Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Ah... as expected, there were no obstacles. So, we can probably confirm the identity of the 'Grim Reaper' now.

[Tsk... I should have realized this sooner, long ago when the Church's angelic magic became unusable. Ritual magic cannot exist because it lacks the necessary conceptual framework. However, the Church's mythology also exists in this world, so there's only one answer... true angels exist in this world.]

[And these angels will destroy the world in six days, or rather, ensure its destruction—in the original Book of Revelation, seven angels will sound their trumpets, bringing seven calamities to the earth. And this is only the beginning.]

[…Xiao Honglu's speculation seems to be partially correct. Order does indeed exist in this world, but it's not the embodiment of order; rather, it's the order of Heaven. Angels are messengers of order, and they will guide the world's destruction—I just don't know why they want to destroy the world; are they just bored? Wouldn't it be nice to just watch humanity embark on its journey into the stars? Ah…I really don't want to deal with such a terrible enemy. My head hurts.]

She gently rubbed her head.

Without a doubt, without the crucial core concept of 'angels,' even the most powerful Papal Apocalypse cannot be used. And without the Papal Apocalypse, it's impossible to summon the Humanity Stars as in the Transformers universe. Even if she managed to do so, the stars probably wouldn't be on her side this time.

After all, angels... can actually be considered a part of... or rather, a large part of, heroic spirits. Since they have already resolved to destroy the world, summoning them again is pointless. Therefore, this battle cannot be fought head-on; only delaying and dodging are possible. Although the world will face destruction in six days, destruction will likely not be instantaneous.

After all, according to the original Genesis, God created the world in six days, and the seventh day was a day of rest for God. Correspondingly, in the original Revelation, God destroyed the world with seven angels blowing trumpets and pouring out seven golden bowls to annihilate all living beings. Therefore, the total number would be thirteen.

We only need to stay in this world for twelve days, and the true extinction should occur on the thirteenth day. So… I first need to figure out what exactly the catastrophe was before the seventh day arrived, after the sixth. The original text records that ‘when the first angel sounded his trumpet, hail mixed with fire and blood fell from the sky, burning away a third of the trees and grass.’ Hmm… is the emphasis on the fire? I need to think about that carefully…

[Damn it, I really hope my guess is wrong this time.]

Alice thought to herself that she had already covered nearly half the distance without realizing it. The thinning air made it harder for her to breathe, but it also made her mind clearer under the stimulation of magic.

She wasn't certain her guess was entirely correct; she was simply dealing with the worst-case scenario she could think of. In fact, she had already conducted a trial experiment on the ground, and if all went well, the results would likely be known soon.

She constructed a rudimentary 'Garden of Eden' using the church. If it were the original Garden of Eden, it would naturally be safe and sound as long as there was sufficient magic. However, as she left, she secretly took an apple while placing the snakes and ate it afterward. Therefore, this Garden of Eden was no longer the 'Garden of Eden' free from calamity.' Instead, it became 'Garden of Eden after humanity's exile.' And its only remaining function was to defend against angels.

In the Genesis myth, angels were not allowed to enter the Garden of Eden after its exile. God had given them another place—"So he drove him out. And he placed cherubim and a flaming sword that turned in every direction on the east side of the Garden of Eden to guard the way to the Tree of Life"—this is the original text. And the so-called cherubim are angels.

Therefore, angels cannot enter the banished Garden of Eden, as they must guard its entrance to prevent others from entering. If the angels were not 'Death,' they would likely receive news of an attack upon their return. And if they were 'Death,' Alice would be attacked by the angels in their physical form upon her return, because they must protect the 'banished Garden of Eden.'

Once she could capture its physical form, things would be much easier. After all, her biggest problem was that this so-called 'Grim Reaper' was incredibly slippery. If she couldn't find its true form, she would remain on the defensive.

[It's a pity that although I took the apple, without Adam and Eve, the concept is still incomplete. However, the arrangements I made earlier should have taken effect by now. Although I feel a little sorry for Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan, well... well, that was what you both really wanted anyway, I just went with the flow... and gave it a little push.]

[And if my plan succeeds—though it was impossible for it to fail anyway. Then we have Adam and Eve. And 'humanity who ate the fruit of knowledge was expelled from the Garden of Eden'... then the outcome will likely be as I predict... I really hope that when I return I'll see someone dead, so that at least the dead won't be most... or all... of the group.]

She sighed softly, and before she knew it, she found herself at the top of the ionosphere, with the floating Great Library right in front of her.

It's time to find out what Patty actually did.

She controlled the gravitational field and floated towards the Great Library. As always, all of the Great Library's defenses were useless to her. She easily entered the main control tower and saw the imps standing guard at the entrance to the control hall.

“Little devil,” Alice whispered.

“Mistress Alice,” the scarlet waiter bowed slightly to her, “Mistress Patchouli is in the hall. Shall I announce her?”

"No need, you can leave now. I need to talk to her... about something."

“Understood,” the little devil replied softly, her form immediately disintegrating and disappearing completely from Alice’s sight.

Alice gently patted Shanghai and Penglai, who were sitting on her shoulders.

"You two should go somewhere else and stay for a while."

The little dolls obediently took flight. Shanghai, somewhat worried, wanted to pat them, but Penglai grabbed their wings and dragged them to some dark corner. They probably won't be appearing anytime soon.

Well... it's time.

Alice took a deep breath and then pushed open the door to the main control room.

Author's Note:

………………

My nest, more than the Red Turban thief Jinye

Section 32 - Suriel

The magnetic field in the air is somewhat unstable... It seems to be a little trick Miss Alice has prepared.

On the second floor of the church, Saito sat on the sofa just as he had in the villa. He leaned against the edge of the windowsill, gazing at the dark night sky in the rain.

The entire North American airspace had been cut off. Even with the help of those 'Apocalypse's', the US military would struggle to maneuver in such thunderstorms—they could certainly raze the town and its inhabitants to the ground with ballistic missiles from afar. But the early 21st-century guidance systems, under the witches' information interference, were as rudimentary as a high school computer assignment.

He had been to the Great Library, so he was quite certain of this. And he believed the Americans probably already knew, as evidenced by their abandonment of electronic communications in favor of older artillery arrays.

and……

Those Awakeners probably can't see this either, after all... once 'Eden' was built, 'they' should know that continuing to hide behind the scenes is no longer possible. So, it will soon be time for direct confrontation.

Will I live to see that day?

"...probably."

He raised his hand and casually drew a few patterns in the air. Soon, an invisible barrier quietly unfolded in the church—or rather, it wasn't a barrier at all, but a soundproofing measure created by the difference in air density. Since the ceremony downstairs was underway, there was no need for anyone else to disturb it.

[Miss Alice's goal might simply be for the two of them to break through that barrier, whether it succeeds or not is another matter—this barrier is already stable enough, and adding another layer of concept would only be icing on the cake. However… I feel that since we've already started, there's no need for a half-hearted ending. The future has changed, so there's no need to drag it out until the final battle without a conclusion, as it should have been.]

He rested his chin on his hand, his mind churning with countless memories he had acquired from parallel worlds. Alice's earlier admonitions still echoed in his ears; he knew he knew too much, and he knew he didn't deserve to know so much. But it was all too late.

What has happened is not unchangeable, but it comes at a price. There is a way to undo mistakes, but the price to pay for it would be far greater regret—he knew he was now very strong, incredibly strong, strong enough to destroy the Great Library with a preemptive strike. But he also knew that this strength came at a price. The price was life, soul, memories, beliefs, and everything he possessed.

The knowledge he gained from the outer realms was simply beyond the capacity of an ordinary person like him. Those memories, those secrets—Saito Hajime merely pieced together a few key timelines like watching a movie—before his body and soul began their irreversible disintegration. Had he not promptly created a device to restrain his form, he would likely have been completely annihilated and vanished forever in the world of Ju-on.

But that won't last long either.

He gently adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, casually reattaching his fingers that had unconsciously slipped from his hand—a side effect of simultaneously viewing his future self with two different enhancement paths. These two powerful ways of thinking directly disrupted the structural balance within his body, and the third path of power he viewed while attempting to remedy the situation—namely, 'Runic Cultivation'—further destroyed his body, making everything irreversible.

He knew that the God's repair could resolve everything, but he also knew that if the God repaired him, the only consequence would be annihilation. The memories in his mind could at most help him protect himself during the God's teleportation, but that could only buy him time.

But... it doesn't matter anymore.

[Touching secrets one is unworthy of knowing naturally comes with consequences. Fish drift downstream, ultimately leading only a mundane, uneventful life. But to leap from the water, even for a fleeting moment, is a far more wonderful experience than countless years spent in the river.]

I've done what I needed to do for myself; now it's time to do something for others. Because of me, this horror movie is likely an unsolvable situation. So, I need to leave some hope for others.

He looked out the window, at the trees and their shadows swaying gently in the night wind and showers. A few lonely streetlights stood on the street, casting dim light, their intertwined shadows etching countless eerie patterns on the ground. Those were bones, skeletons, omens of death. But if the paths of those shadows were superimposed on the sky, then what one would see would be quite different.

As soon as Saito saw the scene, he raised his hand and greeted a certain figure in the scene—the skull patterns on the ground instantly disappeared, replaced by a gust of wind that rushed towards him, almost crashing open the window in front of him!

But the wind eventually dissipated. It abruptly disintegrated before reaching the church windows, transforming into a silent shriek flowing through the air. The rain in the dead of night seemed to pause for a moment, and the people in the town trembled painfully in their nightmares.

Saito raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, I just remembered something else." He gently pressed his temples, rubbing them vigorously with some distress. "About Wang Xia."

He turned around, glanced at Zhang Heng who had somehow fallen asleep standing against the wall, and shook his head slightly.

Wang Xia, or rather Wang Renjia. He knew this man, and understood him very well. He knew very well that this man who came from the military camp would become a pivotal member of the Zhongzhou Team. Never betrayed, and never disappointed. Even during the most difficult time for the Zhongzhou Team, he continued to contribute his strength silently.

He is reliable, more reliable than you can imagine.

However, Zheng Zha has become wary of Chu Xuan because of him. This is not good, very bad. Friendships can only be built on mutual agreement. If there's wariness from the start, the future situation might change as a result.

[I need to figure out a way to fool Zheng Zha... I remember he shouldn't be this smart at this point. Could it be because of Miss Alice?]

[Never mind... let's just go through the motions for now. Xiao Honglu and Zhan Lan are both very sensitive to mental changes; they'll know immediately whether I've hypnotized Wang Xia or not.]

Saito stood up and walked downstairs where the newlyweds were sleeping.

Outside the window, the cold night wind continued to rage. The dark clouds in the sky swayed in the wind, and after a long while, a sliver of moonlight pierced through the clouds and fell onto the glass windowpane.

The moonlight cast shadows that fell from the window frame to the ground, spreading out like a pair of dark wings.

Author's Note:

....................................

My hand hurts, so I only had one session today. I'll see if I can manage three sessions tomorrow.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Past Events Like Smoke and Dust

If only this door could open a little slower...

Alice's fingers lightly touched the door handle. She watched as the magical door, reinforced with one hundred and thirty layers of defensive barriers, slowly opened, her vision gradually widening, and the pale purple figure at the end of her gaze gradually became clearer. Then, it faded from clarity into a murky blur.

Ah... it was just like this hundreds of years ago.

She remembered that day, remembered that time. It must have been the early morning of June 15th, 1453 AD, when the moon had just passed its zenith, which, according to modern timekeeping, would be 00:45:02. She was standing in front of a door, just as she was now, with her fingers on the armrest, and then gently pushed the door open.

It was the second weekend after the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, a time when information and machinery hadn't yet completely diverged, witch hunts hadn't begun, and alchemy and magic could still be practiced openly. She was then crossing the Mediterranean as a novice witch, intending to experience firsthand the atmosphere of war. And it was then that she met her.

—Patty Knowle

"Hello, I am Patchouli Knowledge of the Hypatia school. The Ottomans are pursuing me very closely. Could I use your workshop for a while to rest and prepare?"

When Patchouli Knowledge first appeared before Alice, she was pale, her magic robes torn in several large rips, and a faint smell of blood emanated from beneath them. She must have been so badly injured that she could barely stand, yet she still smiled, as if the wounds didn't exist.

She was a very proud person, and Alice found her answer the moment she saw her from those peaceful, pale purple eyes. At the same time, she understood in that instant that if she had chosen to shake her head then, the girl before her would have turned away without hesitation and died no more than three kilometers away from the workshop.

So Alice didn't shake her head.

"You can stay as long as you want, but if the Ottomans come knocking, I won't hide anything from you."

Alice answered, and then she saw the purple-clad woman before her fall to the ground like a log, falling into the deepest state of unconsciousness without any warning.

Strange people, strange witches.

Alice thought to herself that she should have revealed this crucial information the next day when the Ottoman hunters questioned her. But for some emotion she couldn't understand, she kept it a secret.

During the first week that followed, Alice's sole activity was caring for the sleeping Hypatia witch. The second week's events were primarily about her evading the Ottomans with the Sleeping Beauty.

She herself didn't know why she did it; she only knew that by the time she realized what was happening, she had already escaped from Constantinople to Frankfurt with the unconscious Patchouli. Therefore, when the Hypatiat witch finally awoke, she felt she could rightfully say—

"You owe me one, remember to pay me back later."

Patchouli's answer was, "Okay."

Then, this exchange lasted for several hundred years.

The originally simple accounts became increasingly messy and complicated over time. Eventually, both of them felt that even if they gave up everything they had, they might not be able to settle the accounts... Well then, since the accounts couldn't be settled, there was no need to waste time calculating them.

That's why their relationship has become what it is now.

[At the time, when I pushed open that door, I think I was thinking the same thing—'If only this door could open a little slower,' because I had already noticed signs of someone breaking in while I was outside. But this time…]

Opening that door changed my life; will it be the same this time?

Ah... I really do overthink things. Is it true that as you get older, you tend to think about all sorts of nonsensical things? I'm clearly not even seven hundred years old yet.

She gently shook her head and smiled. The seemingly long, yet actually very short, opening process was then over. She turned her head to look at Patchouli Knowledge, who stood at the end of her line of sight, looking utterly astonished.

All the defenses and surveillance measures within the Great Library were ineffective against her. As long as she didn't alert anyone, even if Patchouli constantly monitored every screen in the main control tower, she wouldn't know that she had arrived at the Great Library. And according to their previous plan, she really shouldn't be here now.

“…Alice?” She subconsciously switched out of the hovering state of controlling the main control tower, and her body fell onto the platform in the center of the hall under the action of gravity. She looked at Alice with a puzzled expression.