Chapter 212

Elil did not ask why he should join the Dawn Army out of reluctance. He wanted to probe Isaac's intentions and hear his thoughts.

Isaac then delivered his prepared answer.

"The chivalry of the Elil Kingdom has long since fallen. A mere foreign heretic Holy Knight has defeated all the renowned swordsmen in various regions. The King of Elil learned swordsmanship from that foreign heretic, and the Guardian of the Holy Land was also defeated by him."

To declare in front of Elil that his faith, kingdom, and legacy were all ruined could have seemed like an act of suicide. However, Isaac was confident in his actions.

Elil would not harm him for this.

'That thing' did not operate in 'that way.'

"Were they at least fulfilling their duties properly? The King of Elil couldn't even quell a witch's rampage and was dragged around by rebel forces. The Guardian of the Holy Land was being eroded by the Immortal Order, and your angels permitted the invasion of the undead."

Isaac silently apologized to Edelred and Lianne, but these words were necessary.

There was no other way to make Elil take an interest in the world again.

"Is this truly the land of knights, Elil? Or is it just a gathering of warlords falsely claiming your name?"

"You speak the truth."

Elil's eyes sparkled as he spoke.

"Those who call themselves knights are on an island far from the battlefield, biting and tearing at each other for a scrap of honor like wolves. There are no more knights in the Kingdom of Elil. Only rogue warriors with swords remain."

Elil scoffed and murmured.

"And what of the state of the kingdom? They've lost all their glorious lands of old, yet they make no effort to reclaim them. They chose to follow the order of the Codex of Light, so they had no choice. But why does the kingdom persist? If they do not wage war to defeat their enemies, what is the point?"

"Indeed, that is true."

"Even the angels are the same. They feared the resumption of my wars so much that they trapped me in the confines of time. No, the most pathetic one is me. A fugitive committing incest, a defeated warrior, a betrayed king, and a god who avoids reality. I am the fitting king for a pathetic country."

Isaac swallowed at Elil's cold lament.

Calurien had said that he confined Elil to protect him from his self-loathing. And Elil was now showing exactly that.

But Isaac doubted there was any way for Elil to be otherwise.

Upon his ascension, Elil became the god of knights who sang of victory, glory, courage, and honor.

But now, did he possess any aspect that aligned with his faith and creed?

His army was stuck on the safest island far from the Dawn Army, his knights were busy fighting among themselves, the King of Elil showed no proper charisma, and his most glorious swordmasters were repeatedly defeated by a heretic Holy Knight.

'Heaven and hell are the same place.'

Thus, this must be hell designed for Elil.

Just because a god dwells there doesn't mean it's heaven. Elil existed at the bottom of this hell, licking his failures, regrets, and past glories.

There was only one way out of this hell.

War.

Elil's eyes gleamed as he stared at Isaac.

"To find courage, one needs a moment requiring courage. To find honor, one needs a battlefield where honor can be earned. To seek glory, one needs a place to return with glory."

His eyes burned with strange desire and longing.

"A knight needs a battlefield to be a knight."

***

Thud.

Elil walked down from the pile of rubble.

To Isaac, Elil looked like nothing more than a war-mad fanatic. But expecting different values from a Supreme King who had pursued conquest and power his entire life would be strange. Especially when his faith and followers were stained with defeat.

"I have long recognized that you are like me."

Isaac felt the urge to retort that he didn't have a perverted taste for incestuous desires for his daughter, but Elil wasn't referring to that.

"You do not truly believe in your own faith, and even your convictions are merely tools. Love, loyalty, the same. You act only for your own benefit. Is that not so?"

Isaac could not respond.

In truth, he was dragging the Kingdom of Elil into the battlefield to achieve his goal of reclaiming the Holy Land. His relationships, journey, convictions, and faith were all just means to an end.

Isaac stared intently at Elil and asked.

"Then, what is your goal?"

Victory was not Elil's goal. Isaac was certain of this.

Of course, winning would be better. But if Elil were the kind of being who could discard everything for the sake of achieving a 'goal,' he wouldn't have said Isaac was like him. Most importantly, if victory was Elil's goal, he wouldn't call the declaration of war 'Ragnarok.'

War was a process, not a goal.

However, Elil considered the great war against everything to be a declaration of victory.

"I want everyone to die," Elil growled.

"I want my followers to die like true warriors, crying out for honor and glory on the battlefield, and then be scattered in the mud of the battlefield. Even if not a single one remains alive, I will be pleased. They will finally enter a battlefield filled with glory."

What would it feel like to face a god who despises his own faith?

The Elil in front of him was precisely such an entity.

The fact that the Kingdom of Elil was in the safest place, far from the 'true battlefield,' that his followers refused to fight, and that they clung to outdated, comfortable lives without progress.

Everything was loathsome to Elil.

'Is that why he accepted the resurrection ritual performed by the Immortal Order when they revived him as an undead?'

When Isaac played as the Immortal Order, resurrecting Elil as an undead was impossible.

In the end, Elil's resurrection might have been accepted because it was requested by none other than Elil's knight, Villon Georg. He wanted to push the Kingdom of Elil into a battlefield at any cost.

Ironically, Calurien, who confined Elil, had been protecting the Kingdom of Elil.

Isaac once again realized that Elil was already dead.

Elil whispered, standing right in front of Isaac.

"And I want you to lead that war."

Isaac felt an oddity in Elil's lack of hostility or wariness towards him.

Of course, Elil knew about Isaac's lineage and faith, yet he showed this bizarre degree of affection without any hesitation.

For Elil, the Nameless Chaos would also be an enemy to be defeated.

"...You know I am a Nephilim, right?"

"So what? I, too, sired a Nephilim. To escape that sin, I had to break away from the Codex of Light."

"Does my faith not matter?"

"As far as I know, Chaos is already dead and forgotten. Chaos can't just emerge from the Forest of Oblivion now. Even if it somehow reaches out with its tentacles to disturb the Codex of light, isn't that also a battlefield for glory?"

In other words, even if the Nameless Chaos reemerged, Elil would personally rise to cut it down, driven by either determination or madness.

Isaac couldn't tell if this was unique to Elil or if other gods were like this as well. Nevertheless, despite any reservations, Elil harbored intense affection for Isaac.

He believed that Isaac would lead the grand stage of the great war he envisioned.

"But mere effort alone won't be enough for you to achieve victory."

Elil's eyes sparkled as he gently touched the corner of Isaac's eye.

"I shall reveal the secrets of the world to you...."

***

Time in the castle of Rougeberg began to rewind suddenly.

The crumbling walls were restored, the burnt ashes reverted to curtains and carpets, and the soaked stones dried again. At some point, Isaac found himself in a hall bathed in the strong light of the setting sun.

In the center of the room stood a massive table, large enough for six adult men to lie on, and on it was an enormous map of the continent. The arrangement showed the deployment of the Elil Kingdom's army and opposing forces, an overwhelming display even at a glance.

This was a time when the Kingdom of Elil still occupied a significant portion of the continent. However, the map depicted a period hundreds of years ago when that territory was gradually being encroached upon.

At least five or six hundred years in the past.

"How is the situation at Ultenheim?"

Someone approached briskly from behind and spoke. Isaac turned to see none other than Elil, approaching with a heavy expression. As Isaac struggled to find words, his mouth opened of its own accord.

"It's dire. General Baden has fallen, and the Ultenheim garrison has fully surrendered."

It wasn't Isaac's voice. Only then did he realize he was wearing a robe, holding a staff, and donning a pointed hat. Isaac was now Calurien.

Elil spoke up.

"Another anomaly caused by Urbansus?"

At Elil's words, Isaac—no, Calurien—wore a grim expression.

"It appears so. General Baden and his forces were an invincible force, yet they were overwhelmed so one-sidedly..."

An anomaly caused by Urbansus. The meaning was clear.

Amundalas had said the afterlife was the sum of all past times, and the corrected past affected reality. The enemies were using this skillfully, and Elil was being taken advantage of.

The two turned back to the map. Numerous white pieces symbolizing the Codex of Light were positioned, while red pieces marked the Cult of the World's Forge, blue for the Salt Council, light green for the Order of Olkan, and various other colors surrounded the green pieces of the Kingdom of Elil.

The faith invading the Kingdom of Elil was the Codex of Light. A war between Elil and the Codex of Light was not surprising. Until the appearance of the Black Empire, Elil was merely a rebel.

Naturally, a question arose.

'Why doesn't Elil use Urbansus?'

Calurien spoke.

"The newly named angel of the Codex of Light, ■■■■, seems to be playing a significant role. We cannot track her movements in Urbansus. At this rate..."

Isaac hadn't misheard. When the angel's name was mentioned, there was a buzzing noise, and nothing else could be heard.

Isaac realized it wasn't just an unusual name; it was erased even in Urbansus. That angel was likely now a fallen entity.

Being named by a god is a great honor, but having one's name erased is an unparalleled disgrace and despair. Yet, before her name was erased, she seemed to have made considerable achievements in pushing back the Kingdom of Elil.

Elil stared intently at the map. But looking at the map didn't change the arrangement of the pieces.

The Kingdom of Elil's army was clearly on the defensive. Although the territory marked as the Kingdom of Elil covered nearly half the continent, the area they actually controlled was less than half of that. With the loss of Ultenheim, Elil was facing a situation where he might have to retreat from Rougeberg.

"How about moving to Aldeon for now?"

"Aldeon? That island?"

At this time, Aldeon was more of a remote island on the outskirts than the center of the Elil Kingdom. However, it was a beautiful place, and Elil often used it as a retreat.

"No matter how powerful the Codex of Light's authority is, it would be difficult for them to cross into the Salt Council's domain. For now..."

"You're telling me to flee. No, if it comes to that, I'd rather ascend."

Calurien fell silent at Elil's sudden words. He understood all too well what that meant, having been the one who had informed Elil about the ascension ritual.

Elil looked at Calurien and spoke.

"Wizard, my invincible army is being annihilated across the kingdom due to absurd mistakes and misjudgments. Even battles where Nimloth and I personally secured victory have, upon return, turned into defeats. This outrageous fraud is possible because the Codex of Light is manipulating history, and other gods are supporting them!"

Elil roared in anger.

"I must ascend. Only then can I stop the Lighthouse Keeper's machinations. We must also be able to use Urbansus!"

"Your Majesty, if you do that..."

"My body will die. But what does the body matter to a god?"

"Your Majesty does not understand what it means to join the Nine Faiths!"

Calurien spoke with a groan.

"Living beings experience joy and sorrow, make mistakes, and ponder. But an ascended god cannot. Becoming one of the Nine Faiths means becoming an absolute order and concept."

"We've had this conversation before. Fine. I'll become that absolute order. What's the problem?"

"What Your Majesty envisions as order, ideology, conviction, morals, ethics... all of it will become an eternal, immutable truth. Your Majesty will become a being without doubts or mistakes. If something appears that deviates from that order, you will relentlessly crush it to correct it."

Calurien's words were too vague and metaphysical.

For Elil, who wanted to defeat the Codex of Light by becoming an ascended god, they held little appeal. But Calurien struggled to explain any further.

To put it metaphorically, Elil was now akin to a revolutionary creating a new order. A revolutionary is powerful and worshipped. But to ascend is akin to the death of the revolutionary, completing his ideology. Often, people equate the ideology with the revolutionary, but they are different.

A revolutionary can betray, but an ideology does not change.

An ascended god does not think or ponder.

They exist as a concept.

An unchangeable, unpersuadable, unregretful concept.

-TL Notes-