To Kill a God

Having succeeded in prolonging the lives of the Drake father and son, Kyle left the Imperial Palace the very next day without delay.

His destination: the Holy Nation of Arcadia. Erze was definitely there.

Oswell had also secretly arranged for additional troops to be sent there, centered around the knight order he had formed.

Furthermore, the soldiers already near the Holy Nation were said to have been deployed in advance to take control of the area.

The groundwork for the holy war to defeat Erze was thus half-completed.

“Thank you again, Kyle. If it weren’t for your help, my father and I would have been killed on the spot.”

Inside the carriage heading to Arcadia, Vermillion bowed politely, expressing his gratitude.

Kyle’s face was indifferent as he looked at him.

He never thought it was something to be thanked for, and from the start, he never considered that he had successfully saved the two of them.

“It’s too early to rest assured. Even if you defeat Erze and return, they might find some excuse to destroy your family afterward. Even if His Majesty the Emperor has no such intention, the existing nobles won’t stand idly by.”

“It’s alright. If I die then, that’s just what happens. I simply needed a place to pay for my sins.”

“Are you planning to make the Holy Nation your grave?”

“…If necessary.”

Vermillion didn’t deny Kyle’s sharp words, but subtly avoided his gaze.

He had made a mistake, forgetting that there was a third party listening to this conversation.

“Vermillion, if you ever say something like that again, I won’t let you off the hook.”

“Ah, Anise.”

Anise, who usually spoke relatively gently, glared with eyes that seemed to say she couldn’t tolerate it today.

From the start, when he confessed his sins and asked to be killed along with Persia yesterday, she had been burning with the desire to stop him.

Kyle had barely saved him, and now he was talking nonsense about finding another grave.

And that too, in a situation where his lover was watching with wide eyes.

“Make the Holy Nation your grave? That’s great. Should I be buried with you too? I didn’t have a grave site anyway, so that works out well.”

“I, I’m sorry. It was my slip of the tongue. So please don’t say such things carelessly.”

“…Hmph, good if you know. Good.”

“Hoo.”

“Tsk, that idiot.”

From Kyle’s mouth, who was watching Anise’s one-sided assault, which was written as an argument between the two, came an involuntary grumble.

Even he, after being thoroughly scolded by Sylvia a few times, didn’t carelessly say things that might hurt her feelings.

How many lives does that guy have that he keeps repeating such mistakes?

Maybe Anise has the power to save even dying people, and he’s relying on that.

What if she gets so fed up that she doesn’t even want to save him?

“But Kyle, will we really be able to reach the Holy Nation? The security must be very tight right now.”

“It will be possible. That’s why His Majesty the Emperor sent soldiers in advance.”

Sylvia, who had another worry on her mind, asked with a concerned expression, but Kyle’s attitude was calm.

The thing is, even if the Holy Nation resists the Empire, they have no real options.

Basically, the Holy Nation itself is a place that exerts influence based on religious power and faith.

If it came down to a battle between armies, it would be a very small fortress that would be destroyed in less than a day.

‘Moreover, public sentiment is slowly turning away. Even if they try to resist, there will eventually be limits.’

Furthermore, recently, the misdeeds that the Order of the Sun had been secretly committing throughout the Empire have been exposed one by one.

Most of this was achieved through the soldiers that Oswell had secretly deployed.

As a result, many believers have turned their backs on the Order of the Sun, and its influence has noticeably decreased.

It was only because the Order of the Sun was a massive religious organization that influenced the entire Empire that it ended at this level.

If that weren’t the case, it wouldn’t be strange if the order itself had already collapsed.

According to what he heard from Oswell, there are still devout believers within the Holy Nation who are calling out to Erze and waiting for her response.

The most painful part is that they are innocent.

“But really… is there a way to defeat Erze? Kyle.”

“There is.”

“You can kill a god?”

“Of course.”

Kyle nodded indifferently towards Anise, who cautiously asked the most crucial question that no one had dared to ask.

Kill a god.

It wasn’t just because it was an impious expression that no one dared to say it carelessly.

It’s just that most people fundamentally doubt whether the act of killing a god itself is even possible.

What is a god in the first place?

It refers to an immortal being who wields omnipotent miracles that humans cannot even dare to approach.

But for a mere magician to assert that he can kill such a being, it might be a ridiculous thing to some.

They might consider it mere boasting.

However, no one present could find fault with Kyle’s words.

The determination clearly visible in his eyes showed that it was not mere boasting.

“If Erze were truly an existence that humans couldn’t kill, she wouldn’t have needed to run away like that that day. She probably realized it. That if she stayed there any longer, she herself would be in danger.”

“Come to think of it, that’s right.”

Sylvia sighed, saying that she was late in remembering because the situation that day was so urgent.

Encouraged by this, Kyle raised one corner of his mouth as he pointed at the three of them with his finger, as if crossing them out.

“Besides, you guys already know, don’t you? That humans have long had the power to kill gods.”

“Humans, you mean?”

“Us?”

“Not just Kyle, but us too?”

Kyle nodded lightly towards the three people who were expressing their doubts.

The three of them fell into deep thought.

“Ah!”

Surprisingly, it was Anise who was the first to recall its identity.

“I know. It’s magic, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As Kyle snapped his fingers and smiled, the other two were dumbfounded.

Vermillion, especially, who came from the Drake family, known as a prestigious family of magic, seemed the most surprised.

“Magic was the power to kill gods, is that true? Kyle.”

“Yes. You should know this, shouldn’t you? That divine power and magical power cannot coexist and cause conflict.”

“That’s true, but only because they are opposing forces…”

Divine power and magical power clash and cannot coexist.

This is a basic principle known to both those who are involved in the order and those who walk the path of magic.

However, no one knew what the fundamental reason for this was.

“Isn’t it strange in the first place? Magical power is inherent not only in humans, but also in stray cats and mice on the street. Even in plants. If God is playing the role of creator, why is it that they are imbued with magical power instead of divine power?”

“That’s true.”

“In other words, strictly speaking, the expression ‘divine power and magical power cannot coexist’ is wrong. Even the Archbishop we met was like that.”

The Archbishop they encountered used a unique technique to rapidly strengthen his body by using both divine power and magical power at the same time.

Kyle initially thought that it was an act made possible by some kind of device, but that wasn’t the case.

It was just that a nonsensical story that divine power and magical power cannot coexist had spread due to someone’s hearsay.

“Let’s say you are an absolute being who rules everything, whether you are an emperor or a god. Then what is the most annoying existence?”

“Well… it would be those who rebel against you.”

“That’s right. Then what is the easiest way to break their power?”

“The easiest way?”

Vermillion stroked his chin at the somewhat difficult question.

Not providing a reason to revolt. That would be the most common answer, but it is by no means an easy method.

“The answer is easy. It’s to not give them weapons.”

“Not give them weapons… Could it be?”

“Yes. The fact that divine power and magical power cannot correspond is probably just a rumor spread by Erze or the Order of the Sun. Because God feared magic, because he couldn’t handle magic. He wanted at least his believers not to take up that weapon.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

“…Indeed, that’s how it is. If the one called God had established himself first when magic was not yet complete, and spread the rumor that ‘divine power and magical power cannot correspond,’ then at least those who were trying to join the order would not recklessly touch magic.”

“Yes. Even if there is someone who finds out this lie, it doesn’t matter. They can’t say it in the first place. Because it means denying the word of God.”

“Such a petty trick…”

Sylvia frowned openly.

It was no different from saying that a god, fearing the blade pointed at himself, tried to stop human exploration.

“The special device that nullifies the magic that the Archbishop was using, that’s probably a countermeasure made because they feared magic.”

“Th, then does that mean they are aware of magic after all? Then isn’t it even harder to deal with them?”

“That would be the case if it were just magic.”

Towards Anise, who was worried, Kyle gave a mocking smile, as if directed at someone, and tapped the sword he was wearing on his waist.

From the start, he didn’t dare to guarantee that he could kill a god with just one card.

That’s why he had prepared as many cards as possible.

At the same time, that’s why he could say it with confidence.

“So don’t worry. I will definitely kill Erze.”