"Moriarty Style"

When one is elevated to the Cardinal Bishop, one is no longer required to wear the prescribed colors and styles of clothing as ordinary bishops and archbishops.

Although Iver has not yet fully mastered the Advanced Divine Arts, the two most difficult steps have now been completed: his body is ready, and the Lord of Scales and Feathers has completed the preliminary arrangements—the crack in the gem on Iver's chest is proof of his power.

To use an analogy, the first step is like laying network cables in a residential area and pre-installing them in the house. The second step is like bringing over the optical modem and other equipment and setting them up. Now, all that's needed is to pay the fee and wait for the Lord of Scales and Feathers's switchboard to confirm the permissions, and the network will be operational.

Now that we've come this far, it's about time to start preparing the clothes. After all, ordering custom-made clothes takes time.

The location, shape, and size of the stigmata—or "stigmas"—on each Cardinal Bishop are different.

Moreover, not all forms of sin have this strange crystallization... at least Cardinal Matilda did not.

"What is the specific significance of this crystallization?"

Before confirming the color, Iver asked Cyril Cardinal, "I do not possess the adaptability to the Path of Adaptation, but the Lord of Scales and Feathers bestowed this gem upon me..."

He initially thought it was an externally inlaid gemstone decoration, never expecting it to actually be growing on his skin.

Is this considered a type of localized amber crystal? "It's precisely because you lack the ability to adapt that we've provided you with a Path Crystal."

Cyril Cardinal shook his head. "Power cannot appear out of thin air; it must have a carrier. Incompatible Path Power, once stored in the body, will disturb one's mind and may even lead to loss of control and madness... Those degraded versions of Advanced Divine Arts are prone to madness or loss of control after 'invoking the gods,' which is because they lack this configuration."

"When you use divine magic to pray to paths you don't understand, the power descends through ritual. While Advanced Divine Arts omits this step, it still requires a process... Even if the will of the Lord of Scales and Feathers descends into your body, you still lack the power to adapt. Are you suggesting that we guide the power of adaptation into your body? That's impossible."

"...I see."

Iver understood a little.

After all, in the original story, Master Agnes went mad because of the abnormal Path Power that did not belong to her.

She even possessed the innate talent and adaptability for the Path of Twilight, but lacked the corresponding level and still lost control when introduced. The "Path Crystal" configured with Advanced Divine Arts was precisely to prevent this from happening.

A strange association came to Iver—

If that's the case, then wouldn't I have become the humanoid staff of the Lord of Scales and Feathers?

Instead of channeling the power of adaptation into Iver's body, the Lord of Scales and Feathers directly transferred it into this Path Crystal. When the Lord of Scales and Feathers descends, he will activate his authority to draw power from it, and then transfer the power back in after using it.

That Path Crystal is simply a vessel for carrying power, like a gemstone inlaid at the tip of a staff.

"Cardinal Matilda and I, for example, directly draw power through our own bodies. This is because our Advanced Divine Arts are compatible with the path we have mastered, and we do not use power beyond our own capacity."

Cyril Cardinal added.

As he spoke, he briefly opened his clasped hands and turned them upside down to show them to Iver.

His marks of sin were on the palms of his hands, since they were not covered by the Cardinal Bishop's robes and there were no openwork areas on his body.

Upon hearing this, Iver realized something. "Aren't there too many people like me?"

"There aren't many. So do you want green? But as far as I know, there is one Cardinal who wears green... It's best to stagger them to increase visibility."

Cyril Cardinal clasped his hands together again, resuming his previous composed and contented posture.

"No, I'll use black."

After thinking carefully for a moment and recalling the appearance of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, Iver answered decisively.

The Lord of Scales and Feathers wore a black suit, and the River of Survival was also pitch black. Although it was unclear why He chose Grandmother as the symbolic gemstone to Path of Adaptation... Iver believed that black was closer to the essence of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

Everyone was dressed in all black; that's our company uniform!

The old elf was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, pondering, "Mainly black? That's quite unusual..."

Iver was a little puzzled. "Is it rare? I think black goes with everything."

"Because the Sin Thorn is black. Black clothes don't really show off the Sin Thorn."

"... Then, let's decorate it with gold patterns on a black base... or platinum gold will also work. Just like my hair."

Iver made a rather rough request from the client. "I remember it should be that the sin thorns on my body need to be exposed? But the position is on my chest, so I hope that the exposed part is not too large... and preferably not to affect vigorous movement."

As he spoke, he removed a few strands of his hair.

The wind blew automatically, lifting the hair that Iver was holding and carrying it into the corner.

An exquisite box in the corner of the room opened automatically, and closed again after Iver's hair fell into it.

"How long will it take?"

"I'll urge the tailor to finish as soon as possible. It should be ready in three or four days. Anyway, it will definitely arrive before March 2nd at the latest... It won't delay your appointment Cardinal Bishop."

Cyril Cardinal gave a definitive answer.

The old elf asked with some curiosity, "What was your test?"

"A Promotion Ritual with increased difficulty... Is this considered easy or difficult?"

"It's already very good, or rather, excellent. The main requirement is clarity, and it's not too troublesome."

Cyril Cardinal smiled wryly, "When I made the contract with the Serpent Father, Serpent Father asked me to 'surpass my former self seven times.' To complete this task, I traveled the world for seventy years before finally fulfilling the requirement. I was even summoned into a dream by the Serpent Father, and only then did I realize that I had completed the task... I had no idea which seven times I had surpassed; the task left me completely bewildered."

"The requirements that the Candle Master gave me were clearer. He asked me to help others and receive their gratitude three thousand times. At first, I was seriously calculating the number of times, thinking about how many more I had to do each day... I was very anxious at that time."

"But later I suddenly had an epiphany—there was no need to keep records at all, just live a normal life. I also enjoy helping others. So I simply threw away my notebook... After I had forgotten exactly how many decades had passed, I suddenly gained the approval of the Candle Master."

"... It all sounds so long."

"No, there are also shorter ones... for example, Cardinal Matilda, and former Cardinal Loki."

"When Cardinal Matilda signed her contract with Amber, the condition Amber gave her was that she 'carve inscriptions and biographies for amber connoisseurs.' So she went to learn about the lives of those amber connoisseurs, and when she finished carving the ninth one, Amber approved it."

"And former Cardinal Loki... well, this should have been a secret, but now it can be discussed."

Cyril Cardinal said meaningfully, "At that time, the Giant Kingdom of Arctos had already been defeated, and the Silver Crowned Dragon had not yet ascended to the position of Pillar God. Loki was able to survive because he had contacted the Theocracy and betrayed Arctos long before the city fell."

"But in the early stages of the war, he was still a core force of Arctos as the ' Wildfire Giant.' He killed many humans and many elves... He also ate humans and even more elves. Although he had merits, he had more sins. Although he had the power of the Dedication Path, he also had the power of the Path of Strength."

"So the Candle Master gave him a chance—to stand on the altar that could continuously heal him, to turn his sins into sin thorns, and to ignite them with his own 'wildfire'."

"Every second he would suffer the same pain as being Burning at the Stake, and each execution would be carried out by his own will. If his Heart of Dedication wavered even once, the altar would not heal him, he would die completely, and his soul would cease to exist."

"Loki accepted the trial. At that time, I saw with my own eyes that a large number of sin thorns grew on Loki's body. He stood in place and repeatedly scorched the sin thorns with the power of wildfire. His body melted and collapsed from Sky-Reaching Giant of more than ten meters to less than three meters."

"In just three hours, he was essentially dead and resurrected 10,800 times... and he lit the Burning at the Stake himself every single time he was burned at the stake. Yet he never harbored any resentment during any of these executions."

"So I forgave him, and the Candle Master forgave him. I think the other witnesses felt the same way; everyone trusted Loki completely. He was completely freed from his giant form and was reborn through the Candle Master's healing. The rage that accompanied his giant blood was thus sealed away."

That was truly "willing to die ten thousand times over".

This is why Cardinal Loki was able to gain the trust of the Candlelight Masters and become Cardinal of the Eleventh Floor.

A sense of doubt immediately arose in Iver's mind—

Is this really some kind of acting? If it's just a performance, can it be done with such sincerity?

The fire tempers the heart...

Even Iver himself wouldn't dare undertake a trial of that magnitude. He truly dared not gamble that he would remain unmoved. And under the watchful eye of the Candle Master, there was clearly no room for cheating.

This elven blood comes from the approval of the Candle Master.

This is not merely the death of the old and the rebirth of the new, but also an honor.

Would such a person really give up this glory for the power of being a "perfect person"?

Or is his death now also part of "sacrifice and atonement"?

If we think about it from this perspective, what did his death bring about?

Iver fell into deep thought.

The Pure White Saintess will no longer be targeted by the Controlled Fire; Cardinal Loki has gained the power of a perfect man; the Theocracy may not split or Civil War again; Iver has gained the experience needed to master Advanced Divine Arts; and the position of Cardinal Bishop in the Eleventh Ring is vacant...

He gradually opened his eyes wider.

"—Things will eventually end peacefully in the [Moriarty Style]."

In his memory, Freya's voice faintly echoed in Iver's ears.

Iver had been wondering whether this "Moriarty Style" referred to the professor or Iver...

But now he realized... they actually had something in common. Both his adoptive father and Iver's planning style tended to "benefit everyone," making people genuinely work for themselves. It's just that the residual effects of this event would benefit either Iver or Professor Moriarty.

Now, Cardinal Loki's death has benefited everyone—

If Iver's ambition to become Cardinal Bishop is part of Cardinal Loki's plan, then his plan must extend beyond this step.

He wanted to install Cardinal Bishop as Pope to disrupt the close ties between the Eternal Theocracy and the Nine Pillars God Church ... which would inevitably provoke fierce resistance from the Saintess. This was because the Saintess would not allow any Cardinal Bishop to control the Theocracy; they were too extreme and would cause the Theocracy to lose its neutrality.

But what if... Iver were put in that position?

The position of the Eternal Pope!