Chapter 214 That's Quite A Convenient Story
"...If you have any questions about what we've discussed so far, feel free to ask."
Lucia, who had mentioned Chronosphere's betrayal, cut off her words and accepted questions.
Io was the first to raise his hand.
"I've got a few points I'd like to clarify. May I ask some questions?"
"Go ahead."
"Okay...firstly, I feel like the Magic Technology used to create nanomachines and devices is fundamentally different from the Magic Technology we're using now. I know that certain magic exists for production jobs, but...I don't think it's possible to create nanomachines, labyrinths, and even monsters like we've heard."
The topic had suddenly changed quite a bit from earlier.
The atmosphere in the room had become extremely heavy, so maybe this was an attempt to change the mood.
"That's simple. Modern magic is based on the Jobs System. The Jobs System was developed for individual use. To generate complex structures using antimatter, you need a massive amount of magical formulas. Even with device assistance, it's not information that can be processed by the human brain. And the efficiency of magical energy is also poor, so it wasn't incorporated into the Jobs System."
"Hmm...so, the magic that can be handled by Jobs is a simplified version compared to the original magic, right?"
"Yes, but that's not all. Modern magic has been systematized into various attributes, but originally, magic didn't have attributes. It was a more free-form technology. However, by intentionally limiting the targets of interference, a technique was developed to efficiently alter events. That's what attributes are. Magical energy influenced by attributes can no longer alter events outside of those attributes."
"I see... So, does that mean that attribute magic was developed to efficiently consume magical energy and enhance its power?"
"That's correct. No problem there."
"Hmm... Then, my second question is, why do we have both general jobs and production jobs in the current Jobs System?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, weren't the system originally developed for warfare and competitions? It's strange that there are jobs other than combat jobs."
"Ah... That's because it was convenient for preserving and passing down skills and technology. Humans in the Age of Gods didn't need to work, and most were NEETs. Many jobs were replaced by Magical Machines, Androids, and Golems. But if that happened, most of humanity's accumulated technology would be lost. Humans, who had experienced the decline of civilization, learned that it was dangerous to let those skills disappear just because they were no longer needed. So, they made sure to preserve the fundamental skills necessary for civilization as jobs. ...Well, that's a separate story, but they simplified things with magic where they could. Humans are essentially lazy."
"...Why can't they make advanced magical machines like those in Age of Gods with Jobs? If they could, I think they could've inherited the technology from Age of Gods..."
"That's the same reason as the magic we talked about earlier. The spells are too complicated, and it's impossible for one person to handle. Plus, some Jobs stopped manifesting after the Brain Support Device was lost. Originally, there were more advanced Jobs in the system."
"Hmm...I see. Thanks. That's all for my questions."
"Hmm...are there any other questions? ...If not, let's continue the conversation."
There were no questions. Lucia reopened the conversation.
"We've already talked about most of the secrets the 4 houses keep, so from now on, let's discuss the current problems we're facing."
I thought the problem might be that old geezer Chronosphere going berserk, but it was different.
"Chronosphere going missing is a problem, but there's an even more important issue. Right now, the seal on [God's Remains] has been broken, and it's likely...no, it's certain that the [Evil God] is reviving. As Lucia explained, it seems..."
According to Lucia, here's what happened.
Apparently, Noah Kirke had retrieved [God's Remains] from the deepest floor of the [God's Remains Labyrinth] during the Stampede a few days ago.
Originally, it was supposed to be placed in the giant pillars...[Imitation Seal Coffin] standing underground in the [Temple], but unfortunately, the [Temple] was destroyed before that could happen.
Furthermore, when Noah teleported to the [Temple], it was unfortunate... or rather, it was the other way around, but he ended up fighting me and lost consciousness.
It seemed that he used the [Space Freeze] magical tool to transport [God's Remains], but it didn't have the performance to seal [God's Remains] for an extended period.
After he regained consciousness at Kirke's mansion, he hastily explained the situation to the heads of the families, took out the magical tool he had stored in subspace, and checked its contents with a bad feeling.
And then, to his surprise, the inside was empty.
According to Lucia and the heads of the 4 families, it's likely that the [Evil God] resisted the [Space Freeze] on her own and disappeared somewhere during the transport.
However, this doesn't mean the [Evil God] revived; it's certain that she had already revived before that.
The reason is that the 'Ipsissimus' being, which teleported its consciousness from the "Right Arm of the Evil God" sealed in the [Temple], is the [Evil God] herself.
As the secret society Chronosphere, we thought the false angel we fought during the Nord extermination war was 'dead', but according to Lucia, that wasn't the real body.
There are 2 reasons for this.
One reason is that the real body would be too weak.
And the other strange reason is that the real body has too high of a regenerative ability, which is why...
In order for a highly intelligent being to regenerate, like the [Evil God], it's necessary to have a recording device or organization that can store memories and self-identity to a certain extent. Even if it's just a small piece of flesh, it's impossible to revive by parasitizing another living being, like the [Evil God] did.
It's unclear whether the false angel that possessed Nord could revive from a small piece of flesh, but it's confirmed that the divided parts of the false angel revived from the flesh. Even if the false angel revived in such a way, it didn't feel out of place.
And there's evidence of the [Evil God]'s revival.
That's the anomaly currently happening in the [God's Remains Labyrinth].
The one explaining this is the Guildmaster. He's set aside his usual careless attitude and is speaking in a serious tone.
"Right now, inside the labyrinth, monsters are not respawning, and we can't find any signs of the monsters that existed before the stampede. The guild's scouting unit actually investigated the inside and found that the monsters that weren't defeated are returning to their original state, with their magical energy restored. Moreover, there are variations in the internal structure from the first to fifth floors, and we confirmed similar variations in the ruins from the 6th floor and above as of yesterday. Additionally, the teleportation circle on the 6th floor has disappeared... According to the explorer guild's analysis, this phenomenon is equivalent to the labyrinth's ≪Transition≫."
Lucia adds to this explanation.
"≪Transition≫ is out of the question. If it were, the time period would be too short from the last ≪Transition≫. So, I think it's not ≪Transition≫. This is a phenomenon that occurs when the settings of the labyrinth itself are changed... The possibility of a ≪Great Transition≫ is high. There's no one on the modern earth who has the authority to do that, except for [Evil God] or Chronosphere. And when the labyrinth's variation occurred, Chronosphere was staying at Caduceus' mansion, which Nacht has confirmed."
Nacht and Caduceus nodded in agreement with Lucia's words.
"In other words, [Evil God] has already revived and reached the management domain of 'Terrafomer007', the deepest floor of the labyrinth. ...The [Evil God] whose connection to [God Realm] was cut off is probably weakened to an unimaginable extent compared to the Age of Gods. Even so, humanity is in a very dangerous situation right now."
The seal on [God's Remains] was undone, and [Evil God] revived.
Considering the issue of Chronosphere's lifespan, this was an inevitable event that would have happened sooner or later. But by trying to stop him, we ended up accelerating [Evil God]'s revival.
It's a completely unfunny story.
"But," Lucia said.
"The current situation is also a chance to defeat the [Evil God]. The current [Evil God] is in a state where she hasn't received much backup from the [God Realm]. With the Jobs System providing skill information and an endless supply of magical energy... it's likely that we can defeat her with Aaron's help. And if we defeat the [Evil God], we can somehow stop the Chronosphere's rampage. The Chronosphere isn't as strong as the [Evil God] after all."
Lucia took a deep breath, looked at us, and said,
"So, [Four Great Families of the Seals] want to ask for the cooperation of the explorer guild and the ≪Wooden Sword Way≫."
"......That's quite a convenient story."
I said.
To be honest, I was frustrated.
The 4 families were trying to stop the Chronosphere's actions, which I understood. But still... couldn't they have done something about it? At least, couldn't they have prevented that stupid Stampede from happening?
What was the point of those people dying...?
That's not all.
"Why do we have to cooperate with you guys? You're the ones who caused the Stampede and revived the [Evil God] in the first place! And you're the ones who got in our way when we tried to conquer the labyrinth. Are you guys on our side? No way, right? You're only cooperating with us because it's convenient for yourselves? ...Are you looking down on us?"
I glanced around the room.
The heads of the 4 families remained silent, as if they had no words to say.
However, after a long silence, Lady Eva's father, Isaac Kirke, spoke up.
"...Indeed, I apologize for interfering with your activities in the past. As the Four Families, we had no choice, but it was unacceptable."
"...And?"
"...But now, we're facing a global crisis. If the world is destroyed, you'll suffer as well. Everyone is involved in this problem. It's not the time to be at odds with each other, is it?"
"...And?"
"So, let's put the past behind us and cooperate from now on. ...What do you say?"
"I see."
My words brought a fleeting smile to Isaac's face.
"...However, I refuse."
"What?"
Doesn't he get it? What's the point of his shallow apology?
"We can't trust the Four Great Families of the Seals. Even if we manage to defeat the Evil God, there's no guarantee you won't stab us in the back to cover up your own mistakes."
The secret society Chronosphere is, after all, an internal affair of the 4 families.
Do they really think they can make it public? They'd rather keep it hidden, wouldn't they?
"Nu, nuu...!!"
Isaac stumbled over his words.
What's with that reaction? Did he really plan to attack us? This bald guy is getting more and more untrustworthy.
"...Are you saying you won't cooperate no matter what...?!"
"If you want to know how to get us to cooperate, figure it out yourself."
"...!! ...Forget it."
Suddenly, Isaac averted his gaze from me and called out to Lucia.
"Lady Lucia, I have a few things I'd like to confirm."
"......What?"
"Isn't it true that [Evil God] is targeting the owner of Backdoor Jobs?"
"...Yes."
"If there's no Backdoor Jobs, [Evil God] can't connect to [God Realm], and at the very least, we can avoid the worst-case scenario. Isn't that so?"
"...Isaac, it's better if you don't say anything from here on."
"No. As the heads of the [Four Great Families of the Seals], who have protected this world so far, I believe we have the great justice and right to do so. To resolve this urgent crisis, Fiona Ackerman must di――――."
"――FATHERRRR!!!!!!"
Lady Eva stood up, her voice trembling with anger, to stop Isaac's words.
But it was too late.
"――――――――Hey."
I, who had never felt this way before, was furious.
"――――Are you going to kill her?"
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