Chapter 286: Impersonation(1)
Chapter 286: Impersonation(1)
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Following Cecile’s speech, there was likely one point everyone was concerned about. It’s easy to talk, but actually subjugating one's inner evil is another matter entirely.
People would argue whether it was even possible, considering the demons were called a cursed race precisely because they couldn't overcome that inner evil.
In truth, those concerns were valid. Even Cecile, the slated successor to the Demon King, had to devote three full days to subjugating her inner evil.
As a result, the sturdily designed training ground was nearly half-destroyed, and she had to satisfy her carnal desires just to fully assimilate it.
Thus, while subjugating one's inner evil is an incredibly grueling and dangerous task, it is worth reconsidering the specifics.
First, let’s look closer at what this "inner evil" actually is. It is something demons harbor deep within their hearts from the moment of birth—essentially, the remnants of a devil.
The prevailing public understanding is that when a demon undergoes an extreme emotional shift, this inner evil amplifies, turning them into a devil.
While this is an undeniable fact, it’s important to remember that demons actually turning into devils is extremely rare.
To put it bluntly, do they turn into devils just because of a minor annoyance or a petty argument? If that were the case, Helium would have collapsed long ago or devolved into a den of devils.
Furthermore, over generations, and thanks to Mora’s divine power, the phenomenon of inner evil constantly tormenting demons has nearly vanished.
Therefore, unless they experience a truly horrific tragedy—like losing their family or a lover right before their eyes—they do not turn into devils.
What this means is that the very premise of forcibly dragging out and subjugating one's inner evil is difficult to even establish.
At best, one can feel the inner evil stirring during the Demonic Cycle, but amplifying it intentionally is incredibly tricky.
Moreover, as Mora mentioned, one can only face their inner evil directly through imagery—that is, by being able to look into one's own soul.
Naturally, reaching such a state requires meditation and a long period of 'restraint,' which has been considered a virtue until now.
It is meaningless for young demons in their adolescence—the "Little Demon" phase—to run around claiming they’ll subjugate their inner evil without knowing anything.
Because the inner evil has been diluted by Mora’s divine power for centuries, one cannot even face it with 'mere' determination; only extreme emotional upheaval serves as the key.
Of course, even so, the difficulty of parenting is bound to skyrocket. I also realized that Cecile’s feelings for me were far stronger than I had anticipated.
Regardless, Cecile’s speech served as a way to strengthen their cohesion, granting the demons the hope that 'they can do it.'
The demons were already a tightly-knit group, but now that they’ve grown even stronger, they must have gained the confidence that they, too, can succeed.
There was a risk they might become extremist like a certain party from my previous life or become riddled with a sense of superiority, but for now, the demons were closer to being confident than arrogant, so it wasn't an immediate concern.
'But why did Arwen say those things?'
The day after Cecile’s speech ended. Having returned to the Academy with Helium’s assistance, I repeatedly chewed over Arwen’s words printed in the newspaper.
Her claim that if Lilith was modeled after Cecile, then Elisha was modeled after herself.
As everyone knows, Elisha is Kair’s lover and the Elf Queen in the Xenon Biography.
She is an elf who is constantly checked by the Council and eventually suffers a mental breakdown, unable to even properly confess her love to the human man, Kair.
Looking at the details, saying she was the motif wasn't entirely wrong. The Council was modeled after the Senate, and I had described Elisha based on what I’d heard from those around me.
Furthermore, in the Xenon Biography, a Race War had broken out, and even the dark elves had been expelled.
Since the novel was based on reality, her claim of being the motif wasn't just nonsense.
However, while characters or organizations might have motifs, the story itself came entirely from my imagination.
It was an ambiguous situation—I didn't know whether to say she was the motif or not.
'Should I take it as a form of checking her rival?'
Currently, Helium’s stock is skyrocketing by the day. Their reputation was already soaring, and Cecile’s speech had given them wings.
From the elves' perspective, it was understandable they’d want to keep the demons—their equals—in check, hence such a statement.
It was even awkward for me to write a letter telling them I had lied. It was an undeniable fact that she served as a motif, and Arwen did harbor romantic feelings for me.
Moreover, Arwen had plenty of reasons to be mistaken. First, she mistakenly believes I came from another world—a world in the Xenon Biography where heroes don't exist.
In such a world, a story and characters modeled after her appear? Given the context of this era rather than Earth, she would believe it implicitly.
She had even shown me favor during the theft of Rain’s manuscript and the Half-blood Incident. There were far too many elements inviting misunderstanding.
'If that’s the case, shouldn't she also want to know who Kair is?'
Cecile and Arwen. The two women were different in everything from birth to upbringing, but they shared a commonality.
They didn't just project the book's characters onto themselves; they viewed the book's events as their confirmed future.
If that were the case, it would be normal to look for their own lover, but while I wasn't sure about Arwen, Cecile already considered me to be him.
Perhaps, given her behavior so far, Arwen might also think of me as Kair.
However, unlike Lilith, whose past was only vaguely revealed, Elisha shared a past with Kair.
In particular, Kair lost due to the 'weakened powerhouse' cliché, but even by the standards of the Xenon Biography world, he possesses high-level martial prowess.
On the other hand, what about me? I might have divine power, but I’m just a human with absurdly high 'hardware' (physical stamina).
The physical talent I inherited from my father is finally manifesting, but I’ve never even learned proper martial arts, so I can't utilize it.
'Still, it’ll be useful for propaganda.'
The social culture of this world is close to the Middle Ages, but looking at the daily newspapers, it possesses a culture beyond the Renaissance.
As I’ve mentioned several times, thanks to this civilization that feels unbalanced by my standards, if propaganda succeeds, a nation’s solidarity becomes even firmer.
The effect would be doubly strong if it was deeply connected to the Xenon Biography, which is even being revered as a Holy Scripture.
'I don't mind it being used politically anymore, but...'
With that thought, I opened the newspaper. As soon as I did, I saw various topics being debated back and forth.
Only a few months ago, I had been reluctant to let the Xenon Biography be used politically, but now I felt nothing.
I myself was currently using letters to talk my way through things for the Xenon Exhibition and our territory, so it would be hypocritical to be reluctant now.
[The number of believers in the Mora Sect is increasing by the day.]
[Due to Helium’s potential and the existence of a fallen cardinal in Savior...]
[Luminous gives vitality to the warrior, while Mora grants rest to the warrior.]
[Those suffering from terrible trauma are turning to the worship of Mora...]
Helium, in particular, gained far more than expected through this speech. Beyond just their race, the biggest factor was 'religion.'
Helium had established Mora as their state religion, and like Savior, most of its citizens were devout followers of Mora.
From Savior’s perspective, they needed to keep Helium—their counterpart—in check, but their situation was precarious.
The revelation a few months ago that a fallen cardinal actually existed had caused a massive surge in priests questioning Savior.
Until now, Mora had been seen as the Goddess of Darkness corresponding to Light, and because demons worshipped her, humans had avoided her—but not anymore.
As seen in the newspapers, the number of humans starting to worship Mora was gradually increasing.
There is no law in this world stating one must only follow a specific religion, so it doesn't matter if one believes in both Luminous and Mora simultaneously.
In particular, rumors were spreading that Mora’s divine power was effective for soldiers or warriors suffering from PTSD, like my father.
'Is it like receiving Luminous’s blessing when going into battle and Mora’s blessing when suffering mentally?'
Regardless, since a large number of humans have begun to harbor faith in Mora, her influence will only grow.
Perhaps in the distant future, an ideological conflict known as a 'Religious War' might arise, but Albenheim, of all places, wouldn't just sit idly by.
Albenheim had already experienced the pain of the dark elves—who shared the same roots—breaking away due to their own mistakes.
Truly, the world is undergoing rapid changes because of a single speech by Cecile.
And what was I doing all this time? What else? Writing.
Even if the world changes, my task remains the same. I was working on Volume 22 of the Xenon Biography while occasionally writing letters to clear up misunderstandings.
Fortunately, the world is currently focused on a political situation more complex than the novel itself.
Occasionally, there were articles claiming all of this was the influence of the Xenon Biography, but I saw those all the time, so they didn't move me much.
'The only one I'm worried about is Hiriya...'
Looking at the newspaper, I thought of Adelia, who had returned to the Academy not as my exclusive maid, but as my guard knight.
Normally, it wouldn't have mattered if she returned with the authority of an exclusive maid, but an exclusive maid must always assist their master by their side.
This wasn't a right, but an 'obligation' designated by the Empire, so I couldn't refuse it. Above all, if I were in the same room as Adelia, Mari would be extremely uncomfortable.
So for now, she had returned as a guard knight and was living a life not much different from before.
'There hasn't been any particular movement yet.'
Hiriya’s gaze, which had been fixed on me during the speech, came vividly to mind. She definitely looked like she had noticed something.
It was frustrating because I wasn't sure what it was. Given her personality, I thought she would ask me outright, but there had been no sign of that.
For now, I was managing to avoid her, but once she was certain, she would approach me.
Perhaps, in a "if I'm going down, you're coming with me" mindset, she might target Adelia instead of me.
'Let's just write Volume 22 for now.'
I tossed the newspaper aside and walked to my desk. On the desk sat the typewriter I had moved in advance with Gartz’s help.
Perhaps thanks to Adelia’s assistance during the break, I was able to take a break every hour even when deep in concentration.
If I loosened up my body with stretching during each break, my work speed accelerated even further.
Even though it hadn't been long since I returned to the Academy and started Volume 22, I had already reached the quarter-page mark.
'The battle with Envy is likely to go on for quite a while.'
Originally, I had envisioned Envy as a pathetic villain, but after Adelia’s permission, he was able to transform into a multi-dimensional antagonist.
He was the perfect antithesis to the protagonist, Xenon, while also having a past anyone could empathize with.
Above all, his envious roar toward the world and Xenon, perfectly fitting the sin of 'Envy,' all came together to create a magnificent character.
'At this rate, I could almost make Envy the true protagonist.'
It seemed like it would be a pretty good direction. I had already shown the cliché of a final boss becoming the true protagonist through Sacran.
The readers would likely realize vaguely that he was the true protagonist once they saw Envy’s end.
As a bonus, it would be perfect if I included a famous line representing Envy. And there was a character from my previous life whose personality perfectly suited Envy.
A bald god-slayer who lost everything, including his family, to the gods, but burned with an inner desire for revenge and eventually slaughtered all the gods.
[Behold! Wilhelm! And Kesta! Your family has returned! I shall turn this kingdom to ash!]
It was the first time Envy, who usually showed no emotion, roared in an agitated voice after his appearance.
Envy’s hatred for his own blood was far stronger than Satan’s. Even if it meant destroying the world, he would seek to kill his family.
Looking at this alone, one might argue he was more suited to 'Wrath' than 'Envy.' The readers would likely feel the same.
Resolving this well would be another way to prove my skill. It also meant that the character of Envy was that multi-dimensional.
'If Hiriya comes to me after Volume 22 is released...'
It would mean she had completely concluded that I am Xenon. It’s still in the suspicion stage, but she’ll be certain once Volume 22 is out.
I had no idea what would happen after that, but Mora had told me. That I would stand at a crossroads of choice.
No matter what choice I made, the path ahead would be difficult. I had to start preparing now.
'It's almost time...'
To reveal it. I chuckled to myself as I typed.
'The political situation is chaotic, so let's just watch for now.'
There’s a saying that watching a fire across the river is the most fun.
Furthermore, I—or rather, Xenon—am currently in the eye of the storm. It means that while everything around me is in chaos, I alone am in a state of calm.
'I wonder what news will come out next?'
A few days passed with those thoughts.
[Breaking News! A human man claiming to be the motif for Kair has appeared in Albenheim...!]
The world is vast.
[Famous adventurers and mercenaries are calling themselves Kair...]
[They are currently wooing Arwen, the Queen of Albenheim.]
[Not just one, but several have appeared, emerging as a new headache for Albenheim...]
[Could the real Kair be among them?]
And I realized once again that there are many crazy bastards out there.