Panatiya's guess, and the Cane of Deceit's power

Looking at Panatiya who was scared out of her wits, Julius felt increasingly pleased. Although, he wasn't the one to get deceived by Panatiya's tricks, he still felt good when it was Panatiya who was at his mercy.

Yes. With the Slave Contract, he can control Panatiya's life and death. She still has her own free will, but any thought of rebelling will automatically induce a punishment for her, which is equivalent to unimaginable pain she certainly wouldn't like to happen. Whatever happens, it was not so worth it to fight against Julius who has complete control over her. She can't escape his Slave Contract either. Even if she prays to god, which would not happen since he already placed precaution about it, it would not work unless the true god themselves descend to remove the Slave Contract.

The Slave Contract he created is borderline Sequence 0, since he can't yet touch the one above it. Still it was at the level of False God if there are even False Gods in this world.

Which true god will descend just to remove a seal placed on a mere demigod? Much less, they won't even be able to sense it unless Panatiya pray before them. Panatiya is now Julius's slave!

"How are you, Panatiya? Did you enjoy deceiving me?" Julius casually said, as he thought, 'I have avenged you predecessor!'

"I-I dare not, Milord..." Panatiya trembled as her very being felt fear. She don't understand how Julius, a mere Sequence 6 Beyonder, can easily control her life and make her his slave. She knew she had struck a iron plate this time. There were no hopes of salvation at all.

Hearing her tone, Julius smiled and grabbed the Cane of Deceit beside him. "This gift of yours is very good. How did your organization manage to get their hands on this?"

Panatiya, her head still lowered, answered slowly, "Milord, we traded in a Sealed Artifact of similar grade for this cane with the Rose School of Thought. Originally, the Rose School of Thought did not agree with the deal, but soon changed their mind. As for this, we are also not aware why they did so."

"Is your Demoness Sect aware of the specifics in Rose School of Thought?" Julius asked, before continuing, "Such as which god they worship?"

Panatiya inwardly pondered why her Master was asking such things, still she quickly answered, "We are not aware of the exact specifics, but we only knew that around the middle of Fourth Epoch, there was a reshuffling of higher-ups in their organization. Also, it seems that they are now worshipping an evil god..."

Julius saw the hesitation in Panatiya's eyes in mentioning the name of the evil god, "You do not need to mention 'Her' name." Even he needs to avoid attrating their attention for now. Without his daily 'trial of omnipotence', he was only a Sequence 6 Beyonder. A stronger ant in the world of Beyonders.

Panatiya heaved a sigh of relief, then soon wondered who exactly is her Master. Before she gave out the mission and attempted to trick Julius, she did a proper investigation about him. He was supposedly only a Sequence 6 Beyonder...

She then disregarded the ideas in her mind. All she knew right now is that Julius can easily take away her life. Not even true gods might be able to save her. She was a demigod, so she knew a lot, and just from the aura coming from the seal inside her body, she knew that it was a power above the level of Angels.

She regretted offending Julius. The thought that Julius must be an old monster, possibly an existence only a step away from godhood, irresistably entered her mind. He must be pretending to be a sheep, but was actually a giant!

As the master of Slave Contract, not even a single thought can escape Julius. But he did not care about Panatiya's questions about his identity. Instead, he actually liked it that she was overthinking things, forming a mysterious image about his identity.

He then asked, "How are your plans for Backlund proceeding?"

Julius looked at Panatiya with a look that seemed to say, 'I know everything you've been doing here in Backlund!'

When she heard Julius, Panatiya was directly stunned. How did her Master know?! She was sure that she did her best in concealing this matter, there was even an Angel that personally used their powers to make sure other parties will not notice anything amiss. Their Demoness Sect has been planning this for years!

Panatiya's posture became even more respectful, her guess about Julius' identity becoming even stronger. "Milord, there are still a few months before the preparations will be completed. The Augustus Family is still collecting slaves from the Five Seas with the help from our Demoness Sect and Aurora Order."

"Hmm... Do your organization not mind being used by 'Him' as a stepping stone to ascend at the divine throne?" Julius asked casually. He knew that the King of Loen Kingdom is the mastermind of all these, because he is trying to ascend as the new Black Emperor. Unfortunately, now that Julius is on the Black Emperor Pathway, this plan will definitely fail. He will not allow it to happen.

Also, who can say? These few months they are using for preparation. It might be more than enough for him to reach an unimaginable level. Julius is still confident about himself, as long as he stays low profile, no one will even notice him. He just needs to pretend as the 'normal' Sequence 6 Beyonder, Count Julius Avane.

He actually knew all about it! Panatiya screamed in her mind. At this point, she was sure that Julius was a big shot! An extremely terrifying figure in the Beyonder World.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, before she answered, "Our organization do not care as long as 'She' complete 'Her' divine descent."

Usually, Panatiya will feel fanatical whenever she mentions 'Her' name. But at this time, she was surprised to see that there her attachment towards their god had vanished. She can't help but think whether it was related to her Master.

Julius smiled with a hint of disdain, "As if 'She' will descend. Evernight will never allow that to happen. No- 'He' will not allow it to happen."

'He'? Panatiya's mind rapidly spun as she began to think of which god her Master was talking about. The gods of the seven Orthodox Churches flashed in her mind, but she intuitively felt that her Master was talking about someone else.

In spite of curiosity, she thought of asking her Master which god he was talking about, but soon stopped herself. She did not dare trouble Julius about this small matter. She felt that she will know who her Master was talking about in the future anyways.

Panatiya also noticed that her impression of Julius was rapidly changing towards a good direction. She knew it but cannot do anything about it. It must be the effect of the power that her Master placed in her body.

Julius looked at the clock in the wall. Despite the absence of light, his senses were exceptionally clear. It was one of the effects of being a Beyonder. When his predecessor advanced to Sequence 8: Barbarian, there was a huge improvement in his physical abilities. His senses also improved drastically at that time.

"It's already late. Act normally and await for my orders. Also, this Sealed Artifact belongs to me now." Julius calmly said. He did not care how Panatiya will explain herself to the organization regarding the Cane of Deceit. If she can't even do such little tasks, she wasn't worth keeping as a subordinate.

Panatiya bowed and said respectfully, "As you will." Then she quickly vanished from the room like a smoke. Julius didn't know how she did it. Right now, he was just a mere Sequence 6 after all.

Julius shook his head then stood up to close the window. He looked at the door and hesitated a little, before he walked out and checked the conditions of Swain and the twin maids. Thankfully, Panatiya did not do anything funny to them before he dealt with her. Despite his lack of feelings for them, out of respect for his predecessor, he must at least make sure they live peacefully, right?

He lamented about how he should act towards them. Although, he carried his predecessor's memories, it won't be easy feat to talk to them just like how his predecessor did it.

Ah! Julius thought of something suddenly. He quickly went back to his room and grabbed the Cane of Deceit. It looked like an ordinary cane, only Beyonders can sense its oddity. He spread out his awareness toward the cane, then communicated with it.

Sealed Artifact 1-589, Cane of Deceit carries the Characteristic of a Sequence 3: Mentor of Deceit, who can use 'Deceit' to deceive the laws of nature and world. It was a very powerful artifact, and it was precisely what he needed now.

Swain and the other two were too close with his predecessor. Just to be sure, Julius will use Deceit on them to deceive them that he was acting as per normal. There was nothing wrong with him and such. He will only cast it for a while before he can assuredly act properly as Julius Avane.

After all, whatever is said, Julius still has his mannerisms from his past life. He definitely can't change it in a single day. A month maybe, but definitely not instantly.

Using the Cane of Deceit, he cast the Deceit he wanted on the three. After a few seconds, he placed it on the rack beside the wall. It was a rack that had multiple canes that his predecessor used before whenever he went out.

Then Julius collapsed on the bed and enjoyed the soft feeling and bliss of peacefulness. He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.