Sin

The members of the Gremory household were meeting with Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the son of the former Lucifer, in Satan's mansion.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Rias Gremory. And all of her peerage. I am Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the legitimate son of the former Satan Lucifer. ...Let's stop with the formal greetings! I'm not good with that stuff, hyahaha!"

Although Rizevim sought protection from the current government, he and his retainer, Euclid, were under house arrest. Considering his relationship with the current government, it was a natural response. However, the fact that there were no physical restraints or restrictions on their actions made Sirzechs and the current Satan appear lenient.

"Especially Hyoudou Issei-kun; it seems my grandson, Vali, caused him some trouble. Sorry about that?"

"N-no, don't worry about it."

"Really? Ah, the current Red Dragon Emperor has such a generous heart; it's a relief!"

Issei's words made Rizevim laugh heartily.

"No, really, I'm grateful for everything. I'm counting on you in this matter, Red Dragon Emperor."

Yuto could only smile wryly at the overly familiar attitude of the direct descendant of the Satan.

"So, since Sirzechs-kun and Azazel-san haven't arrived yet, shall we talk? Do you have any questions? I'm the Satan's son, you know, so I'm surprisingly knowledgeable."

"Yes. Then, from me, will we be a force in this battle? The individuals we know of, Gremory, Glasya-Labolas, and Zepar, all possessed formidable power. Even Glasya-Labolas, who gave us the weakest impression, managed to hold his own against multiple top members of the Biblical Faction. Zepar, too, awakened to an unfair power thanks to Issei-kun. Gremory overwhelmed the fallen angel executive Cocytus, and not even the power of the Chief... Lady Rias could penetrate her power. There are still individuals who defeated the first-generation members of the Seventy-Two Pillars. I haven't heard anything about the other Demon Pillars being defeated."

In response to Kiba Yuto's question, Rizevim answered with exaggerated gestures.

"Don't worry, don't worry. I and Sirzechs-kun will handle the Demon Pillars and Solomon. We want you young devils to deal with the foot soldiers."

"Foot soldiers?"

"Solomon seems to have destroyed the Old Satan Faction and taken control of the 'Khaos Brigade' organization. Besides the head, Ophis, and the Old Maou Faction, there's another faction called the Hero Faction."

"Yeah, they are a gathering of descendants of heroes and those who inherit the souls of heroes. They are the so-called heroes on the human side. Some of them have the Godslayer equipment. They might be brainwashed by Solomon and used as frontline soldiers now. We want you young devils to deal with them."

"The Hero Faction..."

Rias encouraged the servants, raising their sense of crisis.

"Don't worry. Now that Issei is back, we won't lose. I lost to Riser, but that's because he had more experience in the Rating Game. When it comes to practical experience, we, who have hunted down stray devils, won't lose. Please, Issei. If you have the same Godslayer equipment, those self-proclaimed heroes won't stand a chance against us. Let's make them disappear with our power!"

"Yes! Leave it to me, Chief!"

"It's a beautiful master-servant relationship, isn't it?"

While Rizevim was wearing a strange smile, Azazel, who seemed to have ended the meeting, entered the room.

"Hey, Rizevim. Don't mess with my students unnecessarily."

"Aren't you scary, Uncle Azazel? I'm just exploring the potential of promising young people as an elder."

"Oh, really? Hmm?"

Azazel, who didn't try to hide his wariness of Rizevim, received an urgent communication via magic circle.

"Hey, Shemhazai, what's wrong... What? Baraqiel and Sahariel...? That damn bastard! Okay, I'll head back to the Grigori headquarters right away. It won't end peacefully...!"

After ending the communication, Azazel's face was filled with anger. Anyone could tell that it was not something trivial. Amidst the puzzled atmosphere, the name Azazel had blurted out caught the attention of Himejima Akeno.

"What happened to him?"

"Akeno, calm down and listen. Baraqiel—"

***

"Fallen Angel Commanders Baraqiel and Sahariel are dead? Moreover, they think we are responsible for it?"

"More precisely, they believe we are being manipulated by Solomon."

The situation of Solomon's revival through the ring had reached the Time Temple as well.

Currently, only a few individuals knew about Solomon's resurrection: the leaders of the Biblical Faction and some top members of other factions. The resurrection of the King fo Magic was not information that could be made public. He achieved great accomplishments, but he also committed great sins.

"What is the true intent of this Solomon?"

A fundamental question. He doesn't seem to desire a second life as an ordinary human, like some other kings. His actions are too extreme and daring.

"This Solomon of ours killed devils and fallen angels during his reign as king."

"He deceived not only the God of the Bible but also gods from various myths, constructing the 'Truth,' a transcendent boundary spell."

"The king known for nothing but anger is feared by the gods and leaders of various myths."

"The targets of his anger are all kinds of abominations."

"To obtain the future of humanity, he deceived gods, used the satan, and even rewrote the laws of the world."

"His corpse should have been consumed by the 'System,' making resurrection impossible."

"But he had prepared a loophole."

"That was sealing his own soul within the ring."

"Kings' rings should have been gathered in Heaven. Whether they were stolen or swapped is unknown."

"Based on the integrated information so far, our Solomon knows about our plan to incinerate humanity."

"He knows our sins."

"He would probably also be aware of our plan to incinerate the Bible."

"If he is the person described in the information, he must be anticipating our intentions."

"Surely, our ideals won't be accepted in his eyes."

"But we can't accept condemnation either, even if the opponent is Solomon, other than that man."

"So, he becomes an enemy akin to the God of the Bible and the Lion King."

A king who knows only anger towards abominations due to his love for humanity. A sorcerer who confronted the gods and rewrote the fate of the stars. A pioneer who gave a future to humanity.

Ah, if that man had freedom, would he have seen the tragedy of humans and become angry for their sake?

"How does that man appear in our Solomon's eyes, I wonder."

***

"What emotions do I hold towards that Solomon over there? It's undoubtedly jealousy, right? While he was alive, he wasn't that different from me, but after death, he's completely changed. I wanted to meet Masters filled with love for humanity but with twisted ethics, a beautiful woman who is a middle-aged man on the inside as a partner, and a young boy who could entrust the future of the world to. Especially those seventy-two beings, I envy them. What are they? They may be too serious, but they are abominations filled with love to the point of falling for beasts. I wished I could swap them with our pests. I tried to create something similar using the power of the rings, but... they would just be lifeless dolls with such feelings. I couldn't make their counterfeits as convenient pawns like I used to. I have no intention of doing it now either."

On the rooftop of a high-rise building in a certain city of a certain country, Solomon and the man were present.

The Servant summoned by Solomon from the "other side." An Archer-class Servant—a bowman—wore a cloak, and his body was covered in bandages underneath. His face was hidden, and his arms and legs were fully concealed. Because of this, it was difficult to determine his race or age. Only from his voice could one barely deduce that he was an adult male. Next to him stood a gigantic coffin.

"You had a favorable impression of Goetia and his associates. Surprising. Given that your encounter with them ended in a duel, I always thought you detested them."

"It's not that I dislike abominations or hate murderers. I just desired a future for humanity as a species. And I loathed those who continuously tried to crush that possibility."

"So, the result was the 'Truth,' I presume. May I proceed with the next question?"

"Go ahead, Archer."

"Normally, Clairvoyance allows one to see the possibilities in their own world—whether in the past, present, future, or parallel worlds. However, it cannot see into different universes. Why were you able to see that world over there?"

"Let me clarify one thing. Now, I can see both this side and that side. The channels are synchronized at the moment. I guess you could say my antennas are up."

However, it was safe to assume that there was no means for a round trip. Heroic Spirit summoning was possible because the summoned spirits had no physical bodies and were mediated through the Holy Grail. Merlin was an exception due to combining his Clairvoyance with Ophis's reality marble properties.

"Now, why could you find that world three thousand years ago? Did the design of the 'Truth' reference the mysteries of that world?"

"My Clairvoyance is unique. It wasn't innate; I developed it postnatally using the power of the rings. To find a way to sever ties with the gods, I explored different universes. The result was discovering that world. I learned about the Holy Grail and Command Spells back then. Although I can see the past and future of this world, it's a side effect of the function, so it's only fragmentary."

"I see. Then, why did you even consider severing ties with the Age of Gods in the first place? At that time, it was an era when gods existed even next to ordinary people. According to your story, it doesn't seem like you came up with the idea after seeing that world over there. If all you wanted was to live as a human, couldn't people just live without constructing the 'Truth'?"

Solomon's expression turned bitter at the seemingly obvious question.

"As I mentioned earlier, I desired a future. I was born as a king. Kings have the responsibility to protect, guide, and lead people, passing it on to the next generation. I've had this thought even before I was conscious of it. 'If things continue like this, we'll remain under their control.' I wanted to change that fate. I made efforts. I thought about how we could survive. The crowning moment was the deadline for planning the design, but somehow, I managed to bring the plan to fruition, and that was good."

In a certain world, Solomon didn't possess humanity, so he had no human lifespan throughout his life. In this world, Solomon did possess humanity, but he forfeited his human lifespan due to his sense of duty as a king.

He wanted to become a king who could protect people's smiles. He wanted to preserve as many smiles as possible so that they wouldn't be taken away by the inhuman. Fueled by anger towards gods and demons, he deduced and calculated.

"I possessed the highest magical power of humanity, but there was a shortage of institutions capable of utilizing it to the fullest. I knew what I could achieve with just my abilities. It's like trying to transfer the water of a dam with a bucket—it's difficult. That's why I sought the rings from the gods. Rings that materialized divine authority."

In legends, Solomon sought wisdom from God. However, what he truly desired was divine authority. No matter how powerful he might be, as long as he existed in the terrestrial dimension, he couldn't interfere with the gods or change the world. That's why Solomon needed to elevate his existence. He required the viewpoint of a god that could see beyond the horizon, not from the perspective of a person observing the horizon.

"When I obtained the rings, I proposed to the gods worldwide, 'Why don't we create a world where everything is decided by the power of faith?' At that time, there were countless gods believed in by humans. Everyone wanted to become the one and only god. While there's only one sun, there are multiple sun gods in a single myth. Both humans and gods wanted to monopolize their identities. Well, there were also stubborn gods who refused, but that was where my skills as the wise king came into play."

However, Solomon did not reveal the entire plan when making the proposal. During the explanation to the gods, he left out the fact that, "As time passes, the stories of the Age of Gods will deviate from people's perceptions." Apart from that point, he provided a detailed account of the plan.

Among the explanations he gave to the gods, there was the condition that "no one will be able to recreate the world." The act of resetting the world wasn't solely performed by the God of the Bible. Zeus and Enlil also caused great floods, and Indian mythology revolves around the cycle of creation and destruction of the world. Solomon judged that gods capable of bringing about the rebirth of the world were already powerful deities who didn't require faith in themselves, and thus, they accepted this condition. If they were to become the one and only god, there would be no need to change the world.

And then, by sealing the seventy-two demons in the vessel and dropping it into Babylonia's abyss, the ritual of the "Truth" was completed.

"Demons have distinct characteristics according to their lineage. What I needed to assemble the 'Truth' wasn't just mere quantity but diversity of magical power. Perhaps, no one has noticed that this was my last trump card."

"I wonder about that. If anyone among the demonic forces wanted to reduce their power, they could use the rings to commit suicide. Goetia also felt something amiss. For inhuman beings with time to think, many of them would have understood the true intention."

"I see. Well, as long as there were no hindrances until the vessel fell to the bottom of the lake, it was a victory for me."

Solomon emerged victorious over the Age of Gods. He snatched away the future of humanity from supernatural beings.

Except for the fact that the results were not immediate, that is.

Yet even from Solomon's perspective, he hesitated to destroy the gods in his era. While it wasn't impossible without resorting to drastic measures, he left the resolution of the conflict with the supernatural beings to future generations. His current revival was for cleaning up the aftermath. It was for atoning for the trouble caused by his actions to the "Beasts."

"Not willing to accept a peaceful demise, demons create 'demonic pawns' and all. This is entirely unexpected. Seriously, do they think they can solve the overpopulation problem with this system? I entrusted the rings to Asmodeus as an insurance against the gods' revival, but I never imagined seeing demons fallen to this extent. I'm glad I didn't dream of a 'second life' or anything like that."

From Solomon's perspective, the former Satan, who tried to achieve his evil ambition without turning away from destruction, appeared wiser. There might also be some favoritism towards his co-conspirators.

"I'm grateful to you, Solomon. My long-standing questions have been answered, and I can finally kill that idiot... no, those idiots. The fools who believed they were special, unique, and pursued unattainable dreams. Hah! They didn't even imagine that what lies beyond is a hell worse than destruction. That 'something' is exactly what they deserve. However, there was no need to involve Goetia with those idiots. The Lion King can handle Goetia. Their journey ends here."

Archer said he would end it.

"I said you could do as you please, but before you go, answer me one thing, Archer."

A different emotion, other than anger, appeared on the king's face. It was unmistakable "compassion."

"I might be the one to say this, but why did you make a contract with that world?"

"... I don't remember clearly, but I must have been asleep."

Archer lifted the coffin and turned his heel.

"I have a vague memory of mumbling about wanting to become a hero."

***

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