Chapter 69: Ten Commandments

Chapter 69: Ten Commandments

“The Second Commandment: You shall not take My name in vain.

“The Third Commandment: You shall have no other gods before Me.

“The Fourth Commandment: Love your parents, your husband, your wife, and your children as you love Me.

“The Fifth Commandment: You shall not commit adultery with another.

“The Sixth Commandment: You shall not murder the innocent.

“The Seventh Commandment: You shall not bear false witness, frame others, or break your promises.

“The Eighth Commandment: Serve Me with your heart, not with offerings.

“The Ninth Commandment: Those who commit petty evils must first atone before they may be forgiven.

“The Tenth Commandment: To aid your compatriots and companions is to praise My name.”

One holy covenant after another echoed beside the bald rebel Kalat’s ears, making him prostrate himself completely, burying his head against the ground. His body trembled uncontrollably, filled with reverence, fear, and excitement.

As a mid-Sequence Beyonder, and as a rebel who had once gone to the Feysac Empire to receive an education, he possessed enough experience and knowledge to understand that the worship of “Sea God” was, in large part, built upon fear—fear of tremendous power, fear of natural disasters that humanity could not resist. Many of its rituals still retained primitive bloodiness, belonging to an inhumane, uncivilized, backward faith that would sooner or later be eliminated.

But the belief he had cultivated since childhood made him dare not disobey an oracle. He could only bury deep within his heart the idea of reforming the ritual process and avoid, as much as possible, the parts that conflicted with his own thoughts.

Now, Sea God’s sudden change filled him with extraordinary joy. It was as though he had seen a primitive totem, as outsiders called it, begin evolving toward the level of a true god.

We are blessed. The rebels are blessed. The true believers are blessed… Kalat lifted his head slightly through a blurred vision, sincerely spreading his hands and pressing them to his lips.

“I shall follow Your path as I praise Your name.”

The blurred figure before his eyes vanished. The magnificent voice beside his ears vanished. The scene inside the cave returned to its original state.

But Kalat knew that everything was no longer the same as it had been.

Moving his elbows, he quickly crawled back to the side of his wheelchair, sat himself back into it, and turned toward another part of the cave.

Before long, Kalat encountered Edmonton. This rebel with the blue-green sea-serpent tattoo stood before the strangely bleeding divine statue. His forehead was a mix of red and black, both dirty and ferocious.

Yet Edmonton’s expression was joyful, inspired, and fulfilled. Looking toward Kalat, he blurted out, “Did you receive the oracle?”

“Mm. It was God’s aura, the same as before.” Kalat nodded excitedly. “Not only has God reappeared upon the earth, He has reforged His holy covenants.”

Edmonton let out a breath of relief.

“Just now, I thought I was hallucinating.

“It seems we only needed an outsider to touch the holy sword for God to reappear upon the earth. It did not have to be fully lifted.”

Kalat agreed.

“Indeed. The divine statues have shattered and bled now because God has changed His image. We must construct new ones! They must be built according to the scene we just witnessed!”

“God also displayed His holy emblem: a scepter shaped like lightning inserted above the symbol of ocean waves, surrounded by raging wind,” Edmonton said as he recalled the image.

Kalat immediately slapped the armrest of his wheelchair.

“We will go find the High Priest now. He should also have received the oracle.

“We will welcome a new world!”

…

Above the gray fog, Klein set down the Sea God Scepter and wearily rubbed his forehead.

He had noticed one issue just now. The Sea God Scepter could respond to ritual magic—that is, it could provide a certain degree of power, helping the supplicant complete the ritual and achieve their aim. But this was limited to its own domain, and it could not exceed the scepter’s upper limit. What it could accomplish was actually quite limited.

For example, the Evernight Goddess could, by influencing fate, allow a believer to naturally obtain the money they needed to pay a bill. The Sea God Scepter, by contrast, could at most disguise the white paper on the altar as cash, and before long, it would fail and return to its true form.

“This is the difference between a false god and a true god…

“Also, outside the gray fog, as long as the procedure and prayer are correct, the Sea God Scepter can respond to ritual magic on its own, unless the ritual demands more than half of its power at once… Perhaps this is why ritual magic procedures are so important…

“Above the gray fog, prayers are shielded and restored to points of light. The Sea God Scepter can no longer respond automatically. I have to handle them manually, which is rather troublesome. I cannot stay here all the time. Of course, this also has its advantages. As long as the prayer is correct and accurately points toward the Sea God Scepter, then no matter how perfunctory the ritual procedure is, a response may still be received. There is only one prerequisite: I must be in a good mood…

“When I have time, I need to think of a way to make the Sea God Scepter into an automatic answering machine even while it is above the gray fog… Mold a paper angel? No, that is useless. It has no injected soul… Create a rigid, mechanical marionette to handle repetitive and tedious ritual-magic response issues? Mm… I wonder whether Marionettist has an ability in that area. At least Rosago only displayed the characteristic of manipulating people like puppets…”

Klein’s thoughts gradually settled, and his gaze moved to the iron cigarette case.

After studying it, he discovered that the heavily corroded-looking cigarette case had indeed undergone a certain mutation. It was now a little tougher, sturdier, and more corrosion-resistant, but still within the range that an ordinary human could understand and accept.

It does not possess any special quality… But if I leave it here for a few years, decades, or use it to hold Beyonder characteristics and mystical items for a long time, perhaps one day it really will evolve into a “sealing box” whose effects gradually fade… The corners of Klein’s mouth twitched slightly as he turned his head toward the pile of miscellaneous items in the corner.

They were covered by the gray fog, almost blending into their surroundings.

Heh heh… Klein gave two dry laughs and withdrew his gaze.

Then he fiddled with the flattened golden wine cup, confirming that it had no issues.

After finishing all of this, he returned to the real world, summoned himself again, and brought the Sun Brooch and other items back to the inn room.

At that moment, the clouds had dispersed high above, the moon was clear, crimson light poured down in tranquil streams, and the entire City of Generosity, Bayam, still slept within its dream.

…

Nine in the morning, Church of Waves.

Alger had been summoned over and, once again using confession as the pretext, met Diocesan Bishop Chogo.

“Find this person.” Chogo handed over the portrait in his hand.

Another mission… What is with everything lately… Alger muttered inwardly and casually unfolded the paper.

When he saw the content of the portrait clearly, he almost failed to control his mouth and laugh out loud.

This drawing makes it impossible to tell whether the person is male or female, or what they actually look like. How are we supposed to find them? In an instant, his thoughts turned, and he did not hide the change in his emotions. He deliberately blurted out, “Who is this?”

The portrait showed an exceptionally blurry, mysterious figure without a single feature that could help in the search.

There was no mission like this yesterday… Yet this morning, we are suddenly asked to pursue someone… What happened last night? Mm, Kalvetua fell completely… In that case, the Church and military must have gone looking for what it left behind… Simim Island was the clue? This person arrived before them and took away the most important item? Who is this person? Alger’s mind shook suddenly, and he almost did not dare look Chogo in the eye.

Chogo nodded.

“A filthy, despicable thief! He may be from Intis or Feysac, and he may belong to the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun or the Church of the God of Combat.”

Someone from Intis or Feysac, or from the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun or the Church of the God of Combat? Why would they have such a guess and judgment? Did His Excellency Ain Kottman obtain only very little information at the scene, leaving the target unclear? Under those circumstances, they indeed can preliminarily judge that this person comes from Intis or Feysac, because the main forces supporting the rebels and Kalvetua are those two countries. Heh, there is reason to believe they may have long grasped Kalvetua’s hiding place… This matches my earlier guess… Of course, it could also be something else… Alger restrained his emotions and asked, “What did he do?”

“You do not need to know. Pay attention to any abnormalities among the Intisians or Feysacians in Bayam. Mm, include locals who have become Beyonders as well. Also, find the person who previously pasted the notice on the front door of the church. They may know something. More information will be given to you soon,” Chogo instructed in a deep voice.

That is indeed one direction… Is that not equivalent to telling me this person is connected to the notice and Kalvetua’s fall… I wonder whose hands Kalvetua’s Beyonder characteristic ended up in… Who… Right. The World is in Bayam. Soon after he arrived here, something happened to Kalvetua! Could this be Mr. Fool’s purpose? Does it help Him further undo His seal and recover His power? Alger’s pupils abruptly contracted as he remembered his speculation from earlier.

…

After waking from sleep, Klein, who had harvested a great deal the night before, was energetic and in an excellent mood.

He decided to reward himself properly that day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner would all have to be lavish and delicious.

Pushing open the door and entering the sitting room, he saw that Danitz had already gotten out of “bed” and was removing the bandages and splint from his arm.

It healed that quickly? Klein froze slightly.

Seeing Gehrman Sparrow look over, Danitz chuckled and said, “My recovery ability is rather good. My Sequence 9 is Hunter. Every aspect of my body was clearly strengthened, surpassing that of normal humans. The parts related to combat improved even more. And now I am already Sequence 7.”

Sequence 9 Hunter? I killed one before. And I even know the corresponding Sequence 6 is Conspirer… Klein immediately recalled the first enemy he had encountered when he first arrived in Backlund, the one that had dragged him into a massive vortex and nearly made it impossible to escape.

“Sequence 8, Provoker?” Klein asked casually.