"Can we talk now?"

"About... the secret of this world," Merka looked at Oedipus, who was reading something on the stage, and said to the shadow.

"Actually, I wasn't prepared to tell you anything..."

"But since things have come to this point, go ahead and ask."

"You can ask three questions."

The shadow sat upright in the empty seat next to Merka, like an old gentleman.

"What's the deal with Samael and Mammon?"

"Are they the Economic Lord and Saint Lord?"

The shadow paused for a moment and spoke.

"Yes and no."

"That's two questions."

"Where should we start..."

"Oh, I know."

"In your opinion, what is that divine tree in the Lachésis Bouquet ceremony?"

Merka didn't know what to say. He considered himself a devout believer.

But at this moment, after experiencing so much, he couldn't bring himself to speak the words from the Bible.

"That tree is the divine spirit bestowed upon humanity..."

The shadow interrupted Merka.

"That tree is a universal wish-granting machine."

"You might think making a wish is a simple matter."

"But the reality is, everything needs to be quantified."

"Even wishes."

"For example, if you ask to become strong."

"But you can't just say you want to be strong."

"How does the divine know how strong you want to be?"

"What's your body fat percentage? How much muscle mass?"

"Compared to whom do you want to be strong? What's your hormone level?"

"The divine doesn't know, so they need you to sacrifice the most outstanding person every seven years."

"For thousands of years, the divine has been remodeling all of you based on this template of excellence."

"That's why the people of Acadia live long lives, are invulnerable, physically strong, and intellectually gifted."

"You don't think people outside are like that too, do you?"

"..."

Merka couldn't accept such an outrageous statement for a moment, and was stunned.

"It's best if you don't understand, I'll continue."

The shadow crossed his arms and slowed down his speech.

"You may have doubts now."

"Because Mammon and Samael were obviously talented humans in history."

"Why did you encounter them as angels?"

"It's all part of Lucifer's plan."

Staring at the vivid portrayal of Oedipus on the stage, the shadow continued.

"Lucifer brought out two extremely powerful demons from the laboratory..."

"He injected Economic Lord and Saint Lord memories into them using asides."

"They replaced the true Economic Lord and Saint Lord and lived from childhood to adulthood."

"Pretending to be the Economic Lord and Saint Lord, they participated in the fireworks festival's competition."

"You can imagine, how could humans possibly win under the hands of angels?"

"In the end, the false Economic Lord and Saint Lord naturally won the match, securing Oedipus the position of leader for two terms."

"But during the final Bouquet ceremony, Oedipus did not sacrifice Mammon and Samael to the gods."

"Instead, he sent the true Economic Lord and Saint Lord."

"By doing so, he also weakened the power of the entire Acadia people, do you understand?"

"Those who originally had no ability to hold the bouquet ended up qualifying."

"The Divine Lord thought that the Acadia people had changed their appetite and didn't want to become stronger."

"So, following the templates of the mediocre Economic Lord and Saint Lord, Oedipus weakened the Acadia people."

"As a result, the Acadia people, including their magic abilities, became weaker under Oedipus's manipulation."

"Oedipus wasn't naturally this strong."

"It's just that everyone else became weaker."

"In fact, Maria could have really challenged Oedipus."

"But at the time, Maria was too weak... by the time she realized it, it was too late."

"This was Oedipus's plan, killing three birds with one stone."

"The result of this scheme was that the Acadia people were weakened, Oedipus gained the powerful forces of Mammon and Samael, and she herself was reelected leader for three terms."

"It was just a single scheme... and it completely played Maria."

"If you were Maria, what would you think?"

"Now you understand why Oedipus has such enmity with so many families."

"Mammon and Samael, who are now, were the strong demons that Oedipus had left."

"In times of peace, they naturally stayed idle in Erisburg."

"Due to the nature of their identities, they couldn't be seen in the light."

"So they had to become invisible in Erisburg."

The shadow finished speaking and looked at Merka, who was digesting the information with a bowed head, wisely remaining silent for a while.

"You still have one more question to ask."

After thinking for a long time, Merka finally spoke up.

"What are the small stones?"

"Forget it... let's change it."

"What are you?"

The shadow looked at the conflicted Merka playfully, a hint of a smile on its face.

"Are you sure you don't want to ask the previous one?"

"But you wouldn't understand even if I told you about the small stones."

"Just know that it is a trump card against angels."

"As for me..." the shadow stroked its chin.

"Acadia doesn't actually have gods."

"If we must say there are, then it would be three parts that can be called gods."

"The soul, which is the artificial intelligence me, aside."

"But I am only half a soul, with the other half, dropback, missing somewhere."

"The bone is the little plant that serves as Codechecker."

The shadow pointed to its hollow abdomen.

"What you have seen is the little gear in your memory."

"The flesh, they refer to them as angels."

"Angels are actually peeled off from a big flesh ball, do you understand?"

"That is the biggest angel in the world, all angels in the world are its incarnations."

"Soul, bone, and flesh are united, sharing different responsibilities in Acadia, existing like gods in Acadia."

"In conclusion, you can understand me as the divine consciousness of the gods in Acadia."

"Since that's the case, you should listen to me even more, shouldn't you?"

"Mr. Monk."

The shadow looked into Merka's eyes, its hollow eye sockets seemed to devour one's mind.

Merka frowned and asked.

"As a god, why don't you just solve Oedipus yourself?"

"In the final analysis, as a god, why do you want to kill Oedipus?"

The shadow shook his fingers.

"Throughout history, it's been extremely difficult to get any information out of me."

"I let you ask three questions, which is already the absolute limit."