Annan completely understood.
What taboo had Nicolas Flamel really violated—
It wasn’t just a matter of ethics or moral caution; nor was it merely to uphold the authority belonging to gods or monarchs... Although Nicolas had simultaneously challenged his peers, the monarch, and the gods, what truly led to his death was his betrayal of "humanity."
Because if synthetic humanoids were determined to hide, it would be almost impossible to find them with their capabilities.
To disperse the transcendent powers held by the synthetic humanoids, the power of Lady Silence’s "Veto" was needed; to sever the connections between the synthetic humanoids, the power of the Lady of Mystery’s domain of "Secrets" was required; to detect the traces of synthetic humanoids, one had to rely on "Luck" and "Accident"; and to destroy the synthetic humanoids completely, to prevent them from being used by other false gods, the godly powers of "Decomposition" for destruction and "Darkness" for concealment were needed. And it was necessary for the Bone Burial Granny to personally confirm whether they were dead or not.
"Without the help of gods, we can’t even defeat those synthetic humanoids. But in the end, the gods would still help us in this matter,"
Bishop Daryl spoke solemnly.
The twelve True Gods are not humans, or rather, they are not "Aesirlanders"—the native species of the Oasis.
If we looked at it solely from the perspective of maintaining the racial status of Aesirlanders, they would have no reason to target Nicolas.
Even one might say... If a superior race emerged, it would be a good thing for the True Gods.
But the Popes were genuine humans.
"That time, we convened the first ’Papal Conclave’ of this era,"
Bishop Daryl answered: "All twelve Popes and thirteen Saints were present, and in the end, the vote was twenty-three to two.
"So in the end, all twelve Popes and thirteen Saints made their move—
"The disaster that could have led to the end of the Fifth Epoch was resolved within a mere two days."
Nicolas’s creation had offended too many people.
Any rational person could discern that once the synthetic humanoid race grew, human civilization would ultimately be completely replaced by synthetic humanoids.
And it wasn’t just the false gods he offended, but the True Gods as well.
As beings without parents, their very existence was unquestionably a violation of "Tradition"; the state of their minds being interconnected meant they no longer had "Secrets," no need for "Trade," no "War," and even "Nobility" was non-existent.
If synthetic humanoids truly replaced humanity, it would offend five True Gods—especially the Silver Baron and the Red Knight, who were both single-domain True Gods.
The disappearance of concepts represented the severance of truth. Normally, "Trade" and "War" could not disappear... but this was an abnormal situation.
Nicolas was not a foolish man.
He was the most outstanding alchemist... and also their creator. He must have been the first to notice all of this. And he knew what he would face.
Yet he still chose Silence.
He just didn’t want to destroy his own creations.
Of course... when he was captured and executed, he did not resist in the slightest.
Annan nodded gravely, "I now understand completely.
"You did nothing wrong, to protect all humanity, the synthetic humanoids must be completely eradicated... This is indeed a disaster that only the True Gods could prevent."
No matter what the identity of the leader of the Hermes School in the Royal Capital was.
He must be taken seriously.
Whether he is the real Nicolas Flamel;
Or the last remnant of synthetic humanoids;
Or the successor who has received Nicolas’s academic and ideological inheritance;
If he is not someone completely ignorant of Nicolas’s secrets, then his mere existence... is an immense hidden threat.
"What do you plan to do now?"
After a long silence, Annan asked Bishop Daryl, "This is clearly a big deal."
"...But I can’t return to the Royal Capital yet."
Daryl hesitated for a moment but still sighed, "Both Nicholas and his partner have seen me before. As soon as we meet, he will know that his existence has been exposed."
"So, where do you plan to go?"
"I’ll make a trip to Dennisiowa."
The chubby bishop said somberly, "Go check out Nicholas’s graveyard. Not many people know its location... It’s seldom visited, so there must be some clues there.
"I’m not a Transcendent. I can get there by boat in half a month.
"Whether he has come back to life, has never died, or someone has tampered with his body, there must be some clues at the graveyard."
Annan slowly nodded his head.
Indeed, it was a method.
The Royal Capital was very dangerous, and Grandpa Daryl was very powerful. But he was not suited to follow along.
—Nicholas’s graveyard would eventually need to be checked out.
Currently, Daryl couldn’t go to the Royal Capital. Checking out the graveyard now was the best distribution of tasks.
But... how to get Daryl to send the information back as quickly as possible?
That wouldn’t be appropriate, what if the letter got lost...
Have Silver Baron relay a message?
Or maybe some kind of Divine Art?
...Or else, find a player to follow and act as a mobile eye?
Speaking of Divine Arts...
"All right, that settles it."
Annan let out a breath, his voice becoming more relaxed, "I almost forgot the main issue I came to see you about."
"...Wasn’t what we just discussed the main issue?"
Daryl visibly froze for a moment.
He lifted his head in disbelief.
Maybe it was an illusion, but Annan thought he saw a fleeting glimpse of fear in Daryl’s eyes...
"It’s not anything troublesome this time," Annan quickly explained, "Although every time I’ve come to see you, it’s been something rather bothersome... but this time it really isn’t bad news."
"Since the news just now was bad enough."
Daryl commented, "It’s been almost a hundred years since I’ve heard such terrible news, Your Highness."
"Can’t get any worse than that, can it?"
"But this time, it really is good news."
Annan couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
He extended his right hand forward, palm facing down.
Just as Daryl had once shown Annan the sacred marks of the Holy Light—starting from the back of Annan’s hand, intricate and arcane, glimmering silver runes began to flip over and emerge in pieces.
The runes rapidly spread upwards, crawling over Annan’s entire right arm and continuously climbing upwards, all the way onto Annan’s right cheek, even covering his whole right neck.
These complex silver runes held strange powers. One or two might not seem significant, but when so many were connected, they unleashed a mysterious force that rippled and amplified like waves—
"I’m here to ask you... my luck has been quite good lately, and I’ve just obtained three hundred Silver Baron’s Holy Light Marks. Could you recommend any high-end, practical Divine Arts I might learn?"
Looking at old Bread Grandpa, who appeared disconnected as he stood motionless, Annan humbly and gently inquired.