Additional Chapter! Thank Slesk, Zarc, Tidraus, vcut, kingoftheworld and me for this additional chapter.
Enjoy!
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"Huh?" Leonard clearly hadn't expected that answer, and for a moment, he was completely thrown.
"My Lord granted me eyes that can peer into fate, and your fate…" Evah paused, deliberately building suspense before continuing under Leonard's curious gaze, "is deeply entwined with the club. You were always meant to be one of its members."
This was, of course, pure nonsense. Leonard's fate had no real connection to the Trickster Club, which was still half a shell of an organization. But that didn't matter—Evah figured he could forge a connection later if needed.
And so, he said it without a shred of guilt.
"What?"
Leonard suspected Evah was pulling his leg, but those earnest eyes made him waver just a bit.
Could he really be destined to join this so-called Trickster Club? No, no way, absolutely not!
Leonard shook his head vigorously but stopped short of outright refusing again. "This is a big deal. I need to think it over and get back to you."
"I look forward to it," Evah said, smiling, not at all surprised.
Having achieved his main goal, Evah chatted briefly with Pallez and Leonard before taking his leave.
This time, he didn't detour anywhere else but went straight home.
"Let's see… Hmm, tomorrow does look like a good opportunity…" Evah said, flipping through a calendar. His eyes landed on August 16, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps it's time to lay some groundwork for Lucifer's official debut."
With that thought, Luo Lin opened a notebook. On one page, in bold letters, was written: Lucifer's Backstory.
It was clear that when it came to crafting personas, Evah was a pro.
After a few seconds of thought, he jotted down a new entry on the page:
"Sometimes, XX recalls the days before transmigration. Back then, he wasn't called Lucifer, nor had he fallen to this sorry state.
So maybe it's a twisted sense of humor, but when he occasionally saves someone and they ask his name, he tells them it's Luciferiel.
Quite fitting, isn't it?"
...
For Klein, today was a happy day. He'd finally fully digested his Seer potion and was planning a few preparatory steps before requesting a special promotion to Sequence 8 from the Captain. Thanks to the string of incidents around him, Klein had long accumulated enough merits.
His only minor gripe was that his earning speed couldn't keep up with his spending. At the underground market, there were plenty of things he wanted, but his empty wallet forced him to walk away.
"Guess I'll just have to save up slowly…" Klein thought, a twinge of envy creeping in as he recalled Miss Justice's lavish spending at the Tarot Club. He nodded to Old Neil, who'd come with him to the underground black market, and after a bit of chat, they noticed the owner of the Evil Dragon Bar walking in, looking both puzzled and relieved.
The bar owner was also an official Beyonder, currently tasked with overseeing this underground black market.
"What happened?" Old Neil asked, noting his expression.
"A member of the Mandated Punishers' squad nearby nearly lost control," the bar owner said, his face full of relief. "It was this close. Thanks to some mysterious guy who saved him. I usually can't stand wild Beyonders, but… gotta admit, this guy did good."
The news shocked Old Neil and Klein—losing control was no small matter. They immediately pressed for details.
The bar owner didn't hold back, quickly recounting the incident. Just moments ago, a Mandated Punishers squad member had been on the verge of losing control, inches from becoming an irreversible monster.
But right before he fell into the abyss, a mysterious figure appeared. No one knew exactly what he did—apparently, he just said something, and the near-lost Punisher stopped spiraling, returning to normal.
"Sounds impressive," Klein said, genuinely impressed. In theory, as long as someone hadn't fully lost control, they could be saved, but that didn't mean it was easy. If it were, the world wouldn't have so many rogue Beyonders gone mad.
"What'd the guy look like? That kind of style might point to another church, not some shady secret organization," Old Neil said, both amazed and curious.
"He was good-looking, with hair as dark as night and golden eyes. Probably in his early thirties. Dressed like some erudite scholar…" the bar owner said, recalling.
"Nothing in my memory matches that description," Old Neil said, shaking his head after a moment's thought.
"Me neither," the bar owner said, unsurprised. "I'll report this to the Church higher-ups. Maybe they'll know who he is."
Neither Old Neil nor Klein commented further.
They chatted a bit more with the bar owner, then decided to browse the underground market some more. Their wallets might be light, but that didn't stop them from window shopping.
Klein and Old Neil soon stopped at a stall displaying various materials. Most were common, but a few were genuine spiritual materials, the rarer kind.
Klein began identifying them, matching them to the records he'd studied, when his peripheral vision caught a figure approaching.
Instinctively, Klein stepped aside to let them pass, but when his gaze landed on the person, he froze.
It was a man in his early thirties, strikingly handsome, with jet-black hair and captivating golden eyes.
Almost instantly, Klein connected him to the mysterious figure the bar owner had described—the one who'd stopped the Punisher's loss of control.
No way it's this coincidental… Wait, with my luck, it's not that surprising, Klein thought, oddly calm despite the coincidence. Because of this, he didn't immediately look away.
Perhaps his stare was too obvious, because the man glanced over. The next moment, as if spotting something amusing, he raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting!"
The man stopped, adjusting the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. His gaze shifted to Old Neil beside Klein, and he suddenly smiled. His voice was soft, but it hit Klein's ears like a muffled thunderclap:
"You're about to lose control."
(End of Chapter)