Chapter 561
The Last Lie
“…I understand.”
Eivass’s mind suddenly became clear. “You stole the Tears of Time to frame the Pure White Saintess—your goal is to destroy Freya and Grey simultaneously!
“You don’t want the research to synthesize Amber to progress, nor do you want the legacy of the Eternal Saintess to continue. So you plan to use the potion from Freya’s synthesis to murder the Pure White Saintess, thereby framing Freya!”
“Hmph.”
Loki chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.
In that case, this part matched up.
Why only one-third? Because only one person was intended to be murdered initially, and even with the degradation in performance, this was sufficient.
If Bishop Mercedes hadn’t died, if Gloria hadn’t had an accident, Eivass would never have connected the stolen potion to Loki and the Pure White Saintess. They would have gone to the Eleventh Ring to ask Cardinal Loki who the culprit was, and even treated Cardinal Loki as a friendly NPC.
“…So.”
Eivass pressed on, “Why did you murder Bishop Mercedes and Gloria Blue Rose?”
“I told you, they weren’t killed by me.”
Loki sighed helplessly. “I’m past the age where I have to lie in every sentence. Only when every usual sentence is the truth can the last lie be believed.
“Recall carefully, Eivass, what were my exact words at the time?”
—The death of Bishop Mercedes? That has nothing to do with me. I know about it because I saw it.
—You can’t even protect Bishop Mercedes, and you still want to protect Eivass?
—As far as I know, Bishop Mercedes offered no resistance when she died.
He could see that Gloria had killed Mercedes. Mercedes had been stabbed in the womb, died from an injury that should have been impossible to be fatal, and offered no resistance throughout the entire process.
Loki had told the Pure White Saintess that Eivass had far more troubles than Mercedes, and that they were related to the past that was chasing him; he also said that he himself was not involved, but that it was related to the people of Controlled Fire.
And Loki had only explained one thing in all of this. That was Gloria’s suicide.
…But what if.
What if the fact that Gloria killed Mercedes was not primarily pushed by Loki, but by Professor Moriarty?
—Then that accounts for at least eighty percent!
Because of this occurrence, Eivass, despite instinctively believing Loki was not involved, would still be on guard. Furthermore, the person who died happened to be Bishop Mercedes, whom the Pure White Saintess cared about, and given that the Pure White Saintess and Loki already had a poor relationship, she would inevitably clash with Loki.
It was also because of Gloria’s suicide that, the moment the Tears of Time were stolen, everyone who knew about Gloria’s death subconsciously suspected Loki.
And if Loki’s true intention was the Pure White Saintess, while also framing Freya…
Then he should have acted as little as possible, minimizing his presence.
The Pure White Saintess had already begun synthesizing Amber, and how much impact could the death of Bishop Mercedes have on her? Loki indeed had the Tears of Time; did he really need such an event to force her to synthesize Amber?
Loki was Moriarty’s mentor, and a pioneer of the “Controlled Fire” revered by all elves. He didn’t seem like an idiot.
If Loki were the Wildfire Giant… his current reaction indicated that he had long since gained control over the wrath in his bloodline.
Trolls were imitations of Giants, and among the few trolls Eivass had seen, while there were simpletons, there were also two intelligent ones. Giants, as the prototypes for trolls, were unlikely to lack wisdom. It was like the Giants of the North, who cooled their brains through extreme cold. Once the primal wrath deep within their bloodline could be controlled, they would receive enlightenment on the Path of Wisdom.
Loki couldn’t be a fool.
Judging by Bram’s demeanor, he was likely playing cat’s cradle by Loki—he was protected by the Candlemaster, and even unafraid of threats from the Bear Heavenly Envoy. Yet he was solely wary of his former student, Professor Moriarty.
In addition, this possessed a familiar style to Eivass: “all clues and evidence point to the same person.”
Although Eivass could initially disregard misdirection to some extent due to prior information, as more evidence appeared, he couldn’t help but waver.
The saying “three people can make a tiger”… Eivass was no exception.
Loki was indeed guilty.
Stealing experimental materials, attempting to harm the Saintess, and wanting to frame Eivass’s sister, Freya.
But the fact that Gloria killed Mercedes had absolutely nothing to do with him!
The Tears of Time could indeed accelerate Amber synthesis… but even if it could induce depression without experimentation, it couldn’t possibly make Mercedes willing to die.
This manipulation of human hearts was more like Professor Moriarty’s style.
With this, Eivass understood—
“So that’s it, the order was reversed!”
Eivass’s eyes lit up, and he blurted out, “It wasn’t that Gloria became infatuated and collapsed after being tainted by the Tears of Time, leading her to kill Mercedes, but rather that she collapsed after realizing she had killed Mercedes…”
The one truly controlled by Professor Moriarty was likely Bishop Mercedes.
She had entrusted Gloria with performing the ritual to save her soul; and when Gloria came to her senses and realized what she had done, her originally good mood completely shattered. The door that only the Pope’s Guard and Cardinals could open, Oswald could also open.
Although he was not a currently serving Pope’s Guard, he carried the inheritance of the Pope’s Guard. Apart from their attire, their powers were identical.
“…Then why didn’t you explain it clearly from the beginning?”
“Would it have helped?”
Cardinal Loki retorted sarcastically, “By the time you came to me, my rebellious student’s objective had already been achieved. Anything I said would only be an excuse… The more I said, the easier it would be to reveal my true intentions.
“Rather, it’s the opposite, using it to attack the Pure White Saintess. Seeing her foolishness… perhaps without me having to act, she would withdraw from the papal election on her own.”
In this way, every word Loki spoke was actually true:
—Rather than delaying Amber synthesis and her soul ultimately freezing within those sculptures, she preferred a brief and brilliant death.
—How can you define her actions towards Mercedes as murder… rather than salvation?
—Are you so sure she wanted to live, and wait for the future Amber synthesis with you?
Rather than using lies to make people believe every sentence was true…
Cardinal Loki utilized lies on an even higher level—he used complete truth to make people believe it was all lies, thereby achieving the effect that only people who thought he was lying could achieve.
“…Was it because of Sister Freya?”
Eivass murmured, “Because she is the daughter of Anna Kingsford… so when you intended to frame her, her father decided to teach you a lesson. That’s why he used these two ‘certain to die’ lives to interfere with your plan and expose your hidden secrets prematurely.”
“James is not an ordinary person. Perhaps in his youth, he was swayed by love, but now he can no longer be called human,”
Loki said slowly, and then began to walk forward. “I don’t know exactly why he suddenly obstructed me… but there is one thing I am certain of.
“The ritual that Mercedes performed… the reason I kept it secret from you was because it also helped my plan.
“James is that kind of person. He always proposes solutions that everyone agrees with, but he is ultimately the beneficiary. Even knowing it’s a conspiracy, it’s difficult to escape his trap. Because you cannot precisely determine whether he wants you to remain silent or resist. And his understanding of human hearts surpasses my knowledge of the stars.
“I believe you are missing the last piece of the puzzle. With this piece, you can piece together all the truths.
“And I will give you this opportunity.”
Loki took a step forward with each sentence. Eivass, however, remained standing still, his expression unchanged.
As he approached, Viness flew down from Eivass’s shoulder and blocked the space between the two.
She suddenly felt a strong sense of threat—her scarlet pupils widened, and she let out an unpleasant and loud caw like a crow.
“Mercedes was carrying a child. Mercedes’ union with the other party was not entirely for love, but more to disrupt the Saintess’s lineage—because the other party flowed with the blood of the Child of the Moon. She wanted to create a Moon Holy Son who could reach the realm of the ‘Perfect Being’.
“Mercedes, who was so averse to the Saintess’s lineage, worked so hard to maintain her status as Candidate Saintess precisely to prepare for this ritual. But Mercedes was ultimately just a Candidate Saintess.
“So, James gave them a forbidden ritual. Using the mother’s voluntarily offered life to purify the devotion.
“Ultimately, before the gestation was complete, at that sacrificial ritual, his father commissioned Gloria to create an opening from the outside and inject a part of his soul into it. Thus, this immortal infant had an opportunity to feed on the blood of a true Saintess. I saw all of this clearly.
“It’s just a pity that the person who returned home with you wasn’t the Pure White Saintess… so he could only escape early. This is why the wound had only just begun to bleed… because there was originally a small vampire hidden inside.”
“Then, where is that vampire?”
Eivass pressed.
Loki’s lips curved upwards, and he didn’t answer.
At that moment, Eivass’s mind suddenly recalled the blood wine that Bram had drunk.
In that wine glass was a small red ball, like a plum. Like some kind of heart.
If…
…That were the heart of a Giant, would it be too small?
But why could Bram transform into a Giant?
“You want to ask why Bram can transform into a Giant, right?”
Loki’s lips curved upwards. “Because that ‘Holy Son embryo’ did indeed flow with Giant’s blood; because I can also transform into the Child of the Moon, I was able to steal the Tears of Time, which are poisonous to elves—
“—Because the one in her belly is my child.”
As the sense of crisis reached its peak, Viness transformed into her true form without hesitation!
But at this moment, a scarlet stream of light, hidden in a mirror, silently slashed towards Eivass!
(End of this chapter)
