Chapter 660 - 418: Questioning the Divine Spirit

Chapter 660: Chapter 418: Questioning the Divine Spirit

Lu Cang could understand why Yelieya had acted so impulsively.

From his perspective, he knew what was going to happen next.

But from Yelieya’s point of view, she had no idea that a Tier Eight Demon existed, nor did she know about the even more powerful Angel.

She had only seen that there was a Ritual here that could potentially awaken the Lord of the Sea.

She wanted to stop it.

But she never expected...

...that what she saw was merely a corner of the full picture.

It was like discovering someone in a small village trying to awaken an evil Demon and wanting to stop them with all her might.

But after taking action...

...she discovered it wasn’t a small village affair at all.

It was the entire country, the entire world. Everyone was doing it, and with her meager strength alone, it was impossible to shake such a grand scheme.

Only then did she realize that she was just an insignificant weed in this whole game—unimportant and irrelevant.

"Lu Cang."

"Did you... already anticipate all of this?"

Kumironi asked, her voice laced with unease.

Lu Cang shook his head slightly. "No, I just found out myself..."

"But from the looks of it, what’s happening in the Secret Sea is far more complicated than we imagined."

"It might even be related to the Divine Spirits."

Lu Cang paused, then asked, "Kumironi, if you discovered that Sophia wasn’t who you thought she was..."

"...what would you do?"

Faith was a very complex issue in this world.

Faith wasn’t just a pillar of spiritual support; it was also a source of a person’s power.

If one’s faith collapsed...

...it wouldn’t just lead to spiritual problems...

The most direct impact would be losing the support and various blessings of power from the Church, resulting in a direct loss of some combat effectiveness.

Furthermore, belief influenced one’s principles. A collapse of faith would lead to an imbalance in those principles.

It could also cause one’s path of Profession Upgrade to stagnate completely.

He didn’t know how Kumironi would handle such a choice of faith.

Kumironi hesitated for a moment, but she quickly gave her answer. "I..."

"If Sophia really isn’t who I thought she was, I don’t think I would blindly believe in her anymore."

Kumironi’s words made Rhine, who was behind them, gape.

’Is that something a believer can just say out loud?’

’To just state so bluntly that she wouldn’t believe in her own god?’

’Shouldn’t she struggle with it a bit, hesitate?’

Hearing Kumironi’s answer, Rhine couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

’If Yakadicot Boss was also a bad seed behind the scenes, should I continue to believe in him?’

Hearing Kumironi’s reply, Lu Cang broke into a bright smile. "Kumironi, I’m relieved to hear you answer so decisively, without confusion."

Kumironi was slightly taken aback, then she gave a faint, wry smile. "Lu Cang, is it just me? We’ve only been apart for a few days, but I feel like you’ve become much more mature."

"You seem more like an adult than I do."

’An adult...’

’Isn’t that the truth.’

’I’m already 28 years old, and after so many rehearsals, more than ten years have passed for me in that repetitive, monotonous space-time.’

’Even if I was a bit reckless when I first arrived in this world...’

’...I’ve grown enough by now.’

"However, I still want to verify it myself... I need to ask Sophia in person."

"What exactly is the reason."

"Why she would do something like this."

Lu Cang nodded lightly, showing that he understood Kumironi’s thoughts.

At the same time, he turned his head to look in another direction.

’It’s a shame we were still separated from Yelieya.’

’But in that situation, I couldn’t just snatch Yelieya’s Sword of Purifying Fire and Judgment in front of a Level 8 Angel.’

’But...’

’...thankfully, I haven’t lost track of Yelieya.’

Lu Cang closed his eyes.

He could already sense Yelieya in the distance.

’Core of All Things.’

A speck of the "Core" was currently in Yelieya’s Storage Bag.

Previously, the Core of All Things couldn’t be too far away from his body. Even when sustained with An Zheng’s Root Magic, this problem persisted.

Root Magic was indeed very useful for assisting Ordinary Magic.

But getting Root Magic to work with other Root Magic was a complex problem.

This was because some Root Magics had effects that were completely contradictory to others. A Mage’s most important asset is imagination, but at the same time, a Mage cannot use Magic they don’t understand.

And Root Magic was precisely the type of Magic most difficult for Mages to comprehend.

Using two types of Root Magic together was sometimes as difficult as creating an entirely new one.

But thankfully...

...over this long period of time, Lu Cang had come to understand it.

The "Core" was enveloped in the Unchanging Eternal Technique.

It existed independently and perpetually, no longer constrained by its distance from Lu Cang. The "Core" was now temporarily considered an independent entity.

Through this "Core"...

...Lu Cang could observe Yelieya’s movements. And because the "Core" was also wrapped in the Unsolvable Mystery, even the Angel by her side couldn’t notice its existence.

The Abyss of the Sea was still empty.

The atmosphere was utterly oppressive.

As Kumironi drew closer to the calling voice, Lu Cang also began to feel a dense aura of life emanating from the distance.

Lu Cang raised his hand slightly.

"Eternal Daylight (Tier Six) (Level 501)."

In an instant, a burst of light erupted!

It instantly illuminated a vast section of the Abyss of the Sea as bright as day, allowing them to see far into the distance.

However, as they looked...

...they saw a grotesquely malformed monster.

Its chest cavity was splayed open, like a zombie’s ruptured torso, revealing a beating heart within. Its face was hideous, covered entirely in writhing, pulsing flesh.

With his knowledge from "Human Body Structure," it wasn’t hard to see that this was a "human."

At least, it possessed the features a human should have.

But it was also difficult to judge it as truly human based on its appearance.

Although it had no eyes, they could feel its "gaze" projecting from its face.

It looked toward Kumironi.

The corners of its mouth stretched into a happy smile.

"You’re finally here."

As Kumironi met the creature’s gaze, she felt a familiar aura from it.

After a slight daze, Kumironi spoke in a tone of disbelief.

"Is that... Sophia..."

"...my lady?"

Kumironi couldn’t connect the hideous creature before her with the kind and peaceful Sophia she knew.

The monster before her, however, answered in a gentle voice.

"Yes."

"That’s right..."

"I am Sophia, Sophia of life and growth."

"It seems the plan has indeed changed slightly. The awakening of the Lord of the Sea wasn’t supposed to begin so early."

"But no matter. None of that is important now."

Sophia said in her gentle voice, "As long as you are here, that’s enough."

Kumironi clenched her fists. "What... what exactly do you mean?"

"Everything I’ve seen from the beginning until now... I don’t understand."

"Why would you use a forbidden Ritual to awaken a monster that will destroy the Secret Sea?"

"Life is not to be trampled. We must cherish every life in this world worthy of love. Isn’t that the doctrine you taught us?"

"Even if kindness should not be given indiscriminately."

"The vast majority of lives have the right to exist."

"And as believers in life, we, of all people, should not be the ones to strip others of their right to live."

Natural selection and survival of the fittest was also one of the Laws of this world.

But that was a game, a struggle between others.

Izparut could kill, Chi Cheng could kill, and Lu Cang could kill. They didn’t need to abide by the principles of life. Life killing life for survival, competition, power, and desire—that was also a natural part of the world.

But as a follower of life...

...one should not kill.

Let alone kill the harmless, the innocent, those who have committed no wrong.

Awakening the Lord of the Sea like this...

...how was that any different from actively destroying the entire Secret Sea?

"Aren’t these all your teachings?" Kumironi demanded, confronting the hideous being before her.

Questioned by Kumironi, Sophia’s lips curled up slightly.

She let out a light laugh like the chime of silver bells. "I didn’t kill these people."

"In fact, the only thing I did was save someone, right?"

"I saved the Lord of the Sea and allowed it to be reborn."

"As for what it does with its life, that’s its own business."

"Kumironi, my dearest, most cherished Kumironi, are you going to blame the one who did the saving for the mistakes made by the one who was saved?"

"Kumironi, my dearest, most beloved believer... if someone you saved went on to kill others, would you blame yourself for saving them?"

As Sophia answered...

...Lu Cang stood behind Kumironi like a piece of the background, saying nothing.

’This Sophia before me...’

’...is definitely not the True Divine Being’s main body.’

’It doesn’t even have a complete physical form...’

’If she could move freely in the Abyss of the Sea, she wouldn’t have merely called out to Kumironi last time instead of finding her personally.’

’Her movements must be extremely limited.’

’It’s just...’

’...why do I feel this faint sense of unease?’

Lu Cang wanted to take Kumironi away right then and there, to stop her from having any more contact with Sophia.

But his purpose for coming here wasn’t to avoid danger.

It was to learn the truth behind this whole affair.

Pulling Kumironi away now might prevent certain truths from coming to light.

’So instead...’

’...I should just touch Sophia directly.’

’And get some information from her...’

Kumironi was challenged by Sophia’s questions.

But her eyes remained firm, without a trace of confusion. She responded earnestly, "Lady Sophia."

"You are conflating concepts."

"Please do not twist my words or my intentions..."

"When I save someone, it is for the sake of true salvation. I don’t know how many people they might harm in the future, nor do I know if they will be good or evil."

"If someone I saved goes on to harm others, then I will go and stop them."

"Lady Sophia."

"When you awakened the Lord of the Sea, surely you were aware of the harm it would cause? Do you intend to stop it before it can cause major harm?"

"Or, knowing the harm it will cause, do you still intend to let it run rampant?"

After hearing Kumironi’s questioning, the corners of Sophia’s mouth gradually turned down. An irritable mood filled the entire space.

"Kumironi, my dearest, most beloved Kumironi."

"You have far too many thoughts."

"For a perfect vessel of incarnation, having so many thoughts is actually quite meaningless."

...

"Alright... stop asking so many questions."

Hearing these words, the hair on Lu Cang’s whole body suddenly stood on end.

The tone was identical to the Sophia before them.

But it didn’t come from Sophia’s mouth.

It came... from the mouth of Kumironi, who was right beside him.

"A vessel should just do what a vessel is supposed to do."

"How could the ultimate meaning of life be understood by a mere mayfly?"

He saw Kumironi turn her head, her eyes filled with pity and benevolence, overflowing with boundless Divinity.

Her eyes stared at Lu Cang.

As if looking down upon a lowly ant.

"Wouldn’t you agree?"