Chapter 255 : Recall (7)
Chapter 255: Recall (7)
For a moment, silence settled over the place.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Berenistella, Lian Gwendil, and Talia Poas.
All three of them were staring at Siren Everglenn, who had subdued the Man without a Head in an instant without saying a word.
None of them spoke, but the expressions and emotions on their faces were all different.
“…….”
Talia simply looked as if it were only natural.
As long as Siren Everglenn—and Rikerka Valentin beside him—stood on either side of her, no blade in the world would ever reach her.
To her, that was an obvious fact—something that could even be called a kind of truth.
What the—
Lian’s expression went beyond surprise and turned into one of sheer disbelief.
The Man without a Head—the enemy they called that because they did not even know his name.
Everyone had struggled so much and caused such chaos trying to bring him down, yet the most they had managed was to inflict a few minor wounds.
Even catching a mosquito would probably be harder than that.
It had happened in a single moment.
In the blink of an eye, the creature’s mask shattered into pieces and he was rendered powerless.
And Siren Everglenn had not even been armed—nor was he in a condition that could possibly be called normal.
“…….”
At that moment, Lian realized once again just how different the people here were from him in terms of sheer power.
“So.”
Berenistella quietly opened her mouth.
“Is it over now?”
She asked in a low voice.
Her tone and expression were utterly indifferent.
“Has not the one you called a Remnant been completely shattered?”
“Mm, sorry, but not yet.”
Talia shook her head.
“If something like that had been enough to end it, then you would never have gotten involved in the first place.”
“And so?”
Berenistella spoke again, sounding slightly displeased at Talia’s words.
“If you mean to say that this concubine must clean up after the rest of you—”
“As if.”
This time, Talia burst into laughter.
“Who in this entire world could possibly use you like that? No one but you yourself.”
As she said that, she suddenly glanced sideways at Lian.
“…Hm. Well, maybe there might be one.”
“…….”
Lian kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
Berenistella clicked her tongue softly as she looked at Talia.
“In any case, since the nuisance has quieted down, let us continue the discussion… Fortunately, it seems you and that fellow have already been traveling across the continent collecting the Remnants. Thanks to that, there is much less to worry about.”
As she said that, Talia nodded.
“Well, if they wanted to make up for their losses, that was the only way they could do it.”
“The point.”
“…Ahem. Even so, there are still a few things remaining.”
“I do not know how many times I must repeat this.”
Berenistella said.
“The introduction is sufficient. Now speak the Main Subject. You are not a child—how many times must I say it before you understand? If your ears are blocked, I can personally open them wider for you.”
At her chilling words, Talia shrugged.
“…Oh dear, you’re really angry. Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”
Seeing her even mix in curses—something she rarely did—Talia quickly offered an apology.
“I suppose I should speak before you get even angrier. It’s the Evil Dragon Jadaka.”
At Talia’s words, Lian repeated the name inwardly.
Evil Dragon Jadaka.
It was the name of a monster famous in many old tales.
In particular, the story of how Saintess Anastasia Mayblin had split a sea polluted by blood flowing from Jadaka’s heart through prayer was so famous that everyone in the Solberique Empire knew it.
Because of that, the Holy Sun Church even adapted it into fairy tales told to children.
Perhaps it was the most famous name among the Eight Demon Lords.
“Jadaka?”
Berenistella asked, sounding puzzled.
“That creature’s corpse still remains?”
“More precisely, its Remnant still remains. Whether you call it an evil spirit or a god, I’m not sure.”
“A god?”
“Yes.”
Talia continued quietly.
“If enough offerings and faith gather together, even the most insignificant creature can become a god.”
…Offerings?
Was she talking about the kind of offerings served at a banquet?
Lian tilted his head slightly, wondering why that word had suddenly come up.
Berenistella leaned closer and whispered quietly.
“…In this context, you should understand it as offering sacrifices to a god.”
“Ah.”
Sacrifices.
So that was what she meant.
Lian nodded faintly, and she continued explaining in a hushed voice.
“The two most important elements that constitute a god are sacrifices and faith. For example… when Cultists of the Evil God offer human sacrifices, it follows the same principle.”
“…….”
The elements that constitute a god.
Sacrifices and faith.
Both concepts were entirely new to him.
“From your expression, it seems this is the first time you’ve heard of it.”
At Berenistella’s remark, Lian suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
The Berenistella in his memories had always scolded him harshly whenever he showed the slightest sign of slow understanding.
But contrary to his expectations, she treated his reaction as something perfectly natural.
“…Well, if you are a follower of the Holy Sun Church, then you would never know.”
Lian almost asked what she meant by that.
But now was not the time.
He kept his mouth shut and focused on listening to their conversation.
“So you mean there are those who worship him?”
At Berenistella’s question, Talia nodded.
“As you know, he was rather unusual compared to the other Eight Demon Lords. In the first place, he only ended up grouped with the Eight Demon Lords by coincidence. From the start, he was never really in the same position as the rest of you.”
“Your words are correct.”
Berenistella nodded calmly in agreement.
“Though none of us shared even a shred of loyalty to begin with, that one was particularly alien among us.”
Those who had once been called the Eight Demon Lords were merely bound together by name.
In truth, none of them felt any camaraderie or sense of belonging with the others.
That was precisely why the Wolpen Knights had been able to defeat them one by one—and why the others simply watched indifferently when one of them fell.
“…This is a bit of a digression.”
Talia suddenly spoke in a thoughtful tone.
“But thinking about it now, perhaps we ourselves might become gods in a few years. After all, there must be many people among the common folk who already revere us like gods.”
As she said that, Talia glanced at Lian.
“…Right? People still haven’t forgotten about us, have they?”
Lian nodded.
“Yes. Because of that, the Holy Sun Church views it somewhat unfavorably. They say that they should be the ones receiving worship, yet the name of the Wolpen Knights is still widely known.”
“Ahahaha!”
At Lian’s answer, Talia laughed brightly, as if reassured.
Watching her, Lian suddenly realized why she had brought up that topic.
Perhaps she had been trying, in her own way, to help him follow the conversation more easily.
“Anyway, that creature has remained in this world like that until now. We uprooted everything—its body, its heart, its mind, even its successor… but we could not erase its name.”
“Now that you mention it, there are indeed several things that come to mind.”
Berenistella spoke quietly.
“In the first place, his wish itself was to break free from the shell of being a Dragon and ascend to a higher stage.”
“Yes. He told us the same thing. That we should worship him as a god.”
“What a severely deranged creature.”
She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Even when he shaped his domain in such a manner and declared it, I merely thought him insane.”
Then she nodded slowly, as if recalling something.
“I remember it clearly because he repeated it so often. He said he would ascend and become a god.”
“We laughed at him too. Becoming a god? That was impossible.”
“…We were careless, Talia Poas.”
Berenistella murmured with a sigh.
“And I too was careless. I should not have dismissed it as the ramblings of a madman.”
As Lian listened, he suddenly thought of Br Riik Konafa, the Lizardman who traveled with Behad.
That race also sought to transcend their species through long cultivation—casting off the shell of their kind through ascension.
“Then… that means.”
“…It was inevitable that your Disciple would become entangled in this.”
When Berenistella nodded, Talia continued quietly.
“Because he desires the Brand.”
At that moment, Talia glanced at Lian once more.
Then she bowed her head slightly toward him.
“…I’m sorry, child. No, Lian Gwendil.”
Then she spoke again in a polite tone.
“Thinking about it, you are also a Party Involved. I should have explained the circumstances clearly so that you could understand them as well.”
“…….”
Lian remained silent.
It was not because he failed to understand their words.
Slowly raising his head to meet his gaze, Talia spoke again.
“How much do you know about the Brand?”
“…I met you in the Room of Memories and received an explanation.”
“Then you heard it from the version of me before we met.”
Talia nodded.
“I’ll explain it simply and briefly.”
Her voice lowered.
“You can think of the Brand as a kind of tool.”
“A tool?”
“Yes.”
Talia continued calmly.
“As you must have realized from using an Imprint yourself, it truly possesses a power that does not fit within the framework of magic, Ritual Sorcery, or even miracles. Each one contains tremendous power.”
“Yes, I am well aware of that.”
It was exactly as she said.
The power to turn not only one’s body but even one’s possessions into a semi-spiritual form like a spirit.
The power to glimpse a moment into the future.
And although he did not yet know the details, the Brands possessed by Cecilia Everglenn and the Man without a Head were certainly not ordinary either.
“So when I first encountered them, I thought they might be something similar to Artifacts.”
“So they have another purpose.”
“Yes.”
Talia nodded quietly.
“They are tools for breaking through the limits of one’s species… the shell that binds it. Some call it ascension. Others call it evolution.”
She paused briefly and looked directly at Lian—and at the area near his collarbone.
“That is the true purpose of the Brand.”
“…….”
Lian had no choice but to remain silent.
He had just encountered the truth he had been searching for—about the Brand—suddenly and in a way he had never expected.
A tool for evolution.
The concept was so abstract that he could barely comprehend it.
He understood the words themselves, but the meaning they contained was too vast.
Ascension. Evolution of one’s species.
They were ideas difficult for someone hearing them for the first time to grasp.
“…And within your body.”
Talia Poas looked at Lian silently for a moment.
It seemed she was waiting for him to process and accept the answer in his own way.
Only after he had somewhat absorbed it did she finally speak again, her voice quiet yet unmistakably clear.
“The blood of those who wield the Brand flows within you.”