The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Seeing his confusion, Professor Sylph whispered, "It seems something has happened within the Holy Church, requiring the use of a Holy Son or Holy Daughter. However, the Holy Sons and Daughters currently existing in the Holy Church are all remnants of the previous generation, and they all have various problems. The only Holy Sons and Daughters of this generation are Evan Pearson and Audrey Jeanne. But Audrey Jeanne is possessed by the soul of the God of War, and Evan Pearson is far from mature enough to shoulder the responsibility. Therefore, he has set his sights on Pandora."

　Dark frowned slightly, puzzled, and said, "Senior Pandora, she has the qualifications to become a saintess, but she isn't..."

　Professor Sylph smiled and said, "Although it's no longer a secret, not many people know about it. In fact, the various rituals of the Holy Church have no requirements regarding whether one is a pure-blooded human."

　Dark's pupils contracted slightly, and he was extremely surprised.

　It's important to understand that the most prominent tenet of the Holy Religion's doctrine is the "sanctification of humanity." This is why they have a natural aversion to demi-humans, but the truth is actually quite different.

　Professor Sylph said, "That's religion. Upholding pure-blooded humanism is merely a way to enhance religious cohesion and highlight the sanctity of the 'Holy' faith. In fact, all their rituals only require human blood. Not to mention dragonkin, even orcs and elves can undergo the investiture ceremonies for holy sons and daughters. Furthermore, dragons and humans are different. Dragonkin have always been treated differently from orcs, elves, and other demi-human races. According to Galenoris, he probably wants to invest Pandora as a 'Holy Dragon' and then use the concept of a 'Holy's protector to guide public opinion. But no matter how it's done, this is definitely a choice made out of necessity. I just don't know why there's such an urgent need for a holy daughter. And from what I've observed, Galenoris's actions are only his own opinion; he probably hasn't received the Pope's approval yet."

　“Pope, Saint Patrice of the Sith,” Dark murmured, then suddenly looked up and said, “I’ve heard that the lifespans of the Holy Popes are always very short.”

　Professor Sylph nodded slightly and said, "Yes."

　Dark thought for a moment and then said, "How does the academy plan to deal with this matter?"

　But Professor Sylph simply shook her head and said, "That's her own business. How she decides to stay or leave is entirely up to her."

　“Indeed.” Darke lowered his head, took a bite of his steak, and chewed carefully. St. Mary's Academy was, after all, just an educational institution.

　They have no intention of changing this stance. Students come and go as they please, without any restrictions.

　After meal.

　Dark, Professor Sylph, and others arrived at the hidden laboratory behind the faculty dormitory.

　Upon entering the familiar location, one can see two identical "isotopes" lying on different hospital beds.

　One of the "isotopes" has a "dream machine" attached to its head, which Professor Steven Harvey is controlling.

　On the table next to the "dream machine" is a crystal ball.

　Inside the crystal ball, various colored soils were deposited at the bottom to form the ground, and on the ground, the scene kept changing, which was clearly a dream manifestation of that "isomorphic entity".

　Looking at the newly built machine, Dak couldn't help but sigh.

　Professor Cazell gestured for them to sit down and pointed enthusiastically at the world in the crystal ball, saying, "See that river? That's the famous River Styx."

　Although the images inside the crystal ball were not particularly detailed, they were generally recognizable.

　Dark spotted the River Styx at a glance. The river of the underworld was clear and calm, its blackness reflected only from the riverbed.

　From the outside, the River of the Underworld does not appear to be dangerous, and there are no skeletal remains in the river that are said to pull those who cross it into the river.

　Looking at the riverbank, there were quite a few grayish-white spirits wandering aimlessly and unconsciously.

　However, compared to the vast and long River Styx, the number of those spirits was still far from enough.

　There was none of the bewilderment and terror of the legendary gathering of countless souls on the banks of the River Styx.

　“Looks like the underworld is short-staffed too,” Dark said suddenly with a touch of humor.

　“After all, the last era of gods was countless years ago,” Professor Kazel said. “The connection between the real world and the underworld has also been severed for a long time. Even if a soul can enter, it is only by chance, squeezing in from some unknown crevice. There are actually quite a lot of souls along this stretch of river.”

　Suddenly, a very faint noise emanated from the crystal ball. In the distant borderlands, a ferryman, rowing with an oar, slowly steered his boat towards them.

　Those are ferrymen on the River Styx, or boatmen of the underworld. In mythology, they are often responsible for ferrying the souls of the dead to the other side of the River Styx.

　From this perspective, the ferryman of the River Styx inside the crystal ball is just a blurry black shadow. Even the small boat beneath its feet is indistinct, only discernible by its outline.

　“God is invisible,” Professor Cazell remarked.

　Dark saw the souls of the dead on the banks of the River Styx drifting unsteadily toward the small boat as the ferryman of the Styx appeared.

　Even through dreams, one cannot see the full picture of the River Styx.

　The souls drifted to the riverbank closest to the small boat. But the ferryman of the Styx showed no sign of stopping.

　The souls, though having lost their physical forms and floating in the air, could not cross the riverbank and could only watch the ferryman of the River Styx gradually disappear into the distance.

　The scene left only with desolation and despair.

　"This is just a fragment of memory from the 'isotope'."

　Professor Cazell then spoke up to explain, "Having finally had this opportunity, I naturally wanted to see what the legendary underworld is really like."

　"Now that you've seen it, what are your thoughts?" Professor Sylph asked. Professor Cazell's face showed a hint of disappointment: "It's almost exactly as described in the documents."

　"Perhaps the Demon King's memories are incomplete and unable to fill in the full picture of the River Styx," Professor Lily said, having somehow managed to get close to the crystal ball.

　"Is it possible that he only experienced this much?" Dark said. "It's all possible," Professor Cazell said. "Look at this perspective, it's always fixed, which means the Demon King was hiding somewhere and secretly observing. He was sent to the underworld, but unlike these dead souls, his consciousness wasn't erased. When he saw the ferryman of the River Styx, he didn't instinctively gather around him, but instead hid."

　"Did he eventually cross the river?" Dark asked curiously. Professor Cazell shook his head and said, "No." "No?" Dark exclaimed in surprise.

　Professor Cazell said, “Yes, no. He was also sent to the underworld as a soul, but his situation was completely opposite to that of all other souls. When he first entered the underworld, his consciousness was chaotic, much like those souls whose consciousness had been erased. But his soul had a very special ability: he could devour other souls. Therefore, from the moment he was sent to the underworld, his soul began to unconsciously and randomly devour other souls. After a considerable period of time, his consciousness gradually became clear, and he learned who he was and where he was. After that, he began to feed on other souls. Especially those souls whose consciousness had not been completely erased, which gave him more spirituality.”

　"By this point, he had developed the spirituality of a normal person."

　At this point, Professor Cazell pointed to the River Styx in the crystal ball and said, "After gaining intelligence, he discovered that he was different from all the other souls, an extremely special existence, and specialness means value. But if there is only value without power, it is not a good thing. So he began to avoid the ferrymen of the River Styx and did not easily venture into danger."

　“I’ve heard that the ‘Undying Demon King’ is extremely cautious and never does anything without being sure of success,” Dark said.

　“That’s true,” Professor Cazell said. “So for a long time afterward, he continued to pretend to be an ordinary undead, constantly devouring other undead to become stronger.”

　During this process, the "Third Demon King" discovered that even this side of the River Styx was not safe.

　Some creatures that live on the banks of the River of the Underworld feed on the souls of the dead. Among them are the "Twin Demons".

　Dark asked, "If the 'Twin Demons' truly exist in the Underworld, when did the demon race begin to exist?"

　Professor Kazel said, "I have studied the history of the demon race. The origin of the demon race is long lost to history. But I suspect that they are not a newly created race, but rather a unified name that came about later."

　Dark said, "It's like enclosing a group of creatures and collectively naming them the Demon Race."

　Professor Kazel said, "That should be the case. However, since they can be uniformly named as the same species, they probably have something in common."

　Dark said, "What demons have in common is that they can use dark power." Professor Kazel said, "Not all demons have dark magic."

　Dark pondered for a moment, then suddenly pointed out: "So, once the underworld reconnects with the real world, the demon race, which should have been nearly extinct, will reappear."

　As soon as he finished speaking, the professors looked at each other in bewilderment, and after a long while, they said, "That makes sense."

　Since the demon race doesn't only exist in the present world, it's far from being extinct. When the gods revive and worlds like the underworld reconnect with the real world, the demon race will naturally return to this land.

　The "immortal demon king" has already gained a new life somewhere unknown.

　"It sounds like..."

　"The cycle of heroes and demon kings is far from over."

　[7k extra chapters in total]

Chapter 1360 Brightgold, the Ferryman of the River Styx (8k)

　When these kinds of topics are discussed, the atmosphere always tends to be heavy.

　How did this "Third Demon King" become associated with Bright God?

　Professor Sylph tried to steer the conversation.

　Professor Cazell composed himself and said to Professor Harvey, "Steven, is that alright?"

　Professor Steven Harvey paused to make a gesture. Professor Cazell said, "Wait three more minutes."

　But as soon as he finished speaking, the scene inside the crystal ball changed.

　The entire scene instantly condensed, revealing the true form of the "Third Demon King." It was as if the perspective had switched from first-person to third-person.

　At this moment, the "Third Demon King" was merely a blurry black humanoid figure.

　But he was indeed different from the other souls around him whose spirits had been worn away, and he stood out immediately from his appearance alone.

　After all, among the group of gray-white souls, he was the only one who was black. He lurked behind the hill, patiently waiting for the ferryman of the River Styx to leave.

　Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx in Greek mythology, is also a member of the Greek gods.

　In Greek mythology, Charon, the ferryman of the Styx, would ferry any living person across the river if he paid him. However, his boat would become extremely unsafe due to the weight of the living person.

　However, the myths and legends about the ferrymen of the River Styx in this world are different from those in Greek mythology.

　Here, "Charon" is not even a name, but refers directly to the profession of ferryman of the River Styx.

　All ferrymen on the River Styx can be called "Charon." They are not gods, but merely the dead endowed with divinity. They do not accept gold or silver from the living, but they will accept bribes from the dead.

　However, "you can't take anything with you when you die," so what can the deceased possibly offer as a bribe?

　That's a matter of opinion.

　The ferryman of the River Styx holds a position in the underworld similar to a "minor official," but he is the first hurdle for the souls of the dead to reach the Pure Land of Bliss.

　They were originally the dead, but after passing some kind of test, they were promoted and transformed from "wandering souls" at the bottom of the underworld into "ferrymen of the River Styx" responsible for ferrying the souls of the dead to the other side of the River Styx.

　Theoretically speaking, after Ragnarok, the god of the underworld perished along with everyone else, and the entire ascension system of the underworld should have long since ceased to exist. Therefore, the ferryman of the River Styx appearing in the crystal ball now must either be an old ferryman who survived from the previous age of gods and remained alive for thousands of years, or he must have been newly promoted within the last ten or twenty years.

　The entire ascension system of the underworld should gradually recover along with the revival of the divine era.

　The same applies to the real world; many miracles related to God have only gradually emerged in recent years.

　Throughout the entire River Styx, not only are the number of the dead scarce, but the number of ferrymen crossing the river is also extremely small.

　The possibility that the ferryman of the River Styx is a newcomer who has emerged in the last ten or twenty years is undoubtedly much greater.

　The scene inside the crystal ball continues to change.

　Suddenly, the entire world began to rotate around the true form of the "Third Demon King".

　But that was clearly not a change in the real world, but rather a manifestation of the "Third Demon King's" dream.

　The biggest difference between dreams and reality is that reality is always from a first-person perspective, while dreams can not only switch to various perspectives, but also rely on "imagination" to automatically fill in things that have not actually been seen with one's own eyes.

　As Professor Steven Harvey manipulated the crystal ball, the scene inside suddenly accelerated, and the entire perspective rose continuously, expanding the field of vision. The ferryman of the Styx, who had disappeared from one end of the River Styx, reappeared in the field of vision.

　Dak and the others were completely focused, holding their breath and staring intently.

　Then, many tiny black dots suddenly appeared on the edge of the crystal ball. Upon magnification, these dots turned out to be various kinds of creatures from the underworld. They did not appear significantly different from their counterparts in the real world, but their habits were quite different.

　To sum it up in one word, it would be "slow." Both thinking and actions are extremely slow.

　Some of these underworld creatures, with feline characteristics, also give the impression of being aimless and lacking desire, much like the wandering souls.

　Their reproductive instincts seem to have vanished. In this lifeless world, only endless wandering remains.

　These creatures, seemingly alive, were no different from the dead. A thought struck Dak, and he suddenly looked up at the two "isotopes" lying on the hospital bed.

　These two "identical bodies" are also in a state of half-life, aren't they? "Is it a fragmented soul, or has their consciousness been obliterated?"

　After a moment's thought, Dak turned his attention back to the crystal ball.

　It really was a change in three minutes.

　Three minutes later, the scene inside the crystal ball stabilized again. However, the perspective had shifted to the head of the ferryman of the Styx. The ferryman's figure remained blurry and invisible; he seemed to be murmuring something as he rowed his oars. But all that could be heard from this side was still indistinct noise.

　Professor Cazell said that "God is invisible," but the ferryman of the Styx is far from being a god.

　If neither of these is wrong, it means that the entire ascension system of the underworld is itself related to the gods.

　Based on the known information, it is similar to the "Magic Path" and is a concrete manifestation of the path to the divine.

　Dak suddenly realized what was happening, and when he looked at the ferryman of the River Styx again, his eyes burned with fervor.

　This underworld is different from the real world; it seems to have a unique path to advancement, and its overall order is very rigorous.

　But Professor Sylph was asking about Brightgold; why did Professor Harvey shift the focus to this ferryman of the River Styx?

　As Dak was filled with doubt, he suddenly saw the ferryman of the River Styx, for some reason, circle around on the river and begin to return the way he came!

　"It has discovered the Demon King."

　Dark's heart skipped a beat, and he whispered, "It seems so."

　"Professor Sylph said. The professors all watched intently."

　Then they saw the ferryman on the River Styx suddenly accelerate after circling around once, and the small boat moved swiftly, creating a huge sense of disconnect from the slow pace of the world around them.

　Then, in the blink of an eye, the ferryman of the Styx returned to the section of the Styx he had first seen.

　Because of its blurry figure, Dark and the others could not see its expression. However, judging from its actions, it must be searching for the location of the "Third Demon King".

　Then, it was seen to leave the River Styx and step onto the shore. As it stepped onto the riverbank, the small boat and its oars turned into black mist and flew onto its body. In the end, no one knew what it became, but it was always carried with it.

　Immediately afterwards, the ferryman of the Styx was seen rushing towards the location of the Third Demon King.

　But it seems to have a natural attraction to the dead, drawing all the dead souls in the vicinity to it as it races along.

　The "Third Demon King" was already on guard, and when he discovered that the ferryman of the River Styx had suddenly returned, he realized that the other party was coming for him.