Chapter 812: The Lord of Greed

The achievement I accomplished.

I achieved victory against the external enemy that invaded this world...... a divinity.

For that great achievement, the System intended to provide a reward.

But the Demon Realm interfered with that reward and paid the price they wanted to give me.

That was precisely this.

‘Blessing.’

This land and my body.

The blessing dwelling within the bodies of all awakened.

I was able to quickly guess its true nature.

‘It must be the support of an outer existence that Mirinae warned me about when the first barrier opened.......’

Mirinae’s warning at the time had been quite serious.

But, in fact, Mirinae had also said this back then.

-If I had to put it into words, one could say it has both advantages and disadvantages. For an ordinary individual, there would probably only be advantages.

The power bestowed by an outer existence was powerful.

The power transmitted from beyond the barrier of the world would only be a portion of their original power, but even so, it was said that having that power would rapidly increase the probability of overcoming this destruction.

Nevertheless, the reason Mirinae had warned me was.

‘Because it brought only disadvantages to this world.’

Receiving the power of an outer existence was good for that individual.

But as a result, that individual would offer the world they belonged to as payment to the outer existence.

That was why I had not chosen that path and had hidden my existence from the outer existences with Mirinae’s help.

‘But not anymore.’

The blessing given to us now was not support received on the condition that this world be offered up.

It was the price I received for cooking Avaritia.

Even if I handled this blessing, there would be no need to pay a separate price for it later.

‘On top of that...... an enormous amount of experience.’

Experience was merely a pleasant way of putting it.

This experience was the power required in the process of drawing closer to transcendence.

The amount of experience given to me was enough to burden any divinity.

And.

‘Ascending Heaven Road.’

The object I had no intention of using.

An object created with the goal of bringing a mortal to transcendence.

That object had now become the vessel that would contain my cooking.

Since the essence contained within it remained unchanged, this would certainly be of great help to my transcendence.

And.

The final reward given to me was.

‘......Road Leading to Heaven.’

The three rewards I had already received were also tremendous.

But those were probably not their support given with ‘all their power.’

Even if I had not demanded their full strength, they would have easily offered that much as the price for Avaritia’s life.

But they said that support given with all their power would not be easy, and nevertheless resolved to provide such support.

‘This is the result of that full strength.’

The barriers between worlds are thick.

But, as expected of beings who gave birth to the concept of ‘evil’ for the first time in the entire universe.

Through that authority, the demons had infiltrated other worlds and devoured them.

But.

‘They could not do that here.’

A world whose interior even those demons could not see.

The Demon Realm was a dimension formed when countless worlds united, and those worlds increased its size by devouring other worlds.

Not only did this world boast a size equal to that Demon Realm.

It was a world that had already existed from the moment the oldest demon was born.

Back when those demons were not yet demons.

They said they had tried to ask that world for teachings, but even then, they had learned nothing.

It was the same even after they became demons.

The fact that they failed even though it concerned their own continued existence meant that seeing inside that world was more difficult than destroying other worlds.

‘This is an object that allows me to reach such a land.’

The authority they possessed to infiltrate other worlds.

A result like a miracle that could be created by concentrating that authority to its utmost limit.

Because their invasions of other worlds must have stopped for a while due to their transaction with me.

They must have put that much of their own essence into it, concentrating their authority of invasion to create this object.

Even then, infiltrating several people was impossible.

Because they knew that allowing only one person to go was the limit.

Because they knew it was a world that had given them no teachings.

They had probably never created something like this before.

‘But it might be different if it is me.......’

Even while accepting a great sacrifice.

They had delivered this object to me.

And by receiving these prices.......

[The contractor has fulfilled the contract.]

They had now paid all the price they were required to pay immediately.

=We have paid our price.=

=Therefore.=

Of course, this would not be the end.

Whenever I needed help in the future, I intended to actively receive their assistance.

What mattered was that they had accepted the transaction and decided to fulfill it.

Now.......

“Take him.”

I, too.

It was time to release the prisoner whose ransom had been fully paid.

***

Float.......

And so.

The prisoner who had succeeded in escaping the danger of annihilation.

Avaritia’s soul rose into the air.

=......I did not expect this kind of conclusion.=

“It is not the conclusion yet.”

The relationship between me and the demons.

That relationship did not end here.

This transaction would certainly proceed properly, and there would be no major changes for a while.

But if my challenge succeeded.

And I no longer needed their support.

‘Then this relationship will also change.’

I had not yet forgiven those demons.

Not only for the countless worlds that had been destroyed by their hands.

I still held onto the fact that they had invaded us as well.

For now, I needed their support, so I made a transaction with them and received payment.

But on the day this transaction ended, I would go to collect the price for the sins they had committed.

They must have known that fact as well.

Nevertheless, the reason they supported me was.

=You seem convinced that such a day will truly come. It will by no means be an easy path.=

“Whether it is easy or not is not important.=

Well, as I had said several times.

It was because they thought I would fail anyway.

But I shrugged my shoulders and said.

“What matters is whether it must be done or not.”

=.......=

“It will be a difficult path, but I have to accomplish it somehow. And as it happens.”

Grin.

“I also obtained some rather good ingredients that might be helpful.”

=.......=

The ingredients I obtained from him.

Glory, brilliance, and perfection became mine.

Three enormous masses of achievements.

Things that would be more than enough to become the divine name of an ordinary divinity.

On top of that.......

=Those achievements you took from me.=

The only parts I had prepared were those related to the divine name and fate.

It was no different from dividing the complete Avaritia into two.

But in that process...... it was not as though I had done nothing.

The existence that had been the divinity of our world lost its name and was annihilated.

But the power that lost its name and owner remained and transformed into the System of this land.

Even if a divine name disappeared, the enormous power of divinities that existed separately from it clearly remained.

Originally, that power must have been attached to each achievement.

=Compared to my memories...... more of my power is contained within them.=

I had prepared Avaritia’s soul.

In that process.

Pulling a little of the power attached to gold and greed over toward glory, brilliance, and perfection had not been difficult.

‘I saved his life. It should be fine to skim off this much, right?’

In any case, most of the power that fellow possessed originated from gold and greed.

Even if I skimmed off a large amount before sending him away, to him it was merely power he could quickly recover.

But to me, this was an enormous amount of power originating from that immense divinity.

These ingredients would certainly become a great source of strength for me.

=Even if I ask you to return them now, it would only hasten my annihilation. From now on, do as you please with them.=

“That is very kind of you.”

=However...... those ingredients are certainly precious, so it would be best to handle them carefully.=

Then.

Sensing the presence of the things that had once been parts of himself, he said.

=You ultimately managed to cook even me. But those achievements were especially difficult to handle even within me. In particular.=

For me to eat those achievements.

Was no different from me taking those achievements upon myself.

My divine name and fate.

Glory, brilliance, and perfection would be added within them.

In other words.

=Perfection.=

“.......”

=I, too, collapsed because I failed to uphold that path.=

Just as he had fallen into danger of annihilation as a result of violating ‘perfection.’

If I also cooked and ate those achievements and achieved transcendence.

=That power will certainly be immense, but at the same time, it will become a great threat.=

The moment I committed an act that violated those achievements.

It meant that I, too, would be placed in danger of annihilation.

At that time, I would probably be unable to find a kind cook who would separate my divine name for me as I had done this time.

“That is probably true. Even so...... I am not too worried.”

But.

I answered those words with a faint laugh.

“Your perfection and my perfection are...... a little different.”

=......?=

That fellow was the Lord of Gold.

The perfection engraved into his fate meant refusing to allow that light to be lost.

It was a perfection that would not forgive even a slight blemish or a single speck of dust upon beautiful gold.

I was different.

“I am a military cook.”

Gold and a military cook.

Existences different from the very essence.

And if the essence was different...... the meaning of the other words attached to it would also change greatly.

If his perfection meant never being stained even slightly.

My perfection was the exact opposite.

‘A soldier and, at the same time, a cook.’

No matter how filthy I became, even if I rolled through the middle of dust and across the dirt ground.

That would not become a defect in a soldier.

No matter how many times I failed or how reckless a challenge I attempted.

That would not become a defect in a cook.

‘As long as I do not stray from the path I intend to follow.’

It might be somewhat difficult to cook.

But if I cooked it with my own flavor, it was a part that could become richer in flavor than anything else.

That perfection would help me more than any dish I had ever made until now.

=I see. You are different from us.=

The portion I had taken from among the immense achievements of Avaritia did not even amount to one-third.

Nevertheless.

I was certain that these things I had taken, rather than greed or gold, would become the finest ingredients.

=......My brethren must have paid the full price of my life.=

As we continued that conversation.

Before I knew it, his soul was crossing beyond the Demon Realm.

The closer he came to the Demon Realm, the larger his weakened soul became as it received the light of its homeland.

=Therefore, this is not the price of my life.=

“......Hm?”

Avaritia assumed the form of the enormous golden giant he had shown when fighting me.

=Not as payment for the transaction, but as a favor from me...... Avaritia of Gold, I shall tell you one fact.=

“What is this all of a sudden?”

He spoke as he crossed into the Demon Realm floating in the sky.

=Even we do not know much about that person. We do not know what conclusion that person met, nor what state that person is in now. Therefore, I cannot tell you much. If I carelessly reveal too much...... not only you, but we as well may catch that person’s attention.=

“......?”

=But it should be fine to tell you this much.=

He was Avaritia, the Lord of Gold.

After witnessing the destruction of another world one day.

He joined the ‘Divine Realm Alliance’...... and witnessed the birth of the Demon Realm.

But...... as that fellow had personally said.

=When the Alliance was first born, I was merely a divinity who barely ranked among the top ten.=

The thrones of the Demon Realm.

The concepts derived from the concept of ‘evil’ numbered seven in total.

But Avaritia at the time had been merely a divinity who barely ranked within the top ten.

=I was not the Lord of Greed from the beginning.=

“......What?”

Avaritia was originally the Lord of Gold.

But after sitting upon the throne of greed, he became the Lord of Greed.

In other words, the position called the Lord of Greed.

That divine name had not been determined from birth.

It was an acquired divine name obtained by sitting upon that throne.

Therefore.

=I became a lord because that position was vacant.=

If someone stepped down from that position.

It would be possible for another to sit there and become the second Lord of Greed.

=Before I sat upon that throne, an existence more suitable than me was sitting there.=

Of course, not just anyone could sit upon that throne.

Just as Avaritia’s gold touched upon greed.

Only one whose divine name touched upon greed would be capable of sitting in that position.

In other words...... someone other than Avaritia.

=The one who originally sat in that position...... was one of those closest to the greatest among us, one of those who contained the most immense power.=

Someone who possessed a name related to greed.

Someone who contained greater power than Avaritia.

=That was why I believed I would never be able to sit in that position, but one day, he left the Alliance.=

“.......”

=I merely filled that vacant position.=

The one who voluntarily abandoned that throne and left.

Was the first owner of that throne.

“......Why are you telling me this?”

=As I said. It is merely a favor.=

“You are saying that telling me this is a favor? Why?”

Soon, his soul completely crossed to the other side of the Demon Realm.

Just before disappearing like that.

=Because.=

He left behind his final words.

And.

......After hearing those words, I could not help but frown.

And understandably so.

=Because you are a cook.=

“.......”

The final thing he left behind was.......

Those exact words I often spoke.