Chapter 973
Let everyone see.
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s attitude towards Eivass startled everyone present.
Even filled with malice and hatred, what lay beneath that attitude was incomparably real—
The lofty Fallen Heavenly Envoy was now regarding Eivass as an equal!
Those who had entered the Sky-Piercing Tower ruins with Eivass earlier immediately recalled Eivass’s conversation with the Fallen Heavenly Envoy at the time:
“——I am not a snake. The snake and I are irreconcilable mortal enemies, and Lucifer acknowledged my revenge! I am the key the snake used to open the door, and now I will betray my mission…”
“——What’s the difference between a snake and its tail!”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy had responded thus.
Could it be…
Saint Joan, who understood the secrets of the gods, was quicker to grasp the truth.
The “snake” that could converse with the Fallen Heavenly Envoy on equal terms, and even be hated by him… apart from Father Snake, it could only be the Son of Father Snake.
That was the Ring Heavenly Envoy known as “Ouroboros”!
“Is Lord Eivass… a part of the Ring Heavenly Envoy?”
Saint Joan murmured.
She had already suspected this truth. Eivass’s power had been increasing too rapidly… not just his ability level, but even his extraordinary skills were mastered with extreme speed. It was less like “learning” and more like “remembering”… At the time, she had guessed it was the Butterfly Heavenly Envoy or her offspring.
This was because the Butterfly Heavenly Envoy had the technique of “shedding skin,” often leaving behind only their power and body while their souls became mortals. After living an ordinary life, they would return to the Dream Realm… This was the concept of Zhuang Zhou’s dream of a butterfly, fitting the idea of “remembering.”
Now, it turned out to be the Ring Heavenly Envoy…
In a sense, “eating the tail” and “shedding skin” had similarities.
But the difference was…
“The Ouroboros’s tail…”
Saint Joan’s expression turned solemn. “Is meant to be devoured by the Ouroboros.”
Snakes and their tails were inherently mortal enemies.
“According to the sacred texts… although I don’t know why, the Ring Heavenly Envoy has a habit of cutting off a part of their soul and placing it in the Material Realm, waiting for it to mature and grow strong before killing and devouring it.”
Saint Joan said in a low voice to the others, “The Ring Heavenly Envoy has repeated this cycle many times. That avatar is known as ‘the snake tail’.”
“…Hmph.”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s lips curved slightly, and he let out a strange, cold laugh.
He knew exactly why, of course—but he didn’t want to tell these people.
These people, who had never been betrayed, did not deserve the “solution to the riddle” that he had obtained at a price.
He had paid the price for his naivety, endured the pain, and experienced the despair of betrayal.
Now, these people had paid nothing and were so naive—why should they be privy to this knowledge?
“Do you remember? You told me the story of the ‘Brave’.”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy turned to Eivass, his voice calm. “Facing a world on the brink of destruction, the Brave took up the Holy Sword and challenged the Demon King… A good story, it even stirred my heart.”
Eivass’s brow furrowed slightly.
He had no memory of that, of course, because he wasn’t the Ring Heavenly Envoy.
Eivass looked down at the crowd on the ground and shook his head slightly, signaling them not to make a move on the BOSS yet—the Fallen Heavenly Envoy seemed to have more to say, and they might glean some crucial information.
After all, he truly had no memory of the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s past.
And the Ring Heavenly Envoy… would eventually become his great enemy.
“Every sunrise and sunset, you would tell a new story. New stories followed old ones, and for a time, I thought they were things that had actually happened. I even wanted to travel the world to find the ‘Brave’.”
What is this, One Thousand and One Nights? The Ring Heavenly Envoy updated daily…
Eivass grumbled inwardly.
“But what bothered me most was what happened after the Brave saved the world. People never knew that this person was the one who saved the world, and they spoke haughtily before the mighty Brave; or even if they knew the Brave defeated the Demon King, they had no idea how dire the world’s situation had been.
“People forgot history. Because they had never witnessed despair.”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s steady, low voice continued to resound in the sky, word by word: “You said, ‘the snake tail’—a salvation known by no one, does it have any meaning?”
Eivass was silent for a moment.
Seeing that the Fallen Heavenly Envoy still did not intend to attack, he realized that he was not asking a rhetorical question, but genuinely posing it to him.
“…Of course, it does.”
Eivass replied, “Meaning is not bestowed by others; it is obtained from within the heart.”
“…Heh.”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s lips curved slightly. “Do you know how the snake answered?”
—You know I’m not a snake, right?
One moment you call me a snake, the next you call me a snake tail, you’re quite flexible…
Eivass muttered to himself.
But this time, it was not a question.
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy directly gave the answer: “He said, ‘Saving the world must be a secret, never to be known by the people’.”
“…Why?”
Cardinal Galatea, unafraid, spoke directly.
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy lowered his head slightly to Cardinal Galatea and replied, “Because if someone witnesses a miracle, it is creating a god. But this world has no gods. No existence can solve all problems and alleviate all suffering. Therefore, the work of creating gods is doomed to fail and will only lead to despair.
“When people face difficulties, they beg ‘god’ for help. But the Brave’s ability to defeat the Demon King does not mean he can make everyone happy. The weight of their prayers will eventually crush all human goodness, and unfulfilled wishes will turn into resentment. Even the Brave will fall into becoming a Demon King amidst malice.
“The snake said—never let people know how far you can go.”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s words were surprisingly wise, calm, and profound.
It was nothing like the Fallen Heavenly Envoy they had seen in the cracks of the world before, nor like the one who had just annihilated the Fly Demon.
However, at this moment, the smile on the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s lips suddenly widened.
“—Since that’s what he said, I will do the opposite.”
Without hiding his intense malice, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy chuckled in a low voice, “In front of the people, display all of your might! Brave Lord…
“Let the people know your power!”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy did nothing; his power did not spill over.
But in the next instant, the sky turned into a mirror, displaying an image within it.
The entire sky above Star Antinomy had become a massive “silent screen”!
Their current confrontation had been recorded by the succubi under the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s command and broadcast onto the firmament!
Everyone in Star Antinomy could see this by simply looking up.
Even the sky in the areas surrounding Star Antinomy had been transformed into a backdrop through the ritual’s projection!
Yulia’s eyes widened in surprise.
—Are the entire world’s people watching this now?!
To her, Avalon, Iris Flower, and Star Antinomy were the entire world.
Intense unease and nervousness made her heart pound.
“…Was the ritual you prepared earlier this?”
Looking at all this, Eivass actually smiled.
He raised an eyebrow and said calmly, “What, are you already prepared for your own defeat?”
Eivass’s true fear was the Fallen Heavenly Envoy directly attacking Yulia.
But the Fallen Heavenly Envoy disdained to do such a thing. His goal was not to make “Eivass” suffer, but to target the Ring Heavenly Envoy.
Or rather—the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s enemy had always been “the snake,” and Eivass, as “the snake tail,” was merely a sweet seasoning for his feast of revenge. More than Eivass himself, what he symbolized was more worthy of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s humiliation.
So…
Thinking of this, Eivass’s heart stirred slightly, and he suddenly stopped speaking.
“Thought of something?”
The Fallen Heavenly Envoy grinned. “Too late.”
Without even extending his hand to grasp the air forward, Eivass was suddenly seized and floated up.
In the next moment, the Mark of Sin, with its dazzling colors, appeared on Eivass’s body—
Centered on Eivass, a six-layered, colorful ring unfurled, locking him in the middle. The ring looked like the one binding the hair behind the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, only vastly magnified.
“——Make a move!”
Lixia was the first to react.
Although they had just gone through two battles and hadn’t had time to recover their injuries, stamina, and mana… they couldn’t just stand by and watch the Fallen Heavenly Envoy attack Eivass!
As the Fallen Heavenly Envoy seemed to be channeling a spell, this was their best opportunity to strike!
However, the Fallen Heavenly Envoy ignored them completely, not even glancing at them.
“Pride, envy, lust, wrath, greed, sloth…”
As the Fallen Heavenly Envoy extended his sharp right claw, pointing his index finger, he counted off the Great Sins Eivass bore one by one. With each name uttered, he lightly tapped, and a light ring corresponding to it would enlarge and cheerfully echo the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s “roll call.”
“——Oh dear, which one to choose? It’s truly difficult to decide.”
Eivass clearly felt a familiar tearing sensation within him—as the Mark of Sin was activated, his flesh and blood churned, undergoing a transformation. Intense negative emotions surged in his heart, but they were like rootless duckweed, unable to perfectly merge with the current Eivass… thus, although the flesh beneath his skin bulged, it could not break through the skin to emerge.
But that was only “for now.”
The Mark of Sin was continuously receiving power from the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, like turning on the faucet of a swimming pool. Although it was empty at the moment, and the higher the water level, the greater the water pressure… the water would eventually overflow.
However, Eivass was not overly panicked.
This was the perfect opportunity to attract the Fallen Heavenly Envoy’s attention, allowing his teammates to unleash their attacks!
Although having a healer act as a tank to draw aggro sounded a bit like playing with fire… as long as the healer didn’t die, it wasn’t completely out of hand!
The Butterfly’s Flame Stream directly hit the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, but he didn’t dodge. Only the scorched black bone armor suddenly lit up with a faint blue fire; the Grand Guardian was the first to rush forward, riding a Gryphon, wrapped in a storm, and heavily slashed at the Fallen Heavenly Envoy with dual blades blessed by Saint Joan!
A crisp clanging sound was heard, but the Fallen Heavenly Envoy still showed no reaction.
He simply waved his hand dismissively, as if swatting away a fly. The condensed, invisible force instantly sent the Grand Guardian crashing to the ground—
A shield of no light instantly materialized beneath him, completely absorbing the Amber’s Petrifying Ray!
(End of this chapter)
