Chapter 963 Are You Here to Kill Me?
"...Master Aiwass?"
Oswald was startled when he heard the familiar voice.
He suddenly turned around and saw Aiwass, who had appeared in the corner and was slowly taking off his hood.
Aiwass's eyes were not the clear, transparent emerald green they usually were, nor were they gleaming with a warm, sun-like golden red. Instead, they were emitting a strange, purple mist.
——There is no doubt that it was Aiwass.
Even though he was not wearing temple-style church clothing at the moment, but only a loose casual suit that was convenient for movement... but Oswald, who had watched Edwards grow up, naturally would not recognize the wrong person.
He was shocked: "You...shouldn't you..."
The wolf-like old butler suddenly realized something and swallowed the rest of his words.
"'Should' what, Mr. Oswald?"
Aiwass chuckled and said, "Should it be in the military camp, should it be on the beach, should it be in the psychic tower?"
His eyes passed Oswald and looked at his adoptive father, James Moriarty.
"—Is that what you think?"
Aiwass said word by word.
Old James doesn't look in good shape at the moment.
It’s not because of injury, illness or lack of sleep...but because I have lost that light and mysterious feeling in my temperament.
He looked downcast, his lips drooping slightly, losing that unhurried, almost half-smile. His demeanor became more stern, more serious. It was like a cynical poker player, someone who wouldn't even look you in the eye, suddenly sitting up to play cards with you.
To put it simply, it was like a gray spider, lurking like a phantom deep in its web, transforming into a shiny black-brown rhinoceros beetle. Without that hazy, dreamlike veil, the whole person became clearer.
——Or to put it more clearly, the monster that looks like a CG suddenly has a health bar underneath it.
"Mr. Oswald temporarily lost some of his devotional strength because he used it on others."
Old James responded calmly for him.
"Is that so, Mr. Oswald?"
Aiwass turned around and looked at Oswald calmly: "But if that's the case - why do you look so ashamed?"
Oswald's already drooped head drooped even lower, and he said nothing and looked increasingly miserable.
Aiwass's words were not interrogation, but concern.
But to the old elf, Aiwass was more than just a child he had watched grow up. Aiwass had once been Pope, and although he had now left office, his airy words still sounded like a stern rebuke from the Pope, wearing the Holy Crown and holding a staff.
The systems of professionals and inheritors are fundamentally different.
Once one loses the heart to follow the path, the inheritor's power will be lost. It's more subjective: if someone deeply believes in a path, their power will grow exponentially. However, if someone who originally believed in the path of devotion suddenly loses faith, all their power will dissipate.
The career system from Wei Zhe and Sha Shi Ji is more stable, but it doesn't actually change the mechanism for gaining power. Instead, it uses a more mechanical and thorough method to solidify the transformation of the Tao on the human heart. That is, after reaching a certain Tao level, the influence of the corresponding Tao on the mind continues to increase, making it "less likely to suddenly lose the heart of the Tao" and therefore not lose power. The side effect is that it is easier to lose control and become a puppet of the Tao.
The Pope's Guards certainly belong to the successor system.
Therefore, when a guard's power suddenly weakened, it meant they had likely strayed from the path of devotion, their mind becoming impure. According to the church's rules, Oswald should be immediately removed from the canon and dismissed from his position. Until he regained his strength, he was forbidden from engaging in any external activities in the church's name, nor could he leave the church's sphere of influence—which meant leaving the city.
This is essentially house arrest, but the area of activity is the size of a city, and you can also do some volunteer work or community activities to try to regain some sense of normalcy.
This is actually a relatively mild treatment.
If one completely loses the power of devotion, he will be branded with a black mark and thrown into prison.
This was a terrifying act throughout the social system of the Theocracy. For the elves, who valued their reputation, it was even more painful than the death penalty. It meant publicly declaring to everyone, "This person has strayed from the path of devotion. Don't believe anything he says from now on."
Oswald could still use advanced divine arts, which meant that he at least still retained the power of the path of dedication; he could fight Director Cornelius on equal terms, which meant that at least the power of the path of balance had not been lost and he still belonged to the fifth energy level.
Oswald must have known Moonchild's weakness. Even if he didn't, Old James would have told him.
Now he couldn't even use the fourth energy level of the scorching rays... This meant that Oswald's path of dedication power had at least declined to the third energy level, or even lower.
Only two months had passed since I last saw Oswald from the Theocracy.
...What exactly happened in these two months?
Oswald did not respond to Aiwas's question.
After a silence that might have been short or long, Old James slowly said, "Please step out for a moment, Mr. Oswald.
"Can you watch the wind for us? To prevent anyone from approaching us."
"But you—"
Oswald looked up in surprise and looked at the old man beside him.
Old James smiled calmly and lightly handed the cane in his left hand to his right hand: "This is a matter between Moriarty - it's not good for you to get involved."
He looked at Aiwass, as if asking and confirming: "Right, Aiwass?"
Aiwass could understand what his adoptive father said.
The guardian spirit's duty is to protect the Moriarty family from extinction, a contract made in the past. However, the Moriarty family's unique inheritance model means there is only one Moriarty, and the rest are merely adopted sons and daughters in name only.
Therefore, Oswald always stayed with old James, intending to protect the old man who almost died.
——Of course his decision was correct.
And what old James meant by this is...
"This is a battle between Moriartys. Whoever wins will become the new Moriarty. Therefore, as a guardian spirit, it is inappropriate for you to attack either the old master or the new one."
In other words, what James Sr. meant was: "You're here to kill me, right?"
“—You’re right.”
Aiwass responded with a gentle nod and smile.
Upon hearing this, Old James not only did not curse or reprimand, but instead laughed silently.
Oswald looked at Aiwass, then at old James. He was suddenly shocked - because these two people, who were obviously not related by blood, had such similar smiles on their faces.
It's like looking in a mirror.
The old elf had a complicated expression.
He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, or to wish for something, or to beg for something, but in the end, he said nothing.
He shook his body, as if something had been pulled out of his shell. The old elf, like a dead tree, muttered "yes" in a suddenly hoarse voice and turned to leave.
——Besides that, he really didn't know what he should say.
(End of this chapter)
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