Mortal, Demi-God (2)

When Cortina finished her one-sided conversation with Caelum and stood up, Aetas stroked Cortina’s head and spoke.

“Yes, you did well. Oh, later I’ll bring that lolicon pervert, the prick, and the coy one to visit your forest. We like meat, meat.”

“Hoho. Yes, I’ll prepare. I’ll be off now.”

Cortina smiled brightly and vanished, and Aetas approached Caelum, who glared with bulging eyes—perhaps from pain or from Cortina’s changed demeanor.

“Now that you’ve met the Cortina you’ve been waiting for, may we talk? Caelum.”

“Guh, guhk!”

“Ahh, seeing you in such pain pains this sister’s heart. Caelum, wait a moment.”

The moment Aetas’s fingers made a cheerful rubbing sound, Caelum, who had been writhing in agony, gasped and barely regained his composure.

“I stopped time for your body for a moment. It’s the kind of thing I can’t normally heal, but I’m not really into healing anyway. Hoho.”

“…Huff, huff, thank… you….”

“No, no. It’s fine, Caelum. There’s something this sister really wants to hear, so I’d like you to answer. Then we can part on good terms. You can trust me.”

Despite the alluring woman’s sweet voice pleading, Caelum did not respond that he would.

This is his own castle. And the other party is a high-ranking god.

And the divine power flowing across the floor indicated that a ‘Oath’s Sacred Formation’ was installed here. It was one of those things you learn automatically when you ascend to godhood.

“Yes, as you expected, a sacred formation is installed here. I only put it for verification, so don’t be too burdened. Hoho. Now, Caelum, where did you get it? ‘Witch’, that terrible thing?”

“…!!”

Shaking pupils and a trembling face. Even his body flinched.

Caelum did not answer, but his entire being revealed his shock. Still, he refused to speak.

“Ah, our Caelum is confused. This sister will correct and ask precisely. From whom did you obtain ‘the Witch’?”

“….”

Caelum remained silent again. A twisted smile curled Aetas’s lips at the sight.

That expression, combined with her dazzling beauty, made her strangely alluring—like a villainess you can’t help but fall for despite knowing she’s lethal.

“Oh my~! What an improper brat. I tried to be nice, but you were easy? First, you’ve committed three deaths’ worth of crime. One: your representative dared to babble nonsense about the Sky God and the God of Time—meaning you, Caelum—and my love story to my representative. Two: the personal grudge of Genesis waiting outside. And three: finally, invading Kim Han’s mansion.”

Caelum, perhaps convinced of something, still refused to open his mouth. He only glared at Aetas.

“So I was debating how to kill you, but of course it’s during the Battlefield of the Gods period? I couldn’t even kill or beat you, so I was sharpening my blade. But oh my—our idiot little brother played with ‘Destruction’, which the Creator never exported? Where did it come from? Should I beat you? Still, it felt suspicious so I thought I’d investigate before beating you. Oh my?! You manifested. And shamefully, you got beaten by a mortal and came back harboring something terrible in your body? Deicide and Destruction? Before you forget, let’s savor that pain for a moment, brother.”

“Kraahk!!”

Aetas’s outward face wore a smile from start to finish.

When she rubbed her thin white fingers, the bright cheerful sound was contrasted by Caelum’s renewed screams.

As if Caelum’s screams were joyful music, Aetas’s smile deepened.

Clack—!

The cheerful sound rang again, and Caelum shuddered at the pain he felt for a moment.

If the pain had continued, he might have endured with sheer grit, but the single taste of sweet relief plunged him into conflict.

“See, I’m not exactly hurting you or doing anything harmful, am I? I’m actually helping you. I can torment you entirely legally. So… will you answer now? Or later?”

Aetas asked, confident that he would answer.

Caelum trembled under Aetas’s gaze, which sparkled oddly and grotesquely despite her beauty.

What happened between Cortina and Caelum?

Why was Aetas waiting for him in Caelum’s castle?

For what purpose was Aetas tormenting him?

During the Battlefield of the Gods period gods cannot harass one another, so how could Aetas cause Caelum pain?

It all began two years ago, after the Witch bloomed within Mae Young-ryeong’s body.

Aetas, along with Spatium, Genesis, and Mors, received a summons from the Creator.

At that meeting, the Creator entrusted them with investigating the Witch. They also received the ‘Oath’s Sacred Formation’, which even gods cannot escape.

But even after two years, they couldn’t produce tangible results. The temporal peculiarity of the Battlefield of the Gods period made it difficult.

At another time they would have captured and beaten him until he answered, but they couldn’t do that now.

Then Caelum, that fool, manifested.

At that time, the three gods including Aetas were hopeful. They wished Ludicer would also manifest to deal with Caelum.

So Genesis slyly suggested ‘Eternal Agony’, which even stabs gods with terrible pain.

But what a surprise! Ludikcr had already used her scroll.

Just as they were about to despair, Spatium reminded them who Kim Han’s mentor was.

A sudden idea flashed. Aetas immediately sought an audience with the Creator and had a long conversation, then rewound time. She met Cortina, and that led to today.

They only had to wait for the fool to be captured alive by Talis, be tortured, and return full of Bioss’s Deicide in his body.

There was no need to torture him hard themselves.

Each time they placed Caelum under the Oath’s Sacred Formation, paused his pain to question him, then resumed time stopping, his appearance and spirit gradually changed.

While being held by Talis and tormented with questions about my skills for a time, the Flame Tower Lord told me a representative had come to see me.

Thanks to that, I was freed from Talis and hurried to the reception room.

And there I met a representative I never expected.

“Who…?”

“Hello. Sorry for dropping in. I am Merus Cognitio de Disciplina the 32nd. Please call me Merus.”

A representative heavily cloaked. From the low, hoarse voice he seemed male. And that strangely long name—nothing ordinary.

‘Check.’

“Oh?”

“Why?”

“Nothing.”

“Hm…”

I’m too surprised to speak.

This guy—the one. Even in my previous life I never faced him directly.

A member of the same Seven Stars but a figure whose identity I had only heard about in rumors. A wise star.

Little else was known, but I was certain about his skill ‘Eyes that Oversee the Battlefield.’

“How peculiar.”

Merus the Wise’s voice, suddenly calling it strange, snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked at him. His pupils flickered without rest.

“What do you mean…?”

I feigned nonchalance and replied to Merus.

Maybe because of his reputation from a past life, or the greatness I’ve heard in rumors, I felt as if the Merus before me had grown larger.

“Hm… You are the representative Kim Han who was once called ‘God’s Messenger’ and lately ‘Exemplary Messenger,’ correct?”

“And? Is there a problem?”

“No, no. It’s not that there’s any particular issue. It’s just… a bit peculiar.”

Merus flustered. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but snort.

Come to think of it, there’s nothing in his physical stats that surpasses mine. And his skill is only a downgrade of Argus’s Eye, called Eyes that Oversee the Battlefield.

With that thought, the Merus who seemed large a moment ago felt much smaller.

This shift in thought restored confidence to my voice and my tone became unabashed.

“Hm… not a pleasant mood. A representative who barges into someone else’s unsettled house, spouting meaningless words… Are you one of those?”

“If that’s what you mean… which?”

His expectant look turned into displeasure. He pulled his leaning body back, tilted his head slightly, folded his arms. His entire being said he was offended.

‘Yes, stay offended. Then storm out.’

This type doesn’t suit me. Moreover, I couldn’t even tell who his patron god was, and in his previous life he had no interest in war.

An entity whose purpose I couldn’t discern. All the more reason I couldn’t work with him.

“Sometimes there are representatives like that. They suddenly come and say they’ll live in the mansion, or that they’re this kind of person and will take special care of me. It’s all talk—basically trying to freeload here.”

“…Hm!”

“Why did you come?”

“Earlier, what was all that commotion about?”

Perhaps because he’s only four years in. Merus’s voice, annoyed by my earlier words, carried a youthful edge.

“Oh? Now you’re going to investigate? Who are you to do that?”

“You?”

“Who made you the one I must explain what happened in my house to? Who gave you that right? You’re a representative and so am I. Now, tell me. Who granted you the authority to interrogate another representative who is not your comrade?”

“That’s…”

Merus struggled to continue. Noticing again how different he was now from when he was the Wise Star in legend, I relaxed.

The more so, the mood flowed increasingly in my favor. The justification, the atmosphere, the situation—all on my side.

I leaned comfortably in the chair, crossed a leg, and stared at Merus. No—looked down at him.

“Sometimes among the representatives there are idiots—those who assume another representative’s power must always be the same as theirs, or who trust only what they see. But do you know what’s worse than that?”

“….”

Maybe he felt the initiative slipping. No smug answer came from Merus. He only wore an uncomfortable expression.

“Why, don’t you know? Need a hint? Benialis.”

“…You mean a representative of a god with great power? If that’s it…”

“Puhahaha! No, not that. The commonality between Benialis and you: believing yourselves as geniuses. Now, tell me why you came. Merus, a representative who isn’t human and pretends to be a sage.”

“…!!”

Merus’s eyes widened and his pupils vertically slit like a cat’s.

Seeing that, I gave a faintly nasty smile, and he hurriedly tried to cover his shock.

“What surprised you? That I noticed you’re not human? That’s something anyone would see with a little ‘observation.’ Or that you’re not actually a genius? Surely you didn’t truly believe you were a genius, did you?”

“…Why, why are you treating me like this?”

Immature. Indeed still very immature. Luckily—manageable.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you? This is my house, and you’re an uninvited guest.”

“That’s…”

“And representatives are fundamentally adversaries, aren’t they? Not sparring or duels, but tearing at each other’s leash. Now one last question: why did you come?”

Imagining Merus storming out any moment, I wore a haughty smile and looked down at him.

“…I came because I hoped you would accept me as a member of your legion.”

“Right, off you go… what?”