Chapter 1099
Like a Brand
For some reason, as he looked at Sherlock before him, Eivass suddenly saw another scene flash in his mind—
It was translucent Lucifer standing before him, gently speaking of the past of the Serpent Clan.
“—Snakes are the same. When snakes lie, they always speak the truth. Just like you.
“—His feelings for us were sincere, but for a higher purpose, he had to abandon us.
“—He didn’t get my consent and made me a sacrifice. I am not satisfied with this. But he felt guilt and pain for it, so I forgone him. He cut off his own goodness, and that was you. Your pain for this is his past pain; when people sin, they must repent, and when they repent, they must atone.
“—Will you still lie to me? Like we did in the past.”
Every word was like a brand dripping with blood. Eivass had only heard it once, yet it was deeply engraved in his heart.
Perhaps it was due to shock, or perhaps due to pain.
It was like watching someone pierce their finger with a needle and lift the nail—even if you had never suffered a similar injury, seeing a similar scene, or even just reading the words, would cause you to feel corresponding pain.
How similar were Ai Shiping and Lucifer then, to Eivass and Sherlock now?
“Is this also a ‘Ouroboros Ring’…”
Eivass moved his lips slightly, murmuring in a low voice.
A ripple appeared in his gaze.
But he was not swayed.
Because Eivass remembered how he had promised Lucifer at the time—
“I don’t make promises like ‘I will never betray’ or ‘I will never lie.’ I can only say—everything I do is true to my heart.
“—I will never do anything that I will regret. I will certainly not cut out the part of me that regrets it!”
Eivass closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, even his heart had become firmer.
No matter what, he was different from the Ring Heavenly Envoy.
Just like Lucifer’s last words: “I am just a little sad. We could have faced the Doomsday together, and he wouldn’t have to be so lonely… so lonely to the point of madness…”
And Eivass was not as lonely as the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Beside him were his followers, his friends, his lover. Those he had promised to protect. He had sworn to guide them like the Sun, even if it meant burning himself to ashes…
“Madam Haibasha, I have a question…”
At this moment, Sherlock’s words distracted Eivass.
“—I know.”
Haibasha merely raised her hand slightly, signaling Sherlock to stop.
Today, Haibasha was wearing a dark green dress that reminded one of a forest.
Compared to her young and delicate features, this outfit appeared unexpectedly mature. She sat elegantly with her legs together on a high wooden chair, making her appear taller than Eivass and Sherlock.
“You want to ask… about Hermes, right.”
Haibasha looked at Sherlock with a hint of melancholy.
For the first time, the first glimmers of emotion flickered in her pupils.
“—You are not him.”
Haibasha murmured softly, “Never.”
When Sherlock was recognized by The Fool’s Eulogy Grimoire in the past, she was so shocked. It was only then that she truly looked at Sherlock for the first time… and finally saw his face clearly.
It was a face she had almost forgotten, but once remembered, could never forget.
Like a brand.
Full of pain.
Every memory, every word, was a wound dripping with blood.
“…In the past, Dionysus merged with the Banquet Master, becoming one body with two souls. That Fool, who defied the gods and was full of vigor, finally became one of the gods.”
Haibasha gazed at Sherlock, as if speaking to him, and as if whispering to someone else, “The Fool’s Eulogy Grimoire is not a knowledge to be passed down. It is that spirit of defiance.
“I am one of the authors of this book. The other author is Hermes.
“If you remember the preface of the book, you will remember that I referred to myself using saffron. The name Saffron, also known as Crocus… he was Hermes’ older brother. An innocent child he had accidentally killed and tried to bury.”
Hearing this, Eivass’s eyes widened slightly.
He suddenly realized something and looked at the dolls he had brought.
Their height, less than half a meter, was similar to the “fufu” series dolls released by Sega. If one looked closely at those elf girls wearing gorgeous long dresses… they would seem quite similar to the current Haibasha.
Haibasha also followed Eivass’s gaze and murmured, “White narcissus, yellow laurel, blood-red anemone, blue hyacinth, pink-purple saffron…
“Do you know why I named them after these flowers?”
Eivass and Sherlock remained silent.
Isabel, however, slightly opened her eyes, sensing something trembling.
—It was the power of “Beauty.”
“Narcissus… he was the most handsome boy among us, named Narcissus.”
Haibasha murmured, “After the Fool died, he died soon after. He turned himself into a part of eternal beauty in pursuit of greater beauty.
“He saw himself in the lake and felt it was the highest beauty. So, he jumped in without hesitation… until he drowned without surfacing. He is now one of the guardians of the Twin Mirror.
“Laurel—there was a girl named Daphne. She was very beautiful and a worshiper of the Moon Angel. The Sun aspect of the Moon Angel, which split off, fell in love with her… She vowed that she loved no one but the Moon Angel and did not recognize that it was part of the Moon Angel she worshiped. In the long, doomed watch, she gradually turned into a laurel tree and is now a dance partner of Hengwo.”
“…The petrification disease of elves.”
Eivass murmured.
The Sun aspect of the Moon Angel that split off… wasn’t that Xi Tian Si, split from Hengwo?
“Anemone and Hyacinth are similar stories.”
Haibasha turned back to look at Eivass, “They were both petrified elves… all our friends. One went to The Kingdom of Giant Trees, and one went to the Amber Forest.”
“Only Saffron… is Hermes’ dead older brother, isn’t it?”
Sherlock was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
He had already guessed the truth.
The Lord of Scales and Feathers had said, “One of the Hourglass’s Apostles was idly throwing a frisbee in the Material Realm, and by accident, he unintentionally killed a young elf. This innocent child who was accidentally killed was named Crocus, who was the original Saffron.”
The *original* Saffron.
And when Sherlock questioned the Fool’s fate back then, Haibasha had said:
“This book is absolutely out of print—only I have the inheritance. I haven’t hidden this at all, and you are the first person to be recognized by this book… I will be disappointed if you can’t understand.”
The reason Haibasha said this…
“Saffron is his past sin, symbolizing him. The other four flowers symbolize friends.”
Haibasha turned back to look at the doll, her pupils filled with tenderness, “I let them accompany Saffron… just as we accompanied him in the past.”
She stood up from her high chair, stepped onto the illusory azure steps that appeared in the void, and walked step by step towards the five dolls.
She gently touched the doll girl wearing the pink-purple long dress, and it began to float up, emitting a pink-purple glow.
“—Because she is Hermes’ daughter. She is Grey Heavenly Envoy’s twin sister. I named her Crocothes.”
“Grey Heavenly Envoy…”
Hearing this, Eivass’s eyes widened slightly, “Could it be…”
“Oh?”
The young elf girl turned to look at Eivass, a slight smile playing on her lips, “You actually don’t know… Great former Pope.
“I… am Grey Heavenly Envoy’s birth mother.”
(End of Chapter)
