While I was busy, frustrated about how to communicate with my very own "child," someone else was feeling conflicted about another matter.
"…Hey, Harloys, do you know how Roland would have answered at that time?"
"What time?"
"The time he was forced to the brink by us on that performance stage. If it weren’t for Little Red saving him, what would he have answered?"
"How would I know…"
"I refuse to believe that he can hide anything he’s thinking from you; there is a soul connection between you and him as a magical pet and master. If you tell me, I’ll give you one hundred royally-backed free meal tickets that will allow you to eat as much as you want at any major restaurant or confectionery store. Also, I’ll give you a three month supply of desserts specially made by our royal chefs. And, if you need, I’ll even give you cat toys, yarn balls, and even cat litter…"
"Who are you treating me as? I don’t need cat litter, but I want some custom-flavored candies and sweets. All made by the royal chefs! Meow!"
Did that mean that Harloys was going to accept the cat toys and yarn balls? Elisa was speechless as she looked at the black cat, who was currently licking her front paw. The saying that a physical body would affect the soul had some truth to it, but for the proud, solitary Banshee Queen to become so similar to a normal house cat… perhaps only Roland could have pulled it off.
However, never try and rely on a magical pet cat to be loyal to you. With sufficient temptation, these elegant little furry cuties had no loyalty whatsoever, and could easily sell out their master in front of a sufficient amount of canned cat food.
"Meow! Actually, I think it’s better for you not to know. Or, I should say that you’ve probably guessed it already."
"As expected, it was that answer, after all…"
"Yes. Originally, he was going to choose you, but after Amelia cast her truth magic, he changed what he was about to say… He was debating between ‘everyone is my most trusted companion and intimate family’ and ‘I’m not in love with any of you.’ Which do you think is easier to accept?"
"There’s nothing difficult to accept about it, as I had long since expected it. Of course it would be the same result as two years ago. I’ve already been with Roland for the past hundred plus years, so how could I not know?"
As she coldly said that she didn’t mind, tears imperceptibly rolled down her face. It would seem that logic and reason were separate from what Elisa felt in her inner heart.
The furious demon girl stroked the magical ruby in her hand. It ignited a fire in a distant warehouse, causing some "precious" artwork to burn to a crisp. If a certain someone learned about this, they would likely cry tears of regret as well.
"No! Those children are innocent!" Alright, it sounded as if that certain person’s howls had the ability to surpass the limits of time and space.
"Roland was right after all. When you’re unhappy, you should make others unhappy as well, as misery loves company. This really improved my mood."
She lightly wiped her tears and put her glasses back on. The forever calm Elisa had returned once more.
It was simply zero progress and definitely wasn’t the worst possible result. Didn’t she just have to wait? Who was afraid of that? The undying had plenty of time. Margaret had waited for over one hundred years; so what if she had to wait two hundred years?
"Isn’t it simply two hundred years? I can wait! I should say that it’s to be expected of Adam’s close bro. Adam’s an idiot who doesn’t know how to change his way of thinking, while Roland’s a dense block of wood."
As she listened to Elisa’s complaints, which were obviously forced out of her mouth, Harloys transformed into a golden elf. From her pocket, she brought out a lollipop to suck on, but she seemed to be hesitating about something. In the end, however, she spoke.
"Elisa, what do you think a SemiGod is?"
"The strongest possible pinnacle that a mortal can achieve that’s not at the level of a God."
"An interesting description. Roland probably taught you that. No need to tell me anything more, because this wasn’t a question that I believed you could answer in the first place. Even if your true abilities have already reached a God’s level, you’re actually like a natural combination of an Elemental God and a Demon God. Your path was set for you from your birth, and you probably know quite little about the way mortals separate the power levels."
Elisa remained silent. Although she rose up high, becoming a Demon Lord, she had taken the path typical to all demons; she relied on devouring others and her own instinctive evolution. She didn’t have a deep understanding of step-by-step personal cultivation, and knew quite little about the Saint rank and above.
"All of the ranks represent progress made in a certain area. That’s why for a Saint-rank warrior to lose to a Legend-rank mage is something ordinary. The difficulty in making progress between warriors and mages is utterly incomparable, and for a Saint-ranked dragon to kill a newly ranked SemiGod human is perfectly normal as well, as they increase their powers in different ways. However, for SemiGods…"
After a pause, Harloys still decided to tell Elisa.
"This concept of SemiGods didn’t exist to begin with. It could be said that there are actually no SemiGods in the world."
This would cause quite some controversy if heard by others, but Elisa nodded. After all, Roland had said something similar in the past.
"Every rank has their own special characteristics. The Gold rank is about finding your own path, the Legend rank is about carving one’s own path into a Soul Imprint, while the Saint rank represents that one has surpassed the limits of mortals, connecting their Soul Imprints to the world and possessing the ability to change the world around them. The stronger Saint ranks can even create their own small worlds—Soul Worlds."
Although Elisa didn’t know why Harloys was bringing this up, she had heard Roland talking about this subject in the past. She noiselessly listened to Harloys.
"Above the Saint rank is the so-called ‘Myth’ rank. At this level, one has already obtained clear ideas of ‘Concepts’ from their Soul Imprints and has added these Concepts to their own personal development. Concepts are difficult to explain, but you can think of it as natural talent abilities like your absolute control over flames. A Concept is the purer form of a Soul Imprint, but is more convenient to use and transform into practical combat power. Some existences are capable of overlapping their Concepts onto their own bodies, transforming their physical bodies into independent small worlds that won’t be destroyed even if ten thousand years of time pass. Adam is an example of this type. Some have wide-open Soul Worlds that can infect reality and create something out of nothingness. Roland is probably this type. Some can even materialize solid matter, transforming it into a personal top-quality weapon. Many Legend and Myth-rank weapons have come into existence via this method."
Actually, in order to better research and control their personal Concepts, most Myth-ranked individuals would all imagine and materialize their Concepts on the personal weapons that they were familiar with. As a result, many ordinary weapons would transform into Legend or Myth-rank weapons. [1]
Stories about Myth-ranked weapons were typically brought about by the owners of said Myth-ranked weapons, but they were merely leftovers after their original owners had died in battle. They were without the full power of the original Concept and were far weaker than when used by the original owner.
"There are thousands of paths and thousands of choices. Human strength is limited, and just how far humans can go in the end is probably predetermined by the individual. Since the Myth rank is far too long of a process, there are three smaller subsections of the Myth rank, which are also called the ‘Three Heavy Doors’ of the Myth rank. Every door is difficult to pass through. And, the so-called SemiGods are existences that have passed through the third door. To be honest, it’s already meaningless to divide up the ranks any further at such a level, since these individuals have already made their ‘Concepts’ as strong as the level of Gods. So, if you don’t count those cheat-like abilities of the True Gods, SemiGods aren’t actually all that weaker than True Gods. However, unless you separate the power levels even further, there are still huge differences even within the SemiGod rank. Margaret and Adam, for example, could easily defeat and kill Marsolit [2], while Roland in his prime could have easily defeated and killed Margaret and Adam together."
As she talked about this, Harloys revealed a nostalgic expression; she recalled how back in the day she had been stuck at the third door of the Myth rank for so long, limited by her undead body and unable to reach the peak for countless years.
"While it’s difficult to say what each person’s choices can lead to according to their limits, if an individual chose a road that didn’t have a finishing point to begin with, no matter how much effort that individual made, there wouldn’t be any progress. As far as I know, the reason why there are no SemiGod rank existences within the undead is that in the recent generation of low magic, the ‘Concepts’ that the undead could choose from didn’t include anything that would be able to take them to a higher level. Undead are dead, so all the Concepts that they could choose had to be compatible with their physical bodies. 99% percent of the Concepts would have to do with death in some way. In order to break through the third and final door of the Myth rank into the SemiGod rank, an undead would likely have to use plagues and a sufficient amount of death to destroy numerous countries. They would have to use an endless amount of corpses to walk down the path of death, creating one’s personal road of development."
Elisa nodded upon hearing this. In the Chaos Abyss’s records, the appearance of an ancient Undead Emperor was synonymous with an endless Undead Calamity.
"Yet, in comparison, this current era is relatively peaceful. If someone dared to do such a thing, the Gods would directly intervene. Plus, the low magic generation created this current era of progressing in rank slowly. In recent times, it’s now been considered normal that there won’t be any more Undead Emperors… But, there’s always an exception to everything. There was one person who forcibly found a path when there was none to be found."
Should it be said that Harloys definitely lived up to her nickname of "All-Knowing?" When everyone was treating it as a matter of common sense that undead wouldn’t be able to progress to the SemiGod rank, she even figured out the precise reason behind it.
"Are you talking about Roland? But isn’t he basically cheating with that whatever System of his?"
"Heh heh, looks like you don’t know, then. I know more about that System: it’s something similar to an equivalent exchange mechanism for ‘wishing.’ It has its own rules that must be followed, and everything that it does must be capable of being done by the world’s natural laws. You can even treat it as Roland’s personal talent ability. If Roland didn’t have the true foundational strength required to be at the SemiGod rank, he probably would have instantly fallen the moment he reached that rank. Probably, due to his reliance on his System, he still doesn’t even understand his own Concept. In the past, I was quite curious how he confusingly managed to reach SemiGod rank, but only when I witnessed his newly created world of snow and ice did I realize that his personal Concept was one that had probably never ever existed for anyone else in this world—Creation."
Upon hearing this, Elisa instantly understood. As seekers of truth, the way for mages to improve their own power levels was to learn and understand magical knowledge and formulas. They would create new possibilities through their own research and make progress in their own field. All top-level archmages would be peerless experts in their own specialties.
"Roland’s elemental sensing ability is negative, and while his undead magic is pretty good, what he’s accumulated over time is still just so-so in the grand scheme of things. With just that, he’d be nothing more than a Saint rank. What he can truly be proud about is that wondrous field of his, the ability to create something from nothingness—undead construction. This was the ability that helped him surpass the ‘Three Heavy Doors’ and reach the realm of SemiGods."
"The Seven Deadly Sins…"
"Yes, the Seven Deadly Sins, the most perfect undead constructs of all. They have their own independent wills and thoughts, and are individual existences that even possess desires just like the living. The most important of all is that they’re even capable of not being entirely controlled by their master, and they can evolve their power on their own. If my calculations are correct, once the Seven Deadly Sins evolve to their utmost limits, each and every one of them will be a match for a True God! This isn’t even undead anymore; apart from the fact that they haven’t broken the barriers between life and death, this is basically no different from creating an all-new, Gold-ranked species. And, recently, he really did break the barriers between life and death for me. Roland already possesses the ability to break the boundaries between life and death, and he’s already evolved his Concept of Creation into the extent where he can ‘Create a World.’"
By now, Elisa had guessed at why Harloys was telling her all this.
"How—how is this possible!?"
"How is it not possible? Gluttony, Ah Dang, is the most obvious example. A weak and small Abomination like Ah Dang took only three hundred years to reach the level of being able to defeat and kill a SemiGod. Omar, who was born only a few years ago, already has plenty of power to be proud about even in front of the Gods. And they still haven’t evolved to their fullest limits. Yet behind any miracle is a heavy price to be paid. The heavy price required for the Seven Deadly Sins is a price that only their creator can bear."
Harloys was rather frustrated, as she was now talking about something that involved herself.
"Why are there only Seven Deadly Sins? That’s because each and every Sin is a part of Roland. While he’s creating and naming these Sins, he has to unknowingly bestow a part of his own soul to each of the Seven Deadly Sins. Roland’s hatred and anger from his country being destroyed created the furious Bastian. His desires for food and strength created the gluttonous Ah Dang. His desire for Order and authority created the undead leader Omar."
Elisa revealed a contemplative expression. Finally, as the evidence all matched up, she could only nod helplessly.
"I pretty much understand now. But some things, once lost, may not be obtainable again. The current Roland views taking revenge as meaningless, he doesn’t have too many expectations for becoming stronger, and he views status and authority as a joke. Perhaps he’s being influenced by them taking his desires."
"Yes, it’s the same for my and Envy’s ‘births’ as well. Perhaps Roland himself has noticed it, too, as he didn’t directly create us; instead, he had used pre-existing ‘materials’ as the foundation, which also lessened the burden on him. It’s absolutely correct for Omar to view Roland as his father, from a logical standpoint. But don’t ever expect that I’m going to view Roland as my father, and I’m definitely never going to call him that."
Harloys had a bitter expression. She had only recently come to this conclusion, but suddenly becoming lesser in seniority instead of greater in seniority compared to Roland made her not know what to do. She didn’t even tell Roland about this.
All the Seven Deadly Sins originated from Roland. If Roland became a Main God, the Seven Deadly Sins, which were intimately connected to him, were basically like his Follower Gods or Children Gods. And since there were only Seven Deadly Sins, with Roland only possessing Seven Original Sins, he could only use up seven pieces of his soul!
As for why that mysterious System kept warning Roland not to make any more undead creations, it had probably noticed this as well.
"Roland and all of his Seven Deadly Sins constitute his true SemiGod rank strength. In his prime, even True Gods would fear him, but definitely not because of his personal combat strength. By now, you probably understand why I’m telling you all this, right?"
"Lust?"
"Lust can be called ‘an overabundance of love’ as well. Although I don’t know whether Roland truly created Lust, nor do I know whether Lust is a person or an object if it exists, but if Lust really does exist, then it’s definitely the oldest of the Seven Deadly Sins that Roland created. And, no matter how skilled Roland is with his Concept of Creation, back in the day he was probably nothing more than a Legend, tops. To create a miracle-like existence such as Lust that even SemiGods wouldn’t be able to accomplish with only a Legend’s power level, he probably had to pay even more of a price."
More of a price? If he gave up all his love and lust, wouldn’t he become an existence that was completely incapable of understanding love? Elisa was left speechless, as that would mean no matter how hard she worked, Roland would still remain a dense block of wood.
"That idiot!"
Yep, apart from idiot, how else could she describe me? From a certain standpoint, this had been a classic example of a mage’s experiment—although I succeeded in creating what I wanted, I paid far more than what I realized. It was a definite loss for me when I created Lust back then.
"Can’t he reobtain his desire for love?"
"I personally feel that it’s possible. I can tell through our soul connection that as long as the Seven Deadly Sins are by his side, they’ll instinctually give their overflowing Sin that they represent back to him, which will help balance and steady his personality. And, I heard a piece of news, that, at the very least, in Roland’s second life he had a lover…"
Elisa was so shocked that her mouth fell open, wide agape.
"How come Roland never mentioned this whatsoever!? If it was true, he should have been bragging to everyone about it."
"I heard about her from Amelia. Amelia just heard only a little about it, and apparently Roland broke up with whoever-she-was in the end, and it’s even rumored that his second death had to do with her. I also tried bringing it up with Roland in a roundabout fashion, but he seems to have lost all relevant memories. Even his memory library doesn’t have any records. Perhaps, when he was creating Lust, he sealed his own memories and feelings into it."
"It’s also possible that he intentionally wanted to forget what happened, so he created Lust."
"If it was an incredible failed first love, I think that’s definitely something an idiot like Roland is capable of doing."
"It’s also possible that he was under the impression that love would distract him from his motivation in taking revenge and becoming stronger."
Elisa and Harloys exchanged glances, and they both sighed helplessly.
"That idiot is unsalvageable."
"That idiot makes others worry so much."
Note:
1. The Myth rank is equivalent to the mentions of the Epic rank. They are one and the same, only different ways of referring to the same thing.
2. To those who don’t remember, Marsolit is the name of Envy of the Seven Deadly Sins.
The Myth rank is equivalent to the mentions of the Epic rank. They are one and the same, only different ways of referring to the same thing.To those who don’t remember, Marsolit is the name of Envy of the Seven Deadly Sins.