Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1110: The Great Sin: Holding the Holy Sword

When the illusion was shattered, Don Quixote, who was half-kneeling in front of Aiwass, did not shatter with it.

In the pitch-black environment, transparent white ripples appeared around Don Quixote.

He looked up and looked at Aiwass.

Her long jet-black hair was scattered like kelp, and her emerald green eyes were like wolf pupils.

Compared to the original "Knight of Barin", he had become much thinner. His face was 30% to 40% similar to Yulia's, but because he was too thin, he didn't look too handsome, but had a cold and sharp feeling like a serial killer.

"Great savior...your loyal knight has finally waited for you."

Don Quixote's voice was fanatical and crazy, but his eyes looked rational and sad.

For a moment, I didn't know which one was the real him... I couldn't figure out whether he was pretending to be crazy.

"... Don Quixote..."

Aiwass whispered his name, and somehow added the suffix of the name he gave himself in front of Don Quixote's expectant gaze: "... De La Mancha."

Don Quixote's name can be understood as "the guardian of the 'La Mancha' region, the honorable Don Quixote", that is, "Sir Quixote". However, La Mancha, let alone the Land Splitting War... had already disappeared in the middle of the Herasil Empire.

This was the name of a very fertile and peaceful rural area in the central region of the Helasar Empire in its early days. It was probably similar to the meaning of "Taoyuan Village" or "Xinghua Village".

The name "Quixote" means a kind of thigh armor used by knights, below which are knee pads and greaves.

The armor at this position is extremely important for knights on horseback, because for infantrymen, their thighs are not so easily injured. But the knight's thigh is exposed, and considering the height of the horse, it happens to be the position that infantrymen can attack directly. Therefore, it can also be regarded as a "necessity for knights."

This name is undoubtedly a pseudonym. Its composition is too meaningful, just like the name a writer gives to a character in a novel... It always carries various metaphors and allusions to make it less casual.

Looking at the light that suddenly bloomed in Don Quixote's pupils, Aiwass suddenly felt as if he understood this man.

He is not just a fictional spirit that dreams of becoming a knight. He is not just Hercules who has lost his memory, or a phantom demon reconstructed using the soul of the Knight of Balin as raw material.

He had unspeakable pain and passion in his heart - from the way he addressed Aiwass, he clearly had his own will and story. It was just that he was actively indulging himself in the glory of the knight, using this method to cover up his own emptiness.

Rather than an ignorant spirit who learns and imitates the Knights of the Round Table, he is more like Aiwass's father-in-law - Prince Albert tries his best to imitate the bard Yunus, which is also a kind of escape in which he indulges.

It's like a player who is stabbed by pain and wants to escape quietly in the game or various personal interests, forgetting everything by indulging in it.

Aiwass had also seen a similar person, the clown Lalo from Xingti.

He is also such a crazy madman...but he loves Xingtan and is loyal to Valentine more than anyone else. Those noble and scholars who are sanctimonious, polite and elegant are nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing. On the contrary, the crazy clown is the most sober and sad person.

And for such a person, there is no need to pull him out of the farce that he knows is happening. That is not polite - nor does it make you look smart, like a wise man who has seen through everything.

Aiwass lowered his gentle eyes, and his clear voice rang out in the void:

"I, Aiwas Moriarty, appoint you as the guardian of La Mancha.

"Although neither Avalon nor New Herasl has this territory yet...but I promise you that this territory will soon be born...or rebuilt. It may not be too big, but it will be where my home is."

Aiwas looked at Don Quixote and said word by word: "I will live in the territory of La Mancha that you protect, Don Quixote."

Don Quixote looked at Aiwass, and his rational and sad eyes became brighter and hotter at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"…I will fight for you, my lord."

He didn't say much.

He was talkative and excited before, but now he became silent and taciturn.

And Aiwass reached forward and stretched out his hand——

"Don Quixote de la Mancha!"

Aiwass recited loudly word by word, raised the two cards in his hand, and declared loudly: "I call your name at this moment and give you the mark of greed!

"My life is your life, my fate is your fate--

"——Obey me, the Phantom Demon of the Way of Authority!!"

Following Aiwas's announcement, a dragon roar was heard in the distance.

A breath of frost dragon fell down, instantly freezing and solidifying Aiwass and Don Quixote who was half-kneeling on the ground.

A pure white magic circle wrapped in a circle of frost gradually sank into the ice surface and began to shine.

——It was like wrapping the lamp with thick paper, and as it was gradually carved out with an invisible chisel, tiny beams of light seeped out from it.

An increasingly bright glow hatched from the ice.

Like life hatching from an egg—

After it was carved, the pure light array rose into the air.

As it gradually rose, it thawed the frozen Aiwas and Don Quixote layer by layer, just like 3D printing. When it rose to a higher position than Don Quixote, the ice on the two people also completely dissipated.

When the light array rose to its highest point, a majestic and ferocious lion head pattern emerged in its inner ring.

Then, the magic circle began to gradually collapse and break from the outermost circle, falling into the void and turning into nothingness. In the end, only the white lion head ring that looked like a badge remained.

Two brand new giant tarot cards were also slowly printed out from the void, one above and one below, with the front sides facing each other and appearing on the upper and lower sides.

The one below symbolizes Don Quixote himself.

--【justice】.

The goddess, wearing a crown and a red robe, holds a scale and a sword, sits on a throne with two stone pillars behind her.

The high goddess symbolizes the majesty of God - the scales represent fairness and measurement, and the sword represents decision and punishment. The two stone pillars represent tradition and law, the red robe symbolizes the authority of religion, and the crown symbolizes the authority of the king.

Obviously, the standard of "justice" comes from the definition of authoritarianism.

The card face gradually changed... The burning red card face turned into a quiet green. The goddess no longer sat on the throne, but stood up and covered her eyes. She held a double-edged sword in her hand and stood on a huge scale. The two ends of the scale were "Alpha" and "Omega", symbolizing the beginning and the end... and they had reached a delicate balance at this moment.

The two simple stone pillars turned into complex spires with light and darkness at both ends. The two stone pillars turned into four spires. The four spires had eight layers of light and darkness at both ends. After an extremely complex and dangerous balance, the light and darkness reached a state of balance.

When both the origin and the end point are placed on a scale, they will be found to be balanced. This process is like an acrobat standing on a ball, requiring continuous concentration and a peaceful mind. [Justice] becomes [adjustment].

Compared with the static and harsh "justice", the "adjustment" that constantly tends towards balance is undoubtedly dynamic and calm; compared with external and material authority, it turns to internal and spiritual definitions.

The card above represents the Silver Crown Dragon used to seal Don Quixote.

——It is a “chariot” that symbolizes victory and authority.

Originally, the warrior stood on the chariot, with two sphinxes, one black and one white, in front of him, which corresponded to the two pillars on the card of justice. The chariot was surrounded by mountains, rivers, and city fortresses. It symbolized invincibility, conquest, and victory. It also symbolized the control of willpower over power - if the two lions of opposite colors could not move in the same direction, the chariot would not be able to move forward and might even be damaged.

This kind of command is called authority.

——Authority is the control of power!
But at this moment, this card also changed - the two sphinxes became four cherubim, also two black and two white. And the direction they faced also changed from one to three... As the light and darkness became more complicated, the situation also became more complicated, which corresponded to the complexity of the "Pillar" when "Justice" became "Adjustment".

Tradition symbolizes morality, and law symbolizes authority. However, with the development of society, morality and authority can no longer solve all complex problems.

The warriors on the chariot were holding spears, showing their glorious faces, and wearing laurel wreaths on their heads that symbolized triumph.

But in the new card, the warrior is covered in full-coverage armor as solid as a can. He is no longer standing to welcome the glory, but sitting steadily in the car; he no longer holds a spear, but holds a shield that is like the Holy Grail - or a Holy Grail that is like a shield.

He no longer needed material ropes and shackles, and the four cherubim prostrated themselves before the chariot. Because the external victory obtained by material constraints...had become a "victory without fighting" obtained through spiritual elevation, inner integration, and the adjustment of light and darkness.

Just like the situation of the Silver Crown Dragon at this moment.

He once transformed into the human warrior Arthur, conquered the kingdom of giants, and then conquered the High Heaven, and transformed into the new pillar god, the Silver Crown Dragon.

But at this moment, the Silver Crown Dragon no longer needs to achieve material victory... He now needs spiritual unity and inner harmony.

Finally, as the two cards gradually formed and became clear, they slowly moved towards the center.

The moment the two cards were closely combined together, it suddenly burst into a glow wrapped in a chill.

As the illusion shattered, Aiwass opened his eyes.

The holy sword Clarent beside him had disappeared.

In front of him, there was a pure white transparent card that was slowly spinning in the air. On it was a pattern of a lion's head outlined in metallic silver-grey.

Aiwass stretched out his hand and wrote his name fluently with his right index finger.

Its properties also emerged after the violent vibration:
[Major Sin: Holding the Holy Sword (Adjustment, Chariot)]

[Level: 50 (Suppressed)]

[Path of Authority, Light Attribute]

【Upright Summoning: Nothingness】

[Required: Light 5]

[Immediately, in front, effective immediately]

[Effect: Summon the spirit of the Paladin Don Quixote, who sacrifices himself to become a huge light shield, defending all attacks from the front for all the allies behind him.]

[Reversed Summoning: Holy Sword Holding]

[Required: Light 5]

【Maintenance: Light 5* daily】

【Action, Summon】

[Effect: Summon the Beast of Greed·Holy Sword Holder to fight for you. The Holy Sword Holder is considered a summoned creature. When not in combat, the Beast of Greed·Holy Sword Holder can transform into the Holy Sword Clarent and enter the follower state. Only one Sin Beast can exist at a time.]

"...The Holy Sword is held by someone else, and I have nothing..."

Aiwass gently stroked the cold card surface with his index finger and murmured softly.

Of all his Sin Beasts... maybe even of all his Phantom Cards, this one has the simplest card description.

——Pure numerical values, no mechanism. Or rather, the mechanism is not written on the card at all... After all, Aiwass has no idea how thick this light shield is or what additional properties it has. There is nothing written on it.

But even if it's just a particularly thick shield... As a group protective light shield that can be summoned instantly just by showing the card face, it is a very practical ability for Aiwass.

After all, Aiwass didn't lack attack power and healing ability. The shield that was summoned instantly was extremely useful to Aiwass - if he had this thing when he was fighting against the Fallen Angels, he wouldn't have to fight against the Fallen Angels in fear.

but why……

This skill that can protect allies from damage is called "Nothing"?
Why did he call himself "Holy Sword Holder"?
Aiwass remembered that Bishop Mathers, who was originally possessed by the spirit in the red-handled sword, should be called the "Holy Sword Guardian".

...Is it because Bishop Mathers is guarding the red-handled sword, but Don Quixote does not have the holy sword Clarente now?
Shelter also comes from the charity of others...

Don Quixote clearly distinguished between other people's things and his own things, so he only called himself "the holder of the holy sword." This means that the sword is not his, and he himself is "a penniless person."

He also lost the last thing that belonged to him.

Aiwass' heart was touched and his lips were slightly pursed.

"... Let me see you, Don Quixote."

He murmured softly and showed the cards in his hand.

Under the gaze of Isabel and the others, a knight in silver-white armor appeared in front of Aiwas in a brilliant glow.

He wore a majestic and handsome full-cover silver-white helmet, and his whole body looked like the most glorious and sacred knight - his dragon scale armor was covered with golden runes, and his every move was filled with warm brilliance. There was even a white halo behind his head that looked like thorns - it was a white ring, and then there were white spikes in the eight directions.

To anyone who saw it, this was a noble and noble Paladin.

The holy sword Clarente in his hand was also fully awakened. The huge sword like a door panel could be used normally for Don Quixote.

When he appeared, he was half-kneeling on the ground, with his right hand on his chest and his head lowered.

"Your knight, Don Quixote de la Mancha, has come to answer the call—

"——Fight for you!"

As the knight raised his head, a fanatical and loud voice rang out at the same time!
(End of this chapter)