NOVPUBChapter 730: Chapter 116 Necessary Evil, Controlled Flame Chapter 730 -116 Necessary Evil, Controlled Flame “…Student?”
Aiwass narrowed his eyes slightly and looked over his shoulder at Cardinal Loki.
The Vinesse on his shoulder also narrowed its crimson pupils in sync.
Cardinal Loki glanced at Vinesse and the corners of his mouth, marked by stitching, curled slightly upward: “You’re no honest man yourself! Is it no wonder you’re a Moriarty?
That sinful surname…”
“What do you know?”
“A lot.”
Cardinal Loki replied, “I am aware of most of the secrets of this world, even more than you can imagine.
“Aiwass! I reiterate, I do not wish to be your enemy.
I know that if I fight you, I may be completely destroyed, so let’s skip that step! Just ask what you want to know, and I will answer without fail.
“For example! the fact that you are a fragment of the Serpent Celestial Marshal, recreated by your ‘grandfather’ Jacob.”
——Unlike others’ reference to Aiwass.
...
It was not the ambiguous “Holy Entity,” but the very specific “fragment of the Serpent Celestial Marshal.”
Aiwass felt a slight heaviness in his heart.
Having nearly been possessed by the Serpent Celestial Marshal during the earlier ascension ceremony, Aiwass had almost convinced himself of his close connection to the Serpent Celestial Marshal.
Now, it was merely confirmed from a third-party perspective.
“…You haven’t answered my question.”
Aiwass fell silent for a moment and then looked again at Cardinal Loki: “What did he learn from you…?”
Upon hearing this, Loki’s smile gradually faded.
His hair, which reminded Aiwass of the gradations of a gas stove flame, suddenly started to move without any wind.
As if the static, frozen flame texture had reignited.
Loki said slowly, “From me, he inherited my most important mystical skills — my Stargazing Continuity.”
“…Stargazing?”
Aiwass murmured, “Astrology of the Path of Adaptation?”
He remembered Professor James had written several papers on astrological studies at a very young age.
His talent in mathematics and astrology was so profound that Aiwass had once thought he was a Transcendent of Wisdom and Adaptation.
Given his youthful enthusiasm for astrology, it seemed quite reasonable for him to go to the Holy Nation to learn more profound knowledge.
“It is the original astrological scripture, born at the time when the second sun was shattered.
The secrets I know were told to me by the stars.
“——The stars told me that I would meet the inheritor of my fate on that day.
And then I met James Moriarty, who had come to seek knowledge.
“He was about your age back then, not much older.
Before that, he had never touched the Path of Adaptation, and he wasn’t even a Transcendent yet.
But just as the stars said, he was smart and learned quickly! After studying with me for three years, he mastered the essence.
“He learned astrology from me and would stand here, observing the Holy Nation with me when he was free.
Although he was not an Elf and didn’t have to worry about Amberfication, he would passionately help others and speak about the Controlled Flame with my followers.”
“It doesn’t sound like there was a problem,” Aiwass interjected.
Cardinal Loki answered, “The problem is, for a Short-Lived Species! he learned too many secrets, too heavy ones.
His concerns had extended far beyond his capabilities.
But that’s not a big deal! As an astrologer, seeing too much and being able to do too little, one will adapt someday.”
“But he didn’t.”
“Yes, he didn’t.
The more secrets he saw, the more he wanted to interfere with the world.
He read many books from the thirteenth Ring, visited many teachers.
His original one-year study abroad was extended again and again, all the way to four years! After seeking true knowledge, he finally returned to Avalon Royal College of Law to complete his remaining coursework.
“At least then, I thought he would only bring changes to Avalon.”
Cardinal Loki’s voice was calm and rational, as if reading from a script, devoid of any anger, even devoid of any fluctuations.
“When he left me, he was only twenty-four years old.
Back then, he was zealous, passionate, and well-read, wanting to create his own career.
And the next time I heard of him, it was twenty years later.
“——As far as I know, it was the witch named Anna Kingsford who changed him.”
Cardinal Loki was not stingy with his secrets.
This may be because he wanted to show goodwill to Aiwass, or it could just be a common trait among astrologers — since they know far more than they need to, once they start talking, they just can’t stop.
Without a doubt, this was intelligence that Aiwass could not have obtained.
Moriarty’s radical concept of ‘premature death and necessary evil’ indeed seemed to have been inherited from the Controlled Flame, as confirmed by Loki’s words —— a confirmation against the information Aiwass already knew.
But listening to Loki…
it appeared he didn’t believe there was anything wrong with his philosophy at all.
“…
You said he’s chasing you, and you’re compelled.”
“Yes.”
“Your compulsion, is it to steal Freya’s secret medicine?”
Aiwass inquired.
No matter if Loki was the perpetrator or not, as the elder of the surveillance room, he must have known who stole the ‘Tears of Time’.
Surprisingly, instead of making excuses or lying, Loki frankly admitted, “Indeed.”
“…
Is this also a part of the ‘necessary evil’?
To be elected Pope, you intended to use the Tears of Time, and even plot the murder of a bishop to force the Amberficate of The Holy Maiden?”
“So that’s what you think,”
At this, Loki suddenly laughed, “That shows how little you understand me.
“—— I couldn’t care less about the position of the Pope.
All cardinals are Shepherds, and what significance is there in being the leader of the Shepherds?”
“You don’t deny the attack on Pure White?”
Aiwass asked.
Loki’s lips curved slightly, he nodded gently without responding.
And Aiwass pursued, “Then what is your purpose?
Or rather, if you really succeed the Pope —— what do you plan to do?
“If you truly don’t intend to be my enemy, then you should be able to tell me the answer to ‘what I am going to do.’ You said it yourself, you will answer any question.”
“—— Controlled Flame.”
Cardinal Loki answered without hesitation, “I wish to implement Controlled Flame, to save the Eternal Theocracy; I want to cut off the Elf lineage, allowing Elves to be reborn.
“You also know, the longevity of Elves is derived from the Curse of Amberficate; if Amberficate were truly healed, Elves would lose their prolonged lifespans, and the Eternal Theocracy would consequently fall into chaos.
It would eventually fade away with the passage of time; the Nine Pillars Divine Church too would lose its foundation.
I knew about this earlier than Freya, even much earlier than anyone…
I knew what the source of the Elves’ immortality was, from the time I became an Elf.
“Although the name of the Eternal Theocracy itself comes from the tradition of the Eternal Saintess and not the Pope —— compared to the Holy Nation, I would prefer that what ultimately endures is the Nine Pillars Divine Church.”
Cardinal Loki answered slowly, word for word: “Because it was Candle Master who forgave my sins, not The Great Tree; it was Candle Master who gave me a new life, not the Pope.
“I am a follower of Candle Master, not The Great Tree or Son of Spirit Amber.
How Elves fare, how The Great Tree fares, both are irrelevant to me.
I only walk my own Path.”
“…
Rather than the Elves, you favor the Holy Nation; rather than the Holy Nation, you favor the Church.
That’s what you mean, right?”
Aiwass understood.
Loki indeed didn’t need to lie —— he was truly a Contributor of the Fifth Power Level, his will steadfast.
He served solely for the continuance and interest of the Nine Pillars Divine Church…
and the Eternal Saintess was the core tradition of the Eternal Theocracy, passed down and succeeding the Pope generation after generation.
In other words, these Popes have always been independent of the Church’s system.
What Loki wanted was not “to become Pope himself,” but rather “to prevent The Holy Maiden from succeeding as Pope.”
He knew the principle of Amberficate, therefore knew it could not and should not be cured; and the plan to alleviate Amberficate was the “Controlled Flame”…
he also knew that cutting off the lineage could not cure Amberficate, only reduce the probability of its occurrence.
But this was the effect he wanted.
—— To encapsulate the flame that could produce Light, yet also burn mankind, in a seal.
This flame was the “Amberficate Curse” itself.
This was Loki’s path of Dedication —— for the continuance of the Church and the Holy Nation, to have Elves destined for Amberficate die early, thereby not affecting others.
This was indeed…
Premature Death.
