Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 240

240.

“What is it, Trowell? Why are you so calm, too? Hngh… Am I, am I being weird?”

Realizing how upset I was made the tears gush out even more. Trowell seemed a little flustered, answering with a troubled expression.

“No, it’s not that… It’s just refreshing. Like Ifrit said, I thought there was no need to be sad since even if we disappear, there’s a next life. We’ll end up doing well wherever we are.”

“How can you say that? There will be times when I want to see you and miss you. I’m one thing, but you two have known Minerva for so long. You have memories and moments of connection you’ve built together. Saying goodbye means losing all of that. It means you can never share those things again. Isn’t that something to be sad about?”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

Trowell mumbled, looking a bit dazed. In the meantime, Minerva’s figure completely disappeared. Even the gently flowing breeze completely stopped. Did she really leave? Is it really over? Even though I watched it all happen, it still didn’t feel real, and I blinked my blurred eyes for a long time. Trowell also couldn’t take his eyes off the place where she had disappeared. He suddenly asked an unexpected question.

“Ell… Will you cry like this when I disappear too?”

“What? Why are you asking something so obvious? Do you think me crying is so pathetic?”

“No, it’s not that… I just feel relieved for some reason.”

“Relieved?”

“I didn’t know, but the disappearance of a Spirit King… It’s incredibly bleak. I felt lonely and desolate, but since you started crying, it feels like something is being filled. Yeah. Being sad isn’t so bad after all. You’ll cry when I disappear too, so I can rest assured, right?”

The face that turned back to me with a smile was still calm, but it looked terribly pained. I burst into tears.

“Don’t say things like that right now! It makes me imagine it!”

“Ah, sorry. But I still have a long way to go before I disappear, right?”

“That’s not the point! The fact that it’s something we have to experience someday, sooner or later, is what’s agonizing!”

“Haha, I actually like it since you’re agonizing so much like this?”

“Trowell, you know you have a really bad personality when you’re like this?”

“Hmm, really? But you know what? Just for a moment…”

“…?”

I turned back with a puzzled expression, and he rested his forehead on my shoulder. I felt a severe trembling from where we touched. At first, I thought I was mistaken, but I wasn’t. Trowell was shaking all over.

“Trowell?”

“…Sorry, Ell. I know it’s petty, but… Can I borrow your tears for a moment? What I had to shed has already dried up a long time ago. But I feel like I can cry now. So…”

Before he could finish speaking, clear tears streamed down from his eyes. He looked genuinely bewildered, as if the phenomenon happening to him was unfamiliar even to himself. Yet, he couldn’t suppress the surging sadness and let out small sobs, which broke my heart even more. I hugged the sobbing him and gently patted his back. I felt his emotions that he couldn’t show in front of himself, which made my heart ache even more.

“I’m sorry, Ell. I’m sorry. Hngh…”

“It’s okay, Trowell. Cry until you feel better. It’s better than holding it in.”

At this moment, even Ifrit didn’t send a scolding gaze anymore. Rather, he cleared his throat and turned his head, as if he wanted to cry too but was holding back because of his pride. The spirits who sympathized with the Spirit Kings’ sadness also began to sob. For a while, the surroundings were filled with sniffling sounds.

That day, I comforted Trowell, who couldn’t stop crying, while waiting for the birth of the new Minerva. The vibrant domain of wind remained as beautiful as ever, even after the owner who had been with it for a long time disappeared. That made it even more sorrowful, and it was a heartbreaking time.

* * *

“A gathering?”

Ellüen lightly frowned, looking at the envelope held out in front of him. The envelope, sealed with the Hall’s insignia, had a golden hue, signifying official documents.

“There shouldn’t be any official gatherings at this time, should there?”

He had never attended one, but he had mostly grasped the schedule of the Divine Realm. To confirm, he asked the attending angel who presented the letter, who replied politely.

“They said it was an emergency gathering. They also urged you to attend without fail, as it is an important matter.”

“Who is the host?”

“Lord Shannon.”

If the gathering was hosted by the god of the Underworld, he could roughly guess what the matter was about. Ellüen calmly removed the seal and opened the envelope. The contents of the letter inside were, as he had expected, exactly what he had anticipated. However, the meeting time was beyond his expectations.

“Attend immediately upon receiving the letter…? They’re not giving me any time to notify them of my absence.”

It must be a method determined with him, the perennial absentee, in mind. For meetings with official notices, one must notify them in writing in advance if one cannot attend. Failure to do so and unauthorized absence would result in disciplinary action. In cases like this, with the phrase ‘attend immediately’ included, it was already applied from the moment the letter was received, so there was no way to refuse in advance. Ellüen sighed and put down the letter. It was extremely bothersome, but it seemed he couldn’t get out of it this time.

“I will help you prepare to leave.”

The quick-witted attending angel immediately brought over a coat. Ellüen sighed again and reluctantly accepted it. It was then that-

“Lord Ellüen!”

Someone called out his name like a scream. Ellüen turned his head and wore a puzzled expression. Nadiel and several other angels were breathing heavily. They were in a very disheveled state, as if they had rushed from somewhere.

“What’s wrong, everyone? What happened?”

The angels who were attending to Ellüen were flustered and approached them. Nadiel had an expression as if she was about to cry any moment. Instinctively, Ellüen’s face hardened, thinking that something had happened to El again, but he soon realized that the other angels were in a similar state to her. Judging from that, it didn’t seem to be a problem related to his son. However, in another sense, it was an even worse situation. Ellüen’s attending angels were calm in any situation because their nature was similar to his (except for Nadiel). The fact that they were agitated so intensely meant that it was not an ordinary matter.

“…What is it?”

“W-We… You have to come and see.”

Nadiel said, representing the trembling angels. Without a word, Ellüen immediately followed the path they were guiding him along. The angels headed towards the stone staircase leading to the second floor of the palace. Following behind, Ellüen couldn’t help but become puzzled again. All that was up there was his bedroom.

As expected, the place the angels arrived at was in front of the tightly closed bedroom door. Sleep was not a necessary part for a god. Therefore, even though it was called a bedroom, it was only a nominal place, and there was almost no reason to come here. The angels also did not look back at this place except for the purpose of light patrols.

“Why are we here…?”

The other angels who had followed along also wore expressions of incomprehension. Instead of answering, the guiding angels exchanged firm glances with each other. As if that was a signal, Nadiel took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut before opening the door.

With the sound of joints meshing together, the ivory-white door opened to both sides. Soon, the moment Ellüen saw the scene that came into view, he immediately understood the entire situation. From why the angels had come here to why they had received such a shock.

“Gasp!”

“Hukk!”

At the same time as his face slightly frowned, the sound of gasping echoed from here and there. Ellüen calmly looked around. Originally, his bedroom was decorated in pure white, without a single speck of dust. But what was unfolding before his eyes now was nothing but red. The wallpaper and floor, as well as the furniture, were all covered in red blood. Judging from the uneven traces, it seemed that someone covered in blood had bumped into everything here and there. Ellüen didn’t bother looking for the reason far away. After all, there was something lying sprawled in the middle of the bed that seemed to be the cause.

“…”

It was an existence that looked like a human form to anyone. Even in a state soaked in blood, his tall stature and jet-black hair stood out.

“H-He’s a god, right?”

At Nadiel’s question, Ellüen lightly nodded.

“Bring the Celestial Water. As much as possible.”

As soon as his instructions were given, the frozen angels quickly regained their senses and began to move in a fluster. Leaving behind the bustling movements of those scattering busily, Ellüen moved towards the bed. The man, who had not only trespassed but also made a mess of someone else’s bedroom, was lying sprawled out in a large ‘X’ shape, quietly closing his eyes. Judging from the dried blood and undried blood messily tangled from his mouth to his chest, it seemed that he had vomited blood quite a few times. It was hard to even tell if he was alive or dead. Ellüen stared at him for a while before saying,

“First, I’ll ask, is he dead?”

“…Not dead yet.”

From the mouth of the man who had looked like a corpse until then, a perfectly fine answer flowed out. His tightly closed eyes had already been opened at some point. Looking at his dark black eyes, Ellüen clicked his tongue with a regretful expression.

“That’s a shame.”

“You’re saying that so coldly. Even though you told them to bring the Celestial Water first.”

The Celestial Water was a holy water created with the divine power of the Chief God, and it had the effect of healing the body of a god. Usually, it was not used often because it could be resolved more quickly by visiting the God of Healing. The man lying down smiled faintly.

“As expected of Ellüen. To choose the Celestial Water instead of taking me to the God of Healing.”

“Wasn’t it you who trespassed into my house because you didn’t want to be seen by others?”

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s why I like it.”

Immediately after answering as if muttering to himself, he coughed, ‘Cough.’ A handful of red blood poured out of his weakly opened mouth. Ellüen frowned and placed his hand on his forehead, infusing divine power. It would be weaker than the Celestial Water, but it would help him endure until he could start treatment.

“You’re so kind, Ellüen. I feel loved for some reason. Sometimes, this is nice too.”

“Shut up. Seeing your state now, it seems certain that the Demon King broke the taboo. If you’re in this state, you must have finished what you went to do, right?”

A huge wave had been felt in the Demon Realm not long ago. Anyone sensitive enough could easily recognize whose power it was. But there was no way to confirm what the cause was or what had happened. The only person who could answer was the one who had completely disappeared after that day, and his whereabouts were unknown. Unexpectedly, the most annoyed was Ellüen. The Supreme Gods began to peek around his palace, asking if he had received any contact or if he knew his whereabouts. He had been guessing that the gathering being held today was also related to that matter.

They seemed to think that Ellüen knew everything but was deliberately not answering. From Ellüen’s point of view, it was something he couldn’t understand or didn’t want to understand. He wondered why they were wasting time in the wrong place, but now that things had turned out this way, their guesses had turned out to be correct. Who would have known that the person who had disappeared would suddenly appear before him like this? And in a state no different from a wreck.

“Answer me, Kanos.”

“…Huh?”

At the urging voice, the man—Kanos’s eyes, which had been about to close, reopened. But his eyes were clearly more clouded than before. The consciousness that had been forcibly holding on until now was beginning to fade in earnest as it met a presence it could trust. Ellüen lightly clicked his tongue.

“You can pass out to your heart’s content after answering, so explain the situation first.”

“…Ah, that matter…”

A voice as devoid of energy as his clouded eyes slowly echoed. Kanos spoke with a darkly sunken face.

“Half success, half failure.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s as it sounds. I did subdue him. But it was impossible to completely eliminate him. All I could do was place restrictions to prevent further awakening and seal him.”

“You didn’t deliberately go easy on him, did you?”

“Haha, does it look that way after all? I wish it were that. I mean…”

“…”

“Do you believe it, Ellüen? That I ended up in this state just from sealing a would-be god. Evil gods are really amazing. To be able to exert this much power even before a complete awakening… Anyway, it was a power that that foolish guy would covet. If something like that were born, the Divine Realm would be turned upside down. Do you know what that guy said to me? He said he’d give me a part of the Divine Realm if I came under him. He called that persuasion, can you believe it?”

Kanos chuckled incessantly, even while wincing in pain. His voice was bright, but his face was uncharacteristically self-deprecating. Ellüen covered his eyes with one hand.

“You still have the strength to chatter. I understand, so stop being noisy and just sleep.”

“Wow, that’s too much. You heard everything you wanted to hear, so now you’re pretending you don’t know about aftercare? Was our Ellüen a man who only cares about satisfying his desires and ignores the aftermath?”

“Shall I hand you over to another god since your business is done?”

“…I’ll be quiet.”

The execution was carried out at the same time as the answer. The faltering movements stopped, and he became silent as he was. He said he was going to sleep, but in reality, he had merely let go of the string of consciousness he had been struggling to hold on to. I don’t know whether to praise his mental strength for making nonsense until the end or to click my tongue at him for being such a terrible guy. Ellüen sighed and swept back his hair.

“A seal…”

It wasn’t the worst outcome, so should I say it’s fortunate? If it can’t be completely eliminated, then sealing it is the best option. Since the Demon God has placed restrictions, it won’t be broken for a while, and there will be enough time to prepare the next countermeasure. But since it’s also a temporary measure, I can’t help but feel bitter.

In the meantime, I could feel the angels who had gone to get the Celestial Water returning one by one. It was such a severe injury that I could tell just by glancing at it. To heal him enough to resemble a human, they would have to go back and forth several more times. A sigh, which seemed to have become a habit now, flowed out of Ellüen’s mouth again.

“Either way, the gathering is a confirmed disciplinary action.”

* * *

The Hall of the Gods, the main gathering place of the Divine Realm and also a common area. Right now, people with serious expressions were sitting around there. They were gods from various levels who had gathered after receiving Shannon’s letter. All the seats in the hall were assigned, and they were automatically created according to the number of gods born. Originally, the seats should have been filled without any gaps, but two seats were left empty. One of them was a seat that had never been occupied by its owner since it was created.

“It seems Lord Ellüen is not coming after all.”

Shannon, the host, muttered with a troubled expression. Given Ellüen’s diligent nature, he thought that if he urged him to attend without giving him a chance to refuse, he would come even if he didn’t want to be disciplined, but that expectation was shattered nicely. Thanks to that, the atmosphere of the hall was all abuzz. It was already a well-known fact that Ellüen, the God of Punishment, did not participate in regularly held banquets or schedule meetings. However, not appearing even at a gathering personally hosted and urged to attend by Shannon, the Supreme God, was a clear discourtesy, regardless of whether he would be disciplined or not. The gods carefully watched Shannon’s mood. But he himself was indifferent. There was no way that someone like Ellüen would not be aware of the importance of today’s gathering. Nevertheless, the fact that he did not come meant that something else important had happened that could not be ignored. In that regard, Iowen and Radeca were of the same opinion.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, does it? Ellüen knows what’s going on anyway.”

“He has a red encounter scheduled. He may not be able to come even if he wants to.”

Since the Celestial God and the Goddess of Fate were defending him, the other gods could not harbor any complaints. The fact that one of the empty seats was Kanos’s seat also contributed to the fact that they could not easily disparage the absentees. As the atmosphere in the hall became chaotic, Shannon lightly clapped his hands to get their attention.

“Well then, let’s hear about the circumstances of those who didn’t come later. It’s not a story that’s good to drag out, so let’s get straight to the point.”
The reason for the gathering was not written in the official documents. It was a gathering that they were curious about anyway, so the gods all waited for Shannon to continue speaking. Shannon also did not refuse such an atmosphere and spoke directly.

“It seems an Evil God will be born.”

“…!”

The buzzing surroundings became quiet in an instant. The gods, who had been frozen for a moment, began to realize the meaning one by one and were horrified. It was a shocking story to hear without any preparation.

“D-Did you just say an Evil God?”

One of the mid-level gods asked with an incredulous face. Shannon nodded.

“We have captured evidence that the Demon King Karyudrian broke the taboo. The Demon God Kanos went out to investigate the matter, but there has been no news from him so far. Perhaps some of you felt a strong wave that occurred in the Demon Realm not long ago. That was the last trace of him that we could find.”

“T-That can’t be…”

The Demon God has gone missing! It was as shocking a story as the fact that an Evil God was being born.

“Radeca said that Kanos is not destined to be destroyed by others. So I don’t think it’s the worst ending. But she also said that the threat has not disappeared. So we can’t just be optimistic and wait. Therefore, we are going to devise measures that we can take.”

Towards the gods with blank faces, Shannon explained all the things he had grasped so far. From the fact that the Evil God’s awakening was not far off, to the only way to stop it before the awakening. That method was also shocking, so the gods swallowed dry saliva again.

“To destroy the Evil God, a High-Level God must sacrifice themselves?”

“Yes, unfortunately, that is the case. The sacrifice of a High-Level God will be a very painful loss, no matter who it is. But we must prevent the Evil God from being born. I believe everyone agrees with that fact.”

“…”

The surrounding air became quiet to the point of being chilly. It was a gathering that they had participated in with a light heart when they received the letter. Faced with the sudden and enormous truth, they couldn’t even properly compose their expressions. In particular, the faces of the High-Level Gods who were being forced to sacrifice themselves were completely frozen.

“Then, how will the sacrificial victim be determined?”

“Good question. The best way would be for a volunteer to come forward, but if there are no volunteers, we will try to entrust it to the Clock of Fate as a second option.”

At the same time as those words, a huge circular clock floated in the middle of the hall in a lying position. The shape and hands were the same as an ordinary clock, but the places where the numbers should have been were filled with unknown geometric patterns and drawings. The faces of the High-Level Gods who saw it became even more frozen.

The Clock of Fate. It was Radeca’s main ability, and it was used to find a fate that fit a certain condition or to read the future. However, the fate that the clock pointed to was closer to an abstract implication. It only read the condition—or perhaps what might be the result—so the judgment could vary depending on the person listening. Still, it was a better way to look at it than simply drawing lots.

“Radeca. I ask for your help.”

Radeca, who had lightly nodded at Shannon’s words, jumped onto the clock. The surface of the clock, reacting to her power, began to shine brightly with a silver light. Radeca’s hair, swallowed by that light, also contained a strange light. Then, the stopped clock hands slowly moved. The clock began to read the future.

Each time the needle moved, the gods sitting in that direction shuddered. In the space where silence flowed, it felt like even the sound of a hair falling could be heard.

After a while, Radeca’s closed eyes opened, and the first condition flowed out of her mouth.

“One isolated and lonely.”

The clock hand moved again, and her gaze followed as well.

“A gentle ruthlessness.”

“A strict but generous judge.”

“A noble pillar.”

Each time a short sentence was uttered, the faces of the gods changed to various colors from moment to moment. The silent space felt like even the sound of a hair falling could be heard.

“And…”

Squeak, finally, the tilted needle pointed to the last word. Radeca’s pupils, reading it, trembled as if ripples were forming.

“…Father.”