Three days later, the disciples, filled with sorrow, closed the doors. Luke stood in the midst of them and said, “Peace be with you.” Upon hearing this, the disciples rejoiced at seeing their Lord.
Hannah Gospel 20:19-20
Paaat
In the heart of Orias.
I was about to set out to find the disciples.
“Lily! You’re safe!”
Lilith rushed at me from the air.
Of course, being a spirit, she passed through me.
Had this little guy not gone with me to the realm of Deus? Or was she sealed and couldn’t appear?
“No. I was fixed here the moment that snake swallowed you. As if sealed to this coordinate.”
So, I was trapped in the place where I was eaten by the snake because I couldn’t enter the realm of Deus?
“What happened to the snake?”
“It vanished at that moment. Wasn’t it your doing? I felt the flow of divinity from you and then it disappeared.”
The divinity felt from me? Was it the work of Deus? If it was her power, she could easily erase something like Saros’ unique territory.
At that moment, I felt the familiar presence within the ruined Imperial Palace.
…Aurelia?
Was she inside the Imperial Palace?
Avoiding the knights and soldiers conducting search operations around the kingdom, I reached Aurelia.
There she was, on her knees, crying.
What’s she crying about?
And it’s such a heartbreaking sight.
I approached her and asked, “Why are you crying?”
“A gravekeeper! Someone has stolen a corpse! Find it immediately! It must be the top priority!”
A corpse? Stolen? What is she talking about?
Is she confused due to the chaos from the battle of the gods last night?
“Aurelia.”
I called her name firmly again, hoping she would snap out of it.
She paused, slowly lifted her head, and looked at me.
“…S-Sir, Teacher?”
With a face full of shock.
As if she were seeing a dead person.
—
Following her guidance, I moved to Paulah’s building.
As I followed her, I received some shocking news.
While I was meeting Deus, three whole days had passed.
I thought it was just a brief moment… but had so much time really passed?
Had it really taken that long for me to confront her? Or maybe time flows differently in the divine realm?
I once wrote, “A day in the land of Deus is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.”
And Aurelia had become the new Emperor of the Nova Empire, succeeding the missing Emperor, Dominic, in the three days I was gone.
As expected of the Princess who showed remarkable ability in [Deus Ex Machina], she seized the throne even amidst chaos.
At this point, there’s nobody else who could properly lead the Nova Empire after losing a tyrant; it’s a good thing it’s her.
“Our Lord ought to be on the throne, yet my faith was lacking, and I took it upon myself. Even though You have promised to resurrect…”
“No. It’s alright.”
Considering I had just witnessed a heavenly battle, it’s not surprising to think someone who disappeared for three days would be dead.
In fact, it worked out well.
I couldn’t be the Emperor of the Nova Empire, so having the friendly Aurelia as Empress is the most ideal scenario for me.
“However, I… I denied You as You said to do. Three times, no less…”
“It’s fine.”
“But!”
Is she blaming herself for that?
I can’t even mention it was due to the magic I placed within her at the ordination… how troublesome.
The reason she betrayed me stems from my slight manipulation of her emotions to trigger the artifact called ‘Heir.’
So, she has no reason to suffer or blame herself.
In fact, it’s me who should apologize to her.
…Now that I think about it, I might have manipulated the minds of my disciples too.
Ha.
I’m not in a position to scold Deus at all.
I’ve been treated as the Son of God, the savior of the world, acting all high and mighty.
It’s something I can’t exactly share with my disciples, but it seems I need to be on guard in the future.
I’ve unconsciously treated this world like a game.
And here I am, with a “do as I say, not as I do” mindset.
By the way, I wonder how Judah is doing.
Unlike the other disciples, she actually stabbed me, so the mental shock must be quite something.
“Aurelia, is Judah in Paulah’s house?”
“Y-You mean Judah?”
The moment she heard that name, her expression hardened.
“N-No… she… died.”
“…What did you say?”
What did Aurelia just say?
Judah is dead?
“According to those who witnessed, after she stabbed You… her entire body was engulfed in flames.”
Judah burned to death?
What the hell…
-Oh! I saw that!
Lilith chimed in from the side.
-After you got eaten by that snake, it disappeared.
As Lilith mentioned earlier…
-The snake vanished, but since you also disappeared, there was no one to stop Saros.
Saros!
Right, I had forgotten about Saros.
She was still there…
Why is Orias still fine, though?
-If I hadn’t been sealed, I could have taken him down easily. Anyway, the moment you disappeared, that girl Judah gained divinity and fought Saros.
Judah fought Saros?
-She stabbed you, and then what happened next, I don’t know. But seeing her cry while she stabbed you, it seemed like she felt sorry.
Judah fought Saros.
No matter how weakened Saros is after using his powers, he still ranks among the higher deities.
It’s hard to believe that newly divine Judah could contend with him.
-Of course, in terms of the amount of divinity and experience in using it, she couldn’t match him. But that girl… she burned all the divinity within her to fight Saros.
-Burned all her divinity?
I never even knew such a thing was possible. She burned away all her divinity to battle Saros. That’s a fight I’ve never witnessed before.
To burn oneself for the sake of stopping Saros?
If so… then thanks to her, we managed to keep Orias intact.
Judah…
I would have never guessed she would go this far.
In fact, she is the victim here.
Blaming herself for stabbing me…
Is it possible to bring her back?
A god who has perished.
Generally, it’s impossible to resurrect them.
But I don’t want to leave her dead like this.
…Hold on.
I just remembered Deus was originally a perished god herself.
She resurrected due to the book I wrote.
…So, if Judah can become an object of faith…
Then she too could be resurrected.
“This is it, my Lord.”
We had arrived at Paulah’s building.
Right.
Resurrecting Judah is indeed important, but it will take time.
Moreover, if I write incorrect information again like I did before, it could lead to disasters like what happened with Deus.
It’s best to prepare properly from the start and write slowly to avoid that.
And…
My disciples, who are waiting for me.
Thanks to them safely following me, we got this far.
Of course, new problems have arisen with Deus and Judah, but we have successfully dealt with the “Evil God of Chaos” which was our original goal.
Now that “Chaos” has been obliterated, this continent is safe from annihilation.
Creeeak
I opened the door where Aurelia went in first.
“So that’s what I’m saying, Aurelia! We all saw the Teacher’s corpse!”
“I know, Aurelia. I understand you don’t want to believe the Teacher is dead…”
There was a fierce argument going on among the disciples.
As I appeared before them…
They were all left wide-eyed in shock.
“S-Sir, Teacher?”
“No way… We confirmed his death…”
I stood before them and said, “May peace be upon you.”
—
In the realm of Deus.
“No, no. Luke said he doesn’t want this. If my son doesn’t want it, it won’t happen.”
Deus groped around, left alone as her son departed.
Even though no one was there, she muttered to herself, pacing.
“Yes. The contents of the scriptures must all come to pass. That is my reason for existence, everything that makes me, me!”
It was like two different beings were arguing within her.
“No! I won’t do anything that will make Luke sad!”
“Really? Are you going to deny your very existence?”
“Even if it means my own destruction… I won’t let anything harm Luke…”
“No. The Trinity must be realized.”
Deus’ disorganized thoughts settled at that point.
“Yes. The contents of the scriptures must all come to pass. That is indeed Luke’s will.”
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