novelraw Chapter 261 : Shiltina’s Ascension Ceremony
Chapter 261 : Shiltina’s Ascension Ceremony
Chapter 261: Shiltina’s Ascension Ceremony
“No wonder they’re all decrepit old relics who’ve lived who knows how many millennia—their very souls reek of decay.”
Rast embedded his will into the sculpture of the Evil God from Deep Blue Port, then released his spiritual power, scanning the mental bodies of those attending.
As expected, these members of the Gravekeepers—who had awakened from the slumber of the River of History and were now stepping into the light—would likely soon take part in the conspiracy against the Granwell Empire and Shiltina.
At that time, these legends and angels would become enemies of Rast and Emis.
Since there was now a chance to gather intelligence in advance, he naturally wouldn’t let it slip by.
“This one’s decent... The strength of their mental body is probably around three-fourths of a Judgment Holy Grail.”
“This one’s not that great, looks like only a little over half a Judgment Holy Grail.”
“Oh? The strength of this mental body is impressive—should be about the same level as that Gravekeeper Angel who once spoke with Grey during the end of the Sixth Era. Could this be that poor sod Grey screwed over?”
“Hm, I can’t fully see through this mental body. It’s likely the strongest among them... The leader of the Gravekeepers? Even if not, this must be one of the highest-ranking decision-makers.”
Rast carefully concealed his own presence as he began passing judgment on the attendees.
Every transcendent who had reached Legend or ascended as an Angel would undergo a complete sublimation and transformation of their spiritual power.
From the formerly vague and misty mental landscape, it would manifest into a Spiritual Sea, no different from a real plane—a true inner world.
The Crimson Wasteland in Rast’s heart, rebuilt into the Fool’s Library—and the reborn town of Canaan in Emis’s mind, purged of flames and smoke—were reflections of their own inner states, unique and irreplaceable mental image worlds.
Although the strength of one’s mental body—or in occult terms, the so-called “weight of the soul”—didn’t fully reflect a transcendent’s combat capability, and there were exceptions, such as undead beings with immense spiritual power but decayed bodies, or the reverse...
In general, however, a transcendent’s mental strength was directly proportional to their tier. It was a crucial reference point for gauging an enemy’s strength.
And in Rast’s current perspective, the Judgment Holy Grail manifestation he had erased within Little Ai’s mental world not long ago—that embodiment of the Order of the World...
Its spiritual power could be considered the absolute peak of Legend.
It was just one step away from becoming a true Judgment Angel, but because the Judgment Holy Grail had failed to locate the last flicker of Emis’s soul fire—thus unable to become the sole master of that inner world—this final step remained forever out of reach.
In other words, the so-called “Peak of the Ninth Turn at the Limit of Legend.”
Using the embodiment of the Judgment Holy Grail as a unit of combat strength was, frankly, quite apt.
Stronger than it? A full-fledged, genuine Angel.
Weaker? A veteran Legend.
After Rast finished silently evaluating each attendee, his gaze shifted to another mental body that had entered this subspace alongside him.
This was the mechanical puppet disguised as the “Leader of the Mechanical Flesh Cult”—the body itself naturally lacked any spiritual power, so what had entered alongside it was a fragment of Ophelia’s own spirit.
“Quasi-Legend?”
He was mildly surprised.
After all, Ophelia was even younger than Shiltina by a few years—barely fifteen or sixteen now.
Though unlike Shiltina, she had grown up enjoying the full support of the imperial family’s resources... even so, to have reached quasi-Legend in terms of spiritual power at such a young age was, frankly, astonishing.
It could only be said—this Second Imperial Princess was truly a genius in the field of the Mechanists.
While she might fall short in physical combat compared to Night Travelers who had survived countless life-and-death battles, as a Mechanist and royal princess, her daily labor with mechanical schematics and state affairs had forged her mental power to the level of Hearthfire mastery.
Thus, Rast continued spying with leisurely curiosity.
Then, from the head seat at the bronze long table, the figure with the highest spiritual strength—the one even Rast couldn’t fully perceive—finally spoke.
“Let me introduce our new attendees. One is the Patriarch of the Iron Cross Cult—someone I’m sure none of you are unfamiliar with...”
“The other is the newly risen leader of the Mechanical Flesh Cult from the Western Continent, attending as a vassal of the Iron Cross Cult.”
“Not long ago, the deity they worship responded to their prayers.”
“Therefore, we will be drawing upon the Iron Cross Cult’s strength in this operation.”
After that brief introduction, the figure shifted topics.
“Now, let us resume our previous topic.”
“The assassination plan for the Granwell Empire’s First Princess—Shiltina von Fresberg.”
That shadowy spiritual projection—likely the leader of the Gravekeepers—spoke slowly.
“The Granwell Empire is, as of now, the most powerful human nation on the Western Continent.”
“And according to the latest intelligence we obtained using divination-type sacred relics...”
“Though there has been little news from the outside world, in truth, the current monarch, Allen, has already planned to soon hold an Ascension Ceremony.”
“He intends to formally pass the throne to his daughter, Shiltina.”
The Gravekeeper leader paused briefly.
“Of course, the mundane transition of royal dynasties and sovereign rule means little to us Gravekeepers.”
“But behind this imperial ascension lies a deeper implication.”
“The sacred relic passed down through generations within the empire—the Star-Forged Holy Sword—contains an independent Higher Sequence known as Sovereign Domain.”
“In other words, each holder of the Holy Sword may, in addition to their original Sequence, open up an entirely new Higher Sequence Tier—the ‘Sovereign Domain’.”
“Princess Shiltina’s rapid power growth over the past two years—nearing the level of an Angel—is precisely because she now stands simultaneously upon the War Chariot and Sovereign Domain Higher Sequences, granting her an unparalleled advantage compared to other transcendents. She is far closer to the Origin than any of us.”
So Shiltina currently wielded both War Chariot and Sovereign Domain? That sounded awfully similar to his own situation.
Rast continued eavesdropping, utterly absorbed.
As the Master of the Fool’s Library, he was all too aware of just how immense the boost was when one simultaneously stepped onto multiple Higher Sequences.
If, one day, he could activate all twenty-two Higher Sequence Tiers in the Fool’s Library, and ascend each of their nine levels to the top—
Then, frankly speaking, he wouldn’t be far off from the omniscience and omnipotence of God Himself.
Of course, merely unlocking a new Higher Sequence wasn’t all that difficult—it just involved flirting with transcendents of other Sequences and establishing a basic bond.
But that wasn’t meaningful in and of itself.
To raise each Sequence’s bond level to its absolute peak, to ascend every tier fully—that was an entirely different level of difficulty.
Even now, within the Fool’s Library, the only graduation-tier Sequences with Bond Level at “MAX” for him were the “Tower” that symbolized himself, and the “Judgment” that represented Emis.
Even “War Chariot” from Shiltina, “Fate” from Grey, and “Moon” from Dean Silver... though their bond levels were also high, they still fell short of full max-level graduation.
“Right now, that Holy Sword Wielder Shiltina is still only the First Princess. Yet the Holy Sword and the ‘Sovereign Domain’ Sequence have already granted her such immense boosts.”
“And if she completes the Ascension Ceremony, transitioning from a ‘Princess’ and ‘Future Heir’ to becoming the true Empress of the Empire, then both the Holy Sword and the ‘Sovereign Domain’ Sequence will empower her even more dramatically.”
“Once she truly ascends, not only will Shiltina inevitably become an Angel—she might even become one of the Ancients among the Angels.”
“A dual-sequence Angel, barely over twenty, newly ascended, wielding the Holy Sword, with abundant lifespan, and possessing boundless potential.”
“At that point, the future of the entire world, the trajectory of human history, will slip completely beyond our grasp.”
As the Gravekeeper leader spoke solemnly, the participants seated at the bronze long table began murmuring among themselves.
There was no helping it. As leaders of their respective cults, the past two years had indeed been extremely difficult.
Under the Empire’s increasingly oppressive crackdown, they had no choice but to hide and run day and night, never knowing peace... countless strongholds had been wiped out, and countless loyal followers had been imprisoned and forced into labor reform.
If Shiltina were to be crowned and take it one step further, with her domineering personality—none of them dared imagine what might happen afterward.
“Therefore, the execution of this assassination plan will be set for the day of Shiltina’s coronation.”
“As a Holy Sword Wielder, her movements are usually erratic. She can even, if necessary, escape into the River of History using the Holy Sword, making her nearly impossible to catch.”
“But on that one day, Shiltina must complete her coronation before the eyes of the Empire’s countless citizens. She will have no way to flee, no place to hide.”
“However, neither Shiltina nor Allen are fools. The Empire will undoubtedly have prepared countermeasures...”
“That day will be a brutal battle.”
“We Gravekeepers have a death feud with that Shoreguard Shiltina has publicly protected, so we will fight with all we have—but after slumbering for so long in the River of History and only awakening in recent years, many of our strong warriors have yet to return to their peak condition.”
“Thus, we will need your assistance as well—”
The leader of the Gravekeepers swept his gaze around the room, then landed his eyes on the cult representatives seated at the table.
“We need you to perform ceremonies in the Imperial Capital on that day, allowing your respective deities to descend.”
“To participate in the assassination of Holy Sword Wielder Shiltina via Divine Descent.”
This was the true reason the Gravekeepers had chosen to invite these cultists to this secret gathering—to provoke a Descent of the Evil Gods they served.
If not for that, these cultists—who didn’t even have a single Legend among them—would be no more than ants the Gravekeepers could crush with a flick. There’d be no reason to hold strategy meetings with them.
The cultists themselves were in no position to converse equally with the Gravekeepers, but the Evil Gods behind them, those hidden upon the Threshold of Seraphim, did possess the qualifications to stand as equals.
“To conduct a descent ritual in the Imperial Capital, summon our Lord’s avatar, slay Holy Sword Wielder Shiltina, and spread our Lord’s radiance... that is indeed our wish, the will bestowed upon us by divine oracle.”
A cult leader spoke slowly.
“However, regarding the exact order of the Divine Descents...”
“Our cult will absolutely not be the first to act.”
This secret gathering, led by the Gravekeepers, had already been ongoing for a long time before Ophelia and Rast joined.
Yet this very issue had troubled them all along, becoming the primary obstacle that kept the meeting from progressing.
Allowing their Evil Gods to descend into the present world was indeed the long-cherished dream of all cultists.
But the Empire was no fool either—it would surely suspect that the cults’ recent quiet was in preparation for something drastic during the Ascension Ceremony.
That day, every security measure, every layer of protection, would be pushed to the absolute maximum.
Whichever cult took the first step and triggered chaos would undoubtedly be the first to suffer a thunderous crackdown...
Although the others might exploit the ensuing chaos in the Imperial Capital, the one who stuck their head out first would likely die without even knowing how.
Moreover, to allow the Evil Gods upon the Threshold of Seraphim to descend, a ritual must be used to break through the boundary between that threshold and the Present World—to create a passage linking both realms.
For these Evil Gods, already weakened since the fall of the Age of Gods and barely clinging to life upon the Threshold, such a cost was far too great. None of them were willing to bear it.
But if they could wait until another deity had already pierced the threshold and loosened the world’s boundary, the cost of descent would be much lower.
Thus, despite having the same intention, none of the cult leaders wished to be the one who’d get shot for stepping out first.
However, it was at this moment that the Patriarch of the Iron Cross Cult, seated at the bronze table, showed a subtle shift in expression.
Then, suddenly, he stood up.
“In accordance with the will of our Lord.”
“On the day of the Ascension Ceremony, in the first Divine Descent at the Imperial Capital—our Iron Cross Cult shall take the lead.”