For the ivory god’s side, the death of half of humanity is not the goal, but a natural result of their endeavors. For the evil god D, however, this seems to be the sole intention.
Death and destruction are similar, yet there is a major difference.
If one’s soul is destroyed, one can no longer be reborn.
We must deal with D, whose plans would cause far greater damage.
The best way to improve our chances to this end would be to convince Lady Ariel to let us into the system’s core, where one with ruler authority could connect to the administrator and create a higher rate of success for teleportation.
Teleporting to the unknown location of D, whom Elder Ronandt has not even met, is far beyond the limits of any skill.
I cannot imagine success is likely, even for humanity’s strongest mage.
From the point of view of the ebony god’s side, we must persuade Lady Ariel no matter what.
But Lady Ariel’s answer is point-blank.
“That doesn’t matter to me one bit.”
There seems to be no hope of changing her mind.
I cannot blame her.
Allowing someone into the system’s core could directly result in the ivory god’s side’s defeat.
I or someone else with ruler authority might very well take that opportunity to prevent the system’s destruction.
If anything, that would be the most logical course of action.
After all, the people who want to go to the system’s core are the leader of the ebony god’s side and another group with similar values.
They want to save everyone without sacrificing half of humanity.
“I understand that this would not benefit you. And yet the survival of humanity hangs in the balance. Is there any way we can convince you to help us?”
“Yeah, right. What kind of idiot would let the enemy waltz right into their headquarters?”
“We would of course promise not to do anything in the system core other than teleporting to D’s location.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.”
We are at an impasse.
“I’ve always made tons of compromises. And look where that got us. I refuse to compromise anymore.”
Lady Ariel’s assertion is understandable.
And it is difficult to argue.
Look at the way this world’s people mistreated Lady Sariel: using MA energy despite her warnings of its dangers, incurring the wrath of the dragons, letting her defend us from them, only to sacrifice her in order to keep this world alive.
Amid all these irredeemable transgressions, it is small wonder that Lady Ariel and the others who counted Lady Sariel as family would be furious.
And yet Lady Ariel has restrained her anger for so long.
Just as she says, she has compromised with us many times over.
It is simply too much to ask her to compromise yet again.
She has no reason to go along with our request.
Trying to appeal to her emotions because half of humanity is going to be destroyed will not move Lady Ariel’s heart when we have ignored Lady Sariel’s suffering for so long.
If anything, the more we try to move her, the more irritated she is likely to become.
What right do we have?
After we asked so much of Lady Sariel, and whittled away at her life for so long, how can we turn around and demand even more?
I am sure that is how it sounds to Lady Ariel.
It is impossible to persuade her.
And yet we must, or else either Elder Ronandt will have to find a way to teleport to D’s location on his own, or we will need to attack the Great Elroe Labyrinth once again.
We cannot count on Elder Ronandt’s success.
And now that we have lost chiefs Iena, Nguyen, and Gohka, it would be difficult to break through into the depths of the labyrinth even with the aid of the remaining dragon chiefs.
None of these options are feasible.
They are all just as impossible as convincing Lady Ariel to help.
Isn’t there any way out of this mess…?
“Excuse me…”
Just then, Sir Schlain breaks his silence.
“Please, I’m begging you to reconsider, too! I swear we won’t do anything that would put the ivory god’s side at a disadvantage!”
For just a moment, I hoped perhaps a reincarnation would be able to convince Lady Ariel, but a simple, honest plea is hardly enough to change her mind.
“Yamada, you reincarnations throwing your hat in the ring doesn’t change my answer.”
“No, listen! At this rate, half of humanity will be gone forever!”
“If I must repeat myself again, our side was already fighting with the full intention of slaughtering half of humanity. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t make much of a difference whether they die or get destroyed.”
“But that’s awful…!”
It appears Sir Schlain will not be able to persuade Lady Ariel, either.
“Yamada, this battle concerns our world. You reincarnations are outsiders. Don’t try and get involved if you’re not prepared to face the consequences.”
If anything, now she’s the one talking him down.
“…I’d prefer if you didn’t treat us like outsiders. Yes, maybe we were born in another world. But we live in this one now, and we’re going to go on living here. We’re not interlopers. This concerns us, too. At the very least, I know I’m here because I’m prepared to be part of this.”
…Now, there’s a surprise.
Sir Schlain, who seemed at first like he would be cowed into silence by Lady Ariel, was able to make a surprisingly firm comeback.
So this is the younger brother of Sir Julius the Hero.
Though he is still young and naive, I can see now that he has truly inherited the will of his predecessor.
“…Gotcha. Sorry for being so dismissive, then.”
It appears that Lady Ariel was caught slightly off guard by Sir Schlain’s words as well.
In that short exchange, her perception of the young hero has likely improved from someone not worth her time to someone she can address on equal terms.
“But that still doesn’t mean we’re going to go along with your demands.”
Unfortunately, that still isn’t enough to change the situation at hand.
“Erm, excuse me, may I pose a question? Why do you suppose this ‘D’ is going to destroy half of humanity, exactly?”
This time, Miss Filimøs speaks up.
I can understand her misgivings.
While Lady Ariel’s side has a goal that they wish to accomplish even if it means taking countless lives in the process, D has no such clear reason.
In fact, we know next to nothing about D at all.
I myself do not understand D’s thoughts or goals in the slightest.
This, too, is something we likely cannot say for certain unless we ask D directly.
“Who knows? Not me, that’s for sure. White and Gülie are the only ones who’ve met D face-to-face. But from what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s mostly just for fun.”
“For fun?! Destroying half of humanity for fun?!”
Despite Sir Schlain’s evident shock, I do not find it overly surprising.