The defeated saint is also on the way to tame the evil god today

Bishop Fry Sunlight wore this crystal and harvested countless lives in the Citadel. All the power of those lives gathered here, just for this moment.

Lucius stared at the black light surging within the crystal. He tightly grasped the Angel's Tears and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, a terrifying golden light shone from them—

"boom--"

Merlin's Superstring Array was activated again, and black light filled the entire array, outlining complex symbols.

Each symbol was written on the parchment by Lucius himself. He spent countless days and nights studying and thinking about it. For this purpose, he traveled all over the continent of Vesta, looking for clues hidden in every ancient stone slab.

He even came into contact with the oldest organization in the world, met the oldest being, and even had to work with the people he hated the most.

"You want to seize... my godhood...?"

Aurora lay on the ground with difficulty. Her divinity had been completely extracted and placed into the crystal altar. She could no longer use even a trace of power.

"You... despicable... ambitious man..."

"careerist?"

Lucius finally turned around and met Aurora's gaze.

The golden light in his eyes had dissipated, and his lake-blue pupils were brewing a deep whirlpool that seemed to be able to absorb a person's soul.

"Someone sits high up in a place, manipulating a puppet, yet it is revered as a world-class achievement and worshipped by thousands."

“Some people burn themselves out in the darkest abyss, only to be swallowed up by the darkness and left unattended.”

For countless days and nights, the man wrote repeatedly under the lamp and pondered repeatedly in front of the ice coffin.

He poured all his heart and soul into the needle, but the needle couldn't stop her from bleeding.

He met that cold gaze countless times, but she couldn't see him.

"..."

Lucius's expression became more and more ferocious, like a demon.

Dark power began to emanate from the "Superstring Array", swirling around Lucius' body, causing his blood vessels to bulge and black spells to gradually be engraved on the surface of his skin.

He lowered his head, looking at his increasingly inhuman appearance, a mad smile appeared on his face:

“Hehehe…hahahahahaha!”

Looking at Lucius's appearance, Aurora's eyes became more and more panicked:

"Crazy... madman..."

"Mad? Am I a madman?"

Lucius drew his wand and pointed it at Aurora, his face ferocious, as if he wanted to crush the girl to pieces.

But his eyes fixed, and the madness on his face disappeared, turning into sadness.

He put down his wand, silently walked around to the back of the desk, and picked up the frame containing Miriam's photo.

"daughter..."

Lucius took the photo out of the frame, put it inside his windbreaker, and then lifted the surface of the table -

"Pfft-"

The icy air spread out, and without the cover of the tabletop, the true appearance of the table was revealed -

——This is an ice coffin.

Under the ice coffin, the blonde girl lay quietly, her lake blue eyes slightly narrowed, and her cold gaze came through the coffin.

Miriam Phillips.

Countless late nights, when Lucius was working at his desk, he could feel his daughter's gaze on him.

He tried every possible means just to make her cold heart beat again.

Now, he finally found a way.

"..."

Black spells gradually climbed up Lucius' cheeks, but looking at Miriam, he smiled.

He placed his hand on the surface of the ice coffin, touching his beloved through the cold, and the smile on his face no longer looked like that of an evil ghost, but became kind.

That was a father's smile.

"Tonight, I will make you hear as well as see, and speak as eloquently as if you were speaking."

Lucius raised his head and stared at the darkness above him. Complex black spells extended from the "Superstring Array" all the way to the ceiling, gradually spreading throughout the entire cave.

At the same time, the green "Tree of Life" in the crystal altar began to flow into the magic circle on the ground. The green light flowed on the ground like a stream, and finally gathered at the feet of Lucius.

"what..."

Lucius made a sound somewhere between pain and comfort, green lines gradually flowing into the black spells all over his body, and a green light bloomed in the depths of his eyes.

He opened his arms and embraced life.

......

In the cafe, Xingmo slumped down on a chair, her mind feeling dazed.

As the "Superstring Array" was activated, she suddenly understood many things.

...Bishop Fry Sunlighter initially ran away because someone told him the truth and instigated him to seek out Miss Elmer and find a way to see through the spring...

...Bishop Fry Sunlight is the Steam Man, so why is his name on the list of Steam Man hunters in the Sunflower Baths? It's a misleading act, misleading others into thinking the bishop is fleeing because he's being hunted by the Steam Man, thus concealing the identity of the instigator...

...Oh right! Back on the Humpback Whale, I saw a memory from before Bishop Frye's transformation. In that memory, besides Prince Austin, there was another person involved in Bishop Frye's transformation...

Among these clues, there has always been a person who has never appeared.

Previously, Xingmo lacked the ability to evaluate these clues because there were too many events before her.

And now, when the "Superstring Array" was activated by the additional "Angel's Tear", the man's face suddenly became clear.

That person was her mentor, Lucius Phillips.

Only an alchemical steam expert like Lucius Phillips can complete the transformation of the "Steam Man".

But...why?

Isn't Prince Austin the murderer of Miriam?

Then why...would the mentor cooperate with him...?

No...could it be that that's not actually the mentor?

But who else could it be besides the mentor...?

Xingmo's eyes became confused, and her thoughts turned into waves that seemed to be drowning her.

When she suddenly remembered something, she immediately broke away from her complicated thoughts and floated to the surface.

No! There's no time to think about these things now!

Xingmo's intuition told her that the magic circle opened by Lucius might come with a huge price - it might affect both the Citadel and Aurora.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have to send Xing Mo away before activating the magic circle.

The most urgent task is to find Lucius immediately!

Xingmo stood up and looked at Perlis across the table:

"Ms. Perlis, I'm going to Nefera Beta. Can you take me there?"

As expected, Perlis nodded slightly:

"Of course, but I have a gift for you."

"Gift?" Xing Mo frowned.

Pearlis didn't say anything. She gestured for Xingmo to stand up and walk towards the door of the cafe with her.

When they reached the door, the maid Carly pushed it open and walked in, nodding to Perlis:

"It's started, shall we go over there?"

"I'll go alone," Pearlis muttered, "Please heat up the hot cocoa for me."

"Okay."

The maid Carly turned around and smiled at Xingmo, then passed by the two of them.

Xingmo followed Pearlis out of the cafe and back into the church.

After the door closed, Xing Mo couldn't help but ask:

"Miss Perlis, are you going to Nefera Beta with me too?"

"No, I have other things to deal with." said Perlis.

"Where are you going?"

"White Tower, tonight's conspiracy doesn't revolve around the academy. That's where the core of the incident lies."

After Perlis finished speaking, she led Xingmo to the front of the "Xinghai Spring".

Now, Xing Mo can no longer look directly at the spring water that seemed so sacred in the past - it is the skeleton of a god, and even though it is holy, it still exudes a sense of blasphemy.

"..."

Standing in front of the spring, Perlis stretched out her hand, and her eyes once again outlined twinkling stars.

Pure white flames rose from beneath the spring, ignited the pale pillar, and engulfed it in an instant.

After the flames dissipated, the "Star Sea Spring" had disappeared, and only a pale spine remained, floating in the air.

Perlis stretched out her hand again, and black power surged out from under the space, wrapping around the spine and shaping it.

After the darkness condensed with the spine, Perlis reached out and grasped the darkness in her hand.

Then she reached into the air and grabbed a delicate cane.

"Here, take it."

Perlis handed the cane to Xingmo. Xingmo hesitated for a moment, then stretched out both hands to take it.

The surface of the cane is made of bone and is carved with intricate patterns, but one can feel the spiritual power surging beneath its cool appearance.

"'The Spine of Saint Auros', according to you, this is a 'holy object'."

"It possesses the power to control flames. In addition to ordinary fire, it can also control various high-level spiritual fires."

"It has the power to tear apart space, but the number of times it can do so is limited. Otherwise, it will cause excessive chaos and lead to the annihilation of space."

"On this basis, I have given it a higher level of power. You can transform it into a simple wand to perform basic spellcasting, or use it as a walking stick to assist with high-level string magic, or even..."

Perlis signaled Xingmo with her eyes. Xingmo was stunned for a moment, then grasped the head of the cane with her hand.

She pulled out, and a pale golden blade light surged out -

"Om-"

There is a short sword hidden inside the cane. The blade reveals the color of metal from the white purity, and the outer edge burns with golden flames, releasing streams of light into the surrounding space.

"The rest is up to you to figure out."

Perlis smiled and added:

"Also, within this cane remains the power of faith from the Star Ocean Spring directed towards Aurora."

Xingmo swung the dagger, put it back into the sheath, and then grasped it again, and the scepter suddenly turned into a spine-shaped magic wand.

She bowed slightly to Perlis and said gratefully:

"Thank you for your help... I..."

"We can talk about thanking you later," Perlis waved her hand. "By the way, if you encounter a situation that you can't handle, I'll give you a backup plan."

"What plan?" Xing Mo asked.

Perlis looked directly at Xingmo, the starlight in her eyes faded, and her tone became indifferent:

"Recite my name."

......

In Merlin Square, students were immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the school festival, shooting golden stars into the sky from time to time.