#189: Year 5, The True Beginning (3) — Battlefield of the Gods

At that moment, Ludicer spoke up.

“This appears to be the work of the figure we just met—presumed to be Manus. If he were a full god, opening Kim Han’s inventory would be trivial. He rushed it and tried to be discreet, so he didn’t finish cleanly. Sophia will handle the investigation.”

“…Alright, fine. So before I accept the 5th year gift… they said the first-place prize of the Monster Wave should also be received from the responsible god?”

“Yes—it’s ready. In fact, the prize was prearranged. From the start, the Heavenly God Amor and the demon god Serpens assumed their representatives would win, so they prepared their prizes accordingly.”

What Ludicer handed over was a single scroll and a small booklet. I understood the scroll—what was the booklet for?

“I’ve placed the 5th-year gift in your inventory. Check it later somewhere quiet.”

Ludicer said this, blushing. The goddesses around him looked curious.

“Thanks. I’ll do that. Now, let’s get down to ‘our’ business. Oh—before that, you four—no, five—settle this by rock-paper-scissors or whatever. You’ve all heard of the Divine Word contract; it’s necessary.”

As soon as I finished, Aetas’s expression snapped back to adolescent sulkiness; she puffed her cheeks and gave a full “hmph.” Her pursed-lip retort carried no malice, only petulance.

“Why leave Ludicer out?”

“Ludicer… is my responsible god? Then why make me the leader in the first place, annoying…”

“W-wooah! Look at how shameless Kim Han is—he did everything himself and now… fine! We’ll make sure it gets delivered. But what’s this ‘our’ business?”

“What else? It concerns Manus and those vermin gods who squander divine power.”

What had she expected? Aetas looked distinctly disappointed. Genesis and Ludicer wore similar expressions.

“Start with Manus. What happened and what will you do? Suddenly a transcendent like Fabris appears and starts casting suggestions—what does that bastard want?”

Faced with a rapid-fire volley of questions, the smiling faces grew stern and fell silent. Was this something I wasn’t meant to hear?

It proved the gentle breezes in the Garden of Gods didn’t mean time stood still there.

“Matters concerning Manus are normally not explained to representatives like you… But since Kim Han was directly harmed and you’re always involved, we’ll explain only what we can.”

Spatium continued the explanation in a calm tone.

He explained the relationship between Caelum and Manus, the condition of gods unusually drawn to Manus, and even Manus’s inexplicable actions at the place where Caelum fell.

“…That’s as far as I’ll go. Perhaps Manus is preparing something beyond our imagination. But judging from the Caelum incident, Manus was clearly always prepared. ‘Witch’ wasn’t something you could just buy at a general store like an herb.”

“I see…”

“Come to think of it, Caelum seems to have used Melun not long after becoming a god. You can see similar cases with Mae Young-ryeong and Kim Mina… But he used it covertly to avoid Sophia’s sight. That couldn’t happen without outside intervention. We suspect Manus or gods allied with him intervened.”

Nothing about Spatium’s nonchalant explanation was ordinary.

“Sigh… Why don’t you arrest Manus? Surely he’s not stronger than you?”

“No. We can’t find Manus.”

“So you can’t capture and punish him…?”

“I said we can’t find him.”

Spatium is the god of space. There shouldn’t be anywhere he couldn’t find… yet there is.

“Are you insane? Here? In the Battlefield of the Gods? Are you kidding me?”

“…Kim Han, you’re smarter than I thought. We only learned because Sophia told us. Yes—it’s the only place it could be. But it won’t manifest the way you’re imagining. We couldn’t detect exactly how, but his power probably won’t be that strong.”

That’s the best they could say. Any representative who knew the situation even a little would know how ridiculous that sounded.

Does a god become weak just because he doesn’t manifest? No. Even the limited Caelum toyed with hundreds of wizards, including tower lords.

And Manus is on a level that makes Caelum look insignificant.

The supreme god of war.

“You’re saying that like it’s nothing… How strong is he then?”

“Hmm… If his power is effectively limited, maybe the equivalent of three or four Ancient Prime Beasts. Ah—if Talis and Bioss attacked together they’d win. And you’d be there too.”

The unlikely suddenly felt true; I involuntarily bowed my head at Spatium’s words.

“Are you out of your mind? Three or four Ancient Prime Beasts? Ha! If three or four Ancient Prime Beasts are that strong, our entire legion would be slaughtered even if we all jumped in! You say that’s no big deal? Are you telling me not to worry because Talis and Bioss can’t leave Exorsus? Stay in Exorsus until Manus appears or is caught? Hmm?”

Perhaps realizing they were mistaken, all six goddesses wore flustered expressions. Even Ludicer…

This is exactly why I could never bring myself to like gods.

From their perspective, if they captured Manus, it wouldn’t matter how many representatives died—so the terrifying strength of three or four Ancient Prime Beasts could be casually dismissed as “a degree.”

“What if we get ambushed on an expedition? What about cases where someone disguises themselves as a representative or a continental native to infiltrate? You should’ve told us these things in advance. Are you kidding?! Wasn’t the Battlefield of the Gods a place governed by the ‘Setting’? How are there so many holes?”

This meant we had to cancel the planned operation outright.

We planned to spend the 5th year outside Exorsus, in the northwest—the Land of Death.

I had a sample at home for the first absorption rite, so rather than running around day and night hunting things that wouldn’t even send a signal to the liver, it made more sense to reap rewards in the Land of Death. That’s where the real treasures were.

But that entire plan was about to go up in smoke.

“Heaven’s net is wide, yet none escape it.”

Sophia’s calm voice cut through the awkward silence—her point was that though the sky’s net seems sparse, it lets nothing slip through.

I understood why Sophia said it. But knowing and accepting are different matters.

“So? We should just let everything take its natural course and wait idly? What if that course attacks us? What if that course means I die? What if that course means more than half of our legion members die!”

Sophia’s expression stiffened. The other goddesses’ faces changed similarly.

Do they, from a god’s perspective, regard ‘the natural order’ as something absolutely not to be questioned?

“…That doesn’t mean we’ll do nothing. Manus has certainly entered the Battlefield of the Gods, but other countermeasures will arise. Above all, your strength surpasses any representative’s… Be vigilant, but don’t become obsessive.”

Sophia, who had been speaking formally until now, switched to a firm, lecturing tone.

But I couldn’t agree. Arguing with her here wouldn’t change anything, so I backed down.

“…Don’t pucker like that. It looks cute. Hoho. I hear everyone has given you a gift, Kim Han. I’ll send one via Merus as well—something you need most right now. It may not be much, but please trust us gods a little.”

Sophia’s stiff expression softened into a gentle, polite tone. Are there any sane gods at all?

“I don’t fully understand, but we’ll talk later. For now, where do you expect Manus to be?”

“Well. A force like Manus would be hard for continental folk to detect. Since statues of Manus stand throughout Exorsus, he’s likely in one of the three Forbidden Zones. The Creator asked me to convey a single remark.”

“What?”

“Six years.”

“Six years?”

What does six years mean? The sixth year? Or six years from now?

“Yes. Not the sixth year—six years. It’s likely the remaining time. Kim Han, become stronger in those six years, so you can stop Talis and Bioss.”

“…Are you insane?”

“We’ll support you as much as we can. Not just your responsible god, cute Ludicer, but all of us here.”

I could hardly contain my irritation. Had it shown? Sophia continued in an even more coaxing tone.

“None of us here have ever produced a winning representative in the Battlefield of the Gods. Do you know why?”

“It’s not that you couldn’t produce one, it’s that you chose not to.”

“Exactly. We’re saying we’ll give it our all—not just us, but other responsible gods as well. And besides, you have cute Ludicer on your side.”

Sophia’s soft smile was hard to trust. But seeing Ludicer clench his fist resolutely, I couldn’t stay angry. All that came out was a sigh.

Gods are incomprehensible, so I’ll put my head together with Talis and Bioss.

“Then we’ll believe Manus will be there in six years and wait. But what about that crazy bitch and that slut, and those who follow them—how will we deal with them?”

I asked the question, and all six goddesses looked curious, as if asking me to say how we’d handle it.

“I asked first.”

“Do as you wish, Kim Han. The girl is…”

“She dies, Aetas.”

“Tch. That’s what we wanted to know. What will you do?”

Aetas asked boldly. The others nodded at her question, meaning they were curious too.

“Nope, not telling.”

……

An empty wind swept across the Garden of Gods.