Chapter 904: Demon king, and the heavenly father.
"Welcome to the seventh heaven... The heaven of humility. Victor Alucard, Ophis Tepes, and Nero Alucard."
"The heaven of humility...? Do all heavens have names?" Nero asked curiously.
"Yes, indeed. They all have names, but currently, they are irrelevant. What matters most is the place you are in now." The middle-aged man looked at the landscape in front of him.
"Humility is one of the most basic principles for every being; without it, you are nothing. Despite all the power in my hands, I must remain humble to avoid doing things I will regret in the future."
"... It's like a chain that binds you, huh?" Victor added, understanding his heavenly father's feelings to some extent.
"Correct... but at the same time, wrong." He smiled lightly. "It's more like a guide for your own will."
A chair similar to the heavenly father's appears beside him. Victor looks at the chair and understands the heavenly father's intention. He floats toward the chair and makes the motion to sit, but he doesn't actually sit; instead, he continues floating just a few centimeters above the chair.
A table with four simple white chairs appears away from Victor and the heavenly father, without the need for words. Metis, Nero, Ophis, and Ariel understand that it's for them to sit at that table.
"What do you think of paradise, Victor?"
"Quite empty." Victor was honest.
"Hmm, if you think of it that way, then it must be."
"... It seems there are other reasons for heaven to be like this. Am I right?" Victor asked when he saw the heavenly father's reaction.
Beings always seek meaning in things; sometimes, something may have meaning, and sometimes not... In this case, you are correct. The reason I am like this is for Peace."
"Peace...?"
"The beings who come to this place are the good part of a being's soul. And for that soul to remain pure, everything must be equal for everyone."
"... I see, the seven sins, huh."
"Yes, indeed. If I were to show that the Seraphim have more 'items' than the souls, feelings of envy and greed would eventually arise."
"But that's not necessarily a bad thing," Victor said.
That's correct, envy can be seen as motivation to improve, and greed as the fuel to make a being move... But in heaven, such feelings are not necessary; they must remain pure so they can continue on their own journey."
"It's easy to be corrupted but difficult to rid oneself of corruption... Huh?"
"Exactly." The Heavenly Father nodded.
"Those who are humble with themselves recognize their flaws more easily, and thus can correct them. In this process of converting them, evolution happens... Some beings don't understand this, but others do. I wonder which one you are, Victor Walker."
"Hmm... Hard to say, I've always tried to be true to myself, so I think I'm the first example?" He spoke.
The heavenly father's eyes glowed slightly, instead of answering Victor's question, he asked, "What are you?"
"What am I...?"
"A dragon, an Elder God, a human, a demon, a monster, a vampire, or a cosmic horror?"
"Hmm..."
A quiet silence fell around them, Victor looked at the horizon with no thoughts in his head. Unconsciously, he relaxed in the use of his powers, and his body sank into the chair, but even with his immense weight, the chair did not yield... Slowly but progressively, his body began to be covered by a very light pure white power.
Seeing this, the heavenly father displayed a small smile. 'He truly is exceptional; with few words, he began to understand better.'
The principle of understanding was taking place. If I see, I understand. If I feel, I understand. Sometimes, this is not always correct.
For a god... An abnormal god like Victor who embodies both the negative and positive principles, a god of chaos, understanding is essential.
God made man in his image; that's how Adam, the progenitor of men, was created.
A deity created a mortal, common sense is applied here, but... Who created the God to embody an image?
The answer to this question is... Himself.
Through self-understanding, the god fashioned his own image.
Victor's aura underwent several changes, initially starting as pure white, but then shifting to a malevolent black, then to a crimson red, a neon violet, until it returned to black, absorbing all the light around.
Throughout this transformation, Ariel, Ophis, Nero, and Metis were staring at Victor intently. Something was happening... But they didn't know what it was.
Metis and Ariel seemed to have an idea, but nothing concrete; after all, Victor was a unique being, common sense couldn't be applied to him.
"I understand..." Victor closed his eyes solemnly; he felt the turmoil in his soul calming.
'I am all of this; there's no point in separating things. I am all these versions... but primarily, I am a blood dragon externally, and a cosmic horror internally,' Victor thought.
The 'cosmic horror,' as Victor called it, was nothing more than his own personality without the constraints of his family. It could be said that this being was the physical representation of Victor's true essence.
A cosmic monster that devoured everything into the abyssal crimson darkness, a being that would only be unleashed when Victor had nothing to lose but could appear when he was very irritated.
"Thank you very much for your words, heavenly father... I understand myself a bit better now."
"You're welcome, Victor." He continued to gaze at the horizon. "Remember that the quest for self-understanding doesn't end when you become a god... In fact, this journey has only just begun for you, and for you, who wields the power of chaos, self-understanding is even more important."
Victor nodded; he could now understand the heavenly father's words.
"Not to mention... I must thank you. Thank you for saving my daughter."
"I-." Victor was about to say something, but the heavenly father cut him off.
Regardless of the reason you saved her... You saved her... And that's what matters... So, thank you."
"...
A moment of silence fell around them again, a moment that lasted quite a long time, but no one noticed due to the ever-unchanging landscape.
"Tell me, Victor. Do you wield the power of creation?" The heavenly father asked something that had been bothering him from the beginning.
"A fraction... It can't even be called divinity yet." Victor opened his hand and showed the essence of creation he received from Amaterasu.
"... Even a small spark can cause a great fire... Seek understanding of creation; the answer to these questions you already have as a blood dragon."
Victor nodded; he understood that the heavenly father was speaking in this way precisely not to 'obstruct' his own path. Self-understanding to comprehend a deity is crucial.
You can 'observe' other gods doing something, but their path doesn't mean it will be the same as yours. Individuality was necessary.
The heavenly father looked at Victor and felt the greater divinity of destruction and the fragment of creation within him. 'But... A god of destruction as the primary deity and simultaneously a god of creation in the making... You're truly breaking all the rules imposed by creation, and yet none of the primordials have knocked on your door.'
A god of CHAOS should never be allowed to exist because this existence essentially breaks the balance by embodying two opposing aspects.
A rule that not even the primordials can break.
If Death is responsible for the end of everything.
The Universal Tree is responsible for the initial kick-off that gives rise to the beginning of everything.
They are opposites of each other, and none of them can wield the power of their opposite aspect... But here, we have a being who is both the god of negativity representing ALL the deities on the negative side of the scale, and at the same time, he is the God of Begin, representing the beginning of everything, and is only the second most important deity of the positive aspect of creation.
The amount of power and authority in this person's hands is staggering to the point of perversion.
'He is still a novice god... In the future, when he has a better understanding of his own deities, I can't even imagine what kind of being he will become.' The heavenly father thought.
"Do you have any tips for progressing in my deities?"
Instead of answering, Victor said, "You must understand why I spoke the way I did, right?"
"Yes."
"So, don't rush."
"I'm not in a hurry; I understand very well that I need to control my current power as before." From the beginning, Victor always took to heart the lesson of control that Scathach taught him; he hadn't forgotten that. "I just want a hint; after all, I have many deities."
"... I understand, that's fair. Never has a mortal ascended with so many deities in their hands." The heavenly father nodded in understanding; he could grasp a bit of Victor's difficulty.
In simple terms, he was like an adult who had bought several different good games but didn't have time to play them all because he was too busy.
"The only thing I can tell you without compromising you is... Start with the deities you identify with the most," the heavenly father advised.
'Home, family, martial honor, vengeance, Yandere, strength, and Blood then,' Victor thought. These are the deities he identifies with the most, deities that somehow represent an essential aspect of his personality and existence.
"I understand; thank you very much."
"You're welcome." The heavenly father nodded and then brought up another topic. "Speaking of the alliance... I propose a deeper alliance."
Victor raised an eyebrow and looked at the heavenly father.
This topic caught Ariel's attention. As the general of the angels, she knew very well that her leader's words following this could greatly influence how she would lead the angels in the future.
She picked up the tea cup that was on the table and drank calmly.
"I don't like how the remaining humanity is further dividing due to the prejudices of other gods in the pantheon. This division will eventually cause more problems for us. History doesn't lie; this has happened many times in the past."
"... So, what do you suggest?"
"Uniting demons and angels as permanent allies through a marital alliance."
"Pffft." Ariel spat on the floor where she was drinking.
"Are you okay?" Ophis asked.
"Y-Yeah."
Ignoring Ariel, he continued, "Consequently, I propose that your religion and mine also form an alliance... Of course, this alliance will last as long as you are the Demon King."
"Oh?" Victor understood the implications in the heavenly father's words; he was basically saying, 'I trust you, but not the other demons.'
"I don't mind forming this alliance... But what are your intentions?"
"Supervision... I've seen very well what happens when mortals are left unsupervised, and it will only get worse if the gods interact more with mortals and give them advantages."
"So basically, you want to control them... For a man who gave free will, you're going to take it away?" Victor asked.
"Control is a strong word; I prefer to advise."
"And punish if they break the rules, right?" Victor added with a small smile.
"Yes."
"And they call me the demon of tyranny," Victor laughed.
"I have to learn something from my 'rival,'" the heavenly father said. "By the way... When will you take me to hell?"
"Do you want to go now?" Victor asked.
"Why not? I'm not doing anything anyway."
"Okay..." Victor stood up from the chair. "By the way, who do you want to marry? Actually, can angels even do that?"
"They can't... But I can make it possible for them. I was thinking of one of my daughters of the seven virtues." The heavenly father stood up from his chair.
"Which one are you interested in?"
"... Are you asking me?" Victor raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, I won't hand over my daughter to someone I don't know, so you're the most natural choice."
"Hmm... How about we leave this matter for the future? It's not like marriage is essential for the alliance, right? You have more influence than all your angels combined. Symbolically, seeing you shake hands with the 'king of hell' is more significant than the marriage of an angel and a demon..."
Victor stopped talking when he realized that the marriage of an angel and a demon would be equally shocking.
"In fact, both would be shocking to mortals."
"... That's true." The heavenly father nodded, and then the two beings began to walk and talk.
Victor gestured for Nero, Metis, and Ophis to follow. The girls understood the hand gesture and began to follow Victor, leaving Ariel, who was completely shocked by all the absurdities she was hearing.
'Has my father completely lost it?' Ariel had some less-than-angelic thoughts about her own creator.
