What is the essence of humanity?
What makes a person truly human?
I, who was once human but am no longer, could not clearly define the answer, but I had so inkling of it.
What makes a person human.
Humans, like a burning match, frantically and ceaselessly run, burning themselves out in their short lifetis.
At the core of this intense life and emotion... there must be....
Desire.
The longing heart.
What each person longs for may differ, but one thing is certain.
Humans. They live a life of frantically rushing towards what they desire.
Even if there is a bottomless cliff at the end of that rush.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I returned to Babel after wandering the world for about after a year.
The trivial stories of traversing the territories of the lizardn, sailing the seas with primitive navigation techniques, and witnessing the rapid changes in the world were just the beginning.
Ah, co to think of it, I should go visit Thetis as well. Otherwise, Thetis might get upset.
Thetis has a kind disposition, but it has been too long since we last t.
A kind personality can be terrifying when angered. Yes.
Anyway.
"Why have you suddenly returned here?"
"Hmm. I just... had so business to attend to."
"Business...?"
Together with the puzzled hero, I headed towards the Temple of Life.
I wonder how much mana stone has accumulated over the past year. If my prediction is correct, there should be a considerable amount.
But my expectation was...
"Un. This is the amount collected over the past year."
"It has certainly increased compared to before."
A box of a reasonable size. One might think it's a lot for a year's worth of collection.
But you see. According to my prediction and the additional function I secretly added to the inspection device, there should be about five tis more than this.
The function I secretly added to count the number of mana stones with embedded shards of darkness and report it to ...
I had added it just in case, but now I can't just let it slide.
"I should go see the mayor."
"Then I'll schedule a eting for you tomorrow."
"No, that's not necessary."
After stopping the Red Dragon's child who was about to schedule a eting, I quietly took my steps.
The hero left the beast spirit in the room of the Temple of Life. I had told them that I would be gone for a short errand, so I can just slip away quietly.
I concealed my presence and quietly strolled through the evening streets.
In this era, when the sun sets, the number of people on the streets drops sharply, except for the patrolling guards. This desert city, where even firewood for torches is scarce, is the only place where the free use of mana stone magic is possible.
Instead of torches on the pillars and walls, there were light sources made of mana stones.
A small magic that creates light. But in the darkness that descends on the streets, even these small lights feel precious.
Well, it seems like all I can see is money-related matters. Hmm. Once that annoyance gets stuck in my mind, everything visible becos displeasing.
I know this attitude is not good, but I can't help but dislike things that don't appeal to .
Thus, I walked the quiet night streets, where only faint lights existed, and headed towards the towering tower erected in Babel.
Even though the sun had set in the west, a considerable number of people were busily working in the tower.
I ignored the people engrossed in their work on the first floor and climbed the stairs.
After all, there was no one who could detect my concealed presence. My steps moved forward without hesitation.
Upwards. Higher and higher.
I climbed the spiral staircase of the tower.
My destination was the top of the tower. I was following the trail of the mayor's magic, as I had rembered from my previous visit. I climbed the spiral staircase.
The higher I climbed, the narrower the drill-shaped tower beca. At the very end, there was only a small room.
Despite the fact that proper comrce had not yet been invented, this city's mayor had amassed a great fortune. Yet, the room was surprisingly small in size.
However, the size of the room is not what's important.
What's important is what is contained within that room.
And...
"Hehehe... It's going smoothly."
We will rely solely on your kindness! Click here!
Donate now
What was contained in that small room was a small human consud by greed.
"I should say the heavens are helping . Just as my inspection tool was running low, she ca to again. Moreover, she fell for my eloquent words and made even more items for to inspect." dozens of boxes filled with a large amount of mana stones stacked in the room.
In this room, the man picked up a single mana stone from one of the boxes.
"Thanks to this, I was able to more easily collect these fragnts, so I should express my gratitude."
The man rolled the mana stone around in the palm of his hand, then gently brought it up to the tip of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
And then,
"Hufffff."
The man inhaled, activating the mana. Slowly, the fragnt of darkness embedded within the mana stone seeped out.
The small shard of darkness seeped into his body through his nose.
"Ah. Good. Very good. This power. This pleasure. This darkness continues to call out to . Hehe... Hahaha... At this rate... Soday, I will be able to surpass humanity..."
"Hmm. Was that truly your objective?"
I spoke in a calm voice.
"Huh?! You are?! How did you get here?!"
"How? I entered through the tower's entrance and climbed the stairs."
I had concealed my presence and ascended.
"Tch. The employees should have prevented anyone from climbing the tower! Don't tell you took down all of Babel's Nine Mages?!"
What's that? There were such things?
Well, since they couldn't even detect my presence, it's a moot point.
"Let's set aside those aningless things. Let's see. Are all these mana stones embedded with darkness? You've collected quite a lot."
I opened the lid of a nearby box to inspect the contents. Hmm... Indeed, there are tiny fragnts, but they are present.
He was inhaling these fragnts like so kind of drug, huh?
What on earth was he thinking?
"I told you to hand them over, but you were hoarding them for yourself. Just what were you planning to do with these fragnts?... I will confiscate all of these fragnts. And I will terminate our contract."
"Kuh, hehehe. Since I've been caught, I have no choice."
The man's mana began to spread throughout the room.
Hmm... For a human, this is an impressive amount of mana. And... the mana is mixed with darkness.
Did he use the darkness fragnts to enhance his own mana? A re human?
"Sigh. How did you end up thinking of sothing like this? The power of these fragnts is too dangerous for a human to handle."
"It's thanks to you. Ever since you made aware of the darkness fragnts within the mana stones, I've been continuously researching them."
"What? You're blaming for this?"
"It's not bla. Rather, I'm grateful. Thanks to you, I've been able to strive even higher."
The man gave a wicked smile and pointed his index finger towards the sky.
"These darkness fragnts have been calling out to . Telling to gather them all. And to ascend to godhood."
"Using these darkness fragnts to ascend to godhood? You're out of your mind."
Of course, a human's body can beco part of a mythological being. In fact, there have been a few humans who have beco deities managing the hierarchy of the Afterlife.
But this is not the case.
Using the fragnts of darkness, the fragnts of the deity Erebus, to beco a god? Nonsense.
It would be fortunate if he is not devoured by Erebus.
"Out of my mind, you say. Well, a sane human wouldn't have inserted these fragnts into their own body. But you see, there are those in this world who can wield god-like power with a human body, are there not?"
The man pointed his index finger at .
"The power to create anything. The power to freely make things that did not exist before. That god-like power resides within you, a re human. So why can't I do the sa?"
No, are you blaming again? I'm not even human, I'm a dragon! I just happen to be walking around in a human body!
"That's why I started collecting these fragnts of darkness. As these small fragnts accumulated within , I was able to gradually understand the original will of this darkness."
Following the man's mana, the fragnts of darkness seeped out from the mana stones filling the room and perated into the man.
"These darkness fragnts told . To beco one. To gather everything and return to the original."
"Hoh."
The fragnts have a will and can speak? Nonsense.
Those fragnts only contain faint remnants of mories. Those mories alone couldn't have given them a will.
If those fragnts truly have a will, then shouldn't they first apologize to ?
Apologize for what they've done. Isn't that what they should say to ?
"Heh. Hehehe... Normally I only absorbed a little at a ti... But this ti it's a bit more... My whole body feels like it's about to burst..."
The man's body began to change, gradually being stained by the darkness.
His thin middle-aged physique beca thicker, his muscles stood out noticeably, and his height increased.
This is... just like the molting of an insect.
Reviews
All reviews (0)