Meaning of Existence
People and countries are moving toward the time of the final battle. In the midst of all this, there are organizations that fail to move when they should. The Adventurers' Guild is one such organization. Or, to be more precise, the Committee of Eight, which uses the official organization of the Adventurers' Guild as a cover.
The Committee of Eight is aware of what is happening. They have set up a system to gather information at guild offices around the continent, as well as in various other places. It was a clear indication that their enemy, the divine race, had appeared.
They know that the enemy has appeared. But they did not immediately start fighting. This has happened many times in the past. Each time, they, the members of the Committee of Eight at that time, did not go into battle because there was no guarantee that they would win. They could not afford to fight and lose the power they had spent so many years gaining. They used the excuse that they would use it only when the time was right.
This time, too, they are unable to go into battle. They are just talking about what they should do without coming to a conclusion.
"What good will that do if we fight alone?"
Those who are opposed to joining the fight are using the lack of the Savior as a reason. Their mission is to help the Savior fight. If they fight without the Savior, they will lose.
"Kaiser Ren Breitkreutz is the Savior. We should cooperate with him and face the battle."
Participating factions claim that there is a Savior. She thinks that Ren is the Savior.
"There is no proof."
"Then what is the proof that one is the Savior?"
"I don't know."
"Then how will we decide to fight!"
No matter how much time was spent, the discussion remained at a standstill. Then, it is not a majority decision. The important decision to fight the divine race cannot be decided by a majority vote. Unanimity is the rule, and that is why they had been unable to make a decision until now.
They don't know what kind of being the Savior is. So there is no way that the opinions of all eight of them can be unanimous in their participation in the war.
Today would end up being another sterile meeting. While everyone was thinking that, it happened.
"What!? What's going on!?"
"Are you okay!?"
There was a violent shock and a roar. Immediately the ceiling came crashing down, but the committee members at a distance could not see it. Even if they couldn't tell, they knew it wasn't just from the sound they heard.
"No way! Did the divine race know about the place!?"
Some people thought it was an attack by the divine race. But they were wrong.
"No. It was the Savior who attacked us."
Only Mion, who was at the scene, was able to quickly grasp the situation. She saw that it was Ren who had broken through the ceiling and entered.
"That's wrong. I'm not the Savior."
"Ren-kun. This is a bit much, don't you think?"
"I thought it was the only way we could have a real conversation. I don't have time for this kind of probing."
The Adventurer's Guild, the Committee of Eight, which includes Mion, has a hidden purpose. What it is is of no concern to Ren. He didn't come here to find out.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to the Luine Kingdom. Tell me how to travel fast in this world. If it's a tool, lend me it."
"I think you're asking the wrong person."
Even in this situation, Mion is still trying to play dumb. The Committee of Eight has not yet reached a conclusion. Since that's the case, she can't reveal the committee's secrets to Ren. The rules are strict. That is one of the qualifications to join the Committee of Eight, and Mion is someone who can thoroughly implement it.
"If science exists, this is the only place it can exist. There is no means of transportation other than science that surpasses what I already have."
"...Science again"
"I don't know why you hide it, but I do know. Technology and tools are useless if they are not used. Science is only meaningful if it helps people."
Ren does not know why science must be hidden. The divine race will never allow science to exist in this world. Not only will they erase it without a trace, but they will also eliminate everyone involved in it. He does not have this much information.
"Being useful to people… if there is such a thing, will it be useful to people?"
Mion's heart was shaking with the words, [If you don't use it, it will be useless]. She wondered if the Committee of Eight, who could not come to a conclusion and continued to put off fighting for hundreds of years, had any meaning in existing.
These words are not for Mion alone. Some of the other members of the committee thought the same thing. Because they thought so, they didn't say anything even when asked to acknowledge the existence of science.
"The divine race is fighting against the Luine Kingdom. Apparently, they are acquaintances of mine. Did I know them, or did I? I'm not sure about that part."
Ren talked not only to Satoko but also to Jin. Jin shared his experiences with Ren. He also told him about Yuya. He told him about the horrific ritual and how it made him feel like he was no longer himself.
"They are going to kill everyone that is fighting against them, some of whom I want to protect. So I have to go to the battlefield immediately. They have already entered the territory of the Luine Kingdom."
"...It's not just the people they're fighting. They will also kill people who have nothing to do with the battle. Even if hundreds of thousands or millions of people die, they don't think anything of it."
"You know?"
"Can Ren-kun win? They are the strongest people in the world."
Mion has completely revealed anything other than science. She thought it was necessary in order to evaluate Ren and to make him evaluate her.
"This is not the time to think about whether or not I can win. I fight because I have to."
"...But if we lose, many will die."
"It can't be helped. Because we lost, right? But the future still exists. Even if I lose this time, there will be people who will fight again. There is no way the world will allow such an existence."
"The world……"
For Mion and the others, the divine race is the world. However, Ren says that the world will not allow the existence of the divine race. Mion did not think it was because he was a person who was summoned from another world and knew nothing about it. She felt a special will.
"Then I will fight too. As me, a nobody."
Mion denied the existence of the Committee of Eight at this moment. There were people who would fight even without such an existence. There had been several in the past, and surely, as Ren said, there would be more in the future.
"That's... you can do whatever you like."
"I'm sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations. We don't have time, right? Let's hurry."
Having abandoned the Committee of Eight, She can't offer Ren what he wants. Mion was so thorough that she returned to being an individual person.
"Wait!"
But there was someone who stopped Mion.
"Before that, let's take a vote. Let us decide whether we will fight against them, or rather against the divine race. As a committee of eight."
He also decided to fight as an individual person. He decided and asked for a final conclusion as a committee of eight. Whether or not to fight, regardless of whether or not Ren was the Savior. Whether the Committee of Eight should fight even if there is no Savior.
The Committee of Eight was to issue an unprecedented decision.
◆◆◆
The Izrim Empire Army, or rather Yuya and the others, had temporarily halted their march. The army, for them, was to gather tools, sacrifices. They showed the power of their magic, killed hundreds of people to scare them, and gathered an army of more than ten thousand. At that point, Yuya and the others started marching again and approached the royal capital.
In this situation, the defenses built by the Luine Kingdom managed to prevent the fall of the royal capital. The royal capital of the Luine Kingdom, which had always been robust, has had its defenses further strengthened over the past several years. The area of the royal capital has been greatly expanded, and several layers of protective walls and moats have been built so that the center of the city cannot be easily penetrated. Knowing the strength of the Nord Empire, the defenses were built in anticipation of a war against the demons.
From the point of view of Yuya and the others, it was an abominable defense line. Even if they were mad soldiers who did not fear death, it would be meaningless if they could not reach the Luine Kingdom Army. Even if they launched an assault without fear of enemy attack, if they could not swim, they would die in the moat. Even if they could swim, they could not fight the enemy if they could not climb the walls.
It is a matter of course. So, naturally, the attack would be concentrated near the gate that serves as the entrance and exit. Mei and Maki's powerful magic attacks were repeated to break down the gate, and Yuya and Minami launched an assault to break down the defense of the Luine Kingdom army. Then finally it was the soldiers' turn. The four of them launch an assault from the place they have pried open. It is a repetition of this process.
"…Magic tools are more troublesome than I thought."
Mei's powerful magic would not be able to shatter a barrier with a single blow. The reason why this is not the case is the existence of magic defensive tools. The Luine Kingdom has been lavishly investing money to build a defensive position. The number of magic tools is also quite large.
"Evolution of magic tools... Evolution... That's why humans are..."
The magic tools of today are different in power from the magic tools they know. Magic has evolved as well. That is unacceptable to them. Magic is not something that the humans, or mortals, originally had. They don't even think it is real. For them, it is something that should not be allowed to evolve by the people who were given a fake.
"Isn't it good? Let's finish it all at once."
But they're not really fighting yet. For them, a barrier would be meaningless. Maki suggested that they should get serious about it.
"We haven't killed enough. Besides... what about Ren?"
He speaks Ren's name and his will is Yuya's. Like Jin, Yuya has a strong complex about Ren, although he has never admitted it. Regardless of their goals, he has the will to eliminate Ren.
"Why don't we just destroy the Luine Kingdom and then head east?"
Maki does not have particularly strong feelings for Ren. She is trying to put priority on finishing the battle at hand for now.
"He's the King of the Nord. I think he should be killed."
Yuya brings up the reason that he is the king who rules the demons, not emperor. It is a reason in line with their consciousness.
"Isn't it too late? Then we should have fought the Nord Empire from the beginning."
The decision to put the Nord Empire on the back burner was one that was properly thought out and decided upon. It was troublesome for Maki to have it brought up now. Yuya's intention was also troublesome to begin with.
"It was decided without me. Besides,...... did you think it would take this long?"
The decision was made without Yuya. But this doesn't matter. The problem is that it took more time than expected to destroy the Luine Kingdom and kill the people living there.
They are the strongest beings in this world, but they also have a kind of weakness. They are not beings that live on the ground. They cannot stay on the ground for very long. That is why they need a body, and that is why they need horrific and gruesome rituals. Even so, they cannot stay on the ground forever.
"...We can't even become a demon?"
"Are you kidding!? Don't even joke like that!"
In order to remain on the ground, they must fall and become demons. But the demon race is not demons to them. It would mean falling into a lower existence. It is unacceptable to talk about them as if they were the same being.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to admit it, but it's true that we're having a hard time. We can't have the Luine Kingdom and the Nord Empire, right?"
The Nord Empire, which has many demons, should be tougher than the Luine Kingdom. The Nord Empire should be given up, Maki thinks.
"...I don't care about the Nord Empire. We can't destroy the demons. But how about leaving Ren-kun alone?"
They cannot be allowed to do anything that would destroy the demon race. They do not know if they will be allowed to do so. They are not the God that made the world what it is.
That's why Mei now thinks there's no need to fight the Nord Empire. But Ren is different. Mei also has a strong complex for Ren. The reason she acquired the Izrim Empire is because she does not want to lose to Ren.
"In the end, Yuya and Mei just want to kill Ren personally, right? If that's the case, just do it after things are over."
The relationship with Ren is a personal matter between Yuya and Mei. The same with their original wills. And Minami now thinks it's too much trouble to get involved.
"You're talking about the fact that it's doubtful they can do that."
"If you just want to fight Ren personally, you can manage that, right? If we want, we can redo the ritual. That way, I can stay in the body longer."
"We do it every night."
Rituals are held every night. It's an orgy with four people.
"No... there's a woman who's perfect for a sacrifice here, right? Is it a man that Mei needs? There are men, too. And demons."
What Minami is talking about is different from the rituals they usually perform on their own. It is the first blood ritual they performed. The more noble the blood of the sacrifice, the better. Nobility is not about status, but about being of an old and distinguished family and the density of mana. That was the reason why Yuya first sacrificed Princess Amalia.
"That's true, but... Ren will hate us again, you know?"
"It's too late for that. I'm going to kill him anyway."
Four people already know that Rin is on the battlefield. Rin, who is from a prominent family that has been around even longer than the royalty, King Albert, Princess Grace, and Milianea, and whose mana is even stronger. They are thinking of using Rin as a ritual sacrifice.
"...That's right"
"So, then. You two okay with that?"
"...Yeah." "I don't mind."
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