Chapter 24: Another Evaluative Perspective

"..." While Nio completely ignored Ryu and went off to explore the city, Ryu remained in that alley recovering from her near-death experience. Nio had underestimated Ryu’s real objectives as she leaned against a wall, staring at the hole in her clothes where her chest had been pierced.

"...I guess it could’ve been worse, and I got what I wanted without dying..." She murmured breathlessly. Even for her, with all her training and centuries of living, nearly dying was an exhausting thing.

’...I knew it... why did this have to happen while I’m alive? It could’ve happened far in the future when I was dead.’ Ever since Nio arrived, Ryu had her eye on her — not because Nio had done anything suspicious, not because Nio was a dragon, but because Nio was complacent. She didn’t even try to hide how much magic she had or the type of magic her body radiated.

Because detection of magic type and magic quantity is something extremely rare and very different from Mana detection. Nio hides her Mana but doesn’t hide her magic directly. Ryu, as a talented high elf in her 311 years of life, had already seen a great deal, had already evaluated many people, and had chosen to serve the Theocracy because she saw a good future for this place despite certain disadvantages.

But when Nio appeared before Ryu’s eyes, what stood in front of her was the most benign of angels — a "messiah," a being so pure and kindhearted that anyone would say she was the person who would purify all the world’s evil.

Honestly, it was shocking for Ryu to see so much light in a single being. Had it been only that, Ryu would have knelt at her feet, become her most faithful and loyal follower, and believed anything she said — even if she claimed the sky was purple and sugar was salty.

But Ryu also saw the most malign of demons, the darkest and most shadowy power of all — a darkness greater than any evil in this world, an aberration that should never have existed. ℯℯ𝑙.

So much darkness in a single being would have been enough to make Ryu run as far away as possible, and she would never trust a being that exuded so much malice and corruption around it.

This duality of pure holy power and abyssal darkness made Ryu want to test it, leaving her confused about how to act. She imagined she would lose even without knowing Nio’s strength, but if she lost by a small margin, she would know the Theocracy would be safe.

Because the Theocracy could gather many powerful people to deal with Nio if something bad were to happen, and if victory proved too difficult, Ryu would think of some way to contain or seal her if necessary.

But losing to a single blow and seeing a potion capable of regenerating such a huge wound in her chest so quickly — she knows. The Theocracy is doomed if this being ever tries to attack.

There is no seal, no containment, no group strong enough to defeat this enemy that Ryu can think of. Ryu is not foolish enough to think numbers alone are enough to overcome "Absolute Power." What would be the point of gathering 200 people with the same power as Ryu if they all die to a single blow? This same logic made Ryu simply give up. There is no running, and there is no fighting, so it’s better to just coexist.

At most, there might be some way to wear Nio down by having her face many powerful monsters, but there would still be all the risk of failing and making everything worse.

"She went through my defensive relics, broke through my mana armor, surpassed my defensive abilities and... no, it’s wrong to say she went through them. She didn’t go through them... she ignored practically everything as if it were a sheet of paper... she didn’t need to try to go through when there was no defense against her hands..." Ryu feels shaken. Even though she had prepared herself for defeat, she hadn’t expected this.

She is strong. She knows she’s not the strongest and that there are many adventurers who could defeat her, but no one would defeat her with a single blow she isn’t even capable of seeing. She didn’t even see Nio’s strike. Only after receiving it did she realize and feel that she had been pierced from one side to the other.

Even her plans to tell Stelaria everything fell apart. What good is it to warn that Nio is too powerful? If that were to irritate Nio, it would be a problem for the Theocracy, so Ryu thinks about mentioning only that she is a dragon.

"...Dragons are strong... but why in my eyes is she so terrifying?" Ryu had never seen a being so blessed and cursed in her life — because holy and darkness do not mix, much less coexist in a living being at the same time.

’I don’t really know what I should do knowing this... spreading this information would be foolish because it might irritate that monster... but living side by side with her... the idea of having something so strong exposed to the risk of being irritated by idiot nobles and ignorant commoners is terrifying...’

"Haaa... this... is uncomfortable... w-why did this thing show up?" Ryu stands up, pacing from one side to the other. She was the only one who noticed, among the many people she knows, because of her eyes, but if she tells others what she saw, she’ll just seem insane.

Besides, she’s not very good at dealing with troublesome repercussions. If she were to say something and it affected the fragile balance among the three great kingdoms, she wouldn’t know what to do.

"She didn’t even hesitate to pierce my chest and threaten me... angel? That girl is a demon!! A wicked being!!! Like... like a fallen angel!! She’s just cute and adorable while hiding her rottenness..."

"I just hope nothing irritates that girl... for now, from what I’ve observed, she’s quite peaceful, and she’s being treated like a saint and accepting the role. If nothing irritates her too much, I think she’ll just leave things as they are..."

"Besides... she seems to have underestimated me a lot since she let me live. Even though I can’t do anything against her now, if in the future someone capable appears, I have good information to share... I need to go see Stelaria and speak with her. I can’t say much, but I can imply things that will make Stelaria pay more attention to that monstrous dragon girl."

’I should head back now... there’s nothing more for me to do in this situation... it’s better to stay on that girl’s good side.’ She begins making her way back to the church, deciding not to even mention the "clone" she saw on stage, preferring to only warn about the part concerning her being a dragon — which is something she realized won’t be a problem — and to imply things for Stelaria to figure out on her own.