When the plot-skips players into the game world

The explosive flames erupted within an instant, spreading outward in fiery waves that extended seven to eight meters, covering almost half of the clock tower's top level!

Grey Falcon didn't even manage to let out a scream before his entire body shattered in those flames and turned to ashes.

Laro was also burned—those flames had spread onto his body. But it seemed he had anticipated this all along. Just as he broke free from the trance of envisioning the future, he dove forward preemptively, barely evading the initial explosion and only allowing the flames to scorch his body.

Without hesitation, he rolled on the ground, swiftly extinguishing the flames.

—In just one exchange, their team of four was reduced by one member!

Misfortunes never come alone—at that moment, they happened to trigger the special victory condition!

[Select One of Three: When there are only three ritual participants left, one must be eliminated within the time limit, or all three will be deemed as failures.]

A simultaneous ten-minute countdown appeared in the minds of the three remaining teammates.

—As if the challenge wasn't hard enough, now they were forced to eliminate one more member!

Instinctively, the three locked eyes with one another.

Before the other two could say anything, Laro practically jumped up from the ground and declared, "I'll do it!"

"No, Laro!"

The princess called out urgently.

"Hey…"

Even facing such a desperate situation, Laro maintained his usual grin, "If it's a big deal, I can just surrender, right?"

He turned solemnly to Aleister and said, "Remember the prophecy I just spoke—the one from the Midnight Bard's 'Starry Prophecy Poem'!"

"…I understand."

Aleister nodded seriously.

She did indeed know of this profession.

It was a rare advancement available to Bards of the Path of Beauty if they branched into Astrologers or Prophets within the Path of Adaptation.

At the start of a battle, practitioners of this profession would enter a trance state, reciting "prophecy poems," which lasted for six seconds.

During boss fights, they typically revealed the opponent's special mechanics; in group PvP, they would spotlight the strongest enemy player; and in duels, they pointed out the opponent's most damaging ability.

However, players who chose this profession often did so for its offensive advantages, as it boasted substantial combat power—its appeal lied in its ability to maintain a six-second self-control delay yet still attract participants.

Every six seconds, the profession triggered "Foreseeing the Future."

Its effects were one of three possibilities: guaranteed evasion of the next non-critical attack, immunity to critical effects from the next critical hit, or an automatic critical hit on the next attack. Furthermore, upon activation, it granted six-second delayed buffs like "increased evasion rate," "reduced critical damage chance," or "guaranteed hit with enhanced critical rate."

If during the buff's duration, a subsequent "Foreseeing the Future" triggered the same buff effect as the previous instance, the buff's duration would be refreshed, adding another layer of effect.

Theoretically, a lucky bard could stack six identical layers of buffs, generating devastating peak damage. Coupled with high-output weapons like dual swords, polearms, or dual magic wands, and skillfully cycling through abilities, they could unleash all their burst potential during the "guaranteed hit with increased critical rate" phase while using auxiliary skills to boost damage or speed in the interim.

As long as the player wasn't persistently unlucky, the Midnight Bard could deal considerable damage.

It was evident Laro lacked offensive means.

Thus, even if he entered the "Oath of Vengeance by Midnight" state that increased his critical rate, he clearly wasn't capable of dealing significant damage.

As a support profession, the last thing he could do… was bestow a few buffs upon Aleister and the others.

"Grasp the spear, strike the enemy."

He began singing a mournful battle hymn, clapping his hands as if pounding drums: "For the homeland and country, march upon the path of stars…"

In an instant, storms and yellow sands erupted around them.

A ring of fine sand resembling a starry halo formed beside everyone—sand armor meant to resist damage.

Meanwhile.

The angel that had shattered Grey Falcon's body with a single punch slowly withdrew its hand.

Behind it remained the tetrahedron symbolizing fire, but this time, no crystalline layer appeared on its surface.

…Was it because it had transformed from wind to fire?

The princess realized this might be an opportunity.

Her hands, previously clasped together, tightened so much that her fingers turned pale. Her pupils glowed a bright yellow hue resembling the Hourglass, and even veins on her forehead bulged.

Black smoke steamed relentlessly from her body, causing the entire clock tower to reverberate with a rumbling sensation.

—She intended to refine the entire clock tower into an indestructible rune giant!

But upon noticing, the angel turned back to gaze at her.

[Alchemy?]

Its voice was mocking.

The princess's heart clenched—she still remembered how Grey Falcon met his end!

But just then, the Wild Hunt King charged forward.

Helquinn transformed into thunder and rushed forward—just one strike was enough to severely injure the unshielded angel and send it flying!

Perfect, this was the opportunity…

The princess felt a surge of relief.

But at that moment, her alchemy abruptly stagnated.

It was as if a roaring, powerful machine suddenly came to a halt, the grinding resistance of gears slowing to a dreaded crawl—she coughed up blood violently and collapsed to her knees. The black smoke around her dispersed in an instant, and the rumbling beneath the ground stopped as if it had been an illusion all along.

It wasn't her strength being taken away, nor her privileges being locked.

Rather, she was outmatched by a greater force—like a family car futilely pushing a fully loaded truck, burning its engine to the point of smoking without making progress.

[I come under the command of the Endless Knot—]

[Alchemy is useless against me, girl!]

The layered voice resounded.

It sounded more like a reminder than a threat.

Soon, the Wild Hunt King clashed with the angel again!

"…Command?"

Princess Noel coughed incessantly while stammering out her doubt.

Laro, startled, immediately began singing the holy song of Candle Master, trying to heal Noel's injuries.

Unfortunately, the bard's jack-of-all-trades nature meant he lacked expertise—whether in protection or healing, he fell short compared to dedicated roles. Under a Fourth Level-grade healing, Noel's coughs merely slowed; she didn't recover immediately.

Upon hearing this exchange, Aleister hesitated for a moment.

Considering the earlier prophecy poem, she seemed to have realized something…

"…In that case. You must survive, Laro."

Suddenly, Princess Noel reached out and shoved Laro away.

Her gaze grew resolute: "Kill me, Miss Aleister!"

"—Release His Holiness the Pope!"

Aleister silently turned her gaze toward Noel, her eyes filled with an unreadable complexity.

She spoke softly, voice tinged with vulnerability: "If you're still present, cast a curse upon Noel...

"For my sake, alright?"

But nothing occurred.

In that moment, a faint glimmer of tears surfaced in Aleister's eyes but quickly vanished amidst flames of determination.

"…Your Holiness! If you don't curse me now, I'll surrender as well!"

Princess Noel raised her hand and shouted.

As a seasoned Alchemist… she understood that the angel was right. To it, alchemy held no meaning. What she had achieved earlier was simply because it "allowed" her to.

After all, she had once felt that same suppression.

—As a child first learning alchemy, she had been stopped by her father, who had reached the Fourth Level. Alchemy fell under the Force of Equilibrium, and the Path of Balance had the unique "Charm Removal" ability to nullify all Path-based extraordinary abilities. Applied to alchemy, it manifested as the capability to decode and neutralize certain phenomena.

Likewise, it inherently possessed abilities for self-nullification and restraint—alchemy itself could be subjected to "Charm Removal" and demystified!

Like an hourglass reversing its flow, stronger Balancers could prevent weaker individuals from taking action.

In that sense, the Path of Balance was an even stricter hierarchy compared to the Path of Authority.

Given the angel's mastery of alchemy far surpassed hers, it meant that her abilities were now obsolete!

Under such circumstances, retaining Laro as a source of group buffs became the optimal choice.

—Yet even now, she had not been afflicted with any curse.

"…Surrender, Noel."

Aleister whispered.

She glanced at the angel, with a fleeting moment of trepidation in her gaze.

Her right hand clenched tightly before slowly relaxing again.

…Ah, this level of mental anomaly… is it due to the Nurturing Skill?

So this is what being shepherded feels like…

In this world, the Fallen Celestial Marshal was not pulled down by the Ring of Ouroboros.

Hence, the foundational power of "Transformation" had evolved into geometric celestial marshals' gemstones scattered across the Material Realm…

But… how would Serpent Celestial Marshal possess any desire for Dedication?

She recalled her employer mentioning that the Serpent Celestial Marshal had entirely transferred the Path of Devotion to Aiwass.

Without a desire for Dedication, the Nurturing Skill should be inapplicable!

She had attempted it—the Nurturing Skill under path imbalance, though executed, proved ineffective.

Wait…

"The ancient Shepherd offered blood…"

Aleister murmured to herself: "Could it mean…"

She already shared a linked perspective with Aiwass and the Serpent Celestial Marshal, their thoughts resembling one another.

For a fleeting moment, she gathered a crucial insight.

Blood…

Ancient blood… Shepherd… blood…

Aleister unconsciously gripped her necklace—her instinctive action whenever she felt uneasy.

At that instant, Aleister froze.

Looking down, she noticed the liquid soul contained within her necklace.

"—I surrender and withdraw."

Just then, Noel decisively raised her hand.

In the next moment, her body disintegrated like an ephemeral illusion.

Meanwhile, the angel, still pursued relentlessly by the Wild Hunt King, suffered grievous wounds while its injuries regenerated only to recur again.

The brilliance behind it transformed into green light and instantly vanished into the whirlwind.

The Wild Hunt King immediately gave chase and disappeared with it.

Soon, both figures emerged from another location simultaneously. The Thunder Javelin clashed with the whirlwind-clad right fist, sending the angel flying once again!

"—Bare fists ultimately pale against divine weapons."

Helquinn remarked.

[Is that so?]

At that moment, a card appeared in the angel's hand.

[Then let's enter the third phase, Helquinn—]

The angel suddenly addressed Helquinn by name.

At last, Aleister confirmed everything.

[—Liya, Fire Meteor!]

The Defiant Flame Butterfly emerged amidst the fiery vortex—

This time, it appeared on the other side.

In that instant, time froze again.

This was the seventh question.

Beyond this, only two more opportunities to answer remained.

If the painting wasn't completed by then, this advancement ritual would fail.

And this question was the simplest in the entire ritual:

[—Who is He?]

There were three equally concise answers:

[—Elemental Emperor]

[—Material Envoy]

And…

[—Eternal Pope]

Why could the "angel" freely cast spells comparable to Sixth Power Level without chanting? Why was the angel itself so fragile—possessing Sixth Power Level strength yet floundering so pathetically when Helquinn closed in? Why did it have nearly invincible self-healing capabilities, surviving Helquinn's relentless assaults? Why did it possess that peculiar halo-like geometric pattern behind it? And, why had the host not terminated the ritual at this point?

This proved the ritual remained under control, meaning the opposing forces were operating within Fourth Power Level parameters.

It wasn't a practice of "Transformation Technique."

—It was the resonance-triggered Advanced Divine Art under the influence of the Endless Knot!