Chapter 518: Divine Decree

Ying Duo stared at the old man before him without speaking; the minimap showed no light dot representing this person—what is he?

Is he a human? Or a ghost?

Yang Yixie slipped a handgun out of his Game Backpack, which even had a Lightning Chains attack enchantment attached.

If it's Lightning Chains, it should work against ghosts or the like, right?

"You are......"

The old man's wrinkles near his mouth twitched, as if smiling; he loosened his crossed fingers, and a hand emerged from his robe sleeve, waving toward Ying Duo.

It was as if comforting a frightened child.

Seeing Ying Duo's vigilance unchanged, he crossed his hands again on his abdomen; although his eyes were closed, Ying Duo felt he was watching him.

"I am the principal of this school."

The old man's posture was relaxed, like someone cooling off in his own courtyard, not interrogating a night‑absent student in a midnight campus.

"Because I left my homework in the classroom......"

Ying Duo remembered that Mu Lingxiao and he were students of the same major; their major was rather unusual, so the location of the teaching building could not have changed.

"Having trouble sleeping is common; when a person bears too much, it's hard to rest peacefully under heavy pressure."

The old man gave a completely mismatched answer.

He was probably answering Mu Lingxiao back then, not the present Yang Yixie.

...... This person hardly makes excuses.

Upon hearing that reply, Yang Yixie could guess what Mu Lingxiao had said, but fortunately this mysterious Mitra Academy principal did not press the matter.

His hand emerged from the sleeve, five withered fingers spreading in the moonlight like a flower that had just begun to bloom yet was already withering.

"Old man has a question; young friend, could you answer it for me?" Moonlight slanted from his side, casting half of the old principal's face in light and half in shadow, two distinct halves.

"If the deity you worship issues a Divine Decree ordering you to kill your own god, would you obey?"

What a bizarre question is that?

Yang Yixie furrowed his brow; just as he was about to speak, a female voice preemptively answered for him.

"Your question is invalid."

The girl's form passed directly through Ying Duo, like a non‑existent illusory projection, and stepped before the old man.

"I do not worship any deity, so your question requires no contemplation on my part."

Mu Lingxiao need not ponder such matters at all.

"Why do people always treat those intangible, ethereal things as more important than life itself? I cannot answer your question; I only know that, to me, humanity's survival is above all."

"Even if one becomes a monster? After becoming a monster, one can no longer be called a human, right?"

The old principal merely shook his head and continued to counter‑question.

"At least I think a monster cannot be called a human."

Mu Lingxiao's expression was cold and hard as he replied, "Mutation affects not only the human body but also the soul; if the soul is altered, one naturally can no longer be called a human."

The old principal's finger trembled lightly in the air, then withdrew.

"Why? Humans always need to believe in something—believing in gods, destiny, oneself; if you believe in nothing, what will you rely on to live?"

Mu Lingxiao stared at him, his lips pressed into a line.

"If everyone likes to set themselves a reason to keep living, then what I rely on is humanity's continuation."

The old principal's head nodded slowly, his eyes tightly closed, yet it seemed as if he saw through everything.

"You are like a machine programmed to execute commands only."

The creator has already set her survival goal, so she naturally need not think or revise it.

"I simply move toward a clear goal," her ice‑blue eyes gazed at the aging old man before her, "not only for humanity itself, but also for the wisdom and civilization humanity has bequeathed."

The old man seemed unusually weary; even a rare casual chat with a junior had already drained all his strength.

"And you?" Her voice under the moonlight was like an unsheathed blade. "As the principal of Mitra Academy, wielding authority independent of the Church, why do you still lurk in this tiny academy?"

Her gaze shifted from the old principal's face to the ancient locust tree behind him.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the foliage, casting countless tiny specks on the ground that quivered in the night wind like a flock of startled butterflies searching for an exit.

She withdrew her gaze, placing it again on the old principal's face, deliberately elongating her voice.

"Did I speak incorrectly? Chaotic Divine Oracle?"

"Young friend," the old man shook his head, "the night is deep."

He lifted his hand from his side, gave it a gentle wave in the air, and said, "Return now."

He turned and walked toward the library, his robe's hem swaying lightly behind him.

"Our era has passed; now I am merely a lingering soul of the Old World."

"I know why you have come, but unfortunately I can no longer offer you any assistance; now the Divine Decree has been altered by those surviving cultists. If you truly still wish to persist, then follow our path onward."

Just as when the Divine Decree first descended, the Church once quarreled over the words of the deity, suspecting that the priest in charge had angered the god, causing such a terrifying Decree to fall.

God, demanding that your closest, most beloved follower take your life by hand—have you ever considered the follower's feelings?

Perhaps the alteration of the Divine Decree is not a bad thing.

At least the newly born Divine Oracle will not be trapped by it, daring to swing a blade at the deity.

Is this what you wish to see?

Twin of Time and Space, you shall receive this scarred Divine Decree from my hand and tread once more upon the path of god‑slaying.

Please truly liberate the deity we jointly revere and who has protected us until now.

Ying Duo's vision suddenly turned pitch black, explaining to him the whole absurd farce.

Like a game CG cutscene, it clarified to him the relationship between the Divine Oracle and the Rebel Divine Oracle.

The scene began from the old man's perspective; initially, he was merely a bishop of the Church, but due to many contributions, his reputation became extremely high.

At that time, the Divine Oracle was not yet called a god‑defector.

It was not until the deity himself sent down a divine punishment that compelled believers to kill themselves that disaster arrived.

At first, some people doubted the authenticity of the divine edicts, but after repeated verification they received identical divine edicts each time.

They even began to doubt their own faith; at that time, the Church fell into a slump, so that for a long period frequent mistakes occurred on the front lines against the Aberrant Species.