The Immutable Truth Shattered
It was the early days of human history, around the time when humanity first began to build civilization. What appeared before them was an endless succession of impossible tasks. Securing food on a regular, consistent basis so they wouldn’t starve. Hunting beasts far stronger than themselves that constantly threatened their lives. Soaring through the lofty skies above. Yet as human civilization advanced, those impossibilities were gradually dragged down into the realm of possibility, one by one. Someone among them developed farming techniques and created a steady way to obtain food. Someone crafted tools and spread the fundamentals of weapon mastery to all of humanity. Someone invented airships and proved that humanity was no longer bound to the earth. Humanity had always walked the path of history by expanding the boundaries of what was possible, and it continued to advance even now.
But even amid that progress, there remained one immutable truth declared absolutely impossible. The dead could not return to life.
Once someone confirmed the existence of the Underworld and its King, realizing that the dead were governed by the rules of another dimension, the world understood that the deceased could never come back to the realm of the living. This held true even for Absolute Beings. The reason they were called Absolute Beings in the human world was that, according to the rules of this realm, they possessed power no one could oppose. And in the Underworld, the King of the Underworld was precisely such an entity. In the world of the living he was reduced to a level similar to an Absolute Being, but in the afterlife he was a godlike existence that surpassed them. Because he stood guard, humans had never been able to defy the system and resurrect the dead.
Until now.
Immortal, huh.
And Pride was telling him that even this impossibility had been shattered. All because of an unidentified group that arrogantly operated under the name Immortal.
There is certainly a possibility.
The Magic Sovereign mentally organized Pride’s words once more. Through reincarnation, each soul accumulated the karma it had earned across its lives. They would kill the targets in the living world, then forcibly steal that accumulated karma before the souls could be dragged into the Underworld. Using that karma as fuel, they would construct a passage connected to the realm of the dead.
After calculating the implications, the Magic Sovereign’s conclusion was that it was possible. He himself judged that research in this direction could achieve the same result.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy by any means.
It was possible. Yet the difficulty was formidable—even if the Magic Sovereign attempted it himself. In other words, the chance of failure was high. Someone had succeeded at something he himself had only a low probability of achieving. For an Absolute Being with towering pride, that was not an easy fact to accept. Had the person before him been Tugwi or the Empress instead of the Magic Sovereign, they would have instantly ordered him to stop spouting nonsense and cut off Pride’s head.
“You said the Death King was the one who confirmed those words?”
Even in such a situation, the reason the Magic Sovereign rationally weighed the possibility was because the one who had crossed directly into the Underworld to verify it was Sawang Heokcheon—an Absolute Being like himself.
There is no falsehood in those words themselves.
In the earlier statements there had been slight ambiguity about whether they were true or false, but the following dialogue contained none of that. No—setting all that aside, the individual named Pride whom he had observed until now was not the sort to drag Sawang Heokcheon into his schemes even if he might lie for the sake of his goals. In other words, since he had specifically mentioned that the Death King had confirmed it himself, the words Pride uttered were true.
“That is correct.”
As if to prove the guess, Pride nodded once more and gave a firm affirmation.
“This is not the first time they have been active.”
The most recent events—the terrorist attack at the Grant Department Store and the Mana Up app incident at Benedict Academy—were also extensions of the same scheme. They were acts carried out by criminals who had fallen into hell only to return to the living world, and every one of them had been resolved by the underworld.
The circumstances fit together perfectly.
Why they had intervened in those incidents. Only now was that question answered. It meant they had already been tracking the group’s movements for a long time, which in turn meant the enemy had been operating in the shadows while evading the underworld’s pursuit until now.
“Even the Dark Wave that occurred ten years ago.”
“……”
At Pride’s words the Magic Sovereign’s expression crumpled. Every incident was connected. If what Pride said now was true, this was clearly the Magic Sovereign’s own failure. It meant he had not even properly recognized what was happening inside his own country.
“And we suspect the Church as the perpetrator of that incident.”
“That sounds rather strange.”
In this affair the Church had clearly been the victim. They had suffered direct terrorism, after all.
“Yes. However, there are not many organizations on the continent capable of evading our eyes so thoroughly.”
And one of them was the Church. So saying, Pride leaned back in his chair and curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
“And as I mentioned, they simply needed sacrifices to open a hole into the Underworld.”
Whether the victims in the process were allies or enemies was irrelevant. In fact, perhaps that very purpose lay at the root of the Church’s founding. Sacrifices for the resurrection of a god. An unspecified multitude of believers willing to offer themselves up in the name of martyrdom.
“In any case, with the exception of the 7 Cardinal Virtues and a few others, most of those affiliated with the Church are civilians. They have no qualms about using them as sacrifices.”
And the reason they were willing to sacrifice even their own flesh and blood was clearer still. Because the underworld—Sawang Heokcheon’s forces—had been stirring up the Ellemental Kingdom and drawing closer to the truth. Their continued interference had finally forced the enemy to resort to such measures.
“It is a clear division between good and evil. If the Church remains in the role of victim, people will gather beneath them even more firmly. They will be forced into sacrifice without realizing it, all under the name of faith.”
“Did you request a private meeting with me in order to avoid leaking information to the Church’s forces among the nobility?”
The wrinkles on the Magic Sovereign’s forehead deepened. The situation was quite complex. He needed to verify whether everything Pride had said was true, and if it was, decide which course of action would be correct. The very fact that Pride was revealing all these truths also told him one more thing.
“So? Which Absolute Being has joined the enemy side?”
Indeed, if there had been no Absolute Being on the opposing side, Pride would never have come to him in person like this. He estimated there were at least two.
“Tugwi and the Empress. Am I correct?”
The group that suffered the greatest damage in this recent terror was the Church. But the Church was not the only victim. The Fan Empire and Yggdrasil had also taken direct hits.
They will probably launch full-scale investigations.
Assuming Pride’s words were all true, the other side would have naturally prepared ways to evade those investigations. And the most likely option to choose in that process was, as expected, an alliance. In other words, it meant the two Absolute Beings had already aligned themselves with that Immortal faction or whatever it was called.
“They will most likely insist strongly that we are the culprits.”
Pride did not deny the statement. Instead he continued the conversation, silently affirming it.
“And in the process, we will announce this truth to the world.”
They would reveal the true nature of the Immortals. In doing so they would prove the Church’s connection to them and shatter the world’s trust in the Church.
The Undying King’s goal is to become a god, after all.
By destroying the Church they would completely shatter the foundation he had built as a deity. Even if he revived again, he would be nothing more than one Absolute Being, not a god. That would suffice. No matter if they were fellow Absolute Beings, there could not exist anyone in this world capable of defeating the Master.
“There is only one thing we desire. To borrow your name.”
The fame and trust the Magic Sovereign had accumulated as an Absolute Being would undoubtedly be of enormous help in toppling the Church.
“…To be honest, I do not believe every word you have spoken.”
After listening to all of it, the Magic Sovereign remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“There are parts that feel strangely off.”
As expected, completely deceiving him had been too difficult. Even while thinking that, Pride’s expression remained perfectly composed. That was because the Magic Sovereign saying such words in itself signaled that his plan had succeeded.
“However, the overall context is plausible.”
A secret Church plot that sacrificed people to resurrect someone from the depths of hell. Such actions certainly ran counter to the Magic Sovereign’s sense of justice. Had he reached this truth on his own, he would never have cooperated with them and would have opposed them without the slightest hesitation. Yet the fact that the underworld had been the one to deliver this information created a flicker of hesitation in his heart.
“If you have any doubts, you are welcome to investigate thoroughly.”
The evidence fabrication would be flawless. Although Jealousy had not stepped forward personally, his direct subordinates had taken action.
When Pride displayed such confidence, the Magic Sovereign let out a short laugh.
“Well, never mind. The fact that you’re openly inviting investigation means you left no evidence behind.”
“……”
“Instead, let me ask one thing. Why has the Death King stepped forward directly in this matter?”
From what was known so far, the Death King was unpredictable, yet at the same time showed little interest in worldly affairs. So why had he become directly involved?
He is different from Tugwi, who simply craves battle like a brute.
He himself possessed a clear sense of justice. Tugwi harbored a desire to spark war. As for the Empress, she had likely joined for personal reasons—perhaps to settle a grudge after suffering at the Death King’s hands. In other words, each Absolute Being had their own motive for participating. So what could the Death King’s reason possibly be?
It must be an extremely personal one for him as well.
He would not trot out something as lame as justice or any other unconvincing excuse. At the look in the Magic Sovereign’s eyes, Pride closed his mouth tightly for the first time.
“…Two years ago, an airship bound for the Vivaldi Territory was attacked under mysterious circumstances and crashed.”
The Magic Sovereign knew of that incident as well. It had been unusual enough to remain in his memory.
Not a single survivor or even a corpse was discovered.
It had been a truly baffling act of terrorism. The Magic Sovereign had investigated it personally but ultimately learned nothing.
“In that incident, someone was sacrificed. Someone very precious to the Master.”
“That means…”
“Yes. It is personal revenge. That is why the Master became involved.”
Justice or saving the world—Kain harbored no such half-baked notions. He simply wanted to kill the one who had killed his sister. And that process happened to align with the Magic Sovereign’s own sense of justice. That was why the alliance had been proposed.
“Is it all right to reveal that so easily?”
That information could potentially expose the Death King’s identity if mishandled. At the question Pride smirked and shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter. We have already received the Master’s permission.”
After all, the Church already knew Kain’s identity. That meant his identity would eventually reach Tugwi and the Empress as well. Since the information was going to spread anyway, it was far more profitable to use it to purchase the Magic Sovereign’s trust.
“Knowing the face is far more trustworthy than facing an opponent whose face you don’t even know, is it not?”
“That is certainly true.”
As he had felt before, the other side’s negotiations were fundamentally bold. They had revealed the Death King’s identity even before securing a definite answer from this side. It gave the impression that they would surrender anything to obtain what they wanted—a sight never seen in negotiations with other countries that were busy only securing their own interests.
“However, I must ask you to promise one thing. The Master is currently satisfied with his present daily life. Even if you learn his identity, please refrain from any direct interference.”
“Very well. I have no desire to earn the enmity of that self-willed Death King either.”
So saying, the Magic Sovereign tapped his fingers on the desk. He spent a moment organizing everything he had heard. Then he nodded and spoke.
“An investigation will be necessary first, but if your words are true, there is no harm in forming an alliance.”
If the story was true, he too would have to stop them. Moreover, arbitrarily using the citizens of this country as sacrifices was something he could never forgive.
“I will report to His Majesty separately. As you said, Church forces are likely hidden among the nobility as well.”
Assuming Pride’s words were true, the first priority was to completely purge the Church’s influence from the Ellemental Kingdom. That task alone would likely take considerable time. Unlike the underworld, where everyone moved with one heart and one mind for the sake of the Death King, a nation was a place where countless conflicting interests collided.
“Then, while you do that, we will do our utmost to upset the balance.”
The Death King, the Magic Sovereign, Tugwi, the Empress. Four Absolute Beings had entered the great game unfolding across the continent. Setting aside the forces of the Underworld—who could not inflict even the slightest harm upon the living—the key to breaking the current two-on-two equilibrium was clear.
“We will take charge of persuading the Empress.”
The Empress. The last Absolute Being remaining on the continent. Declaring that they would bring her to their side, Pride displayed absolute confidence befitting his name.