Aside from the fact that the "Magician" potion had already been digested and that he believed Mr. "Tower" would definitely go deal with the "Desire Apostle," Ebner had more or less grasped some of Klein's other thoughts:
For example, he didn't want to expose the fact that "The World" was actually Sherlock Moriarty, at least not yet.
After all, he himself had become quite famous. If the Hero Bandit "Black Emperor" appeared and intercepted the Desire Apostle, it would be easy for the members of the Tarot Club to make the connection and turn their attention to the detective Sherlock Moriarty.
Although he himself wouldn't even need to speculate or have any doubts… because there was simply no need!
After muttering a few complaints inwardly, Ebner raised the exquisite card high in one hand and shouted in Ancient Feysac, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
In an instant, a giant skeletal dragon more than ten meters long appeared in the sewer. It crouched on the ground, and in its eye sockets danced cyan flames.
If it weren't for the fact that the "Bone Dragon" was an undead creature and could spiritualize its body, the height and width of the sewer wouldn't have been able to contain it.
At the same time, a set of silver armor appeared around Ebner, draped with a hooded robe, and behind him hung the cloak-like alchemical lifeform.
He leaped onto the Bone Dragon's back and directed it to intercept the "Desire Apostle," who was just about to flee into this section.
…
Elsewhere, the "Desire Apostle" could no longer suppress his injuries and was forced to stop. He pressed tightly against the damp wall and cold pipe, trying hard to restrain the bloodlust and urge to kill within him.
Huff… Huff… His shadow-thin body heaved unsteadily, like a candle that might be snuffed out at any moment in the wind.
At that moment, he suddenly turned his head and looked toward the wall on the opposite side.
Because right there, the enormous skull of a dragon, larger than his body, suddenly emerged from the wall and entered his "sight"!
No hesitation, no words, and no delay—just as the cyan flames flickered slightly in the dragon's eye sockets, it opened its jaws and unleashed a nearly invisible breath attack.
This was a direct assault on the mind and spirit body!
The "Desire Apostle" had no time to react before large patches of black fell off his shadowy body, as if shaking off the snowflakes stained with the deepest desires.
With just a single strike, the already severely injured "Desire Apostle" was pushed to the brink of death.
In his last flicker of consciousness, he desperately tried to disperse his shadow form, transforming into inky-black liquid to escape in all directions…
Unfortunately, faced with a "Mind Dragon," even if it was undead, once the mental island's defenses were breached, he could no longer carry out his intentions.
With his subconscious "modified," he abandoned the idea of fleeing and gathered all his shadows and launched himself toward Ebner on the dragon's back for one final struggle.
While this decision didn't appear "wrong" from a subjective point of view, it nonetheless sealed the "Desire Apostle's" fate.
The "Knight" sitting atop the dragon didn't panic in the slightest. Before those viscous shadows reached him, he calmly took out a mirror with a golden frame and a pitch-black surface.
Then, a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth opened on the surface of the mirror, waiting quietly for the shadows to dive in.
Moments later, the "Magic Mirror" affectionately rubbed against Ebner's hand, signaling that it had successfully "Grazed" the Desire Apostle.
At the same time, it "spat out" a "Seafarer" characteristic and released the soul of that pirate.
As for the souls already being "Grazed" inside the Magic Mirror, except for the "Devil," Ebner didn't care which one was replaced by the "Desire Apostle." After all, he had already confirmed that none of them were good people—each one was absolutely worthy of execution.
It's worth mentioning that Ebner had the Magic Mirror "Graze " the Desire Apostle not for his "abilities" but simply to preserve his spirit for the time being.
After storing away the "Seafarer" characteristic, Ebner was about to leave when he suddenly saw a tall and heavy suit of armor charging toward him at an astonishing speed.
Its left shoulder slanted downward, stained with a patch of solidified blood, exuding an eerie yet mesmerizing beauty. With each step, the sewer pipes trembled slightly.
Ebner wasn't surprised by the arrival of the Church of Evernight's Grade 1 Sealed Artifact. In fact, he had prepared for it in advance.
He gently rubbed the "Tudor Emblem" on his robe, instantly activating a pre-arranged ritual. The armor, which was about to launch an attack, immediately froze in place.
With his face hidden beneath his hood, Ebner smiled slightly and tossed a "Tower" card onto the ground.
Only then did he command the Bone Dragon to carry him away, directly entering the dreams of a nearby resident.
...
Meanwhile, Leonard, who had been tracking the Desire Apostle in the "Armor," found himself in disbelief.
The negative effects that were supposed to erupt in about a minute were already showing signs of advancing. If not for the old man's help, he might not even have had the chance to take off the armor and soak in hot water!
"Stop dawdling! Take off the armor and get into the hot water that guy prepared for you!" Pallez's aged voice rang in his ears.
This was the second thing that baffled Leonard—the Dragon Knight had actually prepared hot water for him?!
"Old man… what's going on?" Leonard didn't dare delay, but he still asked while stripping off the armor.
"Heh, that guy used a demigod-level 'Distortion' ability to shorten the negative outburst time of the armor," Pallez explained briefly.
"I meant… why did he save me?" Leonard asked with a slight feeling of dejection.
"You've already made some guesses, haven't you? You suspect he's actually from the Church, which is why he's so familiar with this armor and held back against you?" Pallez chuckled.
"Is there another possibility?" Soaking in the hot water while removing the silver patterns on his body, Leonard caught the underlying meaning in Pallez's words and asked in surprise.
"Heh, there are plenty of possibilities! Since I could instantly recognize whose blood was on that armor, others might not be blind to it either…" Pallez paused before continuing with a serious tone, "Besides, that knight just now gave off a feeling of 'Omniscience'…"
"Omniscience?"
"The Sequence 1 of the 'Reader' pathway is called the 'Omniscient Magic Eye.'
"That person definitely isn't at that level, but if my senses weren't wrong, he's at least at the 'Insight' stage."
.....
When Red Gloves Captain Soest received Leonard's report, he was in the middle of writing an application.
He put down his pen, looked at the Nighthawk before him, and asked gravely,
"That Tarot-named organization appeared again? And they preemptively intercepted the Desire Apostle? This time, they left the 'Tower' card at the scene?"
"Yes, Captain," the Nighthawk confirmed before adding, "According to Leonard's judgment, they don't seem to be allied with the Desire Apostle."
Soest nodded thoughtfully, considering,"If they weren't there beforehand to silence him… then it's yet another coincidence…
"Coincidence…"
Mulling over the word, Soest's gaze returned to the application report in front of him:
"…Based on the series of coincidences in the Desire Apostle case, I suspect Ince Zangwill may still be lurking in Backlund…
"I hereby apply for the support of Her Excellency, 'Eye of the Goddess.'"
(End of Chapter)