Roman laughed heartily and said cheerfully, "...I'm truly glad to have met you, my friend, Roy! I'll wait full of hope for the moment when dreams become reality once more. Now, let's fulfill our original promise!"
He raised his right hand. Five rings adorned his fingers. "...The time has come to part... Hmm..."
Before Roman could finish releasing his true name, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He lowered his head and saw the blood-red tip of a sword protruding from it. He immediately shouted, "...It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! You're killing me, Roy! What are you doing?!"
Roy had somehow already arrived behind Roman and stabbed him in the back. Smiling at him, he said, "...The Lord does not permit His people to commit suicide. As a devout believer, you shouldn't violate the Lord's teachings. Besides, if you commit suicide as a Disobedient God, I, as a Campione, won't gain anything."
"...Let me see you off one last time, my friend, Romani Archaman!"
Chapter Sixty-Seven: Solomon's Gift
"This farewell gift really isn't making me happy at all."
Roman's eyebrows and nose were practically twisted together as he grimaced and cried out in pain.
If he were King Solomon, he would surely endure such trivial pain without changing expression. But the person here was not King Solomon. He was Roman, who had become human. As an ordinary human, he nearly fainted when he saw that he had been stabbed.
Roman dropped heavily onto the ground and gasped for breath. Points of starlight radiated from his body. They were the sign that a Disobedient God was about to perish.
"Ah, it's finally over. Our promise has been fulfilled, too."
Enduring the pain, he forced a smile. Sitting on the mountaintop with his hands resting on his knees, he let the blood flow from his chest while gazing toward distant Jerusalem, its ancient city walls bathed in the last rays of the setting sun.
"My friend, Roy Crowley, I cannot see your future, but I know it will be a magnificent life, as well as a life of walking on thin ice above an abyss. Your farewell gift certainly hasn't made me happy, but even so, I'll give my first friend a parting gift of my own. I only hope it can help you."
"In the drawer of the desk I always used in the hotel room, there's a spell I left for you. I believe it will be very useful to you. And the authority of the Disobedient God I leave behind after my death should satisfy you as well. However, this authority may require you to pay a certain price."
As if he had finally managed to trick Roy, Roman revealed an extremely delighted smile.
His body drew ever closer to nothingness, and the points of starlight grew fainter.
"Be careful of the Last King and the God of Destiny behind him. As your friend, that is the final warning I can give you. I'm very glad I didn't abandon 'Solomon's Wisdom and Power.' I never cared much about those things, but the things that once bound me allowed me to help my friend. Whether 'wisdom' or 'power,' they have finally been put to proper use."
"...If we can meet again, could you treat me to strawberry cake one more time?"
The innocent, childlike smile faded from the gentle, radiant yet pessimistic man, leaving only the final wisp of his shadow.
"If we meet again, I'll treat you to as much strawberry cake as you can eat."
Hearing Roy's final answer, he smiled contentedly and left this world without any lingering attachments.
The starlight drifted into the sky like fireflies. The distant sunset completely sank below the horizon, and night arrived. The man, too, left this world that did not belong to him and returned to the place where he ought to have been.
"Goodbye, Romani Archaman. Goodbye, King Solomon!"
Roy whispered softly.
He was not a heartless monster. Faced with the departure of a friend, sadness struck his heart, stirring an oppressive urge to vent his feelings.
King Solomon knew of the many misfortunes in the world, but he only watched everything with a smile and never interfered.
Romani Archaman knew of many misfortunes, but he would do everything in his power to turn misfortune into happiness. Even if his ability was insignificant, even if his emotions were so pessimistic, he still resolutely carried on.
One looked forward to tomorrow with hope, while the other indifferently awaited the end of everything. Their ways of acting were clearly worlds apart, yet they were both the same person.
Roy fell into darkness once more.
The darkness came and went quickly. In an instant, Roy regained consciousness. Before him stood a Goddess with a charming smile, a slender figure, snow-white skin, and the appearance of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl. She was Roy's "adoptive mother," Pandora.
"Little Roy recovered consciousness so quickly this time. Mommy didn't even get to hug you and properly admire your handsome, adorable face."
Completely lacking the bearing of a Goddess, Pandora hopped over to Roy. She held her hands behind her back as her purple twin tails bounced back and forth, making her look playful and adorable.
"I've come here so many times already. If I still stayed unconscious as long as I did at the beginning, wouldn't that mean I hadn't made any progress at all?"
Just like how, in Infinite Terror, the period of unconsciousness after teleportation grew shorter as one's power increased, the same applied to this secret realm belonging to Pandora.
As Roy slew more and more gods and his power grew at a visible rate, this Realm of Life and Death could no longer interfere with his consciousness.
Roy's tone carried a trace of emotion. The pain of his friend's recent departure had left him unable to fully recover.
"Little Roy really is amazing. You made friends with a Disobedient God, and even made a Disobedient God choose suicide and let you slay him. Among all the Campiones throughout history, you're truly one of a kind~"
Pandora clasped her hands before her chest, her eyes seemingly sparkling with little stars of admiration. She looked more and more like a child who had never grown up.
But Roy felt that Pandora was terribly insensitive. Couldn't she tell that he was in a bad mood? She really knew how to hit a sore spot.
However, Roy also gleaned something from Pandora's words: she did not know that this King Solomon had come from another world.
The gods of the Campione World were all myths compiled by humans. Before descending as Disobedient Gods, the gods had not actually known one another, because they had never truly existed in the past. They had merely been born from the imaginations of humans shaped by faith.
The Campione World had never possessed a true Age of Gods. The gods were not genuine physical beings. Thus, as long as King Solomon had never appeared as a Disobedient God in the past, no one could possibly know what the real King Solomon looked like.
Roy took a deep breath and suddenly stepped forward. To Pandora's astonishment, he forcefully seized her delicate chin, bent down, and captured her lips. At the same time, he said unhappily, "...All right, hurry up and perform the god-slaying ritual!"
Ever since learning that Pandora's Dark Offering had not been created by her, but was merely the result of her borrowing a Divine Artifact, Roy no longer acted cautiously when facing the Goddess who called herself his "adoptive mother." Now that he knew Pandora was not as frightening as he had imagined and was not some mastermind behind the scenes, his actions and words became increasingly bold, even rather forceful.
"W-wait! Don't be so proactive... Mmph, mmph..."
Under Roy's unchecked assault, Pandora gradually found it difficult to breathe. She tried to push him away, but although she was a Disobedient God, strength was not her specialty. When she found resistance futile and Roy instead seized her pale wrist, she could only helplessly activate the god-slaying ritual.
Roy seemed to hear the sound of some sort of disk turning. Then that familiar sensation returned. He knew this was the ritual that used a god's life as material to seize its authority.
In a daze, Roy's consciousness returned to the present world. He lowered his head and clenched his fists, his expression hesitant. "...Is this the farewell gift you left me? Roman... This 'gift' is huge, but it really does require me to pay a price."
Chapter Sixty-Eight: "Human Order Rectification Ritual," the Seventy-Two Pillars of Solomon
(Two more updates later tonight.)
(These past two days, I've started recovering my old skills, flirting and going on dates with girls everywhere. It seems my skills haven't grown rusty after all.)
"So this is the true form of the Seventy-Two Pillars of Solomon."
Standing on a mountaintop at the outskirts of Jerusalem, Roy gazed at the city as it gradually became cloaked in lights. This city, which possessed countless incredible legends and miracles throughout history, was dyed in the radiance of humanity at this moment. Its ancient history had passed away, leaving behind only the light belonging to humans.
A trace of daze flashed across Roy's face. He had the illusion that Roman was still beside him. With a sigh, he lowered his head and immersed his mind in the newly acquired authority.
"Human Order Rectification Ritual"—its name was Lemegeton. This was the name of the authority Roy had newly obtained.
The Seventy-Two Pillars of Solomon had first appeared in the occult tome Key of Solomon. After translation, it became known as Lemegeton. However, this book was actually a handwritten copy of Solomon's art of commanding Demon Gods. By distorting Solomon's intentions, it had become demonology and been passed down through later generations.
What Roy had obtained this time was the true existence of Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars of Demon Gods, named Lemegeton. It also allowed him to learn the true nature of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods.
In the Key of Solomon, because the handwritten copy had distorted Solomon's original intentions, it mistakenly claimed that the Seventy-Two Demon Gods were heretical gods conquered by Judaism and Christianity. In reality, they were merely spells Solomon had compiled by borrowing the names of those gods.
Rather than an authority, this power was more like an enormous and complex form of magic. As its name suggested, the "Human Order Rectification Ritual" was a "system created by Solomon to advance the correct order more effectively," a spell that could be used to rectify Humanity's Order whenever problems arose.
When Humanity's Order had no problems, this authority—or spell—could also draw upon its protection, extracting power from Humanity's Order and turning it into one's own strength. In a world where Humanity's Order was powerful, it could be called Humanity's Protection.
Humanity's Order was a magical term. Put simply, it referred to all the factors that allowed human civilization to flourish and continue moving forward. Every human's individual choices, every historical turning point, and every correct sequence of historical events were important factors in Humanity's Order's current prosperity. When Humanity's Order suffered deliberate or accidental damage, the Seventy-Two Demon Gods would appear and rectify it, allowing Humanity's Order to continue advancing.
This was the true nature of the "Human Order Rectification Ritual."
However—
"King Solomon truly deserves to be called the King of Magic. He actually created such a complex and astonishing spell, even extending magic into Humanity's Order. If I could fully analyze this spell, it would greatly assist the 'spell' I'm currently creating."
What Roy wanted to create was a spell that could "transcend Human Evil." Human Evil could be said to be an important part of Humanity's Order. It existed alongside humanity, and as long as even one human remained, Human Evil would never disappear.
Just as Roman had said, this authority, this magical ritual, truly was the greatest gift he had left Roy—a body of mystical knowledge capable of helping Roy advance his own spell.
But just as Roman had said, Roy needed to pay a price to use this magical ritual.
Roman had placed a "lock" on the authority's magical ritual. Roy had to fulfill a certain condition before he could completely make it his own and use it as the foundation of the "spell" he was researching and creating.
To activate the spell and make it work, Roy had to do one thing: save Humanity's Order once!
Even if the Humanity's Order he saved was merely a tiny branch formed when humanity was damaged, as long as he saved Humanity's Order once, he would gain its recognition. He could then activate the "Human Order Rectification Ritual," make it his own, and completely comprehend and absorb the supreme crystallization of Solomon's wisdom contained within the magical ritual.
"Where am I supposed to go to save Humanity's Order?!"
Roy said gloomily. He finally understood what Roman's final, trap-filled smile had meant.
With such a powerful ritual capable of borrowing the strength of Humanity's Order, a ritual that embodied all of Solomon's lifelong power and wisdom, Roy could only look at it without using it. How could he not feel depressed?
"It's truly fascinating. The powers possessed by Solomons from different worlds are different as well."
At that moment, Holy Guardian Angel Aiwass appeared behind Roy. This Angel known for physics sighed. "...The world where I was born also has a Grimoire called the Key of Solomon. According to the information I obtained from Aleister, the Key of Solomon in that world is purely a Grimoire recording demon-summoning theory. Yet this King Solomon's wisdom involves Humanity's Order. It is a mystery far beyond demonology..."
"...The same person in different worlds can possess vastly different powers. This is important information, and a very important theory in this sea of universes."
The Holy Guardian Angel's voice was slightly excited. She seemed to have learned something new and grasped new knowledge, giving her curiosity immense satisfaction.
"Unfortunately, that idiot tricked me in the end. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. King Solomon truly deserves to be King Solomon. In the seven days since he arrived in this world, he completely mastered everything about Disobedient Gods. Even after disappearing, he could control the transfer of his authority. I have no choice but to admire that."
Roy gave a wry laugh as he complained about Roman.
"The human named Roman did not abandon Solomon's power and wisdom. He likely saw something, which was why he planted a crucial hidden clue in the 'authority spell' he left for you," Aiwass reminded him.
"Yeah, I understand. This is clearly something Roman would do. If it were King Solomon's personality, he would either say nothing or explain everything in detail. He wouldn't leave you a riddle and a key like this, making you open it yourself."
"...Roman completely became human during those short seven days. He learned to take pleasure in pranks. At a time like this, I almost wish he had possessed King Solomon's decisiveness."
Roy spoke with both amusement and exasperation.
"But forget it. I've obtained the 'Human Order Rectification Ritual' and Solomon's Seventy-Two Demon Gods. In the end, I've made an enormous profit. Since Roman left me a path, I'll follow it forward. I'll definitely be able to decipher this spell."
Roy took a deep breath and stopped thinking about it. Roman must have had a deeper reason for doing this.
That fellow might have been timid and useless, but he certainly wasn't a fool.
"Let's return to the hotel first. I want to see what other magic he left there for me."
Roy hesitated briefly, then prepared to activate his authority and leave. Although the Lord of Light could only be used once a day, it was indeed an excellent means of travel.
"Wait a moment. I preserved the Spiritual Foundation left behind when Solomon disappeared. Your authority overlaps with King Solomon's in certain areas. Once we return, prepare to perform the ritual and let me see the result."
Aiwass then gave Roy news that greatly lifted his spirits.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: The "Clairvoyance" That Saw Through the Past
Back in the room in Jerusalem where he had once lived with Roman, Roy opened the desk drawer where Roman had always played on the computer. As expected, he found the records Roman had left for him.
Complex, precise diagrams were drawn on a sheet of parchment. In the blank spaces, Roman had also added explanations of the diagrams and various words on the parchment. This was the second gift Roman had left him.
"When did he write this?"
Roy thought about it. During the day over the previous six days, he had always been "supervising," watching Roman work hard on his spell foundation. Thus, Roman definitely could not have completed the contents on this parchment during the daytime.
"Then it could only have been at night, after I fell asleep."
Thinking of this, Roy sighed softly. He had thought Roman spent his nights watching livestreams, eating cake, drinking soda, and living the life of a good-for-nothing. He had never expected that Roman had been working overtime even at night, laboring in a place his "boss," Roy, could not see.
"This fellow really is a rare good employee. If I could award him a grand prize, I'd definitely give him the award for the employee with the greatest spirit of dedication."
Roy chuckled and quickly began reading through the magical contents recorded there.
King Solomon possessed the ability of "Clairvoyance." Roy had heard this from Roman. As Israel's greatest king and a being who had received wisdom from God, he had been born with the "eyes that saw through the past and future."
As for the eyes that could see through the future, there was no need to discuss them for now. The ability to predict the future was actually the process of coordinating all information from the past and present to deduce the optimal future solution.
For an ordinary person, whose life proceeded within a prescribed range because they did not exceed the limits of normality, this kind of future prediction was almost one hundred percent accurate.
But if the target of prediction was an extremely powerful existence beyond normal limits, no known information could be applied to them. In that case, the predicted future would contain considerable uncertainty. Thus, Roy was not interested in the "eyes that saw through the future." Predicting the future was not especially powerful, and it was subject to many restrictions.
The "eyes that saw through the past" were the truly powerful ability. The past had already ended and been completely recorded. The information obtained by one who possessed these eyes was absolutely correct. By seeing through the past, one could witness the vast river of history, leaving no secrets hidden before them.
The present lasted only an instant, while the future was distant and unreachable. Only the past was absolutely correct, the sole certainty, and it contained the greatest amount of information.
King Solomon possessed the "Clairvoyance" that saw through the past and future. It was his innate ability. As the King of Magic, he also possessed Divine Wisdom. Furthermore, the Campione World had Yomi, a world that recorded all information from the past. With all these factors combined, King Solomon created this spell, the "Pseudo-Clairvoyance."
By engraving this magical rune into his eyes, one could use Yomi to see through everything in the past. For Roy at present, it was a magical ritual that could grant him more power than the "Human Order Rectification Ritual."
The "Human Order Rectification Ritual" gave Roy an expansive future, while the magical ritual "Clairvoyance" gave him the present.
The only flaw in this spell was that it had been specially created to connect with Yomi, so it could temporarily function only in the Campione World. If he went to another world and wanted to use this magical eye to see through the past, he would need to modify the magical structure to adapt to that world's records. That would require Roy to possess extremely rich and solid magical attainments. After all, Roy himself did not possess "Clairvoyance."
"Aiwass, put your modification of Pandora's Dark Festival aside for now. I'll complete this magical ritual first."
After completely memorizing and comprehending the contents of the parchment, Roy burned it.
This magical ritual was powerful, but it was also dangerous. If someone else obtained it, it could very likely bring trouble to Roy. Thus, destroying it was the best choice.
After thinking for a while, Roy called Erica and Liliana over and told them that he needed some time to perform a magical ritual. He instructed them not to disturb him and to guard the door, preventing anyone else from disturbing him as well.
Before you continue