Chapter 559
Professor Moriarty’s Teacher
“What do you mean?” Freya’s spirit perked up at the unexpected crucial information. “Wait, so… are you and… Father still in frequent contact?”
“Yes, young lady. Master often comes to see me, to chat about what he’s been up to. I’ve also told him he can command me for anything he needs. While I am old, I am not yet too old to move.” Oswald said solemnly, “Master said that Cardinal Loki stole something he ‘should not have touched’…”
Upon hearing this, Freya and Lily exchanged a glance subconsciously.
“…And then?” Freya pressed.
“If Young Lady intends to investigate this matter, there’s no need to proceed further,” Oswald replied. “Master is already handling it, and the matter will be peacefully resolved in a ‘Moriarty Style’. After all, we were teacher and student…”
“—Wait, teacher and student?” Freya was surprised. Hearing completely unexpected information, she interrupted Oswald directly, “Does Father… have a teacher-student relationship with Cardinal Loki?”
“Young Lady doesn’t know about this?” Oswald also appeared somewhat surprised. “I thought you did. It’s like this: when Master was young, he came to the Church to study astrology. Cardinal Loki was his mentor back then.”
On the other side, Eivass had already woken up. The reason Eivass specifically chose to meet Loki the next day was precisely because he deeply respected Loki. Originally, Eivass was accompanied by the Butterfly of Paradox Flame, Leah—although she never made a move, she remained hidden in Eivass’s sleeve cuff. After all, summoning a Great Beast on the spot was too slow for high-level combat. The best thing about the Butterfly of Paradox Flame was its concealment. In its travel form, the “Flame Butterfly” would not emit any light if it remained still. Only when the Flame Butterfly flew would it ignite its flames… otherwise, it would appear like a piece of ruby or a fiery red maple leaf.
Although in the original storyline, Cardinal Loki was the first to die, and from the perspective of vested interests, he shouldn’t have been; and now, all the clues pointed to him with extreme detail and accuracy, making it seem like someone was framing him.
—However, the Trolls were a key thread. Relying on the kidnapping of Old Rabih by Bram, Eivass led the Trolls to Cardinal Loki. But Cardinal Loki clearly refused to help Eivass find him and warned Eivass that he was being targeted—and Eivass was indeed targeted by Bram. Bram’s act of stealing the “Wildfire Giant” form above his level meant that this person voluntarily gave his vital essence; and the Wildfire Giant was the Church’s local BOSS…
And most crucially… in the original plot, Eivass did not destroy the Noble Red, thus he did not provoke the Bear Heavenly Envoy, and Bram would not have come to the Church to “hunt” him. Therefore, Bram must have contacted someone after arriving at the Church and stolen their Giant’s blood.
Coupled with the fact that the Saintess and Cardinal Matilda had been vague about Cardinal Loki’s “secret” before, the weight of that secret was roughly on the same level as the Saintess’s Amber. Eivass suddenly had a bold conjecture—
Cardinal Loki is the Wildfire Giant Utgarðar-Loki!
Once this conjecture arose, Eivass immediately felt that the name “Utgarðar-Loki” was very similar to Cardinal Loki: the final part of it sounded very close to “Loki.” “Loki” was pronounced in Elven Language, clear, elastic, and dynamic; while “Utgarðar-Loki” was in Giant Language, more steady and vague. If “Utgarðar-Loki” were pronounced in Elven Language, the ending would also become Loki.
—If calculated this way, Cardinal Loki might not be dead at all! He actually faked his death, escaped, and then transformed into the Wildfire Giant Utgarðar-Loki! Although Utgarðar-Loki inexplicably lost his mind, it’s not strange for a Giant to lose its mind; thinking further, Cardinal Loki’s “Controlled Fire” philosophy was very similar to Professor Moriarty’s “Preemptive Death”…
Thus, Eivass switched his Beast of Sin the previous night. As the saying goes, “Viness for important matters, little butterfly for trivial ones…” and now it had reached the “important matters” stage. He summoned the Book of Law and used “Melting Card” for the first time in a while—the equipment special effect called [Great Sin Strengthen]. He used the “God of Death” belonging to [Earthbound Spirit], the “Moon” belonging to [Blade of Shadow], the “Wheel of Fate” belonging to [Thunderous Halberd], and the “Lust” belonging to [Charm Aura] all to strengthen the Night Demon. They turned into streams of light, swirling and flying into the card that was as clear and deep as black crystal.
Viness, with a 20% increase in all attributes, was summoned by Eivass after a long time! If it came down to a fight, Viness, with her powers fully unleashed and enhanced by Eivass, could at least protect Eivass. Now that he had woken up, Eivass’s Mana and card cooldowns had fully recovered. Not to mention, Eivass’s [Dissolving Soul] trait allowed him to cast blessings below “medium” scale without a ritual. With a 20% stat boost and three buffs from Eivass, Viness could even defeat Loki in a short time! Eivass even felt that if the Eternal Pope didn’t use High-Tier Divine Art to have a powerful figure act on his behalf, Viness might even be able to fight the Eternal Pope head-on.
“Viness.” Eivass called softly, and the Crow, quietly perched in the corner of the room, suddenly opened its blood-red eyes. It flapped its wings and landed on Eivass’s shoulder. Then, Eivass picked up his scepter and bestowed three blessings onto the little Crow: “Strengthen,” “Life Steal,” and “Valor.” A Pure White Saintess could summon such radiance with a mere wave of her hand, but Eivass needed to layer three buffs to achieve a similar effect… and the numerical values would likely still be significantly lower.
“…The Eternal Saintess’s inheritance is indeed powerful.” Eivass sighed.
“Indeed.” Viness, in Crow form, let out a pleasant, ethereal voice like a dream. “During the Empire era, a legend circulated among the Children of the Moon… it was said that if a Child of the Moon was fortunate enough to absorb the blood of an Eternal Saintess, they might even have a chance to become a ‘Perfect Being’.”
“…Perfect Being?” Eivass was stunned. “The one who transcends and reaches the Sixth Tier in love, that ‘Perfect Being’?” He had heard the term before… in fact, he was too familiar with it.
“My great Master, you’ve even heard of this secret that only exists within the Children of the Moon?” Viness praised. “You are truly an omniscient lord.”
“Do you mean that the job change to Perfect Being requires Saintess’s blood? Or is it that a Child of the Moon who absorbs Saintess’s blood has a chance to become a Perfect Being?” Eivass pressed.
“How would I know… it’s just a legend. I even suspect someone spread rumors to make the brainless Children of the Moon attack the Saintess Candidate, thereby provoking the Church’s wrath and using it to destroy the Children of the Moon. Wouldn’t you say my theory is more reasonable?” Viness spread her wings.
To be fair, that was indeed the case. —If Eivass didn’t know that in the original version 0, a “Perfect Being” BOSS would truly appear. Eivass mentally filed this information away and then, with Viness disguised as a crow pet, boarded the lift and headed to the Eleventh Ring where Cardinal Loki was located.
Unexpectedly, Cardinal Loki seemed to have known Eivass was coming to find him. He specifically arranged for guides to wait for Eivass and lead him through a series of transfers to his presence.
“You’ve come.” Loki’s voice came clearly, with his back to Eivass. “I previously asked you to leave, Eivass Moriarty. You should understand… this was my goodwill towards you. In other words, I do not intend to stand with the Bear Heavenly Envoy.” Loki turned back and looked at Eivass, emphasizing, “I am not your enemy, Eivass. But I know you are here today… with killing intent. I know what you want to say—I know far more than you can imagine.” He said calmly and solemnly, “Your father, James Moriarty, is my student. That is why I specifically address you by your full name, just because you are a Moriarty. ‘My past is chasing me, and I will be compelled to act’—do you remember what I said yesterday?” Cardinal Loki said word for word, “I am not referring to the Supreme Heaven, nor the Bear Heavenly Envoy. He indeed has brute strength, but that is all. ‘My past’—refers to James Moriarty. My enemy, and also… your enemy. My rebellious and insane student.”
(End of Chapter)
