Apart from being somewhat prone to attracting the attention of the "Primordial Demoness," the "Calamity Scepter" truly did not have particularly significant negative effects. The only somewhat troublesome thing was that its holder would gradually be drawn toward it, and if one’s willpower was not firm enough, one might possibly develop an improper relationship with this scepter...

Come to think of it, I can only see that its essence is Cheek’s bone, but as for which specific part of the body the bone came from... forget it, this is not something to think too deeply about.

Having "analyzed" this far, Ebner cast a strange sidelong glance at the "Saintess of Purple" under "Tolzna’s" control, then set down the "Calamity Scepter" and took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands.

All in all, two of these three items were things Cheek had once kept close to Herself, and one was Her "second self." All three were intimately connected to the "Primordial Demoness" — using them was fine, but they could not be destroyed for the time being, as doing so might "rouse" the slumbering Cheek.

The same applied to the "Saintess of Purple" Ushaha — "control" remained the primary approach, and she could not be simply killed off the way the "Saintess of Yellow" and "Saintess of Blue" had been.

However, after Ebner shared his thoughts with the "Demonesses" present, "Tolzna" had the "Saintess of Grey" Sigrid say:

"Long-term ’imprisonment’ of one mind is already quite difficult enough. Adding another on top of that — I cannot guarantee that no lapses will occur...

"After all, these two Demonesses both bear the surname ’Cheek’ and are closely connected to the ’Primordial Demoness.’

"Furthermore, I still need to devote a great deal of my attention to guarding against the erosion of the ’Mother Tree of Desire.’"

In other words, you are only willing to keep the "Saintess of Grey" as a "figurine," and I’ll need to find another way to deal with the "Saintess of Purple"?

But Ushaha is Cheek’s child — that connection is too close. If her "faith" were to change in any way, there is no guarantee it would go undetected... So using "the Unknown" or borrowing the high-ranking items within "the Unknown" to "contaminate" her and alter her "faith" would also be unstable...

"Hypnosis" — I am not a proper "Spectator" after all, and who knows what backup measures Cheek may have left within her mind. The risks there are not small either... If something unexpected were to happen, it would be repeating the same mistake as "Pride."

As for abilities of the "Moon" pathway like "charming humans" and other such "manipulation" techniques... I’m not particularly keen on using those on these high-ranking Demonesses...

What to do then?

Just as Ebner was mulling this over, a lady of full figure, adorned all over with various gold and gem accessories, her form translucent and ethereal, appeared abruptly inside the parlor, and then walked over to Ebner’s side.

This lady was the intelligent housekeeper of "Alvin’s Palace" — Helena, the "Goddess of Fortune", with only a fragment of her soul remaining.

She spoke in a language none of the Demonesses present understood: "The ’Palace’ can separately ’store’ this ’Unaging Demoness’s’ body and soul. This way, it will not disturb that ’Primordial,’ and when necessary, her body can be ’rented out’ at a cost for combat purposes...

"Additionally, it would be more convenient for me when I need to ’go out’ as well."

Her previous limited outings had all relied on Ebner pulling out her "historical projection"... but the duration for which a "historical projection" could exist was still too short, and moreover, her true body’s "projection" pathway did not belong to Earth, making it easy to attract unnecessary trouble.

"Storing" her? Ebner nodded thoughtfully and agreed to Helena’s suggestion.

Through his long-term "analysis" of both the "Alvin’s Palace" and the "Heavenly Banquet" items, he had by now become quite well acquainted with the two pathways — the "Collector" and the "Gourmet" — that originated from the Outer Deity "Primordial Hunger," and knew that this kind of operation was indeed a very reliable means of disposal.

"But judging from the profound ’connection’ I share with these two pathways, some past ’Liu Bo’ has in all likelihood managed to ’snatch’ the authority of ’Primordial Hunger’ at some point!

"Perhaps the reason that child of ’Primordial Hunger,’ the one named ’Endless Greed, Devourer of Stars, Lord of Soul Consumption,’ descended upon Helena’s ’Golden Star’ was because of my own involvement — that wouldn’t be too surprising...

"Hmm, thinking about it, it does make a fair amount of sense... The concept of ’the Unknown’ only came into being after first witnessing a ’Transmigrator.’ Having a position and a symbol yet lacking corresponding Sefirot and characteristics, it would inevitably crave replenishment.

"But it should not originally have possessed the ability to ’snatch’ characteristics...

"Following this line of reasoning, the very first ’Liu Bo’ secondary account probably ’descended’ upon something connected to ’Primordial Hunger,’ and subsequently merged with a portion of its authority of ’Devouring.’

"This is what initiated ’the Unknown’s’ subsequent series of behaviors — seizing characteristics, Uniquenesses, and even Sefirot — until the ’God of Fortune’ awakened and established a separate ’reincarnation’ system, at which point the ’plundering’ finally ceased."

Ebner’s thoughts drifted rather far for a moment, though most of it was speculation without any basis, since even if things connected to "Primordial Hunger" existed within "the Land of the Unknown," they were, like the "Memory Theater," not something he could actively reach out and touch at this stage.

Just as he was lost in these wandering thoughts, Helena and Tolzna methodically completed the handover process for the "Saintess of Purple" Ushaha.

Afterward, Ebner came back to his senses, offered a few words of encouragement to the high-ranking Demonesses present, and then announced the meeting’s end.

After seeing the "Saintess of Black," the "Saintess of Blue," and the "Saintess of Red" out of the palace, Ebner put away the "Saintess of Yellow," who served as his "Marionette," along with the "Saintess of Grey," who had reverted to a palm-sized doll, and only then called out to Helena, who had been about to "store" Katarina and Ushaha.

The latter turned around and gave him a puzzled look.

Seeing this, Ebner cleared his throat and said: "Ahem — have her cooperate in extracting the ’Spring of Immortality’ first, and then put her into the ’storage room.’"

...

Deep in the night, inside Audrey’s bedroom.

Susie, the golden retriever, caught her eye signal, opened the door on her own, and went to lie outside, keeping watch to prevent anyone from disturbing them.

Audrey then retrieved from various hidden spots around the room the "Dreamwalker" Beyonder characteristic, the corresponding supplementary materials, and the vessels for mixing — the majority of these supplementary materials had come from the Silver City, the kind that could be exchanged for with a modest amount of merits. As for the 1,000 gold pounds that had served as compensation, Audrey had spent a little under half of it while strolling around with the little "Sun," and the remainder had been deposited into an anonymous account at "Backlund Bank."

——Derick had originally intended to bring it back to the Silver City, but then realized it would be of no use there, so he only took a small amount of Thaler and Pence coins of various denominations as "proof."

With practiced ease, Audrey prepared the potion, and gazing at the liquid glimmering with dim grey-white specks of light, she took a step back, clasped both hands together before her lips and nose, and recited softly in the ancient Hermes language:

"The Fool that does not belong to this era..."

Her prayer had barely faded when a figure condensed from golden radiance appeared before her eyes, spreading twelve pairs of wings composed of violet lightning, and flew downward, descending before Audrey.

The twelve pairs of lightning wings layered one over another, enveloping the golden-haired, green-eyed girl within.

This scene lasted only a second or two before vanishing, like an illusion — yet every time, Audrey found herself somewhat immersed in that sense of the sacred and sublime.

She steadied her emotions and expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Mr. "Fool."

With the "Angel’s Embrace," she would be able to remain lucid within dreams, waking whenever she wished, without fear of becoming lost and unable to extricate herself.

This was also equivalent to having performed the corresponding ritual for "Dreamwalker," and the effect would certainly be better than the original version.

After all, not every "Hypnotist" can receive the favor of such a hidden existence and be embraced by a special Angel... Audrey, you can do it! Audrey murmured to herself inwardly, hesitated no longer, picked up the glass vial, and gulped down the potion inside.

A moment later, Audrey, having successfully advanced, turned her gaze toward the full-length mirror in the bedroom. She felt as though she looked no different from before, and only upon careful observation could one notice that her pair of green eyes had grown even clearer and deeper, as though capable of reflecting the very soul of another person.

After absorbing the knowledge that came with the potion and summarizing the core abilities of "Dreamwalker," Audrey had been inclined to run a quick experiment by entering the dreams of nearby people, but she suddenly felt a wave of fatigue, and so after thinking it over decided to sleep first and recover her spirituality before doing anything else.

At the same time, within the "sea of collective unconsciousness" corresponding to the Empress Borough, a young girl wearing a monocle and holding a parasol was blocked by a layer of "nightmare" region.

"The Evernight Goddess’s protection of the nobility?" the girl murmured, curving the corners of her lips into a smile. "Or protection of ’The Fool’?

"The holder of ’Sefirah Castle’ is also in the ’Empress Borough’... or rather, hidden among the Augustus family?"

(End of Chapter)