Chapter 660
Siegfried
Hearing Eivass’s words, the Cardinals in the room had different expressions. Some were shocked, some were lost in thought, some hesitated to speak, and some frowned deeply.
Cardinal Cyril, the host, was the first to speak to smooth things over. “—As expected of someone recognized by His Majesty the Pope and the Candlemaster. Even I didn’t expect you to pass the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ assessment in just one week.”
The old Cardinal, half petrified and half amber, used only two sentences to protect Eivass as if nothing had happened. As the leader of the “Market Supervisor” faction, Cardinal Cyril clearly had some influence. His moderate and conservative personality meant he always leaned towards dissolving potential conflicts. Proposing Eivass’s background before an argument could even begin would undoubtedly help people be more patient.
His words were clearly effective. The middle-aged Elf with short, curly brown hair and a furrowed brow glanced back at Cardinal Cyril and ultimately chose to remain silent. Eivass could clearly feel undisguised hostility from him—a clear and intense desire, unclouded by anything, like a refreshing strong liquor.
Eivass turned back and asked directly, without any hesitation, “May I ask… what is your name?”
“Belisarius,” the other party replied curtly. He was wearing the white robes that the Anxi people usually preferred, with only his left chest exposed. His entire left chest was transparent, like a meticulously carved diamond. Through this “diamond shell,” one could clearly see his snow-white, jade-like ribs and the forcefully beating heart within his body.
Eivass pondered for a moment, realizing he truly didn’t remember this Cardinal. However, he couldn’t rule out that this was another member of the “Expression Cult.” At this moment, the other party asked, “Don’t you know what you’ve done?”
“What?” Eivass raised an eyebrow and retorted.
“—Let me explain, Belli.”
The person who interjected was not Belisarius, but the Paladin “Topa,” whom Eivass had met during his Ascension Ritual. This Cardinal, with his Path Crystallization appearing on his back, nodded slightly. Like a knight, he placed his right hand over his chest and introduced himself enthusiastically, “I remember who you are… I am ‘Topa.’ You might remember me, Eivass! You kindly helped me during the Ascension Ritual… Oh, sorry! I haven’t introduced myself yet—You don’t need to call me Topa here. You can call me Siegfried. A member of the ‘Mediators,’ guardian of the Second Ring. I have contracts with both the Silver Crown Dragon and the Hourglass (Deity).” He even revealed the direction of his High-Tier Divine Art without reservation. However, rather than him resembling a knight, it was the concept of “knight” that resembled him.
Hearing the name, Eivass knew the other party’s true identity. Any university student in Avalon should know his name. —If Eivass remembered correctly, the first knights originated in the Hrasal Empire among the admirers and imitators of “Knight Siegfried.” Like Helchin, Siegfried, as a Mediator, also traveled across various countries. However, he ultimately met a completely different fate than Helchin.
Siegfried did not have followers like Helchin, nor did he emphasize absolute righteousness. He always traveled the world alone, preventing unnecessary disputes wherever he went and helping those he favored fulfill their wishes. Words that could morally blackmail Helchin were meaningless to Siegfried—because Siegfried’s belief was “Only help those I can see,” “There is no point in caring about distant tragedies,” “Even helping one person achieve happiness has meaning,” and “Good deeds have no size or hierarchy.”
Later, when he traveled to the Hrasal Empire, he met a group of youths. They were all admirers of Siegfried, longing for his kind of “carefree freedom.” Siegfried was pleased and stayed for decades, diligently teaching them Martial Skills. However, he also warned them that righteous deeds of freedom must have constraints. Thus, he set down a creed for his disciples—aid the weak, be loyal to the lord, uphold faith, and be enthusiastic and polite. Later, these gradually evolved into the professional codes of the Knights of Hrasal. In a sense, he could even be considered the father of the knightly order. The first knight, the “zeroth” knight.
But in the game, Eivass had no memory of him. The reason was simple. Because early in the 0 narrative, during the split of the Church, Siegfried had already died—he died in the infighting among the Cardinals. From another perspective, Siegfried died precisely because of Cardinal Loki’s conspiracy.
“I remember you.” Eivass looked at Siegfried, a slight smile on his lips, his tone becoming gentle and friendly. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Siegfried.” Although he had already guessed it… confirming it now, Eivass couldn’t help but sigh: In that posthumous Ascension Ritual presided over by Merlin, the Pure White Saintess’s companions were indeed all Cardinals.
“It’s only been a few months… not even half a year, right? I remember you were Fourth Tier back then, and now you’ve mastered High-Tier Divine Art and become a Cardinal. Such admirable talent,” Siegfried praised sincerely. “As expected of someone His Majesty the Pope has personally paid attention to! This is the pure heart of devotion!”
Hearing this, the other Cardinals who didn’t know Eivass were also taken aback, and they all looked at Eivass with newfound importance. Compared to the true identity of “Star,” this news was truly more shocking. …Are you kidding me, Fourth Tier? In just half a year… isn’t that the blink of an eye? In the blink of an eye, you jumped from Fourth Tier to Sixth Tier, and even mastered High-Tier Divine Art, which humans had never mastered before… Could this person be the reincarnation of some Disciple of the Path of Devotion?
Eivass was somewhat curious about the “Pope’s personal mention” that Siegfried spoke of and asked, “May I ask how His Majesty the Pope evaluated me?”
“Her Majesty she…”
“—Siegfried.” Cardinal Fafnir reminded him gently from the side.
Upon hearing Fafnir’s reminder, Siegfried suddenly came to his senses. He explained sternly to Eivass, “Just last night, an unprecedented cataclysm occurred in the Church.”
“…Cataclysm?” For a moment, Eivass thought the Disaster of Tree and Amber had finally arrived. But the next sentence from the other party made Eivass pause slightly: “We are currently referring to this cataclysm as the ‘Star Disaster.’ Because last night, approximately 5% of Elves had the ‘Warrior’ profession implanted by ‘Star.’ The vast majority of these were from Inheritors, which is acceptable. However, some were from professionals of other Paths, forcefully altering their original Paths. Among those statistically recorded so far, there is an Archbishop. And among the affected Extraordinarys, the highest Path Energy Level… is Cardinal Fafnir and myself.” Siegfried said solemnly.
(End of Chapter)
