The Futility of Gods and Systems
Whether there was a god or not, why the underworld ran on this kind of system, or when the King of the Underworld would finally drop dead—none of it held the slightest importance to Kain. No, correction. The information was certainly useful enough, but what he truly wanted to know was something else entirely.
The Undying King. And Immortal. Who exactly were they, and what had they been plotting in the depths of the underworld? As those clear eyes fixed on him, the King of the Underworld quietly closed his own, as if avoiding the gaze.
"That's not it, is it? There's something else you want to ask."
"......"
"Did the one called the Undying King kill Kayen Nasara? That's what you're curious about. Well, to get straight to the point—the answer is yes."
At the Underworld King's words, the corner of Kain's mouth curled upward. The expression made it perfectly clear that his mood had twisted to an extreme degree.
"The Undying King. His real name is unknown. More precisely, he's been trapped in the underworld for so long that his name was erased from the ledgers."
Ignoring that smile on purpose, the Underworld King continued.
"The most distinctive point is that he was the first Absolute Being born when this world was created. He was also the first wielder of abilities who refined the foundation of the powers you all use, making it possible for humans to wield mana."
The first Absolute Being. And the first wielder of abilities. Kain's eyes widened slightly in surprise before returning to normal.
"I told you earlier, didn't I? The structure of this world was all built to hide the owner of the system."
"......"
"But in a way, he was a person similar to you, Death King."
He despised being bound by predetermined rules. The only one who could decide his path was himself. That was why he wished to step off the established route and ascend to godhood in an entirely new way.
"He thought this: even without the system's recognition, if every being in the world perceived him as a god, couldn't he claim the empty throne?"
Inverting cause and effect. Using the world's own perception in reverse to create errors in the system's data. Completely dominating the system's creations from the ground up. It was an insane delusion that required an absurd amount of grinding effort. Yet he had pushed it nearly to the brink of success, and in the end, that cheating act earned him direct punishment from the system itself.
"His actions were interpreted as rebellion against the world, and he was ultimately imprisoned in the deepest part of the underworld."
That was why, despite accomplishing an unprecedented feat in human history, almost no records of the Undying King remained in the living world. The system had deliberately erased his traces.
"The position of Underworld King was created at that time as well."
A being who manages the dead. In reality, the role was little more than that of a watcher stationed at the bottom of the underworld to keep an eye on him.
"Anyway, the Undying King's plan ended in failure, and the world returned to its normal cycle once more."
Originally, that should have been the end of it. He should have remained there until his soul was completely worn away, never to escape, while the world resumed its proper order.
But he refused to give up. Even trapped at the very bottom of the underworld, he sought to defy that order.
"The moment he was imprisoned in the underworld, he left his own ego behind in the living world."
"A lich, huh."
Kain nodded as if he understood. Leaving behind the purpose one wished to achieve while alive in the form of an ego. It was one of the classic forms of self-resurrection possible through necromancy.
"The dead cannot use mana. Since escape from the underworld was impossible, he must have created a path from the living world to the underworld."
The deceased could not wield mana, nor could they grow or develop. Those rights belonged exclusively to the living, who possessed physical bodies.
"There's a slight inaccuracy in what you said."
The Underworld King shook his head in denial. He frowned as if offended and spoke.
"The path has not yet been opened."
It was true that an entity from the underworld had slipped into the living world. But that was merely a byproduct of the process. The Underworld King had desperately blocked the Undying King's schemes in accordance with his duty, and that struggle continued even now.
"The Dark Wave that occurred in the Raideli Marquisate in the past, the airship incident in which Kayen Nasara disappeared, and even the countless unexplained disappearances happening across the continent right now—all of it is part of that process."
"......"
"I told you earlier, didn't I? Talent continues to accumulate in the soul with each reincarnation."
The soul itself was a pure energy source of a caliber incomparable to anything else in this world. Karma accumulated as qualification to ascend to the position of god and directly interfere with the world's system. Accumulated talent, in other words, referred to the total amount of karma built up in the soul through repeated reincarnations. The Undying King was forcibly using that energy to interfere with the system and carve open a path to the underworld.
"The Undying King is trapped in the deepest part of the underworld. The karma he's obtained so far is still far from enough for the passage to reach that far."
The moment those words ended, Kain's face twisted noticeably. Souls wore away as time passed. Only a select few who had awakened their accumulated talent could take the test to become Absolute Beings and qualify for godhood. In conclusion, those sacrificed to the Undying King had permanently lost their qualification for that test.
Unless they were an irregular exception like Kain.
With all their talent lost, it was certain they would be born without any in their next life. Of course, since the reincarnation system itself was merely a process for becoming a god, the "talent" the Underworld King spoke of was likely limited to mana aptitude. Even so, the fact that his sister would suffer some form of loss in her next life was undeniable.
The number of people who needed to die had just increased. Kain organized his thoughts for a moment, not bothering to hide his displeasure in the slightest.
The Undying King's goal is to become a god.
The method he planned to achieve it is to be acknowledged as a god by people and reverse the world's perception.
His main body is currently trapped in the deepest part of the underworld, and what exists in the living world is the post-mortem ego he left behind.
Now he understood why the Underworld King had babbled on earlier about gods and systems. Such prerequisite knowledge was absolutely necessary to explain the Undying King.
"For your information, it was you who delivered the decisive blow to that damned bastard's plan. You probably already know that."
"Shut up."
The Dark Wave. The Undying King had likely intended to open the passage to the underworld with that incident. But thanks to the swift response from the Magic Sovereign, it ended in failure. However, Kain's subsequent awakening unintentionally created a fissure between the living world and the underworld. An unexpected windfall from the Undying King's perspective. And using that fissure as a catalyst, he eventually succeeded in opening the passage after several years.
"Can't you just close that passage?"
"You're overestimating my abilities. Or are you underestimating the Undying King?"
"......"
"It's true I opened the starting point, but the situation has already grown too massive to contain."
The passage was merely the trigger. What mattered was that a connection had formed between the living world and the underworld. Once a link existed, the separation between them would quickly crumble. For the Underworld King right now, simply delaying that moment as much as possible was already pushing his limits.
"To be honest, the fact that I'm not grabbing you by the throat this very instant is me exercising tremendous patience. After all, you're the successor the world itself has designated for me."
"I already said I won't do it. Underworld King or whatever you are."
Well, anyway, he'd organized all his thoughts.
"The moment I get back, I'll have to raid the church."
With that level of insight, he figured the man would quickly pierce through to the conclusion. The Underworld King no longer seemed surprised by Kain's following words and simply leaned back in his chair.
Yes, the Undying King's goal was to become a god. What he needed for that was something close to brainwashing—improving people's perception. The only group on the continent currently pursuing such activities with the greatest fervor was the largest religious organization, the church.
"The good cop, bad cop routine? It's a completely artificial hero-and-demon-king story."
On one side, they would incite chaos using dark mages, while on the other, they would use the church to suppress them. Through this, the church would build an image as the side of justice and plant faith in a god that didn't even exist among the people. All while spreading passages about how that god would resurrect in the world.
No wonder it always felt off.
Dark magic was clearly a natural phenomenon that existed in this world. In contrast, the "holy magic" practiced by the church was less a field of study and more a form of mental cultivation. It was true that stronger mental power increased resistance to dark magic, but the idea that simple faith in a god alone could put them in direct opposition to dark mages was absurd.
Until now I'd accepted it as common sense.
But what if it wasn't proper common sense? What if it was an artificially created law imposed by someone?
When thought of that way, one thing immediately came to mind.
The Inner World.
In other words, the church itself was one of the Divine Rules prepared by the Undying King.
That made everything fit perfectly.
And if the opponent is the church, it explains why Pride couldn't find the culprit behind the airship incident.
They had naturally assumed the enemy was hiding in the underworld and moved accordingly. It would have been difficult for anyone to imagine the church was orchestrating the event.
And this guy's intentions as well.
If the church was the culprit, that was firmly the domain of the living. Unlike the resurrected dead from the underworld, it was an area the Grim Reapers could not touch. He was hoping Kain would handle that side.
To put it simply, there are two things that need to be dealt with.
The dark mage organization—primarily Immortal, which was presumed to consist of the dead resurrected during the Undying King's escape process. And the church, which was simultaneously cooperating and competing with Immortal while preparing for the Undying King's resurrection.
The former will probably be discarded.
The evil faction that would be judged and destroyed alongside the descent of a god. In a broad sense, they could be considered something like a subordinate branch of the church. Under the convenient justification of martyrdom, of course.
Good thing I came here.
Just from talking with the Underworld King, all the parts that had been blocked until now had been blown wide open. Along with what he needed to do going forward.
The Undying King's resurrection cannot be stopped.
As the Underworld King had said, the situation had already grown beyond control. In that case, the only remaining option was to prevent him from becoming a god. That way, when he appeared in the living world again, Kain would be able to kill him.
"Fine. As you wish, I'll handle the church on my end."
"If you just tell me the locations of the dead, I'll dispatch the Grim Reapers. That way will leave no evidence and be easier."
"For now, delay that bastard's resurrection as much as possible."
"I'll trust you with killing him. Honestly, I was uneasy about leaving him stuck at the bottom of the underworld forever."
A silent alliance. As they settled on a cooperative line, the division of labor fell perfectly into place.
"Do you have a plan? Attacking the church recklessly will provoke a strong backlash."
"They've already provided us with the perfect justification. It'd be stupid not to use it."
They would steal the name of Immortal. Then, borrowing that name, they would carry out collective terrorist acts against the church. A classic case of using one's enemy to defeat another. Of course, they could have ignored the backlash like they did with Yggdrasil and waged war under the underworld's name, but as he had just said, failing to utilize the justification the opponent had provided would be foolish.
"And if we leave suspicious connections between the church and Immortal in the process, it should also sow distrust toward the church among the people."
That would create a hitch in the plan the Undying King so desperately wanted.
After all, a perfect crime cannot exist anywhere in the world.
By bringing Immortal's name to the forefront, every nation would have no choice but to investigate it. In doing so, the connection points the church hadn't managed to erase would slowly be revealed. The real links between Immortal and the church.
"......Looks like I'll be buried in work for a while."
Immortal would be unable to operate openly, and distrust toward the church would accumulate among the people. As he listened to Kain's plan, the Underworld King let out a deep sigh while imagining the mountain of souls that would soon pile up in the underworld.
And in the middle of all that, the bastard who caused this will just keep lazing around until the Undying King resurrects.
For better or worse, within the Ellemental Kingdom, the church forces were currently withdrawing. What remained in the church now was merely an empty shell. Ironically, the cause was the Death King sitting right before him. After the drug incident, the church was being cautious and keeping its head down around him.
In other words, when the underworld plunged the continent into chaos, the Ellemental Kingdom—which paradoxically lacked church forces—would escape that danger. And since the Death King had anticipated this fact, he was once again planning to dump all the work onto his subordinates.
Since we don't know what might happen from now on.
However, Kain's inner thoughts differed slightly from the Underworld King's assumptions. His mind was just as complicated, if not more so.
If things went as Kain expected, the continent would experience a massive upheaval within the next few years unlike anything in history. A colossal war in which even he wasn't sure if he could properly protect Arina.
He had no idea how the future would unfold. Therefore, while he still had this leisure, he should spend more time with the little brat.
He was feeling that sense of urgency right now. It was proof that, unlike his usual self, he was experiencing anxiety.
"Send one of the Grim Reapers over soon. I'll give him a smartphone and send him back."
Direct communication with the living world would be difficult, but if they added more devices like the modified smartphone he had created this time, exchanging messages with Kain should be possible.
With that, Kain rose from his seat, implying they could continue the conversation later if there was more to say. As he walked past the bone chair that sank back into the ground, the Underworld King stared at his back without any farewell.
"Ah."
Suddenly, as if remembering something he had forgotten, Kain turned his head toward the Underworld King.
"Our little one is cuter. If you insist on comparing them with that nonsense one more time, I'll kill you first."
Even after Kain disappeared, the Underworld King blinked blankly with a dumbfounded expression.
"Pfft, kuhahahahaha!"
Then he burst into roaring laughter and rolled around on his chair. What, had he been dwelling on those words the whole time? Just how long was his grudge?
"The Undying King sure is pitiful. To have earned the resentment of such a narrow-minded guy."
Still, it was true that the other one was cuter. Next time they met, he would make sure to hammer that fact into his mind. Recalling his departed successor, whom he simply could not accept losing to in this matter, the corners of the Underworld King's mouth lifted into a smile.