kscans

Chapter 71 - The Last Forest and the Little Person

"Chihiro is gone?"

Half a month had passed since the battle in the wilderness.

The report from the little person's party, which had finally returned, was that Chihiro had vanished. The faces of the knights were beyond pale, they were pure white. According to their story, Chihiro had gone with Prince Marcello's group to the forest of Flawers, and there, she had apparently used the demon's right hand.

Not on the Forest Master, but on the forest itself.

Instantly, countless bolts of lightning struck the ground, surrounding the little girl, and in the next moment, Chihiro's form had disappeared, they said.

Molt explained to the clamoring adults through writing that she had been summoned by the gods. Molt himself didn't know what had happened, but he said that if she were to return, it would likely be to the royal palace, so they had dropped everything and rushed back with all their might.

"Has she not yet returned?"

Dolphen stared at Romel with a desperate expression. Romel shook his head weakly and looked up at the heavens.

Nameless gods. Please, return the child to my arms.

He didn't know what had happened. This was already standard for the little person. Even when things beyond human comprehension occurred, the result would always become clear after some time.

There was always some meaning behind her incomprehensible actions and words.

This time would surely be the same. She would surely be back soon, with that broad, innocent smile.

As if clinging to something, Romel continued to pray fervently.

You... what do you think you are doing?

"Heh?"

In a blank, white space. A single boy stood there.

His sharp gaze did not even try to hide its hatred.

Seeing this, Chihiro tilted her head.

"What do you mean? I was going to close the forest."

Do not mock me. If you do that, the golden magic will be lost. The golden ring was finally complete. You should have killed the masters at that point.

"Huh? I don't want to kill the masters. That's why I tried to close the forest, which is the source."

That's right. After hearing the story of the demon's right hand, the little person had an idea. Wouldn't it be quicker to just destroy the forest, the root of the problem? If the masters were lost, the forest would wither. That's why the gods of Arcadia and the gods of Earth gave Chihiro the power of destruction, so she would dispose of the masters.

But what if it was actually the other way around? After hearing Joker's story, that's what Chihiro thought.

The forest created by the gods had turned the masters into monsters. The masters received golden magic through the forest and maintained the forest. In other words, the forest was the pipeline to the gods. If the forest was destroyed, the masters might be able to survive.

With this in mind, after completing the golden ring, the little person attempted to destroy the forest. If the source of supply, the forest, was gone, the golden magic of the masters would eventually run out. She didn't know what would happen to the masters after their golden magic was gone.

But Chihiro had a strange premonition. A feeling with no basis in fact that this was the right thing to do.

Even without that, it was a million times better to wait for the inevitable and enjoy the time they had left than to be disposed of without a say.

So Chihiro chose not to kill the masters and let the forest wither, but to destroy the forest and release the masters from their yokes.

But a sudden bolt of lightning interrupted her.

The boy before her twisted his lips with disgust, grabbed Chihiro by the collar, and yelled at her from so close their noses were almost touching.

Just when things were starting to go well. If you had killed the masters with the golden ring complete, the forest would not have withered and the gods' magic would have settled in Arcadia.

"Whaat?"

That was a bolt from the blue. She had no idea that was how it worked.

At Chihiro's dumbfounded face, the boy twisted his lips into an unpleasant smile.

"Your very pact with the Forest Master was outside the gods' calculations."

The sneering boy seemed to know the will of the gods. He held out a hand to the little girl, whose face was a canvas of question marks. A ball of light appeared in his palm. The tennis ball sized orb instantly grew to the size of a meter, and within it, a desolate landscape was reflected. Was it Arcadia? No, was it different?

Staring intently, she could see the remains of what looked like crumbling buildings scattered everywhere. Countless steel frames and towers, like bones scattered in a graveyard, had lost their outer shells. This was undoubtedly the aftermath of a modern civilization. It was like that. Something out of a certain post apocalyptic manga. Seeing it in real life made even the last scene of Planet of the Apes look crude.

Seeing true ruin, Chihiro swallowed hard.

This is my world... on its last breath.

"Your world... Are you a god? Can't you do something about it? If it's on its last breath, that means it's still alive, right?"

You're the one who interfered when I tried to do something about it.

The boy shouted loudly and pushed the little person away. She fell on her bottom with a plop, but there was no impact or pain. The boy, panting, continued to shout at the little girl.

I was going to save my world by taking energy from Arcadia... but you ruined everything.

Hearing that, a faint anger lit up in Chihiro's eyes.

"Energy... Then you're the god who made the bet with Arcadia."

She had heard the story from Joker.

The god who proposed the bet intended to steal all life from Arcadia, convert it into life energy, and use it for his own world.

Seeing this tragic scene, she could understand his thinking. But the little person felt an indescribable anger towards the boy before her, who saw life as nothing more than fuel.

"If that's the case, why don't you manifest yourself and lend a hand. Why are you demanding a sacrifice from others."

You can say that because you do not know. A god who has received a name cannot descend to the lower world.

The boy, who seemed to have failed in his attempt to form a mocking smile, contorted his face as if about to cry. Then, he haltingly explained the logic of the gods.

Those born as gods create worlds. Intelligent life is born, receives faith, and the gods grow. The gods, who live for eons, nurture the worlds they create, and when a divine proxy, a Misaki, is born, they receive a name. From the moment they receive a name, the gods can no longer manifest in the lower world. They can only entrust everything to the Misaki and watch over them.

"That's ridiculous. The gods of Arcadia manifest sometimes."

Those ones do not yet have names.

She remembered now. The gods had said it. If only a Misaki would be born. Romel had only called them the Creator Gods. A god without a name can interfere with the lower world. Once you have a name, like me, you can only give oracles.

I see. A god without a name can create a world as many times as they want. Through trial and error. So, even if Arcadia is lost, they can create a new world. In that case, wouldn't it be alright for them to be sacrificed to save my world, which has no future? Now that they have gained power through faith, their next world will be even better than Arcadia.

Ah, so that's it.

The little person looked up at the heavens and closed her eyes.

The boy before her did not see living things as living things. All that mattered was his own world. Other worlds were like food, to be carved up and sold. But then again, everyone is like that. All that matters is what's yours. Sacrificing others to protect it is a common story.

It's just that this was on a global scale, and the sacrifice was an entire planet.

She had no obligation to agree to this.

"Just as your world is the only thing that matters to you, Arcadia is important to us."

Her golden eyes stared straight ahead with a calm gaze.

The boy flinched for a moment, but then he grabbed the little person by the scruff of her neck. Silence. Just kill the masters. Don't touch the forest, the source of golden magic. If you don't do as I say, I'll kill you right here.

"Aren't gods not supposed to interfere with the laws of the world?"

Killing Chihiro here would be complete interference in the world of Arcadia. And besides, why can you interfere with another world? Abducting me from the lower world is definitely not right.

As if reading the little person's thoughts, the boy's eyes curved into a grin.

All life in Arcadia is mine. I am free to do with it as I please.

They were originally the lives of Hazerlap.

"What's that. That's cheating."

Furthermore, beings with golden magic were connected to the gods, and it was not difficult to summon them.

If you weren't here, the golden magic couldn't be erased from that world. My apologies.

Grinning, the boy threw the little person into the abyss. A living hell where demons and monsters swarmed at the bottom. The little person's life was hanging by a thread. But before his hand let go, the little person grabbed the boy's clothes and, with the momentum of being thrown, dragged him into the abyss as well.

Huh? Uwaah.

"If I'm going down, you're coming with me."

Leaving behind the boy's short scream, the abyss that had opened in the white space closed. In the quiet space where nothing remained, the gods of Earth stood silently.

We're counting on you, Chihiro.

They knew this would happen. After going this far, the higher beings would not remain silent. In any case, the fate of the boy god, Legion, was sealed.

He went too far.

He was blind.

The world will perish.

Beings higher than the gods themselves.

Their judgment was entrusted to the little girl.

As she fell into the abyss, the little person opened her eyes wide and grasped a ray of hope.

That single ray of light was spread out directly below her.

"I knew it. Yahooo."

Spread out below her was Joker's web.

She jumped onto it and bounced high. Rolling across the web with Legion, she quickly got up and put some distance between them.

The boy was stunned, not understanding what was happening.

What... is this?

His face frozen in shock, something fell beside him as he muttered. It was something in the shape of a person.

"Huh?"

Before Chihiro could be surprised, more human shaped things began to fall from above. Men and women, young and old, fell in heaps. Seeing them, Legion screamed.

Ugh... Waaaaah. Why? There should have been more time. Aaaah.

Legion writhed in agony, his eyes wide open, as the people of Hazerlap piled up before him. He hurriedly took out the ball of light from before and peered inside. Reflected within was a continent sinking due to a massive crustal shift.

Why? Whyyyy.

What had been destroyed was Hazerlap. The boy god's world.

You have incurred the wrath of the higher beings.

You went too far.

The judgment has been passed.

Three lights floated above Joker's web. The lights that appeared took human form, closely resembling the gods of Arcadia.

You have distorted fate. The price is great.

We will collect. The distortions of the past, present, and future.

Your world has ended. You too shall end.

The three lights surrounded Legion and touched him with their right hands. Instantly, Legion's body dissipated with a pop.

Where he had been, only a small ball of light remained.

Cradling the small, faintly glowing orb as if in mourning, the three lights vanished as quietly as they had come.

"What was that?"

Unable to keep up with the series of events, the little person plopped down on the web.

A familiar face appeared before her.

To think that it was their world that would be destroyed.

Joker stood quietly with his eight eyes.

With an indescribably complex expression, he gazed at the many souls that had fallen onto the web.

"Joker. Send me flying again. I have to get back quickly, I'm not done yet."

Joker peeled off the little girl who had jumped on him with an exasperated look.

Calm down. Your attempt was successful.

"Huh?"

Sighing at the bewildered little person, Joker explained again.

Your right hand, through the golden ring, destroyed the pipes of all the forests. No new divine magic will be sent to Arcadia. Eventually, the golden magic will disappear from the world. The bet is Arcadia's victory. That is likely why the judgment of the higher beings was passed.

Chihiro, who had been standing speechless, fell to her knees with a huge sigh.

"Thank goodness..."

But in a way, that meant she had led another world to its destruction.

Chihiro looked at the souls still falling and furrowed her brow sadly.

It was a world destined for ruin from the start. Well, we're going to be busy from now on. We have to purify these souls and reincarnate them.

A familiar voice spoke from right behind Chihiro. The two gods of Arcadia were there, having appeared at some point. With gentle smiles, they patted Chihiro's head as if to praise her.

You must be tired. We made you do something terrible. Leave the rest to us.

We wish we could give you something in return. Is there anything you desire?

At these words, Chihiro looked up with a start.

"Could you send me to the Frontier royal capital? I think everyone is worried."

At her words, the gods exchanged a look and sadly cast their eyes down.

Huh? What?

A chill crawled up her spine. An indescribably unsettling atmosphere hung over Joker's web.

"Chihiro is back?"

A little girl suddenly appeared in the great hall.

The scene was in an uproar, and a civil servant rushed to inform Romel. But for some reason, his report was hesitant.

I'll go see for myself.

Running down the corridor at a near sprint, Romel burst into the great hall with a beaming smile. There was the familiar, adorable little child in a poncho. She was crawling around restlessly, then sitting down properly. The faces of those around her, watching the restless girl, were filled with open confusion.

Pushing his way through the crowd, Romel scooped up the little person.

"Welcome back, Chihiro."

But Romel's joyful expression froze in an instant. The eyes of the little person he held were not gold, but a pale milk tea color. And the gold had vanished from the nail of her left thumb, which she extended towards Romel.

"Mer-chai, I home?"

The innocently smiling little girl was Chihiro, and yet not Chihiro.