Ch.25082. As Long as We Live, We Cannot Abandon Politics (3)

Raymond and Delica were staying in their assigned room.

Inside the spacious quarters, Raymond was ostentatiously swinging a short sword with his remaining hand.

“Would you stop that annoying crap in here?”

“Where else am I supposed to go?”

Though they hadn’t been traveling together long, their unfortunate association had made him unexpectedly shameless.

Delica found this aspect of him extremely irritating.

Come to think of it, she had quite a deep, unfortunate connection with that madman.

In this world, she would have experienced the same catastrophe if Kariel hadn’t saved her.

And in the other world… he was the worst of villains who needed to be killed, destroyed, and ruined because of the disaster he caused.

Yet whether there or here, he turned out to be nothing special.

Even now, she wanted to kill him, but…

‘Damn it.’

Regardless, Kariel’s intervention had tangled all the premises of that situation.

At least here, that bastard wasn’t her enemy.

That fact irritated her and made her seethe with inner rage.

Why was she the only one burdened with these cursed memories, forced to swallow her anger?

The world truly is unfair.

“What do you think he expects from us, Delica? You know what it is, don’t you?”

“…”

“Tell me. There must be a reason he’s teaching us these things.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to talk to me? Do I need to clean out your ears for you?”

“You… What I did back then was wrong, but look what happened to me because of it. How long are you going to hold that against—”

“Shut your mouth.”

There he goes again.

Though Raymond had somewhat gotten used to it, he still felt a chill run down his spine.

That person had savage eyes unlike others his age.

Eyes that looked like they might pounce and tear something apart at any moment.

“…”

“…”

In the end, Raymond turned his attention away and reluctantly focused on training.

Meanwhile, Delica… sat curled up on the bed, suppressing her anger and reorganizing her thoughts.

‘Burn the world.’

Destruction.

Ruin.

The end.

The ideal that I, that we pursued was truly an absurd one.

Yet we were the ones who had no choice but to harbor such desires.

But just by being able to take one step closer to achieving it, this life surely has meaning.

But that…

[Do you think I never considered that?]

In the end, it’s just another escape.

[You’ve probably already noticed. You already know that even if you burn this place to the ground, countless other worlds exist beyond this one, infinitely more than here.]

Then why not burn those worlds too?

That’s what our commander sought, and what I, Lutesia, and our other comrades desperately wished for.

[That person uses the title “War God” while trying to burn all worlds except his own. He wants to reign as the sole and dignified being.]

Of course, Delica isn’t ignorant of this.

But even so, this world must disappear, be erased, and vanish.

How much hell and suffering lurk in a single world?

When I try to imagine it, everything before my eyes turns dark. Pitch black.

[That desire is impossible from the start.]

And.

He taught her.

[The world that constitutes us is merely a tiny part of a vast and expansive universe. Even if we erase our world, the super-absolute majority of worlds governed by the Great Tree, countless other worlds stretch out in the distant beyond, approaching infinity in number.]

Delica asked what that meant.

[I don’t know. I just understand that they exist.]

He, of course, said he didn’t know.

[In other words, what you claim to pursue is ultimately a clumsy escape—being satisfied with burning down the house you live in and dying within it.]

Then what more should I do here?

Delica couldn’t help but ask.

To this.

[So if you’re going to do it, properly burn not just a house but the world in its true sense, or change it. Shouldn’t you first reach a position where you can at least do that?]

What then? Are you telling me to become a god? Me, a pathetic, insignificant human girl?

[Yes. So I’m paving the way for that to be possible. That’s what I’m trying to do.]

“…”

Paving the way.

Those words…

Did that person mean that whoever walks that path… can reach a position that corresponds to it?

That he would make it possible for them to become a being that corresponds to it?

Was that what he meant?

…That’s absurd.

[But don’t have too grand an illusion. Even the delusion that gods are omnipotent is, in some sense, blasphemy and sacrilege to them.]

In a world where an omnipotent being exists.

Imperfect beings should rightfully be denied existence from the start.

So our very existence is…

…

“…”

Long ago, great ones built kingdoms and faiths to become eternal beings.

As long as civilization and the world don’t collapse, their existence won’t disappear.

Even if a country perishes, their will and techniques, their traces will remain.

Even if faith crumbles, its teachings will spread somehow.

Through word of mouth, text, pictures, traditions, culture, lifestyle, and so on.

And he… adopted a different approach from those.

“…”

At first glance, the closest approach seemed no different from faith, that is, religion.

‘The believer shall be saved.’

The true meaning of those words.

Teachings that will surely save those who believe and follow.

In Irenis Church or any religion, no matter how much you believe and follow, whether there is true sincerity, whether salvation is truly guaranteed and given…

You’ll only know after death, in the afterlife.

Therefore, it can truly test faith, belief, trust.

But worldly beings don’t know.

Only the Lord knows.

But how can we feel and understand the existence of that Lord?

Their teachings are full of contradictions.

According to their gospel, we are creatures who are cursed because we are loved, who must be broken, crushed, and ruined by trials because we are favored.

This life is just another model garden designed to make us yearn for a test version or an exiled paradise.

They claim to love everyone, but only a tiny minority enter heaven and paradise.

The rest go to hell.

They say non-believers go to hell, but believers go to heaven even if they commit devilish and demonic acts.

Which is correct?

At some point, they say even pagans can enter heaven, then others say no, and some say they’re placed in between heaven and hell.

In the end, they know nothing.

They just interpret the scriptures as they please and proclaim them loudly.

Kariel said:

[Those who know nothing themselves claim to be precious and noble. Yet these worms dare to interpret God’s words and add their own interpretations and intentions. Then they claim: This is God’s true meaning. So I ask: Is this truly God’s will?]

The answer should not be touched.

Adding the insight of worms and beasts would be a grave act of blasphemy.

It’s hard enough to uphold it, but they distort and transform the content because they don’t want to uphold it.

According to their own taste.

So it’s already not a teaching or anything else.

Just a political event and a scheme to gain vested interests in the name of faith.

The ignorant blind and deaf would be their loyal subjects.

Worldly status would have no meaning there.

[Whether they are worms or beasts themselves doesn’t matter. What’s important is that they don’t know what they are and don’t even know what they’re doing.]

So they bring up devils and evil.

Then they rationalize that we’ve been tested, that trials break us down.

In truth…

…the devil wasn’t even interested in the affairs of worms, didn’t even bother to watch.

They were just swept along by the world, the environment, their given circumstances.

There is no grandeur in their ceremonies and actions. None at all.

[Only when we break out of our shell, when the nest that supported us, the world, collapses, do we finally realize.]

That freedom has never existed in our lives.

[And the freedom we finally obtain imposes terrible loneliness and the heavy duty of responsibility from the start.]

Will you entrust yourself to others?

Your body, your mind, your soul, your ideals, your dreams, your spirit.

If they are truly guides, that act would be truly righteous.

…But what if they’re wrong?

Who will compensate and comfort your life then?

[I am placed here by virtue of the Demon King of Wisdom. And now that she’s gone, I’ve realized one thing.]

If there exists a righteous guide.

…Even if we’ve fallen into a pit and are plummeting.

At least once, maybe twice, couldn’t we climb out of that pit?

And if we slip or fall back into the pit after that… let’s say that’s their responsibility.

It’s not about trying to save those who cannot be saved.

[To extend a hand to those who seek to save themselves, to redeem themselves. That’s the direction I’m trying to pursue.]

Of course, Delica strongly objected to this.

If that could have solved anything, shouldn’t the Irenis Church and various religions, even magicians and mages have done so?

Surely the first magician and the first great mage walked the same path with the same intention as you?

What’s the difference between that and this?

Isn’t it the same when a great king conquers a continent to establish peace?

Even so, when they die, their will and intentions will blur again, and their descendants will indulge in their own self-importance and commit tyranny and calamity again.

Maybe they can lead well for a generation or two, but what about after that? What then?

Don’t ignore the cycle of history.

Kariel, do you delude yourself that you’re great enough to overcome even that cycle?

Or do you plan to live forever and monitor everything? Do you think you’re a dragon? Even dragons can’t do that!

[…The essence is different.]

Kariel calmly listened to Delica’s words.

And then.

[I’m not trying to save the world or the majority.]

Only.

[I will only show the way to those who grasp our hands. Only those connected by such fate and causality.]

Then are you going to create a family? Or what? What else is there? An organization? Something like the Order of Salvation Knights you know well, or other similar associations or organizations?

[If I had to say… Yes. An association would be most appropriate.]

Association.

[But it’s different. Different, but… the meaning will resonate.]

He said.

[I will open a gate (門). Also, I will open a path (道). Not here, but in that distant continent over there, they express it that way.]

“…”

Delica unconsciously opened her left palm and looked down at it.

Watching as a small darkness gathered there, forming a faint residue that reversed the flow of the atmosphere.

‘How pathetic.’

How is this different from pursuing an association like a religion?

After all, it’s an association that holds a single purpose and gathers, recruits, or nurtures people according to that purpose.

What’s the difference between that and this…

[There will be some difference.]

Why is that?

[Because we won’t pursue desire or profit.]

It only begins after emptying those.

[Naturally… those who reap the rewards will be few and far between.]

But it doesn’t matter.

[As long as the teaching continues, someone will nurture that fruit and claim it.]

There may be no true salvation in this world.

But.

If there is anyone who wants to save themselves.

They can surely save themselves through their own efforts and dedication.

At least I yearn for such a world.

Because I yearn for it.

====

Jinam Cheongun.

“We don’t have any special system or organizational structure.”

Simply.

“We have a history of striving to stand beside the gods, more than just worshipping them. All of those are branches and streams of that effort.”

“…”

In the darkness I had once entered.

I sincerely sought advice from someone who referred to me by the unfamiliar term Jinam Cheongun.

They seemed to know the answer already.

“Whether East or West, what they pursue must be the same. The ultimate ideal that life pursues cannot be different. Only the background and environment we’ve lived in, the given destiny and causality differ.”

Other than that.

“The will and legacy left on earth by those who descended. The culture, principles, and disciplines created by them. I believe only those differences exist.”

“…”

Before.

The lake dragon once named a holy sword as his match. He said that sword couldn’t be found on this continent.

Yet the lake dragon, Lansruth, clearly knew where that being was, which left a strong impression on me, and now I understand.

He, or rather she…

Despite being far away, her presence was clearly manifesting itself here through her aura.

“How about it, Jinam Cheongun? Has my opinion been helpful to you?”

“Jinam Cheongun. Could you tell me what that means?”

“It’s not difficult. Darkness is the origin you’ve reached. True darkness means Jinam (眞暗). And you are not a king, so you’re not a being to be called Emperor (帝君) or Imperial King (帝王). And your existence will soon reach a realm that touches the heavens. Therefore, you are a guide and a leader. So we call such beings Cheongun (天君). It means Lord of Heaven.”

“Lord?”

“Monarch, I mean.”

Monarch.

“The first monarchs were neither rulers nor governors. They were leaders. Those who went ahead, who risked danger, who led everyone from the front.”

“…I’m not sure if I am such a being.”

“Your existence is already inscribed that way in the heavenly records.”

“…Isn’t that just another shackle that confines and limits us?”

“Hahaha. Not at all. It merely tells us the realm, grade, and position we’ve reached. There are countless others besides that. Countless indeed.”

I am filled with indignation at every moment.

But from her, not a trace of such energy could be felt.

Like cool sunshine, like vivid mist.

Clear yet ambiguous.

…A presence I’ve never experienced before.

“You can resent and oppose the falling rain. But that’s simply the natural order and flow of nature.”

Opposing, fearing, and resenting all that.

In the end, all of it.

“Is just an effect created by my own mind.”

…

……

I opened my eyes.

The day had already set, and I, kneeling on the floor of my private room, recalled that conversation.

It’s not a realm I can reach again or freely observe just because I want to.

And based on the inspiration I gained then, I chose this path.

“…”

Both she and the Golden One told me the same thing.

The world simply turns according to its completed structure, and we who are thrown into it are too weak, with nothing specific to resent, so we blindly resent those things for comfort.

How foolish, how… how…

[What pitiful worms.]

Instead of lamenting your own weakness, think about changing it.

[And then they’ll forget again, and do it again.]

Look, Kariel.

Consider, Kariel.

[You don’t plan to become just like that, do you?]

“…”

If even that kind of existence had been happy.

If that were the case, even knowing it was a quagmire, I couldn’t have escaped.

If I had faced you in such a state.

…That truly would have been terrible.

Just imagining the horrific, indifferent gaze she would have given me in that moment.

It brings up feelings and sensations as if all the blood in my body is drying up.

Inside this armor I wear, countless thoughts from beings who were once demon kings swirl around.

But among them, there is no trace of the thoughts of the two great demon kings who were once considered great.

Nor can I feel any thoughts from her, who was called the Demon King of Wisdom and the Golden Demon King.

Though they embraced the fate of being demon kings.

Nevertheless, after their deaths, they surely became free from the fate of demon kings.

“…”

Setting aside the desire to accept it that way, I raise questions again.

Because I still know nothing.

So to properly understand.

I have no choice but to advance further and climb higher.

For that, with the causality I bear…