The Four Pillar Cult Has Attacked (End of Volume Two)

Trample the All-Knowing Heaven and burn the spiderweb of destiny? Yaxiu's declaration was audacious, yet no one felt contempt or disdain toward it, nor did it seem like reckless bluster spoken in the heat of the moment. On the contrary, everyone could hear the resolute conviction ringing in his voice. "No." Diya looked at Yaxiu inside the fortress of vines, her eyes brimming with tears. "I don't want to wait until later... I'll burn the spiderweb right now and wish for you to stay!" "Did you forget? Once we leave that place, you can't make that choice anymore." Speaking of this, Yaxiu could not help but let out a dry snort. "If the summoning miracle had occurred before the wishing ceremony, perhaps everything would have been different... But the All-Knowing Weaver doesn't have the word 'if' in her dictionary. Every one of her schemes is fitted together seamlessly. That bunch of spiders didn't leave us the slightest opening. "Still, we didn't lose out either. At least you became the true Empress of Gospel in name and reality." Yaxiu blinked playfully. "Wait until you find me or I find a chance to come back. When that time comes, we'll squander all of the All-Knowing Weaver's family fortune together, then storm Heaven and usurp her throne. How does that sound?" "You're all lying to me..." Diya could no longer hold it in. Biting her lower lip fiercely, large teardrops cascaded down her cheeks, her voice choked with sobs. "Everyone is bullying me! "The Empress was like this, Gospel was like this, the angels were like this, the Weaver was like this... and now even you're like this! "We agreed to become a family! You said it yourself, I didn't force you! How could you go back on your word? How could you..." She swung her little fists and hammered against the fortress of vines. "...not want me..." "We are already family," Yaxiu said. "Whenever I go somewhere and know someone is thinking of me, I know I still have a place to return to. No matter what, I'll never be a stray dog; my heart will be filled with the happiness of a family pet..." "No, we can still be together," Diya said through gritted teeth. "I can make it realize I'm also the First Gospel. Even if it won't let you go, it will at least take me along, and then we can accept the summoning together!" "You could," Yaxiu said calmly. "But earlier, in the All-Knowing Heaven, why didn't you choose to burn the spiderweb to make a wish, nor refuse to inherit the spiderweb's legacy? Why did you choose to inherit the spiderweb, grasp the unfinished silk thread, and continue weaving the future of Gospel?" Diya froze. "If you choose to leave with me, it's no different from burning the spiderweb. It's equivalent to pulling out the cornerstone of Gospel Country's civilization, and what follows will inevitably be civilization's collapse," Yaxiu said. "Do you think you can accept those consequences?" "What the hell do those consequences have to do with her?" Harvey suddenly cut in. "A person only needs to be responsible for themselves. If you have good intentions and want to save the world, only to fail in the end, should the world's disaster be blamed on you?" "Harvey, this is the difference between a good child and a bad child," Yaxiu said with a smile. "There will always be people who rejoice in the joy of others, grieve at the sorrow of others, feel boundless delight for another's happiness, and feel uncontrollable fury over another's misfortune... Besides, I don't think Lisi needs to shoulder the future of Gospel. I only want to know why she is willing to shoulder that responsibility." "I don't want to be a good child!" Diya shouted loudly. "What do the other people in Gospel have to do with me? For all I care, they can all drop dead, drop dead, drop dead!" "Then why did you choose to continue weaving Gospel's future?" "I just thought it looked cool, and I felt like you would praise me!" Diya snuffled hard. "I don't care about Gospel at all, and I don't need praise from strangers I don't even know. I just needed... wanted..." "That's fine," Yaxiu said gently. "Then come with me." Qinna, Evalyn, and the others narrowed their eyes in shock. Diya also froze. Wiping away her tears, she asked, "Are you willing?" "Having a family member with divine power by my side—what wouldn't I be willing to accept?" Yaxiu laughed. "But if I do that, Gospel will be ruined," Diya said. "Won't you blame me?" "Though I don't think the term fits very well, my 'homeland' ought to be Blood Moon Country," Yaxiu replied. "If Gospel Country suffers a disaster, I'll sympathize with them, but I will never harbor the slightest grudge against you. As long as it's your choice—whether it's the path of an empress, an ordinary path, or a path of turmoil—I'll accompany you. "Though I hope you won't regret it, humans are creatures who feel regret. Those who never regret are either saints or fiends. Sometimes after an argument with Igola, even I regret not insulting him more cleverly." Igola let out a cold snort. Yaxiu continued, "So, I hope you choose a path where, even if you do regret it, you can turn to me to share the burden. As long as you don't hide away somewhere alone and let yourself be swallowed by remorse, I will always pull you back up." Diya stared at him blankly through the gaps between the vines, tears trembling in her eyes as she sniffled. "You're breaking the rules again... "You're just bullying me," she said, biting her lip. "You just know I won't leave with you like this, which is why you're saying all these nice things!" "That's right," Yaxiu said with a smile. "Because Lisi is a kind, good girl. "Besides, now that the princess with amnesia has returned home, it's time for the wandering knight to let go." *Whoosh!* Suddenly, with a muffled whoosh, Harvey was ensnared by the vines and dragged into the vine fortress, deposited beside Yaxiu. Yaxiu was utterly dumbfounded. "How did you get caught?" "Tired," Harvey said concisely. "I was listening to you talk and wasn't paying attention. "Besides," he paused, "I intended to go with you all along." "Why follow me?" "Why not follow you?" the necromancer countered. "Alice is inside Banjie's space card, and the space card is in my pocket... I have nothing left behind in Gospel." *I have nothing left behind in Gospel, and Gospel has nothing worth my attachment.* Yaxiu understood what he meant and shook his head helplessly. Sensing something, he turned his head and met the purple moth's gaze. Annan held little Banjie in her arms, her eyes filled with hesitant anguish. "Although these vines are easy to avoid, staying too long is still dangerous," Yaxiu said. "You all should leave first." Annan took a deep breath. "Yaxiu, I—" "Annan," Qinna said suddenly, "do not forget that you still have a contract with me. You are now a member of the Sennheiser clan, and you must return to live in Fanmula." "Then break the contract!" Annan said immediately. "I have the 'Tongue of Liberation.' As long as both of us agree, we can dissolve it directly—" Qinna said calmly, "I do not agree." "On what grounds can you disagree?" "On the grounds that I am your mother." "You—" "Annan!" Yaxiu suddenly called out. Annan instantly sensed an incoming strike from the vines and subconsciously dodged to a safe spot. At that moment, Annan saw Yaxiu give her a mischievous wink. "Don't hesitate anymore, Eldest Miss," Yaxiu said with a laugh. "Dodging just now means you've already made your choice. While I'm away, take care of Lisi for me. And holding little Banjie like that will make him uncomfortable—use the airplane hold I showed you earlier." Annan felt a faint sense of loss, yet also breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled helplessly. "If only you had lifted the quilt that night." *Huh?* Yaxiu was a bit baffled, but his attention was immediately drawn to another person. Igola. The swindler was looking at the ground while dodging the vines, appearing so calm it seemed as though he hadn't heard a word of their conversation. Sensing the cult leader's gaze, he looked up and asked playfully, "What, do you think I'd be as foolish as Harvey and follow you into the unknown to take risks?" Yaxiu said nothing. "Even though you still owe me a wish, it would be far too stupid to follow you just for that wish," the swindler laughed. "Celebrate! You're the only person who has ever owed me a debt and successfully escaped." Yaxiu still said nothing. "Besides, there is probably no country more suited to showcase my talents than Gospel," he continued. "Even if Lisi doesn't favor me, as long as she doesn't target me, I am confident I can carve out an empire here. Oh, right, I'm already a Three-Winged Sanctuary now. I'm more than qualified to establish a clan conglomerate." Yaxiu shrugged. "And one more thing." The swindler suddenly stepped close to Anfiel. Under her astonished gaze, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her slender waist. "Just as you hoped, I can join the Burdette clan and directly take over several centuries of an angelic family's accumulated heritage... Society, connections, even destiny are on my side. I have no reason not to remain in Gospel." Yaxiu finally spoke. "Igola," the cult leader said, "even now, I still can't figure out your feelings. I don't know whether you're angry, happy, expectant, nervous, or something else... You can always disguise yourself so well. I can't guess, and I don't know what to say to you. "But I'm truly glad that the first person I met in Shattered Lake Prison was you." Yaxiu smiled. "It was wonderful meeting you, Igola." The smile on the swindler's face completely vanished, and he stared at the cult leader with a strange look in his eyes. By this point, the vine fortress was nearly finished weaving itself together. The vines that had been chasing the Echoers outside suddenly split, accelerated, and lunged forward, as if their earlier sluggishness had all been in preparation for this sudden burst! The vines' trick indeed caught everyone off guard. However, almost everyone present was a sorcerer. While the vines were virtually invulnerable, the floor, pillars, and walls were not. They had plenty of ways to reposition themselves! Yet Evalyn's heart sank—her younger sister Anfiel was not a sorcerer. A vine assault of this scale was by no means something an ordinary person could dodge! *It's over!* Evalyn retreated while shouting anxiously, "Anfiel, dodge!" "Ah!" Hearing her sister's scream, Evalyn looked over and witnessed a stunning sight. Anfiel had fled to a corner with nowhere left to run. Just as she was about to be seized by the vines, the blond young man before her stepped in and blocked every single vine for her. "I already told you, be careful and don't drag others down." Igola gave up resisting, allowing the vines to bind him and drag him into the fortress. Watching this, Anfiel was suddenly filled with courage for some reason. She rushed forward, threw her arms around him, and under the swindler's astonished gaze, leaned in and planted a light kiss on his lips. Because his body was completely bound, unable to even struggle, Igola actually let her succeed. "I'll consider myself married to you now," Anfiel said, her eyes glittering brightly as she looked at him. "Remember to come back soon and give me a home." As Igola was dragged into the fortress, the green vines suddenly shone with a faint, shimmering emerald light, and space began to distort. Yaxiu looked around and said, "Miss Evalyn, Miss Anfiel, Lady Qinna, Lady Nona, Eldest Miss Annan, little Banjie..." He looked toward Lisi. Lisi sniffled and waved at him with all her might. In this final moment of farewell, Diya yielded the opportunity to the Little Witch Lisi. "Papa!" Lisi shouted at the top of her lungs. "I will definitely come looking for you!" "We will definitely come back," Yaxiu said. The next instant, the vine fortress collapsed into a single point and vanished from Gospel Country. *** "All-knowing and almighty First Gospel, Yaxiu Heath! Please bestow divine grace and protect all living beings of the Oasis!" Yaxiu wasn't sure if it was because this wasn't an invocation of the Four Pillar Cult, but it sounded remarkably pleasant to his ears. When he opened his eyes, he found himself inside a magnificent, resplendent palace. He was seated upon a stone throne, with Igola and Harvey half-kneeling on either side of him—their postures likely fixed that way by the vines. Yaxiu raised his head and saw sunlight refracting through the stained-glass ceiling into the palace. Together with the exquisitely divine braziers, there was hardly a shadow in the entire palace. It was bright and radiant, instantly refreshing to look upon. Moreover, the supplicants kneeling before them were not wearing black robes. Instead, they wore dignified red priestly vestments, and the ones at the very front were several white-bearded old men who looked highly respectable and venerable! It wasn't an invocation of the Four Pillar Cult! It wasn't an underground hall! They weren't figures in black robes! Looking upon this scene, Yaxiu felt strangely touched for some reason. At that moment, a red-robed priest stepped forward and prostrated himself reverently before them. "We respectfully welcome the descent of the First Gospel!" "Mm." Yaxiu exchanged glances with Igola and Harvey, instantly reaching an unspoken consensus—maintain this identity of the First Gospel before making further plans. "I have arrived." "Wonderful, this is truly wonderful!" As he spoke, the red-robed priest actually began to weep. "First Gospel, you have arrived at the most opportune moment!" Yaxiu suddenly had a bad feeling. However, since he was now the all-knowing and almighty First Gospel, actively asking questions would arouse suspicion, so he could only play along with the narrative. "Since I have arrived, destiny shall turn to a new chapter." "Indeed! With the First Gospel present, the destiny of the Oasis shall be rewritten!" "The villains' doom has arrived!" "May the glory of the Calamitous Fire never be extinguished!" Just as the red-robed priests were whipped into a fervor, the palace doors were thrown open with a thunderous crash. A young red-robed priest rushed in frantically, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Disaster, this is a disaster—" "Insolence! The First Gospel has arrived, and the Calamitous Fire shall never die!" the elder red-robe chided in displeasure. "Leshi, how dare you breach decorum before the First Gospel! According to church law—" "Wait," Yaxiu hurriedly interrupted. "Do you have news to report?" The young red-robe gasped violently for air, bowed respectfully toward Yaxiu, and only then spoke: "The Four Pillar Cult—the Four Pillar Cult has attacked!" (End of Volume Two)