How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 48

Wizards store magic in their hearts, and knights store magic in their bodies to become sword masters.

 

I’d heard of them before, but I’d never heard of a priest accumulating holy power in his head.

 

[Divine power, on the other hand, is a power bestowed only by the gods. It does not exist on earth, so it is impossible to become stronger or weaker once granted.]

 

Why did you say you were going to tell me about divine power and magic?

 

‘It’s a setup.’ 

 

As I was commenting on how well the world’s trees hold people’s interest, I suddenly remembered a question I’ve had for a long time.

 

“What happens if you’re granted divine powers that are too much for a human body to handle?”

 

It was a question I’d had since before I was possessed.

 

If it’s a god’s power, why do parts of the body turn into animals?

 

But the game didn’t explain it, and when I looked up reviews from people who had played the game, they just said, ‘That’s the way it’s supposed to be.’ They didn’t think it was as weird as I did.

 

[Well, since God is omnipotent, he wouldn’t give you too much power, so I don’t know.]

 

But I couldn’t say that it actually happened.

 

Even the omniscient Huluppu, who knew everything about the world, said that it was impossible.

 

‘But did Huluppu know that the princes were cursed?’

 

However, since he said he knew everything that happened in the palace, it seemed likely that he knew about the curse.

 

“How much does he… Huluppu know about the curse?”

 

[I know that you are cleansing the curse of the child who came with you and that others are cursed].

 

He seemed to know all about the other targets as well.

 

“And do you know why they were cursed? Is it magic? Or is there something else?”

 

[…]

 

Even after the killer question, Huluppu didn’t have an answer.

 

It was his first silence since he was used to answering anything with clarity.

 

‘If he doesn’t know despite being the World Tree, then why does the game say it’s a side effect of too much divine power? It must… must… be… written…’

 

Strange…

 

It was definitely odd. The weirdest part was that the scene was just text.

 

The narration appears to summarize, wrap up, or explain events.

 

It’s an inevitable part of the game, as it’s told from the first-person protagonist’s perspective.

 

This meant that it didn’t strike me as jarring at the time I was playing the game, but only now that I’m looking back on it.

 

The question of the existence of the entity that was explained in the narration part.

 

‘Who is that?’ 

 

The first thing that comes to mind was…

 

God.

 

It was the only reasonable hypothesis, since it was from an omniscient point of view.

 

No one but God could have written Selene from an observer’s perspective in the first place.

 

Another rationale was that the narrative was often written in the future tense.

 

‘The heroine was unaware of the ordeal that lay ahead,’ for example, implying the future to the reader.

 

‘The problem was, we didn’t know which god.’ 

 

There are many gods in this world, and Nanna, the goddess of time, seems the most likely, although I’m still not convinced.

 

‘There’s also the possibility that there are other gods that people don’t know about, like the one who put the mark on me.’ 

 

It was a strange feeling to start with a question about a curse and somehow discover the existence of a mystery.

 

I felt a strange mixture of happiness that I had found a clue to the truth and uneasiness that there might be a connection to God.

 

Then, in the midst of the excitement of being one step closer to the truth, I heard a voice say.

 

[I can’t know that.]

 

Aha, of course.

 

Realizing in hindsight that I had asked Huluppu what the cause of the curse was, I blurted out a response and changed the subject.

 

“I think it could be, because there are some things that only the almighty God knows.”

 

“Well, you’re very understanding for a child of God.]

 

I threw it out there to keep it casual, but for some reason, Yves, no. Huluppu replied with a look of satisfaction.

 

“Ah, then may I ask you something else?”

 

[If I know.]

 

You seem a little sullen for some reason.

 

It reminded me of the way Yves looked yesterday.

 

‘That’s not what’s important right now.’ 

 

For a second, I felt like patting his head, but I brushed it off and spoke up.

 

“You said earlier that once you’ve been granted divine power, it’s impossible to become stronger or weaker.”

 

[That’s right].

 

“How do humans who are said to be the descendants of gods pass on their divine power?”

 

Honestly, this was something I didn’t understand with my common sense.

 

I thought, ‘If it’s passed down through blood, it’s natural for the power to weaken and disappear with each successive generation.’

 

However, as the game’s setting suggests, the curse only manifested itself hundreds of years later, not when the so-called descendants of the seven ruling gods founded the nation.

 

‘So honestly, even when I was playing the game, I thought it was a setting error.’

 

I wouldn’t have considered it a glitch if the game had mentioned that there was a secret that was only known to royalty.

 

But there was no mention of this in the game.

 

Instead, the game just says that the targets were frightened by the change and desperately searched for the Saint.

 

[Alas, we know about that.]

 

Maybe it’s the way he looks that makes him seem a little excited.

 

[It’s in the blood.]

 

“So the descendants of gods become less powerful with each successive generation?”

 

[I understand your intentions. The more diluted the blood, the weaker the divine power, which is contrary to the nature of divine power, which is said to be unique once bestowed.]

 

I nodded my head eagerly in agreement.

 

‘Does he know this?’ 

 

I focused on Huluppu, my eyes twinkling with anticipation.

 

[As you already know, God is omnipotent, so his power never goes away, and the key is in the blood].

 

Suddenly, I remembered something I had learned in theology class a few days earlier.

 

I thought to myself, ‘It’s so much like reading a scroll and not understanding anything.’ 

 

So much clearer and more understandable than the ‘Collection of Basic Common Knowledge to Help You Start a Business’ I had seen earlier!

 

As if reading my expression, Huluppu smiled and added an explanation.

 

[Since you seem to be having difficulty, I’ll break it down and tell you in detail.]

 

“Thank you.”

 

[First of all, divine power is in the blood, but it doesn’t mix].

 

From the first sentence, it’s esoteric.

 

It reminded me of some metaphysics I’d heard somewhere.

 

I thought, ‘What was that? Did he say something about waves being waves when you look at them, but particles when you don’t, or the other way around?’ 

 

It’s all I heard in passing, so I don’t really remember it, but it was just as confusing.

 

“In other words, it’s in the blood, but it doesn’t mix with other blood?”

 

[Um… I’ll explain it with figures to help you understand.]

 

He rambles on and then changes the subject, so I guess I was wrong again.

 

[The goddess Astarte gave the first king of the Euphrates a divine power as high as the tenth.]

 

“Yes.”

 

[If that king has children, the divine power will be divided equally, if he has one, five, and five, if he has two, well…]

 

“Why is that?”

 

[If he has two, it’s not even.]

 

And I thought he was slurring his words, but he was dividing.

 

‘Cute.’ 

 

Since it’s a world tree, I thought it would be straight forward like Syris, but when I found a flaw like Nisana, I thought it was cute.

 

‘Ah, but he’s a divine tree, so he must have lived a long time.’

 

Though I had treated it like a child because of its appearance, I rationalized that it must be fine as long as I didn’t say it out loud.

 

[Hmm, anyway, the more children you have like that, the more evenly the divine power that the first Astarte granted is distributed.]

 

“Wait, including the king who first received the power?”

 

[Yes. Even while alive, the amount of divine power changes in the descendants of the gods.]

 

For a moment, I felt an exhilarating shudder, like being struck by lightning.

 

‘I thought there could be no greater shock than the gathering of divine power.’

 

I finally understood clearly.

 

The meaning of the sentence about being in the blood but not mingling with it.

 

‘Wow, that’s huge. This answers a whole other question at the same time.’ 

 

The questions that I had thought were misconfigurations from the time I heard about the history of wizards had surprisingly perfect answers.

 

The mystery that was solved now was similar.

 

For example, why are there only four targets when there are seven nations with the founding myth of descendants of gods?

 

The hidden character Xenon was not related to the curse in the first place, so he was excluded, and Eve and Endymion were princes of the same kingdom, so they were counted as one…

 

‘There have only been three countries where the side effects of divine power have been seen.’ 

 

But the question quickly dissolves when the truth that Huluppu has just revealed comes into play.

 

We don’t know the rest of the countries, but we do know that Adhad and Riqueia are an only child.

 

‘Endymion and Yves are the others.’

 

This means that the descendants of the gods of the other nations, other than the targeted ones, have more than one sibling, so the side effects have not been manifested.

 

Of course, the question remains whether the first monarchs to be granted divine powers had side effects that were not recorded, or whether they were not recorded at all. 

 

But there must have been a good reason for this.

 

[Judging by your expression, I think you understand now, and therefore the reverse is also true?]

 

I answered without hesitation, “When a god’s descendant dies, his divine power is equally distributed among his living descendants, right?”

 

[Correct.]

 

“Wow, you really do know everything, Huluppu, you’re amazing!”

 

[…]

 

Oh, I love it~!