Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

Although Ebner made the defeat of a Sequence 6 pirate with a 7,500-pound bounty appear effortless, he had carefully laid extensive groundwork to ensure that decisive final strike.

First, he had set up a ritual to entrap the opposing fleet, forcing Gravina to confront him directly while the other two ships worked to dismantle the various altars, creating an opening.

Without Gravina's aggressive advance, Ebner could have continued manipulating the ritual's pull to systematically isolate and disable the trio. In fact, Gravina's optimal choice would have been to abandon the two other ships, consolidating all Beyonders on Blade of the King to press Ebner with superior numbers.

But without any prior knowledge of Ebner's abilities, Gravina would never have made such an extreme call.

Ebner also used the "negotiation" as a cover, deploying Marionette to gain control over Gravina's spirit strings, robbing him of initiative from the outset. In a sequence of psychological maneuvers, he "bribed" Gravina, "weakened" his attacks, and then imposed Combat Hypnosis to cloud his judgment, leaving him firmly ensnared within Ebner's design.

Further, the mental corruption inflicted by the ghost ship over time had left Gravina slightly "deadened"—a cognitive sluggishness typical of the undead.

All these factors allowed Ebner to slay a peer-level Dawn Paladin in a single stroke.

A crucial advantage, though, was the absence of mid-Sequence Beyonders from the Demon pathway in the King of Immortality's Fourth Fleet. Without them, manipulating Gravina was feasible, as a Demon's presence would have prevented his entry into Ebner's Gate of Death ritual.

It seemed Admiral of Iceberg Edwina had carefully considered this while assigning "tasks"… Her intention had always been to "rescue" Maria, with no plans to harm Agalito. If it had been otherwise, the Death Announcer would likely have been alerted.

When I initially suggested informing Maria, Edwina mentioned it might worsen the outcome. Could that be because if Maria knew in advance, it would prompt her to challenge Agalito—exposing the whole plan?

Could it be that the Pale Justice really has the power to harm a demigod? But according to the pages I saw in Roselle's diary, he wasn't even a high Sequence when he created that sword…

Did he perhaps make a "return trip" to the Southern Continent for a covert meeting—and a weapon upgrade?

Meanwhile, the Admirals of Ailment and Star likely knew nothing of the plan; their actions a mere coincidence, leading them to intercept two other fleets. If those fleets contained Demons, they would have sensed something only when cannon fire began crashing upon them.

As for the Admiral of Iceberg, she likely wouldn't reveal her true intentions until meeting Agalito's first fleet… Self-hypnosis would ensure that, an entirely plausible tactic for someone as capable as Edwina, who could simulate abilities from multiple pathways and wield a host of arcane arts.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Ebner dodged a dozen green-glowing arrows whizzing past, shot by skeleton archers aboard Blade of the King.

Seems this ship has it out for me… Does it have some special bond with Gravina? Ebner mused before activating Pure White Eye to conduct a preliminary analysis of the ghost ship.

A few seconds later, his gaze turned cold as he learned its true nature.

Unlike the Blue Avenger, Blade of the King was fueled by living souls! After each journey, it would compel Gravina to slaughter civilians to satisfy its "appetite."

This ghastly trait was why Blade of the King carried no living crew aside from Gravina. Even the messenger only boarded briefly when summoned, fearful of lingering and becoming "snack food."

A ship like this should not exist.

With a firm resolve, Ebner gripped his Sword of Dawn, deciding to sink the depraved ghost ship to prevent it from falling into other pirates' hands.

Dodging more arrows, Ebner held his sword in a reverse grip and dropped from the sky onto the deck.

With a flash of red from his cape, he drove the Sword of Dawn into the ship's surface, unleashing waves of light that surged outward!

This was Light Storm—a purging force capable of destroying undead, decimating phantoms, and annihilating the soulless.

As the light swept through the ghost ship, its skeletons crumbled to dust, undead corpses disintegrated, and ghostly spirits vanished in a radiant blaze.

The ship's masts, cabins, and deck collapsed, leaving only a "boiler" exposed amid the wreckage.

But Ebner recognized it was no boiler—merely an illusion meant to deceive. Its true fuel was human souls!

With a calm demeanor, Ebner sheathed his Sword of Dawn, extending his left hand and aiming his Ring of Light at the "boiler."

The Blade of the King attempted to summon more undead to thwart Ebner, but its scattered spirit was too weak to resist. In desperation, it manifested illusions of children and beautiful women, pleading and offering promises.

However, Pure White Eye had foreseen these illusions, and Ebner, now in his Mechanical Mind state, ignored them entirely.

He declared, "Light, the bane of the undead and the corrupt, sanctify this judgment!"

The Ring of Light blazed with radiant splendor.

Ebner spread his arms, tilting back as if embracing the heavens.

A column of pure, scorching light descended directly onto the "boiler."

This was Sacred Radiance, unleashed at full force through his magical artifact, a flawless invocation of holy light.

In that instant, the "boiler" revealed its true form—a grotesque blood-red tumor covered in teeth.

The tumor writhed in vain, attempting to avoid the radiant power, but it lacked the mobility to evade the light's reach.

In mere seconds, the tumor melted away, reduced to nothing like a wax candle tossed into a burning hearth.

After the malignant growth dissolved, the Sacred Radiance penetrated the hull, boring a massive hole through the now-unprotected ship.

Excellent, that judgment certainly delivered… Ebner nodded in satisfaction before retrieving Gravina's extracted Dawn Paladin trait from the sinking ghost ship.

Regrettably, Gravina's remains had been reduced to ash by the Light Storm's indiscriminate assault.

"7,500 pounds…" Ebner sighed, shaking his head at the lost bounty, then turned toward the other two ships.

Upon Gravina's death, they'd already begun bombarding the surrounding isles and reefs, disrupting the ritual.

But the captains of Pyromaniac Angelo and Seafarer Chester, witnessing Gravina's swift defeat, dared not advance.

As pirates, they harbored no intentions of avenging a superior. Freed from the pull, they promptly steered their vessels in opposite directions to escape.

Ebner didn't pursue them. He'd achieved his goal of delaying them for thirty minutes, and with the fleet commander dead, he'd even exceeded expectations.

He'd obtained the Dawn Paladin trait and could depart with an ample reward; he had no motivation for a chase.

Besides, the steam-powered vessels would be challenging to catch in the water.

Shaking his head in resignation, Ebner flew to a nearby reef, retrieving his Book of the Dead from a damaged altar.

The unique material of the book had endured even the cannon fire unscathed.

With these tasks complete, he looked towards the distant Blue Avenger, which had already veered sharply away at full speed.

(Chapter End)