Chapter 534 |
“Do you see it now? What your preachers have been doing.”
The calm, emotionless voice echoed directly in Nicholas V’s mind. He shuddered violently and shouted:
“Honored Mage! Those are merely shadows under the sunlight! I can remove them! I have the ability to put a stop to all this—I can guarantee it will never happen again!”
The scenes displayed on the light curtains were horrifying. The preachers’ behavior completely violated the universal values of ordinary people; some acts were downright monstrous. He believed the mages were angry because of this.
Suddenly, the scepter—the symbol of divine power and imperial authority—vanished from his hand. He had no idea how the mages had taken it. The power he once took pride in, the chip he viewed as his safeguard, instantly became worthless.
“The externalized core of a foreign-plane faith system. Do you understand what this thing represents?”
Nicholas V’s mind raced, trying to determine the purpose behind the mages’ question and how he should respond.
After a long pause, he said:
“It represents order. Stability. If the Divine Path is implemented across the Academy Continent, mortals will live entirely according to the rules set by the mages. They won’t be able to harbor any distracting thoughts. Isn’t that exactly what the mages—”
“—this means your will can be perfectly enforced.”
Above him—where he could not see or hear—the mages were passing around the scepter.
Wendy said, “This is a very advanced faith system—far more advanced than anything we’ve discovered before. Its control over believers is absolute. I can imagine that in its world, all mortals, aside from mating to produce more believers and praying to supply power to high priests and supreme gods, have no freedom whatsoever.”
Avril added, “It completely annihilates the self-awareness of ordinary people, turning them into walking corpses. This system is like a precise machine—every individual is just a component entirely manipulated by the core for the core’s benefit. Absolute selfishness.”
A cold murderous intent flashed in her eyes. The Mage World would never allow such a thing to spread. Anything connected to it had to die.
Ophelia was not qualified to be present here, but she had been allowed in. Uneasy, she stared at the scepter, recalling the state of the believers in the Johnson Family’s territory. She hesitated and said:
“I think it’s extremely dangerous. Once someone becomes a believer, they lose the ability to think for themselves, which means—”
Adam finished for her:
“Their ability to think is erased. Their wisdom is erased. Which means such people can never step onto the path of magic. This is digging at the foundation of the Mage World.”
Nicholas V waited for some time, but hearing no response, he forced himself to continue:
“I am willing to hand over the scepter to the honored mages. It represents control over all mortals under the Empire. As long as it exists, mortals will not resist the commands of its wielder. I am willing to act as your representative, to handle matters unworthy of your attention. I guarantee—”
At that moment, the chamber lit up. Nicholas V finally saw the mages seated above—
and saw Adam, the figure remembered by every faction across the world.
“It sounds quite good,” Adam said. “But unfortunately, you misunderstood—and you made mistakes that cannot be undone.”
A terrible sense of dread washed over Nicholas V.
Still, he didn’t believe he would die. Too many people practiced the Divine Path. If he died, the rest could not possibly remain. The mages would never give such an order—it involved hundreds of millions of lives.
What he feared most was the loss of his authority.
“No matter what it is, I can correct it. Lord Adam, I can—”
He still believed he was important, unaware that everything he relied on—everything he believed the mages feared—meant absolutely nothing.
“It’s too late,” Adam said lightly. “Some mistakes cannot be corrected. If you make them, you die.”
Although Nicholas V’s Divine Path greatly accelerated the end of the Full-scale Mortal War and resolved three hundred years of deeply rooted hatred in a single stroke, these merits did not outweigh his crimes.
Avril, no longer able to restrain herself, personally struck him, reducing him to ashes.
She picked up the scepter, nodded toward Adam, and left the chamber. She would lead the Guardian Sequence and command the Law-Enforcement Robots to kill every single practitioner of the Divine Path.
Ophelia still didn’t understand why Adam had kept her there. Uneasy, she said:
“Lord Adam, regarding the Johnson Family…”
“I intend to establish a parliamentary system on the Academy Continent,” Adam said. “And I believe the Johnson Family is qualified to serve as the First Seat of the Upper House.”
This was the system Adam had chosen after careful consideration—
a model best suited to the Academy Continent.
This parliament was not the Mage Council.
It would be entirely composed and elected by mortals.
Based loosely on Earth’s bicameral system, Adam planned to establish:
- Composed mainly of old nobles and mage apprentices.
- Seats were fixed.
- Symbolic authority more than actual power.
- Allowed direct communication with mages to convey their will.
- Members elected by all legally registered Personal Chip users in each city.
- No seat limit.
- Served as the direct administrators of the Academy Continent.
This structure allowed different groups to check and balance one another within a defined scope, giving ordinary graduates upward mobility while ensuring old nobles and mage apprentices retained a respectable status.
After hearing this, Ophelia finally relaxed.
Her biggest fear had been that Adam would force the Johnson Family to become “Emperor.”
The Johnson Family lacked the foundation to rule a continent, and considering how the Academy Department—or Adam—handled mortal affairs with near-complete noninterference, letting mortals fight among themselves until one prevailed before the mages delivered the final verdict, the Johnsons would have been doomed.
But a parliamentary seat carried almost no danger—
and represented the family’s greatest opportunity.
“Thank you for your trust. On behalf of the Johnson Family, we accept your directive.”
Adam smiled and nodded.
“That’s for the best. But remember—opportunity always comes with risk. Other families also have mage lineage. And wealthy clans will certainly try to compete. I won’t involve myself in these matters. You and your family will have to handle them.”