Pastor's Tantra

When you are promoted to a cardinal, you no longer have to wear clothes of prescribed colors and shapes like ordinary bishops and archbishops.

Although Aiwass has not yet fully mastered advanced magic, the two most difficult steps have now been completed: the body has been prepared, and the Lord of Scale Feathers has also completed the preliminary arrangement - the gem crack on Aiwass's chest. It is proof of strength.

To put it metaphorically, the first step is like pulling network cables to the community and burying the network cables in the house. The second step is to bring the optical modem and other equipment and debug them. Now, as long as you pay the money and wait for the switchboard of the Scale Feather Lord to confirm the authority, the network will be open.

Now that we've reached this point, it's almost time to prepare clothes in advance. After all, custom-made clothes also take time.

The location, shape and size of the sin marks - or "stigma" - on each cardinal's body are different.

And not all forms of sin scars have this kind of strange crystallization...at least not Cardinal Matilda.

"What is the specific significance of this crystal?"

Before determining the color, Aiwass confirmed to Cardinal Cyril: "I do not have the adaptability to adapt to the path, but the Lord of Scales and Feathers gave me this gem..."

At that time, he thought it was a gemstone decoration inlaid on the outside, but he did not expect that it actually grew on the skin.

Is this a kind of partial amber?

"It's because you lack the ability to adapt that you are given a Path Crystal."

Cardinal Cyril shook his head: "Power cannot appear out of thin air, it must have a carrier; once the power of the incompatible path is stored in the body, it will disturb one's own spirit, and there may be a risk of losing control and going crazy... those who deteriorate The version of advanced magic is prone to going crazy or losing control after 'asking the gods', which means it lacks this configuration.

"When you usually use divine magic to pray for those paths that you do not master, the power comes through rituals. Although advanced divine magic omits this step, it still must have a process... Even if the will of the Lord of Scales and Feathers comes, into your body, but after all, you still don’t have the power to adapt. Do you want to introduce the power of adaptation into your body? This is impossible."

"……I see."

Aiwass understood a little bit.

After all, Master Yanis in the original plot went crazy because of the abnormal Tao power that did not belong to him in his body.

She even has the talent and adaptability of the Dusk Path, but she doesn't have the corresponding level, and she still lost control when she was introduced. The "Path Crystallization" configured with advanced magic is to avoid this situation.

Aiwass had a strange association——

If that were the case, wouldn't he become the human-shaped staff of the Lord of Scales and Feathers?

The Lord of Scale Feather does not introduce the power of adaptation into Aiwass' body, but directly into this crystal of the path. When the Lord of Scales and Feathers arrives, he will activate his authority to extract power from it, and then transfer the power in after using it.

The crystal of the path is simply a carrier for carrying power, like a gem inlaid on the tip of a staff.

"For example, Cardinal Matilda and I directly use our bodies to absorb power. This is because our advanced magic matches the path we master, and we will not use power beyond our own tolerance."

Cardinal Cyril added.

As he spoke, he briefly opened his intertwined hands and turned them over to show Aiwass.

The marks of his sins were marked on the palms of his hands, because they were not covered by the cardinal's uniform and there were no hollows on his body at all.

Hearing this, Aiwass realized something: "Aren't there too many people like me...?"

"It's really not much. So do you want green? But as far as I know, there is a cardinal who uses green... It is better to stagger it to increase recognition."

Cardinal Cyril put his hands together again, returning to his previous harmonious posture.

"No, I use black."

Aiwass thought carefully, briefly recalled the appearance of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, and then answered decisively.

The Lord of Scale Feather was wearing a black suit, and the river of [Survival] was also pitch black. Although he doesn't know why He chose emerald as the symbolic gemstone to adapt to the path... But Aiwass believes that black is closer to the essence of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

Everyone wears black, this is considered the company uniform!

When the old elf heard this, he was stunned for a moment and thought: "Is it mainly black? This is quite rare..."

Aiwass was a little confused: "Is it rare? I think black is very versatile."

"Because the Thorn of Sin is black. Black clothes don't reflect the Thorn of Sin very well."

"...Then, based on the black color, let's decorate it with golden lines...or platinum. Just like my hair."

Aiwass put forward a relatively rough request from Party A: "I remember, it should be necessary to expose the sin thorns on the body? But my position is on the chest, and I hope that the exposed part will not be too big... and it is best not to affect strenuous actions. .”

As he spoke, he took off a few strands of his hair.

The wind blew automatically, blowing up the hair held by Aiwass and carrying it to the corner.

A delicate box in the corner of the room opened automatically, and then closed again after Aiwass's hair fell into it.

"Approximately how long will it take?"

"I will rush to the tailor 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 will not delay your inauguration as Cardinal."

Cardinal Cyril gave a definite answer.

The old elf asked curiously: "What is your assessment?"

"A promotion ceremony with increased difficulty...is this easy or difficult?"

"It's already very good, rather than very good. The main thing is that the requirements are clear and it's not too troublesome."

Cardinal Cyril smiled bitterly and said: "When I signed a contract with the Snake Father, the Snake Father asked me to 'transcend my old self seven times.' In order to complete this task, I traveled around the world and traveled for seventy years before finally completing the request. Even In the end, I was summoned into a dream by Snake Father, and I just realized that I had completed the mission... I didn't know which seven times I surpassed, and I was completely confused about the mission.

"Si Zhu's request to me was a little clearer. He asked me to help others and get gratitude from others three thousand times. At the beginning, I was still counting the number of times carefully, thinking about how many more times I would have to do every day... At that time I was very anxious for a while.

"But later on, I suddenly became enlightened - I don't need to record at all, I just need to live a normal life. I also like to help others. So I simply threw away my notepad... and I forgot about it. After knowing the details for decades, he suddenly got Si Zhu’s approval.”

"...It sounds so long."

"No, actually there are short ones...such as Cardinal Matilda, and former Cardinal Loki.

"When Cardinal Matilda signed a contract with Amber, the condition that Amber put forward to her was to 'engrave the biographies of those who condensed amber.' So she went to learn about the lives of those who condensed amber. When she finished carving the ninth one, The Amber side passed.

"And former Cardinal Loki... Haha, this matter was originally supposed to be a secret, but now it should be possible to talk about it."

Cardinal Cyril said meaningfully: "At that time, the giant kingdom Alctors had been defeated, and the Silver-crowned Dragon had not yet ascended to the position of Pillar God. Loki survived because he contacted the Theocracy and betrayed the city long before the city was destroyed. Arktos.

"But in the early stages of the war, as the 'Wildfire Giant', he was still the core combat strength of Alkotos. He killed many humans and many elves... He also ate humans and even elves. Although he had merit, he There are more sins on his body. Although he has the power of the path of devotion, he also has the power of the path of strength."

"So Si Zhu gave him a chance - to stand on an altar that could continuously heal him, turn his sins so far into sin thorns, and ignite them with his own 'wildfire'.

"Every second he has to endure the pain equivalent to being executed at the stake, and each execution must be re-executed by his own will. As long as his dedication wavers once in the middle, the altar will not heal him, and he will He will die completely and his soul will not exist.

"Loki accepted the test mission. At that time, I saw with my own eyes a large number of sin thorns growing on Loki's body. He stood there and repeatedly burned his own sin thorns with the power of wildfire. His body grew from a height of more than ten meters. The sky-reaching giant melted and collapsed to less than three meters.

"In just three hours, he died and was resurrected 10,800 times...and each of these 10,800 fires was lit by himself. And he was not involved in it. A moment of resentment.

"So I forgave him, and Si Zhu also forgave him. I think the other witnesses were roughly the same, and everyone trusted Loki very much. He completely lost his giant body and was reborn under Si Zhu's treatment. .The rage that came with the giant’s blood was sealed as a result.”

That is the true meaning of "I will never give up".

Because of this, Cardinal Loki was able to gain Si Zhu's trust and become a cardinal on the eleventh level.

Aiwass suddenly felt doubtful in his heart——

Is this really some kind of cosplay? If it were just a performance, could it be so sincere?

Fire tempers the heart...

Even Aiwass himself would not dare to do that level of trial. He really didn't dare to bet that he would not waver. And under Si Zhu's gaze, there was obviously no room for cheating.

This elven blood comes from Si Zhu's approval.

This is not only a new life, but also a kind of glory.

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

Or...his current death is also part of "dedication and atonement"?

If we think about it from this point of view, what did his death bring?

Aiwass fell into thought.

The Pure White Saint will no longer be targeted by controlled fire. Cardinal Loki himself has gained the power of perfection. The Theocracy may not be divided again and there will be no civil war. Aiwass has gained the experience needed to master advanced divine arts. The tenth The position of Cardinal of the Circle is vacant...

He gradually opened his eyes.

"——Things will eventually end peacefully [Moriarty style]."

In the memory, Freya's voice sounded faintly from Aiwass's ears.

Aiwass had been wondering before, whether this [Moriarty style] refers to the professor or Aiwass himself...

But now, he realized... they actually had something in common. Because whether it is the adoptive father or Aiwass, their planning style tends to "let everyone benefit" and let people sincerely work for themselves. It's just that the residual influence of this incident will be beneficial to Aiwass or Professor Moriarty.

And now, the death of Cardinal Loki has benefited everyone——

If Aiwass was to become a Cardinal, it was Cardinal Loki's plan. Then his plan must go beyond this.

He wants to elect a cardinal as pope to destroy the close connection between the Eternal Theocracy and the Church of the Nine Pillars... but this will inevitably encounter fierce resistance from the Saint. Because the Saint will not allow any cardinal to control the Theocracy. They are too extreme and will cause the Theocracy to lose its neutrality.

But what if... let Aiwass sit in this position?

The position of the Eternal Pope!