In the World of Midgar 68 — The Dwarf Country Blutgang (4)

꒰ঌ The Dwarf Country Blutgang 4

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"Thank you for coming all this way. We welcome you."

They were in the great country of magic, Svel. The Witch Queen Juvia lived a little ways away from the castle situated in the center of the country. The residence was Haru and the others's first stop on their journey, as well as a place they needed to visit in order to bring the hero closer to the power levels of the Grimm King and the Black Emperor.

The Witch Queen Juvia, who was both the master of the residence and a living legend, was forced to use a crutch due to the consequences of losing her fight against the Grimm King one thousand years ago. Even so, Haru could feel power radiating from her even as she was simply standing.

Haru and the others were led to the living room and urged to take a seat on some chairs that looked simple but were clearly made by a skilled Alchemist. In front of a living legend, even Haru's party with all their abundant personality couldn't hide their nervousness, and everyone attempted to make as little noise as possible as they sat down.

For some reason, only Plue curled up on the floor licking his paw. He didn't care about manners or etiquette. After all, being playful and ignorant was the trademark of the dog family.

Haru and Mitokado facepalmed in exasperation seeing Plue's dog-like actions, but luckily, Juvia was tolerant and forgiving, so she simply laughed. It seemed that Juvia didn't much care about the dog's impudent attitude, which would have gotten him arrested nearly anywhere else.

"Ahh, that's all right. Make yourselves at home. There's no need to be so nervous."

I guess I can only hand it to a real hero here. She seems used to dealing with weird and eccentric people.

In fact, the Seven Maidens of Midgar were an even bigger gathering of weirdos and eccentrics, so Haru figured that Plue might actually be on the low end.

"Now then. You all have come to seek a way to get stronger, yes?"

Mitokado answered Juvia's question.

"Indeed. Haru here is a hero that has arrived from another world. We've come seeking a method to bring him to level 1000. Since you, the Witch Queen, have reached this peak yourself, we thought you might be able to enlighten us." Mitokado still sounded very nervous, and that probably had to do with Juvia also being an elf.

"Hm. It's true that I was once level 1000 myself. Rather, there were many who reached that peak one thousand years ago… Now that I think about it, that really was the golden age of humanity. Back then, humanity as a whole was stronger than it had ever been in the past or even is in the present."

"We would like to learn your secret and use it for our hero."

"Secret, huh…? May I ask why you assume something like that exists?" The method that Juvia and the others had once used to reach level 1000 was what Mitokado referred to as a secret. However, he wasn't saying that Juvia had definitely used any such method. Mitokado was speaking entirely out of speculation, so reading between the lines, it was almost as if he were saying that Juvia had cheated somehow. But even so, Mitokado was still convinced that such a shortcut existed, and Haru agreed. After all, there was pretty much no way to reach level 1000 in a lifetime if there wasn't such a method.

The method for getting stronger in this world was very simple. All a person had to do was kill other living things. According to a book Juvia put out in the past, all living things had at least some amount of mana stored inside them. That very same mana was also the source of mutations in living things, so the stronger an individual was, the more mana they had in them.

By killing living things with a lot of mana inside them and stealing said mana, a person could make themselves stronger. That was the phenomenon known as 'leveling up'. In other words, mutating and leveling up were the same thing. The only difference was whether the subject changed into a different species entirely or stayed the same, only stronger.

At the end of the book, Juvia herself wrote: "Those who level up repeatedly store that mana within them, and a piece of said mana is inherited by their offspring. The repetition of this is how humanity evolves."

Boiling it all down into the simplest of terms, all a person had to do was fight. By continuing to kill monsters and grimmfolk, people would get stronger even if they didn't want to. But, there was a huge problem with that.

"Leveling up normally creates an insurmountable amount of required mana at a certain point."

All one had to do to level up was increase the amount of mana inside them, but the amount of mana needed to reach the next level wasn't fixed.

For example, let's say that a person needed to defeat one monster to get to level 2. But a person at level 10 would have to defeat dozens of that very same monster to get to level 11. If charted out on a graph, the amount needed to reach the next level exponentially rose as a person's level went up. Once someone got into the triple digits in level, the amount of mana required was insane.

One thousand years ago… before Lucifen rose to power, the Rose Princess Rozelia Ruby was hailed as the world's strongest being. She spent over one hundred years conquering one of the continents, killing every single living being there and literally creating a mountain of corpses. If killing monsters was the standard method of leveling, there was no one in history who'd worked harder than her.

A vampire's long life brought about an irrefutable amount of power. Using that allowed Ruby to wipe out an entire continent's worth of monsters. But even she could only reach level 600 by doing that. The plateau of level 1000 was still a far-off goal.

A layman might wonder why she didn't just wipe out another continent. But things weren't that simple. As was explained before, the amount of mana required to reach the next level grew exponentially as one progressed, so by doing the same to another continent, she probably still wouldn't have even reached level 700.

Level 1000 was simply the limit as imposed by divinity and the entrance to godhood. But the road to reaching that was long, dangerous, and definitely not something any sane person could do. If a person attempted to reach that level by using the standard method, then they would probably have to wipe out every single living thing on Midgar.

And looking back at the fight between Lucifen and the Grimm King, it was very clear. Those at level 1000 were no longer strictly mortal. They had transcended to a level that would allow them to easily destroy the world. They could take on the entire world by their lonesome. So it only stood to reason that in order to get there, a person would have to eat the entire world.

Leveling up wasn't as simple as Lucifen currently thought. Her opinion came from the thought that monsters respawned infinitely, so you could just hunt as much as you liked. But this world didn't work like that.

Even so, the impossible had happened one thousand years ago. Even normal humans with their short lifespans had managed to reach level 1000. It was clearly strange. It was stranger to assume that they managed to get there the standard way.

"There should be some special method, like a shortcut laid out by the Goddess, as a shortcut to bring humanity out of their despair."

"… One does technically exist. But before that, I'd like you to answer a question. What you all think of the Goddess who created this world?" Juvia sounded calm, but her look was terrifyingly sharp.

None of the people she asked could discern the meaning behind that question immediately. Haru barely managed to arrive at the answer a couple moments later. And at the same time, Haru figured out why Juvia had sent them the golems.

… I see…

This person…

Juvia noticed Haru's change in expression. Silently, her impression of the boy from another world rose.

"O-of course, she's the Great Creator and a mother to us all. She is the infallible symbol of justice… She is this world's law and divine providence itself."

"Hm. A perfect answer from an acolyte of her faith. I understand. Then let us say that there is, in fact, some secret method for you to follow. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you of that method."

"Wh-why not?!"

"It's because you don't understand.… Just as we didn't back then." Juvia's speech was as kind and calm as ever. However, the expression on her face and look in her eyes were reminiscent of a sharp blade and clearly conveyed that there was nothing more to say in this conversation.

Haru's party never expected the Witch Queen to reject them. Mitokado showed clear despair, and Teuchi's face was frozen stiff. Meanwhile, Plue was happily licking his paw, clearly in his own little world.

Come on, you dog. At least pay attention to what's going on.

"N-no way…"

"However… You there. Haru, was it? I would like to talk to you a little while longer. Sorry, but could you all please excuse yourselves?"

If Juvia had instead told them all to get out, Mitokado and the others might have resisted. But she allowed Haru to stay, so even if it was only one of them, Mitokado and the others still had hope, which stopped them from fighting back. They felt like they hadn't yet been completely abandoned by the Witch Queen. And in fact, they felt they might actually ruin their chances for good if they begged to stay.

After some thought, Mitokado gave Haru a look as if to say that they were counting on him.

"Understood… We'll leave. Let's go, everyone."

Mitokado and the others didn't understand what had gone wrong. But what they did know was that in the end, they hadn't matched up to the Witch Queen's standards.

Everyone other than Haru reluctantly left, with the vice-captain of the knights Hana dragging along the dog Plue. That left only Haru and Juvia in the room.

"Now then, Haru… I will ask you again. What do you think of the Goddess?"

"… I don't really know. I know far too little about this world to be able to answer that. The only thing I can say is: something about her is suspicious."

Haru had an impression of the Goddess that was beyond disrespectful, something that would be impossible for anyone from this world. It was a point of view he could only have because he was from another world.

Juvia narrowed her eyes, interested, and waited for Haru to continue. "When we set out on our journey, the Grimm King said something. He claimed that the reason why the Seven Maidens of Midgar acted so unnaturally and fought against Lucifen one thousand years ago was because of the Goddess's interference. Of course, the Grimm King isn't exactly trustworthy, but… It's true that your actions back then were unnatural, at least to me. That's why I came here. Because I wanted to ask you something. In that fight one thousand years ago, did you really act out of your own will?"

"So you encountered the Grimm King… Good job staying alive."

"It seemed like we weren't even worth paying attention to."

Juvia touched her chin and sank into thought.

Haru's words might have sparked some sort of memory. But the look on Juvia's face. didn't seem good to Haru.

"I don't intend to make excuses at this point. One thousand years ago, I betrayed a dear friend. That's the truth. And it's also true that doing so then was imprudent. I admit that freely. The loss of the grimmfolk's greatest threat, Ouzelia Lucifen, allowed them to rise in power as a result, leading to the world as it is today. However… I still can't say for sure, even though I should know myself best. One thousand years ago, I feared Lucy, which was something triggered by being near her. But I can't tell whether that feeling was from my own heart… or if it was a result of another's interference. At the very least, I was in full control of my own will, and I didn't feel as if I were being controlled by someone else."

Juvia continued on. Her expression was filled with bitterness, as if she were a criminal made to face the crimes she'd committed. "Now that I think about it, it's true that all of us were acting strange. Jenny, Erza, Celica, Blake, and Hinata… All of them had their own opinions on Lucy. Whether that was one of envy, jealousy, fear, or a sense of rivalry… it's probably true that all of them had some sort of negative emotion regarding her. But back then, it was way too clear and powerful. It was as if those emotions were being amplified. They were overflowing with those negative feelings. Now that I think about it, I might have been the same.… Only Ruby never changed…"

So there might be memory manipulation, amplification of emotions, or maybe some sort of manipulation of will?

Either way, the fact that the person themselves can't tell they're being controlled is terrifying in and of itself.

But Haru was already convinced. He was convinced of the fact that not only Juvia but the entire world was having their thoughts controlled by the Goddess.

After all, wasn't it strange?

Not only did stats and levels exist, but there was a level cap. There were monsters and grimmfolk to fight, and even though humanity was suffering, the Goddess did nothing… Why did no one feel that something was off with that?

Also, the fact that the grimmfolk still didn't just end humanity with the situation like this only lent credence to Haru's conviction. If the grimmfolk were actually serious, humanity should have long been destroyed. The Grimm King certainly had that power, even by himself. But humanity continued on. In fact, the average level of the grimmfolk had lowered in accordance with humanity's levels.

Wasn't the past filled with level 1000 fighters? And weren't the monsters and grimmfolk strong enough to oppose them? But for some reason, none of those powerful enemies were around. Why did monsters become weak enough to be ripped to shreds by a level 120 Sword Saint? And from what Haru heard, even the grimmfolk's Seven Purgatory were only around level 300… They'd clearly gotten weaker.

It was as if the grimmfolk were a cat playing with a mouse. They were torturing humanity while keeping a perfect balance so that humanity wasn't wiped out completely. That was the impression of the world that Haru had at the moment.

"I'd like to hear this from you directly, Witch Queen. Ouzelia Lucifen isn't… she isn't an enemy, is she? That's why you sent us those golems. So that they could stop us on the off chance that we managed to corner her. It's something that should never happen given the difference in our abilities, but it might still happen with the Goddess's assistance."

"… You're absolutely correct. I no longer think of her as an enemy. No, I didn't think of her as an enemy back then, either. Her methods may have been rather severe, but she acted out of a desire for freedom and peace for all humanity. She was our friend… S-she was…"

"W-Witch Queen…" Seeing Juvia looking like she was about to cry, Haru came forward and tried to comfort her.

I'm sure the reason I was called to this world was to defeat Lucifen and the Grimm King. But I can no longer accomplish that. I don't want to, either.

I know that killing one of them — Lucifen, at least — will only be tightening the noose around my neck. So there's got to be something else I need to do. There's got to be some way or path that I need to find to solve this.

"Please fight with us. I'm still weak, and I don't know anything about this world. I know I'm not even totally prepared to fight, but… Still, I want to stop all of this. Not stop the people that everyone tells me to but stop the one who's forcing them to say all that. So please, I need your help."

There's someone else I need to fight. There's no way I'll mistake who to point my gun at.

Yeah. The person I should fight isn't Ouzelia Lucifen!

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