Oswald was suddenly startled when he heard the familiar voice.
He suddenly turned around and saw Aiwass, who had appeared in the corner at some point and was slowly taking off his hood.
Aiwass's eyes were not the clear and transparent emerald green as usual, nor were they shining with golden red as warm as the sun. Instead, they were emitting a strange purple mist.
——There is no doubt that that is Aiwass.
Even though he was not wearing temple-style church clothes at this moment, but was only wearing loose casual clothes that were convenient for movement... Oswald, who had grown up watching Aiwass, would naturally not mistake him for the wrong person.
He was shocked: "You...shouldn't..."
The old butler, who was like a wild wolf, suddenly realized something and swallowed back the rest of the words.
"What 'should' be, Mr. Oswald?"
Aiwass chuckled and said: "Should it be in the military camp, should it be at the seaside, should it be in the ziggurat?"
His eyes bypassed Oswald and looked at his adoptive father, James Moriarty.
"——Is that what you think?"
Aiwass said word for word.
At this moment, James Sr. doesn't seem to be in very good condition.
It's not because of injury, illness or lack of sleep... it's because my temperament has lost that light and mysterious feeling.
He didn't seem to be in a good mood. The corners of his mouth sank slightly, and he lost the calmness that seemed to be a smile but not a smile. His temperament also became more composed and serious. He was like a cynical poker player who doesn't look at you squarely.
Suddenly he sat up and started playing cards with you.
To put it bluntly, it's like the gray spider hiding deep in the spider web like a phantom has turned into a black and shiny unicorn. Without the hazy dream-like veil, the whole person has become more...
It's clear.
——Or to put it more clearly, the monster that looks like a CG suddenly has a blood bar underneath.
"The reason why Mr. Oswald temporarily lost some of the power of his devotional path is because he used the power of devotion on others."
Old James responded calmly for him.
"Is that so, Mr. Oswald?"
Aiwass turned around and looked at Oswald calmly: "But if that's the case - why do you look ashamed?"
Oswald's already drooped head drooped even lower. He said nothing and looked more and more painful.
Aiwass's words were not interrogation, but concern.
But to the old elf, Aiwass is not just a child he has seen since he was a child. Aiwass once became the Pope. Although he has resigned now, his light words are still like the Pope wearing the Holy Crown.
He held a holy staff and asked harshly.
The systems of professionals and inheritors are fundamentally different.
Once the heart corresponding to the path is lost, the inheritor's power will be lost. It should be more idealistic. If a person firmly believes in this path, his strength will become stronger by leaps and bounds; and if a person originally believed in dedication
If one day he suddenly doesn't believe in the Tao at all, then all his strength to dedicate himself to the Tao will also dissipate.
The career system from Weizhe and Sand Time is more stable, but in fact it does not change the mechanism of obtaining power, but solidifies the path's transformation of people's hearts in a more mechanical and thorough way - that is,
After people reach the corresponding level of the path, they will continue to increase the influence of the corresponding path on the mind, so that "it is less likely to suddenly lose the heart corresponding to the path", and therefore will not lose power. The side effect is that it is easier to lose control and become
Puppet of the road.
The Papal Guards certainly belong to the inheritor system.
Therefore, when a guard's strength suddenly weakens, it means that he may have deviated from the way of devotion and his mind has become impure - according to the rules of the church, Oswald should immediately be in the Holy Book
He was removed from the church and dismissed from his post. Before he could cultivate his strength back, he was not allowed to carry out any external activities in the name of the church, nor could he leave the church's sphere of influence - that is, leave the city.
This is actually house arrest. It's just that the scope of activities is as large as a city, and you can also do some voluntary labor or community activities to try to regain some status.
This is actually a relatively mild treatment. If you completely lose the power of dedication, you will be branded with a black mark and locked up in prison.
This is very terrifying in the entire social system of the Theocracy. For very face-saving elves, this is even more painful than the death penalty. This means publicly saying to everyone, "This person has strayed from the path of devotion.
Don’t believe anything he says in the future.”
Oswald can still use high-level magic, which shows that he at least still retains the power to devote himself to the path; he can have a 50-50 fight with Director Cornelis, and at least he has not lost the power to balance the path, and he still has
Belongs to the fifth energy level.
Oswald must know Moonchild's weakness. Even if he doesn't know, old James will definitely tell him.
Now he can't even use the fourth-level scorching ray... This means that the power of Oswald's path of dedication has at least declined to the third energy level, or even lower.
It has only been two months since I last saw Oswald from the Theocracy.
...What happened in the past two months?
Aiwass' question fell into place, but Oswald did not respond.
After perhaps a short or perhaps long silence, Old James slowly spoke: "Please go out for a moment, Mr. Oswald.
"Watch the wind for us, can you? To prevent anyone from approaching us."
"But you-"
Oswald raised his head in shock and looked at the old man beside him.
Old James smiled calmly and gently handed the crutch from his left hand to his right hand: "This is a matter between Moriarty - it's not good for you to get involved in it."
He looked at Aiwass, as if asking and confirming: "Right, Aiwass?"
Aiwass can understand his adoptive father's words.
The duty of the guardian elves is to protect the "Moriarty" family from continuation. This is a contract made in the past. The special inheritance model of the Moriarty family has resulted in that there is actually only one "Moriarty", and the remaining
They are all just adopted sons and daughters in name only.
Therefore, Oswald would always stay with old James, always intending to protect this old man who had almost suspended his own death.
——His decision is certainly correct.
And what old James means is...
"This is a battle between Moriarty. Whoever wins will be the new Moriarty. Therefore, as a guardian elf, whether you attack the old master or the new master, you will
Inappropriate."
In other words, what Old James means is: "You are here to kill me, right?"
"——You are right."
Aiwass responded with a gentle nod and a smile.
After hearing this, old James not only did not curse or rebuke, but also laughed silently.
Oswald looked at Aiwass and then at old James. He was suddenly shocked - because these two people, who were obviously not related by blood, had such similar smiles on their faces.
It's like looking in the mirror.
The old elf had a complicated expression.
He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, wish something, or beg for something. But in the end he said nothing.
He shook his body, as if something had been pulled away from the body. The old elf, who looked like a dead tree, whispered "Yes" in a suddenly hoarse voice and turned around to leave.
——Other than that, he really didn’t know what he should say.
