Chapter 320

In ancient Hotus, there was neither king nor emperor.

Instead, eight living gods ruled the country.

They were not power-holders who claimed to be gods.

Transcendent beings who neither aged nor died and could change the terrain with a single gesture ruled over humans.

The first 120 years of Hotus were extremely peaceful.

The Hotus Eight Gods personally fed, clothed, and raised the 2,770 newborn babies who became the foundation of the country.

The relationship between gods and humans was akin to that of parents and children.

It was a time like paradise for a whole 120 years.

“I was happy.”

Cordisias stood on a high place.

He muttered looking at the whole country he had cultivated.

Would anyone hear? Only Shion from the far future was listening.

But Cordisias in the past would not be able to perceive Shion.

Yet, the muttering did not stop.

“Hotus is the country I dreamed of. It was truly beautiful, a country like a garden made for me, just like its name.”

“…….”

“They did not realize the fruit of immortality within themselves. They died when they reached their age. But even so, their lives are beautiful. No, rather, even more so because of that.”

The lights of life flicker in the dark night.

The Emperor’s eyes curved loosely as if looking at something more lovable than anything.

“I know such people. Even though I am Emperor, I know all my subjects. I even know who lives under that red roof over there. That is the house of the Hellaona family. Once a month, they boil stew with plenty of meat, and it just happens to be today. They invited me, and it would have been nice to join them.”

Shion felt as if Cordisias was talking to him.

Even though that was impossible.

“Rianus still hasn’t fixed the wall. I should stop by tomorrow. Oh, the Seram tree at Hexes’s place is ready for harvest….”

Cordisias recited every single house in his country over a very long time.

Hotus is now a country where hundreds of thousands of people live.

However, the ‘Last Emperor’ did not forget any of them, with the extraordinary memory of a Man-God and the heavy sense of responsibility he had held since he was human.

“…….”

Only, he was fatigued.

Even the ‘Last Emperor’ could no longer remember all the subjects.

Humans were bound to increase further.

He felt that the act of remembering the subjects’ names was ultimately nothing more than playing house.

The infancy of the nation was passing.

“…In childhood, parents are needed. The eight of us played that role.”

Cordisias raised his eyes.

He looked at the sky.

It was raining.

With the power of a Man-God, if he breathed out once, the clouds would clear and the day would become sunny.

But he didn’t want to do that.

Humans increased too quickly.

Also, the Hotus Eight Gods were merely superior to humans, not omnipotent.

As the leader of the Eight Gods, the ‘Last Emperor’ felt the change of the times and realized that the country had to transform.

“But next, what does a nation facing the next era need?”

The answer was already decided.

He just needed time to resolve.

“…An enemy.”

Raindrops flowed down the cheek of the ‘Last Emperor’.

“This country is like a boy. And nothing makes a boy grow like war games.”

“…….”

“The time for war has come.”

Rain. Rain fell.

They say children grow up in the blink of an eye, and this country was the same.

The cute and lovely infancy of the nation passed quickly.

Cordisias touched his smooth face without a single wrinkle.

All 2,770 newborn babies aged and left the world, but he still had the appearance of a young man.

Regardless of appearance, did his heart age?

Or is his heart also young as it is?

Is thinking like this proof of being an old man?

Was this question meaningless in the first place?

Even though he became a god, there were too many things he didn’t know.

***

120 years since the founding of Hotus,

Cordisias proclaimed.

“Only we, the Eight Gods, are gods.”

He declared so that all subjects would know.

“So, beloved subjects, let us defeat those detestable thirteen Ancient Gods together.”

It was also at this time that the Ancient Gods were first called Ancient Gods.

Before that, they were just called gods, no different from the Hotus Eight Gods.

However, Cordisias pledged to make the thirteen Ancient Gods merely beings of the past.

“Let us prove that they are false gods.”

***

Rewriting the names of the thirteen Ancient Gods.

‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’.

‘Great Sea’s Caprice’.

‘Abyss’s Black Light’.

‘Sacred Marriage’s Aftermath’.

‘Abundance’s Sorrowful Mother’.

‘Victory’s Olive’.

‘Breath of Light’.

‘Moon-Shadow’s Pure Heart’.

‘Blood-Iron’s Folly’.

‘Bubble’s Affection’.

‘Gale’s Transgression’.

‘Bellows’s Bias’.

‘Intoxication’s Scent’.

The Hotus Eight Gods conquered them one by one.

The first opponent was ‘Blood-Iron’s Folly’.

Blood-Iron was the most warlike Ancient God.

It was in the form of a boar carrying various weapons on its body, but it was easily caught in a trap.

The trapped boar quickly became a carcass against the Hotus Eight Gods who rushed in all at once.

Next was ‘Intoxication’s Scent’.

Intoxication was an Ancient God with a body like smoke.

If it weren’t for Sen Sorti, it would have been extremely tricky for other Man-Gods to deal with.

However, Sen Sorti captured and trapped ‘Intoxication’s Scent’ with surprisingly delicate magic and defeated it.

‘Bubble’s Affection’ and ‘Bellows’s Bias’ were not difficult opponents either.

The two Ancient Gods were a married couple, but they didn’t get along.

Debius made a distinguished contribution in defeating the two.

After taking the heads of the two Ancient Gods, he added that he finally seemed to have adapted to the power of a Man-God.

The Ancient Gods felt a crisis only after four of them died.

Yet, they still didn’t seem to unite.

‘Gale’s Transgression’ ran away, and the siblings ‘Moon-Shadow’s Pure Heart’ and ‘Breath of Light’ requested negotiations.

‘Gale’s Transgression’ fled to the far eastern end, a very distant land.

It was because he was a coward by nature.

However, he encountered Ahmena Eln Yade Asmir at the end of the land, and lost his life after fighting for ten days and nights.

‘Breath of Light’ said that if they gave him one island, he would not come out from there.

The Hotus Eight Gods accepted this deal.

The name of the island was Arete.

‘Moon-Shadow’s Pure Heart’ had surprisingly fallen in love with a human.

Moon-Shadow said that if they didn’t interfere with their love, she would not interfere with the Hotus Eight Gods either.

The Eight Gods accepted this as well.

Moon-Shadow eventually loses both her lover and her life later.

At this time, she makes one promise with the ‘Last Clown’, but that is a story for the far future.

‘Sacred Marriage’s Aftermath’ joined forces with ‘Victory’s Olive’ and ‘Abundance’s Sorrowful Mother’ and invaded Hotus.

Due to the sudden raid of the three Ancient Gods, the Hotus Eight Gods suffered greater damage than ever before.

However, the Hotus Eight Gods had already become accustomed to the battles of gods.

Especially Sen Sorti was the problem.

‘Sacred Marriage’s Aftermath’ roared while taking Zionis hostage at the end of the battle, and this properly touched Sen Sorti’s reverse scale.

She was a seven-star mage even before becoming a god.

Her true worth was revealed only when her only son was threatened.

She created five familiars in an instant, transformed them into weapons, and rescued her son showing off majesty that even terrified Cordisias.

Three Ancient Gods remained after this battle.

‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’.

‘Great Sea’s Caprice’.

‘Abyss’s Black Light’.

Those three Ancient Gods acted as if they didn’t care what kind of end their family gods met or what state they were in.

And surprisingly, they had the power to do so.

Firmament, Great Sea, and Abyss were each mightier than the other ten Ancient Gods combined.

[I am the Abyss.]

‘Abyss’s Black Light’ was an Ancient God residing in its own dimension called the Underworld.

Sometimes it descended to the mortal world and took thousands of people, which was the greatest calamity for humanity.

The Hotus Eight Gods could not leave that be.

[No, I am six hundred sixty-six.]

[No, no, I am Abaddon.]

[No, no, no, I am just me!]

Six eyes. Sixty hands.

Six hundred tongues.

Before the unclean and detestable existence, ‘Abyss’s Black Light’, the Hotus Eight Gods had to use their full strength for the first time.

It was a difficult fight, but the damage wasn’t great.

Because the Eight Gods only then realized that they could become even mightier.

The Eight Gods were humans but became gods, and were still humans yet gods.

Because they were humans, they could become something better.

The beginning of the fight was difficult, but the end of the fight was easy.

They beat up ‘Abyss’s Black Light’ and locked it in its own Underworld.

It was the same for ‘Great Sea’s Caprice’.

The Great Sea was surprisingly mighty and mighty.

It was natural since the entire ocean was his. However, the Hotus Eight Gods wrapped him tight with the toughest ropes, dragged him out of the sea, and soon hacked him to pieces.

They didn’t care how desperately he screamed or not.

And soon only one remained.

‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’, the leader of the Ancient Gods.

The father god sitting in the high sky.

***

“…‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’….”

Cordisias spoke with difficulty.

“…You have been defeated by us.”

[…….]

The fight with Firmament took place over a whopping 40 years.

It was only after sacrificing countless human heroes, not just the Hotus Eight Gods, that they could make ‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’ kneel.

The kneeling Firmament was in the form of a male wrapped in lightning.

He breathed lightning.

No, he was lightning itself. Because of the kneeling Firmament, the whole sky grieved and rained.

The kneeling ‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’.

The seven Man-Gods surrounding him.

[…Us….]

Firmament asked.

[…What will you do after conquering us?]

Neither anger nor hatred was felt from him.

Just a kind of despondency was thick.

Perhaps it might be an emotion close to relief.

Cordisias faced Firmament alone, representing the Hotus Eight Gods.

[Did you not know? We existed because you existed. It means we are beings originally for you. We are a part of the world that makes you humans whole….]

“How were you for us?”

[…We are the limit line.]

The old god traced back the years.

He had fulfilled his role spending years that even the Man-Gods in front of his eyes could not imagine.

It wasn’t painful either.

Since he wasn’t human, fulfilling his role wasn’t painful.

[The ceiling preventing humans from going up too high was exactly us thirteen. To be satisfied with where you are…. Yet you have broken us in the end.]

“If there is a ceiling.”

The ‘Last Emperor’ said.

“One cannot soar.”

[Correct….]

Firmament answered.

[But what do you intend to do by soaring? What is the soaring for?]

“…….”

[Humans soaring is to reconcile. However, you, you just want to conquer. Not knowing what is in the sky, no, what the sky is, what heart the sky has, aren’t you just coveting it….]

Firmament’s words unexpectedly stabbed deep into the hearts of the Hotus Eight Gods.

It was something the Eight Gods were always aware of.

Because they clamored that they became gods but couldn’t be omnipotent.

Because they were frequently in situations of many mistakes and helplessness.

[Until when do you intend to soar?]

Cordisias unknowingly touched under his eyes.

Weariness that couldn’t be denied even with a Man-God’s body was thick.

[How far do you intend to soar?]

“…….”

Cordisias bit his lip.

‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’ was worrying about them.

As if proving the words that they are beings for humans.

For Cordisias, he couldn’t acknowledge it.

“…Words I don’t need to listen to.”

He recited quietly.

“Meet your end now.”

[…Oh, I am grateful.]

‘Firmament’s Paternal Love’ giggled.

On his left was Debius’s steel sword, and on his right was Sen Sorti’s shining hand.

[I finally get to rest.]

Lightning sparked.

It was too quiet an end for the end of an existence that reigned for tens of thousands of years.

The head of Firmament rolling on the floor soon became a crystal.

Lightning sparked from the crystal.

Cordisias picked it up.

“Sen Sorti.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You said you would make weapons with the remains of Ancient Gods.”

“They don’t necessarily have to be weapons, but yes.”

“How much progress has been made?”

“Soon.”

Sen Sorti said.

“More than that, what do you intend to do?”

“I will give them to the most outstanding and wise humans.”

Even the fight with Ancient Gods required 120 years.

Two 120 years, a total of 240 years passed.

The Emperor realized he had to prepare for a new era once again.

“Humans must learn how to rule themselves.”

“That means….”

The Emperor nodded.

“Let’s set up kings for them.”

***

The ‘Last Emperor’ gave kings to humans.

It was his biggest and most fatal mistake.

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