My setting is above yours!

Chapter 90 The Ending That Should Have Been, Ron's Scheme (5k6)

Ron was thrilled and his eyes immediately fell on the potion recipes in the spellbook:
[Trick] Sequence Four "Theatrical Actor"

"Potion Ingredients: One mask from the Masked Dancer of Puppet Town + 10 ml of spiritual blood from the Faceless One of the Spirit Realm + 4500 ml of pure water + One Cleansing Fruit"

"Making method: Wash the masked dancer's mask with pure water containing the Cleansing Fruit, and use 10 ml of spiritual blood from the Faceless One in the Spirit Realm as paint to draw your own mask on the blank mask."

"The ritual of taking a mask: Construct a drama that includes the top leaders of a town (with at least 10,000 people living there) and join the drama as an actor. When the drama reaches its final act, put on a mask."

Next to the instructions on how to make the characters, several images were drawn, each with a textual explanation of what role it represented.

In addition to these, there is an extra line of text below reminding you:
"Attention! The role played by the ascendant in the play must match the role represented by the mask. When the [Mithril Knight] ascends across sequences, he can only ascend as the [Protagonist]. Otherwise, he will go out of control and become a high-level supernatural being, the Masked Dancer."

Upon seeing the words in the magic book, Ron immediately understood everything, and a sudden realization dawned on him:

'No wonder...no wonder! No wonder the main storyline for Evening Bell City is called "Dragon Quest: The Drama"...'

'This main storyline in Evening Bell City is essentially a Silver Knight's ascension ceremony—he will play the lead role in this drama in Evening Bell City, removing the mask and using it to advance to Sequence Four: [Drama Actor]!'

but……

Will things really turn out this way?

Ron looked thoughtfully at the words in the spellbook and then at the Silver Knight's performance at the time, and suddenly he understood.

'That saint... never intended for the Silver Knight to be promoted to Sequence Four [Theatrical Actor]!'

First of all, that mask wasn't a prepared potion... it belonged to the extraordinary ability of another demigod of [Trickery]. If the Silver Knight actually wore it, it would be like directly consuming an extraordinary ability to advance in rank...

Directly consuming extraordinary characteristics to advance in rank is no different from courting death.

Idrila once explained to Ron in a popular science lesson that the power of [Sequence Potions] actually comes entirely from the main ingredients of the potion, namely those materials that carry [Extraordinary Properties]—

Theoretically speaking, if pollution and loss of control can be overcome, extraordinary individuals can directly take extraordinary properties to advance and obtain power that is no less than that of advancing by taking magic potions normally.

However... [Extraordinary Characteristics] are tainted with pollution, bearing the imprint and influence of their original owners.

Only by relying on potion-making ingredients and the correct brewing techniques can the contaminants be largely removed, transforming it into a more digestible [Sequence Potion] that won't cause loss of control immediately after ingestion...

If the Silver Knight were to actually don the mask formed from the Sequence 4 transcendental ability [Trickery] during that scene, he would almost certainly lose control.

Moreover, even if he didn't lose control due to directly consuming extraordinary characteristics and instead suppressed the corruption with his strong will, he would inevitably become a "masked dancer" due to the error in the ritual...

After all, he wasn't the main character in that "hero slaying the dragon" drama!
Even in the normal version PV where Idrila was destined to die, the Silver Knight was definitely a "supporting character"...

After all, the villain, the "evil dragon," is clearly Father Sull, while the protagonist, the "hero," is Idrila, who sacrificed her life to trade one life for Father Sull's—

These two characters could be positioned as protagonists in the drama, but what about the Silver Knight?
He was just a temporary supporting character who was casually killed by the "evil dragon" when he challenged the "evil dragon"!

If he were to attempt to advance in this manner, even if he sensed something was amiss and even managed to obtain a Sequence 4 potion recipe to temporarily transform the mask into a normal Sequence potion, he would inevitably fail to advance...

Thinking about this, Ron couldn't help but feel great.

Since the "saint" clearly didn't intend for the Silver Knight to have a good ending, the Silver Knight, upon learning of his fate, would inevitably rebel in order to survive...

However, there was one thing that puzzled Ron greatly—

Why would that "saint" do all these things, and ultimately scheme against the Silver Knight?

From any perspective, everything that happened in Evening Bell City was merely a means to an end for the drama of "Heroes Quest for Dragons".

He was willing to use the spark of "trickery" to help the Silver Knight write this play, influencing the entire City of Evening Bell, yet He was unwilling to let the Silver Knight live, insisting that he die at the moment of his ascension...

What was His purpose?
Thinking of this, Ron couldn't help but frown, lost in thought.

He must have a goal... a goal that would bring him immense benefits, and perhaps even allow him to touch the [mysterious] throne and achieve godhood.

In the normal storyline, he didn't achieve this goal, but Ron rescuing Idrila gave Him this opportunity...

What kind of opportunity could this be?
'Perhaps... I can try to take a look.'

'What exactly is this guy's goal...? I'll just restart and follow his script exactly, then I'll find out.'

Ron thought to himself and immediately made up his mind.

He immediately stood up and, following his initial actions, used one percent of the durability of [Illusion Dissolve] to dissolve the corpse and his flesh prison, disguising himself as an angel in front of Kurt...

Then, carrying the letter, he went to the top of the tower, killed the war puppet, and swiftly rescued Idrila.

However, this time, because Ron really didn't want to waste the setting durability, he didn't rely on [Illusion Dissolve] to dispel the effects of the [Trick] fire that Idrila was affected by.

He merely pretended to be an agent of an "angel," observing coldly from the sidelines of the [Truth Society] to see clearly what was happening here.

Then Ron saw something very interesting:

President Elvis returned and, upon hearing that Messenger Kurt had been illegally imprisoned by Father Sull, flew into a rage, shouting "Outrageous!" He then took Idrila with him to the [Scorched Earth Sanctuary], intending to demand an explanation from Father Sull.

Then Father Sue slapped his head off.

At this moment, Father Harvey of the [Church of the Lost] inexplicably reappeared, righteously declaring that Father Suer was no ordinary thug and that a heavy blow was necessary. He then led Idrila to join him in a campaign against Father Suer.

Then Father Sue slapped his head off.

Afterwards, Idrila, still indignant, sent Charles to the Fog City with the letter of complaint. She then turned her attention to Ron, stating that they must unite against such a demon, and suggested they leave that very day to go to the Sanctuary to avenge the thief.

Ron... Of course, Ron's head wasn't knocked off.

At that moment, Ron immediately felt himself affected by the [Trickery] spark, his thoughts becoming muddled and unclear, and he almost blurted out Idrila's agreement—

But having experienced it so many times, even without relying on the power of [Omniscient Domain - Pseudo], Ron had become accustomed to the influence of this chaos...

He forcefully suppressed the urge to agree and resolutely refused Idrisla.

After Ron refused, Idrila remained silent for several days, doing nothing but praying to the War in her room.

Before long, the Silver Knight arrived as an inquisitor, and the group stormed into the Scorched Earth Sanctuary, vowing to punish Father Sull...

Ron secretly followed them, and perhaps because following them secretly didn't affect the "Saint's" plans, Ron didn't even feel the influence of the [Trickery] Seed, and quietly witnessed the outcome of everything—

“Father Suer, you have blasphemed against war! His Holiness the Bishop has granted me the power to wield the sword, and I will use it to cleanse your sins and restore a bright and clear world to Evening Bell City!”

Idrila screamed, whether under control or genuinely, as she swung the Bloodthorn down heavily, aiming at Father Suer...

A crimson light shot into the sky, even turning the church of the Scorched Earth Sanctuary into ruins, burying everything within—

But soon, everything on the ruins was bound and dragged into the sky by fine, seemingly random threads, revealing everything beneath the ruins once more.

At this moment, a hunched old man wearing glasses suddenly appeared out of thin air and strolled over slowly, looking at the Silver Knight who had stood up from the ruins, his body not even covered in a speck of dust.

"The deal is done."

As he spoke, he casually flicked his wrist, and a semi-transparent thread, still attached to Father Suer's mask, was tossed in front of the Silver Knight. He whispered:

"[42] The ritual has been completed. Now put on the mask and you can be promoted to 'Theatrical Actor' of Sequence Four."

But the Silver Knight sneered, "Do you think I'm a fool? Who would use an unprocessed supernatural characteristic directly to advance in rank?"

He seemed to have been prepared, and with a flick of his spear, a basin of pure water suddenly jumped out and landed on the ground.

He calmly took out a thumb-sized pure white fruit, threw it into the basin, and watched as the fruit melted into a basin of pure white liquid. He then used the pure white liquid to wipe away everything on the mask.

Instantly, the gilded patterns on it were wiped away by the pure white liquid, gradually cleansed, and transformed into a pure silver mask without any patterns.

At this moment, the Silver Knight suddenly spoke up and asked:

"[7] Are you sure you want to challenge [3]?"
"Although I will do my best to help you after I become Sequence Four of [Trickery], according to our deal, it is still too difficult for us to beat Him."

"How will you know if you don't try?"

The hunched old man spoke slowly, looking at the silver knight before him with great interest:

“A demigod of Sequence Four, a saint who has returned to Sequence Three, to deal with a saint who is also going to be seriously injured in the mission, I don’t think it’s too difficult.” They whispered their plot, talking about some unknown scheme, but they didn’t care at all whether Ron could hear them, and just ignored Ron who was clumsily hiding to the side.

'These two guys...don't care about me?'

Ron raised an eyebrow with interest, looking at the Silver Knight's slightly lowered brows, his expression unreadable, and then at the hunched old man's calm, seemingly all-knowing expression, and couldn't help but be slightly taken aback:
'No...it's not that I don't care, it's that there's no room for me to care anymore!'

'The Silver Knight was terrified and nervous... but this [7] was completely calm, as if everything was under control—'

'The reason He didn't care what I heard was simply because everything that followed was meaningless whether I heard it or not... He had already seen through my lack of angelic blessing and was prepared to kill me!'

But... why is the Silver Knight so afraid?
Ron watched the Silver Knight with great interest. He didn't know anything about the ritual, and he was almost finished painting his mask. In theory, he was about to be promoted to the fourth-order "drama actor". He should be happy!
'Could it be... that he also discovered the problem and prepared a countermeasure?'

It's important to understand that without Ron's intervention, this saint would never have had the chance to ascend to the [Mystic] throne!

Thinking of this, Ron suddenly felt a surge of curiosity and, with a purely spectator's mentality, squatted down to the side, watching everything that was about to happen—

The Silver Knight finished drawing his own mask, hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and put it on his face.

At that moment, Ron finally saw clearly what character was painted on the mask—

Above is a crying face with upturned corners of the mouth but downturned eyes... In the records of the magic book, this represents a "clown"!
The next moment, the Silver Knight's spirituality began to stir, and the mask seemed to melt, about to merge into his androgynous, pale face—

At this moment, the hunchbacked old man finally moved.

He waved his hand, and endless semi-illusory threads fell down, hanging from everyone in the entire Evening Bell City!
Ron was naturally included as well, and he instantly felt a sense of familiarity—

His flesh and blood dissolved into gray mist, and his soul disintegrated into "threads of information"...

At this moment, he can only observe the world around him from the perspective of his own corpse, protected by the Dimensional Update Manual.

“You’re already very good, [42].”

At this moment, the hunched old man looked at the silver knight, whose mask had stiffened, whose face was contorted and twitching, and whose features seemed to be melting into nothingness, and said in a low voice:
"【Secret Courtyard】Never provides any assassin with a path to advancement... As the forty-second, you can only be a 'Mithril Knight'."

"You've already done a great job to get this far and touch the power of a demigod—so, just rest in peace."

"In the ballroom of Puppet Town, you can dance to your heart's content and use the divine power you've sought for so many years..."

He murmured softly, his words calm, but the wrinkles around his eyes proved just how excited he was.

'It'll be soon...it'll be soon...'

'To conceal a piece of history, a town—even if it's just an extension of the influence of Puppet Town—is still a successful concealment of history, which should be considered a change to the established order…'

He pondered this, but at that moment, a voice that shouldn't have been there, and whose gender was indistinguishable, rang in his ears:

"So... that's what you were after."

The silver knight, who should have been completely controlled and was gradually turning into a mindless monster, suddenly spoke, his tone full of exhaustion:

"What goals would you achieve by having Puppet Town annex this place?"
"Recover from injuries? Or advance to a higher rank?"

Upon hearing the Silver Knight's words, the hunchbacked old man suddenly froze, his calm demeanor vanishing, replaced by a grave expression.

"[42], how did you do that?"

"Don't worry about how I did it, [7]..."

The Silver Knight reached out and suddenly tore off a mask. The original "clown mask" had now melted into this mask, which was twitching grotesquely.

He himself was unharmed, but a crystal-clear snake-eye pendant had appeared on his earlobe at some unknown time, emitting a strange luster, which barely managed to pry open the gray mist around the Silver Knight that was used to control his movements.

"What you should worry about is that if you lose a masked dancer... without the influence of Puppet Town, your actions will be marked by the Church of the True God within seconds?"

As the Silver Knight spoke, translucent lines were drawn into needle-like patterns, easily piercing him through to the core.

The hunched old man with a gloomy face gritted his teeth and frantically swung the thin thread, piercing countless bloody holes in the silver knight's body.

But how vigorous is the life force of a Sequence Five superhuman? Even so, he didn't die completely; he merely vomited mouthfuls of blood, watching the hunched old man smirk and, with all his might, raise a middle finger:
"The assassins of the Secret Garden never trust anyone... How could I not have a backup plan?"

"You old bastard... I, Al Austin, the last glory of the Austin family, am going to hell to wait for you... Don't keep me waiting too long!"

Upon hearing this, the hunchbacked old man went even crazier, instantly tearing the silver knight to shreds with his countless fine threads.

But soon, flames suddenly burst forth from the sky, their crimson light shining on the hunchbacked old man's face, turning him deathly pale.

He gritted his teeth and pulled out all the threads. Only then did Ron's consciousness completely die. Time was frozen by the Dimensional Update Manual, and then easily reversed...

Back in the familiar prison cell, Ron recalled everything he had just witnessed, and his expression became somewhat strange.

So... this is how it ended?

If he does nothing, although the entire city of Evening Bell will be slaughtered, the Silver Knight will sacrifice his life to trick the "Saint" with his own contingency plan, preventing Him from achieving His goal...

On the contrary, it was because Ron saved Idrila, and no one knows what happened afterward, that the "Saint" succeeded, and the Silver Knight failed to trick Him, allowing Him to successfully let that "Puppet Town" annex Evening Bell City.

It is estimated that He gained the opportunity to ascend to the [mysterious] divine throne through this promotion.

But here is the problem.

All of this is based on the premise that the Silver Knight still harbors illusions and intends to use this to become the fourth Sequence of Deception.

If he knew from the beginning that the promotion method was problematic...

Does he have any other way to deal with the threat posed by the saint? [7]

Ron pondered for a moment, and then an idea came to him.

—What else is there to say?

I see this saint as tyrannical and cruel; the Silver Knight should join me in discussing important matters…

Let's trick him!
With this in mind, Ron immediately retraced the route he had taken to escape disguised as a corpse, keeping a close eye on any unusual movements of the corpse, until he reached the outskirts of Evening Bell City...

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded from behind. The Silver Knight looked at Ron with interest and said:

"Your Mightiness……"

But before he could finish speaking, Ron, who was already prepared, suddenly sprang into action, unleashing [Illusion Dissolve] and delivering a devastating blow to the corpse.

In an instant, the corpse itself was shattered by Ron's slap.

The gray mist in its eye sockets, which should not have been visible, suddenly lost its shell and helplessly dissipated completely.

The Silver Knight, who witnessed all of this, was stunned.

He stared at Ron in astonishment, then at the corpse that should have been the vessel for [7], and swallowed back the question he was about to ask.

'What did he do? He slapped away the possessed body of [7], preventing the possession of [7] from descending?'

'He realized the existence of a saint… Damn, this is a tricky situation. Could it be that the Church of the True God has investigated?'

In an instant, the Silver Knight's mind was in turmoil, and countless thoughts arose.

He instinctively took a step back, already prepared to flee for his life.

But at this moment, Ron looked at him with a smile and said gently:
“Don’t be afraid… Yar Austin, I’m here to help you.”

"To show my sincerity, I'll tell you a secret you don't know—"

He spoke softly, and one sentence made the Silver Knight stop in his tracks:

"[7] Let Puppet Town swallow this city..."

"He is about to be promoted."

(End of this chapter)