CHAPTER 1414: CHAPTER 124: GREAT SIN: HOLY SWORD HOLDING

An increasingly bright radiance hatched from within the ice.

Like a life hatching from an egg—

Once it was fully carved, the pure Light Array rose towards the sky.

As it ascended gradually, like a 3D printer, it thawed the ice-encased Aiwass and Don Quixote layer by layer. When it rose to a position higher than Don Quixote, the ice on both of them melted away completely.

When the Light Array reached its highest point, a majestic and fierce lion’s head appeared within its inner ring.

Afterwards, the array began to collapse and shatter from the outermost ring inward, falling into the void and turning into nothingness. In the end, only a white lion-headed ring remained, like an emblem.

Two brand new, massive Tarot Cards slowly printed themselves out of the void, facing each other, floating above and below it.

The card below symbolized Don Quixote himself.

——[Justice].

A goddess wearing a crown and dressed in a red robe held a balance and a sword, sitting on a throne, with two stone pillars behind her.

The exalted goddess symbolized divine majesty—the balance represented fairness and measurement, the sword represented judgment and punishment. Those two stone pillars symbolized tradition and law, the red robe symbolized religious authority, and the crown symbolized royal power.

Clearly, the standard of "Justice" comes from the definition of Authority.

Its card face gradually changed... The burning red card face turned into a tranquil green. The goddess no longer sat on the throne, but stood up and covered her eyes. She held a double-edged sword, standing upon a giant balance. At either end of the balance were "Alpha" and "Omega," symbolizing the beginning and the end... and at this moment, they achieved a subtle balance.

Originally, the two simple stone pillars transformed into complex spires of light and darkness at opposite ends. The two stone pillars became four spires. The two ends of the four spires became eight layers of light and dark. Through extremely complex and dangerous balancing, light and dark reached a state of equilibrium.

When both the starting point and the endpoint are placed on the balance to be weighed, it is then discovered that they are balanced. This process, like an acrobat balancing on a ball, requires continuous focus and a tranquil heart.

[Justice]became [Adjustment].

Compared to the static, harsh "Justice," the constantly balancing "Adjustment" is undoubtedly dynamic and calm; compared to external, material authority, it turns towards an internal, spiritual definition.

The card above represented the Silver-Crowned Dragon used to seal Don Quixote.

——It is the "Chariot," symbolizing victory and authority.

The warrior originally stood on the chariot, with a pair of black and white sphinxes in front, corresponding to the two pillars on the Justice card. The surroundings of the chariot included landscapes, rivers, and city fortresses. It symbolized invincibility, conquest, and victory. It also symbolized the control of power by willpower—if different-colored lions could not be made to move in the same direction, the chariot could not advance and might even break.

And this leadership is called Authority.

——Authority is control over power!

But now, this card has changed too—the two sphinxes turned into four Wisdom Angels, also two black and two white. The direction faced also changed from one to three... As light and dark became more complex, so did the situation, directly corresponding to the "Justice" becoming "Adjustment" when the "pillars" became more complex.

Tradition symbolizes morality, and law symbolizes authority. As society develops, neither morality nor authority can resolve all complex issues anymore.

The warrior originally on the chariot held a long spear, revealing his face of glory, with a laurel wreath symbolizing triumph on his head.

But in the new card face, the warrior was clad entirely in full-cover armor, solid as a can. He no longer stood to meet glory but sat securely within the chariot; he no longer held a spear, but embraced a shield akin to the Holy Grail—or a Holy Grail akin to a shield.

He no longer needed physical ropes and chains, as the four Wisdom Angels bowed before the chariot. For the external victory obtained from material constraints... it has become an "undefeated victory" achieved through the elevation of spirit, internal integration, and the adjustment of light and dark.

Just like the current situation of the Silver-Crowned Dragon.

He once transformed into the human warrior Arthur, conquering the Giant’s Country and then counterattacking up to the Supreme Heaven, becoming the new Pillar God, the Silver-Crowned Dragon.

But now the Silver-Crowned Dragon no longer needs to obtain material victory... What it needs now is spiritual unity and internal reconciliation.

Finally, as the two cards gradually formed and became clear, they slowly approached each other.

At the instant the two cards bonded tightly together, it burst out a flash of radiance enveloped in cold air.

As the illusion shattered, Aiwass opened his eyes.

The Holy Sword Clarent beside him was nowhere to be seen.

In front of him, a pure white transparent card slowly rotated in the air. On it, a lion’s head pattern was outlined in metallic silver-grey.

Aiwass reached out, smoothly writing his name with the index finger of his right hand.

Its attributes were revealed after intense shaking:

[Great Sin: Holy Sword Holding (Adjustment, Chariot)]

[Level: 50 (Suppressed)]

[Path of Authority, Light Attribute]

[Upright Summon·Nothing]

[Requirement: Light 5]

[Instant, Front, Effective Immediately]

[Effect: Summon the spiritual body of Holy Knight Don Quixote, self-sacrificing to become a giant light shield, protecting all allies behind from all attacks from the front]

[Reversed Summon·Holy Sword Holding]

[Requirement: Light 5]

[Sustain: Light 5*Daily]

[Action, Summon]

[Effect: Summon the Beast of Greed·Holy Sword Holding to fight for you, Holy Sword Holding is treated as a summoned creature; in non-combat state, Beast of Greed·Holy Sword Holding can transform into Holy Sword Clarent, entering follow state; only one Great Sin Beast can exist at a time]

"...Holy Sword Holding, All Nothing..."

Aiwass gently rubbed the cold card face with his index finger, murmuring softly.

Among all his Great Sin Beasts... perhaps even among all his Phantom Cards, this was the simplest card face introduction.

——Pure numbers, with no mechanism. Or rather, the mechanism is not written on the card face at all... after all, Aiwass didn’t even know how thick the light shield was or if it had any additional attributes. There was simply nothing written above.

But even if it was just a particularly thick shield... as a group protective light shield that could be instantly summoned simply by showing the card face, it was quite a practical ability for Aiwass.

After all, Aiwass never lacked offensive power and healing ability. An instantly summoned shield is extremely practical for Aiwass—had he had access to this when confronting the Fallen Celestial Marshal, he wouldn’t have had to face the Marshal’s attacks with such trepidation.

But why...

Is the skill capable of shielding allies from harm called "Nothing"?

And why is it called "Holy Sword Holding"?

Aiwass remembered that the original Bishop Mathers, possessed by the spiritual body in the Red-Handled Sword, should have been called "Holy Sword Guardian."

...Is it because while Bishop Mathers guarded the Red-Handled Sword, the current Don Quixote does not possess the Holy Sword Clarent?

The dwelling place, too, comes from the charity of others...

Don Quixote divides others’ and his belongings very clearly, which is why he only claims to be "Holy Sword Holding." It means this sword is not his, and he considers himself to be the "one who has nothing."

He even lost the last thing belonging to him.

Aiwass felt touched, his lips slightly pursed.

"...Let me see you, Don Quixote."

He murmured softly, displaying the card in his hand.

Under the gaze of Isabel and the others, a knight clad in silver-white armor, amidst the dazzling radiance, appeared before Aiwass.

He wore a majestic and handsome full-cover silver-white helmet, his entire being like the most glorious, most sacred knight—his dragon scale armor was covered in golden runes, radiating fervent brilliance with every movement. Behind his head was even a white halo resembling thorns—that was a white ring, with white spikes in eight directions.

To anyone seeing this, it was undeniably a noble and exalted Paladin.

The Holy Sword Clarent in his hand was also fully awakened. The giant sword, like a doorplate, seemed to be used normally by Don Quixote.

He appeared half-kneeling on the ground, right hand over his chest, head bowed.

"Your knight, Don Quixote de La Mancha, answers the call—

"—to fight for you!"

As the knight lifted his head, a fervent and loud voice rang out simultaneously!