Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 735 - 679: Andrey’s Ceiling

Concept, "Justice".

Lyle didn’t feel surprised, since Raymond had no intention of hiding his belief.

"The justice of humanity?"

The headmaster skillfully changed the rhetoric.

"A limited ’Justice’, and for the sake of practicing this limited ’Justice’, Raymond tempered himself into an incredibly powerful individual, at least incredibly powerful to us. Raymond is ’Justice’, and he is indistinguishable from this concept."

"No one can stop Raymond from practicing ’Justice’, there was none before..." The headmaster paused, seemingly skipping over something and shifting the topic.

"Just as I was saying, ’Justice’ is a concept with power, it permeates our world like the air, silent and invisible, yet playing an unignorable role."

"Raymond’s ’Justice’ mainly takes two forms."

"’Sublime Justice’, ’Infallible Justice’."

"In this era of holy light, these two expressions seem to have been reinforced. Sublime Justice means that all who fulfill the concept of justice appear tall, bright, upright, and honest in the eyes of others, which is commonly known as ’good people are likable’. People of justice will be cherished. Infallible Justice is easier to understand; evil shall never prevail over good, and the concept of justice will ensure the practitioner achieves ultimate victory. Both are perfectly exemplified in Raymond. Raymond is strong, and he shines brightly."

Lyle smiled noncommittally as his palm remained on the paper, reading Raymond’s file, the next revealed content made Lyle smile wryly.

"The Fallen Angel Plan?! Are you serious? Isn’t this just a joke devised by the Literary Society to belittle Mr. Raymond? And now it’s recorded in the Salvation Association members’ information..." Lyle’s smile gradually faded as the detailed plan and implementation records that unfolded afterwards made him realize that this was indeed a serious and rigorous plan.

The headmaster’s expression became grave, "Led by the president of the Literary Society and under my supervision, with technical support from the Andrei Academy, we carried out a plan intended to distort and subvert the concept of the ’Ninth Justice’. This is ’The Fallen Angel Plan’."

He glared at Lyle annoyed.

"And our probes into the Nine Locks concept have become a laughable joke, which is precisely ’Justice’ striking back at us. This is Raymond’s power."

"’Justice’, in any written, song, or artistic medium, in any collective memory of spiritual thoughts and ideas, in any expressive form that represents a metaphor for Raymond’s existence, will execute its concept."

"When we maliciously spread rumors belittling Raymond’s personal character throughout the City of Wandering, deliberately controlling the direction of public opinion, after being widely disseminated and exaggerated, the impression of Raymond in the City of Wandering became that of the disaster of the Angel of Light punishing the Alien Race, the supreme punisher, and even the King of the Black Abyss, the incarnation of destruction."

"The Literary Society began compiling written biographies, also specifically referencing the ’Crusade Epic, Angel of Light’ created by the darkness of the human era. The Literary Society reversed the holy angels, portraying Raymond as a demon born from hell who committed every evil, but the result was that the authors seemed to have problems with their minds during the writing phase. The final published work was ’King of Fallen Angels, Pure and Good Raymontos’."

"The more vivid and lively the forms of expression we use, the more apparent ’Justice’ becomes in its manifestation of Raymond."

"Artists would subconsciously leave shadows of angel wings in the rendering layers, bards would choose lively and uplifting melodies when singing praises."

"The worst time, the darkness staged a play, a simple story. A frail protagonist, to gain health, made a deal with the devil sacrificing his young sibling. This protagonist had no features other than his name ’Raymond’. On the public performance day, ’Raymond’ suddenly became mad, unleashing divine might on stage by beating the devil actor half to death and rescuing his sibling, and then pounced towards the audience of the Demon Race. In the end, darkness caught the possessed actor whose original words were that he couldn’t control his own thoughts and actions, feeling that the demons should be completely eradicated. More ridiculously, he himself was a member of the Demon Race."

The headmaster stared at Lyle, whose expression was grave, slowly saying, "Any information related to Raymond will be corrected by ’Justice’, whether true or false. If this can happen to rumors, writings, and paintings, now tell me, you’re attempting to create an almost perfect replica of Raymond in a mental space and direct a dream about him."

"Young Plague Doctor, you really... are stubborn."

"Raymond is an uncontrollable variable; he can cause all experiments and researches to deviate from their original purposes and tend towards ’Justice’."

Lyle’s mouth twitched, "Meaning, the Great Demon King Raymond I’m directing will probably crush the Brave to dust..."

The headmaster seemed to remember something, grimacing and clutching his head, "It’s more likely that the Great Demon King turns traitor and becomes the Brave’s companion, killing all his former underlings. Or perhaps the Great Demon King discovers everyone is wicked and completely purifies everything."

Meaning, this world only allows Mr. Raymond to be the good guy, and also the winner.

Lyle was stunned for a moment, looking at the headmaster.

"Headmaster, I remember, Mr. Raymond’s reputation at Andrei hasn’t been distorted or beautified in any way, is this because..."

"Because everyone in Andrei firmly believes they are ’evil’, and indeed they cannot defeat Raymond. He is the hero of justice, as well as the nemesis of evil."

Lyle understood; he put the Salvation Association file back on the table and pushed it towards the headmaster.

"It seems the headmaster is concerned that my dream-making plan will be completely blown if Raymond, the agent of justice, is included. Indeed, there’s a point. Mr. Raymond may be negotiable, but ’Justice’ is not."

The headmaster collected the files, stroking his beard, looking at Lyle in silence for a long while. His absent-mindedness caused him to pluck at his beard, seemingly without realizing it. The headmaster finally seemed to make a decision; he snapped his fingers, and the office’s door closed automatically. He snapped again, and all the lively artifacts stood still. Lowering his voice, he spoke in hushed tones with Lyle.

"My concerns about you are one aspect..."

Lyle also unconsciously looked around, his voice growing softer.

"So, there’s another aspect?"

"A speculation, unconfirmed—an assumption I don’t wish to confirm, one that has not been recorded and that I do not desire to record. Plague Doctor, do you remember? When you were resurrecting the father of dragons, you had a brief confrontation with Raymond, who practices [Justice]."

"I cannot forget, Mr. Dean. To this very day, it still unnerves me. At that moment, I truly felt the pressure of being at odds with the world. But Mr. Raymond tolerated my wilfulness, something for which I am deeply grateful."

The dean sighed, "Before, no one could withstand Raymond’s [Justice], no one could match Raymond’s firm will, and no one could gain Raymond’s favor. The decisions made by Raymond go far beyond simply tolerating someone’s folly. He accepted your ideas. Do you know what that means?"

"He acknowledged the flaws in [Justice], he denied the proclamations he made upon ascending to the Nine Locks, he abandoned his faith, and he betrayed himself."

Lyle’s eyes widened.

"What does such betrayal cost?"

The dean shook his head.

"I’m not sure. There’s only one being who has reached the level of Nine Locks and betrayed himself. But I am aware of the price that transgressors of the rules must pay—they lose their power, or they die."

"After your resurrection of the father of dragons, dear Plague Doctor, Raymond secluded himself in the chapel for a week. Afterwards, he continued to torment Andrei Liches without a scratch. The relationship between concepts and Ascensessors who create their own ascensions is even closer, and I have a speculation regarding this."

"If Raymond betrays and denies his [Justice], he will become weak, or perhaps even worse."

Lyle closed his eyes, and after a few seconds, his eyes shone with a gentle glow.

"Mr. Dean truly cares about Mr. Raymond."

"I care about every child of Andrei." The words slipped out effortlessly, and the next, though lacking confidence, were endearing.

"I also admit that those more boisterous brats are more troublesome..."

Lyle Butler is a special existence for Raymond Mellock, and the dean of Andrei is quite concerned that this special son could bring some unfavorable changes, to both the academy and himself.

"How about this, Mr. Dean? I’ll abandon the idea of making Mr. Raymond the big BOSS," proposed Lyle, making adjustments, "Let the sweeping tales of redemption and rescue come to an end, and let us craft a simple epic of heroes punishing the wicked with Raymond as the protagonist."

[Justice] would always cast Raymond in a gloriously proper role, wouldn’t it? Then why not let Lyle go with the flow? He only needs to ensure the smooth progress of dream crafting, and whether it’s a sweet dream for Raymond or a nightmare for others, Lyle doesn’t care.

Lyle and Mr. Dean shared an unspoken smile, and Lyle’s Dream-making Application Form was approved.

Now his work was much simpler. Lyle just needed to find some other Dream Experiencers.

The male protagonist was set, and they needed some minor villainous riffraff. All was as usual in Andrei, and the comedy of Raymond beating up the Liches would continue in dreams.

"I am relieved, Mr. Plague Doctor, that you have now become a true Andreian," referencing the instinct to persecute his Lich colleagues.

Lyle left the dean’s office, as the dean slowly awakened his collection, murmuring to himself.

"Caring? How could I not care when that damnable fellow has been strikingly brilliant since the day he arrived at the academy. Such a light that even death steps aside."

He would never forget that scholarly gathering not recorded in the archives of the Salvation Association, and neither would Andrei.

For that gathering, strictly speaking, was a failure.

Andrei did not gain new enlightening knowledge, only a warning.

...

"I am Raymond Mellock, holder of the Ten Locks, Angel of Light, leader of the Crusaders, Dragon Slayer, King of the Era... You may also call me Mr. Raymond."

"You might have known me or not, but that doesn’t matter, because from now on I’ll make an impression on you."

"Andrei, I only prepare two paths for you."

"Either, submit to my justice."

"Or, succumb to my justice."