Book 2: Chapter 254
Book 2: Chapter 254
The Priestess looked down at the surface of the water below her feet. To be precise, she was looking at her own reflection.
“I didn’t expect him to say no without even bothering to think about it.”
The Priestess’ reflection responded to her soft murmur.
“Right.”
In that instant, the Priestess’ reflection began to multiply.
“Hmph. He probably doesn’t properly understand the current situation. I don’t like that bastard.”
“Didn’t we always hear that he was like that? I quite like him.”
“But Chorong, why didn’t you say anything? You always whined about wanting to meet him.”
“Haigo~ Why are you so inconsiderate? You know it’s better for Jokang to deal with situations like this.”
“Then what do we do now? Nodiesop will definitely try to annihilate us.”
“Can we just run away? Maybe Nodiesop will give up on chasing us if we escape to Gaia.”
Suddenly.
She felt a presence behind her.
Splash-
The Priestess tapped the surface of the water with her foot, causing ripples to spread across the entire lake. Her reflections on the water also disappeared as though they were never there.
“Priestess.”
A familiar voice sounded. The Priestess turned around.
“Arid.”
“Yes.”
Arid was standing there. He lowered his head and spoke with a slightly strange expression.
“…did you tell Master everything.”
“Right.”
“What did he say?”
“…”
The Priestess looked into Arid’s eyes.
Whenever she looked at this child, the Young Dragon, Arid, she always felt a strange sense of longing.
While Lukas was unconscious, she told him almost everything.
So he also knew.
That Nodiesop was coming, that he intended to kill Lukas, that Lukas would have no choice but to break the restrictions placed upon him in order to defeat him.
And that the process would inevitably lead to his own death.
Nevertheless, he didn’t seem fearful.
He decided to leave everything for Lukas to decide.
If he wanted him to die, Arid would gladly accept it.
He was a strong child.
“He refused.”
“…ah.”
Arid let out a soft exclamation, but it was unclear whether it was out of regret or joy.
“I don’t know what he was thinking by refusing. Do you have any idea?”
“…no. However, I think that I… no, we all have an idea of what role we have to play.”
“Huh?”
“Master has always protected us. So this time, we, Argento Spell, will protect Master. Even if we have to give up our lives to do so.”
“…Argento Spell?”
“Yes.”
“What is… that?”
“It’s the name of the organisation Master created. It is the central point that brings all of us, who have nothing in common, together. I have never experienced the power of an Absolute. However, I do know that they are strong enough to treat us like bugs. Nevertheless, I don’t think we will lose.”
Lukas had turned down the Priestess’ offer, but that didn’t mean that he would just accept death. Arid had a clear idea of what his Master had in mind.
He was betting on them.
He was asking them to stop Nodiesop.
The Master whom he admired greatly was pushing them from behind. Even if there was only the slightest probability of success, it was enough to risk their lives.
“…”
The Priestess was silent for a long time.
For a moment, Arid was nervous because he thought that he might have angered her. Had he been too arrogant?
“…Priestess?”
“…I want to be alone for a while.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Arid nodded and slowly left the garden.
Alone once again, the Priestess slowly lowered her head to look at the water.
“…I see.”
A faint murmur flowed from her lips.
“So you have forgotten even now.”
And something is missing here scattered into the wind.
* * *
“Nodiesop will arrive in four days.”
Lukas muttered as he half lay on his bed.
As he expected, he was still having trouble moving his body. Arid blamed himself for not being able to do more.
His face was haggard. Originally, Lukas couldn’t be said to have much of a physique, but now, because he had been unable to receive the proper nutrients while unconscious, he looked like someone with one foot in the grave.
No. He really was someone with one foot in the grave.
‘I did everything I could.’
Arid bit his lip, his heart filled with a sense of helplessness. Then he saw the ring on Lukas’ finger.
…The ring had another feature that he would have loved to tell Lukas about but now wasn’t the time.
“…I know. Master.”
“Did the Goddess tell you?”
“Yes.”
“I see. And the others?”
“Yes. Everyone is already aware of it. Master, will you really not just take our lives?”
Arid spoke slowly.
“We all understand that it is the surest method. We’ve already steeled our resolve.”
“What resolve? The resolve to die?”
“We all owe Master more than our lives. We have no regrets or doubts.”
“So you want me to sacrifice your lives in order to survive?”
“It is our wish.”
“…so you don’t have faith in me.”
Lukas muttered in a low voice.
For a moment, Arid forgot how to speak. From his angle, that muttering face suddenly looked a bit weak, a thought he wouldn’t have dared to have before.
However, that trace disappeared faster than it had appeared.
“There is a small chance of winning in the battle against Nodiesop, but it’s not completely impossible. His power is limited in the Heavenly Realm.”
And Arid, Leo, Min Ha-rin and, Sedi, who would fight him, were all much stronger than before. Unlike Sedi, the other three had yet to reach the peak of mortality, but they show tremendous growth potential.
On top of that, they would also receive the help of the other beings living on the island, such as the Black and White Sorcerers, who were considered to be the strongest Sorcerers in the Heavenly Realm. They might even receive the Priestess’ help. Though it seemed she had no intention of taking out the statue.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
If that was all they had, Lukas wouldn’t even be able to say that they had a small chance of winning.
He would have had to say that they had absolutely no chance of winning.
“You are the one holding the keys to victory, Arid.”
“…!”
Arid’s eyes went wide.
“Me?”
“I can’t even begin to estimate your true potential. If you were to use your powers for combat instead of support, healing and information gathering, I’m sure you’d be able to defeat Nodiesop on your own.”
He received no response.
Arid really wanted to open his mouth and tell him that he could trust him to defeat Nodiesop, but his mouth refused to open.
Because he knew.
Just how difficult it was to control his power.
“Arid, have you killed anyone since you entered this world?”
Arid flinched.
He quickly tried to cover up his reaction, but that was already enough of an answer.
“I know your personality. You’re a kind, sweet child. Rather than kill someone, you’d hesitate to even hurt them. I don’t want to call it a weakness. However, there will come times when you have ‘no choice but to fight’.”
“…”
“Don’t think about it too deeply. What I’m saying might not necessarily be the right answer.”
“…I’m sorry for being a disappointing disciple.”
Lukas chuckled bitterly. Arid seemed to think that he wasn’t good enough because he couldn’t understand or accept his Master’s teachings because of his lack of confidence.
“I should be the one saying that. I’m sorry. I’m a bad Master.”
“Absolutely not!”
Arid denied in a loud voice.
“I am very fortunate to have you as my Master!”
“…Arid, I’m not as good of a Master as you think. I don’t always walk the right path. Instead, I can sometimes be so narrow-minded it would probably make you nauseous.” (TL: At least he has self awareness.)
“But Master is the saviour of all humankind…”
“I have killed countless humans as well.”
This was said in a voice that was so cold that it caused Arid’s heart to shudder for a moment.
“It is impossible to be a god or saviour for all of humankind. It’s literally a contradiction. In the entire multiverse, the greatest enemy of humankind is none other than humankind.”
That… was something he knew.
Just by looking at Earth before the Demons invaded, it was the wars between humans that took the most lives.
“I am but one person, and there are countless suffering universes. I’m unable to waste even a single moment. That’s why, even when the ones oppressing and torturing humans are other humans, I have no choice but to solve the problem in the fastest and most efficient way.”
Lukas paused for a moment before speaking in a solemn voice.
“Massacre.”
“…!”
“I wasn’t following anyone’s orders. Instead, I interpreted the orders and judgements given by God and the Rulers in my own way. Even when entering universes that had lost their balance, I solved the issue in whatever way I thought was best. I was always the one distinguishing the two sides, and I was also the one who judged them. And there is no such thing as a completely fair judgement. Judgments made by a person would naturally have some level of subjectivity.”
“…”
“I just wanted to tell you this. Don’t think of me as someone who always does what’s right. This is something that I want not only you, but the other disciples to know as well.”
Nevertheless, Arid remained silent as he was unable to easily accept those words.
Lukas looked at him with a solemn gaze. It was still too early for him to understand.
Just what he wanted. And the roles he wanted them to fill.
“I’m sorry. I suddenly started talking about something heavy.”
“It’s not.”
“…you’ve grown. In fact, I’m proud of who you’ve become. So forget what I just said. You don’t have to force yourself to change.
Lukas spoke in a voice that seemed soaked in emotion,
“Everything will work out somehow.”
Those words felt a little strange to Arid. This was because it was the first time that Lukas had ever tried to reassure him with such an uncertain tone.
‘…Master is also worried.’
This thought appeared in his head for a moment, but he quickly shook it away.
He was thinking too much.