But at this moment, their faces were already filled with fear and despair.
They had all guessed that the disaster-like attack had been carried out by the person standing before them. They could clearly feel the gap between themselves and him, as well as the overwhelming disadvantage they were in.
"Y-Your Holiness! Please run!", The captain of the guard shouted loudly while forcing himself to suppress his fear.
His firm faith kept him by the Pope's side even at this hopeless moment. He did not choose to run away alone.
His eyes stayed fixed on Ash. Although the sword in his hand shook slightly, he still held it firmly in front of himself, ready for the attack that was about to come.
But how could the Pope not know how meaningless escape was at this point?
Looking at everything before him, bitterness filled his heart. He slowly shook his head in despair, unwilling to struggle pointlessly.
"You're not bad. You didn't run away, so I'll give you some praise. Also..."
Ash slowly walked forward.
Each step seemed to land on everyone's hearts, making their fear grow even stronger.
The soldiers of the Pope's guard unconsciously stepped back in fear.
Their bodies seemed beyond their control. Even their faith began to waver before this creature that seemed like despair itself.
Like frightened sheep, they automatically opened a path for Ash.
Still, Ash praised their loyalty.
Then his gaze shifted to the child carrying the title of Hero, and a teasing smile appeared.
"Your sword is shaking. Do you really think a sword like that can kill anyone?"
"I-I..."
Julius wanted to argue, but the voice forced from his throat sounded weak.
The tip of his sword shook violently and completely ignored his control.
However, Ash had little interest in the Hero.
He smiled indifferently and looked toward the Pope.
According to the information Ash had obtained, Heroes in this world generally were not very strong.
Even setting aside someone like Ariel, the strongest Demon Lord in history, Heroes were normally weaker than Demon Lords.
Because of this, the Hero title itself was a cheat.
An official cheat guaranteed by the System.
Holding the title granted many special benefits, but its most useful feature was a hidden ability similar to being a Demon Lord killer.
After all, Demon Lords were chosen from among demons.
Demons not only possessed higher stats than humans, but also much longer lifespans.
As a result, Demon Lords were always stronger than Heroes.
Heroes could almost be said to have no chance of winning.
To balance the two sides and create more interesting situations, this cheat was added.
In other words, no matter how powerful a Demon Lord became, the Hero could bring out combat power that would not lose to that Demon Lord.
But Ash was not a Demon Lord.
So there was no problem.
The Hero could not pose any threat to him at all.
On this battlefield that looked like the end of the world, Julius looked at this unprecedented enemy before him, and the belief that had once been as solid as stone began to waver.
Ash was like a demon god who had stepped out of myth.
A powerful presence spread from his entire body.
Just standing there seemed to freeze the air around him.
Julius tried to imagine himself defeating this opponent.
But every attempt was like chasing an illusion in darkness.
He could not picture such a scene at all.
When he was little, his mother often used her gentle voice to tell him heroic stories with Heroes as the main characters.
He became deeply fascinated by them.
Especially when she told stories based on real Heroes, he could not help treating them as his idols.
They punished evil and protected the weak.
They stood for justice.
He admired them.
And now... he had never expected to truly become a Hero himself.
But encouraged by his mother, he decided to become as strong, kind, and righteous as the Heroes in those stories.
He would never allow evil.
Yet the first enemy he encountered was stronger than anything he had imagined.
The reality that resisting would only lead to being crushed from one side shook him from within.
Looking at Ash, who completely ignored him, a sense of helplessness rose inside him.
He began doubting his own ability and determination.
He even started wondering whether there truly existed walls that could never be crossed.
But his mother's words and smile came to mind.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.
Although his legs shook without stopping, he still used his young body to stand between the Pope and Ash.
Pointing his constantly trembling sword at him, he declared:
"I... can't step aside! And I absolutely won't kill people. My sword exists to protect... so I absolutely cannot... allow!"
"Wait a second. Maybe you've mistaken me for the bad guy? Though I can't completely deny that. But is the old man behind you a good person?"
If it had been an adult, Ash probably would have slapped them away.
But this was still a child.
And he was standing in front of him with a sense of justice that had clearly been misled.
That made things a little troublesome.
"His Holiness is..."
"They're the invaders, aren't they?"
Before Julius could finish speaking, Ash's question cut in sharply.
The words struck directly at the core of the issue.
"Th-That..."
Julius was immediately speechless.
Every Hero throughout history had operated with the support of the Word of God Religion.
There was an inseparable connection between Heroes and the Word of God Religion.
Which meant, if the request came from the Word of God Religion, a Hero would find it difficult to refuse.
And they really were the invaders.
Although he didn't know what had happened on the front lines, still...
"What do you think religious believers do to heretics? Even children can figure that out. Or are people from the Goddess Religion not human in your eyes?"
Ash's questioning voice was cold and serious.
Every word felt like a heavy stone pressing down on Julius.
"..."
Julius fell silent.
He didn't know how to answer.
He had never seriously thought about these questions before.
In his simple world, good and evil seemed very clear.
But now...
Everything seemed blurred.
"Silence? Children have it easy. If you don't want to answer, you can just stay silent. So let me answer for you. Cities will be slaughtered. Men will become slaves. Women will become prostitutes or military comfort women and be used by everyone."
Ash's words were like whispers from a demon in the darkness.
Cruel and completely real.
Perhaps because they were real, they felt even crueler.
"How could that be..."
Julius stared in disbelief, unable to accept it.
Yet he could not completely deny it either.
At that moment, the sword in his hand lowered on its own.
He no longer understood which side was truly evil.
"By the way, I have no intention of invading other countries. I only plan to maintain peace."
Looking at Julius's confused eyes, Ash added that.
"B-But you're a demon!"
Julius raised his head and looked at Ash.
Fear still remained in his eyes, but confusion was greater.
Although he could not appraise Ash, he had heard the Pope's words clearly earlier.
"But I'm doing good things."
"Everyone on the battlefield..."
"If you step onto a battlefield, you should be prepared for what comes with it. And as a Hero, your presence on the battlefield causes one side to lose its legitimacy. If the invaders aren't eliminated and enough deterrence isn't established, other countries will attack Sariella as well. Only deterrence can bring peace to Sariella."
Ash's voice echoed beside Julius's ears.
Like a key, it tried to open the door of justice inside him that had been covered over.
Not knowing what to do, Julius looked toward the battlefield.
Pain filled his eyes.
The strength completely left his legs.
He dropped to his knees.
Using his extensive theoretical knowledge and sharp words, Ash completely shattered the little fighting spirit remaining in the young Hero's heart.
Of course, that was also connected to the Hero's own gullibility and his careless involvement in this unjust war.
While speaking those words, Ash's attention never left the Pope, who had remained silent the entire time.
Pope Dustin kept his eyes closed.
As if detached from everything around him, he neither argued nor responded.
Only when Ash walked toward him again did Dustin slowly open his eyes.
"What exactly are you? I don't remember demons existing within the System."
The old man's voice was low and hoarse.
His eyes held caution and doubt.
"Because I'm originally an outsider."
Ash openly revealed his origins.
There was no point hiding them.
"So your plan is to level up here, gain enough power, and then leave?"
Dustin immediately reached his conclusion.
His eyes became cold in an instant.
"You're a demon. And a robber too?"
His words were full of accusation.
He was trying to paint Ash as a greedy plunderer.
But Ash merely smiled with contempt and spread his hands casually.
"That sounds pretty unpleasant. If you were free people, I'd let it pass. But all of you willingly became D's toys, didn't you? Meanwhile, I obtained the owner's permission to participate in the game."
Those words made Dustin's expression shift repeatedly.
Yet he failed to say anything in response.
Ash casually brushed aside the captain blocking his path.
Then he placed a hand on Dustin's shoulder.
Before Dustin could react, the mental invasion was complete.
At that instant, countless memory fragments flooded into Ash's mind.
As a result, he understood many more things.
For example, why Ariel hated humanity.
It turned out that the seemingly ordinary old man before him, Pope Dustin, had once been the president of the ancient Daztrudia nation around three thousand years ago.
Through the Virtue title "Temperance," he had reincarnated sixty times.
He had witnessed countless historical changes.
And each time, he inherited the memories of his previous lives.
During the age of the old civilization, humanity's abuse of MA energy had reached a completely reckless level.
Not only had they received warnings from the Goddess, even the True Dragons had warned them.
The dragons had clearly told humanity that if they continued abusing the energy, the entire planet would face destruction.
Yet humanity ignored every warning.
They continued doing as they pleased.
When the dragons punished humanity to stop their madness, humanity used the Goddess's protection to shield themselves.
Then... they continued their reckless behavior while hiding behind that protection.
Their crimes went far beyond that.
They even kidnapped young members of the True Dragon race and attempted to use them for research.
Throughout the entire process, they continued relying on the Goddess to avoid retaliation from the dragons.
They lacked ability but excelled at seeking death.
And they committed plenty of evil.
Of course, it was Potimas who kidnapped the True Dragon children.
But humanity as a whole helped push forward the madness of energy extraction.
In the final days, nations constantly pushed responsibility onto one another.
Whenever a country made a mistake, it blamed the coming destruction of the planet on dragons or other countries.
The nation led by Dustin was no exception.
On the surface, they banned the use of MA energy.
Secretly, they smuggled it.
At the same time, they condemned other countries for using MA energy.
"Trash should act like trash. No matter what methods I use, I will protect humanity until my soul is erased. That is the only thing shameless me can do. Goddess Sariel once granted salvation to humanity while we stood in the dragons' hands. But for this world to continue existing, let us offer that benefactor as a living sacrifice..."
"Those words sound pretty noble."
With a smile that seemed to see through everything, Ash slowly repeated the words Dustin had spoken at the crucial final moment of the old civilization, before the System was created.
In truth, that plan had originally been proposed by Potimas while he was still human.
Potimas was also the person most actively developing the energy source.
However, Dustin had been the president of the most influential nation.
Once he adopted the plan, the outcome was decided.
After that, humanity prayed together for the Goddess to sacrifice herself.
They turned her into a living sacrifice.
The System continuously extracted energy from her.
She was hung within the System's core and became its puppet.
The moment Ash spoke those words, the old man before him, who looked like an ordinary kind grandfather, immediately froze.
His eyes opened wide.
They were filled with shock and disbelief.
He suddenly stood up from his seat.
His body trembled slightly.
His voice became sharp with emotion.
"You looked through my memories?"
"You could say I skimmed through them. They're too long for me to have much interest in reading. But... as a human, maybe you count as a savior. As an individual, though, you're pretty terrible."
Sitting on a table and casually swinging his legs, Ash spoke in a teasing tone.
"After being protected by their guardian again and again, this stubborn group directly sacrificed that guardian in exchange for their own survival... Honestly, you're the worst group of humans I've ever known."
"Although most people share responsibility, not everyone should bear the consequences. The ones extracting MA energy were the governments. The common people—"
Dustin tried to defend humanity.
But Ash interrupted him before he could finish.
"When an avalanche happens, not a single snowflake wants to admit it's responsible for the avalanche. But during an avalanche, not a single snowflake is innocent either."
Without snowflakes, there would be no avalanche.
It's like a group of people doing something bad together.
No individual believes it's their own fault.
Since everyone committed the wrongdoing together, no one can completely separate themselves from responsibility.
Some countries in the old era had indeed banned energy extraction.
But even in Dustin's nation, people knowingly continued using it in secret.
And there was no point claiming ordinary people were innocent.
Even Ariel and the others raised in the Goddess's orphanage had benefited from that universal energy source.
No one rejected it.
Everyone enjoyed the benefits together.
Then when the critical moment arrived, they claimed they had no responsibility and blamed those who extracted the MA energy.
That felt a bit dishonest, didn't it?
Dustin actually understood this very clearly.
Precisely because he understood the matter so thoroughly, he chose to avoid the issue.
Looking directly into Ash's eyes without retreating, he said, "You can call me despicable, shameless, or trash. I accept that. But as a species, seeking survival is instinct. In the end, those were mistakes made by people of the past. Their descendants should not be affected by them."
"In reality, they're all one whole anyway... Well, I don't really care about that."
Ash truly had little interest in what happened to humanity in this world.
He had only looked into it out of curiosity.
And in the process, he discovered that the isolated True Dragon had become a System administrator.
Most of that dragon's power was being poured into the System to help ease the Goddess's burden.
Yet even after all these years, it still had not earned any special attention from the Goddess.
It had continued quietly giving everything...
No, quietly devoting itself.
The situation felt rather strange to Ash.
Originally, he had only wanted to learn what schemes the Pope was planning.
Instead, he gained a deeper understanding of history and obtained unexpected information.
But while wondering how to deal with the problems that True Dragon might bring, Pope Dustin suddenly changed the subject.
"You're a demon from another world, aren't you?"
"What about it?"
"In that case, you're definitely not some righteous person. And you certainly aren't seeking justice for the Goddess because of humanity's sins, are you?"
Dustin's tone carried a hint of probing.
He was trying to find something useful in Ash's answer.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're very rude?"
"But you're not human."
"That's true. Though when I say people, I just mean it generally."
"Let's cooperate."
"How interesting... Someone who can do nothing, has no bargaining chips, and even now continues plotting against the benefactors who once helped him is saying that to me?"
Ash completely distrusted someone who had once discussed sacrificing the True Dragons and the Goddess again if necessary, even after they had saved humanity.
He laughed mockingly, turned around, and walked away without looking back.
"I'll give you some credit for still trying to save humanity after all these years. But you can do nothing. You have nothing valuable. Neither your character nor your soul is worth anything. Aside from using grand ideals to trick fools into sacrificing themselves for you, what else can you do? Just keep reincarnating and wait for the end of the world."
"....."
Ash's blunt rejection left Dustin silent.
He had nothing to say.
His ideals, soul, and even his value as a person had been denied so completely.
Combined with the crushing defeat they had just suffered, it was surprising that he showed no anger.
He simply watched Ash leave.
Then he worked to steady his emotions and prepared to gather the surviving soldiers and lead them away.
Though unwilling to accept it, he was also very rational.
He understood that defeating Ash was impossible.
For the greater picture, he could not afford to provoke him.
[🙇🏻 You Can Support the Story Through P@tr3on—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ Chapters of all the novels and fanfics. Thanks for reading~]