Chapter 12

Darkness, dispelled by light, the radiance spread all around.

As if proclaimed by the Heavenly Principles, every place the darkness reached was filled with scattering, surging light, scattering and rippling, sparing no effort to devour everything.

This equally dazzling might was undoubtedly formed from starlight.

This was the magic of the greatest foundational principle being born, a blow that should have been called destruction. This strike was not purification, nor forced ascension, but sending the Jackalmen back to the world they originally came from.

In Shiyali's eyes, the evidence was there. Although the dispute over access to the library had not yet reached its final conclusion, Novia and Divine Body Osiris had already withdrawn together from the mentally damaging battlefield.

And, lying expressionlessly on the ground, was Divine Body Osiris's disintegrating body.

"The Age of Gods is over. In the human world from now on, there will be no need for the immense power of the Age of Gods."

He chuckled proudly.

"However, that statement isn't entirely correct. In truth, there's likely no era that doesn't need it. If threats to peace and tranquility still exist, then sometimes they are still needed, just like now."

"Oh, and also, I think it doesn't really matter how it is, restraints and the like. Because the choice is yours, as long as you don't regret it or suffer, that's all that matters."

Novia waved his hands downwards, and red blood dripped from his arms onto the ground. Watching the continuously flowing blood, had his expression changed?

Shiyali couldn't tell, as there were no subtle changes on the silver-haired youth's face.

He just continued to walk forward, letting the blood drip all the way.

As the dark miasma finally faded from his sight, Novia stood outside the coffin, reaching out and completely shattering the disintegrating divine body.

"Novia!"

Shiyali ran to him.

"The contract is complete... Shiyali."

Then, as if all his strength was exhausted, his knees bent, and he collapsed to the ground on the spot.

012: Atlas Institute Director: The hot potato daughter is finally saved

The air in Alexandria was mixed with a bit of dust, and the central plaza was filled with bustling crowds.

But all of this changed with the arrival of a silver-haired youth. The atmosphere instantly became very lively. Seeing the approaching figure, pedestrians stopped in twos and threes, gathering together. Centered around him, they gradually formed a semicircle.

Hmm, what's with this atmosphere...

The youth's words were very effective. The crowd didn't say anything more and dispersed, but the atmosphere had already become lively.

And I don't have that kind of qualification.

With that thought, 'Novia' began a strategic retreat, gradually distancing himself from the crowd. Completely different from his usual self, he seemed to want to leave this place.

Novia, this person, with just words... he could so easily attract these ordinary people. In just over ten days, he had transformed this place into a completely different space.

Shiyali, who was using magecraft to disguise herself as Novia, quietly glanced back at the crowd in the plaza.

It had been five days since leaving the Alexandria Library under the sea. Because Novia had not woken up, Shiyali pondered for a moment and decided to report the Atlas Institute's discovery of the forgotten lost item after he woke up.

She also remembered that Novia almost always went out for a stroll in Alexandria every day. To avoid causing him trouble, she decided to disguise herself as him.

Therefore, these past few days had been mostly encounters she wished she could forget. Although she had observed before, experiencing it personally was completely different.

It was vastly different from the memories obtained through the Aether Lines. It felt as if, in these situations, she was closer to others for longer.

It was a pure warmth from people, completely different from the hot climate.

In short, it was lively, with a thick atmosphere of joy.

"Here, please accept this. It's something to eat."

Snapping back from her thoughts, Shiyali looked at the woman before her. She had some impression of her; this was the mother of the little boy from five days ago.

"...I understand."

Shiyali placed the handmade food on her palm. Because the woman kept staring at her, she could only cautiously take a small bite.

"My apologies, honored lady. My child and I spent several days making this. It might not suit your taste..."

Indeed, judging by its appearance alone, it was not very appealing, and the taste was extremely ordinary, too plain. But seeing the woman's travel-worn appearance, Shiyali understood that she had walked a long way and endured much hardship to bring this simple offering before her.

"No, it's delicious. Truly very tasty, I like it a lot."

Shiyali replied. She couldn't say anything more clever, but despite that, she felt it must have been conveyed.

Did she study magecraft to escape becoming an ordinary person, or to help these ordinary people?

She didn't know. She only knew that her research was to prevent the end of the world.

The current Director of the Atlas Institute had once told Shiyali, "You are a transparent being who extracts others' memories. You cannot perceive the ugliness of memories, nor can you resist the urge to continue extracting them. Your life up until now has been lived step by step this way. Although you are undoubtedly the next director, I am somewhat worried about your future."

Most of what the Director said was correct. Shiyali also believed so. Her previous observation of Novia was merely to obtain his memories through the Aether Lines at the appropriate time, as her abilities were logical and beyond doubt.

But there was one point she got wrong: her future would absolutely be fine. It was impossible for it not to be, as there was no reason for it to be otherwise.

The candidate for the next director had always believed this.

"Congratulations. You're awake after five days."

The girl who returned to the Alexandria Lighthouse dispelled her disguise. Her purple hair swayed in the sea breeze.

Novia, waking up for some reason, looked at her. The blue crystal pupils, common in the Mediterranean, reflected the clear sky and the girl in front of him.

"Thank you for taking care of me these past few days."

"It's nothing. Although it was a temporary contract to conquer the Alexandria Library, your contribution was greater than mine, so taking care of you was natural."

Shiyali said expressionlessly, her purple braided hair swaying in the wind against the backdrop of the lighthouse, but the way it swayed felt almost geometric.

"Now that you're awake, I'll contact the Atlas Institute to retrieve the submerged Alexandria Library. I will report your contributions truthfully, except for the matter of the Divine Body Osiris."

"You're contacting them now? I thought you would have done so after we got out. Why wait until I woke up?"

Novia asked, puzzled. He had thought Shiyali had already reported the information to the Atlas Institute over the past five days.

"After establishing a contract, we are allies. Although it's temporary, there's an obligation to prioritize life safety. Besides, I already control the Alexandria Library's system, so it won't run away." A few seconds after speaking, Shiyali suddenly frowned adorably. "Please rest assured, I did not use Aether Lines on you while you were unconscious, nor did I extract your knowledge."

"Okay, thank you."

"Mhm."

The two then fell silent, not continuing their conversation.

Novia listened to the ebb and flow of the tide, observing the rhythm of the waves rising and falling. The upright masts in the distance swayed in the dazzling Mediterranean breeze.

It was then that he overheard Shiyali's conversation with someone from the Atlas Institute, who seemed to be a relative.

"Director, I've written the details in the report. You can just read it. There's no need to spend so many resources on a long-distance conversation; the loss is too great."

The girl said coldly.

"Heh, it's just a pharaoh's ruin. Putting that aside, tell me properly, how should we handle the situation of someone who left the institute without permission for over half a year and hasn't reported back to the institute once a month?"

"I've already been granted the status and authority of an instructor! In any case, whether I acted on my own or not is none of your business. Even if you are my adoptive father, you have no right to do this."

"Mhm..."

Seeing the girl's attitude suddenly change from being like a machine, Novia nodded. Although she was a Mage, this was how one could interact normally, he thought.

Noticing the silver-haired youth's reaction, Shiyali seemed to realize she had lost control of her emotions. She coughed and continued.

"I apologize. This ruin is not the ruin of Pharaoh Cleopatra, our initial target, but the Alexandria Library located at the bottom of the sea, jointly created by a former Atlas branch and Pharaoh Ptolemy. I conquered it with a Mage. The detailed information has been written in the report."

"Wait!" The Director seemed to have heard something astonishing and quickly shouted, "You mean, this place wasn't taken down by you alone? You achieved the contract with someone else, without using Aether Lines for normal communication?!"

"Yes."

Although she didn't understand why the Director was so agitated, Shiyali still answered seriously.

"Alright, alright, good, good! Bring that person to the Atlas Institute quickly. I want to meet them properly, the person who provided such great help to our institute!"

013: The Old Director of Atlas Institute Who Handles Backdoors

The Atlas Institute, an alchemist group that existed since before the Common Era, located at the foot of the Atlas Mountains in Egypt.

"Welcome, Lord Novia, from the Anatolia Province of the Roman Empire."

At its center was a space almost the size of a city, and although it was underground, it had an artificial sky.

From Novia's observation of the environment, it was indeed an academy, fully equipped with everything humans needed for life.

A few days ago, after hearing the Director's words, Novia decided to return with Shiyali, who was going back to report.

Admittedly, if it weren't for the specific guidance, Novia would have been lost and stuck here on his own. The path downward only split into two, but the path back split into three.

This was understandable. The Atlas Institute was more afraid of its internal personnel leaving than outsiders entering. It was a fundamental principle of the Atlas Institute that anything created there could not be taken outside, unless there was a contract.

Having entered correctly into what was known as the 'living hell' that had 'no interaction with the outside world, rumored to be so sealed that not even light could escape,' Novia could, in a way, be proud.

"Director, greetings. May you be in good health."

At this moment, the silver-haired youth was facing the Director of the Atlas Institute alone.

Theoretically, the Atlas Institute was composed of Mages with poor magical circuits. However, the Director gave Novia a feeling comparable to the Divine Body Osiris he had encountered before. It made sense, as the leader of a group that ceaselessly forged and destroyed weapons couldn't be ordinary.

"No need for pleasantries." The Director's gaze first fell on Novia, then shifted to the book placed beside him. "I am grateful for your help to Shiyali. Honestly, what do you think of her?"

"My perception of her is in two stages. The first stage is: she's a good person, but not human."

Novia believed that it was better to be sincere with an elder like this, rather than to hide behind superficial kindness. Moreover, the Director likely understood this better than Novia.

"You are quite right about that."

On the first day, Novia believed Shiyali to be a complete rationalist, who held the belief that 'the results derived from calculations are everything.' Her thinking was serious and logical. In reality, this was merely a summary of information obtained by inserting Aether Lines, using alchemy, into others' brains. She had always acted according to the behavior patterns of an average human, regarding this information as common sense in human society.

She would do good in a broad sense, and never do evil in a broad sense. Although she subconsciously knew of her own abnormality, she had never faced it directly.

This was also the reason for the Director's concern about her future. Shiyali was too prone to extremism. Her common sense was merely information plundered by Aether Lines. Once exposed under certain circumstances, the impact could be immense.

"The second stage is: she's a good person who is facing her true nature."

"That is also correct." The Director turned the pages of the book with his aged fingers. "It is precisely because you could bring about some change in her that I am grateful to you."

Otherwise, you brat wouldn't be able to get in here. You messed up the Alexandria Library at the bottom of the sea and even made Shiyali lie for you.

The Director's face was expressionless, but he clicked his tongue internally. With Trismegistus Hermes present, concealment was practically impossible for him.

Although he regretted the destruction of the Osiris Divine Body, he also felt a touch of admiration for Novia, who refused powerful assistance. Even though Novia was not from the Atlas Institute and believed in a god, he admired this spirit of disdain for external power!

While the Divine Body had its problems, it was enough to sustain a Mage family for over a thousand years. Just being able to briefly obtain the incomplete power of a god after the Age of Gods was proof of this.

Novia had actually considered using Osiris's divine body to pull off some tricks in the beginning, but he figured that since he was publicly posing as a Christian, even if using the power of an Egyptian god was a bit odd, he could spin it with the story of the "Ten Plagues" defeating him and turning him into curdled milk.

However, upon seeing that Osiris's divine body had developed an independent consciousness, he abandoned the idea. He didn't want to inadvertently create some crisis because of him. If it weren't for the divine body Osiris being too eager to snatch the library's system and its soul burrowing inside, Novia and Shiyali would never have been able to deal with it so easily.

"Ah, right. As a reward for finding the lost item for our institute, I'll allow you to use Trismegistus Hermes once." The Director then stood up and walked towards a room off to the side, its depths filled with shadows. "Sigh, I'm getting old. How could I forget where I put the bottle? It contains a drop of water that can heal physical damage. How strange. I'll go look for it. You go ahead and use it. Once you're done, something will guide you out."

"This..."

The silver-haired youth was about to say something when he realized the Director had vanished in a flash, leaving only the bottle on the table.

Director, I don't think I'll ever forget your kindness in this lifetime.

Novia, who had casually pocketed the item, walked directly towards Trismegistus Hermes. This was the Atlas Institute's greatest record-keeping medium, collecting, categorizing, and recording vast amounts of information on Earth. Simply input a question, and you would receive an answer.

"Executing Director's authority, confirmation successful. Please ask."

"Bird that flies through the underworld, please answer my question—"

Suddenly, Novia didn't know what he wanted to ask. He stood there for over ten minutes, hesitating as if contemplating what to eat for lunch.

Finally, the silver-haired youth sighed and, with a smile, asked Trismegistus Hermes a question. He even used the Director's authority to leave a message with the question.

"Well then, see you next time."

After shouting to the empty plaza, Novia left the Atlas Institute without hesitation, preparing to return to Rome.

"He really only asked one question? Isn't that a bit too honest? Are all believers like this?" The old Director glanced at the records, a mix of happiness and dissatisfaction on his face. "Let me see what this kid asked..."

However, a single glance rendered the Director speechless. The question was:

Please, who is Novia?

Honestly, the old Director had never seen someone waste such an opportunity on something so trivial. He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly.