Super Righteous Player-Chapter 1118 - 171: Ingrid’s Ceremony

"Solomonik and Selicia—from the very beginning, they were two different individuals."

Annan turned his head towards Selicia: "Do you remember? About the matter with Nicholas II.

"He was merely a residual image from a nightmare. Yet he thought he was the legendary alchemist, Nicholas.

"You merely retained Solomonik’s memories—both in personality and abilities, you are entirely different from him. You believed that this was because you were too self-deprecating, and so you transformed after acquiring this body?"

The corners of Annan’s mouth lifted slightly: "Then have you ever considered... that this might be your true nature?"

"...Could it be, I am Ingrid?"

Selicia’s pupils shuddered violently.

Hearing Annan’s analysis, she now seriously began to doubt whether she was Ingrid, who had forgotten her own memories.

But Annan shook his head: "No, you are indeed yourself.

"Because this body is indeed ’a created puppet.’ Ingrid couldn’t have become a puppet.

"But the question is... who made you?"

The saying goes... ’A nation can change its ways, but nature is hard to alter.’

Thinking more carefully, who made Solomonik’s present identity "Selicia"?

—It was none other than "Professor Wolf" Frederick Wolfheart.

His "shell" came from the Melvin family, and inside was part of an existence of the gold-rank idol wizard "Professor Ash"—"Bone Healer" plus "Professor Wolf," combining into "Professor Ash."

At that time, "Ingrid" and Frederick were both studying under Professor Ash.

They were schoolmates, and they had shared ambiguous affections in their youth.

Among the opposite sex Ingrid once fancied and intended to use as ritual materials, this name had appeared: Frederick Melvin.

From this point, one could deduce—Professor Ash originally knew Ingrid.

Not as the girl with the dark blue hair who studied with Professor Ash.

But as the true Ingrid, "Tower Master of the Thousand-Faced Phantom Tower," "Pope of Miss Fortune"!

However, when Ingrid, who had sealed her memories, came to "learn," Professor Ash said nothing. He couldn’t possibly be unaware of this... back then, the god of understanding and resonance "Feastbearer," had also once sealed his memories and wandered the world.

Looking back, Professor Ash read poetry every day in front of Ingrid.

The verses he recited were "Odes to the Celestial Chariot."

As if he wished for the other person to remember something.

In other words... Professor Ash, from the very beginning, had been standing alongside Ingrid!

And Selicia’s body was personally crafted by "Professor Wolf."

"...Then, whose appearance is this?"

Annan answered with certainty: "Without a doubt, this appearance comes from ’Ingrid’!"

Hearing this, Arthur’s pupils narrowed: "That being said... I too once knew a Tower’s Child. Her appearance is very similar to the captain’s..."

"She’s your childhood friend, right?"

Annan asked calmly.

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "You could say that."

"This means that..."

Ofelia’s expression was complicated.

It seemed a mix of pity, yet also relief. Within her brows and eyes, there was perhaps sadness as well.

And Selicia hugged herself tightly, shrinking as if she feared the cold, bowing her head.

The girl with the pale violet hair trembled slightly.

—She herself realized the crux of the problem.

But that truth must also be spoken.

Thus, Annan revealed the truth:

"Selicia, you’re not actually Solomonik. From the very beginning, you’ve been a girl... or more accurately, you are ’the idol of Ingrid’ created using ’Solomonik’ as a sacrifice."

This is precisely the most primitive definition of the "Idol School."

The so-called... clay dolls and stone statues.

Men endow certain symbols with specific meanings, in hopes that through the "Law of Similarity" and "Law of Contagion," it could play a certain special role.

The most typical example would be the "idol" used for rain prayers.

Ancient Celestial Empire’s most popular spell was the rain prayer spell. Generally, they would first mold the image of the Dragon King using clay or wood and conduct complex rituals for rain. But if the rain prayers failed too many times, they would angrily whip, scold, chain, or even topple and destroy the "idol" of the Dragon King. If that still didn’t work, they would replace it with another.

In Japan, there are similar emergency measures. If the rain prayer spells proved too ineffective too many times, angry villagers would drag the local deity enshrined in the shrine out and throw it into the rice paddies.

The Italians in Europe also once tried to use the "idol" of saints to pray for rain, and upon failure, they would throw the saints’ images into a pool or expel them from the parish they protected. The congregation at Riccata Port even stripped the saint of clothes, shackled their feet, chained them, and slapped them during droughts, threatening that they "must make it rain immediately."

This kind of method exists all over the world—wherever stone sculpting technology has arisen but ignorance still lingers in transition, such traditions can be found.

These "idols," of course, do not possess the divine power for rainmaking. But people have forcefully endowed them with this concept—and regarded them as living beings to worship, control, or threaten.

Because they are living beings—they can feel fear, greed, and...fear of humans.

Giving "identity" to the abstract concept, to the lifeless clay dolls and stone statues.

Making them "believe they are human."

This is the foundation of "idol magic."

"I get it!"

Yufimia, who is from a family of the idol school lineage, was the first one to fully understand Annan’s meaning: "Although the captain believes herself to be ’Solomonik,’ what all of us see is ’Selicia,’ who is entirely identical to Ingrid. So in actuality, the captain exists as the idol of ’Ingrid.’

"She believes she is ’Solomonik,’ like poison hidden within ice. As the ice gradually melts, the poison is slowly released into the cup... And as she increasingly denies her past as ’Solomonik,’ she will grow closer and closer to Ingrid.

"In fact, at the moment Selicia came into existence, Solomonik was already killed by Professor Wolf. What remains is only Selicia, who has all of Solomonik’s memories and is mistakenly convinced that she is ’Selicia’ with a replaced body.

"If we simply endow Selicia with a personality, she will still think she is only a ’puppet.’ We must make her believe she is a living being—a living person, to form a ’strong idol relationship’ with Ingrid!"

In other words.

Before Selicia denies her life as "Solomonik," she is "Solomonik." Even if the deities themselves come forward, they can only find elements of "Solomonik" deep within her soul.

But when she denies her past.

Completely negates her biggest ambition of pursuing the Winter Reverser Vladimir.

Believes that "the existence of Solomonik has no meaning," and thinks "it would be better if she were never Solomonik"... At that moment—

The ice containing the deadly poison melts.

She truly becomes Selicia—Ingrid’s substitute!

"In other words," Annan said calmly, "it was after Selicia met the Winter Reverser and got abandoned by him... or perhaps a while before that."

After all, the Winter Reverser was Solomonik’s mentor.

Different from what Annan initially thought, "his arrogant self-belief that he understood Solomonik."

He truly knew Solomonik.

And for that reason, he was the first one to sense something was wrong.

He realized that Annan was caught in Ingrid’s conspiracy—a conspiracy that Annan couldn’t unravel.

Because Annan is a "good person."

It’s precisely because of the Winter Reverser’s death that Annan is even less likely to kill Selicia—or harm people whom Selicia values. Because even Annan himself never regarded Selicia as "Solomonik."

"—In any case, I refuse to help you.

"—I am an evil-doer. But there’s nothing wrong with that. I will gladly accept all consequences but will never repent.

"—An evil-doer should walk to the end with the posture belonging to the wicked."

What exactly did he mean by "help"?

It’s unrelated to the Book of the Celestial Chariot. Because either way, once he dies, Annan could obtain the remaining Chapters from his body.

The help he mentioned at that time was precisely "Ingrid’s conspiracy."

"—When I realized that he had become Selicia, I gave up killing her and walked away."

This could not possibly be any form of "compassion."

Whether it’s Solomonik or Selicia, it’s irrelevant to him.

The reason he gave up on killing Selicia was precisely because, if he ignored her—she was enough to take everything from Annan!

It’s because he is a villain.

The first and only person who realized this conspiracy, Vladimir.

Deliberately left the last trap that could reduce everything Annan had to nothing.

"Starting from when the Winter Reverser considered that ’the real Solomonik is dead.’

"—Any one of you, as long as you ascend to the Gold Rank with ’love’ as the element, it means that Ingrid has completed her ritual."