At some point, I had a conversation with Changyeom about this.
“How are we supposed to explain the truth of the world to people?”
About the secrets of this world.
And about the “common sense” that people of the Middle World held onto.
“What if everything they knew as truth was actually a lie, and the truth completely overturned everything?”
“So, in other words…”
The truth.
“That the Goddess and Angels are actually aliens who shoved the gods living in the Middle World into the underground Demon World, labeling them demons and devils?”
“Yes.”
“Or that the Goddess and Angels are actually men who take on female forms, and they’re just yuri-obsessed p*rverts who want to mess around with women?”
“It feels like the dignity of the world’s truth just plummeted, but yes, that’s the reality. Let’s move on.”
“And that these Goddess and Angels plan to kill all males to prevent them from possibly ‘falling into degeneracy,’ leaving only females to create a yuri-filled world?”
“The end of humanity, as you put it, does seem rather ‘pathetic,’ but yes, that’s also true. It’s quite tragic.”
Changyeom slapped her forehead and shook her head in disbelief.
“Why don’t we try rephrasing things a little?”
“Rephrasing? Like how? To make it less pathetic?”
“When it gets recorded in the history books later, wouldn’t it be better for future generations to at least think of it as something dignified when they first encounter it?”
“How would you do that?”
“For example…”
Changyeom conjured an image with her magic, accompanied by a pop.
“Like this.”
“You—!”
I felt a sense of emptiness below.
If I had a normal human body, I would have been in pain and despair over losing a part of myself. But since my body was an ether form made of mana, I wouldn’t die even if Changyeom took parts of me at her whim.
Still.
“When artifacts like this occasionally appear in museums, how do they usually describe them?”
“Why not just ask? As long as they don’t keep stroking or fiddling with it.”
“Do they describe it as a toy? Or perhaps…”
“A symbol of prosperity and fertility!”
She answered.
She tried to conceal the truth as much as possible, wrapping it up in vague terms that people could understand.
“Yes, most of these artifacts are indeed referred to as ‘symbols of prosperity and fertility,’ as you said. Although, the reality is… Pfehehe.”
Changyeom smirked wickedly as she started fiddling with the item she had taken from me.
“Anyway, we need to create a similar scenario for humanity. For them, the truth you know about the world would be no different from their existing ‘common sense’ being obliterated—or their ‘world collapsing.'”
It wasn’t just a simple joke about “common sense crumbling.” It was a serious matter.
“As I mentioned before, the heroines might fall into despair and bring about the Apocalypse once they learn the truth.”
Changyeom summoned several flames.
Seventeen blue flames flickered, each exuding its distinct presence, but soon they began to waver precariously.
“For those who hold absolute faith in the Church of the Goddess, the shock would be even greater. It’s equivalent to losing their faith. Like realizing a deceased wife didn’t ascend to Heaven, but instead learning there’s no such concept as an afterlife.”
“Doesn’t it exist?”
“It’s a metaphor, like those jokes you find online.”
Changyeom waved her hand, conjuring a golden light, which she then infused into the seventeen flames.
“Those shocked individuals would fall into despair and be consumed by Angels. They’d willingly surrender their bodies to Angels attempting to take them over…”
Changyeom pointed the item she was holding at me.
“Like this.”
“St-stop it.”
“This is how the world would end. Hehehe.”
Thump.
With a snap of her fingers, the toy in her hand disappeared.
It didn’t burn away completely but instead returned to its rightful place below.
“That’s why you need to explain things to them in a way that’s more plausible. You can’t just say that Angels are yuri-obsessed or that they’re trying to prevent themselves from degenerating.”
“How should I explain it, then?”
“Well, that’s something we’ll need to figure out together as we go.”
We had spent countless hours in the Demon World grappling with such questions, especially when it came to the heroines.
And eventually.
“Let’s use false prophecies.”
We reached one conclusion.
“After all, the thing gods fear the most is a prophecy that even they cannot deny. When such prophecies unfold, divine beings often resort to extreme measures to prevent them.”
That method?
“Godslayer.”
The ultimate blasphemy to a god.
“Someday, the Goddess will be annihilated by a man.”
It wouldn’t be wrong to say so.
“If you achieve that, the prophecy will be fulfilled. Pfehehe.”
* * *
“There’s a hidden secret within the Church of the Goddess. A secret so guarded that even the current Church knows nothing about it—a secret the Goddess and Angels deemed must never come to light.”
Instructor Esta perked up her ears, listening intently to my words.
“Just as even the Academy was unaware of the trials of the Old School Building, the Church of the Goddess holds a similar secret.”
“A trial, you say?”
“Not a trial like this one, but perhaps a mental trial. A challenge to endure the realization that what they once thought of as divinity may not be divine after all.”
“…!”
I reached forward.
I released mana and created a slice of cake made of non-attribute mana, complete with a plate.
“Instructor Esta, is the Goddess truly a deity?”
“…Continue.”
“Understood.”
Although my words were blatantly blasphemous, Instructor Esta chose to listen calmly.
Perhaps it was because the trials of the Four Founders were unknown even to the faculty, or because someone who invited her into this illusionary space might seem credible.
“The mana we use inherently possesses attributes. To get straight to the point, there is an absolute entity governing each type of mana.”
“The Seven Magic Towers.”
If we were outside, I could have visually represented the activation of the Seven Magic Towers with illusions, but fortunately, Instructor Esta seemed to understand without further explanation.
“Does releasing the mana sealed within each Magic Tower summon that absolute entity?”
“Not quite. Did the Four Founders truly know the whole truth?”
“…!”
Instructor Esta looked at me with a pale face.
“You said you’d been to the Demon World, didn’t you?”
“Marchioness Ludvecia mentioned such a ‘setting’ to me.”
“Assuming that’s true, and you returned from the Demon World after uncovering truths that humans are not meant to comprehend…”
“Well, this is a secret that I’m sharing only with you, Instructor Esta.”
I spread my fingers, raising seven of them.
“There are seven great demons in the Demon World—each called a ‘Duke.’”
“!!”
“And there are seven attributes of mana. Isn’t it quite the coincidence?”
“Then…”
Gulp.
Instructor Esta swallowed hard.
“What is divine power, then?”
“Who knows? It could be mana from another realm, falling from a faraway sky, just as the Demon World exists, so too might a Heaven exist.”
“Be clearer.”
“…To the beings of this world, it might seem like a grand and miraculous power. But from a certain perspective, divine power is just another form of ‘power’.”
“…”
“I refer to it as ‘angelic power.’ The power of celestial beings, of the Goddess, and the miracle-like blessings that humans now wield as divinity. A power that only a select few awaken to.”
“Wait, wait.”
Instructor Esta raised her hand to stop me.
It seemed she was overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information, compounded by the fact that it completely contradicted established common sense.
“Let me ask one thing.”
She looked at me seriously and spoke.
“So, why does the Goddess want to eradicate all men?”
“That is because…”
Here it comes.
Finally.
“Because of the prophecy.”
“The prophecy?”
“Yes. Ahem.”
I cleared my throat deliberately and began speaking.
“On this land, a savior hero shall emerge.”
“…”
“The world shall witness the truth, and the dark shadows hidden behind the radiant ones will be revealed to all.”
It was almost like the prophecy of a “witch”.
“And at the end of this trial, the Goddess shall fall at the hands of a man.”
This is the distortion of that prophecy.
“The false sanctity built on lies shall collapse, and humanity will reclaim the miraculous splendor of the rainbow’s light.”
“The miraculous splendor of the rainbow…”
Instructor Esta reached out toward the non-attribute light I had conjured.
The mana, which had maintained balance in its seven colors, began to radiate brilliantly in their distinct hues as Instructor Esta gestured over it.
“…I now understand why you’re telling me this.”
Instructor Esta said while tracing her hand over the seven hues of mana.
“There’s something we S-ranks often discuss.”
It is something only those who have reached the S-rank can truly “perceive”.
“Divine power is fundamentally different from the mana we use…”
“But as a form of power, it’s no different from mana?”
“…If I hadn’t been able to perceive that, you wouldn’t have shared this with me.”
“Correct.”
All perception begins with a single premise:
Divine power is just another form of power—
A force from Heaven, a power from beyond.
“…I see. I now understand why the Goddess is wary of men.”
Instructor Esta said, nodding as though she had grasped the truth.
“If divine power is no different from mana, then the Goddess is no different from any other woman. Hence, she fears being r*ped by men.”
“…”
“That’s why she seeks to eradicate all men—even if it means the destruction of humanity.”
It wasn’t a wrong interpretation.
“…I need a moment.”
Esta held her head in her hands.
“A break… I need a break.”
* * *
Esta.
Solo attempt on the Earth Tower’s first floor—abandoned midway.
“Oh, and by the way, it will respawn the next time you enter.”
“…”
