A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 272

Chapter 272: God's Meaning (2)

Epherene, Arlos, and Rose, the prosecutor from Yuren, had walked down into the volcano’s cave. There, they took turns looking at Deculein—and then at the criminal standing beside him.

“Hmm... it does appear to be a match, doesn’t it?” Rose muttered, her eyes moving between the man and the wanted poster.

“Yes, that’s the puppet I created,” Arlos replied, nodding without even glancing at the wanted poster.

“That’s a puppet?” Epherene said, her eyes blown wide in surprise.

It doesn’t even look like a puppet! Epherene thought.

“A puppet crafted by a professional in the field is something else entirely. It’s not one of those test mannequins they create out at the Mage Tower,” Arlos replied with a chuckle.

“I have little doubt that you used more than a few illegal materials,” Deculein said as he approached.

“Ahem, I was threatened into doing so,” Arlos replied, clearing her throat.

“By the way, what are you doing here, Professor?” Epherene asked.

“Epherene, the mana stone—what happened to it?” Deculein inquired, ignoring her question entirely.

“Sorry? Oh, that?” Epherene said, searching through her pocket before pulling out a single mana stone and placing it into Deculein’s hand. “Here. It’s not stable, but... this one reacted.”

Deculein nodded, then tossed the mana stone over his shoulder, and with a dull thump, it fell onto the bed.

“Possibility. That’s what it is, Carla,” Deculein said.

From the bed tucked away at the cave’s end, someone twitched beneath the sheets.

“C-Carla?!”

“Did I just hear him say Carla?”

The moment that name was spoken, Epherene and Rose’s eyes widened, the weight of it sinking in all at once.

“That will be enough to create your heart,” Deculein added, turning to Carla.

“... I wonder, cough,” Carla replied, coughing as she closed her fingers around the mana stone.

“You have the makings of a heretic, Deculein. The way you reach against providence, it reminds me of those who once stood against the order,” said the person beside Deculein.

“I will regard it as a compliment,” Deculein replied.

A man with red hair. No, is it a man? Or a woman? Epherene thought.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Epherene asked, blinking up at the person—so beautiful that the line between beauty and handsomeness blurred.

“... Are you speaking of me?”

“Yes,” Epherene said, nodding with an almost childlike honesty.

“You and I have met before.”

“Hmm? Have we?”

“Back then, I called myself God—but you denied me the name of God.”

At that moment, Epherene’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wait—you were the one back then!” Epherene said, her hair bristling as she pointed, the memory crashing down all at once.

“Haha, indeed. You taught me one thing—and it was through you that I chose to descend to this continent. I now know how little I understand about your world.”

“... Sorry?” Epherene muttered, startled by his oddly gentle words. They caught her off guard, and the finger she’d raised now felt embarrassingly out of place. “Ahem. Really?”

“Indeed.”

“Then what’s your name?” Epherene asked, clearing her throat as she lowered her finger back to her side.

“... My name?”

“Yes, your name.”

“Well, I would still prefer to be called God.”

“Oh, I get it now!” Epherene replied, nodding with the calm certainty of a child who just solved a riddle. “So your name is actually God, then? G.O.D?”

At that moment, even God Himself fell silent.

“Call me Quay,” He replied, running a hand through his hair.

“Quay? That is an interesting name.”

Fwoooosh—!

Suddenly, the magma flared violently, and the cave thickened with the noxious scent of sulfur steeped in demonic energy. Epherene gagged instinctively, while a vein pulsed across Deculein’s face—the signature sign of Yukline’s violence rising to the surface.

“Blughhhh—! What kind of smell is this? Professor, is it even safe to be in here?”

“No, it is not safe,” Deculein replied with certainty. “The place itself is steeped in filth and decay. The volcano will not wait much longer and will erupt soon.”

Rose furrowed her brow, and beside her, Arlos only shrugged.

“An eruption?” Epherene asked.

“Indeed, the Ashes will be buried beneath it and if the eruption worsens, parts of Yuren may be swallowed as well. What follows will be a disaster—sulfurous rain falling across the land,” Deculein replied, adjusting the scattered materials around him through Telekinesis.

The materials included the Devil’s Claw, the Heart of Memeren, the Blood of the Dark Troll, and the Venom of the Desert Roteo Scorpion—just a few among the many rare and dangerous items gathered.

“Wait—Deculein, were you the one who swept the shelves clean?!” Arlos said.

“Either way, I will use these to reduce the damage through my spell.”

Using the materials he had purchased from the Ashes, Deculein planned to manifest a portion of Decalane’s Study of Art Magic—and, through the ductility of that spellwork, forge a barrier to seal the volcano’s crater and contain the damage.

“However, even my spell cannot completely prevent the devastation of a volcanic eruption. The Ashes shall return to what they are in name—nothing but ash,” Deculein continued, nodding with satisfaction. “For the vermin living loathsome lives who have made their home here, it is no less than they deserve.”

Arlos’s face twisted, while Epherene’s face, too, turned uncertain.

“You call their lives loathsome?” Rose said, almost spitting the words.

Deculein turned his eyes on Rose with a silent stare, piercing as a blade and heavy with command as always, but Rose stood her ground.

“Loathsome? No—that’s far too harsh.”

“Prosecutor Rose, then tell me—do you consider your own life to stand on equal footing with the degraded lives of these criminals?”

“They’ve committed crimes, yes—and I’ll prosecute them and see them imprisoned if justice demands it, as that’s my duty. But I cannot loathe an entire life because of what someone has done. A person’s worth is more than their worst choice.”

“Most of them are the sort who deserve death,” Deculein said, holding Rose’s eyes as the edge of his mouth curled.

“There is no human who deserves to die.”

“That is your ideal, and a strange one at that. There are, without question, people in this world who deserve to die.”

“Hah,” Rose murmured, resting a hand on her shoulder in disbelief. “You say such things because you’ve never had to live among them with noble blood. With such privilege, you—”

“You too,” Deculein interrupted. “You have noble blood, and that’s what lets you speak without consequence.”

Rose remained silent.

“If you were a commoner...” Deculein continued, falling silent for a moment, then holding Rose’s gaze with thinly veiled incredulity. “Do you believe you'd be permitted to speak with me at all? It’s your noble blood that affords you such dangerous thoughts, and if you were born a commoner, those same words would have been met with the blade.”

Rose gritted her teeth.

“Of course, the nobles of Yuren are bound to feel inferior. Compared to the Empire, what else can such lowborn blood feel but shame?” Deculein added, shaking his head.

Then I turned toward Quay, who had been watching the exchange with interest, and said, “There’s still a week until the eruption. The expo will take place before then—you’ll have time to see it all.”

“Hmm? You really would allow me to see it with my own eyes?” Quay asked.

“On one condition—do something about that red hair, as it would draw far too much attention,” I replied.

Quay smiled, tapped his temple, and in a blink, his blazing long hair dissolved—replaced by a sleek black undercut. Just moments ago, he looked like a woman, but now he could have passed for a man without question.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Epherene muttered.

“By law and duty, this is an official arrest. You are hereby placed under arrest for the theft of twenty-seven items from mansions, market halls, and auction houses across Yuren. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

“You have the right to consult with an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning, and to petition the court regarding the lawfulness of your arrest...” Rose said, her voice tight with suppressed anger as she stepped forward and locked the cuffs onto his wrists.

***

In the palace, Maho—the princess of Yuren—sat surrounded by reports from the officials, letting out sighs as she worked her way through the pile.

“Haa... Hoo...”

“That sigh could’ve come from a steam engine, princess,” said Charlotte, the escort knight, with a smile—her way of loosening the weight in the air.

“If that transformation formula really really is worth one billion elne... what are we supposed to do...?” Maho replied, her words fading like a breath as she hid her face behind the report. “We’ve already poured everything into the new business venture... and we barely have any funds left...”

The real problem is still Deculein’s transformation formula. I wouldn’t have expected it to be stolen aboard the aircraft destined for Yuren... Maho thought.

“Had it occurred outside Yuren’s airspace, we might have had some margin for excuse... perhaps even claimed it happened in the Empire’s airspace. But the theft happened within Yuren’s airspace... sniffle, sniffle, sniffle...”

Maho pretended to cry and calculated her next move, hoping that if she could win Deculein’s sympathy even slightly, she could soften the blow from the theory stolen in her territory.

“Hmm... Oh? Say that again?” Charlotte said, raising a hand to her earpiece and pausing to listen as the report came through. “Oh! I understand. That's good news.”

“Why?! Why—what is it?! What is it?!” Maho asked, snapping her head up with wide eyes. “Did they find the transformation formula? Did they?!”

“No, not the transformation formula, but they have the infamous thief in custody.”

“The infamous thief... Oh, you mean the one who stole nearly fifty million elne in just a week?”

If Deculein hears of the plan, he’ll act without delay—sabotage it, deconstruct every point, and deliver it straight to the Empress of the Empire, Maho thought.

Knock, knock—

“That is called stealing, you know.”

“Haha, then let’s call it that.”

“Oh... and what’s that?” Quay asked, nodding toward the thesis in her hands.

“Hmm... but isn’t that Deculein’s responsibility?”