There was no doubt that Lynn's words were straightforward and clear, without any cryptic elements that could lead to misunderstandings.
Because of this, Solomon was stunned.
For a moment, this Black Emperor, who had been a prominent figure in the Fourth Epoch, didn't know whether to doubt the truth of Lynn's words or to ponder the purpose behind them. Was it simply to showcase his strength and confidence, or was it a warning?
Intuition told Solomon that the answer was likely both.
As for the former, Solomon lifted his head again, scrutinizing the young man before him. He originally thought that this young man, who had deep connections with Medici and the True Creator, had already given him enough surprises. However, he didn't expect there to be an even bigger "surprise" waiting for him.
"As far as I know, to suppress the Mother Tree of Desire, at least the power of a Great Old One is needed," Solomon said, his expression serious, as if questioning and simply stating a fact.
"You can indeed regard me as a Great Old One, though my state is relatively poor. Unless necessary, I won't use power above Sequence 0," Lynn responded with a smile. He did not hide the fact that his power had limitations because it was meaningless to do so.
Even a limited Great Old One was still a Great Old One, enough to make Solomon take him seriously and enough to serve as a warning.
The fact that Lynn's power had limitations would become apparent through cooperation and contact over time.
Lynn was also not planning to overly conceal this fact. Instead, he intended to enhance the script he had written on the side of Amanises.
"How can I be sure that you aren't lying?" Solomon stared into Lynn's eyes as he said this. He couldn't afford to be careless about this matter. The existence of a Great Old One involved too many factors, even if he was in a poor state.
And... how could someone become a Great Old One in this era?
Solomon's eyes showed confusion, and he did not hide this confusion, as theoretically, no Great Old One should be born in this era.
It wasn't that no one could do it, but even if someone could, they wouldn't want to.
—In this era, advancing to a Great Old One had too high chance of awakening the Original Creator within. It's not just the three major pathways that had the problem of the Mysteries within reviving; other pathways were no better.
Otherwise, why would the Evernight Goddess wait until the end of the world to ally with Lilith to backstab the God of Combat to attempt advancing to a Great Old One? Before that, did the Evernight Goddess not have the opportunity to control the Death uniqueness or kill the God of Combat?
Clearly, it wasn't like that. With the arrangements the Evernight Goddess had made, she could have attempted to do so early in the Fifth Epoch. The reason for waiting until the end of the world was that the possibility of awakening the Original Creator's Will in her body was the smallest then.
Adam also waited until the end of the world to advance to the Visionary, for a similar reason. Otherwise, with the situation he caused in the Fourth Epoch, if He wanted to arrange the Visionary ritual, He could have done it long ago. The only reason for waiting until the end of the Fifth Epoch was having suffered from the God Almighty's consciousness once and not wanting to repeat it.
Solomon didn't know about the original novel, but he was very clear about the revival of the Wills of the Great Old Ones. Hence, he was genuinely perplexed as to how there could be a Great Old One in this era.
This puzzled emotion made Solomon look at the surrounding allies. Ouroboros still had his signature dumb look, the True Creator had his eyes lowered, making his emotions unreadable, but Medici seemed a bit surprised, yet not overly so, just looking thoughtfully at Lynn.
Solomon: ... Aren't you guys hearing about this for the first time too?
Solomon suddenly felt that his allies were unreliable, or rather, the True Creator might be a reliable ally in other matters, but clearly not when it came to Lynn.
"Although I could directly use my strength to prove myself, it seems a waste of my precious power for such a thing," Lynn said leisurely as he poured himself a cup of tea, not in a hurry to prove himself.
He really didn't plan to prove himself through action. Borrowing the power of a Great Old One was no joke, even if only for an instant, it was recklessly tempting fate. So Lynn's decision was simple. He tilted his head to look at Solomon and said,
"Currently, the only person who has seen me hammer the Mother Tree of Desire aka Bitch Tree is Bethel. So if you think I'm lying, you can directly ask Bethel."
'Bethel? What does this have to do with Mr. Door...' Solomon was stunned again, then he understood something and said, "So, the reason Bethel allows you to act under the identity of Libert is because you saved him from the Mother Tree of Desire."
"You could understand it that way, and it wouldn't be wrong," Lynn nodded, thought for a moment, then added, "Oh, and I also hammered Tudor. Although this doesn't prove I have the power of a Great Old One, it can at least prove I can easily suppress an ordinary Sequence 0."
'It can also prove that you could easily hammer me if you wanted to!'
Black Emperor Solomon added in his heart. He didn't doubt the truth of this matter because Tudor's previous attitude of clear anger yet obvious apprehension, along with the move Lynn had shown earlier, had already proved this point.
At the same time, Solomon could see that the young man indeed intended to show his cards and threaten him.
As for the reason for the threat, it was clearly for better cooperation when establishing the church for the True Creator later.
And the other party didn't hide this intention.
To be honest, since advancing to a high sequence, Solomon had rarely seen such a straightforward expression. High sequencers in this world generally preferred a more tactful approach to express their attitudes, showcase their strength, and issue necessary threats. Direct actions were rare among Sequence 0 and angels.
Except for the Lord of Storms, who had no brains from the beginning, most Sequence 0 and angels were good at schemes and plots. Solomon, though not the best among them, had seen many.
However, Lynn's straightforward approach was undeniably effective, especially when the person in question was strong enough and could bring benefits.
Solomon indeed couldn't ignore Lynn's threat, but he didn't develop any dislike for Lynn because of it. Sometimes, overly direct expressions could be annoying, but at times, they could also evoke subtle feelings, especially when the person stood on the same side as you.
Yes, for Solomon, Lynn at this moment undoubtedly belonged to the category of allies.
(End of Chapter)
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