Episode 796 Execution of the Commandments (2)
The ‘Law of Curse,’ founded by Zakran of the Black Law, has reigned as a powerful organization in the continent’s underworld, known as the so-called Shadows.
With a high-ranking 6th-tier Black Mage as the leader, who could possibly ignore his influence? In the Blood Alliance, the number of strong individuals capable of matching Zakran’s murderous intent can be counted on one hand.
However, that is an influence that is only valid in the underworld.
Look at this world.
Compared to an organization consisting of at most a few hundred people, the national power of a small country is immense. This is because a small country is undeniably a state.
The armed forces trained and possessed by the state, along with numerous state-level military capabilities, serve as the boundary line safeguarding the current system of domination.
It does not matter much what is done outside the line, but if anyone dares to invade the inside of the line, it will cut off their feet without hesitation.
The goblin pack entrenched in the dark cave is a pretty good scavenger. If you throw biological waste inside, they take care of it.That is why they are left alone.
Because they are useful.It would be a loss to suffer damage by needlessly entering a gloomy cave to try and exterminate them. Evenif I get rid of them right now, a horde of goblins will eventually hide and live in the cave again.
However, the goblin, failing to realize this understanding and believing himself to be strong, begins to covet the territory outside the cave.
Greed is a biological instinct.
Thus, the goblins were slaughtered miserably the moment they emerged into the sunlight, and some surviving goblins returned to the cave to spread terror, but…later, a new group of goblins who had forgotten that lesson once again coveted the outside of the cave, and just like before, they ended up paying the price of slaughter.
Unless all memories circulate forever, history repeats itself.
In fact, unlike speaking, grasping the subject is a difficult task.No matter how hard one tries to maintain an objective perspective, as long as one thinks as an independent subject, faint subjectivity is bound to creep in.
A blood alliance is a good example.
It was a natural thing to do to go outside since the cave looked like it was about to collapse.
However, to continue living his current life, he should have gone even deeper underground. He should not have been deceived by the new potential partially revealed by the Great Elder Grant.Whether he suffocated to death or was crushed by rocks, that was the only way to live a little longer.
Of course, there is the option of paying a price equivalent to death to start a new life, but… sadly, they are a people who are much more accustomed to taking than being taken from.
Individuals wise and decisive enough to endure irreversible losses are few. This is especially true in the underworld, which is filled with desire.
Green current
A rather threatening current of deadly poison, manifested by 6th-tier black magic, rushes in.
Immediately, Eon’s wizards coordinated to block the atmosphere with wind magic and instantly burned the highly toxic clouds with fire magic.
“Block them at all costs! At all costs! Do not hesitate to break through the hierarchy!”“Don’t stop the curse, ugh?!”
While the remnants of the Curse Law were forcing themselves to calculate magic, their minds became severely distracted, and their concentration shattered into pieces.Due to the mental shock, some mages even had their magical channels forcibly closed.
The sixth phase—Levana, specialized in the mental realm—gave a chin gesture.
Execute it.
In such group magic battles, the flow is important.
Once pushed back, it becomes uncontrollable.
The fleeting moment when Eon’s firm resolve turned straight ahead caused the Law of Curse to witness memories flashing before his eyes like a kaleidoscope.
“These bastards…… Now, Lord Zakran won’t just sit by!!”
The second-in-command of the Curse Law desperately cast a spell, but that alone was not enough to reverse the imbalance of firepower.
Magic rains down.
After pounding the magic barrier, it mercilessly shatters it, taking away even the lives beyond it. A hand holding a magic item flew off as if exploding. Heads and upper bodies were destroyed or pierced.
The screams of men mingled amidst the noise of rampant magic.
Kuuuuu… … .
A heavy silence descended the moment the horizontal magical bombardment ended. Cornered to the limit, the Law of Curse was annihilated on the spot.
The second-in-command, who had been shouting Zakran’s name until the very end, sat leaning against the blood-stained wall, sobbing incessantly, and soon slumped his head.
“If you go now, you’ll run into Zakran. That is, if the afterlife truly exists. Clean it up neatly, as if nothing happened.”“Yes, Lady Levana.”
Leaving the cleanup to his subordinates, Levana climbed the stairs alone and went out to the ground level.
As I strolled along the road of Bradel, a city belonging to the Ternetia Federation, I soon saw Junia sitting on a quiet park bench.Of course, her surroundings were guarded by mages concealed by
Levana sat in the seat next to me.
“I told you to go back and rest first.”“I am clearly in charge, too. I can’t just come back saying I’ve done my job. Besides, it’s not like the injury is serious.”
Bandages are wrapped around various parts of Junia’s body that are not covered by her robe. Among them, the serious injury between her neck and shoulder has been treated to the point of being minor with Lissandro’s fruit potion.
Of course, he could recover immediately, but Lisandro’s fruit potions were limited in quantity, so wasting them was strictly forbidden.It was a natural thought for an executive.
If the injury is minor enough not to significantly affect life or activity, it can be fully healed with other potions and natural regenerative abilities alone.The traces of the curse left by Zakran could not penetrate Unia’s resistance.
Levana’s eyes narrowed.
He is definitely a genius.
He buried Zakran of the Black Law by himself with less difficulty than expected.
Did you say it was a breakthrough in the hierarchy of the Demonic Path?
Since it became possible to surpass her limits, Junia has exceeded the level of a 6th-tier middle rank. At least when it comes to ‘one-shot kills,’ she is the best, excluding transcendents.
“I am following in Lord Verden’s footsteps, albeit clumsily. Perhaps I am the mage most fitting for the Age of Magic established by the Dark Moon…”
It is not just Junia; Cain’s potential is also at an extraordinary level.
Is it because they are twins?
Since such geniuses have been receiving unsparing instruction from the former Lord of the Empire, the first member of Black Hour, and the Master of the Ostea Magic Tower since they were very young, gaining life-or-death experiences, and even receiving separate guidance from a transcendent being with overwhelming genius…
True to the description of the Society’s new generation, I strongly felt that he might actually become a wizard who symbolizes the next generation of the magical world.
I should stay close with you.
Levana, who was highly ambitious, made a resolution once again.
“Oh, come to think of it, I found something interesting on the way here?”
Suddenly, Yunia took out an elaborate statue from her space bag, and its form was surprisingly familiar.
“That is…”“Even you can tell it looks a lot like you, Senior, right? I saw someone sculpting on the street, so I took a peek, and it turned out they were making a statue of you.”
Yunia shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know much about art, but he must be quite a great sculptor. It’s so detailed, right down to the hem of the robe, it looks like a miniature replica of the real person. I think he made it based on the article of you in the International Newspaper. Then again, your face is artistic, isn’t it?”“…….”
Levana silently agreed for a moment, then spoke again.
It is unusually intricate, though. Surely you didn’t just leave it alone, did you?
Even if it is an ordinary person who knows nothing, I cannot tolerate them daring to sculpt a transcendent being at will to make money.
This is a matter of prestige.
What would have happened if they had attempted a profit-making scheme using Dahit Wesroel? Naturally, all those involved would have been summarily executed.
Yunia chuckled.
“Of course I stopped them. I sternly warned them never to carelessly make a statue like this again. Still, since destroying something that had already been made felt a bit much, I retrieved it as an Eon executive. Oh, wait, I didn’t steal it, you know? Of course, I paid the full price.”
I couldn’t sense any magical power emanating from his statue. It wasn’t a trap or anything… it was just an ordinary statue.That is, except for the fact that it was certainly worth collecting as a work of art.
“That’s a relief, then. But if anything resembling that statue is discovered again, I’ll cut off your wrists without mercy. So you can’t carve anything in the future.”“Hmm… isn’t that a bit too harsh?”“You should be grateful that you aren’t being hanged from the castle wall.”
Yunia shook her head at the harsh remarks befitting a former high-ranking executive of Black Hour. Still, it wasn’t that she didn’t understand.However, she, too, could not tolerate her senior’s status being damaged in the slightest.
Then, Levana reached out her hand.
“Lord Verden might take offense at the statue. Give it to me. I’m going to dispose of it immediately.”“Hey, why go as far as disposing of it? I’ll take care of this, so just pretend you didn’t see anything. And keep it a secret from you, Senior, too. Got it?”
Yunia covered the statue with her body.She did so purely out of a sense of pity.Because this wooden statue really resembled her senior a lot.
* * *
Behind the man quietly gazing at the window of the Bradel mansion, Count Banah, one of the powerful nobles of the Ternetia Federation, spoke.
“Eon, having wiped out the entire Law of Curse, has just left. I never imagined that the Blood Alliance organization would have infiltrated this city… Bradel nearly ended up in ruins. I hear that one is annihilated the moment they become entangled in those terrifying Third Commandment of Divinity.”“There is nothing to fear. As long as you have lived a life that does not violate the dignity of others, the commandment will not be enforced.”“I have heard that, though.”
Gulp.
Count Banach swallowed hard.
I am afraid.
The fear does not subside because I do not know where the standard of dignity lies.
I have come this far after living a fierce life as a noble of the Federation. Like a noble. In the process, I have trampled over quite a few corpses.
It is the same here in Bradel.
They had no choice but to deploy spears and swords to stop the spread of the Blood-Crying Plague. They had to do so. Without resorting to such drastic measures, they could not have slowed the spread of the epidemic even slightly.
I merely discarded the small among the big and small.
They killed and burned plague carriers who were roaming the streets like madmen just to save themselves. They did not make exceptions based on age, whether for adults or children.
It was a cruel decision.
Nevertheless, even Count Banach’s only daughter has contracted the plague. Therefore, he intended to hunt down those hiding in the sewers.
It was half anger and half a sense of duty.
It was to delay Bradel’s collapse until the support of the high priests of the Luas religion and Eon’s Bloodcry Plague alleviator could be obtained.
It had been that way as a matter of course until the ‘mysterious savior’ appeared before my eyes.
Count Banach asked cautiously.
“Even if I were to be executed, would you still look after my daughter?”“Are you afraid of the commandments?”“I am afraid… However, even if I were to go back, I would have ultimately made the decision. If that is truly a sin, I will accept the punishment.”“If you truly believe that, you will not face the execution of the commandments. However, if you say you are deeply anxious, let me tell you.”
The man, ‘Jose’, asserted.
“I will protect the Count’s daughter.”“Thank you.”
Count Banach bowed deeply as if there were no barriers of social status.It was entirely thanks to a man named Jose that his daughter, and furthermore, that not a single person had died since the spread of the Blood-Crying Plague.
I do not know what kind of power it wields.
However… … it is certainly something that can be called a miracle, and I know for sure that the Luas religion will not be pleased with it.
You can call it heresy.
Count Banach would remain silent for the sake of what was most precious to him. For it was not the Ruas religion that had saved his daughter and the city.
Click.
Count Banach left.
Jose stood still for a moment, then picked up the international newspaper placed beside him. In the center was an image of a man with gray hair.
Eon.Divine.Verden.Asher.The Absolute Ruler of Esritia.Successor of the Black Hour.Overlord… … .
I gazed endlessly at that being referred to by various pronouns.
Suddenly, a brother and sister strolling slowly through the mansion garden caught my eye. The older brother, Renard, was holding and supporting his younger sister, Faye, by the hand.
That was the reason Jose did not leave just before Bradel was locked down, and the catalyst that led him to enlightenment.
“Oh, Uncle Jose!”“Uncle!”
As Renard waved his hand, Faye also smiled and waved his arm along with him.
Jose smiled.
Oh God.
Jose recalled the moment the blue mountain range, where a blizzard had been raging, was transformed.
The sight I saw that day was real.
The owner of the statue reigned as a transcendent being. The moment Jose realized this through the newspaper, he felt an intense emotion.
Disappointment that he was not a real god?Not at all!The reality that God exists before all people deepened faith even more. Furthermore, His God seeks to lead the world in the right direction through the discipline of the commandments.
My belief was right.
The ‘divine power of blue light’ residing in Jose’s existence proves everything. This is a miracle born from the heart that could not protect his family.
Although Fay’s Blood-Crying Plague had still not been cured, she was no longer infecting others, nor was her condition worsening.The same was true for Count Banach’s daughter and the plague-infected people in the city.
Protecting others.
That was exactly Jose’s improved mind.
“…….”
Jose, having realized his divine power, had two choices before him.
Do you leave with the siblings?Or do you protect many people?
Here, Jose chose the latter. For his divine power was not meant to be used to turn a blind eye to others for his own safety. Hewillingly stepped onto this path, even if the day came when he would face difficulties.
Of course, it must not be discovered by the world. At least not yet.
Jose instinctively imagined a confrontation with the Ruas Theocracy. If he rashly went to God, the worst possible conflict could erupt.
Jose knows that he is a heretic.
Fortunately, Count Banach became Jose’s accomplice. Jose reflected on himself for failing to save his child from the Count.
‘Verden, my god. I know what I must do. So please forgive me for not being able to come see you right away.’
Jose sat in a chair praying as always, holding a piece of wood in his hand.
Please look upon my departed wife and children, and those like me.
Crunch, crunch.
I cut the tree bark with a new carving knife.
Little by little.And, little by little.
In the shade where light did not reach, the heretic sculpted faith.
* * *
Kugugugugung!Kugugugung!
Vibrations echo through the outer space surrounding the Blood Alliance’s underground meeting hall. Guys who act tough and swaggering as big shots in the underworld are blocking the entrance and resisting.
It is a good stage for test-operating the unit.
The Ruler pulled his helmet down low and led the way holding a shield and sword. Behind him lined up Eon’s ‘Temporary Execution Unit’.
“The superiors are watching. No mistakes will be tolerated.”“Yes, Your Excellency.”
The Ruler leaned heavily on his front legs and drew up his energy.The floor cracked in part.
Suppress the violators of the commandments.
thud!
The ruler advanced.
