Chapter 273 – 4. Is It a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? Is It a Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing? (1)
Silence hung over the plaza, which would normally have been a training session for slaves, as the bonfire was quietly burning with a crackle.
The blood spreading red and the corpses that were completely crushed and turned into skin.
And in the center of such a plaza, there was a huge iron ball that looked like a bunch of iron cages randomly put together, and next to it was a huge, dark-colored giant.
On the shoulder of such a dark-colored giant, a red-haired young man was looking down at the surroundings with extremely cold eyes.
Roa felt bitter as she saw countless people around her just standing there blankly.
Their eyes were similar to Yuria’s when they first met.
Those who have lost their own free will or have fear of thinking and judging things on their own due to thorough training.
It was the kind of gaze that lost the will to live.
“…”
“Western… 」
Tamamo’s thoughts came from within Talos, and Loa covered his face in sorrow.
“Tamamo… Can’t you feel Yuria? She sure said she had just left.”
“Something has been hit so hard that I feel a sense of fading… It’s not dead, but I can’t feel its presence, perhaps because it’s extremely weakened.”
Tamamo was also very nervous.
She kept her words simple, but it seemed as though she had suffered a fatal blow to the spiritual body itself, not just the death of the body.
The death of the body that the afterlife has suffered so far. It was also a death like death from shock, so unlike the body that was intact and able to be resurrected relatively unscathed, the near death of her spiritual body, which could be called her main body, spoke of complete death in the true sense of the word, different from her body.
It can’t be.
In a situation where her own future is about to bloom properly, she has to go into her eternal sleep.
As Tamamo, who was planning to one day become her descendant and meet her husband again and live a proper happy life, this situation gave rise to goosebumps as her descendant herself almost died in the true sense of the word.
Tamamo judged that even if Yuria’s spiritual body almost died, it would not be a fatal injury in her true sense.
A spiritual body, unlike a fragile body, does not die by having its head cut or its heart pierced.
It seems that the state of the body of the next life has become a kind of seal, and if the body dies now, the spirit body will die as well. Of course, even this should be a death in a way that satisfies certain conditions, not a general death.
For example, through Magi…
「Magical cult… ?”
“Did that being kidnap Yuria?”
“It seems to be the most powerful as of now.”
After looking around her for a moment, the loa banged and tapped Talos on the head, causing Talos’ cockpit to open, revealing Tamamo with her ears drooping in disquiet.
“West Master… The Demonic Cult needs to be careful.”
“Are those beings that strong? More than the great ambassadors?”
“No, compared to the Eight Armies, the Demonic Cult is incomparably weaker.
Roa tilted his head, jumped on top of the cockpit, and closed the cockpit again.
“What should I be careful of?”
“You will remember that the wounds I received from Magi in the past did not heal.”
At those words, Roa looked at Tamamo.
“It’s fine now?”
“Somehow, the demonic energy has now been neutralized, and now there are only minor traces left that can’t even be called remnants, and it’s just a little harsh. Like this, this power is a very high-level power.”
At Tamamo’s words, Roa tilted her head.
“Are you high?”
“It’s a kind of divine power. Those who originally worshiped the white fire fell and used the power of the black fire, which they considered a sin and were wary of. That’s Magi.”
“Black fire?”
“The one who put that cursed thorn in the head of the younger generation. He is the one.”
At that, Loa jerked and looked back at him.
“He… Wasn’t dead?”
“If I had completely erased it then, I would have fallen asleep for a while, but I’m not an existence that can be killed that way. It’s a pretty irregular way to run around in this world, but it’s an existence that’s higher than Tia if you hit it. There’s no way you can kill it. Do”
At Tamamo’s words, Roa’s heart felt tight.
“He too… So you mean God?”
“He goes around with fairly large restrictions and my promise, but he is the highest god who counts from the top faster. Cronus, who is said to be a bust, is not even a baby compared to him. In a true sense, he is the god who controls all evil and demons.”
Evil spirit. Angra Mainyu.
The Demonic Cult, no, the Baekhwagyo still served Spenda Mainyu, the incarnation of Ahura Mazda, but ironically, they worshiped the power of Angra Mainyu.
It is a contradiction that worshiping white fire and worshiping black fire.
“In the end. In order to find the next life, you will have to find the Demonic Cult. But their power is the power of the highest god regardless of whether they are strong or weak. In terms of strength, all the powers we have are very bad.”
“…”
“Perhaps they tortured the afterlife with that power…”
At that, Loa shuddered and gnashed her teeth.
Tamamo, who had been hit by Magi, remembered that he was in great pain, even though the injuries were not too severe.
Thinking that she had been weakened by such painful power and tortured to the point where she couldn’t detect it, it was as if her blood was gushing backwards, but Tamamoe Loa, who quietly embraced herself, managed to calm her emotions.
Still. Still very angry, but replaced by cold, burning rage, Loa calmly reorganized the situation, thinking about what to do.
“Does Tamamo know a lot about them?”
“No, I also don’t know anything other than fragmentary information. In fact, I have no clue about the Demonic Cult…”
“…”
How can I do? How can I do? How can I do?
“First of all, let’s go back to the white watch. Even though Angra Mainyu is a god lower than Tia, he is said to be the highest among the ‘divine spirits’ who have not reached even a god, but he also has the highest spiritual status. If so, there must be something useful.”
“For some reason, if I stretch out my hand here, I feel like I’ll reach Yuria, but are you saying I have to go back from here?”
“Sorry, but it is.”
At Tamamo’s words, Roa looked around again.
For some reason, it seemed that YuRia was there right now, so she looked around her over and over again, but in the end, Roa, who couldn’t find YuRia, hugged her tearing chest and eventually drove Talos toward the White Watch.
* * * * * *
A deep mountain road with few people.
No. It is said that there are few people. The word ‘road’ is incorrect.
This is just a mountain
Passing through the rugged mountains where there is no way for her, Yuria, although her demonic spirit that ate her body and spirit has disappeared, only the damage remains, staggering and staggeringly moving her steps, climbing her rocks, but not feeling anything. Without a word, she followed the man in front of her.
Even after following him like that, Yuria couldn’t understand.
Why is it back in such a slow way?
Looking at him walking ahead of him with his dark blue long robe fluttering, as if he had just taken a walk in the backyard lightly, he could easily carry himself on his back and go fast, but he couldn’t understand why he made him walk so slowly.
Is this a kind of teaching assistant?
“…”
I don’t understand why, but I thought it might be.
Even now, her mind was on her back, but her body was clenched with fear, and she followed the man in front of her, ignoring her trembling state, shouting for a break.
Ha… Ha… He exhaled heavily and his vision was blurry, but was it because he was clearly imprinted on the man in front of him as a being who could bring death to himself in the true sense of the word?
Yuria couldn’t possibly reject him.
In the midst of such a difficult hike, YuRia didn’t understand why he was doing this, but on the other hand, he thought he was lucky.
If you go so slowly, maybe Loa will be able to catch up with you.
Considering the scale of yesterday’s power, it must have summoned Talos as well. That meant that Tamamo had also come.
YuRia thought that if he took his time and progressed slowly like this, the prospects wouldn’t be very hopeless.
But Yuria didn’t know.
That’s what the assistant he was trying to do for Yuria.
Hope and despair are like the two sides of a coin. The more hope collapses, the greater the despair.
It’s more effective to show and shake hope rather than just endless despair.
YuRia, who was already in the worst condition of her body and spirit, and had been walking unreasonably, gradually felt a fever in her body.
YuRia, who was in such a bad condition that she wondered if her body would die at this rate, had a dejected smile on her lips.
Okay. Let’s die
I’m sorry for Loa, but in this situation, it’s not a bad choice for him to give up once in a while.
I’m sorry for the children too. It’s a pity that I can’t see the process of the children growing up, but I’m sure if it’s T-I, it’ll do something.
Rather than somehow being held by this guy in this worst state, it might be better to just die and run away with the spiritual body preserved somehow.
You will understand
I’m sure Roa will understand.
If Tia does something, she’ll hopefully within ten years. Even if it’s not that, in 100 years or so, she’ll be able to see Loa again.
No, 100 years is just a guess, and depending on various circumstances and conditions, it may be 200, 300, or even a thousand years.
“…”
Then.
I can’t even see the day my lovely children get married someday.
I don’t know what will happen, but I can’t even see my grandchildren being born.
More than anything… Even if it’s not, I’m so sorry that I haven’t seen much of my children growing up, but do I have to miss all those cute and lovely images…
She was so afraid of complete death that even her spiritual body would be destroyed, but as the time with her children, who would have been so precious every minute and every second, was disappearing like this, Yuria’s tears filled her eyes again without realizing it.
It’s unfair…
This is so unfair…
I… What did I do wrong…
“Ugh… Uh…”
YuRia, whose eyes were turning hazy, felt as if the sky was spinning and spinning, and eventually collapsed.
After a while. She regained her consciousness, and Yuria lifted her eyelids with difficulty at the sound of her crackling and firewood burning.
Blurry Shia gradually regained focus, and her eyes caught the clumsy wooden ceiling reflected in her dim vermillion wood fire.
“Huh…”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Yuria, who was breathing hard, only rolled her eyes and looked in the direction where her voice came from.
There, an old man dressed in wretched clothes was serving a bowl of soup mixed with all sorts of odds and ends from a worn-out gourd.
“I heard that you are an honored guest. He is a noble nobleman who will bring back the torch of our church.”
“…”
As the old man saw Yuria barely breathing without being able to speak, he scooped up porridge with a spoon and put it in her mouth instead.
The taste was a mess, but even as YuRia herself, she wasn’t in a state to question the taste.
However, despite this, YuRia, who had not even had the energy to chew the food at all, had been holding the porridge in her mouth for a long time and melting it with her saliva.
Yuria, who had been struggling to exhale like a thread in a situation where her energy was drained just by the act of swallowing food, suddenly began to absorb some of the nutrients in her body. It was really just a little bit, but the nutrients that were burning through my veins gave me the energy to breathe a little more.
The old man is never in a hurry, slowly, slowly. He poured the porridge into Yuria’s mouth.
Put the porridge in her mouth. Even though Yuria took a long time to swallow the porridge, the porridge was absorbed to some extent in her stomach, and she waited for the porridge to regain her lost energy.
That was really impossible with normal patience.
However, thanks to the old man’s dedication, YuRia, who had regained her energy little by little, began to eat faster and slowly chewed and swallowed the porridge in her mouth.
It was only then that YuRia, who had some composure, started to shed tears without realizing it.
He was going to die He was dying and trying to escape…
In the end, he couldn’t possibly die.
At the end of the day, it seemed that he had no regrets left in this life.
Watching children grow up. Due to her desire to see her get married and have children.
Well, nine out of ten Elsa and Liza would marry.
Still, isn’t it her mother’s heart to want to make her own food, feed her, put her to sleep, and clothe her until the day she leaves her arms.
And when she leaves her own arms like that, it is her mother’s heart to want to bless her future with a heart full of regret.
If you die like this now, nine out of ten such dreams will disappear forever.
YuRia held onto her heart again in the care of the old man.
Okay. Her opponent has the means to kill herself completely, but she will never.
As long as he wants something from himself.
Is this the only moment when the spirit body almost died?
She was dying very slowly, but her spiritual body was also slowly dying during the first few years she had met Loa.
Purify the monster’s magic stone and swallow it. There was also a period when she barely lived by absorbing the vitality of fresh food.
Of course, her mindset then and now is so different that even her thoughts and perceptions of her death are completely different, but at least this is not the first time she has faced a complete death.
Okay.
I have already found happiness. Got to know love
It was different in many ways from the time when there was nothing to regret in this world.
There are so many things I don’t want to miss in this hand.
It’s been three days since I’ve been living in an old man’s shabby house.
Now, although it was difficult, he was eating soft solid food instead of porridge.
I still couldn’t raise my body, and I couldn’t even get my strength to go in properly, so I could barely lift my trembling arms with so much effort.
His arms were so weak that he couldn’t even lift a very light object properly.
“Ah… Uh…”
At least, if we say that it is a great development, is it that the word is coming out somehow?
Such as mashed boiled potatoes or coarsely grated fruit.
YuRia, who took those things and looked at her surroundings, thought about what she had heard from the old man.
A nobleman who will revive the torch.
Although she knew about Zoroastrianism, the Zoroastrianism of this world was different in many ways from the Zoroastrianism she knew.
Above all, isn’t it Baekhwagyo, not Baehwagyo in the name of the Eastern style?
You know that it serves Ahura Mazda and Spender Mainyu in that it is a holy white fire.
In fact, the elderly could often be seen holding simple ancestral rites in front of the fire, which is the lighting, heating, and cooking utensils that were used in the house.
“Do you want something?”
“Sung… Hwa… Revive…?”
The old man nodded his head at the words that he stammered with difficulty.
“The sacred white fire enshrined in the main mountain was extinguished by those wicked midwives. That’s why the main school seems to have struggled to find a way to turn on the white fire in every way, but it seems difficult to bring back the torch once extinguished.”
At the lamentation of the old man, Yuria let out a sigh.
“I think Elder Grundy will finally be able to revive the torch this time, won’t he?”
“…”
“The saintess is our hope.”
The old man’s simple yet bright smile made Yuria’s heart throb and ache.
It was only then that Yuria seemed to realize at least a little what he was aiming for.
Why are you going so slow
Why did you make me walk like this?
Her invisible, shapeless noose began to slip around her own neck.
“Surely, if the torch is revived, we too will be able to escape from this chaotic world and live in peace.”
When the word revived the torch, Yuria felt it.
I am firewood.
It is the spark that will revive that torch. Firewood to light the torch.
The revival of the torch will not return the peace they longed for.
If that was the case, he wouldn’t have put the frame of the Demonic Cult in the first place.
Yuria was scared.
In the future, he would show more of himself.
Already shaken a little bit, she wonders if she will not be shaken even after seeing everything he has shown her.
Rather, it is not a crime against oneself. He didn’t ask him to love anyone other than Loa, so his method worked so well for him.
Above all.
What they wished for themselves resembled something terribly familiar to Yuria.
With something that has already become a way of life itself.
I love roa They were trying to bring back the way of life that they had barely managed to throw away, loving the children they gave birth to with stomachaches.
Sacrifice for all
Everyone can be saved through your one sacrifice.
That’s why it’s an extremely self-sacrificing, self-destructive way of life.
That… Do you want to do it again?
To go back to those days when she was unaware of it and always worried Loa and those around her?
At this moment, not long after I finally made up my mind that I want to live for myself?
