Chapter 132 This is not his home
The Shadow Fiend's brutal slaughter did not leave any corpses for the giants to be resurrected.
Or rather, it swallowed all the corpses by itself.
In addition to the antlers, the monk and Hong who were resurrected by the antlers were also torn to pieces and devoured by the shadow demon.
The Shadow Fiend seemed particularly adept at dealing with these resurrected dead—it always precisely struck their hearts and heads simultaneously. A single, delicate piercing strike was enough to kill them instantly, as skillfully and gracefully as a skilled diner peeling a crab shell.
Watching the shadow demon transform into liquid again, dripping out of the hole and returning to the shadow pool below him, Aiwass asked curiously, "Is the killing and devouring you carried out in your dreams also real and effective 'nutrition' for you?"
"certainly."
The Shadow Demon let out a low and hoarse voice like a lion's roar: "Instead, this is food that is easier to digest.
"These lives are but shadows condensed from the power of the Pillar Gods. Humanity can serve as sacrifice and food for the demons because it is a race directly influenced by the Serpent Father and the Eternal Self. Just as the High Heavens influence the giants, the Candles influence the elves, and the Dusk influences the undead... Humanity is naturally adaptable to the path of transcendence and love, though each individual possesses varying strengths and weaknesses."
"Humanity's desire for transcendence becomes fuel and food for the devil. However, this process requires digestion.
"But these beings in the dream world, these illusory bodies you use, and other life forms including giants, although they appear human, are actually genuine phantom demons... They are our own kind, weak and without self-awareness.
"Although I'm a little disappointed that this ritual wasn't constructed by Snake Father himself, and swallowing them won't make me stronger...but in terms of taste, they can still be considered delicious little cookies."
Aiwass understood.
This is similar to bringing a Sin Beast into a dungeon to gain experience points for the corresponding attribute. Phantoms can devour Phantoms of the same attribute to grow. All living creatures created in dream rituals possess intelligence and can act according to certain rules because these "intelligent individuals" are actually Phantoms mimicking the corresponding individuals.
Their power is false, temporarily granted by the Pillar God.
Just like a ghost that doesn't know it's dead.
...No wonder the Nine Pillars of God can construct various "copies" so easily. This world is not fabricated by them bit by bit, but imported directly from history in batches.
All they have to do is extract a fragment from history: a small, limited area lasting a few hours, and then give specific people in it temporary life and intelligence.
Because those people are merely constructed "phantom-type AIs," and the scenarios can be fine-tuned. Under the interference of the Nine Pillars, the final development may also differ from the actual history.
So this is "another possibility of history."
The NPCs in the ritual were unaware they were actually in a ritual. It turned out they were actually NPCs! Or rather, they all knew they were NPCs and were just playing dumb.
It’s less a game and more of a script than a ritual, an experiment, a sandbox—building a simulation, introducing nine variables, and observing how things play out.
That's why they have an "imported identity" and various tasks that earn points. This is a reward mechanism to motivate them to take action, preventing them from doing nothing and wasting a simulation opportunity.
It is also possible to build a simulation environment... and then introduce people from the Nine Paths into it and screen them.
Both possibilities are possible, but the latter is more likely.
Because as far as the two ceremonies that Aiwass has currently participated in are concerned, the historical prototypes are obviously not stories in which all Nine Paths can participate.
At least in the first ceremony, the "newsboy" played by Shylock clearly shouldn't have appeared in real history. The same goes for the knight's role as the inspector. They may have played a role in history, but at most, they were just fleeting cameos, unrelated to the murder of Alexander and his wife.
This second ceremony was even more obvious.
In real history, the bodies used by the nine of them should all belong to warriors of the "Path of Power".
If nothing else, it was absolutely impossible for a knight of the Path of Authority to appear—because when the Supreme Heaven still existed, there was no Path of Authority at all. In other words, if they truly appeared in a simulated environment, then the knight's extraordinary powers should be completely unusable.
That's strange.
The Nine Pillars seemed to want to do something, but they didn't seem to care much about the outcome. At least the low-level promotion ceremonies were delegated to their apostles, suggesting they didn't care much about the outcome. Yet, they took the trouble to create dungeons and write quests...
Perhaps the correct answer will only be obtained when Aiwass is promoted to a high position and participates in the promotion ceremony presided over by the Pillar God himself.
"Are we going to look for the Holy Lance now?"
Lily's voice rang out from behind Aiwass, who was lost in thought: "We have actually successfully advanced, right?"
"Of course," Aiwass temporarily put aside his completely clueless thoughts, looked up and chuckled, "I have no idea about the full outline of this ceremony.
"If I were to win in such a muddled way, I'd be a little unwilling to accept it. Opportunities for advancement are limited, and this is a chance to experience a certain period of history firsthand..."
"But where is the Holy Lance? We're running out of time, and a thorough search might not be enough."
"No need, I know where the Holy Lance is."
Aiwass replied, "You've now passed three storage rooms... If I'm guessing correctly, these three storage rooms should be in the corners, right?"
"right."
Lily replied, "They're in the east, west, and east corners. We're on the west side right now. The knights were arguing on the south side, and the place where I and... Deerhorn appeared is on the east side."
Aiwass analyzed, "This is a temple, so its construction must have followed certain rules. Its east and west buildings can be connected in a straight line, and there is no passage further north. So, the building is roughly a triangle with the tip pointing south. And the three storage rooms are at the end of the building.
"As mentioned in the quest, the chances of giants going to the three storage rooms are random—if their bedroom is the northernmost, then the probability of them going to the three storage rooms will be different. Giants have the same habits as bears and hibernate. In this case, they tend to take the shorter route... which means that the south is the safer direction.
"But in fact, there are only lights near the south. Giants don't have night vision, and the fact that lights are on at that altitude means that giants have been here recently. We were captured the day after, and some people must have been eaten yesterday. So, those who were eaten yesterday might have come from the storage room in the south."
"So I assume the distance from the giant's bedroom to the three storage rooms is the same. So the giant couple should be right in the middle of this triangle."
——But Aiwass felt that there was something strange here.
The holy number of the highest heaven should be seven.
But whether it was the triangular structure, the number of storage rooms, or the occasional candlelight... it looked more like a candlestick temple. The Candlestick Cathedral in Avalon was a triangular structure with the tip facing south.
The giants had no night vision, but this corridor was unusually dark.
So is it possible that the giant deliberately removed the extra lights to make the temple appear less bright?
If it is a candlelit temple, then it should be brightly lit. On the other hand, if it is not bright enough, it will destroy the concept of being a temple.
Furthermore, the "Giant Couple" had once killed an apostle of the Path of Devotion, which meant they were definitely apostles as well.
Apostles of the Path of Devotion have a personality similar to that of Candlestick, and are generally kind to others. They rarely attack apostles of other pillar gods, not even those under the command of the Snake Father or Amber.
Not to mention entering the temples of other apostles to attack them.
"If this couple were truly warlike and powerful, then their collection of relics would likely be far more than just this Holy Lance. Similarly, they would have been rewarded with more than just a single cauldron, and we wouldn't have received the quest to 'kill a giant with the Holy Lance.'
"So when I noticed that the layout of this building was similar to the Candlelight Cathedral, I had a guess... Could it be that this was once the Candlelight Temple, and then they took it by force by relying on their numerical superiority and sneak attacks?
"That's why they killed the apostles of the Path of Devotion and collected their weapons."
Aiwass speculated, "If this temple was robbed, then the Demon Cauldron's presence here would have been justified—killing other apostles, such an act of extreme violence would be worthy of a reward from the Supreme Heaven. The Demon Cauldron, which can only be shattered by the Holy Lance, is essentially a holy relic."
"But these are just guesses, right?" Lily said softly.
"That's right, but it's easy to verify," Aiwass replied, "I made a plan after I heard Thunder's scream.
"The quest specifically mentioned that loud noises would awaken the giants. That time, the noise was incredibly loud. I was nearby, following the 'stay on the left wall' rule while navigating the maze, when I heard the sound of thunder.
"That scream was enough to attract the giant. But from the time the scream started until we left... about ten minutes passed, and we didn't hear any footsteps from the giant.
"So I speculated at the time that the giants were most likely asleep. They needed time to wake up.
"Then I must consider the worst-case scenario—the Titans who went to investigate might not have been two, but one. If only one came out, the other Titan would have awakened and was guarding the bedroom, making it even more dangerous for us to pass by. According to the Pillar God's assumption, we should have sneaked in and searched for the Holy Spear.
"Because of Thunder's scream, our original plan was ruined. That's why I just banged the door here on purpose, making a loud noise. The volume is probably slightly less than Thunder's scream.
"The west and south sides are quite far apart. If one giant had previously headed south, and now there's a noise coming from the west storage room... the remaining giant should also come over to check on the situation."
In this way, both giants can be lured out from the bedroom.
Just as Aiwass and Lily were whispering, they heard the rumbling sound of footsteps.
They immediately hid.
And soon, with the turn of the handle, a door opened.
——The person who walked out was a giant man with a brown-red beard that stretched like a waterfall, and red bear hair all over his body, like a brown bear standing up.
He was like a gorilla with a human face, and a bear with a human face.
His body was like a small mountain, and his dark red muscles were as hard as rocks.
The giant's back was slightly hunched, and his hands were so long they reached his knees. In one hand he held a massive lantern, while the other held the door handle high. His eyes were enormous, but their lids drooped with age. These drooping eyelids were like heavy door curtains, requiring someone to stand on his shoulders and use a long fork to hold them up.
And Aiwass's conjecture was verified the moment the giant appeared -
Because the giant was only 13 or 14 meters tall, the door handle was close to his throat, which was an awkward height.
In other words, this is not his home.
And Aiwass even recognized the identity of this red-haired giant——
His name as a BOSS is [Asparvaton Giant Chieftain], and he is one of the BOSSes in the final copy of version 3.4, the sequel to Shadow of Avalon.
He has another identity - he will become an apostle of the realm of love in the future.
Because this old giant is actually the brother of Shadow of the Realm of Love and the Valkyrie Scathach who was pulled down by the Tail Ring Ritual.
(End of this chapter)
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