Even so, the Tudor Empire didn't last long. This wasn't surprising, considering the three families that were once Tudor's staunch allies had already defected. Furthermore, half of the members within Tudor's new ally, the Six Gods, were Lynn's spies. Even Death itself, though an ally in name, likely hoped for Tudor's early demise to claim the Conqueror's Characteristic.
In this situation, with the entire world silently awaiting Tudor's sacrifice, even Adam had given up on supporting them, focusing solely on extracting Tudor's final value. The fall of the Tudor Empire was now inevitable.
Amidst these circumstances, the divine war finally arrived. Not far from the palace, the battle between Tudor and the True Creator was unfolding, with Medici lurking nearby, occasionally intervening and waiting to claim his share.
Lynn stood outside the palace, fulfilling his agreement with Adam.
Lynn wouldn't personally kill Tudor, but he was tasked with stopping anyone who attempted to rescue him.
"So, have you come to save Tudor, or are you just here to claim a Characteristic, Lord Salinger?" Lynn tilted his head slightly, observing the approaching Death, Salinger, recalling how in the original timeline, Death claimed the uniqueness of the Red Priest. Lynn's smile grew even brighter.
"Step aside!" Salinger coldly commanded, his gaze fixed on the familiar yet strange young man before him. For the first time, he seriously scrutinized Lynn.
In all their previous encounters, Salinger had never truly paid attention to the young angel in front of him. At first, Lynn was merely Bethel's child, valuable as an ally, but just an addition to Mr. Door's gifts.
Later, when Salinger's most important offspring perished, Lynn became marked with suspicion. Even then, Salinger's focus remained on Mr. Door, the most powerful being beneath a true God, rather than on the youth beside him.
Although Salinger had collected some intelligence and knew that Lynn had a close relationship with the True Creator and was assisting him in rebuilding the church, as the God of Death and supreme ruler of the Balam Empire, Salinger still hadn't taken Lynn seriously.
This wasn't unusual. While Lynn's identity and mysterious nature weren't secrets within certain circles, Salinger clearly wasn't part of those circles.
Most of Lynn's actions didn't involve Salinger, aside from matters related to Azik. Even Tudor, an ally of convenience, never informed Salinger of Lynn's true strength.
Thus, in the eyes of the proud God of Death, this young angel who had only recently ascended to Illuminator wasn't worthy of much attention.
At least, that was Salinger's view up until a second ago.
But now, as he looked at the youth clearly preventing anyone from interfering in the battle between Tudor and the True Creator, Salinger realized he might have underestimated Lynn.
"Sorry, but this road is closed." Lynn smiled at Salinger, then added, "To be honest, I've always disliked you, Salinger. Even for a mythological creature, you're incredibly scummy."
Salinger frowned. Though he had begun to sense something unusual about Lynn, as someone who had never experienced the wrath of a true power like Lynn, Salinger wasn't about to retreat.
The next moment, the aura of death enveloped the land. Countless bones and wraiths were summoned from the Underworld, twisted and grotesque, seemingly intent on dragging everyone down into Hell.
"That settles it. I really do want to beat you up!" Lynn said, raising his fist. Without any grand movements, the wraiths and bones that had been rushing toward Lynn suddenly faltered, then turned to attack the very being who summoned them: Salinger.
...
While Lynn was busy dealing with the God of Death Salinger in the Fourth Epoch, in the Forsaken Land of the Fifth Epoch, Klein led his group, as usual, to the palace where the Dark Angel's wraith slumbered.
"The scent of Sefirah Castle…"
The Dark Angel's wraith, once sleeping on the throne, awoke upon sensing the aura of Sefirah Castle from Klein. The wraith's eyes didn't open, but brass-colored eyes appeared in the palace's shadows.
These eyes observed the intruders, focusing primarily on Klein.
"Your fate... intertwined with Amanises…" The brass-colored eyes began reciting the names of high-sequence entities Klein had encountered, the length of the list leaving the others from Silver City stunned.
That wasn't surprising. The list of high-sequence beings Klein had interacted with included most of the angels and gods in the real world.
Suddenly, the voice reciting the names stopped, as if realizing something. The Dark Angel's wraith sighed.
"So, it was Him who sent you."
'Who? The True Creator? No, that couldn't be…' Klein's thoughts raced before he tentatively asked, "Do you still remember Lynn?"
"A beautiful dream, wasn't it?" The Dark Angel's wraith chuckled softly. "But if He sees what I've become now, He'd probably be quite disappointed."
By "I," the wraith clearly referred to the now-mad True Creator.
"He's not disappointed. He's very serious about helping you recover," Klein recalled Lynn's recent efforts, including the "Aurora Order Debut Project" and the "True Creator Redemption Plan." Though his expression was subtle, Klein still responded earnestly.
"...That is indeed something He would do." The wraith remained silent for a moment before continuing, "But you should be able to see the essence of what stands before you. I am not the Sasrir He once knew. I am merely a wraith born from a fragment of the Dark Angel's consciousness mingled with the original's malice…"
"So purify me, successor of Sefirah Castle. Otherwise, when my consciousness collapses, I will kill you all."
"Ah, I think it's a bit too late for that…"
The wraith fell silent, but Klein wasn't surprised. Having received memories from the Fool of the future, Klein knew that the consciousness of the once-mighty Sasrir had already faded. Now, only the original malice remained.
Fortunately, Klein had come prepared.
...
*Cough,* "I've lost…"
In the palace of the Tudor Empire, Tudor lay in a pool of blood, coughing a few times. Staring at the crimson-haired War Angel before him, Tudor suddenly laughed. "But you haven't won either, Medici."
"You're pathetic. You were once the greatest schemer, but you gave your loyalty to the one who least deserved it. Ha-ha!"
"He sacrificed you once; He can do it again. How many times can Lynn save you?"
Tudor's voice cut off abruptly, and he fell silent forever. At the moment of his fall, the Red Priest's uniqueness and the Conqueror's Characteristic seemed drawn to Medici, falling into his hands.
"Don't mind what He said. I won't sacrifice you," the True Creator said, seeming to sigh. "As for Him…"
"He won't have the chance to sacrifice you a second time."
(End of Chapter)