Chapter 321

“Why….”

The ‘Last Emperor’ asked.

“…Why has it become like this?”

He clutched his head at the highest place.

Hotus had gone through two periods of 120 years and entered the next era.

The first hundred and twenty years were the most joyful, and the second hundred and twenty years were the most vibrant.

And the Eight Gods gave a king to the humans.

Then misery came to them.

“Oh God!”

The human king cried out.

Cordisias knew that man.

Since he was the king he had established himself, he naturally had to know him.

“Our God, ‘Last Emperor’…! Where, where are you!”

“I am here.”

Cordisias said quietly.

“I have been here all along.”

“Oh…! Ooh…!”

The human king could perceive Cordisias only then.

Even though he had been here continuously.

The human king rushed in, looking like a mess shedding tears.

To Cordisias, that sight did not feel particularly pleasant.

“Oh God, the greatest God of the Eight Gods! This, this lowly one dares to see you….”

“You talk too much.”

“……Hup……!”

At Cordisias’s single word, the king immediately prostrated himself and trembled.

Even that appearance was not to his liking.

Cordisias had no intention of threatening the king, so why on earth was he getting scared all by himself.

“I, I, I am sorry…. As expected, you are enraged….”

The king trembled even more violently while prostrating.

The prostrate figure was just like a dog.

“A, actually, it seemed that the sincerity in the rites offered to the Eight Gods was lacking. I was planning to scold the officials….”

“That is not what I mean.”

“…T, then is it because the priests were not treated properly after all? Or perhaps….”

“Headkar Hella Hotus.”

Headkar Hella Hotus was the king’s name.

“Raise your head, Headkar.”

“…Yes, yees….”

“I.”

The Last Emperor said fiercely.

“Never said I was angry.”

“…….”

Headkar dared not answer and only bowed his head deeper.

Golden rays of light were continuously emitting from Cordisias’s eyes.

Before the dignity of a god, a mere human found it hard to even maintain their sanity.

The king felt fear toward the god.

He interpreted the reason for this fear as the god’s wrath.

And as a solution to the wrath, he replied that he would offer a price.

Cordisias did not like a single one of the king’s thoughts.

He had no intention of scaring him, so why was he afraid?

Why connect that fear to wrath?

Cordisias was the one who made the country called Hotus, so what price on earth was he offering to pay?

There was only one thing Cordisias wanted.

‘…Help me….’

The god felt frustration toward the human.

‘…Just ask me to help, is that phrase so difficult, Headkar?’

In Cordisias’s view, Headkar was no different from his own child.

All the people of Hotus were like that.

But why were they scared?

When he had given help so faithfully until now!

Cordisias felt a severe sense of resentment.

“Until when.”

The ‘Last Emperor’ asked abruptly.

“Until when will you keep doing that?”

“…….”

Headkar trembled and opened his mouth.

“…A rebellion, a rebellion has broken out, oh God.”

“It must be the Dimashq Plains side.”

“…Did you know?”

“I knew there was some suspicious air.”

Cordisias stroked his chin.

“They were doing something while putting up a curtain to hide it from our eyes. I left it alone because I didn’t want to necessarily interfere, but so it was a rebellion.”

“…….”

“What do you want me to do?”

Headkar raised his head only then.

Cordisias felt that he resembled his old self.

Even though not a drop of blood would have been shared.

“Personally….”

The king demanded shamelessly while being afraid.

“…Personally descend and show your dignity.”

“Good.”

Cordisias nodded.

“I will do as you sought.”

***

“A rebellion broke out again?”

Beila Beile asked back.

He no longer used honorifics toward Cordisias.

It was not strange since the time they had known each other was becoming 300 years.

“How many times is it, exactly?”

“The ninth time.”

Ahmena Eln Yade Asmir answered.

“60 years since defeating the Firmament’s Paternal Love…. It is the ninth rebellion in a mere 60 years.”

“……That is a lot.”

“It is a lot. And there were very many people who died each time.”

The ‘Last Dancer’ glared at their emperor.

“Your Majesty Cordisias.”

“Speak.”

“We always support you. It will be so in the future too. But regarding giving a king to the humans….”

“…You are right.”

Cordisias closed his eyes gently.

He is sitting on a golden chair.

It was a place prepared for the Eight Gods, the deepest part of the Hotus Imperial Palace.

“I also know that it was a mistake.”

“If you know, I will not say more. Since we also have responsibility.”

“…….”

The Emperor sank into silence.

He was in a grief-stricken mood.

He just thought humans would do better.

Since they knew gods were watching from above, he thought they would live more virtuously and beautifully.

However, the first reaction humans showed to the existence of gods was fear.

Come to think of it, the Hotus Eight Gods also feared the thirteen Ancient Gods when they were human.

But how could he have forgotten so completely.

Cordisias had to admit that he had been too optimistic.

Humans who feel fear create classes.

Because they need a target to pour out their fear.

On top of that, the gods were visible, and the gods even established a king for them, so the classes became even more solidified.

Humans attached all sorts of reasons to strengthen the classes.

While doing so, they clamored that the reasons they attached were absolute truths.

Most of those reasons were related to the Hotus Eight Gods.

For instance, it is like this.

‘I am a person of the Hellaona family, and our family treated the ‘Last Emperor’ to a meal several times in the past.’

‘Did only you guys treat him? We also treated the god.’

‘You guys were the ‘Last Clown’, weren’t you. Your class is low.’

‘That is blasphemy. Let’s have a go.’

‘Huh? You fight that well?’

So factions were divided according to the Eight Gods.

Some were the Emperor faction, some the Mage faction, some the Minister faction….

Most acknowledged that the Emperor was superior, but there was always much discussion about the superiority of the Eight Gods below him.

Needless to say, more than half of what they called the Imperial Palace Meeting was about the superiority of the Eight Gods.

Or it is also like this.

‘I heard our family also treated the ‘Last Emperor’ to a meal.’

‘How many times did you guys do it?’

‘Recorded ones are 8 times.’

‘We have 12 times.’

‘So what.’

‘That we are superior to you.’

‘What? Let’s have a go.’

‘We do not do such barbaric acts because we are close to the supreme Last Emperor. Lowly fellows, ptui ptui.’

If this series of childish fights is recorded in the most noble language possible, the commandments of the Hotus Kingdom are created.

The Hotus Eight Gods were so dumbfounded by this situation that they tried to do something about it, but they could not stop it at all.

Once, there was also this kind of incident.

‘The Eight Gods descended and said not to fight over them.’

‘Oh, then let’s catch and kill all the guys who fought over the superiority of the Eight Gods until now.’

‘That is truly a holy deed!’

‘We will also get our spots while we’re at it. As expected, I am wise.’

If they stop this again, the following happens next.

‘The Eight Gods descended and said not to do the killing of the guys who fought over them.’

‘Then we should just catch and kill all the guys who tried to kill the guys who fought over them.’

‘…Isn’t he saying not to do that?’

‘No! The god’s words are solemn! They cannot be wrong! Exterminate three generations of the guys who did what he said not to do!’

‘…I don’t think that’s what it means.’

‘What do you know? It’s blasphemy! Kill this guy first!’

Cordisias had to admit that the 120 years of fighting the Ancient Gods was rather more comfortable for his mind.

Humans were so complex and difficult that he could not handle them at all.

Nevertheless, Cordisias still had a human heart.

Even while knowing that it would be better to eliminate the leadership of the Hotus Kingdom and start over from the beginning, he simply could not do so.

“…I still intend to take responsibility for my mistake.”

The Emperor suppressed his fatigue and stood up.

“Will you be with me, friends?”

““““““Naturally, Your Majesty.””””””

***

There was a curtain in the Dimashq Plains.

It was to cover the eyes of the Hotus Eight Gods.

The Eight Gods knew of the curtain’s existence early on but did not necessarily lift it.

With the heart of a parent who does not necessarily twist open the locked room door of an adolescent child.

“Of all places, the Dimashq Plains….”

“Do you remember, Your Majesty? This place was once the continent’s best granary.”

“Of course I remember, Sen.”

Cordisias smiled brightly.

He held Sen Sorti’s slender hand, and she did not avoid it.

Rather, she interlocked fingers with the Emperor’s hand and held it tighter.

Even after 300 years passed, they were still happily married.

Even if their one and only child did not grow at all.

“Open the curtain. I am curious what on earth they are doing inside.”

“I hope it isn’t too cruel.”

Sen Sorti sighed.

She recalled the seventh rebellion.

At that time, several humans had fallen for the enticement of the sealed ‘Black Light of the Abyss’.

They had obtained the power of the Black Light through a very terrible and filthy human sacrifice.

It was so terrible and filthy that the Eight Gods could not forgive a single one of them and annihilated them.

“Let’s see… what they are doing in hiding….”

Sen Sorti’s face hardened stiffly.

“…….”

“Sen. What is the matter?”

“…Those things….”

The ‘Last Mage’s’ fingers trembled.

The gazes of the other Eight Gods also gathered on her.

What on earth were they doing to make a 300-year-old Man-God tremble?

“…A tower.”

Sen Sorti recited.

“They are building a tower.”

***

“Build.”

A human said.

In his hand was a whip.

“Build the tower!”

Whips create scars.

Humans inflicted wounds on humans.

Carry the stones, bake the bricks, so that it rises high, even higher.

There were hundreds of thousands of humans working in a miserable state.

And there were thousands of humans boasting that they were different from those miserable things.

It was an incredibly high tower.

Who on earth built it?

How could they build it this high with mud, straw, and rocks.

Just how much sweat did they shed for it to become this high.

Is it work that can be done with sweat alone?

There must be tears and blood too.

“Reach very high!”

Humans holding whips shouted.

They took fellow humans as slaves and made them work endlessly.

The slaves groaned and suffered, and the humans holding whips considered that as proof that the slaves were functioning well.

“The gods who were humans prove it! We too can become gods!”

Above the slaves, the human holding a whip.

Above the human holding a whip, the human holding a sword.

Above the human holding a sword, the human holding a pen.

And above the human holding a pen, there was a human wearing a crown.

“High, even higher! All the people want it! Build our tower!”

There was a human making the tower.

He wore a crown.

The Hotus Eight Gods all knew his name.

“We humans must become free from those Eight Gods!”

Headkar Hella Hotus.

The human king looked at the appeared Eight Gods and smiled very pleasantly.

It was a face asking how his betrayal was.

So it was human beyond measure.

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