Chapter 378 - Devil's Whisper

I told Celeste about a new relic of the Sun God.

And so, back to the present.

We were in a street in Europe, in an alley behind some building.

"Is this the place?"

A shabby alley lined with European-style brick buildings.

There stood Celeste with her snow-white silver hair flowing down, dressed in casual clothes unlike her usual attire.

...I'm not sure if it's because her face itself was radiant, but even in casual clothes rather than her saintess robes, she looked holier than others. Of course, the casual clothes were also new to see on her.

Anyway, I smiled at her and spoke.

"Yes. That's right. This is the new relic of the Sun God that I discovered."

"...How do you even know about a place like this?"

Hearing Celeste's incredulous words, I entered the shabby abandoned house in the alley.

This dark place made of crumbling boards seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.

I silently walked to the end of the seemingly empty abandoned house.

Then, before my eyes was a completely empty wall.

And when I placed my hand on it.

......

With a sensation of something rippling.

Where there had clearly been an empty wall, a large door now stood.

The same relic wall we had seen before.

...Indeed, as shown in the original work, this door can only be seen if you know of its existence.

Of course, as a fake, this is all I can do.

With such thoughts, I turned my head and smiled at Celeste who was standing behind me.

"Now. The door to the relic has opened, let's go in."

"Egostic... you really are something."

Seeing me so naturally discover a new relic unknown even to her, the Saintess of the Sun God, Celeste spoke as if dumbfounded.

Then she nodded and approached me saying:

"...Yes. Let's go in."

With those words, I opened the door.

Then a bright white light enveloped our bodies.

Our bodies were sucked into the relic.

*

"This place..."

A large cavern made of sand-colored bricks that seemed to have weathered the passage of time head-on.

Inside this relic of the Sun God that seemed to connect to another world, Celeste snapped her fingers first.

With that, her attire naturally changed from a t-shirt to her original saintess robes.

"Phew..."

With a sigh, she returned to being the dignified and mysterious saintess.

Then looking around, she spoke in a somewhat cautious voice.

"Surely here too, my powers won't be taken away. That won't happen, right?"

"Haha. Yes. Probably, this place is safe."

"...That's good then, but... well? I guess it doesn't matter anyway."

Saying that.

For a fleeting moment, she turned to me with a small eye-smile and said:

"Because you're here with me."

...Of course that was just for an instant, and then she turned her head as if nothing had happened and started walking.

"Let's go. I'm curious what's in here."

"Haha. Yes."

And behind Celeste, I quietly smiled and followed her.

So we entered the relic.

Like the previous relic, this ancient structure buried underground, inaccessible to ordinary people... was quite massive.

Especially the sight filled with numerous murals.

...And these were what I was aiming for.

"...Wow."

Celeste was looking at the relic filled with murals in amazement.

As she looked around, she eventually muttered and began speaking to me.

"...These ancient relics, who made them, when, and why?"

"Didn't you investigate the previous relic?"

"I did. After you left... I formed a separate investigation team. However..."

While gently tracing the wall with her delicate hand, Celeste muttered in a voice full of questions.

"Clearly, judging by these murals and the scale of the relic... there must have been many who believed in the Sun God. But why has everyone forgotten about Him now? Believing only in other gods?"

To her words that seemed to express incomprehension, I shook my head and answered.

"...We can't know that right now. But based on the few remaining ancient documents that record the Sun God... many modern religions have quite a lot in common with the Sun God's doctrines. Through that."

"Yes. I know that too. Probably... modern religions all derived from Him. But why... except for a few books, have all records been lost?"

"I wonder."

"..."

With those words, our conversation paused for a moment.

We just gazed at the large wall covered with massive murals that appeared as we slowly walked through the relic.

And looking at that mural.

'.....'

I felt my heart pounding and racing.

Yes. This is it.

Now is the opportunity to really sell my deception.

Celeste. The opportunity to plant seeds of doubt that would shatter everything in her heart full of faith in God.

This opportunity was what I had been preparing for all along.

With that thought steeling my resolve, I quietly opened my mouth while staring at the mural.

"...This mural uniquely has text written on it."

Saying that.

I calmly read the text written in Latin.

"Una die descendit Deus et dedit nobis gratiam... One day God descended and bestowed grace upon us."

With those words, I looked again at the mural depicted alongside the text.

A picture showing what appeared to be humans kneeling, and at the end, a man with a sun for a head spreading his arms.

Celeste was looking at that image with a face full of emotion.

"...Indeed, it seems God descended to the mortal world in the past."

With those words, I continued reading the inscriptions.

The Sun God descended and gave us laws and commandments.

The Sun God was with us and showed us the way forward in life.

The Sun God loved humans and bestowed abilities upon each one of them...

And so.

The inscriptions on the mural indicated how much God loved humans. And that He directly guided them.

Looking at that, I smiled and said to Celeste.

"...Now I see. God truly loved humans."

"Yes... that's right."

To those words, she responded with a somehow warm smile.

Her eyes were fixed on the mural, unable to move.

As if trying to engrave that image in her eyes.

...Yes. She must be moved.

Unlike her title as the Saintess of the Sun God, she was merely chosen by Him... without knowing what kind of being He was, what He wanted, how He created this world, such details.

So now for the first time, she was learning in more detail what kind of being God was.

The God in the mural, although His face took the form of the sun... was clearly depicted as a person.

And what appears commonly in all other murals including this one.

God existed in this world together with humans in human form, and directly led humans.

And.

Clearly, He loved humans.

Yes.

This part was important.

With this, I intended to plant the seeds of fracture in Celeste's heart.

"...There are more murals continuing over there. Shall we go see them?"

"Yes. Let's go."

And so.

As I was about to speak while smiling, looking at pictures of people praising God with Celeste.

"...It's strange."

Celeste spoke first.

"Why did God, who loved humans so much and was with them... suddenly disappear, leaving all His creations behind? Hiding all traces."

She muttered as if perplexed.

Hearing her words.

I smiled slightly and said this.

Good. It was time to sell my deception.

"...There must have been some circumstances. But one thing is certain, isn't it?"

"What is that...?"

"That He still loves us."

Saying that, I suddenly turned to look at Celeste, stopping my steps and turning around.

"...Oh."

At that moment, Celeste who had been following me stopped right in front of me when I stopped.

Taking advantage of that moment, I naturally reached out and stroked her silver hair while murmuring.

"Didn't He say when He chose you, Celeste? When He saved you at your most difficult moment, didn't He tell you to unite the people of the world?"

"...That's right?"

Despite looking up at me with a puzzled face at my words spoken so closely, she didn't push me away or show any rejection.

...Yes. Good.

Originally, to advance a relationship, sometimes one needs to approach first like this.

Now it was time to drive in the wedge.

"This is clearly because He still loves the people of the world. He will surely come back to this world and save everyone. What do you think, Celeste?"

"...You're right."

To my words.

Celeste smiled faintly, looked up at me and spoke.

I smiled back and continued.

"...He clearly told me that He would soon return to this world."

"So indeed... it must have been His will to have you unite the world beforehand. So that His faith and love could spread faster."

"...I think you're right. Indeed, I knew God was such a being."

Celeste still affirming my words.

Seeing her seemingly persuaded by my words, I unconsciously smiled more deeply.

Yes.

Now in Celeste's heart, through the mural's inscriptions and my persuasion...

Today the image of the Sun God has been firmly established.

One who has cherished people from ancient times.

Who helped them from ancient times but disappeared for some reason.

And who will return again.

Who saved a girl fallen into poverty and told her to unite the world, and who will soon return to this world to bestow love.

Clearly, a benevolent God.

A good God who loves humans and seeks to save people.

That is the God you love, Celeste.

And.

'When that God... tries to destroy humanity.'

You, who until now have thought completely differently. A God so full of hatred for humans that you can't believe it's the same God. A God no different from a god of destruction.

Still, can you support such a God without a shred of doubt?

Really without hesitating for even a moment.

Can you completely support that plan?

With such thoughts, I quietly smiled.

This was just the beginning.

The beginning of my grand plan.

To make the Saintess betray her own God.