028: Using Your Future Sword to Slash Your Present Self
Before Domitius could hear Novia's next words, she heard the lock-shaped Ancestor named Caubac chuckle softly. It sounded less like laughter and more like expelling air from lungs—like wind whistling through a dry cavern. That was the impression the girl instantly formed.
"Fellow believer Novia, I heard you were previously invited by the Atlas Institute to visit their headquarters. Is that correct?"
Caubac showed no surprise or astonishment at Novia exposing his past. Instead, he simply started another topic.
"That is correct."
Novia likely understood why Caubac remained unperturbed—he probably thought Novia had learned about him through the Trismegistus and was merely bluffing.
After all, centuries ago, Caubac had studied under King Solomon alongside the Wizard Marshal and the Clock Tower's director. King Solomon was truly a man blessed by God, who performed a miracle granted by heaven only once, establishing magecraft—the art of manipulating phenomena, later known as thaumaturgy. Before that, magecraft belonged to the realm of gods, nearly impossible for ordinary humans to learn.
His death accelerated the decline of mystery and the end of the Age of Gods.
Novia had long wondered whether his fabrication of "miracles" in Britannia might attract the attention of Solomon's disciples like the Wizard Marshal. After all, they had witnessed Solomon's miracles firsthand, so the possibility of exposure was significant.
Yet, three years had passed without any such confrontation, suggesting they either couldn't be bothered or hadn't seen through it.
However, for Caubac, Novia had a way to persuade him, similar to how he had convinced Lucius—
"Then, Caubac Alcatraz." The silver-haired boy's tone turned cold. "You, a disciple of King Solomon, hid away for so many years merely because you became a Dead Apostle. How dare you show your face before me now... Do you even deserve to call me 'fellow believer'?"
"Fellow believer Novia, as companions who share faith in God, there is no need to—"
Just as Caubac maintained his gentle tone in the face of Novia's aggressive words, the silver-haired boy abruptly pulled something from his back and hurled it directly at the lock-shaped Caubac.
Normally, with Caubac's abilities, he could easily evade a mere physical attack. However, when he clearly sensed the aura emanating from the "cross"-shaped object, he froze—
A metallic sound echoed.
"This... this aura is the same as my teacher's ring... This is... bestowed by God Himself... How is this possible? The Age of Gods has ended... How could God—"
At that moment, Caubac suddenly recalled his earlier speculation. That man executed in Jerusalem seventeen years ago... Could he truly have been the genuine Son of God?
If so, wouldn't the old religion entrenched in Jerusalem have completely fallen into heresy, comparable to "demons"?
But if he really was the Son of God, how could he have died so easily?!
"Caubac, your actions have long tarnished King Solomon, who was blessed by God." Novia lifted the "cross" staff that Martha had given him from Caubac and planted it in the ground. "Do you see this? This staff was once used by the Son of God. Now it has taken the form of the cross of His suffering. Do you know why?"
"Yes... I am ignorant. Please enlighten me."
Though Caubac appeared as a "lock," Domitius could sense that this Dead Apostle Ancestor was radiating extraordinary tension.
"Do not mistake me, Caubac Alcatraz. If you remain as you are now, you are utterly unworthy of being a believer of God!"
The silver-haired boy's eyebrows showed no fluctuation, his sapphire eyes echoing like the depths of the sea.
"I acknowledge my sin. Even if I had my reasons, I humbly beg for your forgiveness."
"Caubac, the world was created according to the Lord's will. The composition of humans—soul, body, spirit—is likewise so. Our very existence is a manifestation of God's love. No matter how much suffering fills the world, it too is a form of God's love."
Novia's reply was cold and stern, though to Domitius, it sounded like confusing, cryptic speech.
But Caubac understood something from it. "Demons" and "God" were two sides of the same coin. Hunting these "heretics," which didn't exist in the original doctrine, meant acknowledging their existence. Yet, even falling into "heresy" was a form of suffering, and thus, a form of love. Yet he... had spent years wallowing in shame over mere pride, ultimately contributing to the Son of God's suffering.
Because this world was created by the Lord, even the earth was enveloped in His love. Humans could never fully comprehend the forms of God's love.
"Christ Jesus, as the Son of God, knew the evils of the old religion. Yet for the sake of humanity, He willingly ascended bearing the sins and evils of mankind."
"I see... God's love cannot be measured by humans. The world was created according to the Lord's will; human soul, body, and spirit likewise. I understand... I have realized..."
Caubac repeatedly muttered the words Novia had spoken. After more than ten seconds, he spoke with sincere, enlightened clarity.
"Thank you for your enlightening words. I now understand. You were saving me earlier, weren't you?... Please rest assured. Those who have fallen into heresy are no longer fit to occupy my teacher's Jerusalem. I will go soon and—"
"No need, Caubac. Cleansing the heretics entrenched in Jerusalem is a mission God entrusted to me. If needed, I will contact you."
In truth, the main reason Novia could so smoothly deceive Caubac—aside from leveraging the staff used by Jesus and speaking in cryptic, incomplete explanations—was that most of what the silver-haired boy said were actually ideas the future Caubac would conceive himself.
From Novia's memories, Caubac completed the Sacred Text, Treten, around AD 1000.
"The world was created according to the Lord's will. If one explores the composition of humans—soul, body, spirit—and diligently records it in writing, wouldn't that also yield clear hints of the Lord's love?"
Originally, Caubac began his records after such contemplation, creating templates, exploring the forms of all phenomena, and ultimately produced a model of the universe—the Sacred Text Treten.
Novia's current "revelation" would undoubtedly lead him to create Treten centuries earlier, but this wasn't a significant issue. Caubac was someone who would rather stay in his labyrinth to protect the Sacred Text than let it fall into the wrong hands—not out of fear of misuse, but simply to prevent it from being stolen...
Thus, the possibility of the "Box of the Magus" story unfolding prematurely was essentially zero.
Hence, the silver-haired boy acted this way.
"Yes, in accordance with God's will."
Caubac replied respectfully before departing.
To Domitius, this bizarre debate ended with her teacher Novia's overwhelming victory. Though she had many questions, she knew what to ask and what not to.
Subsequently, the two returned to Rome without incident. For Novia, at this stage, everything was arranged. All that remained was to wait a few months for the weapon forged from the head of the Albion Dragon to be completed.
Four months after Novia returned to Rome, as he anticipated, Agrippina persuaded the old Emperor Claudius to make her empress.
Simultaneously, Domitius would be adopted by Claudius and henceforth renamed—
Nero.
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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