Chapter 386 : The Beginning (1)

[I am the original form of her, the “Divine Blood.”]

“!”

Alon instinctively tried to prepare a spell at the sound coming from the statue.

It was an unexpected situation, but that was fine.

He had refined his magic precisely for moments like this.

[H-Hey, wait a second! Isn’t that a little too sudden of an attack!? I told you, I’m not hostile, okay?!]

“You’re not the Divine Blood?”

[W-Well, I am.]

“Then why should I believe that?”

A sigh came from the statue.

[I am the Divine Blood, yes, but I have no intention of fighting you.]

“Why not?”

[Because I’m an Outsider.]

“An… Outsider?”

“You just said you were Divine Blood.”

[Right—and maybe you could drop the assumption that all Divine Bloods are lunatics trying to become gods.]

“They’re not?”

[No, they’re not.]

Her firm tone left Alon looking slightly more confused.

“But clearly—”

[Enough. Why don’t you listen to me first and then decide for yourself? I came here to explain things to you, at least roughly.]

Alon slowly let the magic dissipate from his hand.

As she said, he decided to hear her out first.

After all, it was Blue Eyes who had told him to seek her out.

“Go on.”

Relieved, the voice from the statue continued.

[Let me reintroduce myself. I’m called the “Wanderer.” You people call us the Divine Bloods.]

“Wanderer?”

[You can just call me Wanderer. Do you have any questions? Other than doubting my sincerity, I mean.]

Alon thought for a moment before speaking.

“You said you’re Divine Blood?”

[Yes.]

“Have the Divine Bloods already awakened?”

[Ah—]

Wanderer quickly caught his intent and answered.

[Well, I’d say the weaker ones have probably awakened already.]

“…I’ve heard they haven’t made any real moves yet.”

[Oh, that’s only natural. Unless they’ve left fragments of themselves like I have, most of them have to start from nothing, so they’ll probably be busy trying to build up their power first.]

“That’s why they haven’t moved?”

[Exactly. Though I think the Empire will be quite active soon. You call it the Empire, right? Yes, that one—]

She muttered, [That’s where most of the mad ones fell.]

[Anyway, let’s get to the real explanation.]

She began her story in earnest.

***

[The first thing I want to say is that not all Divine Bloods want to become gods.]

“Why?”

[There are several reasons. To explain the background—do you know where we come from?]

“…Another dimension?”

[Correct. The Divine Bloods are, in essence, beings from another realm who carry the potential to become gods. They came here driven by the desire to reach divinity.]

“Then doesn’t that make you the same?”

[No, it doesn’t. Some of us were brought here against our will.]

“How?”

[Because we met the qualifications.]

Wanderer gave a slight shrug.

[In other words, while some came voluntarily to pursue godhood, others, like me, had no real interest in that at all.]

“…You’re one of the latter?”

[Exactly.]

“Are there many like you among the Divine Bloods?”

[Well, their motivations differ, but yes, there are some.]

“What do you mean by different motivations?”

Wanderer answered easily.

[Have you ever seen the Divine Bloods fall from the sky?]

“I have.”

[That wasn’t an illusion. That’s really how many there were.]

“So?”

[Out of that massive number, only one becomes a true god. The rest become meaningless. And it’s not like everyone starts from the same point, either.]

Alon understood and nodded.

“So some don’t even bother fighting because they know they’ll lose?”

[That’s right.]

“But if they don’t fight, won’t they just die?”

[In theory, yes. Without faith, they can’t survive. But if they form alliances, it’s possible.]

“…Alliances?”

[Exactly. Divine Bloods forming pacts with one another—well, more accurately, joining factions.]

“Why bother? Joining a faction sounds like walking into death.”

[Normally, yes. Because in the end, all other Divine Bloods must die.]

“Then why?”

[Because if one becomes a god, they can resurrect the rest.]

Alon let out a quiet breath of realization.

“So they gather their strength behind one candidate, make them a god, and then return together.”

[Exactly. That’s why most of the weaker Divine Bloods have joined one of the four great factions.]

“The four great factions?”

[Yes. The ones closest to touching godhood right now.]

Watcher of the Abyss.

Whispering Void.

Rot Eternal.

Sky-Rending One.

Hearing those names, Alon stared at the statue and asked,

“Are you part of one of those factions?”

[No. I belong to none of them. I’m more of an observer.]

“…Why?”

[Why what?]

“By your own logic, if you’re not in a faction, death is the only thing waiting for you.”

Wanderer replied calmly.

[That’s true. But I simply don’t want to belong to anyone. I don’t like bowing to others. Besides, I have something else in mind.]

“Blue Eyes as well?”

Wanderer hesitated.

[I don’t think I should tell you more than this. I was only supposed to explain about the Four Factions.]

Her voice concluded neatly, as if to say, 'That’s all for now.'

Alon paused for a moment, then said quietly,

“You really do things your own way.”

[Don’t think of it that simply. We have our own circumstances, you know. Anyway~]

The shining statue’s voice continued.

[The Divine Bloods will start moving soon. They’ll begin to rampage as if the current peace were a lie. If you want to stop them, grow stronger. Make plenty of allies.]

“...Allies?”

[Yes, you’re not seriously thinking you can stop all the Divine Bloods by yourself, are you? Let me tell you: that’s impossible.]

A question formed in Alon’s mind.

“I have one question.”

[What is it?]

“Isn’t the goal of the Divine Bloods ultimately to become gods?”

[Isn’t it?]

“Then they’ll need humans to worship those gods, right?”

Wanderer nodded readily.

[You’re right; life is important to Divine Bloods. That much is true—the Divine Bloods tried not to kill lives unnecessarily even in past conflicts.]

“Then—”

[But, regrettably, not now.]

“...Why?”

[The current Divine Bloods—]

She paused for a moment, then said.

[Have already internalized the fact that the beings offering worship don’t have to be ‘normal.’]

That was her answer.

“...What do you mean by that?”

[Think of it simply: as long as ‘life’ is kept in some form, that’s enough.]

Wanderer added lightly.

Alon felt a strange unease.

No, he had felt this unease from the start of the conversation.

Only after hearing her words did Alon realize the exact source of that feeling.

“You’re callous.”

[In what way?]

“In the way you say things so lightly.”

Wanderer paused thoughtfully and then.

[Ah—]

she emitted a sound of realization.

[Hmm, I suppose it might come across that way. But I can’t help it. To us, humans are]

Her voice continued.

[-just tools, nothing more and nothing less.]

Alon felt a fresh realization.

The being before his eyes was also, indeed, a Divine Blood.

Alon did not answer.

***

“Did you get everything from the conversation?”

“Yes.”

Alon nodded at Evan’s question and then fell into thought.

He still had many unresolved doubts.

He would have liked to talk more, but unfortunately he couldn’t.

Wanderer said it was time and left.

[I suppose I should head back soon.]

‘Weren’t you already here?’

[No. I was forced to come here. Through a shard of myself I scattered using my power. We’ll probably see each other again when you learn about Blue Eyes.]

A sigh escaped Alon’s lips.

He recalled Wanderer’s final words.

‘I have one last question I want to ask.’

[What is it?]

‘What happened to Goddess Sironia?’

[That question is imprecise. After all, I am the original body of the Sironia goddess. But if you mean what happened to the person who had been acting as the Sironia goddess, don’t worry. She’ll remain here, at least until I come back down.]

The statue added that talking for a few months would be difficult.

And it gradually began to lose its light.

[Oh, right. Be careful of the Lava-Eater faction. They’re probably crawling up from the Empire to dispose of you.]

A tiny mutter followed, unheard by Alon: [Ah, maybe you don’t need to worry about that?]

Then Wanderer completely vanished.

“Whew—”

Alon organized the three pieces of information he had gained in his head.

The lower-tier Divine Bloods have mostly awakened or will awake soon.

Most Divine Bloods belong to factions.

The Lava-Eaters faction is coming to deal with him.

“Hmm.”

None of the information was useless, but it was still quite confusing.

After much thought, Alon decided.

‘First, do what I must.’

With that thought, he looked ahead.

“Evan.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Do you have any information from the Empire?”

“The Empire? Not at the moment, but I’ll try to find out.”

“Please do.”

***

Between the Allied Kingdom and the Empire, in a barren wasteland where nothing lived, the Divine Bloods that belonged to the Lava-Eaters were on the move.

The first to appear was a massive shadow with twisted tentacles and a scaly body.

Its motion was slow and unfathomable, like a deep-sea current.

The second was a gaunt form with only bone wings and hollow eyes, whose every step scattered the wasteland dust like a painful whisper.

The third was a constantly shape-shifting, fluid mass.

Countless eyes flashed within it, as if gazing into the void of the universe.

The last was a huge crustacean stomping the earth with heavy steps.

Its shell was emblazoned with inscrutable symbols that looked like markings of an ancient civilization.

Just seeing them would shred a person’s mind.

They gave the name Divine Blood a strange, terror-imbuing meaning.

Where they were heading was the Allied Kingdom—or more precisely, the place where Alon was.

[Tch, they’re too far away.]

[I thought so too.]

[But it can’t be helped.]

[I don’t understand why the Rot Eternal would take an interest in such insignificant creatures.]

[Is there any need to wonder? Our job is simply to erase those creatures and join their faction.]

They kept moving without stopping as they discussed.

They walked without cease.

They kept walking.

Until they met it.

[Ah—?]

It breathed out a low sound like a scratch across the abyss.

Though it once had countless eyes, now only a few remained to take in the scene before it.

What appeared in its field of vision was a grisly sight.

Thick, green blood.

Severed tentacles of comrades discarded in the wasteland.

Crushed carapaces.

Skulls smashed and scattered.

And finally, what it saw last was—

“...Ah.”

a woman.

A woman with red hair, hollow, hollow-eyed and exhausted, dark circles beneath her eyes, a strange pentagram painted in those weary pupils.

The moment she appeared, she had mercilessly slaughtered everyone who had been there.

[--]

It trembled in fear upon seeing the woman.

It could not comprehend how she was standing there now.

It could not understand why she had attacked them.

[So, what—]

The Divine Blood asked in a voice that was losing strength, but she did not answer.

Instead, she suddenly asked.

“Hey—”

in a flat voice.

“If I kill you, will Star-Eater—”

she said simply.

“—Alon forgive me?”

She spoke calmly.