Chapter 659
I Am “Stardust”
Eiv looked at the scene, deep in thought.
He suddenly recalled the “Lust” card he had created to seal the succubus’s soul.
A naked, beautiful goddess lying drunk on a seven-headed lion—this was another interpretation of the Hengwo and Beast Lord states:
Perhaps Hengwo had not fully tamed the Beast Lords, but instead, they were both indulged in a state of uncontrolled passion. In this chaotic state, Hengwo emerged as the clearer, more rational side.
This new interpretation gained more traction with occult researchers than the traditional one. In other words, the current Hengwo and the Beast Lords were two sides of the same coin. Their powers were mixed—they loved eternally and fought eternally.
Eiv remembered that the “Ovum Moon Grimoire” originally belonged to Hengwo.
The moon was the ovum of demonic nature, from which monsters hatched.
But if that were the case, who was the father of the monsters?
As he thought about this, a possibility emerged in Eiv’s mind:
—Perhaps Selene was not a clone derived from Lily’s “Path of Love” at all.
When Lily first read the “Spider Silk Grimoire,” she could completely master the power of manipulation of lies; the first time she read the “Night Rabbit Grimoire,” she successfully transformed herself into a primal werewolf.
The “Spider Silk Grimoire” was clearly not an ordinary book.
It was the power wielded by the “inheritors of the Grey Heavenly Envoy,” which, when cultivated to the extreme, could even be used to steal the essence of other paths. One vampire novelist had even used this power to steal the bloodline and body of a “Wildfire Giant.”
On par with this power was Eiv’s mastery of “Sin Scholar”—both abilities could imitate the powers of other paths using a single path.
Lily’s speed in mastering it, however, was akin to Eiv’s own learning speed when reading grimoires…
It was precisely because of this that Eiv had not realized anything was wrong at the time.
But the problem was that Eiv himself was a Heavenly Envoy Fragment, and the “Shepherd’s Secret Manual” was closely related to Eiv’s essence. The Shepherd might even be Eiv’s past life, or a fragment of a Ring Heavenly Envoy. As for the “Grimoire of the Morning Crow,” its original owner could barely read it and could only treat the effects of reading failure as a “laser beauty instrument.”
On the other hand, Isabel and Sherlock… they were undeniably geniuses.
In the original timeline, they were terrifying existences whose levels could synchronize with players. Yet, their learning speed when reading grimoires was noticeably slow. Even with Sherlock’s genius, it took him several days to understand the book—a grimoire, once understood, granted all its abilities instantly.
Grimoires themselves were lost arts—if they were simple and convenient to learn, they wouldn’t have been lost.
In other words, Lily’s speed of comprehension of grimoires had already caught up to Eiv, who was a Heavenly Envoy Fragment.
—This learning speed was clearly unreasonable.
Thinking of this, Eiv considered another possibility—
Although Lily had silently disappeared in the original history, could it be that only the “Lily” identity had disappeared?
If so, Lily might also be a reincarnated fragment of some Heavenly Envoy.
Adaptation and Love… No. To be precise, it was “Lies” and “Beast.”
Both of these powers were “deceased” powers, not the mainstream powers corresponding to their paths.
…Was it the Beast Lord, or the Grey Heavenly Envoy?
As Eiv pondered, Selene had almost finished the entire lamb.
She regained her composure and sat back beside Eiv in an almost docile manner, quietly licking her fingers. Her stomach did not even bulge—she didn’t seem to have eaten her fill.
This was because Selene remembered to leave some for Lily and Eiv. She had saved the best quality meat for them, enough to fill them up. After all, Selene was essentially Lily, and she knew Eiv and Lily’s appetites.
When Eiv ate the meat at this time, it was not even cool yet.
…I should ask someone.
Eiv decided to go to the Ninth Ring to ask Cardinal Cyril. The old man was knowledgeable and might know how to solve Lily’s failed self-division problem.
Furthermore, Eiv remembered that Cardinal Cyril had mastered the “Wind Queen Grimoire,” so he could also ask how long it took him to learn the grimoire back then. He could also inform him that he had completed the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ mission and fully mastered the High-Tier Divine Art.
Eiv had now established a connection with the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
The Lord of Scales and Feathers could descend into Eiv’s body at any time, and Eiv could freely use almost all divine arts within the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ domain without praying. He could even request a divine descent and have the Lord of Scales and Feathers fight for him.
In other words, Eiv was now a Cardinal.
However, he had no sense of it… and felt very unfamiliar with this power, which was precisely why he needed to consult a senior.
…And while he was there, he could also ask about the progress of his own clothing production.
The day after tomorrow was the third of March, with only two days left—considering that elves generally suffered from severe procrastination, Eiv felt he needed to urge them on again.
So after eating Selene’s birthday banquet, Eiv did not return home but instead took Selene and Lily directly to the Ninth Ring.
However, the atmosphere in the Ninth Ring today was somewhat different.
Compared to when he had visited a few days prior, there were many more people on the street.
Eiv even saw Pope’s Guards patrolling the streets. The passersby on the street wore clothes in vastly different styles.
Some wore the soft robes and white stockings traditional to elves, others wore “modern attire” in the Star Antinomy style—which were noble-style formal wear and skirt dresses. Some wore simple white lab coats, like researchers. A few wore orange-yellow construction vests with many pockets.
And there were also some elves that Eiv had never seen before—they wore silver-white light armor and wielded various weapons.
Although Eiv had not yet donned the Cardinal’s uniform, the Archbishop’s rank was enough for him to move freely. And elves had quite strong memories; many remembered Eiv who had visited a few days earlier.
Relying on his memory, Eiv soon reached the depths of the Ninth Ring. After the routine announcement, Eiv was invited in.
—To Eiv’s surprise, upon entering, he was startled.
Inside the room, besides Cardinal Cyril, who was wearing a mercury-colored Cardinal robe, there were seven other Cardinals.
The atmosphere in the room appeared quite solemn.
Cardinal Matilda was not present, nor was the Pure White Saintess.
Eiv did, however, encounter two other “acquaintances he had never seen before.”
One of them was nearly two and a half meters tall. He had a robust physique, brilliant golden hair, and clear blue pupils, giving him the appearance of a simple-minded brute, much like a Grand Guardian.
He wore exquisite elven silver armor—the most distinctive feature was the镂空 silver armor on his back.
On his back was a crown pattern, like a tattoo.
Part of it was blue, and part of it was yellow.
—Eiv recognized him at a glance as the elven Paladin “Top,” whom he had seen during an Ascension Ritual!
So he was also a Cardinal!
But… why wasn’t he wearing a Cardinal robe?
The other person was a woman wearing a dark green robe.
She had long black hair and a pair of curved dragon horns on her head. Because her hair obscured half of her eye, she appeared somewhat gloomy. The pupil that was visible had a vertical scar that marred her beauty.
This was Helchin’s wife, Fafnir!
The moment they saw Eiv, “Top” and Fafnir were visibly startled.
“…Stardust?”
“You are… Stardust?”
Two voices spoke almost simultaneously.
But contrary to Eiv’s expectations.
They did not call out Eiv’s name, but rather his “one-time stage name” he had adopted not long ago.
However, Eiv did not hesitate.
He fearlessly reached out and placed his hand on his chest, touching the emerald mark.
Instantly, the aura of the Lord of Scales and Feathers seeped out from Eiv. The other Cardinals, who could recognize High-Tier Divine Arts, all changed their expressions.
“Yes, I am ‘Stardust’.”
Facing the gaze of eight Cardinals, Eiv nodded and admitted, “The regent of the Lord of Scales and Feathers… Eivass Moriarty.
“—A newly appointed Cardinal.”
(End of Chapter)
