"Mr. Fool is a god who values equivalent exchange. I don't have anything to offer that would warrant His help," Klein said, diplomatically declining, even letting out a sigh that felt very in-character.
It wasn't entirely an act—Klein genuinely felt a pang of worry. If he could, he'd love for a real Mr. Fool to exist, a just and benevolent deity he could openly seek help from as a follower, even if it meant paying a steep price over time.
But alas, The Fool was just his own alias.
"Makes sense!" Evah said, mirroring Klein's worried expression. But he quickly perked up, patting Klein's shoulder. "No worries, Klein. We can still ask my teacher for help. He might know something."
"Let's hope so," Klein replied noncommittally.
Evah's face fell again. "But… how am I supposed to explain The Fool to my teacher? Mr. Fool said I can't tell him about His existence or the Tarot Club…"
"Then don't say anything. Act like you know nothing. If your teacher asks, just say you don't know," Klein suggested earnestly. The more you talk, the more you slip up, and he didn't trust Jack's lies to hold up under scrutiny. Better to stick to ignorance.
"Good point! I'll just say I don't know," Evah said, nodding in agreement. He seemed to let go of a weight, stretching lazily before looking at Klein with curiosity. "So, Klein, why were you working so late today? Run into something?"
Klein didn't hold back, recounting the unnatural death on Lower Street and his encounter with the Demoness Trissy, then asked, "Do you know anything about that pathway?"
"I know that one. Its Sequence 7 is called Witch, and it turns men into women—pretty brutal," Evah said without hesitation. "I also know what comes after. The Witch pathway's Sequence 6 is Pleasure Demoness, a sequence that's, uh, not exactly family-friendly."
"Huh?" Klein said, equal parts confused and intrigued.
Evah glanced around nervously, as if checking for eavesdroppers, before leaning in to whisper about the Pleasure Demoness.
As everyone knows, "pleasure" is a broad term, but for the Pleasure Demoness, it almost always refers to romantic or physical intimacy, though occasionally it involves exceptions like the thrill of disease.
This adult topic left Klein utterly floored.
"And Demoness are generally tough to deal with, especially at Sequence 6. They're practically mid-to-high-level reserves in the Demoness family. At that stage, a Demoness might wield something unusual—possibly imbued with divinity or tied to the Primordial Demoness," Evah explained.
His words were a deliberate heads-up for Klein. In the near future, a Nighthawk would die because of a Pleasure Demoness. While Evah's warning might not change anything, it was a small gesture—why not?
"So, Klein, if you ever face a Pleasure Demoness, be extremely careful."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Teacher Jack," Klein said. Though he didn't expect to tangle with a Sequence 6 Pleasure Demoness anytime soon, he filed the knowledge away for future use.
"Oh, and I've got some Witch gossip too," Evah said, gesturing for Klein to lean closer, whispering, "I, uh, overheard… ahem, heard my teacher chatting with someone. Apparently, the Primordial Demoness used to be a man. That's why she makes all Witches suffer her pain. Women who enter the Witch pathway actually have a higher risk of losing control."
"Cough…" The gossip was so explosive Klein gasped, but the juiciest bit was yet to come.
"And…" Klein lowered his voice further, as if terrified of being overheard, "word is, the Primordial Demoness and the Blood Emperor were in love and hey even had a kid."
"What?" Klein hadn't expected gossip this wild. The air around him felt colder, and he glanced nervously out the window, half-expecting a lightning bolt to strike. Curiosity got the better of him, though. "But didn't the Demoness Cult not support the Tudor Empire in the Fourth Epoch?"
"Maybe they broke up?" Evah said, stroking his chin, analyzing seriously. "I mean, the Primordial Demoness seems pretty twisted, and the Blood Emperor, Tudor—my teacher once called him the Mad Emperor. Two messed-up people falling out isn't exactly surprising…"
Mad Emperor? That was new to Klein, who hadn't encountered the term yet. Curious, he asked, "What's this about a Mad Emperor?"
"I don't know much, since my teacher doesn't let me dig into high-level stuff. I just… overheard, ahem, caught bits of his chats with others," Evah said, coughing lightly, staying true to Jack's persona. He put on a secretive expression. "My teacher mentioned the Blood Emperor started in the Black Emperor pathway but jumped to the Hunter pathway, so he went half-mad."
"Hiss…" Klein sucked in a breath. He knew the consequences of switching to a non-adjacent pathway—half-madness—so he was shocked by Tudor's choice, yet couldn't help but wonder.
What could drive an emperor to choose half-madness over staying in their original pathway? And if the Blood Emperor was in the Hunter pathway, having a child with the Primordial Demoness was even odder. Klein, thanks to Jack's tutoring, knew the Hunter and Demoness pathways were adjacent.
Normally, Beyonders of adjacent pathways, even if not outright hostile, rarely got along like family. The clearest example was the mutual animosity between the Seven Churches, often tied to adjacent pathways.
Klein was puzzled.
Unfortunately, Evah said he didn't know the full story, as some knowledge was too advanced to share with Klein now.
"High-Sequence matters are so complicated…" Klein pushed down his questions. His curiosity sated, he felt a twinge of guilt. As a low-Sequence Beyonder, gossiping about angels and true gods was a bit too thrilling.
—At this point, Klein hadn't yet realized the War of the Four Emperors involved four Sequence 0s, still seeing the Blood Emperor as merely an angel-level figure.
Jack, as if belatedly feeling guilty, touched his nose. But he quickly shook it off, chatted with Klein a bit more, and then took his leave.
Instead of heading home, Evah went to a safehouse, changed his appearance, and used his Traveler ability to teleport to Leonard's residence.
(End of Chapter)
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