Chapter 35: Black and White (III)

What exactly is there?
The world behind this iron door…
Father Andrew had seen the inner worlds of many people—after all, mind magic was Salonia’s greatest achievement aside from holy light. It could be said that the mind magic of the Church’s white mages was far more terrifying than that of the Empire’s black mages; in some sense, it even rivaled that of dark mages.
Although both were forms of mind magic, black magic focused on causing harm, with its effects mainly centered on shaking the mind and damaging the soul. Dark magic, on the other hand, aimed to amplify the target’s negative emotions indefinitely to control their body. Church white magic, meanwhile, focused on controlling thoughts and influencing memories. There was a fundamental difference in their effects.
Mind magic belonged to the category of mental control magic and was not very popular among the Empire’s black mages, nor was it thoroughly studied. After all, its lethality was far less than that of other magics, and it could even cause soul damage to the caster if used carelessly. Thus, dark mages or Church white mages were those who used it most often.
It should be noted that controlling a body and controlling thoughts are two entirely different concepts. In dark magic, such as that used by dark mages and necromancers, they relied on mind magic to take complete control of a person’s body. Once someone fell under such magic, no matter how unwilling they were, they still had to obey every command given by the caster, even if it meant dying.
The terror of the Church’s mind magic was no less than that of dark magic. This kind of magic could not only spy into others’ inner worlds at will but also seal or alter their memories. The Church’s priests called this “redemption,” but it was merely a self-deceiving term. Therefore, aside from inquisitors, most kind-hearted white mages generally would not use this magic, unless for very important reasons.
[Mind Magic: Nightmare – Key of the Heart]
A nightmare is a terrifying mythical beast in legends. It likes to invade people’s dreams, creating horrible nightmares to scare them for fun. Although the Church’s mind magic did not reach the level of such mythical beasts, it could still invade others’ inner worlds just like them.
The inner world is the place where a person’s true secrets are fully revealed, even if the person themselves is unaware of them.

Some people’s inner worlds might be magnificent palaces, indicating that they are ambitious and desire power, status, and wealth; others’ inner worlds could be a blood-red glow, signifying hatred in their hearts. For honest ordinary people, their inner world might not differ much from their daily lives. And so on—there are countless variations.

But Father Andrew had never encountered anyone whose inner world consisted of two doors…

Putting aside the ancient wooden door leading to light—after all, Father Andrew never thought of probing the inner secrets of a teenager—he found the iron door leading to darkness deeply unsettling. The oppressive aura emanating from it made it seem as though some unknown and terrifying entity resided within.

That feeling was not good at all!

Of course, Father Andrew had also never experienced being blocked outside a door after entering someone’s inner world. Usually, once he cast his magic, what secrets in that person’s heart could escape him?

Even that Ares wasn’t able to stop him from invading his inner world, right?

Though he was defeated by a pair of terrifying eyes that shattered his mental magic and inflicted serious injuries on him…

“How do I open it?” Father Andrew muttered, staring at the iron door. Suddenly, he raised his hands, and a dazzling white light burst from his palms. Soon, milky-white holy light gathered within them.

“Open!”

But the result was completely beyond Father Andrew’s expectations. As soon as his palms touched the massive iron door, the holy light in them was absorbed entirely. At the same time, he felt the holy light within him suddenly becoming uncontrollable, swirling around like wind currents.

“Hm?” Quickly pulling back his hands, Father Andrew stared blankly at the huge iron door, then at his own hands.

“It seems this little guy does have some rather special secrets…” Father Andrew shook his head with a smile. Suddenly, a milky-white halo burst from beneath his feet, resembling an aura.

Those rings of milky-white light, like ripples on water, were full of life and explosive power. This was a magic that only powerful magicians could cast—[Magic Aura].

This is not an ordinary magic. If magical energy fluctuations symbolize a mage, then the magical aura symbolizes a grand mage. That’s why some call this magic the “Ring of Grand Mages.”
The magical aura belongs to barrier magic. Just as Ravia’s fire-absorbing barrier has the effect of absorbing and weakening flames, anyone within its range sees their magic’s power and recovery speed more than double normal. What does “double” mean for a mage? Especially for one who has reached the level of a grand mage?
What’s more terrifying is that a grand mage’s magical aura doesn’t only affect them themselves—whomever is within its range can also benefit from it. Of course, if it’s an enemy, the aura only brings suppression and weakened magic.
In essence, the magical aura is the prototype of a mage’s ultimate power: [Domain]!
An apprentice mage might be able to defeat a true mage, but a true mage can absolutely never defeat a grand mage—because the gap between them is simply too vast!
For grand mages, all mages who haven’t reached this level appear the same in their eyes, even those who are close to it.
“Huh…” The milky white holy light force surged like a blazing flame, crashing against the massive iron door with a loud bang, causing it to vibrate. Unfortunately, the door remained unmoved.
“My goodness…” Father Andrew was clearly surprised.
After hesitating for a moment, he murmured a bitter and incomprehensible spell. With this spell, the holy light force surrounding him slowly condensed into a vague silhouette—a handsome yet somewhat dull-faced figure with a pair of white, dreamlike wings, a spear in his left hand and a sword in his right. This was clearly an advanced spell from the Church’s white magic: [Seraphim].
In the terms of orthodox black magic, this is a type of illusion magic. But for Salonia’s white mages, this divine spell, an advanced one, is the third type of magic where white magic surpasses black magic, after mind magic and prophecy magic.
In the theocratic nation of Salonia, there is no course on illusion magic, but this doesn’t mean white mages lack the skills to master it. On the contrary, in this regard, Salonia far surpasses the empire’s black mages.

Due to differences in faith, the manifestations of dark magicians are usually common beasts; at a deeper level, they are legendary magical beasts. Meanwhile, the manifestations of Salonia’s white magicians are angels. Of course, they generally do not acknowledge this as manifestation magic—they call it divine art.

It is undeniable that the angels created by white magicians using holy light are far more powerful than those of dark magicians, especially when dealing with dark forces. The manifested angels are like invincible divine messengers.

Moreover, these manifested angels possess a secret that remains unknown for now. Let’s simply introduce the classification of such angels. Angels can be distinguished by the wings on their backs, though this is not always absolute. Overall, angels are divided into nine ranks: three upper ranks, three middle ranks, and three lower ranks.

The lower three ranks belong to the order of Holy Spirits, including Angels, Archangels, and Seraphim. The middle three ranks belong to the order of Principals, including Cherubim, Virtues, and Principalities. The upper three ranks belong to the order of Sanctities, including Seraphim, Thrones, and Dominions.

The Church assigns a specific role to each type of angel, and as this involves Church secrets, each priest can generally only manifest one type of angel. Moreover, at the beginning of manifesting—or rather, summoning—an angel, each priest gives it a name that no one else can use, as duplicate angel names are not permitted by the Church. This will not be explained here for now.

The name of the Cherubim summoned by Father Andrew is Pavas…

“Boom!” With a loud noise, within the faintly visible milky white holy light, the Cherubim Pavas used his hands holding a spear and a sword to push hard against the iron door. It must be said that this was an immense force, as the massive iron door, bearing this impact, emitted a creaking sound.

What followed was a struggle. With Father Andrew’s continuous supply of holy light, the milky white glow around the Cherubim Pavas grew stronger. Meanwhile, under this powerful force, the huge iron door was finally pushed open…

“Creak…” After more than ten minutes of effort, a gap was finally created in the massive iron door. Though it was just a gap, it was sufficient for Father Andrew to enter inside.

“Phew, it was really not easy…” Smiling and shaking his head slightly, Father Andrew, who was a bit out of breath, looked up and nodded at the Cherubim Pavas. Instantly, the angel’s form dissipated, returning to its holy light state.

“What lies hidden within this little guy’s heart?” With this question in mind, Father Andrew stepped through the gap in the iron door. Inside, there was nothing… Well, that might not be entirely accurate. To be precise, after stepping in, Father Andrew saw only endless white mist… “Hm?” Staring at the mist, Father Andrew frowned slightly and murmured, “These aren’t…” He watched as the holy light within him gradually turned into part of that mist. “Whoa!” Not understanding what was happening, Father Andrew quickly drew back all his holy light to prevent it from being absorbed by the mist. The mist was endless, like a white ocean. Apart from the huge iron door, Father Andrew couldn’t see anything else… Oh, no—distantly, there seemed to be something huge, and faintly, he could hear a soft snoring sound… “What on earth is that?” Father Andrew cautiously approached. The snoring gradually stopped, and the mist around him stirred. Vaguely, it seemed as though some giant creature was turning its body… “Whoa!” Under Father Andrew’s astonished gaze, a pair of pale red eyes suddenly opened in the mist, followed by a majestic and threatening voice. “This is not a place for you. Leave, rude human!” Cautionously scanning the surroundings, Father Andrew said in a deep voice, “Who are you?” But the voice didn’t reply. Perhaps the sudden overwhelming darkness already made the meaning of those words clear enough. “Pure darkness…” Father Andrew’s expression became grave. In his memory, only demons from the abyss possessed such dark power—and this dark force… belonged to at least a demon king-level being! “Such a terrifying existence… that little guy…” He muttered in complaint. Just as Father Andrew tried to use his holy light to resist, the mist driven away by the darkness returned, temporarily weakening the dark force. “Is this mist… a seal?” As if remembering something, Father Andrew murmured. “Roar… Roar…” A deep roar came from afar, seemingly from a very huge creature. The sound was so loud it even shook the ground. At the same time, Father Andrew suddenly heard a calm voice in his ears. “Go back, outsider. This is not a place for you!”

“Hm?” In an instant, Father Andrew’s expression became extremely strange. He looked around frantically, trying to locate the source of the voice, but sadly, all he saw was fog… more fog.
“Charles? Little Charles? Is that you? You brat… It’s me! Andrew, Charles?” Concern, long hidden, appeared in Father Andrew’s eyes.
Yet, amidst the thick white fog, only the same phrase echoed—flat and lifeless.
“Go back, stranger!”
“…” As if struck by something, Father Andrew suddenly calmed down. He took a deep sigh and said in a tone of self-mockery, “It seems this truly is a remarkable place… a remarkable little guy…” With that, he raised his head and gazed at those huge, hazy pale red eyes in the distance.
They resembled… very much the eyes he had seen inside that man named Agus, but there was a difference. At least in these eyes, he could only see pure anger—perhaps because he had intruded upon this place?
Maybe…
Though not as evil as those eyes, since he was already here…
“Let me see the secrets of this place!” Father Andrew’s eyes sharpened instantly as he began chanting a long, bitter, and incomprehensible spell. Miraculously, as he chanted, golden symbols emerged from his mouth one after another, swirling around his body in irregular patterns. At the same time, the frequency of the magical aura beneath his feet accelerated.
“The Lord said, ‘Let there be light,’ and so there was light…”
“Light is omnipotent and omnipresent. No evil can hide from it. All evil will be exposed without reservation under the holy light… Light will ultimately drive out evil; light will break through darkness. Everything will be revealed under the light of holiness. Amen!”
With this hymn-like chant, the strange symbols surrounding Father Andrew burst forth with dazzling golden light. Immediately afterward, a purer milky-white holy light, stronger than the fog, spread outward in a circle. Neither the fog nor darkness could break through this circle.
The process was extremely difficult. In just about ten seconds, thin beads of sweat appeared on Father Andrew’s forehead, but he didn’t care. What concerned him was the outer edge of this circle…

It’s incredible—those white mists that seem to be formed from holy light, along with those dark forces, as if alive, stopped canceling each other out and instead joined forces to resist the expansion of the halo.
Since when can light and darkness coexist?
This is hilarious!
Of course, Father Andrew couldn’t laugh, as he had witnessed this phenomenon with his own eyes.
Those white mists and those dark forces seemed reluctant to expose everything here to Father Andrew’s gaze. If those dark forces came from those giant eyes, from some unknown colossal demon, then those white mists made of holy light shouldn’t resist their own power like this…
“Hm?” While puzzled, Father Andrew suddenly noticed what was beneath his feet. He realized the ground he stood on wasn’t ordinary—it was a huge stone slab carved with strange patterns. Yes, a huge stone slab. The halo had already cleared out a space of about twenty yards, but this slab seemed to show only a corner…
As if struck by an idea, Father Andrew turned to look at the giant iron door, then at the stone slab beneath his feet, followed by those huge pale red eyes in the distance. Finally, he glanced around at the empty space around him…
He crouched down and touched the strange symbols on the stone slab. There weren’t many; only two could be seen in their full shape. But he vaguely remembered having seen these two symbols somewhere before…
If he wasn’t mistaken, this place should be some kind of…
Suddenly, as Father Andrew was pondering this place, the white mists around him surged toward him like waves of the sea. Before he could react, a wave engulfed him…
“Oh no!” Father Andrew cried out, snapping his eyes open to find himself back in his original world. The little boy in front of him was staring at him warily, frowning and saying, “What exactly do you intend to do?”
He… he had woken up? He had broken through his mental magic?
Just like that Argus?
Father Andrew took a deep breath. Fortunately, he felt no mental backlash this time, only a sense of fatigue.
“I’m sorry for troubling you, my child…”
His humble words eased the wariness in Jiang Zhe’s eyes slightly. Frowning, he said, “That thing you just did…”

Seeming to understand the thoughts of the little boy before him, Father Andrew smiled gently and said earnestly, “Don’t get upset, child. I just want to see what’s in your heart…”
“My heart?” Jiang Zhe immediately grew panicked, knowing there were some things he couldn’t let others know.
“No, no,” seeing that the boy seemed to have misunderstood, Father Andrew hurriedly explained, “Don’t misunderstand, child. I’m not trying to spy on your thoughts. I just want to understand where that holy light within you comes from…”
Looking at Father Andrew with suspicion, Jiang Zhe asked hesitantly, “So, have you figured it out?”
“Heh,” Father Andrew shook his head with a hint of regret and said sincerely, “I understand the general situation a bit, but the specifics… I haven’t been able to figure them out…” He glanced at Jiang Zhe and smiled, “You’re special, child…”
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
“Heh,” Father Andrew smiled and shook his head again, rubbing his hands together as he said earnestly to Jiang Zhe, “Child, have you ever thought about what kind of person you want to become in the future?” Although his face was full of smiles, the seriousness in his eyes showed that this wasn’t an ordinary question.
“What kind of person?” Jiang Zhe glanced at Father Andrew doubtfully and replied half-jokingly, “I haven’t thought about it!”
“Haven’t…” Father Andrew was momentarily stunned before noticing the wariness in the boy’s eyes. He shook his head and said with a wry smile, “Child, I won’t harm you. I just think you’re special, so I want to understand… Why do you study magic?”
“It’s fun!”
“Fun…?”
“Yes,” Jiang Zhe shrugged nonchalantly. “Magic is really interesting, don’t you think?!”
“Uh…” Father Andrew shook his head with a wry smile, then nodded and said, “Indeed, the world of magic is very interesting. But besides fun, have you ever thought about what you could gain from magic? Like… power? Status? Or…”
“Do you have to study magic for those things?”
“Hm?” It had to be said that Father Andrew was now the one stumped. He carefully examined the boy’s eyes and saw no signs of deception, which surprised him.
This child…

Frowning in thought, Father Andrew glanced at the boy’s hands and said softly, “From the burn marks on your hands, I can tell you practice magic diligently every day. Is it just for fun? Interesting?”
If Lavia were here, she would likely sneer. Unfortunately, she’s not here right now…
As for Jiang Zhe himself, he indeed found daily practice quite tough.
“Can’t you tell me, child?”
“There’s nothing I can’t say,” Jiang Zhe said nonchalantly with a shrug. “Other than it being more fun and interesting… it’s about strength! I want powerful power!”
That’s it! Father Andrew’s heart tightened immediately. He asked carefully, “What do you want powerful power for?”
“What for?”
“Yes, you just said it’s neither for noble status nor for power. So, what do you need powerful power for?”
“I don’t know!”
“Don’t know?” Father Andrew’s eyes were filled with surprise. He gradually felt that this little guy before him was somewhat extraordinary. “Uh…” Jiang Zhe hesitated, glancing at Father Andrew, and said reluctantly, “For emergencies. Not everyone solves problems with reason!”
“…” Father Andrew was stunned for a moment before laughing. Nodding earnestly, he said, “Indeed, that’s true, child…” He paused then and asked meaningfully, “So, do you think you’re the kind of person who solves problems with reason or with force?”
“It depends on the opponent!”
“Hm?” Father Andrew was stunned again. Of course, he understood what this meant.
This child… is very special. It’s hard to believe he’s only in his teens…
“Would you use magic to hurt others?” Father Andrew asked softly.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Zhe shrugged and said, “I don’t deny it!”
Seemingly dissatisfied with this answer, Father Andrew frowned and asked again, “Then would you deliberately hurt others?”
The little boy looked at Father Andrew in disbelief and said oddly, “Why would I use magic to hurt others when I have nothing to do?”
“Uh… hahaha,” as if his doubts were resolved, Father Andrew laughed heartily. Nodding, he said, “I asked the wrong question, child. But… it’s good that you don’t deliberately hurt others. Very good!”

Facing Father Andrew’s smiling face, Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes speechlessly. He was originally the kind of person who wouldn’t bother others unless provoked—why go out of his way to hurt them? He would rather sleep instead!
Father Andrew clearly saw the boy’s rude behavior, but he didn’t mind it. He simply thought the boy was honest and straightforward, with a pure purpose for learning magic… too pure, even.
“Have you ever thought about what you want to do after mastering magic? I remember that students who graduate from the Rexox Academy can become nobles, and your parents would be proud of you…” As he spoke, Father Andrew suddenly noticed something strange in the boy’s expression and stopped talking abruptly. Hesitantly, he asked, “Child, if you don’t mind, could you tell me who your relatives are?”
“None…” There were none in this world! Jiang Zhe shook his head.
Sure enough! Father Andrew frowned, as if he had figured something out.
A child who had lost his parents, had no relatives, was extremely intelligent and self-reliant, and was also very special… To be honest, Father Andrew was starting to feel troubled.
Although he still didn’t know what kind of being resided within this boy, it was certain that it was at least a demon of the demon king level. In history, there had been cases where abyssal demons took residence in newborns and came to this world through such special means.
The best solution, of course, was to use holy light magic to expel that demon. But there had also been some special cases in history where, if the persuasion of the child outweighed the demon’s temptation, it could achieve a win-win outcome.
As for Father Andrew, his greatest wish was to expel the unknown demon from the boy’s body. But he also understood that the entity inside the boy was clearly not easy to deal with. If things went wrong, it could lead to disastrous consequences…
And then there was little Charles…
Obviously, the hexagram magic array on the little boy’s backhand was carved by Charles. Some of the boy’s memories might also have been sealed by Charles—perhaps he had encountered something bad related to the little boy…
Persuasion was the best approach now!
With these thoughts in mind, Father Andrew said softly, “Child, would you like to come with me to Salonia?”
“Salonia?” Jiang Zhe was stunned.
“Yes!” Father Andrew nodded. Before coming to meet this child, he had already inquired about him.

This child, after only a year of studying fire magic, has reached a level that would take ordinary people three to five years to achieve. The abundance of fire elements around him is astonishing—this shows just how outstanding he is and how gifted he is at learning magic! More importantly, perhaps because he once met Charles, he naturally has an affinity for holy light, something that ordinary people would take five, ten, or even longer to attain! He is simply the best successor to holy light that heaven could bestow upon Salonia! In just ten years, or maybe even less, he could take Charles’s place as the youngest cardinal in the Church, and perhaps even more in the future… Although this child has already passed the optimal stage for moral education, he shows no signs of extremism or deviation. What’s more valuable is that he has no desire for power, status, or wealth; his motivation for learning magic is simply out of curiosity and fun, not out of hatred or anything like that. Good heavens… Under Jiang Zhe’s puzzled gaze, Father Andrew became excited, his hands trembling from time to time. But then, a sentence from the boy extinguished Father Andrew’s excitement. “I won’t go. I’m fine here!” “This…” Father Andrew was stunned. He glanced at the boy, cleared his throat, and said awkwardly, “Ahem, actually, I’m one of the twelve cardinals in the Church…” “And then?” the boy asked, tilting his head. What else could there be? Father Andrew was at a loss. When has a cardinal ever been like a common vegetable? At least show some surprise. “Ahem,” he coughed twice, embarrassed. Looking at the boy and considering what he knew, he said softly, “Child, actually, white magic is more interesting than black magic…” Meanwhile, in the dean’s office at Riox Academy, the old dean was cursing under his breath while staring at a crystal ball on his desk. “That old bastard! Tch, and he says white magic is more interesting than black magic… How dare he say that!” “Hm? Old bastard?” Professor Manhet, standing in front of the desk, said in surprise. “Isn’t the dean looking for that Argus?” As he spoke, he curiously stepped forward to take a look at the crystal ball, and Professor Hodde, standing beside him, was also curious.

“Uh… cough, yes, that’s right!” The old dean coughed a few times and discreetly covered the crystal ball, then nodded and said, “I’ve already used prophecy to search, but sadly, I haven’t found any trace of that man…”
“What… what should we do?” Professor Manhet clearly seemed worried. “If even the dean can’t find that man, then… I also think that man is very dangerous…”
“Hehe, don’t worry. Just because I can’t find him doesn’t mean others can’t…”
Professor Manhet was stunned for a moment, then seemed to remember something and said joyfully, “Could it be what the dean means…”
“Yes!” The old dean nodded cheerfully, then turned to Professor Hod and said, “Hod, help me bring her back. We need her now!”
Professor Hod looked embarrassed and shook his head repeatedly, saying, “I… won’t go! Absolutely not!”