Chapter 531
Selene and Haibasha
“Such a dangerous grimoire…”
But upon hearing Haibasha’s narration, Lily seemed somewhat hesitant.
She subconsciously glanced at Eivass.
– In truth, just listening to the description of this grimoire made Lily feel a stirring in her heart.
It was a sense of innate compatibility… and she immediately understood why this grimoire had recognized her.
For a long time, Lily had been consumed by internal conflict due to her own contradictions. On one hand, she wished she could better adapt to Eivass’s needs, as a way to repay his kindness; on the other hand, she harbored wild desires within her heart.
Her usual actions were always quiet and reliable, silent like a shadow… always by his side.
Yet, within her, she harbored violent desires—just like when she killed Minister Dross, during that exhilarating sense of revenge, she had also felt a sense of transgressive liberation.
Since then, Lily had felt a beast residing within her. When she transformed into a werewolf, she had even almost injured Eivass.
If she could separate herself… this might be a more thorough salvation, a complete cure for her uncontrollable madness. But the other self—Lily the wolf-witch of the Path of Love—lacking rational restraint, might harm Eivass.
Another problem was that complete separation seemed to require a certain amount of time. During this period, if she were to be taken over by that wolf-witch, what would Eivass do?
Who would take care of Eivass?
Eivass had no mother and had been cared for by Lily since arriving at the Moriarty Family. In a sense, Lily was Eivass’s foster mother.
On one hand, she worried about Eivass being left without care; on the other hand, she genuinely feared the thought that “Eivass has truly grown up and no longer needs my care.”
If she were to use the “Moon Egg Grimoire,” would Eivass realize this?
…Or had he already realized it? Now, was it actually herself, rather than Eivass, who truly needed independence?
Lily subconsciously began to overthink.
“—Don’t overthink it.”
Eivass interrupted.
He had easily guessed what Lily was thinking: “Grimoires prioritize adaptability. It’s more about the grimoire choosing the person than the person choosing the grimoire… just as you were recognized by the Spider Silk Grimoire and the Night Rabbit Grimoire.”
Eivass had vaguely felt at the time that Lily being recognized by two grimoires consecutively was what made her truly extraordinary. Yet, in reality, he could barely sense her presence.
It was like a bottomless pit of resources. Moreover, there was almost no synergy between her two Paths; they even clashed—Lily in her werewolf form became prone to berserker rage, making it impossible to smoothly use the Spider Silk Grimoire of the Path of Adaptation.
Now, after seeing the “Moon Egg Grimoire,” Eivass finally understood…
Being recognized by this book indicated that Lily’s tendency to split was already very evident. Even without this grimoire, it was highly likely she would split on her own later… but such uncontrolled splitting would be very dangerous.
From this perspective, the resources Lily consumed were essentially feeding two people. Therefore, allowing them to formally split would be a release for both of them, otherwise, there was a high probability of losing control in the future.
“This grimoire is considered a Mystical Art of the Path of Love, but simultaneously, as ‘the dark side of the moon,’ it also contains elements of darkness and adaptation.”
Haibasha added from the side, “You, on the Path of Love, will gain an ability called ‘Moon Radiance.’ It is the core ability of the Moon Egg as the mother of monsters. In the Taichu Empire, they called it ‘Imperial Stream Fluid’—’It appears like countless olives, ten thousand golden threads, and plants touched by it become demons…’ That is, turning into monsters. And mortals who come into contact with it will go mad… The power by which witches create werewolves is also related to this.
“As for the side on the Path of Adaptation, you will gain abilities related to the domain of shadows. Like the dark side of the moon, invisible to mortals—you will be able to attach yourself to another’s back, turning into a true shadow.
“I have a suggestion for you, girl,” the elf girl, about seven or eight years old, looked up at Lily solemnly, “First, clearly decide which side of yourself will inherit your name, and how the other side of yourself should be addressed—names are constraints.
“When monsters are given names, their ferocity also decreases. Therefore, your creations can also be ordered by naming them.”
“What, we’re at the naming stage already?”
Hearing this, Eivass’s spirits immediately lifted: “I’ll do it, I’m best at naming!”
“The real me, the true Lily, can only be Lily the maid who accompanies Young Master.”
Lily blurted out without hesitation or thought: “Therefore, Lily can only be the one on the Path of Adaptation.”
“So, there’s another witch…”
Eivass pondered for a long time.
A witch related to werewolves…
…How about calling her Little Red Riding Hood?
The inheritance of the Mother of Monsters—or perhaps Lilith?
“I do have a suggestion.”
Haibasha spoke, “How about Selene?”
Hearing this, Eivass froze.
He had of course heard this name, just as he had heard of Dionysus. Dionysus, in his world, was the name of the god of wine in Greek mythology, and Selene was the name of the moon goddess.
…Wasn’t this name a bit too grand?
An old powerful being who was familiar with her when she was Hengwo, or even a mortal.
Haibasha narrated secret knowledge unknown to most: “This is one of the pseudonyms Hengwo used when she was a mortal. Generally, names used by Pillar Gods during their mortal periods are taboo and hidden as destroyed knowledge. Just as the Supreme Heaven, even if it once fell, its name has been erased… but there are some exceptions.
“If a Pillar God had severed parts of themselves when they ascended, then the other parts that were split off would no longer be considered secrets. This is also related to the secret of ‘Cicada Molting.’
“Among the current Nine Pillar Gods, four have severed parts of themselves. Hengwo is one of them. Selene is one of several names abandoned by her, and it is also the name of the moon witch who created phantom demons using the techniques of moon radiance. You use a technique abandoned by Hengwo and a name abandoned by Hengwo… It’s incredibly fitting, isn’t it?”
There seemed to be a hint of anticipation in Haibasha’s eyes.
“…You are right.”
After hesitating, Lily looked at Eivass. After Eivass nodded, she firmly nodded.
As the one on the Path of Adaptation, she instinctively refused such a dangerous act with unknown consequences, but as the one on the Path of Love, she felt an attraction—regardless of which Lily, she craved power, craved being “useful,” and craved the meaning of survival.
However, the one on the Path of Adaptation could adapt to others, which was her very nature; the one on the Path of Love could not suppress her desires. Now, when Lily relaxed her control over her other self, she gave her approval and desire from the bottom of her heart.
—She was yearning for power.
Lily was always silent precisely because she was constantly trapped in this self-denying internal conflict.
This grimoire was a release for her.
“Selene…”
Eivass murmured.
He felt the difference in the world-lines once again.
Hengwo’s lost inheritance and names were being rediscovered—the original Lily had not lived to this time, and he had never heard of Hengwo’s old name.
He did, however, recall the “Moon Egg Grimoire.”
For players, this was a “trash tier” ability. Its effect was to summon three co-attack units for the Path of Love, and an invisibility ability for the Path of Adaptation.
—But the problem was that the Path of Love didn’t lack these three summons, and the Path of Adaptation certainly didn’t lack invisibility. And as a grimoire for dual Paths, it occupied a precious slot for Mystical Arts in each Path. However, it now seemed that players received a weakened version—at least players certainly didn’t have the ability to split into two selves.
If one could truly split into two in reality… whether it was one soul in two bodies or a complete separation, it would definitely be useful. Another person with whom one could fully understand each other’s thoughts, whom one could completely trust, and with clearly different abilities, could in a sense even be considered the closest of friends.
“You are helping us so thoughtfully…”
Sherlock, realizing something, asked with some wariness, “Is there anything… you need our help with?”
He clearly sensed Haibasha’s goodwill.
And in his view, “goodwill” could not be born out of thin air. Especially goodwill directed at strangers for no reason.
Whether it was explaining the origin of the Fool’s Ode Grimoire or helping Lily choose the powerful name “Selene,” these were clearly favors beyond the transaction.
Eivass also reacted and reminded her as he turned back, “Madam Haibasha… I paid for this.”
His implication was that troublesome tasks like cross-border quests were not to be expected.
Haibasha, being so intelligent, directly guessed what Eivass was worried about: “It’s really a simple matter, it won’t be too troublesome…”
As she spoke, she took out a box.
Opening the box, he found a pure white staff with a rattle on it.
This was different from Eivass’s expectation—he had originally thought it would be a dagger, but unexpectedly it was a witch’s weapon.
“This is something Hengwo used, my best collection.”
Haibasha said, and the little girl looked at Eivass expectantly, “It won’t trouble you too much, it can be completed within the Church’s territory. And it’s not something that needs to be done immediately—I will help with the preliminary matters, it will take about one or two months. Would you like to hear more first?”
“…Please tell me first.”
Eivass said with some helplessness, “I can’t guarantee we can take it, or rather, we might not be able to do it immediately… after all, there are quite a few troublesome matters within the Church.”
Haibasha’s attitude made it impossible for Eivass to refuse her firmly.
He had a rough idea of what Haibasha wanted them to do.
He provisionally refused the most troublesome part—cross-border quests already severely delayed Eivass’s own time, but if it were only within the Church’s territory…
Eivass was somewhat swayed.
None of the items he received from Haibasha this time were for his own use; and if he could help Haibasha in this situation, it would also be a form of practicing the Path of Devotion. “…With your strength, is there anything you can’t do personally?”
Sherlock was much more wary than Eivass.
He directly stated this sentence, simply concerned that Eivass might be manipulated by someone inexplicably in the future. But he wasn’t trying to cause trouble for Eivass—if it were truly dangerous and troublesome, he would find a way to help Eivass refuse it.
“Because this matter is very troublesome for me, but it will be much simpler for you,”
Haibasha answered without hesitation, “You just need to go to the Dream Realm.”
Hearing this, Sherlock’s face instantly turned horrified.
Every Extraordinary knew that the Dream Realm was a place mortals went after death—this sounded almost like, “I’d like to ask you to take a trip to hell.”
“I will first try to find a way to help you find an ability that allows for brief activity in the Dream Realm!”
Before Sherlock could refuse, Haibasha immediately explained, “I know a potion recipe… it’s the prototype of Drunken Dream T, Drunken Dream T before alchemists dispelled its mystery. It allows the soul of a still-living person to move freely and consciously in the Dream Realm.
“As a reincarnated Disc now, I can no longer return to the Dream Realm. But I have something important left behind in the Dream Realm, and I’d like to ask you to bring it back for me.”
“…What exactly is it that requires so much effort?”
Sherlock frowned deeply, “With so many collections here, you could ask someone else… or even ask a Disc to deliver it, couldn’t you?”
“I really can’t, because she wasn’t left in the Dream Realm through the normal process. Therefore, she cannot be touched by any phantom demons, otherwise she will completely turn into a phantom demon of the Dream Realm… Only a living mortal can safely bring her back.”
“Who?”
“My daughter.”
The little girl, about seven or eight years old, looked up and earnestly emphasized, “My biological daughter.”
(End of Chapter)
