bookbashuk Page 168
Page 168
"What's the point of worrying about those formalities once they've been dismantled? You're in charge of the aftermath of the first wave of sulfur fires."
The believer appeared on the altar without warning, briefly greeted the two saints, and brought with her the remaining companions, as well as the Octopath Traveler, which had been hidden for a long time.
“The ground is not safe, Aoko. Take Salome and the others onto the ship. Grus can fly on its own, and Arcueid will be responsible for the ship’s defense.”
"So where are you planning to go?"
“I have an appointment to personally escort her to the top of the Platinum Tower. But before that, I need to deal with those scum who have already descended into the material world. The Platinum Tower has already descended into the material world. You will travel ahead by boat, and I will clear the way for you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the believer drew the true world from the azure moon, and a cold, pale holy light emanated from the blade of the demonic sword.
Grus was initially taken aback by the holy light he displayed, but then he tossed over the Dawn Sword, which he had obtained from the Shadowlands.
“Grus, we all have some connection with Master Vladimir, so there’s no need to worry about formalities now. Heavenly Fire is coming, are you ready?”
"You will definitely live up to your destiny!"
The next moment, pale holy light rose from the seashore, traversing the sky. The magnificent cloud cave, the false eternal day, and the sulfur and fire pouring down on the mortal world were all cleaved in two by that holy blade. Meanwhile, a magnificent holy shield rose from the earth, completely isolating the aftershocks of the heavenly fire.
Once the embers had died down, the believer soared into the sky above the earth, drawing her sword towards the magnificent celestial body and the group of beings bearing holy names in the heavens.
……
Chapter 248 Life is Like Returning to the Flow (Part 1)
"I succeeded."
Beneath the frozen ground, the young man, sword in hand, kicked open the door and entered the magical workshop at the bottom of the abyss.
"If you don't knock next time, get out of here. Now, tell me what happened."
……
"In other words, you have successfully communicated with the realm of holy light through Joshua's sacred ritual."
"Yes, but after deciding on his path, his tone became a bit subtle, and I always felt that he was rather...melancholy."
What is your path of chivalry?
"【sacrifice】."
That is indeed quite disheartening.
“But Chloe, I don’t remember ever doing anything heroic that sacrificed myself for the sake of others, nor do I have any similar thoughts or inclinations now. Why have I been sentenced to the path of sacrifice?”
“Believers, although you don’t seem like the selfless kind of person, you have to understand that the path of sacrifice, as a gray path that is close to the path of revenge and conquest, which breaks oaths, is actually far less positive than the traditional paths of justice, glory, fearlessness, and heroism.”
"Hmm...that sounds like the feeling of finally becoming a saint, entering the Holy See, and eating Holy Communion, only to find yourself sitting at the table of sinners and informers?"
"It's not to the point of breaking an oath. It's just that most of the knights who have made a name for themselves throughout history have had a strong tendency to self-destruct, and their personal endings are regrettable. After all, sacrifice and blind faith always go hand in hand."
"It's certainly regrettable that someone has died, but how can we talk about being blind?"
"Believer, is your sacrifice truly the outcome desired by those for whom you sacrificed yourself?"
"..."
"It seems you have recalled the reasons why you decided to sacrifice your path."
“I’m not entirely sure, but I did do something stupid that I thought was right, and I still haven’t been forgiven for it.”
"I understand, it's just another old story about roses in the starry sky or foxes in the field. Figure it out yourself. I need to continue processing yesterday's data, so don't bother me."
“Indeed… wait, how did you know, Chloe?”
"Lady Hern, please don't address me so intimately. Aren't we just cold collaborators? There's no need to pay extra attention to each other's emotional management outside of our cooperation; it's a waste of time."
"But you're clearly paying extra attention to it."
"That's why I said it was a waste of time, and this time it's just a bonus—whenever you shed your carefree and clueless attitude and become sentimental and unable to let go, aren't you just talking about one or two people and having them on your mind?"
"..."
"Alright, now find somewhere to stay. I need to continue processing yesterday's data. Don't bother me, remember that."
"Chloe."
"I'm counting to three."
"What is Lord Vladimir Joshua's path of the Holy Light? Why would he speak in that tone? Could he also be a saint of the path of sacrifice?"
"No, his path is far nobler than yours, but in terms of personal experience, his path is not only more blind than yours [sacrifice], but it is also a bit lame—I mean, Vladimir, he is always a step behind."
"It sounds truly tragic. A blind, lame mentor has taken on a half-blind student. So, what is the path of Mentor Vladimir?"
"Justice".
……
A bizarre and farcical scene is unfolding in the skies above the Kingdom of Sares.
Those divine messengers who descended from the heavens, each bearing a sacred name on the path of enlightenment, each possessing the power to move mountains and open seas.
Although it is not yet at the level of Elijah, the guardian angel who once descended upon the distant seas of Silver Harbor, whose energy level was completely at the upper limit of the material world, it has already surpassed the demigod level defined by Thranheim in the mortal world.
Take the demigods encountered on the journey as an example. The dream dragon that Lin Jing worships is still young, so let's leave that aside for now. The seafood lords that appeared when crossing the North Sea are all fakes in front of this group of golden-faced birds with holy crowns on their heads and white wings.
Now, the three who have descended, called [Glory], [Fearlessness], and [Judgment], are bound like dumplings by the pale chains of the law, turned into a giant windmill, and forced to circle above Sares.
The remaining forces of "Justice" are battling Grus on the earth. The believer keeps a close eye on the situation there, swinging the dog leash in her hand even more fiercely.
When it comes to conflicts at the higher levels of the material world, with everyone's limits locked by the Blood Sea Pact, it's quite unexpected to encounter a battle where quantity is the deciding factor.
He originally thought that with the power of that dome-shaped celestial body, the apostles it sent should be formidable figures at the top of the material world. Who knew that such a person would be troublesome to others, but to him, he could only obediently take a beating.
Who can blame them when the source of the silly roe deer's Azure Moon Realm is far beyond theirs!
……
On the Octopath Traveler, Eirin, who had been all fired up and ready to get things done, suddenly realized she was just a support staff member again. She watched the farce unfolding above Sares and understood perfectly.
"Although I've always known that Lord Hern is very strong, I didn't expect that even those divine envoys were merely toyed with in front of him. However, isn't this approach a bit too much of an underestimation of his opponent?"
Alan watched with trepidation, fearing that Lord Hern, who was walking his dog, might crash.
"Don't worry, Hern has his own plans. Alan, you understand the horror of blind faith. With so many believers watching, Hern and those hairless monsters are mythical figures to them. Even if Hern kills them after the mythical battle, those blind believers with different stances will continue to worship those monsters. Only by dealing with them in the most ridiculous and insulting way can we eliminate future troubles."
Yonglin, who understood the situation, explained it this way.
Is there such a saying?
"Aran, an extremely evil dragon slain by the holy sword Durandal, whose remains were reduced to piles of white bones, still has fanatical dragon worshippers who worship his remains day and night, hoping to receive the dragon's blessing—do you think such a thing is reasonable and common?"
“That makes sense. Such things happen frequently in Thranheim, and I’ve heard a lot about necromancy in the Far East.”
"So, if this extremely evil dragon had its head chopped off in front of everyone with a sword called [Pink Bunny] and announced to the world, do you think there would still be people from the Dragon Worship Cult who would worship its remains?"
"No, that would be too stupid," Alan shook his head righteously in denial.
"So that's what Hearn is doing... Oh! He's finally given up walking the dog!"
After completely adjusting the audience's mindset, Yonglin began to advocate for the situation within the industry.
……
After leading the divine messengers on dog leashes over the believer's head, the believer decided to end the farce. She could then proceed gradually, whether it was to lend a hand to Grus or to guard against the sphere in the sky.
However, since that thing's true form is on the Star Realm, and he is still bound by the agreement, he would have to go through some trouble to get there without using the Void Realm.
That tower at the end of the world, which once seemed like a mirage, now stands in reality on the sea off Sares.
Salome had already completed the guidance to the White Tower, and now, facing that white tower, the believer felt both familiar and strange.
He was familiar with it because he knew what the original form of that tower was.
The strange thing is that the outer shell of that tower is now completely unrecognizable.
In fact, whether in the past or present, using the image of a "tower" to refer to that spectacle is bound by the limitations of the times.
Since Thranheim's resurgence in the Quaternary period, no existing civilization has reached the point of escaping the constraints of gravity.
In other words, the existing civilizations on this star are still confined to the earth, and such civilizations are unable to correctly perceive the scale of that "tower".
It was neither a landmark in a prosperous city nor a spectacle standing tall in a royal capital.
It was a "mountain," a mountain like the roof of the world, Lofian, situated on the ocean, with roots of immeasurable breadth, towering into the clouds, even above the sea of clouds, a "mountain" whose peaks reached into the star realm, surpassing even Lofian.
On this planet, only Yale in the past was able to correctly recognize this miraculous creation.
The once-mighty Yale Empire, which was just one step away from escaping this star.
Fine, let's test its limits with these hairy beasts.
Gross would not be defeated by such a mere facade.
With this thought in mind, the believer, above the sea and sky, gathered the Heavenly Lock of Law of the Azure Moon, and dragged the flock of birds' heads straight towards the Tower at the End.
Physical distance is fleeting, and as they flew toward the White Tower, an unprecedented commotion arose from the other end of the Lawful Heavenly Lock.
Feeling that familiar rhythm from the core of the White Tower, that strange law that could be described as obsessive, yet upheld the ultimate truth and could not be denied, the pure law from the finger bone of that white deity, after it was brought into the mortal world, it once again radiated its domain energy to the world.
As the bound "divine messengers" approached the White Tower, they began a self-destructive process of disintegration. The surviving falsehood crumbled like dust before the only supreme law of the past, the former law of the heavens, and the duality of opposites.
When the devout woman flung the bundle of counterfeit goods toward the tower at the end of the world, and the prisoners on the other side of the Lawful Heavenly Lock vanished like dust before even touching the outer layer of the white tower, the faith on the land of Sares crumbled along with it.
The divine messenger who descended from the heavens turned to ashes before the miracle of the Lord of Light!
Who is real? And who is fake?
At this moment, even the priests of the Holy Temple on the shores of Sares, who had tried to join the siege of the Black Panther Saints, hesitated, wavered, and laid down their weapons.
……
With Salome Reinhardt on board the Octopath Traveler, it's only a matter of time before she leads the magical ship to the top of the White Tower, given her pure White God bloodline.
The believer floated before the outer wall of the white tower, glanced back at the Octopath Traveler not far away, then held up the Demon Sword True World and called out softly.
"Come out."
As soon as she finished speaking, a shadow appeared on the hilt of the demonic sword; it was Pandora Reinhardt.
"【Shadow Empowerment】is such a convenient ability. As a divine power of the Crown of the Sky, merging with shadow doesn't seem so unacceptable," the believer remarked.
“It’s certainly much better than the Rhine Daughter turning into a monster, but now is not the time to discuss that,” Pandora responded to the believer’s assessment, reminding him that important matters were at hand.
"Of course, let's go up."
Awakening the Boundary Stance of Azure Moon, the believer, carrying Pandora, ignored the entrance to the White Tower and soared upwards along the outer layer of the tower wall.
The two were moving away from the ground at an extremely fast speed. As the earth beneath their feet broke away from the ancient concept of a round heaven and a square earth and gradually revealed the arc that the horizon should have, the clouds disappeared, and the Lofian Mountains that they had once flown over became a piece of the puzzle beneath their feet.
When the radiation of stars is no longer blocked by the atmosphere, when the light of common sense is replaced by the cold and deep starry sky.
The believer and Pandora finally reached the top of the White Tower, the end of the star Thranheim.
Defy the constraints of gravity and reach the boundless sea of stars.
When the firmament of common sense ceases to exist, the so-called glorious gods that once hung high above the firmament of Sares are now nothing more than one of the billions of stars.
The finger bones of the White God supported the covenant of the Blood Sea, isolating the monsters from spying on them from the cold starry sky.
Landing on the tower, which is equally vast but limited by the scale of the astral plane, the believer was surprised by the metallic echo that came from the top of the tower when her feet touched it, but not by the fact that the top of the tower was empty.
Yes, nothing.
There is no prophetic paradise, no immortal Eden; there is only an absurd, disillusioning void.
This is a void that would cause the spirits of all believers who are still obsessed with finding Eden to completely collapse.
Pandora Reinhardt faced the vast, empty Tower of Destiny without hesitation or uttering a word, as if she had already accepted the outcome.
She started walking alone towards the center of the white tower, but it was still empty.
The believer kept a short distance behind her, following a few steps, silent, seemingly lost in thought.
“Mr. Hearn, you really didn’t need to come along.”
Pandora whispered a reminder, but did not turn around.
"..."
“Mr. Hearn, all you really need to do is witness the results.”
"..."
The vast, empty tower top was only punctuated by the sound of their footsteps.
"Mr. Hern, do you think that once a raindrop falls from the sky and into the vast ocean, will that raindrop and that ocean remain exactly the same as they were in the beginning?"