Chapter 316

“Do you know the meaning of this coffin?”

“Of course.”

The Undying Demon Queen smiles.

“It means they reconciled.”

“That’s right.”

“I envy that. Since I was complete from the beginning, I had nothing to reconcile.”

Even though that was a glorious thing. I wanted to ask her a few philosophical questions but didn’t bother. We were interrupting the story of the past.

“Nice to meet you, but I need to know what happened in the past.”

“Ah, I talked too much. Fine, I will show you the original history.”

The Undying Demon Queen asked.

The people of the past were watching as if they couldn’t believe the conversation between me and her.

“Should we make them remember our conversation, or forget it?”

“Obviously the latter.”

“Understood.”

The Demon Queen put her palms together.

She sandwiched the world between palm and palm and pressed gently, transforming reality.

Everyone gathered forgot their conversation.

It was a phenomenon worthy of being called the majesty of an Outer Being, but I wasn’t surprised.

“Watch, Shion.”

Lefren whispered.

“Because it is your origin.”

***

The world decided not to be conscious of the audience anymore.

Keeping my existence at a distance, it presented the old events that actually happened.

All humans of the past, including Sen Sorti, forgot me.

“I am Lefren.”

The Demon Queen also opened her mouth, treating me as if I didn’t exist.

“The Demon Queen of Undying.”

The three-headed Demon Queen calmly walked among them.

Hiraeum, Ahmena Eln Yade Asmir, Beila Beile (with Lacrosha), Debius, Caseptus, Cordisias, Sen Sorti.

Even if they become gods later, they are still human yet.

They looked at Lefren, who mingled among them, as if they couldn’t believe it.

“…It is different from what I thought.”

“Different from what you thought?”

At Sen Sorti’s words, Lefren tilted her head.

“What did you think? This is me. I was originally like this.”

“What should I say….”

The mage opened her mouth cautiously.

Lefren’s friendly attitude was truly awkward.

She is the only Demon Queen remaining across all universes.

One cannot even guess what kind of high place she dwells in.

Yet, acting so gently like this only made it bewildering.

“…I thought there would be a slightly more dignified, great… and a magnificent entrance.”

“Ah.”

The Demon Queen let out an exclamation.

“I see. That is correct. Such preconceptions are common. I lacked sense again.”

Lefren smiled slightly and raised her hands.

“I will match it for you even now.”

The lightly raised hands slowly moved toward the front of her chest.

Even a single movement of the gathering fingers was elegant.

“My name is Undying.”

She put her palms together.

The whole world was caught between the slowly touching left and right hands.

The Demon Queen, having sandwiched the whole world between her two palms, twisted and transformed it.

“Something that was repulsive, something that is repulsive, something that will be repulsive.”

Everything rotated around the Demon Queen.

The clean and white room was disassembled into square components and disappeared.

Instead, a wilderness came to them.

The Dimashq Plains transformed into a dry and vast land.

The change was not swift.

It happened gradually but at the same time very deeply, from the essence.

The whole world surrounding the Demon Queen changed into a form worthy of her.

Enough for the continent’s greatest granary to become a wilderness that would continue even after a thousand years.

“So look, even death is far away.”

Domain, Undying Temple.

***

There were thirteen stone pillars and the wilderness was vast.

Only the sky was visible beyond the horizon.

The sun rose there, and soon the sun set. Thousands of sunrises and sunsets repeated in an instant.

Then soon it was noon.

The sun stopped up there and announced an eternal noon.

The thirteen stone pillars made a path.

They made a path in the wilderness to make them look beyond the horizon.

Ahmena Eln Yade Asmir looked at the thirteen stone pillars standing tall.

An image was carved on each one.

Thirteen images carved on the stone pillars.

In order, the appearance of a newborn baby, the appearance of a girl, the appearance of a woman, the appearance of an elder, the appearance of being freshly dead, the appearance of being swollen from decay, the appearance of fat flowing from holes, the appearance of flesh melting away, the appearance of being eaten by bugs, the appearance of being black and blue and tattered, the appearance of only bones remaining, the appearance of even those bones scattering, and finally the appearance of death turned into powder.

Stone pillars carved with four appearances of life and nine appearances of death.

Four stages of life go through nine stages of death and return to life again.

This means immortality.

The thirteen stone pillars guide them beyond the horizon, to the three-headed Demon Queen sitting aloofly there.

Dry land continues endlessly.

The sun stopped and beat down intensely.

The Demon Queen waits for them beyond the horizon.

She was so huge that below her waist was not even visible.

This place is her domain that she rules, the Undying Temple.

“You have called me.”

She was keeping her eyes closed.

Also keeping a smile.

It was such a comfortable and soft face that it was even benevolent.

On the left side of such a face was a rotten face, and on the right side was a face with only bones remaining.

“What do you want that you called me? I am repulsive. There is no reason for life to welcome me.”

“We.”

The one who spoke was Cordisias.

He spoke without being daunted.

Even though all others were frozen in front of the majesty of the Demon Queen, he did not back down even a little.

“Want immortality.”

“I suppose so.”

The Demon Queen nodded.

What humans want is the same in any era of any star.

She was still smiling as if it wasn’t even surprising.

Cordisias gradually stepped closer to the front of the Demon Queen.

“Can you give that to us?”

“It is a very easy task.”

“Then….”

“However.”

Lefren spoke firmly.

“I want to warn you.”

She raised her hand.

Showing her widely opened palm, she conveyed the meaning not to come any closer.

But not too strongly.

As if to say if you dare to come closer, I will not stop you further, but my intention is like this.

“You do not know what you are seeking.”

“…….”

“Know that you are discussing death without knowing life. Realize that you are seeking immortality without knowing death. You are touching a place too deep. You are making a demand that is too early and hasty.”

Lefren spoke with benevolence.

“It is good for you to withdraw.”

“…Death is….”

Cordisias did not back down.

Rather, a spirit of defiance arose against the blocking palm, and he took big strides one step after another.

His eyes are a bloody golden color.

“…Death makes us inferior. We suffer pain because we are inferior to things called gods. We must escape. We cannot go on like this.”

He declares.

“Humans need salvation.”

“Correct. Humans are beings that must reconcile.”

The Demon Queen affirmed.

“However, immortality is not salvation.”

“Then!”

Cordisias shouted in rising anger.

He pointed his finger at the mighty Outer Being that was thousands of times larger than him and hundreds of millions of times, no, absolutely impossible to express in numbers, stronger.

He was a Prince, but he traveled around the world and examined various lives.

He realized that all humans are thrown into the sea of pain, and this is the essence and existence of humans.

He was a young man agonizing over pain, and because of that, he had no choice but to be very angry.

“Are you saying to leave this death as it is? Leave the pain as it is? Do you know sorrow and suffering? What about the deep regret? What are we supposed to do about our broken reality!”

“You are misunderstanding.”

The Demon Queen’s voice is quiet.

“It means you have skipped steps. You are getting to know life, but you do not know death yet. Reconcile with death first. Then the gentle breeze will….”

“Stop.”

Cordisias spoke as if growling.

He decided not to expect anything from the Demon Queen anymore.

“I will not talk anymore, Demon Queen.”

Lefren still keeps her eyes closed.

As if resigned, as if she knew it would be like this, as if humans are originally like that, yet as if it is regrettable.

Pity and benevolence.

“My name is Cordisias. I was born with responsibility as a Prince of the Empire.”

He showed his responsibility and qualification at the same time.

Even the fact that he was determined to carry it, though it was heavy and heavy.

“I will take responsibility now.”

Cordisias reached out his hand.

Sen Sorti approached and held his hand.

They are a married couple.

They decided to share their destiny.

Cordisias decided to spit out the words he had prepared.

It was a cosmic fact that even that mighty Demon Queen could do nothing about.

“We know that the One-Cycle of that high place is broken.”

“…Do not dare speak of the One-Cycle.”

“I say I know because I know. The One-Cycle is broken! It means I know you have become bound by promises!”

“…I will not deny it.”

“We offered a sacrifice, and you received it, so….”

He raised his voice.

“Respond to our demand.”

Cordisias shouted.

“Grant immortality to all humans of this land!”

“…I advised, but do you speak of a contract?”

The Demon Queen opened her eyes.

They were unfathomably deep crimson.

“Fine, foolish ones. Even that is you.”

Three heads, six eyes.

Two crimson pupils, two rotten eyes, and two bone holes that were awkward to even call eyes actually.

Before those six eyes, Cordisias had no choice but to feel fear.

Humans cannot help but be afraid before a fragment of eternity.

However, he grit his teeth.

Cordisias ruminated on the lives he had to carry.

The number was hundreds of millions.

He knew he dared not carry them, but he could not let go.

He steadied his feet with responsibility.

“I will not warn you anymore.”

The Demon Queen reached out her hand.

There was a seed there.

The seed soon sprouted and became a vine.

The vine wiggled like a snake and bore fruit.

It was a fruit resembling an apple, but it was crimson with a black sheen.

There were many fruits too.

The number was hundreds of millions.

It was equal to the number of humans living in this land.

“Take what you want.”

***

The Demon Queen blew her breath toward the hundreds of millions of fruits.

The fruits flew like spores.

Without missing a single human, they settled into them.

It was the same for Cordisias and everyone standing by his side.

“…Oh….”

Caseptus let out an exclamation.

He felt the crimson fruit settle in his body.

Because it was a fruit from a very deep place, it seeped into a deep place.

This fruit gave one mystery to their souls.

The name of the mystery is Ars.

Caseptus’s Ars, ‘Last Minister’.

“…Oh, ooh…!”

He transformed into a giant form.

His head was that of an eagle.

Caseptus knew that he was still human but also something that transcended humans.

If he wanted, he would be human, and if he wanted, he would not be human.

It was the Undying itself that they wished for.

“Your Highness!”

Caseptus shouted excitedly.

“Your Highness Cordisias! Your Highness has done it. As expected, you were right!”

It was not only Caseptus who successfully accepted immortality and realized his Ars.

Hiraeum, Ahmena Eln Yade Asmir, Beila Beile, Debius, Cordisias, and Sen Sorti all transformed.

“We have obtained immortality! Now, not to be inferior to those things called gods…!”

“…Wait…! What’s wrong…?”

Caseptus could not shout anymore.

It was because of Beila Beile’s lament.

“…Why are you doing this! Wake up…!”

He realized his Ars, ‘Last Clown’, and transformed, but the girl beside him could not.

She was the girl Beila Beile had been loving all along, but she had been convulsing ever since accepting the fruit of immortality.

The clown called the name of the girl, the human turning into a snake, with a sorrowful voice.

“…Lacrosha…!”

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