A volcanic cave. Within it, a face growing distinct.
I looked at the god who had appeared so suddenly. He was still smiling, and Karla, behind me, said,
“I think you can go.”
At the same time, a quest appeared.
[Main Quest: The Meaning of God]
◆ Mana +200
Whatever else he might be, he was the final boss. The one who would preside over the game’s end. The being who would either bring down the curtain on the play, or collapse the stage itself.
Therefore, an encounter with him was something that would happen someday, and conversation would be a necessary step.
“Follow me.”
I approached him. He smiled peacefully and beckoned.
“My hometown. Let us journey to the Divine Era.”
A voice steeped in mana.
That single word of his transformed the dark volcano.
It changed the backdrop and shifted space.
As if this entire world responded to him.
Naturally, and as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
……Chirp── chirp chirp──
The gradual sound of birdsong. Clear sunlight descending from the sky.
I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them again, the scenery of a “vastly distant past” settled upon my retinas.
“……”
It was a village even more primitive than the continent of the present.
Pit houses and thatched cottages befitting a tribal society. No concrete or cement whatsoever, only buildings made from the materials of nature. The greenery of the mountains, transparent streams, harmony formed within gentle warmth.
And the smiling residents who came and went among them.
“This is the village of gods where I lived.”
More plain than now, and perhaps shabby, yet filled in every person with exceedingly transcendent mana……
It was the scenery of the Divine Era (神聖時代).
“Come with me, Deculein.”
He pointed to the largest chapel in this tranquil village. I nodded.
“Our village’s day begins with worship.”
As he trudged along, he swept his eyes over the area with the same nostalgic gaze.
He also spoke as though he were still someone living in this village.
“In this hall…… in the chapel, we receive God’s revelations.”
Creeeak— He opened the door to the hall.
Inside, there were many believers. All of them sat with their eyes closed as if in prayer, awaiting revelation.
“There I am, too.”
Where he glanced, there was Sophien.
Long hair red as flame, and crimson eyes as though they held wine.
Truly, a face exactly like the Sophien of now.
“She resembles your emperor, does she not?”
“……She does.”
At my answer, he smiled.
“Your emperor was made in imitation of the flesh from those days.”
I looked at him.
His words puzzled me.
No, all the villagers were puzzling. Each and every one of them was beautiful in appearance, yet there was not a single “element by which to distinguish sex.”
“We do not die, so there was no need to decide on sexes.”
Perhaps having read my mind, he explained in a low voice.
“When we live forever, is there any need to divide ourselves by sex and create descendants? Everything was God’s will, and it was simply a life carried on within faith.”
Words he babbled as if they were only natural.
I merely sneered. Feeling an oddly repulsive aversion, I shook my head.
A life from which human freedom had been excluded. A life that obeyed only God’s will.
It was no different from the “fatalism” I utterly detested.
No, it was fatalism itself.
“A puppet’s life.”
“A devout life is a puppet’s life to you?”
“There is no difference.”
“Mm…… I respect that.”
He nodded, his cheeks puffed out slightly, and continued.
“In any case, we had no crime, no laws, and no love affairs. But I do not think it was a puppet’s life. Interaction among the residents existed. Beneath God’s great will, we laughed, wept, grew angry, and loved.”
Snap—
With a flick of his fingers, the place changed.
This time, it was some sort of academic hall murmuring with voices. The residents had set down several sheets of paper bearing revelations and were discussing, debating, and even arguing with one another.
“The task after worship was to interpret God’s revelations.”
─הפרשנות של משמעות זו דומה לגילוי הקודם.
─לא. אל תיתפס יותר מדי בגילויים קודמים.
I could not understand their conversation. The structure of this complex and subtle language was difficult to grasp even with the trait 「Comprehension」.
Even so, I first put all of that information and conversation into my head.
“Analyzing the revelations, studying them, feeling divinity in the process, recording history that way, drawing one step closer to our origin……”
As he murmured so, he suddenly stopped speaking, his face pitiful.
The corners of his lips curved in an arc as though smiling, yet his eyes, watching the scenery, trembled as if crying.
If the emotion of longing were given form, would it look like that?
“This is…… our era. God’s words became our duty, and that duty in turn became a lifelong vocation, as we lived each day newly realizing our gratitude toward God……”
Watching him sink into sentiment, I clicked my tongue.
Pathetic.
“……However.”
Suddenly, his atmosphere changed completely. He clenched both fists, gritting his teeth. Hostility blazed in his tightly constricted pupils.
……Had he just read my thoughts?
Fortunately, that seemed not to be the case, for he said,
“One day. God died.”
His tone was low, but within it was a passion like a cry. Anger clung to it, unextinguished like embers.
Even now, it had not died out.
“……The believers killed Him.”
The moment he murmured those words as if sighing, every bit of scenery vanished. The world sank into darkness.
Within it, cries rang out, utterly unlike the previous peace, filled with rage, bloodlust, and hatred.
─האם עשית את זה!!!
─דברים כמו זבל. האנשים שיש לשנוא ששכחו את חסדם!!!-
I still could not interpret them, but one fact was clear: they were blaming one another.
The emotions were read before the meaning of the words.
“We desperately deduced who had killed Him. What ungrateful beast of a bastard had dared kill the God who created them, and why they had done so. In that process, I……”
Crackle— A lamp flared within the pitch-black darkness.
Faint, but red light illuminated the space.
“Became a sinner.”
It was a prison. Inside it was him, wearing Sophien’s face.
In the village that had known only thatched cottages and trees, “iron bars” had been invented for the first time.
“Our sin was that we had failed to interpret the revelation correctly.”
“Revelation?”
“Yes. It was a revelation in which God foresaw His own death.”
He looked at me and made letters float in the air.
[Your dissipation shall lead to My death.]
“We interpreted that one line of revelation differently from one another. Factions split apart. I mistook it to mean that we simply had to serve God more devoutly, but in truth, God was speaking of the existence of apostasy. We should have found and purged apostasy, but I did not know that.”
He closed his eyes. The ends of his lips trembled, as though he were truly indignant.
I asked,
“What happened after that?”
“……We fought for an extremely long time. We, who did not die, devoted all our time to ways to kill one another. Then, in the end, we scattered. To every corner of the continent.”
He answered as if in regret. At the same time, he continued like a line of verse.
“Some of the greedy became the progenitors of giants, some of the disappointed became the seeds of fairies, and the apostate faction I presumed to be the godslayers……”
Suddenly, his hate-filled eyes glared at me.
I nodded with a cold smile.
“Became humans?”
“Yes. But that is not all. Most apostates became the roots of humanity, as you said, but the remaining few became ‘a certain race’ that you know.”
He offered it as if it were a riddle, then waited for my answer.
But it was an easy question.
“You mean demons.”
“Yes. Humans and demons do not differ in origin. The demons you hate so much are, in the end, a branch of humanity. If you humans were all exterminated, those demons would be called humans.”
“……Is that the end?”
“Mm?”
“There is still one more left.”
At that, he smiled without a word and pointed a finger at his own chest.
“You mean me?”
“Yes. You—what did you become?”
“Haha. You should know. Do you want to hear it from my own mouth anyway?”
He placed a hand on my shoulder with a clap. Tap, tap—after patting it a couple of times, he struck my chest with his forehead.
“I tried to resurrect God. Though God had died, I remained a believer.”
Immediately after, the place changed again.
It was the same “village of gods” as before, but an entirely different calamity was coiling around the space.
Kwaaaaaaa────!
A whirlwind mixed with volcanic ash and sand. A gale that covered the entire village as if rebuking the godslayers.
In the middle of that natural disaster, pressing in so fiercely one could not even open one’s eyes, someone shouted loudly. A desperate scream rang out.
─This cannot be! Everyone, come back! You must not leave like this!
A person who looked exactly like Sophien.
More precisely, it was “him,” standing beside me now.
─Did we not say that if we all joined forces, we could bring Him back to life! Believe me! I will resurrect God!
He cried out until his throat tore, trying to hold back those who were leaving, but he was only swallowed by the sandstorm.
─Come back! You were believers too! You cannot leave like this! This is the God you killed!
Even at his blood-spitting cry, no one looked back, and everyone left coldly.
Rather, only vulgar insults returned, denouncing him as a fanatic and asking what believers could possibly exist now that God was dead.
─Come back! You wretched apostates! Come back, come back and set your sins right! Come, come back─────!
Clutching and tearing at his own hair, he howled most desperately of all.
When his voice grew too hoarse to come out, he staggered forward and seized the pant legs of several who were leaving. Even as he was kicked and trampled, he forcibly blocked their path.
And yet, when they did not so much as spare him a glance, this time he began throwing stones at their backs.
Thud— thud— thud—
Stones falling without strength.
─Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go…….
Even so, nothing changed, and in the end, left alone, he wept and fell to his knees.
With empty eyes, he looked around the deserted village.
─……If we show our faith once more. If we apologize sincerely, God will surely return.
The way he murmured that, out of his mind, was pitiful.
─It is true. It is not a lie, so why do you……
Soon, he rose even alone and returned to the chapel.
The empty place was filled with the revelations of old, torn apart and burned.
─……The revelations must not be damaged. For the day He returns. For that day……
Staggering like a puppet with its strings cut, he gathered the paper fragments one by one, assembled them with his bare hands, enchanted them so they would not be damaged, and sat in the chapel, awaiting revelation.
Within the raging sandstorm, he prayed endlessly.
He offered his time and his faith.
“……That You may come to me again. That You may accept my endless repentance.”
Snap─!
The sound of fingers snapping. In that instant, all the scenery disappeared.
The volcanic cave, returned once more.
“But God was ultimately unable to resurrect. Though I prayed for ten thousand years.”
“……Ten thousand years?”
“Yes. I spent all my years praying there. Alone, I waited for Him.”
He smiled bitterly.
I looked at him without a word.
“During those long years, the chapel in which I remained became separated from the world. That was my death, but I did not know it.”
……Should I say he was worthy of being the final boss?
His faith might be at a level far beyond my own mental fortitude.
“What do you think? Can you 「understand」 me a little now?”
Saying so, he held out his hand.
“Deculein. This continent is a land born from the sin of deicide.”
That hand swayed up and down. It seemed as if he were playfully urging me to hurry up and take it.
“Therefore, this continent needs faith. The descendants of the godslayers also need a chance to be forgiven. God could not return, but I will become God for them.”
“……”
“God would want that as well. For I served God more truly than anyone. I possess the qualification and power to be God.”
Kwaaaaa—!
For an instant, the magma far below surged upward, lighting the darkness of the cavern. Scarlet light clung to his face.
I sighed and shook my head.
“You should already know my answer. You can hardly become a god when you do not even know what lies within me.”
Even at my mocking words, he merely nodded calmly. He pouted as if sulking.
“I know. I do. Even so, I wanted to say it to you. You seem like a truly valuable talent.”
He shrugged. Then he gave a faint laugh and raised his index finger.
“However, Deculein. There is one thing I would like to ask.”
“…….”
“A human like you—what do you think of someone like me?”
That question required no deliberation.
I answered at once.
“……Ridiculous.”
No matter how great the ‘he’ before me might be, no matter how pitiable a believer he might be. If one dug into it realistically, in the end, he was a character inside a game.
In that sense, if one were to consider only the rank of existence from the outset, perhaps ‘Kim Woojin,’ a being outside the game, was the most superior of all.
After all, he was a member of the company that created this world.
That was why…….
“You are truly ridiculous. You, who died as a believer without becoming a god, without even resurrecting your god. You, who harbor the vain hope of becoming a god.”
“…….”
His expression stiffened for a moment.
But soon, he shook his head and smiled.
“Human. No, Deculein.”
He called my name. He spoke in a tranquil tone.
“I want to see the exposition. They say all the magic and technology of this continent gather there. Truthfully, it has not even been a week since I obtained this doll. I want to see a little more of the world.”
Yuren’s Magic Exposition.
All at once, his face filled with anticipation, and his eyes sparkled.
“Not only that, I want to see the countless humans of this continent and find out whether they can be forgiven for original sin or not. I want to feel it directly with this body.”
“……And if they cannot be forgiven?”
“Why ask the obvious?”
Frowning slightly, he tapped my shoulder with his fist.
“They must be cleansed. Faith is granted only to those qualified for it. Ah, you have that qualification, so tell me anytime you change your mind.”
I was convinced once more in my heart.
Why this final boss was the final boss.
“……Oh, right.”
He took a step forward and pointed at the volcano.
“This volcano will erupt soon. But it is not because of magic, nor because of explosives. It is the providence of nature. It was never something that would change because of you, Deculein, or that child.”
Saying so, he gestured with his chin toward Carla, asleep on the bed.
“I merely gave that child a pretext for faith. That child, too, has the qualification.”
I looked back at Carla. Her faint, wheezing breaths were precarious, as if they might cease at any moment.
“So run away. A mere human cannot stop it.”
“Is that so.”
“It is.”
“……I see.”
Nodding, I set down the suitcase slung over my back.
“As you say, this eruption may be the providence of nature.”
I spread out all manner of materials I had looted from the shop in the ash heap.
“But the damage can be minimized.”
At that, his eyebrow twitched.
“I am not the type to yield so easily. From the outset, if one quietly accepts any disaster simply because it is ‘providence,’ then that is a fool unworthy of being human.”
Using the mediums and catalysts from the ash heap as a basis, I was about to assemble and devise 「Alchemy Magic」 on the spot…….
Just then.
—This is just a volcano. I should’ve eaten more.
—Right. There’s nothing here, is there?
—No. I can feel something below this.
From above came the voices of Epherene, Rose, and Al Rose, respectively.
“Haha. Your companions have arrived.”
He smiled at me, and I cleared my throat for no particular reason.