WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 390: Lightning Did Not Fall from the Sky - 13

──────

"Vampires cannot live alongside humans. They drink blood."

The words felt all the more real with vampires in the middle of slaughtering humans. I didn't know whether the Lightning Thief was aware of what was happening outside, but they continued.

"It's only natural. No matter how well they can communicate, who could sleep soundly with monsters that live on their blood right beside them? It's like putting sheep and wolves in the same pen. Changed humans are bound to clash with ordinary humans."

"It's not very convincing coming from someone on the Sanctum's side."

"Do you think vampires are rejected solely because of the Sanctum?"

Well, not really. I got anxious even when someone coveted money that was practically my blood. If they coveted my actual blood, I should just run. You didn't die without money, but you died without blood.

"You may be the King of all humanity, but you can't be as stupid as ordinary humans. Difference creates fractures. There are two ways for humans and vampires to live together. Either vampires are rejected, as elsewhere, or humans become livestock, as in the Fog Duchy. Even if they live together, they must be separated by class."

"Let's say that's true. What does that have to do with the Lesser States?"

"It means something similar to vampires was supposed to arise in the Lesser States as well. Homunculi, alchemical humans with perfect physical structures."

I thought of Lord of Gold's homunculi. Ordinary homunculi had no ego, and only the homunculi of lords with innate arcane could hold a conversation. Those who had awakened innate arcane through alchemy were restored close to their originals within Lord of Gold's domain.

But homunculi were dolls created by Lord of Gold, not real humans. I couldn't read their thoughts.

"Lord of Gold's Demon God has the power to dismantle and reassemble the world. Naturally, humans are included in that world. This is highly classified, but Lord of Gold can even alchemize humans. Fortunately, Lord of Gold can only create shells, but that's frightening enough. Imagine it. Humans with healthy, sturdy, functionally perfect bodies."

Only one person, the Thunder Lord, had thoughts I could read. She was made of the same material as a homunculus, but she was a human who had spent enough time perfecting herself.

"Like the Thunder Lord?"

"That's right. If such humans gathered in groups, they might rule over humans like vampires. No, they'd be even worse. Vampires are limited in number and hated because they drink blood, but those who aren't so different from humans would be admired like the Thunder Lord. If ordinary humans could, every one of them would want to become like her."

"Isn't the Thunder Lord actually admired?"

"It's fine. She's 'special.'"

Special. The Thunder Lord firmly believed she was special. I heard it every time I read her thoughts, so I had assumed she simply had an extraordinary sense of self.

But it seemed the Thunder Lord's "special" was a concept much like my "ordinary."

"She can be different because she's special. Ordinary people convince themselves that they aren't lacking, that she's simply special. The Thunder Lord believes she is special as well. That's why she managed Claudia so no other version of herself could appear. Thanks to that, the Lesser States, though ruled by a Demon God, didn't cross the line."

"Is that what it means to hide a Demon God?"

"That's right. Demon Gods change the world. The humans in that changed world are included too. But... humans must never change, under any circumstances. They must continue while preserving their dignity and purity. A today like yesterday guarantees an endless tomorrow. No matter what forbidden knowledge they gain, they must move forward while preserving themselves."

The Lightning Thief's firm resolve seemed as though it wouldn't change even if storms and lightning raged. While rain and wind lashed down and lightning struck nearby, the Lightning Thief held tight to the kite string and warned me.

"Savagery. As the Beast King, you may embrace even such changes as providence. We are different. We will protect humanity in the truest sense."

Their faith in the Celestial God was unmistakable. Demon Gods were still human, after all. Perhaps they had once been a devout person who believed in a god. There were people who wouldn't cooperate with me this much. Not everything in the world could go as I wanted.

Still, I was the King of Humanity. There was no person I couldn't understand, even if they were a Demon God or a believer.

"But you know, don't you? As a Demon God, you have no right to say that."

"That's forcing the issue. What was I supposed to do about being too exceptional? At this point, it isn't even about being special. I was just unlucky. I never wanted this either."

"That's not what I meant. Why would someone who wants a today like yesterday do something like that?"

The Lightning Thief misunderstood what I meant and answered.

"You mean creating Claudia? That couldn't be helped. It was for humans too. If I hadn't built a city worth living in, the people of the Lesser States who had lost their country would have entrusted their lives to Lord of Gold."

That wasn't it. They had certainly built Claudia anew from its foundations. They had helped the Sanctum's apostle establish order. The name Thunder Lord might not have existed then, but the Lightning Thief had devoted themselves to the Sanctum as befitted a sage.

But I wasn't talking about the city they built. The same went for their faith. I was nothing more than a beast, so I had no interest in concepts like order or faith. I had only one question.

"Why did you fly kites? That wasn't something you did yesterday."

"What? What kind of nonsense is that? What's wrong with flying a kite?"

Because it was fun. There was probably no other reason.

That was enough. The fact that one could do something was reason enough to do it.

"Why did you want to make a kite that could fly even on rainy days? Strong winds were one thing, but there was no reason to let it get rained on. You could have simply not flown a kite."

"There are times when you feel like it. Especially when it rains. Sometimes you want to get soaked for no reason."

"What about on days with thunder and lightning?"

The Lightning Thief fell silent. As though speaking for their heart, thunder and lightning crashed down wildly. It had missed this time, but the next bolt wouldn't overlook the kite fluttering helplessly in the air.

This was a mental image, but like the other Demon Gods, it was a scene in their mind based on experience. The Lightning Thief had gone outside carrying a kite on a day when lightning struck. It couldn't have been purely a matter of mood. Even as cold rain and wind battered them, their face had been flushed with heated exhilaration.

"You expected lightning to strike the kite, and you knew it would run through you. Why did you hold on instead of letting go?"

"...I simply wanted to."

"Why did you try something you couldn't do yesterday? What were you trying to accomplish by testing lightning's patience?"

"It was to help the people living in Claudia. If there was a way to avoid lightning, they would prosper more."

"That's a fine excuse. You simply wanted to do what you couldn't do yesterday. You didn't hesitate even a little to take one step forward."

Humans could deceive even their own emotions. They could distort their own memories to excuse themselves. But doubtful lies didn't work before me. I might have lost all my power, but I was still the King of Humanity.

"You went and did whatever you pleased while calling yourself a sage. Isn't the reason today cannot be like yesterday because humans like you exist? We change because people like you take one step forward every day."

The Lightning Thief squeezed their eyes shut and shouted.

"...That's right! But I did it as a member of the sages, for the people of the Lesser States! Using lightning that kills people to save people is the best possible thing you could do for humanity!"

There it was at last. Their intentions had been good. They had done it with good intentions. Once they said that, there was no point in continuing the discussion.

"Who says otherwise? I acknowledge it too. You contributed plenty. You built lightning rod towers, watermills powered by lightning, and fields. No matter how you became a Demon God, everything you did with that power was for humans. Even though it was an idea instilled by the Sanctum, you tried to hide the Demon God and gave up enormous fame and achievement."

"Tch, even though you know that..."

"But is that yours alone? Since when did goodwill become your exclusive possession?"

That was savagery.

Intentions. Feelings. True motives. Great glory, devout faith, lofty justice, noble morality. Even small humans used such grand things as tools and swung them around. How savage was that?

"You had goodwill. I won't deny it. You may have looked down on other foolish people and felt superior to them, but your love and care for those pitiful people were genuine. What matters is that feeling. The tool itself isn't so important."

"...A tool?"

"Yes. The Thunder Lord stabbed me on sight with a sword. She used faith as a tool and swung it like a weapon. The vampires sensed the breath of the Celestial God from the Thunder Lord and her subordinates, then tried to kill them all. Both sides are the same. No matter how they dress it up as some grand will and make it seem like common sense, they're still using it as a weapon to stab other humans. In that sense, the Celestial God and vampires are the same."

"What sophistry. How can the Celestial God, which seeks to preserve humanity, be the same as vampires who have gone beyond humanity?"

The Lightning Thief protested, but I had something to say as well. I showed them the wound on my stomach.

"An angel of the Celestial God that seeks to preserve humanity stabbed me."

"That's because you're savage."

"So he kills every 'human' who doesn't fit his standards? That makes him no different from vampires."

The victim was standing right in front of them, and what I said was true, so the Lightning Thief couldn't argue. They surely had something to say, but I struck first.

"I'll show you. Among humans who beat and kill people for every possible reason, an existence that truly cares for humanity."

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried