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Edward reviewed all the memories he got from Zuriel, and he learned a few important things.
First, Elysium is divided into four layers: the first–which was the one he entered–was the Angel area, where regular members of the angel race resided. Not all the angels in that layer focused on battles; some are just ordinary people–albeit with very high mana compared to other races.
The second layer is where the Archangels resided. They all have excellent battle strength, ranging from mid to high-level devils.
The third layer is where the Seraphim resided. These angels have the strength of the highest devils, and two are on par, if not more powerful than the three leaders of the Underworld.
These two angels are called the Seraphim Lord and have the second-highest authority in the Elysium. As for the final layer, it is a forbidden ground where "God" resides.
Edward did not get much information about God except that all the angels called him "Father." Zuriel was once a Seraphim; however, a few years ago, his father sent him on a special mission to impregnate a mortal woman in the Mortal Realm.
And to accomplish this task, he needed to give up most of his powers and start over to enter the Mortal Realm; this is why he did not put on a better fight since he was restricted.
Regarding this entity known as "God," Edward learned two things: one, he is responsible for Asta and Liebe's birth, and as he previously speculated, he wanted to use them to deal with the underworld.
Second, and the most crucial information, was a brief conversation Zuriel had with one of the Seraphim Lords.
A beautiful woman with golden wings, dressed in a long white gown, a halo floating above her head, looked at Zuriel while sitting on a silver throne.
"Remember, your mission will decide whether our father can reach transcendence, so you must succeed at all costs."
"Transcendence? What does that mean?" muttered Edward as numerous thoughts flashed across his mind. Then, he seemed to have figured out something.
"Does this God want to escape the shackles of this universe?"
He knew the highest power level achievable in the Black Clover universe was Tier 7 Star Level. After that, it is impossible to reach a higher Tier, but this God must have thought of leaving this universe to reach higher levels of power.
"If he succeeded, he most likely would have entered the Void and died; this is the sad fate of weaker universes," Edward muttered.
"Wait, not necessarily. The Akashic Record most likely has its hands in this universe as well. If God succeeded, they might contact him and make them one of their members.
"After all, how many people can reach the limit of their universe, let alone find a way to ascend beyond it."
He could not help but remember Truth. He was a Tier 11 Multiversal Entity and very close to ascending beyond his universe and reaching Tier 12. From what Edward knows, only in this tier can someone survive in the Void without any danger.
Countless thoughts flashed across his mind as he pieced many puzzles together. He theorized that the Angel-Devil War was probably a war between God and Satan for the right to ascend beyond the universe.
Unfortunately, the Wizard Sage came out of nowhere and used the fact these two were weakened in their confrontation to seal them in their respective Domain, thus preventing them from achieving their goals.
"The Wizard Sage was not a normal person as well," thought Edward as he summoned his Origin Grimoire. He could now guess this grimoire was essential for God's ascension.
And the Ascension Method will most likely involve the Universe's Will.
'Alright, with this much information, it should be easier to invade Elysium,' thought Edward. 'Plus, I must get my hands on the Origin Grimoire at the Academy as soon as possible, so I need to use some drastic means.'
After making preliminary plans, Edward disappeared from Zuriel's barrier and returned to his own. He looked at the passed-out Shinobis and Onmyou Mages and decided not to kill them.
He read these people's memories and knew the Onmyou Shogun sent them. So, Edward decided to let them get captured by other royal families to create political strife in the upper echelon of the Yamato Dynasty.
After all, such blatant attacks on students and teachers and the fact these people placed the princess in great danger are enough excuses to deal a significant blow to the Shogun.
Edward broke the barrier that sealed him and returned to the real world. He immediately squinted his eyes at what he saw. The princess had used a Spirit Fusion technique and was now battling the Yokai alone.
As he looked at her with five tails and used the Celestial Talisman Technique with ease, using unknown mantras, and dodging the attack of the Yokai, Edward knew something was wrong: she should not have such power.
So, he closed his eyes and sensed the mark he had previously left on her. He felt something wrong with her Soul Dimension, so he secretly searched for an explanation there.
"Is that…the former Emperor's Soul?" muttered Edward softly. "I sense an aura similar to Zagred's Reincarnation Spell. So, the Emperor did not suddenly die but used a Reincarnation Spell for some reason and is now Princess Matsumoto?"
Edward continued to sense as he felt he was missing something. So, after analyzing everything, a sudden understanding came over.
"One body, two souls. Something must have gone wrong with his spell, resulting in him reborn in a body with an already existing soul."
Based on this information, Edward can guess the events after that. The Emperor became Princess Matsumoto's protector and teacher. Not only will he teach her his knowledge and experience, but he will also occupy her body to protect her in times of danger.
From what Edward knew, the princess suffered many assassination attempts in her youth, but she survived all of them–unlike many of her siblings.
'This old geezer probably wants to find a body suitable for him to take over. Most likely, the princess was interested in me because she wanted mine.'
With the talent he displayed, it would make sense that someone would want to seize his body. However, Edward was interested in whether the Yamato Clan or some members knew of the Emperor's reincarnation.
More importantly, why did the Emperor choose to reincarnate himself?
Edward shook his head as he could not guess because of the lack of information. He then glazed at the commoner students that he trained. They were all inside a barrier created by talismans he made for them in case of emergency.
However, the other royal students were lying on the floor, bleeding and on the verge of dying. As for the princess, she was holding her own, but it was apparent that she would not last long.
The incompatibility of the Emperor's Soul with the princess's body made him difficult to use all his strength.
Edward looked in the distance at those Shinobi who sealed Kurama and Kisuke-sensei. They were shocked before rushing toward their captured comrades. Unfortunately, Edward used a talisman that manifested chains to capture these Shinobis.
But to his slight surprise, they immediately bit their tongues to commit suicide. Nevertheless, he did not care since he already had the others as witnesses.
Edward then flew to the dying royal children and wrote healing talismans in the air to heal them. Although he did not like the nobility, these were talented children. They can be molded into great Arcanists for the Empire with the proper education.
In the process of doing so, he also deactivated the power boost he gave the Yokai, drastically reducing its power from a mid-level devil to a low-level one. The Emperor took this opportunity to slay the Yokai.
Meanwhile, Edward looked in the distance with a smirk. With such a terrifying disaster, the Onmyou Punishment Hall should have already sent people to deal with it. Yet, after so long, no one arrived.
He guessed the Shogun wanted to use this opportunity not only to capture and enslave Edward but deal with the princess and the royal heirs. And he did not mind sacrificing his son, Yuji, to do so.
After healing these people, Edward did not say anything else and began to chant a long mantra. While doing so, he also wrote many characters in the air.
After a good minute and a half of chanting, the characters formed a magic array in the form of a circle. Then, a brilliant light descended from it to surround the entire village.
The light immediately purifies the abnormal energy from the Spiritual World, including the ones in the villagers. Typically, these villagers should have died after this process while their pure souls move to the afterlife.
But under Edward's control, the light turned into a vitality that healed their injuries while also fixing the deformation caused by being demonized. That way, these villagers turned back to normal; this was a feat that shocked the people who experienced it.
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