Chapter 965
Moriarty
As Old James’s voice fell, the space before him suddenly began to twist and blur.
A surging thunder coalesced into a giant bird of blue and white before him, discharging electricity outwards while emitting a bird-like noise. “Summon Thunderbird!” This was a Fourth Tier spell that summoned a giant thunderbird capable of self-seeking enemies by drawing on lightning. It was considered an elemental lifeform that would automatically dissipate once its internal energy was depleted.
Eivass, meanwhile, stood calmly in place. His nimble fingers constantly manipulated cards, like a dealer performing magic, making cards appear and disappear between his fingers. Upon seeing this symbolic attack, a card silently materialized in his fingers. Before the thunderbird could reach him, a rainbow-colored ice wall rose from the ground before him. The blue and white V-shaped lightning struck the ice wall, yet not a single fragment fell. But in the next instant, the thunderbird flying in the air suddenly let out a cry and inexplicably froze into ice! As its mournful cry rang out, it had already frozen, falling from the sky and shattering on the ground into a flash of electric sparks like a flashbang.
“…It didn’t count as the summoner’s attack?” Eivass mused. If Old Moriarty’s spell had directly hit “Star Ice,” he would have been frozen by the Twilight power contained within it. He had to admit… Old Moriarty was truly cautious. Despite saying things like, “You’ve already surpassed me,” and “From now on, you are Moriarty,” he even delegated his attacks to summoned creatures! But Eivass wasn’t disappointed. Because Eivass had also guessed that Moriarty would likely not fall for such a simple counter-spell. Previously, Eivass didn’t know if Moriarty had any equipment to increase priority, so he hadn’t used the power of “Yin-Yang Harmony” to gain higher priority through five-fold casting. This was merely a probe, so it didn’t consume too much mana. Even if the counter-attack intention failed, it wasn’t a loss—at least a cover was successfully created.
Eivass observed the situation from behind the transparent ice wall. As the electric light erupted, Old Moriarty remained stable in his spot, softly chanting a spell. But Eivass’s keen senses realized that the old man’s position had subtly shifted. Before the electric light exploded, he didn’t seem to be in that location. …Was it teleportation? Or an illusion? Or perhaps… As Eivass pondered this, the Book of Law materialized in his left hand. At this moment, the Butterfly of Contrary Flames was still watching the camp, helping Isabel impersonate Eivass… If the Butterfly of Contrary Flames were to disappear out of thin air, it might cause unnecessary complications. But Eivass dared not underestimate his foster father. He didn’t know how many trump cards Old Moriarty had left, so it was best to finish quickly—to kill him before he played all his cards!
Although there was no wind, the Book of Law was flipping at high speed. “I whistle and arrive—” Helchin’s low voice sounded. He hadn’t undergone Twilight transformation, so he was still in his Heroic Spirit state, riding a white horse. He wasn’t holding the Lightning Dragon Halberd, but rather the Dragon Lance that Cardinal Fafnir had reforged for him! It was a silver-white lance, three and a half meters long. Only this elven warrior, seated on a Pegasus, could easily wield a weapon of such magnitude! He casually scraped the lance on the ground like a match, and it actually drew an arc of unquenchable fire on the stone slab—this golden-red flame wrapped around the front half of the lance, turning the silver-white lance into a semi-transparent material of near-amber in the fire. And as Helchin gazed at his opponent, the King of the Wild Hunt Legion soldiers summoned behind him gradually coalesced.
“…This must be Helchin, the King of the Wild Hunt from Eagle Cape Village.” “Old James” was still chanting spells, but a voice of admiration suddenly came from the air: “I knew you could summon the Wild Hunt, but seeing it with my own eyes is a first.” Helchin frowned slightly and pulled the reins. He suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning and, without warning, launched an arc-shaped charge towards the “empty space”! Because the distance was too short, it was less of a charge and more of a “leap.” He first shattered the “Old James” who was chanting spells, then curved and landed at the spot where James had spoken! The storm was torn asunder by him, emitting ghostly wails and howls of wind, and the surrounding stone walls were ripped with cracks by the hurricane. As he landed, a visible shockwave condensed and then spread outwards! The surrounding ground shook violently; it could be felt even kilometers away, and the ground around his landing spot had already turned to dust! Cracks spread throughout the entire courtyard, and then even the monastery’s walls cracked with a “kaka” sound. Streaks of earthy yellow smoke rose from all surrounding buildings, emitting sounds of being overburdened load.
Helchin didn’t know which of the “Old Moriarty” chanting spells or the source of the voice was the real one… so he attacked both places simultaneously! As a result, the chanting voice actually didn’t disappear—the exposed “Old James” was hit with a violent impact and dissolved into foam, while a “Old James” was shaken out from that direction… But the “feel” was wrong. The “Old James” that was shaken out, after enduring the shockwave of the landing, actually shattered into butterflies! Both Old Jameses were fake!
At this moment, Eivass suddenly felt an intense pressure—an invisible force pressed down on Eivass’s back, almost forcing him to his knees! He felt his legs were as if wrapped in mud and sand, unable to move a single step or lift a hand. His spine was bent by the sudden gravity, his neck emitted a creaking sound of being overburdened, and his internal organs felt as if they were constantly falling downwards, pulling and causing waves of intense pain. His vision blurred, and his ears experienced a strange sensation of expansion. Everything before his eyes began to distort, losing color and gradually turning gray and white, and his brain began to feel dizzy. His heart felt an extremely strong sense of being overburdened, and even breathing became difficult—each time his lungs expanded, he felt a tearing pain. Eivass was not just resisting an externally added “weight,” but his own body! …No wonder even Supervisor Cornelius, a Fifth Tier being, was momentarily incapacitated. How terrifying is a gravity control spell… Is this really just five times gravity? It’s probably seven, eight, or even ten times more gravity change! Eivass’s body, strengthened by the Fifth Tier Path of Devotion, felt the premonition of death in an instant of endurance.
But Eivass was no mortal. His brain was operating sluggishly. In the instant his thoughts almost came to a halt, he had already thought of a countermeasure: if this move were used against a Fifth Tier Archmage, just this move alone would crush them… However, Eivass’s body, with its ignited flame of devotion, could quickly adapt to this abnormal gravity! At most, two seconds, and he would be able to think and move normally. If it exceeded ten seconds, he would regain his mobility and begin to walk or run slowly! —But he wouldn’t have these three seconds. Just like the attack on Supervisor Cornelius before… So what would come next? A double spell? Freezing, or lightning strike? Eivass dared not gamble. Therefore, he immediately activated the long-unused [Shadow Cloak]! —As Eivass endured the gravity, his body deforming like a zombie, a dense shadow power seeped out from within him! A pitch-black, cold storm howled out, completely dyeing the entire space black. A hemispherical shadow barrier materialized out of thin air on the ground, with the wind inside twisting and howling like a spiral.
But even the Shadow Cloak couldn’t remove the control Eivass was under! The Shadow Cloak could remove five types of control: unsealing, freezing, burning, binding, and petrification. This control caused by gravity alteration was not among them. —However, the repelling force caused by the Shadow Cloak instantly shook out a total of eight Old Moriartys from the void! The moment they were shaken out, Eivass became completely invisible, disappearing from their sight. The spells that needed to be maintained were terminated due to the loss of targets, and Eivass instantly regained his mobility. But the momentary loss of weight caused his entire upper body to turn red—his skin was extensively reddened, bleeding, and blood flowed from his seven orifices. But this level of damage was insignificant. For mere physical damage, Eivass didn’t even need to use Fire Worship Magic to heal; his body regenerated at a visible rate with each breath! And as Eivass shook out these “Old Moriartys,” Helchin suddenly turned and swept them away! He didn’t know which one was real, so he just treated them all as real!
At this moment, countless dense grey spider webs suddenly appeared out of thin air! One, two… In an instant, hundreds of bucket-thick spider webs covered the sky and earth, turning all surrounding buildings into a spider’s nest in an instant! And these spider webs seemed to possess some kind of magic; even the King of the Wild Hunt was entangled by them, only managing to break free after a full two to three seconds! And the real Moriarty had become invisible again. That was undoubtedly a spider web made of “lies.” Anyone who could be deceived by lies would be bound by that spider web… and Helchin had been deceived and betrayed to death in the past, so this was a kind of minor restraint.
But as a Sixth Tier high-level Phantom Demon, the King of the Wild Hunt, he should not be affected by any spell in the Material Realm—after all, Helchin’s spell resistance alone was on par with the Fallen Heavenly Envoys who had descended now! This meant that Old Moriarty’s move was even effective against Fallen Heavenly Envoys! Then it could only be the power of a Heavenly Envoy—or even a Heavenly Envoy Fragment! —The spider web of the Grey Heavenly Envoy! Eivass asked sharply, “Has the Grey Heavenly Envoy revived within you?” “He is not worthy,” Moriarty’s calm voice echoed again in the void, overlapping heavily. “Just a dead Heavenly Envoy… not even a Pillar God is worthy of controlling me.” In his words, there was a cold contempt for the Heavenly Envoys and Pillar Gods. Completely opposite to his usual gentle, tolerant, and pious demeanor. He no longer concealed his attitude towards Heavenly Envoys and Pillar Gods.
But… when did those spider webs get summoned? Lily also had the Spider Silk Grimoire, and Eivass knew the activation conditions for this ability. These spider webs should only condense after a lie is spoken, with the toughness of the spider webs determined by the fragility of the lie, the toxicity of the spider webs determined by the toxicity of the lie, and the stickiness of the spider webs determined by the believability of the lie. But Old Moriarty hadn’t said a single word! How was it triggered? Eivass’s brain whirred. He suddenly remembered that these spider webs appeared at the same time Eivass shook out those clones. Then he instantly realized the truth— “—It’s a paradox!” Because Moriarty’s illusions were so realistic, both Eivass and Helchin couldn’t distinguish “which one was the real Moriarty”—his clones could even speak, had tactile sensation, and could cast spells! Before being “killed,” it couldn’t be determined that it was fake! Therefore, when multiple Moriartys appeared simultaneously and couldn’t be distinguished, it was equivalent to triggering an unbreakable lie! —No more delays! Although Old Moriarty didn’t know, Eivass’s Illusion Cards had a limited number of uses. Delaying further would only make the situation more unfavorable…
“Helchin, continue shaking the ground!” Eivass commanded immediately. Helchin instantly understood Eivass’s strategy. He led the King of the Wild Hunt Legion and charged at the air—centered around Eivass, they ground down all surrounding buildings and the ground like a millstone! Walls were shattered, and the battlefield spread outwards from the courtyard. In the next moment, the outer courtyard wall was also smashed. The King of the Wild Hunt Legion, while slashing at the spider webs with their weapons, began an eternally continuous charge around Eivass! No matter where Moriarty was hidden, as long as he attacked uniformly, sweeping away the ground again and again, he at least couldn’t stand still and chant spells! Since he couldn’t be seen, then attack every possible position! —This is the unavoidable weakness of spellcasters! “Just hiding won’t win!” Eivass shouted, “No need to waste time!”
“Indeed, I didn’t intend to waste time either,” Moriarty’s voice came from the void. A member of the Wild Hunt immediately attacked that position, shaking out a Moriarty and hacking him to death, watching him dissolve into flames and disappear. “Speaking of which… we’ve never had a formal fight, have we? After all, you were always so sensible.” Another Moriarty’s voice emerged from another location and was immediately found and crushed. “I don’t want our battle to be undignified… but I also don’t want, in your heart, the last of me to be just an incompetent, hysterical, and foolish father who knows nothing but playing mind games. I mean, if you can still consider me a father.” Another Moriarty was shattered, scattering into flower petals. “So I’ve prepared something good for you… something that will leave a lasting impression.” Another Moriarty emerged.
At this moment, the chanting voice that had been present in the air disappeared. But this time the situation was different— the Wild Hunt warrior swung his giant sword and it was bloody! The moment Old Moriarty finished speaking, he was cruelly cut in half by a King of the Wild Hunt soldier! His body immediately broke into two halves, his left arm cut off from the forearm, and his right arm from the shoulder. At that moment, both Eivass and Helchin were slightly stunned. Even the King of the Wild Hunt soldier who cut Moriarty in half was stunned. How… is it real? …Why is it real this time? —The charge stopped. Eivass quickly walked forward, and the severely wounded Old Moriarty, cut in half and on the verge of death, merely wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, looking up at the sky.
“The battle is not over yet,” Old Moriarty murmured, still looking at the sky. “The spell I prepared is complete.” “…What?” Eivass blinked in surprise, then realized something. He looked up at the night sky. In the sky, a huge black shadow appeared. It was night, so it was hard to see clearly, but the oppressive feeling was not false. The clouds parted. The ground was shaking. It was a… falling star. A giant meteorite. Covering the sky, obscuring the moonlight. “—The attack range is a radius of fifty kilometers. This is my strongest spell… I spent many years preparing to pull this asteroid. I originally intended to threaten the Grey Heavenly Envoy. If he dared to descend upon me, I would pull the meteor to destroy us both. “So he dared not. He could only lend me his power, but he dared not revive from me.” Old Moriarty, with only the upper half of his body remaining, coughed up blood and looked at the sky. His voice grew weaker. As a Mage and Astrologer, his Path Power could not strengthen his body. His body was not much stronger than a mortal’s. Such an injury was an irreversible fatal wound for him. He said it lightly, his voice growing weaker. “I know you can escape, easily. But think about it, there are residential areas around here. “You say I am wrong, then let me see… what will the correct you do.” His gray pupils gazed at the night sky, as if expecting something.
(End of this chapter)
