Chapter 147
Chapter 147
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Paradise and Hell (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Avaltan Demonic Realm forest at the eastern edge of the continent was a place that even the forces of the dark snowfields dared not invade carelessly, due to the beings that ruled it. Even when tracking Saibain's whereabouts, they had deployed elite personnel like Nibiris and Durang, conducting a cautious search premised on fleeing without fighting if necessary.
It had remained an untouchable Demonic Realm not only during the Dragon Emperor War, but even in ancient times long before that...
"But is there any guarantee that the wise dragon Avaltan won't turn hostile toward us?"
-None.
"Wait. None?"
-But no other place comes to mind. Especially not now...
"What do you mean, now?"
-Demon King Berserk said so. That the answer lies with Avaltan.
"What?"
Yuren was startled. Azel said,
-The identity of the Arranger is becoming more and more intriguing. Who could it be, reading my actions as if peering into the future with the palm of their hand and preparing arrangements accordingly?
"Hmm..."
-If there had been another way, I might have rejected this arrangement. It fits my circumstances so perfectly that I'm suspicious it might be a poisoned gift.
"But right now, we have no other choice."
-Our cards are limited. If we'd completely escaped the enemy's grasp, that would be one thing...
"Got it. Whether we die here or there, it's the same—so I'd rather not die at the hands of the Dragon Demon Worshippers. If I take a nap when I have some spare time, the Guide will probably tell me some plausible method."
At those words, Azel and Kairen shot him incredulous looks. Kairen spoke.
"I get that you trust the Guide, but... is it really okay to just leave everything to fate like that?"
"That's how I've always lived. Maybe I'm the real fanatic here."
Azel and Kairen were at a loss for words. The more they saw this side of Yuren, the harder it was to understand.
Yuren asked,
"By the way, what was the truth that Berserk wanted to tell us?"
-The identity of the Demons.
"Hm?"
To the two puzzled men, Azel recounted the final conversation he'd had with Berserk.
3
Berserk said,
[Humans like it when you summarize long stories into three lines or fewer, right? I enjoy winning over my audience, so I'll start with the key point.]
"Very considerate. Three lines?"
[Unfortunately, my sense isn't sharp enough for the ultimate three-line summary... so I'll do it in one. Demons are humans.]
"What?"
Azel was shocked by Berserk's words.
A being with such deep malice toward humanity, obsessed solely with destroying them by granting the knowledge they crave—such a thing was human?
Berserk chuckled.
[Surprised?]
"...Honestly, yes. But somehow, it doesn't feel implausible."
[Oh? Why is that?]
"Because they're human."
[Hm?]
"If the being that hates humans the most is human, isn't that perfectly natural?"
The entity that can understand humans most deeply is human, so the one that can hate them most profoundly must also be human.
Azel knew of no being that hated humans more than humans themselves. Wasn't it perfectly natural for humans to harbor hatred and malice toward their own kind?
Berserk said,
[Ah, how truly regrettable.]
"What is?"
[That our time to talk is so short. Sharing stories with someone, learning about them—it's such a sweet thing. If I could, I'd continue this conversation for a thousand years, ten thousand years. Filling the voids of the unknown through dialogue with another... sharing empathy like that was our fondest wish.]
The Demon King, who had longed for destruction in perfect solitude, spoke in a sorrowful voice.
Azel did not reply. Berserk gazed at him for a moment before continuing.
[Yes, as you say. The thing that hates humans most is human. Considering that the entity that has killed the most humans in this world isn't beasts, natural disasters, or plagues... but humans, it's a perfectly natural conclusion.]
Thus, it was only natural for Demons—who both yearned for and hated humans—to be humans themselves.
[There are a few facts in this world that can only be grasped from a mythical perspective. For example, the birth of the Dragonkin.]
Dragonkin—the highest intellectual beings born latest on the earth's surface, from the union of dragons and Demons.
Though completely different entities, they resembled humans, and could even produce offspring called Dragon Demon Hybrids with them.
[The Dragon Slaying Ritual.]
The unnatural relationship between dragons—tyrants born with the mightiest energies of nature—and humans, frail without the weapon of wisdom.
[The Legend of Babel.]
Ways of thinking change with one's environment. Even sharing the fundamental trait of being human, it was natural for people in different regions to have their own languages.
Yet... due to a mage's desire to break the chain of tragedies caused by communication barriers, humanity came to share a single unified language.
[There are a few more, but... those are the representative examples known to humans.]
"You're saying the existence of Demons is included among them?"
[Exactly.]
Berserk affirmed.
[I don't know when or how humans came to walk the earth. But I do know that Demons originated from human beings.]
"I have one question..."
Azel asked.
"Where does the Demons' knowledge come from? How do they know their own knowledge is correct?"
[From humans, as well.]
"What?"
[Demons are beings that don't belong to this world. Whoever first called us Demons named us well. We exist outside the world where humans live... and that place is filled with void. In other words, hell.]
"Does hell really exist?"
[It's different from the hell described in temple doctrines. But let's set aside the explanation of hell for now. Demons lack two concepts that humans have.]
"What are they?"
[Sleep, and forgetting.]
"Hm..."
[Imagine beings who never sleep and never forget constantly observing the world. And a Demon's 'observation' isn't the image that word brings to mind... yes, it's not just watching people from afar.]
"In what sense?"
[A Demon observing the world is akin to a human reading a novel written by another human. It's half-omniscient narration.]
"So it includes what humans think in their minds?"
[Not just thoughts, but causality as well. Though we can't pick and choose everything to see. That's how we come to know all sorts of knowledge.]
Does every human discovery reach all humans?
No.
Do the achievements of one human benefit all humans?
No.
[So much is lost, and only the lucky remnants pass from human to human. A Demon's knowledge base is what they've observed themselves. And...]
Berserk raised a finger, drawing Azel's gaze.
[The condition for a human to become a Demon is hatred.]
"Humans filled with hatred become Demons?"
[In summary, yes.]
"...Just to confirm, does the process of becoming a Demon involve death?"
[An obvious correct answer.]
"Then all humans who die harboring hatred become Demons?"
[Not quite. To become a Demon, two conditions must be met.]
They must be killed by another in some way and come to hate humans.
And that hatred must be so vast that it targets not one individual, but the entire world created by humans.
[The first Demon was the first human killed by another human. I've met him.]
"You've met him? How?"
[The mage who turned me into this arranged a meeting between him and me. It was an intriguing experience.]
"The first human in history to be killed by another... that's straight out of myth."
[Everything has a first instance. The one who made me like this seemed to be probing human origins through him, but I don't know if he got answers.]
"Hm..."
[Anyway, there might be more conditions I haven't uncovered, but that's as far as I've gotten. The one who made me like this speculated that Demons are born this way because something went wrong the moment humans appeared in this world.]
"Something went wrong? With this world? Or with humans?"
[Both. I don't know exactly what he saw as the problem. However... from my perspective as a Demon, the very fact that humans become Demons after death and are cast into hell is proof that this world is horribly broken. You, as a human, might see Demons merely as evil beings, but even just the conditions for becoming one show how absurd the process is, right?]
"Those killed and filled with hatred fall into hell. That's certainly far from the karma temples preach."
[In the end, hell and Demons have nothing to do with human morality. It's not because they're evil or sinned that they become Demons. It's like a human suddenly realizing they've caught an incurable disease—bad luck turns you into a Demon and drops you into hell... This world is truly, brutally, horrifically wrong.]
"Are you asking for pity?"
[It would be nice.]
"......"
[Don't look at me like that; it hurts. Fine. Let me tell you about hell.]
Berserk laughed self-mockingly.
[Demons are徹底 outsiders, forced to watch this world. We have mental structures akin to humans... precisely, we were humans who transformed. But if you can't touch anyone, talk to anyone, or share empathy with anyone, do you grasp how horrific that is?]
"Is that hell?"
[Yes. You recognize the existence of others, so you know you're different from them. Yet...]
You know they're there, but can't approach.
They pass right by, but you can't touch.
You speak, but it doesn't reach.
[There are no conflicts. No discrimination. No hunger, no dying from disease. Freed from life's impermanence, no aging or decay. What do you call a world like that?]
"Paradise..."
[Correct. Everyone yearned for such a world. And hell itself was beyond their dreams.]
A being aware of others, with emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, is cast into a world where communication is impossible. All that's permitted is observing a world that continues indifferently, whether you're there or not—a world you were once part of.
That world has joy.
Anger.
Sorrow.
Pleasure.
[We see it.]
We can only see.
No matter how alluring, we can't have it.
No matter how tragic, we can't save it.
Nor can we share what we see and feel with another.
[When communication vanishes, the problems humans dream of eradicating to build utopia are solved. But that's precisely the hell that ravages the soul.]
"......"