Chapter 124
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 124
“……”
“…Hmm…”
Gio nodded.
“If you’re all done, can I go now?”
“Why not listen a little longer?”
“This is heavy enough. I feel like I’m suffocating.”
“You’re being dramatic.”
“The only violence I can handle is a petty squabble between friends or a lovers’ spat.”
“I’m not done with the important part yet, so wait.”
“That’s one thing I’m great at.”
“How diligent of you.”
Pleased with his admirable listener, ‘Arjio’ continued.
“Thus, the Evil God ‘Arjio’ was born, and the world rushed even faster toward its demise. The vengeful spirits of countless saints gained divinity… How could they possibly stay silent?”
Humans claimed the Evil God commanded wicked monsters to torment them, and that was exactly what happened.
“To put it in terms you’d understand, should I call it something like a Demon King?”
“I’ll just picture the Demon King from a fairy tale, the kind with a kidnapped princess and a brave hero.”
“It’s not much different. That’s a rough summary of how it went.”
In a once-peaceful world, a single ominous region appeared. From there, the Demon King plotted, spreading epidemics and commanding monsters to torment humanity.
This persisted for so long that it was thoroughly recorded in history. Humans began to live with bated breath under the Demon King’s tyranny, and the world was ruled by horrific monsters.
“Now that the Demon King’s tyranny had reached its peak, what do you think appeared next?”
“A hero?”
“As time passed after the Evil God’s emergence, those who would seal this cruel beast began to appear.”
“A pretty typical response, I guess…”
“In the end, they succeeded in sealing this ‘Arjio’.”
In the process, the heroes also learned the truth about the Black Forest.
“But that’s not the important part.”
Ultimately, they hid the secret behind the Evil God’s birth.
“Perhaps they simply couldn’t accept the foolish mistake their ancestors, whom they believed to be good, had committed. The shock must have been immense—realizing the entity they saw as the world’s ultimate evil was a product of human hands.”
“Do you resent them?”
“No. They weren’t the madmen who burned down my home and my family. They aren’t the targets of my anger. Besides, a life where I must carry an unwanted wrath, crushed by the weight of countless vengeful spirits, is not something I would welcome.”
‘Arjio’ spoke calmly.
“I am grateful to them.”
Wrath had to be entirely one’s own.
“Do you know how terrible it is to express a wrath that isn’t even yours? Do you know how foolish it feels to unleash a completely worthless anger? I realized why an Evil God is called an Evil God—it’s being forced to enjoy a slaughter I never desired.”
It was an absurd state of affairs.
“I know I didn’t live virtuously enough to receive God’s mercy and grace, but this is a bit too harsh. Slaughtering the defenseless and innocent is not my pleasure. What meaning is there in killing a terrified child who knows nothing?”
“You’re surprisingly reasonable…”
“For wrath to have value and pleasure, it must be directed at an equal. But the pain and despair of the saints were too vast for me to contain alone. The wrath of those who died horribly in the dark, without even knowing why, was simply too colossal.”
But to him, wrath was not such a cheap thing.
“I accept everything about myself, which is why I enjoy my life and have no regrets. Therefore, any wrath I feel must also have a worthy value.”
In that sense, he was grateful.
“They were called heroes, but they were no different from scapegoats. Simply because they were strong and talented, they were dragged onto a battlefield that wasn’t their responsibility, forced to seal the Demon King, and made to endure immense pain and sorrow in the process.”
“……”
“They did not want to fight. They were not warriors; they were human beings, someone’s family, someone’s friend. And they had to suffer so much just to get their happy daily lives back, to clean up a mess that wasn’t even their fault.”
How utterly absurd.
“But in the end, the world was destroyed. Isn’t that obvious? This Evil God was created by humans in the first place. Did they really think sealing him would make the wrath of the remaining beasts disappear?”
“Then how did your world end, Mr. Arjio?”
“It was destroyed in a miserable, vulgar war where you could no longer tell the difference between humans and beasts. It was a very childish fight. Any who survived must have long since degenerated into monsters…”
Tsk. Arjio clicked his tongue.
“Humans committed so many evil deeds using me as an excuse. If their lover cheated, they babbled that the Evil God tempted them. Even after murdering someone, they claimed the Evil God led them down a wicked path. They blamed this cruel beast for their squabbles with neighbors and wars with neighboring villages.”
In the end, their constant blame-shifting gave birth to the Evil God and made him even stronger.
“They didn’t seem to realize that such laziness would also fuel the Evil God’s ferocity. Thanks to them, the story of ‘Arjio’ was recorded in history in an even more horrific form. And in keeping with those records and memories, ‘Arjio’ became an incredibly cruel monster.”
“They reaped what they sowed.”
“Exactly. So they should have stopped using me as an excuse. Don’t you agree? They bloated our power, nurtured it, and made us even more unwieldy. If they hadn’t been ashamed of the beast they gave birth to and had revealed the secret of the saints, maybe things would have been better.”
Thus, ‘Arjio’ made his request.
“Listen, Gio. My friend who looks so much like me.”
“I’m listening.”
“I only want to unleash my own share of anger.”
That was what ‘Arjio’ wanted.
“Those who want to fight can fight me. Those who have sinned against me can offer me their blood. Like my family, I am an honorable warrior. But I am also a greedy man who must achieve everything he desires to be satisfied.”
That was his wish.
“I will give myself to you, so please look after the descendants of my family.”
“People named ‘Gio’ always seem to be talking about their families.”
“I hear the man named Giovanni before me wished to support his father? I am much the same.”
“How should I look after them?”
“You just need to go to the ‘Animal Kingdom’ you painted and show mercy to the poor beasts.”
“I don’t think I’m in any position to show mercy.”
“No, you are more than qualified.”
And.
“Above all, please stop this… this mad Evil God’s temper tantrum.”
“Excuse me? Me?”
“I believe you are more than capable.”
“Oh, for the love of all that is holy.”
“Is that what you call the Origin? Very reliable indeed.”
“There’s a misunderstanding here. I don’t know how to deal with dangerous entities like an Evil God.”
“I’ll take that as a witty joke.”
“You really only hear what you want to hear. You’re a ‘Gio’ through and through.”
“This selective hearing is one of the talents that allowed me to survive in the Black Forest.”
Arjio chuckled, as if amused by the absurdity of it all.
“Don’t worry. Your vessel is larger than that of ‘Arjio,’ so there’s no way you can’t handle it. I only appeared here because I was the last personality to die, but if you wish to become one with ‘Arjio,’ you must ultimately become one with those countless madmen.”
“Can I really not back out? I don’t have the confidence.”
“Didn’t I tell you? It’s just a temper tantrum. In the end, the ghosts of the Black Forest are just children, barely over ten years old. Most of them didn’t even make it past thirty. I’m asking you to tolerate the tantrums of these immature brats with the heart of an adult.”
“……”
Curious, Gio asked after a moment.
“Then how old are you?”
“I died at the age of twenty-four.”
“I didn’t realize you were so young since your face was covered by a mask.”
So he died around the age of a college student.
“You’re quite… mature for that age.”
“Isn’t it more that the Earthling culture you remember is much slower?” ‘Arjio’ tilted his head. “In Seo Gio’s memories, Earthlings still throw tantrums and act like spoiled children even after turning twenty. The culture is very different from my dimension, where one is treated as an adult responsible for a household starting at age fifteen.”
“Fifteen is a middle schooler, Mr. Arjio.”
“Just think of it as a cultural difference. Since it’s a completely different dimension, it’s only natural that our ways of thinking are different. At any rate, you are older than me, so I trust you will handle it well.”
He smiled.
“After all, I will be with you too.”
“…I don’t really want to develop an antisocial personality.”
“I think you’re already plenty antisocial as it is.”
“How can you say that to an exemplary student like me?”
“Isn’t there a saying on Earth? ‘There’s a limit to delusion.’”
“……”
Gio deflated.
“…You’re right, Mr. Arjio.”
“I must say, I’m quite pleased to have won this argument.”
* * *
“……”
[Animal Kingdom_Arjio]
“I don’t feel… particularly great.”
[Arjio’s Quest]
“To think such a quiet world exists.”
“Kkoor?”
“Yeah, it sucks.”
[Control of the Evil God (0/1)]
[Sweet Rain on the Arid Forest (0/2)]
“I feel like I’ve downed a bottle of cheap booze…”
[Synchronization Rate: 1%]
“Right.”
“Kkook.”
“But this could be fun, too.”
“Kkoorrrr?”
“Especially since I have a cute son.”
Lying on the bed, Gio suddenly scooped up the little water bird and hugged it tight.
“Peace isn’t as bad as I thought.”
There were no longer any idiots screaming in rage in his ears.
[Control of the Evil God (1/1)]
[Synchronization Rate: 21.1%]
“……”
“……”
“Is there anywhere to pick a fight?”
“Kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong!!!”
“Ouch…”
He got scolded by his son for even thinking about it.
* * *
Around the time Gio was busy gathering his thoughts as ‘Arjio’…
“What are you doing?”
“Drawing.”
“You know how to draw?”
“Want to see?”
“Sure.”
The youngest sibling of the Cha family, Cha Yi-sol, was chatting with his partner.
“Ta-da.”
“…Well, you did say you were drawing. You never said you were good at it.”
“Isn’t this pretty good? It has all the right parts.”
“That’s the thing, I can’t tell what those parts are.”
“Look, this is the cloak…”
“Ah.”
Cha Yi-sol’s partner, Iruda, nodded.
“Did you draw the Black Cloak?”
“Yeah. Now that you know, it looks plausible, right?”
“It certainly looks plausible in the sense that it’s black.”
“Ruda, just lie and tell me I did a good job.”
“You drew it sooo well.”
“I’ve never met anyone so bad at giving compliments.”
Cha Yi-sol chuckled.
“Here, look again.”
“I think I’m good.”
“This is the arm. This is the leg, this is the torso…”
“Uh-huh, right. I see.”
“And this is the eye.”
“……”
Iruda tilted her head.
“…An eye?”
“Yeah, an eye.”
“…You mean a human eyeball?”
“Am I really that bad at drawing?”
“It’s not a matter of skill…”
The eye was too big.
“……”
It was so large that it was drawn behind the figure, extending far beyond the human face and body.
“…I thought it was a halo or something.”
“Oh? Does it look like that?”
“Usually, when you say ‘eye,’ it’s supposed to be on a person’s face, like ours.”
“Well, some people aren’t like that.”
“Not like that…”
Iruda looked back at the black-smudged drawing.
“…Are you sure it’s even a person?”
“The Black Cloak is a person, too.”
“I highly doubt that.”
Not the Black Cloak of the rumors, and not the Black Cloak in this drawing.
“…Hmm.”
Just a moment ago, she had thought it was simply a poorly drawn picture.
But looking at the massive, intricately tangled cluster of multiple eyes, she felt a slight chill.
“Cha Yi-sol, you… you said you don’t have a god you serve right now, right?”
“Yeah, I don’t. I still don’t know what I should do, and I don’t have the confidence.”
“Really?”
For someone who said that…
“I see.”
She could feel a ‘gaze’ coming from that ugly drawing.
It was an ominous gaze, far colder than any she was accustomed to.