Chapter 620: The Contest(3)
Chapter 620: The Contest(3)
Sometimes, things done simply to kill time end up changing the course of world history. This isn't a sentiment that applies only to me.
The most famous example from Earth would be the renowned Isaac Newton. With a bit of exaggeration, one could say he invented 'calculus' just for fun.
Supposedly, he created it himself because existing mathematics couldn't handle the complex calculations he needed. Thanks to him, countless high school students in the modern era have given up on math entirely.
Calculus exists in this world too, but it was the result of many scholars putting their heads together and researching for years. It wasn't something a transcendent genius like Newton whipped up as a pastime.
Regardless, things done out of boredom or as a hobby often change history significantly. My own existence is currently making history fluctuate wildly.
Roman, the author of The Ruination Knight, likely felt something similar. He probably entered the contest in secret, wondering if his work would even stand a chance.
But lo and behold—it garnered interest far exceeding his expectations, even earning evaluations that placed it on par with the Xenon Biography.
In my case, I only started receiving that level of attention around Volume 5, but because the subject matter was so 'spicy,' The Ruination Knight drew eyes from the very beginning.
If Roman were an ordinary person, he would have just vented his frustrations to me and moved on, but he is a clergyman—an Inquisitor, no less.
Without a hint of exaggeration, he wouldn't have a leg to stand on even if he were burned at the stake as a heretic.
‘Whatever else they might tolerate, most religious folk won't stand for anyone messing with the significance of their God.’
It’s similar to the concept of being able to handle insults directed at oneself, but never at one's parents. In fact, the Church is quite lenient when they themselves are criticized.
However, the moment someone touches the God they serve, they lose their minds. They say three moments of patience can prevent a murder, but the Church has no such rule.
The moment you insult God, you’d better be ready to have your head served on a platter. Not even those around you will lift a finger to help.
Of course, since one must listen to both sides, most cases go to trial. There are, after all, nuances to what constitutes an insult.
"What kind of dru—no. What on earth were you thinking when you came up with this?"
In that sense, what Roman had done went far beyond the scope of mere heresy. Regardless of labels, it was on the level of blasphemy.
Furthermore, he was well-known as the son of the Pope. His direct superior was Kate, who was practically a fanatic; he must be sweating bullets right now.
Hearing my question, Roman let out a long, heavy sigh, his face clouded with complicated emotions. Then, he spoke quietly.
"As you know, Sir Xenon, clergymen study theology. We realize philosophy through the deeds of God and use it to set our path forward."
"I am aware. In Luminous's theology, it is said that light is hope, and where there is light, there must be shadow. He said we must carry that shadow and move forward."
On the surface, it was a philosophical and sound theology and doctrine. The majority of Luminous's believers faithfully practiced and followed it.
But if you chewed on it, it was deeply significant. I, for one, knew a fair bit about Luminous's true nature and the truth.
As a god who once presided over war, and as a son who had committed a grave sin against his father, the 'shadow' contained various meanings.
The shadow mentioned there was definitely not Mora. It was a subtle reference to his own mistakes.
"As expected, you know it well. I, too, followed that doctrine faithfully. However, the truths I learned during the Grey Desert expedition made me rethink the meaning of the shadow."
"The truths, you say..."
"The truth that the origin of demons is actually human. The truth you first revealed to us, Sir Xenon."
I nodded. That was a truth Grandfather Clark had told me directly, so it wasn't particularly surprising.
The Holy Nation 'Savior' had been thrown into chaos, of course. Even in Helium, where they worship Mora, the shock was comparable to that of Savior.
It was only buried because Savior held more power in the international community, but I knew Helium had also been very proactive about participating in the expedition.
"After learning that truth, I began to realize bit by bit. Even the gods made mistakes. They gave us these teachings so that we wouldn't repeat those same errors."
"Hmm. And what does that have to do with The Ruination Knight?"
"I'm saying I was influenced by it. If the origin of demons is human, then who created the demons? I wondered if perhaps an external god, not of this world, did it intentionally for the sake of invasion..."
My eyes widened at his words. To him, it might just be a story based on imagination, but he was remarkably close to the truth.
If you replaced the 'external god' with the 'Father of All Things' followed by the demon worshippers, it was a perfect fit. A small snowball was turning into an avalanche.
"There's that, but the deciding factor was that I am a fan of the Xenon Biography."
"Being a fan of the Xenon Biography was the cause?"
"Yes. It's a story about what would happen to a world where a hero never appeared, or where the hero was defeated. I simply added the origin of demons to that."
So it came back to me in the end. The Ruination Knight was a work created from the seeds I had sown.
As a clergyman who firmly believed in God, he must have experienced great turmoil. It seemed a small crack had formed there.
I began to understand why a clergyman, of all people, had written such a story. Though it was still just as heretical.
"I see. By the way, have you offered your prayers to Lord Luminous?"
"Yes."
"Was there no reaction?"
"It was the same as always. That's why I was able to write it."
"Then can't you just reveal yourself proudly?"
Since Luminous had essentially given his permission, I thought he could just come forward.
At my question, Roman gave a bitter smile and offered an answer laden with meaning.
"Have you ever experienced a situation where, occasionally, people are more terrifying than Lord Luminous?"
"I think I know what you mean."
I had nothing to say to that. As someone who had once written the Xenon Biography, I sympathized deeply.
Sudden interest is one thing, but the pressure is no joke. You're just writing as a hobby, but the whole world starts making a fuss.
It would be one thing if it were just a bestseller or something like Sherlock Holmes that only a specific country cared about. But with the world's attention focused on him, his head must be spinning.
"Anyway, I understand. We'll stick with maintaining your anonymity for the time being. If you don't mind, could you tell me the future plot?"
"Uh..."
At my question, Roman's brown eyes darted back and forth. Why did I feel a sense of foreboding at that reaction?
Soon, he gave an awkward laugh, scratched the back of his head, and spoke with blunt honesty.
"I don't know?"
"...Pardon?"
"I haven't decided anything. I really just wrote it as a hobby..."
"And someone like that wrote the ending like that?"
The ending of Volume 1 of The Ruination Knight has the protagonist setting off on an adventure. The behavioral patterns of each race shown before that were a bonus.
The Elves are going mad, screaming the name of their vanished god, while the Dwarves are stubbornly digging into the ground with nothing to do.
The Demon Clan has lost their restraint and turns into demons at every opportunity, and the Beastkin have adapted to the law of the jungle unique to the apocalypse.
Finally, the humans are the most diverse; being a collection of all sorts of people, even their concepts of good and evil vary wildly.
Some are going mad, some are stubbornly doing their jobs, and some are doing nothing at all.
Afterward, the protagonist sets off on a journey to meet those people one by one. I naturally assumed there would be a next volume.
"Does it matter? I thought it was a good ending since it stimulates the readers' imagination..."
"You should write more to stimulate that imagination even further."
We were divided between the side that thought one book was enough and the side that insisted on more. Since this was an unexpected situation, I spoke with passion.
I could fully understand Roman's position, but regardless, the subject matter was too good to leave like this.
The behavioral patterns shown for each race were one thing, but it was a work whose quality would only increase with more creativity applied.
‘I feel like a publisher trying to force a long-term serialization, but...’
There was no need to worry about the work being ruined. I would be providing full support.
At this point, it was practically a co-authorship, but since I was also sharing the burden, it wasn't a bad thing.
"That... excuse me, but I am not like you, Sir Xenon. I don't have the stamina to put out two volumes a week."
"Sir, I'm the abnormal one. Normally, putting out one volume a month is the standard. Honestly, who else besides me would put out a story spanning over thirty volumes?"
"I suppose that's true."
To be honest, the story of the Xenon Biography was unnaturally long; The Ruination Knight was perfectly normal.
Looking at famous books on Earth, most of them end in a single volume, even if the pages are thick.
However, the premise of The Ruination Knight was too good to end in one book. Even now, dozens of ideas were flooding my mind.
"Still, I would appreciate it if you would reconsider. If you're worried about ideas, I can give you advice personally."
"What kind of advice are you talking about?"
"Everything from the overall storyline to character designs, the secrets of specific individuals, and so on. There's plenty."
One of the most popular genres on Earth is the world on the brink of destruction—the apocalypse genre.
Zombies, plagues, natural disasters, nuclear war, and so on. They use every reason imaginable to show a world on the verge of ruin.
While ninety percent of these works are set in the modern era, there are occasionally fantasy-style apocalypses as well.
The commonality between the two is the lack of dream and hope. People either just try to survive on their own or wander aimlessly.
"Hmm... could you give me an example?"
Perhaps not quite grasping it, Roman asked cautiously. At this, I decided to freely reveal one of the settings I had pre-conceived.
Roman was the one who would be writing it anyway, so there was no reason to hide it. As long as Roman could write it, it was all good.
"Are you familiar with the Reapers in Helium? The secret organization Helium revealed two years ago."
"I know of the Reapers, who were originally a secret organization but are now active as a knight order."
The knight order Gartz belongs to, the Reapers, was originally a secret society.
An organization that executes members of the Demon Clan who have undergone demonization or tracks down and eliminates traces of the radical faction of the Demon Tribe.
Until then, because of the nature of their missions, they had been a very secretive organization, but their identity was exposed when 'Devil Hunters' appeared in the Xenon Biography.
For me, it was a total "Why is this real?" moment that left me deeply flustered. Fortunately, because of Sacran's heroic deeds, no one pointed fingers.
On the contrary, they were being followed as a knight order that had taken a holy destiny upon themselves. According to Cecile, the dream of demon children these days is to become a Reaper.
Anyway, I had planned to further emphasize the tragic nature of that organization—at least, until Roman wrote The Ruination Knight.
"The Reapers were originally a secret organization that executed their own kin who had undergone demonization. So, what would have happened to them in the world of The Ruination Knight?"
"Since the Demon Clan is turning into demons left and right... they'd be going around killing them, right?"
"Yes. And?"
"And? Is there more?"
Roman asked back with a puzzled expression. It seemed I needed to give him a little hint here.
"Of course there is. One day, the protagonist encounters a Reaper who is indiscriminately massacring both demons and the Demon Clan. That Reaper, having gone mad and claiming there are demons everywhere, attacks the protagonist."
"..."
"Or perhaps they discover the tragedy of the Reapers killing each other because they themselves couldn't resist the demonization? The choice is yours. Either way, it's a good setting because it emphasizes the tragedy unique to the Demon Clan."
Roman's reaction to my explanation was quite a sight to behold.
"Sir Xenon. If I may be so bold as to ask..."
"Go ahead."
"What kind of drugs do you take to be able to come up with a setting like that on the fly?"
It was a question coming from an Inquisitor who executed demons and heretics.