novelOrdinary Mortal's World
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Chapter 368: Ordinary Mortal's World
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Pranav
Any religion would loath heretics far more than any other enemy. Traditionalists would feel that the heretics' explanations of doctrine and new inventions would cause the religion to lose its "purity and tradition, " needlessly confusing loyal believers.
An analogy would be the most frightening disease back on Earth—cancer. Ordinary cells would mutate and spread at a scary rate. Once the changes within one's body spread to a certain degree, it would be impossible for that person to remain alive. For the ones who battled and defeated cancer, it would put great strain upon their body.
In this world of True Gods, heretics were those with different understandings and explanations of the True Gods' teachings. This could cause changes in a Divine Concept or people's belief.
Some changes were permitted by the True Gods. Sometimes, True Gods themselves would cause these changes while seeking to better understand or develop their Divine Concepts. But that would still cause internal strife, whether large or small, within that True God's church.
Yet some changes would trod upon a True God's taboo. The True God would be furious to the point they directly send down divine punishment.
Back in Sulfur Mountain City, a certain villainous individual (fine, I mean myself) performed an experiment. I successfully brainwashed a demon into making him believe he was a Holy Knight who worshiped the Holy Light. I had this demon cultivate as how Holy Knights normally would, and he actually succeeded in summoning the Holy Light.
Although this demon was instantly vaporized by the Holy Light he had summoned, this very sight alone would be more than enough to make even the most fervent of believers toss their belief in the Holy Light into the trash.
"Holy Light is supposed to be a gift from the God of Holy Light? He even gives Holy Light's mortal enemies, the demons, the power of Holy Light? He's either an idiot, or he's blind. Maybe other Gods are the same as well..."
Gods were supposed to never make mistakes. If they made mistakes, they had no foundational differences from mortals, but Gods were supposed to be venerated, far above the ordinary mortal. Mortals were supposed to try their best to comprehend divine messages delivered in intentionally obscure fashions. That was because if mortals got too close to the Gods and could see them for what they really were, they would naturally lose their fear and respect. So-called "pure" belief in the Gods wouldn't exist anymore.
Most people were incapable of having pure belief or faith like I did in a single Concept. Their faith forever revolved around a particular God. Even though they themselves were mortals who would definitely make mistakes, they perceived the Gods as forever correct and all-knowing. Only then would the Gods be worthy of them giving the Gods their all.
"On one side are people who give everything about themselves to existences they can't even see clearly. On the other side are powerful existences who pretend to play at divinity. Which side is the more laughable one?"
That was my sarcastic quip at the time. The logic behind it was genuine.
Only very few individuals at the apex of power would have information about the True Gods. Ordinary mortals would only know what their local priests told them.
"True Gods are wise and majestic. They reside in the skies up above and watch the mortal realm while protecting us..."
The incident of "The Humiliation of Soros" which had happened in the Northlands was proof that there was no foundational difference between Order and Chaos. But this supposed difference between Order and Chaos was the impetus behind the eternal Holy War to begin with. Just this alone had been more than enough to shake the faith of the younger Holy Light believers, including the now Fallen Angel Aivla. If everybody knew that "True Gods could be easily fooled, and they might not even be smarter than your next door neighbor, " everyone's faith would be shaken from the very foundation.
It was quite easy to guess that revealing this information to everyone would lead to a world-scale destructive result. In the worst scenario, it might even be possible to see meteor showers, a sign of how often the Gods would die off.
The only reason I never exposed this information to the world was because I was uncertain to just how bad the fallout would be if everyone lost their faith. If more than half of all humanity lost their faith in Order, large amounts of Order Gods would die in droves, and the Holy War would be instantly lost.
But when my subordinate Dark Elf Holy Knight sunk into a faith crisis, I considered the topic a while before giving her the information in the hope she would overcome her overreliance on the Gods and create her own path. And together with the information I gave my personal understanding of Law and the secrets of the True Gods.
There's a famous phrase that goes something like this: "I only told one person but suddenly the whole world knew." Cough, I should change that phrase to "If you tell a secret to someone, the secret is no longer a secret."
In this world, knowledge represented actual power. But this wasn't limited to mages. For Holy Knights, who relied on their faith and devotion as power, knowing more might not be a good thing.
After receiving more knowledge than she could handle, Diana sunk into a more severe faith crisis. She was utterly lost about her past life and future path. Her Soul Imprint shattered, causing her to fall out of Legend rank.
But the most important part was what I had casually said to her.
"Maybe I'm the most devout believer of all. At least, I've never expected the Gods to do anything for me. I don't even believe in the True Gods themselves. I only believe in the Concept of Law, and I'm trying to use Law to improve the world we live in."
These words echoed in Diana's head every night, like the ringing of a loud bell. After she shared this knowledge with her "younger sister" Victoria to receive assistance in understanding this knowledge, Diana reconsidered her past way of life and came to a conclusion. Finally, she came to a decision.
"... My disappointment in Dark Elf society where even close family members would kill each other made me abandon Lorci and choose the path of Holy Light to obtain salvation. I hoped the Holy Light would be able to save me and my species, so we could walk out in the open under the sun.
"... When I discovered that Holy Light was only capable of 'cleansing, ' which would destroy my species, I saw how Law allowed every single species to live together in peace at Sulfur Mountain City. So I abandoned the path of the Holy Light and desired that this newly born power of Order known as Law could bring us out under the sunlight.
"... When my faith was shaken yet again, in order to return aboveground as well as to search for a way to make my faith steadfast, I researched the Moonlight Goddess's teachings. Yet even though I succeeded in bringing myself out under the sunlight, I was even more confused inside."
Diana's silver holy sword flickered with changing powers of Order. The shattering of her Soul Imprint allowed her to break free from past restrictions. Her pure and simple mind and heart allowed to reach a state of synchronization with these powers of Order.
From a certain standpoint, this "subordinate, " who always stood by the side, observing, was my truest disciple who inherited my understanding about the truth of the world.
The fact that Diana became a hero spoken in epics as well as the leader of the entire Dark Elf species in the game's history was evidence that she was an extraordinary individual.
"Ha, His Highness is correct. Whenever I believed in a particular God, it was because of my own selfish desires. My faith had nothing to do with actual devotion. I had pushed my own hopes and goals upon another existence. How is that any different from tossing my responsibilities to others? It's nothing more than escapism."
In her confusion, Diana somehow managed to recall something I had told her.
"... Rather than asking others for help, it's much better to seek help from yourself. The Gods are too busy to deal with even their own troubles. Rather than pay respect to a God or whatever, why not pay respect to yourself? Indeed, there are many imperfections with the current world, and changing even one part of it is incredibly difficult. But, for some things, if you don't even try, then there isn't any hope at all. At least there's a silver of a chance you'll succeed if you try."
That was what I had told her, and what I managed to accomplish as well.
The Underground World was the most chaotic place in all of Eich. Yet I managed to develop Sulfur Mountain City into a place that bordered on being a paradise. Although the law of the jungle prevailed in the Underground's society—it was a barbaric one where whoever was stronger was in the right—I managed to use the Concept of Law to help bring the myriad of species together, both peacefully and equally.
Dark Elves had always been viewed as species born evil. Even after becoming a Holy Knight Diana was viewed with suspicion and distrust. However, I, without hesitation, had accepted this group of Dark Elves who had nowhere else to go and had handed over the important task of protecting the city and its residents to them. This was the first time these Dark Elves had ever experienced the feeling of someone else trusting in them.
This was a wondrous place, with an even more wondrous master. I invented magical engineering, which was viewed as nothing more than a trifling toy, and permitted the various True Gods' churches to coexist together, a sight never seen before. I wrote revolutionary laws which stated how everyone was foundationally equal, although my actions were ridiculous and arrogant to the point of breaking tradition. In most ordinary people's eyes, I indeed seemed crazy. Or maybe it was that my actions seemed incomprehensible. Through her eyes, though, Diana saw something she felt was obvious—that I was trying to improve the world! I was trying to change it! That I was dissatisfied with the current situation!
"You think this world isn't good enough? Why don't you try to improve it? What use is there in relying on a God? They're nothing more than puppets who have trouble protecting even themselves. They're pitiful existences tied to their Divine Concepts."
Gods were supposed to reign high above mortals, with mortals being nothing more than ants? In my eyes, True Gods weren't any more special than an ordinary mortal. As time passed, I used actions to speak louder than words.
Lorci, who had ruled the Dark Elves for eons, perished. Even the most venerated of the Order Gods, the God of Holy Light, was exposed for the hypocrite he was. If it weren't for the fact that she was mentally prepared... or, more accurately, already had doubts about the God of Holy Light, she would have definitely been included among the Holy Knights who lost their powers of Holy Light.
"I've been abandoned by the Holy Light? No, I'm the one who abandoned the Holy Light. I..."
The golden glow on her Soul Imprint no longer existed as her past faith had been shattered. This formerly shining Soul Imprint was now in tatters.
At this moment, Diana recalled how I had showed her the truth about the impending Armageddon and the almost impossible-to-realize desire I had for saving the world.
"... Life is difficult as it is. Tolerating and worshipping are both meaningless. Despite all this, even though he knows it's basically impossible, is he foolish? Noble? Is it even possible? No..."
Diana recalled how she had searched for the truth for over one hundred years. She had despaired, cursed, and hoped for this world filled with bitterness to come to an end. But thinking back upon all this now, she had simply been too selfish.
Letting the world come to an end sounded like a nice end to everything, but wouldn't that be cruel to the newborns who had just arrived in this world? They would have no opportunity to experience the world's pleasures. What about the people who toiled every day just to survive? Wouldn't it be too cruel to Roland, who was sacrificing everything in order to obtain a chance to change the fate of Eich's Armageddon?
Once Diana made her decision, her former shattered Soul Imprint shone with a brilliant silver glow. A new path for her soul was formed and manifested into a Soul Imprint, which had the symbol of a fist clenching a sword.
"... We only wish to live in a way we mortals can live with pride and safety. Is this little wish wrong to have?"
As silver light surrounded her, Diana directly skipped the rank of Legends and went straight to the realm of Saints. The moment she was certain of her new path, her former experiences transformed into actual power.
Her understanding of Gods, divine power, Holy Light, Moonlight, Law, and her Dark Elven natural magic resistance merged into one. It was her personal beliefs which had transformed this chaotic combination in a mysterious way. The combination of the colors of these different powers was a black as deep as night.
"We want to live on and improve the world, even if the undefeatable Gods obstruct us. Awaken, my Soul Imprint... 'Fool Who Stands Against the Gods!'"
Diana was far smarter than what others perceived her to be. Ever since I showed her all those things, she faintly detected that I was treating the True Gods as my enemies. And once she understood the truth behind the eternal Holy War, she pointed her sword to the high-up existences, those so-called deities who caused Holy Wars and oh so much suffering to ordinary mortals.
Everyone knew it would be foolish to become an enemy of the Gods. Everyone knew that saving the world was an impossible task. But ordinary mortals had the right to survive, and some things had to be done. The smart ones were unwilling to do foolish things, so let the fools take action.
"Fool? A name that truly befits me."
For some reason, Diana recalled how I always called her "big idiot, " and she chuckled derisively at herself. However, she firmed her conviction even more. As long as she could reach her goal, she didn't care if nobody understood her or if she was laughed at for being a fool... At the very least, I, who also chose the crazy path of the fool, would definitely understand her choice. Although this path may be difficult, it wasn't one she had to tread down alone.
And that was indeed the case. Not long in the future, other knights would choose this thorny path, don the black armor and an emblem called the "Blades of Resistance." But nobody would ever know what it took for this "big idiot" to create this brand new job class. Nobody would know her decisiveness at the time, or why this job class known as Antiholy Knight later changed its name to something that sounded quite similar: Antigod Knight!
These knights were ordinary mortals who opposed the interference of higher existences in mortal affairs. They believed that mortals' fates should be determined by mortals themselves. They believed that Gods and Demons should remain in their own territories. They dared to raise their swords against any who meddled with mortals.
At the aquatic battle of Kagersi, the first Antiholy Knight in history inserted her holy sword into the water, causing even the True Gods to be astonished.
"My wish is for this world to belong to mortals."
She uttered these simple words, but nothing appeared to happen—rain continued falling and everyone continued fighting. However, Diana's Soul World was spreading, albeit quietly—the World of the Mortals.
Her Soul World continued to spread, but nothing seemed to happen until suddenly, the clouds in the sky vanished and the water in the surrounding area disappeared.
In Diana's "World of the Mortals, " non-residents of the mortal plane—like Demons, Angels, Devils, and even the Gods themselves— would lose their special abilities. An Antiholy Knight's special job class ability was countering other magic and divine powers. They were the protectors of the mortal plane and mortal enemies with existences from other planes.
If Eich's Dimensional Will truly existed, this could be thought of a miracle brought about by the Will in an attempt to save itself. After all, only a knight who had undergone such tribulations like in legends could have "Fool" as a title. Not only that, it just so happened to be that a Dark Elf, who had natural magic resistance, was the first to invent this anti-magic, anti-divine power job class. Perhaps the phrase "Chaotic times give birth to heroes" was indeed true. As fate would have it, Diana managed to combine everything she possessed to open up a path never before seen.
Once the divine-powered forbidden spell was eliminated, it would be easy to determine the victor of the battle on hand. The humans had great advantage in morale and timing to begin with. Now that the water had been drained and the humans regained their advantage of terrain, the Sea Tribe's combat lines naturally collapsed.
Kagersi, which had been covered with dark clouds for over a year and a half, saw its first speck of sunlight.
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