C374. Divine Blood (2)
A corner of the royal castle of Fildegreen.
“Phew—”
Rine let out a light sigh. After saying her last goodbyes to Alon and returning, she had been continuing to investigate the Illaneph Empire lately.
Partly it was to learn more uses of Pluton... but, in reality, because a certain memory that was bothering her had returned to her mind.
A very long time ago.
A memory already somewhat blurry, from when she was in the orphanage and could not yet enter the Forbidden Book Zone.
She remembered the information about the Illaneph Empire in the following way:
“The era of the forgotten god: the Illaneph Empire.”
Nowadays, that wasn't a particularly impressive memory.
It was just heard information.
But the instant she understood that series of facts, that memory became extremely important to Rine.
Because in the Eternal Library only the truth should exist.
That is why, since she discovered that fact, she reviewed everything with persistence, and as a result, she understood one thing:
Before entering the Forbidden Book Zone, some books did not transmit “truth”, but “lies”.
She didn't know why whoever created the Eternal Library had done something like that.
But after discovering that... during the process of relearning the information she had obtained before, she found several new truths.
About “the black”.
Until now, Rine thought that “the black” was “sin”, and she wasn't wrong. Even in the era of the forgotten gods, “the black” was sometimes called sin.
But there was something strange:
Even during the Illaneph Empire —a time when sin shouldn't exist— mentions of “the black” appeared.
Rine tilted her head. The truth she knew and the newly discovered truth spun without fitting, as if a small gear was missing.
After thinking for a good while, she inhaled deeply. She needed to calm her overloaded mind.
She wanted to get away for a moment from the thorny enigma she was investigating, so she closed her eyes. She decided to rest a bit by thinking of something happy.
...“Only a few months left now. Even if it goes slow, maybe four at most.”
Stabilization wasn't far off. Rine smiled faintly.
When the artifact stabilized, she could leave Fildegreen.
And when she could leave Fildegreen... she could stay by her godfather’s side all the time.
“If I appear before my godfather arrives... will he be surprised?”
Just imagining it made the corners of her lips lift.
“In that case, the first thing will be to put that ugly red brooch in the pocket.”
Her smile had no intention of disappearing soon.
“......‘Sangre Sobrenatural (Supernatural Blood)’, you say?”
[That is correct.]
Alon frowned slightly at the Ancestor's words.
“Supernatural Blood.”
An unknown word, never heard in this world.
Not even in Psychedelia did clear descriptions of the Supernatural Blood exist.
But even so...
Alon did know that word.
Or rather: it was impossible not to know it.
Because it was...
[Do you... know something about the Supernatural Blood?]
...the word that appears when Psychedelia introduces Yutia.
The First Daughter of the Supernatural Blood.
Yutia Bloodia.
“...No. I don't know.”
Alon denied at the Ancestor's question. It wasn't entirely a lie.
He only knew three things:
That Yutia belonged to the Supernatural Blood race.
That the Supernatural Blood worshipped something like Cthulhu.
“...No.”
Immediately, Alon corrected his thought.
Now that he had reached this point, he realized there was an error in that “information”.
The idea that the Supernatural Blood worshipped a Cthulhu-type existence...
The religion of the Supernatural Blood itself perhaps hadn't been described correctly.
According to what he remembered from the game, what Yutia worshipped was “the black”, that is, sins.
But he now knew that was incorrect.
Sins were created by the Empire, while the Supernatural Blood existed from before sins appeared.
“Then... what exactly is the Supernatural Blood?”
Alon asked, and the Ancestor, who remained silent, answered:
[Actually... I don't know very well either.]
“...What?”
[Don't look at me like that. It is the truth.]
“Then... why did you mention the Supernatural Blood...?”
[I mentioned it solely to explain the incident.]
“Ah.”
Alon let out a murmur. He had just realized that the main topic wasn't the Supernatural Blood, but the observer behind him.
[Even in the past I saw, the Supernatural Blood only appeared in a dark and vague form. Everything else is unknown.]
“...The only clear thing is that the Supernatural Blood destroyed two nations, right?”
[Yes. Both. Without making any distinction.]
The Ancestor murmured: “Though I don't know why.”
“Did it appear again after that?”
[After?]
“Yes.”
The Ancestor reflected for a moment.
[Hmm... Yes. During what you call the era of the forgotten god, it appeared again to destroy the world. Just like before.]
“...Is there anything else you know?”
[I can understand that you want information on the Supernatural Blood, but unfortunately that is all I know. Information about them is almost nonexistent. As if it had been erased completely...]
Alon kept silent for an instant and then nodded slowly.
[Returning to the topic: finally, the two nations were destroyed. The Divine Blood fell apart without becoming a god, and the technological magic accumulated by humans remained buried in the abyss.]
[Even so, even after everything collapsed, the Divine Blood that created Babiloia clung to existence. Although it had been expelled from this world, it never gave up the hope of returning someday using its achievements.]
Alon listened while organizing his thoughts.
“If we talk about the knowledge they left behind...”
[They are laws. Although they were expelled after failing to become a god, the laws it created remained engraved in this world.]
“If they were already expelled, isn't that useless?”
[If they ever had the opportunity to return to the surface, it would be very different.]
Alon understood immediately.
“Because it would be above everyone who had learned that magic.”
[Exactly. But sadly, that Divine Blood's plan ended in failure.]
“...The Sins... and The One with Closed Eyes.”
[That is so. Because of the Sins and The One with Closed Eyes, the Divine Blood lost its chance forever. They killed the True Mages and buried the laws in time, and completely blocked the hole where the Divine Bloods would come down as Sin.]
Alon hesitated.
“...Is it impossible for the Divine Blood to descend if humanity doesn't reach a certain number?”
[Yes.]
“And why?”
[Because it is a law. An immutable truth that everyone in this world must follow. It is simply like that. It will be in your best interest to accept it.]
The Ancestor exhaled.
[Anyway, continuing: it was in that situation, the worst possible for the Divine Blood... that you appeared.]
“...Me?”
[Exactly. You, who knew the Phrases and Hand Seals, which should have been buried forever under time. To be precise, someone capable of handling their “law”, and who also came to ask for a contract.]
Alon's eyes moved slightly.
The Ancestor observed him in silence and then spoke:
[Didn't it seem strange to you?]
“What thing?”
[How you can use the Seals and the Phrases. Even more so, how you can freely utilize a law that only a few receive permission to use, without even having a mental image.]
Alon didn't answer.
It was true that at first he didn't find it strange.
For him, the Phrases and Seals were simply “game mechanics”.
Later, when he began to understand the truth of the world, he did feel that something didn't add up.
But he didn't dig deep into it then. It wouldn't have done him any good.
However, now...
With the pieces that the Ancestor's story revealed...
“The reason is... the Watcher?”
[Correct.]
It wasn't hard to face the truth.
[You could use laws without even knowing their mental image, just by remembering their shape. That was thanks to the contract.]
“In short: they wanted to use me to eliminate the Sins and thus be able to descend again.”
[Exactly. And you succeeded. But I must correct something: it wasn't that they used you. Rather you used them.]
“Me?”
At his bewilderment, she smiled.
[Perhaps you don't know, but they helped you on multiple occasions. They appeared whenever it was necessary.]
Alon tilted his head... and suddenly remembered something.
The voice that whispered to him when he fought against Kylus.
[They even saved you several times.]
“...What?”
[When you forced your power so much that your brain should have melted... do you think it was coincidence or luck that you recovered in such a short time?]
Alon was left speechless, while the Ancestor continued:
[They saved your life repeatedly. They even helped you directly. And, above all, you can keep using the laws of that Divine Blood freely.]
“If the Divine Blood gave me that power... couldn't they take it away from me?”
[No. Impossible. They already gave you that power. They cannot recover them, no matter what they do.]
The Ancestor smiled gently.
[That is why, it isn't that they 'used' you. You were the one who 'used' the Divine Blood. You snatched their power and, thanks to that support, arrived here stably. Even leaving your own law intact.]
Alon fell silent. His mind was still in chaos. Too much information had generated more questions. Even so, he began to order the essentials:
Babiloia and Illaneph were destroyed by the Supernatural Blood.
Alon had received help from a Divine Blood that wanted to descend.
The magic of the True Mages was actually the law that that Divine Blood left in this world.
And...
And—
“Who are you?”
—That the Ancestor in front of him was not an Ancestor.
[What do you mean?]
Even at the sudden question, her face remained serene.
But Alon spoke with absolute certainty:
“You are not the Ancestor.”
[Don't talk nonsense. What are you saying?]
It was true that there was no visible difference. Her voice, appearance, and conduct were identical to those of the true Ancestor.
But even so...
There was a clear reason:
“I never told the Ancestor my story.”
[With things like that I can know perfectly—]
“Even that I made a contract?”
She knew his story.
Too well.
[...]
She kept silent for a few seconds.
And then...
[My, my.]
The eyes of the supposed “Ancestor”, which before were dark...
[Since I started observing from the middle of the story, I suppose I ended up talking too much unintentionally.]
...were dyed deep blue.
