Sword Holder

Ao Li Wei stared at the two equally vibrant hearts before him, his usual composure gone, replaced by a grim and terrifying expression.

The current situation is quite clear.

The offerings they left for the New God were absorbed by the Lyra God.

This gave the dying Lyra God a new power, enabling her to contend with the New God.

But the question is, who did this?

Huo Ge Ni's mangled body was still on the ground, clearly indicating he had been ambushed, but the question was, who could have gotten to this place?

It should be noted that at this time, Ao Li Wei already possessed some of the powers of the Lyra God, and the entire Lyra City was under his control.

So he could clearly "see" that Bishop Wei Sen had regained consciousness and used the Self-Destructive Divine Art: Sword of Order, but Ao Li Wei knew that it didn't matter; it was just a futile struggle. He could also see that Jie La Er had been sitting in front of that small warehouse all night, as if he had given up on everything, so it couldn't possibly be Jie La Er.

So... who exactly is it?!

At this critical juncture, why would there be troublemakers? And troublemakers who are completely outside Ao Li Wei's understanding of the situation.

This was something he, who was almost omniscient and omnipotent in the city, simply could not accept.

But there's nothing we can do about it.

He no longer has time to investigate who the troublemaker is.

Because...

Ao Li Wei looked up, feeling the divine power emanating from the two hearts as they interacted intensely.

This decades-long, relentless battle between gods has reached its final stage.

At this point, he had no way out.

If the Lyra God succeeds, then his fate as the greatest rebel is self-evident.

Ao Li Wei narrowed his eyes slightly.

Since that's the case, we can't just stand by and watch.

As long as the New God can descend, all the villains hiding in the shadows will vanish into thin air.

With that thought in mind, Ao Li Wei strode forward into the area covered by the surging divine will, then slowly raised his hand towards the part of the heart that belonged to the New God, and then slowly inserted it.

He intends to hand over all the power over the Lyra that he has stolen over the years to the New God.

As long as the New God can win.

Then all these sacrifices are nothing.

Ao Li Wei's eyes gradually turned crazed.

Just then, a sound came from outside the main hall.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? The Bishop is inside..."

Before he could finish speaking, he vanished. Then the doors to the main hall were destroyed, and fully armed Devil Knight rushed in.

"Ao Li Wei! Get out of there!"

"By order of Bishop Wei Sen! We are to arrest you!"

Several Automatic Firearm were pointed at Ao Li Wei.

Ao Li Wei slowly turned his head, his once solemn face now covered with wriggling buds.

"Abandon the arrest, execute him immediately!"

"Fire!"

Seeing this, the commander of the Devil Knight did not hesitate and immediately gave the order to attack.

The violent explosion instantly covered Ao Li Wei's location.

Before the smoke from the explosion cleared, they heard a piercing scream that seemed capable of shattering eardrums coming from where Ao Li Wei had been standing.

But clearly, this wasn't Ao Li Wei's voice.

And it wasn't just the Devil Knight present who heard this shriek.

Besides,

The people of the Lyra.

It was already late at night, and the revelry was coming to an end.

The number of fireworks blooming under the night sky is also rapidly decreasing.

After reveling for most of the night Lyra People finally felt tired and wanted to go home to rest.

But just then, they heard that shriek.

The sound, seemingly emanating from the Tower of Babel, seemed to resonate deep within their hearts, causing them to turn their heads in unison, their faces filled with fear as they gazed at the colossal tower rising into the darkness.

"What... what the hell is that noise?"

No, I don't know.

Someone rubbed their eyes.

I don't know if it's just my imagination.

The colossal tower that had stood for a thousand years now seemed to be swaying slightly, as if it would collapse at any moment.

After that shriek, the revelers fell into a brief, deathly silence, like a bonfire extinguished by cold water.

Then, the silence was broken by a woman's scream the next second.

"Aaaaaaah! What is that?!"

Everyone instinctively turned their heads, and then saw a scene that shocked them even more.

It was a Gear Train traveling at high speed.

But its entire carriage was engulfed in flames.

Like a flaming arrow, it sped along the tracks, whistling through the air, and crashed into the nearest station.

A loud bang.

The station collapsed in flames, and dozens of people waiting for the train on the platform were torn apart by the explosion and their remains were engulfed by the flames.

They died in an instant before they could even utter a cry of pain.

All of this happened so fast that by the time people realized what was happening, the flying, burning debris had already set fire to several houses next to the station.

It was only at that moment that people realized.

Tonight doesn't seem to be a day for celebration.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Ina quickly packed her luggage.

She felt intense unease.

According to Jie La Er, the New God should awaken at noon tomorrow. Therefore, there's plenty of time now for her to pack everything up and return, taking Jie La Er and Tachibana to the outskirts of Lyra, or even a safer place. That way, no matter what happens, there will still be room for negotiation.

But will things really turn out the way she expects?

Returning to Fifth District from Jie La Er, Ina saw many, many things.

She saw people reveling and setting off spectacular fireworks, and she also saw a shop across the street burning fiercely, with the shop owner crying out for help to save his child.

She also saw people waiting on the platform for the long-awaited Gear Train, and hundreds of meters away, she saw two Gear Train crash on the tracks, with a limited number of skeleton Knight struggling to search for survivors in the wreckage.

This disjointed and absurd scene made Ina realize that the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control.

Most people are still unaware of what is about to happen.

"Many people will die."

Ina remembered what Jie La Er had told her.

She pursed her lips tightly.

On the way back, she wanted to stop and help countless times, to help the shop owner rescue his child, and to join the skeleton Knight in searching for survivors.

But she knew she couldn't do that; there was no time to waste.

Her father is still waiting for her.

She's only back now to make a better exit. What will happen tomorrow is too unpredictable. She needs a good set of equipment to protect her father and Tachibana.

That's why Ina came back.

After packing everything up, Ina glanced at the Sleeve badge on her arm that symbolized the Devil Knight, hesitated for a moment, then tore it off, clutched it in her hand, and turned to leave.

However, as soon as he stepped out, he bumped into You Li, who was rushing over.

"I heard you're back, Ina," You Li said. "That's great. I need your help. I got a warrant from Bishop Wei Sen to send men to capture Ao Li Wei, but we've lost contact with them. I can't leave, so I need you to lead a team..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Because You Li saw the luggage that Ina was carrying.

He suddenly understood everything.

"I see..." His initially agitated tone calmed down. "Have you decided to leave?"

"Yes," Ina did not deny it.

"And your father?"

"Um."

Where to go?

"Rhine or Holy Sound."

"I see..." He nodded, then reached out and patted Ina's shoulder. "Go to Rhine. I've been to both places. Rhine is a bit backward, but it's still better than Holy Sound."

After saying that, You Li prepared to leave.

Ina clearly hadn't expected You Li to react this way. "Aren't you going to stop me?"

You Li stopped and turned to look at Ina.

"Jie La Er has given everything for Lyra," he said softly. "We are all indebted to him, so I feel we should leave him something."

Ina opened her mouth, as if to say something, but couldn't utter a word.

At this moment, a Devil Knight hurried over and said to You Li, "Captain, the corruption of the Sword of Order is still spreading, and it can't hold on any longer."

You Li nodded, then glanced at Ina, his lips twitching slightly.

"Live well."

With that, he left with the Knight who had reported the news.

Ina watched You Li's receding figure, momentarily lost in thought.

It felt like I was back on that night ten years ago.

My father and brother also left in the same way.

Her hands clenched tighter and tighter.

You Li put on the mask and quickly walked to the secret room where he had previously met Bishop Wei Sen.

The door to the secret chamber was now sealed shut, and the outside was filled with fully armed Devil Knight. When they saw You Li arrive, they quickly retreated and made way for him.

"How's the situation?" You Li asked in a muffled voice through his mask.

He didn't need his subordinates to explain; he could already see it himself.

The white mist, a symbol of pollution, was seeping out from the cracks in the door.

He'd only been gone for less than fifteen minutes, and things had already deteriorated to this point?

After receiving the reply that "the pollution is rapidly worsening," You Li glanced at the Knight guarding the door, Knight understood and immediately opened the door.

A sudden surge of white mist erupted, and every one of the Devil Knight's pollution detectors frantically issued warnings.

The pollution concentration here is even higher than in the Abyss Land.

Through the thick white mist, You Li could see the Sword of Order, which had been transformed from Bishop Wei Sen, still standing atop those restless tentacles.

But clearly, it's not as stable as it was at the beginning.

You Li made a gesture, and the door was closed again.

"Tell me about it," You Li said.

A Knight stepped forward. "The pollution concentration suddenly increased, which should be related to the changes in the Tower of Babel ten minutes ago. According to the current pollution concentration, our previous conclusion that the Sword of Order could stand for at least two hours is no longer valid..."

"Just tell me the timeframe," You Li said, looking directly into the other's eyes, enunciating each word clearly. "How long can the Sword of Order hold out?"

"Twenty minutes to half an hour."

Can it be reduced from two hours to twenty or forty minutes?

You Li's heart sank.

Sure enough, the situation at the Tower of Babel affected this side; it seems Ao Li Wei has done something again.

He still remembered Wei Sen's instructions.

The Sword of Order must never fall.

This is Lyra's last shred of rationality. Once the Sword of Order falls, Lyra will immediately transform into a completely insane killing machine.

In that case, not only the New God, but the entire Lyra City and millions of Lyra People could be destroyed by Him.

Although we don't know what Ao Li Wei did to escalate the situation to this point, he has to be dealt with.

But twenty to forty minutes is simply not enough.

You Li looked again at the Devil Knight who had spoken earlier. "I need a solution, a way to maintain the existence of the Sword of Order."

"... There is only one solution."

"What?"

"Physical body".

You Li's eyelids twitched, but he tried his best to keep his tone calm. "What do you mean?"

"The Sword of Order is a divine spell," the Devil Knight said quickly. "As long as it stands, it symbolizes that order has not collapsed. And the simplest way to keep it standing is for a believer of the Lord to hold it."

"Hold it?"

"Yes." The Devil Knight nodded. "It must be held in one's own hands, without any external force."

You Li raised his head again and looked at the sealed secret room.

... To hold that sword in your own hands in a place where the pollution concentration exceeds that of the abyss?

Even You Li fell into a brief silence at this moment.

"Is there no other way?"

"No." The Devil Knight shook his head and then said softly, "According to the 《Lyra Revelation》, when the Divine Art: Sword of Order falls, any follower of the Lord can become the Sword Holder and raise the sword again, which is also to restore order... Therefore, it can only be held by the flesh; external force is of no use."

... The 《Lyra Revelation》, huh? That's a rather unfamiliar name.

"With that level of pollution," You Li asked again, "How long could a person stay inside, if they were fully equipped?"

"Captain, if I may be so bold," the Devil Knight shook his head, "Our current protective measures are not very useful against this concentration of pollution. If you stay inside for at most twenty minutes, you will be completely transformed into a monster."

Only twenty minutes...

You Li pondered for a moment and said, "So, we only need to change shifts every ten minutes... no, every five minutes, or even every three minutes, right?"

"No, Captain." The Devil Knight shook his head again. He looked at the door and said softly, "The corruption under the Sword of Order still carries divinity. Once touched, it is irreversible."

"...What's the meaning?"

"That means," the Devil Knight turned to You Li, "That once you grasp that sword, you'll never be able to leave that door again."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

"I see," You Li said softly. "So, those who go in have to pay with their lives for that sword to stand for another twenty minutes?"

The Devil Knight lowered his head, seemingly unwilling to speak, but still managed to say with difficulty, "No, Captain, not twenty minutes."

"What's the meaning?"

"Twenty minutes is the time it takes to completely transform into a monster," he said. "If a person stays inside for more than ten minutes, they will gradually lose consciousness, their mind will completely collapse after about fifteen minutes, and the final twenty minutes will be the time for complete corruption. But as for the action of wielding a sword, it becomes unreliable after ten minutes, and it may even damage the Sword of Order. Therefore, each person can only stay inside for a maximum of ten minutes, just ten minutes of sword-wielding time, but..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

Each person can only hold a sword inside for ten minutes.

But even after ten minutes, you can't leave, because it has already been contaminated.

They also cannot be transformed into monsters, as this would affect the Sword of Order.

You Li raised his head, looked at the white mist overflowing from the ceiling, and fell into a long silence.

Then he heard a "click" sound.

You Li turned his head and saw one of the Devil Knight twisting the Emergency Device on his neck.

He froze the Emergency Device at ten minutes.

As the death-dealing ticking sound rang out, the Devil Knight calmly spoke.

"That solves the problem, Captain."

Ina, who witnessed all of this from a distance, lowered her head and looked at the devil Sleeve badge that was clutched in her hand and was already somewhat deformed.

After a brief silence, she put the Sleeve badge back on.

"I'm sorry, Father," she said softly.