Pastor's Tantra

Isabel was quite happy when she first saw Aiwass.

A few days ago, she relied on her memory and imagination to draw a new magic painting for Aiwass - wearing a gorgeous and elegant white robe, with shoulder straps and waist-length platinum hair fluttering in the wind. .

Although Aiwass's hair was still far from that long, Isabelle had gradually learned how to paint outside of reality. This means that she has basically mastered the magic painting craftsmanship and is able to draw things that do not exist in reality but that she still believes are real.

She originally wanted to share the painting with Aiwass.

But after listening to the story told by Aiwass, Isabel didn't even have time to cheer and rejoice that Aiwass did not encounter fatal danger and did not use the "Isolde's Tears"... She had no reason, I suddenly realized a sense of inconsistency.

She subconsciously turned on her spiritual vision and looked at Aiwass's soul.

Isabel was immediately horrified——

Originally half vermilion, almost gold, and half deep purple, almost black, the crystal soul was as beautiful and balanced as the sunset on the sea... but now three-quarters of it was covered by the mysterious and pure deep purple.

The first third from the top to the bottom is deep red, black, and deep purple. The remaining two-thirds are from deep purple to light purple that is almost pink.

If pink can be considered a "thin red". Then this scene is undoubtedly the "transcendence" that captures and digests part of the "dedication".

If this change in the path's inclination comes from Aiwass's own decision, then Isabel doesn't think much of it. But Aiwass obviously didn't realize this.

So Isabel immediately became alert.

"Beyond the path... is it out of balance?"

Aiwass understood Her Royal Highness the Princess's warning and murmured in a low voice.

He vaguely guessed the reason for this current situation.

This should be caused by the fact that he obtained the Book of Dharma and the golden-level path characteristics, and his power beyond the path was strengthened too much.

...Of course, it may also be because I briefly came into contact with the real "holy entity". The fragment of Huan Tiansi was therefore infected by Him.

It was only then that Aiwass realized in a daze... his character seemed to have become obviously more assertive.

The most obvious ones are feeding Lily blood and shepherding on the train.

This is of course partly the influence of the path of devotion. If his blood was useful to Lily, Aiwass would certainly be willing to donate it.

Different from the original curse during the lycanthropy period, "if you drink blood in animal form, you will not be able to transform back into a human body for nine years", both Lily and Yeats can switch between human and wolf transformations at will, and can even turn into a werewolf that walks upright. They all seem to be able to drink blood at will.

This may be a special kind of werewolf, or it may be a certain level in the evolution of werewolves. Aiwass wasn't sure.

But when Lily lost control, Aiwass's first reaction was not to "control her reason and make her sober", but to give up resistance and let her drink directly...

At that time, whether Lily completely lost control, bit or twisted Aiwass's neck, or lost her rationality and directly sucked his blood, it might have resulted in Aiwass's death.

However, Aiwass completely gave up resistance unconsciously.

It's not so much pure trust.

——Rather, it is like a magnanimous superior allowing a subordinate to "transcend" himself.

Same reason.

On the train, he took the initiative to turn into No. 14, and then took the initiative to order Shadow Demon to temporarily turn into a human form.

When Shadow Demon said that he could transform into Miss Assassin and be cared for by Aiwass, Aiwass still clearly refused. At that time, Aiwass wanted to keep a distance from Shadow Demon and also set some moral standards for himself. guidelines. Among them is not wanting to shepherd phantoms in human form, because that would gradually separate oneself from humans.

...Of course, Aiwass felt that it was first of all because he didn't want to kiss the Shadow Demon in wolf form, and he didn't want to waste the blood in his mouth. On the other hand, under the influence of a bad taste, he wanted to use the special identity held by No. 14 to tease the Shadow Demon. After "Bayard" drank all the blood in his mouth, Aiwass made the shadow demon change back again.

To Aiwass at the time, this all made perfect sense.

But now after listening to Isabel's words, Aiwass suddenly reacted.

If I look back and analyze this "bad taste" in detail, I should have wanted to confirm the "master-servant identity" of the shadow demon who was Bayard. In the past tense, the relationship between "No. 14" and "Bayard" is exactly the opposite.

That is to say.

Unconsciously, Aiwass tried to complete the "transcendence" ritual on Shadow Demon as No. 14.

Once is to indulge others' transcendence, and once is to complete the transcendence by oneself. Both of these abnormal behaviors are related to transcending the path.

And they were all special changes that suddenly appeared after Aiwass came into contact with the "holy entity". They even appeared immediately, no more than twenty-four hours apart.

Will this have any negative consequences...?

Aiwass himself didn’t know.

Even if he knew it, Aiwass seemed to have no way to change it.

Even Yanis, who will be level 70 in the future, can instantly lose control and turn into a phantom due to a deviation in her path. Even though he has become such a strong person, he is still powerless in the face of his inner demons.

"——We might as well ask Miss Ligeia."

Seeing Aiwass in a rare state of confusion, Isabel's attitude suddenly became tougher, as if full of courage: "She is well-informed and may know what to do. If there is any problem, just Deal with it as soon as possible.”

After Isabel said that, she directly held Aiwass's wrist and pulled him towards Her Majesty the Queen's bedroom.

"There's no need to panic, Isabel...she may not know how to deal with my problem."

Aiwass did not resist Isabel forcefully.

He just followed behind and subconsciously said harshly: "Besides, whether it is dedication or transcendence, I am who I am - maybe when I advance on the path of dedication next time, I will come back...

"...But I do need to find Ligeia. But that is another matter, related to some rumors that are not good for me."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly realized that he seemed to be biting like a child. So he changed the subject very smoothly and turned the topic to another serious matter.

Isabel curled her lips and ignored Aiwass: "That kind of thing is very important, but eliminating hidden dangers is more important!"

The two of them lowered their heads and hurried on in silence, and arrived at the entrance of the queen's chamber in the blink of an eye.

Apparently, the guards at the door had already been notified inside. Seeing Isabel pulling Aiwass out, the guards gave way to the door without even saying a word.

Now Her Majesty's health is getting worse and she has stopped visiting us these days. Even if other ministers wanted to meet, they would be stopped.

But they are clearly an exception.

Originally, Isabel's momentum was quite strong when she came here, but when she arrived at the door, she suddenly began to weaken again.

Isabel lingered at the door for a while, hesitating.

She explained to Aiwass in a low voice: "Grandma has been in poor health recently...so Miss Ligeia has been taking care of her.

"...How about we take Miss Ligeia outside to chat?"

She was obviously worried that this would affect her grandmother Sophia's rest.

"—Come on, you two, please stop being so modest!"

Ligeia's energetic and hearty voice came from inside the door: "Why are you standing there when you're already at the door!"

Hearing this, Isabel became even more shrinking.

Aiwass straightened his clothes a little, then stepped forward to open the door. The expression on his face returned to that calm state.

And Ligeia was already standing in front of the door with her hands folded and her tail wagging a little unhappily.

Obviously, if Aiwass didn't open the door, she would open it herself.

After entering the door, Isabel subconsciously searched the room. She quickly found Yanis from a certain painting, and immediately looked like she was asking for help.

However, Yanis just put her finger in front of her mouth to signal her not to speak.

After Aiwass entered the door, he immediately saw Queen Sophia lying on the bed.

With his divine vision as a priest, he almost immediately judged that Her Majesty the Queen had officially entered the countdown of her life. This made Aiwass' expression subconsciously become solemn, and even his steps and breathing became lighter.

He saw the needlework of Her Majesty's sweater hanging by the bed, slowly falling, but no one was holding it up. He immediately took two steps forward and picked up the things before they fell.

"Where should I put them, Your Majesty?"

Aiwass asked softly.

Generally speaking, for the elderly, the voice should be as loud as possible. But fortunately, Her Majesty Sophia was not deaf, and Aiwass looked at her half-asleep and half-awake, and was worried that he would scare her if he made too loud a sound.

"Well...just put it away..."

Queen Sophia responded in a vague voice.

"Where did you receive it?"

"It doesn't matter...I don't knit sweaters anymore."

The corners of the old lady's mouth raised slightly and she smiled: "Everything that needs to be knitted has been knitted. The last piece... has also been knitted."

Aiwass followed her gaze and saw the folded sweater on the bedside.

——Looks like it was knitted for Isabel.

Looking at the two protruding thorn textures hanging on the sweater, Aiwass couldn't help but sigh... This old lady really lives and learns.

More than a month ago, the old lady was just learning. At that time, she was not very good at knitting gloves, and the colors she chose were a bit rustic. Now at least this one has patterns and patterns.

Although it is obviously far from fashionable.

Thinking of this, Aiwass looked at Isabel narrowly.

Every time Aiwass sees Isabelle, she's mostly in a skirt, with her shoulders exposed—or at least her collarbone exposed.

Moreover, her clothes are almost all made of light fabrics, which highlights that she is not afraid of the cold.

Fortunately, the stockings technology in this world is quite advanced. As a derivative of the Path of Beauty, it is not only beautiful enough, but also plays a very obvious role in keeping warm and shaping your body. After the temperature cooled down, Isabel basically relied on stockings and silk gloves to keep warm.

For a moment, Aiwass really couldn't imagine how Isabel would look wearing this "grandma brand silly sweater". This made him subconsciously raise the corners of his mouth.

——It’s kind of like seeing the beauty of a floral cotton-padded jacket hidden under the gorgeous evening dress of a female classmate.

"As long as you like it."

Seeing the smile on Aiwass's face, Queen Sophia responded warmly.

"Uh-huh?"

Aiwass responded first, but soon realized something was wrong.

What does it mean that I just like it?

"This is yours, Aiwass," Isabel whispered.

"Yes. Albert's, Isabel's, Ligeia's... I have already knitted them all."

The old lady smiled and handed the folded sweater to Aiwass: "The last one is for you."

"...for me?"

Aiwass was stunned for a moment and took it subconsciously.

He unfolded it and found that it was a sleeveless V-neck plaid sweater. The chest, shoulders and cuffs are all embroidered with thorn patterns. Suitable for wearing outside in spring, you can wear a shirt or tie underneath.

This really wasn't the type of thing Isabelle could wear. It's clearly a men's sweater, and it's the perfect size for Aiwass.

Holding the sweater, Aiwass was silent for a while.

There was a special feeling in his heart.

It was just like the feeling when Lily held her hand and taught her to write stroke by stroke when she was a child; it was also the same as the feeling when the taciturn Edward bought Aiwass a birthday cake for the first time. Something like an electric current surged upward from his tailbone, making his back spine tingle and feeling a warmth in his body.

Aiwass suddenly realized...the things he was worried about before no longer existed.

——There is no need to ask about Her Majesty the Queen’s attitude towards this matter.

It was only at this moment that he realized that he had never received a handmade sweater from an elder in this world.

Maybe his biological mother would knit it for him—but she died.

If the adoptive father had had a wife or a mother, they might have knitted it for him too—but they were all dead, too.

The adoptive father would not give such a gift.

It's not that he doesn't know how to give gifts. But all the gifts he gives must be "useful" and "valuable".

But this sweater suddenly reminded Aiwass of his mother in his previous life.

He also once had a father, a mother, and grandparents.

For the first time, Aiwass felt his nose was a little sore.

Ever since he came to this world, learned to speak, and knew his own name...it seems like he has never cried.

But now, he felt like crying for a moment.

"Because I want to..."

The old lady spoke softly, with a voice like a whisper: "You are already a big shot in Avalon, Aiwass. You will have a hard time in the future, and it will get harder and harder. But in my opinion, you are still a child... You are still young, you are just eighteen years old...

"I was thinking, what kind of gift can be given to both adults and children...I think sweaters are the best. I thought about it, maybe you haven't received this kind of gift before. But as a Children...what others have, I think you should have too.

"Sorry, Aiwass. My craftsmanship may not be very good, after all, I just learned it not long ago. I am older, my hands are a little shaky, and I am a little dazzled. But I think the size should be appropriate. After all, I have learned it before. Painting...ah, at this time, I regret that I followed Meg for fun and didn't study hard..."

Her Majesty the Queen thought quietly. She doesn't look like a wise monarch who has ruled the country for decades, but more like a nagging ordinary old lady.

Aiwass felt a warmth in his heart. It's like drinking hot soup in winter.

However, he, who was usually eloquent, was holding his sweater, slightly pursed his lips, and fell into complete silence.

He stood aside attentively and listened quietly. The arrogant fire seemed to be slowly calmed down by something.

——From the moment Aiwass entered the door, Ligeia was staring intently at Aiwass' pupils.

Having reached the third energy level, she clearly sensed that Lily had not surpassed the path level.

She also clearly saw that the purple part accounting for more than two-thirds of the gorgeous purple-red reflected in Aiwass's pupils, which could only be seen clearly with extraordinary vision, was starting to move at a speed visible to the naked eye. reduce.

Purple and red are gradually returning to balance.

An update of nearly 8,000 words!

I suffered from insomnia again last night and didn't sleep well... So I got up at around four o'clock to type, woo hoo hoo...

After writing, wait for a while to check for typos and then go back to sleep!