"What's difficult about Amun?" Palis Soloyasde said with a "hey," "What benefit could there possibly be? If there's nothing, then that's fine." Leonard paused, momentarily at a loss, before finally adding, "At least it'll lift your spirits." Palis chuckled, "You know, if you don't bring up this topic, I'll actually feel better." Without waiting for Leonard to respond, the Sequence 1 angel, whose voice carried a slightly weathered tone, sighed, "Didn't your former colleague have a 'deception' seal? Maybe we can think about that."
After eliminating Amun of Bekkanth, Palis had transferred to Leonard the divine symbols and magical sigils for the four sacred incantations—deception, parasitism, deprivation, and aging—so that Caine could utilize them. Using these knowledge and the "Chrono-Beetles" he had received, Caine crafted one each of the "Deception Bullets," "Parasite Bullets," and "Deprivation Bullets," which he later employed against Qunus. Colg, yet Leonard remained unaware. Leonard, speaking softly with thoughtful contemplation, asked: "Old man, you're saying that by using the 'Deception' sigil, we can mislead Amun, causing him to misjudge the location and thus fail to affect Caine's escape?" Internally, Palis. Soloyasde responded with irritation: "Do you really think there's any chance of success when employing the 'Deception' sigil before an Angelic King known for his thievery?" Unlikely... Leonard chuckled awkwardly and, with further hesitation, inquired: "Then what exactly are you suggesting?"
Palace Soloyasde's voice suddenly brightened: "Once 'Fraud' returns, it can only operate within the rules of the place where its body originally resides!"
"Really? The rules of 'Fraud' themselves can do that?" Leonard asked, visibly astonished.
Palace offered a self-deprecating smile and sighed, saying: "Compared to 'Fraud' Amun, 'Fraud' rules are actually much easier. After all, the very foundation of this world is madness and chaos."
Leonard found himself momentarily at a loss—first, he simply hadn't grasped that rules and patterns themselves could be 'fraudulent'; second, he hadn't expected Amun to be more formidable in the old man's eyes than the natural laws or the world's fundamental rules.
After nearly ten seconds, he finally managed to speak again: "With this method, what are the chances of success?"
"Very low. Extremely low."
"Palis chuckled, saying, 'A mere "deception" seal crafted from one of Amun's "time worms" has a very low probability of successfully faking the established patterns. Therefore, my recommendation remains unchanged—have him request assistance from "The Fool," and don't waste time lingering in confrontation with Amun. The longer they hold off, the more dangerous it becomes.'"
Leonard pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "I understand. I'll suggest that to him as well."
Of course, he wouldn't forget to mention the rather unlikely option provided by the old man.
"Good, truly—disturbing an elder while he's reading or browsing the newspaper..." Palis mumbled, his voice gradually fading until it disappeared into Leonard's mind.
At No. 7, Pinstreet, the newspaper resting on the coffee table suddenly lifted itself and unfolded itself before the sofa.
...
"Can the 'deception' seal only trick the rule that allows resurrection within the immediate vicinity of the original body?"
Above the gray mist, within the ancient palace, Caine rephrased Palis Soloyasde's "suggestion" in his own words. As soon as he finished speaking, he recalled the long-burning leather lantern: Amun had "deceived" the natural laws, enabling the candle to glow for a full week without any fuel. Caine's eyes sparkled, and he murmured, "This approach—truly, only an angel of the 'Theft' path could have conceived it so promptly." "It's certainly feasible!" Like Palis, he also felt that confronting the natural laws was far simpler and less burdensome than battling Amun.
After seeing hope, Caine immediately began analyzing the specific feasibility: "Although I've already used up that 'deceptive bullet,' I can summon it back from the historical fissures—by the time its effect ends, I'm certain to have restructured my body and successfully resurrected myself. Nature truly is pitiful; not only has it been 'fraudulated,' but even the very object used to 'fraudulate' it turns out to be false. "The only issue is that the bullet might genuinely be unable to 'fraudulate' the esoteric laws—when it faced Quonás Colg, it seemed rather strained." As his thoughts flowed, Caine slowly surveyed the room, gradually gaining inspiration. That was it—leverage the 'Source Citadel!' After initially mastering the 'Source Citadel,' he had already gained the ability to summon forces of angelic rank at Sequence 2 here.
Yet many of the things he had encountered previously pointed toward the "Fortress of Origins" likely traversing the three paths—the Seer, the Apprentice, and the Thief—exerting a convergent effect on corresponding extraordinary individuals, and clearly drawing the attention of Amun. Thus, Caine suspected that the "Fortress of Origins" possessed the strength of all three paths simultaneously, though as a Seer himself, he typically accessed the majority of its influence within that domain. "Through the medium of 'Deceptive Bullets,' I might be able to tap into the 'Fortress of Origins'’s other powers. Since I already possess certain abilities in the realm of 'Miracles' within the Seer domain, it is entirely reasonable to infer that the Thief path holds angelic-level power—provided only that the medium is sufficiently elevated. With that, I needn’t worry about failing to deceive the rule itself." As he pondered these points, Caine's thoughts suddenly cleared, and he began to meticulously formulate a detailed plan.
He set that esoteric law as his goal, attempting to orchestrate a "fraud": "To reduce the difficulty, better to have prior preparations—unless I am the very essence of Amun, I cannot fabricate the deception from nothing. 'Yes,' bestow a vial of my own blood upon the little 'Sun,' constructing a false resurrection site that exceeds the expected range. Then, upon triggering the 'deceptive bullet,' activate the corresponding angelic layers of power inherent within the 'Source Citadel,' thereby misleading the rule itself—making it perceive the false resurrection site as genuine and the true one as false..." As the details gradually took shape and his vision solidified, Caine immediately leveraged his esoteric connection with the "point of death," using his "true vision" to observe the unfolding situation. He saw the grayish-yellow mist have lightened somewhat, yet the profound, enduring ravines of Chernobyl remained unchanged compared to before.
Amun, wearing a pointed soft hat and single spectacles, had somehow stolen a stone from somewhere and placed it precisely where Klein had passed away, then sat upon it, patiently playing with a human skin glove. He would occasionally curl the glove's fingers and then unfold them, as if he could thus spend a hundred years in this stillness. A few kilometers away, deep within the gray-yellow mist, three Amuns in black classical mage robes knelt beside a stone, seriously playing cards they had stolen from somewhere, occasionally pushing their spectacles up. Elsewhere across this desolate expanse, Amuns were either alone, in groups, strolling leisurely, meditating, writing, or engaged in thoughtful discussions about various matters. How harmonious this scene appeared in the dark, perilous land abandoned by the gods—were it not for the fact that all these young men wore classical black robes, wore pointed soft hats and single spectacles, shared the same dark hair, dark eyes, broad foreheads, and slender faces.
As Klein prepared to observe further, the Amun seated on the stone suddenly raised his head, pushed his single-crystal spectacles, and gazed at him across the space. Across the desolate wilderness, all the Amuns lifted their heads, turning their gaze toward the highest point of the historical mist. Klein immediately withdrew his gaze, severing the connection.
As an outstanding "Hunter of Monsters" and the chief of Silver City, he has always been patient, never making unnecessary ventures. Therefore, when the "Fool" suddenly failed to respond, he did not immediately align himself with the "True Maker," instead choosing to wait an additional month. For Silver City, which has already waited for two millennia in the Deep Dark Age, a month's time is entirely manageable. Without waiting for Deryck's reply, the "Hunter of Monsters" Colin stepped away from the window, speaking calmly:
"You go first. I need to begin preparing for my promotion ceremony."
Deryck looked at the chief sincerely and said:
"You will surely succeed!"
He then turned and departed immediately from the circular tower, returning to his home.
After rearranging the ceremony and placing the six powerful creatures he had hunted in their proper positions, Colin Iliath began preparing the magical elixirs.
When all these things were done, the chief of Silver City closed his eyes, bowed his head, and recited in the language of the giant:
"O fool who belongs to no age, sovereign of mysteries above the gray mist, King of Fortune, of yellow and black..."
Above the gray mist, Caine saw ripples of light spreading out and heard the somewhat ethereal sound of prayer.
He immediately summoned a paper figure, combined its strength with the power of "The Source Fortress," cast it into the circle of light, and at the same time marked the chief of Silver City.
At the same time, using this circle of prayer, he observed the condition of the entire circular tower and the city of Silver City, confirming that there were no "parasites" of Amon near the chief or near the small "Sun."
The moment had to be seized! Caine instantly materialized "The World," Germain Sparo, and had him assume the posture of prayer.
At that moment, Colin Iliad saw the light.
Within a sacred, luminous glow, a holy angel with twelve pairs of ethereal wings suddenly descended, enveloping the "Hunter of Monsters" layer by layer with its light wings as white feathers danced and fell around him. This is the blessing from Mr. The Fool.