Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System

Chapter 426: Chapter 88: The Bell

It was none other than Noe VII.

His face was gaunt, the deep wrinkles etched as if by a knife, and his eyes were a transparent gray. He calmly gazed at the two young women before him, both possessing unparalleled beauty but starkly different temperaments.

He wore none of the regalia symbolizing the Pope’s authority, his attire as plain as an ascetic’s. Yet, an invisible aura of majesty, accumulated over years of faith and duty, emanated from him like the weight of a mountain.

"No wonder," Othilia spoke first, the hem of her pure white dress fluttering gently in the turbulent mists. Her jet-black eyes held unconcealed mockery. "You’re trapped here, yet you’re in no hurry to break free. Instead, you have the leisure to chase us from time to time, interfering with our strolls through this sea of clouds. So it’s not just about your duty to guard this dangerous heritage... it’s also because the traitorous Balance Keeper needs to maintain this fragile equilibrium."

Noe VII’s gaze swept over Othilia, then Margaret. His voice was steady, betraying no emotion. "What is hidden here possesses both great power and great danger. I am charged with guarding it, to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands or bringing disaster upon the mortal world. Ladies, please go no further."

"Go no further?" Margaret took a soft step forward, her black court dress blooming like a flower of ink in the mists. "Noe VII, are you truly unaware, or merely feigning ignorance? In the Holy City, your ’loyal’ Cardinal Saint Cyril is using the Morning Star Bell to perform his own coronation. He seeks to seize everything you once fought to set right, along with all the authority of the Church Court. Their so-called ’evil running rampant, the Holy Throne in peril’ is nothing but an excuse to clear their path and whitewash their ambitions. Your life’s work is about to be stolen by another, and the Church Court may well be led down a Path of greater tyranny and cruelty... Are you content to remain trapped here forever, watching it all happen?"

Noe VII listened quietly, his face showing no surprise or anger. "This is not the first I have heard of Cyril’s ambition. I am also aware of the College of Cardinals’ schemes."

He spoke slowly, his gaze seeming to pierce through the layers of clouds and fog to the turmoil in the Holy City. "However, the affairs of the world are like the tides; they have their own rhythm. What I did back then was what I had to do. The Path of those who come after must be chosen by them. Where there is light, there will be shadows. One who seeks to set things right must also bear the risk of power’s backlash. This is the natural way of things."

He paused, his gray eyes refocusing on Margaret and Othilia as his tone grew heavier. "But the things here are different. The power they carry, their very existence, is a great evil. Especially now, when the mortal world is undergoing immense change. Faith is converging, hearts are in turmoil, and the rules are shaking... They must not be allowed to intervene. This evil power should not be permitted to reemerge in the world, under any pretext."

"Evil?" Othilia scoffed. "The power to define it has always been in your hands, hasn’t it? You imprison, seal away, and label things as ’evil’ or a ’heritage,’ then possess them in the name of guardianship. Noe VII, how are you fundamentally different from those Cardinals? One of you is out there ’setting things right,’ while the other is in here ’suppressing evil.’ You both think you hold the truth and bear a sacred mission."

Noe VII did not grow angry, merely shaking his head slightly. "A mission stems from responsibility, not selfish desire. I am here to prevent a worse possibility."

"A worse possibility?" Margaret picked up the thread. "Wouldn’t letting anyone else out also be a disaster? You stand guard here and block our exit. But maybe what you’re blocking isn’t a disaster, but a variable—perhaps even the only key to solving the problem."

Noe VII shook his head slowly once more. "This debate of ideals is endless. But I only trust what I have seen with my own eyes and felt with my own being. The entities sealed here once brought profound suffering. And right now, the turmoil in the mortal world needs to be quelled with stable order, not by introducing more uncontrollable variables. Ladies, this Path is closed. And not only that, but my avatars will also do everything in their power to stop any other being that tries to use this passage to leave."

Othilia and Margaret exchanged a glance.

"It seems reasoning with you is pointless." Othilia sighed softly, but her sigh held no regret, only a cold indifference. "Reason is for those who are willing to listen. Since you refuse, then there’s nothing more to be said."

The instant her voice fell—

VMMMM!

The vast, boundless, seemingly eternal layer of milky-white clouds above them suddenly underwent a terrifying transformation!

The dense mists were violently torn apart from within by an irresistible force, thrown to either side!

Waves of clouds churned, letting out a low roar like the collapse of a thousand mountains, and the entire Half-Plane seemed to tremble violently with it.

The silhouette of a behemoth slowly rose from the depths of the roiling sea of clouds, drawing near.

It was a humanoid silhouette so immense it made one’s very soul tremble.

Its entire body flowed with a cold, metallic sheen. Its lines were hard and simple, filled with an unnatural geometric beauty and a sense of absolute power.

Its height was impossible to gauge. The upper body alone, emerging from the clouds, blotted out a huge swath of the "sky" above, casting a shadow that completely enveloped Noe VII.

Its head was a simple, curved structure with no facial features, save for a single, narrow vertical slit in the center of its face. Eerie blue light flowed continuously within the slit, like a single eye staring coldly down at the tiny figure below.

Merely by standing still, it radiated a silent, ponderous, and overwhelming presence, as if it were the very personification of "Power" and "Destruction."

Noe VII looked up at the mechanical behemoth that had so suddenly appeared, radiating an inhuman majesty. A flicker of immense gravity finally crossed his gray eyes, but his posture remained as steady as a mountain.

Then, the mechanical giant moved.

It slowly raised a colossal hand composed of countless intricate metal components. Its five fingers splayed open, the palm as vast as a small plaza.

It paused abruptly at its apex before slamming down toward Noe VII’s position with an aura that promised to crush everything in its path!

Before the palm arrived, the violent air pressure had already pressed a massive crater into the sea of clouds below. The howling wind shrieked like a banshee.

Noe VII’s white hair and linen robes whipped wildly in the gale as a pure, warm, yet gentle golden radiance rose from within him.

He raised his right hand, his fingers forming a loose grip. Then, to meet the descending metal palm, he slowly pushed upward.

"I may not be able to hold back the tide of the ages forever," his voice rang out calmly, piercing through the wind pressure to reach Margaret’s and Othilia’s ears clearly, "but at this moment, in this place, this Path is closed."

"The chaos outside is for those who come after to face and to solve."

"And when comparing the Path you have chosen to the risk faced by the countless souls of the mortal world, I choose to defend the latter."