#913. This time in particular
* * *
“Do you know what entropy is?”
“…?”
Listen to the Holy Lord’s question.
Everyone came up with a question mark.
It wasn’t just because it was such an outrageous question.
Because the term itself was too foreign and unfamiliar to most of those present.
But fortunately, it wasn’t that no one knew the term.
“Entropy refers to the degree of disorder in a microscopic state, right?”
“As it is knowledge passed down from the four fairies, it is a concept only shamans know in this world.”
The greatest genius of the Seven Dragons.
And affirming the words of the best madman who has greedily gathered all kinds of knowledge to do so.
He continues his speech with a smile on his face.
“It is also proof that the world will end someday.”
“…The entropy I know isn’t really like a doomsday prophecy, is it?”
“But according to the law of entropy, it is inevitable that the world will one day end.”
“That’s right.”
While Yekathrice nodded.
Johanna calmly continued.
“Besides entropy, there are many stories about the end of the world. Do you know why?”
“Well, if the world ends someday, does it make it easier to receive offerings from believers?”
“Whoop whoop. That statement is not wrong, but there is another, most important reason.”
The 666 beast of the Apocalypse.
Zoroaster’s Prashokeretti, etc.
either religiously.
either culturally.
either scientifically.
She calmly revealed the reason why the apocalypse must exist and exist in any civilization.
“Because there is a true ‘end’ in the world.”
beginning.
or ancient.
or mythological age, etc.
Humanity has coined several words to refer to the distant past.
But most of them only refer to the Golden Age or earlier, when civilization began.
The distant past, so far away that we dare not measure it with human time units, there are no words to describe.
From time immemorial, when even the dragons, who were the ancestors of Earth, and the fairies, the ancestors of Alfheim, let alone the present human race, had yet to be born.
there was an end
Earth and Alfheim, etc.
It’s not about one or two planets.
The universe, the parallel world, Samramansang, etc.
A true ‘end’ that swallows everything, from the place where life lives, to the world of already dead souls, turning it into nothingness.
Among them was a world of mighty gods who would laugh at even the Silver Age of mankind.
Among them, there was also the territory of transcendence species that were born with greater power than the dragon race.
Among them, there was a universe of civilizations that had built up technology beyond even the fairies.
Among them was a dimension full of mysteries that even magic would deride as primitive.
Naturally, they fought to the end to protect their world.
but.
It was useless.
No race or existence.
Couldn’t prevent the end.
Immortals who feel that even hundreds of millions of years are short, and civilizations that have repeatedly tried to develop new planets due to the decline of their inhabited planets have perished in vain in the face of the end.
By the time that countless worlds had returned to nothingness.
Because there was an existence that prevented the apocalypse.
That is a constellation.
They were the masters of the stars, greater than gods, mightier than dragons, and wiser than fairies.
So…
the war has begun.
An end that swallows everything into nothingness.
A constellation that wants to save the world.
A war that staked the life and death of countless worlds that lasted for so long that even the word eternity seemed short.
“That war was a really fierce struggle… no, it was close to resistance.”
“…”
“Because it was impossible even for the great Constellations to completely prevent the apocalypse from coming back endlessly even if it was defeated.”
sometimes planets.
sometimes civilization.
sometimes species.
Every time I couldn’t prevent the apocalypse, it collapsed so easily and futilely.
It was unavoidable.
The world is vast and diversified.
From the spatially infinite universe to a parallel world with countless possibilities, to a higher dimension that ordinary creatures cannot even perceive.
Of course, there were countless worlds where even the starlight did not reach.
It was also common for new civilizations or races to blossom in ‘only’ tens of thousands of years.
“But the Constellations didn’t give up. He constantly traveled to countless worlds, trying to prevent the apocalypse even once more.”
The center of the universe, of course.
Even the periphery that does not know about the apocalypse.
Constellations gave the helpless people the strength to face the end by transmitting starlight.
“Even when they were punished for the foolishness of the lambs they tried to keep.”
…until the power was sealed by the Nine Worlds, a confrontation system created by the Fairy Queen and the seven dragons.
Indeed, even for the Constellations that had been fighting the end of the world by crossing many worlds for a long time, it was an unexpected situation at all.
But they did not give up salvation.
Spreading starlight in this world.
making prophets and apostles.
Gather the Seven Arcs.
I just wanted to prevent the ‘end’.
“…Hmm. In short, since our fight was due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, let’s join hands and prepare for the end amicably now?”
“It is.”
“That’s a great suggestion, but there’s a problem.”
“What problem are you talking about?”
When the Holy Lord surrendered.
As they had already heard similar explanations, Catherine and the other princesses were not particularly surprised.
Instead, he just looked at Johanna with cold eyes.
whether that statement is true or not.
It was because there was the most important reason why Limon and the girls decided to imprison Johanna instead of holding hands.
“―Even if you cooperate with the Constellation, it is the same that humanity will eventually perish.”
At Yekathrice’s words, uncharacteristic of the always cheerful girl, with a cold, sneering laugh like a blade.
Johanna shook her head.
“No, it is different.”
“What is different?”
“If the apocalypse cannot be prevented, everything will disappear, but the difference is that the chosen ones can survive if they obtain the protection of the stars.”
It was.
The Constellation’s salvation was not complete.
Just like when a ship sinks, only those in the lifeboat survive.
It was to give only the very few chosen by the stars a chance to escape the apocalypse.
And that selection criterion is one.
“…So only those who reached level 100 by sacrificing all other humans will become the new Constellation?”
“Everything has a price.”
No matter how great the Constellation is.
Its power was not infinite.
They have been facing the apocalypse for a long time, and those who have to face it always need more strength.
It was impossible to completely save countless worlds.
That’s why what the Constellations choose is selective.
Because you have the power to save the world.
who deserves salvation.
It was to find such people by testing them through the dungeon and give them the power to protect the world.
In return, the ‘potential’ of all life is weighed.
So what we need is a contract.
It was a procedure for the Constellation to accept the souls of those who were not saved and use them as the cornerstone to prevent destruction.
The skills that players receive by signing a contract with a constellation can be said to be the contract money.
“Think about it, everyone.”
“…I want to know what you are asking me to think about.”
“How sublime it is to be able to save hundreds and thousands of worlds at the cost of ‘just’ billions.”
“…”
“In other words, even those who are sacrificed are promised heaven after death.”
Of course, being saved by the Constellation will allow us to preserve the human species.
Through that salvation, those who have become new Constellations can save countless other worlds by helping to prevent the apocalypse.
It is only natural that human beings who have made such noble sacrifices will go to heaven.
Speak like the pope of Rome.
Johanna chuckled.
“It is a perfect salvation.”
“…a contradiction. When the Constellations destroy humanity, the gods also disappear. Of course, you will not be able to go to heaven either.”
“It’s a story of a fake paradise created by false gods. The true heaven that the Lord has made never fades.”
Ainsha shut her mouth.
It wasn’t without objections.
As a priestess of the Holy League, she was well versed in various religions and could refute Johanna’s logic all day long.
There was just no reason.
How meaningless logic is to those who have faith.
It was because he knew so well that he had seen countless priests and followers.
If she had been logical in the first place, she would not have become the pope of a religion that still believes in the god who was eaten by the seven dragons long ago.
“…And if you don’t accept that salvation, you’re just going to destroy the human race? Like our ancestors, the dragons and fairies?”
“I’ve said it before, but that’s a misunderstanding.”
“What do you mean by misunderstanding?”
“The fact that they didn’t perish, they were just saved in a different form.”
It has achieved such a highly developed civilization.
He didn’t know about fairies, dragons, and the end, and he refused to sacrifice himself for the cause.
But the end was already approaching.
Looking at Johanna, the Constellations said that they were only merciful so that they would not suffer in the end.
Hasneti said in a hoarse voice.
“It doesn’t become livestock, so you say it was slaughtered nicely.”
“Honestly, I’m sorry about that too… but as I’ve already said, it takes a lot of strength to prevent the apocalypse.”
Rather than disappearing in vain at the end, it would have been better for them to become the cornerstone of a new salvation and to save even their souls.
Speak with a short prayer.
Johanna continued.
“Of course, not all Constellations agree with the hardline method. The moderates I follow prefer a milder approach.”
“…the ‘deferred’ you mentioned earlier?”
“Even the Constellations know very well how much determination is required for salvation.”
The method of the moderates was simple.
delaying salvation.
Sequential acceptance of only dead players’ souls.
It is so that humanity can face salvation with a comfortable mind, just as a cancer patient prepares his or her personal affairs in advance and makes up his mind.
“Honestly, delaying salvation is something that requires a lot of sacrifice even by the Constellations…”
Maintaining the dungeon.
Granting skills,
preventing the approaching apocalypse, and more.
The more you delay salvation, the greater the power the Constellations consume and the greater the risk they must bear, and the less power they can recover.
Among the Constellations, the hardliners were the majority, and there was a reason why the methods of the moderates were not often used.
But…
“If you hand over Seven Arks, he said that he might give you a grace period of about 10,000 years, especially this time.”
10,000 years is a long time.
It is a time when the species called humanity flourished to the limit and then died out on its own.
If I join hands with the moderates, I will protect this world from the end, at least until then.
The ruler who was a prophet dies.
Almost all methods available to hardliners are gone.
It refers to a proposal that can only be made now that the moderate faction has taken the initiative.
The star’s apostle smiled.
“Of course, including giving the swordsmith and you the qualifications to become a new Constellation and enjoy a truly immortal life.”
