Ch.331331. Rest

The cold rising from below seeps into my entire body with biting intensity.

Even in this freezing cold that threatens to freeze her body stiff, Erika continues to glare at whoever has possessed Deus Verdi’s body.

‘An artificial body?’

Erika’s mind races fiercely, almost feverishly, separate from the cold.

In her laboratory, the Deus-shaped artificial body that Professor Per Petra had given her as a gift still remains.

At first, she wondered if some evil spirit had entered it and was acting in Deus’s place.

But Erika is a woman who has seen Deus’s artificial body more than anyone else.

“That’s the real Deus.”

That was real.

Unlike an artificial body, he was clearly breathing. Someone was using Deus’s body to control other souls.

“So you’ve come.”

At that moment, the corners of Deus’s mouth slowly rise. His faint smile conveyed a sense of welcome.

“So you are the one to punish me.”

“Punish you…”

Erika finally realizes that the reason for his request to come kill him first was because of this man.

“A single death to save the continent, rather than a meaningless eternal punishment.”

An emotion like thick dust fills his eyes. The one with Deus’s body slowly raised his staff.

“And you will become the great Mage who killed me, chosen by Deus.”

“Your identity is…”

Thinking about it, something was strange.

Even though it was Deus’s body, the opponent was wielding Black Magic.

In other words, the soul was also that of a Black Mage.

“Two hundred years ago.”

“…”

“Even if I cannot pay for the sin of the massacre, being a sacrifice for the salvation of the continent is the maximum atonement I can make…”

The massacre that took place 200 years ago.

A story that anyone who is a citizen of the Griffin Kingdom would inevitably know.

“Through the death of a sinner burdened with karma, my lady.”

White vapor erupts from the staff he holds. It begins to billow behind Deus’s back.

Soon it takes the form of a massive magical beast, looking down upon this land.

Deus.

No, Luanes Luden Griffin, who was borrowing his body, wished to Erika as if in prayer.

“Please, lead this land righteously.”

* * *

“A distinction needed to be made.”

I pour hot water over the finely ground coffee beans.

The rich aroma of coffee slowly fills the room, but the Dark Spiritmaster and Stella stare at me silently.

Nevertheless, since this was something they had been asking about for some time, I continued my explanation while brewing coffee.

“Alive, yet should not be alive. What do you think was the first distinction I made there?”

As I asked like a professor, since we were at the Academy after all, the two sighed and finally turned their gaze from the window to answer.

[I don’t know.]

[…It was the distinction between Deus and Shinwoo Kim, wasn’t it?]

Unlike the Dark Spiritmaster’s casual response, Stella gave her answer after careful consideration, and it was correct.

“That’s right. I needed to confirm whether the inevitable being the continent speaks of referred to Deus, or if it had chosen Shinwoo Kim.”

And I found the answer to that question through Professor Per Petra’s artificial body that everyone knows about.

“It was ambiguous.”

[Huh?]

[…..]

But this was the correct answer.

It was ambiguous. I couldn’t explain it any better than that.

Since I was both Deus Verdi and Shinwoo Kim, the inevitable being that fate called upon actually referred to both of us.

“Do you remember when I went to meet Aria?”

[When the god Bellas came and told you and me that we had become inevitable beings?]

[Thanks to the artificial body Deia brought, you were able to go find Aria right away.]

They both quickly remembered and answered. The two had become quite good students. When I taught them something, there were no awkward pauses; everything flowed smoothly.

“I confirmed it then. Even when I left Deus’s body, the souls inside Deus remained in a dormant state.”

Souls can remain asleep inside the body even when there is no consciousness.

But this raises a question.

“Then is the inevitable being fate speaks of Deus?”

I left the physical body and became Shinwoo Kim, not Deus.

At that time, I was Shinwoo Kim.

Just a soul living parasitically in an artificial body.

Deus’s body was alive but unconscious. You could say he was in a coma.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Did fate define an unconscious body as the inevitable being? I needed to consider this. We shouldn’t think of fate as simply a series of crises.”

[Ugh, my head hurts.]

The Dark Spiritmaster approaches me with small steps and glances at the coffee I’ve poured.

I wondered why she was bothering when she couldn’t even drink it.

[…..]

On the contrary, Stella continued to ponder. With her arms crossed, she was trying to come up with her own answer.

But seeing the commotion outside and Erika’s spear of light rising high into the sky, I continued without waiting for her answer.

“Fate also gives the power to resist harsh situations. Actually, I don’t much like the name ‘fate.’ It’s a scenario that needs to capture people’s interest, and for interest, the balance of power on both sides must be equal.”

If the enemy is strong,

the character the player controls must become equally strong.

The game Retry was garbage story-wise,

but the gameplay wasn’t bad. It properly balanced the overall leveling and enemies.

If armies from various nations were to march against me,

it meant I would be given the power to counter them.

But if only Deus’s physical body was the inevitable being, then Deus’s comatose body alone would have to overcome it, which is impossible.

Conversely, I also achieved magical accomplishments and gained excessive mana almost instantly.

So in the end,

the role of the protagonist that the scenario—or fate—spoke of had been divided between two people.

[So that’s why you said it was ambiguous.]

“Yes.”

Stella nods slightly, seeming to understand now. In the end, Deus and I were different but recognized as one entity.

[So you gave Deus’s body to Luanes now?]

The Dark Spiritmaster, who had been staring at my coffee cup, finally chimes in as if she understood something.

“Yes, it might seem cruel, but when I explained the situation, he actually welcomed it.”

[I’m sure he did.]

The Dark Spiritmaster’s expression darkened. The staff she had been bound to was no longer in our hands.

Its original owner was using it now.

[So if Deus’s physical body dies, but you survive… does that mean he died yet survived?]

The Dark Spiritmaster asked with a subtle expression. She probably thought it was a rather simple solution.

“That’s what I think.”

Because,

as I said earlier, it’s only called “fate” in this world, but it’s actually a script, a type of episode.

To unravel the already tangled episodes, I needed to push forward in a somewhat forced way.

“We must clearly understand its intention. Everything is for the sake of showing.”

If this thing called fate wanted to show a story using the continent,

we, conversely, just needed to act our roles accordingly.

What it wanted was a ‘story’ that ends with the tragic death of the protagonist.

The focus wasn’t on ‘the protagonist’s death.’

[That’s a bit sad.]

Everything happens because it wants to show a story. That could be seen as quite an extreme tragedy.

“It’s cruel. But thanks to that, we can end this easily.”

I say this as I drink my coffee.

My face briefly grimaces as the hot liquid touches my tongue.

[It’s not simple at all.]

Stella, who had been listening silently, had a dark expression. I knew she would notice.

Who would bear the heaviest role in this plan.

I deliberately avoided mentioning it, but…

[If Deus’s body disappears, what about you?]

“……”

[You entrust the fate of having to die to Luanes. For him, who needs to atone, it’s essentially an act of salvation. I understand that much, but…]

With an expression that looked like she might cry at any moment, Stella clenched both hands and asked.

[What about you? Do you intend to continue living in that body without any warmth?]

I slowly put down my coffee cup.

Only after taking a sip just now did I remember that I was inside Deus’s artificial body that had been in Erika’s laboratory.

A body that feels neither the warmth nor the taste of hot coffee.

[If Deus’s death was to conclude the final story, then you not dying is to prevent the saturation of souls, right?]

“……”

[You’ll become a body that cannot die. It means you have to live on forever.]

“Stella.”

I look at her with a bitter smile.

“Everyone on the continent can be seen as victims of the story. They’ve been moving to provide a story and entertainment for someone they don’t even know.”

This wasn’t just applicable to humans. The gods who obsessively followed fate were the same.

“Then someone has to take responsibility, don’t you think?”

I look out the window with a small smile.

On this continent, there was exactly one person.

One outsider who was both the sole perpetrator and who had enjoyed all their stories.

“I’ve helped countless souls find peace, and that’s enough.”

Death is called peace in this land.

“I am a Spiritmaster.”

If a place to rest after death has been prepared for those who lived fiercely on this earth,

“I don’t need peace.”

There was no place for me to lie down on this land.