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Wee-ing.

The Bride Ship has landed on the Sky Island.

Rather than landing, it’s more accurate to say we’ve entered the bunker of the Sky Island, but it would be faster and clearer to see it with our own eyes than to explain it to them.

“We’ve arrived.”

Clang.

As soon as we stepped inside the barrier of the Golden Storm, the barrier closed.

Soon, various lights began to flicker inside, and I led my party further in.

“Witch, is this…?”

“If you want to study human history, feel free to ask.”

“Could you give us a rough explanation?”

“Are you sure you’re ready? There might be a mental crisis.”

“Please tell us, at least.”

“Um… it’s a bit hard to decide where to start.”

In many ways, it’s complicated.

Talking about the truth of the world, the secrets of the world, and the existence of the gods all at once.

“Can we talk about it later?”

“I want to know right now.”

Yan looked somewhat desperate.

So desperate that it scared me, and I pointed the way into the Sky Island and walked forward.

“Alright. I’ll tell you as we walk. Coincidentally… there’s something just ahead.”

There’s a painting.

In the corridor we’re moving through, paintings were drawn on the wall, resembling those in a museum.

The paintings seemed somewhat awkward for the Sky Island.

“What’s this… sword slash?”

“It’s a mural. A picture drawn on the wall with a sword.”

“Goodness, how is this… Wait a minute. The width of this…”

“It looks like the mark left by Ascalon.”

Probably a trace left by a user of the Holy Wind Sword who buried the Spirit Device on this Sky Island long ago.

I scanned the contents of the mural and thought it was perfect for explaining things.

“Rosmas. What’s in this picture?”

“There’s a circle and the Bride Ship soaring through the sky.”

“Exactly. It is said that in the beginning, a ship like the Bride Ship arrived on a planet where nothing existed.”

A planet where nothing existed.

Only primitive life forms lived there, and no intelligent beings existed.

“Aliens, or rather, Ancient Gods, arrived on this land from another world, another dimension, or some unknown place, riding ships like the Bride Ship.”

If there’s anything unusual about that planet, it’s that there existed a very peculiar energy known as ‘Mana.’

“Look at this. These seven spheres. What do they signify?”

“Mana… right?”

“Exactly. Seven mana. Mana with seven attributes. And together with seven…”

“It’s the Holy Sword.”

“Correct. Setting aside the primitive life forms that existed on this planet, the ancient beings aimed to create an environment suitable for intelligent lifeforms to breathe and live by utilizing the power of mana.”

They stabilized the atmosphere with the power of wind.

They purified rivers and seas with water.

They governed the land with the power of earth.

They illuminated the world with light.

They created an opposition to light with darkness.

They laid the foundation for civilization with the power of fire.

“What about the last one…?”

“Pure mana itself.”

Thinking of a state of pure mana, unconstrained by this,

they created a system to handle all seven types of mana.

“If we call the system that maintains nature ‘spirits,’ then the device that makes it easy to handle those spirits is ‘Spirit Devices.’”

“The more I hear, the scarier it sounds.”

“Of course. Why do you think the secrets of the world are called secrets? What do you think would happen if this got out?”

A holy war would break out.

“What does the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess say about how the creation of heaven and earth occurred?”

“…In the beginning, there was the Blue Moon, and the Moon Goddess spoke, ‘Let there be light,’ and for seven days and nights, the land created from moonlight became this world.”

“But that’s exactly what’s going to crumble. That’s why we don’t just speak about it carelessly.”

Yan chose the truth over being trapped in doctrine.

“The Ancient Gods, who created a natural environment where life could thrive, accelerated the development of intelligent beings. What were they aiming to create? Droniel, can you see?”

“…The human with pointed ears, blended with plants.”

“Right. That’s probably the ‘Elf’ of the beginning. And the ancient beings mixed themselves with numerous beasts and humans. Even the beasts were something they created.”

They created vampires by mixing blood-sucking bats with humans.

They created nagas by mixing snakes with humans.

They created orcs by mixing pigs with humans.

They created minotaurs by mixing cows with humans.

They created yetis by mixing monkeys with humans.

“They were ancient beings, but they were also humans. Humans with the power of gods. They could create life and live lives close to immortality. By awakening the mana present on this planet, they became true gods.”

And in addition, they created many creatures by mixing beasts and humans on this land.

“But there was one thing they couldn’t achieve.”

“…What was that?”

“Creating humans.”

“…….”

The Ancient Gods in the mural were divided into two factions.

A scenario of mutual accusation unfolded, showing them pointing fingers at one another, which eventually led them to start killing each other.

“It seems they killed each other. Even among Ancient Gods, fighting isn’t particularly strange, is it? Even now, there’s only the Moon Goddess, but how many beliefs existed before the Moon Goddess? Just like how different believers fought one another to prove their faith, the Ancient Gods probably fought believing their ways to be right.”

“What could be the reason…?”

“Who knows? They might have fought over whether to sprinkle salt on fried eggs or pour tomato sauce on them. They might have fought over whether to eat fried chicken plain or with sauce. Or they might argue over whether to pour sauce on fried food or dip it in sauce.”

Isn’t it often the case that fights start over trivial matters?

“One side gave up on creating humans and decided to make the creatures they had created the mainstay of the world. The other side insisted on risking everything to create humans. Disputes arose between them, and thus the war of the gods might have begun.”

Only two remained alive.

They were the Red Moon Goddess and the Moon Goddess.

“They probably didn’t realize. That after the gods fought and quarreled in the Intermediate Realm, the system they created would… expel them.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, maybe it’s because of this.”

Thinking about the principles of the Earth Spirit Device and Bahamut.

“The gods thought that to maintain this world completely, they would be unnecessary. Humans destroy nature! Humans are gods! Thus, they would be expelled from this world.”

“What a simplistic…”

“Isn’t it simple yet effective? To spirits, the world and nature are important, not the gods. Isn’t there plenty of cases where one dies in traps they’ve created themselves?”

And now.

The mural was nearing its end.

“The Intermediate Realm. And the two moons that orbit around it, the Blue Moon and the Red Moon, were the new worlds created by the two goddesses after being expelled from the Intermediate Realm.”

“So… how were humans born?”

“…….”

Lucius’s question left me speechless.

“How was the current human race created?”

“That’s….”

I can affirm.

“I don’t know either!”

“…Huh?”

“That’s a truly mysterious matter. After all the Ancient Gods were killed or vanished, the two remaining gods were expelled from the realm, and then beings called humans began to appear? It’s not like they just sprouted from the ground. I’ve even thought about hypotheses like humans formed from the blood and mana spilled by the dead Ancient Gods, but what significance does that hold?”

Ancient stories, tales from the mythological era, feel dull now.

“What matters now is using the power that the gods left behind for humanity.”

“They didn’t leave it behind, they just used it, right?”

“What’s the difference? Who cares who made it? What’s important is who owns that item now.”

I reached out my hand to Lucius.

“It’s you, the Hero.”

“…That’s true.”

Lucius stepped forward.

Before us lay a vast chasm, and within it stood a colossal statue towering tens of meters high.

No, it was a statue made of gold.

Gleaming gold like something coated in gold, it was a mighty metal giant shimmering golden.

“This is…?”

“The Wind Spirit Device. The guardian of the world, with the Holy Sword Ascalon as the key.”

I turned my gaze toward Lucius.

“What will you do? Are you going to awaken it?”

“I can feel it.”

“What do you feel?”

“I understand why the previous hero made the Wind Spirit Device like this.”

Lucius shook his head firmly.

“That is a power not meant for humanity. It is the foundation that protects the world, the power that safeguards this realm. If I were to use or break it… the world would certainly change significantly.”

“…….”

“I don’t know what, but I can tell. If I were to use that Spirit Device, the world that was running smoothly would definitely twist in a significant way.”

“Is that a feeling as a hero? Or as a user of the Holy Sword?”

“It’s a feeling as Arthur Lucius, the disciple of my master.”

At that moment, chills ran down my spine upon hearing those words.

“My master said that Spirit Devices are merely tools. If you can truly become stronger, the Spirit Devices can also be overcome as individuals.”

“…That’s true.”

Since I said that.

“I’m sorry, Master. And everyone, I’m sorry. We’ve come this far, but perhaps the Holy Wind Sword wanted to show me this. Maybe this is a trial. Whether to use this powerful force before us or not.”

“…….”

“So I will be satisfied with now. No, in the future… I will grow to be able to exert as much power as I do now even without the power of the Holy Sword. So-”

“You should use what you have. That’s a good mindset, Hero.”

I punched towards Lucius’s chest.

“The Hero of the Holy Sword is simply the hero who wields the Holy Sword. But a true hero… is defined here. You’ve grown well. I think it’s time to call you a true hero.”

“Master…!”

“But, Hero. A tool is just a tool, right?”

“…Huh?”

“Just because a Spirit Device is damaged doesn’t mean the world will perish.”

I pointed behind Lucius.

“A tool has value only when utilized. If it feels difficult to use the Spirit Device, there are ways to make the power of the Spirit Device your own.”

“That’s…”

“Now, Hero. Unseal the Spirit Device. And… make the Spirit Device yours.”

There’s no rule that says a Spirit Device must be sealed.

At last.

“The Spirit Device becomes you.”

Human Spirit Device, Lucius.

 

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