Everyone at the Funeral was momentarily stunned. Igor hesitated and said, “You mean that anonymous ranking list that only the unfortunate can join?”
“Seems like you all don’t know.” Helephes responded with a nod, “That’s right, Purple Moth only ran a small firm before, so it’s normal not to be aware of this secret.”
Annan frowned: “Besides the lack of rewards, what other secrets does this ranking list hold?”
“Wrong, wrong.” Helephes waggled her finger, “The lack of rewards is just a facade... Don’t just stand there, keep moving.”
Once the land-dwellers resumed their huffing and puffing, the Sea Witch continued, “You might think that the individuals on the ‘Ranking of the Unrelated’ are probably some lonely, forsaken children, right? In reality, over the past century, the ranked individuals on this list are often direct descendants from consortium families like the Kaesrei, Mercury, and Roland families.”
She paused, her voice becoming a bit somber, “My niece is also one of the ranked individuals. It’s one of the few rankings that us Sirens can still join.”
This time, Annan was genuinely surprised: “So the Gospel Ranking deliberately hides the rewards, and that’s why you all still strive to get on it? Is there actually a significant benefit to being ranked?”
“Rather than hiding the rewards, it’s more like they are indescribable.” Helephes said calmly, “Moreover, there is indeed no benefit to being ranked. As the rumors go, once the ranked individual reaches adulthood, they suddenly vanish without a trace.”
“Nevertheless, while it’s not beneficial for the ranked individuals, it does benefit others.”
Harvey said, “I can smell something bad going on.”
“Though the unrelated are not needed, they are far from reaching the age of demise when they become adults.” The Sea Witch explained, “So when the Gospel takes them, they still have a long fate ahead of them, and the Gospel would transfer their fate to the people they were once closest to.”
“I wonder if fate comes in ice cream? Or is it mayonnaise?” Igor frowned, “Can fate really be transferred just like that?”
“Let me put it this way,” Helephes explained. “If there’s a child who still has 30 years to live, will learn carpentry, and will earn 20 gold coins over his lifetime, then... bam, all that fate gets added to yours.”
“You gain 30 more years of life, get the chance to learn carpentry, and earn an unexpected 20 gold coins. Just like that.”
Just like that.
The Sea Witch’s casual tone sent a chill down the Funeral members’ spines. Ashe found it hard to believe. “Why would the Gospel create such a ranking list?”
“The Gospel’s initial intention must have been good,” Igor replied calmly. “The condition for transferring fate is that you must have been the closest person to those unrelated individuals... meaning the Gospel wanted to reward those who cared for society’s disadvantaged.”
“But once the consortium families discovered this, they exploited it for other purposes.”
Annan said coldly, “Those families just need to find someone on the fringes—”
“No,” Helephes cut in immediately. “You forget that it’s the fate of the unrelated being added, so the more prosperous their fate, the stronger the added effect. Those families wouldn’t look for someone on the fringes; instead, they would look for...”
She paused. “If you observe carefully, you’ll see that in most consortium families, each generation of direct descendants has many siblings. Yet, after they come of age, one or two children never appear again.”
Everyone was stunned by this revelation. After a while, Igor asked sarcastically, “Did you become the chief Sea Witch because of your niece’s sacrifice?”
“Yes,” Helephes replied. “So my daughter is about to become one of the unrelated.”
Igor paused, and the Sea Witch said coldly, “How could anyone exploit the Gospel’s loophole without paying any price? Not just us, nearly every patriarch of those consortium families must contribute one or even several of their favorite children. This way, the fate of the unrelated is heavy enough, and the gains for others are significant enough. Whether intentional or not, the existence of the ‘Ranking of the Unrelated’ does effectively improve the quality of the descendants in every generation of those families.”
Although Ashe felt like berating them with a “How can you do this to your children?”, in the grand narrative of the millennium-long development of these families, such accusations seemed too naive. Moreover, Igor was currently engaged in a battle, so he held back from causing any setbacks to the Rust Crow.
“...How is this ranking list related to Doomsday?”
“Don’t you think the ‘Ranking of the Unrelated’ stands out too much among all the regular ranking lists?” Helephes replied. “On top of that, the Gospel secretly transfers the fate of the unrelated to others, almost as if... it’s an experiment.” Ꞧ
“An experiment on Divine Intervention!”
“To the Omniscient Weaver, the unrelated are like little lab rats. He is researching how to perfectly extract fate from these lab rats, and our benefits are just insignificant byproducts!”
The Sea Witch’s eyes sparkled. “Ordinary spellcasters don’t have the ability to steal others’ fate. Don’t even mention stealing; we can barely touch the Fate Sect! But if the Omniscient Weaver uses ranking lists as a form to experiment or develop Divine Interventions, then our opportunity arises!”
“Although historical records of the Yisuo Dynasty have become quite obscure, through years of restoration, we’ve discovered that during the chaotic era, the Gospel introduced many ‘experimental ranking lists.’ Ordinary spellcasters could use these lists to indirectly invoke Divine Interventions and gain resources for themselves!”
Speaking of missed recent Adventures, it must be that one!
If it weren’t for the interference of those two female spellcasters, they would have killed the heroic soul commander and obtained the mysterious spoils.
“Well, that’s unfortunate.” Although he said this, Harvey didn’t seem too concerned, as if he had merely seen a plate of Lala Fatty fall to the ground.
After the necromancer settled back into his seat, Igor asked, “What’s the second requirement?”
“It’s quite simple,” Helephes said. “I just need the Demon Lord to answer one question.”
Ashe gestured for Lise to get off his back, stood up from his push-ups, and said, “What’s the question?”
The Sea Witch was stunned. She had thought the shorter, masked person who had been silent all this time was the Demon Lord. She hadn’t expected it to be the one taking care of the children!
Being gentle and caring with children yet ruthless to the world—to the extent of having Annan paint a Doomsday portrait of him, then turning around to join forces with Annan’s mother and aunts, and finally turning them into necromancers to eternally serve him... Yes, only such a twisted individual could be the Source of Calamity.
“Was Roger Dior’s death related to you?”
“No,” Ashe replied firmly.
The Sea Witches exchanged eye contact, their communication complete within the sounds of the flowing water: he wasn’t lying.
This was expected; if there had been any connection, Helephes wouldn’t dare to meet them.
“Nabistin Palace, the central island in Lake Yalan.”
The Sea Witch answered straightforwardly, “The Princess resides in the tower on that island.”
“Can you guarantee the accuracy of this information?” Annan asked. “I believe the information isn’t fake, but its timeliness might already be outdated.”
“Well, you might not know this, but over thirty days ago, there was a commotion on the surface of Nabistin,” Helephes said. “Though the news was quickly sealed off, many noticed it and began asking us if something had happened to the Princess. It was then that we discovered a slight breach in the Miracle barrier of the palace, allowing us to obtain limited intelligence about the Princess. It seems the Yisuo Royal Family intentionally let this information slip to reassure everyone.”
“Since then, we’ve been prophesying the Princess’s whereabouts daily—she has remained in the tower without any changes.”
As the meeting room door closed, the Sea Witches breathed a sigh of relief.
“Helephes, do you think they’ll succeed?”
“I don’t think they’ll succeed, nor do I think they’ll fail,” Helephes said. “I just find it interesting.”
“A Princess blessed by the Gospel, a Demon Lord favored by fate—I’m really curious about what it will look like when they meet, but unfortunately, prophecy cannot reveal it.”
“More so than that, I’m surprised that Roger really wasn’t killed by the Demon Lord.”
“Wasn’t that clear a long time ago?” another Sea Witch asked. “Although prophecy couldn’t reveal it, it seemed obvious that the Yisuo Royal Family was framing him to maintain the Gospel’s credibility.”
“It just feels a bit... overly dramatic,” Helephes said. “And rather than preserving the Gospel’s credibility, it’s more like they’re establishing the Demon Lord’s prestige.”
“Not just now, actually. I’ve had a faint premonition since the beginning. If the Art Ranking might have been a coincidence, starting from the Family Ranking, the Gospel has consistently been bolstering the Demon Lord’s image. The Family Ranking and the Evil Arts Ranking are essentially the same; the latter is just more aggressive, as if something couldn’t wait.”
Helephes mused, “Between the Art Ranking and the Family Ranking, Ashe must have done something that drew the Gospel’s intense focus on him...”
“According to our investigation, he was in Senhaeser playing games during that time,” the Sea Witch said. “Prophecy suggests he might have been flirting with Qenna and Annan in a Dream.”
“I think you’re worrying too much, chief,” another Sea Witch commented. “Even if the Yisuo Royal Family intended to replicate and sustain their credibility, we’re not Roger. Even if they sent secret guards, they couldn’t murder the chief in the Mermaid Palace!”
The next morning, a dried-up Siren was found dead in the fountain at the square.
Just as the second rank on the Evil Arts Ranking had indicated.