A Villain's Will to Survive

Chapter 313: Breakdown and Repair (1)

Creáto was looking up at the lighthouse under construction at the Altar. The majestic height of the long structure—rising in the middle of the Land of Destruction as if to touch the sky—would more appropriately be called a tower, yet the Altar stubbornly insisted on calling it a lighthouse.

“… What is the purpose of this tower?” Creáto asked the construction supervisor, who was a high priest of the Altar.

“It is a lighthouse,” replied the high priest of the Altar.

“I am aware. I am asking what its purpose is.”

This lighthouse was the only structure on the surface of the Land of Destruction, and therefore, it was a major undertaking for the Altar. All of the Altar’s increasing workforce was being poured into it.

“First, it connects to the Capital. With this, we can corrupt nobles or knights blinded by power.”

The Altar had recently been secretly delivering a potion to the Mage Tower and the Knights’ Order. It was an elixir that, upon consumption, would unlock human potential and artificially elevate their very limits.

“The side effects will be severe, won’t they?” Creáto replied, twisting his lips with a sneer.

“No, there will be no side effects.”

“By what means could that be true? You, the Scarletborn, whose very history is stained with the creation of human chimeras.”

“You may analyze it yourself. Human chimeras were certainly our error, but they were a necessary process. Without that track record, our Altar would not have been maintained until God’s coming,” replied the high priest of the Altar, pulling out a potion from inside his robe.

“Beyond the portal’s function, then?” Creáto inquired, slipping the vial of blue liquid into his pocket.

“It is to conduct observations of stars and comets.”

Does that mean that it is an observatory? Creáto thought.

“Are you infatuated with astrology?” Creáto said, a sneer barely suppressed on his lips.

“This lighthouse attracts comets.”

“… It attracts comets?” Creáto replied, a subtle hardening in his features.

“Yes, that is correct.”

Creáto, who had been glaring at the priest with a smile spread across his lips, then moved his eyes to the lighthouse.

“And what happens if it attracts comets?”

“We can reset the continent,” Quay replied.

Quay appeared with his voice, and the priest immediately fell to his knees before the ancient being who called himself God—no, who desired to be addressed as God—as Creáto watched him in silence.

“Comets, you see, each possess their own names and unique characteristics, for they are beings brimming with the mana of the universe,” Quay added, pointing to the night sky.

However, Quay was somehow different today, as his usually overflowing composure was replaced by a stiff and expressionless face, as if he were angry.

“Has anything happened to you?” Creáto asked.

“You’re showing interest in me?” Quay replied, his eyebrows rising.

“Because you are different from your usual self.”

“… Perhaps it’s because I just heard something too arrogant,” Quay said, then gave a chuckle, approaching and standing beside Creáto. “I never knew Deculein would be a follower too. This is unexpected.”

“… Deculein?”

“Yes, he believes in God too.”

Deculein had certainly brought up God, specifically the ancient God in whom Quay placed his belief.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. Deculein is the epitome of an unbeliever,” Creáto replied.

“No, he said he is searching for God.”

“Fod God?”

“Yes, the God who is not I. The God I served in ages past. Although He is already dead and gone,” Quay said, lowering his head and giving a bitter smile.

“Does that trouble you?”

“Yes, Deculein claims to know the name of God that even I don’t know.”

Quay did not know the true name of God, as when God was alive, he had never dared to even ask for his name.

“Creáto, could it be true?” Quay asked, peeking his face up to look at Creáto.

“Why ask me? If you are to become a God, shouldn’t you know everything?” Creáto replied, dumbfounded.

“Rather, that is the very reason why,” Quay said, a sigh escaping him. “I have an intuition. I feel the correct answer to every situation, and the coming tides of the future are revealed to my eyes.”

The providence of the universe, the continent’s end, and its future regeneration—all of which were already within Quay’s clear mind—a phenomenon known as God’s intuition.

“However, that is the reason why I believe Deculein’s words are true.”

The moment Deculein said those words, all the anger seething deep within Quay’s heart and his inability to display his aspect as a God were due to that reason.

“Deculein knows God’s true name.”

Quay had an intuition that it was verily true.

“… Creáto,” Quay continued, taking Creáto’s hand and raising it towards the sky. “Out there, in the distant universe, comets wander.”

At this moment, Quay might even be afraid of what He would say to him and if, indeed, as Deculein suggested, God were to appear once more and Deculein were to find Him, thus discovering Quay, who yet served Him.

“If this lighthouse captures that comet, it will pull it in with a speed unimaginable to humans.”

What will He say to me? What wisdom will He share? Am I, curious about such things, descending into merely being human rather than God? Quay thought.

“… The continent will shatter,” Creáto replied.

“Yes, every breath of life, except you will burn away, and only the souls I have preserved will remain, awaiting regeneration,” Quay said, chuckling. “The moment is approaching.”

Once the lighthouse was complete and the comet’s period approached, Quay would cleanse this continent of all its original sin.

“Before that, what if my sister invades?” Creáto asked.

“I can stop it. I know the correct answer,” Quay replied, chuckling.

Quay answered with composure, once more looking skyward, but with a dense mist clouding his heart, his expression quickly grew conflicted as Deculein’s voice incessantly echoed in his thoughts.

“I believe I even know the true name of God.”

“… The true name,” Quay muttered, then shook his head and laughed. “I believe I’ll know soon anyway. Both God’s true name and your true name.”

***

At the Imperial University’s affiliated Knights’ Order, Yulie lay in bed reading a book. It was a magic book recommended by Professor Sephine, a theoretical book intuitive enough for Yulie, who knew no spells, to easily comprehend.

“… It is resonance, then, that holds such significance? Hmm, hmm,” Yulie muttered.

Yulie, now understanding, briefly put down her book, as mana resonance was basically the power of resonance between one’s body and mana, and resonance, in essence, was the degree of closeness between mana and the body.

“Hoo…” Yulie murmured, sitting into a lotus position and drawing up the mana within her body.

Whoooosh…

In the freezing blue cold and its icy concentration, with her eyes closed, Yulie, however, brought forth a different scene—a basic stance, a unique swordsmanship she had never seen before in her life, one that was absent from any existing swordplay manual.

However, the man executing it had revealed only one form before disappearing. Yulie was now consumed by curiosity regarding the next sequence, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“… Deculein,” Yulie muttered, speaking his name.

Since Deculein was the individual responsible for Yulie being under the curse, she could not go to him directly, and Josephine and Zeit would disapprove.

“… Shh.”

At that moment, a very subtle noise came from below the open window, and Yulie’s ears perked up.

“… Be careful.”

The clock read eleven o’clock at night.

In other words…

“It’s past curfew already,” Yulie muttered.

The knight’s radar activated at someone’s highly suspicious stealth and movements that seemed to betray them, while Yulie quickly put on her coat, placed her hat on her head, and pressed it down, her small head allowing the hat to completely cover her face.

Swish—

Yulie stepped over the sill of the open window, pressing herself against the dormitory wall as she slowly lowered herself to the ground. Using her superhuman senses, she located the recent location of the cadet group and stealthily trailed them.

Moving silently, leaving no footsteps, she passed the dormitory and arrived at a forest behind it—the Forest of Darkness, a training ground shared by both the Mage Tower and the Knights’ Order.

“The forest…”

Yulie hesitated for a moment, but her nature made it impossible to ignore so she advanced inside.

Ruuuustle— Ruuuuuustle—

Proceeding through the forest, where leaves swayed eerily and an unpleasant mana overflowed, Yulie became even more filled with suspicion.

For what reason did these cadets come to this place? If they are discovered, they will certainly be expelled, Yulie thought.

Regardless, Yulie, who had been following the traces like a detective, paused without warning at a certain point.

Thud.

Cadets, five in total, were seen gathered around a well in the forest’s heart, performing a ritual with their hands clasped together while chanting an unknown prayer.

“Barqpagy. Cugody. Spqugy.”

What was held in their hands was a scripture and a piece of paper, the scripture in an alien language, but a closer look at the paper revealed…

The revelation, Yulie muttered.

The revelation, the Altar’s book of prophecy—which was the greatest problem of the current age and the Empire’s main enemy—was in their hands.

That meant, of course, that while it remained only a suspicion…

“We hold you as God and render worship unto you.”

Yulie, who had gained immediate certainty, considered her options, wondering whether she should report this as evidence or charge in and sweep them away.

Whooooosh—

At that moment, as a dark vapor bloomed from the well, the cadets, their faces brightening, reached inside and soon pulled forth a strange elixir into their hands while a thick mist swirled forth, enveloping the area.

“What is it?!”

Yulie, startled, closed her eyes and the instant she opened them again, the entire world was steeped in darkness. Nothing was visible to Yulie, nothing was felt, and nothing was audible.

“… This,” Yulie muttered.

Yulie’s vocal cords and mouth undeniably moved, but no voice was present, and no sound echoed in her ears as she looked around again, only to find utter blackness completely consumed by darkness as if buried in space. Yulie did not know what she was seeing, what she was feeling, or what she was doing.

Yulie was unable to tell if she was walking, seeing, or speaking, or if she was under attack from someone because the darkness that blocked her senses made all of it unclear.

At that moment, a sudden sensation on Yulie’s back startled her greatly, and she tried to turn, but someone’s strong grip restrained her, showing the pure strength of a warrior.

An enemy? No, if it were an enemy, there would be no reason to keep me alive, floundering in the darkness, Yulie thought.

Of course, Yulie might merely have been unable to distinguish ally from enemy, but…

Swish— Swish—

A finger moved on Yulie’s back, and the sensation it created was strangely clear, as if writing letters.

— Do not move. Do not open your mouth.

Yulie, for the moment, held her entire body motionless, as the directive commanded.

— Now, speak slowly. What is the reason you came here.

Yulie spoke, but no voice was heard.

— Your voice reaches me clearly. You have my permission to speak.

— … I followed the cadet because I was suspicious.

— You seem like a cadet as well.

— … Yes, that is correct.

— Then do not interfere. You could have died today.

Regardless, it meant that someone had assisted Yulie.

— … By any chance, who are you to speak such words to me?

— I am one with greater responsibility than you. Breathe every time you speak. Do not forget to breathe.

— … Yes, but what is this darkness?

— Every day, a rather noxious veil spreads in the Forest of Darkness. Therefore, entry has been strictly forbidden.

— … How do you know that? Can you please tell me who you are?

Yulie once more asked for the individual’s identity but, receiving no response, spoke first.

— … Those are the Altar. The Altar has coiled itself within the university. Immediate action seems necessary. Please tell me your name.

— This is not something that is within your capacity. Nor is it a matter that will be resolved by mere reporting.

— … Pardon me?

— Even now, there are an excessive number of individuals within this university cooperating with the Altar.

At that moment, Yulie’s eyes widened.

— It is because of the potion you witnessed. With one vial of that potion, one can gain over a year of achievement.

— … Over a year?

— Indeed. Those who have partaken of power and talent with undue ease cannot easily release it. I suspect the number approaches half.

— Half?!

Yulie was thunderstruck though not heard, she must have screamed out loud.

— Therefore, do not trust those around you too easily.

Yulie immediately spoke.

— … Let us cooperate.

— Did I not just tell you not to trust those around you—

— … I will not choose the Altar’s potions out of convenience, and of course, I don’t know who you are yet, but you also seem the same.

— I am not so weak as to seek the cooperation of a mere upstart like you.

At his words, Yulie shook her head, for it was not stubbornness but a sense of chivalry, every stance of a knight.

— … I will come at the same time next week. With even more thorough preparations than now.

— Stubborn, indeed.

— … It is not stubbornness. As a cadet of the Knights’ Order, if the university is being encroached upon by external forces, I have a duty to investigate it.

He was silent for a moment and soon after wrote the letters upon Yulie’s back.

— As expected.

At that moment, the binding that constrained Yulie’s body loosened and the world was once again brightly revealed as the mist cleared.

“Who…!” Yulie said, her head snapping around.

However, he seemed to have already left, nowhere to be seen, and even traces like footprints were absent.

“… As expected? Does this person know me?” Yulie asked.

While Yulie scratched the back of her neck, repeating questions to herself in confusion, the crystal orb in her robe vibrated.

— Yurie, are you ready to go to the Imperial Palace.

At Sephine’s message, Yulie then and only then raised her eyes to the sky.

“… It’s that time already,” Yulie muttered.

It was morning.

***

Back in the Imperial Palace of the Capital as per today’s schedule, I found myself facing a Sophien whose expression was inexplicably unenthusiastic.

“Deculein, you met Yulie,” Sophien said.

Sophien seemed curt, probably because of the person I had just met.

“Hmph. I detect a scent, a scent of old mana,” Sophien continued, grumbling as she played Go and flicked a white stone with her finger.

Without a word, I lowered my head.

“Did you find it pleasing?”

“… She remained a stubborn woman, Your Majesty,” I replied.

“Hah. That is enough. I do not wish to hear it. Rather, I have already conducted the interviews for the mages you selected.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I have heard.”

The theoretical problem had eight correct respondents, but theory was merely the first examination, while the most important thing was, after all, the Empress’s interview.

“Three proved useful, but the remainder possessed no merit. Therefore, I have dismissed them. Instruction begins today,” Sophien said, rising and wiggling her left hand. “And about that, Deculein. Stand up. Stand up and come to me. I have something to give you.”

Due to her unknown matter, I got up from my seat and walked towards Sophien, who stared at me, displaying a satisfied smile.

“Deculein.”

Sophien, speaking the name Deculein.

“… Deculein.”

However, my ears were momentarily numb, my legs trembled as I walked toward Sophien, and without my knowing, my body leaned as if collapsing, feeling as if the ceiling and floor were pulling away from me…

It was a sensation I had never experienced since becoming Deculein, and though Sophien’s bewildered face was glimpsed, my thoughts did not continue beyond that.

Plop—

The last thing I remembered was the sound of my body, no longer under control, as it leaned against someone.

***

… Thud!

At the sound of their bodies overlapping and collapsing, Sophien held Deculein in her arms—no, she found herself holding him.

“… Deculein.”

It was Sophien’s voice calling Deculein, but the unconscious man showed not a single movement, his heartbeat was almost imperceptible, and only a wheezing breath escaped him, while Sophien, after a moment of daze, smiled.

“Do not worry,” Sophien said, her hand finding its way into Deculein’s clothes.

Sophien’s heart pounded uncontrollably and her face flushed because of Deculein’s muscular physique, with even the impulse and excitement to overwhelm him welling within her, but she did not do anything improper.

“For I shall now mend you.”

Sophien persevered with superhuman endurance, merely using the Holy Language she had mastered for such eventualities to gradually mend Deculein’s abruptly immobilized form…

“… What a remarkable body. Gulp,” Sophien muttered, tracing Deculein’s body with her hand and swallowing the saliva that pooled in her mouth.

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