Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 180: Plan and Request

Aiwass had been laughing for a while, but he regained his composure after smelling the fragrance of the tea that Eins had freshly poured. Taking another sip, his laughter came to a complete halt. However, his eyes shone as if he were a young boy.

“Well, that’s a great goal you’ve set, but to achieve it, there are high walls to scale. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, I don’t think I can do it all by myself, and I have no intention of hesitating to seek help from others.”

In response to Aiwass’s questioning as if to confirm, I naturally nodded. Since I had decided to first free my comrades, I couldn’t do it alone.

It seemed like it would be possible to free those who were controlled by binding spiritual arts, but I couldn’t be sure if that would be enough. I had been planning to consult Aiwass about what to do.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. There’s no shame in relying on someone. If you understand that, it’s all good.”

“But I have very little to offer as compensation at the moment. Is that still acceptable?”

“It doesn’t matter. I have some thoughts on that as well.”

However, I understood that in order to borrow someone’s power, I would have to pay a price. In fact, I might even suspect hidden motives if someone offered their assistance to me without any expectations.

As expected, it seemed that Aiwass had intentions of making a request. It appeared that Aiwass, like anyone else, expected some form of compensation in exchange for the help he was willing to provide. While he mentioned having thoughts on it, I could only hope that it was something within my means.

“Let’s put that aside for now and continue our discussion. There’s no need to worry about the binding spiritual arts. Zwei, fetch me that tool.”

“Understood.”

Upon Aiwass’s instruction, Zwei, the crystal orb above, began to emit blue ethereal light. This light seemed to form a pattern in the air, which then astonishingly transformed into a….three-dimensional object right before my eyes.

The materialized object was a large key, about the length of my sword. Both the handle and the body were intricately adorned; but these decorations must have served a purpose beyond aesthetics. Judging by the lingering radiance of the light emitted from Zwei, it likely functioned as a spiritual circuit.

“This is a tool to nullify the effects of the binding spiritual arts. With this, it should be relatively easy to liberate your comrades.”

“But… isn’t this an extremely valuable item?”

“Not really. Zwei can create duplicates of it as much as needed, and it’s not all-powerful. It’s powerless against spiritual arts wielded by me or those even more skilled than me.”

No, no, what are you saying? I had sensed it from the moment I first saw it, but Aiwass was far superior to any spiritualist I had encountered. No matter what kind of spiritual arts the previous spiritualists had used, they were powerless before this tool.

Furthermore, didn’t Eins mention it? Aiwass was the seventh most knowledgeable person in the world. In other words, there were only seven people in the world, including Aiwass, against whom this key would be ineffective. If I found myself in conflict with such individuals, I would have to be prepared for death, and there would be no room for using the key.

“This means you can now free your comrades which is the first hurdle. The next hurdle is deciding where to escape to… Do you have any ideas?”

“I don’t think hiding in some remote mountainous area is a long-term solution. Words of us are bound to spread, and eventually, they’ll send a subjugation party or something.”

“I guess so. Perhaps there is a convenient place for you guys. Zwei?”

“I will display the celestial globe.”

As requested by Aiwass, a translucent sphere representing the planet, which I had seen during our first encounter, appeared. It was a fascinating sight, no matter how many times I saw it.

I reexamined the location on the Enzo continent that Aiwass had previously mentioned. In the center of the continent, a massive mountain range ran across it, dividing it into north and south. The Harlasia Kingdom where I was born, and the empire where my comrades resided were in the northern part.

Turning my gaze to the south, it looked quite different from the north. Though I couldn’t make out the details due to its translucent and uncolored nature, it seemed that the southern part had several sunken regions.

Moreover, that area appeared quite large. Did the southern side have rugged and undulating terrain? Aiwass seemed to be well-informed about many things.

“Take a look. The Enzo Continent is divided into north and south by the Shumie mountain range, which crosses the center. Unlike the northern part, where numerous nations are scattered, the southern region doesn’t even have a single society or settlement. Any idea why?”

“Could it be because of the terrain? With so much ruggedness, it might be difficult for people to live there…”

“Hehehe. You wouldn’t understand this without the right knowledge. The uneven terrain is merely a result of people no longer being able to inhabit it due to some underlying cause. The real reason lies elsewhere.”

Just when Aiwass seemed to be hinting at something, the floating sphere disappeared. In its place, the image of two birds appeared.

On the left was a strong-looking bird of prey with a hooked bill and sharp claws. On the right was a slender bird that resembled a crane, with a long, straight beak and showy crest and tail feathers. Given the context of the conversation, these two birds likely had something to do with the current state of the southern region. What on earth could that be?

“The root of all this lies with these two divine birds, or, in other words, birds that acquired the power to be called gods. The one on the left is the ‘God of Radiance’ and the one on the right is known as the ‘God of Fiery Heat’.”

“What did these divine birds do?”

“They fought to the death. In the aftermath, they altered the landscape of the southern half of the continent, turning it into a barren desert. This happened about three thousand years ago.”

The landscape couldn’t be fully seen from the image of the globe, but to think they could turn half a continent into such a rugged, desert landscape… It was a stark reminder of the strength of beings considered gods. Flawed as it may have been, it was quite an achievement that we managed to defeat one in battle.

However, one would have to have an incredibly compelling reason to engage in a conflict that disregarded the impact on the surroundings to this extent. Otherwise, I pity those who were caught in the crossfire.

“By the way, the cause of the conflict between these two birds was a dispute over a female. At the time, there was a young female divine bird who had ascended to godhood. She was incredibly beautiful and had a mesmerizing voice. The two males fell in love at first sight and, as a result, they attempted to eliminate anyone who got in the way of making her their mate.”

“That’s…”

“Hehehe. It’s quite a selfish and frustrating tale, isn’t it?”

The utterly nonsensical reason, different from what I had expected, left me speechless. Aiwass smiled gracefully when he saw me like that.

However, his words were filled with undisguised contempt. It was clear that this contempt was directed not at me but at the two divine birds.

“As a result of that, countless lives were lost, and the continent suffered great harm, which aroused the wrath of a certain entity. It was none other than the ire of one of the six ancient gods who were directly separated from the nameless almighty faceless god. …, the ‘Ancient God of Stars’.”

Ancient god… from my knowledge, the ancient gods were the most ancient and powerful deities existing in this world. No matter how outstanding the ‘God of Radiance’ or the ‘God of Fiery Heat’ might be, they could never compare to the ancient gods.

“However, the power of the ancient gods is overwhelmingly immense. If they were to unleash their full might without restraint, they could easily obliterate an entire planet. That would be counterproductive.”

“…. Such difference in power is incomparable.”

“Hehehe, that’s absolutely right. So, in this case, the ancient god allowed two divine birds to be taken care of by Solga of Yukitos, the god of war who can be considered the mightiest in terms of simple combat power on this planet. During that battle, Solga dispatched the two without leaving a single scratch on the continent. That’s the disparity in strength for you.”

So, it seems they assigned the task to another god due to their inability to hold back. Furthermore, it seemed like there were gods who could overshadow even gods that could destroy half of the southern continent in the aftermath of a battle. Aiwass spoke as if he had witnessed it all.

The preamble may have been a bit lengthy, but it seemed like Aiwass was suggesting we head to the southern part of this continent. Indeed, demons were robust beings, and we might be able to survive in the harsh desert, which would be a difficult place to live for normal humans.

“So, are you suggesting we head to that desert? The journey there is bound to be difficult, and finding a somewhat habitable place is likely to rely on luck. But it should certainly help us escape persecution. Alright, let’s set our sights on the southern part of the continent.”

“I appreciate your quick understanding. Besides, that desert is not unrelated to you either. After all, The Hades Scorpion’s habitat is in the southern part of the Enzo continent.”

Oh? It seemed that the southern part of the continent was something of a homeland for me. However, since I was nurtured by Georg since birth, I never felt any attachment to it.

Yet, upon hearing that, a new concern arose within me. Whether it was my egg or an entity I could call a parent, it was quite clear that there were people heading to the southern region to secure it.

“It seems you’ve caught on. As you anticipated, there are indeed individuals heading south for the sake of some enthusiasts. However, rest assured, they won’t venture deep into the desert. It would become extremely difficult to survive.”

“…I hope that’s the case.”

“It’s no lie. With this, we’ve found a solution to the major hurdle you need to overcome. Whether you can successfully escape from the Empire and make it all the way to the south depends on your efforts.”

With that, Aiwass wrapped things up, and I nodded in agreement. Even for a sage like Aiwass, predicting the exact future would be impossible.

We had to adapt on the fly to the evolving situation. The path to survival had to be carved out with our own efforts.

“Now, let’s move on to the matter of the compensation you’ll provide me here. There are two things I’d like you to do.”

“Which are?”

“The first is to secure a piece of land in the southern part of the Enzo continent that I can use as a base for my research. You see, I have a keen interest in the southern region of the Enzo continent. It’s a barren land where resilient flora and fauna thrive, you see.”

A research base in the southern part of the continent, huh? Finding a secure location from scratch would certainly be a hassle. So, why not make use of the place we’ve already stumbled upon? It’s an incredibly efficient approach on Aiwass’s part.

Considering Aiwass’s mansion and this research facility, it seemed essential to secure a piece of land at least as large as the mansion itself. Therefore, the search for suitable land needed to encompass a sizable area. The conditions had become somewhat tougher.

However, it was impossible for me to refuse this offer. The reason being that if I were to decline, I’d have to return the tool that can be called the all-purpose key that I had already received. Without it, I couldn’t guarantee that I would be able to free my comrades. I had no other viable options.

“I’m on board with securing the land. But how should I go about conveying the situation to you?”

“Regarding that, I’ve been thinking about it, of course. At the same time, it ties into the second request. Eins, fetch that box over there.”

“Yes, master.”

Aiwass pointed to a metal box placed in the corner of the room, and Eins brought it over. Would the contents of this box serve as a means of communication with Aiwass?

As I watched with bated breath, Aiwass opened the lid of the box to reveal its contents. Inside the box, an intricate spiritual circuit was etched, and at the center, there was a pedestal. On the pedestal sat a small blue crystal orb. It was stored with great care, but what could this be?

“What is this…?”

“It’s Acht, the eighth sibling of Eins and the others.”

“Master, ya done gone and made us a new sibilin’, huh? It might’ve been nice if ya had told me before.”

“Hehe, surprised, are you?”

Was this small orb the early form of a luminous crystalline life form? If you looked closely, the center of the crystal sphere emitted a faint glow. It was clear that this was no ordinary gem.

“I heard about this from Eins. Luminous crystalline life forms are interconnected, and they can communicate even when apart. Is the idea to take Acht as part of our team for that purpose?”

“Not only that. As I mentioned earlier, this will be the second part of the compensation. I want you to raise Acht. I’m curious about how luminous crystalline life forms grow in an environment separate from me.”

“…Quite the researcher-like idea.”

Luminous crystalline life forms were a race created by Aiwass, and their numbers were still quite small. Moreover, since they had always been close to him, he was probably curious about what would happen if they grew up in a different environment.

But this luminous crystalline life form was also one of Eins’s siblings. Treating such a being like an experimental subject gave me some reservations. My gaze naturally turned toward Eins.

“No need to worry ’bout us. We ain’t gonna just up and die that easily, and we trust you as master entrusted one of us to you. Besides… we’re more than happy to be taken care of by someone who cares for us in that way, ain’t that right, Zwei?”

“Yes, big brother.”

“I see… Alright. I’ll make sure to raise this one well.”

And so, that’s how the discussion between Aiwas and me came to an end. Everything would be set into motion tomorrow. I couldn’t help but tremble at the anticipation of what lay ahead.