Volume 9 Chapter 37 The Truth Of The God-Demon War
Julius moistened his lips with tea and offered it to me.
There's no point in being cautious about poison anyway. I gulped down the tasteless tea as Julius was watching me with a smile.
Being stared at by a man is just gross, but maybe it's because he looks good or because of the atmosphere, the discomfort is winning.
"Yuusuke, it feels strange to be able to have tea with you like this. It's like experiencing death once."
"I never had any desire to have tea with you."
I've never even had that thought.
But more importantly.
"Did you really die?"
"What are you talking about? You're the one who killed me."
"Even if you say that with such a lively face, it doesn't make sense to me."
As Julius said, I killed him.
The God-Demon War has ended, that's for sure. What's the reasoning behind it?
"Yes. I could explain from there, but don't you have something else you want to ask?"
"I heard that this battle is not the God-Demon War. What does that mean?"
Facing Julius, I answered immediately.
The words conveyed by Seratie (Everchanging).
Surely, behind this question, there is everything we don't know.
Julius paused for a moment and answered in an unchanged tone.
"You probably have an idea. This God-Demon War is a battle I started."
"――!"
I tried to swing my sword again, but stopped just in time.
Despite knowing that, Julius continued calmly.
"As you heard, this battle is not the original God-Demon War. It's a fake made by manipulating the God-Demon War formula. That's why neither the Demon Lord nor the Hero exist."
"For what purpose..."
Such a thing has happened.
Julius is a demon lord, but unlike other demons (mazoku), he does not hold strong hatred or hostility towards the human race.
He fights solely because it is for the sake of the demons (mazoku).
"To redo the previous God-Demon War?"
"No. That has already been settled with your victory. I had no intention of doing anything at this point. Besides, this is just a facade of the God-Demon War. The flow of Aether should not change significantly even with the outcome decided."
"Then why did you start this fight?"
"For the sake of my dream."
Your dream?
It's a dream.
"For the prosperity of the demons (mazoku)? That's absurd. Wasn't there little significance in winning this battle?"
"That is one of the objectives, but it is not the essence."
He's saying something, but I can't follow the conversation at all.
At that moment, Julius wore a slightly troubled expression.
"It might take a while to explain everything, and that's probably not what you want, right?"
"Yeah, please keep it brief."
If possible, it would be helpful to summarize in about three lines.
Julius's finger caressed the handle of the cup.
"Since the time I was at Asteris, I've had a question."
"What? I said to keep it brief. I don't have time for that kind of quiz."
"It's not a quiz. I'm sure I've told you before... Why do the demons and humans hate each other? Why did something like the God-Demon War happen? I've always been curious."
"..."
The moment I heard those words, a memory was forcibly dragged out from within.
It was when we faced each other in the final battle. Julius should have said the same thing.
Humans and demons (mazoku) cannot accept each other.
It's not a matter of liking or disliking them; it's that their instincts as a species prevent them from accepting each other's survival.
"The God-Demon War is probably a contract between the Goddess and the Demon God. If they continue to fight for a long time, it wouldn't be surprising if they became incompatible with each other."
The magic power resource called Aether in Asteris is limited.
God-Demon War to obtain it, and evolution to win there.
That's what I thought.
Since you have to win in order to survive, showing mercy to your enemy is only a shackle in your survival strategy.
Julius nodded.
"Yuusuke is very quick-witted. I thought so too. It can't be helped because it's God's will. It's a karma that I carry from the moment I was born into that species."
"It's as if... you want to say that things are different now."
Upon hearing this, Julius closed his mouth and looked up.
"When I was killed by Yuusuke, my soul, which should have returned to the domain of the demon god, for some strange reason, crossed over to this world. Before I knew it, I was here on Earth, holding the soul of Julius Roderest, as a completely different person."
"Is such a thing possible?"
So, it seems like his soul crossed over to another world. I've also crossed worlds, so it's not an impossible story, but even so, it's absurd.
"Since it actually happened, I can only say that it must have been possible. Maybe because of the clash between your and my magic, the barrier covering the world became unstable. That's why I have been living on this Earth as a human for a long time."
It's an incredibly unbelievable story. That Julius has been living on this Earth where I have also been living. However, the evidence is sitting right in front of me.
Julius' conversation continued quietly.
"I have lived on this earth and learned a certain truth. Surely, anyone in this world, once they realize the truth that everyone takes for granted, will notice it."
"...The truth?"
Julius is wise.
He might be the smartest of any demon (mazoku), and perhaps even the smartest among humans if done poorly.
It's a truth that such a sage overlooked.
Julius said it somewhat self-deprecatingly, swaying his iridescent hair.
Yes, it's a truth that is too obvious for us.
"God doesn't create humans. Humans create gods."
That was a denial.
The creation myth that supports Asteris.
Humans and demons (mazoku).
Goddess and demon god.
God-Demon War.
A radical theory that destroys all these premises.
It's a truth that the residents of Asteris will never reach.
"Both the goddess and the demon god, even the God-Demon War, came into existence because they were desired. They were born from the wishes and prayers of the people, wanting them to exist."
In order to utter those words, how much resolve was needed? To negate everything one has believed in, and to re-examine it, how much pain must there have been?
That's why Julius's words naturally resonated within my heart.
"The one who started that war is not God. It's none other than our own history."
Escape is not permitted.
No matter how much pain it entails, if that is the truth, then we cannot avoid facing it.
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