Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 187 Gods
The Lord of Tides not only left behind the Ark, but also his knowledge. When his consciousness was about to die, he, like other gods, embarked on a journey to seek to continue life and consciousness.

In a flash, Ethan gradually understood everything.

Pure magic can also serve as the energy source for the Ark to move forward. In fact, in the beginning, this ship may have been driven by the magic of the Lord of Tides.

As the connection became closer and closer, the Ark became a part of his consciousness, allowing him to realize the "little mechanism" left by the Lord of Tides and the true meaning of "the spark of civilization" in His book "Enlightenment", which was almost the same as another title Ethan had learned in the Empire not long ago.

God's Chosen One.

He vaguely sensed that this was a being more transcendent than a saint, which could be seen from Turzan and Julius' attitude towards Mary, the Chosen One.

The Ark has been waiting for a chosen one who inherits the will of the Lord of Tides to embark on a journey of "The Chosen One and Soul Fuel". The captain has been given a more difficult mission - when the worst happens, he will act as a connector to gather all the chosen ones together.

The Lord of Tides considered a lot. He could not foresee the identity of the Chosen One and had no way to test his personality and mind. In order to ensure that the future Chosen One could complete the mission, He left another gift on the Ark.

The remaining part of His thoughts and consciousness will be infused into the body of the Chosen One, allowing him to gain extraordinary knowledge, but the price is to use divinity to stifle humanity, turning the new captain of the Ark into a sophisticated yet cold machine.

Ethan, who has the knowledge of a modern person, quickly understood the Lord of Tide's plan to prolong his life.

He uploaded his own consciousness to overwrite it onto the new captain when the end of the world comes.

As for what the Chosen One whose mind was overwritten has become, perhaps the Lord of Tides doesn't care at all. Ethan seems to be able to see the phantom of the past in every corner of the Ark. He clearly senses that in his twilight years, the human part of the Lord of Tides had long been destroyed. He responded to people's expectations of Him and became a rational, loving yet ruthless god.

He projects universal love onto the end of the world and the old gods who will eventually revive, but his attitude toward individuals is almost cold.

He will not leave the power of choice to the fuel and the chosen ones. When the end of the world comes, everyone will meet their own destiny.

The silence of the steel fortress was broken by people's exclamations.

The councillors and artisans saw the cracked ground and the pedestal buried beneath the Iron Throne.

The crack almost cut the island in half, and the violent shaking instantly plunged the residents of Ophira into panic. The divided ground seemed to be a sign of the coming doomsday.

Their houses are collapsing, and countless more will fall into the cracks.

The Lord of Tides foresaw this moment, but through rational calculations, He concluded that as long as the flame of civilization could continue, everything would be meaningful. Even if the surviving humans after the victory of the war condemned His cold-bloodedness, He did not care.

The screams and cries merged into one, sounding the clarion call for the Ark's voyage.

Those who fell and those who are still alive are witnesses.

But then, someone caught the falling people.

They clearly saw countless red arms growing out of the cold cracks, and even the ocean beneath the cracks was dyed red.

These ominous arms protected them from falling and being crushed by the rubble. It was as if the red ice given life sent them back to the ground. Looking at the dense red palms, the residents' scalps tingled, and they didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved.

But the events that followed brought them back to reality.

They saw black cracks torn in the air and twisted black shadows poking out from the cracks. Even though they had never seen such creatures before, they could immediately sense the surging malevolence.

The black cracks became more and more numerous and soon covered the entire city.

"To the street."

The majestic voice echoed in the hearts of every craftsman, making them realize that all their research and all their accumulated technologies were meant to meet this moment.

The one who gave them orders was not the master craftsman Gelb. In front of Ethan, even Gelb seemed to have become the most humble apprentice. The scene before their eyes overturned their cognition, and Ethan's orders seemed to overlap with the figure on the iron throne and became the same existence.

This is an order from the Lord of Tides.

However, when they looked at Ethan's back, wanting to see more clearly, they found that the growing darkness obscured their vision. The endless darkness was spreading from the wound where Gray was pierced by a bullet.

Gray's face also became distorted.

Followers of the evil god, this thought appeared in everyone's mind at the same time. Most of them had never seen a follower of the evil god, but they could easily understand this concept the moment they saw Gray.

It was an irresistible fear, as if it was holding each and every one of them in the palm of its hand.

This follower of the evil god actually wanted to murder the resurrected Lord of Tides!

"As I said, driving the Ark requires a huge amount of energy. Burning souls is the best option."

Gray grinned, so excited that black smoke came out of his eyes and ears. "And you used your own magic to forcibly activate the Ark. The worse option is that you would have to split off another part of your magic to save the residents of Ophira from falling."

This was a magical power beyond his imagination, so vast that it could cover the entire city.

But it was still a terrible choice, especially because of Ethan's arrogance, which left him with his back to his enemies.

Gray seized the opportunity and had to seize it. "Haven't you heard of this saying? Those invincible beings often end up unexpectedly defeated by some unknown little characters."

This declaration of victory is more like encouraging oneself and giving oneself courage.

He knew very well that everything he was doing required great courage - if Ethan did not divert his magic power, his existence could be wiped out with just a thought, so from the beginning, Ethan did not regard him as an opponent, and it was precisely because of this that he found an opportunity to take advantage of.

And his mission is to detect the limits of Ethan's magic.

Even the master of darkness they serve seems unable to understand Ethan's true nature.

This seems to be something else in human form.

Ethan responded, "You should be happy."

He heard the tremor in Gray's voice, as well as in Gray's soul and the consciousness attached to it.

He also listened to the jealousy and desire that came from deep within Gray's soul.

This young man longed to inherit the legacy left by the Lord of Tides, but was judged to be a cheater by the being on the Iron Throne, who deprived him of his life and left him to die in pain and reluctance.

The good news is that Gray-Leed has been reborn and has a second chance.

Ethan felt that this was something worth celebrating, and that he should take some time to invite friends to hold a party and discuss this matter enthusiastically at the party.

And he thought that he was a warm-hearted person compared to the cold-blooded Lord of Tides.

He was willing to respond to Gray's desire because it was a piece of cake for him.

However, Ethan's gentle tone seemed to have the opposite effect. He found that Gray's soul was trembling more obviously. "Isn't it? You will soon become the successor of these forbidden knowledge. Do you need to give a speech to express your gratitude for the award?"

Gray responded to Ethan with practical actions.

Boundless darkness surged towards him like a tide.

Ethan seems to be a shy boy who is not good at speaking. He respects everyone's choice.

The sweeping black shadow disappeared in an instant, and Gray Lead stood there with a distorted expression. The darkness was moving away from him, and the filthy things attached to his soul were being stripped away by some supreme power, and the dying fire of life was also continued by that supreme power.

In a trance, Gray vaguely heard the sound of gears turning.

The sound came from his body, replacing his heart that had long since stopped beating.

Then countless knowledge and cognitions that did not belong to him were instilled into Gray's brain, and he understood the Ark's operating instructions almost instantly.

He wants to find people like him scattered around the world.

Huh?
Is this what he thought?
Why can't he be happy at all?
Although his heart's desire was satisfied and it was a scene he could never have imagined in his dreams, he could not feel the slightest joy.

Of course, there was no panic or anger. All emotions, whether good or ugly, left him equally.

Inheriting this knowledge has been the ideal given to him by his family since the moment he was born. Those people praised him for his extraordinary talent and extraordinary existence. Such expectations made him taste the privilege.

Even if you do something wrong, you will be forgiven, and even acts that violate the laws of Ophira will be covered up by the family.

Gray grew up in such an environment.

The family made Gray understand that Ophira's laws only existed for ordinary people, but he could act according to his own mood and preferences.

Therefore, the beautiful plan created by the family also became his ideal.

As long as he inherited the forbidden knowledge, he could continue to live his life as he pleased, and he was destined to inherit everything.

but……

What should he do after inheriting that knowledge?
Gray never imagined the problems that would come after that.

Yes, he wanted to find those beings who were the same as him and scattered across various continents.

Gray suddenly had the answer in his mind. At this moment, his pupils lost their color, his head drooped, and there was no expression on his face anymore, as if he was a sophisticated machine with a set program.

Ethan silently observed Gray's changes. For him, this was also a process of cognition and learning. He witnessed the annihilation of personality and the end of his will being covered by divinity. All these changes were in line with the Lord of Tide's expectations - even if the person who finally boarded the Ark was an unforgivable and fallen person bewitched by the evil god, He could "pull him back to the right path."

This is a win-win deal.

Gray got the treasure he had always dreamed of, and Ethan gained more knowledge.

More importantly, the ship needs an AI crew.

"Let's set sail."

Ethan spoke, Gray nodded silently, a loud bang resounded throughout Ophira, and then people deep in the artisan area felt that the ground under their feet began to move.

But all this looks quite different in the eyes of the parliamentarians.

They also witnessed Grey-Leed's transformation, a sight far more horrifying than defeating or killing the rebel.

In their view, Ethan turned humans into machines.

This is the power of the Lord of Tides, which is far beyond their understanding.

?

When Ethan looked at the congressmen, the familiar look of fear and awe deeply hurt his eyes.

This made him want to remind these people - first of all, you are a country without faith, please defend your position!
From a technical point of view, he was just going with the flow and helping the young man Gray realize his lifelong wish.

He can't make robots!

But now was not the time to explain to these people, he sensed what was happening somewhere in Ophira.

The roar of the Ark awakened the ancient being living in the deepest part of the ocean, and the entire ocean was responding to it.

He saw the waves being raised.

It is like a wall connecting to the sky, shrouding everything in the distance in the blue.

The wall that led to the sky was slowly approaching them.

When that ancient being opens its eyes, Ophira will face its first tsunami.

And the one used to awaken that ancient existence is also someone with ancient bloodline.

This is a deal, and the price of a miracle.

Meanwhile, on the coast of Ophira, Winter was standing amidst the bloodstains on the ground.

These people from the Lid family fell to the ground, lifeless. Their blood was used to draw the ritual circle, and the peeled bones became the material for summoning. The severed heads were placed in the center of the circle before they had time to rot. It was an old man.

They seemed to have given up resistance voluntarily.

The man who did all this was the only one among the many corpses whose death was different.

His body was pierced by ice spikes and the blood flowing out was frozen. He was holding a sacrificial dagger in his hand and glared fiercely in the direction of winter before he died.

“Once a contract is reached, it must be enforced.”

Rattle took the initiative to explain the situation to Winter. "Even if the content of the contract requires him to sacrifice other members of the family, don't get me wrong, we have never forced him, but the miracle of resurrection from the dead also requires the same level of sacrifice, doesn't it?"

She completed her mission.

He straightened up, and his drooping arms turned into wriggling shadows.

The next task is to struggle a few symbolically.

Xiangwei's figure turned into a wandering shadow, but she still had a charming smile on her face. Death seemed unable to cause any ripples in her heart.

The only regret is that I won’t be able to see what happens next.

Her consciousness was hazy for a moment, and then her vision reversed, and she fell to the ground with her falling body.

Rattle saw Winter passing by her, and the half of her body that was stagnant in place.

From beginning to end, the witch's gaze never lingered on her.

The witch's target was the sea. She walked to the shore, bent down, and touched the increasingly restless sea with her palm.

The next moment, the whole world came to a standstill.

The waves in the distance that reached the sky stopped moving and turned into a magnificent wall of ice.

Xiangwei's smile became brighter. She landed on the endless white ice. The coldness deprived her of the sense of pain for a moment. She couldn't help but imagine whether the world-destroying torrent that took place several epochs ago was also such a magnificent scene.

Not only the sea water was frozen, but the shadows that kept emerging from the cracks were also turned into ice sculptures in an instant.

The saint used his magic to pave the way for the ark.

She felt that the witch seemed to have become even more powerful than the rumors in the past.

This was the last scene Rattle witnessed.

After completing all this, Lin Dong was a little dazed. He staggered and gently covered his forehead with his hands. This was an inevitable symptom caused by excessive consumption of magic power. Even the freshmen in the academy had learned this lesson.

Lindong simply hugged her knees and sat on the beach. The cold sea breeze blew her long white hair.

In the past, when she had nothing to do in the North, she liked to daydream like this.

However, professors at the academy have a different interpretation of this. They believe that this is meditation, which can to some extent explain why she possesses such powerful magic.

She heard a roar from behind her.

The Ark, which had been sealed for several epochs, embarked on its first voyage.

She also vaguely saw the tentacles emerging from the sea behind the ice wall. Even though they had not completely broken through the seal of the valley, the deep ocean seemed like doomsday.

That is the Ark's destination.

Of course there are other images. With the growth of magic power and the deepening of understanding of time, those scenes that seem to come from the future will appear in Lindong's mind from time to time.

In another doomsday, the Ark failed to wait for a new captain.

With the death of the Speaker, Ophira's direction collapsed completely, and the first tsunami submerged the entire city.

Eliom's tentacles entangled the city, dragging it into the deep sea, and then the entire western continent.

This was the second country to be destroyed by disaster.

A person who looked the same as her sat down next to her, hugged his knees like her, and turned his head to stare at her.

This time, there was no playful or fanatical expression on the witch's face. She became unusually quiet, making Lin Dong feel as if he was facing a mirror.

Winter asked, "Is it to make up for the regret?"

The witch nodded.

"why?"

Winter was a little puzzled. Ever since the Fallen War two years ago, she had been completely shrouded in negative emotions. If she hadn't been taken home by Ethan, a nosy man, in Riverwood Town, the end of her journey would have been destruction.

Either you destroy yourself or you destroy the empire.

She is not a good person.

Many times, they even perfectly fit people's definition of terrorists and believers of evil gods.

She also has no interest in saving a civilization that is about to be destroyed.

So Lin Dong was a little curious as to why this witch, who looked even more extreme than her, was putting so much effort into this.

"You should already know the answer in your heart, right?"

The witch said softly.

——"Everything you have experienced is the path that every upright God has walked before."

(End of this chapter)