Franca had been carefully avoiding certain phrases, but since Lumian himself brought it up, there was no need to tread so cautiously anymore.

With a self-deprecating tone, she whispered, "Can you really stop being a pawn?"

Ever since she was pulled into the protected zone and learned from Anthony and Ludwig what had happened, she felt as though she had developed "pawn arrangement PTSD." Whenever she heard similar terms, her heart clenched, and her mood darkened.

This symptom showed no signs of improvement over time.

Lumian was silent for two seconds before raising his right hand and flicking the dark gold, peculiar mask at the center of the head on his left shoulder.

With a metallic "clang," the faces of Cheek and Tudor reflexively furrowed their brows.

After nearly a year of adaptation and mastery, Lumian could now exert tangible control over the two faces when in his lucid state, although some nuances were still beyond his grasp.

After flicking the mask, Lumian spoke in a low voice, "After my merging with Him, unless the one worshipped by the Aurora Order achieves complete victory or is entirely defeated-allowing a true God Almighty to be born-no one can manipulate me anymore.

"Look at us. We've entered the ruins, made such a commotion, and stayed for so long, yet the Great Mother hasn't even glanced our way despite us simply relying on the cover of the Fog of War. Can you believe that?"

"He's akin to a scaled-down original Creator-the Oldest One-or a yet-to-be-fully-revived Primordial God Almighty, which grants you a high status?" Franca nodded in sudden understanding.

"What I'm about to do next will remain highly concealed unless directly scrutinized," Lumian confirmed Franca's speculation, sitting down beside her atop the collapsed clock tower and gazing out at the ruins of Trier beyond the Fog of War.

Franca was silent for a few seconds before tilting her head and asking, "So, what exactly do you want to do next?"

The next moment, she saw Lumian smile.

It was a spirited smile, tinged with mischief-an expression Franca had never seen on Lumian's face before.

"I'm going to save the world."

For a moment, Franca felt as though she was listening to some prankster boast on the spot.

She didn't question him. Instead, she asked, "Do you have any hope of succeeding?"

Lumian, gazing at the endless ruins ahead, chuckled and replied, "If I don't act, and the Great Mother completely overpowers the half of Her will and achieves fusion, or if the barrier in the sky fails entirely, then there will be no hope whatsoever. But if I act, at least hope isn't zero. There'll be just a sliver.

"Besides, I'm not the only one preparing to save the world; there are others trying as well."

At this, Lumian turned to look at Franca, his tone drifting as though recalling something.

"When I was irrational, driven purely by divine instinct, that instinct allowed me to glimpse certain truths-or perhaps root causes.

"Everything in this world originates from the Original Creator. All living beings, all Beyonder characteristics, the way events unfold, and the miraculous turns of fate-all of it.

"What does this mean? It means separation leads to convergence. Something good will inevitably carry bad aspects, and vice versa.

"This is the essence of the world, the fundamental symbol that governs all things. Even existences as powerful as the Great Mother can't completely avoid it.

They can only mitigate its influence."

Franca, somewhat bewildered, said, "I understand dialectics, but what does this have to do with what you want to do?"

Lumian shifted his gaze back to the ruins.

"The Great Mother's prior arrangements undoubtedly demonstrated Her level of power and wonder. She achieved multiple objectives in one stroke, almost turning our resistance into a joke. But with every good aspect comes a bad one. Her arrangements have left things that we can exploit-things which might prove critical later." r�

"Like what?" Franca now understood the gist of Lumian's point.

Lumian shook his head. "There are things you can't know yet. You're not an Angel."

He paused before adding, "Put simply, the Great Mother set up many things to ensure Omebella's true birth. Some succeeded, some failed in the past, and some were kept as backups. They all left certain marks, even physical remnants.

"For instance, the bird egg deep in the Underworld. For instance, Lugano."

"Lugano?" Franca was first surprised, then seemed to understand. "So you think he's still useful?"

Lumian chuckled in response. "I've finally figured it out - he was drawn to me by the fragment of Zedus's soul within me. It's because of his presence that I got deeply involved in the Father Montserrat matter and obtained Omebella's umbilical remains.

"After that, he was essentially useless to the Great Mother. It's only due to the corruption stemming from his characteristics that he now possesses certain peculiarities in his dreams.

"I won't plan anything for him. As long as he's alive and still submits to me, he'll play the role I need at some critical juncture."

Franca didn't delve further, as she wasn't an Angel.

She stared blankly at the head in the center of Lumian's shoulders and said with a bitter smile.

"But what can you, a dual Sequence 1 King of Angels, do in the current situation?"

Lumian turned his head, meeting Franca's lake-blue eyes, and replied with a smile, "You know what I was like. You also know what I've been through. I'm nobody, even if I've stood at the center of the stage and been applauded-all because strings were pulling me from behind. Don't comfort me. I haven't given up on myself.

"I learned something in the dream city: even the most foolish person, after thinking a thousand, ten thousand times, will eventually get it right once. Now, as someone who's failed countless times, I'm going to challenge the future again. Maybe this time, I'll succeed."

As he spoke, Lumian's smile brightened, revealing his unabashed hope and expectation.

He immediately chuckled at himself. "Anyway, it can't get worse for me than it already is."

Franca gazed at his smile and said nothing for a long time.

"I also want to see what Aurore and Jenna's eventual resurrection will look like, and what sort of distortions it will entail," Lumian said, his gaze once again darkening as he looked out at the greenery-covered ruins beyond the Fog of War. "By then, there will surely be a calamity sweeping the entire world. For the Great Mother's Blessed and followers, it will indeed be a disaster.

"You'll participate in the early stages, complete your ritual, take the potion, and become a Demoness of Catastrophe. Then, Madam Magician will help transfer you to the edge of the cosmos or some unnoticed star system, where a human-suitable environment can be created."

Franca was silent for two seconds before saying. "Okay."

"I thought you'd refuse." Lumian said, glancing at Franca.

Franca stared ahead, her gaze crystalline and profound, and said, "I was planning to refuse. But then I thought-even if I become a Sequence 2 Demoness, it probably won't make much of a difference."

When the crimson moon descended, the Demoness Sect did not receive enough "protection," losing two Demonesses of Catastrophe-the Demoness of Blue and the Demoness of Purple. The latter's Beyonder characteristics and body ingredients were obtained by Angel of Fate Ouroboros, passed through two trades, and eventually ended up in Lumian's hands. He gave them to Franca, who was now waiting for the opportunity to perform the ritual.

Franca paused and revealed a self-mocking smile.

"Anyway, my answer just now was half perfunctory to stop you from persuading me further or feeling burdened, which might affect your performance. In the end, whether I go or stay depends on the situation."

Lumian nodded with the head in the center and chuckled, "If you can't leave or don't want to, then we'll stay together forever, Live together, or die together."

"That's a good thing." Franca responded half-sincerely, half-mockingly.

Lumian said nothing more, gazing out at the ruins, his thoughts wandering to unknown places.

After a while, Franca, who was also staring ahead, moved her eyes slightly and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "What's on your mind?"

Lumian raised the head in the center slightly, gazing through the Fog of War at the crimson moonlight and dim stars in the sky.

"I'm thinking that if Cordu hadn't been struck by disaster-if all the arrangements, pain, and torment hadn't happened-and if there had been a good teacher to guide me and Aurore together, teaching me the principles of life and morality, then facing the current situation, this crisis affecting all humanity, I probably would have willingly stood up without a trace of self-destructive tendencies. I would have chosen to be a true guardian..."

Before Franca could respond, he laughed at himself. "But alas, there are no 'ifs'."

He stood up, brushed the dust off his body, and said to Franca, who also rose, "Let's go back. Time to start the first step of the plan."

…

In Trier, inside that luxurious villa.

Lumian and Franca entered the living room to find Madam Justice sitting on a single sofa, chatting with Anthony. By her side, the golden-furred, gold-rimmed- glasses-wearing Susie crouched gracefully, exuding a gentle aura.

Madam Justice turned her gaze to Lumian. "You summoned my messenger to call me here. What is it you need?"

After obtaining Edefana's Beyonder characteristics and body ingredients, and having digested the Dreamweaver potion long ago, Madam Justice had completed her ritual months earlier and become a Sequence 2 Discerner, now a true Angel.

Lumian, with the head in the center smiling, spoke sincerely, "Madam, there's something I need your help with."