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Chapter 204: Enemies of the World (1)

After a brief silence, Karin cautiously asked.

"...Can you tell me exactly what was said?"

"This is what was said."

[You, you are the enemies of the world! Taking one side and opposing the other? That\'s impossible!]

It was what a demon who realized Ketal was the Barbarian of the White Snowfield had said.

Karin quietly mulled over the words.

"…Could it be because of the existence of the Forbidden Lands?"

The existence of the Forbidden Lands wasn\'t aligned with any side.

They couldn\'t be controlled, and there was no way to communicate with them.

They just destroy the world.

"I think that\'s why it was said that way."

"But the tone was oddly confident."

The existence of the Forbidden Lands was the enemy of the world.

The demon\'s voice had a tone as if that was an established truth.

The existence of the Forbidden Lands should not side with anyone.

It was as if the world\'s laws were set that way.

Karin fell into contemplation, thinking there was some merit to it.

"Hmm…."

"I heard from Arkamis. A very long time ago, there was a conflict between the gods and the Forbidden Lands. Do you know anything about that?"

"No."

Karin shook her head.

"I\'ve also only heard stories about it."

She had lived for a very long time as the High Elf Queen.

But even for her, it was a story close to legend.

She didn\'t have detailed information about it.

"Then do you know when that period was?"

"Hmm… I\'m not sure."

After pondering for a while, Karin said.

"I\'ve always thought it was after the Great War of the Gods and Demons."

That assumption was natural.

Because before the gods descended, the world belonged to the demons.

Unable to bear the demons using the middle world as a playground, the gods descended.

After a long war, they finally managed to drive the evil out of the world.

After that, humanity made remarkable progress.

That was the history they knew.

In other words, for the gods and the Forbidden Lands to clash, it had to be after the Great War of the Gods and Demons.

But if that were the case, it was hard to understand the demon\'s words.

It was a clash between the gods and the Forbidden Lands.

It should have nothing to do with the demons.

But the demon spoke as if the demons and the Forbidden Lands were related.

Karin cautiously spoke.

"Could it be that even before the gods appeared in the world, when the demons were occupying it, there were clashes with the Forbidden Lands?"

"That\'s possible."

"But…."

If that were the case, there was something else that was hard to understand.

The current world was in chaos.

The presence of evil was appearing in the world, and at the same time, entities of the Forbidden Lands were being released.

Since both were happening simultaneously, it was hard not to think there was a correlation. The inhabitants of the continent were internally thinking that the Forbidden Lands and the demons were allies.

While Ketal was assisting them, that was only because Ketal was an exception.

Other entities of the Forbidden Lands were seen as being on the same side as the demons. Karin thought so too.

But according to the demon, the Forbidden Lands was also the enemy of the demons.

It was a kind of contradiction.

Karin\'s head was getting complicated.

\'…Could it be that they released the entities of the Forbidden Lands to throw the world into chaos?\'

It was a reasonable hypothesis.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The current world was the realm of the gods, so there was nothing to lose for the demons even if the Forbidden Lands was released.

Or.

\'…Was the release of the Forbidden Lands unexpected even for the demons?\'

It was thought that the chaos in the world was orchestrated by the demons.

But what if it wasn\'t?

\'What if the chaos wasn\'t orchestrated by the demons?\'

What if they were just taking advantage of chaos they hadn\'t orchestrated?

Countless possibilities came to mind.

Karin shook her head.

"I don\'t know."

"Is that so?"

"Honestly, I don\'t know much about the world."

Though she was a long-lived species, as the High Elf Queen, she stayed in the holy land for a long time without venturing out.

While various information came in from outside, there was information that could only be obtained by traveling the world personally.

"Perhaps the Master of the Magic Tower or someone like that would know better?"

"Hmm."

Ketal had a lot to think about as well.

If the demon\'s words were true, then the existence of the Forbidden Lands was the enemy of the world.

It wasn\'t exactly wrong.

The first entity of the Forbidden Lands they encountered, Nano, could communicate but couldn\'t be understood in terms of values.

Trying to replace all beings, that was certainly an enemy of the world.

The monkeys in the deep sea were the same.

They had high intelligence but were nothing more than monsters.

The monsters of the White Snowfield were not much different.

To them, everything except themselves was an enemy.

There was no thought that they would show goodwill towards demons.

\'Is there some kind of law?\'

The existence of the Forbidden Lands cannot coexist with the existence of this world.

It is an absolute truth, like the opposite poles of a magnet.

The demon\'s voice was so confident that it made one think that way.

But even so, there was something strange.

\'I don\'t really have one, do I?\'

To him, this world was a playground.

Now, demons were his enemies, but in time, they could become allies.

There was no mindset that he was the enemy of the world.

Nothing was controlling him.

There was no quest being forced upon him.

"Hmm."

\'I don\'t know.\'

He would find out in time.

After all, demons were popping out one by one, so he could catch and interrogate them.

If that didn’t work, he could seek out the Master of the Magic Tower.

Ketal cleared his thoughts neatly.

Karin also let out a small sigh as if she felt the same.

"I should look into this as well."

"Thank you for doing that."

"Considering what you\'ve done, Ketal, it\'s not a big deal."

Without Ketal, the World Tree might have been contaminated.

No, it probably would have been.

Even imagining it again was terrifying.

"I will prepare a reward for you."

"Oh, that\'s okay."

Ketal smiled.

"I already have one coming."

"What? From whom?"

"The Spirit God wanted to make a deal with me. The deal was to protect the World Tree."

Karin\'s eyes widened at that.

"W-what? The Spirit God?"

"Yes. I’d appreciate it if you could open the passage again."

"Wait a moment. Does that mean… the Spirit God knew about it?"

The Spirit God knew that the demons were targeting the World Tree.

It could only be thought that way.

Therefore, Karin was very surprised.

"Then why didn\'t he… tell us in advance?"

"I don’t know. I’ll have to meet and ask."

Ketal grinned.

* * *

The next day.

With Karin\'s help, Ketal moved to the Spirit Realm.

There, Piego was waiting.

[You\'re here. Follow me.]

Like a guide, Piego took Ketal through the Spirit Realm.

Before long, they could meet Beatrice.

"Nice to see you again."

[Hello.]

The Spirit God spoke in a still fragmented tone.

[I was watching.]

"You\'ve been watching. Then why didn\'t you intervene? Karin was wondering."

[The Middle World. Originally ours. The cracks in the world. No longer ours. They can intervene too. Not easy.]

"Ah."

Ketal nodded understandingly.

Cracks had appeared in the world.

Now even the beings of Hell could intervene in the world.

But on the other hand, it meant that the situation had been very favorable to the gods until now.

In fact, unlike demons, the gods had been freely spreading their divinity and scriptures.

With the cracks, now even the gods couldn’t intervene recklessly.

The Spirit God affirmed Ketal\'s speculation.

[The same intervention as before is possible. But excessive involvement is difficult.]

"The beings of this world must do their best."

[Right. You did well. I am satisfied.]

Ketal had fulfilled the deal.

Now it was time to receive the reward.

[I will give you a spirit.]

"Oh."

Finally, he could get a spirit.

Ketal\'s eyes sparkled.

[Is the spirit\'s power okay?]

"Of course, it’s okay."

Ketal just wanted to make a contract with a spirit.

He didn\'t care much about the spirit\'s power itself.

"But I heard that weak spirits cannot withstand my level. Is there a problem?"

[No problem. I will attach a spirit that can withstand.]

"I’ve also heard that my lack of mystery makes it difficult to contract."

[No problem.]

The Spirit God spoke calmly, as if such constraints had no meaning to her.

"Oh…."

Finally, he was getting a spirit.

Ketal was deeply moved.

Piego watched the scene with a somewhat sullen expression.

\'…She really intends to give a spirit.\'

He knew that the Barbarian wanted a spirit contract but thought it was impossible.

Ketal had very little mystery, and there was no spirit that could contract with him.

But if the Spirit God personally formed the contract, it was entirely possible.

\'Which poor spirit will be contracted, I wonder.\'

Piego felt a sense of pity for the spirit that would end up contracting with Ketal.

He had no idea that he would be the target.

This was because he had already formed a contract with an elf on Earth.

It was impossible for a spirit with an existing contract to form another.

While he was annoyed by his contract with the elf, he was now grateful for it.

However, Piego had forgotten one crucial fact.

The Spirit God could change such rules at will.

[You. Do you know any spirits? It’s better if it\'s someone familiar, right?]

“Well, it’s better than meeting a spirit for the first time.”

[Good.]

The Spirit God looked at Piego lightly.

[You. Form a contract with him.]

[...What?]

[You know him. You’ve talked with him. He’s strong enough. Conditions met.]

The Spirit God spoke calmly.

[Form the contract.]

Piego\'s eyes widened in shock.

The Spirit God was trying to make him contract with this barbarian!

Terrified, Piego hurriedly spoke.

[O Spirit God! I already have a contract. Dual contracts are possible, but just in case…]

[No problem. I’ll send another spirit. Form the contract with him.]

[Ah…]

No.

He wanted to argue that this was nonsense.

But the opponent was the Spirit God.

The Spirit God seemed unwilling to change her mind.

So, as a spirit, he had no choice but to comply.

‘…Do I really have to contract with this barbarian?’

He hated it, but there was nothing he could do.

With tears in his eyes, Piego bowed his head.

[I will comply…]

If he had known this, he wouldn’t have come in the first place.

He had moved out of curiosity about the power arising in the Spirit Realm.

Piego deeply regretted his curious decision.

This sentiment was felt by Ketal as well.

‘He looks like a child being sold off.’

He looked pitiful.

Though it had nothing to do with him.

With a brief contract, Piego left with a gloomy face.

The Spirit God let out a short sound of satisfaction.

[Hmm. Task completed.]

"Good. Thank you. Ah, may I ask a few questions?"

[Sure.]

"The demons called me the enemy of the world. You said something similar. Is that true?"

[...]

After a brief silence, the Spirit God spoke.

[Yes.]

"I see."

The God confirmed the demons\' words.

The existence of the Forbidden Lands was indeed an enemy to the world.

[Then, I wonder. Why do you support us?]

There was a question in the Spirit God\'s voice.

It was a voice that truly did not understand.

[Why talk to us? Why make deals? Why protect the sacred ground? Why fight the demons? Why protect the world?]

"There’s no particular reason."

Ketal spoke lightly.

"Because I want to."

At those words, a sparkle appeared in the Spirit God’s eyes.

[...We ponder. How to deal with you. Each with their own methods. Indifference. Favor. Hostility. Control. I haven’t decided yet.]

And now, the Spirit God made a decision.

[I abstain. No interference. I let you be.]

"That’s fine with me."

Ketal smiled.

His body began to fade.

The mystery had run out, returning him to the middle realm.

"Ah. May I ask one last question?"

[Speak.]

"It’s perhaps the most important question. You are the Spirit God. A being that watches over this world."

Looking at the Spirit God, Ketal asked.

"How was I able to come out in the first place?"

[...]

"Is the world\'s chaos because of me?"

The Spirit God remained silent.

Even as his body completely disappeared, returning to the Earth, she did not answer.

Judging that the Spirit God had no intention of answering, Ketal was about to return with a regretful face.

It was then that the Spirit God spoke softly.

[I don’t know.]

The great god acknowledged her ignorance.

Ketal smiled.

"Thank you. I mean it. I hope we can meet again."

With those words, Ketal returned to the middle realm.

After watching him for a moment, the Spirit God soon moved somewhere.

It was not the Spirit Realm she headed to.

It was a different place.

A place where beings equal to her existed.

The Spirit God moved to the Pantheon.