Chapter 535
Cardinal Loki
As Eivass repeatedly questioned the man for details, the man’s image in Eivass’s mind became increasingly clear:
He wore a well-fitting, honey-brown suit with a hexagonal honeycomb pattern. His red hair was neatly combed back. Even in the sweltering Southern Continent, he wore dark leather shoes, yet he never seemed to sweat. His skin remained fair and radiant even under the sun.
He had lived in the Southern Continent for many years. He had good relations with many troll tribes and often associated with goblins, speaking their languages. The trolls called him “Mr. Red Wine.”
No one knew his name, only that he was a powerful and mysterious “wizard,” and they were unsure of his abilities or Path.
“—Damn it.” Eivass thought.
Because he didn’t know this person at all. This meant this person had never entered his Codex, making him a new BOSS of his own making… To be able to arbitrarily abduct the father of a great chieftain from a troll tribe, and to do so without the chieftain offering any resistance.
As a great chieftain of a tribe, a Fifth Tier being would be unlikely. After all, with their physique, they were forced into such a predicament by disorganized goblins, which was improbable.
By reverse inference, the chieftain should also be a Fourth Tier “Great Wizard.” Therefore, this man must be at least Fifth Tier… or even an Apostle who had obtained the power of a Heavenly Envoy.
“…Red hair.” Eivass murmured, “Bear Heavenly Envoy…”
It was not entirely impossible that it was someone from Avalon and Noble Red, but judging by his red hair and fair skin, it was unlikely to be from the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi, which was known for producing Great Wizards.
Suddenly, Eivass had an inspiration.
Regarding someone connected to both red hair and the Bear Heavenly Envoy, he did know one such individual.
—Enyo, the City Breaker.
The one who was used by the Lord of Scales and Feathers as bait by Eivass, then caught and made into caviar.
Could he be a descendant of Enyo?
There was also the worst possibility…
Could it be Enyo’s elder brother, Ares, the Nation Destroyer?
Although after the Fall of Supreme Heaven, Ares was infatuated with the beauty of the Shadow Heavenly Envoy and became her Apostle, perhaps he had also learned of Enyo’s demise at Eivass’s hands?
But even thinking in a more optimistic direction, this was at least a hostile Extraordinary of the Fifth Tier. Judging by his title as a “wizard,” he should at least be a Caster.
—And such an enemy had not only obtained Eivass’s blood but was also currently in the Church.
If not for the trolls’ passive resistance, Eivass would likely have been successfully cursed by him…
Suddenly, Eivass realized, “Wait, when did this happen?!”
Seeing Eivass suddenly agitated, the troll replied rather meekly, “Two days ago, esteemed Archbishop. If we had delayed any longer, we wouldn’t have rescued him. Because we couldn’t.”
“And you came to the Church today?”
“We arrived this morning.”
“That man left the day before yesterday?”
“Yesterday. Yesterday afternoon. My father and I had a dispute that evening.”
Although this young troll warrior’s grammar was not perfect, his intellect was sound. At least he had conveyed all the most crucial information.
Eivass suddenly realized something—
Perhaps it wasn’t because of his good luck that these trolls happened to be passively resisting, thus preventing the curse on him.
If the man was called a “wizard” and was related to the Bear Heavenly Envoy, then it was highly likely that he himself possessed curse abilities. He had obtained Eivass’s blood; there was no reason for him to go through a roundabout way and hand it over to the trolls to complete the curse.
It was highly probable that he had already cast a curse on Eivass, but the curse had failed.
Why did the curse fail?
It was precisely because Eivass had already obtained the latest Golden characteristic!
[Dissolving Soul (Gold): Your soul has transformed into a nobler form. Blessings below “medium” scale no longer require a Ritual; you are immune to sleep, Charm, curses, and instant-death spells. Furthermore, your soul can be actively drawn out of your body as a consumable.]
Eivass was currently Fourth Tier. To penetrate the resistance of Dissolving Soul, one would need at least a Sixth Tier High-level Phantom Demon, like a Heavenly Envoy who had fallen. If that man’s curse could not penetrate this resistance, it meant he should be a genuine Fifth Tier.
He was definitely not Ares!
He made the trolls continue to curse Eivass, possibly because he believed Eivass’s immunity to curses was a buff or a blessing.
The man’s reasoning was not entirely wrong—if Eivass’s curse resistance was indeed a temporarily applied buff, then by continuously cursing, reaching a certain hit rate, it would inevitably hit during the process of changing buffs. As long as it hit once, it would indicate that the resistance could be breached.
He probably tested for over a day and found that Eivass’s resistance coverage rate had exceeded 24 hours. He then immediately abandoned this plan and rushed to the Church—possibly intending to kill Eivass offline.
Although he didn’t quite understand why, if he came to kill Eivass offline, he had to bring a hostage specifically…
Eivass tapped the table and cleared his throat, “I am aware of your situation, and I thank you very much for the information you’ve brought.
“Undoubtedly, this is a villain intending to curse-kill an Archbishop within the Eternal Holy Kingdom. This is no longer a common heinous incident; it requires a severe response. I plan to prepare myself and will inquire with Her Highness the Saintess tomorrow… You should know that the Saintess herself came to welcome me not long ago.
“Facing a man whose origins and whereabouts are unknown, we can only rely on the local elves to find him. The three of you find a place to rest for now…”
As he spoke, Eivass handed them a black card: “I’ll lend you this.”
This was a complimentary gift he had received from a lucky draw when purchasing those items—it was a membership card that allowed complimentary stays of any duration in luxury double rooms at any goblin-owned inn worldwide, valid for one year.
It was a convenient and decent gift, with a fairly low cost. It had a very goblin-like style, and Eivass had no use for it.
With a legitimate place to stay, they wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested for sleeping in a park. Nor would they have to worry about that man discovering them, thereby exposing Eivass’s whereabouts.
Moreover, the value of this item could provide them with temporary peace of mind, preventing them from impulsively investigating out of desperation. Although these three trolls were large, Eivass felt they seemed rather young, possessing a clear, impulsive fervor that often characterized minors.
He did not recognize the man. If the other party changed his clothes, he might not be able to find him. Moreover, to Eivass, all trolls looked alike, and he couldn’t distinguish which one was the old wizard. In that case, he would still have to rely on these trolls for identification.
Seeing the three trolls depart, Eivass’s expression became somewhat complicated. “Sister and enemy…”
He and his sister Freya both lived in the Fifth Ring. Eivass had originally thought he would meet this sister, of whom he had no impression, very soon. But now, it seemed he would still have to search for this hidden enemy first.
With this thought, Eivass went to the thirteenth floor, intending to report this matter to Matilda.
On the other side.
The Fifth Ring, Crescent Moon Inn.
The red-haired youth, dressed in a magnificent pure white robe, was meeting a guest of extremely high status.
That person wore a grey robe… the fabric was as light as a spiderweb, giving an inconspicuous, dust-like color.
Around his neck was a black Sin Thorns Ring, which was hollowed out. It looked like a black noose around his neck.
He had long hair that transitioned like flames, from red to orange to cyan and purple. Although a man, his appearance was as delicate and beautiful as a woman’s.
The only flaw was the scar on his lips, which had been stitched with black thread, with residual threads still remaining—this scar deeply marred his beauty.
At this moment, he was glaring angrily at the gaunt old troll by the fireplace.
The old troll would have been three meters tall if he stood straight. But he was bare-chested, appearing like a brown shrimp. He wore no shackles, only red constraint runes written all over his back.
And now, he was continuously feeding round leeches mixed with black herbs into the fireplace, muttering incantations.
These plump leeches were each as large as rehydrated sea cucumbers, so big that a grown man would have two ends showing if he held one in his hand. They were all a nearly transparent dark blue-black, with blood-like strands swimming inside, resembling parasites.
“You—in front of me, have your troll slave use evil curse techniques?”
The Cardinal with flame-colored long hair turned and shouted at the red-haired youth.
The youth showed no reaction whatsoever.
He simply said with a chuckle, “What of it, Cardinal Loki? That is a blasphemer whom our Lord has specifically ordered to be killed.”
“—Are you sure you want to speak of your God here?”
The Cardinal, known as Loki, had a dark expression, his eyes burning with a fierce flame.
“Of course.”
But the youth showed no fear, “Or should I call you Utgarða-Loki? A traitor who betrayed Supreme Heaven?
“—Don’t delude yourself just because you’ve been using illusion for a long time.
“Although it’s somewhat out of place for me, a human, to say this, don’t forget, you are a Giant—Supreme Heaven should be your God.”
(End of this chapter)
