Volume 8 Chapter 13 The Essence Of Battle
Kougarou agreed to negotiate with Seratie. He lightly gripped the stick on the ground with one hand, and his magic power was seething within him.
If he wanted to, he could strike and kill in an instant.
"I have one question, answer me."
"OK."
Kougarou pondered.
There were countless things he wanted to ask. What should he ask here and now?
After much deliberation, Kougarou decided on a question.
"When you said earlier that there is no God-Demon war, what does that mean?"
The premise of this battle. A principle that must never be shattered.
That is the stage of the God-Demon war.
Certainly, there are many aspects of this battle that differ from previous God-Demon wars, but this battle is still the God-Demon war. Otherwise, why are Kougarou and the others here right now?
Seratie's face is invisible behind the hood.
A steady voice answered, unchanged.
"Answer. That is, the so-called God-Demon war you mentioned, a contract between the goddess and the demon god. A war waged over the priority of aether."
"You think I'm stupid? I already know that."
"This battle is fundamentally different from that."
"What do you mean?"
"The purpose of this battle is not that—"
Kougaru slammed his stick into the ground.
The ground rippled, nearby trees uprooting and rising.
Like a carnivorous beast, a sharp gaze latched onto Seratie's throat.
"Then answer me the purpose—"
Empty promises mean nothing.
Unless people agree, they will resort to force at any time.
This isn't a polite match. It's a war for lives. It's absurd to speak of unfairness and cowardice, spouting meaningless nonsense.
But Seratie is also a seasoned warrior.
Standing firm, unaffected by Kougaru's hostility, they remain composed.
Tension is palpable.
"Questions answered."
"It's a difference of opinion. It doesn't fit into my definition of an answer."
"No further discussion is necessary."
"What did you say?"
Kougaru narrows his eyes.
"You'll understand soon enough."
"I don't find that evasive way of speaking amusing."
Crush and squeeze out information by force. That's much quicker.
When attempting to activate magic, Kougaru senses a peculiar magic power.
Multiple magic powers intertwine, among them sensing an exceptionally powerful one.
That moment was fatal. When he regained consciousness, Seratie was gone.
"Tch."
He let a troublesome opponent escape.
As for the strange magic power, Yuusuke is closer. Even if he leave him alone, he will do something about it. Right now, Seratie's words were more important.
This battle isn't the God-Demon War.
To believe it or verify it, there's little information.
The words "easy to understand" felt as delicate as small bones.
In times like these, what needs to be done is simple.
Kou leaped from the spot, glancing around in the darkening sky. Then, kicking the air, he ran through the city to gather information.
* * *
What I felt after listening to Kou's story was a strange sense of acceptance.
"Aren't you surprised?"
"Honestly, compared to the previous God-Demon Wars, there were many odd points. I can't fully accept that it's not the God-Demon War, but there was a sense of something different."
As I mentioned to everyone earlier, this God-Demon War is perplexing.
Firstly, the existence of the 'key.' If you consider it as a substitute for the absent Hero and Demon Lord, it makes sense.
But the 'guardians' are strange. Not the fact that there are guardians, but the criteria for their selection is vague.
Furthermore, there's the existence of the Try Order.
Shikin was saying... In this God-Demon war, his master is trying to fulfill his long-cherished wish. If what Kou heard is true, I would understand these events.
"But then, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"I haven't seen it, but the one leading the God-Demon war is definitely a god, right?"
Yeah, that's the point.
Kanami, Sharla, Lisha, everyone who came to this world, seems to feel a strange power that can be called divinity when crossing over to another world.
Kou nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you're right. Something divine or something close to a god is definitely involved."
"In that case, the goddess or the demon god must be involved."
"It may or may not be the case."
"Why not?"
It's just common sense, isn't it?
Kou said in a mysterious tone.
"Try Order, or something else. There's a possibility that the gods in this world are involved."
"Huh?"
What is this guy talking about?
Thinking that way, when I looked at Lisha and Kanami, they nodded with a face that said, "I see."
Hold on a second.
"Hey, in this world, unlike Asteris, there's no god, you know?"
"What?"
"Oh, really?!"
Kou and the others raised their voices in surprise, but is it really that surprising?
"Well, it's not accurate to say there's no god, but there aren't any beings with clear powers like goddesses or demon god. It's more like a concept of a belief."
I think it's because I'm not religious, but it's rare to come across someone who says, "I've actually seen miracles from a god!" or something like that.
I'm not denying religion, but it's clearly different from Asteris'.
When I explained that, Kou frowned.
"I mean, what's going on in this world? A world without magic or gods, it's like a fairy tale I've never heard before."
"Well, I heard a story like that once at the church. I thought it was a mysterious story!"
"Well, you don't have to comfort me or anything..."
As I listened to Lisha's hollow words, I decided to turn the conversation towards the topic of Earth.
"Hey, Kagami-san. There's no such thing as God, right?"
"Oh, there is."
"That's right, isn't it? Look, you heard it――yes?"
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