Ch.986Unhelpful Advice

# “By the goddess of order and justice who has bestowed divinity upon you, I command! Destroy that thing. Shatter its body and soul completely and receive the offering of praise for yourself!”

Astraea shouted as if singing her rage.

Unlike her usual self who maintained solemnity, her voice was filled with boiling fury.

Honestly, it was somewhat unexpected. Urging me to completely pulverize not only the creature’s body but also its soul? Her words were literally dripping with hatred.

Is it appropriate for the goddess of order and justice to speak like that?

I thought a goddess should speak more elegantly, saying something like punish him to carry out true justice… something along those lines.

…No, wait. This isn’t the time to question that.

Come to think of it, didn’t Goddess Astraea just say “So you were alive after all” upon confirming Varnir’s presence?

Which means…

“…It seems you knew who this person was?”

I muttered a quiet complaint.

It was certainly something to complain about. This meant Astraea had half-expected that I would encounter such a monster here.

Honestly, isn’t this really absurd?

“If you knew, you should have told me.”

If she knew, she should have warned me in advance. That there might be someone at least as strong as me in Alvheim.

She should have told me not to rush in recklessly, but to formulate a more thorough plan considering the existence of such a powerful enemy!

“…That was impossible. The World Tree was desperately shielding that thing. Unless it revealed its existence as it has now, even if I tried to explain, my words would not have reached you.”

Astraea offered something like an excuse.

Even for a deity, it was impossible to mention a being protected by another deity, so there was nothing she could do.

Is that really true?

It’s suspicious, but unfortunately, I’m not a god, so I have no way of knowing the truth.

…Well, thinking about it carefully, it was a somewhat understandable reason.

If there were no such restrictions, Astraea would have first recited the locations where the ancient gods’ apostles were hiding.

But since she didn’t, it’s certain that there are restrictions on what information she can share with me.

“Anyway, so you want me to kill that thing? Even its soul?”

“Yes. That must be done. That thing is our—no, the enemy of all humans who walk the earth!”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

It was truly a grandiose expression. The enemy of all humans? How am I supposed to understand what that means when you put it like that?

“The thing you’re trying to prevent. The only opportunity to eliminate the source, the one who destroyed the hope from two thousand years ago!”

Ah, so it is a being whose soul must be destroyed.

I could immediately understand why Astraea harbored such hatred for Varnir.

Baltyr. A deity of destruction presumed to be identical to Alfodhr. The final enemy in the game I played. Astraea was talking about him.

She was saying that two thousand years ago, there was an opportunity not just to prevent his advent but to eliminate him entirely.

And the one who squandered that opportunity… was this fairy before me.

In other words, if this fairy hadn’t existed, the destruction I feared would never have come about.

This one needs to die.

From my perspective, and from the perspective of the people here, he is, as Astraea said, a mortal enemy whose soul must be torn to shreds.

A deeper killing intent infused the sword I wielded.

—-

The flow of murder karma responded to my rising killing intent, becoming rougher and more intense. The crimson current enveloping my body bubbled and surged, granting me even greater strength.

Enough to counter-attack beyond mere defense against Varnir’s fierce slashes that had been coming at me with dizzying speed.

– Crack!

“Kuk…!”

Varnir let out a faint groan between his teeth. His body, thrown back by the recoil of our clashing swords, lost balance and slid greatly.

“Your strength has increased…! And that halo, is it Astraea’s doing?”

“Well, why don’t you find out!”

Durandal struck down, targeting the opening. Varnir barely blocked it with his green sword, but his body sank deep into the ground below.

The earth cracked from the impact. Raindrops exploded in all directions.

Varnir’s tentacles were bound by chains of murder karma, and Frosting’s claws tore through his armor.

The speed gap was gradually narrowing. Thanks to this, I was able to gain enough leeway to have a more detailed conversation with Astraea.

“The World Tree has granted that thing three powers: Creation, Absorption, and Fixation. They are of the same nature as the powers possessed by the World Tree.”

Astraea explained to me the powers Varnir possessed. Like a veteran player teaching a newbie how to defeat a boss monster.

The spatial transfer and the phenomenon of flowers blooming with each step—the two large-scale miracles he had demonstrated earlier—were all applications of the power of creation.

And blocking the Sword of Severance was possible because he had placed the power of spatial fixation on his sword?

She did mention one other power, but the static was so severe that I couldn’t make it out.

Is she unable to tell me about abilities I haven’t seen yet? It was frustratingly ambiguous advice.

‘Don’t you know any way to defeat him?’

“Crush him with power.”

…I should take back that veteran player comparison.

Anyone could say “just beat him up and you’ll win.” I’m going through all this trouble precisely because that’s not working.

‘Then, perhaps you could directly help me like last time…’

“That is impossible. The Great Forest is the World Tree’s domain. Even if I bestow divinity, it will only be intercepted.”

Her answer was that it was impossible to support me as she had when I defeated Amitamir.

I felt utterly deflated with disappointment.

This was a sacred situation where a goddess personally spoke to me to help, yet the content was truly of no help whatsoever.

‘…Then this will be difficult.’

Perhaps that’s why I reflexively grumbled with a pessimistic outlook, in a tone that might invite divine punishment from a less tolerant deity.

“……”

Uh, Goddess? Why the sudden silence…?

You’re not considering what punishment to inflict on me, are you?

No, that can’t be. I believe in our goddess. Our goddess wouldn’t be so petty…

As I was about to hastily offer an excuse in the face of this awkward silence,

“To begin with, you don’t need such help. Your power has already surpassed the level that can be strengthened by others’ intervention.”

The goddess spoke to me again.

Fortunately, the reason Goddess Astraea had briefly paused wasn’t because she was compiling a list of divine punishments for me.

She was simply contemplating what advice would be most helpful to me right now.

“If you seek transcendence, you must find your own path without relying on anyone else. Look within yourself and seek answers there.”

…What does that mean? Is she telling me to meditate in this situation?

“You began walking the path of karma while looking at the sky, and you’ve reached this point after breaking through the walls that blocked your way. The vessel is not yet complete, but it has taken form.”

……

This time I was the one who fell silent.

I could tell she had given much thought to what advice to offer, but it was so vague that it didn’t resonate with me at all.

“Now is the time to find the star within you.”

‘…Star?’

“Look, find, grasp, and hold it tight. The essence of your soul. The foundation of your potential.”

But what does that mean?

My original name is Sungwha… which means “star flower,” but surely she’s not referring to that.

“The starlight of the morning star that illuminates dawn.”

Astraea declared in a voice like a goddess delivering an oracle. Strangely, only those words reached my mind clearly without any static.

“Then, you will truly…”

And then.

“Are you communicating with Astraea? I don’t know what conversation you’re having, but it’s quite bothersome.”

Varnir, who had been pushed back by my consecutive vacuum blades, quietly muttered while bringing his outstretched left hand in front of his face.

“Lasil, I ask you. Can you block that?”

It was just a murmur whose meaning I couldn’t understand. However, I could clearly understand the result that request brought.

“——”

The halo that had been floating behind my head faded, and Astraea’s voice was completely cut off.

It wasn’t that the goddess had fallen silent. This was a completely different sensation. This was closer to a literal severance.

“This…!”

“Isn’t it unreasonable for those who have ascended to interfere in the affairs of the lower world?”

Varnir looked at me with a sneer. His face seemed to ask how it felt to have lost the being I was relying on.

“What nonsense. When it comes to interference, what deity surpasses that tree woman, the World Tree?”

You’re more unreasonable, you bastard.

It was clear that he had asked the World Tree to block the connection between the goddess and the saint, yet he had the audacity to talk about interference being unreasonable.

“What, is it okay because she’s only half-ascended? That’s not just pathetic, it’s downright obscene. Openly straddling both sides is certainly fitting for you gods.”

“…Blasphemous and rude.”

Varnir’s sword became even more violent. His strikes began to mix with the emotion of anger. It was like the reaction of a husband who had heard someone insult his lover or wife.