Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader-Chapter 1257: Prophet

Seeing Amon slightly curl up the corners of His mouth, Ebner returned a "polite" smile. Secretly, however, the latter mercilessly used his "Eye of Insight" to kill the Worm of Time that had climbed onto his astral body and was attempting to steal his thoughts, while the former "assimilated" the Worm of Spirit that the latter had simulated with his "Eye of Insight."

Just like that, as if they were exchanging tender glances, the two completed a simple clash. Neither gained any advantage.

Although Ebner’s own level was far inferior to Amon’s, the other party was at this moment only a Sequence 3-level avatar. Unless it was a critical moment, He would not use that method of temporarily boosting His strength.

On Ebner’s side, he had also held back quite a bit. He had not even used the "Pure White Eye." Relying only on Alvin and his connection with himself, he had managed to fight Amon to a draw.

"However, Amon’s move was both a probe and a message...

"He invited me to meet in the back garden after the ball? Heh, what is He planning to do? It can’t be that this guy is so immersed in acting that He really wants to go on a date with me...

"But with the ’calamity’ symbolism gathering at this ball, whether it can even last until the end is still uncertain!"

Recalling the information Amon had transmitted through the Worm of Time, Ebner couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

After all, with just a cursory glance around, he had already discovered quite a few "familiar" faces.

For example, the lady to his left, dressed in a black evening gown and chatting merrily with three gentlemen, was the Saintess of Black, Medea.

She had merely changed her face; her figure and bearing had not altered at all, so Ebner recognized her at a glance.

As for Trissy on his right, her disguise was much better. If not for his "Eye of Insight" lurking within her mind, he would have been completely unable to identify her.

In addition, the "personality avatar" of the Saintess of Purple, Josena, was also present. At this moment, she was holding the arm of a tall, thin, young man of Southern Continent descent. His features were decent, but his face lacked color.

Quite a few people nearby coveted Josena’s beauty and wanted to drive the young man away to take his place. Yet none of them succeeded. Instead, after just a few exchanges, they were rebuffed by him until their faces flushed red, and they left angrily.

In Ebner’s eyes, that young man’s state was similar to Gossinam’s. He was merely using a body that possessed its own underworld to move about.

In other words, the will controlling the body was not the body’s original owner, but the angel-level evil spirit within it.

"Sauron-Einhorn-Medici... He’s actually gotten involved with the Saintess of Purple’s avatar and even came to the ball... Is it the Convergence Effect? After all, I do have two Conqueror characteristics in my possession!"

Before Medici noticed his scrutiny, Ebner shifted his gaze and soon turned it toward the two men following behind Viscount Lavran.

One of the two appeared to be in his thirties, with slightly curly brown hair, yet he gave off an unusually hardened feeling.

The other looked only in his twenties. He was handsome and carried an extraordinary temperament. Strangely, although he was constantly observing the crowd, whenever his gaze was about to meet Ebner’s, he would deliberately avoid it.

"These two also have issues... The former, though his appearance has changed, still reveals some of Butis’s shadow in his gestures and movements... Of course, that could also be deliberate misdirection.

"The latter’s behavior is even stranger. He should have noticed my unrestrained scrutiny, yet he still deliberately avoided me..."

While Ebner was pondering, the time had already reached seven, and the ball began promptly.

Lavran’s illegitimate daughter, dressed in a manner that was dignified and steady yet not lacking in alluring charm, walked up to the elevated platform on the second floor under the accompaniment of a maid. Amidst waves of astonished gazes, she extended her hand—covered in elbow-length white gauze gloves—to Madam Lavran.

This lady showed not the slightest anger at presiding over her husband’s illegitimate daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony. Instead, she held the other’s hand intimately and walked to the edge of the platform. Facing all the guests, she smiled and announced:

"Although she is not my biological daughter, her wisdom, her beauty, her character, and her etiquette are all undoubtedly outstanding.

"Today, I formally introduce her to you.

"Miss Angie Lavran."

As warm applause erupted, Ebner activated the "Pure White Eye" and carefully observed Madam Lavran’s state. Yet he found that she had not been parasitized, nor were there any signs of hypnosis or suggestion. On the contrary, she had completed the introduction in a fully lucid state.

"What is going on?" Ebner clapped on the surface, but inwardly he was filled with doubt.

At that moment, a moving melody sounded, and beautiful notes flowed from the orchestra at the side, making every guest unable to resist the urge to dance.

As the protagonist of this ball, Miss Angie Lavran descended from the second floor into the dance floor and began the opening dance.

To everyone’s surprise, however, she did not dance this piece with her father, Viscount Lavran, but instead chose the handsome young man standing behind him...

Such a scene inevitably led many guests to speculate: could that be Miss Lavran’s fiancé?

—Under normal circumstances, during the opening dance, a married host would certainly dance with their spouse. Unmarried men and women would either dance with an opposite-sex relative or invite someone they admired. It was essentially an alternative form of matchmaking.

After the opening dance, the gentlemen present began searching for the partner they wished to invite first. At this time, Yalolan, who had made a sweep through the dining tables, returned and very naturally accepted Ebner’s invitation, entering the dance floor with him.

As a Sage, even if she did not know modern dance steps at all, learning on the spot would allow her to dance better than the vast majority.

Taking advantage of the movement of the dance, Yalolan deliberately drew close to him. Within range of each other’s breath, she whispered softly, "Did you see the problem with the gentleman dancing with the angel lady?"

As an "information" lifeform, she had no need to communicate this way. But clearly, Madam Yalolan very much enjoyed creating an ambiguous atmosphere.

Ebner was quite happy to go along with it. After all, he was not at a loss.

"That person seems afraid to look at me..." Ebner said while cooperating with her movements.

"Of course He doesn’t dare look at you... An angel of the Monster pathway staring directly at you in your current state—does He think His life is too long?" Yalolan twisted her body and said with a smiling expression.

"An angel of the Monster pathway?" Ebner suddenly understood, and at the same time, he deduced Amon’s purpose in bringing such a person here.

He wanted this angel to confirm the identity of the holder of Sefirah Castle!

If Klein had truly attended the ball today, then even if he could restrain the aura of gray fog after advancing to Demigod, it would be difficult for him to escape the eyes of a Prophet.

"An angel of the Monster pathway can only come from three factions.

"They are the School of Life, the True Creator, and the Church of the Earth Mother. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"But Amon is hostile to the True Creator, and He wouldn’t dare truly ’steal’ an angel from a true god’s Church... So it’s very likely that some angel of the School of Life has met with misfortune," Yalolan analyzed seriously.

Ebner, however, shook his head. He held a different view, feeling that Amon had very likely used the Secret Saint to scheme against a Prophet under the True Creator.

But no matter what, this ball had gathered top-tier Beyonders and Sealed Artifacts of the Demoness and Hunter pathways. On top of that were a series of high-sequence existences related to fate such as "Error," "Cognizer," "Clairvoyant," and "Prophet"... If something went wrong, it was probably only a matter of time.

(End of Chapter)