The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 693

Chapter 692
The Perfect Man·Bram
…A fox?
Hearing this title, Eivass paused slightly.
Undoubtedly, this little girl who suddenly appeared before him was the Eternal Pope.
But why did the Eternal Pope know the codename used in his ascension ritual…
After a momentary lapse in his thoughts, Eivass instantly reacted.
—Wait a minute.
Speaking of which, Grey didn’t seem to match the personality of “Pure White” from the ascension ritual. That “Pure White” seemed petty, possessing a free and easy temperament that reminded one of Old Meg.
But Grey was actually quite serious and steady, exceptionally devoted to her feelings… If anything, her temperament was closer to the Grand Guardian.
However, whether it was “Topaz” Siegfried, “Wisteria” Matilda, or “Quicks” Cyril… they were all clearly people Eivass knew.
Besides Pure White Saintess, there was one other person who could order them around.
—That was the Eternal Pope himself!
With this thought, Eivass was enlightened.
So I had already met the Eternal Pope?
No wonder Grey always seemed a bit nervous and reserved when they first met…
Although his mind was racing, Eivass didn’t pause at all.
Anyone who could make the Eternal Pope appear suddenly without notice and be taken seriously by him… was not someone he could forcefully confront.
He pulled Isabel and Lily and hid directly behind the Eternal Pope.
Immediately after, he felt an increasingly intense tremor from the depths of his soul.
That feeling was not the effect of extraordinary abilities like [Aura of Fear], [Domain of Fear], or [Fear Sorcery], but rather a primal, instinctive dread.
…It was like the fear that Night Demon had brought to Eivass when he first descended!
However, it was even more intense than that feeling.
The Flame Butterfly, Leah, who Eivass had summoned the night before, was instantly awakened by the intense sense of crisis.
She flew out of Eivass’s cuff, wreathed in flames, and hovered beside Eivass’s head.
“—Your Majesty the Pope, and… Your Majesty the New Pope.”
Suddenly, with a slightly awkward Elven Language spoken with a heavy Avalon accent from afar: “What good luck… do I have the honor of tasting the blood of two people?”
A familiar yet strange person appeared before Eivass, accompanied by an intense oppressive aura, walking slowly.
He should be… Bram Stoker, the vampire writer who had previously transformed into the Wildfire Giant and was defeated by Eivass, “Mr. Red Wine”!
But his current appearance was completely different from before.
He was no longer wearing the noble finery he had worn previously—nor was he in the prisoner’s garb that symbolized a criminal.
He was completely naked, and felt no shame about it. He politely stopped about twenty meters away, not advancing further.
The reason for saying “should be” was precisely because “Bram Stoker” was completely devoid of hair, his skin radiating a pure and sacred radiance.
He had become bald!
Furthermore, he had completely lost his male characteristics—he was smooth below, neither male nor female. His chest was also flat, with no trace of any protrusion.
His pupils had turned silver-white, indistinguishable between the whites of his eyes and the irises. And in the very center of his eyeballs, there was a black cross, now shining like a star.
…Wait, this seems to be—
Looking at his appearance, a possibility emerged in Eivass’s mind.
“This is… ‘The Perfect Man’? How is that possible?!”
Before they could speak, the first to voice their thoughts was surprisingly “Honey Badger” herself, who was still bound.
She looked at Bram in astonishment, fear flowing in her eyes.
…Yes. Eivass confirmed her guess internally.
This appearance… except for not yet bearing the Mark of Sin, was almost identical to the “Perfect Man” in Eivass’s memory—he was still missing a pair of wings and the Crown of Light on his head.
Previously, Bram was just a Fourth Tier weakling, not even Fifth Tier… whereas the Perfect Man was theoretically the sublimation product of the Path of Love and Transcendence reaching Sixth Tier.
Moreover, according to information from the Church, this “Mr. Red Wine’s” true paths were Authority, Transcendence, and Adaptation. Although his Path of Authority was only a little, the three paths had already exhausted his energy. He couldn’t possibly gain the power of the Path of Love… His Child of the Moon identity was actually stolen through some special channel.
And now Eivass knew… that was the Spider Silk Grimoire. Or rather, the power from the Grey Heavenly Envoy.
Fourth Tier Authority, with no love at all. Nor had he drunk the blood of the Eternal Saintess—how could he have become the Perfect Man?
“…’The Perfect Man’ should only exist in theory. It is not a real profession advancement, but a theological hypothesis… or rather, it is a paradox.”
Cardinal Dominic frowned deeply. “The Perfect Man should be impossible to be born…”
“The Perfect Man?”
Isabel subconsciously asked.
“The so-called ‘Perfect Man’ is a concept that exists only in theology. It refers to a future possibility, the ‘Perfect Moon’.”
The Eternal Pope, with a voice as tender as a maiden’s, spoke. Frowning, she continued to gaze at “The Perfect Man” Bram, explaining without turning her head: “We can consider that when Hengwo finally defeats the Beast Lord one day, she will have completed her unfinished act of transcendence. At that time, humanity will be able to completely shed its bestiality and become the pure and flawless Moon People.
“Hengwo once hoped to overcome desire with love, hence she chose to ascend to Pillar God via the Path of Love, attempting to soothe and accept the wildness from the Beast Lord. However, after accepting the Path of Beastiality, love itself became mixed and impure… It was not love’s inclusiveness devouring the beast’s desire, but rather they merged together.
“Love brings beastly desires, and beastly desires also contain love. Love eventually becomes one of the primal instincts, and humans might be able to defeat the beast’s instinct with the power of love, but they cannot completely eradicate desire while preserving love. For this reason, it is almost impossible for Hengwo to completely defeat the Beast Lord—unless she can provide an example.
“The ‘Child of the Moon’ race was originally created by Hengwo as the key to completing this great deed. They are essentially humans who are demonized by bearing the power of moonlight, and are ‘pure bestial humans’ with almost all flaws erased except for bestiality. As long as the Child of the Moon can transcend its own bestiality once more, it can become a ‘Perfect Man’.”
“…In other words,” Isabel, intelligently understanding the Pope’s meaning, said, “because Hengwo did not completely defeat the Beast Lord, it is impossible for a Perfect Man to be born? And because no Perfect Man was born, therefore Hengwo cannot completely defeat the Beast Lord?”
Her gaze returned to the polite Bram Stoker, the [Perfect Man], standing calmly in the distance.
Precisely because he had lost the sense of shame inherent in living beings, he felt no embarrassment about his exposure;
Because he did not need reproduction as a biological instinct, he had no corresponding desires, and thus no corresponding organs;
—This was the pure apostle of love who had completely eradicated “beastly desire,” the Perfect Man who existed only in paradox!
(End of this chapter)