Chapter 528
Finally Sasun bit his lower lip, and bright red blood dripped gently. "I'm just not as strong as you. I can simply increase my strength. My way of life can't be changed."
God sat motionless on the Throne, his hand supporting his chin as he listened. He could see into the Future and surely knew this day.
"In that case, come find me when you wake up. If you've made a mistake, I'll continue what we didn't finish today."
So Sasun fell from the sky, choosing to become one with the Volon Cliff. She said this:
If there is no true justice in the world, only despairing hypocrisy, then I will not live in this world. When hypocrisy is destroyed and justice is re-established, when wheat is like walnuts in the Forest, when the fruit of Rose becomes food, then her day will truly arrive, and she can go out.
Time flies, and many years have passed in the blink of an eye.
When Sasun, summoned by Dee through the Heroic Spirit System, met Novia in the Underworld Tokyo, the flames of hatred and Wrath in her heart had not been extinguished, even after so many years.
"Let me state this first: I am neither Yahweh nor Jehovah."
Why deny it? The Wrath Sasun couldn't understand.
To whom are you denying this? The bewildered Sasun was unsure.
Her eyes felt a dull ache, but her silver eyes, oblivious to her conscious state, remained fixed on the man who seemed to have undergone some fundamental change.
But she still fought as she wished and as he had said, only perhaps because of this her mood changed slightly, becoming like a disgruntled child.
The moment he opened his eyes, Little Mher was somewhat dazed.
Based on the information gathered, this is a typical City room. Although it is quite spacious, the disorganization is so severe that it wastes the space. The various items also lack uniformity, ranging from a large number of Book and a desk that seems to be an old relic to moldy bread crumbs.
The Blue-Haired Girl, her face contorted with bitterness, leaned against the hospital bed, stroking her abdomen and letting out a weary sigh. Confused, she called out, "... Great-Grandmother?"
"You're awake!"
Upon hearing this, Luce clasped her hands together on her lap, then looked up as if she had remembered something. "Mother Tiamat, someone is calling you."
"Oh, you woke me up as soon as you woke up? What a good child."
"Of course, these Luce I picked up are absolutely good kids."
"That's right, that's right, Luce, you're a good boy too."
"... oh."
Little Mher had no idea what the two people in front of him were talking about, so he could only casually agree.
She then learned that the Blue-Haired Girl was Luce, a believer in God, while the green-haired girl was the Primordial Mother Goddess from Mesopotamia, a place she had never heard of. However, in her eyes, she was no different from Evil God. To be honest, Little Mher felt disgusted.
Although she thought God was hypocritical, there was only one God in the world, and all the others were... beings who deserved to die.
At the same time, Luce also made the Cross to Little Mher, murmuring that Raphael was in front of her and Gabriel was behind her, and so on, while drawing Pentagram in mid-air.
These two seem to have fought before.
But looking at the devout Blue-Haired Girl, Little Mher couldn't help but look towards the window.
Soft sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains. For some reason, she felt that gaps suited her perfectly, perhaps because she had been confined in the Volon Cliff for so long, where light only occasionally shone.
... Is my strength still insufficient?
Little Mher thought blankly.
So many years have passed, and although no tests have been conducted, she felt that her power had indeed increased. Moreover, while her god appeared unchanged, there was some Root shift; the composure and indifference of that time had vanished, replaced by something somewhat...
The person who stood in front of Tiamat wasn't doing so out of any sense of 'offending the gods,' but simply because they wanted to.
I can't understand it.
But that doesn't matter. No matter what changes occur, at least He knows His own hypocrisy, and His only thought is—
"... I'm still too weak."
The girl, her White-Haired Goddess dull and ashen like dust, murmured as if in curse.
"... Oh, she's finally awake."
Just then, Little Mher noticed that he was sitting leisurely cross-legged and waving at her— Poimandres.
In her view, this Lord's Mind had a pair of cold eyes, pale blue eyes filled with danger, and at first glance, it didn't look like a good thing.
"Utsumi Erice, that's my name."
When Eri Erice, she seemed so exhausted that even speaking was a hassle for her.
This is normal. After the Underworld Tokyo incident, Chitose chose to rebuild Tokyo, which had resurfaced. As for Ouroboros, which opposed her, it truly disappeared with the death of its Master, Dee. Before disappearing, it was pierced by Chitose's Sacred Nails. As for Tiamat, who was taken away, she was targeted by another Servant summoned by Dee.
That is 'Elijah', not the prophet Elijah in the Bible, but Perun, the thunder god in Slavic Mythology. During the Christ period, he was transformed into the saint "Elijah of Thunder". Moreover, as a thunder god, he is also particularly good at fighting snakes or dragons, which is probably why Dee did it this way.
However, just like Ouroboros, with Dee's death, Perun was also unable to suppress the juvenile Tiamat and was ultimately destroyed.
At the same time, Erice felt guilty because Rushana was missing. In her opinion, he would never have done this if it weren't to help her. Although she had said goodbye to Izanami and A Xiu properly, she still felt guilty.
So whenever she saw Novia's seemingly indifferent expression, Erice couldn't help but feel furious.
No matter what, even if it was Impostor, that guy called me "Teacher" for so long! He disappeared without a care in the world, which is really terrible and despicable.
Now that things have come to this, Erice also has a clearer understanding of the dream she had when she went to Tokyo. It was simply her own imagination. Although Taira no Masakado and the giant moon did appear, nothing else seemed to be shown. In other words, her own Servant Class was Novia, was just a dream...
Misidentification and misunderstanding.
Disagreements and fantasies.
With such a ridiculous thing happening again and again, Erice decided she should stop overthinking and start living in reality.
"Again..."
Just as Little Mher was about to speak, he noticed that the Poimandres that had been emanating from Erice had diminished considerably.
Could it be that I did something to displease him?
"That guy was definitely the worst."
Little Mher spat out those words with utter disgust and irritation.
Since Erice felt this assessment of Novia was perfectly reasonable, she had no intention of refuting it. Moreover, she could hear the intense hostility in the voice of this withered white-haired girl, a hostility strong enough to silence anyone, and Od even stronger than hostility was circulating within her arm. The Od, flowing like some kind of pattern, surged and roared, as if it might reveal its fangs at any moment.
Come to think of it, it's understandable that I'm upset that they did that kind of thing in a place where it's not easily visible.
"It really is the worst."
Little Mher emphasized this again.
She's absolutely right.
Erice fully agreed with this opinion, and even wanted to raise both hands in support.
After all, Luce told her that when she arrived at the scene, she saw Novia lying on top of a gray-haired girl who had no clothes. No matter how Erise thought Erice it, she felt that Novia was simply a pervert. He wasn't satisfied with Tiamat, and he even made a move on a girl with that kind of figure, and she was even an acquaintance, and she was even wearing an anklet. What kind of weird fetish was that...? Erice had expected that Novia was a scoundrel, but she never expected that he would be a scoundrel to the extent of his depravity.
And not only did she do that kind of thing, but she didn't even let him clean up. Although his body was tattered, Erice could still see that Little Mher's beautiful face was as if it had been sculpted by the soul of the gods. It was just that he hadn't washed up properly in a long time.
However, that angry profile actually revealed a kind of ferocious beauty.
Perhaps the scoundrel Novia likes this look?
This idea sent a chill Erice.
What a terrible man.
Upon seeing that Erice was trying to echo his actions, Little Mher's brow twitched and his eyes narrowed slightly.
This Erice shares the same blood as me, and her eyes, as blue as the sea, reflect my own image.
And her image should have been reflected in his own eyes, an image so different from his current self.
Originally, Little Mher thought that everyone in the world, except herself, felt the same way about God, especially her, who possessed the Lord's Mind. She believed that no matter how much God disliked someone, it should be different from her own aversion. But it seemed that everyone really felt the same way?
Whether people walk on the earth or lie buried beneath it, their attitudes toward God are not significantly different.
If there is any discrepancy, it is only among those 'Heresy' who, like myself, have seen through His hypocrisy yet still live on earth. And this Lord's Mind, Poimandres, is no exception. I just can't understand it; it's truly unbelievable...
Little Mher was thinking about what to say next. After all, she hadn't spoken to anyone for so many years, and it seemed that she couldn't even speak properly to others when she wasn't in front of that person.
However, the next second, Erice shrugged slightly and asked in return.
"Then why did you silently give in to him?"
"... ha?"
Chapter 539 Lucius: I have a bad feeling about this.
"From this day forward—I hope that all the people of Armenia, including myself, will convert to Christianity within the Rome Empire, and I request that the Holy Church establish a branch there."
Let's go back to 62 AD, the sixth year of Nero's reign.
In the central square of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, a protectorate of Rome, as the sun dipped behind the Mount Aragats, Tiridates I, the newly crowned King of Armenia, addressed the people surrounding the square after being recognized by Nero in Rome.
Among them were nobles, soldiers, and commoners, but the new king was the only Christ.
This is utterly absurd; it's such a ridiculous thing.
This is because Tiridates I one of the Imperial Family bloodlines of the Parthia Empire, and Zoroastrianism in Parthia.
But the new king's eyes, which were seen by everyone, shone brightly as if expressing his will.
The conversion from traditional Zoroastrianism to Christianity was no easy task. Tiridates I would undoubtedly have to contend with the local traditional powers regarding Zoroastrianism, which was deeply rooted in the hearts of the Armenia people. This gave the Parthia- controlled Kingdom of Eastern Armenia an opportunity, since the struggle between Rome and Parthia in the Armenia region had begun as early as 1 AD, and for Rome, it was a crucial eastern defense line.
Moreover, geographically, Armenia overlooks the entire Near East and overlooks Asia Minor; it can be said that whoever controls Armenia holds the key to the other's world and is very likely to bring the entire Near East under their control. Therefore, for a long time, Rome and the Parthia Empire spared no effort to seize Armenia.
Therefore, Nero could not allow Parthia to invade again. She claimed that Western Armenia, who had submitted to the same Faith, was a good partner of Rome, and that the Armenia were incredibly brave. Furthermore, taking advantage of the rise of national power, she boldly established Theme System in the entire Armenia that was ahead of its time. In other words, she waged a war with Parthia to seize the whole of Armenia.
Then, the general she dispatched was--
Lucius Longinus.
Soon after, the long shadows of the Roman Praetorian Guard stationed outside Yerevan were cast long across the city walls. A gentle breeze swirled sand across the arrow towers, producing a humming sound like bone flutes. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in the wilderness, as flocks of crows swept across the sky with their black wings, inhuman wailing echoed from the armies of the Parthia and Parthia. After all, for a long time, what prevailed in the Middle East was a kind of magic that 'once hoped' to become the Third Great System Western Magecraft, besides Thought Magecraft — Cursecraft capable of changing one's own form.
"A few years ago, there was a huge anomaly; it suddenly appeared high in the sky above us."
"That anomaly ignored all elements, appearing above everyone. Even though all that could be observed was nothingness, everything on the ground could be directly sensed."
Lucius delivered a speech in the central square of Yerevan.
For a soldier to perform such an act, they must have practiced it many times in private. After all, this is a memorable feat, the first country outside of Rome to convert to the same Faith.
"That was a harbinger, followed by a tremor that felt like the world was collapsing."
"You, including us, have all been plunged into unease and despair by this sudden change!"
The man, who appeared mature but spoke with a slightly awkward tone, gradually attracted people's attention with his smiling face and earnest voice as he spoke to the crowd.
"That was a test from God! Even so, we still live on! Because we are one, we are all of the same kind! So what if we now have different languages, skin colors, opinions, Faith, and races! We all have one heart! Before God, all our souls are equal, without distinction of high or low!"
"I'm not trying to belittle your current Faith; I'm just saying that they're different from what we value."
"However, if you remain confused, my words will not reach you, therefore I promise you—"
"Even though things haven't changed yet, God and we have recognized your strength and courage, and therefore bestow blessings upon you all. Although you were born in different worlds, you are undoubtedly outstanding men."
Lucius placed his fingertips on his chest and spoke as if to someone who was nowhere to be seen.
"I will take full responsibility. God entrusted Armenia to you in the hope that you will save your own souls. True goodness and justice are invisible."
Lucius's speech was met with applause.
However, he knew very well that his thoughts and emotions were perfectly calm.
This is not enough to convince all Armenia to sincerely convert to their Faith.
Simple honor cannot Protection what is cherished. True missionary work is not as simple as it seems. For whatever reason, the people of Western Armenia have a long-standing Faith in Zoroastrianism. If they are blinded by mere adoration and do not resort to a certain amount of 'Violence,' they will not be able to establish authority. Destroying statues and Temple is necessary.
Even Tiridates I knew this, and originally he thought there was no need to give a speech at all; he could simply use force to compel people to accept it.
After his speech, Lucius, who had been addressed in this way by Tiridates I, stood on the city wall gazing at the snow-capped Mount Ararat in the distance, the Holy Mountain where Noah's Ark was said to have landed.
Holy Lance Lucius answered thus:
"Because a guy once said something to me--"
That was a memory from many years ago.
It's a conversation hidden behind history, more than a decade ago, with that person on a country road heading to Rome—
"People are not destined to follow us. It's perfectly normal for them to Faith other gods, because they live in a world that can only be this way, and this is the only world they can access. Therefore, it's perfectly normal for them to not Faith any god but in other gods. If we therefore regard them as hopeless, believing that only they are right, worthy of happiness, and worthy of respect, then we are no different from Greece Polytheism and Judaism. As missionaries, we must not only shout slogans but also change their living environment to change them. We do not rely solely on nobles and emperors for our continuation, but on the many suffering people. They are our brothers, they are our foundation. If we abandon them, we have no reason to exist. No one is more noble or more lowly than anyone else. We must have this kind of thinking and awareness."
Lucius did not answer at the time, but simply pondered quietly, listening to the other person continue.
At the same time, I thought to myself, "This person is really eloquent."
Everyone should have doubts about their own conscience. If one blindly believes in their own justice, no matter how cruel, people are capable of doing it. We should also constantly worry, think, and feel confused. The moment we believe we are right, we have already lost our rightness. Sometimes, that kind of justice is uglier than anything else.