Chapter 377

Episode 377 With Those Two Eyes (3)

“Are you alive?!”

The statement, ‘It looks like I have to die,’ and the fact that, unlike adventurers, they could not return until the rift closed.

So of course I just thought he was dead. Since there was no other way, he just burned his entire body and assumed that he had stopped the wolf.

[You mean... you really don’t know about ‘me’.]

“I’m sorry...”

[I’m not even sorry.]

But I never thought he was alive.

The Inquisitor looked at the small, purring Suzaku and held out his finger without realizing it. Then, a sparrow-sized snake sat down, using her finger as a support.

A sense of pride and subtle emotion that did not suit the situation pricked the young man’s lips.

[There are too many nicknames for me to count... but there is one name that is very intuitive. Phoenix, non-death bird. A bird that never dies.]

“Non-dying... not...”

[Of course, I’m not saying it really doesn’t die. It’s just that my essence... I can come back to life at any time as long as a spark of flame remains, so the range of regeneration is much greater than that of other guys.]

“What... are you saying that you can be resurrected as long as at least a part of your body remains?”

Meanwhile, Deathbringer, who knew that Suzaku had sacrificed—because Daniel had relayed that—gained his composure and asked a question. This was what the Inquisitor also wanted to ask.

[You can roughly understand it that way.]

“Is that so? But why is your tone...?”

[Ah... this... is like a kind of fence. A fence to prevent corruption?]

“Yes?”

[If you have witnessed a few fallen beasts from ancient times, you would know this, right? Immortality is the quickest path to corruption.]

“That was true, right?”

[I, who is resurrected without dying, am that close to the fall. Because immortality is possible if you are not careful. So what can I do? There is no choice but to come up with an alternative, at least by changing personalities at appropriate times.]

“Is that... okay?”

[Then don’t worry! Because there have been no problems for the past thousands of years.]

However, the longer the explanation continued, the more solemn they felt.

Change of personality. It may be easier said than done, but Suzaku must have gone through a long period of deliberation before preparing such an alternative. Putting an end to an old personality and giving birth to a new personality is not much different from ultimately killing oneself and creating a new one.

He is even a being who could originally enjoy eternal immortality. His choice to give up his own immortality for the sole reason of preventing the fall can only be said to be truly holy.

“...Isn’t it a waste? “But it’s still semi-immortal.”

[Oh, anyway, if you live long, the only thing you get is stress. Above all, there are only two replacement triggers: when you receive a fatal injury or when you survive for more than 300 years, so they don’t change often. 300 years is a long time to enjoy all sorts of things.] It

was even more so because it seemed that no matter the personality, rather than regretting their choice, it was a master move that they would take for granted. The two watched the little bird fluttering about.

[Anyway... if it’s too awkward, you can just assume that the former Phoenix has changed generations with his child. It’s not exactly wrong.]

This led to a slight misunderstanding, but thanks to that, the atmosphere eased up a bit. They laughed awkwardly while looking at the little Suzaku.

“Then... we can go south again now.”

Aside from the sadness of Suzaku’s death, I was really worried about that, but I’m glad he’s alive. If he had not been resurrected, they would have had to cross those distant seas and mountains on foot. Again, I was really glad that it was resurrected.

[Uh... about that.]

But as if relief was too early, Suzaku spread his wings and scratched his face. Regardless of whether it was possible for a wing to be broken like that, the two people began to feel uneasy at the extremely awkward tone of voice.

[Resurrection and restoration of strength are separate things. I think it will take about three days for my body to grow big enough to carry you...]

“Yes?”

[Food... Enough?]

* * *

Despite the noble dragon’s struggle, some of the external enemy came down to the south. At that time, the number of ancient beasts was large, so the problem was resolved before humans even knew about it, but what will happen if the same thing happens in the future? When Gestas was alive, he couldn’t stop thinking about that worry.

He explained his psychology with those words. As expected, I was finally able to understand his psychology as I walked through the steps from the beginning and received explanations.

[That’s why. We thought that we needed a being to make judgments on behalf of a systemized god only in cases of rapid change. Systematic rules may be advantageous for stability and maintenance, but the ability to cope with new things is greatly reduced.]

“That’s right.”

[Thank you for your agreement. So... we tried to create something that complements that coping ability. We were so absorbed in the process that we didn’t even care if we were sacrificed. However, as I was researching, it occurred to me that even God has given up his ego, wary of the corruption that will come over eons of time. On that topic, can we, mere creatures, create something that will last forever? If you think like that, there is no way to find a solution.]

The next words were the same. I listened to what Gestas said, trying to gauge the concerns he must have had at the time.

[At that time, it was Lord Suzaku and the Dragon of the North who gave me the idea. Change of personality. If I could imitate it, the alternative judgment system I imagined wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.]

“Wait a minute. That means....”

[So my people fabricated an oracle during their lifetime, and after death, they sacrificed their souls to create that world tree. Ah, that’s why there are so few descendants of ancient beasts in existence. Most of the descendants who were alive at the time voluntarily sacrificed their lives... and most of them became extinct at that time. Not only descendants, but also several ancient beasts contributed.]

“...!”

[Anyway, the tree created in that way was connected to God... and after completing all my duties as a warrior of the fabricated oracle, I became the first fruit of that tree – a soul that would replace judgment.] I guess that’s why there are

so few ancient beasts left in the world. . I was out of breath as I encountered an unexpected truth. This is because I now know how sincerely they treated this issue and how important it was to them at the time.

For example, the death of dozens of people can be sad, but the death of thousands of people can be overwhelming.

[For your information, the reason why the fruit and the tree were separated was because the soul would easily be absorbed by God and lose its sense of self. Because of that, the union between God and the soul was delayed as much as possible through the middle link called Namu. In addition, if a soul with an ego showed signs of corruption, it was immediately dropped to prevent the corruption of God.]

However, when I was relieved of the overwhelming pressure, my eyes fell on the word ‘fruit.’

Gestas became the first fruit. The fruits have now grown into thousands. So, what is the source of those fruits?

[The contrast with the fall does not end there. Did I say this earlier? We don’t live forever, we live in split moments. The meaning is simple. We are always asleep unless our judgment is needed. So that they can’t even feel the feeling that we exist.]

My lips trembled as I thought about the source of the fruit that came to mind rather than the next words.

[I am especially like that. It’s okay to say this because it feels like I’m bragging, but... Among fruits, there is a special ranking that requires protecting one’s ego. It’s directly related to the size of the soul—]

“It’s the fruit.”

God is a being that does not make its own judgments. And Gestas just made the statement about ‘a fabrication of an oracle’ and ‘a hero of a fabricated oracle.’ Earlier, I talked about the need for someone to act on God’s behalf using God’s power.

“Could it be that they are past warriors?”

Doesn’t that mean... that he even created the concept of a hero?

“Have all the past warriors become fruit?”

[...I wish I could end all alternate personalities with just me, but no matter how much I do, I am not confident that I will not be corrupted in front of eternity.]

“Then really...!”

[okay. You’re right. In the world, the warriors who are known to be chosen by God and given to the world... In reality, they are the ones that I chose and those who became the fruits of my will chose them. In other words, a hero is someone who is selected based on their qualifications to become the next fruit.]

At that moment, a person’s face filled my mind. Inquisitor. The moment I remembered the young man with red hair smiling brightly, I felt a surge of strong emotions.

“...If the Inquisitor dies, will he become that fruit or something?”

In the name of experiencing different cultures, she always tried new foods and filled her cheeks with joy when they tasted good. Even though he is always learning something, he is a child who maintains his innocence and honesty and can proudly show it off wherever he goes.

[If the soul of the dead child accepts our offer. [It will probably happen that way.]

That child who will not hesitate to go through hardships and hardships for others.

“...!!”

[...Do you think I’m bad?]

I was angry. I didn’t know what I was angry about.

[...Still, please forgive me.]

And I was sad. I was just sad. I knew that the Inquisitor would never refuse, so I was so sad.

[In order to protect this world and protect it in a better way, ‘we’ had no choice but to do so.]

I knew that calling this evil was only an act for the greater good, so I couldn’t help but feel even more sad.

My face was finally distorted.