Chapter 1035
Vendome’s Fated Death
“…A curse within the bloodline?”
Eiv frowned deeply.
Why were others’ healing methods ineffective? Why was his own effective?
The only answer he could think of was “priority.”
Healing could actually be divided into two types: “wounds” and “illnesses.”
If a person’s arm was severed by a steel knife, it didn’t matter if the perpetrator was an ordinary person, a Third Tier assassin, or a Fifth Tier warrior. The mana required to heal the wound or reattach the limb would be fixed, and even the weakest extraordinary individuals could accomplish this.
Purely physical damage could bypass most resistances caused by tier differences. However, similarly, wounds caused by physical damage could also be easily healed by the most basic means.
But there was another situation… that was magical damage.
For instance, the classic ritual spell “Cursed Infant.” This powerful ritual spell, which required an infant who died from a curse as ritual material, could be cast by a Transcendent of only the Second Tier. Its power could even instantly kill a Third Tier extraordinary being – the cause of death being a broken heart.
The caster’s heart would be frozen and devoured by the cursed infant, resulting in rapid death.
–So, what if a healer accompanied the injured party, able to extend their life or restore their heart before death?
If the caster was Second Tier, it would require at least a Third Tier priest to achieve this.
Because after magical damage was inflicted, the involved Path Power wouldn’t immediately dissipate but would linger within the body. Therefore, to apply healing, one would either have to wait for the power to completely dissipate or confront that portion of power. And that portion of power itself would resist the healing.
While a Second Tier priest could also negate the magical damage, the shattered heart caused death too swiftly. Even if it only took three minutes to dissolve the powerful dark energy lingering in the heart, it would already be too late to reshape it. A Second Tier priest would need at least ten units of mana and approximately ten minutes of casting time to reshape an organ. Even if the heart were restored, other organs would be essentially dead.
Only a Third Tier priest could instantly dissolve the spell through the tier suppression of their healing art, reshaping the heart quickly within two minutes, and thus have a chance to save them.
–Similarly, for a fatal injury, severe anemia caused by multiple wounds would be very easy to treat, and even a Second Tier priest could heal it with ease; however, being pierced through the heart or cut in half would be difficult to recover from, and even if recovered, there might be sequelae. And if one were burned to death by a mage, treatment might not even be possible… it’s the same principle.
Just like Bishop Mathers back then, he could continuously eliminate the damage to Yulia’s organs caused by high fever in her Phantom Demon Egg state, but he couldn’t remove the state of high fever itself. Because that was the power constantly leaking from the Butterfly, an Upper-tier Phantom Demon. When Yulia was still a child, the Butterfly was already at least Fourth Tier… Bishop Mathers’ divine arts were simply unable to resist such power.
Priests could easily heal “wounds” but couldn’t heal all “illnesses.”
The “curse” that the Vendome Family was suffering from was highly likely to be from the Fifth Tier. Therefore, to heal it, it would require another Fifth Tier individual.
For a priest to reach the Fifth Tier, they would absolutely be a Cardinal. As a human noble, it’s unlikely they could even meet one.
But… while finding a Fifth Tier priest might be difficult, wouldn’t a Fifth Tier Curse Master be easy to find?
“Did you try having a Fifth Tier Curse Master remove the curse?”
Eiv asked.
“Of course, we did,”
Old Argon shook his head slowly. “But he said… it wasn’t a curse. Even with his power, he couldn’t tell if there was a curse lingering on us.”
“Perhaps it’s not his problem,”
Eiv added. “I haven’t seen it either.”
His right eye was still in a sacrificial state, lacking normal vision… Instead, it possessed a special perspective that could directly see Path Power. If it were a curse, he should have clearly seen a dark aura on them… that was the Path Power used by curses to maintain themselves against dissipation or removal, essentially a kind of “self-sustaining battery.”
But he indeed saw no curse on the two of them. Otherwise, when Eiv saw Annie, he would have directly dispelled the curse on her.
However…
“Why would you call it a blessing?”
Eiv asked doubtfully.
Even though the possibility of a curse had been ruled out, the fact that this anomaly was referred to by the Old Duke as “whether curse or blessing” was itself very unusual.
“Because it gave us a possibility…”
The Old Duke said slowly. “Up until now…
“–Every generation of ‘Vendomes’ has been an extraordinary being.”
“…All of them?”
Eiv was surprised. “Even the nobles of Hrasal couldn’t achieve that… Although Path Tendencies and Path Impulses are hereditary, it doesn’t mean that the children of strong individuals will necessarily become strong.”
“Not just children,” the Old Duke negated.
“Not just…”
Eiv repeated, his gaze inadvertently falling on Sherlock beside him, as if he had thought of something, and then looking at Arsen.
His eyes widened. “You mean…?”
“Whether through marriage in or marriage out, as long as they bear the surname ‘Vendome,’ within eight years at most… ordinary people will become extraordinary beings and contract this strange illness. If they were already extraordinary… they could resist for a longer period. If it was the Path of Beauty, they could resist even longer.”
The old man sighed. “The Iris people assume our family only chooses extraordinary beings of the Path of Beauty for ‘marriage alliances,’ enlisting all the great artists of the Iris flower… they don’t know we could only choose this way.
“All the artworks you saw on your way here were not purchased by us. They are the accumulation of generations of our family.
“These art masters either originated from the Vendome family directly; or eventually changed their surname to Vendome.”
“…Then, what about marriage out?”
Upon hearing this, Eiv couldn’t help but blurt it out.
At this, Annie beside him had a complex expression, her face dim. She remained silent, saying nothing.
Seeing Annie’s expression, Eiv was reminded of his mother.
He thought of the “Swamp Dweller” – could one of the reasons Annie reproduced herself be related to this?
Generally speaking, if one knew they had a perfect clone of themselves… one might feel fear, or disgust. But most would keep it a secret… Yet Annie had clearly told her father everything. It was precisely for this reason that the Old Duke could so easily accept the fact that Eiv also flowed with Vendome blood.
“Then it’s not just the cold illness,” the Old Duke replied. “The consequence of abandoning the ‘Vendome’ surname is only one – death. Whether through marriage out… or divorce.”
“Divorce?”
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“Yes, if one formerly acquired the Vendome surname through marriage, regardless of whether they contracted the cold illness or not, they would quickly die after losing the protection of the surname. This is why those who abandoned the Vendome name in history died so quickly… People perceived it as ‘family pursuit,’ but they didn’t realize it was a form of sorrow. It was a resolve towards death.”
“How did they die?”
Eiv couldn’t help but ask. “Did they die of illness, or… could it be anything?”
“It was all due to depletion of vital energy, dying weakly. First, they felt fatigued and weak, followed by insomnia and loss of appetite, and the strength in their limbs gradually weakened… Eventually, they would be paralyzed in bed. It’s as if their entire being was gradually frozen. And it’s precisely because of this ‘living towards death’ that so many… art masters were born among us.”
The old man glanced at Arsen, frightening him into silence.
“The desire to create is born from a chaotic impulse, stemming from one’s many experiences.”
He continued, “And the art created is itself the death of an experience, signifying that it has reached its end. At the same time, it signifies the propagation of that experience… it will continue to sail towards the future.
“The death of all things is the fated fruit they must reach. Everyone is born to die one day… No matter how much a person’s life deviates, they are always heading towards the sole end – death. Therefore, no matter how lost one is, they will always find an answer.”
The Old Duke’s words were imbued with an irrepressible aura of death.
Normally, people only sense the approach of death when they have an incurable illness.
But if one can touch upon death day and night…
Upon hearing this, a question suddenly arose in Eiv’s mind.
Seeing Eiv’s expression, Argon smiled without waiting for him to ask and took the initiative to ask, “Are you perhaps wondering… if any Vendome has become a Child of the Moon?”
“…Yes.”
Eiv nodded slowly, admitting, “Since life is so painful… I would also wonder if anyone couldn’t bear the temptation. Of course, I’m not saying becoming a Child of the Moon is correct…”
“–No, not one.”
The old man slightly raised his head, his words as calm as ice yet filled with unconcealed pride. “Up until now… every ‘Vendome’ has faced their fated death with equanimity. Not a single person has tried to extend their life by becoming a Child of the Moon or a werewolf, nor has anyone ever embarked on that forbidden path of twilight.
“Because that is the wrong path… a detour is not viable.”
Upon hearing this, Eiv was momentarily speechless, too stunned to speak.
He himself actually had an avatar in the form of a Child of the Moon…
…Wait, I see now!
With this thought, Eiv’s eyes suddenly widened.
Eiv suddenly realized why the Twin Mirrors had given him this form.
The Shadow Demon Beyad form at the time was Eiv’s “disguised self”; and currently, “Number 14,” the carrier for Alistair, is Eiv’s “dream self.”
That Child of the Moon Eiv was not a mirror image of Eiv Moriarty at all!
It was a mirror image of Eiv de Vendome!
He represented “the impossible self”!
–They are both a kind of mirror.
Symbolizing the opposite of what Eiv could not reach and would not become.
(End of this chapter)
