WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 144: The God Who Loved Humans

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Elbridge rose from his seat and said,

"Murvach, hang back for a little while."

"Wouldn't it be better to go at once?"

To be blunt, Murvach himself might be useful, but the mercenaries under his command were unlikely to be of much help in a fight against the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

Elbridge didn't want them to throw their lives away for nothing.

"It's best to subdue him quietly with a small group."

Elbridge put it gently, and Murvach easily understood what he meant.

"...All right."

Elbridge, Rombel, and Marcus immediately ran toward the temple.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Sonia's summons rang out in rapid succession.

The sound seemed to pierce his ears, and Marcus frowned slightly.

"Sonia must be in quite a hurry..."

The endlessly repeated summons made it clear just how tense Sonia was.

Unlike Sonia's usual cheerful, confident self, Sonia had weaknesses and fears too. Just like everyone else.

At last, the three arrived at the Temple of Cycles and Flow.

Sonia stood in the center of the temple. Across from Sonia stood a middle-aged man with snow-white hair. They could only see his back, but they knew exactly who he was.

'The Master of the Central Magic Tower.'

Sonia showed no hostility despite having her father's killer before her eyes.

Instead, Sonia looked delighted, even honored, as if Sonia had met someone Sonia admired.

'...Sonia's remarkably good at hiding her feelings.'

Sonia had only one goal: to kill the Master of the Central Magic Tower and complete her revenge.

For that purpose, Sonia was smiling at the man who had killed her father.

Elbridge, Rombel, and Marcus quieted their footsteps as if they had agreed beforehand.

Rombel stretched out a short arm, stopping Elbridge and Marcus. He then gestured to them before pointing at his axe and the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

Elbridge and Marcus understood Rombel's intent from that simple gesture alone.

'Instead of moving closer, I'll throw my axe from here and kill him.'

Marcus looked at Elbridge, leaving the decision to him.

After a brief moment of thought, Elbridge nodded.

'Kill him.'

There was no need to force a confession from the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

Everything they had discovered so far pointed to the same conclusion. The Master of the Central Magic Tower was the one releasing demons from their seals.

Their plan to build a fake temple in Royal Capital Leodel and lure him in had rested on the assumption that he would come to Leodel to release a demon's seal.

The fact that he had appeared here was itself powerful evidence that he was the culprit.

Could it all be a misunderstanding?

It wasn't impossible. But the odds were astronomically low.

In Elbridge's experience, everyone who hesitated because they clung to extremely unlikely possibilities had died.

They also had no idea how powerful the Master of the Central Magic Tower truly was.

If they could end this with a surprise attack, that was best.

Once Elbridge gave his permission, Rombel slipped into an empty alley out of sight of others.

Gripping his massive double-bladed axe with both hands, he began spinning around with one leg as his pivot.

The moment his rotation reached its peak—

Whoosh!

Rombel released the axe.

The massive axe spun through the air at terrifying speed toward the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

Sonia watched the huge axe fly toward Sonia and the Master of the Central Magic Tower. Yet Sonia didn't flinch in the slightest. Keeping the same expression, Sonia continued speaking to him.

Was Sonia certain that Rombel's axe would pass by? Or did Sonia simply not care if Sonia died with him, as long as he died too?

There was no way to know. Either way, one thing was certain: Sonia was no ordinary person.

Just before the double-bladed axe could split the Master of the Central Magic Tower in two, something translucent appeared in midair and knocked it away.

Bang!

Then the translucent thing vanished in an instant, as if nothing had happened.

Elbridge knew exactly what it was.

'A magic shield.'

Yet the Master of the Central Magic Tower's shield differed from those of ordinary mages.

An ordinary shield couldn't have stopped Rombel's axe. The Master of the Central Magic Tower's shield had taken the blow without wavering.

'So he truly is a mage who once Ascended to heaven.'

Only then did the people on the street panic.

"What was that? Something just flew through the air!"

"It was an axe! Someone threw an axe!"

As the commotion spread in every direction, the Master of the Central Magic Tower calmly turned around.

His gaze met those of Elbridge, Rombel, and Marcus.

The Master of the Central Magic Tower looked at the double-bladed axe lying on the ground, then burst into laughter.

"I wondered why I kept sensing fluctuations of mana around you, Sonia. Were you sending a signal?"

Rather than answer, Sonia bit her lower lip and glared at him.

Unrestrained anger burned in Sonia's eyes.

The Master of the Central Magic Tower crossed his arms and smiled.

"You predicted that I would come to Royal Capital Leodel, built my temple, and lured me in... I have no choice but to admit it. It's an ingenious trap."

Elbridge drew his sword. The people around them screamed and scattered in every direction.

Ignoring them, Elbridge walked toward the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

"It would've been a more interesting, more perfect ending if your head had flown off."

"I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate your wishes. The fact that you prepared a trap means you've learned quite a lot about me, doesn't it?"

"That's right."

As Elbridge approached him, he continued weighing his options.

How could he break through the shield that Rombel's axe had failed to pierce?

The power Elbridge could put into his sword was less than what Rombel could put into his axe.

Rombel's axe was far heavier than Elbridge's sword, and as a dwarf, Rombel's physical strength far surpassed Elbridge's.

In other words, it would be difficult to break through the Master of the Central Magic Tower's shield with a sword.

'I wish I had completely mastered Bella-style Combat Art.'

Still, he couldn't give up.

He had to keep fighting somehow and pray that the Master of the Central Magic Tower revealed an opening. Even his abilities had to have limits.

"Goddess."

- I'm watching, Elbridge.

Hearing the goddess's voice made strength surge through him.

Elbridge watched the Master of the Central Magic Tower's staff closely. Magic would take shape whenever that staff moved.

Yet instead of attacking Elbridge, the Master of the Central Magic Tower took a small step to the side.

"We meet again after all this time. Do we really need to fight? Let's talk."

"Are you avoiding me?"

"If it were dangerous, I would've already left. You aren't strong enough to threaten me."

"That's quite a boast."

"Is it?"

The Master of the Central Magic Tower struck the ground with his staff, and the shield surrounding him appeared in translucent form.

There were no fewer than five layers of the same shield that had stopped Rombel's axe surrounding him.

No lengthy explanation was needed.

'...I can't break through.'

Even so, Elbridge kept his sword raised as he asked, "Master of the Central Magic Tower. Was everything you told me before a lie?"

"Of course there was a suitable mix of truth and lies. Is it not far too naive to believe I would tell only the truth to someone I had just met?"

"Even the part about not having any friends?"

"That was partly true. I never felt the need to approach the existing gods."

The Master of the Central Magic Tower stepped closer and met Elbridge's eyes.

"When I met you last time, I told you to go to Lake of Eternity. What did you see in the south?"

He had seen many things.

The conflict between the southern churches. The sight at Lake of Eternity. The wild boars and the stampede. And...

The Master of the Central Magic Tower spoke.

"You learned what demons are, didn't you? Am I wrong?"

Elbridge recalled the moment the God of Flowing Water descended from heaven. Had the Master of the Central Magic Tower's arrangements reached even that far?

Elbridge clenched his teeth, and the Master of the Central Magic Tower took that reaction as confirmation.

Thud.

The Master of the Central Magic Tower struck the ground with his staff again.

Something invisible spread out, enclosing Elbridge's group and the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

At a glance, nothing seemed to have changed.

But Elbridge understood what had happened. Until moments ago, he had been able to feel the goddess's gaze and presence. Now he could not.

The Master of the Central Magic Tower had blocked heaven's gaze.

"Elbridge, Paladin who sealed the Archdemon. What do you think the Archdemon is?"

Only recently, Rita, who had once been the Goddess of Thornbush, had asked him the same question.

Rita had said that the Master of the Central Magic Tower's intentions could be guessed from his actions. To understand those intentions, Elbridge would need to know what the Archdemon was.

This question had to be connected to the Master of the Central Magic Tower's purpose.

Rombel answered.

"I heard it isn't the strongest demon."

"That's right."

The Master of the Central Magic Tower nodded and continued.

"There are two kinds of demons. Gods who weren't satisfied with the power limited by their seats, and gods who pitied those on the ground. Which do you think the Archdemon was?"

Elbridge didn't answer.

But he could guess the answer. If it were the former, the Master of the Central Magic Tower wouldn't have brought this up.

"In the distant past. A time so far back that neither I nor most of the current gods had yet Ascended. A cruel age when gods regarded the humans on the ground as toys."

As he spoke, the Master of the Central Magic Tower pointed at the ground beneath his feet.

"And now. An age when a council system has been introduced, and gods must heed humanity. Do you believe the change between those two eras happened naturally?"

"...No. Change needs a cause."

"That's right. There was a god who pitied the beings suffering on the ground and sought to change the rules of this world."

Elbridge felt as though his heart were tightening.

The Master of the Central Magic Tower must have blocked heaven's attention to tell this story.

"That god used every bit of power available to them and turned both the ground and heaven into chaos. So the Chief God would acknowledge this world's flaws and limit the gods' power. So the people on the ground could henceforth live more dignified lives."

"You make chaos sound quite noble."

"Change and progress begin the moment one recognizes imperfection. To break the old rules and improve them, someone must show the problems inherent in those rules."

While the Master of the Central Magic Tower spoke, Rombel quietly picked up his axe and moved behind him.

Then Rombel swung the axe with all his strength.

Bang!

But the Master of the Central Magic Tower's shield remained firm.

At a gesture from the Master of the Central Magic Tower, Rombel was suddenly hurled away as if he had been kicked by a giant.

Crash!

Rombel rolled across the ground several times, then clutched his waist and groaned.

"Urgh..."

As if nothing had happened, the Master of the Central Magic Tower calmly continued.

"That god knew punishment would follow, yet carried out all of it. They persuaded the Chief God through their actions."

Elbridge glared at the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

Yet his thoughts were in turmoil. It wasn't difficult to guess whom the Master of the Central Magic Tower was talking about.

The Master of the Central Magic Tower murmured softly.

"The first god to oppose the Chief God for humanity. The first god punished by the Chief God. The god who first changed the rules of the world set by the Chief God. The god who pitied humanity more than any other. The god who introduced the council system, allowing people to live dignified lives."

The Master of the Central Magic Tower took a step back.

"Gods and humans call that being the Archdemon."

Elbridge let out a deep sigh.

"So you worship the Archdemon?"

The Master of the Central Magic Tower shook his head.

"No. Like that being, I simply want to make this world a slightly better place."

Footnotes:

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