Chapter Season 2 737

In truth, an ominous air had been hanging over the continent for a long time. To put aside vague expressions and say it plainly, things had reached the point where it would not have been strange for war to break out at any moment. Of course, this was not an all-out war against the Demigods. Rather, tensions among the races, nations, and intelligent beings living on the continent had reached their limit.

It had not happened suddenly. Their disputes had been going on for a very long time.

The catalyst, as expected, was the collapse of the Four Major Religions. The one and only bond that had allowed people of different nations, races, and cultures to feel a sense of kinship had been shattered.

At some point, rumors began spreading that religion was nothing more than a fabrication, and that temples were vicious organizations that extorted money from the powerless.

Of course, such incidents had always accompanied the history of religion, but there was one difference. This time, the rumors had spread on a continental scale, while each faith’s response had been lukewarm at best.

‘Of course.’

By now, most of the leaders who had controlled the core of each faith were probably dead or missing. They must have had their hands full simply trying to deal with the trouble that had erupted within their own ranks.

It meant that everything was proceeding according to Lord’s plan. In the first place, Lord could be said to have been responsible for founding the Four Major Religions. Even if he had not deliberately orchestrated their initial creation, there was no doubt that he had manipulated events so they could establish themselves on the continent and expand their influence.

The reason was simple. Gather the insects in one place, then exterminate them.

Perhaps it was not the most appropriate analogy, but that was probably how Lord thought of it.

After this incident, religion would probably all but disappear from the continent, and those who sought gods would vanish as well. Whenever such movements arose again from time to time, people would remember what had happened to the Four Major Religions and grow skeptical.

Of course, there would still be those who dismissed the past as merely the past and tried to establish new religions, but once they grew large enough, Lord himself would personally crush them.

Ultimately, the very concept of religion would disappear from the continent altogether, but that was none of Residue’s concern.

What mattered was that those who had been loosely bound together within the fence of religion began openly displaying hostility the instant that impossibly thin thread of trust snapped. It could also be said that the problems they had suppressed until now had finally erupted. Even the peoples of the Amakan Desert had always been dissatisfied with their barren territory.

Minor conflicts between villages led to clashes between cities, and once nations became involved, it took less than a month for them to escalate into wars between races.

The sparks of war had spread across the entire continent.

…The scale of the wars had grown far greater than in the original history. That was because the Four Major Religions had not yet fallen at this point in the original timeline.

Even so, what had to be done remained the same.

This was the very moment when Grand Sorcerer Lukas Trowman would accomplish the feats that allowed his fame to endure four thousand years into the future.

Residue first intervened in wars taking place on the scale of individual cities. Even then, the combined forces of both sides easily exceeded ten thousand, but it was not a scale beyond either Residue or ‘Lukas’ to stop.

First, to bring the actual fighting to a halt, he raised a massive wall of ice between the two armies.

The stunned soldiers stared blankly at the wall of ice that had suddenly appeared. Even though they held weapons in their hands, it did not even occur to them to try striking it. They had been overwhelmed by its sheer size and thickness, enough to call to mind the icebergs of the northern snowfields.

Afterward, Residue sought out the leaders of both camps.

Fortunately, they were people with whom reasoned conversation was possible. They treated Residue with equal parts reverence and fear, and thanks to that, he learned that their conflict had begun with nothing more than a simple misunderstanding.

This was one of the rare cases that ended without either side suffering any harm. Naturally, cases like this were few enough to count on one hand.

Even when a war had begun with a misunderstanding, once both sides had shed blood, resentment and hatred had already taken root. Such negative emotions become difficult to rein in with reason. A great deal of time and effort was needed before they could understand one another, and it was not a problem that could be solved in the short term.

Of course, the Lukas of the past had not stopped wars entirely on his own. One of the reasons he had been able to accomplish countless feats that would still be spoken of dozens of centuries later was that he had received the full support of the empire with the greatest influence on the continent.

Residue did not refuse that support. If he intended to proceed not as Residue, but in the manner of ‘Lukas’, he needed their power.

The nations under the empire’s influence had no choice but to respect Lukas, if only because they feared the empire itself. As a result, there were many occasions when wars were stopped through somewhat coercive means, and whenever that happened, Residue could sense both camps forcing down grievances they could not voice openly. Of course, outwardly, they wore strained smiles.

Making them genuinely accept the outcome was also Residue’s responsibility.

Residue spent at least half a day, and sometimes as long as two days, bringing them around.

“We have already shed too much blood.”

“I know. But does that fact excuse the blood that would have to be spilled from here on?”

“…….”

“I know it is a difficult decision. But please reconsider. I do not wish to see this inferno spread any farther.”

“…Very well.”

Hearing those two words was the hardest part.

Even if their reluctance had not disappeared completely, there was undeniable significance in hearing even a formal ‘very well’. Politically and psychologically alike.

…There were also cases where neither side actually wanted war. Simply speaking the same language did not necessarily mean people could understand one another. In truth, those were the moments when the existence of ‘Lukas’ was needed most. His role as a mediator.

When he became a bridge between them, cleared away minor misunderstandings, and brought matters to an amicable conclusion.

“Thank you! Grand Sorcerer.”

“…….”

He received sincere words of gratitude.

“What is your name?”

“Lukas Trowman.”

“…Lukas Trowman! I will not forget it. You are our benefactor.”

“…….”

He received their gratitude.

“Thank you……! Thank you, Master Mage!”

“Master Lukas! We will never forget what you have done!”

“Long live the Grand Sorcerer!”

Amid the people’s praise, Residue quietly closed his eyes.

“…….”

Gratitude directed not toward his true self, which remained hidden, but toward the identity he wore on the outside. The name and honor of ‘Lukas Trowman’ naturally rising ever higher.

It was not that resentment welled up because his own achievements were going unrecognized. Nor was it that he felt wronged. That was not the problem.

Agolet’s words suddenly came to mind.

─Your Majesty does not know how difficult it is to live while hiding one’s true nature.

“I know.”

Of course he knew.

But actually experiencing it felt entirely different.

It felt as though his very existence were gradually being consumed by darkness.

Whether he was with someone or alone, he could not act as ‘Residue’, and everyone around him treated him as ‘Lukas’. It felt completely different from when he had played the role of the ‘Beginning Wizard’ in the past.

─By the time roughly three months had passed, the flames of war had noticeably died down. It had not been accomplished through Lukas’s power alone. There were others who had likewise recognized the seriousness of the situation on the continent and prepared ways to resolve it, and without their help, such results could never have been achieved in only three months.

This was also the result of the influence Kasajin, Lucid, and Iris had exerted through their activities across the continent.

The problems between cities, peoples, and nations had been settled to a certain extent.

All that remained were the deep rifts between races, and those were problems that could not be resolved in the present era. They still knew nothing at all about one another, nor were they ready to understand one another.

Once again, Residue resorted to the method Lukas had adopted in the past. However makeshift they were, he established mutual nonaggression pacts between the races. It could be said that he had simply papered over the problem without resolving it, but this was an issue that required time, so there was no other choice.

Another month passed.

Around then, Residue suddenly realized something.

Lord had become fully aware of his existence.

Of course, Lord had probably known about the existence of Residue (Lukas) for quite some time. The incident in ‘Sarman’ must have made Lord pay dozens of times more attention to him. Even so, the reason Lord had yet to take any clear action was simple.

Among the matters he needed to deal with, Lukas’s existence ranked relatively low in priority.

He was probably devoting most of his attention to dealing with the remnants of the Dragons, but that could not have been the only reason.

Lord was, in this world and at this point in time, the only individual who possessed the potential to travel through the cosmos. A glimpse of that potential could already be seen in his ability to move freely between the continent and Hell…….

…In the current history, the Demigods’ enemies were not limited to the Dragons. Residue did not know why, but he knew that Lord frequently came and went from Hell.

‘Was that the Black Thorn Demon King’s influence?’

Or was someone else responsible? He did not know. After all, he had not seen the Black Thorn Demon King again since they had last parted.

Residue quietly closed his eyes and sank into thought.

Lord’s gaze had been something he felt increasingly often of late. By now, Lord was probably considering how to deal with Lukas. He had likely already concluded that merely giving him an ordinary death would not be enough. On the other hand, torture did not suit Lord’s temperament either.

After a brief period of thought, the method Lord would probably settle on was imprisonment in the Bottomless Pit……. Taking into account that Lord would be considering the matter while simultaneously dealing with what he already had on his plate─mopping up the Dragons and attending to business in Hell─Residue estimated that it would take roughly one to two months for him to reach that conclusion.

That was also how much time remained before Residue entered the Bottomless Pit.

The estimate was not exact, but it matched Agolet’s prediction.

In that case, Residue no longer had time to dawdle. The wars on the continent had nearly died out anyway. The remaining embers were not matters that Residue absolutely needed to handle personally, so he fabricated an itinerary covering roughly one week before departing. Officially, he was headed to the northern snowfields to investigate the ecology and movements of the monsters living there, as well as any traces of intelligent beings that might possibly exist, but…….

His true destination was the seabed beneath the great ocean at the westernmost edge of the continent.

The ocean, which covered roughly a quarter of the planet’s surface, seemed to be called the Donev Sea or something like that, but Residue could not have cared less.

What mattered was that the deepest trench on the planet lay there.

The average depth of the sea appeared to be around 5,000 meters. After searching the ocean for some time, Residue managed to find what was probably the same deepest trench Agolet had seen. It was so deep that even if two of the tallest mountains on the continent were stacked upright one atop the other, they would still be completely submerged. Residue reached the very bottom without much difficulty.

There, on the seabed, he sat cross-legged.

‘…….’

─Keeping his eyes open, he broadened only his field of vision.

What demanded his attention, however, was not the pitch-black darkness, the grotesquely shaped deep-sea fish, or the bits of refuse drifting through the water. By twisting his field of vision, he had to take up a perspective that ordinary sight could never perceive.

Before long, as he beheld a world beyond three dimensions, Residue realized that Agolet had been telling the truth.

There really was a hole. It was not large enough to be called an exit, but it was more than sufficient to glimpse The Outside through. It was a gap just large enough for that and nothing more. Things were going more smoothly than he had expected. Perhaps there had been no need to set aside an entire week.

With that thought, Residue focused his consciousness on the hole, and……

‘…Hm?’

He felt something strange.

The hole through which he had merely intended to peer looked larger than expected when seen up close. No. Had he somehow become smaller? He could not tell. Suddenly, it felt as though his sensory organs were becoming tangled…….

…And then his entire consciousness was sucked into the hole!

‘……!’

Even Residue could not help but be startled by this unexpected development.

Flustered, he tried to break free from the current, but the suction force coming from the hole was tremendous.

Before long, Residue was completely swallowed by the violent vortex.

As he was tossed helplessly about as though caught in a typhoon, his consciousness gradually began to fade…….

“…But even if we borrow Michael’s power there, I don’t know how effective it’ll be. In the first place, does having two people use the Authority over Space actually amplify its power? We tried it, but it just doesn’t seem to work properly.”

“…….”

“I know. You’re going to say it’s a psychological problem again or something like that. But what am I supposed to do? Of course I’m traumatized by Lord. …You must have at least one person like that too, don’t you?”

“…….”

“…Hey. Excuse me. Are you listening to me?”

The biting voice pricked at his eardrums.

Residue blinked. His consciousness was still hazy, and he could not quite grasp what was happening.

Pressing firmly against his temple, he first looked around.

He was in the middle of walking through a bright forest, and several familiar figures stood around him.

Residue steadied his disoriented consciousness and called out their names one by one.

“Beniang Argento?”

“Yes?”

“…Luca.”

“Yep?”

Then he looked at the woman standing beside him.

“Iris PeaceFinder.”

“What is it?”

Her curt voice came back.

His confusion did not easily subside.

Yet even in the midst of it, he strangely felt as though his mind were becoming clearer.

Feeling those contradictory sensations at once, Residue could only voice the question almost as though he were talking to himself.

“…What on earth is going on?”

*****

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