Akatsuki Translations

One of the Wise Heavenly King’s confidants and the king of the Gluttonous City.

Of the two facing each other, Aesura was the first to move.

“【Prostrate】.” -Aesura

“—-!” -Diz

Suddenly, “heaviness” bore down from the sky, centered on the Hero and the fugitives. The Hero only staggered slightly, but the fugitives behind her, the attendants of the temporary temple, were not so lucky.

Screaming “Eek!”, they fell to the ground.

“Bow your heads, you foolish servants of Proudia, you incompetents.” -Aesura

“【White Barrier】.” -Diz

The Hero immediately cast a spell and placed a barrier on the screaming attendants behind her. The gravity on them loosened, but they remained lying down without trying to move.

“Trying to protect those useless pieces of trash. How arrogant, Hero.” -Aesura

“That’s a terrible way to put it. They were originally attendants from your country, you know.” -Diz

The Hero sighed. She stepped forward as if to shield the fallen attendants and asked.

“Did the other ranked houses agree to dispose of them?” -Diz

“They did.” -Aesura

Aesura answered immediately.

Of course, he knew how terrible the implications of that were. That’s why he felt good. More than anything, it was the best to see the Hero make a truly sad face.

“I wanted to show you the faces of those who gladly offered their own flesh and blood as sacrifices, Hero. It was quite a spectacle.” -Aesura

“…Even someone at the pinnacle of the Temple has been steeped in evil. The Spirit of the Earth is also saddened you know.” -Diz

“Oh, as expected of one of the Seven Heavens, even if the lowest-ranked. Pretending to be the spokesperson for the spirits. I could never even attempt to imitate that.” -Aesura

Aesura mocked her words. He seemed to have no intention of reflecting on his treatment of his own spirit. But in fact, in this situation, it was not the Hero but Aesura who was hitting the truth.

Human reason does not apply to spirits.

It is not allowed to guess the intentions of spirits.

No matter how outrageous the wielder of a spirit’s power may act, humans cannot condemn the spirit.

It is humans who judge and are judged. Not spirits.

“If the Spirit of the Earth planned to condemn me, this power would have been confiscated long ago. But that hasn’t happened. That’s all there is to it.” -Aesura

“Fair enough. Oh well, I wish the spirits would share some love with me too sometimes.” -Diz

“How pitiful. The lament of a woman who is loved by neither God nor the spirits.” -Aesura

Then Aesura waved his hand again. Suddenly, the earth bulged and rained down like spears toward the “Hero”. A supernatural power that could be wielded freely without chanting or paying any price, which was impossible with magic. The miracle granted only to priests was freely wielded.

Naturally, training is necessary to handle powers far beyond human limits in order to gain the favor of spirits. Sometimes, too much power destroys oneself, and there are quite a few such cases of such.

Aesura Shinra Caraleigh. His ability as a priest, as the king of Gradol, was undoubtedly worthy of being called kingly.

“Behold!! This is the principle of this world! The truth of the universe! A power you can never reach!” -Aesura

“Certainly, I don’t have the aptitude of a priest, but–” -Diz

In the face of the storm-like attacks, the petite “Hero” was about to be swallowed up, but her voice remained calm.

“–It doesn’t mean my sword can’t reach you.” -Diz

A black flash ran.

That single strike bisected the earth’s upheaval and grazed Aesura’s cheek, who stood at its epicenter. Despite his body being supposedly shielded by an invincible protection that repelled all attacks, it failed to manifest against the sword strike of the “Hero,” and blood trickled down his cheek.

“Tch!?” -Aesura

“One of the roles of the Sun Knights and the Seven Heavens is to purge fallen priests. We’re prepared.” -Diz

The amount of power wielded was clearly greater on Aesura’s side. However, the quality of the power and, above all, the proficiency of the wielder were clearly superior on the “Hero’s” side.

However,

“…Heh, hahaha…! You said you’re prepared. Then we also have something prepared, you know?” -Aesura

Aesura suppressed his agitation at taking damage and regained his composure once again.

The “Hero” maintained a flat expression and readied her sword again.

“Preparation, huh. Do you have some secret weapon?” -Diz

“Indeed. And we have a collaborator for that purpose.” -Aesura

“Collaborator. I wonder who they are.” -Diz

The Hero stared at Aesura quietly, her expression unchanged, her sword at the ready. Judging by her lack of surprise, she seemed to have expected him to have a collaborator.

“Well, I’m just happy to have a secret weapon.” -Diz

However, the moment the green-haired woman who had appeared beside him at some point showed herself, her complexion changed.

“Hero-sama. Long time no see.” -Yog

“–Yog, you…! Of all people!!!”  -Diz

The words were filled with deep disgust. Those who knew her usual self would have been surprised by her reaction, as she always tried to maintain a composed attitude. She was directing such clear and distinct shock and disgust towards the green-haired girl.

“Turning an entire city into a familiar… Ah, I see, now that I think about it, it certainly suits your taste.” -Diz

“Isn’t it amazing? It’s the first time I get to play with an entire city, so I got fired up.” -Yog

“Yeah, it’s amazing. I’m surprised. To the point of being astounded.” -Diz

Then she shifted her gaze to Aesura. The emotion in her golden eyes was clear.

A strong, heavy condemnation.

“You’ve invited something outrageous, Aesura. Do you even know what kind of thing that is beside you?” -Diz

“A heretic. What about it?” -Aesura

The enemy of the world. Those who turn their backs on the One and Only God, Zerudia and worship an evil god, an existence that is not allowed. An undeniable adversary of humanity, the same as monsters. Aesura laughs as if it’s nothing. It was as if he thought nothing of revolting against God, despite being a priest who served him.

But the Hero shook her head.

“That’s not what I mean. It’s not even in the same dimension.” -Diz

Inviting a heretic. It doesn’t matter at all, the Hero asserted.

Then what was the problem?

It was because the one he invited was her.

“What you’ve invited is a disaster in human form. She will destroy not only your enemies, but you and your country as well.” -Diz

“The land will not perish.” -Aesura

“It will perish.” -Diz

The Hero stated firmly. At her overly decisive way of saying it, Aesura faltered slightly. Her golden eyes, filled with such strong conviction, were eerie.

“Hey, is it okay to keep talking forever? The ‘salvation’ of the city is progressing, you know?” -Yog

However, amidst that, the one who spoke up leisurely as if not reading the atmosphere at all was none other than Yog, the center of the conversation. Her voice sounded like a child urging her parents on the way to a festival.

“…Ah, you’re right. Let’s hurry. So, what have you prepared this time?” -Diz

When asked, Yog smiled.

It was an innocent yet evil smile, like when showing off a proud prank. Her beautiful green eyes narrowed into thin arcs. The green inside seemed to glow in an eerie way.

“Listen! You know what I thought! The Nameless people! Those people who are not loved by God are pitiful! After all, they haven’t done anything wrong, but they’re abandoned just because they’re not liked. It’s too unreasonable!” -Yog

Despite saying it’s pitiful, her voice contained a joyful tone. She didn’t even show the slightest hint of sympathy. It was as if such emotions had been completely lost.

“I see, and then?” -Diz

“So I thought I’d somehow make them into ‘bodies that can be loved by the spirits’!” -Yog

At this point, the Hero’s face had turned into a grimace. It clearly said, “I have a bad feeling about this.” But either Yog didn’t notice her reaction or she wasn’t even looking at the person she was talking to in the first place, she kept smiling.

“So, did that work out well?” -Diz

“Nope? It failed!” -Yog

The Hero nodded at the word “failure” that was stated so cheerfully and boldly, not surprised, happy, or suspicious, as if to say, “I thought so.”

“Yog, Yog the Wise, Ruinous Yog. What did you break this time?” -Diz

“People.” -Yog

The next moment, there was a violent tremor. Something fell from the sky. It was gigantic. However, other than being gigantic, it was difficult to describe.

It was too chaotic.

“O-OOOOOOOHHH AAAAAAAHHH GAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!”

It had many huge hands and feet. But the sizes varied. There were small ones and large ones. It seemed like some were covered in beastperson-like body hair, while there were others that were muscular like those of dwarves. There were also small heads like infants, many heads. Each had a face. All of them were groaning in pain and screaming individually.

Many humans had melted into a mess, mixed together, and solidified as is. Such a monster appeared.

“I thought that since the power they had to be liked by the spirits was too small, if I added a lot of people together, it would surely get better, but unfortunately, the form didn’t come together. It collapsed.” -Yog

But it’s fine, right? She laughed and said that. As if to say it worked out.

“Salvation has been achieved! Because I was able to break the form determined by that meanie Zerudia! Whether it’s an improvement or a regression, they’ve been saved!” -Yog

Yes, this was her everything.

Her purpose was to “change” everything. The entirety of the way things should be in this universe. And as long as it changes, she recognizes anything as salvation. Improvement, deterioration, destruction, rebirth.

That’s why she sometimes achieves great feats like saving an entire city on the verge of death, stricken by disaster. And after that, she may also do things like completely messing up the city she saved.

There are no distinctions within her. There is no purpose other than change. And there are no limits to it.

“SaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAVe uuuUUSSSSSSSsssssSSSSSSSSSSs.”

Therefore, there is no end to the tragedies she creates.

The squirming monster with many hands and feet is coming this way. Its speed was overwhelming even compared to monsters. Yog’s “addition” didn’t seem to be limited to the power to be liked by spirits.

And the many heads were screaming, suffering, and crying. They reached out their hands as if seeking salvation from the Hero. Among them were small hands like those of children.

“…So this is the reason you came out alone. Yeah, you can’t even show this to your subordinates.” -Diz

The Hero glared at the exceedingly abominable monster.

“Oh, of course, even if they’re broken, they’re still humans, so they can receive the king’s protection!” -Yog

“Those Nameless people are ‘still’ alive. You should save them, Hero! Hahaha!!” -Aesura

“Yeah, I will.” -Diz

In the face of a clearly irreversible tragedy, the Hero still spoke idealistically.

Aesura mocked the sight as ridiculous.

                                                   ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

The “purification” operation was going smoothly.

Invincible soldiers, priests who received the blessing of the earth, and the apostles of the dragon who had reached the extreme of heresy.

All of them advanced mercilessly. The monsters encountered along the way were swiftly kicked away, and the fleeing attendants were destroyed even more so. Even the first-rate silver-ranked adventurers and the world’s top-class fighting force, the Seven Heavens, were forced to stay put in the face of the overwhelming blessing of the earth and the extremely distasteful schemes.

And in the meantime, the ritual of the Dragon-Devoured City of Uuga was nearing completion.

If the outrageous magic that turned the entire city into a familiar came to fruition, everything would end. At Aesura’s command, a monstrously gigantic familiar would devour, crush, and then charge toward the City of Sin, Proudia where the Wise Heavenly King resided.

Everything was on Aesura’s side. It was such a one-sided development that he himself was convinced that everything was proceeding exactly as he wished.

“Now then, is everyone ready?” -Ur

“It’s hot, so can I shed some clothes?” -Shizuku

『HAHAHA, how exciting! 』-Rock

“I wish the ride was a bit more comfortable. It’s too dim to draw the formation.” -Lynne

“Oh, shut up, you’re noisy.” -Ur

Of course, he didn’t even pay attention to the behavior of the 【Copper】 adventurers.

“Well then, shall we go? ‘First,’ we’ll deal with the fake dragon.” -Ur

The Nameless adventurers.

Aesura and the others had not yet realized that they were at the heart of this battle.