259-Where is the trace god




 I walk loosely to the Pope, who prostrates himself on the floor.

'Hm,'

 Even though she fainted and her body was ravaged, Gorloana's hands were still folded in prayer.
 Past popes forgot to pray before the Demon King's hymn, though.

 I'm going to cast the spell of 'Total Demon Complete Healing (Aye Sheal)' on Gorloana.
 When the wounds were healed in the blink of an eye, the Pope opened his eyes as if he had just realized.

'The Pope thinks of his country and just prays for it. Apparently, those words weren't just words.

 <Even if he was seriously devoured by the choreography of "Neighborhood", which was imbued with the magical power of and the magic flute, Gorloana did not stop praying.

 If she hadn't defended herself, she would have perished as well as the gods.
 How dare you abandon your self-interest until the very last moment?

"I won't force you to wake up unless the Trace God is satisfied with your faith.

 Gorloana raises herself up and postures her prayers again.

'Shall I ask you to show me where (or where)?'

 The magician's magician's circle of the executed contract (Zekt) shines brightly.

It's not worth the compulsion. We cannot afford to make an oath to God. As you said, it seems that the popes have not been praying for their country with all their might.

 Or maybe it's because Gorloana can do it herself and never noticed.

"Two hundred kilometers west of Georheise. Two hundred kilometers west of Geolheise, deep underground, sometimes hidden in the ruins of Regalondror, the God of Traces is said to sleep there. In the midnight hour, the place where the divine dragon's voice sings in a circle, that is the entrance to Regalondror.

Is the midnight sun rare in the depths of the earth?

 Turning to Arcana, she said.

'There is no sun in the depths of the earth, therefore there is no day like the earth. The morning is also called the dawn, the day is called the midnight sun, and the night is called the extreme night.

You mean in the daytime?

Yeah. That's all you need to know to get there.

 Then you should have no problem with this.

Well, Gorloana.

 I look at the Pope in front of me.

You know what I'm here for, don't you?

''This selection of the pearl was given to me by God. If you are going to take it away, then I will have to take my life first.

I don't want that.

 Then the Pope gave him a dubious look.

'What surprises you? Did you think I would want that?

'You have won the holy war. You do not intend to end up destroying my chosen god.

Hmm. I don't know what you're talking about.

"...why don't you offer the Gospel God as an offering?

 In the Selection Judgment, the Selection God can devour other gods.
 Arcana once took in the God of the Holy Knight Gazelle and made his order my own.

 Is it any wonder they don't do that?

I've told you. I told you my goal is to destroy the Selective Judge.

Then, even more so, wouldn't we need a miracle from God?

In selective judging, God can devour God. There are other ways to settle the matter besides holy war, but for the life of me, this ritual does not seem to want to pit the selectors against each other or God against God.

 Gorloana reacts to my words with a puzzled reaction.

What do you mean by that, sir?

'To win the Selection Judgment, the formula would be to defeat and eat the enemy's god. In other words, the being who created this judgement, which in the teachings of the underground would be called Eques, Eques wants to make the gods eat the gods.

 But do we really need that mechanism to maintain order?

'It may be that by creating a powerful god with multiple orders, the order is made stronger. Or it may have some other purpose. Either way, I'm getting a bad feeling that this is deliberate. If there is someone out there who has planned this, I'm just trying to get rid of their intentions.

 I don't need to go to the trouble of making you eat a god, and if it's power, this one body will be enough for you.

''........Then is your goal to kill me?''

I don't care about your life.

What do you want, then?

Of course, it's a continuation of what I was saying earlier.

 Then the Pope twisted his neat face.

'I do not understand. If you had won, simply killing me would have been enough. There is no one in Gioldar to blame for the results of the selective judges.

'That's the situation as the Demon King of Dillhade. Unless you are an oppressive tyrant or incompetent, that is. At least you're praying for Geordal and ruling this country in peace and quiet. If you die, the country will be in shambles. It may be invaded by Agaha or Gadeisiola.

It wouldn't be any of your business in an earthly country.

'The happiness of the people in this country is too great to speak of as irrelevant. I cannot bear to see their faces stained with grief.

 I looked around Ziolhase with the students of the Demon King's Academy.
 There are still a lot of things we don't know, but what is clear is that the underground people living here have no problems.

 They were happily singing the song of praise and praying for the success of the ritual of the song.
 In spite of cultural differences, they are no different from the Dirheid.

If they have hostile intentions, we will not tolerate them. But if you don't, we'll join hands.

 Gorloana turns her gaze to stare at me, as if to find out my true intentions.
 Then she said sharply.

'Is this the line you are referring to, the one who destroyed the god of my selection?'

Hahaha. It's useless to talk about ideals without power. You can't reach my words until you know that you are no match for me even if you stand on your head. You have to realize that words are more important than power if you want to stop me, and only then can you have a dialogue.

...You are a very arrogant person.

'I think you understand. I'm an arrogant man. I'm not tired of destroying the enemy. I want peace. I want real peace.

 Gorloana closes up with too much talk.
 I laughed at him and said.

'Listen to your own heart. Let my words reach that heart better than they did earlier.

 Shortly, the Pope exhales.
 Or maybe it was an affirmation.

'Two thousand years ago, there was a great battle on earth. As the three great nations of the earth's depths fought each other, the divine race, demons, humans and spirits killed each other. Many soldiers died and people died. I put my last hope on the line and challenged the enemy with power and dialogue.

 The Pope listens in silence, and I continue.

"The world is at peace now," he continues. The world is at peace, at least more so than it was 2,000 years ago. But I still think. If I could have spoken to them sooner, more of the dead would have been saved.

 I put my sincere thoughts into my words.

I can't repeat that mistake. I will continue to talk to you even as we beat each other. I will speak with my fists and hit you with my words until you are defeated.

...What do you want me to do?

Compromise. I respect your faith. But do no harm to Dirhade. Let us make pacts, nation to nation.

 Gorloana shook her head from side to side as if in denial.

'I cannot make any more concessions than I just mentioned. Geordal is the Kingdom of God, and we cannot go against its teachings.

Then find a way to keep Dirhade out of harm's way without disobeying the teachings.

 Gorloana's beautiful face was tinted with puzzlement.

That doesn't seem like a very smart idea. It is no different than before. Neither do we, of course, wish to harm the earth without the teachings of Geordal.

I didn't want all this in the first place. If you do something stupid, I will remind you of it and we will have a dialogue.

 After closing her eyes and praying to the gods, Gorloana looks at me.

'The power of God and his messenger, the dragon, was essential to our survival in the harsh subterranean world. We could not live without our faith. We will never be able to understand those on earth who were able to live by their own power.

"Because we don't know, we fear each other. Because we don't know, we are willing to destroy each other, and that's why we look at each other like evil demons.

 Then, before long, the cycle of hatred builds up and everyone is submerged in an unmanageable, muddy war.

'Shouldn't we start by knowing? If you find you can't understand it, then I don't blame you.

'I will not stand idly by as you seek to destroy the Divine Selective Judge. Neither will the people of Geordal allow it to happen.

If you don't understand my power, do what you like. I will show you as often as I can. There is a being in the world who must not incur your wrath more than God. Whether you like it or not, your scriptures must change.

 Without taking a step back, he thrust the words at the Pope of Geordal so.

'I'm sure you don't understand, sir.

 As he prefaces this, Gorloana has a look of melancholy on his face that he has never shown before.

'These two hands of ours are for the purpose of praying to God. Never can we hold hands like those on earth.'

 To repeat, the Pope says.

'When you came here, I did not take that hand you offered me. That is all that matters. The day will never come when I will join hands with you.

'The hungry will pray to God because they have no food. No one reaches out and continues to pray when the fruit trees are there.

 Gorloana looks up at me slightly.

Sometimes praying alone will not save you. There will come a time when you will have to reach out to grasp for something. So did all the Popes. That's why I responded to that hymn.

 With that, I turn on my heel.

"I will not jump to conclusions. I'll stay with you as long as you need to, until you've exhausted your resources.

 He left the choir hall with Arcana.