body remained unperceived, lulled into a state of calm by the subsequent courses. Of course, the side table and tableware were replenished and summoned anew, otherwise the meal could not have lasted until its conclusion. In the closing moments of the meal, Caine reached out again, retrieving from the void a cup containing a sphere of vanilla ice cream. He then used a dessert spoon to scoop the ice cream slowly into his mouth, savoring its melting texture and sweetness. After finishing one sphere, he remained satisfied and summoned a second from the historical fissures. Thus, Caine consecutively enjoyed five spheres of ice cream with varying flavors. When Caine reached out for the sixth time, Amun seated beside him suddenly smiled and remarked, "Your fate has undergone an unusual shift—your luck has already become remarkable. 'Is this all your preparation?' " Caine's extended right hand froze mid-air, his pupils momentarily dilating. At the same instant, in the deep darkness beyond the reach of the lantern light, a number of strangely shaped creatures simultaneously convulsed and transformed into Caine's secret figures. This time, Cline sent out a hundred "souls of the spirit" at once, hoping that among them some lucky ones would evade Amun's theft. Immediately behind the tea table, the figure in the black wool coat, who had not worn a hat, was replaced by a vampire covered in pus, appearing extremely repulsive. The elegant tea table and the fine tableware, once so artfully arranged, seemed to shatter like glass dropped to the ground, cracking into countless fissures and scattering into fragments. They swiftly returned to the historical gaps, so as not to disrupt Cline's subsequent summonings. The very next second, the hundred secret figures, along with Cline's own form, which had seemingly vanished into the shadows, all reached out simultaneously, grasping at the void—using the frequency of their actions to counteract Amun's interference. At that moment, each of them became an "ancient scholar." This ability originated from the "weird mage" and served as the source of transformation for the "seer." Of course, the success probability of each individual summoning was independent, with no mutual influence between them. At this very moment, Caine is summoning a projection of the messenger lady Renette Tynicol, as she restored her peak state within the Tudor ruins—thanks to the bond of the covenant and the incantations, this is the most accessible angelic image he can draw from the historical fissures! Amun remains calmly seated, his single spectacles glowing gently as he watches one hundred Caines simultaneously attempting the summoning. His right hand extends neatly, then withdraws—without success. Neither Caine nor his one hundred secret doppelgängers manages to pull Renette Tynicol from the void. Then, Amun raises his right hand and reaches forward. With a slight weight in his arm, he draws it back casually, and suddenly, beyond the partially collapsed buildings, a colossal doll emerges—dressed in a dark, elaborate gown, bound by vines. "An ancient evil!" Renette Tynicol! Amun has stolen Caine's image of the historical fissure. Renee Tini科尔's red eyes immediately reflected the forms of a hundred of Klein's secret duplicates. Without a sound, the duplicates—some resembling Klein, others in monstrous forms—began to glow, transforming into goats with horns, white rabbits, and various other animals. "The Curse of Transformation!" Klein's physical form had already vanished, then emerged from the flame rising within the woven lantern. He glanced at the diverse animals that now seemed to be his own, then sat down again, chuckling softly, "A post-meal walk is beneficial for one's health." He mentioned not a single thing about his earlier attempt to escape, as though nothing had happened at all. Amun maintained his previous relaxed demeanor, calmly smiling and nodding in agreement, "I've read many books written by humans, and indeed, they often mention this idea." Then, pointing to Renee Tini科尔's projection outside, he added, "Is this your messenger?" "This is something easily verifiable, and Klein didn't feel the need to hide it," he said, nodding with a soft "嗯." "Unfortunately," Amun studied Rhenet Tinihcor's projection carefully, shaking his head in mild disapproval. While Klein felt the last remnants of his meal gradually vanish from his stomach, he asked, "What's unfortunate?" "I should have stayed with you in Beklanth for a few more days, so that your messenger could deliver the message to you, and then, I would become your messenger." Amun pushed his single-spectacle glasses up slightly, smiling. "Stealing a messenger of angelic rank—quite a challenge, and quite enjoyable, isn't it? Life always needs a touch of excitement, novelty, and anticipation." "I completely agree," Klein responded sincerely. "Unfortunately," Amun shook his head again, wearing his pointed soft hat, "'Night' is someone we must remain vigilant against. If we stay any longer, I'm not sure what will happen." "As he spoke, this 'Angel of Time' dissolved the sustained image of Rénite Tiniçol's historical gap, causing Him to vanish before Cline's eyes. 'You seem quite cautious, goddess,' Cline feigned the tone of a devout follower of the 'Night Goddess.' Of course, he didn't need to feign it—he remained, in truth, a devoted servant of the Night. Amun's gaze shifted to the leather lanterns within the partially collapsed building, observing their dim, yellow glow and remarked, 'I cannot extract the information I seek from the hidden realm; I cannot yet decipher what further arrangements He might have in store—where, precisely, lies the true key.' For an Angel of Kings who wields the path of theft, this was ample reason to feel wary." Seizing the moment when Amun was answering, Caine suddenly recited in the Giant Tongue the sacred name of the "Goddess of Night" within his mind: "You are a Goddess of Night more exalted than the stars, and more enduring than eternity..." As soon as he uttered these words, the thought vanished—had it not been for his prior intention to do so, he would have almost forgotten that he had made this attempt. Amun turned to him and smiled. "You're testing whether, after I steal your thoughts and words, I will internally repeat them back to you, aren't you?" "As a Sequence 4 'Parasite,' you gain the ability to control the stolen elements and bring them forth at the right moment." "Ah, that's exactly it," Caine nodded gently. "Thank you." As he spoke, Caren swiftly summarized the experiences and lessons learned during the recent escape: Because of the existence of the contract and the hierarchical relationship, among all the angels I've known, summoning the messenger girl is the most straightforward success. Having summoned ice cream from the past through Wil, I've established a subtle connection with the one representing Fate, receiving blessings of good fortune—indeed, each ice cream sphere embodies a portion of that fortune. Originally, I had intended to use the summoning of ice cream as a cover to secretly summon the "Fate Serpent." However, subsequent summonings required certain disruptions; otherwise, Amun could directly seize the images of historical rifts I had created, and despite all the effort, he ended up receiving a helper instead. As Caren's thoughts raced, Amun pointed to the pile of animals affected by the "transformation curse," and with a slightly displeased smile, remarked, "Didn't you worry that the land forsaken by the gods would lack suitable food?" Now they are truly animals, as long as the curse remains unbroken."...Klein paused, suddenly turning his gaze toward the goats and white rabbits. With the force of his intention, the animals' eyes simultaneously turned to him. In a sense, they were all Klein himself, for they had become these creatures through the fusion of "spirit insects" and monsters, subsequently cursed.