Chapter 272

Chapter 272

“Shall I introduce you a bit?”

Argio, who had come down from an impossibly tall chair, welcomed Ather.

“Now then, over there are the little ones of our home. Some were born here, and some were brought here. But most of them were brought. Most people who come here are afraid to have children, you see.”

“...Ah, I see.”

“Those over there, holding a debate, are mostly commoners. Mm, yes. Do you see a few over there with rather pale faces? They were nobles. They have a lot of knowledge, so they’re sharing it.”

“...”

“And they... oh, they’re making ornaments to give me. As you know, I rather like shiny things. Ah, if only all the wealth in the world would stay in my nest.”

He led Ather along, his bright-red hair swaying softly.

“This is the children’s bedroom. Mm, quite a few of them use separate rooms individually. Those who’ve formed families here can’t help it—they need a house only they can use... Fortunately, this place is truly spacious, so I could respect their private time.”

“No, th-that much... I don’t want to hear.”

“Does our librarian teacher have no intention of marrying? Haha! Don’t take it the wrong way—I only asked because I was curious. Bonds in this world aren’t made as easily as you’d think. Isn’t that so? Now, don’t just stand there—come this way.”

Argio also introduced a massive farm.

“This is where my friends farm with their own hands. Though it’s barren since sunlight doesn’t come in, the yield isn’t bad, so everyone seems to live more or less satisfied.”

“...Certainly, torchlight alone wouldn’t be enough to manage farmland of this size. Still, for crops that can’t bask in the sun, they look to be in excellent condition—did you perhaps improve the strains?”

“You could say that. More than anything, they’re crops that grow from the Black Forest, aren’t they? It seems they were influenced in various ways and took on a unique structure. Still, they taste fairly good. It’s fine.”

“I didn’t think you’d be this serious about meals. Mr. Argio—not only you, but everyone you’re responsible for shows this tendency... strain improvement must take quite a lot of effort.”

“Thanks to capable friends gathering.”

Argio laughed.

“The friends who came here are diverse. Some I dragged in, some came of their own accord, and some were offered to me as sacrifices.”

“Dragged in...?”

“There were pitiful ones who insisted it’d be better to live with beasts than with pigs. Ah, and even aside from that, I brought in some sprouts who prattled on annoyingly and trimmed them.”

“...When you put it that way, it sounds a bit frightening...”

“What do you take me for? Yes, I suppose you’ve seen correctly. I’m very violent, you know.”

“Ah...”

“Right, you were looking with interest at what I was making just now.”

Argio smiled, his golden eyes curving.

“Shall I show you?”

“...Yes, I’d like to see it up close.”

“The ladder chair is narrow, so that would be difficult, but I’ll guide you to the closest place you can view it.”

He climbed quite a lot of stairs with Ather. Then they came out onto a terrace like a spire. No, really—Ather couldn’t tell what to call that thing that jutted out so one could see the ceiling.

Still, just as Argio said, the ceiling could be seen quite closely.

“...”

It was a beautiful sight.

“...Is magic not included?”

“I’m a bit clumsy at using that sort of thing, you see.”

“I’d appreciate it if you considered my position in hearing that you’re clumsy at magic.”

“Truly, when doing this kind of activity, magic is rather... inconvenient.”

As if something didn’t quite sit right with him, Argio scratched his neck.

“For me, magic is only something related to battle. It’s quite rough and crude. It isn’t very suitable to be used for activities like this.”

“So you made it by hand?”

“That isn’t difficult. I’m just adjusting whether it becomes full day, twilight, or evening by the size of the torches. That much is worth using magic for.”

“You’re using it for a convenient purpose...”

“I suppose I should coax some quick-witted fellows and learn a few cute spells, too. It’s fortunate the torches are used up on that high, enormous ceiling—otherwise it would’ve been hard even to adjust the size of the torches.”

“...Still...”

Ather looked up at the ceiling as if bewitched.

“It’s splendid.”

So grand it was hard to believe it had been wrought by human hands.

It held nature. No, it was nature itself. Through intaglio, he had created the time of day, and the sky that followed it.

Ather heard Argio’s laughter. When Ather looked at him, Argio explained.

“Since the ruins can’t see the sky, you see. Many were about to fall into gloom, so I pondered how things could be improved. So like this... I showed the flow of time.”

“...Isn’t the scale too large?”

“You must do at least this much for our friends to accept it as ‘well, that’s that.’ Many of my friends are rough and strong, but there are also many far more fragile than you’d imagine. If I don’t want them to break, I have to be careful.”

“You say things like that without batting an eye and then claim you’re not a god...”

“What kind of god in the world is like this?”

He lightly patted Ather’s back and laughed.

“If you’ve seen enough, let’s go down.”

“...I haven’t seen it all.”

“If you keep staring at a false sky forever, precious time will quickly pass you by.”

“...”

Ather nodded.

“That’s true.”

On the way down the stairs, he saw a horned deer.

“Oh, my lovely brother has come. Here, friend. Say hello. This is my younger brother.”

“...Your younger brother is very cute.”

“Isn’t he? I do think he’s grown a lot, but I still wish he’d put on a bit more plump flesh. If he’s so gaunt, the friends in the Black Forest might bully him.”

“Uh, well. For a deer, he seems quite robust...”

“Do you not see these legs that are nothing but bones?”

“I can see the muscles, though.”

Of course, it was thin. But that was the limit of the species called deer. The deer he introduced was quite muscular for its kind. It looked so firm that if you bit down hard, your teeth wouldn’t even sink in.

Argio guided Ather along with the deer.

“I never expected such a good friend to come looking for me. Was the way here not difficult?”

“It was very difficult.”

“Was it?”

“My neck was cut off as well.”

“That’s truly amusing—your neck was cut off?”

“The remaining torso ended up in the evil god’s hands.”

“You’re quite a devoted person.”

“I’ve never really thought of it that way...”

“Why not?”

The evil god laughed.

“You offered up everything of yours to seal me.”

“...”

The torches went out.

The ruins that had been warm were, before he knew it, filled with cold, heavy air.

He looked around. It was full of shattered, collapsed fragments. Dust had piled up, insects crawled silently, and moss had grown in places.

The ruined ruins were, in an instant, filled with silence...

“...That’s right.”

It was the scene of the ruins right after sealing the evil god.

“Were you not intending to remain within a happy dream?”

“I was only admiring a precious painting I had.”

“You have no lingering attachment to that old memory.”

“I’m not that delicate a fellow, you see.”

“I heard you’re also called the evil god of dreams...”

“If it’s fun either way, isn’t that enough?”

Argio patted the deer beside him, gave a small chuckle, and shrugged. Then he started walking again. Ather followed obediently behind him.

“You’ve suffered quite a lot because of me.”

“More than half of my life’s suffering is indeed because of you.”

“Because you speak nothing but the right words like that, the Saintess got so angry.”

“It looked more like she was angry at you, though...”

“How am I supposed to endure such a sweet reaction?”

“You really are an evil god.”

“Of course. Who do you think I am?”

Cackling, Argio went down the stairs. Tap, tack—the sound of the deer’s hooves echoed through the passageways of the ruins. It was a pleasantly fitting noise, like pebbles settling into place. A light rhythm.

Argio stroked his chin.

“Mmm, yes. I see...”

“...”

“Why did you come all the way here?”

The evil god was puzzled.

“Was my embrace that uncomfortable?”

“...It was comfortable.”

With his severed neck, he sank into hatred where rage boiled. Within it, Ather screamed to his heart’s content, went mad, and struggled. Through the cursed, gaze-filled stares of countless dragons, he even watched the world break.

It was more comfortable than he’d imagined. The feeling of myself becoming whole. A sense of fullness. The sensation of falling into endless abyssal depths without having to thrash about painfully and desperately. Honestly, it wasn’t bad. It was quite pleasant, even.

“But I will remain human.”

He wanted to.

“There were too many things I didn’t want to give up.”

“Mm, indeed. As expected, these hero friends are terribly stubborn...”

“If I didn’t have at least this much stubbornness, how would I have tried to seal you by grinding down my own body? You can’t do that unless you’re mad. But I wanted to do it.”

“Was it not that you were cast out for earning the displeasure of those in high places?”

“That may have been part of it. My personality didn’t suit the royal court. But in the end, I chose it. I could have held on longer... but I simply did.”

“Then all three of us must have been mad.”

The evil god wore the satisfied smile of a full, well-fed beast.

“Then let me ask again.”

Reaching the underground tomb, Argio looked at Ather. The deer, too, looked at the hero with steady eyes.

『... Why did you come looking for me?』

He was wrapped in bandages.

A rough, hoarse voice that had gone completely worn out. The power that ensnared people remained, but it was hard to call it a beautiful voice. From head to toe he was full of bandages—no, they only looked like bandages; they were merely torn cloth.

They were smeared with blood and ichor. Argio’s body was now bent as though even standing was burdensome, and his arms and legs were thin like old deadwood. His golden eyes were not visible at all.

“...”

After confirming even the neck that looked as though it had been bitten and torn, Ather’s face soon twisted.

“...Argio.”

『Yes.』

“It’s you...”

The last dragon, murdered in the burned forest.

“...I, I... you...”

The evil god watched him in silence. Indifference, or permission.

Ather stretched his trembling hand toward Argio’s hand. He hesitated as he had countless times, but at last he clasped it.

A thin hand that looked as though it would crumble into ash at any moment. He held it with reverent respect like a son who served his god, with desperate earnestness like a refugee begging for salvation.

“...”

His breath trembled.

“...I wanted to meet you.”

He cried.

“I wanted to apologize.”

Words burst out.

“As the last human of the old era, I wanted to pray on behalf of those who betrayed and turned away from all dragons. I, I was dared to be called a hero... but before that, I was human... one who understood that whole tragedy and held it in contempt... I wanted to beg forgiveness.”

It was his honest heart, which he had to hide and avert through responsibility and ties. Guilt. Even if only in this absurd dream of an evil god, he poured out what was inside him. Because he was human.

“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry—this was our fault.”

『...You say such words?』

“This is what I am saying. This is the apology I offer. An apology representing humanity. We have received countless harms and tragedies from you... but if it stays like that, nothing ends.”

『What do you intend to end?』

“Truthfully, nothing needs to be ended. But there is something we must do. There is something we must do, something that is rightly given...”

Ather, who had been crying with his forehead pressed to the dry hand, raised his head and met the bandage-wrapped face.

“...I’m sorry.”

『...』

“I’m sorry. Truly.”

『Ah...』

Through the gaps in the bandages, a brittle smile was drawn.

“...I wanted to hear those words.”

The last dragon slowly embraced Ather.

It was a feeble strength he could have shaken off as easily as anything, but Ather accepted the embrace meekly. With the scent of ash left after the forest burned, a lukewarm warmth spread.

He asked.

“Will you hear the name I first received from God?”

“...Of course.”

“Seiten.”

“...”

“I had a good dream.”

Like an aged parent at twilight, he leisurely stroked and patted Ather’s back.

“Thanks to you, my friend.”

Argio whispered.

“...I forgive you.”

“...I, too, forgive you.”

“Thank you.”

Releasing the embrace, he drew Ather’s hand and lightly touched his lips to the fingertips.

“And well done.”

With a small laugh, he soon crumbled, breaking apart into sand.

“...”

“Thank you.”

“...Ah...”

Ather clenched his hand tight.

The deer that had conveyed thanks sat as if nesting on a small sand mound. Then it closed its eyes.

As the deer, now moving less as if it had fallen asleep, melted away, it soon became a bouquet that bloomed into a small cluster of flowers.

In the meantime, all that remained was the deer’s skull.

“...”

Ather sank down and carefully brushed the fine sand and the cluster of flowers blossoming atop it. After staring blankly at it for a long while, Ather reached out his hand.

Something lay between the sand and flowers. A silver necklace set with a scarlet gem.

“...I’ll take this as a gift.”

Rising to his feet, Ather soon left the underground tomb. His hand was heavy, and his breath was light.

He closed the tomb’s door and climbed the stairs. Up, and up again. He could see the ruins where the torches were faintly lit—older, the scene from when Ather had been shaped into a person once more.

“...Haa...”

Ather went farther.

After going on for a long time, he saw the place where children had played in childish abandon. Passing that, he saw the place where young men had been making ornaments. Passing again, he saw the place where fugitives had been sharing wisdom.

Passing even that, at last he saw the distant ceiling.

“...A night sky.”

A night sky where stars and moon glittered even though the light was out.

“Splendid, Seiten.”

How many had been comforted by a sky made by human hands?

Even when he was human, he was a god. Even though he was a god, he was human. Though he raged countless times, he was a saint who knew how to forgive.

And at last, Ather stood before the entrance of the ruins.

“...”

Clink...

He put on the necklace.

“...I have to go forward.”

He stepped out.

* * *

Crshk—.

Ather’s head shattered.

“...Ah...”

Seeing that, Aram clenched her hand tight.

‘...You fulfilled your role.’

Aram stared straight at the evil god.

The evil god’s head, now that his second hand was empty, tilted.

He looked down at his empty hand, parted his lips slightly, and moved them. A faint motion, as though calling a beloved family member.

That hand soon began to twitch and tremble, and then, with a shriek, he tore at half of his own head.

『...Ah, aah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!!!!!!』

Overflowing golden liquid looked just like the evil god’s tears as he howled in pain.

『Why, why, why, why in the world!!! Why did you leave me!!!』

『Forgive? Forgive? Forgive?』

『Please, give me rage...! Pain!! Humiliation—!!!』

The radiance of the red wings quivered grotesquely. It gave vent to the evil god’s pain and confusion. It was a sight far removed from life and warmth, like a dead bird’s nerves coming alive and twitching.

『My brothers...!!!』

The rotted, decayed dragons screamed as if answering this discord. The enormous roar drew the dragons in, one by one. The dragons began to fill Aram’s broken, ruined, incomplete universe once more.

“Saintess, may I ask you to explain?”

“...I think you roughly know, but...”

Aram, wiping away tears, answered.

“It’s the first and last chance.”

“I see.”

“This time, I will do it.”

“Will you be all right?”

“My senior brothers and sisters have things they need to say, too.”

Frowning, her reddened eyes tightening, she hugged the shattered moon to her chest.

The moon in Aram’s arms soon returned to its original form. Holding it atop her hand, Aram looked at the dragons gathered in one place—and still gathering. Confusion mixed into their rage.

‘Fallen dragons.’

Pitiful messengers of God.

She whispered softly, as though addressing friends.

“...We can talk.”

When Aram raised the moon up high once more, the silver moon shone brightly.

“We have a lot in common.”

The moon’s faint warmth spread through the whole world.

The young dragons, unable to help themselves, had their eyes stolen away by that warmth.

“...Right?”

Aram smiled, frowning.

(To be continued in the next chapter)