Arc 4 Side Story 1 : Celestia

[??? PoV]

Normandia...

That was the name of the world I lived in.

This world was created by Goddess Diana—the Goddess renowned for her compassion toward Mortals.

There were countless Gods and Goddesses throughout this universe. Each of them had created their own worlds. We did not know why they did so, but the Mortals living in the worlds created by these Gods and Goddesses were usually expected to worship or follow the teachings of their creator.

In the world of Normandia, Goddess Diana created a race known as humans to inhabit the world she had created tens of thousands of years ago. Over thousands of years, the human population, which had initially been small, gradually multiplied until they spread across every corner of Normandia.

Although many humans did not follow the Goddess's teachings, Goddess Diana never punished her creations for it. Other Gods and Goddesses would at least banish their creations from the worlds they had created if something like this happened.

That was why many Demigods sought refuge in Normandia—the world Goddess Diana had created—after being banished from their original worlds.

My family was one of them...

We were creatures known as Sirens. Goddess Isis had created our kind in a world called Thalasa. However, according to the stories I heard from my parents, my great-grandparents had been banished from the world of Thalasa because they had violated the rules established by Goddess Isis.

By sacrificing all the power they possessed, my great-grandparents opened a dimensional gate and entered this world.

When they arrived in the world of Normandia, Goddess Diana immediately spoke to them through telepathy. She told them that my great-grandparents and their descendants could remain in this world as long as they did not interfere with the humans living here.

If my great-grandparents violated this rule, Goddess Diana would banish us from the world she had created.

My great-grandparents agreed to her terms. After that, the two of them lived peacefully within the ocean for thousands of years.

Over the course of that immense span of time, my great-grandparents produced descendants. Meanwhile, many other Demigods began to emerge in this world, including creatures known as Elves, Dwarves, Demons, Dragons, and many others.

However, unlike our kind, not many of these Demigod descendants inherited the powers of their ancestors. Only a few of them inherited the powers of their Demigod predecessors.

I assumed this was because these creatures had a much higher birth rate than our kind, which could only produce a single offspring once every tens of thousands of years.

When I was first born, a war broke out between the descendants of the Demigod Demons and humanity. This caused Goddess Diana to descend into this world herself and personally choose a Demigod among the humans to lead them against the demons.

Father and Mother did not interfere in the conflict, even though the effects of the war disturbed and damaged our home—the ocean.

After the demons were defeated, Goddess Diana punished them by transferring them to worlds belonging to other Gods or Goddesses.

Hundreds of years passed, and the ocean gradually recovered from the great war. In addition, the marine creatures created through my family's magic to fill the deep sea with life, preventing it from becoming empty, silent, and dull, began to multiply.

When my great-grandparents first arrived in this world, the ocean had contained nothing but water and darkness. But now, countless other creatures had slowly emerged and reproduced. The ocean that had once been dark and desolate had become lively and filled with color.

"Hey, Mr. Turtle, you can walk on land too, can't you? Can you tell me what it's like up there?"

At the time, I was still young, swimming through the ocean beside an old turtle that had lived for hundreds of years. Thanks to my family's powers, I could communicate with every marine animal living here.

"Eeeghhh... Miss Celestia, although the land is very different from the deep sea, I can assure you there is nothing interesting up there," Mr. Turtle replied suspiciously.

I could sense a lie in Mr. Turtle's words.

Why was Mr. Turtle lying to me? What was he actually trying to hide from me?

I couldn't help but wonder about it back then.

I did not press him any further for an answer. Honestly, I could go to the surface whenever I wanted. We Sirens could walk on land once every several thousand years.

Our tails would split apart, a pair of legs would emerge, and we could walk on land for several days. However, because I had not yet reached one hundred years of age, I was still unable to do so.

"Father, Mother, may I ask you something?"

Since I had received no answer from Mr. Turtle, I turned to my parents instead.

"What is it, Celestia? Is something troubling you, dear?" Mother asked me.

"Mother, why do you and Father always forbid me from going near the surface?" I asked her. "Lately, I've also been seeing strange objects falling from the surface and polluting the ocean. Some of the coral has been damaged, and the marine animals have also started disappearing from this area. What exactly is happening?"

At the time, I was still very innocent and knew very little about the environment where we lived.

Father and Mother fell silent for a moment after hearing my question before both of them sighed. They exchanged glances and then looked back at me.

"Celestia, we'll tell you once you're old enough," Father said with a smile. "As for all the strange things you've noticed lately, they won't last much longer. Don't worry. We'll take care of it."

A few days after our conversation, the strange things I had noticed in the ocean really did begin to decrease. Fewer strange objects fell from the surface, and I was once again able to play and talk with marine creatures that had previously become difficult to find.

What had actually happened afterward? What had Father and Mother done to restore everything to normal?

"I told you, didn't I? We'd take care of it," Father said to me.

"Now you can freely play and explore the ocean again, Celestia," Mother said with a smile.

I did not know what had actually happened, but not long afterward, something strange occurred.

The marine animals swimming around us suddenly stopped moving as if they had been frozen in place, and even the ocean currents came to a halt.

A thunderous rumble unlike anything I had ever heard before echoed through the sea.

Father and Mother's expressions also became anxious as they realized this strange phenomenon.

"You Sirens have violated the rules we established and agreed upon before."

Suddenly, I heard the voice of a woman coming from somewhere.

I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. However, all I could see were marine animals frozen in place.

"Great Goddess Diana, we merely frightened the humans to prevent them from destroying the home where we and our brethren live," Father replied, his voice filled with panic.

"We could tolerate it if the damage was minimal and the number of our brethren they hunted was not too great. But..." Mother's voice sounded deeply saddened.

I did not understand what was actually happening at the time.

Yet this was the real reason why Father, Mother, Mr. Turtle, and the other animals had never wanted to tell me the truth.

"Have they ever threatened your lives?" the woman's voice asked.

Father and Mother remained silent in response to the question.

"First, this world is a home created for my creations—the humans. All of its resources and everything within it exist for them to use for their survival," the mysterious woman's voice said. "You are merely guests who came here after your kind was banished by your own Goddess."

At the time, I did not yet know that we had not originated from this beautiful place.

To be honest, learning this truth troubled me for several years.

"Second, your predecessors dared to create creatures that live in the world I created without my permission," the mysterious woman's voice continued. "Although I do not object to this, the consequences of your actions are yours alone to bear."

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Father and Mother lowered their heads as though they had realized the mistake made by our ancestors.

They both begged for another chance and promised never to repeat the same mistake.

However, the woman refused because an agreement was an agreement.

She said that she would banish us from her world.

"Great Goddess, Celestia—our daughter has nothing to do with the actions of the two of us," Mother pleaded. "I hope you can make an exception for her."

"We beg you, Great Goddess. We do not know what kind of world we will end up in after being banished from this place," Father said anxiously. "We are afraid that the world we are sent to will be extremely dangerous for Celestia."

"Very well. I suppose punishing her for the mistakes of her predecessors would indeed be unfair," the woman said, her tone becoming more relaxed. "Then, Triton and Rhodes! For violating the rules I established, I shall banish the two of you from this world as punishment for your actions! Do you accept this punishment?"

"We accept your punishment, Great Goddess!" Mother and Father answered together.

Not long afterward, a black void appeared before Father and Mother.

The two of them turned toward me, who was still confused by what was happening.

"Celestia, this is not a farewell," Father said as he gently stroked my hair. "If you become powerful enough, you can find us in another world."

"This is a safe and comfortable enough home, Celestia," Mother said with a smile. "Although we hope that we can meet again once you've grown up, we both want you to live happily and peacefully in this world. Unlike in the world we came from. Do you understand?"

I could only nod at the time because I could not process what was actually happening.

After saying their farewells, the black void swallowed both of my parents.

I was left alone in the ocean before all the marine animals were finally able to move again.

From that moment onward, I became the only Siren remaining in the world known as Normandia.

---

Hundreds of years passed, and I had finally reached adulthood for a Siren.

After that incident, the ocean gradually became polluted and damaged again by the waste that came from the surface.

However, I could do nothing to stop it, because if I interfered with human lives, what had happened to my parents would happen to me as well.

If that happened, I would betray my parents' hopes for me.

"Hmm... Mr. Dolphin, what brings you here?" I asked a creature that approached me.

There was something caught around its neck.

"Miss Celestia, could you help me remove this? It's uncomfortable to swim through the ocean with it around my neck," Mr. Dolphin said.

I approached him and examined the object trapped around his neck.

Hmm... This was something humans often used.

It had become common for objects created by humans to cause problems in the ocean and for the creatures living within it.

I then removed the object.

Mr. Dolphin looked incredibly relieved once the thing choking him was gone. He then swam freely back and forth, laughing happily.

"Thank you, Miss Celestia," Mr. Dolphin said.

"If you have any other problems, you can come to me at any time, Mr. Dolphin," I replied.

Suddenly, Mr. Dolphin's expression became gloomy upon hearing my words.

"What is it, Mr. Dolphin? Is there another problem?" I asked curiously.

"Miss Celestia... Humans have become even more relentless in hunting our brethren than before," Mr. Dolphin replied sadly. "I heard that several species of fish are also facing extinction because of this. Is there nothing we can do besides watching our brethren disappear from this world, Oh Mother of The Sea?"

Mr. Dolphin did not call me by my name.

Instead, he called me by my title as the guardian of this ocean and the creatures living within it.

I fell silent for a moment before answering Mr. Dolphin's request.

Although I wanted to solve this problem, Goddess Diana would punish me if I interfered with human lives.

I did not know how to make these humans stop hunting the creatures of the sea other than frightening them.

"I'll try to find a way, Mr. Dolphin," I replied. "For now, warn the others not to go to the surface too often."

"Very well, Mother of The Sea. However, my kind still needs to go to the surface occasionally because we are somewhat different from the others."

After Mr. Dolphin left, I had no choice but to lean back against my throne and think about this problem that refused to disappear and only continued to grow worse.

"Hah... If this continues, every creature in the ocean and all of its beauty will die."

What should I do?

I could not help but remember the words the Goddess had spoken when she was about to punish Father and Mother.

'You are the ones who created these creatures, and therefore you are the ones responsible for them and must bear the consequences of their existence.'

I think I finally understood what she meant when she said those words to Father and Mother.

When my predecessors began creating creatures in the sea, we should have understood that our creations might kill one another, that they might suffer simply because they had been brought into this world, and that they might curse us for giving them such miserable lives.

I wondered how Goddess Diana felt when she saw her creations killing one another.

Did she regret creating them when the beings she had created cursed her for the lives of suffering they were forced to endure?

What did she feel when she realized the destruction her creations had inflicted upon other creatures?

I did not know...

Trying to calm my thoughts, I swam toward the surface.

I raised my head above the water and looked up at the beautiful blue sky.

Countless birds were flying overhead, hunting for prey in the ocean.

"Kroooookkk!! Kroookk!! Kroookk!!"

Suddenly, the birds were struck by a powerful jet of water, causing them to fall and die instantly.

The Goddess had forbidden me from interfering with humans, but she had said nothing about other creatures.

However, from another direction, I suddenly saw a small boat approaching the place where the birds had fallen.

"Hm... What was that just now?"

I heard a man's voice coming from the small boat.

He then picked up the birds that had just died and placed them inside his boat.

A human...

A creature that always caused destruction wherever it went...

I hated these creatures for destroying my home and making it an unpleasant place to live.

He then appeared to take something from his boat and throw it into the ocean.

'Is he throwing garbage into my home? How shameless! If I weren't bound by the Goddess's rules, your life would already be over, Human!'

However, after looking more closely, I realized that what the human had thrown into the sea was not garbage.

It was coral.

"I'm sorry that we destroyed your home along the coast of the island," the man said with a smile as he continued placing several pieces of coral into the sea. "This is the only thing I can do to correct the mistakes of the humans who exploited your home without creating a new one for you."

What was he doing?

I had never encountered a human doing something like this before.

Furthermore, there seemed to be something different about this man's character compared to the humans who constantly threw garbage into the sea.

After finishing his work there, the man sailed away in his boat.

I secretly followed him from behind.

Not long afterward, we arrived at a beach.

The man disembarked and walked into a building.

Because of my current form, I could not walk on land, so all I could do was wait and observe what the man was doing from a distance.

Not long afterward, he came back out carrying several boxes and walked toward the shore.

"..."

Inside the boxes were countless baby sea turtles.

The man released all of them onto the beach.

The hatchlings slowly began crawling toward the ocean.

It did not take long before all of them finally reached the water.

I then used my magic to help them, preventing the waves from pushing them back onto the shore.

After making sure all the baby turtles had entered the ocean, the man stood up and smiled with satisfaction.

He then turned around and left the beach, returning to the building he had entered earlier.

"What exactly did I just witness?" I muttered, still confused by what I had seen.

I knew what the man had done.

What I did not understand was why he had done it.

Weren't humans creatures who enjoyed causing destruction and frequently killed other living beings?

Yet what I had just witnessed was a human attempting to preserve marine creatures created by my ancestors!

What had happened to humanity?

Had they changed since the last time I had seen them, decades ago?

I steeled my resolve regarding the decision I was about to make.

Afterward, I began swimming toward the shore.

Before long, my upper body emerged from the water, and my tail gradually began splitting into two as I approached the land.

My lower body, which had previously been a tail, transformed into a pair of legs.

I slowly walked across the beach and approached the building where the man was staying.

When I arrived, I saw countless baby marine animals being kept inside box-shaped glass containers.

I also saw the man from earlier feeding fish in a pond.

I slowly approached him.

He then turned around, seemingly noticing my presence.

"Huh? Wh-who are you, Miss? And why are you here wearing so little!?"

The man was startled and nearly dropped the fish food he was holding.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Human. My name is Celestia. May I ask you something?" I asked him.

The man did not respond to my question.

Instead, he stood there silently, and his cheeks began turning red for some reason I did not understand.

"Ah-aah... You want to ask me something, right? What do you want to ask?" the man replied with a smile, scratching his cheek.

"What are you doing here with all these fish in the pond and those glass containers?" I asked him.

"Ah, this is a breeding facility," the man replied, using a term that was unfamiliar to me. "You seem confused by this new term. I suppose that's understandable, considering that we—the Venetian people—were the first to create this method."

He sounded proud as he said it.

However, this was the first time I had ever heard of a human people called the Venetians.

Just like marine animals had different species, humans also had their differences, and they were not all the same.

Humans with certain characteristics were divided into nations, just as this young man had explained.

"Our people recently purchased half of this island from the Kingdom of Novgarad and established our own nation," the man continued. "However, after seeing how the previous inhabitants had damaged the island's environment, we decided to restore it and make it beautiful again."

He then explained the Republic of Venetia's project to restore the marine ecosystem so that all the creatures living there could reproduce properly and the marine life surrounding the island could recover.

He also said that the Republic of Venetia would strictly punish anyone who damaged the environment, without exception.

"Why do you do this kill its inhabitants.? Aren't humans only capable of exploiting things and destroying the environment without taking responsibility?" I asked him.

This was an undeniable fact.

For hundreds of years, humans had polluted the ocean until it was no longer pristine.

The water had begun to smell, and the scenery beneath the sea was no longer as beautiful as it once was because of the garbage and destruction caused by humans.

Hearing my words, the man gave a bitter smile.

He then explained that the Venetian people had once been oppressed and exploited by nations that were more powerful than them.

Because of that, they knew exactly what it felt like to be exploited without receiving any consideration from those exploiting them.

Therefore, the Venetian people did not want to become the same as the people they hated.

The Venetians had created breeding facilities and Ecosystem Zones to preserve marine life, ensuring that the environment remained healthy while allowing them to make use of its resources.

Hearing the man's surprising explanation, I did not know what to say.

I, a Demigod, could not protect marine life because of the rules established by Goddess Diana.

Yet now, a group of humans had suddenly emerged who wanted to protect marine life from the foolish and greedy humans who threatened it.

"However, the Republic of Venetia is a newly established nation and is still weak," the man said. "If another, stronger nation attacks us, we won't be able to continue implementing these policies that we've only recently put into practice."

I understood now...

After hearing this man's explanation, I began considering a difficult decision.

Goddess Diana had forbidden me from interfering with the lives of the humans in this world.

If I violated that rule, the Goddess would send me to another, more terrible world.

But I had already made up my mind.

I would protect the Venetian people from their enemies.

In return, they would protect the ocean from the destruction caused by humanity.

However, the price I had to pay for doing this was the sacrifice of my physical body and my life in this world.

Even if I continued living, I could not protect this ocean from humanity's foolishness and greed.

That was why the Venetian people would take my place as the guardians of the ocean.

After parting ways with the man, I activated a spell to separate my soul from my physical body.

From that moment onward, I would sleep.

And I would not awaken again until someone attacked the island and intended to kill its inhabitants.