Chapter 24

"Teacher, why would you say that? You've taught me for so long, and now you're being so distant. But I'll do everything you say, anything at all."

"No matter what, I still want you to prioritize your own safety above all else."

"Teacher, I am your student, your disciple. But now I am a soldier on the battlefield. So please don't speak to me like that. For a soldier, an order is enough. Just one sentence. Please, say 'kill them all,' that's all that's needed."

A hint of madness flickered in her emerald green eyes as the two gazed at each other across the blood-soaked land.

The golden-haired girl thought, how wonderful it would be if, in the final moment before those sapphire blue eyes closed forever, her own figure was the only thing they saw.

Nero had never given much thought to anything around Novia. But ever since Novia obtained that strangely shaped 'spear,' she had an overwhelming urge to destroy it completely, perhaps due to some inexplicable sense of unease.

"Kill them all."

041: Siege of Jerusalem (Please refresh)

The holy city of Jerusalem, around 1000 BCE, was captured and taken by King David from the Jebusites. He expanded the city southward, established his capital there, and renamed it.

After King David's passing, King Solomon, the Sorcerer King, reigned. Three hundred years after the Sorcerer King's demise, the 'Babylonian Captivity' incident occurred. The Neo-Babylonian Empire broke through Jerusalem, occupied and destroyed the city. Its walls were razed, and the only structure that could not be destroyed was the First Temple built by Solomon. Consequently, a large quantity of gold and silver artifacts from the Temple were taken to Babylon. Those who resisted had their eyes gouged out and were chained with bronze to be taken to Babylon.

After many years, over six hundred years later, outside Jerusalem, an event that would either replicate or surpass the 'Babylonian Captivity' was about to unfold.

After Novia's Roman army had swept through the Jewish settlements, castles, and caves on the outskirts, the three converging Roman armies began a protracted siege. It had been three months, and this nightmarish period was still ongoing.

Although the sun had risen, both outside and inside Jerusalem were shrouded in bloodshed. The only difference between day and night was the transition from dimness to pitch black. This was because extremists among the Zealots, in order to lure the Roman army into attacking, had set fire to their own food supplies, resulting in a large number of soldiers and civilians starving to death within the city, their bodies piled high, swarming with flies.

Extreme ideologies led to extreme actions. Everyone in Jerusalem entered a state of combat, preferring death to expulsion, believing Jesus to be the Messiah.

"Teacher, Mage Team Three is proceeding with the infiltration of Jerusalem's barrier. I am commanding and assisting. All teams, begin calibrating the magic circuit second hand. Shall we proceed as scheduled?"

Nero bowed slightly to Novia and asked for instructions.

Within the Roman Empire, there naturally existed legions composed entirely of mages. They were groups that had completely abandoned their individuality, directly subordinate to the Empire's Roman Mages.

"There's no need to continue like this," Novia shook his head. "The holy city perfected by the Sorcerer King Solomon is not easily breached. I imagine Doro has lost all sense of conscience and fear of the forbidden, ceaselessly draining the blood of the city's inhabitants."

Novia had his suspicions about Jerusalem's surprisingly abundant magical supply over the past few months. It was highly probable that human lives were being used as a source for magical power; otherwise, it would be inexplicable how Jerusalem's defenses could be so quickly restored after he had breached them once with the 'spear.'

Of course, at that moment, the Dragon of Albion had told Novia, "It's because you're too weak that the strongest me couldn't use full power. If I were alive, I could have flipped it over with a single slap."

After spending some time together, Novia had figured out that the consciousness of the Dragon of Albion, besides being able to freely control the 'spear,' didn't seem to have much else. Magic power still needed to be supplied by him, but the effectiveness was alright, acceptable.

"So, should we continue the encirclement?"

"There's no need to delay any longer. It seems we have no choice but to annihilate this land along with everything on it. Nero, have all the mages provide support."

If it couldn't be breached by normal means, then it would be destroyed along with the land beneath it. This was Novia's thought process, and the method he chose was to gather the magic power of tens of thousands of mages from the Roman army into himself and use the 'spear' to completely annihilate Jerusalem.

"Yes, I will relay the order now."

"Oh, right. For your headaches, it should be about time for them to relapse. Drink this; it should provide twice the relief as last time."

Taking the pure white water handed to her by Novia, the golden-haired girl drank it without hesitation.

Is this the reason I've had headaches since childhood, Teacher?

The words welled up in her throat but couldn't be voiced. Perhaps it was because the place was too quiet, the silence becoming almost painfully palpable.

"For so many years, I've relied on your water to alleviate my headaches..." The girl's voice trailed off mid-sentence. "Speaking of which, even though you, Teacher, would never lose, I would be so heartbroken if you were injured in a battle."

It's truly not good to rely on something other than oneself as a pillar of support.

A few years ago, when Agrippina had said she wanted Nero to be baptized by him, he had said to Agrippina:

"Her chronic ailment must end, and it shall be entrusted to my hands."

This meant that from then on, Agrippina could no longer secretly administer poison to Nero, and secondly, it meant handing over the poison's formula to him.

This was what Novia remembered: in the original timeline, Nero had been continuously poisoned by her mother, Agrippina, since childhood. Thus, even if Locusta, a renowned poison mistress, made an antidote, it would be useless...

The silver-haired youth had intended to find Locusta, the mushroom woman, in the province of Gaul. However, he had never been able to locate her. Therefore, he had researched the poison's formula himself. Unfortunately, his abilities were limited, and he could only develop a formula that provided temporary relief.

Novia did not deny that, at first, he had indeed considered using the poison to directly control Nero. It was the most convenient and perfect method, requiring no defenses.

However, after contemplating it for a full two days and two nights, he felt it was unnecessary. It would be better to find a way to resolve her 'headaches' before they became untreatable. After all, he was her teacher.

He naturally did not tell Nero about this. Novia felt that if she knew her mother had been poisoning her since childhood...

As a child, she would inevitably be heartbroken.

After a while, the Jews in Jerusalem were astonished to find that the Romans, who had previously surrounded the holy city like an impenetrable wall, had all retreated.

We've won?

Before cheers of victory could erupt from the corpse-strewn Jerusalem, a sudden—

A beam of light, as if to incinerate the sky and earth, identical to the magical armament that had annihilated the Jews on the coastline, descended upon the holy city.

"Wh-wh-what is this!?"

"I-I don't know—"

In that instant, witnessing the almost star-shattering spectacle before them, the Jews gathered on the city walls descended into chaos, flustered and disoriented.

"So what! With the Messiah, we cannot fail!"

Time marched on, heralding destruction. The rampaging, annihilating beam of light flowed like a piece of cloth dancing in the air, pushed by the wind, towards the side of the holy city.

At this moment, at the gates of Jerusalem, the city gates that hadn't been breached for months were shattered with a gentle strike from Novia's raised wrist.

"What are you?" he whispered.

Doro, exuding ominous black demonic energy, nodded mockingly in response, colder than freezing point, unmoved, and devoid of emotion.

"I am the Messiah, the word of God. All nations shall submit to me, and I shall establish the kingdom of God on Earth. Therefore, I will kill you all."

042: New Testament: Book of Revelation

"Come to the true Messiah, Novia, one whose sins are even deeper than Jesus'."

"You deliberately allowed the grain to be set on fire, causing the Jews inside to starve to death, and then you provided me with demonic energy."

Novia scowled, gazing at Doro Bar Kochba, the 'Antichrist' radiating ominous black demonic energy.

During this time, the black 'demonic energy' emanating from Doro fell like snow onto the ground. Any exposed skin that touched it would be scorched. Merely looking at it would cause blindness, and ingesting it would melt the internal organs. It was an ominous demonic energy equivalent to 'death.'

"For the great Messiah, making some sacrifices is their honor."

Immediately, outside the holy city under the midday sun, black and blue lights erupted, more dazzling than sunlight.

The blood-stained desert ground cracked open as if from nowhere, followed by the sharp clang of metal. The impact swept through the surroundings, shattering city walls.

The confrontation between the two was not just personal; it was also a battle of their supports. One was the demonic energy of all the mages of the Roman legions, and the other was the life force of everyone within Jerusalem. It was likely that even the highest-level Mystic Eyes would be unable to accurately perceive their ultra-high-speed, consecutive clashes.

"Your strength, compared to the low-level individuals I've encountered so far, is finally barely worthy of being called a 'game.' It's not quite a battle yet, but at least I won't be bored. Rejoice."

Doro closed in on Novia, his darkened hand, imbued with demonic energy, swinging with great force and striking the 'Spear.' Although Novia managed to block it, the bones in his shoulder made a sound at that instant.

"However, this so-called spear of yours looks more like a combination of two swords."

"Because this is its strongest form."

The boy's voice and attack were released almost simultaneously. It was as if hundreds of attacks were launched at once. The 'Spear,' its speed elevated to beyond the limit, struck hundreds of times. Following that were a hundred metallic sounds. The attacks he unleashed simultaneously were blocked head-on by Doro's hands, gathered with demonic energy.

The surging demonic energy from their high-speed clash created shockwaves around both of them almost simultaneously.

"How pathetic. Is this so-called strongest spear of yours only this much? In the end, you are merely a low-level individual. How much longer can you maintain this? The mages behind you are probably already struggling to breathe within the city due to the rapid consumption of demonic energy."

"That's not necessarily true."

His words were brief. Although he appeared to be fighting without injury, he was undoubtedly being worn down. Yet, Novia remained calm, as if he were an insignificant speck of dust, even suppressing his breathing and heartbeat.

Damn it, that disgusting low-level thing dares to insult the strongest me... and you, weakling, retort! I didn't permit anyone other than me to insult you.

Please, do not be so angry. It is I who failed to provide you with sufficient demonic energy to showcase your might.

While communicating in their minds, Novia and Doro clashed once more, their attacks powerful enough to collapse the walls of Jerusalem.

Hmph, are you going to retreat? Although the source of this guy's demonic energy is despicable, if you drag this out, you'll eventually be dragged to your death.

Strong, invincible, but I cannot yield. To give up now is still a little, just a little, too early... Please unleash your full power again, Dragon of Albion.

Several seconds passed, followed by a silence lasting about half a breath.

But you—

Stop talking. I'm sure you've made up your mind, and I've agreed. That's just how it is. This is fine.

...These are the words the strongest me should be saying. I will help you eliminate this arrogant being who obtained such a distorted power.

A blinding flash erupted. It was not physical, but a vast demonic energy that seared spiritual senses, manifesting on the 'Spear.' The weapon's body was covered from the bottom at a terrifyingly rapid speed. The blue-black exterior was overlaid with fiery red, like anger covering the blue.

The demonic energy was woven, forming the shape of 'the strongest.'

The surging demonic energy was unleashed all at once – an overwhelming torrent of destruction erupting from the head of the Dragon of Albion.

When his retinas finally processed the world again, Novia saw an unbelievable sight—

The 'Antichrist' was not slain. Rather, he had instantly regenerated, as if a film reel was playing in reverse.

"Hahahaha! What a pity, what a pity! Your blow was indeed enough to defeat me, who used everyone's lives in Jerusalem as my source of demonic energy."

The silver-haired youth stood quietly, listening to the words spoken by the madman gazing at him.

"But alas, I even found the remains of Solomon and used them as the power for myself, the true Messiah!"

"You, you actually used the remains of the Sorcerer King Solomon?"

After slowly finishing his words, Novia took a deep breath, tasting blood in his mouth.

Doro before him intended to use Solomon's remains as a source of demonic energy...

Then, what about Goetia within the remains?

He hated Solomon, but he wouldn't stand by and watch his remains be desecrated like this. Could it be that after almost a thousand years, he still hadn't manifested?

"The Sorcerer King? Even if he were alive, he would have to obey the commands of me, the Messiah."

Doro let out a mad laugh and then approached Novia step by step.

"I admire you. I forgive your sins. I will kill all Romans except you. Come, follow me. You have no demonic energy left now, you have failed."

"Your argument isn't very persuasive, you can't move me." Novia smiled slightly. "After all, I just hope that all those who avoid evil and do good, all lives, all souls, can always be in happiness and peace. Not just one type of person."

"Is that so? It seems I must subject you to a punishment more painful than Jesus'."

The conversation, unilaterally, ended there.

And then—

Everyone on the European continent witnessed that sight.

Therefore, that sudden total solar eclipse became a historical fact preserved and passed down to later generations in the records of the New Testament: Book of Revelation—

The world lost its color, darkness fell everywhere, and those with ears should listen to the words spoken by the Holy Spirit, as did the King of the Antichrist.

043: The Three-Minute Miracle

In 52 AD, on May 26th, nineteen years and fifty-three days had passed since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The record left by this day in later generations was a sudden total solar eclipse, plunging all living beings across the entire European continent into three minutes of prolonged darkness.

In ancient times, the occurrence of a total solar eclipse would fill many civilizations with awe and trepidation, with various explanations ranging from a celestial dog eating the sun to a serpent swallowing it. At the same time, it was also seen as a symbol of divine wrath.

"You... no, impossible... how could this be... what is the deal with the magic of Solomon's remains in the First Temple? I... I am the Messiah..."

Understandably, Doro was terrified by the sudden total solar eclipse. Even the action of trying to crush Novia's neck faltered, and he stumbled back a few steps in panic, pointing at Novia with a furious expression.

"You brought the darkness, you made people fall! That's right, it must be, you are Azazel!"

Novia didn't reply, merely continuing to hold his Spear in a ready stance. The blood that had just stained him had been wiped clean, yet blood still trickled uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth, his lungs burning as if on fire.

However, he was also confused. There were no records of a total solar eclipse during this period in 50 AD before his transmigration. It seemed the last one happened on the day of Jesus's crucifixion, but that was irrelevant now. The current priority was figuring out how to defeat Doro.

The magical support from the Roman legion's Mages and his own magic were depleted, pushing him to his limits. The chance of victory was slim.

But this was indeed a new event that occurred because of him. Therefore, no matter what, he could not abandon it to others just because he couldn't handle it. He had to bear the necessary responsibility. Moreover, Doro seemed to have severed his connection to the magical source he had absorbed from the remains of the Sorcerer King Solomon.