Chapter 374 : Divine Blood (2)

In one corner of Fildagreen Castle.

“Haa—”

Rine let out a light sigh.

After saying her final farewell to Alon and returning, she had continued her exploration of the Illanef Empire.

Partly, it was to further master the use of Pluto.

But in truth, there was a memory that had been bothering her.

A very old one.

Now a bit hazy—back when she was still in the orphanage, before she was ever allowed into the Forbidden Section.

She remembered the Illanef Empire like this: “The Era of Forgotten Gods — the Illanef Empire.”

By now, that memory wasn’t all that important.

It was simply wrong information.

Yet the moment she realized that, the memory suddenly became crucial.

Because in the Eternal Library, only truth was supposed to exist.

And so, ever since the moment she uncovered that fact, she had continued her investigation.

Eventually, she came to a realization.

That before entering the Forbidden Section, some books had not conveyed “truth,” but “falsehood.”

She didn’t know why the one who built the Eternal Library would do such a thing.

However, after learning that, she found several new truths while re-studying her old knowledge.

They were about “the Black Thing.”

Until now, Rine had understood “the Black Thing” as “sin,” and that wasn’t wrong.

Even in the age of the Forgotten Gods, “sin” had often been described as “black.”

But there was one strange point.

Even in the era of the Illanef Empire—when sin should not have existed—there were still records mentioning “the Black Thing.”

Rine tilted her head slightly.

The truths she once knew and the truths she now knew spun in place, unable to fit together.

As though one small gear were missing.

After a while of deep thought, Rine took a long breath.

She needed to calm her overloaded mind.

She closed her eyes, trying to step away from the throbbing puzzle that had consumed her.

For a moment, she decided to rest by thinking happy thoughts.

“Just a few months left. Four at most, even if things go slowly.”

The stabilization period was almost over.

Rine smiled faintly.

Once the artifact stabilized, she could finally leave Fildagreen.

And when she could leave Fildagreen—

She would be able to stay by her godfather’s side.

“If I show up before he comes to find me… he’ll be surprised, won’t he?”

Just imagining it made the corners of her lips lift naturally.

“When that happens, I’ll make sure to hide that red brooch in my pocket first.”

Her smile lingered for a long time.

***

“...Abominable Blood?”

“Yes.”

At those words from the Predecessor, Alon frowned for a brief moment.

Abominable Blood.

A strange word—one he had never once heard in this world.

Even in Psychedelia, there was virtually no mention of it.

And yet—

Alon knew that word.

No, it was impossible not to know it.

That word was—

“Do you… know anything about Abominable Blood?”

‘It’s mentioned when Yutia is introduced in Psychedelia. The First Daughter of Abominable Blood—Yutia Bloodia.’

“I… don’t know.”

Recalling that fact, Alon shook his head to the Predecessor’s question.

In a way, it wasn’t a lie.

He knew three things.

That Yutia was of Abominable Blood.

That Abominable Blood worshiped a being like Cthulhu.

“No—”

He quickly corrected himself.

Up to this point, there was one flaw in his understanding of their lore.

The belief that Abominable Blood worshiped something like Cthulhu.

Perhaps their faith itself wasn’t false.

But back when he played the game, what Yutia actually worshiped was “the Black Thing”—that is, the Sins.

Which meant that the old setting was now invalid.

For sin was born from the Empire—

While Abominable Blood had existed long before sin ever came to be.

“So then, what exactly are they—Abominable Blood?”

When Alon asked, the Predecessor, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“To be honest… I don’t really know.”

“What?”

“I know that look is ridiculous, but it’s the truth.”

“Then why bring up Abominable Blood at all?”

“I only mentioned them to help explain the events, nothing more.”

“Ah.”

At that, Alon let out a quiet sound of realization.

He finally understood that the story wasn’t about Abominable Blood themselves—

But about the watcher standing behind him.

“Even in the past I witnessed, Abominable Blood only ever appeared in shadows. Beyond that, everything is unknown.”

“So the only certain thing is that they destroyed two nations?”

“Yes. Both nations—utterly and without discrimination.”

The Predecessor muttered softly, “Though I don’t know why.”

“Did they ever appear again after that?”

“Afterward?”

“Yes.”

The Predecessor paused for a moment in thought.

“There was, yes. In what you people call the Era of Forgotten Gods—they appeared once more to destroy the world, just as before.”

“...Do you know anything else?”

“I understand your desire to learn more about Abominable Blood, but unfortunately, that’s all I know. More than anything else, there’s no information left about them. As if it had been perfectly erased…”

At those words, Alon fell silent for a long moment—then slowly nodded.

[Anyway, to return to the main point, in the end, both nations were destroyed. The Divine Blood failed to become a god and crumbled away, and the magical engineering humans had built was buried deep in the abyss.]

[However, even though everything had collapsed, the Divine Blood who created Babylonoya survived in disgrace and refused to give up. Even after being banished from this world, he sought to someday rise again through the legacy he left behind.]

Listening silently and deep in thought, Alon opened his mouth.

“If you mean the knowledge he left behind…”

[It was the laws. Even if he failed to become a god and was banished again, the laws he created had already been engraved into this world.]

“If he was already banished, wouldn’t that make it meaningless?”

[If he ever had the chance to descend to the mortal realm again, then the story would change.]

Alon had no difficulty understanding what the Predecessor meant.

“He would stand above those who inherited that magic from that era?”

[Correct. But unfortunately, that plan of the Divine Blood ultimately failed.]

“...The Sins, and the Closed-Eyed One.”

[That’s right. Because of the Closed-Eyed One with sin, the Divine Blood lost his chance forever. They killed the True Mages, buried the laws beneath time, and as sins, completely sealed the gap through which the Divine Bloods could descend.]

A question arose in Alon’s mind.

“So if humanity does not reach a certain number, the Divine Bloods cannot descend?”

[Yes.]

“Is there a reason for that?”

[Because that is the law. It is like an immutable truth that everyone in this world must obey. It’s easier if you think of it as something that was simply created that way.]

The Predecessor let out a sigh.

[Anyway, continuing with the story—at the moment when the Divine Blood was facing the worst possible outcome, you appeared.]

“...Me?”

[Yes, you. You, who knew the phrases and seals that should have been buried beneath time. More precisely, a being who could handle sins and manipulate his ‘laws’ appeared and requested a contract.]

Alon’s eyes twitched slightly.

The Predecessor stared at him for a moment before continuing.

[Did you never find it strange?]

“What part?”

[Why you were able to use the seals and phrases. And beyond that—why you could freely use laws that should have only been granted to others, all without even having a mental image.]

At those words, Alon fell silent.

It was true that, at first, he hadn’t found it strange.

To Alon back then, the phrases and seals were simply elements from a game.

Of course, after some time passed and he gradually learned the truth of this world—he did start to question it.

But he never voiced it.

Back then, it wasn’t a thought that would help him.

Yet now, in this moment—

With several puzzle pieces emerging from the Predecessor’s story—

“The reason… is because of the Watcher?”

[That is correct.]

He was able to face the truth without difficulty.

[The reason you could use all of the laws just by memorizing phrases you didn’t even consciously understand was because of that contract.]

“So the point is—he intended to use me to eliminate the sins and descend to the world once more.”

[Yes. And as you can see, he succeeded beautifully. But to correct one thing—you were not the one being used. You were the one using him.]

“...Me?”

Seeing Alon’s confused reaction, she smiled as she explained.

[You may not know it, but he continuously helped you. He appeared multiple times when you needed him most.]

Alon tilted his head slightly at those words.

But soon, a memory surfaced.

The voice that had whispered in his ear when he fought Kylrus.

[He even saved your life on several occasions.]

“...?”

[You don’t seriously believe it was mere coincidence or luck that you survived overexertion that should have melted your brain, only to make a full recovery after a short rest, do you?]

As Alon remained speechless, the Predecessor continued her explanation.

[You were saved over and over again by him. You were even helped. And most importantly—you are still able to freely use the laws of the Divine Blood.]

“If this power was granted by the Divine Blood, couldn’t he take it back?”

[No. That’s impossible. He already gave the power to you. No matter what he does now, it is no longer possible to strip that power away from you.]

The Predecessor smiled faintly.

[So rather than being used—you were the one who used him. You stole the Divine Blood’s power and used his aid to safely make it this far. And you even still possess his ‘laws.’]

Alon remained silent.

In truth, his mind was still in chaos.

The overwhelming amount of information only gave birth to more and more questions.

But even so, Alon tried to quickly organize what he had learned.

That Babylonoya and Illanef were destroyed by Abominable Blood.

That Alon had received help from the Divine Blood who wished to descend.

That the magic of True Mages was nothing more than the laws the Divine Blood had engraved into this world long ago.

And then—

“Who are you?”

—That the Predecessor standing before him was not the original Predecessor.

[What do you mean by that?]

Despite the sudden question, the Predecessor remained calm.

But Alon looked at her with composed certainty.

“You are not the Predecessor.”

[That’s impossible. What are you suddenly talking about?]

She was right in one sense.

There was nothing about her appearance, voice, or actions that differed from the real Predecessor.

And yet—

Alon had realized the truth.

“I never once told the Predecessor anything about this part of my story.”

[Someone could easily infer that much—]

“That I formed a contract?”

He interrupted her.

She knew everything—far too precisely.

At Alon’s words, she fell silent for a moment.

And then—

[Well, well.]

The eyes that had been ordinary just moments ago—

[Since I’ve been watching from the middle, I must have slipped up without realizing it.]

—were now dyed a deep, ominous blue.