Chapter 801: The Promise

[Golden Lord and Archdemon of Greed, Avaritia]

'It was not properly visible while it was inside the body.'

Avaritia's soul, which had descended into the Prince's body.

I broke out in a cold sweat as I looked at it.

'......It is enormous.'

The scale of the power contained within it was far too enormous.

To the point that even the Prince's body had been unable to properly contain even a quarter of that power.

Of course, even that enormous power was ultimately nothing more than pure power.

Now that it had lost the body that served as the medium through which that power could be realized, it was not an existence that needed to be greatly feared.

Had this been us until recently, we would have trembled in fear from that soul alone.

But that was no longer the case for us now.

'......We hunted an outer being.'

Even if the power it had displayed was weaker than Avaritia's true body's power.

That was only because Avaritia was an exceptionally powerful existence even among them.

The power that bastard had displayed on this land was likely no different at all from that of an ordinary transcendent.

It was only possible after using every means available to us, but regardless.

We had succeeded in defeating an existence fully worthy of being called a divinity.

In other words, we were no longer at a level where we would tremble in fear before a mere mass of soul.

Feeling once again just how much the times had changed because of that fact.

I was looking at Avaritia's soul.......

"......Hm?"

Suddenly.

I noticed one thing.

"You."

There were many things I wanted to ask this bastard.

That was why, after the Prince regained control of that body.

We were no longer attacking that soul.

And yet.

"......You are disappearing."

Right now.

Even though that light was not being attacked by anything.

It was gradually weakening on its own.

=......My epithet is Gold.=

Then.

Avaritia's voice came from the small spherical soul that remained.

=Flawless glory is my path.=

Only after hearing those words did I understand.

For these beings.

For divinities, that name was not simply something used for the sake of convenience.

=From the moment I was covered in disgrace and stained with the blemish called defeat, I ceased to be flawless gold.=

A name that defined everything about that existence.

A law from which it could not escape.

=This is the end of one who strays from the path.=

Avaritia had strayed from that law.

***

The meaning held by the names of divinities.

I had already realized it when I faced the Matron.

Even so, there was ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) something I had found strange.

A divinity's name defined that existence.

Because of that, the divinity itself could neither act outside of it nor even possess the will to do so.

But what if.

'That rule is distorted by the actions of another.'

What would happen then.......

The result was now unfolding before my eyes.

CRUMBLE.......

Avaritia's Divine Name was Gold.

It did not mean gold as a simple mineral, but a glorious and flawless golden radiance.

And now that the blemish called defeat had been carved into Avaritia's path.

Avaritia, having strayed from the Divine Name, was ceasing to be that existence.

"......I do not understand."

Because of that.

I could only frown.

"If you truly can only act according to that Divine Name in the first place, then why did you become something like the Lord of Greed?"

The Divine Name this bastard had possessed when it was born was [Golden Lord].

The name Lord of Greed was attached later.

The alliance called the Divine Realm Alliance was born.

And only after they resolved to invade other worlds did the concept of 'evil' appear.

The seven thrones situated in that Demon Realm.

Those thrones were seats of other Divine Names derived from that concept of evil.

Long after that bastard was born, it had personally seated itself upon that throne and obtained that Divine Name.

=That is what gold has always been.=

To my question.

Avaritia answered calmly.

=Because it is so radiant and glorious...... it is desired by all. That is precisely the symbol of greed. There was no problem whatsoever with me taking hold of that Divine Name.=

Just as it said.

Unless two Divine Names were completely opposed to one another.

Obtaining another Divine Name did not mean straying from the laws of the Divine Name one originally possessed.

But.

"You are mistaken. What I asked was 'why,' not 'how.'"

=.......=

"You took pride in your own Divine Name. You said your destiny was the path of glorious gold. But...... the place that throne you sat upon leads to is a path far darker and uglier than that. There is no way you did not know that."

Perhaps.

I had also thought that concepts such as greed or evil might not have been particularly important to that bastard.

That bastard was a transcendent.

Its standards of judgment and its emotions could be entirely different from those of an ordinary human.

But.

'If that were really the case...... it would not have manipulated my memories of the Demon Realm.'

When it first spoke with me.

That bastard planted its light inside my mind so that I could not recall the names Demon Realm and demon.

It made me perceive them only as the glorious Divine Realm Alliance, and itself only as the great Golden Lord.

That bastard knew it well, too.

The name it had newly taken upon itself, and the world it had chosen to belong to.

Demon Realm, demon, greed.

That these names...... were far removed from the glory it had proudly proclaimed.

'There is a great difference between something being possible and actually doing it.'

Taking on the Divine Name of greed was undoubtedly possible.

But no matter how possible it was.

The fact that a bastard who had displayed pride in the Divine Name it was born with had obtained such a Divine Name.

I could not help but find that strange.

Then.

=......My name is Gold, and my destiny lies in glory and prosperity that shall never change for eternity.=

Was it because it was on the verge of disappearing?

That bastard...... spoke in a slightly bitter voice.

=To my people, to my children...... I promised glory and prosperity.=

"......?"

And.

At the words that followed.

My gaze as I looked at that bastard.

The newly obtained body and the elevated rank.

Another kind of vision gained through them.

=If it was for the sake of keeping that promise.=

Within my [Foresight].

That bastard's memories began to appear.

=A little darkness...... could be endured.=

***

In the distant past.

A very, very, very long time ago.

Before countless worlds had even been born.

And before countless worlds had been destroyed.

RUSTLE.......

The empty universe.

A speck of dust appeared in that space where many worlds shone.

The dust drifting through the universe swelled and began taking on a certain form.

Before long, it became.

TWINKLE.......

The form of a small, beautifully shining light.

And at the same time.

POP-

The concept of glory was born in the universe.

POP-

The concept of flawlessness as well.

POP-

The concept of radiance.

And.

POP-

The concept of gold was born.

=......Ah.=

An existence born in the middle of the empty universe.

With its birth, countless concepts appeared in the universe.

[Golden Lord, Avaritia.]

It was the birth of a new divinity and a new world.

After being born for the first time in the universe.

That divinity began cultivating and creating its own world.

An enormous sun rose into the sky.

The world was filled with beautiful light.

Winds and clouds formed from glittering light drifted throughout the world.

And in such a world.......

-......Kyu?

Something that had never existed before.

New life was also born.

New life-forms created by the god.

The children of gold.

They were born with outstanding talent and pure souls.

Following the will of their creator, they enjoyed glorious lives.

-Great Father.

-Glorious guide who leads us.......

Life increased at a rapid pace, and before long, it filled the world.

They thoroughly followed the teachings of their creator and worked to make the world shine even more beautifully.

-We offer our glory to you.

As the divinity looked upon them.

It felt an emotion more beautiful than anything else.

Pure love...... toward its own children.

Because of that.

=If you offer that glory to me.=

He looked lovingly upon his children.

And gave them a single promise.

=I promise you...... glory and prosperity that shall never change for eternity.=

A promise given to his children.

It was a declaration that he would never abandon those who followed him.

That he, the Golden Lord, would remain with them forever.

But.

BOOOOOOM.......

=......!=

One day.

The Golden Lord felt terrible despair somewhere in the empty universe.

Beyond the world to which he belonged.

***

Hundreds of billions, trillions of lives disappeared in an instant.

The sound of them screaming.

The sight of every life belonging to a single world...... disappearing without being able to offer any resistance.

'A world...... was destroyed.'

The Golden Lord instinctively understood what had happened.

A world that had appeared to have no problems whatsoever.

One day, that world had suddenly met its destruction.

The empty universe was exceedingly vast, and the distance between worlds was great.

Every world was protected by thick walls, so there was no way to know what had happened inside.

But the exact reason for what had happened was not important.

'Worlds...... can meet destruction.'

After time passed, it would come to be regarded as something natural.

But in the extremely distant past, it was exceedingly rare.

After such a long period in which the destruction of worlds had not existed, the divinities who faced the possibility of destruction for the first time could not help but be bewildered.

And that was not all.

BOOOOOOOOOOM.......

As more and more time passed.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.......

The destruction he had witnessed occurred again and again.

Over the long passage of time, countless new worlds were born within the empty universe.

BOOM......!

And an equal number of worlds.

Met destruction for unknown reasons.

=.......=

The Golden Lord felt fear as he looked upon that sight.

The worlds that had disappeared.

He did not know the reasons for their destruction, but he knew of the rulers of those worlds.

'Life, death, time, future, past, space, infinity, limitation, power, mana, laws, language, wisdom, intelligence, inquiry, war.......'

And countless others.

Beings closer to the primordial than anything else.

The oldest divinities, and the divinities who contained the greatest power.

The worlds of those who had existed in the universe since before the Golden Lord was even born, beings who were especially powerful even among all divinities.......

Over a long period of time, they were being destroyed one after another.

Ultimately, it was destruction occurring in other worlds.

The world ruled by the Golden Lord was still peaceful, and its glory seemed as though it would never cease.

But.

'I promised my children eternal glory.'

Even if his world was not going to be destroyed immediately.

That was only true of the present.

'Even in the destruction that approaches in the future, that promise shall be kept.'

The promise he had made to his descendants was one that would continue for eternity.

Even if the destruction experienced by other worlds was something that would happen in the distant future.

It was his responsibility to ensure that it did not happen to his own world.

And.

When he resolved to protect his children even from the destruction that would arrive in the distant future.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE.......

Several worlds approached them from somewhere in the empty universe.

Those who had observed the destruction overflowing throughout the universe and resolved to stand together in order to survive it.

It was their first contact with the Divine Realm Alliance.