Frequent Killers Know Best

In Iver's right eye, countless white dots of light appeared on Cardinal Loki's corpse, flowing towards Iver like a surging river.

[Defeat Fifth Level Transcendent and gain 1500 Free Experience]

A familiar, long-lost reminder appeared before Iver's eyes, confirming that Cardinal Loki was indeed dead.

Since he took office Minister of Everything, he has not personally killed anyone for a long time.

But...

Is this a bit too little experience?

A hint of doubt arose in Iver's mind.

Giant Prince Wolfram, already has two thousand experience points. Cardinal Loki, as the former Patriarch of the Supreme Heaven, must be much higher in level.

... But it's unlikely that he didn't die.

So far, none of those whose experience points have been harvested by Iver have survived.

But Iver always felt that Cardinal Loki's death wasn't so simple.

Because Loki clearly saw himself at the end, yet he didn't attack—even if his attack might not kill Iver, given Viennes's personality, she would definitely defend herself. At that point, Loki might have a chance to retaliate or escape...

But he deliberately used a self-destruct Self-Destruct with a very long wind-up.

Isn't that just waiting to be interrupted?

Furthermore, he himself stated that he wanted to skip the fight because he couldn't defeat Iver. This implies that he at least knew of Viennes' existence as Sixth Level being.

Iver thought that if he dared to start a war, he would also bring out the "Perfect Man"—if it was a Perfect Man with the Dual Path Sixth Level, that was an enemy that even the Eternal Pope would have to fight hard. In that instance, it was basically the Eternal Pope and the Perfect Man exchanging various Light Cannon, but in essence, it was the Eternal Pope who killed the other, and the player was just there to assist... It was a performance-oriented instance.

Therefore, Iver took that ball of blood light very seriously—he retaliated the moment it attacked him.

But the other party was unexpectedly weak.

The fact that it could be sealed away by the Night Demon in an instant means that it is not at the Sixth Level at all.

... Wait a minute, speaking of which... what about that perfect person?

"Viennes, where is that blood-red light?"

Iver noticed that the previously sealed sphere had suddenly disappeared, so he immediately asked, "Did it just escape?"

"No, that's just a mirror image, much like the clone that the master projected."

The Night Demon shook its head slightly and uttered an ethereal voice. "After being attacked by the Master's Flame Butterfly, it quickly dissipated on its own."

"...I see."

Iver narrowed his eyes slightly and uttered the only answer, "Loki is courting death..."

As he told Iver, they were not enemies.

He had no fundamental conflict of interest with Iver, and killing Iver would bring him no benefit. Given Cardinal Loki's character, he had no reason to suddenly attack Iver... yet he did it anyway.

He attacked Iver in the hopes that Iver would kill him under the pretext of "Self-Defense".

But what does he want to do...?

Do you want to give up this identity?

However, he was indeed able to borrow the power of the Candle Masters through Advanced Divine Arts —which showed that he held a very high position among the Candle Masters, even higher than Iver, and that he was firmly on the Dedication Path.

With the help of the Candle Master's power, as Fifth Level, he was even able to exchange a few blows with Night Demon, who had received Iver's triple buff and was Great Sin Enhancement... Although he couldn't even hold out for a minute of Iver's invisibility, he at least put up some resistance.

He had no need to give up this identity.

"... Could I ask through prayer? Is Cardinal Loki really dead?" This thought popped into Iver's mind.

But he quickly dispersed it again.

Aside from apostles like Queen Sophia, who were already designated as apostles, it takes about a week for the Pillar God and celestial deities to select a person after their death. Leaving aside the fact that even if Cardinal Loki were truly dead, he might be drifting in some river right now... and given Cardinal Loki's position among the candle lords, Iver would most likely not get an answer from them through prayer.

"... Si Zhu actually trusts him so much."

"Iver murmured."

Although the position of the Candle Master cannot be viewed through the lens of human morality, His/Her contribution and fervor to the Path of Dedication are undeniable. The Celestial Flame Angel, Candle Heaven Holder, and Dawn Angel, among others, who Dedication Path, greatly respect the Candle Master, and the Candle Master reciprocates with great kindness towards them.

As is well known, the Candle Lord is a pillar Pillar God with a very strong tendency to protect his own, valuing his own apostles more than other deities in the Dedication Path, and valuing the Dedication Path more than other paths.

The same applies to spiritual practice, which Dedication Path to other professions. Only what one cherishes has meaning in being dedicated.

A person who doesn't love their family at all cannot complete spiritual practice by becoming a monk. Giving away a gift that one doesn't like can't be called an act of charity; at most, it's just making use of waste—and making use of waste is an act of Equilibrium Path.

Although Iver has not yet formally begun studying Advanced Divine Arts... the fact that Cardinal Loki was able to obtain the power of the Candle through Advanced Divine Arts indicates that Cardinal Loki's ultimate plan was personally certified by the Candle as an act of dedication.

In this way, Iver would have to examine Cardinal Loki's intentions.

According to Iver's speculation, Cardinal Loki is definitely not dead.

Previously, because Cardinal Loki's words sounded so sincere, and he even specifically said that "the last lie hidden in the truth is the only one that makes sense," Iver subconsciously believed Loki's words.

But looking back now...

Which of the things he said were true and which were false?

What is certain is that he stole the Tears of Time and intended to murder the Saintess —needless of mentioning Freya, this crime alone is enough to warrant a death sentence. And this should be easily verifiable.

In other words, at least from an outsider's perspective... the logical chain of Iver confronting Cardinal Loki, Cardinal Loki's fatal secret being exposed leading him to attempt to kill Iver, Iver's Self-Defense resulting in the killing of Cardinal Loki, is complete.

Of all those stories, the one that Iver found the most unbelievable was the one about the Child of the Moon Saint, who was in the state of "perfect man".

Others may not know, but Iver happens to know how a perfect person changes their class—because humanity is the path of transcendence and love, so a perfect person must reach the peak on these two paths, which is the Sixth Level.

The statement that "drinking the blood of the Saintess can create a perfect person" was said by Viennes this morning.

Loki had just said exactly that sentence.

Could this be a secret he just overheard, and he had no idea about the secret of the perfect man?

So Iver asked Viennes to verify if she was just making this up—if she was, then everything would make sense.

Unfortunately, Viennes shook his head.

She explained, "There is indeed such a claim... although it is mostly spread as a rumor and ridiculed. Since no 'perfect person' has ever been born among the Child of the Moon, I don't know who started this claim."

Iver stared at Cardinal Loki's corpse, lost in thought.

Even if Cardinal Loki could steal the power of the Child of the Moon, even if he, as Inheritors of the ancients, had many paths to follow...

So at most, he would give the power of the giants to Bram, and then cut out love and transcendence to become the perfect egg, leaving himself only with dedication and adaptation—assuming he has the adaptability of the five paths! But there is still one problem.

... What is his rank?

Adaptability may lead someone down this path, and they may go quite far... but reaching any path still requires a great deal of learning and practice. For him, adaptation and dedication can be considered things that can be learned—however, love and transcendence are simply impossible for him to practice in his capacity, otherwise they would certainly be discovered.

In other words, the other self that he split off... even if it was a substitute, it would be impossible for him to possess the power of a "perfect person".

Because his Path of Love and the level of Path of Transcendence are necessarily not high.

Could it be... that he simply created a clone of the Child of the Moon for himself, wanting to give up his position as Cardinal Bishop and become the Child of the Moon?

... Then why bother?

Just then, Viennes suddenly transformed into a raven and perched on Iver's shoulder.

The surrounding darkness was once again replaced by the bright morning sunlight, and the strange, crimson mirrors returned to their original state. However, the mirrors remained shattered, and apart from Cardinal Loki's corpse still lying before Iver, everything seemed like an illusion.

" —Iver!"

Yanis rushed in.

She was teleported directly into a religious painting in the Eleventh Ring —and was startled when she jumped out.

Because the entire Eleventh Ring was like a demonic realm.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, and utter darkness reigned. Every mirror was covered in a dense mass of bloodshot red eyes, and every spirit was pinned to the spot by countless shadowy hands. Only wailing, roars, and screams could be heard; the entire Eleventh Ring had descended into chaos.

Yanis tried to turn those shadowy hands into ink to help her people break free of their restraints, but she was shocked to find that she couldn't dispel them.

... Could this be the power of the Sixth Level? But the next moment, those things vanished as if they were illusions. Only the elven priests, with black handprints emanating a chilling aura on their bodies, remained frozen in place, their bodies stiff and unable to move.

So Yanis grabbed her paintbrush with her right hand and rushed in without hesitation.

—I was stunned when I walked in.

She had initially thought that was Cardinal Loki's ultimate attack outside... but unexpectedly, it turned out to be Iver standing there.

"Uh, would this be considered... an attack or assassination of Cardinal Bishop?"

Yanis paused, then asked hesitantly, "Do you want me to help you dispose of the body?"

"I was Self-Defense, and he committed a crime punishable by death—I found evidence, so he tried to silence me."

Iver explained.

"Okay, I believe you."

Yanis answered without hesitation.

She glanced at the raven perched on Iver's shoulder and asked hesitantly, "Should we take her back? Should we deal with the body a little...? Sorry, I'm not really sure what to do right now..."

"It's okay, I'm more professional."

Iver shook his head and replied smoothly, "Don't change anything—just leave the scene as it is and wait for Pure White to arrive."

Anyone who has committed murder knows that trying to clean up a murder scene only makes one appear more guilty.

Yanis sensed Iver's professionalism and nodded repeatedly.

But she still frowned. "No matter what... he is the leader of the Controlled Fire, and Cardinal Bishop. Many elves possess Advanced Divine Arts and resonate with great beings. But only by resonating with at least one Pillar God can one become Cardinal Bishop..."

"Cardinal Bishop are already on edge. If Cardinal Loki dies, those Controlled Fire ... I think the Theocracy will definitely descend into massive chaos."

"Because there are already not enough Cardinal Bishop, there's simply no way to spare one more to take over the Eleventh Ring. Advanced Divine Arts are difficult to master, and gaining the approval of the Pillar God is even harder. Without Cardinal, the Central Observatory's system simply cannot function..."

Upon hearing this, Iver raised an eyebrow slightly.

This means that... now that Cardinal Loki is dead, the entire Theocracy's surveillance system has been destroyed by Iver.

If those Controlled Fire want to cause trouble—they will definitely make their move on March 3rd, during the Pope inauguration ceremony.

... Could this also First Ring of Loki's plan? The thought flashed through Iver's mind.

but...

He suddenly asked, "For Cardinal Bishop, which condition is more important: reaching the Fifth Level, or using Advanced Divine Arts to resonate with the Pillar God?"

"I think they're both important. I don't know, why don't you ask Pure White... wait?"

Yanis replied casually, then her eyes widened immediately as she realized what Iver meant. "Would you like to give it a try, Iver?"

"Why not give it a try?"

Iver asked in return.

Although there are no human Cardinal Bishop to date... there are other races among them.

Cardinal Loki himself is the best example.

If Loki can be Cardinal Bishop, then why can't Iver?