Necessary Evil, Controlled Fire

Iver narrowed his eyes slightly, his right hand behind his back as he looked at Cardinal Loki.

At the same time, Viennes on his shoulder also narrowed his scarlet pupils.

Cardinal Loki glanced at Viennes, a slight smile playing on his lips, still bearing the marks of stitches. "You're not exactly an honest man either... I suppose you're worthy of Moriarty's name? That wicked surname..."

What do you even know?

"A lot of."

Cardinal Loki replied, "I know most of the secrets in this world, even more than you can imagine."

"Iver... I reiterate, I do not wish to be your enemy. I know that if I fight you, I may be utterly destroyed, so let's skip this step... Just ask me whatever you want to know. I will answer any question."

"For example... the fact that you, as a fragment of the Ring Angel, were recreated by your 'grandfather' Jacob."

—This is different from how others refer to Iver.

It is not a vague "Sacred Entity," but rather refers to a very clear "fragment of the Ring Angel."

Iver's heart sank slightly.

When Iver was nearly possessed by the Ring Angel during the previous Promotion Ritual, he was already quite certain that he had an extremely close relationship with the Ring Angel. Now, he was simply confirming this conjecture from a third-party perspective.

"... You haven't answered my question yet."

Iver was silent for a moment, then looked at Cardinal Loki again. "What... what did he learn from you?"

Upon hearing this, Loki's smile gradually faded.

His gradient hair, which reminded Iver of a gas stove flame, suddenly began to move on its own without any wind. The solidified, stagnant flame texture began to burn again.

Loki said slowly, "He inherited my most important secret technique from me—my Observation Secret Rite."

"... Stargazing?"

Iver murmured, "Astrology Path of Adaptation?"

He remembered that Professor James had written several papers on astrology when he was very young.

His talent in mathematics and astrology was so great that Iver once thought he was a transcendent being with exceptional wisdom and Path of Adaptation. Given his youthful fervor for astrology, it was quite reasonable for him to travel to the Theocracy to study more advanced knowledge.

"That is the Original Codex of astrology, the method of observation born when the Second Sun shattered. Many of the secrets I know were told to me by the stars."

"—The stars told me that I would meet my destiny's successor on that day. Then I met James Moriarty was studying there."

"At that time, he was about the same age as you, maybe a few years older. Before that, he had never been Path of Adaptation, and he wasn't even a superhuman yet. But as Xingxing said, he was very smart and learned very quickly... He studied with me for three years and mastered the essence."

"He learned astrology from me and often stands here with me to observe the Theocracy. Although he is not an elf and has no worries about the amber, he is also enthusiastic in helping others and preaching the Controlled Fire with my followers."

"It sounds like there's no problem," Iver interjected.

Cardinal Loki replied, "The problem is that for a Short-lived Races ... he has too many secrets, and they weigh too heavily on him. His worries are far beyond his capabilities. But that's alright... as an astrologer, you see too much and do too little; one day you'll get used to it."

"But he didn't."

"Yes, but he didn't. The more secrets he saw, the more he wanted to interfere in the world. He read many books in the Thirteenth Ring and visited many teachers. He extended his original one-year study abroad period to four years... Only after seeking true knowledge did he return to the Royal Law University Avalon to complete his remaining studies."

"At least at that time, I only thought he would bring about change in Avalon."

Cardinal Loki's voice was rational and calm, as calm as reading a script, without any anger or even a ripple.

"He was only twenty-four years old when he left me. At that time, he was full of enthusiasm, passion, and a voracious reader, eager to start his own business. I didn't hear from him again until twenty years later."

"—As far as I know, it was that witch named Anna Kingsford who changed him."

Cardinal Loki was very generous in sharing secrets.

This might be because he wanted to show goodwill to Iver, or it might be a common trait among astrologers—because they know far more than they need to know, they can talk endlessly once they start.

This was undoubtedly intelligence that Iver simply could not obtain.

Loki's words corroborated the information Iver already possessed— Moriarty's extreme concept of "Premature Death and Necessary Evil" was indeed inherited from the Controlled Fire.

But judging from Loki's words... he seemed to have absolutely no idea that there was anything wrong with his ideas.

"... You said he was chasing you, and you would be unable to control your own destiny."

"Yes."

"Your involuntary actions are meant to lead you to steal Freya's secret medicine?"

Iver questioned.

Regardless of whether Loki is the culprit or not, as the old man in the monitoring room, he must know who stole the "Tears of Time".

Surprisingly, Loki didn't try to deny it or lie; instead, he readily admitted, "Indeed."

"... Is this also First Ring of the ' Necessary Evil '? In order to be elected Pope, he intended to use the Tears of Time, or even murder bishops, to force Saintess Ningpo?"

"So that's what you were thinking."

Upon hearing this, Loki suddenly laughed, "This shows you don't understand me."

"I have absolutely no interest in the Pope. All Cardinal are Shepherd; what meaning does the title of head Shepherd have?"

"Don't you deny the attack on pure white?"

"Iver asked."

Loki smiled slightly, nodded gently, and did not respond.

Iver pressed on, "Then what is your purpose? Or rather, if you do succeed as Pope —what do you intend to do? If you truly don't intend to be my enemy, then you should be able to tell me the answer to 'what I intend to do.' You said you would answer any question."

" —Controlled Fire".

Cardinal Loki answered without hesitation, "I will promote Controlled Fire to save the Eternal Theocracy; I will sever the lineage of the Elves so that they may be reborn."

"As you know, the elves' immortality comes from Ningpo's curse; if Ningpo is truly cured, the elves will lose their long lifespan, the Eternal Theocracy will fall into chaos and eventually perish with the passage of time, and the Nine Pillars God Church will lose its foundation. I knew about this much earlier than Freya, much earlier than anyone else... When I became an elf, I already knew the source of the elves' immortality."

"Although the name of the Eternal Theocracy itself comes from the lineage of the Eternal Saintess rather than the Pope, I would prefer that the Nine Pillars God Church to survive in the end rather than the Theocracy."

Cardinal Loki answered slowly, word by word. "For it was the candle keeper who forgave my sins, not the giant tree; it was the candle keeper who gave me new life, not the Pope."

"I am a believer in the Candlelight, not the son of the Great Tree and the Spirit Amber. What the spirits are like, what the Great Tree is like, is none of my concern. I walk only my own path."

"... You prefer the Theocracy to the Theocracy; and you prefer the Theocracy to the Theocracy. Is that what you mean?"

Iver understood.

Loki didn't need to lie—he was indeed Fifth Level devotee, and his will was unwavering.

He serves only the survival and interests of the Nine Pillars God Church... while the Eternal Saintess is the core lineage of the Eternal Theocracy, passed down through generations and succeeding to the position of Pope. In other words, these Pope are always independent of the Church system.

What Loki wanted was not "to become Pope himself," but "to prevent the Saintess from becoming Pope."

He knew the principles behind amber formation, and therefore knew it was incurable and could not be cured; the solution to alleviate amber formation was "Controlled Fire"... He also knew that severing the lineage could not cure amber formation, but could only reduce its probability. But that was the effect he wanted.

— To contain the flames that can produce light but also burn humans.

This flame is the "Amber Curse" itself.

This is Loki's path of sacrifice—to ensure the survival of the Church and the Theocracy by allowing the destined-to-be-amber elves to die early so as not to affect others.

This is exactly...

Premature Death.