Vishnu, attempting to possess Elodie—and Elodie, who had just now become aware of the power of the soul and was trying to use it.
At this rate, it was certain that Pandemonium would open.
Yet from a god’s standpoint Vishnu could not run from this fight, and Pandemonium as a possibility did not even exist in Elodie’s mind.
In other words, one of the two would, here and now—
Ka-thoom!
[Stop!]
“?!”
Elodie reeled for an instant.
She had been on the brink of grasping some inherent power within herself and striking at Vishnu, when her body’s direction changed mid-motion.
Where she turned back to face Vishnu—
“......Rudra?”
—there stood another man, cutting between her and Vishnu.
Unlike Vishnu, who had stepped in as if parting the seam of the world, Rudra had come down like a bolt of lightning.
Rudra, god of wind and storm.
He had made the powers of both Vishnu and Elodie cross and miss.
[......Hoo.]
It seemed even for Rudra it had been by a hair’s breadth; confirming that both were unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief.
[Elodie, you never cease to astonish me.]
It was not Elodie but Vishnu who responded to Rudra’s words.
[Rudra! How dare you meddle!]
Vishnu, for once, showed a tinge of anger.
Gods, as a rule, do not interfere in the actions of other gods.
This was not because Vishnu was a Primary God. Any god, by default, does not interfere in another god’s business. And even if they do, they do not commit something as sudden and coercive as what just happened.
This was because in ages past they had tasted bitter failure through such interference. One could say gods, too, learn as history proceeds.
[Sorry, Vishnu. I was trying to avoid stepping in if I could, but I didn’t expect Elodie to be able to use the power of the soul.]
[.......]
The same was true for Vishnu.
Had it continued as it was, Pandemonium would surely have opened.
And if so, the result was foregone.
[Right now is not the time for either one of you to exit.]
“......Pandemonium?”
Elodie knit her brows.
She had heard it from Frondier. About Pandemonium. And about the power of the soul.
'Then what I just felt was my soul?'
It had indeed been a bizarre sensation. A sense different yet again from mana. Mana feels like a wind that circulates within the body, but what she had just felt—
'......If I had to put it into words, it was similar to a voice.'
It was a kind of cry. Was that what it meant for the soul to exert power?
At the same time Elodie intuited it. Unlike mana, no matter what she did, the power of the soul could not grow stronger or weaker. It had simply been fixed from the moment she was born. Perhaps an obvious thing—because it was, literally, the soul.
[“Either one,” you say?]
Vishnu let out a voice of displeasure.
[Are you saying I could lose in Pandemonium?]
[......Vishnu, as you know, gods aren’t very good at lying. So the only answer I can give to that question is—]
Rudra let out a sigh midway and said,
[I don’t know.]
[Rudra!]
Thud-dum!
At the odd sound, Rudra turned his head. In that gap the air emptied for a moment and then filled.
Rudra’s eyes went cold.
[......Vishnu.]
[Rudra, do not speak carelessly to a Primary God. That I would be defeated in rank of soul? That is something that admits not even a sliver of possibility. Know it for an insult to me.]
[......An insult, is it.]
Rudra briefly touched his fringe. Whether it was one of his traits or not, even that small motion threw off sparks.
[Elodie.]
Rudra called to Elodie.
“What?”
[The promise we made. Do you remember?]
“......?”
[That you would protect Frondier.]
Ah.
Elodie recalled it at those words.
When he had told her plainly that Frondier’s Weaving was an affront.
Worried about the divine threat that would befall Frondier, she had asked it of Rudra.
[I told you, didn’t I. On my name. That I would abide by that meaning.]
—If that’s what you want, I will protect Frondier, and I will deliver divine punishment in your stead to the god who tries to harm him. Even if the result is that every god but me becomes my enemy.
Yes, it had certainly been so.
But why bring that up now?
Before Elodie could ask, Vishnu’s face twisted first.
[......Rudra. What are you about to say.]
[Elodie.]
Rudra called to her again.
[How much can you accept?]
“......What?”
[“Protect Frondier.” To achieve just that one thing, how much sacrifice is possible? Is it something more important than your life? Is it something of such value that it’s all right to twist your entire fate? Or is it a matter that must take precedence even if it collapses the balance of the entire world?]
“.......”
Elodie could not answer.
When it came to protecting Frondier, she had not thought to that extent.
Frondier was simply Frondier.
One person precious to Elodie, whom she did not want to lose.
But was that one person’s life a problem on the level of fate and the world?
[......Heh.]
Rudra smiled as if to say he understood.
It was still a hasty topic for Elodie.
[You don’t have to answer now. But don’t forget it. Put it off as long as you can, and when you can’t put it off any longer, then answer.]
Until then, time for preparation would be needed.
Rudra turned his gaze to Vishnu.
[Elodie. Even in the meantime I’ll keep my promise to you. No matter what god becomes the enemy.]
[Rudra. How dare you say such filth in front of me......!]
[Yes. I am Rudra.]
Bzzzt, bzzzzzt!
Wind rose around Rudra, clothes and hair rippling in it, and with each rippling instant lightning sheeted through the gaps.
[No god whatsoever can dare to kill me.]
[Rudra!]
[Vishnu, do not forget.]
Compared to one of the Triune Primary Gods, Rudra was certainly a high god, but clearly fell short of Vishnu.
He should have fallen short.
And yet—why.
Rudra as he was now was dangerous. Vishnu’s instinct told him so.
[If you are one of the Triune Primary Gods, then all the more you must not forget my name.]
[......!]
The tone of a grave warning. The very act of speaking such words to Vishnu was an insult to him, yet Vishnu did not move.
The very momentum felt from Rudra right now was out of the ordinary, and Elodie stood at his side.
Above all, Elodie’s other gods had not yet shown themselves. That meant there was nothing yet that would truly harm Elodie. He knew that Vishnu trying to make Elodie strangle his own neck with her hands had been nothing more than a threat.
But if he were to clash head-on with Rudra now, there was no guaranteeing they would merely watch in silence thereafter.
[......Rudra. You will regret having uttered such words to me.]
[Go cool your head.]
And so Vishnu left. Rudra let out a sigh for what felt like the umpteenth time today.
[Now it’s hopeless to seek help from Vishnu. Elodie.]
“Why would I take help from that bastard? I told you. We’re done.”
With a snort, Elodie spoke in a bold voice. Rudra let out a soft chuckle.
[Right. I’d better be careful too if I don’t want you to cut me off.]
“Of course. And you made a promise.”
[Yes. I did.]
Rudra nodded like that.
And before Elodie had a chance to say anything, without any proper farewell, he simply vanished.
“......Honestly, I try to understand, and then I just can’t? Would it kill you to say you’re leaving before you go?”
Grumbling thus, Elodie suddenly remembered and lifted her head.
“Right. Frondier.”
Frondier would now be heading to where Carla was.
To confirm whether Atena’s possession was real.
And if that were the truth, then not only Atena but most humans who had divine power would all be at risk of possession.
“If it comes to that, it’s the worst. On the surface it might look like a war between gods and demons, but the ones dying are humans......!”
To make a human city into a battlefield, to fight demons in human bodies. From the human side it was an utterly unreasonable war.
'Since Frondier will have gone to the hospital, I’ll head to the capital.'
Riri and Arald were already on their way to the capital. Elodie judged it best to join them and grasp the situation first.
She accelerated her flight in a direction a little different from where Frondier had gone.
***
“Ias. Look at that. Quite a nice coat.”
“It is.”
Ias di Achaia blankly followed his mother, Eriboia, around the capital of Palma.
A vacation trip proposed out of the blue by Eriboia.
Though the whole family had come to the capital for fun, Eriboia all but kept Ias at her side as if glued to him.
“Mother. Can’t I look around on my own a bit too?”
“Oh my, Ias. Have you already gotten tired of your mom? Am I a bother now?”
“......That sounds like a girlfriend’s sulk.”
Ias let out a sigh.
In truth, Eriboia’s intention was plain as day.
'She’s inching closer and closer to Palma Palace.'
Eriboia had many connections among the high nobility. Of course, those connections also reached the King of Palma.
This was partly because Eriboia’s eloquence and refinement were outstanding, but in fact it was because the House of Achaia itself was already a distinguished house.
Eriboia intended to use this chance to introduce her son to nobles living in the capital. # Nоvеlight # Naturally, she would not set up appointments in advance. That would be too obvious.
But the odds of not meeting a single noble to whom her connections reached, here in the capital, were close to zero.
In fact, she had already met a few and, with subtlety, boasted of Ias.
“This kind of thing is embarrassing.”
“What’s embarrassing about it. You’ve got a handsome face; just carry yourself proudly.”
That’s not the problem.
Words that came up to the tip of his tongue but were swallowed back. He could not win against Eriboia in a dispute anyway. It wasn’t that he lost in logic; he simply could not win. It was just how things were.
“By the way, there are a lot of parades today.”
Ias looked around as he spoke.
He roughly knew what mood the capital was in right now.
Two goddesses, and the two women each had chosen. The contest of their beauty had now grown in force to an undeniable scale.
Even so, the capital was still peaceful.
The reason for this peace was simple.
A competition over a woman’s beauty. There were no people who would engage with that in all seriousness.
Even if gods stood behind it, to the citizens it was still just a huge event for now.
[Ah, ah, hello everyone~!]
And as each parade passed by, the people standing at the very front with megaphones said similar things.
[April 1! We will be holding a vote here in the capital for the two most beautiful ladies! Who will put an end to this conflict and become the mistress! The decision will be in your hands!]
It was roughly that sort of spiel.
No doubt because of that vote, a strange situation had arisen where the capital’s mood was fairly tense and at the same time rather excited.
......If it’s April 1, Ias listened to that talk and thought absent-mindedly.
'That’s three days from now.'
He was not a citizen of the capital, so things like voting didn’t matter to him, but if he wanted to vote, there would be nothing stopping him.
Most likely on that day the greatest number of people would gather in the capital’s plaza.
The two greatest beauties of the capital would meet, their followings would meet, citizens would gather to vote, and many forces would be deployed for safety and order.
April 1.
Three days from now, this place would be filled with citizens.
“Mother, who do you think will win?”
Ias asked without any special intent.
“I don’t know.”
Naturally, the answer that came back had no special intent either.
“Assuming there even is someone who wins.”
