How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 103

This also meant that there was a definite reason why I had been reincarnated into Laura’s body.

 

‘The problem is, I have no idea what that reason could be…’

 

I swallowed the sigh that had risen to the tip of my tongue and shook off the thoughts that had taken over my mind.

 

Since this wasn’t a problem I could solve by overthinking, I cleared my mind of distractions and cautiously spoke up.

 

“That’s astonishing. I never expected such secrets to be hidden. I always thought the mages were simply rejected because of the divine oracle.”

 

Honestly, at first, I thought it was something like a witch hunt.

 

The divine oracle had provided no evidence for why mages brought calamity.

 

But after hearing Huluppu’s story, it seemed that, contrary to my initial assumption, the oracle was given to inform humans of the mages’ atrocities.

 

“So the gods issued the oracle to warn the world and prevent further danger.”

 

[Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t a warning.]

 

I had assumed that the oracle came first, and then the seven ruling gods descended to the surface, pitying the ordinary humans who couldn’t stand against the powerful mages. 

 

But Fenrir denied my assumption.

 

[The oracle was issued after the gods personally exterminated the mages and established the seven nations.]

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

A question mark naturally formed in my mind. I couldn’t understand why they would issue an oracle after already handling the situation themselves.

 

[It was to quell the dissatisfaction of humans who knew the convenience of magic.]

 

According to Fenrir, most of the technology at the time was based on magic, so the disappearance of mages meant the decline of civilization.

 

Thus, even though people knew about the mages’ atrocities, many still defended them.

 

Unable to bring themselves to kill even the non-mage humans, the gods used the oracle to turn the mages into public enemies.

 

He explained that, to humans, an oracle from the pantheon held more authority than avatars claiming to be gods.

 

I had intended to listen without interrupting, but I couldn’t hold back my confusion and cut Fenrir off.

 

“Wait. Couldn’t the divine avatars just tell them directly?”

 

It seemed like they were taking a detour instead of the straightforward path after already revealing their identities.

 

Fenrir let out a shallow sigh and began to lecture.

 

[Of course, they tried telling them first. But ordinary humans didn’t believe them.]

 

“Why not?”

 

[Even though the avatars were imbued with a portion of the gods’ consciousness instead of a soul, their shells were still human, just like them.]

 

Since ordinary humans couldn’t distinguish between divine power, holy power, and magic, more people doubted the avatars who claimed to be gods.

 

“If they’re divine avatars, they should have divine power. Couldn’t they just perform miracles to prove it?”

 

Currently, all beings with divine power are revered.

 

Divine beasts, divine trees, and even the descendants of gods.

 

‘In the original story, Selene was also revered by everyone, regardless of her status.’

 

Now, as a saintess candidate, she was less prominent, but in the game, thanks to the title of ‘the continent’s first saintess,’ she was welcomed wherever she went.

 

Therefore, if the divine avatars, who were essentially gods themselves, had used their divine power to prove their identity, they could have easily convinced the humans.

 

But Fenrir scoffed.

 

[I’ve said it many times, but humans are foolish and deceitful. They wouldn’t even believe miracles they witnessed with their own eyes.]

 

“So even after seeing miracles… they still doubted?”

 

[Yes. Moreover, mages were common back then. Some powerful mages could even hunt dragons on their own. Because of that, humans weren’t particularly impressed by the gods’ abilities.]

 

As I listened quietly, a strange sense of defiance rose within me.

 

‘But isn’t this less about humans being foolish and deceitful and more about the inevitable limitations of the era?’

 

In a time when a single powerful mage could hunt a dragon, even if the divine avatars performed grand miracles using divine power, it would still be hard to believe.

 

‘They might even mistake the avatars for charlatans trying to become cult leaders…’

 

If something was beyond their comprehension, mages, dragons, and divine avatars would all seem the same to them.

 

Also, because they were fellow humans, I could somewhat understand why some people defended the mages despite knowing their atrocities.

 

If civilization were to regress to a primitive state overnight in a scientifically advanced modern world, anyone would feel resistance.

 

Especially those with more to lose would naturally side with the mages.

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean what they did was right.

 

“So the oracle was issued to intimidate the humans who were protecting the mages?”

 

[Exactly.]

 

Watching Fenrir nod so readily made me feel a bit incredulous.

 

It felt like the actions of the so-called omnipotent gods weren’t much different from those of humans.

 

‘No, actually, aren’t they even more extreme than humans?’

 

Eliminating the mages who caused chaos and issuing an oracle to suppress the discontent of the remaining humans was a one-dimensional solution.

 

But humans are rational beings.

 

It would have been possible to warn them of the dangers of annihilation and create strict laws to regulate mages, or gradually develop alternative technologies to replace magic and transform society.

 

Back then, humans probably didn’t defend the mages out of malice but because they couldn’t give up the convenience magic provided.

 

‘Ah, maybe from the gods’ perspective, this was the simplest solution.’

 

Leaving the mages alive and only creating restraining laws would leave a lingering threat, and developing alternative technologies would take time.

 

Moreover, whether human civilization regressed or not was irrelevant to the gods, so from their perspective, issuing the oracle might have been the most efficient way to handle the situation.

 

Trying my best to understand the gods’ way of thinking, I set aside the remaining questions in my mind and summarized the key points.

 

“In short, the seven ruling gods descended to the surface in the form of avatars to punish the mages who broke the taboos, and they established the seven nations, right?”

 

[That’s right. While explaining the divine avatars, we ended up talking about the mages’ atrocities, but the origin of the covenant among the gods ultimately ties back to this.]

 

Huluppu nodded slightly, his lips curving into a smooth smile.

 

Then Fenrir added a comment.

 

[By the way, the time when the seven ruling gods descended together to establish the seven nations was the first and last time. The covenant was formed after that.]

 

The covenant among the gods was the simplest part of the story.

 

It was simply a promise among the gods not to create avatars and descend to the surface again.

 

This was because they realized that even avatars, which contained only a portion of their consciousness, had a significant impact on the surface.

 

‘Well, if the divine avatars could handle mages who hunted dragons single-handedly, they must have been overwhelmingly powerful compared to humans.’

 

Even if that strength was indistinguishable to ordinary humans.

 

In any case, according to the covenant, the gods could no longer directly interfere with the surface.

 

Even beings with divine power, if they were on the surface, couldn’t communicate directly with the gods and could only interact through indirect means like oracles.

 

[That’s why I asked you about the other saintess candidate. If Lady Nanna broke the covenant and created an avatar for amusement, I’d need to inform Lady Astarte immediately.]

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

Thanks to the lengthy and detailed explanation, I fully understood the current situation.

 

‘The main point is simple.’

 

Confirming whether Selene is an avatar of Nanna or not. I could have answered immediately, but to be cautious, I asked one more question.

 

“Divine avatars are aware that they’re gods, right?”

 

[Yes.]

 

“Then Selene is definitely human.”

 

[Wait, think about it a bit more. This is a very important issue!]

 

“I’ve thought about it enough.”

 

[It just seems like you answered carelessly without thinking deeply.]

 

Fenrir kept picking at my response.

 

‘Maybe I should’ve stalled a bit longer before answering.’