Chapter 128: Everyone Can Be Their Own God
Miss Plump Sheep grew up in a family with only one parent.
When she was six years old, her mother passed away due to a magic accident, so it was just her and her father at home.
Her father never hired any help because he was a famous wizard. He could easily do household chores like cleaning with his magic.
Yukihime remembers that before she turned ten, many people tried to convince her father to remarry, but he always refused, saying he was too busy with his magic research and taking care of his daughter.
"Life is short, and as we grow older, our minds become slow, and our bodies struggle to keep up with our magic abilities. So, I don't have the time to invest in a relationship with a stranger. I hope you can understand my situation."
As this conversation happened more often, no one tried to convince her father to marry again.
"He was a devoted wizard and a faithful husband."
Even though many years have passed, Yukihime still remembers clearly how others praised her father.
She mostly agreed with those praises, but she felt something needed to be added.
This is a strict father!
Yes.
Yukihime's strongest impression of her father, Coleridge, was his strictness.
The strictness of her father was evident in every aspect.
Since childhood, her father has tightly controlled her food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. As soon as he noticed her bad habits, he would immediately correct them.
But despite complaining and running away from home, Yukihime doesn't actually resent her father.
Because she deeply knows that her father isn't targeting her; he is just that kind of person. His strictness is not only shown in his attitude towards others but also in his attitude towards himself.
For over a decade, no matter what happens, the father in Yukihime's eyes always dresses neatly and appropriately.
He meticulously attends to his own tasks, even when doing the dishes and sweeping the floor, he can maintain 100% focus.
Maybe that's why he can make great progress on the path of magic study, right?
Yukihime couldn't figure out how to connect such a father with that evil and cruel slave trading organization.
However, the ledger was right there, clearly showing her father's name.
"Unless this ledger is fake, then..."
Even though she had just confidently told Loria that her father could never be involved with a slave trading organization, her body trembled uncontrollably as she followed him from a distance.
What should she do if her father really had a connection with that slave trading organization?
Yukihime was so restless that she almost bumped into a tree on the side of the road.
In the past years, her father had made her do many things she didn't like, such as eating slowly and learning magic, and even applying to the Imperial Magic Academy. But there was one thing she never rejected, even embraced willingly.
"Hold justice in your heart, and be your own hero!"
The father repeated this sentence into her ear for many years, like reciting scriptures.
It was under the influence of this sentence that she started to enjoy those exciting adventure stories.
If her father was really a bad person, he wouldn't have been reciting this sentence to her every day, right?
That's right.
It must be like that.
Yukihime's eyes brightened for a moment, but in the next second, her eyes dimmed down again.
People can change, good people can become bad, and bad people can become good. Who can guarantee that her father will always stay the same as before?
Yukihime staggered a few steps and suddenly felt a warm hand resting on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm okay."
Yukihime gritted her teeth.
Even if things aren't good, she must witness everything that happens next with her own eyes.
Loria didn't say much.
She could understand Yukihime's worries. Before speaking, she had already anticipated how Yukihime would react. It must be said that Yukihime was much calmer than she had imagined.
At first, she thought Yukihime would argue with her or go directly to question Coleridge.
It seemed that Yukihime had grown a lot during their time in Creek Town.
Let's continue like this!
Loria definitely didn't want Coleridge to have any connection with the slave trade organization. With such a situation, she found herself in a difficult position.
The two of them crouched down and continued to trail behind Coleridge.
It was still a gloomy and rainy day.
Coleridge held a brown umbrella and first went to a nearby teahouse to meet someone. Half an hour later, he hurried to the potion market and purchased a small bag of magical materials.
When evening came, he arrived at his own laboratory in the Claren School of Magic.
Loria and Yukihime waited outside for almost two hours. Just when they thought tonight's tracking would be fruitless, a dazzling light suddenly shot out from the laboratory, causing even the white dome of the laboratory to tremble uncontrollably.
"What happened?" Yukihime's face changed dramatically.
Loria pondered and said, "Could it be an explosion?"
An explosion?
This word completely scared Yukihime.
Do you think her father will be safe if there is an explosion in the laboratory?
Yukihime didn't care about revealing her location anymore, she ran straight towards the laboratory.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Loria hurriedly followed.
The two of them arrived at the entrance of the laboratory one after the other, and as expected, the laboratory door had been twisted into a spiral by the blast.
Yukihime kicked away the obstructing door with one foot, and then rushed into the swirling white mist.
"Dad!"
The anxious cry spread around, with Loria right behind, the air filled with a pungent smell, and even a hint of the aroma of roasted meat.
After crossing through the endless white mist, she finally reached the depths of the laboratory.
At that moment, Yukihime held Coleridge's waist with one hand, brimming with concern and fear.
Loria quickly threw an Insightful Perception.
The feedback showed that Coleridge has a broken bone debuff, but now she is completely not paying attention to it.
She looked around and saw a scene that was bloody, bizarre, and terrifying.
The walls on both sides of the laboratory corridor were covered with various pieces of meat and internal organs, terrifying and inexplicable. Some of them were even roasted in the explosion, no wonder she could smell the meaty fragrance when she entered.
Loria's expression became extremely unpleasant.
She couldn't figure out whether this meat came from humans or animals, but it didn't seem very sincere for a magician to use these things in magic experiments, right?
Like touching a taboo, darkness and a deep sense of oppression came from all directions.
Even Yukihime, who was focused on her father, gradually noticed that something was not right.
She looked around and her face turned very pale.
"Yukihime, what are you doing here?"
Suddenly, a slightly hoarse voice sounded.
Loria and Yukihime simultaneously turned their heads and looked at the gradually awakening magic professor, Coleridge.
Instead of answering, Yukihime asked, "Dad, what is this laboratory all about?"
Coleridge held his forehead with one hand, and he only felt a strange pain that was stimulating his mind, making him become uncontrollably crazy.
He looked up and saw his daughter and her friend standing right beside him. Suddenly, a savage aura emerged from the depths of his heart, urging him to release his original sin and destroy everything.
"This is..."
Coleridge suddenly froze, his eyes gradually stained with a layer of blood.
Looking at his strange appearance, Yukihime couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Don't scare me, Dad?"
It was difficult for her not to feel nervous.
Everything in front of her showed that her father was completely different from the father she knew.
At this moment, she felt like she was standing on top of a cliff castle. The castle was grand, but the giant rocks supporting it could collapse at any moment, devouring the castle and her together.
Loria was on high alert.
Coleridge is very strong, even among the C-level adventurers, he is considered one of the strongest in that group.
She felt that even if she used all her strength, she might not be able to escape from Coleridge's grasp, so she needed to be careful.
Luckily, Coleridge's strange behavior didn't last for a long time.
The red color in his eyes faded away faster than before.
Then, he gently pushed Yukihime aside and stood up from the ground, as if the broken bones had no effect on him at all.
"Dad?"
Yukihime tried to reach out, but her hand froze in mid-air.
She watched as Coleridge walked over to a deep pit that had been charred by an explosion. He squatted down beside it, gently touching the dark scratches on the ground while letting out a strange, hearty laughter.
"Failure, it's a failure indeed."
"Ah, this."
Loria was a bit confused.
Could it be that he had gone mad because of the failed experiment?
No, that's not right.
In the previous simulations, she scheduled her progress much later than now, but Miss Plump Sheep never mentioned that her father went crazy.
It's not correct to say that her actions influenced this.
Let's take the example of the simulated session with Dr. Mara, that time, they stayed in the laboratory testing each other's depths all day without going anywhere.
Yesterday, she also spent half the night in the laboratory with Dr. Mara, although they were doing different things, their movements were roughly the same.
It's quite strange to think that such a small difference could have affected Coleridge's experiment.
Loria took a few steps sideways and stood next to Miss Plump Sheep.
Seeing Miss Plump Sheep's face turn pale and then black, she quickly nudged Miss Plump Sheep's face with her bottom.
"Stay calm, if something unexpected happens later, just climb on my back."
Loria used her bottom instead of clapping with her hands, not because she wanted to charm Miss Plump Sheep.
It was mainly because the situation was urgent, and she was ready to fight with Coleridge using her hands at any moment, so she didn't dare to show any flaws.
The tense atmosphere gradually eased as Coleridge's laughter subsided.
The magic professor, who was crouching on the ground, stood up again and walked around the dilapidated laboratory, as if he wanted to confirm something. Every time he passed a spot, his smile grew wider.
When he returned to Miss Plump Sheep, he regained his confidence as a gentleman.
"Yukihime, don't worry, Daddy isn't crazy."
"..."
Loria increasingly thought that Coleridge had gone crazy.
But listening to Coleridge, he said, "Even though this experiment didn't go as planned, I ended up discovering something unexpectedly, making it the most wonderful day in the history of magical research!"
You said you're not crazy?
Loria took a step back and used half of her body to protect Miss Plump Sheep firmly.
Coleridge continued to speak to himself, saying, "I have successfully separated the power of the mind from magic. Just as I suspected, the reason we can use magic is because it already contains the power of the mind. That power grows wildly and freely in the emptiness. I have successfully opened a door. Next, as long as we can implant our own power of the mind into magic, then all of us can become our own gods!"
This time, Coleridge didn't give people a feeling of madness.
Loria saw confidence, and she even saw a radiant brilliance, like sunshine, from Coleridge.
Be your own god?
Goodness gracious.
In the eyes of the Goddess Sect, this is a hundred times crazier than someone shouting to kill God.
If everyone becomes a god, what does the Goddess need to do?
This is no ordinary magician...
Whether or not you throw a heavy punch is none of my business.
Loria made a face. She didn't have any reverence for goddesses. Right now, all she cared about was whether Coleridge had gone crazy, if there was any connection to the organization that sells slaves, and also if they were safe.
Miss Plump Sheep spoke up, asking the question that was on her mind.
"This isn't the dad I know!"
Coleridge continued to smile. "Yukihime, since you were little, your dad always told you that once you've made up your mind about something, you must give it your all and do your best! Dad's biggest dream is to understand the true nature of magic and use it to create a never-before-seen, splendid human civilization. That's why dad has been doing research day after day, year after year. Even though dad is still far from achieving that goal, just now, dad finally saw the hope of success."
These words confirmed to Miss Plump Sheep that her father was still her father. She had just had a one-sided understanding of him before.
Yet, despite this, she felt even more afraid.
"What is on this wall..."
"It is human tissue used for experiments."
Coleridge had no intention to hide anything.
"Mmm..."
Miss Plump Sheep quickly covered her mouth, feeling her stomach churn, almost making her vomit.
Thankfully, she could still tightly hold Loria's hand, feeling the warmth radiating from her wrist, allowing her to recover.
"Why, why would you do such a thing? They are living people, but you used them for experiments!"
Miss Plump Sheep yelled and was about to charge forward.
"Living people?"
Coleridge became immobile.
Loria quickly grabbed Miss Plump Sheep.
"Hold on a moment."
No matter how hard Miss Plump Sheep struggled, she couldn't escape Loria's tight grip. After getting spanked twice on her bottom, Miss Plump Sheep gave up struggling.
But she didn't give Loria a friendly look and seemed ready to bite Loria's thigh at any moment.
Coleridge said, "Performing experiments on the human body is considered forbidden by the Church, but the Empire has never officially banned it. Moreover, I purchased some tissues from the bodies of recently deceased prisoners. This allows those individuals, who committed serious crimes before their death, to contribute to the future of all humanity. Isn't this a form of atonement?"
"You're just being defensive!"
Miss Plump Sheep was furious.
Loria had no choice but to give her bottom another twist.
It was not a praiseworthy act to bully someone's daughter in front of their father, but Loria had to do it.
"Be calm, maybe he didn't lie."
Coleridge said, "Yukihime, it seems you have some misunderstandings about me."
Miss Plump Sheep snorted, "Have you heard of the recently famous Wine Tasting Club case?"
Coleridge nodded.
Miss Plump Sheep said, "Your name is written in the accounts book from there. You have close connections with that place, and yet you say you have no problem!"
Coleridge calmly said, "I didn't personally handle the purchase of human tissues. I sought the help of the Finance Minister through personal connections. But as for all of you, since you can see the accounts book, it means you are the ones responsible for the affairs of the Wine Tasting Club."
"I..."
Miss Plump Sheep was left speechless by the question.
Exposed?
Loria didn't plan to come forward and confess.
Coleridge said, "Never mind, that doesn't matter. We're running out of time, and I have to do the second experiment as soon as possible. I'm confident enough now to pass the assessment and join the Magic Communication Association. If you don't have anything else to do, please leave here first, so you don't get hurt by accident."
A light flashed through Loria's mind.
She hurriedly asked, "Can I inquire about information on the Magic Communication Association?"
As Coleridge tidied up the laboratory, he said, "Go ahead, ask."
"What exactly does the association do?"
"It is an association where people can freely discuss their magical experiences, at least that's what it seems like on the surface. They have beliefs that are completely different from those of ordinary people, and they are also proficient in some extraordinary magic techniques. The method of separating magic power from the mind is something I researched based on the membership test they provided."
"Different beliefs?"
"They believe in a kind of crazy and unrestrained deity."
"Could it be the Goddess of Madness and Indulgence?"
Loria blurted out.
"Hmm?"
Coleridge was puzzled.
But Loria's heart was already boiling. If the Magic Exchange Association was really behind the Church of Goddess of Madness and Indulgence, then why were they gathering so many wizards together? What did they want to do?
She didn't have much time left, she had to investigate quickly.
She immediately turned on the simulator.
