Chapter 463 The Game between Moriarty and his Son

"The ritual of 'Shadow of Avalon' is a counterattack ritual. It can only solve part of the problem."

After explaining the ritual's mechanics, Shafia pointed out its shortcomings: "Objectively speaking, the damage caused to Avalon by the Star Antimony people manipulating Droste to assassinate Her Majesty Sophia is actually far less than the damage caused by them letting the knights kill each other.

"As you said, the knights loyal to the royal family were probably killed immediately. Even if Lancelot I were to be resurrected, he wouldn't be able to bury all the remaining knights.

"Even though Lancelot I was the founding monarch of Avalon, we ultimately live in the present. His Majesty is neither a celestial minister nor an apostle... Even if he were successfully resurrected, he would still be a mortal. A mortal cannot control an entire country with such meticulous precision. He still needs the knights and officials of today to rule Avalon."

Avalon is, after all, a very large and complex organization.

If the entire Round Table Hall were to die suddenly, the entire country would essentially be paralyzed. Even if a new group of leaders were to be replaced, they would have to be replaced gradually, batch by batch; it would be impossible to replace everyone at once.

Simply defeating the invading enemy, thwarting the enemy's conspiracy, or obtaining decisive power like the Eternal Pope can only bring "stability" and protect Avalon from foreign invasion, but it still cannot solve Avalon's internal problems - Lancelot I can punish corrupt and greedy ministers, but he cannot create a better minister out of thin air.

"Her Majesty Sophia once said that 'Lancelot' was merely a talisman to preserve the integrity of Avalon's sovereignty, a last chance to restore the royal power corrupted by Prince Lloyd. Given that majesty's personality, he most likely wouldn't directly participate in the ruling process.

"Furthermore, being too close to mortals will only cause the mysterious aura of this 'resurrected monarch' to gradually fade... and the rule of those from the past will also bring Avalon to its twilight. Therefore, the future monarch of Avalon will still be little Isa, and this is unshakable."

Shafiya answered simply, "Even if all the knights loyal to the royal family are dead, we must find some who can be won over among the remaining knights."

They could not forcibly pull out a team that was "more loyal to the royal family" from this team that had clearly betrayed them as a transition to temporary rule.

Because everyone's hands were covered in blood, it was impossible to tell from this point.

After hearing the professor's words, "The Moriarty family is the only founding family completely unaffected by Lloyd's," a new idea suddenly popped up in Shafiya's mind, and it continued to expand and become clearer and clearer.

——Can we redefine these ministers based on whether they are willing to obey the Moriarty family?

Professor Moriarty is a senior executive of Lloyd's and he can undoubtedly represent the will of Lloyd's.

All that's needed is to separate Professor Moriarty from those leaders who obey the Star Antimony at the level of Lloyd's, and then divide Lloyd's into "Lloyd's loyal to the Crown" and "Lloyd's disloyal to the Crown." Win over some, warn others, and then punish others... Once Avalon stabilizes, slowly liquidate them.

"I remember that when Lloyd's was first established, it was hoped that, like Prince Lloyd, it would manipulate the royal family through marriage and establish a government system that would benefit merchants."

Shafiya's thinking was clear: "Rather than serving as pawns for the Star Antimony people, merchants will undoubtedly be more willing to support Aiwass, a fellow merchant and a future prince. Therefore, the majority of Lloyd's will inevitably return to your side."

"In that case, all we need to do is remove the influence of the Noble Red on Lloyd's and get the 'financial backers' to support Isabel again. Those knights will be forced to stand back on Isabel's side. Those knights controlled by the Star Antimony will be exposed."

"Even if all of these people were hanged, the entire Avalon would have absolutely no resistance or fear...it would even strengthen their cohesion. This is because they are essentially using the lives of others as bargaining chips for their own benefit."

Aiwass and Isabel are a couple who can trust each other, so as long as Aiwass becomes a prince, it also means that power will be returned to Isabel in disguise...

The more Shafiya thought about it, the brighter her eyes became, and the happier she became when she looked at Aiwas.

Aiwass just sighed silently and looked at Isabel.

...without a doubt.

Before Shafiya knew it, she was controlled by Professor Moriarty.

Lawyer York once described Professor Moriarty as having "a spider-like and invisible wisdom", and Aiwass witnessed him in action for the first time.

From vigilance to trust, to hostility, to relaxation, to full disclosure, to coexistence... Professor Moriarty said almost nothing, without using any supernatural powers. With just a few words, he won Shafiya over to his side.

Safiya, initially anxious and nervous, was unconsciously infused with confidence, calming her agitation. She had originally considered fleeing to the Theocracy with Isabel... but now, she no longer considered that at all, and even began to consider "what would happen if Shadow of Avalon succeeded."

Aiwass could understand why she was like that.

Professor Moriarty induced her to develop a logic of "no loss no matter what" and created a sense of security that was fatally attractive.

——If Shafiya successfully initiates the Avalon Shadow Ritual when she goes to snatch the queen's body, then Avalon will be reborn in blood; even if she fails and is killed, Isabel still has the chance to restore her country with the support of the Moriarty family; even if she is delayed, with the protection of old Moriarty, Isabel will not be caught.

In short, it can make her feel "at ease".

After realizing this, even though Shafiya had not yet retrieved the body, she had already relaxed and completely stood on Professor Moriarty's side.

"I have an idea here, Ms. Shafiya."

Aiwass suddenly spoke.

Even though he knew that speaking at this time would be equivalent to giving information to his adoptive father... Aiwass had no choice but to intervene.

After all, he couldn't just watch Shafiya run back to die.

Hearing this, Shafiya and Old Moriarty both looked at Aiwass.

Aiwass said, "There's a high probability that there's a trap next to the Queen's remains... But that's not the reason I want to stop you. It's because I know that if you go back like this, you absolutely won't be able to get the Queen's Blood.

"The reason is simple. According to you... there's at least a fifth-level necromancer watching over the Queen's remains in the Temple of Silver and Tin. If your intentions are exposed, he'll desecrate and contaminate the corpse faster than you can draw blood."

“…That’s right.”

Shafiya nodded reluctantly.

She actually knew in her heart that the chances of this happening were slim. Rationally speaking, she even thought that the Queen's body had been contaminated... but there was nothing she could do.

——If they don’t resurrect Lancelot I, how can they win back these founding families and how can they expel these extraordinary people?

Even if they were lucky enough to win and barely defeated these people... the number of fifth-level extraordinary people left in Xingti is still several times that of Avalon.

Ultimately, after Meg's death, Avalon lost the ability to fight back.

——Moreover, if this ritual is not completed, wouldn’t the deaths of those royals who were cursed before be in vain?

Now we only have one last step left!

"But, Ms. Shafiya, don't forget..."

Aiwass said, "Because they hope to replace 'Isabel', the Queen's funeral will inevitably take place after seven days. So, if they don't realize you're after the remains, they won't destroy them immediately. In other words, they'll keep them there as a trap and bait."

"...But as long as I try to fight for the remains, there will inevitably be traces."

Shafiya shook her head.

"So," Aiwass replied calmly, "our real target isn't the Queen's body. We just want them to think we want to fight for it. That way, their attention will be focused there.

"And we can complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual through other means."

Hearing this, Shafiya was slightly stunned.

Soon, her pupils narrowed slightly in surprise.

She realized the hidden meaning in Aiwass's words.

——If we don’t take blood from the Queen, how can we activate the Shadow of Avalon Ritual?

Then there is only one way.

That is... the assassination of John du Lac.

The last royal family member of Avalon besides Isabel. Isabel's aunt's posthumous child, a two-year-old baby being nursed by a wet nurse in a side hall.

Shafiya subconsciously glanced at Isabel, then looked at Aiwass with some panic.

What frightened her the most was that... for a moment, she thought Aiwass's plan was the most correct and effective.

"As a subject who has sworn allegiance, you cannot attack the royal family. Therefore, all the guilt will be borne by me—I will be the one to take action, and you will be responsible for distracting them and helping me delay.

“I don’t need to sneak in. I can accept Minister Droste’s invitation and walk in openly.

"If possible, I hope you can rescue Sherlock as well. He is trapped somewhere in order to report to the Queen. If I can't get out, he can contact you on my behalf."

Aiwass said word by word, "Let's act immediately, before Diomedes gets far. I can still catch up."

Shafiya's expression was a bit complicated: "This matter has nothing to do with you..."

Aiwass shook his head: "For Isabel, I will do anything.

"I will ultimately witness the Ceremony of the Shadow of Avalon as a sinner and murderer. I will calmly accept the judgment of His Majesty Lancelot. And I am ready to die for this. As for that traitor... I hope you will leave him to me and I will personally execute him.

"I want to kill him no matter what."

——All of this is true.

Aiwass was indeed prepared to die, otherwise he would not have been able to deceive Shafiya.

However, he was not "judged by Lancelot", but was killed by the impact of the Shadow God's arrival.

Shafiya finally realized Aiwas's extremeness and couldn't help but gasp.

No wonder... Aiwass was able to reach the third energy level at such a young age.

As long as the purpose is purely altruistic, even if the cost is not "self-harm", it still falls within the principles of the path of dedication.

Add to that the calmness and sacrifice of willingly bearing the sins...

These are the believers of the "God of Sin and Thorns".

It's just crazy...

Shafiya was speechless for a moment.

When Aiwass finished speaking, silence remained in the living room.

"Evans..."

Suddenly, Isabel grabbed Aiwass's arm tightly.

She squeezed so hard that it was almost as if she was pinching Aiwass's flesh. Then she grabbed Aiwass's face.

Isabel was extremely determined, but she lowered her voice and said word by word: "No matter what you do, I am willing to believe that you are doing it for me.

“Whatever you do, I will be with you.

"No matter how great your sins are, I will bear them with you..."

She looked into Aiwass's eyes: "So..."

Aiwass was stunned for a moment.

Because he only saw pure seriousness and sincerity in Isabel's eyes.

He couldn't be sure whether Isabelle was acting... or taking the opportunity to speak out the truth that she was usually too shy to say.

"——So, please feel free to do it."

The girl answered seriously.

She took off the silver necklace hanging around her neck and tiptoed to carefully put it on Aiwass.

Shafiya watched all this with a complicated expression.

She knew that it was the sacred necklace called "Isolde's Tears" with a teardrop-shaped emerald pendant.

It has the power to bring the wearer back to life, and is a supernatural item that Isabel used to save her life. It's no exaggeration to say it's priceless.

Since Isabel handed it to Aiwass, it means that she has tacitly agreed to Aiwass's plan.

"—I don't think this is a sin. At most, it can only be called a necessary evil."

At this moment, old Moriarty on the side suddenly spoke.

He asked earnestly and seriously, "After all, isn't this the original sin of the Xingtan people?

"If their plan succeeds, Prince John will inevitably die. Therefore, using Little John to resist the Star People's protection can only be considered as hastening his death. Weren't it the Star People who put his life on the brink of death in the first place?"

After saying that, he looked at Aiwass deeply, waved his hand and ended the topic: "Oswald, you go with Ms. Shafiya..."

"It's okay on my end," Shafiya put aside her worries for the moment and worried about Aiwass's safety. "I'm more worried about Aiwass. You might as well let Mr. Oswald follow Aiwass..."

"I believe in my son."

Old Moriarty said without hesitation: "He is definitely not a man who tries to show off his strength. Since he didn't say he needs it, then he doesn't need it.

"Go on, Aiwass. There's still time to catch up."

Hearing this, Aiwass nodded calmly: "I'll pack up and leave right away."

Aiwas' heart moved slightly.

Very good, I finally figured it out.

The adoptive father tricked Shafiya into committing suicide in order to test what Aiwass's mission was, and also to observe Isabel's attitude towards him through Aiwass.

And the same...

Aiwass chose this utilitarian and ruthless plan, which was almost cruel, but highly efficient and feasible, in order to test his adoptive father's attitude towards "sacrifice" and "chess pieces".

After all, it was inconvenient for them to lie in front of Shafiya.

Therefore, whenever you speak, you are telling at least part of the truth.

Now, with the promotion ceremony as the stage and Shafiya as the mirror, the real Aiwass and the illusory old Moriarty look at each other.

It's like a person standing in the middle of a lake, looking down at his own reflection.

Aiwass finally got a glimpse of the truth behind his adoptive father's mask.

He said these words because he hoped Aiwass could become like him.

This shows that at least he did not regard Aiwass as a mere tool.

That's good.

only……

"Premature death" is just a necessary evil——

This was Moriarty's fundamental philosophy, which he couldn't hide. It was also likely how he viewed Aiwass and the others.

Got you.

Aiwass thought.

Seven thousand five, update completed!

(End of this chapter)