Kapitel 26: God of the Bible?
In my hand, there is one ring.
It is a ring secretly passed down by the true Asmodeus bloodline from the first-generation Asmodeus. The ring of Solomon, which should have been returned to heaven. The first Lord once stole the ring from Solomon. Although it was supposedly retrieved, the ring that returned to Solomon's hand was a fake. In other words, among the ten rings that should be stored in heaven, one of them is a counterfeit.
Solomon, God, and Michael, why did none of them notice? The reason is simple. The ring's substitution was a collusion between the first Satan and Solomon, making him the mastermind of this plan. With Solomon's deceptive magic and acting, coupled with the trust placed in him, neither God nor Michael noticed the existence of the fake ring. Even if they had noticed, they wouldn't have made it public. The fact that the King and the Archangel were deceived by a mere human.
He needed to leave the ring in the world for future generations. But if he remained silent, God would retrieve it. That's why he allied with the first Satan. Asmodeus's bloodline has kept this ring until the promised day while concealing the truth from other Satan. It's not about outsmarting other Satan. It was the first Beelzebub, the other accomplice, who was trying to do that.
"You understand that you are prepared for this, descendant of Asmodeus."
It was an unpleasant voice. An irritable voice.
"Yeah, I don't mind."
From an outsider's perspective, it would appear as if I were talking to myself. This voice can only be heard by me. And this voice is Solomon's will.
Solomon's revival is impossible. His soul, mind, and body were all absorbed into the "System" by God. Both angels and fallen angels have confirmed this. That's why the biblical faction believes that Solomon has nothing to do with the Demon Pillar. They want to believe that. In reality, even with the unprecedented power, he cannot be resurrected because he has no consciousness.
Before swapping the ring, Solomon sealed a part of his soul in front of the ring. And Solomon's soul takes over the user of the ring. The first Satan inherited this secretly, fully aware of this fact. All the successive Lords understood this meaning and never considered using it. They never even spoke about it. It was terrifying. More terrifying than the king's resurrection was the thought of one's will being overwritten by someone else. Even if they were to gain unprecedented power, there would be no self.
Even during the civil war when the Seraphs took over the government, I never thought of using it. Using it would mean the extinction of the devil race. No, extinction would be fine. If it meant achieving the demonic goal of destruction and domination and dying an honorable death, it would be the best end. But Solomon had no such mercy.
I am different from who I used to be. I no longer need my own will. I have no attachment to a world without her. It was because of her that I didn't want to use this ring.
"Let my body be taken, the ancient king of Israel. Fulfill the contract you made with the first Satan."
"Yes, but among the contracts I made with the first Asmodeus, there was one that said I would fulfill the wishes of the one who surrendered their body. Creuserey Asmodeus, state your wish."
There's no point in thinking. It was decided from the beginning.
"To bring death to the deceitful satan and the archduke of fallen angels."
"That won't be a price. From what I hear about the current situation, that was the plan from the beginning. Well, it won't be me who kills them, though."
"I can't have that. You must do it without fail."
Solomon said nothing more. A vast amount of magic power flowed from the ring. Along with exhilaration, a sense of loss washed over me. I understood that I was disappearing. Everything within me was being replaced by something else. As my memories lost their sense of reality and turned into those of another, I remembered someone from the true Asmodeus bloodline who would be waiting for me. Not the one who would be waiting ahead, but the one who still believed things would somehow work out.
I'm sorry, Shalba. Our history as devils ends here. I'll go ahead. At least, let's take everyone, including those fakes, with us.
***
"So, what exactly did Solomon do in the end?"
After Hades' statement, the majority of the gods and devils present stood up. Some silently shifted to another location, some hurled abuse at the biblical faction and fled, some turned pale and were supported by their subordinates, while others crowded around Hades to inquire for more details. The reactions varied, but the idea of cooperating with the three major powers to deal with the terrorists vanished. There was no room for such leisure.
Those who remained seated were the ones who had doubts about Hades' information. Or perhaps they simply didn't want to believe it.
Sirzechs and Azazel couldn't easily believe it either and tried to stop the leaders who were trying to leave. However, there was nothing they could do when faced with this question.
"If it were true, can you take responsibility for it?"
There was no way they could take responsibility. There was no specific method, and they had little trust in the biblical faction. In fact, even the Satan, Archangels, and the Fallen Angel Governors had nothing to say.
Bennia heard about this scene from her father, the Chief Death God Orcus. As someone with a human mother, she only knew about the ancient king's story from myths. But regarding the Magic King mentioned in the myths, the world's response felt incongruous. What could cause such fear, disgust, and awe? Wasn't he just a wise king who received a ring from God and wasn't even a half-god? So she took the opportunity to ask Hades. She also asked her father, but he said Hades could provide a more accurate understanding.
"Bennia, have you ever felt uneasy about the myths told by humans?"
"Huh?"
The conversation suddenly became complicated.
"For example, the biblical faction. They are divided into God, Devils, and Fallen Angels. However, if you read the descriptions in the Bibles, devils and fallen angels are treated as nearly identical."
In myths, Tiamat, who was supposed to become the world, was surviving as the Dragon King in reality. Vritra, who was supposed to be revived and defeated by Indra every year, had his soul separated and sealed in a sacred artifact in reality. Midgardsormr, who was supposed to be thrown into the sea by the god-king Odin, was sleeping at the bottom of the sea of his own volition in reality. Typhon, who was supposed to be sealed beneath a volcano, didn't exist in reality.
Furthermore, if what was told in myths was true, it wouldn't make sense for Indian mythology to be the most widely believed in the human world. However, in reality, the scriptures' power was spreading more widely.
"Of course, that's how it is, right?"
"Yes, you're right. It's good to have doubts, but be careful from now on. There's a discrepancy between myths and reality. This discrepancy becomes stronger as time passes. He made it so. But now, no one can rebuild the world. There are not enough resources and time to rewrite it. This is all Solomon's doing. This is the crime he committed to bury all myths, disguising it as an achievement for the God in the bible."
His great undertaking involved all myths and encompassed humanity. The world's rules he rewrote were still corroding the gods in the present tense. Until the day all myths were forgotten by humanity, there was no means of resistance. Though there were some lies, the gods accepted his plan.
"The curse Solomon bestowed upon all of humanity—the 'truth.'"
The King, who seemed to know only anger, loved humanity to the extent of using the gods.
***
The top leadership of the biblical faction, whose counterterrorism meeting was forcibly terminated by Hades' explosive statement, received both good and bad news.
First, the good news was that Issei Hyodou had awakened. Rias' brother, Sirzechs, and Azazel, who had become their teacher, felt relieved about this. They couldn't help but wish he had awakened before the game, but they couldn't afford such luxuries. More important battles might be ahead, after all.
Next, the bad news was a meeting request from Rizevim Livan Lucifer to Sirzechs Lucifer. And he wanted to bring Euclid Lucifuge with him.
Rizevim, the legitimate child of the old Lucifer. The only transcendent being under the old Satan system. He had been missing for a long time, and his appearance at this timing likely had to do with the matter of the rings. If the old Satan faction had obtained the rings, he would undoubtedly be the one in possession of it.
"No way, I don't have that king's ring. Besides, if I had it, I wouldn't have gone through such troublesome procedures. I'd just pass through the magical barriers and come here, whoosh!"
In preparation for the worst-case scenario, Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael confronted Rizevim, but it seemed that they didn't need to worry about that worst-case scenario anymore.
"Then who has it? Lilith? The descendant of Beelzebub? Or the descendant of Asmodeus? Or maybe someone else from Leviathan other than Katheria? No, could it be that Vali kid? If he got it, why aren't the old Satan faction members starting their actions?"
"There's no such thing as the old Demon Lord faction anymore."
"What?"
"They are literally wiped out."
Casually, Rizevim announced this. While trying to create a bright atmosphere, there was a hint of bitterness on his face.
"That ring Creuserey had apparently had Solomon's will sealed in it. You know, like how the God's will is sealed in the Holy Spear. Well, because of that, it seems Creuserey was possessed by Solomon. Thanks to Solomon in Creuserey, the major figures of the old Satan faction, including you, Shalba, are all wiped out! Excluding me and Vali, of course."
"Even the subordinates, apart from those we were keeping, are confirmed dead or missing. They have names on our spies' list, ranging from small fries to high-ranking members."
The news delivered by Rizevim and Euclid was the worst-case scenario. Not because the old Satan faction was wiped out. While it was undoubtedly an important matter, an even more urgent situation had arisen.
"Why the hell did he have to seal his will in the ring! Damn that bastard! He should have just died!"
The resurrection of the Magic King was an emergency that the bibles' forces had considered to be the most unlikely and was absolutely unacceptable.
"What in the world... If the old Satan faction had the ring, we might have been able to handle it. But if he's resurrected, then his goal is the destruction of the bibles... If that's the case, then the Demon Pillars are undoubtedly under his command. It's no wonder they are attacking the previous generations. This time, we can't just seal him in a jar."
The old Satan faction's goal was to rule the entire world at best or to kill the current Satan at worst. It might be considered a halfway restoration. However, none of those plans succeeded and fell short. While it was good news for the current government, Solomon's resurrection was the worst possible outcome.
"... No, this is a chance for a reversal. If he has returned, we should be able to get cooperation from other mythologies. Unlike the old Satan faction, if it's him, we won't be able to avoid harm without cooperating with us. We should be able to propose an alliance to all mythologies."
"Knowing that king, he probably finished negotiations with other mythologies before taking further action, right? He did the same thing last time, didn't he?"
"Then we just have to persuade him."
"That's impossible."
Rizevim easily brushed aside Michael's thoughts.
"I don't want that king to do whatever he wants to me. Besides, I'll probably be his next target, right? So, I looked for a countermeasure. And I found one. But I can't do it alone. That's why I came to seek protection and cooperation from the current government, Sirzechs."
"Alright, for the sake of the Underworld, let's join hands. Now, Rizevim-dono, what exactly is your plan to counter that man?"
Rizevim had been waiting for that question, and a smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth. Azazel recognized that smirk, but he had no time to dwell on it as Rizevim moved on to the next proposal.
"We're going to revive the God of the Bible. I found a way."
****
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