Demon Bible

Chapter 107: Source

"In other words, she can provide the optimal margin of error for Alchemy?" Nemus asked.

"Exactly. If she possesses astonishing perception and hyper-rational Intelligence, then she is the chosen one for Alchemy," Becky said, looking at Leah with a gaze full of marvel.

"Uh..." At those words, both Nemus and the Watchman fell silent.

Becky was also thoroughly disappointed upon learning of Leah's actual intellect, lamenting the sheer waste of her innate talent.

Furthermore, he offered his own speculations regarding her current condition.

"It should be closely related to the Floating Whale," Becky said, slipping into a scholarly state. After hearing about Leah's situation, he immediately conducted some analysis, simultaneously revealing a secret that even Nemus was hearing for the first time.

"Floating Whales originally lived in the Astral Realm. No, to be precise, Floating Whales did not exist in the beginning; there were only Astral Whales."

"It was only after the Great Earth suffered a catastrophe that the Astral Whales were guided by some force to the Material Plane. Through various changes, they became Floating Whales."

"The very first Floating Whales were like continents. That was the true size of an Astral Whale—"

"The Source Whale," Nemus said, momentarily stunned before providing the answer.He had once read records stating that there were a total of six colossal Floating Whales in the world, known as Source Whales. All current Floating Whales were descendants of those six Source Whales.

Becky's explanation filled in the missing pieces regarding the origins of the Source Whales, revealing them as special creatures that lived in the Astral Realm.

'Whale Transformation Sickness is related to the Floating Whale, the Floating Whale is related to the Astral Realm, and Angel A's changes are also related to the Astral Realm,' Nemus thought, realizing the logic of it all held up perfectly.

"Everything in the Astral Realm is related to Intelligence," Becky continued. "In the Astral Realm, one is basically unaffected by Time, and Intelligence is the primary attribute utilized."

"Whether it is moving or fighting, one must use wisdom as the focal point to exert power."

"Leah's condition is very likely due to malnutrition."

"If we could take her to the Astral Realm, perhaps we could solve this problem."

"Then this will have to be put on hold for now," Nemus said, shaking his head.

The Astral Realm and the Aether Layer were both intermediate layers connecting the Material Plane to other special places, such as the Elemental Plane and The Abyss.

When Nemus entered the Material Plane from The Abyss, he had passed through the Astral Realm.

The problem was that he had merely passed through. He had relied on Abyss Power, crossing the Astral Realm through a summoning ritual.

Throughout the entire process, he had been enveloped by the power of The Abyss and had never actually made direct contact with the Astral Realm.

Under such circumstances, if an individual wanted to truly reach places like the Astral Realm or the Aether Layer using their own abilities, they would need to reach the Golden Rank at the very least and master specific, specialized methods.

The entities that truly roamed freely in the Astral Realm were those of the Mythic Rank.

With Leah's issue temporarily settled, Nemus began to steer the Construct Protocol onto the right track.

The very purpose of establishing the Construct Protocol was to gather Faith.

The people present right now were simply not enough.

"Watchman," Nemus called out softly. Hearing his name, the Watchman immediately activated his whale transformation state.

His further improved whale transformation ability brought him somewhat close to Purr's level.

That colossal physique and the powerful aura radiating from the inside out caused the eyes of the followers who had newly joined the Construct Protocol to light up instantly.

"This kind of whale transformation modification can drastically elevate your strength."

"However, if you want to acquire power, the Construct Protocol will not give it to you for free," Nemus said, looking at the followers, knowing full well what kind of people the majority of them were.

Within the Floating World Society, many followers had worshipped the Evil God, while quite a few merely needed this platform to seek profit. Those who firmly believed in the Evil God had already been mostly wiped out by Nemus using the Church.

Most of the people here now were like Becky—individuals who used the Floating World Society's platform for personal gain, or who only held a shallow, superficial belief in the Evil God.

"I need you to spread doctrines and Faith for me, for a Fictional God."

"This Fictional God embodies a Multiform Unity. Anyone only needs to accept the Construct Protocol left behind by him and take the rules formed by the Construct Protocol as their Personal Credo to become one of the many fabricated identities of the Fictional God."

"Thereby gaining the opportunity to change the Number of your existence."

"I will grant you rewards based on the amount of Faith you gather."

"Remember, this body is entirely an undecided draft; those of the Construct Protocol gain the Right to Author One's Fate." After dropping that final sentence, Nemus turned and left directly.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you just leaving like that?!" Angel A's unique temperament was exposed the moment he opened his mouth.

Anyone with a bit of discernment understood the difference between Nemus and Angel A in that instant.

"Descent? Possession?" Becky's eyes trembled as certain secret rumors came to mind.

To be able to become an Alchemist, he naturally hailed from a Noble family. Although his household had already perished, he still possessed a deep understanding of various esoteric secrets.

Or simply relying on common sense to judge—such as what tier of entity would actually require a massive amount of Faith.

The Evil God enshrined by the Floating World Society was called a god, but was actually much more akin to creatures like a Demon.

What they wanted was not Faith, but the Desire born from various sensory stimulations. As for demanding Faith, it was simply a means to ensure the loyalty of their subordinates.

For an ordinary individual, apart from Priests who could utilize it to cast certain Divine Arts, Faith was fundamentally useless to anyone else.

Yet at this moment, having encountered an entity that genuinely required Faith, Becky felt an overwhelming sense of unreality.

It seemed as though he had truly stepped into a rather impressively formidable organization.

This kind of organization was highly unlikely to engage in petty, small-scale skirmishes like before; instead, it was poised to trigger something monumental.

Becky could not help but feel a surge of fear, yet intertwined with it was an undeniable thrill.

He understood one thing very clearly: as long as he did not get involved in massive incidents, an Alchemist of his caliber would not suffer a severe punishment even if captured by the Church.

It was more likely that he would be absorbed and conscripted by the Church. Although he might lose a certain degree of freedom, his days would still not be too miserable.

Becky took a deep breath to maintain his composure, then looked around at the subordinate followers who had been with him for some time.

Though they lacked broad horizons, they still understood that the matters before them carried immense risk.

However, the vast majority of them felt no regret at this moment.

Even if most of them did not consider their lives worthless, they were also not individuals of any great inherent value.

They all faced Predicaments that could not be resolved through normal means, which was exactly why they had chosen to take such desperate risks.

They all knew clearly that the magnitude of the risk directly correlated with the magnitude of the rewards they could reap.

A spark of Ambition ignited and began Burning within their hearts.

Inside the Cathedral, Nemus narrowed his eyes slightly as the Trait of the Construct Protocol subtly activated.

The moment the agreement was reached, the protocol was already taking effect, capable of gradually binding them with fabricated "Precepts".