A Villain's Will to Survive

Chapter 280: Interpretation (1) Part 1

Even now, the Altar followed the Holy Language—the one used by the followers who once transcribed God’s revelations during the Holy Era—silently longing for it to return to them as well.

The Altar was not the same as God—nor was it the same as Quay. Its will didn’t always align with His. Even as it served Quay as God, it continued to act on its own beliefs. Seeking the Holy Language and creating the human chimera were decisions it made of its own accord.

Therefore, Empress Sophien, who regarded the Altar as her foremost threat, had no choice but to take an interest in the Holy Language.

“Deculein,” Sophien said as we climbed the spiral staircase leading to the highest floor of the Imperial Palace, “how much do you know about the Altar?”

“I am aware of what they’re after,” I replied. “But do you know who they are, Your Majesty?”

“Of course I do,” Sophien said. “After I finally escaped that loop of regression, the only thing that held my attention was religion. I spent some time wondering which bastard had the nerve to test me like that. The ones they call the Altar stood out more than most.”

Ever since she first became aware of the Altar, Sophien must have instinctively harbored hatred, revulsion, and murderous intent. Born as the crafted body of God, she would have understood—on a level deeper than talent—that her survival depended on the destruction of the Altar.

“The Altar claims that God will descend to remake the continent from the ground up—no status, no class, no conflicts—just their ideal.”

“… An ideal built on fantasy, but what are Your Majesty’s thoughts?”

“If all humans were the same, then perhaps such a world wouldn’t be impossible. But to abolish status, class, and authority—every single one of us would have to be identical, with no differences, not even in the smallest part,” Sophien replied as she continued up the stairs.

I followed Sophien without a word.

“Identical in body, height, health—even in talent—and their minds would have to mirror each other completely. Because the moment there’s even a sliver of difference, a human will find a reason to dominate.”

Thud.

Sophien stopped in her tracks before a massive gate whose sheer size and grandeur blocked our path.

“That’s human nature—both the instinct and the journey. We chase meaning because we know we’ll die. But if there’s nothing to separate one from another, is that still humanity? No. That’s driftwood, floating with the tide,” Sophien continued, placing her hand against the door.

Creeeeeeeak—

Then, with a sound of ancient mechanics, the gate—so massive even a giant might have struggled to move it—began to open on its own.

“Come in. This is my vault—the Emperor’s vault. Even I have only stepped inside once before.”

What stood beyond the gate was the Emperor’s vault, but it looked more like a museum. Numerous treasures shimmered behind glass displays, lined up in long rows that stretched far into the distance.

“This vault holds the very bones of the Empire’s history,” I said.

“Is that so?”

It was clear even to the Sharp Eyesight that this was a vault of incredible value. The cheapest item here would be worth tens of millions of elne. But Sophien didn’t spare any of it a glance—she silently led me to a desk tucked away in the corner.

“If something catches your eye, take it. I’ve never cared much for possessions,” Sophien said with a smile.

Sophien’s smile was captivating and impossible to look away from.

“Now, bring forth the Holy Language.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” I replied and laid the Holy Language scroll on the desk.

Thud—

The scroll was so long it overflowed the length of the table, spilling past its edges. Sophien looked at it, closed her eyes for a moment, and sighed under her breath. The work ahead must have felt overwhelming—her usual ennui was starting to show again.

“This is overwhelming. Who decided that a thousand languages should share one scroll?”

“The Holy Language has changed with the world—its rules, forms, and structure rewritten again with each passing age over ten thousand years,” I said.

“Then does that not make it impossible?” Sophien muttered, placing a hand against her brow and shivering tiredly.

“It may be nearly impossible—but with Your Majesty’s talent, I believe it can be done. I intend to seek out others whose talents might assist you. The Empire holds no shortage of talented linguists.”

“Hmph, and what exactly could those foolish scholars possibly contribute?” Sophien replied with a scoff, pulling an official letter from her inner pocket.

The official letter bore the Empress’s seal, pressed clean into red wax.

“Before anything else, take this.”

“May I ask what this is, Your Majesty—”

“It is a proclamation declaring the eradication of the desert—and the beginning of open war with the Altar,” Sophien replied.

I looked at Sophien, who met my eyes with her mouth curling into a smile.

“The path to the Land of Destruction will be opened. I will erase every last remnant of the Altar and the Scarletborn across the continent—and kill the one they dare to call God.”

When Sophien spoke of killing God, something in her voice awakened a memory I hadn’t thought of in ages—the God’s Revelation Quay had once shown me.

Your indulgence shall lead to My death.

Quay had named it God’s Testament and the last revelation of God, and looking back, it seemed to say only one thing—that humans always repeat the same mistakes, no matter how many times the world turns.

“Before all that,” the Empress said as she took her seat.

I dropped to one knee on the bare floor before her.

Then, with her eyes narrowing on me, Sophien continued, “Professor—why did you dare speak to me with such emotion back in Yuren?”

“I wished to get confirmation of it, Your Majesty.”

Then Sophien’s lips moved in silence, though she was always quicker to judge than any ordinary person I’d known, but this time she hesitated—or perhaps she wasn’t hesitating at all and was simply thinking through hundreds of things at once.

“… If you had your confirmation,” Sophien asked, “would anything change?”

In the hush of the room, Sophien’s voice settled like falling dust, her eyes trembling and full of something unspoken.

I lowered my head slightly before the Empress.

“Hmph, that’s enough,” the Empress added, her pale fingers brushing my chin, raising my eyes to meet hers. “Just this once, I’ll forgive you—for finding the Holy Language…”

Sophien guided my eyes to hers, one hand resting on my shoulder. For a brief moment, the Empress’s body tensed as her right hand, which had been beneath my chin, slid upward to my neck, while her left—still on my shoulder—pulled me toward her.

For a second, it looked like Sophien was about to pull me into her arms. But it wasn’t reason guiding her—born not of reason but some misfiring instinct—as she stopped cold, her body stiffened, then leaned close, her lips at my ear, murmuring words gentle enough to be mistaken for breath.

“However, if you ever try something like that again… know this—the punishment will be mine to decide…”

I couldn’t bring myself to ask what that punishment might be.

***

While Deculein remained elsewhere in the Imperial Palace, Epherene and Ria, in a completely different corner, were engaged in conversation.

“So, is this a formula that describes gravity in mathematical terms?” Epherene asked.

“Yes, it seems like it,” Ria replied.

Ria was explaining modern knowledge in simpler terms, doing her best to make it understandable for Epherene. Although she couldn’t share the full structure of the math itself, she occasionally tossed out small assists—one word here, a nudge there—just enough to steer Epherene in the right direction.

“Okay, I think I can understand this. If I study a little more, I’ll really get it. It’s interesting. This author’s amazing—I’d love to meet them one day.”

“Let’s go find them together one day.”

The book’s author was listed as Caasi—a tongue-in-cheek twist on the name Isaac, spelled backward for anyone clever enough to catch it.

“… And about the nanoparticle,” Ria said.

“Nanotube?” Epherene replied.

“Yes, and I kind of thought of a way to use it.”

Epherene, an important named character, actively welcomed modern knowledge and tried to make use of it, which alone was reason enough for Ria to help her.

“Okay, go ahead and tell me. I’d like to hear what you’ve come up with.”

“Yes, for example… you could turn the particles into something and put them on your body—something like a suit.”

“A suit? You mean like the kind you wear to a meeting?”

“Umm… Something similar, but…”

Ria nearly blurted out Iron Man, the name burning at her throat, but she managed to swallow it back just in time.

“Anyway, if you could control the mana particles to be super small—like nano—couldn’t you kind of wrap them around your body like clothes?”

“Probably?”

“Why don’t you try it that way?”

Though Epherene tilted her head, she gave Ria’s suggestion a try, condensing her Mana into a polymer and wrapping it around her hand like a glove—a task that, for someone who had once held off a volcano, wasn’t particularly difficult.

“… It worked.”

“Whoa! Then you just need to think of a really good property for it. You said mana can become anything, right? Like making it really hard or something—just imagine that while you’re creating it…”

Epherene closed her eyes and breathed her will into the glove—becoming as strong as anything can be.

“… Did it,” Epherene said, opening her eyes, her mana glove stained with her signature ashen tone.

“Then let’s try it—anywhere you want.”

“Anywhere?”

“Yes.”

Epherene gave a small shrug, tapped the table with the faintest touch—and in that instant, the whole thing shattered beneath her fingers.

Gulp—

Epherene and Ria exchanged glances and swallowed. It hadn’t been a wooden table—but solid metal from the Imperial Palace—and it had shattered on contact like brittle glass.

“That’s… amazing. If you wrapped your whole body in it, then it would be complete.”

“My whole body?”

“Yes.”

“Okay~ thanks! I’m adding this to my thesis. Do you want me to put your name on it as well?”

“Oh—no, no. I’m okay.”

“Alright… yawwwn—” Epherene muttered, stretching her arms as she leaned into the chair, an hour of study having left her drained.

Then, Epherene made her way to the bed, lay down for a bit of rest, turned over at Ria, and asked, “Hey, Ria, do you have a boyfriend?”

“… Oh—uh, Miss Epherene, what about you?”

“I don’t. But why are you dodging the question?”

Ria scratched the back of her neck in silence.

I didn’t think I’d hear the word boyfriend in this world, Ria thought.

“Oooh~ you do have one, don’t you~?” Epherene said, raising her eyebrows.

“… I used to, but he dumped me,” Ria replied, shaking her head.

“You got dumped? At your age? Kids these days really are growing up too fast~”

“Says the forever-alone Miss Epherene,” Ria said, narrowing her eyes.

“What—what?! What are you even saying?!” Epherene barked, springing up from the bed, her whole face twisting.

“Aren’t you?” Ria asked as she gave a short laugh through her nose.

“N-No—what about you?! Umm… you still like your ex-boyfriend, don’t you?! I mean, come on—you are so not over him! You totally do!”

Epherene opened her mouth to say something to Ria but stopped herself—she’d never even been in a relationship, and lying about it would have been obvious. So instead of answering, she lashed out and jabbed her finger like a child caught red-handed.

However, Ria’s reaction was far more serious than expected, her expression heavy, head lowered as she fidgeted with her fingers, lost in thought, and just like that, Epherene felt like the villain in a story she hadn’t meant to start—and swallowed her words back.

“N-No, wait—I didn’t mean it like that. You don’t have to take it so seriously—”

“No, I think I still like him. Yeah, I think I still do.”

Ria spoke with a face clouded by something unspoken, and something about it made Epherene unexpectedly curious.

Ria, what kind of love did this little one go through, and why am I still forever alone? Epherene thought.

“Then why not be courageous and go see him?”

“I can’t,” Ria replied, shaking her head but with certainty.

“Why can’t you?” Epherene asked, blinking as her eyes went wide.

“… I just can’t.”

I can’t. Even if I complete every quest and make it out of this game to return to the real world, I cannot go to him. I’m not someone who can give him what he needs. Maybe that’s what we’re supposed to do anyway—just forget, Ria thought.

“… Okay, fair enough. But don’t let it weigh on you too much,” Epherene said, placing a hand on Ria’s shoulder.

“But you’ve never even been in a relationship,” Ria said, looking up at Epherene with a pout.

“… Hey,” Epherene muttered, biting her lower lip before breaking into a smile. “Anyway, about the gravity thing we studied together—it’s incredible. No, more than incredible. If we apply this mathematical discovery we found together, who knows? We might even be able to manipulate reality.”

There were spells called Gravitational Manipulation, sure—but in reality, they didn’t manipulate gravity at all. They just compressed air to simulate pressure, more like fluid control than anything else. However, if this formula were applied, it might actually make true gravitational manipulation possible.

“Alright, from today on, I’ve chosen my path—completely. The integration of magic and science. That’s my mission and my purpose—”

“Are you going to do it all alone?” Ria asked.

“Yes. Who else is going to do it? You’re not a mage, are you?”

“Why don’t you ask your supervising professor?”

When she says supervising professor, I’m guessing she means Deculein, Epherene thought.

“… Professor isn’t as open-minded as I am. To him, science is nothing more than a tool,” Epherene replied, shaking her head.

“Oh, I see,” Ria said with a nod, understanding right away.

Since Deculein was not from the modern world and is a traditional mage, he would never accept any kind of magic that puts science first, Ria thought.

“Oh, I almost forgot—what happened with the stolen transformation formula?” Ria asked.

“I don’t know, and he hasn’t even bothered to look,” Epherene replied.

“… Really? Wait—hang on a minute!” Ria said, eyes going wide. “That mage who appeared in Yuren, Berbaldi, wasn’t it? Could that mage be the one who wrote the Principia?”

“Pfft,” Epherene murmured, a laugh escaping before she could stop it.

“Why? It sounds pretty reasonable,” Ria said, a furrow forming between her brows.

“… Oh, yeah. It does sound reasonable.”

The Magicore displayed at the Yuren Magical Expo as Berbaldi’s work was actually an invention of Deculein’s, intended to become Carla’s artificial heart after the event. As of now, only Epherene and Arlos knew the truth.

“Alright, I’m going to bed! I’m tired,” Epherene said, pulling the blanket over herself.

“Then I’ll go get some training done,” Ria replied, eyeing Epherene suspiciously before getting up from the chair.

The hour for training had come for her.