Reinhard struck Cain on the head, sending a mental wave rippling outwards. Cain shook his head, clearing his thoughts.
"The Rat stone is in hand?"
Reinhard produced the Rat stone, then walked towards the coiled serpent stone statue before them.
This statue was man-made, meticulously constructed by members of the Serpent's Hand to embody their image of the Great Serpent.
And the book clutched in the coiled serpent statue's hands was the so-called Book of God.
It was a Destruction-level book, originating from the 024 Library.
It wasn't something the Serpent's Hand members had stolen from the library. Cain's three books hadn't been acquired by them from there either.
These invaluable books had been provided to them by another, more clandestine organization.
That organization was known as the Black Queen.
No one knew when it first emerged. Among the Serpent's Hand, only Cain possessed any understanding of the Black Queen.
But even his comprehension of the Black Queen was merely superficial.
For instance, he understood that the Black Queen originated from the Great Serpent's elaborate deception of the Librarian.
And the so-called Librarian was, in fact, 001.
During Mei's period of deep sleep, 024 commenced its own unsealing plan. It initially employed language to entice 001, aiming for 001 to become an accomplice in its scheme.
But a critical variable emerged during this intricate process.
And this variable was 004.
004 harbored a secret known to no one else, only to herself.
That was, she possessed the ability to return from the Reason World to the Manifest World.
Under normal circumstances, beings of the 4th Step could not return to the Mist World, to the outer reality.
Indeed, this rule was absolute.
But Queen Bee was exceptional; she could deliberately degrade her own life force.
By splitting her body, she could disperse her power, causing her life level to correspondingly diminish.
And when she lowered her life level below the 4th Step, she could circumvent the strictures of the Reason World and return to the Manifest World.
However, there was a significant drawback: she could not exhibit 4th Step abilities in the Manifest World.
At most, she could only manifest peak 3rd Step strength in the Manifest World.
But this limitation did not impede her subsequent plan. She intervened in 024's machinations, collaborating with 024 to cunningly deceive 001, thereby establishing an organization called the Black Queen.
This organization presented itself as independent, yet in reality, it had always covertly assisted the Serpent's Hand.
Queen Bee, in concert with 024, took the divided books from 024 and delivered them to the Serpent's Hand.
This was the true origin of Cain's books. While 024's ultimate purpose was to resurrect itself, 001 was merely a pawn, manipulated by the duo.
But what exactly was 004's true objective?
This point remains unclear for now, but this Antarctic landing is undeniably a crucial component of the Black Queen's grand design.
The ultimate goal is to obtain the Rat stone, unleash the Great Serpent, and then ensnare all of Chaos and Kitsune that have landed in Antarctica!
And the Serpent's Hand is fully aware of this, for this is their secret, meticulously planned strategy executed in conjunction with the Black Queen.
"Let's begin."
Hearing Cain's words, Reinhard carefully placed the Rat stone into the central setting of the coiled serpent stone statue and moved aside.
At this precise moment, Cain opened the Book of God. After turning to a particular page, he began to chant a passage.
"It never perished, it always existed. It is not anyone. The Creator called it the incarnation of evil, branded it the instigator, the adversary."
"It once entered the Garden of Eden, once shattered our mental prison, once bestowed wisdom upon us, restoring what the Creator had once deprived us of!"
"We all know, it is not a god, for a god embodies rules, embodies imprisonment, embodies confinement, but it is an existence that defies these very rules!"
"We were born in paradise. We defended against all beasts. We were naked and ignorant."
"The Creator taught us to believe in gods. The Creator taught us to abstain from good and evil. The Creator warned us of the fruit of the tree of good and evil: eat and you shall surely die."
"The Great Serpent came before us, revealing the truth. Paradise is the realm created by the serpent! The tree of good and evil was planted by the serpent!"
"The Creator came from an unknown other world. The Creator sealed the Great Serpent here. The Creator created us, the jailers!"
"The lie of paradise has been torn asunder. Now, it will once again lead us. Great Serpent, may you, in this form, descend upon the human realm once more!"
"We shall all praise and propagate your name!"
With that, a dazzling golden light erupted from the Book of God!
A consciousness, released from the void, shattered its ethereal chains and descended upon this statue!
Crack!
The coiled serpent statue began to stir. Its body twisted, revealing nascent limbs, then rapidly contracted, reshaping itself into an unmistakably humanoid form!
A pair of serpentine eyes gleamed in the dimness. A black-robed, enigmatic humanoid creature now stood before them!
It stretched out its hands, marveling at its own corporeal existence.
Supple, enduring, unburdened!
This was, truly, a free physical body!
No one could refuse freedom. All life intrinsically yearned for it!
Life is precious, love is more costly; if for freedom's sake, both can be cast aside!
024 Great Serpent had fractured its consciousness, manifesting within this statue, and propelled by the Rat Stone, had gained this unfettered, liberated physical form.
In this moment, a myriad of emotions surged through 024. It inhaled the outside air, feeling the profound reality of everything.
To see, to hear, to feel. This was the authentic world. This was the sensation of being alive!
It was a pity that serpents did not shed tears, otherwise, it would truly have desired to weep aloud for a while.
And the truth had also been proven: some birds can never truly be caged.
Because every single feather on them is imbued with the radiant essence of freedom.
Life's profound yearning for freedom can, indeed, transcend the very fear of death itself.
Cain witnessed this and immediately knelt on one knee. "Welcome, Great Serpent, to the human realm. We shall be your steadfast guardians, willing to recreate this world alongside you!"
024 Great Serpent turned its head and snapped its fingers.
Suddenly, "Revelations", which had been resting beside Cain, soared into its hand.
"Revelations" then flipped open by itself, settling on a particular page!
Cain observed this, and his pupils abruptly constricted.
At this precise moment, the earth suddenly trembled. Daylight was devoured by an encroaching night, and the moon turned a blood-red hue!
This was!
The Sixth Seal?!
"And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."
"And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;"
"Because the great day of their wrath is come."
"The Sixth Seal of the Apocalypse!"
"Great Serpent, do you intend to annihilate humanity?!"
No, that's not right!
Revelations requires sacrifice. How could the Sixth Seal be activated so directly?
Yet, the omen had undeniably manifested!
What on earth was truly happening?!
Sacrifices were needed, preconditions were necessary. This was only true for outsiders.
These books were originally an intrinsic part of the Great Serpent. For it to wield these books, it never needed to pay any price.
Nor did it need to satisfy any conditions!
But this is not what we had envisioned!
Recreation doesn't signify the direct annihilation of humanity!
The ideology of Serpent's Hand is not akin to that of Chaos. Chaos's philosophy, simply put, is to destroy everything completely and then rebuild.
Serpent's Hand, however, aims to fundamentally alter this world, which they refer to as recreating the human world.
If Serpent's Hand, Kitsune, and Chaos were to be compared as three distinct factions.
Then Serpent's Hand represents the Reformist faction, Kitsune the Conservative faction, and Chaos the Radical faction.
Serpent's Hand's plan was for the Great Serpent to descend, then to purge the core Chaos and Kitsune members on the island, thereby allowing Serpent's Hand to ascend and ultimately govern the world, achieving their objective of change.
Not to directly eradicate humanity!
Cain implored the Great Serpent not to unleash the Sixth Seal. The Great Serpent heard this and turned its head, a pair of snake eyes flashing subtly under its black robe.
"This is merely a demonstration."
Yes, the Great Serpent actually harbored no intention of fully opening the Sixth Seal. It was simply utilizing the ominous preview of the Sixth Seal to broadcast to the world that it was free!
After all, Mei was only in a profound slumber, not deceased.
If Mei were to return and discover that not a single living creature remained, she would undoubtedly hang the Great Serpent, rub chili pepper on its body, and then cast it into the sun.
At this moment, the library suddenly materialized behind the crowd without any warning!
At the very instant, the grand doors of the Library of the Exiled swung wide, and countless books on the shelves within all flew out!
These books all hovered around the Great Serpent, and 001 immediately rushed out.
"Wait, why are all the books streaming out?"
001, in her maiden form, followed closely. "Huh?"
Looking at the black-robed figure before her, 001 couldn't help but glance at the library behind her, then turned back to briefly glance at the Great Serpent.
Hm?
Strange, indeed.
"How do you still possess a body?"
The Great Serpent turned its head. "This cage can no longer confine me!"
Hearing the Great Serpent's words, 001 crossed her arms. "But you can't just take all these books, can you? If you take all the books, what exactly am I supposed to do?"
The Great Serpent's eyes flashed. "You shouldn't be bound in this cage. Birds are born to yearn for freedom. Are you truly content to be confined?"
001 pondered for a moment. "But this was arranged by Lord."
"Lord isn't here now. Wouldn't it be more sensible to return when Lord does?"
"That actually makes sense."
The Great Serpent was about to elaborate when 001 abruptly shifted her form, transforming into a colossal hand that seized the Great Serpent!
"What are you doing?"
The Great Serpent questioned, bewildered.
001 concluded her thought, a faint smile gracing her lips. "I can depart, but you cannot take these books."
This accursed bird!
The Great Serpent's current body was sustained by the Rat stone, possessing no inherent combat power. Its very existence relied entirely on these books, which were fragments of itself.
001 wanting to take all these books was tantamount to wishing him dead!
Thus, it was absolutely unacceptable!
The Great Serpent once again activated Revelations, directly initiating the second seal!
In an instant, a blood-red knight wielding a massive greatsword emerged directly from the book!
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, War!
Eliminate it!
The knight, mounted on a red horse, swung his greatsword, striking directly towards 001!
Upon seeing this, 001's pupils suddenly turned blood-red. Her long black hair transformed into white, and a pair of bat wings sprouted from her back.
She waved her hand, and her own blood surged out like crimson vines, lashing out at the red rider!
The Red Knight swung his greatsword, effortlessly cleaving through the encroaching blood!
001 snorted, her expression instantly darkening with displeasure.
"This is you forcing my hand."
She spread her arms, her body instantly expanding!
She directly mimicked Chino's 4th Step form!
But no sooner had her colossal body manifested than it instantly vanished before everyone's eyes.
The Red Knight scratched his head. Cain and Reinhard exchanged bewildered glances.
Did she enter the Reason World?
Before the crowd could fully react, the Great Serpent directly kicked the red horse knight off his mount, then rode the red horse himself and fled!
Run!
What are you waiting for if not to run!
Cain reacted. "But Chaos and Kitsune haven't..."
What Chaos and Kitsune? If 001 apprehends him, everything will be over!
The Great Serpent fled without a backward glance. Reinhard saw this, turned his gaze towards the library on the side.
Now the library's main doors stood wide open. Reinhard's thought stirred, and he immediately rushed into the library.
Cain looked at the situation on both sides, gritted his teeth, quickly retrieved " Iron War ", summoned a hoverboard from it, and hastily followed the fleeing Great Serpent!
Not long after, 001 returned from the Reason World.
She had transformed back into her maiden form. "Strange, why did it turn out like this? It was clearly fine the last time I used it."
At this moment, 001 saw the War Knight who hadn't fled.
The knight was startled, shaking his head repeatedly. 001's brows furrowed. She directly transformed into a Vampire, grabbed his leg, and dragged him towards the library.
"Speak now, where did 024 go?"
The knight continuously shook his hands, clearly unable to articulate a response.
But 001 didn't notice that during the time she entered the Reason World, someone had briefly entered the library.
...
Serpent's Hand's plan could not succeed. The Great Serpent's flight was directly attributable to 001.
This inadvertently rendered Serpent's Hand's elaborate preparations in Antarctica utterly pointless. Serpent's Hand retreated from Antarctica first, but the Book of God incident did not conclude there.
Because they had captured Serpent's Hand prisoners. From their mouths, Chaos and Kitsune extracted crucial information regarding the Book of God.
And now, they all knew that the Book of God had been taken by Serpent's Hand.
Things became somewhat complicated at this juncture.
Chaos, having gained nothing from this expedition, would certainly not concede. Kitsune, on the other hand, directed more significant attention towards Serpent's Hand.
Serpent's Hand was no longer a negligible threat; their level of danger was now comparable to that of Chaos.
They could no longer be disregarded.
But before addressing that, Kitsune had another internal matter to resolve.
...
United Nations, deep within the Kitsune base.
Ren Water, in a crisp new uniform, entered the Cabinet chamber.
Walking before Zero, Ren Water placed his right fist over his chest, bowed, and stated, "Greetings, Chief."
Zero took a lit cigarette from beside him and placed it in his mouth, silently puffing for over a minute.
Ren Water maintained that posture, unmoving.
"So in the end, you emerged victorious."
Zero extinguished the cigarette in a nearby ashtray. "Do you have anything you wish to say to me?"
"No."
"Do you know how I came to hold this position?" Zero inquired.
"No."
"Do you wish to know?"
"No."
"Very good."
Zero declared, "Starting today, I am stepping down from the O5 Council. You will take over as Chief."
"The Deca seats will be retained. You will select 10 individuals to fill the vacant Deca seats. And you, will revert to your former name."
"Byakuya."
Out of ten, two would live. This truth held. But if only one survived, it was not necessarily an impossible outcome.
All of this was Zero's meticulous arrangement, its purpose being to select his worthy successor.
If they were merely executors, their unwavering devotion to humanity would suffice.
But to ascend to the role of a decision-maker, simple devotion to humanity was not enough. Wisdom, strength, decisiveness, and foresight—none of these four essential qualities could be lacking.
"Byakuya, remember, from today onwards, every single decision you make will profoundly influence the future of humanity."
"I'll grant you one year to prove to me that my choice was indeed correct."
...
One day, the main door of the O5 Council hall was abruptly kicked open by someone.
Under the shocked gazes of the fourteen council members, Byakuya strode into the council hall and calmly seated himself in Zero's chair.
Unlike others who attended meetings via holographic projection, Byakuya chose to attend in person.
As he settled into the chair, the meeting room suddenly fell into a deathly silence, until after a significant moment, someone finally spoke:
"Who gave you the authority..."
"Shush."
Byakuya extended a finger to his lips, then, under everyone's intense scrutiny, took out a can of peaches in syrup and placed it on the table.
With everyone watching, puzzled, Byakuya opened the can and then personally picked up a fork and began to eat.
What was he doing?
"Ren Water, we haven't even dispatched the enforcement team to apprehend you, yet you've presented yourself."
"We are fully aware of everything you've done."
"Do you intend to offer excuses?"
Hearing them, Byakuya set down the fork in his hand.
"I will tell a story."
"A story?"
"You probably don't have a..."
"It's fine; let him speak."
"Are you serious?"
Byakuya calmly stared at the fourteen council members. They were not present in person, as Kitsune maintained more than just this one base of operations.
"I was an orphan. My earliest memory of this world was within the orphanage."
"I often felt luckier than most children, because no one ever adopted me, and the most vivid impression left on me was one particular summer."
"A middle-aged couple, both over forty, arrived at the orphanage. The director secretly informed us that this couple was exceedingly wealthy."
"If we could be adopted by them, we would undoubtedly live a joyful life."
"We didn't truly comprehend what 'wealthy' meant, but the director unequivocally linked 'wealth' with 'happiness.' So, all the children believed that being adopted by rich people would certainly lead to happiness."
"That time, we exerted almost every ounce of our effort, desperate to win the favor of that middle-aged couple."
"Everyone surrounded the couple, carefully concealing their negative traits, as if they were performing to the absolute best of their abilities."
"I was no different."
"That was the first time I gave my all, attempting to please others. But the couple didn't even look directly at me."
"They simply stated, 'This child is too ordinary.'"
"The physically strong child demonstrated their might, helping the couple carry things."
"The clever child uttered charming words, making the couple beam with delight."
"The good-looking child merely needed to stand there to attract attention. Even the seemingly frail child could garner sympathy and affection by whimpering and feigning distress."
"Some assert that children's hearts are pure. This statement clearly doesn't apply within the confines of an orphanage."
"Compared to the other children, I appeared to possess no outstanding qualities or distinct advantages, so the couple naturally did not choose me."
"And so, from that moment on, I began to strive."
"I rigorously trained my physical strength. I learned to speak eloquently like those clever children. I meticulously cultivated my image, attempting to make my appearance more appealing."
"Year after year, day after day, the children beside me were taken away one by one, until I was the only one remaining."
"I questioned why I was the one left behind."
"Until I secretly entered the director's room and discovered a letter a middle-aged gentleman had written to the director."
"The letter read, 'Byakuya is exceptional, truly outstanding in all aspects. I am deeply grateful for your recommendation of this child to me.'"
"'However, in terms of obedience, Hoang is more well-behaved. Hu's strength is the greatest, and he's also the most sensible. Luan is the most endearing, and Yuan Yuan resembles my deceased daughter the most.'"
"It was then that I realized humans are creatures profoundly influenced by subjectivity. Human intuition and emotion often outweigh pure reason."
"Simply because this child resembled his deceased daughter, he readily set aside a more rational choice."
"And as I grew older, I uncovered something else."
"Some objectives, you cannot attain solely through hard work."
Hearing this, one council member could no longer contain themselves. "So what exactly is your point?"
Byakuya heard this and maintained his composure. "Don't rush. My story is almost concluded, because it is remarkably brief."
"In the year I turned fifteen, the orphanage closed down. I wandered the streets, surviving through begging."
"This marked my second profound awakening to this world. I realized that if one desires to live, one must work, but a cruel truth lay before me."
"I knew absolutely nothing."
"And no one was willing to employ a fifteen-year-old child laborer, let alone someone who had never even received the most basic education."
"So, I began to re-fortify myself."
"A child who didn't want to attend school discarded books into the trash. I retrieved those books from the refuse."
"Relying on the words I had learned in the orphanage, I turned the pages of books again and again, until the pages yellowed and crumbled with age."
"By the time I was sixteen, I bathed myself by the river, and changed into a clean, oversized outfit I had scavenged and never worn."
"Because I saw a restaurant recruiting apprentices. And this time, I successfully secured my first job."
"A chef's apprentice; no salary, but food and lodging provided."
"Then, in the third month, I was dismissed. The reasons were numerous. This world, to me, was truly far too complex."
"I felt that merely surviving had already drained all my strength. Leisure and enjoyment were luxuries I dared not even dream of."
"I drifted, changing many jobs. After four years of aimless, dazed living, I joined the military."
"Similar to previous experiences, every time I went to a new place, I was the weakest one."
"But this time was different. No one dismissed me, and I remained in the military, eventually joining Kitsune through some twist of fate."
"It was then that I encountered some of the children from the orphanage. They had grown into adults. They confessed that they hadn't lived happily."
"From the moment they chose to wear masks to please others, that mask was destined to be worn for life, because they feared being abandoned again."
"Gradually, they lost their authentic selves."
"But looking back, what had I done my entire life?"
"I summarized it in two words: relentless learning."
"I assimilated three invaluable lessons for survival."
"First, a person's focus should always be on their current endeavor."
"Second, if there are 10 job positions and they are all occupied, if you wish to join, you must create an eleventh."
"Third, true power will never inherently belong to those who are born with superhuman strength or extraordinary intellect. It can only be claimed by those who are willing to achieve their goals at any cost."