Professor Moriarty's Teacher

Freya perked up immediately upon discovering the crucial information. "Wait, so... you and... Father are still in frequent contact?"

"Yes, Miss. The master often comes to see me to talk about what he's been up to lately. I've also told him that he can ask me to do anything he needs. Although I'm old, I'm not so old that I can't move."

Oswald said seriously, "The master said that Cardinal Loki stole something 'that he shouldn't have touched'..."

Upon hearing this, Freya and Lily exchanged a glance instinctively.

"...Then what?"

Freya pressed for an answer.

"If this is what Miss wants to investigate, then there's no need to continue the investigation."

Oswald replied, "The master is already handling it, and things will eventually end peacefully in the ' Moriarty Style.' After all, they were master and apprentice..."

"—Wait, master and disciple?"

Freya was somewhat surprised to hear such unexpected information, so she interrupted Oswald directly, "Father... is he in a master-disciple relationship with Cardinal Loki?"

"Doesn't the young lady know about this?"

Oswald was also somewhat surprised. "I thought you knew."

"That's right. When he was young, the master came to the Theocracy to study astrology. His mentor back then was Cardinal Loki."

On the other side, Iver had already gotten up.

The reason why Iver on going to see Loki the next day was because he had great respect for Loki.

Originally, it was the Paradox Flame Butterfly Lia who followed Iver —although she never made a move, she was always hidden in Iver's sleeve.

After all, summoning a large beast on the spot is a bit too slow for high-level battles.

The best thing about the Paradox Flame Butterfly is its stealth.

The "Flame Butterfly" in its travel form will not emit flames if it remains still. It only ignites when it is in flight... otherwise, it should resemble a ruby or a fiery red maple leaf.

Although in the original storyline, Cardinal Loki was the first to die, and from the perspective of the beneficiaries, it shouldn't have been him; and now, all kinds of intelligence clues are pointing to him in great detail and with great precision, it seems like a dark hand is framing him.

—However, the trolls are a key element.

Using the kidnapping of Old Rabbihe by Bram, Iver led the trolls to Cardinal Loki. However, Cardinal Loki clearly refused to help Iver find his people and warned Iver that he was being watched—and indeed, Iver was being watched, and that person was Bram.

Bram's act of stealing the "Wildfire Giant" form, which is beyond his level, implies that he voluntarily gave it his own life essence; the Wildfire Giant is also a native boss in the Theocracy version...

And most importantly... in the original storyline, Iver did not annihilate the Noble Red, and therefore did not provoke Bear Angel, and Bram did not come to the Theocracy to "hunt him down".

Therefore, Bram must have made contact with someone after arriving in the Theocracy and stolen that person's giant blood.

In addition, both Saintess and Cardinal Matilda were vague about Cardinal Loki's "secret"; and the weight of that secret was roughly on the same level as that of Saintess Nymph.

Iver immediately made a bold conjecture—

Cardinal Loki is none other than Wildfire Giant Utgarda-Loki!

Once this speculation arose, Iver immediately felt that the name "Utgarda-Loki" was very similar to Cardinal Loki: the last part of it sounded very close to "Loki".

"Loki" is pronounced in Elven Language, clear, elastic, and vibrant; while "Utgarda-Loki" is in Giant Language, more subdued and indistinct. If you pronounce "Utgarda-Loki" in Elven Language, it will also end in Loki.

—If we calculate it this way, Cardinal Loki probably didn't die at all! He faked his death to escape and then transformed into the Wildfire Giant Utgarda-Loki! Although Utgarda-Loki inexplicably lost his sanity, it's not surprising for a giant to lose his mind; and thinking about it more carefully, Cardinal Loki's concept of "Controlled Fire" is very similar to Professor Moriarty's "Premature Death"...

So last night, Iver switched to his Great Sin Beast.

The saying goes, "When things are going well, Viennes is good; when things are going well, the Little Butterfly is good..." But now we've reached the stage where "things are going well."

He summoned the Book of Law and used the "Card Fusion" – an equipment effect called [Great Sin Enhancement] – which he hadn't used in a long time.

He used all the cards associated with Night Demon—"Death" from "Earthbound Spirit," "Moon" from "Shadow Blade," "Wheel of Fortune" from "Thunder Strike Halberd," and "Lust" from "Bewitching Aura"—to Card Fusion. They transformed into streaks of light, swirling and flying into the clear, deep black crystal-like card.

Viennes the Night Demon, with a 20% boost to all attributes, has been summoned by Iver after a long absence! In the event of battle, Viennes, now fully empowered and enhanced by Iver, should at least be able to protect Iver. Now, after a good night's sleep, Iver's mana and card cooldowns have also been fully restored.

Not to mention, Iver's [Dissolving Soul] trait allows Iver to cast blessings of "medium" scale or smaller without needing a ritual. With a 20% increase in stats, and Viennes absorbing three of Iver's buffs, defeating Loki in a short time is definitely not a problem!

Iver even thought that if the Eternal Pope hadn't used Advanced Divine Arts to have a powerful figure log in and fight on his behalf, perhaps Viennes could have fought the Eternal Pope head-on.

"Viennes".

Iver called out softly, and the crow that had been quietly perched in the corner of the room suddenly opened its blood-red eyes.

It fluttered up and landed on Iver's shoulder.

Then, Iver picked up his scepter and carefully blessed the Little Crow with three blessings: "Strong," "Bloodsucking," and "Heroism."

The Pure White Saintess only needs to summon a ray of light with a wave of her hand, while Iver needs to stack three layers of buffs to achieve the same effect... and the numerical values are likely to be much lower.

"... The legacy of the Eternal Saintess is truly powerful."

Iver remarked.

"Really."

In her raven form, Viennes spoke in a melodious, dreamlike voice. "During the Imperial era, a legend circulated among the Child of the Moon... It is said that if Child of the Moon is fortunate enough to absorb the blood of the Eternal Saintess, they may even have the chance to become a 'Perfect Person'."

"... A perfect person?"

Iver paused for a moment. "The 'perfect person' who surpassed and reached the Sixth Level of energy?"

It wasn't that he hadn't heard the word before... it was that he was all too familiar with it.

"My great master, you have even heard of this secret that exists only within the Child of the Moon?"

Viennes exclaimed, "You are practically an all-knowing lord!"

"You mean, a Perfected Person needs the blood of Saintess to become a Perfected Person; or that Child of the Moon who drinks the blood of Saintess might become a Perfected Person?"

Iver pressed on.

"How would I know... it's just a legend. I even suspect that someone is spreading rumors to make the brainless Child of the Moon attack the Candidate Saintess, thereby provoking the wrath of the Theocracy and using the opportunity to destroy the Child of the Moon. What do you think, isn't my speculation more reasonable?"

Viennes spread his wings.

To be honest, that's how it is.

—If Iver hadn't known that a "perfect" BOSS would actually appear in Version 2.0 of the Theocracy.

Iver secretly kept this information in mind, and then, with Viennes disguised as a raven pet, he boarded the elevator and headed to the Eleventh Ring where Cardinal Loki was located.

Unexpectedly, Cardinal Loki seemed to have known all along that Iver was coming to see him.

He specifically sought out guides to wait for Iver, who then led Iver to him in turn, step by step.

"You've arrived."

Loki's voice came through clearly, even though his back was to Iver.

"I asked you to leave before, Iver Moriarty. You should understand... that was my way of showing you goodwill. The implication was that I didn't intend to stand with Bear Angel."

Loki turned to Iver and emphasized, "I am not your enemy, Iver. But I knew you would come today... with murderous intent."

"I know what you're trying to say—I know far more than you can imagine."

He said calmly and seriously, "Your father, James Moriarty, was my student. That's why I specifically address you by your full name, simply because you are a Moriarty."

"'My past is chasing me, and I will be powerless to control myself'... Do you remember what I said yesterday?"

Cardinal Loki said, word by word, "I'm not talking about the Supreme Heaven, nor the Bear Angel. He does possess brute strength, but that's all."

"'My past'—refers to James Moriarty. My enemy, and also... your enemy."

"My rebellious and crazy student."