Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

At this moment, deep in a cave in the mountains of Yeat, Scandinavia, all is silent, broken only by the occasional dripping of water. The ground is covered with slippery moss, soft and yielding underfoot; each step is taken with utmost care, lest one slip.

The older generation says that this is the lair of a dragon that has been sleeping for hundreds of years, and that it will bring disaster if it awakens.

Centered on this mountain range, these mountains are terrifyingly high, with jagged cliffs and towering peaks stretching endlessly, sharp blades that cut through the blue sky, crowned with snow all year round, resembling columnar jointed cliffs formed by clusters of thin pillars. Apart from those who can only use magic, only a few wild beasts dare to roam on them.

However, the fire dragon that once dominated the countless treasures there was now dead, its chest torn open by sharp claws, and its heart no longer beating.

Before the corpse stood a huge werewolf wearing a cloak and hood, his entire body stained with thick dragon blood.

"Phew, we finally killed that fire dragon. Now we don't have to worry about it harming people anymore."

At this moment, the werewolf smiled, ignored the treasure in the cave, and walked out. Perhaps sensing something, he looked towards the distant starry sky.

"So the reason I am here is not just because of that, my great god. Is the one who released the runes over there the warrior you have recognized?"

A spirit that descends to the mortal world, possessing the flesh of a wolf—

One of the heroes celebrated by Volsunga Saga, a man said to possess power comparable to the great hero Sigurd, a valiant warrior who annihilated the Sigurd race, and the older brother of the dragon-slaying warrior Sigurd who died before his birth, the hero Simfitri.

124: The earth belongs to you, the sky belongs to me.

That night, the fog was extremely thick in the capital city of Kitland, Scandinavia.

The partially waned full moon cast only a sliver of silver light, seeping into the clouds.

At this moment in the dead of night, there is no sign of pedestrians on the road, and the frozen silence encroaches on the darkness.

However, the composed, dark-haired man couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

Looking at the simple entrance to the palace, this was the first time King Beowulf had invited this missionary from the Eastern Roman Empire to come here.

However, the man also knew the reason, after all, the message he was conveying also contained the name of the person he had met once before, the one who was with the Death Apostle known as the Princess that day—Avia.

Out of some interest, the man inquired a little about the name afterward and discovered that the name was associated with a Hun who went to Milan, the Western Roman capital, as well as the person who slew the dragon with the dragon-slaying hero Siegfried in the Rhine... He didn't know before whether it was the same person.

But now it's certain that it's the same person, because Beowulf has announced that the Kraken and the water monster Grendel are dead, thanks to this Avia who doesn't resemble a Hun.

Augustine didn't care that he was a Hun, because he was born into a Berber family in North Africa. Berber was not the self-designation of the ethnic group, but rather a name given by outsiders, derived from the Latin word for savage.

As the successor groomed by the Cardinal of Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire, Augustine was not born baptized into the Church. During his formative years, he studied rhetoric and rhetoric, and initially adhered to Manichaeism.

But as Augustine grew older, when he engaged in theological debates with Manichaean priests, he discovered that these priests were all talk and no substance, and were unable to answer his questions.

The most crucial reason why Augustine abandoned Manichaeism and chose the Church was an event that happened to him during his travels to Alexandria, a city renowned for its philosophical flourishing—

One day, a black-haired boy was taking a walk in the very center of the city. He heard that the founder of the church had given a speech here hundreds of years ago, which might explain why philosophical discussions here were so lively.

Yet, in that instant, on this vast land that seemed to overwhelm everything, Augustine heard a voice.

The voice seemed to be a cry from the soul, or perhaps a sacred word engraved on this land many years ago.

"Then when? Why not end this filthy past right now?"

"Know that you must not indulge in revelry and drunkenness, nor be lustful and licentious, nor be quarrelsome and envious, but rather clothe yourselves with the Holy Son, Jesus Christ."

After uttering a few words that seemed to come out of nowhere, the young man fell into deep thought. All around him, everything in Alexandria remained the same, as if he were the only one who had heard them.

Subconsciously, he took out the most common New Testament in the city, and read the line on the cover that was already eroded by time and could only be barely recognized. He read it aloud, just like the voice—

"Beauty and goodness are inseparable, because both are based on form; therefore, people usually praise good things as beautiful as well."

"Grace does not destroy nature; it merely fulfills it."

From then on, Augustine turned to the Church and was baptized the following year in Rome, the capital of the still-undivided Roman Empire.

However, this period of prosperity was short-lived. A year after his baptism, the vast Roman Empire split apart due to the increasingly fierce struggle between papal and imperial power.

Unlike most church members who chose to stay or return to the Western Roman Empire, Augustine chose to leave Rome and go to Constantinople.

When Rome split, of the 128 cardinals of the Church, only three chose to remain in the Eastern Roman Empire: Ambrose, who insisted on the separation of church and state; Chrysostom, who believed in the equality of all beings; and Jerome, who studied the Bible and its commentaries.

Now, more than twenty years later, only Jerome remains to carry on the cause. Although the Eastern Roman Church has split, it still recognizes the Roman Catholic Church and therefore has not openly appointed cardinals in the Eastern Roman Empire. At most, they are appointed acting bishops.

"So you've finally arrived, Xu Augustine."

A clear voice rang out at the entrance of the palace.

In the black-haired man's line of sight, the young man's deep blue eyes looked at him and slowly greeted him.

"Long time no see, Avia."

Augustine bowed politely in greeting, as he was the one who had been invited and thus felt he should treat the inviter with proper etiquette.

"Please come with me."

Avia nodded in acknowledgment again, and Augustine followed her, not entering the palace as originally planned, but instead arriving at a high mountain outside the city.

After a while, the two of them quietly looked down from the mountaintop at the entire city and its surroundings. The silent night was illuminated by a light that seemed to come from nowhere, making it sparkle.

“Augustine,” Avia began, “how many people in the places you’ve been have been to the Church?”

"Um......."

Augustine was at a loss for words.

"In Europe, within the two great Roman Empires, most of them are like that."

"Yes, almost all of them."

For some reason, Augustine felt that Avia's words were sharp and incisive, and that his unique demeanor and actions conveyed a certain unwavering purpose.

"The church is still too powerful."

Avia couldn't help but sigh as the church she had built was now corrupted to such a state by that 'savior'.

He is hostile to all major magic organizations on many levels, and his stance is to destroy all mysticism except for himself.

To destroy the Church, it was necessary to directly kill Mabul Qihuang, who possessed the Holy Scriptures and was capable of severely injuring Kishua. According to the Demon Marshal at the time, even the Endless Ether Magic Cannon and the Moonfall of the Crimson Moon had been completely copied by him. The magic power of faith accumulated over hundreds of years was comparable to the infinite.

So even if they had the Luna Cannon, they would still be blocked. Typhon's mech might not be able to pass either, but they still found a way to solve the problem, since they caused it themselves.

“You, Augustine, even Novia would sincerely admire and respect you, but I feel sorry for the unfortunate fate of Rome and the Church.”

The black-haired man listened silently to the silver-haired youth's speech. Although from a religious perspective, it was undoubtedly heresy, he inexplicably felt that it was only natural for this person to say such things, and that he should not refute it.

"The glory of the Church and the culture of Rome will, because of you, not return to the City of God, but will continue to remain in the City of the Earth."

Avia smiled and pointed to herself.

"And I am here to destroy the church."

125: The topic that should have been created by you

The fact that a mere heretic dared to claim the destruction of the Holy Church is something that would make even a non-religious magician instinctively laugh.

That is a massive organization that has been glorious for hundreds of years, a sacred faith that will continue to exist even if Rome is destroyed. It has been so since its establishment. Neither the Dead Apostles, who are the mortal enemies of mankind, nor the Fantasy Race abandoned by the planet, are to be feared.

This prosperity will continue forever, and no one will be confused by what is taken for granted.

However, Augustine listened quietly, not taking Avia's words as a joke, and listened attentively until he finished speaking.

Then he asked Avia a question:

"What is the City of God? And what is the City of Earth?"

At present, neither the Western Roman Empire nor the Eastern Roman Empire has suffered from the invasion of 'barbarians'. To be precise, these people are simply incapable of confronting the glorious Rome of today and can only operate on the periphery of Rome. Naturally, the city of Rome is still impregnable and has never been breached.

"The glorious City of God, whether it travels through time, among the irreverent, lives by faith, or sits firmly on the eternal throne of the future, is not any tangible political organization, but an invisible organization formed by people through the covenant of good in their hearts."

"The cities of the earth are the various organizations that people have seen in this life. The benefits and disadvantages are always shared by good and bad people. As long as one lives in the mortal world, one will eventually die. Therefore, death itself is not the key issue. The key issue is what fate will be after death, which will be determined by one's actions in life."

"Whether we love each other, wage war, or kill each other in this life or the next, we will eventually reunite in the heavenly city to face judgment. The good will be rewarded, and the wicked will be punished, like Cvalus in his youth who committed heinous crimes, or Thrasymachus, the tyrant who pursued the interests of the strong and the winner-takes-all, who bullied and oppressed others. They will all be punished in the Last Judgment."

"Good deeds bring good rewards, and evil deeds bring evil consequences. The best life is one of goodness, and the attainment of the best life does not depend on anyone else. Whether you are in Rome, Milan, or Britain, as long as you do the good that God desires, your soul will eventually be redeemed, and even a prodigal son can return."

"The initiation declaration of the church should also be based on the covenant of 'good'."

When Augustine recovered from his surprise, his body trembled slightly.

As a believer and familiar with various philosophies, he naturally understood a lot from Avia's two sentences in an instant. To non-believers, Avia's words seemed to be nothing more than proselytizing, but in fact, this argument was not only a theological viewpoint, but could also be connected with political philosophy.

In traditional political philosophy prior to this, the core concern of politics was real life, and religion was basically subordinate to politics.

This political life encouraged people to pursue success and honor in their careers, but the distinction between the two cities negated the substantive meaning of traditional political life. In his view, the honor of the motherland, the gain or loss of political power, and the victory or defeat in war all became unimportant.

These all belong to the "earthly cities," and the visible church is also defined as an "earthly city."

Augustine didn't understand why Avia, who hadn't been baptized according to custom, was saying such things, but at that moment, he only had one thought—

Are there any more?

The black-haired man's expression clearly revealed his inner thoughts, his eyes fixed on the silver-haired youth.

"...Augustine, do you think this world is beautiful?"

The seemingly nonsensical question left the man looking puzzled.

"What does this mean?"

Do you think humans are beautiful? Gentle? Kind?

Augustine did not answer.

Avia looked at him and smiled.

"I understand... what you're thinking is also unlikely, right?"

People are fickle and cannot remain unchanged forever, and Avia knew this well.

Even if the City of God, as it is later promoted, defines the physical church as an "earthly city," those who come to power in the church will inevitably make it a representative of the "City of God." Thus, the church will theoretically possess the highest authority over people, which is unavoidable, as human desires will always increase.

However, the silver-haired youth's thoughts remained the same as on that day: as long as they could uphold the most basic bottom line, as long as that didn't change, that was enough.

That's why some things can only be done by others.

“Augustine, I have only perfected the beginning of this subject. Could you understand and perfect the rest, so that the world may know the meaning of doing good again?”

Avia paused for a moment, then continued.

"please."

Hearing his incredibly confident words, Augustine was somewhat taken aback and bit his lip.

If one is a believer, one should not have any connection with the dead; if one is not a believer, why does one have such a high level of understanding?

Unable to understand, Augustine suddenly found himself unable to comprehend Avia.

But in that instant, the black-haired man seemed to be transported back to the day he heard those sacred words in Alexandria. Before him lay the central square of Alexandria, and gradually, his appearance and demeanor overlapped with that of the man—

“You are, no, I…” Augustine suddenly nodded, “I understand, I will complete… the task you assigned me.”

“No.” Avia shook her head, still smiling, and said, “Augustin, this was originally your subject, which is why I want to thank you for accepting it.”

Avia's words were a bit strange, but Augustine didn't pay much attention to them, only asking nervously for the first time.

"Do we really want to destroy the church?"

"In any case, the church must be destroyed."

Avia's statement originally came from Cato, a Roman statesman. After the Second Punic War, Cato believed that Carthage might become a threat to the Roman Republic and strongly advocated for its elimination. Therefore, in any speech he gave to the Senate, he would end with the statement, "Carthage must be destroyed."

"Really... won't you regret it?"

“I have some regrets, thinking that I should have done this or that back then. However, there are other things that make me feel ‘thank goodness I did it.’ I’m not looking back from the perspective of gains and losses, but rather when I have warm and kind thoughts in my heart and actually take action, I feel afterwards that it was really good to do it.”

The silver-haired youth turned his head to look at the dark sky.

Countless tears of light, the strings of the night tracing traces, a rare meteor shower streaking across the sky, its tail of light serene and profound.

126: I knew nothing about him before. (Please refresh)

The fact that a mere heretic dared to claim the destruction of the Holy Church is something that would make even a non-religious magician instinctively laugh.

That is a massive organization that has been glorious for hundreds of years, a sacred faith that will continue to exist even if Rome is destroyed. It has been so since its establishment. Neither the Dead Apostles, who are the mortal enemies of mankind, nor the Fantasy Race abandoned by the planet, are to be feared.

This prosperity will continue forever, and no one will be confused by what is taken for granted.