Chapter 669: The Beast Lord’s Unfinished Work
Eivass remembered that Selene, as a Moon Witch, should have Dark and Water attributes.
“…If he could seal his little lamb into a Great Beast, then Eivass wouldn’t need to bother with a Water Attribute Great Beast.”
However, Eivass did know that both the Star Antimony Kingdom and the Daffodil Territory had a Water Attribute Great Beast that could be captured. The former was a Water Element Lord imprisoned by an Alchemist, while the latter was a Corrupted Blood Angel gestated in a blood pool laid out underground by the Child of the Moon when they still ruled the Daffodil Territory. The former followed the Path of Balance, and the latter followed the Path of Love. Both were BOSSes that appeared in the later stages, so it could be inferred that they at least had the potential to be leveled up.
But Eivass still didn’t know what kind of abilities Selene possessed—the Moon Witch inheritance might entirely be an Assist type, and it would be better for Eivass if an assist type didn’t become a Great Beast. It was like how after the Shadow Demon was sealed into a Night Demon, she could no longer stay by Eivass’s side at all times.
—And even if he didn’t consider it from a utilitarian perspective, Eivass didn’t necessarily have to seal Selene. While becoming a Great Beast would allow the other party to grow alongside Eivass, and they would ascend together if Eivass eventually ascended to godhood, it would also mean their destinies were inextricably bound.
The Shadow Demon already had a contract with Eivass, and if Little Butterfly wasn’t sealed, both she and Yulia would die. It was the same for the Earthbound Spirit who yearned to leave that hotel, and for Anastasia… if she wasn’t sealed, she would soon be completely petrified, and she detested such a fate.
Currently, the only Phantom Cards Eivass had forcibly sealed were the Punisher Demon and the Succubus, purely as enemies. As for the two Phantom Demons Eivass had taken a liking to… although Eivass wasn’t entirely sure of their specific transgressions, the fact that they had become BOSSes in a main storyline Dungeon meant they must have done something. Whether with the mindset of preventing disasters, dealing with calamities, or preventing tragedies, there was no issue in capturing them. Even if they were good Phantom Demons, it would be good to go there in advance and help them solve their difficulties, so Eivass would have to go there sooner or later. After all, there were no Players now, and if they were left unattended, something major might happen.
Thus, Eivass made up his mind—
In conclusion, he would go and see those two “Great Beast candidates” first. Even if he couldn’t seal them as Great Beasts, he could at least turn them into ordinary Phantom Cards.
If all else failed, he would ask Selene for her opinion. She was very attached to Eivass anyway, so there was no need to worry about accidentally losing her. He could just keep her by his side and look after her carefully… and feed her a couple of mouthfuls of blood with the Shepherd’s Method if he had nothing else to do.
“One more thing, Cyril.” Eivass spoke to Cardinal Cyril, “Regarding Lily… I actually have an idea.”
He told Cardinal Cyril his speculations. “You are knowledgeable, so I wanted to ask if my guess is correct?”
“…You finished reading the Spider Silk Grimoire in just one night?” Old Cyril’s face showed a look of realization. “No wonder…”
Eivass caught his implied meaning and guessed his intent. “You mean—?”
“Actually, Eivass, you are very close to the answer,” Cardinal Cyril replied with a chuckle.
Seeing the old man’s expression, Eivass felt relieved. But he still pressed on, “Is it the Beast Lord? Or the Grey Heavenly Envoy?”
“Both.” Cardinal Old Cyril replied. —He had chosen “or” from “yes” or “no” without hesitation.
“…Both?”
“You’ve really asked the right person about this question.” Cardinal Old Cyril boasted. “I can tell you this—there are probably no more than three people in this World who know this secret. Cardinal Loki and I are among them.”
—Loki? A flicker of doubt crossed Eivass’s mind, and he continued to listen.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard this rumor… If you haven’t, I’ll start from the beginning.” Cardinal Cyril’s smile gradually faded, and his expression turned serious. “Do you know about the ‘Death of the Grey Heavenly Envoy’?”
“…Are you talking about the war where the Supreme Heaven was attacked?”
“It seems you do know. That’s great.” Cardinal Cyril nodded in agreement. “But the truth is, the Grey Heavenly Envoy did not die—his death was also a lie.”
“I know.” Eivass replied with certainty. He certainly knew—he remembered it very clearly. Among the Heavenly Envoys dragged down by the Ouroboros Ring Ritual in the first playthrough, the Grey Heavenly Envoy was included. He had a strong impression of the Grey Heavenly Envoy. It wasn’t for any other reason, nor was it related to the plot… it was simply because the Grey Heavenly Envoy looked very beautiful. In the first stage, the Grey Heavenly Envoy was a long-haired woman wearing a white and grey long veil, covering half of her face like a Diviner. In the second stage, her clothes were all swallowed by spiders, leaving only the crucial parts wrapped in spider silk. She was tied to a giant grey spider as if kidnapped, or as if riding the spider into battle… her fair skin glowed in the dim environment, and her body, suspended by spider silk, had a distorted beauty like a marionette under the spider’s high-speed movement. —To be honest, it was hard to forget. She was almost the most beautiful BOSS at the time. And while browsing forums, Eivass heard another story—the Grey Heavenly Envoy, known as the “Lord of the Gallows” and “Mother of Strings,” was actually a man! His vision went black. It could only be said that his vision went black. It was precisely because of this that Eivass remembered the setting that “the true body of the Grey Heavenly Envoy is grey mist.”
“…You know?” Cardinal Cyril seemed a bit confused. “How do you know?” But seeing Eivass’s incomparably firm reaction, he knew that he wasn’t just saying it casually. So, Cardinal Cyril shook his head. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter… You just need to know that the Grey Heavenly Envoy ‘did die, but He also did live.'”
“He reincarnated?” Eivass guessed. “Is Lily his reincarnation?”
“…It’s not that simple. This matter is also related to the Beast Lord… If you were to initiate a High-Tier Divine Art with Hengwo, you would know that Hengwo and the Beast Lord are actually two aspects of the same Pillar God. In reality, the Beast Lord was not completely replaced by Hengwo, just like the desire for ‘love’ in the mortal world is also filled with the desire of the ‘beast.’ However, the Beast Lord would sometimes suddenly sober up from ‘love,’ and at that time, He would want to break free from Hengwo’s control. What the Beast Lord does is prepare the ‘Son of the Beast.’ Simply put… don’t humans have some ‘born serial killers’?”
“Yes.” Eivass nodded. He thought of Jack the Ripper… and many more perverts. However, he found the phrase “you humans” a bit strange, so he asked, “Only humans?”
“Yes, only humans. Because you humans are the children of the Father Snake and Hengwo. But Hengwo did not fully grasp the River of Creation, just like the Silver Crown Dragon of the past. She did not have the ability to independently create a race… The monsters, werewolves, and the Child of the Moon created by Hengwo actually exist as dependents of other races. In reality… humans are the Beast Lord’s unfinished work. Because of this, you humans have the ‘beastly desire’ from your instincts.”
(End of this chapter)
