Ch.383Chapter 383 – The Laboratory, Aftermath (3)

“Strangely, everyone seems to accept this. Is there another secret I don’t know about?”

“…I’ll report on it.”

Kurs stepped forward and spoke.

After hearing about the battle with Somnus at the laboratory and the words he left behind as he disappeared, Diana’s expression turned sour.

“Are you saying he was actually a god?”

“That’s what he claimed.”

I nodded in response to Diana’s question.

Sia quietly explained to Diana.

“Christina and I briefly felt divinity from him. It must be the truth.”

“Even so, for a human to…”

Diana spoke quietly, as if unable to accept it.

“More importantly, if he truly was a god, does that mean the deity my daughter served abandoned her and reduced her to such a miserable state?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

I carefully affirmed Diana’s question.

Feeling the need to provide additional context, Kurs gently stepped forward and spoke.

“Although we were pathetically limited to mostly observing… there were similarities between Somnus’s attitude and that of the Emiris deity’s avatar we saw in Florence and the Kingdom.”

“Such as?”

“I believe it’s the fact that they refuse to show any willingness to communicate if the other party doesn’t meet their standards.”

Kurs said with a darkened expression.

“In Florence and the Kingdom, Emiris tried to obliterate the area with divine power. He was only focused on eliminating his enemies, not even pretending to listen to the pleas of his own insignificant followers. …And this time, Somnus similarly refused to properly engage in conversation with Saint Cara, his former colleague, as if her words held no value, and was only interested in eliminating his enemies.”

Kurs looked at me as he spoke.

“…Perhaps from his perspective, only those he considers his adversaries are worthy of conversation with him.”

“Or he thought they were worth trying to persuade with words.”

Beatrice interjected lightly, but even she seemed to find it absurd and smirked.

Honestly, if that attitude was meant to persuade someone with words, it would be harder to find aspects of the conversation that weren’t problematic.

“So that’s why everyone seems to accept this.”

Diana sighed and covered her face with her hands.

“…I see. So the pendant Tina gave me had magic cast on it, not divine power.”

“It’s speculation, but I believe Platinum Saint knew Somnus’s true identity.”

“I’m sure she did.”

Diana quietly affirmed.

“Unless one is a fool like the Regent, even if a power is familiar and strong, one wouldn’t rely entirely on power originating from one’s enemy. It might be different if the power fully obeyed the wielder despite sharing the same source, but divine power isn’t like that.”

Divine power is exercised by receiving strength from a deity.

Of course, there might be ways to process it for complete control that I’m unaware of, but the fact that divine power must be received from a god remains unchanged.

If the power itself belonged to him, it was natural to be wary of using it.

Judging by the fact that she passed on a magically enchanted pendant to Diana, it seems the Platinum Saint knew this and made the best preparations she could.

“Before we miss the timing, let me say that the Platinum Saint did indeed discover Somnus’s true identity.”

“I suppose it remained in that child’s memories.”

Diana looked at Beatrice with sad eyes for a moment.

Beatrice nodded and continued her answer.

“Do you also know how she discovered it?”

“The Platinum Saint was deeply versed in divine arts and very curious. Like mages, she continuously explored and researched where the power they used came from, and the methods and processes behind it.”

Beatrice spoke quietly.

“She was quite unusual in that most devotees only know their divine power comes from their god and don’t think to examine it closely, and even those who try usually stop at a certain point. She delved into it, researched it, almost crossing the line into heresy. …It seems several fortunate circumstances aligned.”

“That child was always curious. In any direction.”

Diana smiled with a face that looked like she might cry, remembering old times.

Seeing Diana like this, Beatrice and Chris’s expressions darkened slightly, but Beatrice took a deep breath and continued.

“Though some memories are damaged, I’m certain. The Platinum Saint had almost precisely figured out the structure of how gods supply divine power to their followers. She was practically unrivaled in her research on divine arts and power.”

And Beatrice added that this led to the current tragedy.

“She noticed that Somnus’s connection was special—someone she often clashed with. It seems she realized he received divine power with the highest priority. Still, she apparently conducted an experiment just to be sure.”

“What kind of experiment?”

“She tried using that connection I mentioned to send a small amount of processed divine power to Somnus.”

Beatrice narrowed her eyes as she continued.

“She hypothesized that if the god sent power to both her and Somnus, she could, in turn, send her power to Somnus through the god. The Saint immediately carried out this experiment… and it succeeded. But Somnus noticed what she had done.”

Beatrice quietly explained that despite using such a minimal amount of power that it should have been nearly undetectable, Somnus detected it precisely and became furious.

“From Somnus’s perspective, it could be seen as a mere human interfering with his domain.”

“That’s right.”

Beatrice affirmed my statement.

With that arrogant personality, he might have lost his reason upon discovering someone had intruded into his exclusive domain.

After glancing briefly at Chris’s face, I quietly addressed Beatrice.

“Considering Somnus’s character, I imagine he would have immediately tried to eliminate her.”

Beatrice nodded at my words.

It seemed that while they were already political rivals, Somnus became more active in trying to eliminate Platinum after this incident.

After hearing how Platinum Saint came to discover Somnus’s identity, Cara, whose expression had darkened, quietly asked a question.

“Um… no. I’m curious why the Platinum Saint couldn’t come up with a proper countermeasure.”

“That’s…”

“The reason is simple. No one would believe her, and she had no one to trust.”

I spoke up instead of Beatrice, who was about to answer.

“The Order is a place where people who believe in the god gather. Even as the Saint of the Order, she couldn’t tell people that her political rival was a god trying to kill her.”

It seemed unlikely anyone would believe a Saint who claimed her political rival was a god trying to kill her when she was supposed to worship the Order’s deity.

Perhaps she would even face accusations of degrading the god to the level of a mere political rival.

Given the Order’s characteristic of having many zealots, it wouldn’t be strange if she faced condemnation for daring to claim a god was human.

Besides that, according to Beatrice, Platinum Saint had crossed a dangerous bridge to discover that Somnus was Emiris, making verification difficult.

Moreover, since the brief experiment could be seen as trespassing into a god’s domain, verification became even more impossible.

Any attempt at verification would only serve to hand good ammunition to her rival.

In a way, Platinum’s position had become the shackle that prevented her from properly resisting.

I carefully spoke while looking at Diana.

“Of course, Diana would have helped the Platinum Saint, and the Platinum Saint would have trusted you… but Diana, you’re the Platinum Saint’s mother.”

“……”

“I think she didn’t want to put her mother in danger.”

It must have been Platinum Saint’s stubbornness to protect her family.

Like the pendant, she probably didn’t reveal anything because she wanted to protect Diana.

And the fact that Diana was here unharmed now suggested that her stubbornness had succeeded.

“…My foolish daughter…”

Of course, it must be painful for those left behind.

Diana sighed and covered her face with her hands.

I looked at her with sympathy as she tried to calm herself.

…Perhaps Somnus’s neglect of Diana was partly why she remained safe.

Whether he intended to mock the mother who didn’t know the truth indefinitely, or whether he simply left her alone knowing that an ignorant Diana couldn’t be an obstacle to him, I couldn’t tell.

Diana finally composed herself and looked at me. I nodded to her and then turned to question Beatrice.

“By the way, Beatrice. According to you, the reason Emiris reduced the Platinum Saint to such a miserable state was…”

“Because the Platinum Saint discovered his secret and had enough skill to briefly intrude into the divine realm, he saw potential use for her. So he reduced her to that state and exploited her. There was probably an element of mockery and venting his anger against his enemy too.”

Beatrice spoke quietly.

After pondering for a moment, she glanced gently toward Chris and continued.

“Even in the midst of all that, the Saint… worried about her family’s safety constantly. She couldn’t resist when being forcibly used, and couldn’t resist even when not being used, but she kept her heart intact.”

Chris quietly gazed at Beatrice.

Beatrice continued speaking.

“Perhaps that’s why. Even in a situation where she couldn’t offer any resistance, the Saint initiated maximum resistance.”

“Maximum resistance?”

“The preservation of knowledge.”

Beatrice said quietly.

“When being used like a machine, the Saint tried her utmost to remember the knowledge she perceived as if in a fever. So that when someone eventually liberated her, she could pass on that knowledge.”

Knowledge preservation.

Hearing those words, I sensed Sara and Eve’s expressions brightening slightly.

Beatrice continued speaking.

“Of course, there was no guarantee all knowledge could be preserved intact with only a brain remaining. In fact, the memories we’ve recovered now are somewhat damaged. But what made this attempt possible was one major mistake Somnus made.”

“A mistake?”

When I questioned Beatrice’s statement, she smiled and spoke.

“You remember, don’t you? What state the Saint was in at the laboratory.”

At Beatrice’s words, I searched my memory.

Clearly, with only her brain remaining, using divine power…

“…She could use divine power.”

Beatrice nodded at my words.

“Originally, Somnus had adjusted her brain to be able to use divine power, both to use her as an interception device like this time and to prevent the brain he was using from being easily damaged. Of course, he placed suggestions to prevent her from using it freely… but he underestimated his opponent.”

“The Saint wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.”

Beatrice nodded at my words.

“As I said earlier, the Platinum Saint was nearly unrivaled in her research on divine power and divine arts. Even with the suggestions in place, the Saint used divine arts little by little, targeting moments when the suggestions weakened… and she regained some degree of control, if not completely.”

Beatrice continued speaking.

“Somnus was careless. He didn’t anticipate that even in such a state, the Saint would resist for her family, that the weapon he provided for his own convenience would eventually become a tool for the Saint’s resistance.”

“…Tina.”

“Mom…”

Diana and Chris murmured simultaneously.

Whether by coincidence, neither seemed to have heard what the other said.

Beatrice, finding it difficult to watch Diana quietly wiping her eyes, deliberately averted her gaze and continued.

“…Even when resistance became somewhat possible and she found a method, the Saint didn’t let her guard down this time. She knew Emiris was more powerful and sharper than she had thought. And having been defeated and reduced to such a miserable state, she was cautious. So, she allowed herself to be thoroughly exploited during normal times.”

“Thoroughly exploited during normal times?”

In response to Kurs’s question, Beatrice nodded and continued.

“That was necessary to avoid suspicion. She lowered herself to conceal the dagger from someone who underestimated humans.”

So the Saint, while seemingly submitting, was secretly rebelling and resisting.

“The Saint secretly cast divine arts to preserve knowledge when she judged his vigilance had weakened while being exploited by him. So that even if she couldn’t deliver it in time and became a corpse, she could pass on as much knowledge as possible. …Thanks to that, the damage was not severe, and we were able to recover most of the memories.”

Beatrice quietly looked at me as she spoke.

“And because she regained some control over her brain and could resist a little with divine arts, the Saint was able to deliver a message to us while briefly alive when Somnus tried to silence her for the last time. …She prepared for that single moment while being exploited.”

Beatrice quietly finished speaking.

After a moment, Cara quietly opened her mouth.

“…What remarkable mental strength. The Platinum Saint.”

Cara, who had briefly covered her face with both hands, spoke again.

“How it was possible, how she accomplished it. I can’t imagine.”

“…You might be able to do it too.”

Since Cara was born through a somewhat special method.

Cara looked at me at my words.

“Can you explain?”

“It’s speculation, but if it’s alright to share.”

“Tell me.”

At Cara’s request, I turned my head toward Diana while subtly glancing at Chris as I spoke.

Noticing my gaze, Chris looked at me.

“It’s simple.”

I quietly uttered the embarrassing words.

“She truly loved her family, so she resisted for her family’s sake.”

Chris, Cara, and Diana quietly bowed their heads.

Concerned about Chris, Sara gently rose and went to Chris’s side.

Chris looked at me with a strained smile.

I quietly said to her.

“You can leave if it’s too difficult.”

“No. …I’m fine.”

Chris smiled.

Though slightly unsteady, her eyes looking at me were somewhat stable.

Then Diana quietly spoke.

“Thank you.”

Diana said, looking at Beatrice.

Beatrice quietly asked.

“For what…?”

“For telling me a little more about my daughter, I’m grateful.”

Diana said quietly.

And soon she spoke quietly again.

“…There’s no need to forcibly stop that story out of consideration for me. We didn’t gather here to hear about that child.”

“Diana…ma’am.”

Chris quietly called out to Diana.

Diana seemed to be thinking about something briefly, but soon smiled and looked at Beatrice.

“Young mage.”

“Is there something you’d like to ask?”

Beatrice asked carefully and respectfully, and Diana spoke.

“…My daughter gathered knowledge to resist Somnus… that is, Emiris, you said.”

Diana quietly looked at Beatrice.

“How much helpful truth did you obtain? Were they memories that would help you? Was my daughter’s resistance worthwhile?”

Diana asked with intensity in her eyes.

Beatrice nodded.

“To answer directly, yes.”

Beatrice said quietly.

“Knowledge we needed, and some knowledge we had already discovered during our journey. And…”

Beatrice’s eyes narrowed.

“Even the reason why Somnus wanted to create a hero.”

The Saint remembered everything and passed it on, Beatrice quietly added.