The relic's memory ended.
Usually, relics only show the scenes they wish to show, but Renee showed every last detail of her story. I spoke to the presence beyond the memory.
“You hesitated and ended up dying anyway. Wouldn't it have been better to just drop it decisively?”
The space rippled. Renee walked out slowly from the space where she had died.
“No matter how I think about it. That was something I couldn't just stand by and watch.”
“Why? Using ruthless means for war is the same, isn't it? Leading an army, swinging spears and swords to kill people, and dropping a meteor to kill people. What's the difference?”
“...It's a sin.”
“A sin?”
When I asked back, Renee answered steadfastly.
“War is created by the era and carried out by nations. It's a horrific tragedy, but within the grand flow, the sins of individuals are diluted. The bad thing is the war. Not the humans living within it. We can entirely blame the war.”
I quietly listened to Renee's words.
“But, the star the Professor dropped becomes entirely the Professor's sin. The Empire and the vassal states will fear and guard against the Professor for the rest of their lives. The humans of the continent will view the Professor as an object of terror.”
“Is that so wrong? Is there a difference between fearing war and fearing a human?”
“Because humans are beings that can be overcome.”
Renee said, looking sadly at Principia's severed head lying on the ground.
“No matter how powerful a human is, they die easily. A single drop of poison slipped into food, a dagger thrust when one's guard is down, or a betrayer arriving with a smiling face. Anything can easily kill a person. This time, Jin Zehou killed us, but even if it hadn't been Jin Zehou...”
“Eventually, they would have died?”
“That is the sin. If the Professor bears all that sin alone, the war will target the Professor's death. The Professor is wise and powerful, but not a meticulous person. Someday, they will face a similar death and be condemned by everyone. I couldn't make him an idol of evil.”
Hmm. What an extremely clergy-like statement. She didn't want to see her respected professor become a symbol of evil...
“Even if it means the Professor dies?”
“That is...”
But there's a problem. I ridiculed Renee's foolishness.
“Let's say you dislike sin. But leaving yourself and your colleagues to die? Isn't that a sin? Is it okay for my friend to die?”
“It can't be okay. But if we don't commit sins, we go to heaven...”
“Then murder isn't a sin either? Since you're giving out free one-way tickets to heaven. Huh? Then why did you stop the Professor who wanted to drop the star? I was trying to arrange a group tour to heaven for the entire empire!”
Nothing to say, right? That's the problem with heaven. It's unfair.
I, who don't believe in the existence of heaven, don't make such irresponsible remarks. I do my best for the present life and my current existence.
“You can commit as many sins against yourself as you want, but you can't commit sins against others? That's too much. That's why Principia died.”
“...That is...”
“You try to save others, but ignore your friends when they're in danger. Sin killed Principia? You were Principia's sin. You defined it as a sin, and used your friendship as a weapon to stop him. In the middle of a war where all kinds of superhumans and mages were running rampant, you were the only one immediately holding him accountable for his sins.”
I always say this. If you don't get caught, it's not a sin. What does that mean? Sin only exists when it is observed.
It's not saying that not getting caught is a win, but that the very concept of sin cannot be established.
“I... the Professor's sin...”
“You tried to take away his sin and ended up taking away his life. Congratulations. The way to prevent someone from committing a sin. Kill them before they commit it. You succeeded!”
Renee fell silent for a long time. If her body were still here, I think she would have shed tears. But she was already dead, and she was still agonizing over it.
It was clear that her actions had harmed Principia. But was it wrong to stop the meteor collision? Renee believed it wasn't.
“Then. Should we have dropped stars on the Empire and the six vassal states? Should we have crushed the seven nations that had lived through history and built civilizations with stars? Should we have watched that tragedy unfold...? To be recorded as a gruesome tragedy and a horrific sin, that?”
Stars must not be dropped on the continent. Renee still believed that should be the case. Even if it was her respected professor, she couldn't tolerate that. She had persuaded him with all her might.
“I know too. Because I was by his side. That is irreversible. Even the Professor couldn't drop a star on the Federation's land. Because he knew how huge the aftermath and side effects would be. Even if it's another country's land... Destroying everything that would be there. I cannot stand by and watch that, no matter what my teachings, faith, or common sense say!”
If humans can do anything. Is it okay to drop stars on cities? Is that really an action that is permissible? Even if it's war, is it okay to drop stars without any warning and create a land of death?
Renee presented the answer 'No' there. And she stuck to that answer until the end.
And that was enough.
“Who decides that?”
“Who decides? ...If there is kindness in the world. If we value the preciousness of life. If we understand the deaths of the innocent and the suffering of those who will live on the ruined land. We can never choose that! That is human morality!”
“No. You decide.”
I simply dismissed Renee's words.
“Principia decided, you decided, and Jin Zehou decided. Were they the only ones who decided? The mages of Babel, the invading armies and generals, the leadership of the Empire and the vassal states. The present is made of the results of all those people's choices.”
What stopped Principia was not sin, but Renee. And what stopped such a Renee was Jin Zehou. Everyone judged and acted according to their own desires.
“The era created the war? Humans created the era. Therefore, no one is without responsibility. No one is without meaning. It's just that the Demon God's influence was too great, and the few beside the Demon God ended up controlling the era.”
“What determines morality...”
“Is humans.”
Those who decide are always people. Those countless directions clash and merge to create an era. No one is free from that. No one can be isolated from the era.
“You are the one who saved the Empire from the meteor, Renee. Because your desire changed Principia's mind. I respect that part.”
Renee acted according to her own desire. I don't condemn her actions. What I am pointing out is the reason why she had no choice but to regret.
“Of course, I respect the opposite as well. Even Jin Zehou's malice.”
“You respect Jin Zehou's malice too?”
Jin Zehou was the opposite of Renee. He persuaded and provoked Principia, and when it seemed he would change his mind at the last moment, he killed him. He stopped at nothing for a single purpose.
“Was his action also morality? How can you say such a thing?”
“He lost his power due to alchemy, lost his country from losing the war, lost his honor from running away, and lost his face from losing to Principia. All that was left for him was a desire for revenge against the Empire and the vassal states. The Empire and the vassal states created that, and it was karma they should have borne.”
I understand Jin Zehou too.
If the opponent is throwing a fit alone, is it justice for me to be the only one following the rules? That's just being a sucker. If things go south, you flip the board and can drive a skewer right into the opponent's head.
“He was a villain who tried to use the Professor's power for his own desires.”
“Was he a villain? Then you should have stopped him. You knew he was a dangerous man with nothing left. Why didn't you stop him, even if it meant using your Innate Demon Art?”
If you thought it was unfair, you should have fought.
Struggle is natural. If it's a result I can't accept, I must fight against it. If you just feel sad instead of doing that? Until when are you going to lose everything and just cry?
“In the end, you should have fought back. Even if you didn't want to use force, even if you believed there was morality in the world. You should have resisted and struggled at least once. Rather than regretting and grieving even after death, you should have subdued and eliminated Jin Zehou.”
Jin Zehou is better. Even if he's cowardly and shameless, he's faithful to his desires. Jin Zehou won't have any lingering regrets. The hatred and anger he harbored in those days still remain, hovering above our heads.
And probably, the 'Assistant's' hatred as well.
“I respect your desire. But rather than regretting it like this, you should have fought. The only relief is that, although you are already dead, you still have power. You have a chance to correct your mistake.”
“A chance...”
“A star is falling. The star's name is 'Arrogance'. It started falling from the moment of your death, but it's a star of destruction that still hasn't crashed to earth.”
I turned my head to look at the 'Assistant' who entered the room at the last moment.
His muscles, forged from all sorts of menial chores, are unbecoming of a mage. His skin is tanned from constantly roaming outside. He looks like a sailor who has worked on a ship for a long time.
He is smart enough for the Demon God Principia to keep him by his side and include him in research, but unfortunately, he only ever helped with others' research and couldn't become an Archmage.
An ill-fated genius overshadowed by the giant named Principia. An assistant who only ever learned from countless geniuses.
The most lacking, yet the most erudite scholar.
“Academia. He was the one supporting the star...”
The assistant, Academia.
He is the Demon King.
From that position, he delayed the fall of the star and single-handedly annihilated the allied army of the vassal states. That he was the hero of the Sorcery Federation and the nightmare of the vassal states is a story for later.
“He no longer supports the star. Now, 'Arrogance' is about to end its descent of over a hundred years.”
“Huh? Why did he...”
“Is that important right now? It's enough that he protected it until now. How long are you planning to lean on others' kindness? Even if it wasn't him, if someone had just given it a little nudge, it would have fallen.”
The Demon King conveyed it through a scroll. 'Arrogance' hasn't simply not fallen yet; it is in the process of falling. The reason 'Arrogance' hasn't touched the ground is because he is holding it back.
That is not the power of a Demon God. It is the power of a Demon King—magic. By manifesting a very precisely calculated gravity magic, he was twisting its trajectory so that 'Arrogance' would orbit the planet.
However, this is akin to building a tower by stacking hundreds of pebbles in a single line. If anyone who has grasped gravity magic applies even a slight disturbance, the balance will collapse. And the Innate Demon Art of the Demon God will lead that star to the ground. Most naturally.
This is the true nature of 'Arrogance'.
When those who come coveting, guarding against, or trying to hinder the Demon King's power discover the truth. At that moment, the countdown to destruction begins. Anyone can gain the power to drop the star and destroy the world.
“The star is already falling. Its size is larger than all of the meteor swarm that was aiming for the Empire and the vassal states combined. When it falls, it won't end with just an impact. It will be closer to extinction. The punishment for putting off homework is a bit excessive. But, if you overcome it, the thrill will be even greater, right?”
Renee looked at me with eyes full of hostility and contempt.
“Did you do it?”
“Come on. Why is that important?”
It's better for me to drop it than to let someone else drop it. That way it's less unfair... was not what I thought. Absolutely not.
“This is the second chance given to you. You have good fortune. To get a chance to clear your regrets even after dying. Well, I guess you're being rewarded for living a virtuous life.”
Renee is dead. This is her relic. I am reading a dead person, but that is akin to talking to myself while facing a book.
But to me, the Renee before my eyes looked more vibrant than ever.
“Try using your power. With all your might.”