Because I Didn't Want To

That's not even the 1.0 Plot anymore!

The 3.0 Expansion Pack is called "Shadow of Avalon," and this is the first version to Ouroboros Ring Ritual.

The arrival of the Fallen Angel occurs outside the main storyline. To be more precise, it's a story that takes place in the trailer for Version 3.0. However, the Shadow Angel of Avalon only arrive after the main boss of Version 3.0 — the Fallen Angel descended upon Planet Antimony—is defeated.

The "someone" who was once a puppet of Star Antimony but is now independent and has summoned Shadow Angel is Isabel (the Doll).

This is the core of the Stibium Kingdom's conspiracy, and the source of their confidence to directly attack Avalon.

Using the pinnacle of technology—golem science, alchemy, Ritual Studies, and necromancy—they created a replica of Princess Isabel, a Doll loyal to Star Antimony. It even possesses independent consciousness, capable of acting autonomously without orders.

Aside from the joints hidden beneath her clothes, she looks exactly like Isabel.

Of course, her personality is very different from Isabel's. Moreover, because of her low intelligence in autonomous mode, it would be easy for any minister who isn't mentally challenged to see that she is merely a Doll.

—But one Doll as a decoy is enough.

On the surface, Avalon is still controlled by the royal bloodline—even if it's not Path of Authority, it's better than nothing. Those ministers who betrayed Avalon and joined Star Antimony won't be blamed. And the hatred of the Avalon won't be entirely focused on the Stibnite Person.

People will only think that Avalon was defeated once and therefore signed a contract that sold out its interests. They will not think that their New Queen is just a puppet of the Stibnite Person.

It was precisely because Isabel gained fame in Version 3.0, with the support and assistance of the Theocracy, that people began to wonder—if Isabel was the one who defeated the Fallen Angel Fallen Angel, then who was their Queen?

Until version 3.2, when the Stibnite Person lost control, the Doll was forced to learn about Isabel's past. Ultimately, the Doll gradually awakened her own heart—or rather, she gradually lost control. She truly began to believe that she was Isabel.

Iver forgot the details of the plot. But in any case, in version 3.4, the Doll Lady and the Puppet Queen learned of the existence of the "Shadow of Avalon" and ultimately chose to sacrifice her brother John as Isabel in an attempt to summon their Lancelot I to protect Avalon.

However, the summoning failed.

The summoning is destined to fail.

Because the ritual that Merlin arranged before becoming an apostle was long ago modified by Lancelot's foster mother and Merlin's ex-girlfriend— Vivian, the Lady of the Lake of Path of Love.

After completing her great task as a mother, Vivian also successfully became an apostle.

However, she was not Constant Self's apostle, but became Shadow Angel's apostle.

According to the rules of the Path of Love, those between superiors and subordinates are considered lovers. Therefore, she can be considered the daughter or lover of the Shadow Angel, and Lancelot would be the Shadow Angel's grandson—which is why he went to the Shadow Land for training instead of becoming an apostle of the Silver Crowned Dragon.

Vivian's original goal was probably to prevent Lancelot's rebirth.

Everyone knows that if Lancelot is reborn and then dies again, he will leave the Shadow Land forever and become an apostle of the Silver Crowned Dragon. But if his resurrection fails, he will remain here forever as a warrior of the Shadow Land.

Despite Lancelot's poor attitude towards her, Vivian still loved him unilaterally.

She can be a foster mother, a mentor, and also a lover.

Those who transcend the Path of Love often find it difficult to control their desires. Moreover, they tend to mix different desires together and misidentify them.

The reason why Lancelot treated her badly after he grew up was simple—because Vivian did not raise Lancelot as an orphan, but fell in love with him after seeing Lancelot as a baby and then stole him from his parents.

But perhaps because the Ring Angel had tampered with it, or perhaps it was just a coincidence, or perhaps the inspiration for the "Ouroboros Ring" ritual came from this ritual... In any case, after being modified by Vivian, this ritual just happened to become the "Ouroboros Ring".

When she modified the ritual, the Ring Angel had not yet taught it to humans.

Lancelot's still-living body became the "living sacrifice" required for the Ouroboros Ring Ritual. His close kinship with the Shadow Angel became the foundation of the ritual.

The spark that ignited the ritual was the innocent and pure desire within the Puppet Queen's heart.

I want to live as a human being, as "Isabel Du Lac"—

As a result, the ritual absorbed John's blood, the Puppet Queen's heart, and Lancelot's body, transforming into the top-level "Ouroboros Ring" ritual, which directly dragged Shadow Angel down.

To be fair, Shadow Angel must also be quite confused.

Because no Celestial Officer would want to be dragged down by the Ouroboros Ring —even if they are killed, they can be reborn in the Dream Realm, but if they die in the Material Realm, they will no longer be Celestial Officers after their rebirth.

Although the Phantom Demon will respawn after death, its "equipment" will be dropped.

Ordinary phantoms don't have much equipment, but the Celestials possess authority... which is their Angel Shard.

If you die in the Dream Realm, you can be resurrected at full health, as long as the person who killed you isn't someone in the same category who can absorb your fragments. However, if you die in the Material Realm, it's as if that fragment simply falls into the void.

It is precisely the disintegration of this part of the authority and the re-emptying of the occupied power nodes that allows the extraordinary individuals on this path to break through their limits and advance further. It was only after Shadow Angel died once in the Material Realm that the rare shadow power was finally unlocked.

Without the Puppet Queen, Iver can't say for sure whether Shadow Angel will successfully descend.

But he was certain that Vivian had already altered the ritual. In other words, it couldn't possibly be Lancelot who descended. Perhaps it would be Vivian, or it might still be Shadow Angel, or best of all, his former brothers, or the other knights who had become apostles of the Silver Crowned Dragon, but it could never be Lancelot.

But another problem arose.

That is, Iver could not stop the Queen from performing this ceremony.

—Now that twenty members of the royal family have died, the ceremony is only one step away from completion. And then you, an outsider who has never heard of this ceremony before, suddenly jump out and say, "There's something wrong with this ceremony, stop it immediately"? Without a doubt, you can't persuade him.

Even knowing there are problems, the old lady will definitely give it a try.

Without Lancelot's protection, Avalon would have had a hard time surviving the growing pains—and indeed, without Lancelot, Avalon was completely overwhelmed by Star Antimony's F2A attack.

However, the world's current level is far too low. Very few people can even reach the upper limit.

To change all this, we'll have to wait for the big event in Version 2.0... Only then will the upgrade speed increase dramatically.

If they actually bring out Shadow Angel now, then we're doomed—at this moment, the whole world can't even muster a Sixth Level squad, and the Demon Avatar of the "Rosy Cross" Society are all stuck at the Fifth Level cap.

How could someone below the Sixth Level possibly defeat a descending Celestial Being... if their priority isn't high enough, they might not even be able to break through the defenses.

That would mean Avalon dragging the whole world down with it.

... Then, let's think about it again. Is it even possible to fix this ritual?

It's not impossible.

If you summon Merlin and tell him that Vivian altered a part of his ritual... could he find a way to fix it back? It's like a one-off program I wrote when I left the company over four hundred years ago; because it was disposable, I didn't write any comments. Now the program is ready to run, but a bug has appeared. Hopefully, he can come back to the company now to fix it.

... Iver thought about it and felt that the chances weren't very high.

The best option is to destroy the ritual altogether. That shouldn't be difficult, since the ritual's foundation is Lancelot's body.

Although Iver couldn't understand such a complex ritual at the Apostle level... if the problem was to be solved at its root, all that was needed was to kill Lancelot. Lancelot's body was the foundation of the ritual; once he died, the ritual would automatically shut down.

After all, it's just a soulless shell. It's like a Sixth Level powerhouse falling into an unawakenable slumber; killing it would be quite simple.

But if that happens, there will be no turning back. He will have to prepare other methods to counter Star Antimony.

However, Her Majesty the Queen has basically not thought about it in that direction.

This wasn't Avalon's original plan, but rather a flexible countermeasure against the conspiracy of Star Antimony and Iris. To devise a counterattack while completely passive, surrounded by enemies, and beset by internal and external troubles is already quite remarkable. And now, with less than a year left, Iver demanding a complete overhaul...

Ugh, my tooth hurts a bit.

Iver suddenly felt that knowing too much might not be a good thing.

As a result, no matter what he did, it seemed to lead to unexpected situations.

... Logically speaking, we should just let the story unfold as it is. Let Avalon perish, let them flee, and eventually the problem should be resolved... Let Avalon rise from the ashes, reborn in flames.

But could he do that? Iver rejected the idea without even thinking.

There's no complicated reason.

—Because I don't want to.

I'll write Chapter Two after I get a meal!