The Ritual That Destroyed Body and Soul

Merlin saw the purple light flashing in Iver's eyes and helplessly pressed down on his hat to cover the upper half of his face.

"It seems you've figured something out, Iver."

Merlin spoke softly, a slight smile playing on his lips.

How clever he is.

Just by looking at Iver's expression and seeing him suddenly resonate with the Path of Transcendence, one could roughly guess what had happened. There was no need for Iver to explain it to him personally.

—The process in between, and "how to do it," are completely unnecessary to consider.

So, what's left are just a few possibilities.

Iver is a pawn in the plan behind the "Ouroboros Ring" ritual; Iver is a backup plan prepared by the Ring Angel; Iver is part of Jacob's conspiracy... These are roughly the possibilities.

It's either related to Jacob or to the Ring Angel.

Merlin could quite empathize with the feeling of being used. After all, he had a similar mindset after Vivian deceived his feelings back then.

Merlin then affectionately placed his hand on Iver's shoulder and whispered, "Although I don't know what you're thinking, I have something to say."

Upon hearing this, Iver looked up at Merlin.

"You are the most talented person I have ever met, without a doubt. You are also a good kid who has saved the future of countless people."

"In those plans, you might be the eggshell, the fuel, the wheel, or the pawn."

Merlin said, word by word, "But in any case, I think... it's a real shame that you're only a 'fragment'. You deserve a brighter future, and all you need to do is remove the shackles from your body."

Will you support me?

Iver asked in return.

His words lacked the respect that should have been shown to the apostles.

Merlin keenly noticed this subtle shift in attitude.

That's interesting.

It seems this matter is indeed related to the Ring Angel.

The Ouroboros Ring Ritual forces other celestial beings to descend to the mortal realm... but what's the point? To drive the celestial beings out of the Dream Realm and let them rule the Material Realm instead?

Although he didn't quite understand the process, Merlin had probably guessed His ultimate goal.

—The Ring Angel is plotting to seize the position of Pillar God.

This is no secret. The dwarves' beliefs are open, and their purpose is crystal clear.

As a Celestial Master Path of Transcendence, how could he not want to surpass his own position as Celestial Master?

To achieve this, mere power is not enough. A truly transformative achievement is required, one capable of fundamentally changing the world.

So, having realized all this so early... what should I do? Should I choose a side? Stand with the Serpent Father and help Him stop the Ouroboros Ring Ritual from becoming widespread?

Or perhaps we should side with the Ouroboros and help it advance its plan?

"...Oh."

Merlin chuckled softly.

He doesn't want to stand on either side.

Since we're going to rely on intelligence advantages to gamble, why not take a big gamble? Otherwise, what's the difference between us and those who know nothing at all? So Merlin raised an eyebrow and smiled at Iver, "Yes, of course I'll support you. Why not?"

"You said it yourself."

"Yes, I said so."

Merlin readily replied, "If you need anything, just pray to me. Call upon me with a ritual, and I will respond whenever I am available."

He released his hand from Iver's shoulder and glanced back at the Giant King he had bound.

"Why don't you give it a try, Iver? I'm also very curious about how ' Sacred Entity ' actually work... Could you show me?"

"Certainly."

"Iver replied."

He closed the Book of Law in his hand and slowly walked to the Giant Prince Wolfram, who was bound in place.

How ridiculous—that's what Iver originally wanted to say.

According to the original Timeline, Wolfram wouldn't have died so early. He completely brought this upon himself.

According to the Demon of Punishment Demon, Wolfram came here to find the Book of Law because he believed in a prophecy—in fact, you don't even need to listen to the Punishment Demon's words; just looking at Wolfram's eyes fixed on Iver is enough to understand everything.

"... How pitiful."

Iver sighed, "You know absolutely nothing about any of this."

Bishop Mathers had told Iver long ago that the Noble Red's sudden arrival on Glass Island was to seek or approach a "Sacred Entity." And if their goal was to obtain the Book of Law... then it could be said that this prophecy was quite accurate.

The Book of Law does indeed contain the power to change the world.

Obtaining it grants access to the "Ouroboros Ring" ritual. Furthermore, with a bit of luck, it might even lead to the discovery of the profession of Great Sin Scholar and other rituals.

Those rituals were all bestowed upon him, the "Prophet" Jacob, by the Ring Angel. Rituals that were too weak were not worthy of being included in this grimoire, which concealed the conditions for becoming the "Great Beast Master."

"You originally had a chance."

Iver scoffed, "But you missed out."

Giants and humans are not of the same race. Giants are the offspring of the Supreme Heaven, while humans are descendants of Constant Self and the Serpent Father. In other words, the use of humans as ritual materials by giants does not trigger the sin of "Heavenly Sin."

Because they are not the same race.

The Giant Country, the Arctos Kingdom, perished far too early. Even if they wanted to use giants as ritual materials, they simply couldn't find any— Wolfram had long been a prisoner, and the Punishment Demon Cassiem had been wandering the wilderness of Avalon as a giant commoner for over a hundred years. If he could find other giants, he wouldn't be the only one seeking refuge with Wolfram.

They naturally meet the requirements for promotion to the Great Sin Scholar.

Just like the players.

Perhaps due to censorship, players are not allowed to use humans as materials for rituals. Therefore, players who are Demon Scholar cannot advance to become Demon Avatar, but can only advance to become Great Sin Scholar.

Wolfram, as Jacob's student, followed in his footsteps and made the same mistakes.

Grand Wizard has been promoted from Ritual Mage cannot understand this book.

Cassiem, who originally had a real chance of gaining the Book of Law's approval... instead evolved into Demon Avatar.

Demon Scholar who wishes to ascend to the status of Demon Avatar must commit a Heavenly Sin crime. Without this "unforgivable sin," one cannot gain the approval of the Fallen Angel.

In other words, in order to qualify for his promotion, Cassiem had to specifically seek out some body fragments from Wolfram as materials for his job change.

—And so, after going through countless hardships, Cassiem finally managed to advance to become Demon Avatar, thus missing out on the Book of Law.

Now, Wolfram doesn't even know what the Book of Law means. He also has no idea what a ridiculous role he and the Noble Red he commands play in this plan.

Thinking of this, Iver felt only dejected. "With such great power... I still can't break free from the shackles of fate."

"Then I'll free you from this predicament."

As he spoke, he raised the Book of Law in his hand.

The pages of the book flipped open on their own, stopping at the page with "The Hanged Man".

There is a record of a ritual that can only be performed on people who are bound and hung upside down.

"Please turn him upside down."

Iver pleaded with Merlin.

"Oh?"

Merlin asked with great interest, "Like the ' Hanged Man ' in the Tarot Card?"

He suddenly remembered something and became interested.

"Yes."

Iver replied.

Merlin then gripped his staff, and the Giant King was spun around and suspended upside down in the air by chains.

He glared fiercely at Iver, clearly knowing what was about to happen.

Iver simply said calmly, "Didn't you want the power of the Book of Law? Then I'll give it to you."

The Grand Wizard is not easy to kill.

Once killed, there is a possibility of resurrection or reincarnation—even with Merlin watching over things, Merlin is not necessarily absolutely reliable.

Furthermore, Iver was unsure whether Wolfram, after his death, would be recruited as an apostle by Bear Angel.

Wolfram's desire for the Book of Law is likely driven by a desire to alleviate Bear Angel's predicament... and faced with such a rare loyal subject, who may even be the last loyal subject in the Material Realm, Bear Angel might be willing to share some of his power with him, thus preserving his soul.

That would be too dangerous.

He knows too much about himself. And as an apostle, he is far too powerful—even the Grand Guardian could potentially die from his revenge.

—To kill him, we must annihilate both his body and soul.