Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Great Flood - 2
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I bit my lip without realizing it.
Mime opened his mouth with a sigh.
“To think that even after ascending to the throne of the Heavenly God, you still wield spirits with the finesse of a former Spirit King candidate.”
“Mime.”
“Adin has already issued commands to every spirit across the continent. He’s ordered them to unleash rain on a scale that will submerge the entire land.”
“That’s impossible. I was a Spirit King candidate too, but even I couldn’t command every spirit on the continent at once.”
Mime replied in a somber tone.
“Yes. You’re right. The old Adin couldn’t have done it.”
“The old...?”
“The Adin from his human days.”
“...!”
“He used the power of the Heavenly God to broadcast his voice to every water spirit across the continent.”
A fusion of his innate Spirit King candidate abilities and the power of the heavens.
This is cheating.
Risel spoke urgently.
“I-I’ll send them back. With Jenia and you helping, Mime, we could circle the continent in just a few hours, right?”
“...”
“We just fly around and recall the water spirits.”
“Impossible. I hate to say it, but they’ll prioritize Adin’s command over yours, Lady Risel.”
Neril cut in.
“Doubt it. Risel already overrode Adin’s order to make the spirits vanish.”
“Everyone has their specialty.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Adin’s commands to spirits were always things like ‘fight,’ ‘destroy,’ ‘repel.’ ‘Kill’ was in there too, of course.”
“...”
“He’s an expert among experts in that arena. But you, Lady Risel...”
Risel hung her head.
She had no confidence in beating Adin at his own game in that department.
Mime continued.
“The spirit tongue used to command spirits carries power in itself. The more it’s used, the stronger the words become.”
“So Risel can’t override Adin’s command to the water spirits.”
“That’s right.”
“Makes sense when you think about it. Adin knows we have Risel. For him to try flooding the continent with spirits anyway means he’s confident even she can’t stop it.”
All the while, the rain kept soaking us.
The pounding on the ground made conversation nearly impossible.
In the end, Jenia threw up a simple shield spell to block the rain.
I shook my head and said to Trail.
‘Show me the secrets. Something related to resolving this crisis.’
[Whose and whose?]
‘Velosian’s a no-go anyway... Adin and Kaild’s secret. Where would Velosian take Kaild after kidnapping him? No way he dragged him to the starting line.’
[I see. The starting line, huh.]
Might get a useful hint if it works.
Soon, Trail activated the Eye of Omniscience.
But.
[Error. ‘The secret between Adin Press and Kaild Wake’ is S-rank.]
[Accessible at Eye of Omniscience level 5.]
No dice.
That means the secret I’m after is that deeply hidden.
“Tricky. Even Bion’s power can’t give us a hint.”
“Shall we head to the starting line as planned?”
“For now. Nothing else comes to mind.”
“Yes. Agril!”
Agril soon descended through the clouds.
We hurried aboard.
With Mime’s push, we shot off at lightning speed.
But my gut told me this wasn’t the best approach.
Velosian would be guarding the starting line.
If he cooked up this plan, he’d predict we’d come there.
Pushing ahead anyway meant he was confident.
[Even so, he’s just roast meat against you.]
‘True. Ugh.’
[The downpour’s brutal. Lowlands will be underwater in days.]
Fair point.
Countless refugees and deaths.
No time for fame-chasing—this was my fight, no question.
I’ll stop it.
We reached the starting line in two hours.
En route, we saw storm clouds blanketing the continent.
If we hadn’t flown above them, Agril would’ve struggled.
But the starting line itself had clear, pristine weather.
We landed on the ground.
As I turned to borrow the horn from Risel—
Step.
Footsteps echoed behind us.
Whirling around in shock, I saw a familiar face.
“Velosian.”
“Been well?”
“Not long enough for pleasantries. And we’re hardly close enough for that.”
“Touchy.”
He crossed his arms.
“But unexpected. Coming here.”
“What’s unexpected?”
“You’re as sharp as you are strong. I figured you’d catch on quick.”
“...”
“That it’s pointless to come here.”
Ophense ground his teeth and jumped in.
“How’s it pointless? You already lost to Maide once.”
“True.”
“You think he can’t do it twice? The continent’s about to drown. We’ll kill you again, find Adin, and make him stop the rain.”
Velosian shook his head.
“I’ve hidden Adin and Kaild well. You’ll never find them.”
“...”
“And even if you did, it wouldn’t matter. I’ll guard the starting line until this is over.”
“...”
“I’ve prepared hundreds of vessels for my body on this land. Kill me as much as you want—I’ll revive instantly.”
Vessels for his body.
That didn’t shock me much.
A guy who’d been turned to jerky was standing here good as new.
He continued leisurely.
“You can kill me, sure. But hundreds of times in a row? Can you break through me and threaten Adin?”
“...”
“Don’t bother. Give up.”
Silence fell for a moment.
Then I asked.
“What’s Adin doing? Where?”
“Using divine power to keep issuing commands to the spirits.”
“...”
“To drown the continent, the water spirits have to work overtime. He’s constantly commanding them so they don’t slack. Tough job—don’t interrupt.”
I thought for a second.
A decent idea hit me.
But I didn’t show it—instead, changed the subject.
“You okay with this? What if humanity goes extinct?”
“...”
“What if everyone who props up Kaild as a hero drowns? No one left to spread Idria’s lies.”
“...”
“You think you’re helping Idria. Or do you secretly want to ruin her plans?”
At my question, Velosian bowed his head.
His shoulders shook faintly.
Either crying or laughing.
No way he’d cry in front of me...
“Khkh. Ahahaha!”
“Why the laugh?”
“Look, Maide. Adin stops the moment all humanity brands you the fake hero. No extinction.”
“What?”
“You think humans will cling to faith in you with death staring them down? Don’t tell me you actually believe that.”
I started to reply, but Velosian beat me.
“No chance. I’m worried it’ll end too quick and be boring.”
“...”
“No matter how tough they act, they’re human. What they’ll risk their lives for is surprisingly little. A hero’s name ain’t on that list.”
“You bastard.”
“You rate humans too high, Maide. Makes sense—you’re one of them. I get it.”
But I’m a different species, so I look down on them.
That was the subtext.
Clap.
Velosian clapped and said.
“Now head back. Nap time.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then we fight. I’ll probably die. Revive in a new body.”
“...”
“Won’t solve anything but your temper. You know that.”
Step.
He turned away.
Boldly showing us his back.
Neril glanced at me and said.
“Strike? I wanna cut his tongue at least.”
“No.”
“Maide.”
“Threatening Adin via him is useless. That’s progress, at least.”
“...”
“Let’s go. Can’t plan with him here.”
Everyone looked reluctant.
I gazed at my companions steadily.
We’d been together long enough.
They’d read my face by now.
“...!”
Sure enough, their eyes lit up.
They exchanged looks and nodded faintly.
[What? What expression?]
‘You didn’t catch it? Disappointing.’
[Just a different view from the group.]
‘Whatever. You know my usual line.’
I’d come up with a good plan.
The answer was there from the start.
Mime said Adin mixed heavenly power with spirit commands to rain on the whole continent.
Velosian just confirmed it.
So the way to stop it was obvious.
We held an emergency meeting atop Agril.
“Set course for the capital. How long?”
“The capital? Uh... about 30 minutes.”
“Do it.”
“R-right. Agril!”
As Jenia called to Agril, Neril said.
“The capital? Why?”
“Adin’s constantly feeding commands to the spirits.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s the key. Strip him of the power to command all continent spirits at once.”
“...?”
“Get it? We just need him off the Heavenly God throne.”
Silence from everyone.
Rustle.
Adwin tentatively raised his hand.
“I get the sentence. But how do we drag him down?”
“His godhood’s based on humanity’s faith.”
“We figured that.”
“So have every person on the continent deny the Heavenly God.”
“No. How?”
“We’ll see the emperor. Have him order all continental lords via imperial authority.”
Good thing I built ties with the empire’s master.
Helped that I handled Serein’s parents rescue right last time.
[Can you spin ‘holding a sword to his throat’ as good handling?]
‘Point is, he believes I’m the real hero. That’s what counts.’
Then Ophense spoke.
“You’re gonna have lords order their subjects to deny the Heavenly God?”
“Yeah.”
“Absurd. Won’t work.”
Not just Ophense—everyone looked skeptical.
Serein spoke up.
“Honestly, I love the direction. You’re indirectly granting my old wish to abolish the priesthood.”
“Unrelated.”
“Just saying. Anyway, like Ophense said, it won’t stick.”
She smacked her lips regretfully.
“We’re the only ones who know Adin’s human and a fake god.”
“...”
“I’ve had zero faith since forever. As a kid, I’d cautiously ask around: Does the Heavenly God really exist? Does he even love us?”
Serein’s face darkened.
“The replies? Shock, scolding, contempt, mockery... all sorts. But it boiled down to ‘Are you nuts?’ Led to my parents’ abuse in the end.”
“Serein.”
Risel took Serein’s hand.
Serein shrugged it off with a wry smile and continued.
“Maide, my story’s the Heavenly God’s status for continentals. No hero’s words can break that prejudice.”
“But we have to.”
“...”
“And we will. Me.”
Everyone cocked their heads.
Adwin asked.
“You’ll do it? No way.”
“Yeah.”
I cleared my throat.
“I’ll give a speech to the entire continent.”