Apostle of the Goddess of War

Chapter 172

Ch.172 Apostle of the Goddess of War

Thick darkness descended.

Heavenly light scattered above it.

Light returned to the world. All beings praised Eru, shedding tears of joy and repentance.

Come down like words from heaven.

Pour down like sweet rain.

O grace and miracle of Goddess Eru.

The world was restored.

A single ray of light was enough.

The Evil God of Darkness.

Magoth sobbed and hugged her knees.

It wasn't sad that darkness was pushed away by light. To her, it actually didn't matter what happened to the world.

Sitting beside Sion, she merely gazed blankly at the waving port.

The Evil God of Darkness did not exist here now. Only a weak younger sister, missing her older sister, her twin, who was one with her, remained.

Sion remained silent until Magoth stopped crying. Achille was the same.

Even for Achille, she did not know the affection and loyalty exchanged between Magoth and Eru, the friendship they shared, and their tender family love.

Before Achille, there was Magoth. The time between them alone was an unimaginable span.

Originally, there were two Supreme Goddesses.

[They are originally sisters with quite terrible personalities. Understand this. Both Eru and Magoth are types hard to understand.]

Achille also sat beside Sion and spoke softly. Sion smiled with a troubled face, having a Goddess and an Evil God on either side.

'Uh, umm. I'll listen.'

[She probably won't hear my words now. That's the kind of creature she is. Her mind is painted black. Only her own sorrow matters to her.]

'My Lady….'

Achille didn't care about Magoth's feelings. By now, even if she became a crybaby, the evil deeds Magoth committed and the conflicts she caused would not disappear.

He must feel pity but not sympathy. Unlike other Evil Gods, Magoth at least must pay for her sins.

[I don't know. I shall rise.]

'Are you leaving?'

[The situation in Elim is not leisurely either. We are completely surrounded. The Imperial Army and the Water Knights are swarming in.]

'Hmm. That is true.'

[Well, in terms of military strength, they are no match for Elim. Now my cult and my sanctuary are firm.]

Sion nodded in agreement.

Comparing when he first arrived in Elim to now, it was a level of heaven and earth changing.

Even the quality and quantity of the people living there and the guards protecting Elim were on a different dimension.

Sion is no longer worried. Even without him, there were many believers to protect Elim.

Each had their assigned tasks and different capabilities. Sion had a greater mission.

'……Though right now, it is comforting a depressed Evil God.'

As Achille stood up, she spoke to Sion.

[I will be negotiating with Serine. I will try to buy as much time as possible. What that creature desires is for me to start a war and massacre humans.]

'That seems a bit dangerous.'

[When the time comes, I will force a march. I intend to mow down her army unilaterally. It would be an appropriate justification to paint me as an Evil God too.]

Sion's eyes narrowed.

A failure that even Eru gave up on. The thoughts and malice that creature held were of an unbearable kind.

Sion must find an answer. A way to make Serine come to her senses.

'I will try to come up with a clever plan by talking with Lady Magoth.'

[If that is my apostle's will.]

'A way to save both Magoth and Serine.'

[Hm?]

Achille hesitated.

It was something she never thought even Sion would say.

[Salvation.]

'……Well, the form might be a bit strange, though.'

Achille looked at Sion for a moment, then at Magoth again, before turning her body.

Just as Sion trusts Achille, Achille also trusts her apostle completely.

She had experienced the results brought by the choices he made and acted upon. He performed miracles superior to herself, a Goddess.

Could there be another god besides this?

If Sion decided so, there must be a way, and at this point, it is the best option.

[Understood. This Goddess respects my apostle's choice.]

'……Thank you. Lady Achille.'

[I shall wait.]

Whoosh.

Achille turned into black smoke and disappeared. She flew straight to Elim.

Now all that remained was to converse with Magoth. Magoth had interacted with Serine and plotted several malicious plans.

He must persuade Magoth to find a way to stop Serine. Sion watched her reaction cautiously before opening his mouth.

"Um—Lady Magoth."

"……"

"Please stop crying like a child and talk with me?"

"I am… not… a child."

Only after Achille left did Magoth open her mouth.

'Hmph. So that's how it was.'

To Sion, the King of Evil Gods seemed not just trivial but even cute.

An Evil God like this? It was truly hard to believe.

It was to the extent that one couldn't understand why humans had praised Goddesses and feared Evil Gods until now.

Goddesses and Evil Gods were truly, without exaggeration, just humans with great strength.

As the heavens disappeared and Goddesses fell to the earth, their dignity and mystery fell as well.

Human perception seemed to be changing little by little.

"You couldn't speak because Lady Achille was here, right?"

"……No."

"You're shy."

"I am not!"

"You're petty."

"You!"

Magoth jumped up and glared at Sion.

Huff— Huff—

She breathed heavily out of resentment. Magoth was no longer the Great Demon King of fear.

Only a woman who was careless and could not properly control her own emotions remained here.

Just… she was only a bit very pretty.

"Lady Eru said she was sorry."

"……Sorry?"

At Eru's words, Magoth sat back down. It was funny how she immediately became a gentle sheep. Sion held back laughter and continued.

"She said all of this happening is her fault."

"I… know…."

Magoth trailed off. It probably wasn't her true heart. However, resentful feelings seemed to remain.

"I don't know well what happened between you two. So when conveying messages, precise emotions might be missing. It could lead to misunderstandings."

"It's fine. I know that child's heart well."

"……If you know it well, did you fight like that?"

Magoth glared as if to pull out Sion's intestines, then turned her head.

"Eru was… arbitrary."

"She seems so."

"I opposed creating the heavens at first."

"So the heavens weren't there from the beginning?"

"Yes. It's a story from when only Magoth and Eru existed. That island you were invited to. Eru and I woke up there."

A distant story from the true beginning of time started.

It was a myth of ordinary, cliché sisters living harmoniously.

"One day, Eru suddenly said. She said we must create the heavens. To let creatures live on this land."

"Why did she do that?"

"She said she was bored."

"Bored…."

Sion grimaced with a bitter taste. He learned that the reason humans exist on this land was due to the Supreme Goddess's boredom.

It was a truth that would leave all believers seeking the reason for human birth and existence on this land feeling empty.

However, this was the fact, an untold story.

Sion decided to keep it in his heart and listened attentively to Magoth's words.

"I disliked humans, and I disliked the heavens. So we fought intensely. I cried, asking if we couldn't just live here, the two of us."

"You were born a crybaby."

"……"

"And then?"

"First, we agreed to create sisters."

The reason there were many Goddesses was merely Magoth's tantrum. It was a truly amusing behind-the-scenes story.

Sion chuckled and said,

"Was Lady Achille born then too?"

"Yes. Eru hummed a tune and sculpted them one by one."

"What about you, Lady Magoth?"

"I opposed it, so I just watched. From then on, Eru became the mother of all Goddesses, the eldest sister, and the King of Goddesses."

Magoth wore a bitter smile and trailed off.

"She wanted to increase those she could spend time with to live happily, but conversely, because of that, she became lonely…."

Sion swallowed his words.

He roughly grasped how things flowed.

There was something she wanted, but it did not go according to the Supreme Goddess's will. Even the Supreme Goddess was full of mistakes and stained with flaws.

Perhaps the reason the world is in this state is because an omnipotent god does not exist. Eru too was likely just a human with slightly stronger power.

"As sisters increased, conflicts became frequent, and strife grew larger. After humans appeared, concepts like greed for power and arrogance, which never existed before, were born. We began calling ourselves Goddesses, not humans, arbitrarily deifying ourselves and building walls."

"I can imagine."

"Right? I argued that we must eliminate this structure before it was too late."

"So the civil war among Goddesses broke out?"

Magoth paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"I didn't start the civil war. I had no intention of doing so."

"Then who?"

Magoth sighed deeply.

"Serine…. It's because of that child."

"Hmm."

"Serine plotted everything from behind. She intentionally caused conflicts and forced them to grow. As you know, the one who made Achille go mad was also that creature."

"Why on earth did she go that mad?"

Magoth gazed at the sea. It was a scene of the sea bathed in sunlight, as if scattering golden powder.

After much deliberation, Magoth gripped her forearm once and spoke with difficulty.

"Originally, Eru was going to quit being the Supreme Goddess."

Silence flowed. Sion blinked silently.

"She was tired. No matter how much of an older sister she was, it must have been mentally difficult. Everything she touched went wrong, and unintended negative concepts poured out."

"Since creations didn't move as desired, that makes sense. Though I may not fully understand that frustration."

"That's right. You are very understanding, aren't you?"

"Yes, well."

"Just like Achille."

"Is that a compliment?"

"You're just like Achille. Really."

Magoth regained her serious expression and spoke.

"Serine was Eru's replacement. The next Supreme Goddess, an existence created by removing useless emotions and ways of thinking from Eru herself."

"……That is."

"Eru must have experimented with various things without my knowledge. I don't know everything either. Only Eru and Serine would know."

Magoth sighed deeply.

"You are looking for a way to stop Serine, right?"

"As expected, you heard everything."

"Achille is… a fool."

Sion agreed inwardly. He didn't show it on his face.

"Think carefully about the parts I told you and attack there. I don't know if her emotions were perfectly removed either. We must talk to her."

Sion wiped his face with a serious expression. As expected, no clear answer emerged.

"I'm stepping back. The distinguished Goddess of War's apostle, chosen by Eru, will solve it himself."

Sion didn't mind Magoth's sharp words.

From the moment he learned that the Great Demon King of Fear was a trivial brat, he felt no reverence or fear. Henceforth, he would receive the same emotions from all Goddesses.

The illusion was broken.

"Well, you were helpful."

"Hmph…. Now, what will you do with me?"

Sion asked back.

"With what?"

"You must kill me."

"Me?"

"You can do it."

Sion tilted his head.

"Well. I need to think about it a bit more."

"I built the Evil God forces, killed and tormented humans for a long time. I even tried to revive Eru by using you as a sacrifice."

"The first part is true, but the latter isn't, is it?"

"Isn't it?"

"No. Lady Magoth couldn't have done it. In the end, you must have known better than anyone that the Eru created that way wouldn't be real."

Magoth bit firmly inside her mouth.

A bloody taste was felt.

"……As expected, you resemble Achille."

"Is that a compliment?"

"It's an insult."

Sion brushed off his butt and stood up. The sun began to rise beyond the horizon.

"Bring the remaining Evil Gods to Elim. After all wars end… receive Lady Achille's judgment."

"Haha. That's… funny."

"It's the best magnanimity I can offer."

Magoth smiled brightly and rose.

And then.

Thud.

She poked her finger into Sion's temple.

"Huh?"

"It's not harmful. It's a gift."