Chapter 966: A Meteorite...
Aiwass stared at old Moriarty, looking at his blood-stained face that seemed to be smiling.
He suddenly understood what the old man meant.
——This is a preview of the end of the world.
For the residents living under this sky, an asteroid impact of this scale would be equivalent to "the end of the world."
Without the intervention of the "Savior", it would be meaningless for them to use any abilities or make any attempts - no matter what they do, their world will be destroyed.
That is God's will that cannot be violated by human power, and it is a certain death.
And Aiwass controls their lives.
He could have left at his leisure—just like Huan Tiansi, leaving before Doomsday destroyed him, thus preserving himself. He could have cursed Moriarty, killed him outright, or even mentally pinned all the "sins" on Moriarty, since he was the one who had requested the trolley problem... and Aiwass had no obligation to save everyone.
On the other hand, Aiwass can also use "Doomsday" as a weapon, find a way to change the trajectory of the meteorite and throw it towards the Fallen Angels.
This was a blow that was enough to intimidate the Gray Celestial Being. In other words, it was also a heavy blow that the Celestial Being, who had gained a physical form in the material world, could not resist.
Because this was a purely physical collision, a bombardment of dense, heavy matter, it didn't count as spell damage, nor did it wield any supernatural power. Therefore, even a high-level phantom demon's resistance would be maxed out. Even for the Fallen Angel, taking this blow would be unacceptable—assuming he took it head-on.
Even if they couldn't completely destroy it, they could at least severely damage it, which would obviously be beneficial for the subsequent offensive.
...and the price is that the entire Star Antimony Capital will be destroyed.
The attack range was a fifty-kilometer radius—the area completely destroyed by a direct meteorite impact shouldn't be that large, as at least half of the surrounding area would be affected. However, the area affected alone would be the size of ten Lionheart Cities. If the direct impact range was only twenty-five kilometers, it would still be the size of three Lionheart Cities.
——Is it worth sacrificing so many innocent lives to safely defeat the Fallen Angels?
And this idea is a "necessary evil."
If this thought even crossed Aiwass's mind, or even just considered "whether it was worth it" - it meant that he had been manipulated by old Moriarty.
Just as Moriarty constantly explains, "knowledge is poisonous." Once a person acquires certain knowledge, they are inevitably infected by it. Even if they deny it or forget it, the impact it has already had will persist, even changing a person's life.
——Just like old Moriarty was contaminated by the memory of the end of the world.
“…So that’s what’s going on.”
The corners of Aiwass' mouth rose slightly.
He looked at the meteorite in the sky.
It was descending very slowly—or perhaps very quickly. But at least from Aiwass's position, he could only see it growing slightly larger. That speed was even slower than the setting sun.
Aiwass opened the Book of Law and stopped at a page of cards he rarely used.
[Enchantment Card: Dryad Moon Spirit]
[Effect: Transforms a tree into the Dryad Anastasia. The Dryad is considered a summoned creature. While the Dryad is present, it continuously heals all friendly units within range and periodically controls plants to control enemies within range.]
[Effect: Use again. When Anastasia the Dryad is present, summon Anastasia the Moon. The Moon is considered a summoned creature and lasts for ten minutes. While the Moon is present, the Dryad's effect is changed to 'Generating a persistent protective barrier centered on the Dryad.' The barrier is considered a force field, ritual, or shield, and is resistant to all types of damage except Divine, Fire, and Unholy.]
The card depicts a blind and foolish man wearing green clothes and with horns on his head, and a transparent snake-like rope wrapped around his neck.
"Be ignorant and fearless, revere the future, pursue your dreams, and move forward freely. Even if it means nothing, still go your own way..."
Aiwass said calmly, "I like the implication of this."
Old Moriarty, who was cut into two pieces, still had the strength to speak.
He looked at the card Aiwass had drawn.
He didn't recognize the tarot card that Aiwass had modified, but as an astrologer, he obviously understood Tarot. After listening to Aiwass's description, Old Moriarty guessed which card it was.
"Fool..."
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he uttered a low, hoarse voice: "The beginning of all tarot cards, the end of all tarot cards... Living in a dream, unable to adapt, behaving strangely. Just like you..."
"Perhaps."
Aiwass answered casually.
He now needs to find a tree.
A giant tree that is large enough to shelter people from wind and rain - the bigger the tree, the larger the barrier it will eventually support.
It's just a small tree by the roadside. Maybe it can protect itself... but it can't protect all living beings from disaster.
"I understand."
Aiwass spoke, looking down at old Moriarty: “This is the final test you leave me...and the final lesson.
"Saving the world is no easy task; it requires pushing the boundaries of the impossible. And most importantly, we must not confuse ends with means along the way...
“…Just like you.”
Hearing this, the old man remained silent.
Only the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
If Moriarty had wanted to escape, he could easily have used his ability to manipulate illusions and lies to escape from Aiwass. He had far more combat experience than Aiwass, and if he had wanted to kill Aiwass, he could have done it by surprise, as evidenced by his gravity manipulation spell.
But he didn't do it.
Because when old Moriarty witnessed the Ring of Tail ceremony and saw Aiwass avoid his astrology and appear directly in front of him... he already knew that he had failed.
Some villains are defeated by the third episode, only to be buried in the 300th episode - but not old Moriarty. When he realized that it was impossible for him to fulfill his long-cherished wish, he simply chose to give up.
...Of course, maybe it was also because he saw hope.
A faint hope from another possibility!
It can even be said that he was not killed by the Wild Hunt, but died voluntarily at the hands of Aiwass.
In this way, Aiwass would have to bear the weight of killing him.
"...This kind of expectation without human language is really a bit like a father."
Aiwass murmured softly, bringing to life an ordinary little oak tree.
Then he raised his neck and transformed into a deer in the light.
Old Moriarty's pupils widened slightly.
"Lu...Sizhu..."
He murmured softly, as if he had thought of something, then denied himself and slowly closed his eyes: "Well, no..."
Aiwass, transformed into a deer, walked gracefully beside old Moriarty.
As he advanced, his skin gradually cracked and blood flowed. Black sinthorns stretched out like tentacles, and from a distance it looked like black wings sprouting from the holy white deer.
"A question, old man."
Aiwass walked up to old Moriarty and asked bluntly, "Did you leave anything for me? I can use whatever you leave behind at will."
He didn't know when he changed his name.
Upon hearing this, a sincere smile appeared on old Moriarty's old and mottled face.
"nature."
The old man said calmly, “Everything I leave behind is yours. The wealth and knowledge I have collected are in the family vault—Oswald will take you to the specific location.
"As for this broken body and this remnant soul...if you have any use for them, take them.
"I don't intend to enter the dream world. When a person dies, they are dead. There is no need to pursue eternal life after death, nor to care about the afterlife. Even this world is not eternal, so how can a mere dead soul dare to call itself a god..."
The old man sneered, and the light in his pupils gradually dissipated.
"—Then you can't die yet."
Aiwass suddenly spoke.
The tree demon Anastasia shook the branches slightly, and a ball of light suddenly bloomed on the old man.
“Hmm…!”
Old Moriarty groaned, his body quickly regaining vitality and energy.
His face was confused at first, then gradually turned into anger.
But at this moment.
There was a hissing sound of piercing, and several thorns behind Aiwas actually nailed him into his body, nailing him under the oak tree!
“Uh uh uh ahh ...
The intense pain made old Moriarty twitch uncontrollably.
His consciousness was temporarily blurred, and the muscles all over his body trembled rapidly as if they were receiving electric shocks.
——After those sin thorns pierced into old Moriarty's body, they suddenly began to expand wildly!
The spreading Sinthorns, with old Moriarty held high by the Sinthorns as the core, grew in all directions!
The surrounding stone slabs, buildings, and walls were all covered in pitch-black sinister thorns, but they only avoided the golden oak in the center.
Outside, Oswald retreated in terror—that was the Sinthorn! The natural enemy of all transcendent beings, even intelligent creatures!
"Lloyd's criminal consultant, a manipulative mentor, the founder of the concept of 'necessary evil'... I'm sure you've accumulated quite a bit of 'sin,' old man."
Aiwass, who had vertical pupils like a dragon instead of horizontal pupils like a deer, stared at Moriarty.
"—Then give them all to me."
As he spoke, Aiwass began to chew the thorns.
As Aiwas chewed, blood continued to flow from the corner of his mouth. Flames gradually spread from his mouth.
And huge amounts of magic power are continuously generated from the furnace in his body.
He invested the generated mana into an ordinary oak tree beside him.
——That is the magic that the elves of the Theocracy usually use to repair giant trees!
A common divine art that allows trees to regenerate.
And at this moment, with the authority of the Son of Candle, it continues to grow!
Ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters...even one hundred meters, or even higher!
Those sin thorns were not exhausted at all, they were still spreading wildly.
The speed at which Aiwas devoured it could not even keep up with the speed at which it was regenerated. The growth speed of the golden oak tree was like a golden meteor flying backwards, growing madly at an incredible speed!
Watching this scene, old Moriarty's temples trembled with severe pain, but he became more and more energetic because of the oak light that continued to fall on him.
The old man laughed heartily, his laughter half ironic and half enlightened: "So... this is what you want... Hahahaha... Then take it! Take it all!
"How can any mortal surpass the evil I have done!
“That’s the Savior’s sin!
"If I don't bear this necessary evil—"
At this point, even old Moriarty's body was completely engulfed by the sin thorns that continued to spread and grow within him.
He had lost his shape and body, and had turned into a human-shaped mass of sinful thorns.
"—I will never follow the same path as you, father."
Aiwass said softly.
The antlers on his head grew wildly—gradually from tender, half-white, half-red antlers to massive antlers like those of a moose. Their color also gradually changed to the color of mutton-fat white jade, with a hint of dark golden light floating in it.
Even the body of the Sin Beast itself was expanding and growing larger because of this!
And just at this moment.
The tangled mass of black sinister thorns, which had completely lost its body, suddenly opened its "mouth." Or rather, it was the mass of sinister thorns that was originally a mouth.
It didn't make any sound.
Instead, his mouth opened and closed, forming a mouth shape. Then, it completely disintegrated, transforming into a sky full of sinister thorns.
Aiwass looked at the lip movements and actually understood what old Moriarty was saying.
【Then remember this sentence】
“—I’ll remember that.”
Aiwass murmured in reply, "I won't run away again."
In the glorious light, beneath the towering oak trees.
The fawn grew up from then on.
The sinthorns wrapped around his body were so huge that the undigested sinthorns could even lift Aiwas in his deer form high into the sky and let him fall directly on the top of the oak tree.
These undigested sins would become fodder for Aiwass. No one knew how long Moriarty's scheme would last, nor how many people he had killed directly or indirectly. But these sins still lingered in his soul.
An idea suddenly popped up in Aiwas's mind:
If enough souls of "Old Moriarty" enter the Source River at the same time... as the souls disintegrate and these sin thorns swell up, they might block the Source River.
And then, another idea came to his mind.
"Heh... Where's my experience, system? It's gone once the soul is completely decomposed?"
Aiwass scoffed and said, "It's not like they've all been transformed into sinthorns."
But even so, the window for gaining free experience did not pop up on his system panel.
But whatever.
He no longer has any use for this kind of thing now.
But at this moment, another window appeared in front of Aiwass:
[Current conversion rate 55%: Sin Beasts are immune to physical damage, acting like spirits; you can use Sinthorns to drain the opponent's mana; you can nullify the transcendental powers of transcendents by driving Sinthorn Nails into the opponent's body; your Sinthorns can capture souls, allowing you to detain them in the material world or salvage them from the Source River; your Sinthorns are now indestructible, considered sacred weapons and natural weapons, and gain the properties of Toughness, Sharpness, and Penetration.]
…a 55% conversion rate.
Are we only 15% away from the 70% where there is no turning back?
At this time, as the meteorite in the sky gradually "grew bigger", the size of the giant tree also broke through the sky.
Aiwass felt a burning pain in his heart, and a sacred white fire began to burn from his four feet, but it could not burn the oak tree.
"You came just in time."
He said sincerely, "It's more reliable than my original idea of using a barrier to catch it..."
An incomparably bright fire of devotion ignited in his pupils.
The oak tree beneath her seemed to gradually gain intelligence—or rather, that new intelligence gradually merged with Anastasia.
——That’s close to the size of a “giant tree”!
The power of the Sin Beast alone doesn't seem to be enough to achieve such a miracle...
When the golden oak rises high in the sky like the morning star.
The Sin Beast, now an adult, also raised its dark wings.
Those were two pairs of wings woven from countless sin thorns.
Starting from Aiwas' body, these sinthorns ignited golden-red flames.
It also looks like two flaming hands, raised high to the sky, grasping the meteorite!
"Just a meteorite..."
Aiwass gnashed his teeth and said, "Look at me pushing it back!"
The overwhelming, sky-blackening sin thorns were nailed to the meteorite, like bark beetles gnawing through the stone shell and drilling into it. Fiery fire poured into it, burning the meteorite, which was already red from the friction of the air, even redder!
Those thorns of sin are like thorns one after another.
It was like punch after punch, constantly chiseling on the stone shell!
"Anastasia!"
Aiwass called out loudly.
“Here I come!”
Anastasia appeared beside Aiwass without hesitation, raising her right hand.
A golden barrier emerged from the shell of the giant oak tree, catching the broken meteorite steadily!
Smoke and dust rose up.
——The shock wave wrapped in flames formed a circle and spread violently in the night!
Update completed!
(End of this chapter)
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