bookbashuk Page 67
Page 67
However, borrowing His power carries certain risks. But it seems that Yogg has no intention of returning to his soul. After all, being imprisoned by the Metatron Cube is too humiliating for an Outer God, even if it's just a small avatar.
Le Zhengling has no intention of provoking Him yet, because he is still unclear about what the other party is planning. Outer gods are incomprehensible beings, and anyone who tries to interpret or understand them is a madman and will definitely not have a good ending.
It was alright when I was giving up on myself before, since my previous state was no different from being crazy, but now that there is at least another hope, I can't afford to act recklessly anymore.
Le Zhengling walked to Chengzi's side, took her hand, and then gestured for Arthur to come over and take his hand as well.
"A drunken illusion..." Yue Zhengling murmured, then the wand wrapped around her waist trembled slightly, and the three figures completely disappeared from Rani's sight.
Rani pushed up her glasses, and the ethereal beams quickly filled the entire building, but she couldn't spot the three people at all.
“It’s not magic, it’s more like talent… I’ll submit it to my master for investigation.” Rani was curious about Yue Zhengling’s identity. No matter what, a normal person, even a Heroic Spirit, should not be able to deceive the world. After all, as long as someone exists in the world, they are also part of the world. But the other party’s ability has exceeded that limit.
The Atlas Institute was very interested in this anomaly and this unknown existence, after all, it might be a way to escape the final fate.
The existence of the Atlas Academy was to avoid the final outcome, but now that she has seen Yue Zhengling's abilities, she has no choice but to take it seriously.
However, Yue Zhengling's ability is too ambiguous, and even Lani herself cannot confirm his physical form. Since he is connected with the Outer God, whether this ability is the Outer God's ability or Yue Zhengling's own ability is a different matter for the Atlas Academy.
If it is the former, then they must be destroyed. The Atlas Academy does not allow alien gods to interfere in the world; they must rely on humanity's own strength to avoid their fate.
If it is the latter, then we must have Yue Zhengling help them with the calculation experiments, because this ability is something that the Atlas Academy has never observed or predicted before. It represents a new possibility, and this new possibility can bring infinite combinations, becoming an endless number of possibilities.
Rani walked to the window, and a male sphinx slowly descended in front of her. Then, its eyes lit up slightly. After receiving the information her master had given her, Rani nodded and then climbed onto the sphinx's head.
"Go check out the battle area, and tell the other sphinxes to go all out," Rani ordered the sphinx carrying her. Although she really wanted to retrieve the contracts, the world was now under the control of the Atlas Institute, and those contracts were no longer of any use.
That's how it should have been, but with the unexpected turn of events involving Yue Zhengling, Lani didn't want her master's plan to go awry. More importantly, she didn't want Yue Zhengling and her master to become enemies.
Although it's unknown what demands Lok Ching-ling will make, it certainly won't be anything good.
This can be seen from the items Yue Zhengling requested in the transaction. I have already taken it upon myself to give him the Seed Demon Sword. I don't know if my master will agree. If he does, Yue Zhengling will definitely use that contract. So no matter what, I cannot let him get the right to use it.
The Sphinx's eyes flashed a few times. Rani knew this was their means of communication. The teacher had made an agreement with them to open the passage between the surface world and the inner sea of stars after the world began to change, allowing some of the gods to return.
It was because of this agreement that the Sphinx, as a deity, helped them. Moreover, as a preliminary price, Egypt had returned to the Age of Gods, and some of the Egyptian gods had already descended. Under these circumstances, the Atlas Academy was able to advance its plan so smoothly.
Whether it was the Twenty-Seven Ancestor Saints, the Holy Church, or the Magicians' Guild, they devised targeted methods from the very beginning of their plan. They first used the master's succession ceremony as bait to lure the top magicians from the Clock Tower and the Wandering Sea into the courtyard.
Then, the Jade Record was activated to clear all the spiritual particles in the hall. Without the spiritual particles, the magicians were unable to cast spells. At the same time, the super-powerful bombs that had been buried under their feet exploded, instantly taking everyone's lives.
The dead disciples were dealt with by the master's Barrel Replica.
As a replica of Black Barrel, one of the seven great weapons of the Atlas Academy, it uses "longevity" as the concept of attack, and releases a poison proportional to the lifespan of that life to kill the severely injured magician apostles.
Of the twenty-seven ancestors, the White Princess had long since stopped leaving the City of a Thousand Years, the Black Princess had gone to the Moon, and the other ancestors had been annihilated by weapons provided to the Church of the Holy See by the Atlas Institute before the plan began. The remaining survivors were not a threat.
As the Great Magic World Egg unfolded, the Holy Church lost most of its fighting power. Humans were transformed into Philosopher's Stones, Alaya was severely injured, and Heroic Spirits were unable to descend. Afterward, the World Egg was completed, and the spiritual particles in the air were slowly transformed into spiritual particles that humans could not adapt to. Those who remained would slowly die and would not be able to leave offspring. All struggles were in vain.
Even the humans in the Atlas Institute turned into sand immediately, but they all did so voluntarily. Apart from her and her master, there were no other living people left in the entire Atlas Institute.
The night before the plan, her master took her to the Trident Hermes and asked about the future of the world. What they saw was an unchangeable despair.
As the ultimate machine that can provide answers simply by inputting a question, the highest embodiment of the combination of technology and magic, this pseudo-spiritual particle calculator, Trident Hermes, only brought them deeper despair.
This despair had already spread within the Atlas Chamber.
The master, who was elected dean by all members of the Atlas Institute, discovered the hidden truth as the alchemists of the Atlas Institute chose to commit suicide.
After she figured out the reason, she also calculated the coming outcome.
In the end, it was concluded that destruction was inevitable and that humanity had little time left. As a result, countless people who had calculated that ending, just like their master, committed suicide one by one.
They chose death, sleeping peacefully knowing they would be safe, shamefully fleeing and entrusting the mess to those who knew nothing of it.
After the answer was revealed, the master understood the alchemists' intentions in choosing to commit suicide, which was originally caused by the suicides of their fellow practitioners. However, the master did not give up. For the sake of this world that was heading towards destruction, the master continued to encourage the remaining compatriots to do their best to calculate all possibilities as quickly as possible.
But her companions continued to dwindle day by day. At this time, she was successfully created as the last artificial human of the Atlas Institute, codenamed Lani VIII.
Even so, if perfection could perfectly compensate for everyone's flaws and exist, there would be no other solution.
The number of companions gradually decreased again, and eventually even that sense of powerlessness and despair infected the master's heart.
If the ending cannot be avoided, then let's not continue toward that ending.
After his master proposed this idea, the Atlas Institute finally launched the World Egg Project, and his master resolved to transform into the sands of Osiris to preserve this world.
When the final night arrived, her master took her to the pseudo-spiritual particle calculator, Trident Hermes, and quietly looked at the imaginary sky.
"Rani, this blue sky should be the last blue sky in the world."
Looking at the clear blue sky, the master's expression was serious. He then muttered a question-and-answer session to himself. Hearing this, Rani knew that this person was no longer the master she remembered.
Aster: Why try to avoid the destruction of the world? It was destined, everything was for humanity.
The Sands of Osiris: Even if this destruction is to negate the achievements of the past and the present?
Aster: This idea has no future; it is wrong. No matter how much we struggle, destruction will eventually come. This is the truth of the universe. Therefore, we are not here to escape our fate of destruction, but to strive for a new future in the world after destruction.
The Sands of Osiris: Poor woman, the gestation of this will was stillborn. Indeed, preparing for destruction in advance is constructive and certainly easy, but to deny this is to choose to constantly evade destruction. This is the best course of action, and this is the answer that generations of Eltnam have reached.
Aster: —I cannot understand why you would abandon the path of evolution and choose the path of destruction.
The Sands of Osiris: The answer is already obvious, because if we evolve, this universe will be destroyed.
Aster Osiris Sand: Therefore, we will neither evolve nor perish, but will remain forever—forever protecting the unfinished life and forever escaping the fate of destruction.
That night, her master transformed into something else, and after that night, the fate of the world was rewritten; everything about humanity came to a standstill and was completely preserved.
Rani didn't know if this was the right conclusion, so she was observing. As an artificial being, she had no concept of right or wrong, only of what was reasonable and unreasonable. But if it was her master's choice at that time, she would wait quietly.
Because the first warm embrace she ever felt in her life was her master's embrace, but the person who once gave her warmth is gone. Now, she sees hope for a change in the future. So, is there any hope for her master to turn back?
With her first hope in life, Rani sets off for her own battlefield.
Chapter 156 The Holy Lance, Set Sail!
Le Zhengling and his two companions quickly arrived near the battlefield.
They stood on the rooftop of a tall building, watching Gray and Barthezmello being attacked by the three-headed sphinx.
"Wow, this is really tragic..." Looking at the situation ahead, Yue Zhengling sighed in a carefree tone, "If this continues, death will only be a matter of minutes~"
Orange calmly observed the situation opposite her, offering no comment.
Arthur didn't say anything, but his expression showed some reluctance.
The battle was completely one-sided. The three-headed sphinx used speeds several times faster than human limits to repeatedly knock the two away, as if toying with them like balls.
Gray's cloak was tattered and embedded in the exterior wall of a building. She was coughing up blood and only managed to stay conscious through sheer willpower. The Holy Lance lay not far in front of her.
Barthemello's weapon was nowhere to be found, but she was in a better situation than Gray, as the magic surrounding her had formed a wind armor.
Although the wind armor shatters every time it is hit, it reappears instantly, providing excellent cushioning if it crashes into a building.
Le Zhengling had to admire them for being able to withstand the Sphinx for so long.
The Sphinx is not a divine beast, but a deity. For modern magicians, dealing with a divine beast is already a difficult task. As for dealing with a divine beast, unless they have special Mystic Codes or Noble Phantasms from the Age of Gods, they cannot break its skin. Otherwise, even if the beast stands still, they cannot be damaged.
"Lingjun, didn't you want to get the contract authorization from Barthezello? If you don't act now, it might be too late." Seeing the increasingly critical situation, Chengzi reminded Yue Zhengling.
"Hmm, actually I was thinking about whether to make Barthelo suffer a bit more and only let him go at the last moment." Yue Zhengling pretended to be thinking, but only he knew what he was really planning.
Just then, the three-headed sphinx's eyes flashed, as if it had received some message, and it stopped. A few seconds later, a blue light appeared on the two female sphinxes, and their eyes flashed.
"A Dream of Cooking a Meal!"
Knowing their attack method, Yue Zhengling's expression changed drastically. He instantly released Chengzi and Arthur's hands, pulled out his wand from his waist, and chanted his own spell.
The instant he finished speaking, two massive explosions erupted beneath Gray and Barthezmello's feet, respectively. The irresistible magical light instantly vaporized the two, leaving only a huge crater in place, radiating extremely high temperatures.
After Yue Zhengling released Chengzi's hand, the three-headed sphinx could sense their presence, but still mercilessly killed Gray and Barthemello, seemingly not taking them seriously at all.
“But that makes sense, after all, to them I’m not even an insect, right? But, I’ve already exhausted several beings like you to death…” Yue Zhengling scratched his face, then slammed his staff on the ground. “Alright, let’s get some exercise, it’s been a while!”
After saying that, Yue Zhengling charged toward the Sphinx. Arthur was not alarmed when he saw this, because he had a general understanding of Yue Zhengling's current strength. Although winning was impossible, protecting himself was not a problem.
Arthur watched Yue Zhengling's retreating figure and said to Chengzi, "Do you want me to stay here and protect you?"
Orange said nonchalantly, "Whatever, but shouldn't you be getting the Holy Lance?"
“No, Ling wants to get that thing herself and then hand it over to me.” Arthur looked at Yue Zhengling, who was constantly dodging him, with a gentle gaze and a faint sense of pride.
“That makes sense. After all, Lingjun is a boy, so it’s inevitable that he’ll have some strange insistence.” Chengzi smiled and sighed. She knew what Le Zhengling was thinking. He lost the Arthurian Holy Sword because of her, but he couldn’t bring himself to return it to him directly, so he wanted to find a substitute.
The Holy Lance Rungomminiad, another important weapon of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend, is the perfect replacement.
"Lingjun, what a contradictory child." Chengzi wasn't worried at all about Yue Zhengling's seemingly reckless actions, because she believed he wouldn't be in danger.
"Who says otherwise? I never blamed him, nor do I need any compensation, because in the end, I brought this on myself." Arthur felt that the expression he most often showed after meeting Yue Zhengling was a bitter smile.
Orange also stared intently at Le Zhengling's figure, watching him dodge all attacks with incredible evasion techniques, as if he were toying with those sphinxes. Each time, he would turn around or jump up at the last second before being hit, and some even ran directly to the sphinxes' blind spots, using their bodies as shields to avoid unavoidable attacks.
Approaching Holy Lance Rungomminiad in this inexplicable manner, the three-headed sphinx angrily slapped him repeatedly, but for some reason did not use the annihilation ray that killed Gray and the others.
Finally, when Yue Zhengling reached Holy Lance Lungominiad's side, they stopped and squatted down to watch him quietly.
Le Zhengling looked at the Holy Lance Lungominiad on the ground, then at the three sphinxes that had suddenly stopped moving. He raised his head thoughtfully and saw that there was a flying sphinx in the sky. He also saw Rani sitting on the head of the sphinx.
Ignoring Rani for the moment, Lok Ching Ling reached out and grabbed the handle of the Holy Lance, trying to pick it up, but to his surprise, the Holy Lance didn't budge, and he stumbled and almost fell.
He stared in surprise. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be too weak to lift it, since Rani had been teleported here carrying the Holy Lance. If Rani could lift it, he, as a boy, shouldn't be unable to.
Unconvinced, he gripped the gun handle with both hands, trying to pull it up, but the result remained unchanged.
From a distance, Orange, noticing something amiss, looked at Arthur and asked, "What happened?"
“…Both the Holy Lance and the Holy Sword have restrictions on their wielders. Without an oath, it’s impossible for Ling to wield the Holy Lance.” Arthur sighed and explained, then pushed off with his foot and jumped to the ground.
This is actually a lie. Although Yue Zhengling, who possesses a portion of his own spirit origin, doesn't know if he can unleash the Holy Lance, he is fully qualified to wield it.
Arthur ran quickly to Yue Zhengling's side and reached out to pick up the Holy Lance, but Yue Zhengling stopped him.
"Let me try again." Yue Zhengling frowned as he looked at the Holy Lance, feeling a little angry for some reason. Although he understood that Noble Phantasms were magical and that some Noble Phantasms even had requirements for their wielders, the Holy Lance—or rather, the Star Anchor—gave him a different feeling.
An indescribable feeling told him that if he didn't find a way to pick up the Star Anchor, something bad might happen in the future.
"Why does the 'stitching' between the surface world and the inner sea of stars reject me?" Yue Zhengling released his grip, looking at the Holy Lance at his feet, as if asking some being.
In response to his blinding white light, the Holy Lance floated up as if picked up by an invisible man, with two golden rays of light swirling around its body, and the cone-shaped spear began to spin.
Arthur's expression changed drastically. Without thinking, he pulled Yue Zhengling to move sideways. A streak of light flashed, and the spot where Yue Zhengling had just been standing was pierced by the light, turning the ground into a long crystal by the intense heat.
Le Zhengling frowned as he looked at the Holy Lance that had suddenly attacked him, unable to understand what was going on. However, he soon realized what had happened. A fair hand appeared on the handle of the Holy Lance, which was held horizontally. As the hand appeared, a hazy figure gradually solidified.
That noble being, beyond the limits of human imagination, looked at Yue Zhengling with pity and coldness through her radiant emerald eyes, her perfect body encased in holy silver armor.
The pure gold crown seemed to be merely an adornment for that brilliant golden hair, and the ahoge (a stray hair) representing royal power curled slightly.
Feeling the resonance with his spirit origin, Arthur stared wide-eyed at the woman before him, a woman who could only be described as divine.
"What, are you incredulous to see yourself as a woman?" Looking at Arthur's dazed expression, Yue Zhengling couldn't help but want to laugh, but she couldn't laugh in the current situation.
The one who appeared before them was undoubtedly the White Lancer Artoria they knew, and not the one based on Artoria, but the goddess Rungomminiad.
"They shot themselves in the foot." Yue Zhengling, who probably knew what had happened, looked at Bai Qiangdai, who had now fully revealed himself, with a somewhat gloomy expression.
The oppressive aura of the divine manifestation caused the sphinx to retreat, and when she raised the holy lance and shook it in the void, the sphinx in the sky fell down.
"Listen, what's going on?" Arthur calmly looked at the woman who had appeared before him; her body was acting strangely, sending him a warning of danger.
“…My magic trick actually has a huge flaw.” Yue Zhengling looked at his hands. “If I told you she was actually Grey, would you believe me?”
Upon hearing Yue Zhengling's words, Arthur's eyes widened, but upon closer inspection, a familiar feeling surfaced in his mind.
"Why did it turn out like this?" Although he knew who the person in front of him was, Arthur still found it hard to believe, because a human could not become a god. Even if a god descended through the body of a mortal, that being could not be elevated to godhood.
"Because, Miss Grey is dreaming." The pressure emanating from the goddess opposite her was gradually increasing, seemingly without end, and even Orange in the distance had to avoid her sharp edge.
“Heroic Spirits should not be able to be summoned in this world anymore, except for those like you who travel between worlds, but I didn’t expect that my ability would break through this limitation.” Yue Zhengling stared intently at the goddess-like Gray.
"The Holy Lance and Gray have developed a symbiotic relationship through their long time together. Gray's body was prepared for Artoria. As long as Artoria's soul returns, King Arthur will be resurrected. The Holy Lance, as King Arthur's Noble Phantasm, is actually a small round table inside, connected to the souls of the Knights of the Round Table seated on it."
"Grey, as the current wielder of the Holy Lance, should be able to see the inside of the Holy Lance and the story of King Arthur, given that her physical body is equivalent to that of King Arthur. When she was just killed, I used the Dream of One Cooking to put them in a dream state."
As if explaining to Arthur, and also to himself, Yue Zhengling said, "So here's the question: if you're facing an invincible enemy in a dream, and the dream's owner can control everything, what will she do?"
Arthur frowned as he looked at the goddess-like Grey. "Of course, it's about imagining yourself as incredibly powerful and then defeating the enemy."
“That’s right, so she appeared before us. She is the strongest being Gray knows—no, perhaps it should be said that she is the strongest being that Gray can choose in her subconscious.”
Le Zhengling looked at the Lion King, whose eyes were closed but whose aura was constantly increasing, and said, "This is the Anchor of Stars, the pillar that protects the primates, the personification of the Goddess Rhongomyniad who descended in the body of King Arthur. Rejoice, Arthur, the salvation of the world you have been waiting for has come."
Seemingly upon hearing Yue Zhengling's words, the goddess Lungominiad reopened her eyes, her beautiful, radiant eyes sweeping over him before looking at the several sphinxes present.
"The magicians of this world have done a great job of turning finite life into eternity, but—gods can only live in the inner sea of stars, and this is an inviolable ironclad rule."