Chapter 362: What Must Be Done (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 362: What Must Be Done (5)
It was the night after Alon had spent over three grueling hours speaking at the council.
"Whew—"
"Are you alright, my lord?"
"I'm fine." Alon nodded at Evan’s concerned inquiry, though his eyes were bloodshot with exhaustion.
"Did everything go as you intended?"
"Well, for the most part."
"Hmm. Well, I suppose there’s no reason for them not to listen when a Marquis is the one speaking."
"…Is that so?"
The one who answered Alon wasn't Evan, but Basiliora, who had manifested from the ring.
[Hmph. It was obvious those fools were just stamping their feet in desperation. Why wouldn't they follow your lead?]
"They seemed to be weighing their options quite a bit for people who are desperate."
[It is only natural. Humans are greedy by nature and loathe taking a loss. Aside from that Queen you’re close with… they were all idiots.]
Basiliora clicked his tongue, disparaging the monarchs. Alon agreed with the sentiment, but on some level, he understood the kings. This matter was of utmost importance because the world itself was at stake, but they were rulers leading nations. It was only natural for them to consider the aftermath.
‘Well, none of that matters if the world is destroyed.’
As Alon was lost in thought, Evan spoke up.
"By the way, Marquis. I’m just asking out of curiosity, but do we really need the help of the kings?"
"What do you mean?"
"Most of the elite forces of the United Kingdoms are people who would come if you personally asked them anyway, aren't they?"
"The common soldiers wouldn't."
"…Do we really need the soldiers?" Evan added skeptically. "I caught a glimpse earlier, and it looked like those soldiers would just be slaughtered in a single swing of a sword…"
Alon nodded. Evan wasn't wrong. In truth, what was needed to face a Sin was overwhelming individual power. Ordinary soldiers were often more of a liability than an asset.
Yet, despite knowing this, Alon had gone out of his way to attend the council and gather an army. The reason was simple: the Sin they were facing this time was Wrath.
"They are necessary."
"…Really?"
"Yes. Especially this time."
Alon continued, keeping the characteristics of the Sin of Wrath in mind. "By the way, did you pass on the word?"
"To the others? I’ve notified the entire Information Guild. Just in case, I asked Historia and Ryanga to look after Magrina."
At the report that the Information Guild had surely sent out all the contacts, Alon nodded and muttered quietly.
"…I hope they gather in time."
What Alon had tasked Evan with was summoning their primary combatants. To win the fight against this Sin, they needed as much power as possible.
"…."
Alon suddenly recalled the scene he had witnessed in the conference room. Ashtalon had been turned into a literal hellscape. The sight was gruesome even to Alon’s eyes, but there was one silver lining.
‘It would be best if it just stayed still.’
According to Alon’s knowledge, the moment the Sin of Wrath perfectly awakens, it begins to tear through kingdoms at random, piling up mountains of corpses. And those mountains of corpses serve to further empower the Sin of Wrath. In other words, the more corpses there are, the stronger the Sin of Wrath becomes.
That was why Alon felt a sense of relief that Wrath had stopped after destroying Ashtalon. Yet, it was also a point of suspicion.
He knew well that the movements of a Sin could change. However, unlike Sloth, it was in the Sin of Wrath's best interest to move as much as possible and stack mountains of corpses if it was capable of doing so. Those mountains were its strength.
That was why Alon had let out a hollow laugh when he first heard of Ashtalon’s fall. If the Sin continued to act at such an impossible speed, it would be incredibly difficult for Alon to stop it.
But the Sin, which had moved and destroyed Ashtalon within a day of its manifestation, had shown no significant movement since. It was as if this was enough. As if this amount of destruction sufficed.
To Alon, that felt infinitely bizarre. Most of the other Sins had also failed to move according to his expectations. But the Sin of Wrath was the most incomprehensible of them all. Unlike the typical nature of a Sin that moves with all its might to destroy the world once prepared, this one remained silent.
"…."
After pondering for a while, Alon shook his head. For now, he couldn't understand why the Sin of Wrath was acting this way… or why Elivan had become a Sin in the first place.
"…."
Alon thought of Elivan. The image that still came to his mind was Elivan’s face, wearing a cheerful smile. But the Elivan he had seen through the magical tool…
"…."
Even after hearing the reports, Alon had inwardly been denying that Elivan had become a Sin. He thought perhaps it was just a misunderstanding. After all, this was Elivan.
But the moment he saw that figure reflected in the magical tool, he had no choice but to realize it. He had to accept it. He tried to deny it, but Elivan had truly become a Sin.
‘…Why?’
Alon hadn't spent a vast amount of time with Elivan. Over the past few years, the actual time they spent together was short. Yet, it weighed on him.
Was it because he was the protagonist of Psychedelia? No. Was it because he would become the worst enemy in history? No.
Alon had firmly believed that Elivan was absolute good. Unlike others, he was a hero straight out of a picture book, both in the game and in this reality…
If Alon hadn't interfered in the beginning, would everything have eventually followed the original story? If so, then the current Elivan—the Elivan of now—was he something Alon himself had created—
"…Marquis?"
Evan’s voice broke Alon’s reverie.
"What is it?"
"No, it’s just… did something unpleasant happen?"
"…Why do you ask?"
"Well, you were scowling quite fiercely…."
Alon reflexively touched his face. He could feel that his expression, which usually remained stoic, had indeed shifted.
"Was I?"
"Yes. It was a look I’ve never seen on you before…."
Evan’s voice was laced with worry. Alon let out a sigh, clutching his throbbing head. He needed to stop thinking. He stood up from his seat.
"Where are you going?" Evan asked, his own face etched with fatigue. He was the one who had driven the carriage almost without sleep to ensure they weren't late for the meeting.
Alon noted Evan’s condition and stepped out alone.
"I’m going to see Heinkel. Get some rest."
He was going to discuss the plan he had formulated.
* * *
The guardian weapons of the Illanef Empire—the Sins.
"…."
Line had entered the Restricted Section of the Ancient Library once again. She frowned, unable to comprehend the information she had just verified.
She had been searching for knowledge regarding the Sins in the forbidden books, and while many mysteries remained, she had gained a significant amount of information. However, the content written in the book she had just discovered caused a contradiction in everything she had learned in the Ancient Library so far, and it did so in just two lines.
‘Clearly, it was "The Blind One" who brought the Sins into gestation.’
Of course, Line had almost no knowledge of The Blind One. All she knew was that he was a Magus. She didn't even know how long that entity had been alive.
Even so, this sentence was enough to contradict the statement that "The Blind One brought the Sins into gestation."
‘…Can there be a falsehood among the knowledge recorded in the Ancient Library?’
She immediately shook her head. Everything written in the Ancient Library was the "Truth." To begin with, nothing that wasn't true could be recorded in this library. Therefore, an absolute lie could not exist here.
That meant both pieces of knowledge Line possessed were "Truth."
Line was lost in confusion for a while. After finally calming her mind, she began to pore over the book again.
"…Ah."
Soon, a low exclamation of realization escaped her lips. The book she had picked up didn't actually contain much content. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to resolve her doubt.
To summarize the contents:
"…The Illanef Empire created the Sins, but they did not use them."
That was it. The Illanef Empire had created the Sins but never deployed them, and the Sins created in that manner eventually passed to The Blind One and were brought to gestation.
"…."
Having resolved the contradiction in her knowledge, Line examined the book again. There wasn't much left. She calmly continued reading and was able to gain additional knowledge.
Regarding the strength of the Sins.
Fitting for the Empire that had created Pluto—which Line couldn't even properly control yet—the Sins described in this knowledge were strong beyond her wildest imagination when they perfectly "synchronized" with an ideal avatar.
"…."
She briefly wondered if she could handle a perfectly manifested Sin from this knowledge using Pluto, but she shook her head. She couldn't even control Pluto properly, and she had never seen a perfectly manifested Sin. It was impossible for her to gauge.
However, she surmised that Pluto likely wouldn't have been able to stop a Sin in any case. After all, the Illanef Empire had ultimately been destroyed by the Sins.
‘Pluto… could not stop the Sins….’
Line muttered to herself unconsciously. She still didn't know much about Pluto. Although she could summon it, she hadn't yet fully grasped how to use it, and knowledge regarding it was scattered like fragments, making it extremely difficult to find.
Yet, no matter how much she thought about it, Line found it hard to readily accept her own assumption that Pluto would lose to a Sin. She could guess what kind of power Pluto possessed.
‘…Of course, that’s assuming the Empire could handle Pluto at 100% capacity.’
And, though it was purely theoretical, if a Sin truly "synchronized" as the book described, it did seem like it would be a difficult fight.
"Hmm…?"
While thinking along those lines, Line felt a strange sense of dissonance. It was as if she was missing something important. An uncomfortable feeling, like a tiny thorn stuck in her throat.
She tried to find the source of it for a moment, but when nothing came to mind, she shrugged and continued reading. Finally, she reached the end of the book.
However, there wasn't much additional knowledge to be gained. Ridiculously, although this book clearly explained the origin of the Sins, it didn't contain information on why they were created.
The only piece of knowledge she could infer was one thing:
‘The Sins were created for the sake of "Delay."’
Just that one bizarre piece of information. Aside from that, the only thing that could be called knowledge was a single sentence at the very end of the book.
"The Sins were not used until the very end of the Illanef Empire…?"
As Line processed the final piece of information, her mind filled with question marks, and the sense of dissonance she had felt earlier grew stronger. A very unpleasant feeling.
And the moment she blankly chewed over that sentence…
"…!"
Line realized the true nature of that dissonance. Her mind raced once more.
‘The Sins were not used until the very end of the Illanef Empire? Then, that means—’
The Illanef Empire was not destroyed by the Sins.
"…!"
Line’s eyes widened. A clarity of confusion, sharper than before, dwelled in her gaze. While many parts now made sense, a new question simultaneously arose.
As far as Line knew, it was certain that the Illanef Empire had been destroyed by an "enemy." That was a truth she had seen in the library. But at the time, Line hadn't given it much thought. She had simply assumed that the one who destroyed the Empire was the Sins.
But the Sins were not used until the Empire fell.
If so…
Who on earth was it that destroyed the Illanef Empire—the very empire that had created "Pluto" and the "Sins"?
…Line fell into a profound silence.