A person’s head...under what circumstances, can it no longer belong to oneself?
"...This is really baffling."
Annan complained.
"It’s not strange at all."
Maria shook her head: "Perhaps the knowledge you are exposed to now is too ’clean’. Staking or offering a part of one’s body is not uncommon in the Transcendent realm."
"... Like Corruption?"
Annan’s expression turned weird.
Gambling and then having to chop off sothing...
"So that’s it, if one loses a bet and refuses to admit it, they can entrust the ’House of Return’ to retrieve it for them."
Annan suddenly realized.
He felt sothing strange during that nightmare at the Corruption... What if soone lost a bet but was strong enough to repudiate the debt forcefully, how then could they claim their money?
At the ti, he thought that the "contract" should be invoked to call upon Silver Baron. It would be by the Silver Baron’s Divine Power that the ritual would be forcibly executed... and without a contract, there would be no recourse.
Now it seed, even if there was no contract at the ti, as long as sothing of oneself, in na, belonged to soone else, it would eventually be taken away.
"But I think Philip doesn’t seem like soone who would make such bets."
Annan spoke slowly: "Even if he did make such a bet and lost... I think he would just kill the winner rather than banish him."
He tapped the table, proposing a new idea: "Let’s assu... Philip’s head was indeed taken by the followers of the Pilferer.
"Then, is the lower half of his body completely rotted away due to absolutely no blood clotting treatnt, dying from blood loss? Is his skull still in so Divine Arts space, temporarily preserved, or even has it left Royal City Noah far behind?
"So he hasn’t died, and thus we can’t evoke his soul or psyche from his body—isn’t there sothing very incongruous here?"
"... I get it."
Realizing what Annan ant, Victor blurted out: "Philip’s soul is not mortal!"
"Correct."
Annan nodded: "He is indeed a mortal, but his soul is not entirely mortal—he was once a Gold-rank Transcendent, which ans his soul has undergone Stigmatization. Even if reborn, traces of him will remain."
Stigmatization in Alchemy is the final step in turning pure "silver" into eternal "gold". In the path to transcendence, it represents the mont a pure soul steps into eternity.
Having completed the Stigmatization of the soul might not instantly grant imnse power. But from then on, they can eternally purify themselves, continuously removing impurities from the body and soul, thereby greatly extending life...
But at the sa ti, it implies "exclusion".
A soul that has completed Stigmatization can no longer awaken elents it has yet to obtain—it can only strengthen, unable to gain new possibilities.
Even "starting over" or rebirth through so ans, this aspect is fixed.
"Even if in this lifeti, Philip has not absorbed any curse power, hence his soul has not even completed the bronze-level Corruption, not even misty as smoke... but he indeed has a soul, and his soul has color."
Annan said with certainty: "And a human soul is evenly distributed between the brain stem and spine. If Philip had his head stolen unexpectedly, then by just examining his spine, one could easily find this Stigmatized soul—the soul being split in an instant is also why beheading deals a heavy blow to a Transcendent with tenacious vitality."
But obviously, those who examined the body did not find Philip’s soul.
This ans that Philip first underwent, or was subjected to, a ritual that concentrated his soul entirely in his brain, before giving his head away.
"And moreover, he died in bed."
Annan asked in return: "What does that imply?"
"This ans there was no one in the room,"
Jacob quickly replied, "Because if one were attacked while lying in bed, there would be absolutely no room to dodge."
It was like entering a gang’s territory where they would insist you sit on the couch rather than stand to the side. Of course, this wasn’t out of concern that standing for too long would make one’s legs sore... but because when a person is standing, they can suddenly exert force at any mont.
They can move in four directions, crouch, or jump.
But it’s different on a couch—on a couch, your only option is "to stand up." You can’t move backwards or rush forward swiftly; you can’t dodge to the sides, nor can you crouch down.
The sa is true for lying in bed.
Lying in bed is even more dangerous than lying on the floor—because it ans you’re always at a height that’s easy for the attacker to exert force. No matter what weapon the attacker has, it becos difficult to resist.
With Philip’s experience, he couldn’t have been unaware of this.
In conversation, if the other person doesn’t sit and you do, then you’re always in a state of vulnerability.
"There’s another possibility."
Maria shook her head and added, "Maybe there was soone in the room, but Philip didn’t care if they would be harmful to him.
"That’s right."
Annan nodded.
"You may not know... although Philip isn’t a Transcendent, his physical condition is very strong due to his long-term consumption of demon blood."
This was information Annan had gathered from the previous "Great Hunt" nightmare.
The barrier prohibited Wizards from entering, and Philip’s own physical condition made it impossible for him to be instantly killed without even a chance to call for help.
"Moreover, Philip perford a ritual to concentrate his soul in his head... Combining these pieces of information, the truth becos quite clear."
Annan spoke with clarity, "It’s not to seize the throne, but rather for sothing else— he was willing to sacrifice his own life and soul to complete it.
"If soone had posted a job with ’Philip’s head’ as the specified missing item... and managed to complete it without a trace, allowing Philip to shrink his soul into his skull and enter a dormant state, with neither the killer nor Philip’s head being found..."
Annan delivered the final answer:
"—Then the person must be Philip himself."
Sothing Annan said must have affected him.
So much so that he found the "Returner House" himself and entrusted them to transport his head to a certain place.
As for whether he was planning to use this head to resurrect himself, or to undo so seal, summon so monster, or to "et up" with soone sowhere, Annan didn’t care at all.
An unpaid debt isn’t so easily escaped.
He was supposed to die in "a grand tragedy"; suicide wouldn’t be enough to evade it. The Silver Baron, too, would certainly not turn a blind eye, watching a Great Calamity Curio fall into the hands of others.
—Philip would definitely be found in the end.
Because when he was preparing to flee, the enemy he faced was no longer Kafney, Elizabeth, or even Annan... but the Silver Baron, the Tragedy Writer, and the Goddess of Cup.
Even the sudden disappearance of the Silver Baron might be because he had already followed the trail.
...However.
Annan’s brow furrowed slightly.
Perhaps it was an illusion.
But he thought of another possibility.
...However, that possibility, if Annan spoke it aloud, would probably beco inaccurate. So Annan could only feign ignorance for now and stay here... waiting for the Silver Baron to return.
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