That which existed before humans. That which exists independently of humans.
“Demon God. Magic that has attained godhood.”
Before the great truth, even humans who pride themselves as the rulers of the earth are nothing more than a passing breeze.
And... before the truth, humanity faces a new obstacle.
“Then here is a new question. If humans are also a part of this world... If they are one of all things in the world that follow the great rules?”
I walked slowly, pushing through the cornfield. Tir followed behind me as if bewitched. After passing several cornstalks like that, I intuitively sensed that I had arrived at an invisible space.
This is the place.
The Golden Palace where the Golden Mirror resides... was precisely this cornfield.
“What is the physical body?”
The moment I pushed aside the next cornstalk, a sharp blade flew in, aiming for my neck.
A fast and stealthy ambush. Had I come alone, I might have lost my life without even realizing it. But why would I have brought Tir? When it comes to protecting me from humans, Tir is the most reliable companion.
Aji protects me, but isn't great against humans. The Returnee is good against humans, but doesn't protect me.
Darkness surged from the gaps of the pitch-black parasol. The shadow that had attacked me was engulfed in darkness and slammed into the ground. Turning my head, I saw Tir clenching a small fist.
Reliable as expected. I brought the right person.
“Is it okay to use darkness when there's sunlight?”
“If it's just a little, there's no problem. It's a shaded area, after all.”
While I was having a friendly conversation with Tir, a voice came from the attacker engulfed in darkness.
“I warn you. I am saying this for your sake.”
Despite being slammed into the ground, the attacker spoke without a hint of agitation, so confident.
“If you want to protect yourself, turn around and walk away right now. Forget what you saw, erase what you heard, and leave as you are. Never think of looking for this place again. Curiosity will kill you.”
“Aren't you demanding too much? How could I not be curious?”
The attacker wore a golden mask, body wrapped in a thick robe. As if trying to tightly hide their face and body type.
However, that effort was in vain. The bulging back vividly revealed its presence even under the robe.
A hunchback. The only hunchback I saw in the Flame Nation was one person.
Approaching slowly, I placed my hand on the golden mask and said.
“You, who were supposed to be dead, are alive like this.”
Click. Unlocking the clasp and lifting the golden mask, I called the owner of the face beneath.
“Right, Lord Lowket?”
The Flameburst Cult Master, Lowket. The Cult Master of the Flame Nation, who had certainly lost his life to Hilde at the camp, was right before my eyes.
The Flameburst Cult Master, whose identity was discovered, muttered in an emotionless voice.
“So he died. As expected, he wasn't meant to live long.”
“Thanks to that, it's confirmed that you are a Homunculus. Then this indeed means this place is the Golden Palace, right?”
“Do you still approach the Golden Palace knowing that? Is your life not precious? No.”
The Flameburst Cult Master looked up at me from the ground and asked.
“Are you not afraid of your soul being defiled here, your dignity being blasphemed, your existence being violated?”
“Whether it's the soul, dignity, or uniqueness, it's none of my business. The only thing I care about is my life.”
“Impressive.”
“Whatever. You're much more well-mannered compared to the original, aren't you?”
Affection blooms in the exchange of pleasantries. To think such a normal conversation would continue. Does turning a deranged human into a homunculus produce a normal result?
I expected to make a similar discovery, but... It's lucky that he appeared right away. Thanks to that, there's no need to explain.
“Phew. Don't tell me...”
A person who died once is right before her eyes. Witnessing this unbelievable sight, Tir was rarely appalled. Having lived for 1,200 years, she doesn't surprise easily, but the truth revealed before her had the right to shock even her.
“Does what you're saying mean that the Golden Mirror has the power to create humans...?”
A valid guess, and close to the correct answer. However, the Golden Mirror has not reached that realm. I shook my head and pointed at the Flameburst Cult Master.
“It cannot create humans in the truest sense. If it could create perfectly, there would be no need to model after the Flameburst Cult Master, and if it truly modeled after him, it would have the same personality as the original.”
If it could create humans, the Golden Mirror should be the king of humans. No, come to think of it, even the king of humans cannot create them without giving birth to children. Then, beyond a king, it should rightfully be called a god.
But the Golden Mirror did not reach the realm of a god. If it had become a god, there would be no need to collect humans.
“But at the very least... it has almost perfectly created the human 'body'. Flameburst Cult Master, right?”
The Flameburst Cult Master shook his head.
“Perfect? No. It is an ideal. The flesh created by the Golden Mirror is an extreme that imperfect humans can never reach. If only the original had been sound, there would have been no flaws in this flesh.”
“Oho. So it's a machine forged of flesh and blood. Then is the same true for the crops cursed by the Golden Mirror?”
“The crops made by the Golden Mirror were not cursed. Rather, His works are 'ideal', so they are crops but also possess outstanding alchemical properties.”
Alchemical properties refer to the nature of reacting to alchemy. It is known that wood and grass have low alchemical properties because of their irregular structure, but the crops made by the Golden Mirror seem to be different.
So those who fill their bodies with the Golden Mirror's crops end up resonating with the Golden Mirror.
“And... it's not just the 'body'. If he is a Cult Master who understands even a little of the Golden Mirror's great logic. Even that mental image.”
It was right after the Flameburst Cult Master spat out those words.
A localized explosion occurred all over the Flameburst Cult Master's body. The explosion was an emission of heat and light. The darkness burst apart, and the restraints on the Flameburst Cult Master weakened for a moment. Through that gap, steel wings suddenly soared up. Before anyone could say anything, the Flameburst Cult Master flew high into the sky.
“The Cult Master's mental image is fundamentally rooted in the Golden Mirror. Even if it's a Unique Demonic Art, to the Golden Mirror, it is merely a reproducible technique.”
Lowket's Juggernaut, Solvent. It revealed itself to us in a much more vicious and powerful form than before. The Flameburst Cult Master embroidered the entire Solvent with flames and roared at us.
“I am the Guardian of the Golden Palace! Die, regretting that you came here...!”
Tch. That idiot. He's acting as if he's a real human. If he were human, I would have read his thoughts and stolen his Unique Demonic Art.
But I cannot read 'that thing's' thoughts. I can't steal its Unique Demonic Art either. No matter how I think about it, that thing is...
[Let them in.]
At that moment, a voice was heard from somewhere. The Flameburst Cult Master, who was about to rush in scattering flames, stopped abruptly in mid-air.
“Golden Cult Master...!”
As if answering, the voice of the woman called the Golden Cult Master echoed calmly.
[Let them come. The Golden Mirror requires inspiration.]
“Keuk...!”
With a distorted face, the Flameburst Cult Master withdrew his flames. The Solvent, having lost its propulsion, instantly fell to the ground. Boom, landing on both feet, the Flameburst Cult Master glared at me and shouted.
“You...! You will regret not dying here...!”
Is he accommodating us when he only has lingering attachments left? For a corpse.
Finding it funny, I smiled faintly and patted the Flameburst Cult Master's shoulder.
“That won't happen. I told you I won't regret anything until I die?”
The Flameburst Cult Master glared at me, then put the golden mask back on. Leaving the turning Flameburst Cult Master behind, I headed for the Golden Palace.
I'm almost there. I can feel it. The Golden Mirror. The thoughts of the Demon God who can create all things.
***
Yuria Elric, the King of the Gold Nation who holds all the wealth in the world, and the King of Steel who has mastered all the knowledge and techniques in the world. She slammed the fan in her hand onto the desk with a dissatisfied expression.
Having reproduced all the techniques in the world and mastered countless knowledge, she was now suffering from extreme boredom.
Born with the king's authority, she can make anything except what cannot be made. When the line between possible and impossible is clearly visible, what meaning is there in a challenge? To her, who could not feel the joy of pushing through the unknown, the world was like a trite and monotonous textbook.
If there was one thing such a woman devoted herself to, it was raising disciples.
Humans are creatures that harbor chaos. Even Elric, who understands everything, cannot predict humans. Though they don't even reach her heels in skill, even her disciples' worthless imaginations become the spark of inspiration. Like all other Elrics, Yuria Elric also had numerous disciples.
However, even that was unsatisfactory lately.
The beginning was due to a task Elric gave out in jest.
Fill this room with a single gold coin.
It was widely known as a test to verify wisdom and resourcefulness, but that was not true.
If you roll a single gold coin as seed money, you can fill this room. At least Elric could.
A sword that is sharper than anything and sturdier than anything sells for several times the price of a normal sword.
An alloy made by combining a few metals in a specific ratio is worthy of being called a legendary metal.
It is something that can be achieved by exerting only a fraction of the various arts Elric possesses.
Elric wanted that. She wanted her disciples to squeeze their lacking brains and make all sorts of attempts to inflate a single gold coin as much as possible.
One.
“I have filled the room with the light of a candle. The splendor of gold is bound to pale before true light, so surely the only thing that can truly fill this room is light itself.”
Someone pulled such a cheap trick. It was childish, but since it was a somewhat fresh answer that appeared among numerous failures, Elric praised them greatly. It wasn't the direction she wanted, but this too was sufficient inspiration.
The problem was what came after.
“A torch!”
“An incense candle!”
“Smoke!”
However, after that, everyone started giving the same answer. As if that had become the correct answer.
Even a fresh answer becomes trite if repeated. Moreover, if it's merely a shortcut, it only brings annoyance. So Elric prepared a second problem.
“Turn what you filled it with back into gold.”
Then everyone would make dumbfounded faces and tear their hair out.
It wasn't a question meant to hold deep meaning. Elric was simply being mischievous. Whether it was light or scent, once spread, it loses its value; she just wanted to tease the guys who dared to pull cheap tricks in front of the King of Steel.
Elric's scheme worked perfectly, and it was around the time those who pulled cheap tricks gradually decreased.
“A bell! I have filled this room with the sound of a bell!”
Perhaps the news was late, a disciple appeared holding a small bell. As always, Elric gave the second problem.
“Turn this into gold.”
“Y-yes? Into gold?”
The disciple was greatly flustered. Guessing his inner thoughts, Elric clicked her tongue loudly.
There are such people among craftsmen. Those who know how to buy and make things, but don't know how to sell them. Even if they are skilled, if they have no talent for business, it's a fate of being exploited for life and dying in a foreign land. Elric deliberately frowned and said.
“Can you not do it?”
“I, I. I apologize, but I have absolutely no idea... Please teach me...”
Anger flared up.