The shadowy Pallez shook his head. "Why bother telling this kid any of this? He's got a wooden head—won't get it."
Pallez's tone was relaxed, clearly unbothered by the idea of Leonard actually reporting him. Truth be told, Pallez had chosen Leonard as a host partly because, if push came to shove, he could defect to the Evernight Goddess. He just hadn't fully committed yet.
If Leonard did snitch, Pallez would, at worst, switch sides and become an angel under the Evernight Goddess. For him, that wasn't even a bad outcome.
"I think Leonard's actually pretty sharp. It's just that you, old man, keep feeding him ideas, acting like his external brain. His own head's gone rusty from disuse," Evah quipped, tossing out a classic Lord of Mysteries jab.
"Well, guess that's my fault then," Pallez retorted, glancing at Leonard. The guy clearly hadn't fully dismissed their words and was sitting there, looking lost, lost in thought.
Pallez shook his head, letting out a sigh but offering no comfort.
He knew Leonard needed to wrestle with this himself. If he just blindly became a fanatic of the Evernight Goddess, that would be the real problem.
Instead, Pallez turned to Luo Lin with a chuckle. "You know more secrets than I expected. Did your Lord tell you all this?"
"Of course not. The Lord's merciful, but he's not my private tutor. This all came from Senior Lucifer," Evah said, shaking his head.
"Lucifer?" Pallez perked up at the unfamiliar name. "He's a follower of the Chaos Sovereign too?"
"Senior Lucifer is the Lord's favored one. But if you're fishing for more details, old man, I'm afraid I can't help. I don't know much about him myself. All I can say is…" Evah paused, his expression a mix of awe and something hard to pin down. "Senior Lucifer feels a lot like Amon, but he's not Amon."
That conversation about Lucifer had ended there. Pallez never expected to hear the name again, especially from an old friend he hadn't seen in ages.
--
"Looks like you do know Lucifer," Bethel said, catching the shift in Pallez's expression with certainty.
"Not exactly 'know.' I just heard the name from a junior," Pallez said, not hiding anything. He shook his head. "Lucifer follows the Chaos Sovereign, one of his favored."
"Chaos Sovereign?" Bethel clearly hadn't heard the name before.
"His honorific name is…" Pallez paused, evidently using some Beyonder ability to ensure his prayer wouldn't directly point to the Chaos Sovereign.
"TheGreat Chaos Sovereign;
You are the Reverser of Time;
You are the World's Reflection, the Embodiment of Joy."
"As for more about this Chaos Sovereign, I don't know much," Pallez continued, looking at Mr. Door with a probing tone. "But I talked with one of his followers before. That one seemed keen on pushing for the birth of the Lord of Mysteries. When I asked who they favored, the follower said the Chaos Sovereign's pick was you."
This was, of course, a test. Pallez was dying to know how Bethel Abraham, who'd been corrupted by an Outer God and lost his autonomy long ago, had returned to normal.
Could the Chaos Sovereign actually cleanse Outer God corruption?
Pallez's heart raced at the thought. As far as he knew, only a Pillar-level existence could pull that off.
But was it possible? A Pillar just popping up out of nowhere?
Yet something even more impossible was standing right in front of him… Pallez studied Mr. Door again, his mind swirling with thoughts.
"Old friend, the way you're looking at me makes me feel like some rare gem," Bethel said. Though he didn't know exactly what Pallez was thinking, he could guess. He didn't explain, instead saying pointedly, "I don't know this Chaos Sovereign, but I suspect their authority might indeed be tied to time."
Pallez froze, instantly recalling the "Reverser of Time" in the Chaos Sovereign's honorific name. It sparked a flood of thoughts, and his expression grew stranger.
Bethel, however, clearly wasn't in the mood to keep chatting. He glanced at the shadowy Pallez. "I have an appointment with someone else, so we'll end here for today. Until next time, Pallez." With that, Mr. Door's figure vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
"Spatial abilities are just too convenient. Wonder who he's got an appointment with…" Pallez mused, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. Today's events had been far too unexpected, and even a seasoned veteran like Pallez needed time to process.
After a long moment, Pallez let out a breath and looked at Leonard, who'd had his senses blocked by Pallez earlier. The guy was sitting there, dazed, completely unaware of the conversation.
It wasn't that Pallez feared Leonard learning some secret. He'd blocked Leonard's senses purely to avoid polluting him with talk of Outer Gods. So, he'd just knocked Leonard into a sleep-like state.
Now, with the block lifted, Leonard blinked around in confusion. "Old man, did someone come by? I swear I saw a guy dressed all flashy…"
"You were dreaming," Pallez brushed it off, chuckling as he thought of Bethel's gem-encrusted outfit. Shaking his head, he thought, All these years, and he's still obsessed with gems. Some things never change.
"Welcome back, Mr. Bethel. Right on time," Evah said, unsurprised by Mr. Door's prompt return. He snapped his pocket watch shut, smiling.
Bethel studied the black-haired, golden-eyed man before him. After a moment, he said, "There's a dangerous power within you."
Ordinary angels might not notice, but as an Angel King with authority over sealing, Bethel vaguely sensed something extremely perilous sealed inside this man.
"I'm curious—what do I look like in your eyes?" Evah asked with genuine interest, a question he'd long wondered about.
"…Chaos, darkness, danger," Bethel replied after a few seconds of silence, his tone serious. "But I must say, your disguise is impressive. Without my sealing authority, I'd probably think you were just a mortal."
(End of Chapter)