Chapter 598: The Hastur-Shaped Tarot Meeting

Chapter 598: The Hastur-Shaped Tarot Meeting

At 3 PM on Monday, Audrey was led to the space above the gray fog, her mind filled with concerns.

Mr. Hastur's revelation had left her unsure of how to face Mr. Fool and Miss Magician. Her immediate superior had suddenly become her fiancé's partner, and her colleague had become her fiancé's follower. It all felt rather strange.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man..."

Upon arriving above the gray fog, Audrey quickly collected her thoughts and began greeting Mr. Fool and the other members of the Tarot Club. After the greetings, she was surprised to find that Mr. Sun was absent from this week's Tarot meeting.

She wasn't the only one; the other members also cast curious glances at the empty seat.

"Something interesting is happening in the City of Silver," Mr. Fool said, lightly tapping his fingers on the table to draw everyone's attention. "He can't extricate himself at the moment and will have to miss this week's Tarot meeting. If any of you encounter significant events in the future, you can also inform us in advance."

He had ultimately decided against summoning Derrick to the meeting to avoid attracting the attention of that deity.

Audrey and the others accepted Mr. Fool's explanation without suspicion, though Mr. Hanged Man, Alger, found it a bit odd. He knew Mr. Sun's character well; unless gravely injured or near death, he wouldn't miss a Tarot meeting. Perhaps Mr. Fool had assigned him a special task.

With one member absent, the meeting proceeded more quickly than usual, soon entering the free discussion phase.

Having lost his position as a bishop of the Church of the Storm, Alger naturally ceded much of his speaking time to Miss Justice.

"The Feneport Kingdom has only about a third of its territory still resisting; the rest has fallen under the control of the Byrnes Empire, the Intis Republic, Segal, and Lunburg."

"The Masin Kingdom has become history, with its capital breached by the Ruen Kingdom's army."

"The Ruen Kingdom's expeditionary force, which had been fighting the Feysac Empire, has crossed the former Feysac territory, traversed the Antares Mountains, and launched an attack from the north of the Intis Republic."

Audrey shared the latest news she had gathered with the other Tarot members.

"The Ruen Kingdom's strength is far greater than expected, especially their bold and effective strategy of attacking the northern region of the Intis Republic after crossing Feysac territory," Alger remarked.

Without the support of the Church of the Storm, Feneport should have been at a disadvantage against the Ruen Kingdom. Yet, the Ruen Kingdom managed to hold its ground against multiple adversaries.

"I've heard that anti-war sentiment is rising in various countries, with more and more people taking to the streets in protest," Klein, participating as The World, added to the discussion.

"It's the same within the Ruen Kingdom. It's said that Southwell County is seeking independence."

"Who knows when this war will end."

"Actually, war isn't all bad..." Mr. Moon, Emlyn, suddenly said, attracting everyone's attention. He shrank back slightly but continued, "With the war, my status within the clan has risen, allowing me to control vast wealth and buy any doll I want."

"The prices of these items have dropped to a third or even a tenth of their usual cost during the chaos."

"I've amassed quite a collection..."

Seeing the subtle looks from the others, Emlyn's voice grew quieter until he finally chose to remain silent.

"Mr. Fool, do you know the true cause of this war?" Audrey asked the question that everyone else was curious about.

The war had erupted suddenly and fiercely, as if the countries had all agreed to engage in a massive conflict.

Mr. Fool responded calmly, "War is the continuation of the will of the gods."

"Is it the Stars and the everNight Goddess?"

Audrey's direct question made Klein glance at her. It was a difficult question to answer; if Miss Justice went back and caused trouble with Mr. Hastur over this...

After a moment of contemplation, Klein said, "The Stars were passively drawn into this war."

He wasn't trying to exonerate Mr. Hastur but stating the fact that the war's initiation was more attributable to Adam and his Twilight Hermit Order.

Audrey, satisfied with the answer, smiled for once.

Forsi, who rarely spoke, now said firmly, "From what I've learned, this war was instigated by Adam to fulfill his requirements for ascending to Sequence 0, creating a so-called era wave."

"Countless citizens of various countries are merely necessary sacrifices under Adam's era wave."

"The Lord of Storms of the Church of the Storm also fell at Adam's hands."

After saying this, Forsi glanced at Alger.

Alger's body trembled slightly. Despite having left the Church of the Storm, he still harbored some feelings for it. Hearing that the Lord of Storms had fallen to Adam filled him with deep sorrow.

"The Intis Republic, Segal, Lunburg, and Masin joined the Byrnes Empire's southern front because of Adam's threat."

"Adam and the True Creator are particularly hostile to the Lord of Storms, the Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom."

"Do you all remember the Day of No Light not long ago?"

"The phenomenon that day was due to the fall of the Eternal Blazing Sun."

"And the Eternal Blazing Sun also fell at Adam's hands."

Forsi's series of bombshell revelations left the Tarot members stunned.

Such sharp words—was this really the formerly reticent Miss Magician?

Klein gave Forsi a slightly surprised look. Her information was mostly accurate, though it selectively ignored the ancient betrayal of the Ancient Sun God by the Eternal Blazing Sun, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, and the Lord of Storms, which led to the Ancient Sun God's fall.

Adam and the True Creator's revenge had some justification.

But in terms of this war, Adam was indeed the main culprit.

Without his and the Twilight Hermit Order's instigation, the conflict wouldn't have escalated to involve all the countries of the northern and southern continents.

"Adam, the Sequence 0 Dreamer of the Spectator pathway..." Audrey felt a rare surge of hatred. Such beings who enjoyed stirring up wars were truly detestable!

It was also Adam who forced Mr. Hastur to retreat to the southern continent, causing her to leave Backlund, and her parents to be displaced as well.

"Adam and the True Creator are the root causes of all the chaos, the enemies of all humanity, and must be eradicated," Lady Hermit, Cattleya, seized the opportunity to label Adam and the True Creator as evil and terrifying beings.

The Queen was a follower of the Stars, so Cattleya could also be considered a follower of the Stars, destined to be on their side.

"Indeed," Forsi said approvingly, looking at Cattleya. "Our Tarot Club, as an organization upholding justice and peace, should rightly condemn Adam, the True Creator, and their Twilight Hermit Order and Aurora Order!"

"I agree," Alger expressed his stance.

Wait, how did things suddenly turn this way?

This was the Tarot Club, not a tribunal for Adam and the True Creator!

Klein was a bit bewildered. From Miss Justice's question to Miss Magician's passionate denunciation, and Lady Hermit's definitive condemnation, everything seemed perfectly coordinated.

They had nailed Adam and the True Creator to the pillar of shame.

Wait, how did the Tarot Club suddenly take on the shape of Mr. Hastur?

Miss Justice was Mr. Hastur's fiancée, Miss Magician was close friends with Bernadette and likely a follower of the Stars, and Lady Hermit, a follower of Bernadette, could also be considered a follower of the Stars.

Excluding The World, there were currently six members in the Tarot Club, meaning half were on the side of the Stars...

Klein fell into deep thought. When had things become like this?

As Mr. Fool, he had truly been negligent, only realizing this serious issue today.

Given his understanding of Mr. Hastur, Miss Justice might be an exception, but Miss Magician and Lady Hermit were definitely arranged by him.

Uh, it seemed he had made the decision to invite them to join the Tarot Club...

Thinking of this, Klein felt even more complex emotions.

"Mr. Fool, do you also believe we should target the Aurora Order and the Twilight Hermit Order?" Miss Justice's question interrupted Klein's thoughts. Facing the Tarot members, he smiled and said, "I have long reached a consensus with the Stars."

From any perspective, his only choice of faction was the Stars.

Just dealing with Amon was enough to prevent him from aligning with Adam and the True Creator.

As for the everNight Goddess... she seemed to be cooperating with Adam now.

Moreover, Roselle and Mr. Hastur had helped him a lot along the way, making the Stars' faction his best choice.