Chapter 802: The Law of the Universe

Another world.

The first contact with the Divine Realm Alliance.

The worlds approaching him spoke to him politely.

They asked whether he had any intention of joining them, and said that if he refused, they would quietly leave.

When Avaritia heard that proposal, he deliberated.

=Flawlessness is included in my destiny.=

A perfect existence had no need to cooperate with another existence.

He was concerned that doing so might stain his path.

But.

=......I already have the descendants of this land.=

Countless lives already existed within his world.

He was together with them.

Being together with someone.

That was not a factor that harmed flawlessness.

Even a perfect existence could sometimes be together with someone else.

Therefore, Avaritia decided to join hands with them.

Separate from the fact that it was possible to be together with them, the reason he made that choice was simple.

=I must keep my promise.=

He could not know what problems might arise from being together with them.

But.

If it was for the sake of keeping the promise he had made to his lives, Avaritia was prepared to do anything.

And so, Avaritia became part of the Alliance.

Within the Alliance, there were many worlds and divinities in circumstances similar to his.

Destruction that no one knew when would come.

Those who had resolved to protect their worlds and the lives living within those worlds from that destruction.

Those who swore not to lie to one another, and to join forces and respond together when faced with the crisis of destruction.

‘......Even beings like these fear destruction.’

Avaritia could not help but be surprised when he saw who they were.

Primordial existences from the unimaginably distant past.

Even beings powerful enough to be counted among the strongest in the entire universe had judged that they could not survive destruction on their own and formed an alliance.

Even Avaritia, who had confidence in his own power, could barely rank within the top ten among them.

But Avaritia did not dislike that fact in the slightest.

Because beings that powerful were trying to fight against destruction together with him.

And indeed, after that.

For a long time, Avaritia responded to many crises of destruction together with the Alliance.

At times, he personally helped resolve crises in other worlds.

At other times, when a crisis of destruction came to his world, other powerful beings descended and resolved it for him.

=If I am together with them.=

As he went through such things.

He was able to gain a strange certainty.

=I can keep my promise.=

But...... that certainty was not foresight.

He learned that it had merely been his hopeful delusion...... not long afterward.

A powerful divinity belonging to the Alliance.

One of the oldest divinities, and that divinity’s world, fell into a crisis of destruction.

And to help them, every world in the Alliance collided against it with all their strength.

Without even the slightest exaggeration, it was resistance carried out with literally the full power of the Alliance.

Despite that resistance.

POP-POP-POP-POP.......

A world belonging to the Alliance.

Was destroyed.

***

After the Alliance was formed.

For a long time, the worlds of the Alliance were certain of their success.

They held hope that no matter what kind of destruction came, they would be able to overcome it with their power.

=Destruction.=

But that was not the case.

As they watched the destruction they had experienced.

As they watched one of the most powerful worlds belonging to the Alliance undergo destruction.

Every divinity in the Alliance sensed it instinctively.

=Can never be avoided.=

No matter how powerful or how great an existence might be.

Even if the luckiest existence in the world were to avoid every crisis of destruction through sheer good fortune.

In the end, even that existence could not avoid the destruction that would one day come.

It was like a law of this world.

A law governed by no divinity.

A law that seemed to have been engraved into this universe since the beginning of time.

=No life, no world...... can avoid destruction.=

The moment they realized that fact.

The great and noble alliance created so that they could live together.

The essence of the Divine Realm Alliance began to change.

They were those who had decided to protect the lives of their own worlds.

Those who had also decided to remain together with the other worlds that had joined them.

And yet, that destruction could not be avoided by any means.

The promises they had made were destined to collapse someday.

‘I am afraid.’

Despair spread throughout the world.

The entire universe trembled with their despair.

=......Even so.=

And.

Within that despair and fear.

The Alliance ultimately chose one option.

=The promise must be kept.=

......From that moment onward.

The Alliance began to hunt.

-Why.

-What did we do wrong.......

Those who would not join the Alliance.

They were worlds that would one day be destroyed anyway.

If they did not even join the Alliance, then that destruction would come before long.

Rather than being destroyed so meaninglessly.

It was more efficient for them to become nourishment for the Alliance.

The worlds they hunted in that way.

The countless lives and materials that existed within those worlds.

RUUUUMBLE.......

Using all of them as materials.

The Alliance created an enormous new world.

A wasteland made from crimson blood.

A land with nothing, barren and desolate.

[Hell]

A place where worlds and lives that had perished unjustly gathered.

It was Hell.

No new life could ever be born on that barren land.

Only those born from the resentment held by those vengeful spirits and the concept of [Evil] contained within that land...... demons, could survive there.

[Pride] [Sorrow] [Envy] [Wrath] [Lust] [Greed] [Sloth].

A land born together with the concept of [Evil].

At the center of that land stood thrones embodying the subordinate concepts of [Evil].

The newly born concept of [Evil] was so enormous.

That ownerless Divine Names were born beneath it.

=.......=

The divinities of the Alliance looked at those thrones with frowns on their faces.

They had originally been great and noble divinities.

There was no way they did not understand the essence of the power contained within those thrones.

The darkness contained within them.

But even so.

THUD.......

They approached the thrones and seated themselves upon those dark seats.

So long as it did not conflict with their own Divine Names, they obtained new Divine Names.

They willingly accepted disgrace so revolting that merely looking at it made them want to vomit.

Those who had been the oldest and noblest beings in the entire universe.

The reason they made such a decision was simple.

That land created from the concept of evil.......

To become the masters of Hell and obtain the right to use the power of Hell.

=If the coming destruction cannot be avoided.=

A land so desolate that it could produce nothing.

That was only natural.

This land did not exist to give birth to new life.

From the beginning, it was a land where life could not even survive.

There was only one purpose for this land’s existence.

=If we still cannot abandon our promise.=

The gazes of those seated upon the thrones turned toward the distance.

Something they had only learned after experiencing the destruction of a world belonging to the Alliance.

A sight visible not only from their own worlds, but from every world belonging to the Alliance.

=......That coming moment.=

The concept of [Destruction], existing so far away that even divinities could not properly see it.

A form like a black shadow...... rippling black as it drew closer.

=We shall delay it as much as possible.=

......To push back that destruction slowly approaching from the unimaginably distant reaches.

As much as possible.

CRRRRUMBLE.......

As the enormous red land shook.

Its power reached all the way to the far edge of the universe.

RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE.......

The approaching black shadow.

Was blocked by that power.

***

“.......”

At that moment.

The [Foresight] that had been looking inside Avaritia ended, and my vision returned to reality.

And.

“Urgh.......”

Having seen the end of that foresight.

I urgently had to suppress the nausea surging up inside me.

Bitter fluid rose from within.

My mind spun, and even standing properly was difficult.

What I had seen was the origin of the divinities belonging to the Demon Realm.......

The beings called demons.

Most of that origin was the same as what the Prince had shown me.

However, if there was one slight difference.......

‘These bastards.’

I thought as I swallowed the bitter fluid.

‘They did not want to become evil of their own will.’

The Demon Realm within the memories the Prince had shown me.

They had simply been beings who sought more power in order to survive destruction, and eventually invaded other worlds.

But the bastards I had seen in those memories were different.

‘They only...... wanted to keep their promise.’

Their motive had been exceedingly pure.

The worlds they had created.

The lives living within them.

For the sake of the descendants they had created...... they had merely wanted to delay destruction as much as possible.

“Urgh.......”

Because of that.

The nausea I felt now was not because I was disgusted by the beings of the Demon Realm.

This revolting feeling that made cold sweat run down my body was.......

The emotion the beings of the Demon Realm, the demons, had been feeling.

‘Fear.’

Because of that.

I steadied my staggering body and glared at Avaritia.

“You.......”

Within those memories.

The Alliance had clearly seemed to be smoothly overcoming destruction.

Not one, but dozens, even hundreds of powerful divinities were cooperating, so minor causes of destruction could be overcome in an instant.

But at some point, even they fell into despair.

“What exactly did you see back then?”

The destruction of a world belonging to the Alliance.

At that moment, they saw something.

From it, they realized a certain fact.

And within their deep despair.

In order to keep the promises they had made to their creations...... they gave birth to the concept of [Evil].

Using the power contained within that enormous concept, they created the Demon Realm...... the land called Hell.

They hunted other worlds and threw everything within those worlds into Hell.

Using them as fuel to push back ‘the approaching destruction.’

The problem was.

‘I could not see it.’

The destruction they had experienced.

I could not see it.

=......Did I not already tell you?=

When I looked at it with a puzzled gaze.

Avaritia’s soul answered calmly.

=That there are laws in this universe from which nothing can ever escape.=

Certainly.

It had said something like that before.

-Even the master of an enormous world. Even an absolute ruler who governs every law within that world cannot escape certain laws. Among them, there is one law we hate more than anything else.

Words spoken by an existence containing such overwhelming power.

For some reason, in an utterly intimidated and gloomy voice.

-Everything has a beginning and an end...... such a simple law.

At the time.

I had thought those words were nothing more than whining.

Just as we had overcome destruction until now.

I argued that if we fought with everything we had and searched for a way, any destruction could be overcome.

But.......

‘These bastards thought the same way as me at first.’

It was not that they had never thought what I thought.

That was why they had created the noble concept of fighting together within this world and formed the Alliance.

Even so.

‘Something they saw at that moment...... changed that belief.’

And.

The identity of what they saw was simple.

=What we saw.......=

Even while frowning and feeling extreme revulsion.

The noble divinities endured the disgrace of seating themselves upon those dark thrones.

=Was the law.=

I recalled the form that had been approaching from the place they were looking toward at that time.

=The law that all things have an end. The law itself.=

***

The demons, including Avaritia.

They had not originally been demons, but after seeing ‘something,’ they gave birth to the concept of evil within the world and became the first demons.

I wanted to know the identity of that something.

=It was the law itself.=

Avaritia’s answer to that.......

Was somewhat difficult for me to understand.

“A law?”

=There is no distortion in those words. They mean exactly what they say. We saw that law...... and therefore decided to struggle to push that law back as much as possible.=

That was the Demon Realm.

The power possessed by that red land.

Something that forced even beings containing such overwhelming power to devote everything they had merely to delaying destruction.

......The law itself.

Even as I frowned.

I recalled a System message I had seen in the past.

[However, every world has a lifespan.]

Not long ago.

When I fought the cold souls of [Belsnickel] in Gyeonggi Province.

It was a phrase written in the System message that had appeared while I glimpsed their home world.

I had found it quite strange even then.

This System never lies.

There may be things even the System does not know, causing it to convey incorrect information, but within the information it knows, the System always tells only the truth.

And yet, that System had said something like that.

‘As far as the System knows...... every world has an end someday.’

Perhaps.

This System also knew something about the law they had seen.

But even so.

“......Having a reason does not mean your sins are forgiven.”

=What a foolish thing to say. We never wished for forgiveness in the first place.=

“You did all that just so you could live a little longer. And you do not even seek forgiveness.”

=I already told you this as well. If a world will be destroyed someday anyway, it is better for it to become fuel for us.=

Certainly.

Aside from the names demon and Demon Realm, it had already revealed everything to me.

It was simply...... that the truths it revealed did not look particularly good from my perspective.

=You are a chef. One who is closer than anyone else to the concept of surviving by consuming other existences. You, of all people, should understand our actions better than anyone.=

It had said something like that before as well.

Certainly, just as it said.

Perhaps it was strange for me, a chef, to dislike bastards who survived by devouring other worlds.

=Moreover.=

But.

It continued speaking.

=Considering the situation you are in, you should be cheering for us, if anything.=

“What?”

=Do you not know?=

Avaritia’s soul spoke with a bitter smile.

=I already told you this as well. I had no interest in this world.=

“What does that mean?”

=Not only me. Those who had been observing this world before me...... the other demons as well, originally had no interest whatsoever in this world. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that we did not know of it.=

The empty universe was far too vast.

Moreover, every world was blocked off by barriers, making it difficult to look inside.

=When this world’s second barrier opened. We discovered you, and many members of the Alliance who feared you fled.=

No matter how powerful divinities might be.

It was not easy to notice a single small world drifting through such a universe.

=When the first barrier opened, we did not even know of your existence.=

But.

For some reason, this world ended up within the sight of many beings.

=Before that...... there was only a small hole in this world.=

The reason.

Was simpler than I had expected.

=That hole.=

“.......”

=Before that hole appeared, we could not perceive this world itself.=

The very moment a small hole was pierced into this world.

The beings outside were finally able to perceive this world.

And through that hole, they were able to peer inside.

=The existence that made that hole.=

Avaritia’s soul.

Its gaze shifted slightly.

=What do you think it was?=

The man standing behind me with a frown.

The Prince.......

It looked at the bug inside that Prince.

“You.......”

At those words.

I was able to realize one fact.

=The malice that pierces a hole into an intact world and attempts to drive that world toward destruction.=

Something I had been so curious about until now.

Yet had been utterly unable to discover.

=Where do you think that malice came from?=

This bastard.

Knew the true identity of that ‘malice.’