Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 540: A Hopeless World [11] [Help]

Zenith asked. "....How do they know about the runes if you didn’t tell them?"

I couldn’t answer her, my gaze solely on the diagram.

There were only two beings who knew all twenty-four runes, me and El.

I didn’t believe El was tied with the church of the moon Goddess.

’.... Perhaps, their goddess knew about runes as well.’

I rubbed my temples as I felt a headache incoming.

No matter how I saw it, this was really unusual.

"Himmel?"

"Ah, yeah." I focused back on her. "I never told anyone except you, this has nothing to do with me."

Zenith didn’t look convinced. "Are you lying to me?"

"No." I replied, rubbing my neck. "Gods and Goddesses are aware of runes as well, perhaps someone helped them."

Zenith gave a short nod and crouched down to get a closer look at the diagram.

I let out a slow breath and leaned back against the couch.

"This church." I muttered. "What are they up to?"

Zenith’s fingers tapped lightly on the floor beside the diagram. "Himmel."

"Yeah?"

"I see a lot of mistakes in it." She said. "I don’t know if it’s deliberate but there are gaps in some places."

I leaned forward as I looked at the diagram. "Gaps?"

"They are like...uh. Concepts." She said, looking up. "If someone is careful they can reverse-engineer this into something else without changing the structure."

"....."

I rubbed my face as I understood the severity of the situation.

It’s like changing a few numbers in an equation without any effect on the outer surface.

But depending on the numbers, the outcome would be completely different.

Zenith stood up, grabbing a handful of her hair, she tied it into a bun.

She walked towards the table and picked up a pen and paper.

Zenith dropped back to the floor with the paper and pen.

Her posture changed completely.

"Watch," she said.

She redrew a small part of the outer ring.

At first it looked identical.

Then she erased one tiny stroke and replaced it with a slightly curved line.

"This," she said, "is the same sigil visually but conceptually, it shifts from containment to direction."

She pointed at multiple places in the ritual diagram.

"All this can be changed later on." She said. "So this ritual is basically an open framework."

I let out a low whistle. "So, it can be changed without making it obvious?"

"Yes." She replied. "It’s most likely a trap."

I let out a sigh and leaned back on the couch.

"..."

Of course, it was some bullshit plan by some shady church.

’I was a fool to believe that they were actually going to help Akasha.’

I slowly stood up and wrapped the sheet back.

There was no point in discussing this anymore.

Zenith didn’t stop me as she kept staring at me from the side.

When I was done with the sheet, I placed it in my space bracelet.

"....Are you going to leave now?"

I was about to agree but stopped when I noticed the look on her face.

She had the face of a puppy that was about to be abandoned.

I let out a sigh and walked toward the window.

Looking out, I noticed the ring of white creatures had become even more clear.

"How have you been?" I asked, looking back at her.

Zenith blinked at the sudden question.

"...That’s what you’re asking now?" she said, but her voice had already softened.

I shrugged. "Feels like a normal human thing to ask."

"You are not human."

"..."

She looked down at her hands.

"I’ve been alive," she said after a moment. "That’s about it."

I didn’t interrupt as she leaned back and stretched her back.

"The house was too quiet at first," she continued. "I didn’t know when but I lost most of my friends."

".....Is that so?"

She nodded with a weak smile.

"I learned to cook properly," she added. "Burned everything for the first month. Nearly set the kitchen on fire twice."

"That’s...some insane progress."

She rolled her eyes. "I also stopped waiting by the door expecting you to visit me."

"...."

I didn’t respond as I kept looking at her.

The wind brushed through the open window, lifting a few strands of her hair.

She stood up and began to clean the nearby area.

"Though, I am happy for you." She said. "With Christina back, you must have been over the moon."

I didn’t answer right away.

Her back was turned, but her shoulders had gone stiff.

"It’s good." I said. "Though she was with her family for a while."

"...I see."

I felt really annoyed by the tone of her words.

Like the world had already ended for her.

’Agh, this stupid girl.’

I let out a tired sigh and walked closer to her.

Zenith sniffed and turned around, going into a defensive position. "W-what?"

I ignored her protest, as I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Her whole body went stiff in my arms like she had stopped breathing.

Slowly, she moved her hand and hugged me back.

"You idiot," she whispered, voice shaking. "You can’t just do that out of nowhere."

"Shut up, stupid child."

She made a small sound that was more like a cry and pressed her forehead against my chest.

"I wasn’t... waiting for you," she said, words muffled.

"Sure."

"I wasn’t."

"Okay."

"...I hate you."

"Yeah."

She pulled back just enough to look up at me, eyes still wet but steady.

Her eyes flickered towards my lips for a long second but she quickly moved away.

"Urgh, I hate this." She mumbled. "Why...now."

I looked around the house as I asked. "Are you free?"

"Yeah." She replied without looking. "I didn’t have to go to the academy after I took my major."

I looked out of the window at the white ring.

"Would you mind living with me for a while in Lumina." I said, folding my arms. "I don’t think you would be safe here."

She froze in place as she robotically turned around. "W-with you?"

"Don’t worry." I said. "You won’t be alone, Heather, Aimar and Elijah were also home."

Her face immediately turned down. "Of course, they were." She grumbled.

"Fine, I will live with you just because I don’t want to hurt your little heart."

I snorted. "My heart is doing just fine."

"Liar."

Zenith wiped her face one last time.

Then walked past me like nothing had happened, though the tips of her ears were still red.

"When are we leaving?" she asked, already moving toward the hallway.

"Soon," I said. "Pack what you need."

She paused. "...You’re serious."

"Yeah."

Her fingers tightened around the edge of the doorframe for a second before she nodded. "Okay."

She disappeared into her room and I stayed by the window.

’...I need to do something about Akasha.’

There were so many people who were planning to destroy it.

---

[Casita Household, Akasha.]

Edel gulped down a glass of wine as he sat on the edge of a table.

On the table the same ritual diagram lay that Himmel had.

Edel poured down another glass of wine, as he stayed silent in the empty room.

Truth be told, Edel was not doing well for a long while.

After the death of his son and grandson, he had felt like his Empire was getting destroyed.

Chip by chip, brick by brick, what he had built was now slowly getting torn apart.

Be it the declining business or the number of people dying in his family.

Edel stared at the diagram without really seeing it.

"I will kill him." He said, his voice grim. "I will kill everyone who is against me."

Outside the tall windows, Akasha’s sky glowed faintly, the white ring visible even from here.

Edel didn’t like that one bit.

He looked back down at the ritual sheet.

At first, he had believed it was salvation but the more he studied it, the more uneasy he felt.

"...Sealing ritual," he murmured. "Is it?"

He turned around as he looked at the corner.

A man stood there wearing a blue priest outfit with a small smile on his face.

Panta, a member of the Saintess Cathedral church of the moon Goddess walked out of the shadow.

"You are well known for rituals, my Lord." He said smiling. "You already know what this is."

Edel gulped down another glass. "You have some guts coming here." He said. "What makes you think I won’t kill you right now?"

Panta didn’t flinch.

He stepped fully into the light, hands folded behind his back like he was in a garden instead of a hostile lord’s hall.

"Because you won’t," he said calmly.

Edel’s jaw tightened. "Try me."

"You need my goddess, my lord," Panta replied. "And you know it."

He chuckled and began pouring another glass.

"What can she give that I don’t already have?" He asked.

"Godhood." Panta said confidently. "She can help you reach godhood."

The word hung in the air.

Godhood.

Edel didn’t drink.

The glass stopped halfway to his lips.

"...Say that again," he said quietly.

Panta’s smile deepened. "My goddess can raise you beyond demigod limits."

Edel slowly set the glass down.

"You think I’m desperate enough to believe that?"

"I think," Panta said, calm as ever, "you are desperate enough to consider it."

"...."

Edel stared at him without any word.

"All you need to do is not point out the flaw in the ritual." He said. "And my goddess will give you the way to godhood."

"....."

Edel remained silent for a long while.