Volume 8 Chapter 13 Reunited; Talk About Evil God
For the time being, we spent the night at some random house.
Our life is not in danger... I don't think, but I feel like I let something creepy get away. That was a bad night.
That being said, we are adventurers. Even if we had a bad feeling, when it's time to sleep, we sleep hard and get a good night's rest.
We woke up and when we did, Mudi and Philia were sitting in the living room, looking indifferent.
"How can you guys be so calm after that split?"
I slapped without using any special technique, but Mudi didn't seem to mind as he replied cheerfully.
"Oh, Wade. Looks like you found a safe village to spend the night. Although, it's not safe after you destroyed a whole village! HAHAHAHAHA!"
I frown with annoyance. Philia also said, "Good morning. It must be hard to be annoyed by Mudi in the morning~" as if it were someone else's business.
I shrugged at Philia and then complain about Mudi.
"Mudi, what's up with Nilfheim? They're not talking about 'abandoning good intentions' anymore, right? What's with those people? I heard from Ice that they come to plunder, but it's more than that."
When I get stuck on words, Mudi raises an eyebrow.
"Huh? What's going on?"
"...The moment everyone in this village realized they couldn't beat me, they all committed mass suicide. It's like they're crazy, attacking us like that. What's wrong with them? They're insane."
"Hmm...I see. Well, Demons (Majin) are like that, pretending to be stupid or crazy, but they're all in on it. It's just that their assumptions are different, so it looks that way."
"Huh? In on it?"
"When the underlying assumptions are different, it's hard to understand their actions. But they're actually pretty rational. They plunder from the weak, resist the strong, and betray each other. It's all part of it."
"I don't get it."
"They're starving for stimulation, those guys. Don't think of them like the Demon King's army or Lieutenant General from Underworld that you fought before. Well, he's probably younger than everyone in this village."
"Younger?! Eiosnight?! Than the people around here?!???"
Wait, wasn't Eiosnight super strong?! I thought people like that were supposed to be older!
"No, I don't understand it at all. What is Nilfheim...?"
"Nilfheim, or rather, all of Hell. But Underworld is a better version of Hell, and this area is closest to the worst... Well, you'll get used to it if you play around for a while."
"I can't play around in a place like this. Dealing with those guys who knows what they're thinking...sigh."
I remembered and asked, "Hey." The one who reacted was Philia. Mudi was drinking something. Is it alcohol?
"Huh? What's up?"
"Well, yesterday I thought their movements were strange, so I tried to peek into their minds using Ajna Chakra. But then, I got attacked by someone I couldn't understand."
"Hmm? ...Could it be Demon King Hermes? He was the Demon King of the Underworld a long time ago."
Then Mudi laughed at Philia's word.
"Ahh? Gahaha. So you got attacked by Hermes. That guy is annoying. I get it. Even though I killed him a long time ago, he still left rules in Hell."
"Mudi killed him?"
Or is he dead? Rules that remain even after death. Well, there's nothing I can do about that.
To my words, Mudi said, "Well, that's what a Demon King is."
"A Demon King is the very rule of Hell. If you forbid lies, every demon becomes honest. If you say 'return to nature,' all artificial things will be destroyed. That's the Demon King."
"That's crazy... It's like being a god."
"Hah. You said something clever. The Demon King as a god, huh, kukuku."
Mudi laughed through his nose and took a sip from the water bag in his hand. I remembered something I said and asked, "Hey."
"Yesterday, Hermes was the same, but there's something strange about it."
"Oh?"
"Clay said that Hermes is also the name of a god in Greek mythology. And the Queen we're targeting this time, Queen Hell. It seems that Hel, the god of Ice's Transformation Magic, has the same name. So, do you know anything about that?"
I asked, holding some hope that he might have some answers. Mudi looked at me with a blank face and turned away.
"What?"
"...Don't you know anything?"
"Nope. I only know what I've lived through. I've been around for a long time and seen a lot, but I'm not some scholar who reads books and argues."
"...Okay, I understand."
I wondered if even Mudi didn't know. "But," Mudi continued.
"I can tell you this much: gods aren't as holy as people think they are. In fact, I've killed a god before. If you're strong enough, you'll have to fight them eventually."
"Mudi, have you really killed a god!?"
"Yeah. Well, it was technically an evil god. There are rituals in different parts of the world that people can use to summon gods, and sometimes crazy people do it. But the gods that get summoned this way are missing something."
Mudi explained it to me.
"They're just walking disasters. That's what gods summoned this way are――evil gods. They can't act rationally. They rampage around, causing destruction, and they fulfill the summoner's wishes in a twisted way――and then they just keep rampaging until they're killed."
Mudi laughed.
"They're a nightmare for normal people. They could kill you with a flick of their finger. So, when an evil god is summoned, we either send a group of ten gold who know a lot about myths, or we force a platinum to go."
According to Mudi, those 2 approaches are equally effective.
"So, killing gods isn't as rare as you might think. It's a bit more prestigious than killing a dragon, but not by much. People who can reach that level won't lose to some evil god. They just become even stronger."
Mudi ended with an indifferent tone. I nodded and said, "...I see." There was too much information to process.
Gods. There was so much I didn't understand. The treatments for gods in this world were wide-ranging and complex. Divine punishment, magic, evil gods, ...the Demon King.
There was no point in thinking about it now. I cut off that line of thought and asked, "By the way, what were you up to yesterday?"
Philia answered me.
"Yesterday was so tough, you know~? No matter where I went, there was fog~! Having fog in my house is just disrespectful, don't you think!?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't pay attention to Philia's nonsense, Wade. It's too troublesome to deal with her."
"Gosh, it's terrible, Udi! Anyway, it seems we can't leave this area because of the fog barrier."
"We can't leave?"
Finally receiving a proper explanation, I frowned. That's when Mudi spoke up.
"Wade, you're coming with us today. We need to break through the fog barrier to get to the Demon King's castle. We'll gather the others along the way and investigate."
"Mudi investigating? That's surprising."
"By the way, what do you think of me?"
"The one who use a Chakra to handle anything and everything, Chakra Man!"
"Yep, I'll turn your body into a Chakra doll again."
"Stop it! Wait a minute. Seriously, what do you mean by 'investigate'? Mudi, with Ajna and Chakra, we should be able to figure it out."
"That kind of thing is impossible. Chakra is versatile, but not all-powerful."
Hearing Mudi's de facto declaration of defeat, I was dumbfounded.
"...Really?"
"Really."
"What about using Sahasrara Chakra?"
"Well, it doesn't cover everything in the universe."
Mudi's unusual response made me stare with my mouth wide open.
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