Chapter 88 (1/2)

“… Wait. Heaven? h.e.l.l? Don’t tell me there are angels and demons around too?”

Isaac looked around as if he heard a joke, but the response from everyone else was serious. Isaac could only laugh into the silence and gulp down the rest of his wine. Of course you couldn’t exclude heaven and h.e.l.l in a fantasy setting like this.

“The war against Heaven and h.e.l.l had been ongoing since ages past. It is told there was a bridge which connected our world to Heaven and h.e.l.l before the 7 Days of Calamity.”

“It is told?”

“Because I’ve never seen it. It was similar to a Gate except once opened, it would remain so until it was forcefully closed – hence why it was called a bridge. Many wars were fought in an attempt to close this bridge. We know that for certain, since it is a testimony from the oldest living individual whose birth predated the 7 Days of Calamity.”

There was only one being that could be called the oldest in the entire world.

“… A dragon?”

“We call it the Old One.”

“A dragon huh… I do want to see it one day.”

Isaac imagined many different dragons in his mind, for dragons were a staple in a fantasy world. Mazelan, on the other hand, shook his head with sincerity.

“… I wouldn’t recommend it. They are a race with a difficult personality, to say the least. Anyhow, even this bridge that connected Heaven and h.e.l.l crumbled in the face of 7 Days of Calamity. But they persevere with their invasion using the gate as their alternate route.”

“So you’re fighting against not just the Expeditionary Force but Heaven and h.e.l.l too.”

“Correct.”

“But do demons go on magical rampages, and do angels have wings?”

“You’re asking if they look like demons and angels?”

“Yes.”

“We don’t know. We’ve never seen their true forms. All we know is that both are sons of b.i.t.c.hes.”

Isaac seemed curious as to why Mazelan was so hostile to them.

“Let me explain it to you.”

Mazelan first lined two salt shakers next to each other. He then placed a knife and a fork on either side of the salt shaker on the right.

“Now, the salt shaker on the right is the world we are in currently. The shaker on the left is your previous world.”

Mazelan then sprinkled some pepper, linking the fork, knife, and salt shaker on the right together in a line.

“This pepper is the gate which connects our worlds. This is why we call our world Middle World.”

“Then the knife is h.e.l.l and fork is heaven.”

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PR Note: Here’s a simple drawing Moyo made in case our description is a little lacking.

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“You catch on quick. But h.e.l.l isn’t a harsh world where only barren deserts exist, and heaven isn’t a place where everything is suns.h.i.+ne and rainbows. Both are no different from the world we live in. They are worlds where many races live together, including humans.”

“So you’re saying it’s not angels or demons that live there, but humans and other races we see here?”

“That’s right. Of course, the races that live in those worlds are completely different from ones who reside here.”

“Then why do you guys fight? I’m sure you guys can attempt diplomatic negotiations if both are sentient beings similar to us.”

Mazelan profusely rejected Isaac’s opinion by wildly shaking his head.

“That’s impossible. Think of it more carefully. We are the Middle World. Below is h.e.l.l, and Heaven above. Where do your world’s people think people go when they die?”

“Heaven if you’ve been good and h.e.l.l if you’ve been… huh?”

Isaac’s words faltered, and he couldn’t finish his thoughts. Mazelan smiled bitterly and nodded.

“It’s as you predict. To those from h.e.l.l, this world is Heaven and to those of Heaven, this place is h.e.l.l. The reason why this is a problem is because that truly is the case. Those from h.e.l.l will do everything they can to climb up here, while those who fell from Heaven will do whatever they can to escape from h.e.l.l and return back home. All of the races had united their power regarding the problems of Heaven and h.e.l.l even before the 7 Days of Calamity, and this tradition has remained unbroken. The Expeditionary Force is merely a new addition to our list of enemies.”

“Considering that, you only mention information about heaven or h.e.l.l as mere fairy tales to the public.”

“They pa.s.sed through the bridge unscathed before the 7 Days of Calamity, but they now invade us using the same method as you.”

“Same as in?”

“If they came to our world via Type 1 invasions before the 7 Days of Calamity, they now invade us as Type 3 invaders.”

“So someone’s personality suddenly changes??”

“That’s right. Not only that, but they also retain all of the powers they possessed back in Heaven or h.e.l.l. But their numbers are limited, and the strength of the Middle World is too powerful for them to openly reveal their ident.i.ty. Which is why the angels and demons that cross over to our world began using more troublesome methods.”

“How so?”

“Like I said before, to the denizens of h.e.l.l, this world is heaven. But the emotions that give pleasure to them are negative energies in our world.”

“So others’ misfortune is their happiness.”

“… That’s right. Type 3 invaders retain all of the original owner’s memories and experience the moment they arrive, so they immediately hide themselves in fear of Central.”

“That doesn’t sound like a nice heaven to me.”

“They have a much safer method than acting alone. These demons use the same method every time. Perhaps they have some information network that we aren’t aware of.”

“What’s that?”

“First, they secretly disseminate magic circles disguised as magic that can summon demons. The number of fools tempted by unlimited strength are a dime a dozen. The demons would share some of their power with them and let them do the dirty work, while the demons themselves safely collect the negative emotions from the pain and suffering of the victims. And those who have formed contracts with demons are called ‘demonic turncoats’ by Central or ‘warlocks’ by the rest.”

“Hm. I can say they aren’t the nicest bunch, coming from personal experience.”

Mazelan hesitated to continue for a moment when Isaac said his cheeky response.

“Truth be told, Warlocks are on the easier side of fighting. It’s very easy to find them, since they tend to go on a rampage drunk on their new power. And the more we kill these warlocks, the easier it becomes for us to find the demon, who will struggle to hide its overwhelming power.”

“Hm? How do you find them when the power is sent back to the demon?”

Isaac asked his question, and Mazelan quickly used the brief moment to wet his throat with some wine before continuing.

“They are powerful individuals strong enough to climb to what is considered their Heaven with their own strength. They aren’t like ordinary folks. They don’t have any power when they first manifest in this world, but as time goes by, their bodies begin to change in a way more befitting of their power, unleas.h.i.+ng an unmistakable aura around them. That is why demons prefer to live long and meek lives instead of living exciting but short ones by distributing their power to the warlocks, allowing them to hide their strength.”

“Hm. So when you kill these turncoats, the power returns back to the original owner.”

“That’s right. Although it takes time, we will eventually find where the demon is hiding if we continue the chase. But the bigger problem is the Angels.”

“That’s strange. I understand demons from h.e.l.l, but aren’t angels usually nice since they’re from heaven?

Not only Mazelan, but Yoo-rah, the Emperor and even Arc Royales sighed in unison when Isaac asked his question. While Isaac was dumbfounded by their response, Mazelan smiled faintly and answered the question.

“That’s why they are a problem. That’s how we instinctively see things. They are both complete a.s.sholes, but we naturally think those from heaven are nicer just because they look better.”

“I guess that is prejudice in a way…”

Isaac smiled bitterly as he grumbled. People naturally shun ugly people when they come too close, but they are more hospitable and even try to befriend them when they are handsome.

“Can’t you just watch them since they would stand out from the populace?”

“Angels come to our world as type 3 invader just like the demons, but unlike the demons, who grow stronger the more they stay here, angels can use their full strength the moment they arrive. And this power they have is something like a holy power. We theorise that it is what happens when one descends from a higher dimension, but we have no way to prove it so far.”

“But wouldn’t rumours about it spread like wildfire if that’s the case?”

“Unlike the demons, angels can hide it. When done so, they even look plain or slightly handsome on the outside.”

“When you say they have holy power, does it mean like we feel at awe or look up to them?”

“That’s why they are the greatest problem. Who usually comes to h.e.l.l?”

“Really bad people.”

“That’s why they don’t care what method they use.”

“Then instead of killing them, can’t you a.s.sist them and send them back?”

“We’d love to do that, but the problem is the method. Have you ever seen any religion in this world?”

“That’s what bugged me too.”

Humans love to rely on something. The best candidate to do so is G.o.d. But in this world, not only G.o.d but even deities didn’t exist. It was simply overlooked by Isaac since it seemed like it’d cause more problems if he tried to look deeply into it.

“Everyone tends to have a favourable image of those from heaven, but they are most definitely not nice. Based on testimonies from the few we managed to capture, even breathing in this world is excruciatingly painful for them. They can at the very least ease it slightly by constraining their power into their bodies, but it is still painful nonetheless. That is why they try to go back to heaven, and as much as we’d look over it if the method was good, they were evil enough to the core that they were thrown into h.e.l.l. I told you before that they’d do whatever it takes right? I don’t know what method they use in heaven to open a gate, but the simplest way to open a gate from our world to heaven is to use mana. Mana in its purest form, contained inside living beings and not from tools such as mana crystals.”

“Is that even possible? You’d need much more than a handful of candidates.”

Isaac tilted his head, and Mazelan responded with an uncomfortable look and grit his teeth.

“What happens to those that cast magic beyond their capabilities?”

Isaac’s face immediately crumbled after hearing that. He was well aware since he once dreamed of becoming the world’s greatest archwizard in the past only to give up on it. Mana is required by the caster in order to use magic, but they are injured if the mana required to cast it is greater than what the caster holds. If the required mana is exponentially greater than the caster? Not only does the magic drain all of the caster’s mana, it also eats away at the caster’s life until nothing remains. Mazelan nodded after seeing Isaac’s expression.

“It’d be impossible with one or two, but what if there were thousands or tens of thousands?”

“Won’t they know they’ll die if they cast it? I can imagine controlling up to a thousand, but managing more than ten thousand would be impossible.”

A single person controlling ten men was difficult enough as it is. But if the numbers increased beyond ten thousand, there was bound to be someone who’d mutiny.

“That’s why the angels are complete a.s.sholes. They create a religious order and tempt those around them by promising a path to heaven. Central calls those who have been tempted by angels ‘angelic turncoats,’ and the way they act is much more secretive than the warlocks. The members themselves are civilians, making it difficult to act upon, and we rarely have a good grasp on how far it has spread. It’s a complete mess when one takes root in this world. These fanatics would willingly become martyrs, blinded by their faith. These foolish ‘angelic’ turncoats believe they too will ascend to heaven, but do you think these angels would care about them when all they care about is escaping this h.e.l.l themselves? Sadly, we have limited options, since it’s impossible to discuss anything with them.”

“Ah. I hate religion.”

Isaac shrugged his shoulders with disdain on his face. He was well aware how martyrdom and fanaticism could warp someone’s mentality. If the religious order grew powerful enough, they could recruit as many martyrs as they needed. Mazelan continued, the look on his face knowing that saying so was futile.

“In this world where religion doesn’t exist, these angels know that they’d be killed before they could start if they boasted of being G.o.ds or coming from heaven. That is why they prop up a puppet and try to manipulate them from the shadows.”

“A puppet? Are you talking about angelic turncoats?”

“No. Just poor oblivious souls who are dragged around and made to act like a hero.”

“A hero?”

“Yes. A hero. Followers ama.s.s out of admiration for the heroes and their achievements. But we have no idea in the beginning if these followers truly admire their heroes or if they follow these heroes as messengers of a G.o.d in their religious order. They would increase their influence by converting those around them, growing stronger and more fanatic as time goes by. Once the number of people willing to commit to martyrdom reaches a threshold, these cunning angels reveal their true colors. The Empire would have to make a difficult choice at this point.”

“What is this choice?”

“We exterminate the infected regions completely. Many of the horrendous disasters and nightmarish plagues in history are disguises to hide the battles we had fought against these angels.”

“Can’t you just watch these heroes from the start then? Won’t they stand out since they are technically heroes?”

Both Yoo-rah and the Emperor chuckled quietly, and Mazelan looked at Isaac with a peculiar expression.

“Do you remember that man who suddenly appeared to you, saying he’d taken over all of the districts?”

“Ah, that guy? What was his name again?”

“There are many stages in angelic turncoats’ activities. First is to choose who’ll be the hero. Second is to a.s.semble those who admire the hero. Third is to brainwash those around them and bring them into order. Fourth is to spread the infection. Fifth is to establish open wors.h.i.+p of the hero, creating and providing the hero with an army with undying loyalty. Sixth is to manipulate the hero into a war. This war, of course, is one that is destined to be lost, and even if it seems like they’ll win, they’ll force their hand to make it a loss. The last seventh stage is to trick the followers they have the last trump card to turn the tide of war and commit ma.s.s suicide, opening the gate to heaven. By the time their activities reach the 4th stage, they’ve already formed a proper organisation from the normal believers, fanatics and followers who are the main resource to open the gate, bishops who are the angelic turncoats, and the holy prophet or maiden as the cardinal, who is the angel. Central had established that the man who approached you was a follower.”

Isaac’s face crumbled when he heard those words.