episode_0209

After I defeated Rikarin, I felt that Aria, who had returned to my side, had a strange aura. This sense of unease kept me from approaching her rashly. What was this…? This unease… I’d definitely felt it before…? As I looked at Aria with a bewildered expression due to this familiar unease, the moment she turned around and looked at me, I was flustered to see that Aria’s eyes were yellow, not red, and I said:

“…Aria… what happened to your eyes…? Did you perhaps use the Halo’s Radiance during your fight with the Saintess, and this is a side effect…? Wasn’t it just your hair color that changed whenever you used the Halo’s Radiance until now…?”

“Zeke-nim… You see, I was truly… immensely distressed all this time, due to a lingering anxiety.”

“…What?”

When I asked why her eye color had changed, Aria didn’t answer my question but suddenly said that she had been truly distressed all this time due to anxiety. I was flustered again, as if this situation was familiar. What was this…? I definitely knew this situation… It felt like a situation I should never forget… The moment I racked my memory to recall what situation was similar to this one, Aria spread both arms and spoke to me.

“Although Zeke-nim comforted me and gave me reassurance… I was anxious throughout. What if Zeke-nim gave more attention to another woman? Would I then still not be able to become Zeke-nim’s lover? I thought this every time… every time… and again every time. No matter how much I hugged Zeke-nim, or slept with Zeke-nim… I couldn’t easily shake off that anxiety.”

“You’ve already mentioned that several times before… But what in the world happened to your eyes, Aria…? What in the…!!!”

As Aria explained her anxiety, which she had repeatedly emphasized before, I was about to ask her again, with a bewildered expression, why her eye color had changed. But at that moment, I realized something and was greatly shocked. My body was currently a wreck, having been struck twice by Rikarin’s hammer… Yet, Aria, seeing me like this, didn’t heal my wounds with divine power and suddenly started explaining her own anxiety…? This was strange. No… Something was wrong…!!

“Aria… what in the world did you do with the Saintess…? Are you… are you really okay right now…?!”

“Yes, I’m fine. My heart is truly… calm right now… Because She, who knew of my anxieties, has finally given me the answer.”

“What…? She…!!! Wa-wait a minute…!!!”

When Aria suddenly said that someone who knew of her anxiety had given her an answer, only then did I realize what situation this was similar to. This… wasn’t this similar to the situation when Cecilia manipulated Aria’s mind before…? But Aria had clearly vowed not to succumb to any temptation after that incident, hadn’t she?

“That answer… what in the world is that answer…? And who in the world gave you that answer…?”

“Ah… I was truly short-sighted, Zeke-nim. Hahahaha… Everything is powerless before Her strength… to think I tried to struggle like that… I truly realized how foolish I was… Anyway, as for who She is, Zeke-nim… Right now… She will descend behind me…!!”

“What the… Aargh!!!”

Aria lamented her short-sightedness and foolishness, then suddenly spread her arms again and shouted that the one who had taught her the answer would descend from behind her. I closed my eyes at the sudden flash of light that erupted behind Aria. Then, as the light faded, I opened my eyes and looked ahead, greatly shocked to see a yellow-haired woman with long hair, dressed in white Saintess robes, floating in the air behind Aria. Because that face… that face was…!!!

“Ca-Camilla the Goddess…!!! Why are you in a place like this…!! No, that’s not the problem… Aria… don’t tell me the person you said gave you the answer was…!!”

“Hahahaha. That’s right, Zeke-nim. Goddess Camilla Herself whispered to me, as I knelt and struggled in the pitch-black darkness. She taught me how to calm this chaotic heart of mine. And upon hearing that whisper, I realized. That Goddess Camilla had pitied me for a long time… and wished for Zeke-nim and I to be together…!!”

“What in the world are you talking about, Ari…!! Don’t tell me you…!!”

Aria spread her arms and, with an ecstatic expression, praised Goddess Camilla—no, Camilla—saying that Camilla had taught her the answer. I was about to shout at Aria. But then, remembering that people were being brainwashed, turned into stone statues… no, brainwashed by divine power, I realized that Aria was now brainwashed by Camilla and was greatly shocked. But… but with Aria’s mental fortitude…

“Aria… what whisper did you hear, for heaven’s sake…? After the Cecilia incident, you had strong mental fortitude, vowing that your mind would no longer be swayed by any other being!! But now… ”

“Oh my. That’s a big misunderstanding, Zeke-nim. I am voluntarily worshipping Goddess Camilla right now. As Goddess Camilla is benevolent towards us, is there any reason for me to be hostile towards her? On the contrary, filled with a desire to worship Goddess Camilla again, who has given me such great enlightenment… I simply worship and follow Goddess Camilla, just as before.”

“What are you talking about…? You know full well what Camilla is doing to the world right now!!! And yet you’re going to follow Camilla?! No, why did you… why did you change your mind?!”

Aria nodded slightly, as if I were strange and her worship of Camilla was obvious, while I shouted at her, bringing up all of Camilla’s past actions. She had needlessly created monsters, turning the world into a monster-ridden wasteland, manipulated the World Tree to threaten the world, and brainwashed people… So why would Aria follow such a Camilla…!! Unable to grasp why Aria had changed her mind, I waited for her answer. Then, Aria chuckled mockingly at me and said:

“What do those things have to do with us, Zeke-nim?”

“Wh-what did you say?!”

“Whether they go mad as a group, self-destruct as a group, or perish as a group… it has absolutely nothing to do with us. Zeke-nim and I only need each other to be enough.”

“…What in the world are you talking about, Aria…!! You know I hate such things!!! And the world I want to explore with you will be… ”

“That is it, Zeke-nim. That is the answer Goddess Camilla gave me.”

“What…?”

I tried to convince her, about how we hadn’t agreed to explore the world together, and was about to shout why she didn’t care about the world’s destruction. But at that moment, Aria said that was the answer Camilla had taught her. I questioned Aria, flustered, and Aria looked around as she spoke to me.

“This world is full of things that threaten Zeke-nim. Didn’t our encounters always start with hostility? There were even times when Zeke-nim’s life was almost in danger… and Zeke-nim often gave attention to others instead of me… I was truly struggling with my dissatisfaction about that… But Goddess Camilla told me this… that she would give Zeke-nim and me a world where we could safely explore… and even a space where Zeke-nim and I could be all alone…!! And to do that, everything in this world must be completely remade, and that is precisely the noble act the Church is performing!!”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Aria!!! Come here at once… Ugh…!!!”

As Aria started spouting such crazy talk again, about helping the Church to completely remake this world and create a world just for us, I tried to extend my magic to grab Aria. However, due to the lingering shock from Rikarin’s blows, I collapsed, unable to properly unleash magic from my right hand. Camilla, watching me, opened her mouth and spoke.

“It’s no use, my child.”

“Ugh… What in the world did you do to Aria, you mad goddess…!!”

“Aria is my Saintess, who was originally filled with my divine power. Therefore, I used my divine power within Aria to manipulate her emotions.”

“M-manipulated her emotions…?!”

“That’s right. Aria’s hostility towards us has now vanished, replaced by benevolence. And I manipulated her to feel ecstatic about my teachings and about you. All other things as well… That is why Aria has now been reborn as my Saintess.”

I was greatly shocked that Camilla had manipulated Aria’s emotions using her own divine power within Aria. Damn it…!! Does that mean all the Saintesses I’ve met so far… and all the people who were brainwashed… came to worship Camilla in that way…!! Because she manipulated their emotions to worship her voluntarily, that’s why the control couldn’t be broken…!! How could such a thing happen…!!!

“I am Camilla, the Kaju of Divinity, my child. By my divine power, which was implanted in you long ago, you can never defy me. Neither Saintesses, nor Priests, nor monsters, nor humans… none can defy me.”

“Haa… haaa… Then, don’t tell me… you really created the monsters…? For what purpose, in the world…!!!”

“That’s too easy a question, my child. My divine power is the ability to control emotions. So isn’t it obvious that emotions are needed to amplify this ability? Especially among them… consider how one can elicit people’s desperation to obtain that emotion.”

“…!!”

Now… now I finally understood everything. Why Camilla had constantly threatened lives until now. She had manipulated people to become desperate on their own, all to increase her own power…!! To think that spreading threats like monsters and the World Tree in the world was also all to increase her own power…!! Wait… then don’t tell me… the Saintesses and Priests…!!

“Don’t tell me the reason you command the Saintesses and Priests is also to increase your power…?!”

“They continue to give me power. Although I haven’t fully descended like this yet… the moment all the symbols are complete, I will fully descend upon this world. With all the power I have gathered so far.”

“…So the reason you’ve been doing all those things until now… was merely to become complete yourself…?”

When Camilla explained that if the symbols were completed, she would fully descend upon the world with all the power she had gathered, I wore a blank expression at the realization that Camilla’s reason for causing bloodshed and death until now was merely a personal one. Then, as that blankness began to turn into fury, I began to be filled with the desire to somehow confront Camilla, dragging my aching body.

“How dare you… how dare you treat so many lives like toys for such a reason… such a personal reason?! What do you even think of life, you mad goddess!!!”

“Zeke-nim… She is the one who will bring us eternal happiness. No matter how much you are Zeke-nim, if you insult Goddess Camilla any further… ”

“My new child of light. Look at Zeke now. Your Zeke, filled with the evil power called magic, is currently corrupted. Therefore… to enlighten Zeke, you will make him lose some strength.”

“Aria would listen to such words… ”

“I shall do as commanded, my Goddess.”

When Camilla ordered Aria to make me lose strength to enlighten me, I believed Aria wouldn’t listen to such a command. But contrary to my expectation, Aria bowed deeply and replied that she would. I was greatly shocked and froze. Aria instantly approached me and swung her staff, striking my abdomen. As the staff was swung, the ring and pinky fingers of my left hand were severed by the staff’s ornament. I coughed up blood and was sent flying backward. Camilla then smiled broadly, as if satisfied, and stretched out her hand towards me as I lay fallen, saying:

“Humans have been beings carrying my divine power since long ago. That’s because I implanted divine power to be passed down through generations. Therefore, the divine power within your body will also react to me and manipulate your emotions. Come… come into our embrace, Ze…?”

“…Is there a problem, Goddess Camilla?”

“…There’s no divine power of mine at all… What in the world is happening?”

The moment she tried to manipulate my emotions using the divine power within my body, Camilla sensed something and furrowed her brow. Aria asked Camilla what was wrong. Camilla replied that there was no divine power of hers within my body, looking puzzled, and then suddenly realized something and spoke to Aria.

“It seems the corrupted energy, magic, has removed my divine power within Zeke’s body… The previous Kaju of Divinity, along with the Kaju of Light, had exterminated all the demons here… But because that demon you saw transmitted magic, we cannot bring Zeke to our side right now.”

“Ah… that is truly lamentable, Goddess Camilla… ”

“Damn it… If this was going to happen, then why… why did you wait until now to manipulate Aria’s emotions…? If you saw even Cecilia through Aria’s divine power… *Cough!*… you had been watching us all along… So why only now…”

When Camilla revealed she knew even about Cecilia through Aria’s divine power, I realized that Camilla had been observing us through Aria all this time. I asked Camilla why she had only now manipulated Aria’s emotions. If she had manipulated Aria’s emotions earlier, she could have prevented the destruction of the Lebarud facility, which was their source of Tiavel… Why…

“My child, do you truly think Aria came to love you actively until now?”

“Haa… Wh-what did you say…?”

“The reason Aria liked you was because I amplified her feelings of love. From the very beginning. Didn’t you ever feel Aria’s emotions changing drastically?”

“…!!!”

The reason Aria loved me so much, even her drastic or sudden emotional changes recently… Realizing that Camilla had been manipulating Aria’s emotions from the very moment I first met her, I felt great fury and tried to grip Trahan tightly. However, due to my unfamiliarity with Iruvan’s flames and magic usage, and the accumulated damage, my body was a wreck, and I couldn’t move… Damn it…

“Aria’s emotions provide me with great power, which is why I left you two alone until now. Even if the Church suffered because of it. And just as I expected, thanks to you, Aria was able to awaken with the Halo’s Radiance, and my divine power within Aria also became very strong. But now I can no longer afford to be complacent… and because the emblem is almost complete, the time has come to merely reclaim Aria. My Aria… *chuckles*… It’s all thanks to you, Zeke. Thanks to you, I can seize the world.”

“No… like this… I… U-ugh…”

As Camilla mocked me and embraced Aria, I tried to at least reach out my hand, but I was already utterly exhausted and simply lost consciousness. Camilla then stretched out her hand towards me, teleported me to another place, and spoke to Aria.

“Zeke might get caught up in the Church’s noble work right now, so I’ve moved him to a safe place, Aria. Let’s go to the temple now. Other children of light who will help your purpose are waiting there.”

“Understood, Saintess Camilla-nim… I’ll meet Zeke-nim again next time, won’t I? *chuckles*… By then, this world will have transformed into an ideal world, right? *chuckles*… ”

Camilla, who had sent me somewhere, then headed towards her base with Aria. But Camilla knew. She knew that I was dying right now. So wherever she sent me, I would soon die, and Aria, grieving over that death, would shatter this world. Having thus manipulated Aria’s emotions to make her worries for me fade, Camilla leisurely flew to the temple with Aria. Meanwhile, I, who had been sent to the bottom of some valley, still lay unconscious. And at that moment…

“…?”

Someone with long yellow hair approached me, where I lay fallen.