When he discovered that the "Dark Angel" had awakened, Caine merely felt a tightening in his heart, remaining alert and cautious—not overly frightened or tense. After all, he had initially confirmed that the true "Dark Angel" had returned to the ancient body of the Sun God. Having been betrayed by beings such as the "Lord of Storms," the "Eternal Blaze," and the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom," the Dark Angel had regenerated on the remains of its corpse, driven by negative and extreme emotions, evolving into the "True Creator." It had not returned here; what remained at most were fragments of spirit and will. Moreover, he had just engaged in a relatively normal exchange of communication with the residual spirit of the "Dark Angel" Sathelir, sensing no clear hostility from the other side. Yet, as the senior elder of the Six Councilors of Silver City, Loviya, lost all resistance and instantly collapsed upon the "Dark Angel" opening her eyes—transforming into a flowing shadow with eyes hidden behind the shadow veil—Cain could not help but widen his pupils, lift the corner of his mouth with a broad, almost joyful arc, and feel an overwhelming sense of fear and despair, as though he were helplessly falling into the abyss, grasping at nothing to save himself. Simply awakening from sleep, without summoning any extraordinary abilities or manifesting her mythical form, and yet causing a full collapse in a native Sequence-4 half-god—what an unprecedented dignity, what a terrifying phenomenon! In that very moment, the titles he had silently repeated in his mind surged to the forefront of his consciousness: The Left Hand of God, Deputy King of Heaven, and the King of Angels among the Kings of Angels! Klein had not merely interacted with the King of Angels—he had, in fact, startled the "Red Angel" Medici, struck a deal with the "Ideal Angel" Adam, secured access to this palace through a key obtained from the "Wisdom Angel" Heraberg, extracted magical recipes from the "Pure White Angel" Osecus, leveraged the true name of the "Wind Angel" to gain advantage, broken the "Fate Cycle" imposed by the "Fate Angel" Ululios, and engaged in repeated strategic exchanges with the "Time Angel" Amon. He was, without doubt, the one among the sequence-0-level figures who had most frequently intersected with the Kings of the Angels. Yet, in these divine encounters, he had, for the most part, either avoided direct conflict with the Kings of the Angels or, when conflict arose, either escaped instantly thanks to the power of the "Source Fortress" or severed contact altogether—never truly facing them in a direct confrontation. The sole exception was when the "Time Angel" Amon captured him, during which he engaged in multiple clashes within just a few days. At that time, it was primarily a matter of strategy rather than direct combat. The "Angel of Time," Amun, more clearly displayed the traits of the "God of Cunning" than the full regalia and power of an Angelic King. Only at the very climax did his true stature and strength fully emerge—yet even then, he was obstructed by the Night Goddess, who used the young son of the Giant King as a barrier, ensuring no direct harm or significant impact on Caine. Even so, whenever Amun briefly shone during the journey, he effortlessly defeated Caine's "strongest team"—a group that surpassed his own peak capabilities, a feat Caine can no longer replicate. Indeed, summoning the historical image of Chalatua through the historical rifts posed a greater risk to Caine himself. Now, facing them directly, Caine and Colin Iliad, along with the Sun, Deryck, were confronting the Angelic King among the Angels—the very Deputy King of Heaven, whose very presence was filled with malice. A single moment of divine intervention was enough to shatter and unmake a Sequence 4 demi-god. Such an enemy, such a presence, such strength—how could they not feel despair? For a brief moment, Caine considered abandoning Deryck and the chief of Silver City, using the summoning power of "The Source Keep," and with a single thought, returning to "Above the Gray Mist," where he could revive himself outside the realm of the gods through the final miracle and the "deception of the bullet." As his thoughts raced, Caine raised his "Star Staff." At that very instant, the shadow that had collapsed and spiraled into chaos ceased its flow, emitting a low, resonant voice—full of pain, yet not yet frantic: "He is not that strong!" As she spoke, the curtain-like shadow parted, revealing what lay behind it. It was a mass of pulsating flesh, nearly two meters tall, with a pair of pale gray eyes at its summit—eyes that seemed to gaze upon the entire world, still radiating a clear, discernible trace of rationality. From this mass of flesh, arms, forearms, thighs, and calves—each lacking a skin surface and flowing with thick blood—grew out, either supporting the body or contracting layer by layer toward the chest, tightly cradling a large, creamy human skull. The shadow curtain settled once more upon this mass of flesh, becoming "her" cloak. Then, a spectral figure clad in silver full armor, standing five to six meters tall, appeared before Loviya. This was her "Silver Knight," the one she tended as a herdsman. She remained in control, able to launch attacks specifically against the "Dark Angel," Sasselir. Witnessing this scene and hearing Loviara's words, neither Caine nor Colin Iliard needed much further explanation from each other to quickly grasp her intended meaning: "The Dark Angel" Sathelir did not display the strength one might expect. Instead, he had merely exploited the influence of his "Fallen" power and the high-ranking members of his path over lower-tier sequence members, causing Loviara's body to fall, betray, and collapse on the spot—while her spirit remained clear-minded and rational, retaining a certain degree of control over her own powers. Of course, as her body lost control, a growing tide of contamination would gradually erode her spirit. Soon, she would become completely insane unless the battle was resolved swiftly and effectively, enabling her to transform into an evil spirit and survive in a different form. With this understanding, combined with the first "defiled slab" he had just witnessed and his own earlier speculations, Caine now had an initial judgment of who his current adversaries truly were: He was a synthesis of the spirit, will, and essence of the "Dark Angel," blended with the forces of the "Chaos Sea" embodied in the first "defiled slab"—perhaps even carrying a trace of the "Primordial," that is, the fragmented, frenzied, and malevolent consciousness of the very first Creator who had awakened! This made him an alternative, perhaps incomplete, spirit-being of evil—an entity that might not fully qualify as an angel. And this very reason could explain why the higher beings—such as the "True Creator," the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, and Amun, His brother—had not personally entered the Giant King's palace: once near the "Primordial" and the "Chaos Sea," the risk escalated dramatically, the higher the rank, the greater the peril! Initially, when Amun, known as "the Error," deployed a duplicate to ambush Klien at Chernobyl, he hadn't dared truly enter the "Sea of Chaos"—instead, he descended the cliff face and took refuge near its edge, feigning that he had emerged from within, for otherwise it might have compromised his own essence. His sequence was relatively low, and he was unable to withstand the gradual erosion that surged forth after the great doors of the Giant King's palace were opened, an erosion that had accumulated over two millennia. Even though high-ranking entities carefully selected suitable Sequence 3 and Sequence 4 half-gods to indirectly assist them in overcoming the adverse effects of this erosion and enable them to reach the hidden, dormant realm nestled in the shadows, without the vital "Primordial Substance" counteracting the negative impacts of the outflowing forces from the "Sea of Chaos," they could not have truly approached the lingering form of the "Dark Angel" Sathelir or secured the first "Board of Desecration." Thus, the "True Maker" has repeatedly tolerated Kline, constantly seeking opportunities to erode him, compelling him to meet the "Dark Angel" Sathiril—because Kline is an utterly unique choice. Likewise, the gods and angelic kings concerned with this matter, such as the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" Heraberg and the "Angel of Imagination" Adam, have each made arrangements around Kline, bestowing upon him various gifts. Without hesitation, Kline, already raising the "Staff of Stars" in his mind, swiftly sketched out a vivid image. Colin Iliad stepped forward, bowing slightly. The body of the Chief of Silver City swelled dramatically, once again revealing an incomplete mythic being—now towering five or six meters high, clad in silver armor, wielding two massive morning-sun blades as a "Silver Knight." Drik, however, moved more slowly, as a seasoned half-god, quickly extended his arms as if embracing the void before him. At that moment, two dark flames ignited within the eyes of the awakened "Dark Angel" Sasselir. With a height comparable to that of the giants, He lowered His left arm, placed His palm upon the handrail, and slowly rose to his feet. One after another, His ornate accessories cascaded down, and layer upon layer of ethereal, dark wings unfurled behind Him. During this process, the shadow "cloak" that had formed around the pulsating flesh of Loviya came to life, tightening suddenly inward and securely anchoring her in place. Simultaneously, from the black robe adorned with silver threads and mysterious patterns, one after another, silver-white lightning serpents materialized, rapidly growing and crackling together, swiftly extending forward, transforming into a magnificent ocean of thunder that surged to engulf the entire shadow palace. Then— A sound of ethereal chimes resonated from the long history, echoing gently throughout the shadow palace. Before him stood a weathered, ancient stone great clock, its dial divided into twelve unequal sections by shades of gray and dark green, each section bearing distinct, mysterious, asymmetrical symbols. Three slender pointers, seemingly composed of "Chrono-creatures," swiftly jumped in place. As the clock's chime resonated once more, the surging ocean of lightning spreading rapidly throughout the shadowed palace momentarily stilled. Klein had successfully rekindled the extraordinary abilities of the "Angel of Time," Amun, using his "Stave of Stars"—and the effect was notably stronger than in his earlier attempts. This led him to suspect that he may have received not only the permission of the "God of Deceit," but even a certain blessing from him. It's not simply about simulating and replicating Amun's extraordinary abilities to gain His attention; rather, this Angelic King embodies the very uniqueness of the "Thief's Path," serving as the sovereign of his domain and the steward of his authority—capable of making moderate adjustments to certain abilities, adding or removing specific elements. It appears that Amun has also been anticipating Caine's visit to the Giant King's residence, to meet the "Dark Angel" Salsilir, and thus has preemptively fine-tuned certain aspects of his own domain's extraordinary abilities, reducing specific permissions, thereby ensuring that even a straightforward simulation achieves a favorable outcome. While the Sea of Lightning momentarily stagnates, Loviya's "Silver Knight" spirit and Colin Iliad simultaneously drive their massive swords into the ground, establishing two intangible barriers, and Caine's form fades, vanishing from sight.