Ch.313103. If That Is My Duty (3)

That’s….

“……?”

“……”

“What’s that? Why did you stop talking?”

I’m not standing here to force my will or opinions on anyone.

That’s not why I came all this way.

But still, I haven’t obtained a clear answer.

While I hesitated, he spoke.

“I am the guardian of balance. I serve the will of the World Tree, more like a gardener who prunes its lower worlds.”

Lowering one knee and raising the other, he rested his skinny arm on it, rolling up his ragged sleeve as he spoke.

“My immediate role is to ensure that the many worlds remain as they are, and to cut away diseased worlds like pruning branches.”

“……”

“And you all resent me for it.”

The War God yearns for his world of origin to become unique.

The Emperor of Light, in some sense, shared the same goal as the War God.

But.

“You seem different, somehow.”

“……”

“What are you trying to do? Don’t tell me… you even resent the pruning? Someone who can’t bear not to save everything… like a fingernail of the Holy Father and Son.”

What should I say?

That’s not it, but the reason I can’t perfectly refute those words is, what exactly?

“Why? Why not try to save even the shit that’s been shat? Why not save corpses? Don’t you feel any guilt about burying them, burning them, or leaving them to be eaten?”

“Old man. Have you gone senile? How is that the same as this?”

He interrupted.

With armor and chains wrapped around his entire arm, the War God joined the conversation, casting a fierce gaze through his helmet.

“You think it’s different?”

“Ha. Don’t even bother speaking.”

The War God scoffed.

And then.

“From the beginning, that one is something completely different from us. Among those of us called Kariel here, only that one has lived a life completely different from our trajectory.”

The Demon King of Wisdom.

The Golden Beast.

“Among the many Kariels, only that one claimed to be the disciple and successor of the Demon King.”

“Indeed. An unforgivable… sin.”

Even the Emperor of Light joined in.

“And to think it was done to rebel against the heroes who saved their parents and the world, and against their homeland. To resolve one’s own resentment by kneeling before a Demon King and selling one’s soul. How absurd.”

“……”

The three of them glare at me.

The ragged man sitting there.

Perhaps he possesses the most formidable authority, power, and wisdom among us here.

…In the end, the three of us are products of deterrence created to restrain him.

But at this point, that relationship has begun to reverse.

“Either burn the World Tree or rule it. Those were the only two fates given to us.”

“You chose neither.”

“You were deluded by the fantasy of saving it, and ruined the greater cause.”

They display their hostility.

Just from that, a pressure and force washes over me as if the entire world has become my enemy.

That ragged man there observes countless parallel worlds and cuts away useless, powerless, hopeless worlds.

In essence, he is something equivalent to a divine rank and position.

In ancient times, such beings were called gods and goddesses who governed fate.

And even the chief deities of those eras dared not insult, dominate, or oppress them.

Even divine beings are subordinate to fate and destiny.

“……”

That’s why.

My position and standing are quite different.

And that’s also why the Demon King of Wisdom, even in death, never entered the netherworld, hell, heaven, or the celestial realm.

She belonged to none of this world’s constraints, flows, cycles, rules, principles, or laws.

“But Kariels, we still have a chance. We have the right to make better choices through compromise.”

“Old man. Stop talking nonsense. Do I look like someone who would compromise?”

“…You need to suppress that explosive temperament of yours. Do you think he would have spoken like that without considering your nature?”

“I’d bet my entire fortune that whatever it is, I won’t accept it either way.”

“Hehehe. What fortune do you have to make such a fuss about, now that you’re a ghost after death?”

While they were hostile toward me, they continued their heated debate to gain the upper hand.

I quietly observed them.

“…Instead of just sitting there silently, why don’t you say something?”

“……”

I quietly looked up at the sky.

The Demon Tree that covers the sky.

It would be the reverse side of the World Tree, like the back side of a coin.

“How arrogant.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you muttering about?”

“Sigh……”

“……”

As they said, I embody a completely different narrative from them.

It’s not just about my bond with the Demon King.

…They were born as demigods, superhumans… destined for greatness.

That’s why they rose to such positions.

Even the distant dream version of myself that I just witnessed… was by no means an ordinary or lonely life.

By our standards, it might have seemed that way.

But by my standards, even that was absurd.

I was at peace there.

Beyond everything going well, even when things went wrong, the whole world, everyone around me, would wrap around me, compensate for my missteps or deviations.

…They guaranteed my well-being.

Truly, it’s an exquisite model garden.

An incredibly kind… cage.

“I didn’t desire power to defeat anyone.”

I didn’t take up the sword to cut or stab anyone.

And I certainly didn’t do it to force my will through violence.

…Those different from me, those who don’t fit with me, those I hate, those I will come to dislike.

Those who take what’s mine.

Those who try to take what’s mine.

And those who possess what should be mine…

…I didn’t cultivate power to kill or persecute them.

“Unlike you, I never craved power to prove that my words are right.”

The reason I cultivated power is very simple.

Just to convey my resentment to my father and mother…

In a way, there was no grand cause or nobility, no extraordinary reason.

‘That’s why I never harmed anyone.’

Except for my family and a few people around them.

I think that was unavoidable.

And as for harm…

Whatever influence I had was merely a byproduct that emerged in the process.

And.

The reason I appeared to pursue goodness…

‘It wasn’t because it was the right thing to do.’

That impulse to stop a child from crying.

That small desire to help someone in need.

Wanting to offer comfort to those who are struggling.

Wanting to be considerate of those in pain.

Simply being unable to watch as someone in danger desperately begs for help.

I don’t think I’m doing good or right things.

So my standards are probably not that noble or lofty.

I understand the suffering of the weak.

I know their grievances, their frustrations, their despair…

But that is not justice.

The weak cannot remain weak forever.

If you just turn your head slightly, they too can be tyrants who inflict oppression on someone else.

…That’s precisely what I’ve hated and despised the most.

I wanted to avoid that kind of deterioration above all.

“You don’t understand the hearts of the weak and the poor.”

“……”

The ragged man remained silent.

The Emperor of Light also remained silent.

But.

“What stupid nonsense. Why should I even consider that? Does a bird consider its prey? Even insects tear and chew their prey without a second thought, so why should I care just because it’s the same species or has the same personhood? Those idiots who get their property stolen by lords, even a mere serf who acts high and mighty as the head of his household and inflicts violence on his wife and children! That’s the true nature of human vermin. Is it just humans? Don’t other races and rational beings do the same? Are you saying it’s not all of them, just some or exceptions? Don’t make me laugh. Aren’t they people too? Are they just demons?”

The War God vehemently objected.

“Evil is life itself. The structure of this world is built on violating and infringing upon evil and sin. Living! Even aging! It means accumulating sin mercilessly. We were created for this world, created for this purpose, and live for this purpose, don’t we? Harming beasts, oppressing the weak to extort resources, and thereby increasing the level of civilization and society, expanding it, passing that will on to future generations to advance further, develop more, evolve and grow more! That’s the structure and principle of the world. Don’t tell me you’re spouting nonsense, buried in complacency without even knowing that? Don’t you realize that the power you possess is oppressing me?! You hypocritical piece of trash!”

“……”

The ragged man burst into laughter at the War God’s words.

“You have such a lack of shame that your words run wild. Yet not a single phrase is wrong… befitting a great man who commanded an era.”

“What are you babbling about? Are you crazy, old man?”

The War God was seething with anger as he spoke, continuously huffing.

“You’re right.”

And.

I didn’t deny it.

“That’s why it’s difficult for the weight of accumulated goodness to overcome the weight of sin.”

It’s like this.

Among all the raindrops falling, one alone rises nobly back up toward the sky.

…It doesn’t make sense.

It seems to go against the natural order.

But.

Isn’t that precisely… what heaven has always desired? We already know this.

“You all know it too.”

“Then why don’t you just live so nobly and die?”

The War God snarled.

Also.

“It seems you refuse to acknowledge that bearing sin is both our duty and the best contribution we can make to them.”

The Emperor of Light.

Once a hero and emperor.

Befitting someone who resided at the forefront and highest level of that position, he focused relatively calmly on its utility and necessity.

“If we do not bear it, who will? And who suffers as a result?”

“That’s also correct! Yes!”

The ragged man cackled.

The opinions of the War God and the Light Emperor both essentially provided legitimate justification and cause for the ragged man’s pruning of worlds.

To save a tree, sometimes branches must be pruned.

A tree that isn’t pruned might die on its own.

“……”

Yes. There might be such trees.

But.

…Are all trees like that?

In this world, there are truly many and varied life forms, their types too numerous and vast to count.

To define and vaguely regulate them all as one.

What kind of excuse is that?

“Only one’s own thoughts are right.”

Self-righteousness.

The more excellent, wise, knowledgeable, and discerning one is.

…The more likely they are to fall into that quagmire.

“Only those who believe so can lead and use others.”

And.

Those over there are all… every one of them… such people.

One is a legion commander, a war god, even called a demon king.

One is a hero and emperor.

And the other one is…

A being standing far above them.

“As long as the world exists, that structure won’t change.”

I am not so great that I can say how it should be, how it could be better, how those ills could be resolved.

…I couldn’t possibly say such things.

Even if knowledge is implemented and proven through practice.

It is neither eternal nor permanent.

As life is finite, as day and night cycle, that principle is truly self-evident.

“What are you trying to say?”

The ragged man asked with an ominous look in his eyes.

Yes.

From the beginning, what I wanted to say was decided.

“What I want to say is this.”

Why do you get to decide?

“…The one who should be asked is someone else.”

I look up at the sky again.

The Demon Tree.

And.

That which cannot possibly have words or express intent.

This very world.

“It’s not for us to decide, but for this world, that tree, and the will residing in it to determine.”

I closed my eyelids.

“So you bystanders, shut your mouths.”

Do you think I came here to kill the War God or to settle the score with the Light Emperor?

From the beginning, I had no enemies.

I.

I reached this point to avoid making enemies.

I looked at the Demon Tree and asked.

“As promised, I’ve come this far.”

Now answer me.

‘Do you want me to… save you?’

Do you…

…wish to be liberated from that fate?

Creeak.

Creeeeeak—

For the first time in a long while, I feel the heavy resonance embedded in my chest.

“You! What are you—!”

The world begins to shake.

At first gently.

But soon violently.

Eventually, the world begins to scream.

And it…

The Demon Tree, which seems to have spread its roots across the entire sky, covering it completely.

…It was starting from there.