Chapter 48: Nazarick and the Otherworld (10)
Nigun.
Nigun Grid Luin, the former leader of the Sunlight Scripture.
He is strong. That's no exaggeration—he truly is strong. The scars near his eyes were proof that he had once fought the adamantite warrior of the kingdom, Lakyus. At the very least, it meant he possessed the strength to fight an adamantite-class opponent. Even if he lost, that defeat only pushed Nigun to train harder and become even stronger. If we were speaking of humans alone, then once he completed all his summons, there would be no one among them who could defeat him. He was the perfect embodiment of the saying: "Giving a magic caster time is foolish."
But the being standing before him now—
To Kaiser, the true guardian of humanity, and to the Theocracy's ultimate weapon, Zesshi, Nigun was nothing more than a weak human.
If Nigun could fight them and survive more than five seconds—if he could even graze a single strand of their hair—then they would applaud him and praise his achievements. That was the extent of the gap between them. And that was only under the assumption that they were caught off guard. Even if they let their guard down, for Nigun to harm them, a miracle would have to occur… and then another miracle on top of that.
Realizing that he was the clear inferior among the three, Nigun felt the blood drain from his face. He desperately tried to understand why he was even here. All he could feel was his stomach twisting painfully. Perhaps noticing his discomfort, Kaiser, walking at the front, turned around and showed him that relaxed, gentle smile he always wore.
He wanted to shout at his past self—at the self who once mistook that smile as proof that Kaiser was harmless—and tell him to run away.
"Why are you pale? Feeling sick? Sometimes people get nauseous after teleportation magic."
"Tch, as expected of Nigun. Weakling."
Annoying!
Nigun screamed internally, but would never say it out loud. He had to stay calm here. Zesshi was his direct superior and the nation's final weapon; upsetting her was unacceptable for the sake of the Theocracy. And Kaiser—if he still held any resentment toward the Theocracy—might use Nigun's misstep as the spark to begin a massacre. If that happened, countless innocent citizens would die.
He himself had used the tactic of sacrificing the few for the many before. It was the Sunlight Scripture, Nigun's unit, that disguised themselves as Imperial soldiers and slaughtered border villagers to frame the Empire, all to kill Gazef Stronoff. For someone like him, who had used such tactics, to now try to stop Kaiser from committing a massacre… his conscience throbbed painfully. He was no demon—at least, not completely.
And lately, Zesshi had repeatedly shaken his long-held faith with her words. He was gradually becoming more doubtful of everything. If she was purposely aiming for that, then she truly was a devil in the form of a young girl.
Realizing he hadn't answered yet, Nigun awkwardly spoke.
"Uh… where are we?"
"Oh? I heard recently that the elves' nation has begun interacting with the Theocracy."
"…Don't tell me… E—Eäwashar Great Forest?!"
The Eäwashar Great Forest.
It was the forest where the elves' homeland was located. Since Nigun had no involvement with diplomacy, he had never visited the elven nation. Even if the war had ended, most people in the Theocracy still didn't feel kindly toward Alvangard, the elven country. Some insisted it was time to forgive them, while others still harbored resentment. Nigun was… neutral.
Normally they would have teleported directly into Alvangard, but its interior was sealed by powerful barriers that disrupted teleportation. And Kaiser had no teleportation point set there. So they had to teleport to a location a little distance away.
"But… that's strange. The Eäwashar Forest is known for having many monsters. Yet we walked quite a bit, and not a single monster attacked."
Of course, if a monster did appear, Nigun would pity the creature instead. One alone would already have almost zero chance of survival, but with two of these monsters—Kaiser and Zesshi—its death was guaranteed. The idea that he could feel pity for monsters instead of people was something he never would've believed months ago. If someone had told the old Nigun this, he would have shouted that they should repent before the gods.
"That's because of the killing intent I'm releasing. Nothing will come near."
"K-killing intent?"
"Yes. If anything manages to approach through it, that would mean they are either equal to me in strength… or possess the courage to draw their sword against the entire world."
Nigun nodded, but at the same time he was reminded again of how vast the difference in strength was. The fact that he couldn't feel that killing intent at all meant Kaiser was deliberately excluding him from its target range. How did one even control killing intent? Nigun had felt something similar during life-or-death battles, but he had never seen anyone capable of consciously manipulating it.
"Anyway, why are you following us? Stop."
"I cannot! Lady Zesshi, your departure from the Theocracy is itself a massive incident! And right now, the Theocracy is in chaos because one of the new God-kin has fled!"
"A God-kin fled?"
"Late-onset puberty."
"Well, people do say that's a period where they explode emotionally."
"This is no laughing matter! Lord Kaiser, please reconsider as well! I—I will somehow persuade the High Priests to follow the proper procedures—! Guh!"
Zesshi, annoyed, tapped him on the head. It was extremely gentle by her standards—but Nigun staggered wildly, collapsing forward and feeling a sharp, stinging pain at the back of his skull. His vision swayed as he shouted, no—roared—in protest.
"What are you doing?! Be aware of your own strength! A casual strike like that could kill someone!"
"I know how to control my strength. But you talk too much. Should I knock you out and drop you back in the Theocracy right now?"
"Ugh!"
The worst-case scenario.
If he lost both Kaiser and Zesshi, and brought back no information, what could he possibly report? Did the High Priests even acknowledge Kaiser's existence? If they didn't, then Nigun alone might be blamed. The twisting pain in his stomach grew even sharper, like his stomach acid had evolved and started melting through his organs.
"…Fine. I'll follow you."
"Great. By the way, Mister Nigun… hmm, the pronunciation is difficult. Mind if I just call you Nigun?"
"I don't mind. It would feel strange for someone as strong as you—in fact, someone older—to use honorifics with me."
"Then, Nigun, do you discriminate against elves?"
"…Eh? Well… yes, until about a hundred years ago, we were at war with them. According to the Theocracy's records, that war was Alvangard's fault. So naturally, some people still hold resentment."
Resentment…
It felt more like discomfort, Nigun thought privately.
"However, personally, I don't particularly… The past is the past, and it's already over. They apologized, and since then Alvangard has repeatedly approached us with proper diplomacy and gestures of goodwill. Whenever an elven envoy visits, they always pay respects at the grave of the God-kin whom the elven king once offended."
"I see."
"So I believe that as fellow humanoid races, cooperation is necessary. The perception of elves is still not great, but compared to before, things are more cooperative. And lately, there has even been talk about bringing up the issue of abolishing elf slavery in the Baharuth Empire…"
There were still High Priests within the Theocracy who could not forgive the elves. But that could not be helped. No matter how much the elves apologized, no matter how sincerely they showed repentance, you could not blame a victim for being unable to forgive.
The elves were not seeking forgiveness—they were doing what was necessary. Some, like Nigun, were moved by that sincerity, while others felt nothing… and some even felt anger instead.
"You are a good person."
"…I never thought I'd hear those words from you.
There is something I want to confirm."
"I'll answer."
"…Did the Theocracy truly betray you… the one who saved them?"
"Hmmm, Panda girl. Your mouth really is too loose, isn't it?"
Zesshi suddenly spoke while biting into an apple she had somehow produced out of nowhere, narrowing her eyes at the sudden mention of her name.
"If you were just a fanatic, I wouldn't have said anything. Stop treating me like a child."
"In my position… ah, fine. Put the Scythe of Chaos away."
Kaiser let out a small sigh, then turned to Nigun.
"Yes. I was betrayed."
"Why?! Why would they betray you?! Why would they—betray the one who granted them salvation?! They should have cooperated with you! If you had come to the Theocracy, you could have protected even more of humanity! You could have saved the very few who were being sacrificed!"
Nigun clenched his fists tightly.
He wanted to smash them—the High Priests of the past. Why had they chosen such foolishness? Their decision had been wrong both as High Priests and as human beings. They betrayed the one who had saved them. They turned an ally into an enemy. It was the most foolish act imaginable. Even if making Kaiser a subordinate of the Theocracy was impossible, if they had at least maintained friendly relations, perhaps they might have built a relationship where, in dire situations, they could have sought his wisdom.
"You are… more righteous than I would expect from someone of the Theocracy. Are all your people like this nowadays? If so, I'll have to reevaluate my opinion."
"There aren't many believers this upright. Most are twisted in one way or another or simply insane."
Kaiser's face hinted at the words, "like you?"
Nigun could faintly read it—because he had thought something similar himself.
"Lord Kaiser! Please tell me! Why did the Theocracy betray you back then?!"
"Because I killed the Six Great Gods."
"T-that may certainly be considered blasphemy… but I heard that the Six Great Gods only revived in terms of power! And that they massacred the people of the Theocracy—!"
So the gods who delivered death were more important than the one who delivered salvation?
Perhaps such a belief bordered on martyrdom. But something felt wrong. Deep in Nigun's chest, something cried out: No—that cannot be right.
"Nigun, do you know the story of the Hero and the Demon King?"
"…The children's tale?"
"Yes. The one where the hero defeats the Demon King who sought to destroy the world. The Demon King had the power to destroy everything, so the hero brought him down. What happens to the hero after that, do you know?"
"The tale ends with the Demon King defeated, so…"
"Humans tried to assassinate the hero—who had become a new kind of Demon King."
"W-what…?"
In a world without a Demon King, the hero became the greatest threat. Power greater than that of the Demon King—of course people feared it. There was no guarantee the hero wouldn't betray them. So humans decided to kill him. It was absurd.
"Power that crosses a certain threshold doesn't become different—it becomes wrong. Why do you think I've effectively been living under confinement in the Theocracy? To keep my power hidden from enemy nations? That's part of it. But if I stand out too much, people will stop seeing me with faith or reverence and start seeing me with fear."
At Zesshi's words, Nigun fell silent.
Hadn't he himself felt fear upon witnessing Kaiser's strength? Didn't that fear still linger deep inside him? Even if one called Kaiser an ally—would that fear truly disappear? Nigun could find no answer.
"And when they see this man fight—someone who is laughably beyond me—they'll all think the same thing: 'Ah… that is a monster. Not a human like us.'"
"Stop pulling on my cheek."
"Oh, it's surprisingly soft."
After playing with his cheek for a moment, Zesy briefly glanced at the troubled Nigun before turning back to Kaiser.
"By the way, who was it that turned you back from a monster into a human? Don't tell me you achieved enlightenment on your own or something ridiculous like that."
"Of course not—I'm still an imperfect person. I'm only here because I grabbed the hand someone extended toward me."
"Oh? Who? Someone as strong as us?"
Zesshi asked with a spark of curiosity. A flicker of irritation ran through her as well. Someone else had done what she had failed to do—extended the hand that brought Kaiser back. But she couldn't deny her curiosity either. Who could possibly be such a person?
Kaiser smiled gently.
"A human. A still-weak human…One who trembles with fear yet still draws their sword with courage…
One who keeps a righteous heart, struggles between good and evil, and never forgets the value of life…
The kind of human I consider beautiful."
"…I'd like to meet them as well."
To feel fear yet still step forward with courage.
To struggle between good and evil yet still advance.
To draw a weapon for battle yet never forget the worth of life.
Humans who possessed all of that were exceedingly rare. Most lacked at least one—and went astray.
Whenever Kaiser felt doubt about being humanity's protector, he remembered such beautiful humans.
That was why he believed they were worth protecting. Even the foolish or the ugly could become beautiful humans one day.
"Oh, but letting Panda girl meet that person would be terrible for their mental education."
"Are you saying you want to destroy nature while fighting?"
Walking behind them, Nigun nodded fiercely.
He didn't realize that Zesshi had caught that gesture.
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