Ch.16253. You Are Truly, Exhausting.(2)

*Keeek—*

*Keegigigeek—*

My heart pounds.

It’s been truly a long time.

That terrible sensation… I thought I’d forget it forever.

It constricts my breath.

It hardens my chest. It pierces through me.

That sensation.

*Keeek!*

*Keegik—!*

*Crunch!*

*Crunch!*

………

…..

My consciousness floats in emptiness.

I feel my mind sinking.

Sinking underwater.

Droplets rise incessantly.

Before I know it, my body wanders in darkness.

There, a small finger points at me.

“Come here, Kariel.”

A voice I’ve heard before.

Charming yet somehow fleeting.

Faint, yet for some reason, distinctly audible.

“Come here. Prove your faith to me.”

If only I could.

“You will be saved, and we will be saved too. In the end, it’s for all of us.”

…..

So, who exactly are you?

“How slow you are to notice.”

A sigh tinged with regret echoed softly.

“I’ve been called by many names… but to speak of my name where you are… Yes. Call me this.”

Glaukopis (Γλαυκωπις).

“If you don’t like that… you may call me by a name more familiar to you.”

Asherah (אֲשֵׁרָה).

…It sounds familiar somehow.

But I can’t quite recall.

“The name isn’t important. What matters is me, us. You or I.”

…You also throw out equally puzzling expressions.

“Self. The prejudice of being trapped in growth, convinced it’s your unique self. Only when you cast that aside… will you finally understand us.”

Still, that’s an unnecessary worry for now.

“You too will come to know everything.”

In the end, all that remains is me and you.

And the world that contains us.

And the story that unfolds there.

Yes. That’s all the world really is.

“Will you become me, or will I become you? Will you be the foundation supporting the world? Or will you be the unique star that illuminates and cultivates the world?”

We’ve always been here for that purpose.

====

As soon as I opened my eyes, cold sweat poured down from an inexplicable, intense pain.

My entire body was soaking wet, as if I had just emerged from being submerged in water.

“*Cough!*”

I could feel my throat cracking and my lips blistering.

The blisters had split, causing a stinging pain.

“You were sleeping like the dead, but I see you’re finally awake.”

A familiar voice.

“…How are you doing?”

“I’m not at a level where losing one familiar would affect me much.”

That might be boasting, but it’s probably her roundabout way of saying not to worry unnecessarily.

“What was that?”

“…I don’t know.”

There are things I know, but mostly it’s all unknown.

I’m not naive enough to explain everything about the demon tree here.

“Have you ever heard the name Glaukopis?”

“Glaukopis? Hmm…”

After pondering for a moment, she frowned as if regretting the effort.

“Are you talking about Athena?”

“Athena?”

“If you translate it, it means ‘the goddess with owl eyes.’ In this region, if you’re symbolizing a deity with an owl, that would be Athena, what else?”

“……”

This is unexpected.

So, was she Athena?

“…Then what about Asherah?”

“Asherah?”

This was too ambiguous to just say aloud, so I wrote down the language too.

“What kind of writing is this?”

אֲשֵׁרָה

“Does it ring any bells?”

When Zora asked, I reluctantly explained.

“This one, strangely, sounded quite familiar.”

“Really? Let me think.”

After much deliberation, Zora snapped her fingers.

“Isn’t Asherah a being mentioned in the Irenis Church scriptures?”

“……”

No wonder it was familiar.

Even so… I couldn’t recall anything specific.

“You might be confused about Asherah, but you know these, right?”

Astarte.

Or Ashtoreth.

Or Ashdar.

“…Those are all demon names.”

“Demons as unilaterally defined by the Irenis Church. They demonized everything outside their belief system to disparage and degrade it. And yet they’re famous for shamelessly absorbing the good parts. Did you know that even terms like ‘Heavenly Lord’ or ‘Lord,’ even on your continent, originally derived from the sky god Zeus?”

“…No.”

That was news to me.

“Historically, religions have always developed by absorbing or merging with other religions. From that perspective, the Irenis faith is an extremely ruthless and disrespectful belief system.”

Though it’s exceptional because their faith is based on unconditional love (αγάπη).

“That’s just how it is, I don’t have any ill feelings about it. For me, religion and its doctrines are just another form of knowledge, separate from faith. Not all residents of the demon realm worship demon gods, just as not all who walk the path of magic do.”

“…Then what do magic practitioners believe in?”

“They believe in the path they walk. The path they’ve walked, and the path they will walk.”

Magic.

Those who walk the path of magic live carrying or embracing their own answers.

But the point is not that someone else will achieve it for you, but that you must achieve it yourself.

Whether it’s mana, nature, the principles of the world, its order, laws, or providence.

Their belief and assertion was that it all depends on how we approach it.

That’s why they were ostracized and often labeled as heretics and apostates.

…If it weren’t for the Pope of the Irenis Church and officials from various countries who accepted magic as a tool during the Demon King’s army era…

…Mages and magic practitioners would still be ostracized and unable to reveal themselves easily.

And the world would be openly opposing them.

Because such things aren’t hidden or concealed just by suppressing them.

“That aside. Will you be alright?”

“…What?”

“That, I mean.”

Zora’s gaze shifts toward my shoulder.

“……”

It’s fine now.

But the premonition proved that this wound wouldn’t heal easily.

It’s like a kind of shackle.

“Since the current Great Demon King deliberately engraved it, it won’t be easily resolved.”

“…I feel like I just heard something absurd. Did I mishear? No, right?”

“I wish you had.”

And that Demon King is trying to capture me with the full support of the demon tree.

Could there be anything more unreasonable in this world?

“Then what? If a Demon King has already been determined so soon… doesn’t that mean an invasion could happen any time now?”

“……”

I don’t know.

I truly don’t know anything about that.

====

“Bezetus.”

At Elhermina’s call, the gray-haired white man narrowed his snow-white eyes.

“What is it?”

“Good job.”

“Hmph!”

What the childlike figure was looking at was the vast, unobstructed night sky.

The heated sand had already cooled to a chilling cold.

It wasn’t a particularly long journey, but it wasn’t an easy one either.

Though they traveled on dragon wings, the intense sun made it difficult for both the dragon itself and those precariously riding on its back.

Even with magic used to improve comfort, that was the extent of it.

Nevertheless, after a few days, they had somewhat gotten used to it.

Due to physical limitations, they could only fly in three half-day segments, so they couldn’t immediately escape the desert.

The Land of Scorching Heat.

As soon as they passed beyond the typical desert area, despite the visually identical spatial formation, the air quality changed dramatically.

However, unless one was particularly sensitive, it would be difficult to truly feel that dissonance.

After setting up a temporary camp and lighting a fire, they waited.

Since they were gathered, Geornia finally spoke up to pass the time.

“Different laws apply from here on. Here, you need to handle aura, not mana, to use magic or anything else.”

“Aura?”

This was something completely new.

“It doesn’t matter much for non-mages like you… Ah, but the holy maiden over there might be different.”

“How am I different?”

Despite Alesia’s changed appearance in light armor giving her a different impression and atmosphere, her sociable nature remained the same.

“It will be harder for you to manifest holy power here than before.”

“Why?”

“…Normally, you should never have set foot in this area in your lifetime.”

Geornia cleared her throat as if preparing to make a big revelation.

“Because the being who governs and presides over this place is different.”

“…?”

“Gods, I mean. Gods.”

Then, as if curiosity had just struck him, Dyke looked around cautiously and asked.

“But why doesn’t it affect us… Oh, could it be…?”

The Great Demon King’s legacy.

In other words, the power obtained from it is neither magic nor something that borrows a god’s power.

Is that why it doesn’t affect us?

“……”

Mineth didn’t seem particularly curious either, suggesting she might have already caught on to Geornia’s meaning.

Though quiet, she was a woman of deep thoughts.

“……”

Yes, this was the issue.

Excluding Dyke, everyone else was female, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

…Excluding the dragon, who wasn’t human.

Of course, as a seasoned traveler, Dyke wasn’t particularly conscious of it.

But then there was Elhermina.

‘Sigh.’

But Dyke wasn’t naive enough to reveal such inner thoughts or awkwardness.

For his age, he was mature to the point of being called an adept, an expert.

He had faced life-threatening situations multiple times and had even experienced adventures comparable to those in myths.

But still.

Even so, this situation where gods were mentioned was quite perplexing.

Just as he was beginning to wonder if this journey might be part of another myth, a small question emerged: What about Kariel, who had gone ahead?

“Is it okay to talk about that?”

When Bezetus, the dragon, asked Geornia in a sharp tone, Geornia’s expression crumpled.

“Hey! I’ve lived hundreds of years longer than you, you brat!”

“So what? You long-lived grass woman.”

“……”

Was this an insult or a reminder of her identity?

Geornia chewed on her tongue for the first time in a long while.

“Teacher, he doesn’t mean any harm.”

“I know. He’s still young and full of impudence. He doesn’t know the ways of the world, so he lacks manners.”

“If you have something to say, say it to my face. Why are you talking about me while looking at someone else? Don’t you even know that much courtesy?”

“You, you!!”

Hameren was trying hard to calm down Geornia, who was starting to clutch the back of her head.

Meanwhile, Alesia approached Elhermina and asked.

“Did you already know?”

“It’s troublesome when you leave out the subject.”

“That this place is governed by a different god.”

Geornia could have explained it this briefly and simply, but she chose to elaborate unnecessarily.

How could mana and holy power be the same?

…Or is thinking that way inevitable for Alesia as a holy maiden of the Irenis Church?

“Roughly.”

“What do you mean, ‘roughly’?”

Why would you casually know such a significant fact?

“I am the imperial princess. If I want to know something, there’s no reason I shouldn’t.”

“……”

When you put it that way, there’s nothing more to say.

No matter what excuse is made, claiming to be a princess resolves everything. How versatile. Truly versatile.

“……”

But.

It wasn’t that she had been interested from the beginning.

She knew because she had considered the practical possibility of traveling to this place, beyond mere curiosity.

The one who had informed Elhermina of this fact was none other than Bezetus.

…Before ascending to the test to inherit the Great Demon King’s legacy.

She had traveled here and there, meeting many people.

“Someday, truly, just in case. I might have been able to travel here and there. Since there’s always a possibility, I kept everything in my head as a precaution.”

“How impressive.”

Alesia genuinely admired her.

Just how much information was stored in that woman’s head?

“Yes. It was all a dream within a dream.”

Elhermina whispered softly, self-deprecatingly.

Like a gentle breeze that disappears with a single breath.

Vanishing without a trace.

Everything was a dream within a dream.

My wishes, my dreams, my hopes, my ideals.

…And my love too.

All of it was becoming a dream.