Chapter 66
Chapter 66: The Alliance of Gods
“…God was only one when the world was united as one . ”
That’s right, the lips of Saint Matia opened to profess those words . She spoke with a gentle manner as if she was telling a book story to children .
「The ancient gods have many appearances, but they are essentially just one God . There are many qualities, such as fertility, wisdom, enlightenment, and fate, but all of these aspects belong to the same God . 」
A clear voice echoed on the first floor of a tavern inside of the walls of Garoua Maria .
Matia’s eyes slowly closed as she spoke . But still, the smoothness of her words wasn’t lost . Every single word seemed to dissolve within her .
「You could call it a collective way of combining consciousness and qualities into several forms . But, the almighty can only be described in one word, despite his variety of personas . He is the absolute God . 」
In fact, in a previous era those ideals often clashed . When a civilization flourished because of the progression of humankind, classes were born . Thus, emerging large-scale societies . Because of these events, the two consciousness of God began to dispute with one another .
At first, it was a simple matter . When a society became more complex, people became more anxious as well and most cried out for help . Looking at them, one of God’s unnamed consciousness said…
“…What a pitiful and sorrowful life to live in . I shall save you from this suffering . ”
God’s other consciousness suppressed the feelings of the first consciousness for wanting to help these pitiful humans .
“…What are you saying? It’s great to see them live . Their wisdom allows them to make a decision, even if those decisions end up agonizing and painful . But, that means that they have free will . Therefore, when there’s life, there’s conflict and choices . Helping them will only deprive them of living their life . ”
Without listening to the voices of other conscious bodies, these two consciousness’s spoke with themselves as if they were separated from one another .
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“…They are unhappy people . The more we give them wisdom, the more they will suffer and mourn . It would be better for them to not to have such a thing . No worries, no obstacles, no walls in front of them . This way they will embrace their happiness, and their wishes will come true . ”
“…I see . If you agree to proceed with that, we won’t be in unison anymore . You can take wisdom from them . But, I will give them more wisdom if necessary . ”
“…Oh, merciful me . My one spirit . What will become of us if we separate from each other?”
For a long time, they were trying to separate themselves from each other because of their small differences . That happened because of their insistence to never yield .
They just needed to take each other’s hand, it didn’t matter which one tried to reconcile first . All that mattered was the final agreement . Yet, if they tried to forsake each other, that would bring a very different consequence . If that happened, they wouldn’t remain as the same existence anymore .
“…Let’s give each other a name . Eventually, the humans will blame you for the sweet salvation that gave them a boring life, Altius!”
“…You’re a fool . Humans aren’t meant to carry just wisdom and free will . Eventually, humans will seek me in order to give them my salvation, Offal!”
From that day on, God was separated from world of men . This resulted in the creation of a large range of nations, religions and civilizations on planet earth, all of which began to conflict with one another . The world was no longer peaceful under the rule of one God . The world had opened its mouth wide to spew words of struggle, hate and suffering .
—
「…This is the story of the God Offal, the emblem of the Heraldic Order, and Altius, the worship of the Great Holy Church . This tale is often handed down from generation to generation . At the moment, I’m trying to make this story available to children in orphanages . 」
Saint Matia spoke with everything she had, her throat managed to not stutter any of those words . She must be quite used to speaking in public . Nobody felt any nervousness nor frustration in her words or actions .
That said, the audience was applauding to Saint Matia’s words . Among those who were excited, stood Wood and his sister Sereal . Caria was touching her silvery hair with little interest . She was a liberal after all, and never really understood the essence of religion per se . On the other hand, Filaret La Volgograd, and of course, the heraldic Largud Ann had knowledge and interest about what was being said .
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However, the crowd wasn’t large since a few selected people were summoned for this meeting . Saint Matia tried to shake the hearts of her listeners . Yet, not everyone was satisfied .
「Unfortunately, I’m still a Gharast native . I’m not interested in that kind of story . Therefore, I’m not the one who needs to hear it…」
Caria’s sighed as she spoke with a boring tone . Then, after she spoke those words…
「…But, Lugis needs to hear it . Well, he can’t hear it now for obvious reasons . So, I’m…going to be the one to tell him later since I’m hearing this story from the beginning to the end unlike someone I know . 」
Filaret devoured Caria’s words with her sarcasm .
The dazzling silvery eyes and the shimmering black eyes stared fiercely at one another . Even each other’s gaze was constant and brutal . In spite of the fact that it was only for a short time, their fierce exchange made the air heavier .
Somehow, Wood didn’t like that heavy atmosphere because he felt that the air entering his lungs had turned into a heavy clump of soil . He hardened his face . Then…
「Eh, well…how is our hero Lugis? Still unconscious? 」
Ann’s lips opened as if she could no longer withstand the heavy atmosphere . She forcibly threw some words into the air . Wood picked up her words so that her effort wouldn’t go to waste .
「Lugis bro is still sleeping on the second floor . I don’t know until when he’ll keep on sleeping . Anyway, I’m glad that his life is not in danger . 」
Wood spoke gentle words while trying to avoid stimulating the surrounding heavy atmosphere . Sereal’s hand held Wood’s hand .
However, it was very difficult to suppress the flowers whose thorns were exposed .
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「If he is sleeping in his bed now, it means that he is like the waterfowls who take their naps in order to restore their energy . 」
Filaret’s black hair shook at the same time her tongue penetrated in the air .
「What made you say such weird statement? He’s not taking a nap, he’s unconscious because of what he endured in the battle . We’ll see who’s right and who’s wrong . 」
Once again, these women’s eyes collided with each other and intertwined in hate .
It felt as if the air had lost its temperature . The tavern’s floor felt colder than usual . It cracked as if it were frozen .
「…There’s nothing meaningful in a conversation about someone who isn’t here . Ann, get to the main point . 」
Matia’s strong words finally broke the bad wind that crawled through the tavern .
Both Caria and Filaret felt a little ashamed for their exchange of words, but they didn’t open their lips .
Both of them had innate intelligence and wisdom from the very start . Nevertheless, their previous conversation wasn’t that constructive or astute .
With that in mind, both girls felt needles of irritation pierced on their chest because their wild emotions were exposed .
Prompted by Matia, Ann slowly opened her mouth in front of everyone . Her voice was different from Matia, meaning that her tone was easy and calm to listen to . Her voice had no vibrating sound . She had a clear and harmless tone .
「First, we must assess the flow of the recent events . We have successfully reclaimed Garoua Maria back into the hands of the Heraldic Order . This victorious achievement was thanks to the work of our Saint Matia, and her faithful collaborator, Lugis . 」
Ann replied . Her eyes stared at the window of the tavern . The outside felt like a sanctuary full of Heraldic soldiers and believers . Even though most of them were injured, that didn’t diminish the beauty of their souls after they conquered the city-state . How much were they willing to go for the sake of their own faith?
「But, here’s the problem . To be honest, we are just a few now . Many of our soldiers are currently injured . We won’t be able to protect our current stronghold . We can neither attack nor expand our power . We have to think of a solution…Maybe we’ll have to rely on the outside . It means that we have to form an alliance . 」
Indeed, an alliance . But where? And with whom?
Caria and Filaret’s eyes were griping as they asked that question to themselves .
Certainly, no one could say that Monarchs or other meaningful powers were emotionally attached to the Heraldic Order . They were outcasts and rebels after all .
Besides, their current achievements weren’t formidable enough to transform the Heraldic Order into a powerful state .
Speaking of this rebellion, the Heraldic Order had only gained one city . Even if it was the legendary and prestigious Garoua Maria, that fact remained unchanged .
Rather, under the name of the defeated, few would appear in order to form an alliance with the Heraldic people . The Lords of the fallen provinces had large ties with several realms . Even if they lost, their ties didn’t disappear . Many people and entities wouldn’t forsake those ties, since they could gain something from them even though most Lords had fallen .
In addition, most of the surrounding border of Garoua Maria was with the Gharast Kingdom, which had a large influence of the Cathedral, the main power of the Great Holy Church .
「Of course, we have already sent letters to request alliances and assistance from various powers . But, honestly, it would be too optimistic for us to actually expect a reply from them . Having said that…There’s only one option available . We have an ancient link with one particular institution . So, we want to get close to this legendary power that once formed an alliance with the Heraldic Order . 」
Ann’s finger moved up . It looked like her throat was slightly dry . She could only swallow a little before speaking the following words . Caria, who rounded her silvery eyes, asked what kind of power she was talking about . Ann narrowed her eyes, whom contained a dubious color .
「That power is the nation of people who hide in the forests and mountains…Elves . I want you to visit the hanging gardens of Ghazalia, their kingdom . 」