Published at 1st of July 2023 9:50 am

Volume 13, Chapter 346: Her Disappointment and Choice

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The death of the Great Hero Altia. Her murderer was her subordinate Offal, the only person she ever loved.

Doha Surah still couldn’t understand why Offal killed Altia.

Offal was a companion who traveled with Altia for many years. He had won Altia’s trust. He never pretended to hate Altia. Rather, it seemed to others that he trusted her more than anyone else did. He even shared Altia’s ideals and vowed to be together.

Doha Surah was also with them as a sworn comrade precisely because they were truthful. Even though Doha Surah was a magical beast, they respected its origins. Both knew that it had worth and wisdom.

Why did that man become a traitor and bear the stigma of being a murderer? Doha Surah never saw fragments in Offal that indicated the behavior of such person. At the time, Doha Surah remembered feeling dismayed.

It wasn’t just Doha Surah who thought it was impossible. All of Altia’s allies who were alive at the time never understood the intentions of Offal’s crime.

However, no one was able to question Offal for his deeds. After killing Altia, he took his own life. What truly happened? Where did it go wrong for everything to get messed up? No one knew.

Perhaps, Altia said something that hurt Offal’s feelings. To Offal, that was probably enough to kill Altia.

Or…was Offal’s goal from the beginning to kill Altia?

In any case, the cause of Altia’s death was covered up until the very end.

Of course it was covered up. There’s no way that her allies would speak of it. The great hero that founded a prosperous empire was killed by her loved one in her bedroom. There was no way Doha Surah and the other comrades would talk about such things openly.

Therefore, they announced her death as a natural death after continuing a harsh lifestyle built in battle for a long time. Doha Surah and the allies decided that she deserved a happy and honorable ending.

That was the prayer and wish of all those who knew the truth. Altia carried more pain than anyone else ever carried, and Doha Surah wanted her end to be happy and honorable as she pushed forward with more injuries than anyone else. Even if she was on the verge of death, she fought valiantly to protect and save her people.

Thus, with her death ended the era when mankind was at its greatest. Yes, with Altia’s death, the unified empire began to creak, and cracks appeared.

The cause was the absence of the great hero who was an absolute support. In her absence, the power of the empire was an unbearable temptation for Kings with unmanageable ambitions. It was also painful to admit that it was an era when everything was still completely dependent of Altia’s authority. It meant chaos and political crisis after her death.

Some of the Kings that had been united by the empire started to advocate independence, and the people themselves turned their backs on unification and stability. Humans who held hands and praised each other’s smiles in the days of Altia’s rule began to talk with swords.

…Emperors other than Altia were not emperors.

That was what everyone said at the time. Doha Surah then understood the true nature of the human mind.

Humans were bound by an overwhelmingly strong person. And when that strong person was absent, humans showed a sense of self-entitlement and regarded themselves as strong.

The empire that Altia had built was lost within ten years after her death. Still, that didn’t mean there was nothing left anymore.

Humans became the rulers of the continent and gained freedom to walk the earth with their own feet. They enjoyed a fulfilled era in which civilization and culture was built.

Although Altia fought for an era in which all humans were under a unified nation, everyone was saved, and everyone was happy in the end. Doha Surah came to think that this outcome was still better than the era when humans were dominated by spirits, glared at by dragons, and overseen by giants.

Doha Surah didn’t like anyone else other than Altia and her companions. However, it didn’t want to despise the other humans like it used to do.

After Altia died, Doha Surah had nothing to do. Days, months, and years passed by when he had no enemies to hate and no master to trust. A cruel and empty life continued.

So, at that time, Doha Surah decided to put an end to its life in the south, which was its homeland.

Doha Surah would never forget the voice he heard at that time.

…Doo.It seems I was wrong.Shall we try again?Let’s paint everything and redraw the world.

Doo. Doha Surah’s nickname. Only its comrades at the time called that name, and only one person spoke it with that tone so intimately.

However, the quality of her voice was completely different from before. Doha Surah still remembered the feeling of being grabbed by the heart.

—

「…Altia did not perish. Her soul, which killed all kinds of devilishness, had emanated devilishness itself. She had become the main existence of the great devil and has continued to exist up to this day.」

Doha Surah spoke while reflecting a faraway place in its demonic eyes. Its tone was unique, but was it just my imagination that its voice sounded somewhat lonely?

I nodded in response to those words. And so, I urged Doha Surah to continue. The winding angle tilted slightly, and its eyes narrowed.

「There’s nothing relevant to say from here on. Altia’s demonic soul continued to influence this world.」

She transformed a primitive religious organization into the Great Holy Church and tried to unite the people through that faith. Perhaps, in the course of that flow, her name changed from the great hero Altia to the masculine name Altius, the God of Salvation, as she passed through the mouths of the people as a god.

Altia knew it, said Doha Surah.

Humans would not turn into mockery if they were protected by a national unity. Humans did things for their own wild desires and didn’t think about anything else. Even if someone suppressed them with majesty and power, destruction would surely come.

If that was the case, humans could no longer be governed. Altia had no choice but to dominate.

There was nothing to do, there was nothing to think about, as there was only the thought to hope for. Humans had therefore to prostrate themselves, throw away their wisdom, and become like babies, unable to do anything. Learning would only make them die, so books were burned to ashes.

Only then would people know domination. Unity had to be made. Soon, a time when everyone was saved and happy would come. At that time, they would hope…

…And wish for happiness in their hands.

Doha Surah spoke while opening its lips pleasantly.

「That’s all. In the meantime, I was ordered to protect this place. Until the great hero arrives, my task was to protect it at all times.」

Its cheeks distorted while chewings its own words. My eyelids were strangely hot.

After giving a hint about its role in this place, I opened my mouth to ask if it was to protect the ring, and it said that it could not answer, opening its eyes lightly. I bent my fingers lightly.

It was useless. I didn’t fully understand.

A lot of information was packed in my skull, causing irregular reflections in my brain. I had a hard time dealing with what was right and what was not.

Altius…Altia’s past. Her purpose was so spectacular that it couldn’t be described in a single word. Of course, human life was not easy to describe in a few words.

But even that had too many thorns to swallow. Of course, I couldn’t verify if Doha Surah was telling the whole truth, and there was a possibility that there may be some dramatization or lack of information. Nevertheless.

「…Even if you say unity by faith, it’s a terribly daunting story. Besides, even among the Great Saints, there are forces that dislike the rejection of wisdom, don’t you know that?」

Filaret spoke as if she was trying to find some words for a while. That was surely a valid argument, and a statement that should be able to contradict Altia’s thoughts.

Yet, there was a bad feeling in my skull. No matter how much I tried to find some reasoning, I asked myself whether my imagination was going too far.

But at the same time, I had an intuition. It crawled on my spine, making it numb. My imagination was too ugly and putrid. Doha Surah responded to Filaret’s question, while retorting to my premonition.

「It’s a simple story. You humans will always be united by an entity when you’re in a predicament. It used to be that way. Then all you have to do is do it again.」

That’s exactly what humans should do before a disaster that was difficult to handle arrived to destroy all. Then everything would fit its purpose. Doha Surah said the time would come when everyone would be saved and happy.

I could feel that my eyes were trembling as they looked beyond.

A death snow butterfly was seen outside the window.

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