Chapter 526

John Dee's pupils slowly reflected Novia's figure.

That was a trivial fact in the fifth century, one that no one would have likely noticed.

Humanity in that era had lost its smiles; what it possessed was the pleasure of humiliating and abusing others, the desire to satisfy its own selfishness by depriving others, and the establishment of its superiority by trampling on the weak. A few who fought for their beliefs and justice would be corrupted by the great dye vat.

That's all.

This alone provides sufficient justification for Avia.

That was enough to make him abandon the maintenance of stability, choose turbulent war, and point his sword and horse at the empire.

Gazing at the boundless sky, I believe that beyond the desolate landscape, vibrant and beautiful flowers will once again bloom.

"You were all alone back then too."

John Dee spoke very softly, and Novia probably didn't hear him.

He continued, as if answering Novia's initial question—

"... I can only deceive. That's all I can do."

John Dee was breathing heavily in pain.

As part of the contract to maintain the Hermes Trismegistus, Dee risked his life. As one of the highest Alchemy, the Hermes Trismegistus naturally had a way to steal his Master's Command Spell. Moreover, this was a contract between the two parties willingly, meaning that whoever lost would completely give it to the stronger party.

"That's why I said that's wrong—wrong with us, with our wives, with our unborn children, and even with ourselves. You deceived yourself to please yourself. We are vulnerable as human beings. It is precisely because of this vulnerability that we look away from what is broken and desperately try to accumulate things."

Novia paused. "Actually, I'm quite familiar with the Alchemy at the Atlas Institute, so sometimes I need to slow down those overwhelming vortexes of thought, right?"

The Alchemy's face gradually lost all color, yet a hint of happiness remained, followed by a heavy, painful, and clear sigh.

Through my blurry vision, the wind picked up, and black dust drifted by gently.

There were no road signs, but the rivers in Tokyo led somewhere.

How long will footprints remain? By tomorrow, we might not even know whose they belong to.

Even so, precisely because of this, we must cherish it to the fullest.

"Ah, I see..."

Humans are like ships drifting on a calm sea, and he is watching them go as if seeing the ship off.

He neither falls asleep nor stops. He simply gazes deeply, intensely, and slowly.

All I hoped was that, as night fell and the sky gradually brightened, the ship's path forward could at least be illuminated, even if only by a tiny bit.

"... Honestly... I really wanted to be like you, but now I can only atone with my death. I'm already full of flaws."

A soft snap rang out.

That was the sound of Novia removing the Cross from Dee's chest and placing it on his forehead.

"As I said, I can't necessarily blame you; in fact, I should praise you. Although I don't advocate these behaviors, this is John Dee, a story you wrote stroke by stroke, a story of your own. I think, for you, this is absolutely the most wonderful and meaningful story you've ever read in your life. The world may forget, but Novia won't."

"You are so compassionate. Someone like me, with so many flaws, is truly ashamed..."

John Dee seemed to find Novia's words beautiful; his head was bowed, and his back trembled slightly.

"I'm not Perfection either; I lie and kill. The strong aren't always good people."

The wind ruffled Novia's silver hair.

"As for not having any merits? Does that mean we can't like someone? I think there's no such logic. If there were, I wouldn't admit it. After all, who wouldn't cherish the admirable thought of 'wanting to be like me'?"

"... So that's how it is..."

As if entering a dream, John Dee closed his eyes. The Alchemy, who had lived for five hundred years, had come to an end. His actions were unremarkable, his achievements unremarkable, and he had not even expressed universal compassion.

But even in remote places, they would always offer devout prayers in the deserted wilderness.

And for the Alchemy who turned into black dust and vanished, Novia used this as her final conclusion—

Beautiful things are found all over the world.

Chapter 537 Erice, it's understandable that she might act recklessly a little.

"This is all you can do now: stand in the wilderness, face the south wind as the sun sets, and bow in reverence; for when the Sun returns, you will bow in the same way to the east."

The Tokyo of the past is about to sink.

Gale howled, sparks danced wildly, and a sea of fire seemed to form before Rushana, who had rushed to the 'past' because of the voice that echoed in his mind. Then, seeing Erice and the Hermes Trismegistus facing off, she rushed over like a gust of wind and stood between the two, looking directly at the Alchemy.

"... Such a high temperature!? What's going on?"

The Hermes Trismegistus wore an expression of astonishment, but still stared intently at the uninvited guest before him.

In fact, when Rushana saw the eyes of the Hermes Trismegistus, he felt as if he were falling.

Just looking into her eyes gives me the illusion that I am no longer myself...

Then.

Seeing Rushana, the Hermes Trismegistus seemed somewhat saddened and whispered:

"It is good that you have rushed here, child, for you have been purified. Go and hear my thoughts, go and see all things, and join me in slaying Poimandres, for she has entrusted everything to me for a good purpose."

The words of the Hermes Trismegistus filled Rushana with a deep Evil, making him feel as if he were being suffocated by it.

This is nature, the innate timidity of the created, wanting to submit to the Creator; yet, at this very moment—

"I am Rushana, the embodiment of vast Wisdom and the all-encompassing light."

"What?!"

The radiant light, like that of the Sun, gradually dispelled the pressure from the Hermes Trismegistus and spread outwards from Rushana in all directions.

Moreover, a wondrous recitation reached the ears of the Hermes Trismegistus.

"Throughout the ten directions, the power of vows of all Buddhas in the ocean of worlds freely manifests, turning the Dharma wheel universally; in all Buddha lands, countless oceans of beings, each with a different name, turn the pure Dharma wheel."

That wasn't some mantra needed for chanting, but rather a passage from the Avatamsaka Sutra.

"By the Divine Power of Vairocana Buddha, the Dharma wheel turns in all realms; the Dharma form neither arises nor perishes, illuminating all worlds."

"The Saraswati voice of Vairocana Buddha fully expounds his original deeds; within each ray of light reside Buddhas who guide sentient beings with the supreme path."

At the center of the resounding prayers, thousands of lotuses descended from the sky centered on Rushana, causing the Hermes Trismegistus to jump backward, wondering if Rushana had truly summoned the Vairocana Buddha.

There are examples of summoning a great being from another side of the world, beyond Earth, to this world, and then granting it a physical body to unleash powerful energy. However, these are extremely rare cases, and it seems that very few people throughout history have succeeded.

That's not something that can be shouted out simply by having faith or something like that.

According to the judgment of the Hermes Trismegistus, if it really is Buddha who has come, then he can only place his hopes on his next generation. After all, although it is unbelievable, that thing is indeed an indescribable existence.

However.

"So that's how it is. I was actually fooled by you."

As if he had made an unexpected discovery, the Hermes Trismegistus suddenly leaped high into the air and then crushed the Magecraft that summoned the lotus flower with only light footsteps.

Rushana realized something was wrong; sure enough, this little trick could only last a few seconds.

That's understandable; without a reliable method, you can't scare someone with that kind of power.

"What? I thought you came to turn the tide of the battle, but you're just here to be delivered to our deaths. Run! Don't blame me if you die."

With his back to Erice, Rushana clenched his fist and spoke Abhimanyu:

"I volunteered!"

"... Never mind, let me handle this. I should be able to defeat this guy before the poison takes effect again."

Erice shrugged dramatically and continued, "If you accidentally die, I'll be in big trouble."

In the next instant, Rushana witnessed the scene of the two fighting. Their Od seemed to be expanding endlessly, and their own existence was constantly being sublimated. As the two Supreme Being in the Alchemical Theology, their 'Alchemy' was similar, but completely different.

On one side is 'Alchemy,' which has been present everywhere since birth, knows everything, and understands all things.

On one hand, it's unclear whether the source is God or man; on the other hand, it's the 'Alchemy' of learning knowledge and creating a path.

The end and exploration are conceptually contradictory, that is to say, a certain degree of dualism.

Just as Ahura Mazda's good and Angra Mainyu's evil are locked in a battle.

"End" and "exploration" are diametrically opposed.

If these two conflict—which is truly good for humanity? If the Universe is explored to its limit, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

However, Erice, who already possesses the identity of "the fourth generation of God-King who travels with humanity through the Universe," is neutralized by Poimandres, who has "knows everything" in his bloodline. The same goes for Hermes Trismegistus. She is the most important figure who created Alchemy from scratch, yet she plotted to prevent humanity from leaving the Planet world. Therefore, the two can be said to have neutralized each other's mutually exclusive concepts to a certain extent.

Therefore, at this moment it is simply a contest of who is stronger; the strength of an individual directly determines the outcome.

The final victor will be Erice or the Hermes Trismegistus —currently, the Thrice-Great One holds the upper hand. Although Erice's Great Lord of the East is undeniably Flesh Violence, the Thrice-Great One Alchemy's alchemical body can withstand it. However, Erice has no ability to counter her methods.

"In any case, when it comes to competing with you, the strength of an individual is meaningless. After all, we Alchemy don't need to be the strongest, we only need to create the strongest."

The Thrice-Great One spoke to Erice with an expression as peaceful as if they sincerely wanted to bless Erice.

"How much longer can you hold out? The power of the Great Lord of the East is ultimately insufficient."

She spread her arms, scattering simulated particles into the surrounding space, causing the toxic dust to accumulate.

"And I will fight with all my might, risking everything, to destroy you. At this moment, I will create the strongest!"

Enough with the nonsense.

After saying that, Erice, with an extremely natural and practiced movement... swung her fist at the Thrice-Great One.

The light and impact once again shook Tokyo and the entire continent.

Seeing this scene, Rushana was also in a panic, clutching his head in frustration. "This won't do! Eriri can't get inside that guy anymore! If this continues, we'll just be dragged to our deaths..."

But there's no point in talking about it now.

Because Rushana had no other choice, in this critical moment, only Erice, which made her feel extremely unwilling and guilty.

But then, she suddenly remembered the sentence she had heard when she arrived in Tokyo in a daze.

"Because when the Sun returns, it also bows to the east."

The Sun... Dainichi Nyorai, and Rushana are the same person. If I were the Sun, then the east... Didn't Hermes just call Eriri the Great Lord of the East?!

Therefore, without hesitation, Rushana stood tall and bowed deeply to Erice was completely obscured. It's unknown what expression Erice had on her face when she noticed Rushana's gesture.

But Rushana knew the feelings he held for that departing figure—unwavering gratitude.

Thank you for her hard work.

Then, in that instant, the voice rang in her mind again, and only then did Rushana realize that it sounded like some kind of primordial voice.

"Rushana."

"What's up?"

"You already know that you are not the real Rushana, don't you?"

The voice continued, "In that case, don't you want to be 'yourself'?"

That sentence was spoken with great seriousness.

For example, it's like asking, 'Is it really bad to gain someone else's memories and become someone else, or is it better to be yourself?'

"... Now my thoughts are perhaps the exact opposite of what they were before."

With a cheerful expression, Rushana said, "If I were truly Rushana, things wouldn't have turned out this way. In that case, perhaps I am the result I hoped for now. It's not that I covet Rushana's fame, but rather that I am now his disciple."

"..."

"Although this is all I've achieved so far, I believe I can definitely do it—just like how I initially wanted to find something that had been abandoned, to become something like Buddha."

"Something like Buddha?"

"Someone once told me that the biting cold wind can't take off people's coats, but when the warm sunlight shines on them, it gradually warms them up, and they automatically take off their coats. As long as you're alive, everyone is hoping for the light to shine."

The counterfeiter said this, placing his hand on his chest.

Her expression was like a warm light that had been ignited there, a light that people would use as a road sign when they were lost in the darkness.

"... This sounds familiar, but it's definitely a good thing to say."

"Yes."

Rushana smiled happily, because she sensed that the owner of the voice seemed to be smiling as well.

Immediately afterwards, the blue-haired girl naturally extended a hand towards Erice, who was engaged in battle: