Ch.1269I Can’t Believe It

“So, if you don’t want to see Faelrun destroyed, you want me to cooperate? You want me to take care of those frost giants that you should be handling?”

If the frost giants are left unchecked, everyone in Faelrun will die. If you don’t want to see that happen, cooperate.

That’s what Peirous was saying.

“You’ve got some nerve. Threatening me like that. I guess when you push all the risks onto your avatar, you have nothing to fear, huh?”

Though he didn’t explicitly say he’d kill them, it was a blatant threat that their lives were in his hands—or rather, at my mercy.

He was even smirking openly, as if confident I couldn’t ignore their crisis, as if he’d already won.

That annoying face, that irritating attitude… but I couldn’t deny or refute it. Because it was true.

I never thought I could save everyone in the world. Nor did I feel obligated to.

But I’ve always tried to save those I could, and spared no effort to protect those close to me.

In other words, Faelrun and Frider van Faelrun were among those I needed to protect by any means necessary.

…Is it okay for a god to discriminate like this?

Well, who cares? I’m not the only god around here.

Most other gods only care for and look after their own believers anyway, showing complete indifference to other races.

So there was no reason I should be criticized for being ungodlike just because I showed preferential treatment.

“Well… if you see it as a threat, then it will sound like one, but if you think of it as advice, wouldn’t it be advice? It’s all in how you choose to receive it.”

“Your face doesn’t look like someone giving advice. Why don’t you stop smirking while you talk?”

Peirous’s smirk only grew wider.

“From your attitude, it seems you’re quite reluctant. Is the fate of Faelrun alone not enough to motivate you to fight with all your might? How cold-hearted.”

“Ha, look at this bastard being sarcastic…”

“If that’s not enough, I could add another reason?”

“…Fine. Go ahead. Let’s hear what nonsense you have to spout.”

I spat out my response, clicking my tongue to show my displeasure.

But as if seeing through my aggressive tone as mere bluster to maintain control of the conversation, Peirous smiled more deeply and opened his mouth mockingly.

“You separated that mage you kept close, didn’t you? Don’t you think that was excessively reckless?”

“…What?”

“I would have advised against it. That woman is certainly a genius who has achieved feats beyond admiration, even to the point of astonishment… but she’s not a transcendent being like you.”

Ophelia van Sigmillus, who had gone ahead with only part of the forces, had disappeared completely overnight, her mana signature vanishing beyond detection.

The “reason to fight” that Peirous mockingly, threateningly threw at me was her name.

“With the world in such a perilous state, what did you expect would happen with her mediocre skills?”

“…What have you done to Ophelia?”

I could no longer pretend to be calm or composed.

I grabbed him by the hair, lifted his face to mine, and demanded in a voice seething with passion like a growling beast.

The dust in the air ignited with the killing intent that leaked out with my rage, and the ground beneath, torn by my materialized aura, split into fragments and spewed debris.

It was a scene like the manifestation of divine wrath. No, it was divine wrath itself.

My power, built upon countless acts of slaughter and plunder, had reached a level where the mere tempest of my emotions could destroy and collapse everything around me.

“Huh… there’s no need for such anger. I haven’t done anything to her yet.”

Yet Peirous, facing this rage head-on, merely exhaled a light sigh with a slightly hardened expression.

“You haven’t done anything?”

“That’s right. Of course. If I had engaged in battle, intense mana waves would have spread in all directions, and I would have been immediately discovered and suffered a setback. Would I be foolish enough to do something like that?”

…Indeed.

If Peirous had attacked Ophelia and the advance party while they were isolated, I would certainly have detected it. And the moment I detected it, I would have rushed out to join them.

The very fact that I hadn’t detected any anomaly was proof that Ophelia had been safe—at least until now.

“To begin with, I have no intention of harming that woman as long as she doesn’t actively oppose me. After all, she is my disciple, in a manner of speaking.”

“How is she your disciple?”

“Didn’t you know? All necromancers, whether they’re aware of it or not, can be considered my disciples. Because I was the one who created necromancy by reinterpreting death magic into a magical art.”

Ah, I see. So he’s already figured out that Ophelia is a necromancer.

That was indeed one of my vulnerabilities.

Necromancers were targets for eradication, treated on the same level as cultists and witches by all human churches, led by the Church of Elpinel.

If Ophelia’s identity as a necromancer were revealed, she too would inevitably become an enemy of the church.

Although unlike other necromancers, she didn’t desecrate the souls of the dead but rather created and utilized artificial souls, the essence of her magic was still based on necromancy.

By church standards, she was undeniably a necromancer, and if that fact became known, it would be difficult even for me to continue protecting her unconditionally.

It was only because I had attained and been recognized for my divinity that this was merely troublesome; if it had been discovered in the past when I was only at the level of a Master or Hero, even my position would have been shaken.

What was once a fatal weakness had now become a moderate vulnerability, its expiration date somewhat passed.

Of course, a moderate weakness was still a weakness.

With my accumulated reputation and divine status, other churches wouldn’t openly oppose me, but they would strongly protest that they couldn’t just leave her be.

There would be a flood of requests—that she be confined to a monastery for decades of penitential prayer, or that her power accumulated through impure methods be purified and eliminated.

Some of the more radical individuals might secretly attempt to assassinate her, claiming they had no intention of opposing me but couldn’t tolerate a necromancer clinging to me.

I didn’t think Ophelia would fall to mere assassins, but… it would certainly make things quite troublesome.

Compared to the collapsing Naraka, the impending collapse of Faelrun, and Peirous appearing before me to mention Ophelia’s safety, it was a minor issue, but still.

“So what are you trying to say? That if I don’t cooperate with you, Ophelia will face a great threat?”

“Well… I’m not sure about that. There’s only one thing I can affirm. If you cooperate in this matter, I too am willing to do my utmost to protect ‘my disciple.’ That’s all.”

“……”

I remained silent. His ambiguous tone made my blood boil to the point where my vision momentarily turned red, and I needed a moment to calm myself.

“What will you do? There’s no time to deliberate. Garmerlic could cause a second Great Collapse at any moment, and Faelrun’s destruction is only a matter of time.”

“……”

Damn it. It’s obvious he’s trying to use hostages to blackmail and exploit me, but the worst part is that everything he’s saying is true, so I can’t ignore it.

I’ve been caught in a perfect trap. So perfect that I have to temporarily set aside the fundamental principle of never negotiating with terrorists.

“…Fine, just this once… just this once I’ll go along with it. I’ll smash those Utgard or whatever they are for you, as you wish. Is that enough?”

In the end, I had no choice but to reluctantly decide to follow Peirous’s proposal this one time.

I tried to soothe my growling pride and sense of humiliation by telling myself this wasn’t bending my will but taking one step back to advance two steps forward.

“But I’ll determine the method myself, so you’d better stop talking and get out of—”

“You still misunderstand. Your enemy is not Loki of Utgard, but Garmerlic. While I destroy Utgard.”

Interrupting me with a slight sneer, Peirous corrected me, stating that I had the opponents reversed.

What he wanted was not for me to destroy the frost giants with my power, but for Garmerlic not to interfere while he destroyed the frost giants himself.

Is he saying the frost giants are a much easier opponent than Garmerlic?

Well, both sides deal with the dead in their gloomy ways, so in terms of compatibility, the weaker side might be overwhelmingly disadvantaged if they fought each other.

Conversely, giants typically focus on physical destruction, so undead monsters that can’t be easily killed by mere physical force would have the advantage in terms of compatibility.

Looking at compatibility alone, it would certainly be more efficient for me to take on Garmerlic, since I can easily dispatch the undead, while he handles the frost giants.

However, that would mean…

“You want me to entrust Faelrun’s fate to you? No way. I can’t trust you.”

Letting Peirous take full responsibility for the frost giant problem was essentially the same as entrusting the lives of Faelrun and Frider to Peirous.

From my perspective, this was obviously unacceptable.

There are things you entrust and people you trust, and they’re not the same. How could I trust someone like Peirous with such a role? Absolutely not.

“I told you. This is a mission commanded by my god. It’s natural for you to distrust me, but do you think I would carry out His command carelessly?”

Peirous replied, furrowing his already contorted brow even more under my grip.

“If you wish, I’ll even swear by His name. By the name of the Father of All, Alfodhr, I will without fail and without delay destroy all frost giants and ensure the safety of that wretched frozen land. Will that suffice?”

Unexpected passion. As a hardcore fanatic recognized as the first apostle by Alfodhr, he seemed unable to tolerate any doubt cast on his faith.

But that wasn’t what I meant when I said I couldn’t trust him.

Peirous seemed to have interpreted my words as meaning “You’ll deliberately delay until Faelrun is destroyed before acting, or you plan to destroy Faelrun right after destroying the frost giants,” but that wasn’t my intention.

“No, I meant I can’t trust your ability. Every task you’ve undertaken has been half a failure. How can I entrust Faelrun’s fate to someone incompetent who only knows how to save his own skin?”

There are different kinds of distrust. What I didn’t trust wasn’t his intentions or schemes, but his ability itself.

This bastard has messed up so many things.

Until now, his incompetence was welcome because he was my enemy, but now that we’re temporarily in the same boat, it’s extremely unsettling.

“……”

This time, Peirous was silent.

Either he had little to say even by his own admission, or he was just too dumbfounded to speak. Either way, it was a ridiculous sight.

“…Is this the arrogance of a demigod? I didn’t realize you looked down on me so much. I’ve succeeded in most endeavors that didn’t involve you.”

“But this does involve me.”

“……Haaa.”

Peirous exhaled a deep sigh, as if lamenting. Along with a gaze that could have been either contempt or irritation.

“Truly, I can’t deal with you…”

“That’s my line.”

A familiar response. This is always how people with no counterargument react.