Pendragon's Infinity Gauntlet

Page 162

Thud! The sword of reproach plunged hard into the forehead of the Pure God.

During the "fall of the angels" incident, it was Index Books that played the role of the purifying father.

"There are really deep reasons why this is happening. I've tried so hard! I've done so much for you! Why is this happening!?"

The explanation from the Pure Goddess had turned into a mournful lament, but the Catalogue of Forbidden Books showed no sympathy whatsoever.

She declared, "I will never forgive you! I will crush the skull of the God of Purification!"

And so, amidst misfortune and screams, the daily life of the Pure God resumed.

-

On the other side, Fang Cun, having traveled a long distance, used the old method to pass through the Academy City's defense forces, like a whirlwind passing by.

Her existence isn't unknown, but given Fang Cun's current combat prowess, Academy City doesn't have a good way to deal with her.

Fortunately, she has acted very harmlessly and has not shown any strong aggression so far. The higher-ups have unanimously decided to leave her alone and let things take their course.

Upon returning to Academy City, Fang Cun discovers he has no identity, and not only is he unable to start a business, but he can't even find a job...

Even the greatest heroes need to eat; doing good deeds won't bring her any income.

There was no other way but to go to "Sister Misaka". Although he still owed her a sum of money, Fang Cun had already gotten used to relying on this wealthy "big sister" after hooking up with her once.

"Why do you have to come to me for something like this?!"

Misaka thought to herself, "I'm so damn pissed off."

"Where are the people who were in charge of the experiment? Did they just leave the clones to roam around after the project was frozen?"

“The research institute went bankrupt, and the person in charge ran away with huge debts after donating money. And unlike the other girls, I didn’t get any arrangements, or rather, I couldn’t find anyone to arrange anything for me.”

"..."

Although Misaka complained, she didn't skimp on the assistance she was supposed to provide.

Until a solution is found, let's leave it at that for now. Anyway, the research institute provides a lot of subsidies to people with superpowers, so we can afford to support a "little sister".

Of course, there's nothing we can do about more than ten thousand.

Chapter 280 The Foreign Magician

Chapter 280

And so, Fangcun began his life as a hero in Academy City.

From the simplest street sweeping to catching thieves and stopping superhumans from robbing students or banks, a new urban legend is gradually taking shape.

Recently, when Misaka was out with her friends, she noticed that Rui-chan kept staring at her, but when she asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't say.

-

"It's all just small-scale stuff, it's not interesting."

Pendragon, who was following Fangcun, made a sound of watching the drama unfold at home, but her neighbor, Jingshen, had only recently recovered from her injuries and been discharged from the hospital, so she hadn't had a chance to experience those big scenes yet.

Not long ago, a magician came and tried to steal the magical knowledge in the mind of the Index of Forbidden Books. The God of Purity fought with her, but the fight was not as exciting as when the transmigrator fights crime and spars with thugs.

At least over there, it was a brutal, hand-to-hand combat between many women.

But there's no rush. Pendragon is quite comfortable staying at home, and Rin is taking very good care of her.

-

Within Academy City, there stands a building without windows.

There were no doors, windows, corridors, or stairs; it lacked any of the functionalities expected of a building. There was no way to enter except through one of the powerful abilities of Level 4, "Spatial Teleportation." In the center of this secret chamber stood a massive glass cylinder.

The cylinder, four meters in diameter and over ten meters long, is made of reinforced glass and filled with a red liquid. The walls of the spacious room are covered with mechanical devices, and hundreds of thousands of cables and pipes extend out, connecting to the central cylinder along the ground.

Because there are no windows, the room is always dark. However, from a distance, a considerable number of signal lights and screens on the mechanical device surrounding the cylinder shine like stars in the night sky.

Inside a cylinder filled with red liquid, a person dressed in green surgical scrubs floats upside down.

Aleister, the "human" who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Academy City.

This person looks like a man and a woman, an adult and a child, a saint and a prisoner.

This "human" has entrusted all of its life activities to machines, and according to calculations, it has a lifespan of approximately 1,700 years.

The entire body, including the brain, is in a state of hibernation, and most of the thinking is assisted by machines.

It's about time.

The moment Aleister thought this, as if by prior arrangement, two figures suddenly appeared on the front of the cylinder. One was a slender boy with spatial teleportation abilities, and the other was a tall woman who had been brought in by the girl; the two were holding hands.

The boy with the spatial teleportation ability didn't say a word, but simply nodded in greeting before disappearing into space again.

In the darkness, only the woman on the high-speed train remained.

The tall man had long blond hair and wore blue glasses to cover his eyes. He was dressed in a floral shirt and shorts, an outfit that was completely out of place here.

Haruka Tsuchimikado. An Academy City agent tasked with gathering intelligence on the British Puritan Church.

"The security is too lax. What tricks are you playing?"

Tsuchimikado, acting as a spy, spoke to his employer, Aleister, in a rather impatient tone. Although Tsuchimikado was a spy, he was not Aleister's direct subordinate.

Tsuchimikado's tone was quite harsh; anyone who knew her usual demeanor would likely shrink back in fear upon hearing those words. Faced with Tsuchimikado's undisguised displeasure, Aleister simply smiled faintly and said:

"It's alright, I have the intruder's location perfectly clear. This is an excellent opportunity. With just a slight change to the procedure, we can omit steps 2085 to 3276 from the plan."

"I should warn you first."

Tsuchimikado interrupted Aleister. She slammed the report she was holding onto the glass cylinder with a loud thud. A photograph was clipped to the report. It was a secretly taken photo; the man in the picture was the intruder.

She was over twenty-five years old, characterized by blonde hair and brown skin of foreign descent. However, perhaps due to neglect, her blonde hair was quite rough and messy, looking like a cheap theatrical wig.

Judging from his silhouette alone, he resembles a lion with a full mane. Dressed in a jet-black suit adorned with white lace trim, he exudes a distinctly Gothic boyish charm.

However, the fabric of the dress was worn and torn in many places, and the lace was also damaged and yellowed. It seems that this luxurious dress was not deliberately decorated, but rather for everyday wear.

“Sheri Cromwell. This guy isn’t a wandering magician; he’s a member of the Anglican Church of Necessary Evil. He’s not as easy to deal with as he was with Aureolus.”

Tsuchimikado, restless and agitated like a long-time smoker facing a ban on smoking, continued:

"The English Puritan Church is also an organization established by humankind, so naturally it contains all sorts of people. No, in terms of structural characteristics, among the various Christian sects, there is probably no other state church with such complex divisions as the English Puritan Church. I believe you are well aware of this point."

"It's amazing how people with the same beliefs can argue with each other in the workplace."

“Yes.” Tsuchimikado sighed and said, “But precisely because of this, there are all sorts of schools and doctrines within the Anglican Church. Not everyone is fond of Academy City. Some even plan to turn the whole world into British colonies and change all the world’s flags to the same design. It’s hard to say how effective the ‘agreement’ you made with our princess really is.”

Even the "agreement" between the British Puritans and the highest leaders of Academy City was not accepted by some. They believed that simply placing the treasure trove of knowledge, the Index of Prohibited Books, within Academy City already posed a risk of information leakage. However, apart from the "Church of Necessary Evil," the various "Knight Orders" should not yet have realized that the security devices on the Index of Prohibited Books had been deactivated.

Even so, there are already some factions within the "Knights" who inherit the aggressive spirit of the Crusades and see Academy City as a thorn in their side. If it weren't for Tsuchimikado secretly manipulating intelligence, these people would probably have already launched a campaign to subjugate Academy City.

"By hiding within the church, I can indeed exert mind control to some extent. But the effect has its limits. I am powerless against different factions and forces. Even if I try to influence them, the various mind control information I release will be distorted in various places."

P.S.: I found a baby sparrow that fell out of its nest on my way to the market today. I'm keeping it on the balcony now; it can fly away on its own when it's old enough to fly.

Chapter 281 I Don't Need You

Chapter 281

Tsuchimikado paused for a moment, then continued:

"The Aureos affair already kept me incredibly busy. You should understand the law that magicians must be punished by magicians better than I do. Academy City possesses 'science,' and the Church possesses 'mysticism.' The balance is maintained because each side has exclusive access to the technology. If a magician were to be killed by people from Academy City, the mere worry that their long-held exclusive technologies would be stolen would likely cause a huge rift in the relationship between the two sides."

The girl, Jing Shen Tu Mo, has fought against several mages in the past month. However, Tyr and Kanzaki had already made prior agreements with the church. As for Aureol and Heiwa, they are wandering mages not affiliated with the church, so they did not cause too much of a stir.

However, this incident is entirely different in terms of its significance. The intruders in Academy City are magicians possessing a "unique Anglican technique," and there was no prior agreement. While it's currently impossible to determine whether this was due to the will of the school or an individual's arbitrary act, even if it was an individual's arbitrary act, they cannot be easily defeated.

Shirley Cromwell was the most accomplished figure in the Royal Academy in the field of allegorical composition and interpretation.

So-called allegorical paintings refer to coded pictures that contain hidden information about grimoires. For example, suppose there is a painting depicting the view from a ship floating on the sea, with the sun gradually sinking below the horizon.

To the average person, this is just a landscape painting. But if you transform the seawater in the painting into "salt" and the sun into "gold," and then combine them, you can get the message that "the purpose of this painting is to illustrate the magic of using gold and salt to make people swim in the sea like fish."

Other subtle elements in a painting, such as the color, shade, thickness of the paint, the time of sunset, and the location (e.g., a boat), can be transformed into meaningful codes. Therefore, often, the interpretation of allegorical paintings is only discovered to be incorrect centuries later. This demonstrates just how difficult it is to become a true expert in allegorical painting.

If the Catalogue of Banned Books is responsible for the collection and preservation of knowledge, then Xue Li's area of ​​expertise is to use cipher technology to seal or interpret this knowledge.

If she falls into the hands of other forces, the complex methods of deciphering codes that the British Puritans have long protected will be completely exposed to them.

Arbitrarily defeating Sherry would rupture the relationship between the British Puritans and Academy City. If the faction that sent Sherry to Academy City had this purpose, they would certainly take the opportunity to widen the rift.

However, Tsuchimikado did not reveal the consequences that would follow.

Or rather, he couldn't bring himself to say it. These unspoken words swelled within Tsuchimikado's heart.

In the worst-case scenario, a full-scale war will break out between the scientific world and the church world.

Shimikado glared at Aleister and said:

“Indeed, in this incident, as long as no foolish decisions are made, the fire should not spread. But in order to extinguish this fire, someone underwater may have to lose their life. What are you thinking? If you put all your effort into security, stopping her intrusion would be a piece of cake.”

Tsuchimikado clicked his tongue and continued, "In short, I've decided to take action and defeat Xue Li. A mage defeating another mage will at least minimize the commotion. However, this means I won't have to do any more espionage work."

Such a big operation is bound to attract attention. Honestly, spies should be hiding in the shadows, not constantly being monitored like this…

"You don't need to do anything."

Aleister interrupted Tsuchimikado, leaving Tsuchimikado momentarily speechless with astonishment.

Tsuchimikado couldn't even understand what Aleister was saying.

"I'll say it again, you don't need to do anything."

"are you serious?"

Tsuchimikado wondered if the person in front of him had gone mad.

"The possibility is low, but it's not zero. The back-and-forth movement beneath the water is like walking a tightrope between buildings; one wrong move and it could trigger a war at any moment!"

If the blueprints for a large number of destructive weapons fall into the hands of another country, that alone could serve as a legitimate pretext for war. The same applies if church mages are captured within Academy City.

Indeed, unless a truly foolish decision is made, this matter should not escalate into a full-scale war. Conversely, however, if a truly foolish decision is made, war will break out. This is not even a war between nations, but a war between the two great worlds of "science" and "the Church" that transcend national borders.

There is no overwhelming gap in combat power between "science," representing Academy City, and "magic," representing the Church. In other words, if war breaks out, they will inevitably become bogged down in a quagmire.

"Aleister, what exactly are you planning? Do you really enjoy pitting the Exorcist against a mage? That right hand is indeed a deadly trump card against magic, but you can't be so stupid as to think that you can destroy the entire church with just that hand, can you?"

"It can shorten the planned 2085 to 3276, it's that simple."

Upon hearing these words, Tsuchimikado momentarily forgot to breathe.

The so-called "plan," or perhaps more accurately, "procedure," had only one meaning when Aleister uttered it.

"The Imaginary Number Zone. The Control Method of the Five Elements Mechanism?"

"Tsuchimikado said bitterly. Imaginary Number District. Five Elements Organization. In the early days of Academy City, it was known as the "first research institution."

But now no one knows its location, and it's even uncertain whether it really exists, like a mirage.

It is said that this organization possesses "fictional technology" that is impossible to achieve with current engineering, and still controls all power in the entire Academy City from behind the scenes.

The church and magicians on the "outer side" all believed that the Five Elements Mechanism referred to this building, but that was not the case. Of course, the truth could not be revealed to outsiders.

Under no circumstances should it be known to the outside world. "That thing," which has a great influence on Academy City, is still hiding its presence. No one can control it, and no one even knows the reason for its existence.

As the ruler of Academy City, Aleister must find a way to control the Five Elements Mechanism, even if it means using every means at his disposal.

P.S.: Another day of power outage...

Chapter 282 The Bodybuilder Shirai Kuroko

Chapter 282

No, perhaps Aleister already knew about the control method, but lacked the crucial material, the "key," and therefore could not execute it.

The so-called "program" can perhaps be likened to Accelerator's Level 6 absolute power evolution experiment.

Just like that experiment, by triggering specific events or problems in a certain sequence, a "key" can be created.

And a certain young boy is at the center of this "program".

Purify the spirit and vanquish the demon.

Tsuchimikado surmised that Aleister probably intended to use the Purification of Gods and Exorcism within the "program" from the very beginning, but the Index and the magical battle against the alchemists were unexpected side events.

However, whenever such unexpected situations occur, Aleister will change the "plan" again to correct the errors, thereby shortening the huge "procedure".