Chapter 1198
Flame Heavenly Envoy Descends!
“Eivass has left.”
Isabel gazed at Eivass, who was riding Leviathan alone and disappearing into the yellow sand, and said in a low voice, “When will he return…”
“What, are you worried about him?”
Sherlock said softly from behind her, “If you ask me, it’s completely unnecessary, Isabel.”
After Isabel abdicated the throne, he gradually stopped calling her “Her Majesty the Queen.”
This was a relief for both of them—if it weren’t for her indispensable role and Avalon’s need for her to shoulder the burden, Isabel would never have wanted to be queen. Even in her perception, she felt very distant from the title “Princess Isabel.”
As for Sherlock… the only one he could respectfully call “Her Majesty the Queen” was Isabel’s grandmother, the old Queen Sophia of Avalon.
Now that Sherlock could call her by her name, omitting the honorific and addressing her like a junior, it was precisely proof of his growing closeness with Eivass and his wife.
In front of Isabel, Sherlock did not call Eivass “Fox” but addressed him by his name respectfully, “Eivass has never disappointed me, and this time should be no different.”
“Rather than worry, it’s more like nostalgia.”
Isabel’s lips curled slightly, and she said lightly, “I haven’t seen Eivass so excited in a long time… He was invigorated, and the flames in his eyes seemed to come alive.”
“Because he was born to challenge his limits.”
Sherlock replied in a low voice, “It’s just that this cutting edge had dulled a bit before.”
In the beginning, Eivass could even be described as “stop at nothing to achieve his goals.” Although the goals themselves might have had righteous and noble motivations, it did not negate the unsettling nature of his actions—
Eivass possessed an extraordinary self-confidence, coupled with a decisiveness and boldness that bordered on self-destructive tendencies.
This always led Eivass to choose “trick moves” that were unexpected and quite unsettling to Sherlock.
But unlike a reckless person’s “Hey, I just had an idea” that was brave but foolish, Eivass’s approach was always refined despite its coarseness.
His decisions, while appearing fraught with risk and often provoking enemies he couldn’t handle, allowed him to predict the opponent’s crucial information in advance, thus achieving unexpected results.
…Of course, Sherlock probably knew now that it was because history kept repeating itself. Eivass might have known a little, or perhaps retained some impressions, but as the other half of the Ring Heavenly Envoy, his intuition for many things was more accurate than others.
This strategy, filled with instability and tension, where he went all-in when others feared, was illogical and even lacked logic. Eivass’s magic lay in the fact that when the enemy thought he had exhausted his trump cards, he would always produce an unexpected plan or ability, inexplicably winning.
Because of this, Sherlock could not analyze Eivass’s patterns of action back then.
Because no matter how he looked at it, Eivass was completely messing around, with no discernible signs of deep thought.
Yet, despite this, Eivass always managed to flawlessly complete those dangerous missions.
Eivass was quite proactive in tackling these challenges… at least, that’s how he was when Sherlock first met him.
Upon reflection, Eivass’s logic of action was quite similar to that of his foster father, who symbolized the dark side of Avalon.
If Professor James’s style was like a spider, weaving a web silently and manipulating everything from the shadows without notice…
Then Eivass’s style was like the tide, appearing calm and gentle, lulling people into relaxation.
But within the eternal sound of the waves, it hid immense power, capable of roaring and turning into a tsunami at any moment, or quietly, as if by magic, stealing something from the shore.
“And now, Eivass hasn’t done anything extreme like that for a long time.”
Sherlock gazed at Isabel and said in a low voice, “Perhaps after he became Pope, or after he fell in love with you… or perhaps after he realized his mission and became angry at being a pawn.”
At some point, Eivass gradually stopped taking risks.
He still favored extreme and effective tactics, but the dangerousness and difficulty of those tactics kept decreasing. Now Sherlock could keep up with his thinking, even surpass it.
Although Sherlock had indeed become smarter… it had nothing to do with that.
“Eivass’s madness has subsided.”
Sherlock concluded, “His peculiar… desire filled with arrogance and self-destruction has vanished. Although he is aggressive now, it stems from a heartfelt resolve.”
“I used to think that kind of aggressiveness was a trait brought about by Alistair,” Isabel shook her head. “It seems that’s not the case now.”
“Then,” Sherlock asked softly, “don’t you find this… instability unsettling? It’s different from the Isabel I know.”
Even with Sherlock’s courage… confronting a Pillar God, two Heavenly Envoys, two Heavenly Envoy candidates, about a dozen Sixth Ability-level Extraordinary beings, and countless High-Tier Extraordinary beings at once was a bit too exhilarating.
When Eivass unhesitatingly agreed to his plan, it was Sherlock himself who felt uneasy and absurd.
Should he have given Eivass this idea?
Because of this worry, he couldn’t sleep and only recovered about half of his Mana. Now he urgently wanted an answer from Isabel.
In Sherlock’s understanding, Isabel was far more timid than he was.
She loved Eivass so much that Sherlock had no doubt that if something happened to Eivass, Isabel would immediately follow him in death—especially now that Avalon’s territory no longer required her.
Isabel did not answer immediately.
She simply said, “In a way, I do wish he could be safe and sound. As his lover and wife, and as the mother of his unborn child.
“…But in another way, I also understand that Eivass has a noble mission. There are always things that need him to do, and people who need him to save.
“Just like I did in the past. Just like all of us who are now willing to stand by Eivass—there will still be those who yearn for his salvation.”
Isabel said calmly, “No one understands Eivass better than I do.
“Eivass is like the sun, yearning to shine. He equally wants to save everyone, even if it means burning himself up. And those who try to claim the sun will only be reduced to ashes in the flames.
“The sun does not need a mirror to reflect its light, nor does it need replenishment or protection. What I can give is quiet companionship, unhesitating support, complete affirmation, and sincere love. No matter what decision he makes, I will not show the slightest weakness, timidity, or hesitation—placing myself or anything Eivass cherishes on a scale would inflict the pain of a choice upon Eivass.
“That is not what I should do.”
At this point, Isabel turned her head and glanced at Sherlock. “Nor is it what you should do.”
Sherlock was silent for a moment.
Isabel continued, “If he is the sun, then I am willing to be a tree, basking in the greatest sunlight. My existence is a tribute to him.
“No matter how dangerous what he intends to do is, no matter how many people he intends to kill, no matter how low the success rate of his plan is, no matter how incredible and illogical his actions are—I only have one thing to do, and that is to believe in him.
“To believe completely, to believe without wavering. I believe he is right, and I believe he will return, and I believe he will continue to win in the future… And I advise you to believe so too.”
“…You’ve grown, Isabel.”
Sherlock looked at the current Isabel, momentarily in a daze.
Six months ago, Isabel was still a young and timid little girl. She was almost driven mad by a curse, found herself utterly alone, and was forced to take over the mess of Avalon by herself…
And now, in just six months, Isabel had been reborn.
Who could still remember that Isabel was just a half-elf girl, only nineteen years old?
On the other side.
With the help of the extremely fast Sharky, Eivass reached the vicinity of Heaven City from Dawn City in less than two hours.
He flew high enough to avoid being easily detected.
Just as Isabel had said—when faced with challenges, Eivass became incredibly spirited.
He knew the difficulty of solving the current problem… but precisely because of this, Eivass was even more focused.
He saw the flames burning from the oasis from high above, and his brow furrowed slightly.
Eivass thought for a moment about whether to immediately extinguish the fire…
But at that moment.
He suddenly felt a profound rhythm coming from the north—
“Wait a moment, Sharky.”
Eivass patted the monster beneath him and looked towards the north with a solemn expression.
The not-so-cold north wind suddenly carried a hint of discordant heat… like opening a window for a breeze on a crisp autumn day while simultaneously using a hair dryer on the heating setting.
—The next moment, the sky in the distant north tore open.
A blazing abyss opened in the sky, and a cascading waterfall of golden-red lava slowly descended—even the oasis, which was already burning, instantly tripled its flames and began to spread into the city!
Why did it have to be at this time…
Eivass frowned deeply.
He knew exactly what was happening, but he couldn’t do anything about it right now.
The entire world could resonate… that was the Power of the Heavenly Envoy Fragment, unconsciously influencing the Material Realm.
Although he had suspected it long ago, the die had finally been cast.
—The Dwarves had finally activated the Ouroboros Ring Ritual.
The Flame Heavenly Envoy had descended in the Northern Mountain Range.
“…Forget it, I’ll deal with that later.”
Eivass shook his head and patted Leviathan beneath him. “Let’s land somewhere secluded.”
“Understood, Father.”
Contrary to its terrifying and ferocious appearance—Sharky’s mouth let out the innocent and obedient voice of a young girl.
