41 Chapter 41: Game of Gods (1/2)
”I don't believe this!”
”This is impossible!”
”He must have cheated!”
The three crones hovered near the edge of the clouds as they peered downward at the human realm. Shrieking, they raved and ranted to each other about the sheer impossibility of what had just transpired, their wizened and wrinkled fingers curved into claw-like grips as they flailed about in rage and frustration.
”We were so close! So close to killing him!”
”What bullshit plot armor is that!? Isn't that deus ex machina? That's against the rules! Gods are not allowed to intervene in the worldly affairs of the living!”
”That's right! We should file a complaint! Isn't that fucking loser the chosen of Lyia? She cheated somehow! She must have intervened to save her chosen!”
”That's an interesting accusation.”
Lyia, the goddess of knowledge stepped onto the cloud as she glared at the three crones, folding her arms.
”I wonder…do you really want to file a complaint, the three Crones of Fate?”
”W…what are you talking about?” the first hag spluttered.
”Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, you old hypocritical hag. How insolent you have to be to accuse others of intervening when you have been doing that from the very beginning. Stacking the deck and resorting to all sort of cheats to build up the odds against my chosen. What do you have against him?”
”How dare you accuse us!” the second hag snarled. ”What proof do you have?”
Lyia smiled. ”Are you sure you want to know?”
The three Crones shrank back at her confidence, anxiously exchanging glances with each other. The third one spat.
”…you lie!”
”Oh? We can find out at the trial. Speaking of which, do you three crones have any evidence that I cheated or intervene?”
”…”
None of the trio could muster a reply. Lyia merely shook her head and sighed, as if she was disappointed.
”Do you think nobody would notice? You have been pulling strings from the very start. The unnatural behavior of Evelyn's Chosen…even Evelyn herself has voiced her concerns to me about the irrational way her chosen heroes are behaving. Having them commit murder right off the bat? Don't you think that's too obvious?”
”…you have no idea what you're saying,” the first hag snapped frostily. Lyia merely raised an eyebrow and scoffed.
”What evidence do you have that we did that?” the second hag demanded furiously, but like her sisters, her eyes were darting away anxiously, unable to meet Lyia's. The goddess of knowledge merely raised her hands.
”Are you sure you want to know?”
”You're playing with fire,” the third hag warned, her tone dropping to a dangerous level. ”Do you not realize the boy you have chosen will tip the balance of this world? We Sisters of Fate have seen the future. We have unraveled the threads of fate and seen what lies ahead…if he lives, the world will be swallowed by destruction and chaos. If he lives, only death and doom awaits the world of mortals! He must die! Why can't you see that?”
”The future is not set in stone,” Lyia countered. ”And if you weren't so blinded by your predictions, you'll see that it is your actions that are driving him toward that path.”
”Is it worth risking the balance of a whole world just for the life of one little boy who should never deserve to exist in the first place?!”
”And who are you to make that judgement?” Lyia thundered, bearing down on the first hag, who shrank back. ”Is it not the duty of you three to merely weave the threads of time? Who gave you the right to interfere with mortals? You know it is against the ironclad rules for gods to involve themselves in mortal affairs! The moment you took action, you broke the equilibrium and sent the mortal world on the path of chaos!”
”We have no choice!”
”We have seen the future!”
”So blinded by you by the future that you refuse to see the present,” Lyia said frostily, silencing the other two crones. ”You still do not realize that the very future you fear is caused by your actions in the present!”
The three hags fell silent for some time, looking at each other uneasily, and then the first sister finally spoke up.
”Be that as it may, the only solution now is to kill that boy.”
”You still don't understand, do you?” Lyia shook her head in disgust. ”Your interference will only disrupt the equilibrium further. You may succeed in killing the boy, but that will not restore balance. No, if he dies, you will unleash a much greater destructive power – a newer, more uncontrollable agent of chaos who will take his place and deteriorate the already precarious balance of the world. That is why I stepped in to save his life. By consulting my knowledge and calculating, I have seen that your present actions will bring a greater doom upon the world.”
”Who is this more uncontrollable agent of chaos?” the second hag sneered. ”A character you conjured during one of your fantasies?”
”If you do not believe me, weave a thread of the future where my chosen dies. See what happens then.”
The three sisters exchanged anxious glances, but none of them made the move to weave a new thread of the speculative future.
”You lie,” the third hag accused. ”You create all these baseless myths and fantasies while justifying your hindrance of our attempts to save the mortal world!”
”Save the mortal world?” Lyia burst out laughing. ”Why do you still not understand? Your actions are destroying the mortal world instead! By influencing Evelyn's Chosen and planting the notion of murder into their heads, you have turned them from heroes into villains. The very balance that you so espoused about is breaking because of your ruthless and shortsighted interventions. As if it wasn't enough to plant the idea of murder into their heads, you somehow influenced my poor boy to return to the capital of Legnica, Havia City even though he would be safer in Millennial Town, right into the jaws of the so-called murderous heroes. There, you robbed him of his greatest protection, a gift that my other Chosen had bestowed upon him the Redwood Robe, by confiscating it away from him before his confrontation with Evelyn's Chosen. And you even led two of them after him despite his precautions and diligent attempt to shake them off. You even had one of the heroes possess the direct counter to my chosen's special abilities. Did you not think we didn't notice? That one of those heroes suddenly gained a special ability that would directly counter his magic right after the death of the previous Demon Lord? It was too obvious!”
It was then the trio realized that they had left an undeniable trail of evidence. No matter how one looked at it, for Sakaguchi Seiji to suddenly possess Holy Blessings after the Demon Lord was slain was just too suspicious. This, timed with what seemed like the fortuitous confiscation of the boy's Redwood Robe, seemed to be too far planned out to be coincidental. However, the three crones remained defiant.