Chapter 836
Why Did the Banquet Master Die?
Eivass continued to dance with Sasha, while keeping a distant eye on Cain and Andrea Walter, who were gracefully twirling under the pure white Candlemaster.
“Andrea… that Child of the Moon, what exactly is she thinking?”
Eivass pondered with a slight frown.
She seemed like an enthusiastic fangirl chasing after her idol. It was a rare opportunity to see the former self of the Blood Heavenly Envoy in the Material Realm, so she eagerly approached him.
…But upon closer thought, something felt off.
From the gossip heard in the preparation room earlier, Andrea was Red Phase Pomanach’s “daughter” and also one of his most beloved lovers. She was so fond of Pomanach that she willingly became a Child of the Moon, even breaking ties with her own father, Master Walter, for it.
After becoming a Child of the Moon, she became completely biased towards Pomanach. Even after Pomanach’s death, she, who normally wouldn’t pick a fight, didn’t hesitate to offend other Ascenders and desperately attack those she couldn’t win against in the preparation room.
While the succubus Emma and Count Leipzig might have had their own agendas, Andrea was utterly loyal to Pomanach. Her passion was even more genuine than that of Alphonse, Pomanach’s actual son.
Although Alistair’s cloud synchronization wasn’t very frequent, Eivass, who was in slumber in the Church, had access to all the information he needed to know—Pomanach had a very loyal faith in the Banquet Master.
He held a deep disdain for the Children of the Moon in the Daffodil Duchy and the Iris Kingdom.
He believed those Children of the Moon who worshipped the Blood Heavenly Envoy were cruel and foolish, lacking the bearing and elegance of a Child of the Moon; they appeared crude and beast-like… more like the sons of barbaric Beast Lords than the elegant Sons of Hengwo.
After all, the Blood Heavenly Envoy’s personality was inherently brutal and ruthless. It wasn’t surprising that his followers, the Children of the Moon, turned out that way.
It was a clear case of “like master, like servant.”
…Then the problem arose.
As Red Phase Pomanach’s most loyal “daughter,” Andrea, why was she so enthusiastic about the Blood Heavenly Envoy, whom Pomanach disliked so much?
Furthermore, as an extraordinary of the Fourth Tier, and given that she didn’t plan to participate in the Full Moon Ritual due to her lack of skill in playing a role, it indicated that she had at least independently ascended to her current level. This meant she had undergone the New Moon Ritual at least twice.
Was she truly as foolish and straightforward as she appeared?
Eivass fell into deep thought.
Just then, another person suddenly appeared beside him.
“—Sir, may I have a dance with you?”
A steady voice inquired.
Eivass glanced sideways and saw a dashing short-haired woman place her right hand on her chest and lean forward slightly, offering him a gender-neutral greeting from the Hrasal Empire era.
This gesture…
His heart stirred slightly. He nodded to Sasha beside him, and she gracefully released his waist.
As Eivass began to dance with the short-haired woman, he could clearly feel her stiffness.
“Your Highness, there’s no need to be so nervous,” Eivass said in a low voice.
Crown Princess Noel looked at Eivass with some surprise. “I thought you might guess… but I didn’t expect you to figure it out so quickly, Mr. [Sun].”
“—Haven’t you already recognized me?”
Eivass chuckled. “Thanks to Mr. Laro, this Ascension Ritual is practically an open game… May I ask how I should address you, Your Highness?”
The reason he recognized her was simple: the gesture she performed was too perfect and too earnest. In that case, the likelihood of it being the Crown Princess was very high.
As for whether it was truly her… well, she had definitely recognized him, so a little probing wouldn’t hurt.
—Eivass wasn’t hiding anything at all.
He didn’t conceal the contemplative gaze he cast towards Cain and Andrea.
As a Devotee, he had no need to hide his identity.
Whether in combat or in deciphering mysteries, Devotees were relatively reliable teammates—while others might need to conceal themselves, Eivass actually needed to expose himself to unite others and leverage their numbers for an advantage.
As everyone knew, Priests lacked immediate combat power.
While not entirely fragile, they were at least the weakest among Extraordinary individuals of the same Energy Level traversing the Nine Great Paths. Therefore, there was no need to worry about them betraying him… The very nature of the Path of Devotion also ensured they wouldn’t act that way.
—Even in the New Moon Ritual, Devotees were the most reliable collaborators.
“It was when you mentioned ‘Knight of Metal and Stone’ that I decided to approach you,” Crown Princess Noel said, shaking her head. “You can just call me Noel, Your Excellency the Archbishop.”
She then looked at Andrea, who was still gracefully dancing, and asked, “Do you suspect something is wrong with her?”
“I’m contemplating… what her objective is, and what we should do,” Eivass’s gaze was calm, his voice deep and clear. “Miss Andrea has chosen her own path and has already taken action—regardless of where that path leads. While we are still dancing here… I believe this ritual isn’t for us to practice ballroom dancing.”
“I have an idea,” the Crown Princess said in a low voice. “Did you hear that? ‘Celebrate the death of the Mad Dragon, and may he ascend to the heavens.’ That Mad Dragon should refer to Cain’s father, who later became the Banquet Master.'”
“There’s something amiss here, the timeline is incorrect,” Eivass corrected softly. “After the Banquet Master became an Apostle, Sasha became his nun. It was after that that Sister Sasha gave birth to Cain. Therefore, there shouldn’t have been a Cain of such an age at the time of the ‘Mad Dragon’s death’…”
He was still bothered by these logical inconsistencies.
Because he knew too much, he was unable to sort out the logic.
But the Crown Princess shook her head.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” she admitted, not being very familiar with this particular detail and thus not paying attention to it previously. “What I was thinking was… why, at a banquet celebrating the ‘death of the Mad Dragon,’ would they ‘toast all heroes’?
“Why did the ‘Mad Dragon’ die? And why did the heroes gather together? Does ‘hero’ refer to a dragon-slayer? But if the Mad Dragon was Cain’s father, why would they celebrate all of this?”
The Equilibrator’s thinking was sharp as a knife, providing Eivass with valuable insights.
“Could it be…”
Eivass mused, searching for possible answers. “That for Heavenly Envoys and Apostles, death isn’t the end, but rather a beginning? Therefore, if the Mad Dragon was killed, it meant the Banquet Master could ascend to the Dream Realm and become Hengwo’s Apostle, or even a Heavenly Envoy? So for him, this was a banquet of ascension…
“And those ‘heroes,’ perhaps they were invited by the ‘Mad Dragon’ to kill him?”
“Then, is there such a historical event?” the Crown Princess countered.
Eivass shook his head. “I don’t know. History doesn’t clearly record the cause of the Banquet Master’s death.”
“Then, since history doesn’t clearly record it, how can you be sure this isn’t the real history?”
“Because…”
Just as Eivass was about to frown and repeat his own statement, his words suddenly caught in his throat.
…Wait a moment.
History doesn’t clearly record it?
His eyes widened, and he realized something.
Could it be possible… that these paintings were originally “history that never happened”?
In other words, there was no “correct answer” at all.
Instead, it required creating history from a dense fog!
From this illogical painting, a logical story that could encompass everything needed to be created!
In other words, one needed to actively correct and erase the “incorrect” details!
Then… in this banquet, what parts were incorrect?
—Cain!
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Cain, who was dancing with Andrea Walter, suddenly let out a scream of agony.
From Andrea’s chest, a scarlet crystalline spike emerged, piercing Cain’s chest directly!
She tightly embraced Cain, and numerous crimson spikes erupted from her body, instantly turning him into a sieve!
Poison flowed into his bloodstream, and numerous red patterns appeared on his skin.
Andrea gracefully held Cain, leaning him against the wall, then took two steps back, bowing as if completing a dance.
“What,” Andrea whispered with malice, “Did you think that a pair of red eyes… meant I wouldn’t recognize that you’re not a Child of the Moon?”
In that instant, Eivass understood why Andrea had attacked.
She had sensed that Cain’s body didn’t contain the blood of a Child of the Moon!
(End of Chapter)
