Chapter 1197

Nakesia stared at the clay jar before him, arms crossed, slowly closed his eyes, and remained utterly still.

Seeing Nakesia rooted like a log in the center of the council square, the crowd below erupted in chatter.

"What is this guy doing?"

"It's important; give him a little time."

"Cut the act! Who do you think you are, making us waste time with you?"

Kaines on the podium began to shift uneasily: "Lord Nakesia, don't forget—"

Nakesia coldly cut her off: "First, don't call me Nakesia; second, don't interrupt me—silence is golden."

Unfortunately, the citizens watching completely ignored him, and the murmurs only grew louder.

"Vote! Why are you just standing there?..."

"Vote… vote…!"

Nakesia remained motionless, slowly closing his eyes and temporarily yielding control of his body to Sehis; thus the noisy clamor around him sounded as if muffled by a water curtain, growing much quieter.

Sehis smiled knowingly: "I can't help wondering whether all the world's tribulations will be used by you as mere tools."

"Hehe, if body and soul are split apart, isn't that how they should be used?" Nakesia said lightly, "My teacher Sehis, or perhaps Calypso, finally accompany me on this journey—go, to the underworld—to see how she will give your questions and my decisions perfect proof."

"As long as we follow the tide's sound..."

……

Nakesia opened his eyes again and found himself upon the familiar wasteland of the underworld.

"Who are you..."

On this wasteland he saw a stooped figure, terribly familiar to him.

His long-deceased mentor—Enbekdokles.

"Very good, child… I told you long ago you would amount to something."

Nakesia stared for a moment at his teacher's ink‑black silhouette: "Master…"

"What a strange turn of events… the Worship School produced a Defiler of Gods, just like a little donkey that sucked its mother dry and then kicked her."

Nakesia lowered his head: "I revere you, teacher. But you understand…"

"You love truth more." The teacher smiled faintly.

"So, child, don't regret the criticism I've endured. Don't let that noise hinder your progress. As a sage of the Worship School, worldly demands prevent me from endorsing you; but as a friend and mentor of Anakesagoras, I will say…"

"Go ahead—truth is already in your hands."

——

A Certain Scientific Railgun.

"A sage of the Worship School ought to rank about the same as a cardinal, or even higher than a pope, right?"

Taught personally by the most reverent sage, the Defiler of Gods is, in Bai Heizi's eyes, akin to a cardinal personally instructing a heretic—utterly unbelievable. Yet this also proves that Tree Courtyard's academic atmosphere is truly free, allowing even the 'heretics' seen by mainstream schools to found their own sects and branch out.

"Yet the school that reveres the gods most ironically produces the most irreverent students, the most lawful and the most chaotic… which is admittedly a bit strange."

"So Nakesia has a good teacher. Besides, what you said about 'most lawful and most chaotic' isn't strange at all—after all, we have similar examples around us."

Saten Ruiko twirled the ballpoint pen in her hand, her eyes mischievously drifting toward Shirai.

"Oh? There's such a thing?"

"Look at this." Saten Ruiko pointed, gesturing back and forth between Chunchun and Shirai: "Chunchun is clearly the most rule‑abiding, obedient 'good kid' on the Disciplinary Committee, yet she mixes in the committee room with your perverted roommate whose head is full of 'big sis,' and isn't that surprisingly harmonious?"

"Pfft——"

As Misaka was sipping her red tea, she nearly choked, slapped her chest, and exclaimed, "Ru‑Ruiko, your analogy is… just… perfect!"

"Big sis!" Shirai's face flushed crimson instantly, she teleported to Misaka's side, trying to hug her waist, "Don't listen to Saten's nonsense! My love for big sis is pure and noble, and moreover Chunchun… she is currently receiving my tutelage, advancing toward becoming a mature lady— that's right!"

"Cough cough… if it weren't for the accidental 'computer parts' sent to my room last time, I'd almost have believed you. Besides… quick, let go!"

——

Nakesia nodded solemnly: "... I will keep it in mind."

"Alright, move forward, child. Your solitary quest is about to reach a new beginning—and when you reach the end, may we meet before truth."

Nakesia placed his hand over his chest: "I promise you, teacher. May Sehis guard your thoughts."

"May Sehis guard your thoughts."

"……"

"You're right, my master. My solitary quest is about to reach a new beginning; I must set out—may we meet before truth, my master."

The scene returned to the Demigod Council, faced with the surrounding clamor like a mountain‑shouting, sea‑roaring urge, Nakesia slowly opened his eyes.

"Shh—everyone be quiet—!"

"Look, Sehis—right now, at the world's center, I will write the final proof… here is only one step away from truth."

In an instant, Nakesia saw——

Xiedie stood deep in the underworld's flower sea, gazing at him from afar. In that eternally tranquil, peaceful place, Boluqianya sat quietly in her wheelchair, her appearance unchanged from his memory.

"Teacher… the proof you wanted, I have completed."

Nakesia came to himself, still standing in the council's center, facing Aohema's tens of thousands of citizens.

"Hahahaha……"

He covered one eye with his hand, rubbing the ancient shard of pottery in his palm, as if it were the sole genuine anchor in this absurd world.

"Thank you, Xiedie."

He flicked his wrist, and the shard rolled across the ground, gurgling toward Baie's feet——

"The answer is obvious. I have no doubt—I will choose the Fire Pursuit Journey!"

Like splashing a ladle of water into a pot of hot oil, the crowd instantly boiled over—only Kaines's face instantly turned the color of pig's liver, glaring furiously at the madman on the stage.

Nakesia spread his arms, laughing aloud with abandon, as if he were a zealot knocking open the gate of truth, eager to embrace the torrent of cheers and rage surging from the crowd below.

"The truth of the world, I have already elucidated—"

"Hahahaha!"