Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 286 Gathering on the "Black Death"

(There was a minor oversight in the previous chapter: the "Fallen Shadow" blocked the cannonballs using its own shadow defense power, not the "Demon Slayer." The "Demon Slayer" had already been given to Klein by then. I forgot about it while writing yesterday, oops! It's been corrected now, and it doesn't affect the subsequent plot, so there's no need for everyone to go back and read it.)
"Katerina Pelle?"

Roger narrowed his eyes and uttered the name of the "White Saintess" in a deep voice.

"You are indeed extraordinary, as you actually knew of my existence."

Unsurprised, Katrina Pelle strolled over to Roger with an air of nonchalance.

The latter tried to stand up, but found that he could barely muster any strength.

Not only that, Roger also felt an unusual cold all over his body, and an indescribable force surged up from Roger's abdomen and instantly reached his throat.

This caused the "Galactic Admiral" to cough violently, and at the same time, he even coughed up some fragments of his internal organs.

"There's no need to struggle anymore. I've fought against extraordinary individuals using the 'Mystic Prayer' pathway before and suffered losses at their hands."

"This is a mystical pathogen that I specially developed to reduce the physical strength of the 'Black Knights' and prevent you from escaping by self-destruction. Although this is the first time it has been used in actual combat, I must say the effect is very good."

Katerina Pelle smiled with satisfaction, looking down at the trembling Roger.

“You may have many questions, including why I would cooperate with the Fussac Empire… no, strictly speaking, the Einhorn family.”

"Use your brain. As a 'hunter' family, they possess many high-level secrets of this path, which is exactly what the 'Witch Cult' needs."

The "White Saintess" was not worried about the secret being leaked at all, because now that she was here, as long as Roger was still alive, he could deduce most of the truth about the matter afterward.

“In any case, you are a huge destabilizing factor, so you must die here today, and your fleet will belong to us.”

Katerina Pelle sighed and gently lifted Roger's chin with her hand.

In an instant, Roger's "Black Knight" mask was removed, revealing his pale face.

"To be honest, even if you have a great secret, and you come from the fallen Abraham family, you shouldn't be qualified to join this game... but you still did it, which really surprised us."

"This caught the attention of the 'Original,' who considered you an unstable element that had to be eliminated."

"It's just a pity about your handsome appearance. Although you're not among the most outstanding in terms of looks in the 'Aurora Club,' your temperament is much more masculine than theirs, which is my type..."

Katrina Pelle was saying something that sounded half regretful and half sarcastic, as if she wanted to deliberately annoy Roger, when she suddenly heard him laugh.

"Hahaha……"

The laughter grew louder and louder until Roger was trembling all over. If it weren't for the "Spirit and Flesh Blade" supporting him, he probably would have lost his balance and fallen.

"why are you laughing?"

Katerina Pelle asked curiously, not understanding what hope Roger still had for turning the tide at this point.

Although she knew that Roger possessed several high-sequence sealed artifacts, including the very troublesome "Old Box," Katarina Pelle had the means to counter that sealed artifact, so Roger had virtually no way to successfully exile her.

"I laugh at your stupidity."

Roger took a while to recover, and he spoke, panting:

"Big sister, times have changed."

"If the 'Witch Cult' used to have some prestige, now it's probably really none of your business... But you wouldn't understand even if I told you, there are many things you're not worthy to know."

"Besides, don't think I don't know what's going on in Chick's head. Oh, and by the way, that's something you don't deserve to know."

"All I can say is that everything is planned. Anyone who dares to act recklessly at this critical juncture will not escape."

Roger's rambling and incoherent words puzzled Katerina Pelle, but judging from his expression and tone, he didn't seem to be making things up.

But before she could ask anything, she saw Roger's figure shrink rapidly and disappear.

A moment later, a three-tiered, luxurious jewelry box fell to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.

……

The first floor of "The Box of the Past" is a toy space.

As soon as Roger landed, before he could even look at his surroundings, he felt that nauseous urge from the "Old Box" again.

He immediately used the last bit of spirituality he had deliberately maintained to activate Chunus Korg's power and looked up at the tall "devil" beside him who had been imprisoned earlier.

The demon remained in the state of a mythical creature, as if time had been frozen.

However, because it had been imprisoned in the "Old Box" for too long, its entire body had been completely turned into a toy. Its originally dull eyes had turned into glass and become cloudy, while its originally shiny black skin and wings had become somewhat dull.

Soon, under the influence of the power of "Fallen Earl" Chunas Korg, the "devil's" enormous body suddenly tilted and fell straight down toward Roger, who had already shed his "Black Knight" armor and revealed his flesh and blood.

In the blink of an eye, Roger was crushed into dust by the "devil's" incredibly heavy body, which was as big as a tower crane.

Blood, bits of flesh, and various tissues swirled inside the "Old Box" like exploding mist. The occult pathogens that were inside Roger's muscles and blood, which had not yet completely killed him, were also exposed to the air and spread throughout the toy space of the "Old Box".

next moment.

The scattered flesh and blood belonging to Roger were instantly "vomited" out by the first layer of space in the "Old Days Box", while a large number of "mystical pathogens" that burst into the air were left in the toy space of the "Old Days Box"!

As the "Box of the Past" began to frantically vomit clumps of flesh and blood, Katarina Pelle, who had been observing from the sidelines, looked extremely surprised and didn't understand what was going on.

The seal on her body, which was meant to protect her from being banished by the "Old Box," was meant to prevent her from being banished. However, she never expected that Roger would choose to banish her.

What kind of crazy move is this? Isn't he afraid he won't be able to come back?
Katarina was deeply shocked, and just to be on the safe side, she instinctively stepped back.

Sure enough, she saw the flesh and blood spat out by the "Old Box" quickly split into two clumps.

One mass was clean, free of mystical pathogens, while the other still contained small amounts of flesh and blood, deeply integrated with mystical pathogens.

The clean mass of flesh and blood quickly reformed into Roger's original body, while the remaining mass was suddenly covered by shadow, instantly transforming into a new "fallen shadow" mixed with flesh and blood.

This is the ability of the "Rose Bishop" at the demigod level. On the basis of the original flesh magic, it has a lot more refined control. Roger successfully broke free from the control imposed by the "mystical pathogen" by relying on it and the "Old Box"!

As soon as Roger landed, he once again conjured the "Black Knight" armor and created a large mask around his mouth and nose to isolate inhaled pathogens and prevent himself from being infected again.

Before Katarina could react, the "Fallen Shadow" roared and charged forward, spontaneously engaging Katarina in combat.

Although this thing is not Roger's original body, it is still a summoned creature at the demigod level. In addition, with Chunas Korg secretly enhancing its attack and defense, it can still hold its own against a Sequence 3 demigod for one or two rounds.

On the other hand, although the controllability of "Shadow of Corruption" has been significantly reduced without the influence of "Demon Slayer", Roger has fortunately figured out a way to bury a part of flesh and blood in its shadow, which can indirectly affect its trajectory. After that, it can only rely on its own berserk instinct and fighting desire.

Taking advantage of the "Shadow of Corruption" holding off Katarina Pelle, the "Star Lord," which had previously maintained a safe distance, finally broke through the encirclement and approached the "Black Death."

Meanwhile, Bandit, who was standing on the deck, activated the Sequence 6 level "Wind Rising" once again, and then his figure quickly disappeared into the deck of the "Star Lord" and disappeared into some unknown place.

In an instant, a strong wind arose, which blew away the pathogens on the deck that were specifically targeting the "Black Knights," and at the same time, the heavy armor of the "Star Lord" collided with the "Black Death."

In the instant the ship rocked violently, Roger steadied himself and aimed at Katrina Pelle, who was about to defeat "The Shadow of Corruption," and reached out to grab her.

A dense shadow rose from beneath Katarina Pelle's feet, tightly binding half of her body. The "fallen shadow," which was on the verge of collapse, seized a moment to catch its breath and, together with Katarina Pelle's own shadow, enveloped the "ageless witch."

The "Shadow of Corruption" instantly disintegrated into a dark void, which enveloped Katarina like a viscous tar and began to corrode her.

Roger once again drew his "Spirit and Flesh Blade".

As two jet-black sword beams slashed down, the sword light, powerful enough to corrode flesh, annihilate souls, and shatter barriers, struck Katarina's shadow and her upper body, which already possessed the intention of "corruption," one above the other.

The two sword beams instantly shattered it into pieces.

However, Roger felt no sign that the danger was over, and there was no indication that Katarina's shadow had been successfully cut off.

And just as he had guessed, Katarina Pelle once again emerged slowly from behind the mast, her cool, beautiful eyes fixed on Roger. This was indeed a Sequence 3 "Stand"!
At this moment, compared to her previous disdain, Katarina's gaze now clearly contained some surprise and solemnity, and her attitude had undergone a great change.

……

The lowest level of the "Black Death".

Klein Moretti, now with a changed appearance, sat inside a crew quarters, rubbing his greasy, stubble-covered face with his hands while listening intently to the fighting coming from the upper deck.

Previously, while hunting "Admiral Disease" Tracy, he killed a crew member of the "Black Death" in a bar on the Rothschild Islands and secretly took over the man's identity using the "Faceless Man's" abilities.

Because the guy he replaced was the most miserable crew member in charge of the steam turbine room, he didn't have much chance to have direct contact with "Admiral Disease". In addition, it hasn't been too long since he joined the "Black Death" so that no one on the "Black Death" has noticed that he was switched.

Furthermore, since Klein was only one step away from fully digesting the "Faceless Man" potion, his ability to imitate other people's behavior and language had been improved to an unprecedented level. This further strengthened his disguise, and there were no mistakes throughout the process.

The only problem was that he was forced to burn coal in the steam turbine room for most of the day. Just when he finally managed to get through it and was able to rest for a while, he was suddenly shaken so badly by the collision with the "Star Lord" that he almost vomited.

"Those who fought against the 'Black Death' were friends, not enemies."

Klein took a deep breath and quickly tossed the coin.

However, to his surprise, the coin stood upright after landing, rolled off the bed, and disappeared completely.

"...Anti-divination?"

Because the specific voyage destination of the "Black Death" was kept secret from the lowest-ranking crew members, Klein could only make a rough confirmation through divination.

Faced with such a bizarre scene, he immediately guessed where the problem lay.

It's not surprising that many people possess the ability to reverse divination.

Although this left Klein somewhat uncertain about the current situation, the fact that someone was causing trouble undoubtedly provided an extra layer of security for his plan to assassinate Tracy.

However, just as he opened the door and looked into the dark corridor, he suddenly saw a chubby tabby cat strolling towards him from the other end of the corridor.

"Bandit?"

Klein was stunned. He never expected to see this tabby cat from the "Apprentice" pathway here, and he finally learned who was fighting the "Black Death".

"calm down."

Because Klein was currently in the "Faceless" transformation state, he judged that Bandit would definitely not recognize him, so he quickly used the "Joker" ability to control his expression and looked at the cat with a slightly surprised expression.

“Mavis, how did a cat get here? And it’s a cat I’ve never seen before.”

He scratched his head and complained in a muffled, puzzled voice.

According to Klein's investigation, Mavis was a female attendant under Tracy, mainly responsible for managing the lowest deck cabins.

Upon hearing this, Bandit made a cute face and meowed adorably.

Because of the need to protect food supplies, ships sailing at sea, whether pirate ships or merchant ships, generally need to keep cats to catch mice.

In this respect, neither the "Black Death Fleet" nor the "Star Fleet" is an exception.

Within the "Star Fleet," all the ships except the "Star Lord" kept a few cats. The "Star Lord" was the only exception among the eight ships because it was too dangerous and Bendit strongly refused Roger's request to keep any other cats.

According to Roger's instructions before boarding the Black Death, the moment the Star Lord approached the Black Death, Bendit had already used his Apprentice ability to break into the lower decks of the Black Death in an attempt to find Tracy's exact location.

After all, sometimes stray cats from various ports would inexplicably board human ships. Some would come on their own, while others would be adopted by the crew. Even the great pirates who were generals wouldn't bother with such details or interfere with their subordinates' pet-keeping behavior as if they had nothing better to do.

After all, no normal person would ever think that a cat is actually a Sequence 6 level extraordinary being who has even mastered demigod-level abilities, so they would definitely not be wary of it.

Even if Bandit couldn't unleash the full power of the "Black Knight," even with only half of his divine aura, it would be enough to kill Tracy, who was only at Sequence 5, when she was caught off guard.

The original plan was for Roger to break in from the upper deck, while Bendit boarded the ship from the lower cabin, and the two of them would search separately. However, Roger encountered the "White Saint" Katarina Pelle instead.

This means that the "Disease General's" goal is not simply to hold off the "Star Fleet," but to annihilate it!
Therefore, the task of exploring the lower levels of the "Black Death" has now fallen to the cat, Bandit.

In fact, just as Klein had expected, Bandit did not recognize him at all. In fact, because Klein had deliberately changed into the clothes of the person he was impersonating, Bandit did not even recognize Klein's scent.

So right now it's just playing the role of an ordinary kitten, acting cute towards an ordinary crew member it recognizes.

"This guy……"

Klein resisted the urge to pet the cat, sighed inwardly, and then walked away in another direction as if taking a stroll.

To his surprise, Bandit followed him closely, adopting a begging posture, and trailed him step by step.

This put Klein in a dilemma. If nothing unexpected happened, some battles at the Sequence 5 level or even the demigod level might break out next. In his understanding, Bandit's strength should not exceed Sequence 6, so he did not want the cat to get involved.

On the other hand, it is clearly impossible for Klein to kill Tracy, who may also be carrying a sealed artifact, using the Sequence 5 seal artifact "Deep Dream's Lament," which corresponds to the extraordinary characteristics of "Spirit Witch," alone. However, if he uses the "Ice and Fire Sleeve Studs" and "Blood Cross Brooch" on his body, it would be easy for Bandit to recognize his identity.

As for "Demon Slayer," it's relatively better, because historically, Bandit doesn't seem to know about the existence of the "Tarot Society," only that Roger would not allow cats to disturb him for a period of time every Monday afternoon starting at 3 pm.

As long as this situation remains unchanged, even if he pulls out the "Demon Slayer," Bendit will only know that it belongs to Roger, and Roger will later know that Mr. World had boarded the "Black Death," but he will not know that Klein Moretti is Mr. World himself.

"The best-case scenario is not using the 'Ice and Fire Sleeve Studs' and the 'Blood Cross Brooch,' the worst-case scenario is revealing my identity as Mr. World to Roger..."

"But then I'll have to answer a question: When did I become Mr. Fool's follower? And why didn't Mr. Fool make a move in Tingen?"

Klein felt an immense pain in his groin, but he still had no choice but to grit his teeth and walk forward.

Bandit, unaware of Klein's thoughts, believed that by following a crew member, it might be able to access places it wouldn't normally have easy access to, or overhear conversations.

"Jeremy, what are you doing so late at night?"

Suddenly, a younger crew member came down the stairs at the end of the corridor. He glanced at Bandit on the ground and then asked a question.

Klein recognized the guy; his name was Duncan, and like the shipwright named Jeremy whom he was impersonating, he was a member of the fleet originally belonging to "Hurricane Admiral" Zillingus.

After Tracy, the "sick girl," conquered the remaining naval forces of the Zilingus, the original forces of the Zilingus were reorganized for easier management, and it was at that time that Jeremy and Duncan boarded the "Black Death" and became official crew members.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk."

Klein made it up on the spot, saying that he had been avoiding deep conversations with the crew and had been working in the steam turbine room, but now that he had time to be alone with his companions, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

This wasn't because he wasn't convincing enough in his portrayal of Jeremy. In fact, he not only observed and learned many of Jeremy's subconscious actions and habits, but also summoned him through spirit after killing him to ask him many questions in order to ensure that he wouldn't give himself away.

However, this does not mean that everything is foolproof, because Jeremy and Duncan spend a lot of time together and inevitably talk about some private matters that Klein does not know, which could easily make Duncan notice something amiss.

So after answering that question, he lowered his head and walked toward the upper cabin, with no intention of continuing the conversation with Duncan.

"Don't go up there."

Duncan suddenly shook his head and grabbed Klein:
"Don't go up there. The captain has stationed two guards at the captain's cabin door. They not only prevent anyone from getting close, but they also question any passing crew members."

"God knows what's going on today. Luckily I didn't go that way just now, because I watched two people get locked up."

After saying that, Duncan sighed. He seemed to have gotten used to Captain Tracy's somewhat neurotic behavior, but it was impossible for him not to be afraid.

"ok, I know, thank you."

Klein nodded, without dwelling on it, and simply pretended to turn around and go back to his own room first, planning to go up later after Duncan returned to his room.

In terms of character, Jeremy's mentality is similar to Duncan's, so it's best to do as he says for now, otherwise it might backfire.

Bandit watched Klein return to his room. The tabby cat looked at Klein with some suspicion as he closed the door, lingered for a moment, and then slowly walked toward the stairs leading to the upper cabin.

(End of this chapter)