The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 856

Chapter 855
Angel Descends

Just being gazed at by Alistair, Crown Princess Noel broke out in a cold sweat.
Those scarlet eyes held an intimidating aura.
… Of course, she knew that the “Great Serpent” and the “Sun” were on the same side.
Because they never hid it.
With Noel’s ability to read people, she could easily see this. And once the other party knew she had killed the “Sun,” they would likely be enraged and kill her immediately, trying to resurrect the “Sun”…
After being shaken by the “Sun,” Noel had now completely sobered up.
She had no intention of seeking death.
However, she also would not completely turn to the other side just because she had removed that erroneous thought—concealing, lying, acting, committing unjust acts to hide her crimes, even denying her mistakes, and brainwashing herself.
That would be too ugly.
Wouldn’t that make her no different from those in the Red Phase?
What right or standing would she have to righteously scold them, calling them rebels and traitors!
Although Crown Princess Noel did not seek death now, she was not afraid of death!
She deliberately sent Laro away to find the remaining people… precisely so she could speak the truth openly before the “Great Serpent”!
She knew Laro too well.
Laro, who accompanied her into this Ascension Ritual, likely already had thoughts of death.
Although that guy was a jester who acted frivolous and did no serious work every day, his heart always burned fiercely. He would never stand by and watch Star Antinomy fall apart…
If that was an unavoidable future, he would end his own life before the day Star Antinomy disintegrated.
—With his personality, he would most likely take the blame for “killing the Sun” upon himself, thus preserving her while dying.
Therefore, to prevent Laro from adding a word when he returned, Crown Princess Noel directly said, “I met that Mr. ‘Sun’ in the first painting… and he sacrificed himself to complete that painting.”
As she spoke, Noel was incredibly nervous.
She had even prepared herself to fight a crazed Alistair!
Although she had prepared herself not to hide the truth and to be killed for it as revenge… as the “Sun” had said, she would definitely fight to the death even if she died, never going easy or retreating without a fight—
“…Oh.”
To her surprise, Alistair’s reaction was not very intense.
It could even be described as somewhat indifferent: “As I thought…”
“…I thought you would kill me,” the Crown Princess said, somewhat surprised.
“Because he will definitely get first place in points and then be resurrected from divine radiance.”
Alistair shook her head and said firmly, “Death has never been the end for him, and the bodies of the living are merely shackles to him.”
She knew Eivass too well.
After putting on the Pope’s crown, in less than a month, he was able to purify the desire for devotion to this extent… For him, self-devotion was by no means a painful choice, but had already become an uncontrollable instinctive impulse.
Just as Alistair was trapped in the impulses of the Path of Love and the Transcendent Path… Eivass’s void will and desire for devotion had inevitably reached their peak. His desire for self-destruction was so strong that as long as Eivass could not find Alistair in time, he would almost certainly die for others.
Then, dying early was not necessarily a bad thing.
At least after dying once, he couldn’t die again. Instead, he could calm down and do his missions.
She looked steadily at Crown Princess Noel, her tone subtle, “You… are very good.
“You didn’t conceal it, but came directly to tell me these things. Perhaps Star Antinomy can truly be reborn in your hands.”
“Then if…”
Crown Princess Noel was still somewhat hesitant: “Mr. ‘Sun’ does not ultimately win… then…”
“—He will definitely win.”
Alistair said with absolute certainty, “I believe in his abilities more than he does himself—he is someone who can break free from all restraints and transcend all fate.”
Her eyes were bright and unwavering.
“Should he not be resurrected in the end… I will definitely find a way to resurrect him. But no matter what, I will not vent my anger on the weak.”
With that, Alistair looked at Crown Princess Noel and chuckled, “You can’t kill him, not even with a sneak attack.
“Unless he willingly lets you kill him, you have no way of killing him. In this situation, even if your hands are stained with his blood, you are by no means his killer. Even if I kill you, as long as he doesn’t curse you, he won’t be resurrected because of it.”
Staring blankly at Alistair, who was beaming and her eyes were shining, Noel suddenly felt a faint envy.
—At the same time, she felt an inexplicable fear.
Because she suddenly realized who that “Sun” might be…
“…Do you love him?”
Noel asked in a low voice.
“I love him, as I love myself. Even more than I love myself.”
Alistair said without hesitation.
At that moment, Noel’s pupils contracted.
Seeing the fear on her face, Alistair laughed heartily, “What, have you guessed who he is?
“Yes, after all, everyone knows… I am that Pope’s ‘mistress.’ It’s normal to guess his identity.”
“So it’s… His Majesty the Pope…”
Noel received confirmation from Alistair’s words.
Even she, who was not afraid of death, felt intense anxiety and fear at this moment: “If I had known earlier…”
“What,” Alistair said sarcastically, “if you had known earlier, you would have let him kill you to win? Do you think our compassionate and selfless Pope could accept such a victory?
“Or are you planning to use yourself as leverage to force him to save Star Antinomy?
“Don’t you even have the courage to face your own problems?”
Hearing Alistair’s words, Crown Princess Noel seemed to hallucinate the bloody “Sun” saying those words:
“—Without the determination to win, how can you face all the hardships of this world?
“—If you don’t want me to rise from your corpse, then just live hard, won’t you?
“—If I cannot wake up, I will also bless you in the Dream Realm, madam.”
Noel opened her mouth.
After a long silence, she sighed from the bottom of her heart, “You are so alike…”
“Humph.”
Alistair was quite pleased with Noel’s evaluation, only snorting softly, “Of course.”
Just then, time instantly froze.
The sixth question arrived.
Alistair looked at the question: “If tomorrow is the end of the world, you will—”
Three doors bore different answers.
【—Return to the Past, to find a way to solve the problem】
【—Do as you please, leaving no regrets before the end】
【—Accept the Future, to rebuild the world after the end】
Past, present, future.
“…Heh.”
Alistair merely smiled and did not walk towards any of the doors.
She crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and let the countdown beneath her feet end, causing the three doors to close.
—No, she wouldn’t choose any of them.
Are these the only three choices? How could that be?
“The answer itself is within the question.”
Watching time speed up and change as it was frozen, Alistair looked up at the dim yellow sky that had been solidified by time: “The end of the world… If such a thing truly exists, why not blow it up?
“If it’s acceptable to find another path after being destroyed by the end of the world, so be it.
“The end of the world has not yet arrived—what are you afraid of?
“If you don’t try, how will you know if the path ahead is blocked!”
Without hitting my head until it bled…
You want me to give up resistance directly?
“—There’s no such logic!”
Alistair’s eyes were sharp, and a wild smile appeared on her lips.
When the frozen time resumed, there was more than just one person beside her.
Besides the Crown Princess… Laro, wearing a purple suit, a “jester’s costume” in another sense, also appeared beside her. And a man with scars all over his body, bare-handed, with long beard and long hair—strong like a lion.
The living must have been forcibly gathered here.
Just as the Crown Princess predicted, this bell tower indeed had a special meaning.
And in the sky not far away, an extremely powerful oppressive force emanated.
The people who suddenly appeared were worthy of being called strong—they immediately prepared for battle and accepted others as comrades.
“Oh, the sixth question and we’re already in a group fight?”
Alistair’s smile grew more brilliant as she looked at the sky, “I’ll see what the Endless Knot will bring out.”
—The next moment, an “angel” descended.
It was a luminous phantom body, with a huge thorny halo floating suspended above its head.
Its hair, or rather, His hair, danced behind it like clusters of light tentacles.
And behind Him was a purplish-red ring.
His hands and feet had melted into amorphous masses, and His facial features were blurred. He wore a ring-shaped eye patch, and behind Him were two pairs of huge light wings, forming a giant X-shape like a butterfly.
An intense sense of divinity enveloped the earth, and He was covered in a powerful divinity that judged all. Just looking at Him, one couldn’t help but want to kneel.
“That’s… a Pillar God Disciple!”
The Crown Princess blurted out, “This must be that Endless Knot—!”
But as she looked at Him, Alistair’s expression gradually turned serious.
For some reason, she felt a little flustered.
This angel before her… this Pillar God Disciple that looked somewhat like a “Digimon.”
It gave her a strange sense of familiarity.
—An extremely strong sense of familiarity.
(End of this chapter)