Chapter 358

We continued walking on the red carpet chasing behind the baby Makrir.

The guy turned left and right, and despite not even having a mouth, it occasionally bent and straightened its body as if panting, stalling for time. If it weren’t for the thorns densely sprouting on its body, its attitude was pitiful enough that I would have wanted to hug it tightly at least once.

The cavern we arrived at had an exceedingly high ceiling.

It was an interior spacious enough that three of the Makrirs that had brought us here could fit with room to spare. The floor, walls, and ceiling were entirely surrounded by gold smooth as a mirror without any decorations, and a platform was situated high up ahead there.

The group followed the small Makrir, and followed the red carpet. Even the throne on top of the platform seen up close didn’t show a single joint. This building itself looked as if it were connected as one piece.

The God of the Sun was still in the appearance of a Makrir.

A cactus sitting on a spacious throne is truly bizarre. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Still, this time it was a manageable size of just over 3m. I couldn’t know if he wore different bodies alternately, or if that was his true form, but I considered the roots braided neatly and hung down to be quite un-plant-like.

Placing my hand on my left chest, I offered a greeting of respect in the Cieron Empire style. It was because even if the opponent was a god, prostrating myself and bowing felt somehow awkward.

The mercenaries, who had been preparing to prostrate behind us, also followed that greeting.

[Welcome.]

[May my companions make a sound?]

[….]

I asked this first. The Makrir, which remained silent for a moment, nodded its head once. At that momentum, the red flower attached to the top of the God of the Sun’s head swayed lightly.

[Thank you for your consideration.]

[Don’t mention it. I was the one who called you because I needed you.]

“He says we can make sounds. Let’s speak a little now.”

Saying so, I looked back.

Leon’s expression with his eyes wide open was exceedingly funny, but I held it in firmly and didn’t laugh.

Only then did the other guys also offer greetings of gratitude one by one. The God of the Sun didn’t bother answering each greeting of gratitude one by one. Is he originally on the taciturn side. Well, since this is only the second time I’ve met someone called a god, I can’t help but not know.

It would have been nice if the Makrir had eyes, nose, and mouth. I was truly curious if it had a comical expression like the Oasis, or if it was wrinkling its brow.

Everyone straightened their bodies and stood. Still, because the platform was so high and the Makrir sitting on the throne was so large, we had to look up for a long time. If he sat there and waited to look down at us, it is a fitting action. Come to think of it, the Oasis also initially sat in the mid-air and looked down at us.

The first to open his mouth in a calm tone was, this time too, Ruber.

“Did you say…. you needed us?”

[I am the God of the Sun, the God of Decay, and the parent of all dying things.]

…There is no East-asking-West-answering (irrelevant answer) like this East-asking-West-answering.

It was a magnificent and elegant voice, but the content of the words was suspicious. I was exceedingly flustered, but the surrounding children listened attentively with calm expressions. Only Giselle and Peter looked at each other’s faces with wonder, then at my gaze, they just subtly gestured with their chins to quickly look ahead.

So I looked ahead again.

For some reason, it seemed the Makrir was looking straight at me. Even without eyes.

Hmm, feeling awkward for no reason, I swallowed a dry cough when the guy spoke again.

[However, eighteen years ago, the path of the dead was greatly disrupted.]

“….”

Eighteen years ago. …Right before I was born. Is he trying to blame me?

Tense, I closed my mouth tightly. As if reading my thoughts, the god let out a heavy sigh.

[…Because of the Ninth, that fucking bastard.]

…It seems this god is not such a calm god either.

The god of the Oasis used to answer one thing every time we asked one thing, and even if we asked five things, he would only answer one. ‘I don’t know that’, ‘There’s no way I would know that’, he easily hummed and brushed it off in that manner.

The God of the Sun was not like that. He didn’t listen to a single word of ours and first poured out the story he wanted to tell fluently. Every word he spat out was entirely filled with conviction and anger.

[That bastard acts as if that child’s death is all my fault. But creations are bound to rot if they don’t die. It is the same for any great transcendent. Eternal immortality? If you were born as a frog, you should live a frog’s life and die, and if you were born as a human, you should live a human’s life and die. Even if you forcefully patch them up, five hundred years is the limit.]

Five hundred years.

In the Central Plains, masters of the Profound Realm easily lived over two hundred years. Beyond that…. I don’t know either. I had neither heard nor seen it. Even though Maelo Sanson was healthy like someone in his late thirties despite being in his mid-to-late fifties, there were no signs of Rejuvenation yet.

[What is the use of forcefully keeping alive what should already be dead, when even water rots if it stagnates for a long time. If tied down like that, they merely rot while alive. Like the trash wandering this desert right now.]

Trash wandering this land.

Does he mean the Jiangshis. My eyes opened wide.

“Are those trash things created by the ninth god?”

[Yes. That is also why I want to ask a favor of you. Please stop this crazy act.]

Is it a favor, or an order.

I couldn’t answer right away. Ruben asked carefully in a calm voice.

“…Aren’t we mere mortals and creations? How can we…”

[Isn’t there an outsider among you. The only one not born from the hands of the Ninth.]

Me?

According to the God of the Sun, the roots of existing humans are divided into three.

The first group are fragments of the first human created by the ninth god, the next are fragments molded by dividing the eighth god’s body, and the next are fragments molded by dividing the seventh god’s body.

At least it was fortunate that when the ninth gave up and threw away all humans, the other gods gathered, comforted, and scattered various humans. The explanation was that thanks to that, they could stop the crazy act of the ninth trying to kill, crush, and gather all creations into one, regardless of whether he made them or others made them.

He added that after that, humans bred and mixed among themselves, so those three are mixed this way and that, and now even the gods have to calculate for a long time to figure out which guy’s fragment a single human standing in front of them originally was.

[Creations…. are made so they cannot disobey their creator. Even if they are given a very wonderful and large sword, if told to stab and kill their mother, mostly they wouldn’t refuse, would they. Because it is an action that occurs from the very depths of instinct, it is difficult to disobey no matter what painful thing happens.]

“….”

[But an outsider is different. If it’s you, you could attack without hesitation once you touch the source of any god in this land. Even if killing a god is difficult, wouldn’t you be able to at least stop them.]

The God of the Sun let out a deep sigh. Yellow pollen flew from the flower soaring atop his head. The branches that looked like both arms roughly scratched and rubbed the Makrir’s thickest pillar, but it was extremely fascinating that not a single thorn broke even when acting that harshly.

[How much do you know about a god’s domain…. No, you probably wouldn’t know.]

“….”

[We are one and nine, nine and one. However, we each have a different identity and different thoughts. That originates from our source. Just as you humans each have different physical bodies, we…. cannot invade each other’s source.]

“….”

[My source is the Sun, and this holy site. I cannot bring another god into this source. That is…. because it is only painful for each other, and there is absolutely no benefit. If we clash in that way, the world we managed to create will shake and be hurt. That is…. a very painful thing.]

“….”

[The Ninth’s source is humans. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Because he hasn’t made anything other than humans. But that crazy bastard.]

…Crazy bastard.

Whether the expressions of the children who heard the fiercely toned oracle became subtle or not, the god said what he wanted to say.

[He created thirty black mages, planted them in my desert, and declared his source.]

“Pardon?”

[Saying because humans are here, it is my land, my territory. And then he started mass-producing those rotten things.]

Declaring a source.

Because the God of the Sun was a god, he couldn’t enter another god’s source.

If a domain is surrounded and hidden, a god cannot peek into another god’s domain. Just as Sylphs do not look into others’ domains. So the God of the Sun couldn’t look into the ninth god’s source right under his nose.

“…But, Sylphs owned by humans can peek into others’ domains, can’t they. Why can’t a god…”

Marianne asked in a bewildered tone.

The God of the Sun was a god who answered three things if asked one. He soon spoke.

[Well, you can’t contain a god’s source with a human body, can you. The Seventh and Eighth discarded their sources to create you. That is a separate matter from the Ninth. I think they did a truly crazy act. To discard their sources just to become like this, even though I stopped them so much.]

“Ah…”

[Anyway, for that reason, you humans who harbor the energy of two gods but do not possess a source, and also have fragments of the first human buried in you, can enter the Ninth’s source. And an outsider can harm that guy.]

“….”

The God of the Sun affirmed.

[I want the outsider to kill all the black mages and give the Ninth a long rest.]

“…Me.”

He called us so diligently to say this.

Heat rose to my head, and my forehead was hot. Flustered, I raised my hand and pressed firmly on my forehead, cheeks, and nape to cool the heat. My fingertips were chillingly cold enough to give me goosebumps.

[You won’t be able to kill the Ninth. You are still…. Yes, still.]

The God of the Sun acted as if he had already received our consent.

[I would like to ask you to kill him if I could follow my heart, but then I don’t know what kind of problem would arise, so just landing one blow on him is enough. If it goes wrong, this world is about to break, so before that, just definitively kill him.]

“….”

[Wouldn’t that be a good thing for you humans too. It’s better not to have such a crazy parent.]

“…Didn’t you just say I couldn’t kill him?”

[…Put him to sleep for me. As long as possible, preferably.]

“….”

Was it because the cavern was spacious. The sound of swallowing saliva echoed far away.