[-because I am the 'Divine blood' that is her original source.]
At the words coming from the statue, Alon reflexively tried to ready magic.
It was a pretty sudden situation, but even so, it was fine.
He'd refined his magic for exactly moments like this.
[W-wait, hold on! Aren't you trying to attack way too abruptly!? I'm not your enemy, okay?!]
...Aren't you Divine blood?
[M-maybe I am?]
Then how am I supposed to believe that?
At Alon's distrust, a haa— sigh came from the statue.
[I am Divine blood, but I don't have any intention of fighting you, you know?]
Why?
[Because— I'm an outsider, you know?]
...An outsider?
[Yes.]
Didn't you just say you're Divine blood?
[So— how about you start by clearing away the idea that every single Divine blood is a crazy bastard rushing to become a god.]
...Aren't they?
[They aren't.]
At that firm rebuttal, Alon's expression turned even more confused.
But I'm sure—
[Enough. Even if questions come up, how about you talk with me a little first, and then think again? Not like I came here to meet you for no reason—I came so I could explain things to you, even if only roughly.]
At that, Alon pulled back the magic he'd been about to unfold.
Like she said, he decided to listen first.
And even if the name "Divine blood" had made him move on instinct—
in the end, the one who'd told him to go find her had been Blue Eyes, too.
Talk.
The voice in the statue continued, sounding relieved.
[First, I'll introduce myself again. I'm called the 'Wandering One.' As you know, among you I'm called Divine blood.]
Wandering One?
[You can just call me the Wanderer. Is there anything you want to ask first? Other than doubting my sincerity.]
At her words, Alon thought for a moment, then said,
...You said Divine blood, right?
[Yes.]
Have the Divine blood already awakened?
[Ah—]
The Wanderer understood the intent of the question without difficulty and answered.
[Hm— the low-level Divine blood have probably awakened in fairly large numbers.]
...I heard they still aren't showing any real movement.
[Uh— that's only natural, isn't it? Unless they're like me—ones who left behind 'fragments'—most of them will be starting from nothing, so they'll probably be trying to build up even a little bit of power.]
So that's why they aren't moving?
[Yes. Ah, but that side will probably move a lot. The side you call... the Empire, right? Yeah, there—]
She muttered, There are quite a lot of hooligans that fell there, and then—
[Alright, then I'll really try explaining things now.]
She began the real story.
[The first thing I want to tell you is that not all Divine blood want to become gods.]
Why?
[There are various reasons. But to explain the background first—do you know where we came from?]
...Another dimension?
[Correct. The Divine blood clan—people call it a clan, but in truth, they're beings from another dimension who carry the possibility of becoming gods. They came here carrying the desire to become gods.]
Then doesn't that mean you're the same?
[No, it's different. Among the Divine blood who came to this world, there are also those who came regardless of their own will.]
Why?
[Because they met the qualifications.]
The Wanderer shrugged.
[In other words, in this world there are those who rushed here of their own will to become gods—but on the other hand, there are also Divine blood who aren't particularly interested in that.]
...So you're saying you're the latter?
[That's right.]
Then are there many Divine blood like you?
[Hm. Even if the motives differ, there are some, sure.]
Motive differs?
At Alon's question, the Wanderer answered easily.
[Have you seen the Divine blood falling?]
I have.
[That wasn't a visual effect. That really is about how many fell.]
...So?
[Out of that enormous number, only one becomes a true god. In other words, the rest—become meaningless. And they don't all start from the same position either.]
At the Wanderer's words, Alon grasped the meaning and nodded.
So I should take it as: you don't even try to fight a battle you're going to lose anyway?
[Correct.]
But if you don't fight, don't you end up dying in the end?
[Hm, in principle, that's right. If other Divine blood exist, you can't gather faith. But it's possible if you form a side together.]
...Form a side together?
[Exactly what it sounds like. Divine blood form alliances with each other. More precisely, it's more accurate to say you enter a faction.]
Why bother? Entering a faction itself is basically death, isn't it?
[Normally, yes. In the end, all the other Divine blood have to die.]
Then why?
[Because if you become a god, you can save them all.]
Alon let out a low, "Ah."
So you push one person forward, make them a god, and then come back to life. That's it.
[That's right. Anyway, because of that, the Divine blood whose personal strength is weak split into several factions, and most of them are in one of the four huge factions.]
Four factions?
[Yes. The highest four factions that can, realistically, reach the seat of a god at this point.]
The One Who Stares into the Abyss.
The Whispering Void.
The Rotten One of Eternity.
The One Who Tore the Sky.
At that, Alon stared quietly at the statue, then asked,
Are you one of those factions?
[No? I don't belong anywhere. Strictly speaking, I'm closer to an observer.]
...Why?
[What do you mean?]
By your explanation, if you don't enter a faction, doesn't that mean all that's left at the end is death?
The Wanderer answered.
[That's true. But—I don't really want to belong to a faction. I don't like crawling. Well, I'm also aiming for something else.]
...Is Blue Eyes the same?
At Alon's question, the Wanderer hesitated for a moment, then—
[I don't think that's something I'm allowed to tell you. I only agreed to talk about the four great factions.]
So that's as far as this story goes—
at the voice that wrapped it up so neatly, Alon paused and then said,
...You're doing whatever is convenient for you.
[Don't think of it like that. We have our circumstances too. Anyway—]
The statue's shining voice continued.
[The Divine blood will start acting soon. They'll start rampaging like the current peace was a lie. If you want to stop them, grow stronger. And make a lot of companions, too.]
...Companions?
[Yes. You're not thinking you can stop all the Divine blood alone, are you? I'll tell you now—that's impossible.]
A question rose in Alon's mind.
I have one question.
[What is it?]
Isn't the Divine blood's goal, in the end, to become gods?
[That's right.]
Then humans to worship that god would be essential.
The Wanderer acknowledged it readily.
[Like you said, life is important to Divine blood. That's true. Even in the previous fight, Divine blood tried as much as possible not to kill lives.]
Then—
[But unfortunately, it won't be the case now.]
...Why?
[The Divine blood now—]
But after a brief pause, she stopped, then answered.
[They've already learned the fact that the life offering faith doesn't need to be 'normal.']
...That means.
[Think of it simply. As long as 'life' is maintained, they can manage somehow—that kind of thing.]
The Wanderer added lightly.
Alon felt a strange sense of discord.
No— he'd felt this sense of discord since the moment this conversation started.
But only after hearing her answer just now did he understand what that feeling actually was.
...You're casual.
[About what part?]
About saying things like that.
At that, the Wanderer fell into thought for a moment.
[Ah—]
As if she'd realized it, she let out a small exclamation.
[Hm. I can see how it might have felt that way. But it can't really be helped. To us, humans are—]
And then, at the words that followed—
[-nothing more or less than tools.]
Alon realized anew.
That the being before his eyes was also Divine blood.
Alon didn't bother answering.
Did you have a good talk?
...Yeah.
At Evan's question, Alon nodded, then fell into thought.
There were still many questions he hadn't resolved.
'If it were up to me, I'd want to talk more—'
Unfortunately, he couldn't.
Because the Wanderer said it was time and left.
'Anyway, I should be going back soon too.'
'Weren't you already down here?'
'No. I was forced to come here. Through a clone I scattered using my own ability. The next time we see each other... will probably be around when you come to learn about Heavenly Law.'
A sigh leaked from Alon's lips.
He recalled the final conversation he'd had with the Wanderer.
'One last thing I want to ask.'
'What is it?'
'...What happened to the Goddess Sironia?'
'That phrasing is a bit off. I'm the main body of the "Goddess Sironia" to begin with. But if you're asking what happened to the one who's been acting as the Goddess Sironia until now—don't worry. She'll probably stay here until I come down again.'
The statue, which added that it would likely be difficult to talk for a few months, began to gradually lose its light.
'Ah, right. One last thing—be careful of the faction of the "lava-eater." They're probably crawling up from the Empire's side, working hard to deal with you.'
Ah, maybe there's no need to worry about—?
with that small mutter that even Alon couldn't hear, the Wanderer completely disappeared.
Whew—
In his head, Alon organized the three pieces of information he'd gained this time.
1. Low-level Divine blood have mostly awakened, or will awaken soon.
2. Divine blood mostly belong to factions.
3. The faction of the lava-eater is coming to deal with him.
...Hm.
None of the information he'd gained was useless, but even so, it was fairly confusing.
After repeating his worries, Alon—
'For now, let's do what I have to do.'
With that thought, he looked ahead.
Evan.
Yes, Marquis.
Do you have any information on the Empire's side?
The Empire? ...Not at the moment, but I'll look into it.
Do that.
Between the Allied Kingdoms and the Empire.
In that empty wasteland where there was nothing at all, those beings—the Divine blood belonging to the "lava-eater"—were moving.
The first was a massive shadow with twisted tentacles and a body covered in scales.
Its movements were slow and uncanny, like a current in the deep sea.
The second was a gaunt shape with wings that were nothing but bone and empty eyes.
With every step, the wasteland's dust scattered like painful whispers.
The third was a fluid mass that constantly changed shape.
Inside it, countless eyes flashed, as if staring into the void of the universe.
And the fourth and last was a massive crustacean that shook the ground with heavy footsteps.
On its back were embedded unknown patterns, as if ancient civilizations had been carved into it.
Just looking at them felt like it would claw at a person's mind.
Those things, engraving a strange terror into the name Divine blood itself, were headed toward—
the Allied Kingdoms—
no, more precisely, toward where Alon was.
[Tsk— he's too far away.]
[I think so as well.]
[But it can't be helped—]
[I can't understand why the "Rotten One of Eternity" would take interest in such a small creature.]
[Is there any need to question it? What we must do is simply erase that small creature and enter his faction.]
Even as they exchanged opinions, they didn't stop moving.
To accept the extremely sweet proposal the "Rotten One of Eternity" had extended to them.
They walked.
Endlessly.
Endlessly.
They were walking—
until they met it.
[Ah—?]
In a low exclamation, with a voice like scraping the abyss, it looked at the scene spread out before it with eyes that had once been countless, but now only a few remained.
What came into view was—horrific.
Thick, dark green blood.
Comrades' tentacles, savagely torn off and thrown across the wasteland.
A crushed carapace.
And the sight of a skeleton shattered and dismembered.
And the last thing it saw—
...Ah.
A woman.
Red hair, eyes so exhausted that dark circles hung heavy beneath them, and a bizarre pentagram drawn in them.
The one responsible for butchering everyone here the moment she appeared.
[D-why—]
Looking at the woman, it trembled in fear.
It couldn't understand how that was here, in this place, right now.
It couldn't understand why that had attacked them either.
[W-why...?]
So the Divine blood asked in a fading voice—
but she didn't answer.
Instead, she—
You know—
suddenly asked a question.
If I kill you— will the Star Eater...
in nothing but an exhausted voice—
...will Alon forgive me?
Calmly.

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