“There’s something I need to ask you.”
The goddess, taking the form of a woman, spoke.
Upon hearing her gracious voice, the people bowed their heads.
How could they dare look up at their creator, the mother of all?
Having heard that, I turned to Edel.
“…Isn’t the glorification a bit excessive?”
“No! All the children who face my true self react like that!”
“Hmm…”
…Why?
She seems like a goddess who has a screw or two loose, no matter how I look at it.
“You’re the weird one!”
…Anyway, the goddess, standing before her creations, bestowed upon them her powers.
The power of purification, to restore the dirty back to their original forms.
“If you have such power, why not just do it yourself?”
“The position of a god comes with many duties. It’s busy enough just making sure the system runs smoothly and keeping an eye out for any invaders.”
“But you couldn’t stop them.”
“…Do you want to keep this up?”
“I’m sorry. Please continue.”
As the goddess poured her powers, she gave them a mission.
The mission was a noble task of cleansing the tainted mana and returning it to the world.
Not only did they face the goddess and receive power, but now they had to take on a holy mission to maintain the world…
The creations shed tears of gratitude and vowed to fulfill their mission to the goddess.
And according to her will, they maintained their post for tens, hundreds… perhaps even thousands of years, fulfilling their mission.
Then one day, they felt the powers given to them by the goddess weakening.
The once powerful abilities that could cleanse any taint had become weaker over time, until they could not clear a single speck of dust, ultimately disappearing forever from within them.
They were confused.
But more than that, they were despaired.
“They think they lost their powers because of their own failures.”
They believed the goddess withdrew her power because they had become lazy in fulfilling their mission.
But the reality was different.
As Edel fought against dimensional beings, her strength gradually waned.
The power of purification originally belonged to Edel.
The strength of the Purifier Clan was derived from Edel, who was connected to them. Thus, as Edel’s power weakened, the powers they received from her also weakened and eventually vanished.
Edel, overwhelmed just dealing with the continuous assaults, discovered this fact belatedly.
“I feel sorry for those children. Because of my shortcomings, they had to endure such pain…”
Raxia is where the tainted mana gathers.
As the power of purification that cleansed them disappeared, the mana began to steadily consume Raxia.
Had they been a normal life form, they would have died unable to withstand it.
But the Purifier Clan was different.
They were originally created to cleanse tainted mana, and having handled the power of purification for so long, their bodies gradually adapted to resist the mana.
Their hair and eyes, tainted by mana, turned black.
In contrast, their skin became pale white, and black horns began to grow on both sides of their heads.
These black horns that sprouted aided their bodies to handle mana smoothly.
Thanks to that, they could survive even in the mana-infested Raxia, but…
As time passed and the mana thickened, some began to be unable to endure it.
Even among the Purifier Clan, there was a difference in capability, and those born after losing the power of purification were more vulnerable to mana than their predecessors.
As generations passed, their bodies became more susceptible to mana, while the mana only increased over time.
If this continued, it was evident the clan would disappear.
Thus, the Purifier Clan made a decision.
“Edel… please forgive us for abandoning our mission.”
They set sail, leaving behind those who were still able to endure, along with those who, even if they died, wouldn’t abandon their mission.
And they headed towards the continent where they could survive across the sea.
As a result-
“A war broke out.”
That was the prelude to the first and then the second race wars.
Having heard everything from Edel, I couldn’t quite comprehend it.
Was the mission truly so important that they would give up their lives for it?
“You said I was the weird one. They were born through my hands, so they can’t help but feel reverence when they see me.”
“…I still don’t get it.”
Is this what it feels like to be a parent?
Thinking of Garid, I then grimaced at the image of my real parents.
Edel nodded as if she understood, crossing her arms.
“It’s a soul instinct, so it’s natural for you not to know. Anyway, wasn’t this enough to grasp the situation?”
“For now. So, what do you want from me?”
“It’s simple.”
She unclasped her hands, and as if a butterfly was freed, holy power fluttered and danced from her fingertips.
“Free those children.”
From the heavy shackles of their mission surrounding them.
“Can’t you just do it yourself?”
“If I could, I would have done it long ago. Unfortunately, my power has weakened too much to affect Raxia. Moreover, if I interfere directly, things could worsen, and there’s a chance I’ll be discovered.”
“…Incompetent.”
“Yea~ yea~ sorry for being an incompetent goddess~ So I hope the capable Kana-chan could help me out!”
“…Who’s Kana-chan?”
“It’s a trendy phrase on Earth lately. Isn’t it cute?”
“Ugh.”
“…Hmm.”
Edel’s expression soured in an instant.
*
“Kana?”
“Ah, yes.”
Lost in thought about my conversation with Edel, I was brought back to reality by Da-eun’s voice calling me.
Edel calls me ‘Kana-chan,’ and even thinking back, it was too horrifying.
“So, the demons… ah, should I call them the Purifier Clan?”
“Call them however you like…”
“Ah, so their long-cherished wish is to return to Raxia and fulfill their original mission?”
“Well, at least I think so…”
“At least?”
At Atysha’s words, both Da-eun and I expressed our confusion.
“Nowadays, the younger ones don’t really carry a sense of mission… Some even blame Lady Edel… Who knows what will happen…”
Tsk.
Atysha clicked her tongue.
Starting with ‘these kids nowadays,’ her concern for the world flowed smoothly into her words.
“I feel a familiar vibe from a stranger…”
“…What? Why?”
“Oh, never mind! I absolutely don’t think you’re like Kana!”
Da-eun, who had been glancing at me, was taken aback by my words.
As if she hadn’t thought that.
For her baseless slander, plus the offense for lying, I decided to punish her.
“Gwak!”
Da-eun screamed weirdly and fell dramatically.
Atysha didn’t cast a glance at fallen Da-eun, holding her side.
“If it weren’t for these horns, I would have still been in Raxia…”
The horns allowed the demons to withstand mana.
She still had one horn left, enabling her to survive in the mana-infested world, but conversely, losing one horn meant she could not withstand the thick mana blanketing Raxia.
“But… it’s strange for a human, not a demon, to grant our desire…”
How wondrous.
Atysha said this, sipping her tea.
“Kana is not just any human.”
“Humans are humans; what’s the difference…”
“You were summoned by Edel and received her request.”
“…Edel? She asked this little kid…?”
“Yes. It’s true.”
“…”
…Little kid.
Well, that can be the case.
I can understand Atysha’s reaction as my physical appearance might look younger than my actual age.
I forgave her for saying ‘little kid’ right to my face.
So, what I’m about to say isn’t out of grievance for being called a ‘little kid.’
“Why? Don’t trust an old hag?”
“…Old hag?”
“Ah, sorry. That slipped out.”
“…You’re a rude little brat…”
“I must have not received proper education as a child.”
“…Gah! Using your ultimate technique!”
I caught a glimpse of Da-eun, who had now woken up and was covering her mouth.
“…”
Even Atysha fell silent at my self-deprecating humor.
I, however, felt nothing.
It wasn’t something to be embarrassed about, so why should I feel ashamed?
“Being young, you can’t help it…”
Atysha shyly lowered her tail.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down her pale forehead.
“That, that, that aside, Kana! What do you mean referring to me as an old hag! I certainly wasn’t looking at you like that, was I…? Oh no, does that mean you didn’t call me sister…?”
“What do you mean oh no?”
I yanked on Da-eun’s hair, dragging her out of her delusion train.
“The demons have a much longer lifespan than humans. Their aging process is very slow.”
So, even if they look young, they’re not really that young.
Of course, I needed to check if their actual age was young or not.
“Like you?”
“Uh?”
“Kana, you look younger than you really are.”
“…Uh, yeah, like me.”
Despite having one horn cut off, Atysha’s earlier presence was still quite intimidating.
I could guess how strong she must have been at the peak of her powers.
According to Edel, life forms belonging to the world of Silia have limits to their strength enhancement.
That probably wouldn’t be different for demons either. Atysha must have spent a lot of time to reach that level.
…At least that’s what I inferred, and judging from Atysha’s reaction to my words, it seems my inference was right.
The moment Atysha lowered her tail, the fight reached a standstill.
‘…Should we reconcile?’
‘Yeah…’
As Atysha and I exchanged glances, we both nodded in agreement.
“I still find it hard to believe, but I’ll give it a shot…”
“Are you going to help us?”
“I’ll at least listen…”
I can’t accept a request without knowing what kind of help they need.
Da-eun, who had half-raised her body at Atysha’s words, awkwardly scratched her head and sat back down.
“What we want are two major things.”
“Two things…?”
“A ship to Raxia. And a captain who knows the route and can sail the ship.”
Finding the way inside Raxia could be managed some way or another.
I can’t ask someone who couldn’t even withstand the mana to handle something like that.
“If it’s something like that, I can agree… We’ve got enough ships, and I can handle the driving…”
“Atysha will do it herself?”
“Don’t you want me to?”
“No! It’s not that… It’s just that Atysha is a lord, so it’s a bit surprising that you can sail a ship.”
“You don’t think I’m a lord like you’re imagining, it’s just what I call myself because there’s no proper title…”
“I see… but is it okay to leave your position?”
“It’ll be hard to find someone strong enough to withstand the mana near Raxia anyway…”
Finding someone who can sail too should be tougher.
Atysha said this while letting out a long yawn.
“Then may I ask-”
“Ah, but not right now…”
“…Eh?”
She threw a wrench into the smoothly progressing conversation.
As I tilted my head, waiting for Atysha’s explanation, her mouth slowly began to open.
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