episode_0195

Camilla’s Divine Power

While I was passed out on the bed, held captive by Aria, in a temple located in a dark mountain range, the goddess Camilla was receiving reports from other Saintesses and priests. Then, a Saintess placed a small model, identical to a statue, on a map and spoke to Camilla.

“Here too, the deployment of Your Ladyship’s statues is complete. Soon, the pattern will be finished.”

“Hmm… But surely, if it’s the Black Saintess, she will notice our plan. So, before we make contact with the Black Saintess, we must deploy statues in other locations as well.”

“Forgive me, Goddess Camilla… The resistance in the places where we need to deploy statues is considerable… Even High Saintesses were dispatched, but news of their defeat is reaching us.”

“…Has that otherworlder already made a move? Or are there still others in this world who have noticed our plan? I was somewhat relieved when I heard that Renbu had personally been dispatched to Karijan and killed the hyper-long-lived being named Akada…”

When a priest reported that the resistance in the places where statues needed to be deployed was considerable, leading to their defeat, Camilla, perhaps feeling a bit perplexed by the thought that there might be others in this world besides Akada who knew about her, began to ponder. But soon, she returned to an expressionless face and spoke to the Saintesses and priests.

“To what extent has the divine power spread now?”

“Approximately 80% of the continent is covered in divine power. Soon, Your Ladyship’s complete descent will be possible.”

“It seems the enemies cannot do anything about the divine power that has permeated the ground, so they are senselessly destroying the statues of Goddess Camilla. Yet, despite this, they are still trying to get closer to us. If this continues, a large flaw might appear in Your Ladyship’s great work.”

“Therefore, it would be best to execute all the heretics before that happens. Even without them, the divine power will continue to spread.”

The Saintesses and priests suggested that since the divine power was spreading slowly due to the heretics’ resistance, and it was clear that this would cause a delay in the plan, they should eliminate the heretics first. Camilla, who had been lost in thought for a moment, seemed to make a decision, nodded, and spread her arms, speaking to the Saintesses and priests.

“Do not fear, my children. My plan exists far beyond the thoughts of those heretics. No matter how much they struggle, they can never hinder my descent. As long as that child still lives in this world.”

“Understood, Goddess Camilla. So, may we proceed as planned for now?”

“Yes. But remember this, my children. Our greatest obstacle is those associated with that otherworlder who spews flames. If they interfere with us from outside this dimension, our work will truly face significant setbacks… If anyone connected to him exists again in this world, you must not capture them, but kill them.”

“Understood, Your Ladyship.”

Camilla ordered them to proceed as planned, and if there were any otherworlders connected to Dio V Runner in this world, they must kill them. The priests and Saintesses replied that they would, then rose from their places and began to leave the room one by one to attend to their respective duties. While the cult was discussing how to proceed, as the sun set, in a forest in the Magrion region, Cecilia was exploring the surroundings with Yuria.

“Haaah… It’s a relief that Tiavel is being looked after by Gid-nim and the others… But I still feel uneasy…”

“I truly envy you, Yuria. Even though she’s an adopted daughter, you still have a daughter, don’t you? If I had a family, I would worry about them like you do… I really envy you in these moments… You can live for the joy of seeing your family, can’t you?”

“Don’t you have Merzel-nim, Cecilia-nim? You seem to live with them like family…”

“…That’s true too.”

When Yuria, whom Cecilia envied for having a family, mentioned that Cecilia herself had Merzel, Cecilia acknowledged this, recalling Merzel, who was currently scouting in a different location. Then, Yuria took out a note from her pocket, on which Tiavel had written a warning to be careful, and spoke to Cecilia.

“Cecilia-nim. Although it’s partly for Dio V Runner-nim’s revenge… I will definitely defeat the cult that threatens Tiavel.”

“Me too… If our conjecture is correct, then the cult has been consistently harassing people like us for a long time. In the shadows. Since we’ve learned that we’ve been suffering like this, we must exact revenge. By the way, Dio V Runner is truly unfortunate… To meet his death like this in another dimension…”

“Who said someone died…?!”

“Huh…?! Waaaah?!”

At the moment Cecilia was lamenting Dio V Runner’s death, telling Yuria, who had vowed to defeat the cult for Tiavel’s sake, that she would do the same, Dio V Runner himself suddenly appeared from a tree beside them and asked who had died. Cecilia and Yuria, seeing Dio V Runner alive, were so startled, as if they had seen a ghost, that they screamed and fell sideways. Dio V Runner, seeing the two who had fallen sideways in great surprise at the sight of him, spoke with a stern expression.

“Surely you didn’t think I’d die in that explosion? Even if I look like this, I’m wearing an outfit that can adapt to explosions and fire, to the extent that I have to handle fire, you know…?”

“Oh… no, Dio V Runner… You’re safe…!! Uwaaah!!! Do you know how surprised I was, truly thinking you had died then, Dio V Runner!?”

As Dio V Runner explained with a stern face that he had reasons why he would never die in an explosion, Yuria’s surprise quickly turned into immense joy that Dio V Runner was alive. She sprung to her feet and hugged Dio V Runner. As Yuria shed tears, relieved that he was alive, Dio V Runner smiled and stroked Yuria’s head, saying,

“I startled you too much. I apologize. Next time I survive, I’ll contact you first… By the way, both of you got out of there safely. Where is Tiavel, Yuria?”

“I’ve entrusted her to the people who are preparing to resist the cult… Gid is there too.”

“I see… That works out well. Can you guide me to them? I also want to tell you a few facts I’ve discovered in the meantime.”

“Facts to tell us?”

When Dio V Runner asked them to guide him to the people preparing to resist the cult, saying he wanted to tell them a few facts he had discovered, Cecilia tilted her head, looking puzzled. As Cecilia began to lead Dio V Runner to the resistance’s cave, she eyed Dio V Runner suspiciously and asked,

“But you’re not perhaps being controlled by Goddess Camilla’s divine power, are you?”

“Of course not. The moment Goddess Camilla used her wide-area ability to devastate the land, I miraculously escaped that power. I was able to survive thanks to this outfit, which can withstand explosions to some extent, and Goddess Camilla’s unexpected foolishness in being blinded by her own power and not properly seeing me… If I had been hit directly by that, I would have truly died… And I realized. That I could never defeat Goddess Camilla with my strength alone.”

“But she missed you, Dio V Runner-nim, didn’t she? It’s fortunate that we found out she also has a slight opening.”

Although Dio V Runner had narrowly avoided Camilla’s attack, he vividly testified that if he had been hit directly, he would surely have died against Goddess Camilla. This gave Cecilia goosebumps, while Yuria still underestimated Camilla for missing Dio V Runner due to her own abilities. Then, Dio V Runner shook his head at Yuria’s words, took a small, round device from his pocket, and said,

“I had attached a tracking device to her clothes for later. After she left, I tried to track her using this device… But the signal cut out midway. Camilla must have noticed the tracking device on her clothes and destroyed it… It’s an undeniable fact that Goddess Camilla simply let her guard down unexpectedly in our fight, and she is still a terrifying being.”

“Sh-She destroyed this tracking device, smaller than a fingernail…?! That woman is driving me crazy…!! And besides, when you’re near her, you can’t do anything because you’re struggling to hold onto your mind from being dominated by her divine power!!”

“Ah, yes. There’s something I need to explain about that too. About why I was immune to Camilla’s divine power.”

Cecilia was already struggling to approach Goddess Camilla because her divine power would make her lose her mind when near her. So, finding out Camilla was also so perceptive, she was at a loss as to how to oppose her. Dio V Runner then said he had discovered something about divine power. Cecilia turned her head to Dio V Runner in surprise, and Yuria, equally surprised, asked Dio V Runner,

“Didn’t you explain before, Dio V Runner-nim, that it didn’t affect you because you’re an otherworlder? That Camilla’s divine power didn’t work on you because you came from a place where the concept of divine power doesn’t exist…?”

“That’s right. And that remains an unchanging truth. However… to explain in detail why her divine power repels me… After the fight, when I investigated the land where her divine power lingered, I realized something. That Camilla’s divine power has a phenomenon where it is drawn to similar divine power.”

“Drawn to similar divine power? But what does that have to do with us…? Especially since I’m a demon, a race with outstanding magic power rather than divine power, so I’m not affected by divine power…?”

As Yuria, who mentioned that Dio V Runner had previously stated he was immune to divine power because he was an otherworlder, and Cecilia, who mentioned that she, having no connection to divine power, was affected by Camilla’s divine power, grew perplexed by his words, Dio V Runner took a deep breath and began to explain to them.

“This might only be my conjecture, so don’t believe it too firmly. First… Cecilia, in your case, I can explain it thanks to the teachings of friends I met in another dimension.”

“What…?”

“Previously, when my friends explained their magic and powers, I, who had to traverse different dimensions, had written all those teachings in a notebook. And it coincidentally came to mind while I was investigating divine power… This is that notebook. I was able to find the answer to your case in that notebook.”

Dio V Runner took out a turquoise notebook from a pocket on his top, showing them the teachings of his friends about magic and power that he had written down before heading to other dimensions, saying that the contents of this notebook would tell them the answer to her case. Cecilia received the notebook from Dio V Runner and began to read. However, Cecilia and Yuria were startled by the language they had never seen before, and Dio V Runner took the notebook back and explained to Cecilia.

“I overlooked the fact that you wouldn’t be able to read it because it’s a language from another dimension. Especially since it’s different from the language used in the Revarude facility, so Yuria wouldn’t be able to read it properly either… To explain it simply, they once said that magic power and divine power are inherently forces that emanate from will.”

“Uh… uh-huh… I certainly seem to remember learning something similar in school…”

“Those two powers, used based on will, can either repel each other… or they can be compatible with each other, they said. So, Camilla likely used divine power, which is a power of will, to infiltrate your magic power. In your case, then… it would be more accurate to call it infiltration rather than attraction.”

“…To think she tried to infiltrate me by misusing magic power like this… Hoooo… Then I’ll be fine now. That almost always happens when one lets their guard down. My will was wavering then due to fear of Camilla… So, if I amplify my magic power even further, Camilla’s divine power won’t be able to harm me anymore.”

Cecilia, realizing that Camilla had been continuously trying to control her by utilizing the essence of divine power and magic power originating from will, placed a hand on her chest and began to amplify the magic power within her body. Then Yuria recalled that one question still remained and asked Dio V Runner,

“Then what about the people who are currently being controlled? They don’t have magic power, do they?”

“This is just my conjecture, so it’s not certain, but… Camilla might not have been a Kaiju when Cecilia was attacked by angels. A group called Busterz and other Kaiju once testified that they had killed the Kaiju of Divinity, who belonged to the hostile faction, during the Kaiju War. Camilla probably took the place of that deceased Kaiju. And she, too, might look down on other living beings as mere… batteries… or magic stones, to be used to amplify her power, just like the hostile Kaiju. To do that… I suspect she has been scattering her divine power among the living beings of this dimension for a long time.”

“For a long time…? Why would she do such a troublesome thing…?”

“She probably wanted your numbers to grow further. The divine power spread among living beings would have spread like an epidemic to the next generation, and the generation after that. That way, Camilla seems to have been able to control her diffused divine power more easily by reacting it with her own divine power. Of course, this is also my conjecture… But considering how easily people are controlled just by placing one statue, it might be correct, don’t you think?”

“…..”

At Dio V Runner’s plausible conjecture that the reason she and others were affected by Camilla’s divine power was because Camilla had already scattered her divine power throughout this dimension a long time ago, Yuria and Cecilia were utterly aghast. Indeed, the Camilla Cult had been around for quite some time, and the fact that people were controlled merely by the divine power contained in a statue made a little more sense if Dio V Runner’s explanation was correct. Dio V Runner, seeing the two aghast, sighed deeply, scratched his head, and added one more fact.

“Finally, one more thing… I don’t know what she’s trying to do right now, but it seems she’s making divine power seep into the ground.”

“Into the ground…?”

“Do you remember earlier, that I researched the divine power that permeated the ground, and that we broke the statues before, but people didn’t return to their senses? Combining these two facts leads to this conclusion: the divine power that was in the statues has already permeated the ground, and the divine power that has permeated the ground is controlling people.”

“Th-Then all the things we’ve been doing so far…!!”

“Uh… It was pointless from the start… So we must quickly inform the resistance of this fact.”

Dio V Runner seemed a bit reluctant to reveal this fact, but when he revealed that all their statue-breaking efforts had been futile from the start, Yuria and Cecilia were so shocked that they couldn’t utter a single word. Then Cecilia, startled, urgently called out to Dio V Runner.

“Th-That’s right!! First, Aria… we need to find Aria and Zeke first!!”

“…Aria and Zeke… It would probably be futile to go to them. Camilla would have already made arrangements for Aria to discard the divine power in her body from the start… The cult is playing a psychological game with us right now. If we want to break through this situation now, we have no choice but to figure out the cult’s trick. If not… it’s all-out combat…”

“…..”

When Dio V Runner said it would be futile to go to Aria now, and that it was more important to figure out the cult’s trick and its objective, then added that for this, an all-out fight was inevitable, Yuria and Cecilia were shocked by his conclusion and began to feel nervous. No matter how resolved they were for the unavoidable fight against the Kaiju, they couldn’t help but feel nervous…