The Key to Breaking the Deadlock

After bidding farewell to Cyril Cardinal, Iver returned to the Fifth Ring.

On the way, Iver fell into deep thought.

—What flashed through his mind earlier was probably not wishful thinking.

He isolated each event and deduced the nature of each faction solely from the scenario of "if Iver ascends to the Pope".

Suddenly, Iver felt a sense of clarity.

The tangled, chaotic clues that had formed a tight knot immediately became clear.

Pure White is now a crystallized amber, and her role as Pope could easily lead to trouble; whether it's scandal or danger, it's a risk the Theocracy cannot afford. Freya's research on the crystallized amber is also due to her guilt for revealing the "Tears of Time," forcing her to advance public technology as atonement.

This will undoubtedly prolong the time it takes for Pure White to heal Ning Po... In other words, Pure White actually has no intention of healing Ning Po before March 3rd.

As a human, Iver has no real power to command the Theocracy, which is dominated by elves; he also has no connections within the church and therefore cannot command it either... so nothing will change in any substantial way.

Meanwhile, the fact that no Cardinal Bishop has ascended to the throne means that the Cardinal Bishop whose views conflict with his, as well as the Pure White Saintess, can at least accept this "moderate" outcome; the Controlled Fire has achieved their goal—preventing the Saintess from controlling the Theocracy generation after generation and weakening the Saintess's influence; the Nine Pillars God Church, which has a high proportion of Short-lived Races, will also be excited because they have a Short-lived Races Pope.

Meanwhile, the Stibnite Person would be satisfied because, as Pope Iver, in order to maintain the neutrality of the Theocracy, he would stop Avalon's endless air raids on Star Antimony's capital and important cities as soon as possible, otherwise the Theocracy might be dragged into a quagmire as well. The Iris People would also be relatively satisfied because with Iver, the Avalon Pope, watching over them, Star Antimony would not dare to take the opportunity to launch a war against them, and the Iris People just like to watch the fun. As for the Avalon themselves, needless to say.

As for the other races... the goblins will be satisfied, because they have just negotiated a big deal with Iver; even the dwarves will be satisfied, because the leader of the Elven kingdom has become human, which is a huge surprise to them; the trolls will also be satisfied, because Iver has relayed Old Rabbihe's goodwill to Isabel, and Avalon is about to intervene in the Southern Continent's progress.

The Cardinal Bishop will later learn that Iver instantly mastered Advanced Divine Arts and that he was able to produce the "Sin Thorns Fruit" to alleviate the pain of the condensed amber.

This holds special significance for the elves. The more old-fashioned they are, the more they need to value Iver —because the more old-fashioned they are, the more likely they and those around them are to become stagnant. They need to bind Iver to the Chariot of the Theocracy, or at least ensure that Iver leaves behind a profession or legacy.

Iver considered it carefully.

As a result, the "human Pope," a seemingly serious "exception" that severely undermines tradition, ultimately did not encounter any obstruction from any force.

Even Iver himself gained Advanced Divine Arts, learned his true identity, and clarified his path and dangers because of the experience "given" by Cardinal Loki; Lily grasped the future of the Silken Grimoire because of Cardinal Loki's enlightenment; Freya also learned that if the research on the Elixir of Immortality and the Tears of Time continued, it would lead to her death because of Cardinal Loki's death.

If Iver could obtain the Pope's crown—even if only temporarily—he would have the confidence to confront Bear Angel or the Fallen Angel as Fifth Level!

The internal conflicts within Star Antimony are now far more severe than in the "game version," making it highly likely that the Fallen Angel will arrive ahead of schedule.

Freya will be able to complete her atonement in a maximum of three months, after which she can study Iver's "Sin Thorns Fruit".

With this sample, Iver estimates he'll achieve a breakthrough in just a few months... and Iver himself will also be producing new fruit during this time. At most, it should take three months.

In other words... at most six months later, the Pure White Saintess will heal Ningpo and be able to reclaim the [Most Holy Crown], freeing Iver from that position. At the very least, simply bringing down and eliminating Amber Angel would also solve Ningpo's problem.

Then Iver won't have to sit on that Golden Toilet for the rest of his life... but can return to Avalon.

If he's lucky, he might not even miss Isabel's coronation—and if he could, Iver wouldn't want to miss it.

—The result is that this event, surprisingly, perfectly aligns with everyone's interests! This is exactly the Moriarty Style ending that "satisfies everyone"!... Except for Bram Stoker.

That vampire writer was probably the only unlucky victim in this incident.

The sacrifice of just one villain brings joy to the whole world.

Isn't this exactly the "Necessary Evil" concept upheld by Professor Moriarty?

This is also a kind of "Moriarty Style".

The trigger that caused all these changes... came from Cardinal Loki's attack on Iver!

It comes from [The Death of Loki]! "... Truly worthy of being my adoptive father's mentor."

Iver sighed, realizing that he had initially underestimated him.

These seasoned veterans, with their deep-seated strategies, have been planning for a long time and have already secured all the advantages. It's like a game that has been running for a long time and has great depth; the veteran players have a much greater advantage than the novice players.

Fortunately, I have now made contact with the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

The goal is to directly change the world situation by creating the "Warrior" class! And to do that, Bear Angel must be eliminated! Iver reaffirmed his resolve.

The Lord of Scales and Feathers granted Iver the privilege of a solo ritual, so Iver did not need to rely on the power of the Constant Self to enter the dream, nor did he need to wait for the new moon or the full moon.

In other words, Iver can begin the ceremony tonight.

But Iver did not forget that the real purpose of this plan was to lure Bear Angel to attack him.

If he were to return and immediately begin the ritual, Bear Angel would immediately sense something was amiss—because this wouldn't be a normal ritual day, and the Lunar Eclipse Ritual requires the protection of the Pillar God. While this would simplify Iver's Promotion Ritual, it would also delay the creation of the "Warrior" class.

In order to avoid arousing Bear Angel's suspicion, Iver chose to lie low.

Like an assassin or a Hunter, he quietly waited for Bear Angel to lower his guard.

The specific time is the last day of this month.

The day the New Moon Ritual is held.

There are less than ten days left.

—Ten days later, we will launch a heavy attack on Bear Angel! As soon as Iver returned home, Lily greeted him immediately.

"Sherlock has replied."

Lily spoke softly, handing a letter to Iver.

As he took the letter, Iver looked at Lily with some surprise.

... Doesn't she usually call Sherlock "Mr. Hermes"? "How's your study of the * Ovum Moon Grimoire going?"

As he opened the letter, Iver casually asked a question.

Lily's lips curled up slightly.

She lazily propped herself up on the table, squinted her eyes, and gave Iver a charming smile, "Very smoothly... my master."

"Who are you calling 'master'? You rude little brat!"

A clear, ethereal voice, tinged with anger, rang out.

With a gust of black wind, a crow flew out of Iver's room and landed—almost bumping into Iver's shoulder.

Iver didn't take it with her when she went out this time. Night Demon was already a little angry, but when she heard Lily's address, she immediately flew into a rage.

"... You are, Selene?"

Iver also realized what was happening and remembered the name.

"Yes. If all goes well, we can separate at the end of the month."

Lily completely ignored the Night Demon, and looked at Iver with eager eyes. "On that day... I want to ask for Master's blood as a celebration."

"I don't have Shepherding Method now."

Iver reminded him.

Although he might reinstate the Shepherding Method after his promotion, we'll refuse for now.

After all, Lily isn't a phantom demon, not even if she splits. There's no need to waste her blood.

But Lily's reaction was beyond Iver's expectations. "I don't need your tending... all I want is my master's flesh and blood."

Her cheeks were flushed, and her pupils were dilated as if she were drunk.

She gently stroked her abdomen, looking earnestly at Iver: "With just a bit of your flesh and blood... I can hatch a ' Magic Creature ' that belongs to me... that belongs to us. This is the legacy of the 'Moon Witch,' the art of creation. After I inherited this name, this power also belongs to me."

"You..."

" —Viennes."

Just as Night Demon was about to unleash an even more vicious curse, Iver quietly interrupted him.

The Ovum Moon Grimoire is not about creating a completely new personality... but rather about manifesting the old personality and gradually separating it.

So... did Lily originally have this side to her?

She simply kept herself in check, revealing nothing...

Just as Iver, Lily's expression suddenly changed.

Her body trembled slightly, and she was instantly covered in sweat. She lowered her head in fear and said, "I'm sorry, young master... I can't fully control my body right now..."

"Lily?"

Iver confirmed his identity.

"It's me..."

"Are you there, Selene? You should be listening."

Iver looked at Lily and said, "I agree to your request."

Upon hearing this, Lily's expression changed slightly. "But..."

"I'm also very curious about the skills I used when Constant Self was still a mortal. I'm also very curious about the Magic Creature created using my flesh and blood as materials."

Iver chuckled.

—More importantly, this is a completely new development that no one could have predicted.

Lily's split, Selene's rebirth, the moon Magic Creature constructed from "the blood of Sacred Entity"... each one represents something "unplanned".

It's precisely because Lily is too weak.

Because she was too weak and inconspicuous, she was not included in anyone's plans.

She might be the key to breaking Iver's deadlock! Thinking this, Iver unfolded the letter Sherlock had sent and read it carefully.

He could tell at a glance that it was Sherlock's handwriting.

The letter contained very little information, but it was somewhat vague.

He said that if things are mostly resolved on Iver's side, it would be best to go there tomorrow.

"The gentleman we all know (the client in this case) is facing a problem that is perhaps more complicated than we anticipated. But there's no need to worry; it's not dangerous. At most, it's just 'unbelievable'."

Sherlock wrote this in the letter.