Pirate: My villain's identity is exposed

Seeing that the church was about to fall into a tense atmosphere.

Sherlock's hand accidentally touched the statue.

The statue emitted an orange light, which illuminated the entire church.

"The Beloved One, the Lord Beloved One has appeared!"

"The prophesied favored one has arrived."

Everyone in the church was prostrate on the ground, including missionary Willie Pope and Mother Bueno.

"You are Phoenix's Beloved! Lord Beloved, please help us."

Willie Pope put his head on the ground and said devoutly.

Sherlock frowned and looked at Pipicia in confusion.

Pipicia raised the corner of her mouth and whispered in Sherlock's ear:

"You are the person chosen by the abyss, and Phoenix is ​​actually the devil of the abyss. It is normal for you to resonate with its idol."

"Phoenix is ​​the demon of the abyss? Isn't it the god of the phoenix?"

Sherlock asked doubtfully.

"Gods and demons are sometimes just synonyms for power. Human beings are weak and worship powerful beings. When you are strong enough, you can also touch the realm of gods."

Pipisia raised her eyebrows and explained.

Sherlock nodded thoughtfully. He looked at missionary Willy Pope and Sister Bueno and said:

"Can someone please explain what this is?"

Bueno raised his head and said:

"The prophecy says that one day, God's favored ones will come out and save us."

She looked sideways at Willie Pope, who nodded heavily.

"Stand up first."

Shylock is still not used to so many people worshiping him. After all, he has no emperor plot and no religious beliefs.

Willy Pope and others stood up and invited Sherlock to the main classroom.

"Lauberon, you wait here."

Because of what Bueno had just said, Sherlock only brought Pipicia with him and asked Herring, Shah Crocodile and others to wait in the church lobby.

Willie Pope didn't mind the favored ones having pets, but he cared more about the pagan Herring.

Sherlock followed Willy Pope to the main classroom and met a gray-haired old man.

The old man's hair has fallen to the floor. He is sitting quietly on the red leather armchair. His skin is like bark, his sunken eyes are cloudy, with deep dark circles under his eyes, clear wrinkles, and wrinkles all over his cheeks. The yellow-brown spots seem to have experienced centuries of baptism.

His state is incompatible with the entire Phoenix City, completely unlike a person who has achieved immortality.

Of course, the so-called eternal life was recorded in ancient books before Sherlock heard from Colm, and may not actually exist.

"This is our leader, Lord Bells."

Willie Pope introduced, waiting for Bueno to walk into the main classroom, closed the door, and stood next to Bells.

Bueno poured a cup of black tea for Bells and Shylock respectively, and stood behind the bishop.

Sherlock picked up the black tea and blew lightly.

"Beloved one, I have been waiting for you for many years. I can't remember exactly how many years. As you can see, my soul has become old, but I have never been able to find relief."

Bells said slowly, his voice seemed to have been polished repeatedly by time, vicissitudes of life and deep.

Sherlock asked slowly:

"What do you need me to do?"

"The great prophecy tells us that one day the beloved of Phoenix will appear and lift our curse so that we can live like normal people."

There was a glimmer of light in the turbid eyes of the leader Bells.

Pipisia jumped onto the mahogany table in front of Bells, picked up the tea that he hadn't drunk, and started drinking it.

Bueno frowned and poured the bishop another cup of black tea.

"Curse? Didn't it mean that the Phoenix City only has blessings but no curses?"

Sherlock asked doubtfully.

Bells stretched out his hand and touched his teacup. His eyes were already blind.

"The world longs for the Island of Dusk, thinking it is an island where dreams come true, a peaceful Eden, where you can stay with the people you love most, gain the most wealth, have endless delicacies, and endless beautiful scenery. Live forever and live in the best of times.”

Bells said slowly,

“It’s really a blessing, but it’s also a curse.”

"We can never leave this island for the rest of our lives. Once we make a covenant with God, we can only stay on this island."

There was sadness in Willy Pope's eyes,

“This not only affects our ability to spread God’s teachings, but also endangers the lives of our younger generation.”

"More and more people yearn for the outside world, but they can never get out. Those who can get out have turned into demon souls and can only live in fruits. And these fruits will eventually be eaten by humans. This is not What’s the curse?”

Bales frowned and talked about the fate of the people of Phoenix City that he saw with the power of prophecy.

This is how Devil Fruits come from... Sherlock was stunned. Is every Devil Fruit a person from Phoenix City?

"We are living in a lie. Everyone is addicted to it and cannot see the truth. Once we see the truth clearly, we will find that the new god Phoenix is ​​so cruel to us. Of course, God has left us a glimmer of hope. , is the great favored one.”

Bales said.

"New God?"

Are there still old gods?

Sherlock looked at Bells, who continued:

"Originally, we believed in the ancestor of the Phoenix. After the ancestor died, Phoenix inherited everything from the Phoenix and became our new god."

"The powerful Phoenix advocates exchange of equal value. If you want to achieve immortality, you must pay for your freedom. If you want to realize your wish, you must accept falsehood."

"This secret is unknown to all the people in Phoenix. It has been buried in my heart for a long time, and I can finally tell it."

Bells exhaled a sigh of relief and continued,

"Every time an outsider enters this city, a lot of new blood will be injected, but only a small part of it is the outsider himself. The vast majority of people are human beings condensed by the outsider's desire, including me and Willy Poe. Pu, Bueno.”

A person made of wishes? !

The tea cup in Sherlock's hand almost fell to the ground, but fortunately he had quick eyes and quick hands and caught the tea cup firmly.

No wonder, no wonder he always felt that this city was unreal, and that there was something strange about Kom and the others meeting the people they most wanted to see here.

"But if everyone enters here and can create new humans at any time, wouldn't this world collapse long ago?"

This is equivalent to the materialization of ideas in the brain, and the human brain is full of uncertainty, and usually thinks about one thing or one person repeatedly.

Would it be possible to conceive two identical people at the same time, or a group of identical people?

Sherlock always felt that there was such a possibility.

"Only when you first arrive at the wishing fountain will your strongest wish be fulfilled. You can't get whatever you want at any time."

Bales explained.

Sherlock nodded slightly and recalled what he was thinking about when he was in the wishing fountain. He seemed to be wondering whether Houston would appear... No, no, no... Houston's appearance is not considered a wish, and it shouldn't come true, right?