Chapter 563
Those who kill often know…
Within Eivass’s right eye’s vision, countless white light spots appeared on Cardinal Loki’s corpse, seemingly like a rushing river, constantly flowing toward Eivass.
[Killed a Fifth Tier Extraordinary, gained 1500 Freedom Experience]
The long-lost experience prompt appeared before Eivass’s eyes, proving that Cardinal Loki was indeed dead.
Since he took the position of Minister of Affairs, he hadn’t personally killed anyone in a long time.
But… was this experience a bit too little?
A hint of doubt arose in Eivass’s heart. Prince of Giants Wolfram had given him two thousand experience points. Cardinal Loki, as the former Patriarch of Supreme Heaven, should have been much higher leveled than Wolfram.
…But to say he wasn’t dead would be impossible.
So far, everyone whose experience Eivass had harvested had not survived.
However, Eivass felt that Cardinal Loki’s death was not that simple.
Because Loki had clearly seen him at the end, yet he didn’t launch an attack against him—even if his attack might not have killed Eivass, with Viness’s personality, she would definitely have retaliated. At that time, Loki might have had a chance to counterattack or escape…
But instead, he used a self-detonation with a very long charge-up time.
Wasn’t that just asking to be interrupted?
Furthermore, he himself had said… he wanted to skip the fight because he couldn’t defeat Eivass. This meant he was at least aware of the existence of the Sixth Tier being, Viness.
Eivass had thought that if he dared to initiate a fight, he would pull out the “Perfect Being” as well—a Perfect Being with dual Paths at the Sixth Tier could even make the Eternal Pope sweat. In that dungeon, it was essentially the Eternal Pope and the Perfect Being exchanging cannon fire. The Eternal Pope was fundamentally the one who dealt the finishing blow, and the Player was merely there to assist… it was a rather performative dungeon.
Therefore, Eivass had taken that ball of bloody light extremely seriously—he counterattacked the moment it attacked him.
But the opponent turned out to be unexpectedly weak.
Being sealed instantly by the Night Demon indicated that it was not a Sixth Tier being at all.
…Wait, thinking about it this way. What about the Perfect Being?
“Viness, where did that ball of bloody light go?”
Eivass noticed that the sphere that had been sealed earlier had suddenly disappeared, so he immediately pressed, “Did it just escape?”
“No, that was just a mirror image projection, much like the clones Master projects.”
The Night Demon shook its head slightly, its ethereal voice resonating, “After being attacked by Master’s Flame Butterfly, it quickly dissipated on its own.”
“…So that’s how it is.”
Eivass narrowed his eyes slightly and uttered the only possible conclusion: “Loki was courting death…”
Just as he had told Eivass, they were not enemies.
He and Eivass had no fundamental conflict of interest, and killing Eivass would bring him no benefit. Given Cardinal Loki’s personality, he had no reason to suddenly attack Eivass… yet he did.
His主动 attack on Eivass was a clear signal that he wanted Eivass to kill him under the guise of “self-defense.”
But What did he want to do…
Did he want to abandon this identity?
However, he could indeed borrow the power of the Candlemaster through High-Tier Divine Art—this indicated that his standing with the Candlemaster was extremely high, even higher than Eivass’s, and he was firmly walking the Path of Devotion.
With the Candlemaster’s power, he, a Fifth Tier being, could even exchange a few blows with the Night Demon, who had consumed Eivass’s triple buffs and been strengthened by the Great Sin… Although he couldn’t even hold out for a minute of Eivass’s invisibility time, he did put up some resistance.
—There was no need for him to abandon this identity.
…Could I ask through prayer? Is Cardinal Loki really dead?
Eivass had such a thought.
But he quickly dismissed it—
Except for Queen Sophia, who was designated as an Apostle long ago, it took about a week after a person’s death for the Pillar God and Heavenly Envoys to complete their selection. Let alone the fact that even if Cardinal Loki were truly dead, Eivass couldn’t be sure where his body might be floating now… And given Cardinal Loki’s standing with the Candlemaster, Eivass would likely not get an answer by praying to the Candlemaster.
“…The Candlemaster trusts him that much.”
Eivass murmured.
Although the Candlemaster’s stance could not be judged by human notions of good and evil, His contribution and devotion to the Path of Devotion were undeniable. Heavenly Envoys of the Path of Devotion, such as the Flame Heavenly Envoy, Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy, and Xi Tian Si, all held the Candlemaster in high regard, and the Candlemaster was also very friendly towards them—
As is well known, the Candlemaster is a Pillar God with a strong tendency to protect his own, valuing his Apostles more than other Heavenly Envoys of the Path of Devotion, and valuing the Path of Devotion more than other Paths.
For other professions within the Path of Devotion, cultivation is also the same. Only what one cherishes has the meaning of being devoted to.
A person who completely does not love their family cannot complete their cultivation by becoming a monk. A gift that one does not like, giving it to another, cannot be considered an act of devotion; at best, it is making use of something useless—and making use of something useless belongs to the Path of Balance.
Although Eivass had not yet formally begun cultivating High-Tier Divine Art… the fact that Cardinal Loki could obtain power from the Candlemaster through High-Tier Divine Art indicated that Cardinal Loki’s ultimate plan had been personally recognized by the Candlemaster as an act of devotion.
With this in mind, Eivass needed to examine Cardinal Loki’s purpose.
Based on Eivass’s deduction, Cardinal Loki was definitely not dead.
Before, because of Cardinal Loki’s words, which sounded extremely sincere, and because he had specifically said, “The last lie hidden in the truth is the only one that has meaning,” Eivass had subconsciously believed Loki’s words.
But looking back now…
Which of those things he said were true, and which were lies?
What could be confirmed was that he had stolen the Tears of Time and intended to assassinate the Saintess—not to mention Freya, this crime alone was enough for a death sentence. And this should have been easily verifiable.
This meant that, at least in the eyes of outsiders… Eivass confronting Cardinal Loki, Cardinal Loki’s attempt to silence Eivass after his fatal secret was exposed, and Eivass’s counter-killing in self-defense—this chain of logic was complete.
Among those words, Eivass felt the least believable was the story about the Child of the Moon and the realm of the “Perfect Being.”
Others might not know, but Eivass happened to know how a Perfect Being could change professions—because Humans followed the Path of Transcendence and the Path of Love, a Perfect Being had to reach the pinnacle on these two Paths, which was the Sixth Tier.
And the statement “drinking the Saintess’s blood could create a Perfect Being” was something Viness said this morning.
What Loki had coincidentally told him was exactly this.
—Could this be a secret he had just overheard, and he had no idea about the secret of the Perfect Being?
Therefore, Eivass sought confirmation from Viness, asking if she had made it up—if she had fabricated it, then everything would make sense.
Unfortunately, Viness shook her head.
She explained, “There is indeed such a saying… Although it is basically spread around as a rumor and mocked. Because a ‘Perfect Being’ has never been born among the Children of the Moon, I don’t know who originated this saying.”
Eivass looked at Cardinal Loki’s corpse and fell into contemplation.
Even if Cardinal Loki could steal the power of the Child of the Moon, and even if he had numerous Paths as an ancient inheritor…
Then, at most, he would have given the Giant’s power to Bram, and split off Love and Transcendence to become the Perfect Being’s egg, leaving only Devotion and Adaptability for himself—assuming he had the Adaptability of five Paths!
There was still one problem.
…What about his level?
Adaptability represented the potential to embark on this path and how deeply one could cultivate it… but reaching each path still required extensive study and practice. For him, Adaptability and Devotion could still be cultivated—however, Love and Transcendence, given his identity, were impossible to practice without being discovered.
This meant that the other self he had split off… if it were a substitute, it could not possibly possess the power of a “Perfect Being.”
Because his level on the Path of Love and the Path of Transcendence would inevitably be low.
Could it be… he simply created a clone of himself as a Child of the Moon, wanting to abandon his position as Cardinal and become a Child of the Moon?
…But Why would he do that?
Just then, Viness suddenly transformed into a crow and perched on Eivass’s shoulder.
The surrounding darkness was once again replaced by the bright sunlight of the morning, and those scarlet abnormal mirrors returned to their original state. However, the mirrors were still shattered, and except for Cardinal Loki’s corpse lying before Eivass, everything seemed like a mere illusion.
“—Eivass!”
Janis rushed in.
She had directly teleported into a religious painting in the Eleventh Ring—she was startled when she jumped out.
Because the entire Eleventh Ring had transformed into a demon realm.
There was the smell of blood everywhere, and only darkness remained. All the mirrors were covered with densely packed scarlet blood eyes, and every Elf was held down by countless shadowy hands, their limbs pinned in place. Only the sounds of wails, roars, and screams could be heard; the entire Eleventh Ring had descended into chaos.
Janis attempted to transform those shadowy hands into ink to help her kin break free from their restraints, but she was startled to find that she couldn’t dissolve them.
…Could this be the power of the Sixth Tier?
But the next moment, those things instantly vanished as if they were illusions. Only the Elf Priests, with black handprints emanating a chilling aura on their bodies, remained frozen, their bodies still stiff and difficult to move.
So Janis gripped her brush with her right hand and didn’t hesitate to charge in.
—However, upon entering, she was stunned.
She had assumed the scene outside was Cardinal Loki’s ultimate move… but she hadn’t expected Eivass to be the one standing there in the end.
“Uh, does this count as… attacking, assassinating a Cardinal?”
Janis’s footsteps slowly came to a halt, and she asked hesitantly, “Do you want me to help you deal with the corpse…?”
“This was self-defense, and he committed a capital offense that warranted execution—I found evidence, so he tried to silence me.”
Eivass explained.
“Okay, I believe you.”
Janis replied without hesitation.
She glanced at the crow perched on Eivass’s shoulder and asked hesitantly, “Should you put her away? Should we perhaps deal with the corpse… I’m sorry, I’m not really sure what needs to be done at this point…”
“It’s fine, I’m quite professional.”
Eivass shook his head and replied fluently, “Don’t touch anything—just leave the scene as it is until Pure White arrives.”
Those who kill often know that trying to tidy up a murder scene will only make one appear more guilty.
Janis felt Eivass’s professionalism and nodded repeatedly.
But she still frowned deeply, “But no matter what… he was the leader of Controlled Fire, and a Cardinal. There are many Elves who master High-Tier Divine Art and resonate with great beings. But only by resonating with at least one Pillar God can one become a Cardinal…
“Currently, the number of Cardinals is already tight. As soon as Cardinal Loki dies, those people from Controlled Fire… I think the Church will certainly fall into widespread chaos.
“Because the current number of Cardinals is already insufficient, they cannot spare another one to take over the Eleventh Ring. High-Tier Divine Art is already difficult to cultivate, and gaining the recognition of a Pillar God is even harder. Without a Cardinal, the Central Observation Bureau’s system simply cannot operate…”
Upon hearing this, Eivass raised an eyebrow slightly.
This meant… with Cardinal Loki’s death, the entire Church’s surveillance system had been crippled by Eivass.
If the people of Controlled Fire wanted to cause trouble—they would definitely act on March 3rd, during the Pope’s succession ceremony.
…Could this also be part of Loki’s plan?
Eivass’s mind flashed with this thought.
However…
He suddenly asked, “For a Cardinal, which condition is more important: reaching Fifth Tier, or using High-Tier Divine Art to resonate with a Pillar God?”
“I think both are important. I don’t know, why don’t you ask Pure White… Wait?”
Janis replied casually, then her eyes widened, and she realized Eivass’s intention, “Are you going to try, Eivass?”
“—What’s the harm in trying?”
Eivass retorted.
Although, to date, there had been no Human Cardinals, there had been non-Human Cardinals.
Cardinal Loki himself was the best example.
If Loki could become a Cardinal, then why couldn’t Eivass?
(End of this chapter)
