Chapter 10

Novia said plainly.

The magus behind him didn't answer Novia this time, but instead inserted Aether Lines into Novia's brain, seemingly about to learn everything about Novia—

"That's not right! How can you not have brain nerves?! You're an ill—"

By the time the magus realized what was happening, it was too late. In the next instant, not only that, but the intense pain from his face spread throughout his body, and he lost consciousness.

"You guest is quite sensible, running all the way to the lighthouse to eat."

Novia, appearing from behind, retracted the fist he had just punched the magus's face with and collected the Aether Lines from the ground. According to the magus, these were good things, allowing direct manipulation.

The reason he discovered he was being followed was also simple. Novia was the only one in the lighthouse, and the only food stocked was apples. Although the quantity hadn't changed, the stems of the stored apples had withered from evaporation. But the sudden appearance of apple stems that were still green meant they were freshly picked... It seemed this magus didn't understand common sense.

"The Alexandria Library underwater has four floors and is somewhat dangerous. I'll have to trouble you to scout the path for me."

Novia looked at the micron-level Aether Lines in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then directly inserted them into the brain of the unconscious Atlas Institute magus. This way, the safety increased considerably.

Next, Novia removed the magus's mask and looked at his face with a confused gaze.

Hmm, a hat without a brim, three long braids hanging down to the waist behind him, hair the same color as his eyes, purple. Good.

But the more he looked, the more familiar it felt, as if he had seen it somewhere... The Aether Lines seemed to belong to the Alternum family. This family...

Suddenly, Novia had an epiphany—

Damn it, this is the renowned Type-Moon spiritual hacker, Shion, who always appears as the next director... with her face!

009: Decayed, ignorant, pedantic, subservient to ordinary people

"Shion, open this door with your own hands."

In the square at the bottom of the sea, which resembled the starry sky, faint light permeated, as if an invisible force field was supporting it. Not a single drop of the overflowing seawater in front of them flowed down.

The upper levels of the underwater Alexandria Library were disguised by former Atlas Institute alchemists using a fake seabed as a cover. This meant that to find it, one had to pass through what was thought to be the seabed and continue resolutely downwards.

After recalling this, Novia directly placed Shion, the alchemist from the Atlas Institute who could be called Shion of the Age of Gods, in front to scout the path. Manipulated by the Aether Lines, Shion could only obey Novia's command.

Novia didn't use the Aether Lines to steal knowledge or interfere with the soul to read thought processes. He only gained a general understanding of the person's information. As expected, he was a candidate for the next director of the Atlas Institute, achieving the status of an instructor and the authority of a special envoy at the Atlas Academy at the young age of six.

According to Novia's speculation, the spiritual hacker from two thousand years later was either her descendant or a different stage of the same person, a reincarnation.

Because he vaguely remembered that in Type-Moon, after a person's death, their soul's information was recorded by the Astral World, becoming a new node to record a new life. The entire structure was like a constellation.

Entering the Alexandria Library, forgotten for hundreds of years, was peculiar. It felt like it should have been made of marble, but there was no echo at all. It was as if all echoes were absorbed into the rock.

"...May I ask where this place is?"

After walking straight through the corridor for a while, Shion suddenly asked Novia.

"Is there any need for me to answer you? Hurry up and scout the path, or choose a way to commit suicide that you like."

Novia replied mercilessly, with a villainous look.

Shion clenched his fists, a strong sense of humiliation burning through his body. He couldn't get used to this feeling at all.

The control over others and being controlled by others had instantly reversed. Although magi were so contrary to common sense and ethics, what else could this be but humiliation? However, in the end, he could only accept it.

This Alexandria Library had four floors, each with a guardian. The monsters on the first floor were creatures with scorpion bodies and human faces, as well as leopard bodies and snake heads, crocodile bodies and dog heads, eagle bodies and lion heads.

For the first three floors, Novia hardly made a move, relying entirely on Shion, controlled by the Aether Lines, to resolve the situations.

Although Novia had a lazy inclination in this regard, it was more out of caution.

After all, the establishment of this library mainly involved a branch of the Atlas Institute, three magi, and the Pharaoh Ptolemy. However, in terms of nature, the branch of the Atlas Institute was probably not adept at schemes and conspiracies; they didn't even know what these four were doing.

In the pre-Christian era, when the Age of Gods still existed, Kourudris of the Atlas Institute, Kiz of the Wandering Sea, and Wu Zhiqi of the Mountain Court.

These three magi came to Ptolemy's side and, using the human world and mythology itself, performed a great ritual magic, turning Alexander IV, protected by Ptolemy, into a devourer of gods.

According to Novia's memory, the last floor of the library contained a sarcophagus. Inside were the remains and fragments of authority of Osiris, the god of the underworld, who had received the kingship from the sun god Ra and long held the position of chief god in Egyptian mythology.

However, Novia also knew that by doing this, he would undoubtedly disrupt the plans of the two from the Wandering Sea and the Mountain Court. These two old monsters could live for another two thousand years. His own foundation was still shallow, the faith of the Christian Church had not yet swept across Europe, and the Burial Agency could not be summoned. It would be difficult to deal with these two.

But it was different for Shion, a candidate for the next director of the Atlas Institute. Reasonably and logically, this belonged to the Atlas Institute, and the Wandering Sea and the Mountain Court had no grounds to object.

What Novia was currently troubled by was how to deal with Shion. Although he seemed safe now, having controlled him with the Aether Lines, the alchemists of the Atlas Institute were extremely adept at Thought Partition, the function of dividing one's own thoughts into multiple parts for separate discussion.

If nothing unexpected happened, Shion would already be thinking about how to get rid of his own Aether Lines. After all, this was something that belonged to his family, and his understanding of it was definitely deeper than Novia's.

Ordering him to commit suicide directly? This was the best option, but he feared that Trismegistus Hermes from the Atlas Institute could extract information. Suicide was requested, and although other families in the Atlas Institute might not care, the Alternum family might not.

The Aether Lines used by these people were quite tricky. Although it was estimated that they couldn't pierce brain nerves during mobile combat, they would be fatal if ambushed when one was relaxed.

"Shion."

White points of light illuminated the interior of the library, like stars in the night sky. Novia took a step closer.

Given their heights, the purple-haired girl's head only reached Novia's chest.

The girl looked up expressionlessly.

"Before we enter the last floor, how about we cooperate? I need you now."

Thought Partition · Number Four, report normal.

Listen, Shion confirmed the results of the Thought Partition diagnostic scan. There were no problems.

His attitude contained no lies, and that was enough.

"You let go of the Aether Lines?" Shiyali's lips parted slightly. "If we're going to cooperate, let me recalculate your magecraft."

"Naturally."

Novia drew the long sword hanging at his side, and Shiyali's hands became adorned with new threads.

The alchemist had her parallel thoughts handle evasion while guiding her Aether Lines, which flowed towards both the ceiling and the ground. Attacking simultaneously from above and below, Novia leaped up as if he had slipped, spinning his body around.

Novia used the Blessing of Wind to rapidly close the distance, as these Aether Lines could transform into peerless blades capable of shredding flesh with a mere thought.

Thought Partition · Number Three, too slow to dodge; Number Two, pass the structural information to the thread-controlled puppet.

With a weapon this close, even a three-to-five-year recovery period wouldn't be enough if one were pierced.

However, what Shiyali hadn't expected was that the final blow wouldn't come from the long sword, but from a fist, transformed from another hand, striking her chest.

"Oh?"

A single punch shattered her, and as she exploded, Shiyali dissolved into countless threads and vanished.

"You can do that too? Then I really got lucky just now."

"That's child's play. The wisdom of the Atlas Institute, the secret techniques my family prides itself on. Please don't assume you've easily understood them."

"In the beginning, God said, 'Let there be light.'"

As Novia's improved Church magecraft descended, the nascent form of a powerful torrent, incapable of being insulated by any land, was being born on the seabed. The more people who believed in the doctrines Novia spread, the more terrifying the magical foundation he forged would become over time.

Invisible light quickly filled the entire space, binding Shiyali immobile.

"Now."

Novia's tone was extremely calm, yet left no room for doubt.

"I am not manipulating you. In the world of magecraft, is it wrong to expect obedience from those inferior to oneself, and even offer them benefits?"

Facing this slow question, Shiyali nodded unnaturally.

"In any case, I'd like to cooperate with you, Miss Shiyali. What do you say?"

Looking at Novia, Shiyali suddenly muttered.

"You're different from the data."

"Data?"

"Although I only received fragmented information, verifying the other party's intelligence beforehand is fundamental."

She raised her gaze and continued.

"Selfish, willful, corrupt, ignorant, pedantic, subservient to ordinary people... This is what my observations and the intelligence gathered from Alexandria City say."

"I'm like that? Then you must be a gullible person."

"Evaluating a person requires long-term observation. Don't you, as a magus, even have that common sense?"

Shiyali replied indignantly.

In response, Novia merely smiled and shook his head as always. He didn't say anything further.

He then intended to proceed to the final floor of the Alexandria Library.

"Wait."

Before pushing the door open, Shiyali turned around and stared directly at the silver-haired youth with her sharp eyes.

"I have determined that the aura of the Age of Gods is rapidly converging inside."

010: Divine Body: Osiris

All magecraft since the end of the Age of Gods is essentially a deception of the planet.

The principle of Age of Gods magecraft was the borrowing of divine authority, and the essence of divinity was "Star Touch." In other words, the substance of Age of Gods magecraft was "borrowing the power of stars," and "contracting with gods" was naturally a "shortcut to communicate (deceive) with the planet."

By the first century AD, with gods having returned to the Sea of Stars, mages lost their shortcut to communicate with the planet, making the exercise of magecraft difficult. Furthermore, the advancement of science led to a further degradation of Mystery, making things increasingly challenging.

Mystery would eventually vanish, but it should have remained as knowledge that knows the past; this was inevitable.

However—in 20 AD, with the proof of the Fifth Imaginary Element Aether, magecraft and Mystery were able to continue by changing their form.

Although only decades had passed between the Age of Gods and the first century AD from a temporal perspective, everything living through the transition of these two eras had already become vastly different.

Novia was certainly aware of the divine aura Shiyali spoke of; it was the functional remnants of Osiris preparing to activate and deal with unforeseen individuals.

This was undoubtedly a contingency left by Kourudris of the Atlas Institute, to prevent others from disrupting his plans.

The reason Pharaoh Ptolemy allied with the Atlas Institute to establish this place was not only to resurrect the deceased Alexander IV, but also to provide him with a library that could never be fully read, no matter how many times one read it.

A simple and foolish reason.

As for the other three magi, they harbored ulterior motives. Kourudris hoped that Alexander IV, by devouring a Divine Body, would become the ultimate calculation machine to "verify how to avert the destruction of the world."

This plan was conceived over two thousand years, eventually leading to the events of the Second Great Adventure.

The Atlas Institute, in order to prevent the world's "end," was an organization that ceaselessly repeated the act of tragically turning salvation tools into tools that destroy the Earth.

"Miss Shiyali, I believe you understand now. What kind of place is this."

Novia said calmly.

"The research findings originally registered under Trismegistus Hermes have appeared here. I suspect this is a forgotten place, created by the Atlas Institute in the past." After a moment of thoughtful expression, Shion continued, "We are immensely grateful to Lord Novia for finding this location for our institute. We will be eternally indebted."

"A contract."

Novia wagged a finger, narrowing his eyes as he said this.

"This..."

The purple-haired girl whispered, looking at Novia, who was smiling at her.

She wondered if he remembered. Not long ago, she had been intently observing his behavior. He showed no signs of being a magus, unlike the magi residing in Alexandria. Or rather, unlike most people in the institute, his attitude towards ordinary people was exceedingly humble, to the point of being servile. That's why earlier, a magus had used magic to try and embarrass him.

However, Shion had barely any contact with the outside world, so she couldn't even tell if Novia's behavior was normal.

Even within the Atlas Institute, she had always been alone. Although she possessed the hereditary traits of the Alternum family, shaping the unruly Aether Lines into such supernatural abilities was a testament to her rare talent.

At the mere age of six, she had attained the position of an instructor at the Atlas Academy and the authority of a special envoy. This was due to her immense information-gathering capabilities. All knowledge could be usurped; she could intervene in souls and read the laws of thought.

Because of this, the Aether Lines had made her lonely. Even in the Atlas Institute, where everyone pursued the protection of the world in their own solitude, she was still feared, regarded with apprehension, and avoided.

Naturally, no one wanted their soul interfered with, nor did they want their hard-earned wisdom to be stolen.

Despite all this, Shion believed her abilities were justified and beyond doubt.

Her future was absolutely fine; it was impossible for it not to be. She couldn't find any reason for it to be otherwise.

The alchemist closed her eyes and pondered before replying, "The possibility is close to zero."

Although he didn't get a promise of a contract, Novia wasn't too discouraged. After all, his primary objective was to use the Atlas Institute's capabilities to refine the remains of the Dragon of Albion. However, he had previously learned through the Aether Lines that Shion was also highly skilled in necromancy. He had already prepared a backup plan to seek Shion's help if this didn't work out. After all, in many respects, this alchemist was incredibly pure.

Therefore, Novia said earnestly, "You and I will work together to break through this place. Once successful, you only need to help me with one favor, within your capabilities. How about it?"

Shion listened, fell silent for a few seconds, took out a contract, signed her name on it, and then handed it to Novia.