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Translator: thursdays Editor: Yahiko PR: LightBrin
4.
The Heretic Questioner.
An epithet holder. A so-called first-generation Hunter active since the early days of the Tower. Among every nationality, regions where no nation had established themselves, and regions where nations had collapsed when humans came rushing in, this blond psychopath stabilized the Tower by hunting down radicals.
“I see Constellations as the deities of their worlds!”
The specialist who managed all religions on the planet with the authority ‘Ten Thousand Temple’ smiled widely.
“Simply put, the deities are the laws of their worlds! For example, there is a law that exists on our world, Earth, which is the law of physics! Though, the laws of physics are basically installed everywhere, like Windows operating systems, so they’re nothing special. That’s why there isn’t anything special about our world!”
Um.
“But we have nuclear weapons and guns, you know?”
“As I said, the laws of physics are the foundation of everything, no matter where you go! That means that those two tools can come from any world where the technology is advanced enough!”
The Heretic Questioner continued that it would, however, be difficult to develop technology based just on physics if magic and miracles were common. That didn’t mean that other worlds couldn’t invent nuclear technology and guns anyway.
‘I guess there was also an Apocalypse destroyed by a nuclear war. The Saga of the Iron Knights in Space, which is now our 23rd floor, was science fiction…’
Could it be…? Was Earth the weakest among the worlds?
I knew that magic and skills didn’t become common until after the Tower rose, but I felt weird hearing that our home Earth, the blue marble, was weak. Was this nationalism? No, should I say it was globalism?
“But, like you said, it is true that guns and nuclear weapons are very powerful! If we were to rain them down, we could defeat quite a few apostles!”
“I see.”
Raviel tapped her mouth with the tip of her fan.
“Since the laws of physics are the underlying bases of most worlds, physical attacks can be used almost anywhere.”
“That’s right! It is natural that those who aren’t bound by physics cannot attack physically. And if they have physical bodies, then physical attacks will, of course, work on them! But the question of efficacy remains: Will they be affected by the full force of the attacks, or will the attacks be reduced?”
The floating Sword Emperor let out a small exclamation.
-Huh. That guy’s smart.
‘Sword Emperor, does this sound right to you?’
-Yeah. That’s why the Constellation Killer could break Shiny with his aura and why I wasn’t pushed about when I only trained with a blade. That kid who controls the Black Dragon Guild could also make pancakes of Preta with her beam. Physical power is a very powerful ‘law.’
[Shiny sullenly nods.]
-It can be said that a Constellation’s class depends on how much they follow the laws of physics.
I wanted to ask what that meant, but the Heretic Questioner began to explain it right away.
“The part that I just said about reduced physical damage is unexpectedly important! This is because one can follow the laws of physics but not be completely bound! And if that’s possible—”
“—Because all Constellations have their own laws, their apostles have to oppose the laws of physics with those laws.”
“Ooh! As expected, you have a brilliant understanding of it! You are indeed Death King’s partner!”
“That’s obvious.”
My husband spoke such lovely words. I was certain that Raviel was shining this small tactical meeting with just that.
-Zombie, won’t you focus? You’re deciding this world’s fate right now.
[Shiny jumps up and strikes the back of the warrior’s neck.]
Good grief.
They’re so pitiable, not knowing a love like mine.
-Hey, quit your BS, Zombie.
[Shiny looks at the warrior with eyes like rotten fish.]
‘Shiny, you don’t even have eyes.’
[Shiny says to look at the jewels on the sheath.]
When I followed her words and looked at the decorated sheath, the colors of the jewels were somewhat hazy.
Hm.
‘I got it. I’ll watch myself.’
-And concentrate.
‘Yep.’
All Constellations have their own laws.
Their apostles also obey those laws.
“What are some examples of laws?”
“Hmm! For example, there is a constellation named Barbit.”
A ‘god of love,’ the Heretic Questioner added.
“This Constellation [translates everything in the world to romance]. In a world ruled by Barbit, power and wealth are meaningless! A person’s strength is determined by how much romance power they have.”
“Romance power? What’s that?”
“Mm! You have to see it.”
The Heretic Questioner combined his hands to make a sign.
“Sacred Technique, Psyche.”[1]
Poof!
Light emanated from the Heretic Questioner’s hands. It wasn’t just white but also reddish… and a little pink? Anyway, a thick perfume-like mist shrouded us.
“Aha. This is temporary, but I’ve set up a sanctuary for the God Barbit! Try doing something, Death King!”
“Um…”
I looked around awkwardly. It was late at night. The Heretic Questioner, Raviel, and I were in Raviel’s quarters to strategize for the coming invasion in 10 days.
“…Nothing’s changed except for the pink mist, though?”
“Excuse me for a moment!”
It was then. The Heretic Questioner hooked his foot around my ankle to trip me. “Huh?” I said, my body tilting. “Um,” I said as I grabbed Raviel’s arm. “Aah?” The two of us fell to the floor.
“Hmm.”
Raviel stared down at me. She was on top of me, making it look like I was being attacked by her. It had all happened in an instant.
“Gongja. Showing this kind of affection in front of someone else is embarrassing.”
“Uh. Uh…”
I was mortified.
“N-no! No! It’s not like that, Raviel! I was just falling…!”
“Ahaha.”
The Heretic Questioner laughed.
“It’s a pose you often see in romance works!”
“Heretic Questioner, this is…?”
“In Barbit’s sanctuary, every action leads to romance! You don’t simply fall; you draw in people around you. Mhm. For example, if Death King wore a dress shirt and drank some water, there is a 95% chance that the water will spill and show off his muscles! Everyone nearby would inevitably be flustered by the sight!”
Oh, lord. What was that? Wasn’t that cosmic horror, not romance?
“In short, a sanctuary reinterprets the world and brainwashes people. It’s the same for the Great Library we were in earlier! The Librarian interprets the world as [a collection of stories], and we are compelled to be [characters].”
Poof.
When the Heretic Questioner made another sign, the circle of pink on the floor disappeared. Flushed, I got out from under Raviel.
The Heretic Questioner smiled widely and said, “Defeating the Constellations’ apostles with their laws and the laws we can use. This is both a Holy War and a Star War!”
A Holy War and a Star War. In Korean, both would be written as “Sungjun.”[2]
“Hm. So how should we deal with the Holy War that will take place in ten days?”
“We need to know exactly which Constellations are involved! You can infer this from what I’ve said so far, but our tactics will depend on the Constellations’ laws!”
“Certainly, knowing information about the enemy before the war is extremely important,” Raviel said, her fan at her mouth.
The Heretic Questioner nodded.
“Yes! So I ask you, which Constellations’ apostles are coming in ten days?”
Hm.
“Can you tell the laws from the names of the Constellations?”
“If you know their true names, it is 100% possible! I can look with my skill, [Ten Thousand Temple]!”
At that, I recalled some information about the young man… No, he was possessing the body of the Lady of the Golden Silk, so young woman… in front of me.
‘It was around when I was fighting Preta on the 13th floor.’
When I was fulfilling the prophecy, the Black Dragon Guildmaster said that not only was the Heretic Questioner skillful, but he was also knowledgeable of other worlds’ religions.
Good.
“A description… Can you infer a Constellation’s true name from their epithet?”
“If the Constellation is famous, yes!”
If that was so…
“They are [The Ox that Harvests Ruins], [The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains], and [The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness].”
“Hm.”
The Heretic Questioner rubbed his chin.
“[The Ox that Harvests Ruins] is Mutia. That Constellation’s main areas of control are [Destruction] and [Re-creation]. It’s simple but powerful.”
Destruction and re-creation.
“How does it fight?”
“I guess… Its physical force can be used strongly at will! It can crush an area, dismantle a being’s structure, and maybe recombine the structure afterward to create a golem. It’s very rare, but there are times when it can also use the power of time! Time is also a part of the laws of physics!”
The Second Reincarnation Female Lead characteristic of the Lady of the Golden Silk was definitely because of Mutia’s power, then.
An apostle of a Constellation beyond this world had already been present here.
‘Is that why the Corner Librarian designated this world as an Apocalypse?’
In the Librarian’s perspective, could we intervene because there were outside Constellations already interfering in this story?
Or was it just because there was no Constellation in this world, as Raviel said?
‘The former seems to match the Corner Librarian’s tendencies more so than the latter.’
While I was thinking about that, the Heretic Questioner continued.
“[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains] is the epithet of Mahos. Its main areas of control are [Dueling] and [War]. This is another simple but powerful force!”
Dueling and war.
“Does that mean they cannot deny a challenge to a duel or something like that?”
“Yes! Or spread a mania so that they are not afraid of death or dispense wisdom about tactics and strategies! Ah. On the other hand, it can also forcefully make a peace zone by ‘banning war itself’! That is a very rare case, though!”
“The one who controls war also controls peace… That sounds somewhat odd.”
Raviel smiled slightly at my mutter.
“There’s nothing strange about it. Peace is nothing more than a name for [the state in which war has desisted]. Therefore, one who can effect war can, of course, effect peace.”
“Exactly!”
The Heretic Questioner smiled widely.
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