Chapter 262: Chapter 262 The Warden’s Power and Prestige_1
In the evening, Aiden sat in Abigail’s summoning space, explaining to her the progress of the case.
"...Because such an unexpected turn of events occurred, I and the Primogenitor Faction dealt with that guy on the spot. He has already been handed over to the hands of the Heretical Inquisition," Aiden recounted the details to Abigail.
"Is it really okay to leave it to the Heretical Inquisition?" Abigail seemed to doubt whether the Inquisition was capable of handling such prisoners.
"Although it may seem a bit off to say this to a witch... I still have to advise you, madam, it’s better not to underestimate the heretical inquisitorial institutions."
After all, Aiden had seen with his own eyes the rulers imprisoned by the Heretical Inquisition, agents of a deity, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
"Well, it seems there’s no need for me to step in, then," Abigail said in an even tone, "In any case, this should not have been too difficult a problem for you, correct?"
Aiden thought to himself, how could it not be difficult? I just want to manage the prison well, not personally take part in life-threatening battles.
He could tell that Abigail didn’t take the "envoy" sent by the Grim Reaper faction seriously at all, because she herself possessed the power to instantly kill such a proxy.
Because of Aiden’s earlier display of understanding of Divine Power, Abigail had always regarded him as a powerhouse on the same level as herself—or at least, someone backed by an incredibly formidable support.
Aiden could also feel that the Witches’ Gathering had consistently overestimated him, and Abigail thought that the Grim Reaper’s proxy was no threat to her, she assumed the same would apply to Aiden.
The subtle feeling of being treated as a peer by a big shot felt like dining with a wealthy person who casually talked about luxuries far beyond one’s reach, then turned around and cluelessly asked, "What do you think?"
"It’s alright." Aiden could only offer a polite smile, then kindly reminded her, "It’s just that although I handled this proxy... based on his actions, he seems to have already found out who the ’Propagation’ authority has been transferred to. I think you should be somewhat vigilant."
For Abigail’s powers, the Grim Reaper’s proxy, and even the entire Blood Moon Cult’s vampires, were not much of a threat, but the Grim Reaper they worshipped was different.
The holder of an "authority" and a saint who approached one could not be compared in strength.
To the Grim Reaper, Abigail held the key elements left under the "Life" throne and was the successor of the nameless witch who had once betrayed him—if the Grim Reaper knew all this, he would likely try every means to kill Abigail.
"I actually don’t think there’s too much to worry about. I suppose the Grim Reaper probably doesn’t have the spare energy to take action himself," Abigail was still surprisingly calm.
Aiden hoped this was the case too since the incident forced him to take sides in the vampires’ internal factional struggles.
If compared to favorability levels in a game, as the warden of Rose Iron Prison, he had likely gained a "friendly" reputation with the Primogenitor Faction but earned a "hostile" reputation with the Grim Reaper Faction.
Besides, his current reputation with the Witches’ Gathering should also be positive, as he was both a past collaborator and a current business partner. Given that Abigail was a valuable contact for Aiden, he naturally did not want her to be killed by the Grim Reaper.
So he reminded her coolly, "Don’t you think your view might be a bit too optimistic?"
"My ’mother’ once investigated the move of the Grim Reaper as well, and from the information I’ve gathered, his powers have been dormant for many years since the fall of the Old Lese Kingdom two hundred years ago. To this day, he still relies on a proxy to take action..." Abigail said nonchalantly, "The damage that battle two hundred years ago dealt to the Grim Reaper must have been unexpectedly severe."
"To be honest, I find it a bit strange. The Grim Reaper is the ruler of ’Death’; he should be able to completely manipulate the concept of ’Death.’ A ruler of death should be, in theory, immortal, right?" Aiden asked doubtfully.
Not just the Primogenitors who were close to the "Death" authority, but Kael and the proxy both possessed the ability of immortality. Kael once mentioned that the Primogenitors couldn’t die even if burned to ashes; as long as they were replenished with fresh blood, they could regenerate their form.
If the Grim Reaper couldn’t do at least this much, that would be quite inconsistent.
A god who can’t die, how could he be so gravely wounded that he couldn’t come out and stir up trouble for two hundred years?
"As for all the authorities, transcending ’Death’ isn’t all that extraordinary; one’s body being immortal doesn’t mean the spirit can’t be affected. After all, those who opposed the Grim Reaper were the holders of the ’Desire’ authority," Abigail obviously understood Aiden’s point, "And that’s an authority under the ’Spirit’ throne."
"How much do you understand the capabilities of the ’Desire’ authority?" Aiden inquired.
"I don’t understand much, but we can speculate a bit. Didn’t my ancestor nearly have her spirit eroded by that so-called god of love?" Abigail said indifferently, "I think one of ’Desire’s capabilities should be to completely control a person’s ’purpose’."
"Like hypnotism?"
"The power of a ruler is probably not so simple. She could likely impose all of her ’purposes’ on others forcefully, gradually making others’ modes of thinking perfectly aligned with hers, turning them into another ’self’—I think that’s the foundation of her gradual erosion of others’ spirits."
"So you’re saying she did the same thing to the Grim Reaper?" Aiden followed Abigail’s line of thinking.
Abigail nodded, "At least that’s what I think. The Grim Reaper destroyed the ’Desire’ ruler’s body, and in turn, the ’Desire’ ruler exerted all her might to erode the Grim Reaper’s spirit—resulting in a Pyrrhic outcome where I suppose the Grim Reaper is still at a loss against such erosion."
"That means, if the erosion were successful, the Grim Reaper’s spirit would become like the god of love, and the ’Death’ authority would fall into the hands of the ’Desire’ ruler?" Aiden frowned, "Doesn’t that ability seem a bit too unstoppable?"
"No, considering the rank of a ruler, the effects of such erosion must be quite limited. But at the least, it’s probably certain that the Grim Reaper is unable to act on his own now," Abigail stated confidently.
"Let’s hope things are really as you say..." Aiden shook his head, "Actually, there’s something else I wanted to ask you about."
"Go ahead."
"Have you ever heard of the organization ’The Sanctuary of Vengeance’?" Aiden inquired of Abigail.
