Episode 66
“I don’t believe in the possibility you showed me.”
Her voice was clear, distinctly denying the future Vargan had portrayed.
However, Vargan narrowed his eyes and observed carefully.
Diphelia had taken a considerable amount of time to respond just now, and he noted her tone, pitch, and subtle reactions.
To him, at least, there seemed to be a sliver of an opening.
The fantasy captured in the music box had an effect.
Diphelia spoke.
“I am a believer following Lord Yggdrasil. The title of Saint suits me not only because it aligns with my traits but because I genuinely believe in and revere God, which allowed me to be baptized.”
“I am well aware.”
“You showed me a future different from the prophecy. It means you’ve understood the meaning of my letter clearly.”
Diphelia had witnessed Vargan’s death scene in the original work through the prophecy and conveyed it metaphorically to gauge his reaction.
Vargan was not oblivious; he was familiar with the overall story of the original and the contents of the novel he had read, easily deciphering Diphelia’s intentions.
“The reason I sent the letter was primarily to keep you in check if you were… cooking up some not-so-great schemes. I intended to convey that I would watch you through the prophecy, so don’t act rashly. But you gave me a response that easily shattered my expectations.”
Diphelia continued, her voice filled with confusion. It was inconceivable.
“The response you sent was hard to believe. It was nonsense. In the current era, I am the only Saint… so why would you…”
Did he know the content of the prophecy?
Moreover, why did he reveal it without hiding anything?
“The abilities of a Saint cannot be mastered alone. One must go through the formal procedure of receiving baptism from the Church, and that name stays with the Church. So there’s nothing I wouldn’t know.”
Yet Vargan had interpreted the entire content of her letter.
He was even trying to mesmerize her by presenting another possibility.
“I’m still curious. How could you fully interpret the letter with the prophecy’s content? Can you see the future, or is there something else I don’t know? Even so, for what purpose did you reveal it to me…?”
Diphelia shook her head.
Though she saw nothing ahead in the darkness, she firmly held onto one thing.
“Even if I can’t know anything, I am a Saint. A follower of Lord Yggdrasil. The future you showed me looks nothing more than the devil’s whispers trying to seduce me, different from the prophecy.”
She conveyed her resolute intent.
Vargan could savor this moment as he read each of the subtle reactions she displayed.
She was able to savor it.
? So laughter bubbled up.
“A perfect being.”
At Vargan’s brief remark, Diphelia’s shoulders flinched slightly. She tried her best to conceal her reaction, but for anyone less trained, it was impossible to hide every unconscious action.
“That mysterious being that appeared after I died.”
He doesn’t mention that guy.
Is he trying to evade it?
Vargan continued speaking.
“You must have seen it clearly. What kind of creature it was.”
“That is….”
Vargan leaned closer to her face and caressed her cheek with one hand. A faint vibration traveled up through his hand.
“Saint. Your eyelids are trembling. You’re so afraid, yet you try to uphold your beliefs even while gazing into a future gnawed by terror.”
Even if the path leads to a future that’s hellish,
You still wish to move those delicate feet.
Though Vargan whispered lightly, each of his words weighed heavily on Diphelia.
“You tried to gloss over that being’s existence. How ironic. Isn’t it the prophecy you love so dearly? Or maybe… your faith is partial, accepting some parts while ignoring others as it suits you.”
“No… it’s not like that.”
Her previously stable voice began to waver. The facade she had been maintaining slowly crumbled.
“You have an inkling of what that existence is. That’s why you’re scared.”
That would be.
The nemesis of Heroes.
The absolute evil that harms humanity.
“Why would such an existence appear in the prophecy? What did Yggdrasil want to tell you? Alright, let’s assume, as you said, that the prophecy is correct. What do you think will happen after what you saw?”
“…….”
“You think you can face that perfect creature, the ‘Pope’ of the Goddess Church?”
The Pope, Zero Risk Group.
Known to exist in just four in the world, a calamity that even Cardinals bow to.
With a small gesture, mountains vanish.
With a light kick, the earth splits asunder, an absolute being.
A being said to have existed in a distant past. That absolute being appeared in the prophecy, rumored to have disappeared in the past, hiding from the world.
Yet, it is still presumed to be alive and positioned at the top of all risk groups, dubbed the Zero Risk Group.
When Vargan died, and that perfect being revealed itself, people were thrown into panic, scrambling to escape. Whether they were Heroes or Students, everyone fell like insects. Only a few, including Alicia and Arterion, barely survived.
…Surviving was a miracle.
“Speak, Saint.”
“…….”
After maintaining her silence, Diphelia bit her lips slightly and opened her mouth. A faint voice emerged.
“…I can face it. I have to face it.”
As she spoke, solidifying her conviction, her voice grew more resolute.
“Because I’m a Hero. I’m the protector of the world…! If it’s not us, then no one else can stop it, so we must fight and win.”
“Even if that choice might cost many lives? Even if the comrades and loved ones you hold dear get mercilessly trampled?”
“…If there are people who can be saved because of that, then yes, I must. I became a Saint for that purpose, and I aspire to be a Hero!”
Hearing her conviction bloom with courage at the end of fear, Vargan nodded as if he had finished his evaluation.
He clapped his hands to shift the mood.
“Well, then, there’s something we need to touch upon here.”
Diphelia couldn’t understand his satisfied smile.
“What was contained in the music box I gave you?”
“What was contained in the music box I gave you?”
“It’s your falsehood disguised as the future.”
“No, give me a definite description instead of such vague answers. What did you see?”
She hesitated but finally opened her mouth.
“…It’s the sight of you, free from the prophecy, killing that existence.”
Vargan smiled a cunning smile.
“Right, just escaping for a moment from the prophecy was enough to present you with all sorts of fears, as you beheaded that existence and tossed its head for the monsters to feast on.”
What Vargan packed in the music box wasn’t the original story.
It wasn’t even the content of the novel he had read.
It was a new development that he would lead going forward.
“Saint, you who believe in the prophecy think the future given to you by God is the best option. Thus, you turn away from the sweet future I’ve shown you and view me as the villain.”
In the end, Diphelia, who follows the prophecy, considers the future shown to her by Vargan merely a dream of his.
It’s contradictory.
Despite wishing to save people and to let more lives flourish, she looks down on the better future that Vargan shows her.
All because of her narrow-minded thinking that the prophecy shows the best options for humanity.
“One, just think about how ridiculous this is. The Saint meant to save people ignores the choice that preserves even more lives!”
Diphelia furrows her tightly shut eyes.
What he speaks of is nothing more than his delusion, and she claims that he is weaving excuses to escape her probing about his unknown schemes.
“Then, allow me to ask you.”
Vargan returned the bird she had kept hidden in the shadows. It took some time to adjust to the light.
He continued speaking.
“If you saved more lives than what you saw in the prophecy, or if you will in the future, would you then accept the future I’ve shown you?”
“…That’s not going to happen. But if it truly were, would I have to follow your path?”
Vargan handed something to the Saint.
It was presumed to be a small vial, something she could hold in one hand. That was the sensation she felt. Diphelia confirmed what he had handed over with the familiar sight once more coming into focus.
He says,
“That is a ‘Divine Bug.’”
“Pardon?… Why is this… No, more importantly, how is this…?”
For her still struggling to understand, Vargan kindly added further explanation.
“Do you remember what final line I spoke in the prophecy?”
“A eulogy… for someone.”
“…That’s right.”
For a brief moment, Vargan’s gaze shook.
A somewhat sad energy lingered in his retina.
Diphelia saw that tremor.
“The eulogy was for my fiancée, ‘Erica.’”
Her eyes widened.
Though even if she opened her eyes, she couldn’t see directly, it was a natural reaction due to her shock.
Goosebumps erupted all over her body. She felt as though she was being tightly squeezed.
“T-That… can’t be.”
Diphelia’s mind started racing. Instead of confirming the truth, memories of the recent incident sprang to her mind.
And she arrived there.
“C-Could it be… at the theater you and Erica went to last time…!”
“That’s correct.”
He began to speak the cruel truth.
“Right in the middle of the path shown to you by the prophecy, Erica went alone to the theater to receive a ‘Divine Bug’ infusion from the Bishop-class Altife Caliculea.”
“…!”
Diphelia covered her mouth with both hands and swallowed. Knowing what it meant to receive a ‘Divine Bug’ made her gag.
“Erica found herself in a position where she had no choice but to follow Caliculea’s words, forcibly injected with the tenets of the Goddess Church. However, Erica resisted fiercely, stating that even if it meant becoming an Altife, she could not follow the Goddess.”
“She is being indoctrinated by the ideology of the Goddess Church. However, Erica fiercely resisted. She declared that even if it meant becoming Altife, she could not follow the Goddess.”
Vargan doesn’t know the full story behind it all either.
But with the information he has obtained so far, it wasn’t hard to guess.
“…One, with her tragic fate, Caliculea, who had been following her since before, obtained information about her from another Follower. He began to gradually and surely dominate her body by exploiting the cracks.”
He doesn’t unnecessarily reveal that the cracks are related to him and Vargan.
“Ultimately, Erica’s persona completely changed.”
Thus, the devout Yggdrasil believer Erica became the ‘Villainess’ and the ‘Bishop of the Goddess Church,’ playing a significant role in the story, obstructing the protagonists, and leading to the tragedy of Academia.
“And then, she praises the Goddess until the day before she is sentenced to death, losing her life.”
Vargan visited her prison and watched her final moments. He absorbed the sight of her haggard appearance and hostility.
What else could this be called if not a tragedy?
“…Huh… Guh…!”
With her mouth clamped shut, Diphelia began to hiccup. Nevertheless, she shook her head, trying to deny Vargan’s words.
“Guh…! No way… It can’t be….”
There were still elements she couldn’t accept about his words. What proof was there that the memorial was for Erica? What evidence that Caliculea injected her with Divine Bug?
And… and…
Desperately, Diphelia heaved up questions to deny Vargan. Otherwise, it felt like her very faith would waver.
“If you want, I can give you more information. For instance, who the other Follower following Erica is. Caliculea’s….”
“Wait, wait! Just give me a moment to… sort out what’s happening in my head.”
Vargan didn’t wait for her thought process to settle back down.
“Diphelia, I have already saved one life.”
There was still a long way to go before the story concluded, and how he would handle Erica moving forward was uncertain.
“In the future, I will save many more lives.”
Strangely enough, in order to pursue his own happiness, he had to completely eradicate Altife, the enemy of humanity. At least he would save more lives than what the oracle showed for the future.
“And you? What about you?”
He said to her.
Following the oracle is her will, her belief. She had no doubt it led to the best path.
…But, that’s.
“Aren’t you limiting a boundless future and giving up on all other hopes?”
“Th-that’s… um…”
Diphelia listened to Vargan’s words with heavy breaths. She felt like her entire thought process up to this point was dismissed, her entire structure collapsing.
Vargan took note of the state of the Saint, who couldn’t even close her mouth, and decided to step back.
This wasn’t a situation designed to turn her over all at once. She had lived her life praising Yggdrasil. To break such a solid belief, a considerable shock or effort was needed.
…Erica was the same.
As Vargan moved away, Diphelia didn’t grab him. She continued to calm her harsh breaths, attempting to sort out the complicated current state. In her hand, she held the vial of Divine Bug that Vargan had given her.
He casually threw out one last sentence before leaving.
“Don’t be too blinded by the Church, Saint.”
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