Chapter 369: Pre-Prison Education
"Wow. Who would've thought the pomp would be this grand for just a mere Angel?"
At the end of the passage stood a resplendent underground palace. The continuous stretch of murals across the wall flashed past their eyes, depicting myths from some unknown era. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that the gleaming dome above was formed from massive golden bones, the remnants of some ancient, mythical creature.
In the center of the palace lay a colossal stone coffin, large enough to hold a giant. The lid was so high that even if the two of them stood on each other's shoulders, they still wouldn't be able to reach the lid.
Ashe remarked, "I remember Belldet's kind being short. I know the Gospel got over genetic incompatibility long ago, but giants and humans having children? The software might allow it, but the hardware surely wouldn't."
The cloaked figure ignored Ashe, staring at the stone coffin as his hands wove an unfamiliar gesture. Soon, a vast, dark-green phantom rose from the sarcophagus. Countless intangible chains extended from its body, binding it tightly to the palace. It seemed simultaneously imprisoned by the structure and protected by it.
The phantom spoke, its voice echoing through the chamber. "Are you the sorcerer who passed the trials I set? Are you qualified to inherit my Evil Soul path?"
Future Ashe responded, "It's just him. Compared to corpses, I prefer warm bodies."
The cloaked figure stepped forward, declaring, "Great Pioneer, Evil Soul Angel Belldet, I will inherit your glory and carry it forward. Entrust everything you have to me."
The phantom warned, "To test your qualification, my inheritance will invade your soul in an extremely brutal manner. It may even cause your soul to collapse. Do you still wish to proceed?"
"I've never experienced a soul collapse before. Let's try it."
The phantom laughed loudly and plunged directly into the cloaked figure's body. The man jolted violently as thick black smoke began to pour from his form. The smoke rapidly coalesced into tangible shapes, transforming into grotesque abominations. Opening their vicious jaws, they tore savagely at his soul.
The phantom explained. "My Evil Soul path was fashioned from the countless malevolent spirits of hell. To be devoured by evil souls is to experience hell firsthand. As they consume you, you will directly absorb their knowledge. Open your mind. Do not resist."
"So, this is what death feels like?"
"Exactly. When people die and fall into hell, all emotions are stripped away. Evil souls will devour a soul until only pure knowledge and memory remain, allowing me to inherit it with ease. With the power of evil souls, I have slain countless foreign angels and seized lifetimes of wealth."
"So... my emotions are being devoured as well?"
"Yes! You should feel it now. Your soul is being torn apart bit by bit. Your emotions are peeling away piece by piece. As overwhelming pain drowns your reason, you will grow increasingly unfamiliar to yourself... If you cannot endure it, your soul will be completely torn apart!"
The cloaked figure trembled violently. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees, seemingly unable to bear the torment. The beasts of black mist devoured him piece by piece, starting with his fingers, then his arms, his torso, his organs, his neck... until only a human-shaped silhouette remained beneath the writhing smoke.
Then, out of nowhere, the cloaked figure burst into a wild, unrestrained laugh.
"Hahaha! What a fool! You actually endured to the very end, never realizing this was never an inheritance ritual, but an erosion ritual! Everything I arranged beforehand was merely to select a soul strong enough to withstand the erosion. Now I have completely consumed his soul and achieved rebirth! At last, I have truly escaped hell!"
The black-mist-shrouded figure pointed a finger at Ashe. "And you... You will become the first evil soul after my rebirth!"
Ashe shrugged, unfazed. "Wow, how terrifying. Harvey, save me."
The figure paused slightly. In the next moment, a completely different voice spoke through his mouth.
"As expected. The moment I saw your remnant soul emerge from the coffin, Belldet, I knew there was something wrong with this inheritance. A necromancer like you, clinging desperately to existence at all costs, would never leave behind a true inheritance. You refuse to even face death. You are no true necromancer."
The black mist snarled through gritted teeth. "Insolence! Why are you still alive? Your emotions should have been completely devoured! Your consciousness should have dissipated! How can you still resist?!"
Harvey replied calmly, "Because I am a necromancer, while you are merely the dead. I have to admit, Evil Soul Angel, I respect you, but you are an antique from nine hundred years ago. You actually thought to use nine-hundred-year-old necromantic Miracles against me. I'm not sure if you underestimate the passage of time or the Necromancy Class itself.
"Your necromantic arts may have been unrivaled in your era, but now they are nothing more than outdated relics. The moment you spoke of invading my soul, I had already turned my flesh into a corpse prison, and you didn't even notice. You thought you were eroding my soul, but in truth, you willingly walked into the coffin I prepared for you.
"The dead should serve the living, not the other way around. Angel, who should have fallen into hell nine hundred years ago, rests within my body."
The black mist suddenly contracted back into the cloak, then burst into dark green flames. The flames burned nothing. Instead, they condensed into a pair of handcuffs, locking tightly around the cloaked figure's wrists.
"How was the harvest?" Ashe asked.
Harvey placed his hand against the massive stone coffin. "I managed to harvest everything. And among it all, this is the most valuable treasure."
The colossal stone coffin suddenly dissolved into a wisp of smoke, then reformed into a gray-haired old butler in a black suit, standing dutifully behind Harvey. The figure appeared ethereal and indistinct. His face was gaunt, his pupils dim, and his pale skin was covered in fine, cracked lines.
Ashe exclaimed in amazement, "After all these years, Belldet still managed to preserve a Divine Spirit?"
Harvey responded, "This is the only one left. Even so, I wouldn't be able to handle any more. A single Divine Spirit is already an immense burden. Wielding one with a mortal body is far from simple. With this Divine Spirit and the Evil Soul path, we can finally move forward with the plan."
Ashe raised a brow. "Are you sure about this? It's not too late to back out."
Harvey replied, "If I back out now, would you really let me go? You've invested so much in me, even helping me pass all of Belldet's trials. It's not your style to walk away without taking it all back with interest."
Ashe laughed. "Haha! Now that you've obtained the Evil Soul path of an angel's inheritance, I might not even be able to beat you."
Harvey began striding back along the passage as the hall collapsed inch by inch behind him. "Stop with the pointless probing, Ashe Heath. More importantly, don't try to stop me at the last moment. I don't want to fight you. You're troublesome... and I truly don't want to."
Ashe noted, "According to our plan, you'll need to mass-produce half-dead undead armies. If I remember correctly, that's the kind of work you hate the most. Are you ready to cross your own line and abandon your principles?"
Harvey shook his head. "No. I won't cross my line, nor do I need to change my principles. The dead exist to serve the living. That belief has never wavered. It is precisely because I cherish life that I joined your plan. But to take revenge on this half-dead world, we can only become half-dead corpses ourselves.
"I won't provide you with a numb, unfeeling undead army. The Necromancy Class does not exist to create death, but to welcome new life. What I will give you is a legion of the undead fighting to survive, myself included. I will be their banner."
Harvey stopped right in front of Ashe. "Let's go. It's time to burn the Gospel Kingdom to ashes."
The recording cut to black.
For a long time, no one could pull themselves back to reality. A flood of questions surfaced in their minds like rising bubbles. For a moment, no one knew what to ask first until Lys broke the silence.
"What is a Divine Spirit? Is it like the Lady of the Lake from fairy tales?"
"Don't ask me, I have no idea!" Annan nervously touched her amethyst earring, trying to steady herself against the overwhelming influx of information. "Even Angels treat them as precious inheritance treasures. How could I possibly know the details—"
"Oh, a Divine Spirit is just the advanced form of a spirit."
Everyone whipped around to look at Ashe. He simply pointed at the floating text of the Gospel. "I just asked the Gospel. Its response was: 'There are countless Four-Winged spirits, but Five-Winged Divine Spirits are unique.' It seems that when a spirit condenses a fifth wing, it evolves into a sentient deity. Just like the one in the recording, it even followed Harvey of its own accord."
Putting the others aside, Annan felt a massive surge of shock. Could the Gospel actually answer questions like that?
The Dolan family had spent generations trying to extract deeper knowledge from the Gospel, yet they had never uncovered secrets beyond the fourth wing. Had our methods been wrong all these years? Or is Ashe simply that lucky?
Despite the internal turmoil, the group quickly accepted the explanation, not just because it came from the Gospel, but because supporting clues were suddenly firing off in their own memories.
Iger muttered, "Come to think of it, the Church of Devotion once mentioned that the Blood Moon Lord commands countless Divine Spirits... Back then, I used to wonder if the Lord feared a coordinated rebellion among them, or if factions fought for power behind the scenes. But if Divine Spirits are just evolved spirits, it all makes sense."
Annan clapped her hands softly as the realization dawned on her. "A Divine Lord is not the lord of gods, but the lord of deities. So that's what that line in the ancestral records meant! I always thought it was nonsense."
Lys lowered her head, staring blankly into her mirror. She murmured absentmindedly, "Divine Spirits' incarnation..."
Ashe glanced at her. "Hmm? Did you notice an overlooked hint, too? Tell me about it."
Lys shook her head and pointed accusingly at the Gospel. "No. Daddy, you and Uncle Harvey just made some incredibly serious criminal declarations in there. You're not going to drag me into it, are you?"
Ashe fell silent for a moment, then leaned in. "Lys, let me tell you a secret."
"Hm? What secret?" Lys blinked.
"Listen carefully. From my experience, the first thing you do after entering prison is find someone like Aunt Perskin and beat them up. That way, you'll blend right in."
Lys looked completely bewildered. "Is that some sort of pre-prison education?!"
Iger snorted softly. "If I hadn't struck up a conversation with you back then..."
"Then you'd still be comfortably living off state meals in Shattered Lake Prison."
Iger chuckled. "Mm, you're right. How could the steady meals in Shattered Lake compare to wandering the world as public enemy number one and eating emergency rations with you?"
Ashe nodded repeatedly, wearing a smug "you definitely got the better deal" expression. Iger ignored the teasing. The fraudster lowered his head and began nibbling on a biscuit, his eyes locked onto the Gospel's projection. His brow furrowed with an unspoken worry.
Pankey suddenly spoke up, shattering the mood. "Still, while I agree this recording will likely ruin our reputation in the Gospel Kingdom, it might not be entirely bad news."
Annan's eyes lit up. "You mean..."
"The future ranking hasn't revealed Harvey's reward yet," Iger said calmly, catching on. "His reward must appear within this recording. Which means..."
Everyone turned back toward the Gospel, their eyes burning with intense anticipation.
Could the Gospel actually reward Harvey with a Divine Spirit?