Chapter 46: Deadly Sins of the Demons

After eating dinner, we gathered in the reception room.

As soon as Karla and Gale entered the reception room, they immediately apologized for their hangover this morning, but me and Mia, as well as the Dwarf King, readily accepted the apology.

Karla still had a slightly embarrassed look on her face, so I changed the subject and talked about today’s events.

“Just in one day… Even I, who have grown accustomed to Takumi and Mia, am surprised. I would have loved to hear Gon-san’s speech too.”

“Wahhahahaha. Thanks to Takumi and Mia. I was also excited. Well, it seems that Takumi and the others have something planned for tomorrow as well. Karla-san, you should join them.”

After a while of casual conversation, when the atmosphere had relaxed, the Dwarf King brought up the subject.

“Now then, as promised, shall we continue yesterday’s discussion? But before that, I want to confirm something. Have Takumi and Mia heard about the Demon Tribe?”

Karla answered on our behalf.

“They don’t know. We were supposed to talk about it on the night we arrived at Gonhillrim.”

The Dwarf King sends a signal with his hand to force the servants to leave the room.

“…Understood. This matter should be explained by Karla-san, not me. I want to know how the current Demon Tribe perceives things. No, as the Dwarf King, it is necessary for me to know. Can we have you explain it here?”

“Yes. That was my original intention. Takumi, Mia, I will explain the great sin committed by the Demon Tribe that I briefly mentioned before. Now then, where should I start…”

“Karla-san, please explain about the ‘Crimson Gate of Atonement,’ and then I will continue”, the Dwarf King said.

Karla nodded and gave me and Mia a serious look.

“It will be a long story if I go into detail. So, let me give a rough explanation, and you can ask questions later.”

Saying that, Karla stood up and moved to a position where both we and Gon-san could see her.

◇

“About 500 years ago, the four races of elves, humans, dwarves, and demons lived together in peace.

During that time, a genius surpassing all geniuses in the Demon Tribe, known as the ‘Maou,’ was born.

The “Maou” used his power and intellect to dramatically evolve civilization, and the Demons reached the peak of prosperity. To the extent that the difference between their level of civilization and that of other races was immense.

However, the pollution caused by the Demon Tribe’s civilization contaminated the air and soil, making it difficult to obtain the necessary water and food for survival.

Furthermore, a harmful gas called the ‘Miasma’ was emitted, corroding all living creatures.

The elves, humans, and dwarves strongly condemned the Demons for continuing to destroy the natural environment.

Around the time when condemnation of the Demon Tribe intensified, the ‘Maou’ changed significantly.

The ‘Maou’ started to look down on other races and eventually denied their existence.

In order to unify the world under the Demon Tribe and eliminate the Miasma, the ‘Maou’ began developing a new weapon called the ‘Demon Beast.'”

In Earth’s terms, the advanced countries would be the Demon Tribe, while the developing countries would be the Elves, Humans, and Dwarves.

The environmental pollution caused by the advanced civilization of the Demon Tribe became a global issue.

The developing countries criticized the advanced countries for environmental destruction.

And then, the advanced countries retaliated and decided to annihilate the developing countries.

They might have caused some incidents when they got mad, but… the rampage of an absolute authority figure is absolutely terrifying.

Karla continued.

“The ‘Maou’ created an artifact called the ‘Gate of Crimson Atonement’ for the purpose of ‘unifying the world under the rule of the Demons’ and ‘eliminating the Miasma.’

While the doors of this ‘Gate’ are open, the principles of this world are altered. The act of ‘killing’ committed by the Elves, Humans, and Dwarves is transformed into ‘sin.’

“Killing” is the act of killing a living thing. It includes actions such as hunting animals for food or killing in wars. When ‘killing’ occurs, it is immediately converted into ‘sin’ on the spot.

“Sin” transforms certain minerals into “Magic Stones”.

Any excess ‘sin’ accumulates in nearby ‘Magic Stones.’

“The ‘Magic Stones’ transform into monsters when they absorb a certain amount of ‘Miasma.’ The monsters born in this way attacked the elves, humans, and dwarves.

In order to eradicate all races other than Demons…”

Karla’s lips trembled as she spoke the last words.

Her usual confidence-filled princess expression had disappeared, and was replaced by the expression of a young girl who seemed to be broken with self-blame.

“… Karla-sama”

Gale, who was standing behind Karla, placed a hand on her shoulder. Meeting Karla’s startled gaze, Gale nodded firmly.

“Thank you, Gale. I’m fine. I’ll continue.”

Karla nodded, but the red light in her eyes looked weaker than usual.

“By absorbing ‘miasma’ into ‘magic stones’ when creating monsters, ‘miasma’ is reduced from the world.The resulting monsters are then commanded to kill the Elf tribe, Human tribe, and Dwarf tribe.

This is the aim of the ‘Maou.’ It is the consequence of the world’s laws being changed by the ‘Gate of Scarlet Atonement.’ It is the great sin committed by the Demon Race that brought forth monsters into this world.”

…Based on the current discussion, if the plan of the ‘Maou’ proceeds as intended, the world will be left with only the Demonic Race, monsters, birds, fish, and other animals. In that world, the Elf tribe, Human tribe, and Dwarf tribe will not exist, and thus, ‘sin’ will not occur. ‘Sin’ will not occur, and therefore, ‘Magic Stones’ will not be created. Without ‘Magic Stones,’ ‘Miasma’ will not be absorbed and reduced.

There is no way that the “Demon King,” who was called a genius, would not have noticed something like this.

What am I missing?

“Besides the fact that the Elf tribe, Human tribe, and Dwarf tribe kill living creatures, are there other conditions that generate ‘sin’?”

“There are. I omitted the explanation earlier, but ‘sin’ can occur under other conditions.”

“Are the conditions for ‘sin’ to be generated when monsters kill the Elf tribe, Human tribe, and Dwarf tribe, as well as when the Elf tribe, Human tribe, and Dwarf tribe kill monsters?”

Karla glared at me with a blank stare.

“Takumi…how do you know?”

No, no, no, I don’t know, but the plan won’t work if the monsters remain weak.

“The strength of monsters depends on the size of the ‘Magic Stones.’ In other words, it is determined by how much ‘sin’ they can accumulate, correct?”

That’s right. A ‘Magic Stone’ that has accumulated a lot of ‘sin’ will grow into a large ‘Magic Stone.”

The rank of monsters in the Adventurers Guild is determined by the size of the ‘Magic Stones.’ Monsters that have killed many and absorbed ‘sin’ become stronger and rise in rank.

Finally, I need to confirm the ‘Miasma’ as well.

“When a monster dies, black smoke emerges, and a ‘Magic Stone’ falls. Is that black smoke the ‘Miasma’? There should be a method to make the monsters disappear without releasing the ‘Miasma’, right?”

“Why do you think that?”

“If the ‘Maou,’ who is hailed as a genius, is involved, the ‘Gate of Scarlet Atonement’ should have a mechanism to fundamentally solve the issue of ‘Miasma.’

“Do you know what monsters use as energy?”, they asked.

“From the flow of the story,  it seems that the ‘sin’ accumulated in the Magic Stones’ is being used as energy… So, is it possible that when the ‘sin’ inside the ‘Magic Stones’ is depleted, they start using the ‘Miasma’ as energy? And if the ‘Miasma’ disappears, they become just regular stones?”

Karla, Gale, and the Dwarf King stared wide-eyed, frozen in place.

“…You’re right. How did you understand all that from just the explanation?”

As expected.

The ‘Maou’ intended to seal the perpetual emergence of ‘Miasma’ and ‘non-demonic races’ in this world.

After monsters annihilate the Elf tribe, Human tribe, and Dwarf tribe, they can no longer obtain ‘sin.’

Once the energy of the ‘Magic Stones’ depletes, monsters utilize their own ‘Miasma’ as energy.

After exhausting the ‘Miasma,’ the monsters disappear, leaving behind empty ‘Magic Stones’ devoid of ‘sin.’

When new ‘Miasma’ emerges, the empty ‘Magic Stones’ without ‘sin’ absorb the ‘Miasma’ and transform into monsters.

However, since these monsters have empty ‘sin,’ they utilize ‘Miasma’ as their energy source.

And when the ‘Miasma’ is depleted, they revert back to being ‘Magic Stones.’

In other words, monsters perpetually emerge and disappear, purifying the ‘Miasma.’

Survival for the Elf tribe, Human tribe, and Dwarf tribe is also difficult.

Even if they defeat monsters or get killed by monsters, ‘sin’ still occurs.

‘Sin’ strengthens the monsters. No matter how hard they fight and continue to defeat them, eventually, they will become stronger than themselves and get killed.

…Why am I even thinking about such things?

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