Chapter 172 - The Sin of Greed (1)

"Ahaha! Is it really that shocking?"

"Emil...!?"

Rine's eyes widened in disbelief. Delighted by her reaction, the apostle of Greed burst out laughing, behaving as though she were greeting a close friend.

But...

"..."

At Rine's alarming reaction, Evan immediately drew his sword, the relaxed expression he had worn until moments ago disappearing. Even if he had not reached the rank of Master, he could instinctively tell how dangerous the figure who had suddenly appeared before them was.

Just as the tension reached its peak—

THWACK!

"Guh—!?"

Pain struck the back of Evan's head, and he tilted forward.

"Ri... ne?"

Bewilderment spread across his face as he realized that the thing that had struck the back of his neck was one of Rine's golden tubes.

"I'm sorry. But this is the best option."

Rine's voice faded into the distance, the last thing Evan heard before he lost consciousness.

"Oh my, how clever. Ah—or was it for another reason?"

"Shut up."

Rine glared fiercely at the apostle of Greed's taunt. Then she used the golden tube to move Evan to safety on the opposite side.

"Why are you so angry? I don't remember us being on such bad terms."

"How can you even say that?"

"Of course I can. Who do you think taught you how to use the 'Library' in the first place?"

"...!"

The Library.

Rine gave a slight shudder at the word.

"I never needed this damned thing...!"

"Do you really think so?"

Emil chuckled, perfectly at ease.

Rine scowled deeply and moved her lips as though there were nothing more to discuss.

"───!"

A golden eye, invisible until that moment, appeared.

SKRRAAASH!

Golden tubes shot out of its pupil toward Emil, viciously scraping the surrounding pillars and marble. They moved in the blink of an eye.

Yet—

"Hmm. I did read about it in the information I obtained, but you're carrying something quite fascinating, Rine. From the looks of it, is that from the Allanef Empire?"

The golden tubes should have punched dozens of holes through the apostle's body. Instead, the instant they reached her, they were stopped with disheartening ease.

SKRRRRAAAK!

As the apostle scattered an ominous energy, tree branches emerged from thin air to block them.

"!"

Rine's brow furrowed even further.

But Emil, the apostle of Greed, merely flicked a finger with an easy smile. At once, the branches that had only been blocking the golden tubes began creeping along them like vines.

"!"

Rine immediately withdrew the tubes.

"What a shame."

Despite her words, her voice betrayed no disappointment at all. As though going easy on Rine, the apostle only responded to the incoming attacks without launching any further counterattack.

Confused about why she had appeared here, Rine nevertheless searched for a way out of the situation.

'What do I do?'

Had they been outside rather than underground, she might have been confused, but she would not have been anxious. Outside, she could use Pluto without restrictions.

Even then, she could not be certain she had a chance of winning. Unlike ten years ago, she now understood exactly who the being before her was.

But they were underground, in a space far too small to use Pluto.

Perhaps she could try if she were prepared to let the chamber collapse. Rine was confident she could escape alive even if the cave came down.

The problem, however, was—

Alon and Evan.

One wrong move, and they could be caught in the collapse.

Rine racked her brain furiously for a way to break through their predicament.

Yet the apostle of Greed merely watched her mounting anxiety with a relaxed expression, as though looking forward to seeing what she would choose.

####

Meanwhile, in the ashen world...

"Answer me, Mage. I asked whether you summoned me."

Under Kailas's icy gaze, Alon collected himself and answered.

"... I did summon you, but I don't know where this is either."

"You don't know?"

"That's right."

Kailas knitted his brows. He stared at Alon as though trying to determine whether he was telling the truth, then abruptly extended his index finger and traced a straight line.

GRRRRK!

Blue mana flowed from his hand, unlike the mana he had used during their fight in the labyrinth. It scraped through the air and vanished.

Having confirmed this, Kailas looked at Alon with a hint of disdain.

"What are you talking about, Mage? It makes no sense for you not to know this place."

"What do you mean?"

"... You truly know nothing. How did you pull off something this absurd with so little knowledge?"

A deep sigh filled the air, as though he simply could not comprehend it.

"I'll explain only once, so listen carefully, whelp."

Having instantly demoted Alon from 'Mage' to the 'whelp' of old, he explained.

"This is an inner world. It is separate from the world you live in—a unique world possessed by each person who has attained a great feat."

"Then is this your inner world?"

Alon thought his deduction was quite plausible. Recalling what Rainicius the Golden Dragon had told him, the Magus before him had fought the black things, whatever his ultimate fate had been.

'Then is this an inner image of the world after the battle with the black things?'

Alon silently surveyed the ruined world. Merely looking at the landscape reminded him of the danger the black things posed.

'... The world a thousand years ago was far worse than what I saw in the game.'

In Psychedelia, the black things inflicted terrible damage on the continent, but Elivan and various other powerful figures ultimately stopped them. As a result, things had never deteriorated this far.

But a world that had failed to stop the black things was destruction itself—the annihilation of everything. The sight left even the perpetually impassive Alon dazed.

Then—

"... Ha."

"?"

Kailas gave a disbelieving laugh.

"What nonsense are you spouting, whelp? This inner world—"

An even more bewildering statement fell from his lips.

"Is yours."

"... What?"

Alon's mouth fell open.

"My inner world?"

"Yes. How could I possibly have an inner world when everything has been taken from me?"

"Apparently you don't even know that trivial detail," Kailas added, then glanced around and shrugged.

"In any case, whelp, this is your inner world."

"... Does 'inner world' mean what I think it means?"

"Yes. Though for someone who lacks even a spell formula, a powerful memory is merely standing in for an inner world."

Alon tried to suppress his bewilderment and continue thinking over Kailas's words, but—

"So, whelp. Why did you summon me?"

The next question interrupted his train of thought. After a brief silence, he answered.

"There are things I want to ask."

"Things you want to ask, is it?"

Kailas stared at Alon.

"Go on. But keep it as brief as possible. You did defeat me, so I'll answer that much."

He moved slowly and sat down on a pile of rocks.

At his prompting, Alon considered for a moment. He had quite a few questions to ask.

"..."

After a little deliberation, he asked his first question.

"... I heard from Rainicius the Golden Dragon that you were originally a Magus."

Kailas's expression turned strange.

"You met the Golden Dragon?"

"Yes."

"So he is alive."

When Alon nodded, Kailas's persistent frown eased, and he let out a quiet sigh.

"... Thank goodness."

The murmur was so low that even Alon barely heard it.

Alon wondered whether he should explain the circumstances under which Rainicius the Golden Dragon remained alive, but before he could decide, Kailas continued with another question.

"... Well, very good, whelp. What you want to know is why I, a Magus, appeared as an Outer God?"

"Yes."

Alon nodded.

"It's simple. For revenge."

"... Revenge?"

His concise answer came at once.

"Yes. To take revenge on the black things, I abandoned everything and became a goblin."

####

"Is that possible?"

"No. It is impossible. Ordinarily."

Kailas's brows twisted, as though he were briefly recalling the past.

"I lost everything in the battle against the black things. My comrades, my friends—every last one. Nothing remained around me but corpses."

"I, too, was waiting for my imminent death amid that heat."

"But I didn't want to die. I wanted revenge on the black things that had killed my comrades and friends. I wanted to annihilate them with my own hands, no matter what."

A strange light gleamed in his eyes.

"I searched for a way to live. I wrung my already shattered mana reservoir beyond any hope of recovery, barely sustaining my life as I racked my brain. And that was when the goblins appeared."

His expression, however, remained utterly composed.

"Hundreds of goblins—perhaps more than thousands—had dug burrows underground and hidden there, cowed by the presence of the black things. They held a feast with my comrades' corpses."

Kailas's eyes blazed as though the scene from that day were unfolding before him again. Only then did Alon begin to recognize the strange light within them.

"The hand of a Magus who had been cracking jokes just the day before was mercilessly chewed up in a goblin's mouth."

"The head of a Magus who had been worrying about his disciple just the day before became a toy for the goblins."

"The torso of a young Magus who had been dreaming of the future just the day before was minced and fed to young goblins. And—"

It was anger.

Calm, quiet anger, all the more turbulent for it.

"—In that situation, I found a way to survive through the goblins devouring my comrades' corpses."

The next words came from Alon's mouth.

"The goblins' god."

As though confirming his deduction, Kailas continued in the same composed tone.

"I squeezed out my remaining mana and transformed into a goblin."

"With my broken mana reservoir, I slaughtered goblins and won their fear."

"I took my comrades' corpses from them before their eyes, then bestowed them once more, winning their worship. I reduced my comrades' corpses to mere chunks of meat—and gained the worship of the hungry ghosts savagely cramming them into their mouths."

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place in Alon's mind.

Why Kailas, a Magus, had appeared as an Outer God in the shape of a goblin.

Why he could no longer use the Death Shadow Dragon.

"My inner image, my spell formula, my magic, my honor, my dignity, my comrades. By abandoning everything, I—"

His face twisted as he continued without pause.

"Became Kailas, the Outer God."

Only then did Alon realize where the strange anger in Kailas's eyes was directed.

It was not anger at the black things.

Nor was it anger at the goblins.

It was—

"That is how I was able to remain alive in this world as an Outer God."

Anger at Kailas himself.