215-Offering of god




What does that mean?

 Sasha twisted her head as if she didn't understand.

"God built a castle in the depths of the earth and lit up the night of nothingness. That order of creation gave birth to the underworld.

 After all, this subterranean world must have been created by order.
 However, there is no sentence that can be definitively attributed to Militia's hand.

 <Since the was found to be useful to Arcana, she must have the power to construct the world.
 Or does Arcana have some kind of connection to Militia?

So, what about 'no life, and the world stops'?

 Sasha asks again.

'Since I corrupted the god of destruction, Averniu, to the earth, and I deprived this world of the order of destruction, life that should have been destroyed has ceased to perish. Therefore, no new life was created and the world will stagnate.

 The sum of the roots circulating in this world is fixed.
 Ruin and rebirth are two sides of the same coin.

Or maybe that's why all kinds of bad things happen.

 That doesn't mean we can't perish for the sake of a life that hasn't yet been born, though.
 It would be God's way of telling us to die quickly because the rest is up for grabs.
 There is no reason to obey such a thing.

The rest of it seems to say only what was on the other monuments.

 He skimmed through it and read out its contents.
 Then all the words on the wall glowed pale white.

''.........The oracle has been deciphered in its entirety.......''

 An astonished voice echoed from my back.

 How could a secret script that no one has been able to read for over a thousand years be a heretic on earth...

Tell me.....

 The students in the academy are just kneeling there and praying to the gods, as if they were so shocked that I had deciphered the ancient divine script.

''Not yet.........''

 I heard a murmur.

''........God must not have abandoned me yet.......''

 The saintly gazelle uttered that with empty eyes and staggered to his feet.
 He made his way to the magic circle, as if to escape.

 However, he stopped in the middle of it.
 In front of Gazelle's eyes, there was a silver-haired girl, Arcana.

 She quickly held out her hand to Gazelle.

''The pact bead.''

 Gazelle shuddered and braced herself to hide her hand with the Alliance Pearl Ring.

'The great selective god Arcana. The eagle's judgment has not yet fallen. I will welcome a new god and return to this holy place...

 Silently, Arcana shook his head from side to side.

'By the prayer of my congregation, the oracle Ahyde Alobo Agatse, in the name of Arcana, the god of selection, I pass judgment on thee, Saint Gazelle Apt-Ageira.

 Stepping back, Gazelle backed away.

'No way ... no way ...'

 Just as the gazelle was about to flee, his hand was severed and he was flying through the air.

'Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 Arcana's hand held a sword of snow, blood dripping from its cut edge.
 As she spun her palm back to the heavens, the ring of Alliance Pearl that Gazelle was holding flew out.

 The pact pearl fits easily in her small hand.
 A man's voice rang out from the magic circle at the entrance.

It is the God of Selection and the God of Bright Light, Diosseria. Nutella de Hiana, God of Regeneration, and Beheus, God of Piercing. The order of the three gods is an offering, and in accordance with the pact of the Selection Judges, I offer it to my god Arcana.

 An enormous amount of magical power overflows from the Alliance Pearl.
 It's the very root of the Bright Light God, the Watch God of Rebirth, and the Piercing God that I destroyed.

 The three blue flames in the Lordship Pearl float out of the black stone and into the air.

The three blue fireflies float out of the black stone and float in the air. Be mine, the order of the three gods.

 Arcana quickly stuck out her little tongue.
 Then she ate them one by one as she welcomed the three blue fires into her mouth.

 Her body glowed with a mighty magical power.
 The three divine roots have been assimilated with her roots.

 Just as Ahide had mentioned earlier, she would be making offerings to the gods and eating them.
 In other words, Arcana has obtained the order that the three gods had, right?

'.........Cardinal........!

 Without stopping the bleeding with his recovery magic, Gazelle glares at Ahide.

"You........betray me.......the followers of Geordal who believe in the Almighty Glittering Eques.......

 Ahide prayed in a stern manner.
 His expression was full of arrogant justice.

'The oracle has come down. Let us fight together, not against each other, not against each other. The Almighty Glittering Eques said, "Your will, your God, is mine to inherit.

..........stupid..........

 A voice of protest escapes from the gazelle.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid...! So what is my salvation? What about the bailout? What has been the life of an eagle dedicated to God as a holy knight and a saint?

'It's a test, too, Gazelle. God says you will get through it.

"....You've got to be kidding me! You do this all by yourself, and now it's a crucible? That's what the clergy, that's what God does!

"Gazelle.

 Gazelle gasped at the harsh tone.

'Do you doubt God? Then I excommunicate you in the name of Cardinal Geordal.

 Gazelle couldn't say it back, and a desperate look appeared on his face.
 Ahide gave him a compassionate and gentle smile.

'We are all born without anything. What is yours is God's. Then you have simply given it back to God. What sorrow is there in that?

 Gazelle stepped to the spot and dropped into a discouraging paragraph.

'Now, repent. Your sins will be forgiven by God.

 Shaking his body and spilling tears, Gazelle says.

''God. <Almighty Splendor, Eques. I have sinned. Please forgive me for doubting you and trying to disobey the oracle.

"Almighty Splendor, Eques. Pardon my holy knight, Gazelle, an obedient follower.

 Ahide closes his eyes and prays.

'You are forgiven.'

'God. Thank you.

 He uttered this through tears, and the gazelle picked up a piece of the sword that had fallen to the floor.

'One more thing, please, God, forgive me. To escape the trials you have imposed on me and to depart to you--'

 A moment of confusion and trepidation.
 As if to shake off such emotions, Gazelle made a prepared expression and gingerly pushed the shard to his own throat.

 But just before the shard pierced through, his body came to a halt.
 A flake of snow and moonflower had landed on Gazelle, freezing his body.

 Arcana stared at Gazelle, sadly.

'My chosen god, Arcana. You are merciful. But when this ice melts, he will try to turn to God again.

 Ahide slowly stepped in front of the gazelle and drew a magic circle over his body.

'Then it is my duty as a servant of God to grant his wish here and now.

 Instantly, the gazelle was engulfed in white flames.
 As if summoning some kind of god, the entire ice melted into a sludge and disappeared. 

 Ahide turned around and knelt down to Arcana.
 Then he said a prayer.

'Oh, my God Arcana! I have sinned. I have taken the precious life of the Holy Knight Gazelle, who serves God, and returned it to heaven. I repent. Please forgive me.

 Arcana looked silently at the kneeling Ahide.

'I grant you forgiveness. Ahide the oracle. From now on you will walk the path of righteousness.

"As the Almighty Goddess of Splendor wills.

 Ahide quickly stands up and walks away from the scene.

''Hmm. That's a hell of a travesty, Ahide.

 He pauses, turning his face only slightly toward me.

'I have no desire to be understood by a heretic.

You can tell that to the gazelle you killed.

He was saved.

'Haha. Saved? Because you went to be with God? Don't make me laugh, you crook.

 I said to Ahide, who was looking at me with a blank expression.

''I can only give you that level of salvation, what kind of god are you? <The almighty glitter, Eques is dumbfounded to hear this.

 Ahide removes his gaze from me and gets on top of the magic circle as it is.

'As for me, I don't mind at all if I engage in a holy war with you here and now. However, God will not give me that oracle. It is a regrettable thing that I have to let a heretic go unnoticed.

Huh. You've thought of a reason not to fight. That's a hell of a way out, isn't it? So, let me get this straight. You can't beat me with your current arcana, so I'm going to eat another god to gain strength.

'The judgment of God will come upon you, heretic, sooner or later. Until that time comes, be prepared to do penance, Anos Voldigord.

 The magic circle activated and he suddenly disappeared.

 After looking away from it, Arcana quickly reaches out to the space in front of her.
 The snow and moon flowers that descended, and the drawn magic circle.

 It's the magic of .
 It's probably reincarnating a dead gazelle.

 From the look of the magic, it seems that she is reincarnating without inheriting her memories or power, and leaving it mostly to nature.
 It's not even certain when he'll come back to life.

"Hmm. Why did you choose such a man?

 Arcana replied matter-of-factly.

'He was irredeemable and I was God.'

 It is because you are a god that you dare to choose this irredeemable man.
 It's a reasonable choice, but it doesn't look like you could have saved him.

"Do you know?

If you know what you know, I know what you know.

 Arcana glanced at the ring of the Alliance Pearl, a relic of the Gazelle.

''Why do people want to be gods so badly?''

 He must be referring to Gazelle, Ahide, and those who were chosen by this selective judge.

'What would you risk your life to do, to be God? Will it save them?

Well. You want power, don't you? I ask you the other way around, why did you ask that question?

 Arcana thought for a moment, then said.

'I have never felt happy that this body is a god.

 The answer made me smile.

''Kuku, kuhahaha. Arcana, how could you, you're a god, but you're a decent man. Well, you have to save a man who can't be saved, and that's a poor way to go about it.

 Arcana draws a magic circle of
Are we leaving?

You are the enemy.

Very true.

'I'll give you one piece of advice. You'd better go back to earth.

Oh. Why?

I can't say any more.

 Is it a trap, or are you seriously advising us?

Is it because I'm the enemy?

Yes.

Then why are you advising me?

"Not to save the enemy?

It's a funny thing to say.

 If that was the case, then Arcana's actions were bound to the pact with Ahide.

''It's hard to find a divine race that would utter such a line.

 Particles of magic power rose from the magic circle, and the magic was activated.
 Arcana suddenly disappeared.

 Only the words are left there.

Believe it or not, it's up to you.