Chapter 336: Chapter 336

The original plan was simply to trick the shopkeeper into ensnaring Jenkins within his time control, forcing him to suffer a backlash. He never imagined the Bestowal would be obliterated by the sheer essence of a god, unleashing such a spectacular phenomenon.

With such chaos erupting, he needed to make a swift exit. Still, this worked to his advantage. For a while, at least, the Orthodox Churches and other curious parties would have their attention fixed on this spot, which would help his future plans proceed smoothly.

Before departing, he made sure to scan the area with his Eye of Reality. He wouldn't be taking the contagion with him—it was pointless anyway. For this occasion, he'd use the alias "Mr. Candle." After all, he hadn't actually broken any laws.

The grandfather clock, though now just a heap of components, wasn't entirely useless. Its three hands still pulsed with a dense, white spiritual glow. While it could no longer be considered a Bestowal, the potent temporal mystery it held was still incredibly valuable.

He hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against torching the shop. Slipping out the back door into the clock shop's courtyard, he vaulted the warehouse's rear wall into the alley beyond. After altering his appearance once more, he strolled onto the main street, affecting the air of a bored loafer.

Despite the falling snow, pedestrians stood about unbothered, gathered in small clusters and buzzing with talk about the spectacle that had just unfolded in the sky.

"How is the Church going to explain this one?"

Jenkins mused, imagining the Bishop must be wrestling with a massive headache right now. He felt a pang of guilt, but since he'd taken care of a particularly nasty cultist, he still chalked it up as a win.

It wasn't yet nine o'clock, meaning there was still plenty of time before the two women from the Witch's House were due at Alexia Miller's. Finding a carriage had cost him some time, but it was all within the acceptable parameters of his plan.

For the second time that day, he knocked on the apartment door. The landlady shook her head but ushered Jenkins inside anyway:

"She's not back yet. You can come in and wait for her."

Alexia Miller hadn't come back with Audrey. Because of the celestial event, Audrey had been summoned by the Church of the Myriad Phenomena of the Starry Sky to assist.

However, Alexia had already gathered all the ritual components Jenkins required. Purchased in haste, they had been exorbitant, but Jenkins could just manage to cover the cost.

Instead of verbally recounting how they had collaborated to capture the witches during the previous thirty-first, he simply used his [Knowledge Bestowal] ability to share the memory of it with her directly.

"Since you have to be the one to act, are we still using a maze-lock this time?" she asked. "And another thing... that incident just now, you weren't behind that, were you? Was that Bestowal really destroyed?"

"Destroyed," he confirmed. "A slight deviation from the plan."

He hadn't anticipated the Bestowal would be so fragile. He'd even considered acquiring it for himself, which would have certainly streamlined today's operation.

"But it's nothing to worry about. Just a tiny hiccup," he insisted, more to himself than to her. "Yes, just a tiny hiccup. Nothing else will go wrong with the plan!" Newest update provıded by novel•fire.net

He gave his assurance before outlining the next steps. "We can't use a maze-lock. Trying to define what constitutes 'me acting personally' would make things far too complicated. Since we already extracted the necessary information from them during the last thirty-first, you won't need to capture them this time. The plan we discussed—a fair contract to share power—should suffice."

"That's a good, solid approach," Alexia agreed. "However, once this is all over, I expect you to explain exactly how you created that spectacle in the sky. I have a few theories, but I'm dying of curiosity."

Jenkins had worried the massive disturbance he'd caused might create a butterfly effect, prompting the witches to abandon their plan or change their timing. Fortunately, the two women appeared at the expected location, right on schedule.

Though misfortune seemed to be Jenkins's constant companion, this time, at least, it seemed the reclusive god of Fate had smiled upon him.

They stood in the center of the room, a scroll of parchment hovering in the air between them. The power of a contract was impartial; what was borrowed must be repaid. The last time, in the Mysterious Realm, Alexia had gifted Jenkins the [Knowledge Bestowal] ability. This time, Jenkins agreed to lend his power back to her, should the need arise.

It was an equitable exchange.

The moment they signed their names, the parchment burst into white flames and crumbled to ash. From the embers, two palm-sized metal plates emerged. Jenkins picked up the one engraved with a portrait of Alexia, while she took the other.

"This should do it," she said. "Take this chance to truly experience the power of a high-level Enchanter. It's a rare opportunity,"

Jenkins smiled, pressing the metal plate against his chest.

As arranged, the landlady sent Jane and Mamie straight up to the second floor. There were no mathematical puzzles to solve this time, but the expressions on their faces as they pushed open the door were even more fraught. Seated on the sofa, directly opposite the entrance, were Alexia Miller and Jenkins.

Alexia greeted them as the lady of the house. At the same moment, Jenkins, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.

Instantly, a cascade of multicolored blocks of light erupted behind him. Alexia took another step back, her eyes wide and unblinking, fixed on the manifestation of the Mathematical Principles.

"So this is the power of a high-level Enchanter?"

He marveled under his breath, extending his hands. Deep within the swirling blocks of color, a dense web of symbols shimmered, on the verge of emerging into full view.

[Mathematical Principles] was a White Basic ability that Alexia had developed herself. She considered it an active ability, one that could chain with numerous others once triggered.

A case in point was her [Mathematical Principles: Fusion].

From Jenkins's perspective, however, he hadn't done a thing. The blocks of color behind him had simply manifested on their own.

He summoned the motes of light that represented his abilities, and the already crowded constellation now seemed impossibly dense.

The women at the door realized something was amiss and prepared to strike back. Jenkins, for his part, was already planning to use one of the many fascinating abilities that chained with [Mathematical Principles] to secure a swift victory—

A mental trigger chimed.

Audrey stood alone in the snow, holding a dainty lady's umbrella. Ahead of her, the clock shop was completely cordoned off by the Orthodox Church.

She had learned from a friend earlier that morning what was supposed to happen today. But she had never expected it to escalate into such a grand spectacle.

"Audrey, about the divination..."

Stepping out from the cordoned-off shop was another one of her friends in Nolan, a woman named Evegarden, a follower of the great Righteous God of the Myriad Phenomena of the Starry Sky.