episode_0058

Fulcanelli.

The head of the continent’s foremost alchemist association, the Emerald Tablet.

Though she held the highest authority at the youngest age and possessed the skills of an alchemist, she appeared on the surface like a young, capable genius of the century.

“Cackle cackle.”

In reality, it was safe to say she was a half-mad, deranged alchemist.

‘Was it said that the reason she became like that was due to human experiments conducted by the Prophets in her infancy?’

Because of that, she was said to harbor immense hatred for the family and Prophets who made her that way.

‘Well, who among Gram’s Enforcers wouldn’t hate the Prophets?’

Including the Enforcers and even the Judges, the majority of them bore grudges against the Prophets of Mount Minerva, so hating the Prophets wasn’t a particularly remarkable trait.

For instance, when the Demon King appeared, Lerei was cast aside by the Prophets, leading to the destruction of his empire.

And El Cid’s family was burned down by them.

Not to mention me.

Thump.

She descended a ladder from a giant cylindrical machine, waving her hand and greeting me warmly, as if welcoming a long-unseen friend.

“It’s been a long time.”

‘…It’s always strange to see.’

Most Enforcers fear the Judges.

Even though the Creator acknowledged their absolutism, and each of them reigned like kings within Gram, holding positions of ultimate power.

Yet, this woman alone treated me and the other Judges so casually.

Whether it was because she had no fear, or because she was insane.

Whatever the case, she was a rather peculiar individual even among the Enforcers. So, I restrained El Cid, who was glaring at her with murderous eyes from behind, and replied curtly.

“Yes. The Creator has prepared a gift, I hear.”

“Yes, I just finished making it last night. Wow, this isn’t something that can usually be made so quickly, but the imperial workshop really seems to be excellent. Even if it was already nearing completion, I still can’t believe how ‘such an item’ could be whipped up in just a few days.”

“Just give me the item.”

“Alrighty.”

No sooner had I spoken than she threw the item to me.

Clink.

The item I received was an oval-shaped gem.

An object shimmering with a luminous golden and orange light, blended together.

The amber of the World Tree looked exactly like this.

“Is it amber?”

“Amber? Not a chance. This is an item that can’t even be compared to the amber you obtained after slicing off the heads of the Legion Commanders. No, that amber was indeed formidable, but in terms of practicality, this is far more impressive.”

Amber, simply put, could be considered like the blood of the World Tree.

It was characterized by an amber hue that emitted a golden light much brighter than gold, and its greatest effect was the ‘suppression of power’.

For example, it could be seen as an object that existed for the Golden Tree, which held immense divinity, to fully preserve its own power.

I, too, had on several occasions taken and used the amber that the Legion Commanders each possessed to suppress the rampage of ‘Darkness’.

“If not amber, then what is it?”

“Amber.”

She wasn’t referring to the City of Destiny built by Feanor.

The heart of the World Tree, the Golden Tree.

Because ‘Amber’ originally referred to it.

“It’s an item mimicking that sacred artifact, the most precious on the continent, currently held by the greedy prince.”

At Fulcanelli’s words, El Cid also showed a surprised expression.

“Are you saying they’ve made a fake Amber with current technology?”

“The word ‘fake’ is a bit irksome… but yes, that’s what it is. Of course, its completeness is significantly lower than the real thing, but it can still perform the original functions that Amber possessed, albeit *very* awkwardly.”

“Being able to perform them awkwardly means…”

“It means if you only have a Golden Branch, you can create a World Tree about my height.”

“My goodness…”

“And most importantly—”

Grin.

With her peculiar perverted… no, eccentric smile, Fulcanelli revealed Amber’s most crucial function.

“Just like the real Amber, it can also grant the user’s wishes.”

As the Ark settled upon the great lake, the Navigator journeyed to Numenlora and planted a branch there.

The branch became a sapling, the sapling grew into a tree, and the tree became a colossal World Tree.

The colossal World Tree created its own heart; that was Amber, the source of omnipotence.

The Navigator brought about immense desires that even Amber’s wishes could not fulfill, in the form of contracts that demanded a price, thereby creating the order of this world.

Aided by the hidden ‘Guardian of the Golden Tree’, born alongside the tree.

『Imperial Library, 《The Footsteps of Father Navigator》』

El Cid, who hailed from the Golden Age even more so than I, asked with greater excitement.

“Then, just like the Navigator or the greedy prince, can’t it grant any wish desired?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Its performance is significantly inferior. While it might grant minor wishes like demanding a huge pile of gold coins or those limited to individuals, wishing for such grand things is impossible.”

In the first place, the ‘Guardian of the Golden Tree’ who supposedly helped the Navigator when he made his wishes isn’t here either.

“So even if this were the real Amber, wishing for something absurd like twisting providence, as the Navigator did, would be impossible. No, it *is* impossible.”

“Then what’s the scope of the wishes?”

This time, I questioned her.

“Hmm… resurrecting the dead, or things like that, are naturally out of the question. That’s essentially twisting providence. In short, if I were to give you the answer you most desire, Judge-nim—”

Her green eyes turned towards me.

“It can grant one of your ‘old and minor wishes’, Judge-nim.”

“…You knew?”

“Please don’t be too angry. Wouldn’t I need to know the scope of the wish you desire, Judge-nim, to create a proper Amber? What if Amber’s power wasn’t enough for the size of your wish?”

Her words were correct.

After all, if Amber’s power proved insufficient for my wish, then ten years of effort and Cerebus’s promise would all have been in vain.

To avoid creating even a one-in-a-million scenario, informing her of my wish would have been the best course of action, even from Cerebus’s perspective.

‘Right.’

I hadn’t revealed my identity anyway, just mentioned a minor wish, so there was no need to react so sensitively.

As I nodded in understanding, Fulcanelli adjusted her goggles with her peculiar eccentric smile and continued speaking.

“Anyway, it was quite a rewarding endeavor for me. I was having trouble with my research anyway, but while making the replica version of Amber, I also achieved a great deal academically. Oh~ if only the workshop work hadn’t been so busy, I would have researched the replica version a bit more; it’s quite a shame.”

Come to think of it, Fulcanelli was unusually busy because of her work in the workshop.

“By the way, you’re managing to run such a huge workshop so well even amidst the nation’s turmoil.”

“This is all~ not thanks to the Creator and Judge Sargon’s efforts both materially and spiritually… but thanks to public sentiment that we could manage it so well.”

“Public sentiment?”

“Don’t you know? Before the coup, the Empire’s public sentiment was at rock bottom.”

Under the pretext of the upcoming Numenlora siege, all heroes were even made to participate in the system, and a magnificent victory parade temporarily diverted public attention.

Due to the Empire’s national strength having declined beyond words after the reckless great expansion wars, the residents’ resentment towards the Emperor and the Imperial family was indescribably intense.

It was to the extent that rumors circulated, saying if not for the continent’s fate hanging in the balance due to the war with the Emperor, or if they weren’t at war with other nations or facing immediate disaster, a rebellion would have broken out.

Just hearing this would make it clear how far the Empire’s public sentiment had plummeted.

“But what does that have to do with public sentiment?”

“From the outset, the imperial citizens are only wary of us because Gram is part of the shadow forces, but they gladly accept the collapse of the Imperial family itself. And that’s—”

Her gaze drifted far away, towards the workshop where sun-like furnaces glowed.

“The workers here were no different.”

From what I heard, the animosity towards the Imperial family seemed far more severe than I had known.

Due to the reckless expansion wars, most citizens had one family member forcibly conscripted and dragged off to the battlefield.

An enormous quantity of war materials was demanded, leading to exploitation across the Empire and even deteriorating working conditions in workshops, forcing them to live lives worse than slaves.

It was even said that a certain Prophet held the artisans’ families hostage, forcing them to produce war supplies without sleep, so the workshop artisans in particular welcomed the Empire’s downfall more than ordinary imperial citizens.

It went so far that people called Gram, a shadow force standing in opposition to justice, the apostles of justice who came to destroy the evil empire.

“So, when we offered them decent treatment and wages, they started working here without much resistance. They even called it a chance to properly stomp on those Shahlnu imperial family bastards, and are frantically producing war supplies for quelling the resistance, even without being asked.”

“It seems their resentment towards the Empire was considerable.”

“Yes. Very much so, beyond imagination. And—”

She wore a rare, serious expression.

“Perhaps once news of Orlando’s death and the failure to subjugate the Army of the Dead spreads… arrows of wrath will likely pour down upon the Prophets as well.”

“…Indeed.”

Less than a day had passed since I heard the news of Orlando’s death from Cerebus.

This meant there was still a significant amount of time left before that news spread across this vast continent.

But soon, the leaders of various nations across the continent, having received contact via crystal ball, would also realize that fact, and the Prophets’ political foundation would completely crumble.

They had projected immense influence based on their foresight, but despite committing all sorts of atrocities with that foresight, the very foundation of their influence, they failed to subjugate the Army of the Dead.

“Furthermore, if we inform the populace that all the heroes who returned to our side are alive, countless individuals will appear, willing to brave death to climb Mount Minerva and kill the Prophets.”

Indeed.

That’s why we went to such lengths to capture all the heroes alive.

Of course, in that process, I heard that Rinaldo was crippled by Oh Shin, or that Talfinus lost one eye due to the [Witch]. Regardless, the heroes captured for that purpose are currently confined in the VIP room.

As she said, if it becomes known that the disaster’s subjugation failed despite all heroes surviving, the Prophets will fall without us needing to lift a finger.

They, who had been rulers of the continent for thousands of years, even before the founding of the Le Empire.

Their accumulated karma, building up over a long time, would now collapse like a sandcastle before the waves.

“……”

“Judge-nim, aren’t you going to kill them yourself?”

“What do you mean?”

“Most of us hate the Prophets of Mount Minerva, but I heard your hatred for them, Judge-nim, is particularly strong. So I thought you would personally lead knights there…”

Her gaze shifted to El Cid.

“It’s just that I don’t understand why you sent that battle-crazed Oh Shin to the mountain, instead of Sir Rodrigo de Dias.”

“……”

She wasn’t wrong.

Perhaps if it were the old me, instead of sending Oh Shin, I would have drawn my sword and gone to cut off their heads myself.

But due to the hatred for them, which had faded to nothingness and then completely vanished, I no longer cared what happened to them.

…How should I accept this?

‘The emotion of anger hasn’t completely vanished.’

Only my feelings towards the Prophets had disappeared; I still harbored resentment towards Roland, and some degree of hatred for Impurity, one of the main causes of misfortune.

‘But the greatest hatred, that for the Prophets, had completely disappeared.’

Is it not that an entire emotion is being carved out?

Perhaps, since the greatest hatred for the Prophets has vanished, it might be more accurate to say that the emotions related to that memory disappear, rather than the emotion of anger itself vanishing.

Then, if I were to use the black flame again, for instance, either the resentment towards Roland or the hatred for Impurity would disappear.

Or perhaps emotions related to someone else, completely unrelated to this, might vanish.

‘…In any case, I must never use the black flame again.’

“…Judge-nim?”

It seemed my thoughts had lingered too long.

El Cid was looking up at me with a worried expression.

Regaining my senses, I looked ahead again and saw Fulcanelli waiting for my answer.

Looking at her, I formally replied to her earlier question.

“I am merely the Creator’s sword.”

Fulcanelli subtly showed a disappointed expression, as if my answer wasn’t what she had expected, finding it uninteresting.

After El Cid warned her for her impertinence, I took the fake Amber and left the workshop.

Hiss─────

Thud───

As the workshop door closed, El Cid looked at the Amber in my hand and asked.

“Are you planning to make a wish with Amber?”

“Yes.”

“Then… may I ask what kind of wish that is?”

“……”

…It’s just.

“It’s merely a very minor wish.”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes.”

Yes.

With just this.

I can now erase the very existence of Agapé from this world.

***