No matter how strong Xion was, the opponent was a god. And not just any god, but the one who, over a long time through a pact with the Demon God, had solidified human faith and taken the seat as the most powerful god.
Xion was now saying he would fight that god.
To protect him.
“Xion…”
Reinhild felt like his chest was heaving.
How should he express this feeling? It felt like he was moved, and also worried, and even felt sorry and grateful.
Demons do not feel these complex and subtle moods where all sorts of emotions are mixed together.
So Reinhild did not know what to call this feeling now.
But if you look at human books, most emotions without a name are concluded to be “love.”
‘So this is love!’
To the “love” he remembered as something joyful, sad, frightening, and heart-aching, Reinhild added being moved, worry, gratitude, and apology.
“Even if it takes hundreds of years, I will weaken the High God, build up strength by that much, and erase him. If the High God disappears, the pact with the Demon God will also be nullified, so Rein will become free.”
The theory was perfect. Whether it could be put into practice was another matter.
How in the world was he going to make humans believe in a god called “Xion.”
But contrary to Reinhild’s worry, Xion’s plan was quite elaborate.
All of it was thanks to what Ainel had told him 500 years ago about “gods” and “faith.”
Xion explained to Reinhild one by one what he had heard then.
❖ ❖ ❖
Five hundred years ago, during the entire time he drove the sword into Reinhild’s heart and sealed him in the cave, Xion’s head was filled with one thing.
‘I have to erase the High God.’
He wanted to make him pay the price for the pain he had caused Reinhild with his own hands.
When Reinhild woke up, he wanted to erase the being called the High God from this world so that he could never pull any more tricks.
But the opponent was a god. It could not be simple.
What came to mind then was the story Ainel had told him.
Right before parting with Ainel, Xion had asked to hear a bit more explanation related to gods.
“Hmm, where should I start? This concept of ‘faith’ is a bit hard to explain. Going to a temple to offer donations and pray is not the only form of faith.”
Becoming a devotee with deep belief and growing one’s piety through prayer was not all there was to “faith.”
Even if one did not believe in a particular god, taking the existence of that god for granted also became strength for the god.
“Someone who claims, ‘I do not believe in gods,’ may not follow a particular god, but if that person holds even a little of the thought ‘gods exist,’ that can also become part of the faith that forms a god. That is also why gods consume power to issue oracles. To keep proving their own existence.”
Ainel even drew pictures on the ground with a branch as he explained.
“For example, say someone hates the High God. Life is too poor and painful, so he resents the High God. Then does that person not believe in gods? No. The fact that someone resents someone means he recognizes that target exists. Resentment or anger can, in the end, also become faith.”
Crack.
The earth where Xion was standing dipped, and the surrounding trees twisted and snapped.
“Are you saying my anger could become strength for the High God?!”
“Calm down, do not forget that Reinhild is sleeping in this mountain.”
Before Xion collapsed the mountain as a whole, Ainel stopped him.
“The fact that you know of a god’s existence is similar to other people’s faith, but also a bit different. Once you came to know that gods are not beings superior to humanity but beings that are mutually interdependent, the grade of your belief changed. It is complicated to explain in words, but the way you know of the High God’s existence is no longer ‘faith.’ It is simply ‘knowledge.’”
Xion’s recognition of the gods’ existence had become of a kind similar to a dragon’s knowledge.
Ainel reminded Xion of this fact and talked him down, saying his anger would not become the High God’s strength.
“If you have calmed down, may I continue the explanation?”
“…Please.”
Ainel drew a large circle and wrote “forest/nature” on it. Then he drew a smaller circle inside and wrote “flowers,” and then drew an even smaller circle and wrote “lily of the valley.”
“Humans can easily believe there is a ‘god of the forest,’ but they do not assign meaning one by one to what composes that forest. No one believes in a ‘god of winter flowers’ or a ‘god of lily of the valley.’ Instead they believe there is a ‘god of the forest’ or a ‘god of nature’ who manages all of that.”
Over the circle labeled “forest/nature,” Ainel drew one more huge circle.
And next to it he wrote “High God.”
“That is why the existence of the High God is so formidable. Rather than attaching a managing god to every tiny thing in the world, it is convenient to lump it all together and say there is one god who governs everything. Even people who think there is no such thing as a ‘god of flowers,’ even people who do not believe in a ‘god of nature,’ believe there is at least the strongest god who encompasses it all. The High God.”
Put simply, it meant in the end the whole world believes in the High God’s existence.
“Is there no way to bring down the faith directed toward the High God?”
“If there were a way, would you really bring it down?”
“…”
“You are serious…”
Ainel hurriedly looked around and layered several protective spells above his and Xion’s heads.
He never went without defensive magic even for a moment to avoid the High God’s gaze, but this was not a conversation to feel safe about with only a single layer.
“Why are you saying this kind of thing in the middle of the road?”
Grumbling, Ainel rubbed out the circles drawn on the ground with his foot.
Then he continued his explanation in a small voice.
“Why do you think the High God is so frantic to increase human piety? Because the more devotees who sincerely believe and praise him there are, the size of the ‘faith’ multiplies dozens, hundreds of times.”
“You are saying that if the High God’s devotees decrease, the High God’s power will also decrease.”
“Easy to say. Do you know why devotees of other gods believe in them? Because they hope their lives will go better. But do you know why devotees of the High God believe in him? Because he is the ‘creator.’ How do you turn the hearts of people who pour out blind faith with no conditions at all?”
Those who crave money pray to the “god of wealth,” those who desire earnest love pray to the “god of love,” and those who want great strength pray to the “god of might.”
If one contracts a fatal illness, one visits the temple of the god of death for peace after death, or before doing something important one offers to the god of luck.
But there is nothing one can obtain by believing in the High God.
If you do not believe in the High God, you will not be driven out of the world or meet a sudden death.
Devotees of the High God devote themselves because they believe in the “existence” of the High God as it is.
With no desire for anything.
Therefore, the High God’s devotees are more blind than those of any other god.
“Even so, he still craves even greater power. It seems that even a god is no different from us humans when it comes to greed.”
“Maybe the High God was envious of the other gods. Strong desires are the easiest to draw out strong faith from. People who say they believe in the High God on an ordinary day go looking for other gods when something happens, so he must have been anxious. He must have wanted people to desire something earnestly from him too, just as they do from other gods.”
So the High God made a pact with the Demon God and created things like the Hero and the Demon King.
Even though he was the most powerful god, his greed knew no end.
“What matters now is not finding out what the High God wants.”
“Is that really so? Revenge begins with finding what your opponent cherishes the most and smashing it to pieces.”
At Ainel’s words, Xion realized exactly what it was he wanted.
“Smash what the opponent cherishes most,” huh.
At that moment, the outline of a plan first took shape.
If the High God had put on a show called the Hero and the Demon King because he wanted earnestness to be imbued in the faith toward himself…
“Then taking away all the devotees who possess even that much earnestness would make for perfect revenge.”
“As a bonus, you could also weaken the High God.”
Ainel did not notice in the least that Xion had, in that moment, resolved to become a god.
Thinking it was only a plan to shatter the devotees’ piety, Ainel gave Xion one last piece of advice.
“It seems he raked in quite a tidy amount of piety through the Hero and the Demon King, but still, most of those who believe in the High God are the wealthy. People who do not need to feel things like hunger where even a crust of bread would be welcome, or the fear that if war breaks out they will be dragged to the front lines and die. If you ever plan to reduce devotees, try targeting them first.”
With those words, the conversation with Ainel ended.
And Xion’s plan was completed.
❖ ❖ ❖
“I settled in Root and founded a village for Rein’s sake, but I took up farming and seized Audrit in order to carry out this plan.”
In contrast to the astounding content of his explanation, Xion wore a gentle smile as he slowly stroked Reinhild’s cheek.
Listening quietly, Reinhild looked at Xion with a heart tangled up in many mixed feelings.
He had thought the farming was simply Xion’s hobby, but it had in fact been to bring down the High God.
And for that Xion was going to become a god.
There were so many astonishing things that he did not know how to accept this story.
“Then Xion became a farmer to become a god?”
“That is right.”
“Then the god of far…”
“I will become the god of plenty.”
“Ah.”
Reinhild, who had been about to ask if he would become the god of farmers, closed his mouth.
T/N: Never change, Rein. xD
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