Chapter 274 - Chapter 273: Fragments of Truth 2
The first Saint, Hildinlander.
He is also said to be the user of the first [God's Miracle].
But when Mika heard the story that his true identity was actually the enemy of all people, the "Cursed Child" (Imprecatio), he froze.
(.....................................)
Eh, seriously?
If people found out that this Warterelam guy was saying such things, wouldn't he get beaten to death by Kifrod or the "Laughing Virgin Mary" (Raffin Maria) of Rish Village?
Or rather, this is a bombshell statement that turns all followers of the Church of Light into enemies.
(Hey, people of the Gronoir Empire! This isn't the time to invade the Kingdom of Ektrem! There's something much worse right under your own noses!)
Even if it was bought with money, for this to be a statement from a Cardinal is shocking.
As Mika stared blankly in disbelief, Warterelam cleared his throat lightly.
"Are you surprised?"
"...Eh, yes. A little."
Coming to his senses, he tried to compose his expression.
"There is a word called 'Miracle' (Miraculum). It refers to what we now call [God's Miracle], but I had equated it with 'Word' (Vocabulum). Because of that, many misunderstandings occurred."
"A misunderstanding, you say?"
"Yes. ...Although, I only realized this myself a few years ago. Thirty years of research overturned, mixed with despair and excitement. The emotions at that time are indescribable."
So, Warterelam muttered with a complex expression.
Indeed, if one knew that something they had spent thirty years on was merely a fake based on a massive misunderstanding, one would wonder what all that research was for.
Warterelam moistened his throat with watered fruit wine and let out a long sigh.
"But, realizing this misunderstanding allowed me to see many things. People invented [God's Miracle] to counter the threat of 'Word' (Vocabulum)."
"Invented...? How did they do that?"
Mika asked, but Warterelam shook his head.
"Unfortunately, even with my research so far, I cannot determine exactly how [God's Miracle] was obtained. But it is certain that 'Word' came first, and [God's Miracle] was the countermeasure."
Mika listened to Warterelam's story and fell into thought.
Mika himself had once wondered, "Why doesn't anyone use magic?"
But it seems magic was indeed used.
Before [God's Miracle], even.
Perhaps that power was deliberately hidden because it was the power used by the hostile, abominable "Cursed Children" (Imprecatio).
Warterelam continued his story.
"The term 'Cursed Child' likely changed its meaning slightly along the way. Or rather, it became a term specifically referring to a certain target."
"What do you mean?"
"...To explain that, I must explain 'Word' in a bit more detail."
Warterelam raised both hands to chest height.
His right hand was open, his left hand was a fist.
"There are two important elements in this 'Word'. 'Power' (Potestas) and 'Will' (Voluntas)."
Voluntas!
This was also what the red-haired youth (Ecrease) had said!
"First, 'Power' (Potestas). This is likely what we now call mana."
Saying this, Warterelam lightly waved his open right hand.
"And, 'Will' (Voluntas). Regarding this, it is not entirely clear. But I believe it refers to things like will or emotion. One could even say 'thought'."
Now, Warterelam waved his closed left fist.
If Mika's magic is the power to manifest what he thinks, then this interpretation seems correct.
"This 'Power' (Potestas) and 'Will' (Voluntas) bind together to become 'Word' (Vocabulum). This is currently my most plausible theory."
Warterelam made a motion as if his open right hand was grabbing his closed left fist.
Listening to that explanation, Mika nodded.
Intuitively, it also matched the mechanism of the magic Mika had been using.
"However, it seems the matter is not so simple, and something troubling occurs."
Warterelam said, frowning slightly.
"Troubling, you say?"
"Yes, mainly 'Power'. That is, it is thought to be caused by mana...."
Warterelam looked at Mika with a pained expression.
"Mana is poison. It causes addiction."
"..................Huh?"
Mika blinked, letting out a vacant sound.
"I have heard rumors that you are a mage who uses [God's Miracle]. That is, you are already showing symptoms of addiction."
"W-wait a minute! Mana is poison!? Addiction!? What is that!?"
When Mika hurriedly asked back, Warterelam nodded.
"My apologies, my wording was poor. Indeed, it causes addiction, but there are few major problems if one uses [God's Miracle]. Please rest assured."
"............What do you mean by that?"
With that phrasing, it didn't feel reassuring at all to Mika, who used magic constantly!
"I don't know since I have no mana, but it seems that when one manipulates mana, one gets... excited. Do you have any recollection of that?"
"Well, that's..."
Indeed, when manipulating mana, one feels a sense of excitement.
It has been there since the moment Mika first felt mana.
"That this is due to mana is known to every mage. Isn't it?"
"Yes."
"This is thought to be the early symptom of mana addiction."
It seems that using mana affects the mind.
This can be read from the parchment fragments from 3,500 years ago, it seems.
"The one who noticed this was actually not me or Lambaluel. Didn't I say there was someone who had researched for over fifty years? It was written in the report summarizing that person's research."
That person seemed to be someone with medical knowledge, rare in this world.
They compiled an advanced approach regarding the influence on the mind.
"According to that, this symptom gradually progresses by using 'Word' (Vocabulum). The excitement grows higher and higher, until one becomes unable to stop using that power."
At Warterelam's words, Mika's heart skipped a beat for a moment.
Because there were so many things that matched this symptom.
"I don't know any mages personally, but their personalities are often arrogant. At least, it seems this tendency is visible. What do you think?"
"I know people say that... though it depends on the person."
When Mika said that, Warterelam nodded.
"There are individual differences. I certainly agree with that. But, one's way of thinking gradually becomes more optimistic and arrogant."
"Optimistic, you say?"
"Yes, this is also just a tendency, not absolute. But, one could call it excitement or a sense of omnipotence. 'It will work out somehow', 'There's no way I can't do it'. It seems there is a tendency for such thoughts to be at the root. In other words, it shares the same root as arrogance."
Hearing that, Mika couldn't help but cover his mouth with his hand.
It was exactly as he thought.
(I had noticed changes in my own personality myself. Was that the influence of mana...?)
Mika arrived in this world at the same time he gained mana, and came to inhabit the body of a child named Mika-kun.
So, the changes in Mika-kun's personality, or the changes in character due to a child's brain, were actually being altered by mana?
No matter how many painful experiences he had, he would always run headlong without any basis, thinking "It will work out" or "I thought I could do it".
And yet, he had suffered severe burns and nearly died!
"...Are you alright?"
Warterelam asked Mika with concern.
Mika let out a deep breath and could only nod silently.
"[God's Miracle] can be thought of as something created to gain power to counter 'Word' while minimizing the progression of this mana addiction."
"What happens if it progresses?"
"I cannot say for certain, but the tendency will likely become stronger. That is, one will come to believe they can do anything, that only they and those like them have value, and that everyone else is worthless. Enchanted by wielding immense power, one might become a human who takes joy in seeing the suffering of others caused by that power?"
Hearing Warterelam's story, Mika felt the urge to hold his head.
Not only himself, but mages are gradually becoming contaminated by mana.
The students of the Magic Academy probably aren't that arrogant yet.
But, by manipulating mana over a long period, the contamination progresses gradually.
Mika had thought that the personality of looking down on mages was cultivated by the environment of that academy.
Of course, that might be part of it.
But, wasn't that environment actually one that made it easier for the erosion of the mind by mana to advance?
Therefore, even [God's Miracle], which should normally have little effect, begins to show those distortions of character prominently in some.
At that moment, another possibility floated into Mika's head.
(...Wait a minute. Could it be Paraleira!?)
Suddenly, Paraleira was seized by hatred.
She must have handled mana for many years.
She originally held the view that she didn't care about anyone else.
No, maybe she didn't originally.
She had not forgotten the treatment by the Court Magic Institute for years, holding onto hatred.
Even if it didn't surface, the mental contamination progressed slowly, bit by bit.
Could it be that seeing Hibujiza's figure caused the symptoms to advance all at once?
There seems to be the factor of strong emotions as well.
It might be different from the excitement or omnipotence Warterelam spoke of, but the influence of arrogance might be strongly appearing.
Because of that arrogance, she couldn't forgive or forget, and her hatred swelled up?
Perhaps before that.
Mika being overtaken by her in the production of rare metals might also be the underlying cause.
Adelriese had warned Paraleira that her obsession with alchemy was dangerous.
Could that also have advanced the mental contamination?
Thinking about it, are the mages who become obsessed with alchemy and meet ruin the end result of mana contamination?
Whether it is a pent-up emotion towards her own inadequacy, or anger towards alchemy itself, I don't know.
(It's just a hypothesis piled on top of another hypothesis... But there are too many things that match.)
Without evidence, this "mana addiction" is likely hitting the mark.
At least, I think it hits the mark in a considerable part.
Is it because of this influence that Mika's emotions rise so easily?
Mika had decided that all mysterious phenomena were "the fault of mana", but his own troublesome personality was also the fault of mana.
Yes, it must be so.
So I am not at fault.
While listening to Warterelam's story, he struggled to justify himself.
Well, whether it was the fault of mana or something else, the responsibility for what happened remains his own.
"You said earlier that the meaning of 'Cursed Child' (Imprecatio) changed? And that people 3,500 years ago were fighting against someone."
"Yes..."
"'Cursed Child' was likely originally a term referring to all those who could use mana. Probably at first, the 'Cursed Children' who used 'Word' (Vocabulum) were opposed by people who also used 'Word'."
"...? What do you mean?"
According to Warterelam's research, it seems that originally there was no clean division between "Cursed Children" and everyone else.
It seems the structure was "Cursed Children" (a minority force) versus people who served "Cursed Children".
"Served?"
"I'm not sure if this expression is appropriate, but it seems they also countered 'Word' (Vocabulum) with 'Word'."
However, a very troubling thing happened here.
The 'Word' used as a countermeasure caused mental contamination the more it was used.
Friendly "Cursed Children" kept defecting to the hostile side.
They fell into a vicious cycle of creating their own hostile forces.
"Given these circumstances, [God's Miracle] must have become necessary. With [God's Miracle], mental contamination is minimized. The addiction does not progress."
In other words, originally "Cursed Child" (Imprecatio) was a term referring to all those who used mana.
However, afterwards it became a term referring only to those who used the hostile 'Word', and those who used [God's Miracle] were distinguished from "Cursed Children" even though they possessed mana.
"And finally, it is thought that 'Cursed Child' refers to the most severe cases of mana addiction."
"Most severe cases?"
"I don't know what specific symptoms that entails. But it seems they were a terrifying existence. According to the parchment fragments, Hildinlander is estimated to have been one of these most severe cases."
Mika leaned back against the sofa and began to organize his thoughts a little.
Crossing his arms and legs, he rested his chin on his hand and thought.
These stories are merely Warterelam's theories.
However, there are many parts that make sense.
(Most severe mana addiction... could it be...)
"Son of God" (Filius Dei).
Those who use magic similar to Mika's, who don't care about human lives at all, those joking bastards.
And above all, it might be that state Mika himself had one foot in.
(That intense impulse to destroy back then. Was that one of the addiction symptoms...?)
There is no way to verify it concretely, but continuing to use magic like this might be dangerous.
But...
(I don't have the slightest intention of stopping the use of magic.)
Even after hearing such a story, the desire to stop doesn't arise at all.
Is this also the result of being stained in optimism due to mana addiction?
If so, I can only believe that the Tranquilizer (Tranquilizer) will somehow handle it.
(...Besides, I can't just stop.)
Soon, a crowd of twenty-five million people from the Gronoir Empire will pour in.
If Mika stops using magic now, the damage to the Kingdom of Ektrem will be enormous.
No, honestly, I don't care what happens to the country.
It's just that having a framework called a country is convenient for protecting the people important to Mika.
That's all there is to it.
(...Or rather. I don't feel anything at all about taking human lives themselves. This is...)
Indeed, Mika thought that it would be better for the world if evil people died quickly.
However, that was in situations where vicious criminals were caught and executed, or shot on the spot.
It was a matter of not caring how many evil people died in places where Mika had no involvement, which is a completely different story from "I don't care at all when I take someone's life".
Even if the other party is an evil person, not caring about taking a human life should not be treated on the same level.
So why, without any sense of discomfort, has it become a conversation where 'Fewer evil people = It's okay for me to kill evil people'?
(...Was the first time I killed someone during the Cleiria kidnapping incident?)
Back then, Mika was desperate too.
He was certain that if he didn't kill them, he couldn't save Cleiria, so he resolved to kill the kidnappers.
(Even though it was unavoidable given the situation, I should have found it suspicious later that I accepted it so easily. Even now...)
The more Mika thought about it, the more he felt the urge to hold his head in frustration.
Because Mika was lost in thought, the conversation was temporarily suspended.
After a short break, the conversation resumed.
"You said the Church has been concealing and falsifying history."
"Yes."
"One of those is the existence of this 'Cursed Child' (Imprecatio)."
Warterelam and the others had divided the 3,500-year history of the Church of Light into three periods.
Early Church of Light, the era of the Church's rise. It spread across the entire continent.
Middle Church of Light, the era when the Church permeated people's lives.
Late Church of Light, the current era, where concealment and falsification are taking place.
"Until the Middle period, the 'Cursed Child' (Imprecatio) was written in the scriptures. Didn't I say there was someone who researched for fifty years? That person had obtained scriptures from about 1,700 years ago."
It seems those scriptures contained myths and such describing the "Cursed Child" (Imprecatio).
"Scriptures are sometimes distributed to general believers nowadays, but that is only in the last few hundred years. Until then, they were possessed only by certain clergy."
It is not clear exactly when, but gradually scriptures containing the "Cursed Child" (Imprecatio) were collected and replaced with new scriptures.
In the Early and Middle periods of the Church of Light, myths and such were gradually added. Additions were also made in the Late period.
However, since entering the Late period, they were often deleted under the excuse that they were "not suitable for scriptures".
"There are even myths said to have been deleted and then restored, but compared to the scriptures from 1,700 years ago, it is obvious. The content had been falsified."
It seems there were even examples where myths altered from the original content were re-published.
"You said Hildinlander was a 'Cursed Child' (Imprecatio)."
"Eh, yes. He was said to be the enemy of all people."
"Why did that Hildinlander come to be called a Saint? Why is he said to be the user of the first [God's Miracle]? These things were caused by the falsification of this Late period."
Warterelam said that myths (episodes) of Hildinlander not found in the scriptures from 1,700 years ago had been added somewhere along the way.
"The scriptures of the current Church of Light have been distorted by the arbitrary will of someone."
"But, what is the meaning of that? Honestly, I don't think it matters much how the myths in the scriptures are written."
When Mika voiced his thoughts, Warterelam nodded.
"Yes. Even if the content of the scriptures changes somewhat, it does not affect our lives. For us."
"What do you mean?"
Mika asked back, but Warterelam shook his head.
"I don't know either. The ones who know the meaning are likely the ones doing it."
"The ones doing it...."
"I don't know why they are doing it. But, because there is meaning, they have spent vast amounts of time and effort falsifying the scriptures. Over more than a thousand years."
Warterelam drank the watered fruit wine in one gulp and poured new fruit wine into the glass.
It seems he wouldn't water it this time.
"The history of the Church of Light... no, the history of the Late Church of Light is stained with blood. They drove out other religions with swords and expanded their territory. Now, all other religions have been removed from this continent, and now they are trying to devour the same Church of Light countries."
"Eh...?"
At Warterelam's tone, Mika was left dumbfounded.
"Don't you think so? Who wished for the conflict between the Empire and the Kingdom?"
"...Isn't it the Pope who started the oracle?"
"Yes. The current war between the two nations is a war desired by the Church. Can't you say it is the result of driving out all other religions and still craving blood?"
So that is one way to look at it, huh?
"A thousand years ago, there were several countries that worshipped other religions. At that time, the Church of Light sent missionaries and worked diligently to convert them."
Warterelam let out a large sigh, hanging his head.
"However, for the last thousand years, they have completely changed the way they expanded their territory. They chose the method of inciting and destroying rulers. The Church, which sought blood even after driving out other religions, finally bared its fangs at the same Church of Light countries. That is what I think."
"Then, attacking the countries of non-believers up until now sounds like it wasn't to increase believers, but just to spill blood."
"Probably. Also, this time it's not just the enemy's blood. They seem to intend to squeeze out even their own blood."
"Their own blood?"
When Mika repeated it, Warterelam nodded.
"Crusade. Isn't that the best evidence that they are not satisfied with just the Kingdom's blood and want the Empire's blood as well?"
Indeed, the Emperor-Pope who started the Crusade and incited all the citizens is not sane.
However, isn't the story jumping too far?
The Emperor-Pope's goal is not to destroy the Kingdom, but to destroy both the Kingdom and the Empire?
Warterelam took the glass and sipped the fruit wine.
"You said there were twelve other Popes during the Pope's nearly hundred-year reign."
"Eh, yes...."
"Actually, the same thing has been happening since a thousand years ago, and a total of forty-three Popes have been erased from the rolls."
"Hah... Eh? Forty-three?"
"Yes. Recently, the existence of a Pope who should have been there three hundred years ago has been erased."
Three hundred years ago.
A thousand years ago, I can understand, but can the existence of such a recent Pope be erased?
"These erased Popes have something in common."
"...What is that common point?"
Somehow, I'm starting to feel a bit reluctant to listen.
Isn't this too crazy, the Church of Light... or rather, the Church.
When Mika frowned and asked, Warterelam frowned in the same way.
"All of them committed suicide or died of madness."
"Suicide?"
Or rather, what is dying of madness?
What kind of death is called dying of madness?
"The twelve erased Popes were all suicides or died of madness consecutively. The Popes. Can you believe it?"
"...Isn't twelve in a row too strange?"
When Mika said that, Warterelam nodded.
"Yes, it is strange. No matter how you look at it, it is strange. Such a thing should not happen naturally. Absolutely."
"Yes, I think so."
"In other words... since it didn't happen naturally, it happened unnaturally. In this case, one should say it was caused."
"There is a high possibility that the will of someone intervened. That is what you think, right?"
"Yes. The Church of Light has been twisted for about a thousand years. Due to someone's intervention, it changed into a religion that craves blood. These Popes were likely victims of that."
Warterelam held up one finger.
"Falsifying the scriptures."
He held up another finger.
"Attacking and destroying countries of other religions."
He held up yet another finger.
"Attacking even the same Church of Light countries."
He held up the fourth finger.
"Inventing non-existent Saints."
All fingers were raised.
"Driving the Popes to death."
Warterelam tightly clenched his open hand.
"I believe all of these are the work of the same force."
"The same force, you say?"
"Yes. The Church has already been taken over for more than a thousand years."
Warterelam declared so, but Mika couldn't help but turn his face away.
A terrible delusion.
One could even call it that.
However, having heard the story so far, even that makes him hesitate.
(...What on earth is the truth?)
Mika let out a sigh and felt a sensation similar to dizziness.