episode_0098

“The emperor was wise and wise when he was young, but he changed as he got older. I became suspicious of the people around me and became obsessed with not wanting to lose my power.”

People change as they age and as the surrounding environment changes.

Throughout history, it has been quite common for powerful figures who were young to change their personalities as they grow older.

“The old emperor began to be wary of his surroundings. And what caught his eye was this man.”

And the actions of such powerful people usually begin by first getting rid of people.

“Because the man lived his whole life for others, he received support from many people. He was not obsessed with power and wealth, so he had very little, but the support of the people was stronger than anyone else’s. Even more than the emperor, the ruler of the empire… That’s right.”

It was clear what the man must have looked like in the eyes of the emperor, who was obsessed with his obsession.

“The emperor thinks that the man will one day threaten his position and the imperial family, and decides to kick the man out. Actually, I didn’t have any intention of doing that to the man.”

“… … .”

“However, the public’s support for the man was so strong that if he beheaded the emperor without any excuse, something serious would happen. To the point where we have to be more careful than the emperor who achieved numerous achievements and made the empire more prosperous than any other country or ever.”

So, she continued.

“The emperor made a plan. A plan to bring the man down.”

Those eyes became heavy.

“I planted people. First, spread bad rumors about him. Of course, the people did not believe the rumor. Because the man they had seen for a long time was not the kind of person who would do something like that.”

However.

“Evidence began to come to light one by one. There is evidence that the man is involved in various incidents. Of course, it was manipulated by the emperor… The people didn’t know that fact.”

“… … .”

“As time passed and evidence was discovered one by one, the people’s strong faith began to waver little by little. Maybe it was. Maybe the man isn’t such a good person. and… Once trust is cracked, it crumbles in an instant.”

I could guess what happened after that without having to listen any further.

“When he came to his senses, he had gone from being the world’s most good person to the world’s most evil person. To the extent that the good deeds he had done so far were dismissed as actions to hide evil deeds and deceive people.”

If it had really been that kind of person, if it had been someone who was going to enrich himself, he would have been able to properly resist.

However, the man was truly a good man and had no power to resist the emperor’s manipulations.

In the end, the man fell to the bottom.

“Of course, the man was kicked out of the imperial family and lost everything. All that was left were cold eyes and hatred towards him.”

“… That’s strange. If he really could see the future, wouldn’t he have been able to avoid it?”

Although I felt bad about interrupting the flow, it was a bit difficult to just ignore the questions that arose in my mind.

If the man had really been able to see the future, he would have avoided a future in which he would be destroyed.

However, L lightly shook her head at my question.

“The man could see the future more clearly than anyone else, but that didn’t mean he could see the entire future. In the end, he was not an omnipotent being, but just a human being.”

“… … .”

Well, if I could see the whole future, I wouldn’t have ended up in that situation.

Maybe he didn’t make the choice to help the emperor.

“Even after being in such a miserable situation, the man did not give up. I believed that if I worked hard and took the time, everyone would recognize me again. No, should I say that I wanted to believe it… … .”

however.

“The malice toward the man did not end with him simply suffering. The people around him, his family, friends, lovers, all were persecuted. Once freed, the people did not know how to stop, and all of their precious people suffered from pain… I ended up dying.”

“… … .”

At those words, I was speechless.

How would it feel if a person who lived his whole life for others and for the people of the empire was cruelly betrayed and even had his precious people torn to death by their hands?

Because I couldn’t possibly guess how he felt.

“The man was in despair. He cursed as he helplessly watched with his own eyes the sight of his precious people dying horribly. Himself, and the emperor who made him like this, and… The empire.”

And finally.

“I decided to take revenge. Just like what happened to your precious people… No, a hundred times, a thousand times. I wanted to repay you. However, I didn’t have the power. There wasn’t even any power. In the end, the man wants to get his revenge… … .”

She paused as if taking a pause.

It had happened before, but this time it took quite a long time.

As if he didn’t want to say those words.

However, as time passed, her mouth finally opened again.

“Sold my soul to the devil.”

“… … .”

“The devil, who had great power, really liked the man’s soul, and in return he granted the man’s wish.”

Finally, her eyes returned to me.

“This is the truth about the fall of the empire.”

Calmly, she said the end of the story.

“… … .”

Even after the story was over, I didn’t say anything.

because… … .

“You look like you have something you want to point out.”

“… what… … .”

As she said, there was something strange about this story.

There were a few things that bothered me, but the one that stood out the most was… … .

“What on earth is a devil?”

The very existence of the devil.

Demons exist conceptually in this world as well.

However, it only exists conceptually and is not real.

Even if you try to keep its existence from being revealed, such a being will eventually be noticed.

Just as there are people who worship gods and borrow their power, there is no way that there are people who do not worship beings with that much power.

Moreover, from what I heard, it didn’t seem like he had any intention of hiding his identity.

Despite this, she mentioned the existence of the devil.

And he claimed that the devil had destroyed the empire.

“Well, for convenience, I referred to it as the devil… Actually, it’s not a real devil. The word devil is just one of the words that describe it.”

“Hmm… .”

“I know it’s not easy to believe. However, you have already encountered the devil.”

“I have met you before?”

At that sound, I inadvertently frowned.

What does this mean?

“Lake. Don’t you remember?”

“What on earth… … .”

As I was about to continue my denial, I had no choice but to stop.

As I said, there was one thing I could guess.

The ‘crack’ seen in the lake.

And the ‘it’ that was beyond that.

“… That’s the devil?”

Of course, it is understandable if it is said to be the devil.

Even at that time, I was at the level of Ten Swords, so I could not even guess the extent of its power and was completely overwhelmed.

Even just looking at the size of the power possessed by the being that ‘it’ was sharing its power with, it was at a level that overwhelmed me.

I thought that with such a being, it would be quite possible to destroy the empire overnight.

“As I said, the devil is just one of the words to describe them. Rather, if you look at its essence, it might be correct to see it as ‘God’.”

“‘God’… Wait, ‘those’? Does that mean it’s not one?”

“Of course. What you saw was just one of them.”

“… … .”

There is not just one being with such transcendent power.

Those were words that completely destroyed my common sense.

The story made my mind wander for a moment, but I quickly looked up again.

“… No, wait. Then isn’t it strange? If there are multiple such beings, then the continent is in such good condition. Even if humanity was destroyed a long time ago… No, I don’t think it would be surprising if this continent itself disappeared without leaving even a trace of dust.”

If there is not one such being, and if they are not good enough to be called devils, then the continent should have been destroyed long ago.

There are several people who can destroy an empire overnight.

And yet, I didn’t quite understand how the continent, and humanity, had still survived with such a long history.

To my clear question, L answered right away.

“Of course, with their power, that is quite possible. No, it’s not difficult. They are beings who can destroy the continent all by themselves if they put their mind to it.”

However.

“There are restrictions for them too. They are the rulers of the ‘outside’ world that do not belong to this world. Their power is certainly transcendent, but they cannot arbitrarily interfere with this world. In order to interfere, they also have to pay a significant price.”

They also have their own limitations.

That was a fortunate sound to hear.

However, it was also a sound that raised other questions.

“… So, how did the empire fall? Listening to the story, I don’t think it would be easy to interfere that much. It’s only worth the price of one human soul.”

Putting aside a man’s nobility, a single human soul is not of great value.

But I didn’t quite understand why the devil would grant such an enormous wish in exchange for only one human’s soul.

Without even going to that scale, the number of people who have died simply because of that wish is countless.

No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t make sense.

“Yes. For an ordinary human soul, such a thing would have been impossible. No matter how highly the devil values his existence, it is not profitable to destroy the empire with something like that.”

El nodded, affirming my question.

And, he added quietly.

“If it is the soul of an ordinary human being, that is.”

That’s usually the case with human souls.

That meant only one thing.

The man’s soul was not the soul of an ordinary human.

For the man’s soul, it was worth it.

That’s what she was saying.

If that was true, there was something to be guessed about.

“Is the power to see the future of such great value to them?”

The power to see the future.

She said that the man could see the future more clearly than anyone else.

That’s probably the most special thing about the guy.

However, questions still remain.

Seeing the future is definitely a great power.

However, that was only a human standard, and it did not seem worth it to a transcendent being who could destroy an empire in an instant.

“Of course. They probably have greater value than anything else in this world.”

“… … .”

“You don’t seem to understand. But if you hear this, you’ll know. Why it’s worth it for a man’s soul. Why is the devil so greedy?”

Her eyes shined transparently.

“If you know where the power to see the future comes from.”