Chapter 1107
Rounding It Off, It’s Equivalent to Subduing the Entire World
Just like in games where the further into the version, the more “wild monsters” of types other than Extraordinary appear—
The essence of the Ouroboros Ring is to share the Path Power monopolized by Heavenly Envoys with the Material Realm. Due to its expansion into the Material Realm, it would indirectly weaken the Hourglass’s balanced barrier, disrupting the absolute equilibrium between the Dream Realm and the Material Realm.
Increasing the maximum Energy Level of more Extraordinary beings means more opportunities to ascend to the positions of Dream Realm Apostle or Heavenly Envoy. It also means more Phantom Demons can permanently reside in the Material Realm. This would then achieve a new form of mutual permeation equilibrium.
—To put it simply, after the Ouroboros Ring ritual begins, the Material Realm will start spawning Phantom Demons.
And the fact that Sin Scholars can capture Phantom Demons can indirectly clear out Phantom Demons in the Material Realm.
After all, killing an Extraordinary being, while illegal, at least yields their Extraordinary items and personal wealth. But killing a Phantom Demon, apart from some potentially worthless Extraordinary materials, generally yields nothing; compared to fragile mortals with flesh and blood, Phantom Demons are even harder to kill.
Lower rewards, higher risks. Under these circumstances, Phantom Demons might become a new disaster.
But if the Sin Scholar profession were to rise, it would be different…
Capturing Phantom Demons would become a demand. Lacking Shepherd’s Methods, they cannot tame Phantom Demons barehanded like Eivass. They can only defeat and capture them honestly—and since Sin Scholars lack formal inheritances, each person’s Phantom Demon loadout would surely be like character builds during the early game, highlighting a complete lack of restraint.
This makes it unlikely for Sin Scholars to have the combat power to stably capture Phantom Demons stronger than themselves. Thus, “escorting bodyguards” who protect these Sin Scholars and assist them in capturing Phantom Demons would inevitably appear… and “hunters” who capture Phantom Demons by beating them half to death and delivering them to the Sin Scholars to sign contracts might even emerge.
This would indirectly foster new professions adapted for Extraordinary beings, allowing them to use combat power to gain benefits. This would clearly be beneficial for social stability—in modern society, money is very important. Extraordinary beings must have efficient ways to earn money, otherwise, they will find their own ways to get it.
Becoming a bodyguard or a hunter is at least better than being a grave-robbing “adventurer” or a murder-for-hire “mercenary.”
Now that the Fallen Heavenly Envoy is dead, the Demon Scholars have no choice. Those proficient in rituals and curses can still abandon their profession levels and demote themselves by ten to twenty levels to re-specialize into Curse Ritual Mages of the same Path, leveling again from the second Energy Level… But for those Demon Scholars who are only skilled in Demonology, it’s undoubtedly a catastrophe.
It’s like being told your major has been canceled before graduating from university; or rushing your graduation thesis only to discover that your research direction was wrong from the start, that it was academic fraud—what else can be done besides cursing and rewriting?
Eivass can offer them an opportunity. If they are willing to transfer under him, at least there’s a legitimate new path. As for having to follow Eivass’s rules and abandon those bad old habits—that’s no longer a problem.
When their original mentor, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, was still alive, they might still have had to consider whether to switch jobs; but now that the Fallen Heavenly Envoy is dead, unless they are die-hard extremists, those who can escape will surely escape.
After Eivass explained the characteristics of the Sin Scholar profession and his clear personal needs, Haibasha quickly gave her answer: “I have fully understood.
“—In that case, you can directly begin preparations for the seal.”
“Do you not need to transfer it to the new Holy Sword?”
Eivass was slightly surprised.
“No need,” Haibasha gave a precise reply. “I just observed this Spirit. I deduced that he should be a collective Avatar of a Knight of the Round Table, or perhaps an abstract manifestation of the ‘Knight of the Round Table’ concept itself. He can use all the swordsmanship and weapons of the Knights of the Round Table, including the Holy Sword Clarent, naturally.
“But if you intend to sign a contract, it’s actually not ideal to have it attached to Clarent. Because the Holy Sword Clarent itself is the Holy Sword of a Crown Lord, and the Silver Crown Dragon, as a Pillar God governing contracts, will cause significant interference with the ritual and the contract itself even if it does nothing—just like our perception of Malmidova is of the sword itself, not the Paladin Spirit within.
“The power of Malmidova may belong to the Beast Lord, or it may belong to the Great Abyss; the power of Clarent belongs to the Crown Lord. In this regard, there is no difference between the two. It is obvious that neither of them has anything to do with the Spirit within. If the Spirit enters Clarent and can be accepted by its divine will… in a sense, he would already be an Apostle of the Crown Lord. I don’t know your relationship with the Crown Lord, but I think it’s best to avoid such meaningless disputes and conflicts.
“At this point, Haibasha paused slightly: “I even suspect… that the Spirit might very likely be from the first Hercules.
“Because like Hermes, Hercules did not ascend to godhood. And you might not know, Hercules was a hero of towering stature—he accomplished many incredible feats. With his merits, fame, and strength, he should have at least become a Pillar God Apostle upon ascending to the Dream Realm after his death…”
“But, Hercules disappeared, didn’t he?”
Eivass continued.
Haibasha sighed: “I always thought he was tricked by Hermes, following the Path of the Fool and choosing self-destruction. Although unlikely, it’s the only explanation for why he didn’t reach the Dream Realm after his death.
“And now there is another possibility—his soul might have always existed within this Holy Sword.
“Only Hercules, the sword’s former owner, could have resisted Malmidova’s temptation over the long passage of time; his divine soul, comparable to a Heavenly Envoy, could have remained intact…”
Haibasha looked up at her daughter, “Saffron” Crocus.
Hercules in the sword, and Crocus in the puppet… How similar are their essences?
“My technique for sealing Crocus is not a secret. The reason Crocus needs to be sealed in my workshop is due to her special constitution—if she comes into prolonged contact with Phantom Demons, she could resonate and become a Phantom Demon. But Hercules does not have this taboo.
“After all, I know very well that Malmidova has no ability to incubate spirits. How could such a divine spirit, nearly Heavenly Envoy-tier and surpassing Apostle level, be born out of thin air?”
Haibasha asserted: “Souls that can transform into Upper-tier Phantom Demons cannot be born out of thin air. Upper-tier Phantom Demons… this level of soul power must come from a great figure in the Material Realm. Rather than the insignificant mad knight from the Knights of the Round Table you mentioned, I am more inclined to believe it is Hercules.”
Eivass nodded: “Makes sense… Madam Haibasha, do you think there’s a possibility that Hercules’s soul was preserved, but his memories were worn away and consumed over the long passage of time? So after witnessing the miracle of the Knights of the Round Table, he thought he was one of them?”
“This explanation does hold water,” Haibasha nodded.
“…Understood.”
Eivass slowly nodded. “Then I’ll begin the sealing immediately.”
His thoughts became a little more active.
—An unexpected gain!
He originally just intended to casually subdue an ignorant Paladin Spirit as a Holy Sword activator… but it turned out to be a highly probable Hercules with his memory wiped!
According to his historical knowledge, Hercules was a great being known as a demigod in his time. The establishment of the Hrasal Empire was not unrelated to his “Twelve Labors”—with these Twelve Labors, he could have directly ascended to become a Heavenly Envoy of the Path of Power, and even had a chance to seize the position of Pillar God.
Some Cardinals believe that Hercules even had the potential to transcend Supreme Heaven before Arthur and become the new Pillar God of the Path of Power. It was only because his soul disappeared after his death that the Path of Authority emerged.
—This means Hercules even had Pillar God-tier potential!
Equivalent to a “promising” little Pillar God!
Rounding it off, this is almost equivalent to Eivass subduing a Pillar God!
(End of Chapter)
