Ch.190Life and Death (4)

The Demon Realm was a place that exuded a sense of chaotically mixed environments.

In fact, it wasn’t just a feeling. Most of what was visible revealed the distinctive disorder of jumbled environments.

Just when you thought you saw something like a desert, snow was piled on the peaks.

Everything had a purplish hue, but the accumulated snow glistened black, and even the snow itself seemed alive, writhing and indulging in the corpse of a monster collapsed dead on the ground.

Meanwhile, not far away stood a jungle.

A jungle that, at first glance, looked like something you shouldn’t enter and mustn’t go into. Llewellyn had seen even the God of Life and Death avoid such jungles.

And that wasn’t all. Occasionally, something like a city would appear, causing confusion, but upon approaching, it wasn’t a city at all.

GROOOOOOAR!

It was a monster.

A massive beast carrying city-like peaks on its back.

A bizarre creature that seemed like a mix between a turtle and an elephant. Its head was closer to a turtle’s than an elephant’s, but the thick legs and body shape could be described as elephant-like.

The monster possessed skin even more enormous and tougher than a Tarasque.

It was so formidable that even the God of Life and Death had to charge at it for quite some time before being able to kill it.

Its blood seethed on the ground like parasites, indulging in life, and the corpse was completely dissolved by the blood that had escaped from its body, becoming a handful of bloody fluid.

Watching the blood fleeing hastily toward the distant horizon, Llewellyn moved his lips.

What on earth was this place, and why were such things happening?

He couldn’t understand. But since there weren’t many means that could make this possible…

Llewellyn stared intently at the back of the God of Life and Death walking ahead.

[Play Time: 10,152 hours]

Half a day since entering the Demon Realm.

They still hadn’t gotten closer to the hermitage of the God of Life and Death. Even if they did get closer, it was uncertain whether they would recognize it.

“This is different from the Demon Realm I know. Too different…”

This Demon Realm was vastly different from the one in the Old Continent.

While the Demon Realm of the Old Continent was indeed an ominous and dangerous region with purplish, murky air floating about.

It wasn’t a place overflowing with such disorder.

When Llewellyn asked if it had always been like this, the God of Dreams denied it from behind his waist.

“Long ago, this place was a vast and wide plain. In autumn, there were enormous wheat fields stretching to the horizon.”

But now it had become a chaotic region randomly mixed without any specific environment.

Even the God of Dreams seemed to have no idea, letting out a low sigh, and Llewellyn fell into thought while listening to the god’s words.

Perhaps the God of Life and Death really did something to make it this way.

Maybe Arba’s speculation was correct.

If so, would killing the God of Life and Death solve it? He didn’t know, but there was a possibility it might, and also a possibility it might not.

Since either was possible, there was no way to decide hastily.

After walking for a while, Llewellyn called out to the God of Life and Death.

“Speak, Child of the Sun.”

“Could you go ahead and scout, then come back? We have something to discuss among ourselves.”

“Is it something I shouldn’t hear?”

“…Yes.”

He considered elaborating but no words came out. Being unskilled at lying, words didn’t flow freely without preparation.

But surprisingly, the God of Life and Death took it lightly and went ahead.

Walking toward the horizon and disappearing, the speed was by no means negligible.

While thinking that the other might have the upper hand in physical abilities, Llewellyn calmly returned to his sister.

“What’s suddenly going on? Are you feeling unwell? Should I carry you?”

“No, I’m fine. Just… there’s something the three of us need to discuss.”

Three.

Lucilla’s eyes rolled, and Llewellyn brought forward the god with only a head remaining.

“Hmm? What do you plan to discuss?”

“There are some concerning words, and things to discuss.”

Only then did Lucilla feel a small disappointment that she wasn’t the main subject, but she was rather accustomed to disappointment.

Whether Yoon Sejin brought snacks on November 11th or not, she had to be strong not to be disappointed at such times.

In the end, she was the one who won, so it didn’t matter much, but the lesson from that time still remained.

Yoon Se-ah tried not to “count her chickens before they hatched” as she waited for her brother’s words.

“First of all, what do you think of that god?”

“…I don’t know what to say.”

The God of Dreams smiled bitterly at Llewellyn’s question.

“I never thought the fallen would look like that. There’s not a speck of their old appearance.”

“Old appearance? What were they like before?”

Llewellyn had never seen Life and Death. Therefore, he only knew that appearance.

In contrast, the God of Dreams was different.

“They were a beautiful pair. Though called siblings, they were actually a beauty combining male and female.”

It was an explanation not easily imagined. Llewellyn glossed over it, assuming they had a complete human form.

And that was correct. Essentially, gods either become from humans or are modeled after gods.

In that sense, Life and Death lived up to their names.

Being born and resting in the grave is completely equal, regardless of gender or age.

“But they shouldn’t have been paired together. I only knew they had fallen as a result.”

The God of Dreams seemed shocked, trembling slightly around the eyes. The crimson pupils were wet with shock, dimming their light.

“If I had known they would end up like this.”

The deity sighed. Llewellyn looked at the god and changed the subject.

“That one has been calling me the Child of the Sun.”

It was consideration anyone could recognize. So the God of Dreams, instead of pointing out rudeness as usual, drooped his eyes with slight gratitude and looked at the young god holding his head.

“What does that even mean?”

“…It means Life and Death are mistaking you for the Steward.”

Steward. Father. Child of the Sun.

All words referring to the same being, and Llewellyn’s not-so-excellent memory recalled something he had heard before.

The God of Fire, Civilization, and Knowledge.

The most powerful god and king of gods.

A sudden thought occurred to him, and as Llewellyn looked at the God of Dreams with a darkening expression.

The god calmly affirmed.

“The Steward was the firstborn son of the king of gods, the God of Fire, Civilization, and Knowledge.”

*

It wasn’t particularly shocking news. After all, either way, the fallen one had become “Father,” and while there might be a connection to Llewellyn, it wasn’t a major relationship.

Llewellyn considered “Father” as something merely related by blood to his homunculus body.

So nothing changed.

But it wasn’t entirely unhelpful information.

Llewellyn still didn’t understand his origins, how a being that gave power simply because it found it sad when people died could be so evil.

He didn’t understand why it created things like the Three Clans, or why it bestowed power as a transcendent.

But the moment he learned that such a being was once the son of a deity called the Steward of the Pantheon and the king of gods.

Some clue seemed to emerge. Very vaguely, in reality it was closer to taking half a step forward.

Nevertheless, it was progress. Llewellyn walked through the Demon Realm lost in thought. The God of Life and Death joined without hesitation and cleared the path, stepping forward to protect the party from the various threats of the Demon Realm.

They saw many mimetic monsters.

There were quite a few monsters pretending to be human. Whether they had self-awareness was unclear, but they imitated humans so precisely that even Llewellyn hesitated to step forward, but once Life and Death intervened, it was easy to confirm they were monsters.

The bodies shattered into pieces mostly fled to the horizon in that fragmented state.

It was hard to get used to the sight of things with only heads remaining, or those with their upper arms torn off leaving only the left arm and chest, fleeing hastily on sprouted leg-like appendages.

But they could tell they were gradually getting closer to their destination.

Monsters had become rare.

Even the visible monsters were only those fleeing hastily. Llewellyn could easily guess the reason.

They were approaching the nest of an “apex predator.”

In reality, one who had no need to eat or drink, no need to harm anyone.

A deity who could slaughter monsters without any mercy or human emotion.

An overwhelming powerhouse whose movements even Lucilla, who had reached level 20, couldn’t properly track.

Llewellyn realized this fact as they approached an unfamiliar tower.

“Do not be tense, Child of the Sun. This is our dwelling.”

The God of Life and Death said this while clearly showing signs of tension.

They seemed delighted by the fact that they had been joined together for a very long time, and that they could now reunite with their lover.

And while Llewellyn felt that he might need to use that anticipation depending on the circumstances, he hoped things would turn out well.

After all, the fate that Life and Death had met was bitter even to Llewellyn.

Even though they had a repulsive appearance, it didn’t feel like someone else’s business.

He wanted to resolve things in a good way if possible, to form an alliance.

To recruit them and fill the numerous vacant seats remaining in the Pantheon.

But for some reason, he had an ominous feeling that it wouldn’t turn out that way.

His intuition, enhanced by divinity, was whispering so.