Chapter 268
Chapter 268
Chapter 268
Eden (2)
A shattered world.
In the vast expanse of outer space, traces of massive landmasses that appeared to be fragments of planets could be seen. Among them, remnants of civilization were scattered here and there, making it possible to truly realize that the universe had been destroyed.
Rudian looked around and let out a groan.
"This is troublesome. This should definitely be where the heavenly realm was located..."
If Eden existed, it would certainly be somewhere around here.
At that moment, Luciella, who had been looking straight ahead, suddenly blurted out these words.
"Eden will be intact."
"...How do you know that?"
At her confident words, Rudian tilted his head.
"By inheriting the rank of an outer god, I also inherited Shub's memories and knowledge. Of course, if I were to inherit all of them at once, I wouldn't be able to handle it, so it's only extremely fragmentary pieces..."
What if decades of accumulated knowledge and experience were layered onto Luciella, who had only lived for a few dozen years?
Luciella would no longer be able to be called 'Luciella.'
She would simply become another Shub.
In any case, Luciella, who had now inherited the rank of an outer god, naturally knew as much about the Machine God Deus as Rudian did—no, even more.
"Eden is 'alive.'"
"...!"
"If the general artificial intelligence Arcadia is Deus' physical 'brain,' then Eden is Deus' 'personality.' It's only called an artificial intelligence in name."
"Is that... possible?"
"Because it's a Machine God. Since it wasn't originally a living being, it's possible."
Luciella looked up at the sky with vacant eyes.
It was as if she couldn't properly process the flood of incoming information and was reacting like an idiot.
When Rudian worriedly grabbed her shoulder, Luciella smiled faintly and shook her head.
"I can handle it. I'm still okay. I can still exist as 'me.'"
Rudian gritted his teeth.
Certainly, Shub had been helping him as if she were his ally up until now, but she definitely hadn't helped him out of pure goodwill.
"Rudian."
"Yeah?"
"Before we find Eden, there's something I need to tell you in advance."
"What is it?"
"It's about Eden's function."
Rudian quietly listened to her words.
"Eden's function is restoration. In the field of 'restoration,' it can produce results that are almost omnipotent."
An ability that could even place the authority of gods below it.
Its domain transcended the normal range to the extent that it could even find and restore Abel's group, who had been buried in the history of the world.
"Of course, the current Eden has exhausted most of its power, so there won't be much functionality left. But..."
Luciella looked directly into Rudian's eyes.
"It should be possible to revive dead comrades."
"..."
"Of course, it would be impossible to restore the Seven-Colored World along with them."
Why had she said such things at a time like this?
To be honest, comrades without the power of the Seven-Colored World wouldn't be of much help in the current situation.
Even Maria, who had the most powerful potential among the comrades.
If they were revived in this situation, whether they participated in the battle with Berus or not, there was a very high possibility they would meet a miserable end.
The kind of ending where they would die twice.
'Luciella didn't give me information.'
This level of information was something Rudian himself already knew.
Then why had she said it?
The answer was simple.
Would he revive them or not?
She had forced him to make a binary choice.
'Rather than forcing, it seems more like some kind of test...'
Although he hadn't expected it, Rudian's answer in this situation was already decided.
"I'll revive them."
"...Why? They won't be of any help to you right now. It might even end up consuming Eden's power that could otherwise be useful."
Although Luciella spoke cruel words casually, Rudian realized that she was still testing him beneath those words.
"Because I respect their will... and yours."
"..."
"Even before we departed for the heavenly realm, they all told me. That they would fight to the end. That they didn't start this because they were afraid of something like death."
"..."
"Among those who gave that answer, you were there too."
As a result, things had turned out this way, but at that time, the comrades had no justification or reason to get involved in other matters anymore.
"They simply followed me, looking only at me."
With eyes as if looking at a distant past, Rudian smiled faintly.
"Why would I want to get scolded later?"
The reason for wanting to find Eden first wasn't just to unseal the Machine God Deus.
If he tried to handle everything alone, leaving his comrades behind, he would have nothing to say even if he got beaten up in a group lynching by them after they learned the truth when everything was over.
"Heh, heheh..."
As if his words were somehow funny, Luciella covered her mouth with her palm to stop the laughter from bursting out.
"Heheh... Ahahaha!"
But in the end, unable to hold back that laughter, she burst into laughter with a clear voice.
At her laughter, Rudian pouted slightly and stuck out his lips.
"What's so funny?"
"Just. Imagining that situation happening made me laugh for no reason."
Luciella's hand touched Rudian's cheek.
"You really are the person I love. I like that you haven't changed."
"You seem to have become too cheeky..."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
Luciella, who previously had been characterized by her honest and upright aspects, it was now very difficult to read her expressions.
When Rudian awkwardly scratched his opposite cheek, she said this:
"You made a good choice."
"Huh?"
"The result... it would be better for you to see with your own eyes."
Still speaking in riddles, Luciella took Rudian's hand.
"Let's go. Eden is right in front of us."
***
Rudian and Luciella penetrated straight through the heavenly realm that was transforming into imaginary space.
And before long, they found Eden, the final fragment of the Machine God Deus.
"...Adi?"
Whether that thing was Eden or not was immediately clear at first glance.
The giant eyeball that had appeared in the sky when it was invaded by Diablo in the past.
A massive black single eye that seemed like Adi expanded tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times was discovered by Rudian's eyes.
"That's Eden."
Looking at it with its eyes half-open, it clearly looked powerless.
But the moment Eden recognized Rudian's presence, the pupil that had been more than half covered began to rapidly expand.
—You've come.
The giant single eye turned toward Rudian.
—I've been waiting, Kim Seong-jun.
"...Huh?"
At that moment, Rudian's expression contorted with shock.
"How do you know my real name...?"
His real name, which he had never revealed to anyone in this world until now, had just come out of Eden, whom he was seeing for the first time!
"Real name?"
Next to him, Luciella also widened her eyes and looked at Rudian.
Even for her, who had inherited Shub's position, the current situation was quite unexpected.
—Arcadia and I are connected now. Also, I have met you once before.
"You've met me before?"
—When Arcadia used an emergency code that could only be used once. When you were about to be invaded by Shub's divinity and transform into another being.
"..."
He roughly remembered when that was.
It was probably when he first visited Shub's temple.
—At that time, Shub tried to make you her successor, but... it came to nothing due to Arcadia's interference. Instead, it seems she found another host. What a tenacious one, hehehe...
Eden, meeting for the first time, had quite a talkative personality.
It felt like facing Adi, just grown in size.
'If Eden is the Machine God Deus' personality... Was the Machine God originally this kind of personality?'
In any case, there was no time to worry about personality now.
Rudian faced Eden and opened his mouth.
"I don't intend to drag this out. I'll recover you."
—I see... Originally, I expected that even if a new genesis began, there would be no one to collect all the fragments of Deus, but that expectation will be beautifully shattered...
Eden rolled its eyeball up and down without much resistance.
"And before that, I'll use your function to revive my comrades."
—...
"Maria Kepler, Elvin Kepler, Evangeline Sigrun Elaid, Gray Bellatrix. These four people."
Although their souls had been completely annihilated to the point where they couldn't even return to the Death God...
If it was Eden, which could reach beyond logic, it should somehow be able to revive them.
—What do you intend to do after reviving them?
"Fight together."
Even if they turned back to dust with a single gesture from Berus, I will respect their will.
That was Rudian's decision.
But for some reason, the reaction from Eden was unexpected.
—You used your head well.
"...?"
—You understood well why the Machine God Deus bothered to divide his body.
...What kind of incomprehensible nonsense is this?
Recognizing Rudian's expression, Eden's eye slightly distorted.
—...Don't tell me you don't know?
"I don't know."
—...
For a very brief moment, silence flowed.
Rudian cleared his throat slightly and opened his mouth again.
"But I can guess the reason."
From the conversation with Luciella, who seemed to know the inside story, he could infer the situation to some extent.
"Why is the total number of terminals seven?"
—Ho?
"Why did the Machine God Deus divide himself into a number that corresponds to the 'Seven-Colored World'?"
It was a question he had held for a long time, but he had only recently been able to come up with an answer.
"The reason is simple. The Machine God Deus, in his own way, created a kind of spare that could replace the Seven-Colored World."
And those seven terminals don't unite as one but exist individually, and their power is maximized when they interact with each other.
The evidence was that instead of classifying them by 'color' like the Seven-Colored World, they were distinguished as 'search type,' 'combat type,' 'recovery type,' etc.
"Even if Deus' power is combined into one now, victory against Berus cannot be guaranteed."
—Correct.
"But if that power of Deus is used not as the center, but like the Seven-Colored World, combined with other powers to create synergy... in terms of total power, it might be able to produce even stronger power than the original."
GRIN!
Eden's eye narrowed into a crescent shape.
—Correct answer.
Rudian chuckled and nodded.
"You didn't add 'alchemist' at the end."
—What does that mean?
"...There's such a thing."
The Machine God Deus was an existence prepared for 'what if,' like the Demon God.
Originally, it was a being that should not have appeared in the original history.
It was arranged to reveal its existence only in cases like now, when Berus rejected his original fate and went on a rampage.
—Very well. I acknowledge the existence of the new master, Kim Seong-jun, and will accept the master's request.
"...I'd also like to know how you found out my name."
When Rudian stared at Eden intently, Eden replied cheekily.
—That will be after everything is over.
FLASH!
As those words ended, Eden began to exert its power in earnest.
And...
"Huh? Rudian?"
"Why are we in a place like this...?"
The four comrades who had been annihilated when the Creator God's temple was destroyed.
Just as Rudian remembered them in their final moments, they appeared before his eyes once again.