Chapter: 534
Haaah. It’s so hard to tell a good story. Why do I have to put in so much effort when saying there’s no need for a price to be paid?
Erginius must be seriously mistaken if he thinks we can communicate like this. If a regular person heard something like that just now, they would have gotten up with an indignant huff.
When it comes to hostile situations, there’s no skill more convenient than the Mesugaki skill, but when it comes to sweet-talking someone, it’s pretty damn useless.
Anyhow, since it looks like the story is going well, let’s get to the main point. The tale of the Fairy Forest.
Sitting across from the despondent Erginius, I crossed my legs and gazed into his unfocused eyes.
“Not long ago, I heard a very sad tale from a wizard who knows nothing but research about a forest inhabited by chicken coops.”
“…Are you talking about the Fairy Forest?”
“Is there anywhere else I could be talking about? It seems your head’s so filled with magic that you can’t think of anything else.”
As Erginius chewed over my words with a peculiar expression, Arthur had walked over beside him.
“Lord Erginius, it’s best to just let him ramble when he’s talking nonsense. We can sort out the details later.”
“But if we don’t check properly…”
“I thought the same at first, too.”
Looking into Arthur’s absent gaze, Erginius fell silent like a well-trained puppy.
…Did I usually bother Arthur that much? Reflecting on it, I guess I might’ve gone overboard with my pranks.
Every time I poked him, he reacted amusingly, and it was impossible to restrain myself. But I didn’t think I’d make him look like that. Maybe I should hold back for a while.
“Are you done with your nerd talk? Let’s get to the main point.”
The situation around the Fairy Forest as I heard from the professor was extremely grim.
The barrier was holding strong, but the Evil God’s energy flowing from it had invaded the land, turning the area into a hell where no living thing could survive.
The noble family residing right next to the forest was biting their nails each year as the hell kept expanding.
“The situation doesn’t look good.”
Once Erginius heard my whole tale, he matter-of-factly stated the obvious.
From his unchanging expression, it seemed he had mentally prepared himself for this.
“You came to find me at just the right time. If you had left the Fairy Forest alone a little longer, the barrier would have ultimately crumbled.”
“The barrier crumbling, you say?”
It was poor Phoebe who gasped in shock at Erginius’s calm truth.
Ah. Now that I think about it, Phoebe probably had visited the Fairy Forest. The Church of the Lord regularly sent people to purify its energy.
It’s completely natural for her to visit the area while establishing her stance as a Saintess.
“I fixed the barrier several times after the war ended. It should never have crumbled until the day someone appeared to relieve my regrets. Objectively speaking, if there are no other variables, that barrier should hold for another thousand years.”
“But just now, Lord Erginius…”
“I said, under the premise that there are no variables.”
The hero party didn’t manage to completely repel the Evil God.
They had certainly won the war, but that victory came with wounds, and the heroes who lost much didn’t have the strength to wipe out the ones that reached divinity.
As a result, the heroes resorted to sealing the Evil God away.
“Hundreds of years have passed since then. The chains binding the Evil Gods are gradually weakening. Therefore, the powers rampaging inside the barrier will grow stronger with time.”
The barrier weakened as time passed, while those sealed within it only grew more powerful. It was only natural that it would eventually crumble.
“Additionally, about a decade ago, there was a strange time when the powers of the Evil Gods amplified drastically. At that time, the insides of the barrier likely felt the influence too, so it must be in quite an unstable state.”
…Huh? There was a time when the powers of the Evil Gods amplified? Was there that kind of backstory in the game Soul Academy? No, there wasn’t. No matter how blurry my previous memories were, I wouldn’t have forgotten something so foundation-shaking.
That means this incident was something that had only happened in this world.
“But that’s alright. Now, it will find its former righteousness.”
Facing Erginius’s bright smile, I offered a mere smile in return.
To be frank, unlike previous events, I wasn’t so sure about this one.
The Fairy Forest dungeon was an unknown place to me. I would do my best, but it was uncertain whether I could chase away all the darkness within.
[One moment. Lucy, I have something to ask that guy, can you relay it for me?]
After hearing my grandfather’s voice, I let out a snicker to grab attention before speaking up.
“Mr. Loser Wizard, you do plan to intentionally break the barrier, right? Are you just trying to dump all the trouble onto me?”
“To completely remove the Evil God’s energy from the forest, it’ll have to be done that way.”
“And what about those chicken coop minions inside? What do you plan to do about the immature ones who mistake their pranks for fun?”
The Fairy Forest was tranquil because the barrier kept those inside in eternal slumber.
If the barrier were to crumble, the monsters lurking within would surely emerge.
Creatures stuck in the Age of Myth would definitely bring misfortune to the nearby residents.
“I’ll prepare some measures before unsealing it. The fairies won’t be able to escape.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Of course.”
“Really? A pathetic loser who spent hundreds of years stuck underground? Are you absolutely sure of everything?”
I wasn’t doubting Erginius’s skills as a wizard.
However, believing that the plan I laid out in my head would work flawlessly was risky.
Unexpected variables tend to show up at the worst possible moments.
“…I have dozens of safety measures prepared…”
“And if the leader of the losers gets involved?”
If the one orchestrating the variables is a scheming loser who has become divine, they should be doubly guarded against.
“That would be….”
“Yeah, you don’t need to say another word. It’s obvious your brain is uselessly blank.”
His stammering indicated he might not be very confident either.
If the Evil God Agra intervened, the likelihood of Erginius’s safety measures collapsing wasn’t negligible at all.
I needed to ask more about this to prepare more thoroughly.
“Next, then, Mr. Loser Wizard. When the barrier crumbles, the energy of the idiot sealed away for centuries will be unleashed. Do you have countermeasures against that?”
The inside of the barrier was a desolation filled with the dark energy of the Evil God.
If the years of suppressed energy were unleashed, who knows what kind of effects that could have?
In the worst case, a disaster might strike before my miracles could even manifest.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve been thinking about it for a very long time.”
“Go ahead and ramble. About the fantasies of a loser.”
“The energy remaining inside the barrier is rampaging without a master. If it were to break free without any defenses, the energy only following the orders left long ago could indeed become a disaster. But if its master were to reappear, that’s another story. Those who longed for their master for so long would happily return to their embrace.”
Though I wouldn’t call him brilliant, I could understand Erginius’s words easily enough.
“Have you lost your mind from being cooped up underground for so long?”
This guy was talking about resurrecting the Evil God. He was telling me that by returning the energy within the barrier, we could prevent the power from going wild.
“Well, who knows? I’m not even sure if I’m in my right mind right now. For a sorcerer like me, hundreds of years is quite a long time.”
“What?”
“But the Erginius from hundreds of years ago is different. He was wise enough to speak to the God of Magic, and he would never create half-baked plans.”
With a confident expression, Erginius continued, saying this method was faster than repeating a hundred words, all while conjuring complex magic circles above his hand.
How many magic circles had he woven together to form this? I couldn’t even guess the primal magic here. The magic circle activated ahead of our response, changing the world around us.
Everything around darkened. Ambient sounds vanished in a heartbeat.
I couldn’t even be sure I was sitting in my chair as the sensation against my skin faded away.
Nothing flowed into my nose, and nothing remained on my lips.
This was clear.
While it wouldn’t matter for anyone else, I couldn’t have been mistaken.
Having faced threats of death many times, I couldn’t be wrong about this sensation.
This was definitely the power of darkness.
“By now, you should understand, right?”
As the momentary darkness lifted, Erginius’s cheerful face came into view.
“The great mage Erginius has toppled the powers of various gods into the realm of mortals.”
Visibly shocked, my friends murmured.
A sweet fragrance brushed my nostrils.
The uncomfortable sensation of the wooden chair met my skin.
Disgusting flavors lingered on my tongue.
“While I’ve had plenty of threats thrown at me, I haven’t passed them down to future generations. The knowledge in my head remains untouched.”
Old nightmares flashed in my mind, I felt my stomach twist. But to avoid revealing it externally, I forced a smile.
“There’s no need to worry about dealing with the Evil God. If I can erase his powers, there’s no easier opponent.”
“…You know, you clueless, empathy-less loser? Just because you erase his powers doesn’t mean that loser’s strength will vanish along with them. What do you think gives you the right to act like it won’t matter?”
“Huh? But surely you must…”
His words were right. If we could erase his powers, then fighting the Evil God should become much easier.
Even an idiot god would be bothersome in various ways, but if I prepared well ahead of time, we should be able to contend with him.
So I knew that discussing this was important, but first, I felt there had to be some punishment for that nonsense he spewed earlier.
With narrowed eyes, I flicked my fingers, making the clumsy fox waiting in the corner take on human form.
“How much do you intend to torment him?”
“Until that loser begs for his life!”
“Hmm? Ugh, wait! Wait! Please stop! Don’t come any closer! Nooooo!”
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