“Seeing may be believing, but the gods always speak the truth.” (Ahid)
“If you want the truth, then what I’ve seen with my own eyes is plenty enough.” (Anos)
I stared straight back at Ahid and told him.
“The humans believed in Kanon the Brave because it was a fact that he fought for their sake. Even when his body was reduced to ashes, he stood back up and tried to protect everything in sight.” (Anos)
Looking back on it, I could still vividly recall his fighting spirit.
“You think that was the work of the gods? That the humans were believing in your god through Kanon? Don’t make me laugh. People didn’t believe in gods back then. Because I brutally killed so many of them that they could no longer believe in such things. The only one who became their shield and hope was the Hero Kanon, him alone.” (Anos)
Ahid silently closed his eyes and spoke.
“Once again, that was the work of the gods.” (Ahid)
“Oh really? So that man protecting the cities of Gairadite, Veroniez, and Nadelonica was the work of the gods, huh? The Hero Kanon never spoke of such a thing.” (Anos)
“Yes, that is true. The gods commanded the Hero to protect them. Even if he was not aware of it, even if he did not know it, this is what happened. But an atheist like you will never understand this.” (Ahid)
A chuckle escaped my mouth. I couldn’t stop laughing my guts out.
“Hehehe… Hehehehehe… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!!” (Anos)
“What a pitiful reaction. There is nothing to laugh about.” (Ahid)
“Oh come on, Ahid. You ought to laugh, too. I’ve hardly ever heard anything this funny. After all, both Veroniez and Nadelonica were destroyed by my own hands. I wiped them off the map without leaving a single survivor.” (Anos)
Ahid stared at me with his mouth closed and a straight face.
“So your god gave the heroes the divine command to protect, and yet they perished? Was this your way of saying that the Almighty Radiance can’t hold a candle to me? Or perhaps—”
I said to the silent Ahide.
“You were just making things up, and just gave yourself away?” (Anos)
“…The will of the exalted Lord above is not yours to guess.” (Ahid)
I glared sharply at Ahid, who kept coming up with lousy excuses.
“Then why didn’t he save all those people?” (Anos)
Ahid didn’t reply.
He was probably being cautious because of his earlier slip-up.
“That era was hell on earth. We had no choice but to kill whether we liked it or not. We had to destroy others before we were destroyed ourselves. If there really was a god like this Almighty Radiance Equis of yours, then why didn’t he come to save us back then?” (Anos)
“What is to be destroyed is destroyed, and what is to be saved is saved. All things are according to the will of god.” (Ahid)
“Your god is arrogant. If there really is an almighty being who chooses not to save everyone, then his heart is as rotten as they come.” (Anos)
Naturally, my words were filled with anger.
“What I can’t tolerate, Cardinal, is that the salvation you speak of makes a mockery of those who were desperate to live, those who tried to live but could not. I won’t let you dismiss the death of my men and those who bravely challenged me as nothing but the will of some god.” (Anos)
This man’s speech about everything being the work of a god was a desecration against all those who tried desperately to survive in that era.
“Emilia and the Hero Academy students all risked their lives and pride to face the swarm of dragons that attacked their homeland. If it was neither by their will nor their strength, if they were being controlled by a god, then their battle would lose all meaning.” I spat out strongly.
As if to denounce that man’s trickery.
“Neither my life and my past death, nor this salvation we’ve gotten ahold of, nor the mistakes we’ve made, happened under the control of some god. We made it all happen with our own hands.” (Anos)
Emilia and the rest fought hard because they couldn’t blame the gods for it.
And they won alright.
Every bit of that victory was theirs.
I would never let the gods take credit for it.
“Lay, Misa. Did you hear all that?” I asked, using our connection via <Thought Communication Leaks>.
“He said something about a divine command having been given to the Hero. Also that Misa’s heart will be sent to the gods, that once the Hero Kanon draws the Sword of Three Races, it will be returned to the gods, that judgment would fall upon Kanon for taking divine power for granted, and that he would depart for the heavens.” (Anos)
I repeated everything Ahid had said earlier.
“Show him what’s really happening.” (Anos)
I told Lay and Misa, and pointed at Ahide.
“You’re a fool and a crook, Ahid Alovo Agatz. Killing you would be easy, but first, I will show the world that your oracle act is a sham.” I clearly declared to Ahid, who was standing there with a composed expression on his face.
“There’s no such thing as a salvation by the Almighty Radiance Equis. And all this stuff about you hearing the voice of god is a bald-faced lie.” (Anos)
