Part 5 of 8
And the ocean’s basically impossible, leaving the labyrinth as the only real option.
So Yamada goes to check on the teleport gate.
Of course, I already had Natsume destroy it.
I’m not gonna let them cross continents that easily.
But I’m guessing the only reason that guy suggested the check is just to be sure, like he said, and to be able to move a little more freely.
The door to the room I’m in opens.
Without even a knock. Talk about rude.
“That was in poor taste, even for you.”
And that’s the first thing he says when he comes through the door.
You mad?
Oh yeah, he mad.
As further proof, he stomps into the room and sits down in the chair across from me, crassly and violently.
“You pitted Sir Ronandt, Julius’s master, against Julius’s younger brother Shun. I’m sure it made for quite a dramatic show, but consider the feelings of those of us who had to participate. Do you have any idea how Sir Ronandt must have felt when he chose to retreat?”
Well, no, not really.
That guy showed up here of his own accord.
Not my problem. Not my business. Not my fault.
But in order to make it clear that I won’t succumb to pressure, I ignore him and sip my tea.
“That is downright inhuman.”
Uh, yeah. Sorry.
I’m not a human, and I never was.
But it still doesn’t feel great to be insulted like that.
Even I’m bound to get annoyed with all these false accusations flying.
“And you’re not very godly, Black.”
So I give him a piece of my mind, too.
Because the man called Hyrince who’s sitting in front of me is really a clone of Black, also known as Güli-güli.
“That’s true. I have had the same thought. You are but newly made, yet you are far more godlike than I.” Güli-güli heaves a deep sigh. “And I do know that no matter what I say now, I am just taking it out on you. I understand that the path you have chosen is the best way forward. And yet, even so…I find it difficult to restrain these emotions.”
He’s grieving.
Well, I can’t blame him. He was playing the part of the previous hero Julius’s old friend but had to let him die in front of his eyes, and now Julius’s younger brother is going through all kinds of tough times. I’m sure it must practically unbearable to watch up close.
Again, not really my problem, though.
He’s the one who ran around playing at being a force for good with the hero, despite his real job being to oversee this world.
So I ignore Güli-güli’s feelings and get down to practical business.
“Detachment by way of revival has been confirmed.”
“I see. How fortuitous. If the detachment had failed, we would have had to kill them again.”
He looks truly relieved from the bottom of his heart.
As Hyrince, he’s had a fair amount of interaction with the third prince; I’m sure he was hoping to be able to let him live.
I’m glad about it, too. It’s not like I wanna go around killing people for no reason, either.
I can’t say I agree with his next statement, though.
“If that’s the case, perhaps we should have let him revive the king, too.”
He’s basically saying that he wishes we could have saved everyone.
Even though he knows that’s not part of the plan.
“I know, I know. You think I am siding with them too much, yes? I have entrusted this matter to you and your side. So I have no intention of questioning your methods.”
“Good.”
Although you already chewed my ear off about it just a minute ago!
But fine, I’ll forget about that.
Be grateful that I’m too nice for my own good.
“The elf village is next, then?”
Yep, yep.
We’re on our way there now.
“Since I know you and Ariel well, I am certainly not concerned. But he has learned many tricks in his long life, too. Be ready for anything.”
A word to the wise, eh?
I’m already well aware of that—don’t worry.
We’re gonna be fully prepared before we challenge him. There isn’t chance in hell we’re gonna lose.
It’s just a matter of whether our casualties will be great or small.
I’m already giving this all I’ve got, you know.
Besides, I’m too scared of what the pontiff will do if I fail.
“Shun will be coming back soon. Excuse me.”
With that, Güli-güli leaves the room.
As long as he’s protecting Yamada and friends, nothing crazy will happen to them.
So I’ve got nothing to worry about.
I know he’d never let Yamada and the others die.
Even if they did, that man could bring them back to life if he really tried, just like I could.
The man called Hyrince is really Güli-güli’s clone.
More accurately, Güli-güli transferred a portion of his soul into the stillborn son of a noble in the kingdom.
The soul belongs to a god, but since the body is an ordinary human, it grew up normally and has viewable stats.
Although he can technically use some of Güli-güli’s full power through that connection between souls, so if he really wanted to, he’d have the power of a god.
Since the body originally belonged to a human who had nothing to do with Güli-güli, they don’t resemble each other in the slightest.
Apparently, Güli-güli has created duplicates of himself like this to act within human society from time to time.
No idea why, though.
I’m guessing he was just bored, or wanted to be all sentimental by blending in with humans, or some other irrational reason.
I mean, it’s definitely not necessary for managing the world.
So it’s nothing more than a game.
Of course, you can still get emotionally invested in a game.
He was best friends with Julius the hero, and they went through thick and thin together.
And then I killed Julius.
I’m sure Güli-güli must have some complicated feelings about it.
Even if he understands in theory that it was absolutely necessary.
So maybe that’s why he’s so hung up on Yamada.
A sort of atonement or something.
For letting his older brother die.
That’s probably why he’s been so overprotective that he comes and complains to me whenever I let even the tiniest thing happen to Yamada, like just now.
Speaking of human emotions, though…
Did that old man announce that he couldn’t win and flee because it was his pupil’s younger brother?
So even that dinosaur has those kinds of emotions, too, huh?
I see, I see.
…No, but it still doesn’t really make sense, does it?
Why did he randomly show up, randomly start a fight with Yamada, and then randomly get in his feelings about it and run away?
I just don’t get it.
…Seriously, what was that old man doing here?
I guess people’s emotions are still just waaay over my head.
As the evening wears late, I finish my duties and go to my room.
Since I was seated at my desk working all day, much of my body has grown stiff.
My shoulders and back ache, and while I can temporarily ease the pain with Healing Magic, there is little hope of healing it completely.
I am getting on in years.
This pain will probably accompany me for the rest of my life.
Suddenly, I find myself thinking back on all the lives I have repeated.
As I think of them, all manner of memories rise up as if they happened just yesterday.
Times that things went well.
Other times when things went poorly.
Perhaps I am becoming a little sentimental because this is the most tempestuous era I have lived through yet.
The end is drawing near, I feel.
Though I do not yet know if it will be the ending I hope for or not…
I enter my room and pick up the bottle of liquor I have been saving.
It has been a long time since I drank such things, but today, I find myself in the mood.
“Could you pour a glass for me as well?”
A voice speaks suddenly from the shadows.
Startled, I turn around to find Lord Black Dragon seated calmly on the sofa.
“…I do wish you would at least knock to alert me of your presence. Please, such surprises are not good for an old man’s heart.”
“That steel heart of yours wouldn’t stop over something so trivial.”
Lord Black Dragon smiles, unbothered by my complaints.
For someone who usually has his brow deeply furrowed in a grim expression, it is a rare sight indeed.
I oblige him by producing a second glass and sit down across from him.
Then I pour liquor into both glasses.
Silently, we raise our glasses and bring them together, touching off a clear chime that resonates in the room.
I take a small sip of liquor, and the mellow scent permeates my nose.
“This is good stuff.”
“A favorite from my private stash.”
I have been saving this bottle for several generations now, intending to drink it when something good happened.
Though it would be hard to claim that anything good has happened quite yet, I supposed there was no harm in opening it now.
I had a feeling that if I missed this opportunity, I would most likely be too busy to open it later.
For a while, we sit and savor the taste.
Lord Black Dragon and I are both silent, drinking only little by little.
Once we both finish our first glasses, I stand up to bring some light snacks, taking care to choose something mild enough in flavor that it will not detract from the taste of the drink.
Most people seem to prefer more flavorful snacks with their drinks, but I am sure it will not be a problem.
For a god like Lord Black Dragon, eating is a somewhat meaningless act.
In fact, though he maintains a human form, I cannot say for sure if his sense of taste is the same.
In which case, it should make no difference to him even if I simply choose whatever foods I prefer.
Especially considering that I did not even invite him here tonight.
Making such excuses to myself, I put a plate of my favorite cheeses on the table.
Looking unbothered, Lord Black Dragon reaches for the plate and helps himself.
“Oh-ho.”
It seems my choice suits his tastes just fine.
As soon as he’s finished with his first piece, he immediately takes another.
“You definitely have the food to match your station, Pontiff.”
Evidently, Lord Black Dragon grasps the taste of human food after all.
We have known each other for many long years, and yet I only now realize that I was unaware of even this basic fact about him.
It occurs to me that we have only ever spoken of business and never once discussed our personal lives.
There was never any need.
Though I would not call him my enemy, he is certainly not my ally, either.
I am sure Lord Black Dragon feels the same way.
Though we are both working toward the common goal of saving this world, what we ultimately want to protect is different.
I wish to save humanity.
He wishes to save the Goddess.
Each of us only seeks to save the world because it is a necessary condition for saving that which we truly care about.
Saving the world is only one step in that process.
So once we accomplish that step, Lord Black Dragon and I may very well start considering very different paths.
It is that difference that prevents us from becoming allies in the truest sense of the word.
Besides, Lord Black Dragon has every right to despise me in the first place.
Because I chose to abandon the Goddess in favor of humanity.
Out of respect for that circumstance, I have never asked Lord Black Dragon for help, and I doubt he has ever entertained the idea of joining forces with me, either.
Truly, the fact that we know so little of each other’s personal preferences is a perfect reflection of the surface-level relationship we have always maintained.
“I am quite fond of cheese, you see.”
“Oh?”
This may very well be my last chance to have a peaceful conversation with him.
Perhaps that is why I naturally begin to speak of myself.
“It took no small amount of effort to reach this point in the cheese-making process. After the system was set up, even bacteria seemed to be affected, and all of my old methods no longer worked correctly.”
“Really…?”
Lord Black Dragon looks surprised; he must not have been aware of such trivial information.
“Yes, and so I could not eat cheese for several generations. What a terrible time.”
“…Now that you mention it, several kinds of liquor were lost, too.”
“Indeed. Those that were already made remained intact, but it became impossible to make any more.”
“Right, and so people stole it from one another for a while. How nostalgic.”
It certainly is nostalgic indeed.
I imagine I would not be able to remember stories from so long ago without my Records skill.
In those days, the entire world was dramatically changed by the introduction of the system. Even I struggled not to drown in the whirlpool caused by such chaos.
Now that it is so long past, of course I look back and think I could have done better, but at the time, it was all I could do to deal with what was directly before me. Naturally, I could not stop and look at the bigger picture.
Because of that, I left my guard down and allowed the rise of the elves to occur, a terrible legacy which is now one of my greatest regrets.
Though I am loath to admit it, Potimas is a genius.
In the chaotic period after the system first began, he saw ahead farther than anyone else and dispatched his elf pawns to mingle among the humans, corrupting their minds.
This was mainly achieved by making them think the elves are their allies.
At the time, even I thought this mysterious race that had appeared out of nowhere was on our side.
They defeated monsters, quelled riots, and in time grew close to humans, often offering them help.
Since they appeared suddenly, just like the monsters, I assumed they were a sort of helpful entity made by the system’s architect.
I recall a game-loving secretary who referred to them as “support characters.”
“We did such horrible things to the gods, and yet they will not forsake us…,” the secretary sobbed.
He believed the elves were messengers of the gods and revered them.
I wonder how he would have reacted had he learned that those elves were actually pawns of the detestable Potimas?
That man is truly the definition of wicked and cunning.
He commits acts of cruelty without hesitation.
As that thought crosses my mind, I shake my head in self-derision.
Am I myself not making plans to commit heinous acts at this very moment?
In that regard, Potimas and I are not so different.
“…We were so young back then.”
As I get lost in my thoughts, Lord Black Dragon speaks to me.
As if he is reflecting on the past with both longing and regret all at once.
“Yes, indeed. Though I made an error too grave to be dismissed as youthful indiscretion.”
The words escape me before I can stop them.
Even I am surprised at my own statement.
Though I kept those feelings hidden in my heart, I had never once said them aloud, and now they have slipped out on impulse.
“…Do you regret it?”
Lord Black Dragon looks at me searchingly.
After thinking for a moment, I confess the thought that I have kept buried all this time.
“Yes, of course. I always have.”
I did regret it.
I knew even at the time that I was making the wrong choice.
And yet, I chose it anyway.
I chose to sacrifice the Goddess for the sake of humanity.
And since I made that decision, I have a responsibility to see it through to the end.
Even if I knew all along that it was a terrible mistake, it was my choice, and now it is my duty to fulfill it by saving humanity.
No matter what I must sacrifice to do it.
From the moment I forsook the Goddess, that was the only path left to me.
Otherwise, it would not be fair.
I cannot give up halfway through on my goal after I sacrificed the Goddess in order to accomplish it.
“I think about it time and time again. About what would have happened if I made a different choice.”
I chuckle mirthlessly at myself.
No matter how much I think about it, I cannot change the past.
I am only deluding myself.
And yet, I think of it nonetheless.
If I worked together with Lord Black Dragon and Lady Ariel and the others, if we joined hands to face those trials together…
I cannot help wondering if such an absurdly convenient option ever existed.
“But there is no point in dwelling on such things now.”
“Perhaps you’re right.”
I try to cut off my wretched delusions, but to my surprise, Lord Black Dragon responds.
“I’m the same way.”
With that, he smiles wanly and tips his glass.
“I think of it all the time. Could I have done more at the time? Wasn’t there any other way? A better way?”
Ah, I see.
So he has regretted it all along, too.
“But no matter how much we think about it, we’ll never find an answer. That’s how it is for you, too, right?”
In lieu of a response, I simply smile back in grim silence.
He’s right, of course.
No matter how much I think about it, I never come up with an answer.
But at the same time, when I think it through, is it possible that this present situation is for the best? Sometimes that idea occurs to me, too.
Though I could never say such a thing to Lord Black Dragon.
How can I even think that?
Because if everything went well, then I doubt I could have ever gone this far.
It is because of that all too strong regret that I have succeeded in controlling myself and doing whatever it takes all this time.
Without it, I might very well have broken down by now.
In which case, Potimas would have only risen to even greater heights.
Despite all my faults, I do believe that I have been a successful breakwater against Potimas all this time.
If I crumbled and became useless, then Potimas would have been able to do as he pleased all the more.
That man is cautious and cowardly.
Even if I were not here, I imagine he would not have done anything truly reckless out of fear of Lord Black Dragon, but I wager things would still be vastly different without my presence.
No doubt he would have spread his influence like a slow poison, sneakily and out of Lord Black Dragon’s sight.
He has always excelled at such sly, covert movements.
I know this all too well because I am the one who has contested him in the shadows all this time.
In that sense, Potimas’s recent actions have been uncharacteristic.
His moves have been too big, too dramatic.
For better or for worse, there is no doubt that the foreign substance known as reincarnations has caused a great deal of movement in this world.
But even so, I feel as if Potimas’s movements are rather too large.
I assumed it was all sparked by the reincarnations, but would that alone be enough to cause such a pathologically paranoid man to act so outrageously?
And all these movements of his have been hindered by Lady Ariel and her people, leading to several overt failures.
It is incredibly unusual for him.
That man certainly does have the rather childish habit of craving petty revenge whenever he is wronged, but even that does not explain his artless actions of late.
One might suspect that this is all part of some master plan, but his losses have been far too great.
It almost seems as if something has caused him to panic…
I do not know what the cause might be, but now the tide is shifting in our favor.
I should be happy.
When I think we might finally put that man in checkmate, I am filled with joy, a small hint of sadness, and most of all, a despondent numbness that it will all soon be over.
Perhaps this ought to be cause for celebration, but I suppose I am a bit too old.
Not just physically, but mentally.
I have been fighting for a long time. Too long. The loneliness and desolation that plagues me has long since outstripped any sense of accomplishment.
“…So Potimas will finally meet his end.”
“Seems like it.”
Lord Black Dragon drains the rest of his glass, looking equally full of emotion.
“I see your habit of getting off topic hasn’t changed at all.”
As I pour him another glass, he comments rather dryly.
At that, I realize that I have made yet another off-topic remark mid-conversation.
“Oh dear. Have I done it again?”
“I’m sure it all made perfect sense in your mind.”
“…I do try my best to be careful. But it seems this bad habit is the one thing I cannot fix no matter how many times I am reborn.”
I have an unfortunate tendency to get lost deep in thought and forget everything around me.
Then I speak one of my thoughts out loud without explanation, making it seem to everyone else that I have suddenly decided to change subjects, or so I am told.
Just as Lord Black Dragon says, it all seems perfectly logical in the context of my own thoughts. However, if I do not lay out all those connections aloud, it simply comes off as if I abruptly wandered off to a new topic.
“Still, if you said all of your thoughts aloud, I’m sure there wouldn’t be enough time in the world.”
“Very true. I imagine my voice would fail me first. Actually, I would probably bite my tongue first.”
“Fair enough.”
Since I am always using the Thought Acceleration skill, I can think about a vast number of things even in a short period of time.
If I tried to share everything that goes through my mind, I would have to speak terribly quickly.
In all likelihood, I would struggle to keep up and end up biting my tongue.
Imagining myself doing something so foolish, I cannot help but chortle a little.
“That would tarnish your dignified image somewhat.”
“Indeed. It would appear I am still better off keeping most of my thoughts to myself, even if it causes a bit of inconvenience for those around me.”
With that, we exchange small smiles.
What a mysterious feeling.
I never thought I would have such a lighthearted chat with Lord Black Dragon.
But this peaceful atmosphere cannot last forever, I am afraid.
“Now, then. What business brings you here this evening?”
I know I am ruining the mood, but I must move on to the matter at hand.
“That creature’s taken care of things in the Analeit Kingdom, which should alleviate some anxieties.”
“I see.”
By “that creature,” Lord Black Dragon most likely refers to Lady White.
She is a reincarnation who has been a constant companion of Lady Ariel these past few years.
And she is also the individual responsible for changing history forever.
“Knowing her, I’m sure she accomplished everything perfectly.”
“Oh-ho. You seem to think quite highly of it.”
“Of course. She’s the one who brought about a tidal wave of change to this perpetually stagnated world.”
“A tidal wave, hmm? What an apt turn of phrase.”
In all honesty, that hardly does do her justice.
Perhaps she is more like an all-consuming flood that swallows everything in its path.
A great deluge that will wash away that which has stood still in this world for so long, leaving empty land in its place.
“Potimas will meet his end at last.”
I bring us back to the earlier topic.
With Lady White on the job, even someone as detestably tenacious as Potimas is surely finished.
“I wouldn’t be so sure. You know Potimas as well as I do. It’s entirely possible that he’ll slip away somehow.”
“No. I am certain of it.”
There is no doubt in my mind.
Because I have fought against Potimas for so long, I know his limitations.
But I have yet to perceive Lady White’s limits.
It is obvious who will prevail.
I am sure Lord Black Dragon knows this as well.
“In all probability, Lady White only sees Potimas as nothing more than just one more obstacle.”
“That’s true.”
Lord Black Dragon agrees with my observation.
For Lady White, defeating Potimas is simply a sideshow on the way to her ultimate goal.
He is in the way of her reaching that goal, so he must be removed.
I am sure that is all she thinks of him.
And her ultimate goal is the destruction of the system itself.
“…Lord Black Dragon. Destroying the system and using that energy to revive the world… Is such a thing truly within the realm of possibility?”
Lord Black Dragon has told me about Lady White’s goals and proposed methods.
I asked the same question at the time, but now I find myself asking it again.
“It should be possible, at least in theory.”
And his response is the same as it was before.
Should be. In theory. It is safe to say from such uncertain phrases that Lord Black Dragon does not know for sure, either.
“The fate of the world hangs in the balance. I cannot say I am thrilled with staking everything on an uncertain gamble…”
“I know. And I haven’t simply been sitting around since I first heard about it, either.” Lord Black Dragon waves his hand rather irritably. “I did investigate, but I couldn’t find a definitive answer. Unfortunately, I can’t meddle with the system too much. Since I don’t fully understand it, I don’t have much choice besides relying on conjecture.”
Hrm. That is sensible.
When one is trying to assess any situation, predicting the outcome requires a firm grasp of all the matters and events involved.
Without a clear understanding of the system, it is impossible to predict what results it might produce.
“But if you’re willing to hear me out based on that conjecture, I do believe that reviving this world by destroying the system has a fairly high success rate.”
“And your basis for that conclusion?”
“I did a rough calculation of the total amount of energy contained in the entire system and found out that it’s surpassed the amount needed to restore the world. Even after removing the amount that’ll be consumed in the process, I believe it should still be close to the required amount.”
“‘I believe.’ ‘Should.’ It sounds to me as though this is more wishful thinking than anything else.”
“None of this is a sure thing. Either way, if the attempt fails, it won’t be due to insufficient energy. I’m certain about that much, at least.”
If that is based on the calculations of Lord Black Dragon himself, I suppose I can trust it…
“But even ignoring objective facts, I have reasons to believe that creature has already found conclusive evidence, which might be answer enough.”
“By which you mean…?”
“The thing’s already discovered a method for doing exactly that. Moreover, it actually exists as an official feature of the system.”
At that, my thoughts come to a halt for just a moment.
The system already has such a function?
Does that mean that the self-destruction of the system itself was always meant to be an option?
“That shouldn’t be so surprising. The system has plenty of other functions that even I don’t know about. Who’s to say a feature like that doesn’t exist?”
I suppose that is true, but to think that an option like self-destruction would be included as a regular option from the very beginning…
It makes me doubt the sanity of the system’s creator.
“Besides, the system itself is already irrational in so many ways. At this point, one or two more bizarre features hardly makes a difference.”
“…You have a point.”
I do not wish to speak ill of the system that keeps us all alive, but it certainly is strange that it is built upon a foundation that forces its inhabitants to kill one another and then recovering energy from those who are killed.
“I suspect that it may have some connection to the Rulers.”
“What do you mean…?”
A Ruler is a particular individual who has a Seven Heavenly Virtues skill, like my Temperance, or a Seven Deadly Sins skill, like Lady Ariel’s Gluttony. One holder of each skill is given ruler authority.
Simply acquiring the skill is not enough to make one a Ruler; the authority to rule must first be established before any individual can become a Ruler.
Rulers receive several benefits, including permission to interfere with the system to some small degree.
“But there is no such thing included within the rights granted to a Ruler, is there?”
I am a Ruler myself.
This means I am very familiar with the authorities of a Ruler.
To my knowledge, that does not include anything to do with the destruction of the system.
“What if one Ruler alone wasn’t enough? What if, for instance, all of the Rulers had to gather together and perform specific actions in a particular location?”
I cannot say for sure that such a thing does not exist.
The Rulers have virtually never cooperated on anything.
After all, three of them are in a perpetually antagonistic relationship.
Lady Ariel, Potimas, and myself.
As for the rest, they have seldom even been born.
The only time the Rulers of all fourteen Heavenly Virtues and Deadly Sins have ever existed all at once must have been at the very beginning, when the system was first put into place.
Even then, they existed in different factions, not as one united front.
In other words, the Rulers have never once assembled in pursuit of a common goal.
If there was some special condition related to such an unknown scenario, we would have no way of knowing.
As far as the particular location, I do have one inkling.
The innermost part of the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
The center of the labyrinth that the very first Ruler of Sloth spent an entire lifetime creating.
If there was such a place, it would have to be there.
“These past few years, that creature has been frantically trying to make people pick up ruler skills.”
“How curious.”
I had no idea.
If that is the case, then perhaps there is something to Lord Black Dragon’s prediction after all.
“But if so, then would defeating Potimas not be counterproductive?”
Potimas is a Ruler, too.
If all the Rulers are required, that would unfortunately include his participation.
“I’m sure it has taken that into account and most likely formulated a strategy accordingly. Though I do not know what that strategy might be. Either way, even if we let Potimas live, there’s no way he would cooperate with our plans.”
“I see. If he is only going to hinder her goals, then I suppose she wants to be rid of him as soon as possible.”
Potimas would never cooperate on something like this.
That being the case, then it would indeed be more effective to simply remove him and seek another approach than waste time attempting to convince him.
“But if that is truly the case, then the next target for elimination must be yours truly, correct?”
I say it in a joking manner, but I suspect it is not entirely inaccurate.
That is one scenario which I have been contemplating since before speaking with Lord Black Dragon today.
After Potimas, who is the next person Lady Ariel would find most loathsome?
That would be me. Of that I have little doubt.
What’s more, the Word of God religion is weaker than it has ever been.
We lost many soldiers in the battle against the ancient mechanical weapons that were resurrected about a decade ago.
During that incident, when I temporarily joined forces with Lady Ariel and even Potimas, the Church’s army was left in shambles.
I have managed to restore its strength a fair bit in the years since, but the hole has not been entirely filled.
We lost many promising young soldiers who should have built up experience and become seasoned veterans by now.
Now, since we have so few soldiers left from that era, I have been depending on old soldiers who should have long since retired and young ones too inexperienced for their posts.
But that, too, fell apart in this most recent war.
I knew from the beginning that we would not prevail, but it would have been strange if the Word of God religion did not provide any reinforcements. I had to send a considerable number of soldiers to aid the empire, none of whom returned.
Events have conspired to greatly weaken the military strength of the Word of God church, although I do think there is little point in attempting to compete with Lady Ariel on that front.
And between the announcement of a false hero and the imperial army’s call for a new expedition, I am already at the end of my rope.
None of the other nations know about the false hero just yet, but if and when it is discovered, the Church will lose a great deal of influence.
That is how important the existence of the hero is to humanity.
And if anyone found out that the imperial army we allowed to pass through human lands was actually composed of demons, this religion would be finished.
It was all necessary for the sake of defeating Potimas, but if Lady Ariel also made this proposition in order to lessen the power of the Word of God religion at the same time, then her ultimate goal is likely to take my head.
That said, I agreed to all of Lady Ariel’s demands, despite knowing exactly where it might lead.
“…And you’re all right with that?”
“Quite. This is the perfect use of the Word of God religion at this moment. I cannot afford to miss the opportunity to ride the tides of change in this world simply because I balked at the price.”
Right now, the world is changing in a major way.
The Word of God religion will be swept along with those changes, like it or not.
This current is already far too strong for the Church to resist.
So there is nothing left but to hasten it on its way.
Even if that means the Church will be dragged down by the current and crushed.
The Word of God religion exists solely to protect humanity.
If it can accomplish that goal by perishing for the greater good, that, too, is perfectly acceptable.
“For the sake of humanity. For the era of upheaval that no doubt awaits after Potimas meets his doom. The Church will become the villain against which humanity unites. I have already made the preparations.”
What is required for people to band together?
An easily identifiable villain.
Anger, grief, feelings of helplessness.
And a target they can aim those feelings at.
For the masses, the belief that they are in the right is the swiftest path toward unification.
And so I will turn the Word of God religion into a villain to unite humanity.
“…You certainly are thorough.”
“I have no other choice. I am not even permitted to properly atone, you see.”
Atonement? That would be far too presumptuous for one such as myself.
No, I can never atone.
Which is why I must see this through to the very end.
For humanity.
That is all I can strive for.
It is for that cause that I forsook the Goddess.
So I must now offer up everything to that cause, even if it means making an enemy of the gods.
“…I must admit, I envy that decisiveness of yours. Just a little.”
“……”
From my perspective, it is you whom I find myself envying.
You who can draw closer to the Goddess’s side.
But while this thought crosses my mind, I do not speak it aloud.
Lord Black Dragon has his own circumstances, his own burdens to bear.
“Neither of us can quite have our way, can we?”
“You’re not wrong.”
After that, we stayed up all through the night, talking of only inconsequential matters.
I believe we both knew that this would likely be our last chance to spend a quiet evening drinking together.
Whether what Lady Ariel is attempting to do fails or succeeds, the times are about to become very turbulent indeed.
That is not a premonition, but a fact.
When the pivotal moment comes, I must do everything I can to ensure that humanity survives.
Because that is the only duty I have been permitted to uphold.
Once I finished my revival experiments with the third prince and pals, there was nothing left for me to do in the Analeit Kingdom.
Sure, things are still total chaos over there, but that’s not really my problem.
The king is dead, the first prince is useless, the third prince is suspected of being involved in the rebellion, et cetera.
Man, talk about some messy court drama.
A no-holds-barred battle for the throne has begun!
Although I’m the one who engineered the entire thing.
Now I just need Yamada to get caught up in this whole business.
At least, that was the plan, but there’s a new problem.
Ms. Oka woke up and told him that the imperial army, led by Natsume, is marching on the elf village.
Apparently, elves have some kind of Fartalk system for conveying information, like the Word of God religion.
Our worldwide purge of the elves has been going well enough, but it looks like there are still plenty we’ve missed.
Better make sure we wipe out every last one before we attack and destroy the elf village.
Since the Tenth Army has completed all missions within the empire and the kingdom, that’ll be their next job.
I feel bad giving them more work to do right after such a busy period, but this is super important, so they’ll have to deal with it.
Employee exploitation?
Look, that’s just how it is in the military…I’m pretty sure.
Besides, I was already planning on sending the Tenth Army to finish hunting down all the elves before all this extra work in the empire cropped up. Really, it’s just back to business as usual.
In other words, it’s the pontiff’s fault they’re crazy busy now, not mine.
I’m innocent.
Not to mention, who do you think has to find the elves in every nation and deliver the Tenth Army members there in the first place?
I’m the busiest person of all!
This really is one exploitative workplace.
I should put in for a paid vacation.
Ah, I can just see the Demon Lord saying nope with a big smile.
Damn it all.
Anyway, to get back to the main subject here: Since Yamada and friends heard from Ms. Oka that the elf village is in trouble, they’ve decided to ditch their kingdom and go fight Natsume in person, for some reason.
Por qué?
It makes no sense to me whatsoever.
Like, what? I mean…
Sure, I see how they came up with that, I guess?
Humans and demons are at war right now, and they probably think it could be dangerous for all of humanity if they let Natsume keep doing as he pleases.
But does that really mean you should just abandon the kingdom that’s falling apart in front of you to go take down Natsume?
I would think that the third prince, who’s staying in the kingdom, would want to have the real hero Yamada fighting on his side.
You know, since he might have to go at it with the first prince’s side.
Yeah, it might sound nice to say that the third prince has a big-picture attitude, but isn’t he looking too far out and missing the trouble right under his nose at this point?
The kingdom might very well end up in a nasty civil war…
But I’m guessing Yamada isn’t thinking about any of that as his brother ships him out.
When the third prince asked him to go, he was immediately like, “Of course.”
He was probably just responding on the basis that he can’t let Natsume get away with this or whatever, not thinking about the situation in his own kingdom.
I’d rather have Yamada stay in the kingdom, but now it totally seems like they’re gonna send him right over to the elf village…
It’d probably be too weird for Hyrince to be the only one to object.
Sure enough, Hyrince keeps quiet, and it’s decided unanimously: Yamada is going to the elf village.
Goddammit.
Yeah, okay, but there’s no way he’s gonna get to the elf village before the imperial army does…or so I foolishly thought.
But I mean, come on! I thought something like this might happen, so I did some prep work to make sure they couldn’t get from Daztrudia to Kasanagara, the continent where the elf village is located.
With help from the Word of God, of course!
Whenever there’s trouble, just call on the Church.
It helps when you’re actually in touch with the guy in charge who can answer your prayers.
Still, it’s not like I really did that much.
I just had them spread the word about the rebellion in the Analeit Kingdom and put bounties on Yamada and company.
Since officially, what went down in the Analeit Kingdom was that Yamada killed the king and tried to usurp the throne.
It was faster and more efficient to turn them into wanted fugitives than to go around telling everyone not to let them use teleport gates and stuff.
Teleport gates being the fastest way to get from one continent to the other.
That’s also why we broke the one in Analeit Kingdom, to prevent him from using it in case he got that far.
Now that they’re on the wanted list, it’ll be harder for Team Yamada to move around.
Of course, it’s not like security forces have photos or anything, which means the average person won’t know what they look like. Still, I imagine local guards and stuff will be keeping an eye out for them.
But then the bastards went and flew on Shinohara, who has become a light wyrm.
Light wyrm?
More like flight wyrm!
…Sorry, please forgive me for existing. That was a terrible joke. I regret everything.
Even in video games, flying vehicles are the kinda thing you get toward the end of the game because they make getting around super easy.
You don’t need to worry about roads and stuff, and you can fly right over obstacles like mountains.
In this world where monsters exist, most roads take a meandering route to avoid monster-infested regions, which means it takes that much longer to get anywhere.
But if you can ignore that and fly over everything, you’ll get places way faster.
Basically, they’re taking the shortest route possible.
Which also means they don’t have to stop at many towns and villages, which lowers the risk of them getting caught.
They certainly haven’t been caught once yet.
This is bad news, folks.
My calculations were based on them traveling by foot, but at the rate they’re moving by air, they might actually make it?
…No, no, of course they won’t!
I mean, don’t you know where they’re headed? The Great! Elroe! Labyrinth!
Obviously, they can’t fly inside the labyrinth, so they’ll definitely have to slow down.
Plus, the Great Elroe Labyrinth is insanely massive and complicated to boot.
If you get lost, it’s practically impossible to find your way out.
There’s even a labyrinth guide profession.
We’ve already positioned soldiers at the entrance to the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
And I made sure all the labyrinth guides know about what happened in the Analeit Kingdom and the bounty on Yamada and friends.
So they shouldn’t be able to find a guide.
Trying to navigate the Great Elroe Labyrinth without a guide is practically suicide.
I should know, since I lived there for so long.
No doubt about it.
Otherwise, what are they gonna do, fly over the ocean?
I think that’d be suicide, too.
The ocean is teeming with water dragons.
Now that Shinohara’s evolved into a light wyrm, I’m sure she could take a water dragon or two, but I doubt she’d be able to fend them off nonstop while also carrying everyone on a long-distance flight.
You’d have to fly all day and night with no idea when a dragon might shoot at you from the ocean, you know?
She doesn’t have the physical nor the mental stamina for that.
Which means the adventures of Team Yamada end here…
Y’know, since either path would be suicide and all.
I’m sure Hyrince will stop them if they try to do anything like that.
Hopefully, they’ll just kill time on Daztrudia from here on out.
…Or so I thought, like an idiot.
One of my clones is currently following Yamada’s party in secret.
Guess where they are? In the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Come on, why?!
They managed to get a labyrinth guide with shocking ease, totally ignored the main exit that’s being closely guarded by the empire, and waltzed right on in through a secret entrance at the bottom of the ocean.
Gimme a break here!
The guide Yamada and friends found is this silver fox named Basgath.
He looks kinda familiar?
Yeah, turns out he’s the very first human who found me when I was a little spider.
For some reason, he was essentially bragging to them about how he ran away from me back in the day.
And this old labyrinth guide with the explosive-sounding name is apparently the father of someone who guided Hyrince a long time ago, which is how he ended up agreeing to guide Yamada’s group this time.
Um, hello? Hyrince?
Now they’ve got a super-skilled guide thanks to you!
What are you gonna do about it?!
Man, this guy is really good, too.
I pop into the Great Elroe Labyrinth every once in a while to check in on my spider babies, and I’ll admit I end up spying on the humans in there and stuff while I’m at it.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the process, it’s that there are good guides and bad guides.
Even experienced guides get their paths mixed up sometimes, y’know?
And yet, this old guy is expertly leading them through the labyrinth without even glancing at a map. Only the most exceptional guides can manage stuff like that.
This guy really is a veteran, just like he appears to be.
So now Team Yamada’s journey is going way too smoothly.
They’ve all got relatively high stats, too, which makes their pace even faster.
This is really, really bad!
At this rate, they’ll make it through the Great Elroe Labyrinth with time to spare.
The only way into the elf village is by using one of the elves’ hidden teleport gates, but if they use the closest one to the Great Elroe Labyrinth exit that I know of, they’ll get there before the imperial army is scheduled to arrive.
Oh, by the way, I’m pretty sure I know about all of the elves’ teleport gates.
My mini-mes are the best at gathering information!
I mean, they’re palm-sized spiders that aren’t easily detected. Unless you’re specifically keeping a close eye out for them, they’re incredibly hard to spot.
And I’ve got them scattered across the world by the thousands, making my own super-powerful information network.
Anyway, I always keep an extra-close eye on elves, so it was easy to locate their teleport gates just by tailing the sneaky ones with my spy clones.
They have to go in and out once in a while, after all.
So I think I know about all the teleport gates that have been used since I sent out my clones, at the very least.
Although if there are any that haven’t been used in a long time, I wouldn’t have any way of finding those.
Heh. The elves probably think we don’t know where their teleport gates are.
Heh-heh-heh. Idiots.
They probably mock us, thinking we’re the stupid ones who don’t know anything, but now they’re about to get a taste of their own medicine.
Pfft. Bwa-ha-ha!
Okay, this is no time to be making fun of the elves.
What am I gonna do about Yamada and friends?
At this rate, if things keep going smoothly, they’re gonna make it to the elf village on time.
Hmm.
Should I sic the baby army on them?
I’m mostly talking about a bunch of white spiders that my old Parallel Minds produced.
Basically, they used the Egg-Laying skill to mass-produce a bunch of spider spawn.
…Except they somehow wound up attacking some human town with the Parallel Minds, and I ended up teleporting the survivors back into the Great Elroe Labyrinth here.
Ever since then, they’ve apparently been doing their own thing in the Labyrinth.
I popped in to say hi after I turned into a god, and they got super clingy.
I guess they still recognize me as their parent even after my deification.
Although technically, it was my Parallel Minds who made ’em, not me…
Anyway, from what I hear, folks call the baby army Nightmare’s Vestiges.
Part 5 of 8