Chapter 49 - War Against The Gods

"That's a lie," the man denied. "Sarasa is a goddess of righteousness!" "She will never turn away from me, never!"

"Gee, you sound like you are now the god in this situation," Orihime said to him. "Where did this sudden sense of entitlement come from?" "Aren't you the same guy who was scared of dying just a moment ago?" 

Shizu felt bad for the man, astonished by the way the goddess had brainwashed him into believing such logically incoherent things. Though she knew it would be futile, she tried talking some sense into him.

"She is the goddess of wisdom, not righteousness." "Those two virtues do not always go hand-in-hand," Shizu said to him. "Her wisdom can be used to exploit others, and there is no objective standard beyond her that restricts her from doing so, especially when humans are the victims at a time like this."

Then Shizu looked at the man eye to eye, wanting to get to the foundation of where such conviction came from... 

"Tell me, what gives you the assurance of a blissful eternity with her after death?" she asked. "Did she ever make such an outrageous promise to you?" 

"It is not an outrageous promise. It is something she can do and will do. She promised me that my sacrifices would not be forgotten and that I would be rewarded for everything I have done in her service," the man replied. "That is why, no matter what you tell me, I am persuaded that everything is going to be all right, even in my death."

Shizu sighed, "Young man, I'm sorry to plunge you into despair, but only the truth can set you free at this point—so here it is... ", she said, "Sarasa has no jurisdiction in or over the world of the dead." Her job is to administer wisdom, but only primarily to those in the land of the living. "She is not the one assigned to determine your eternal destiny."

The man shook his head continuously, refusing to digest any more of her "lies."

"Keep talking blasphemy, old woman," the man replied, "I will never lose my faith!" 

But Shizu continued to speak... 

"The only god who has the ultimate right to determine your eternal fate is Maou Mazoku, the final Shinigami." If the folklore is accurate about his personality, then he could easily resist any kind of persuasion from a goddess like Sarasa to change the fate of someone in his domain. "Even the wisdom of the goddess of wisdom also has its limits, and this is it.

"...What if the reason why you are at our mercy right now is that a shinigami was appointed by Maou himself to take your soul today? What if you were appointed by the Dark Lord to die today, and Sarasa is in no position to do anything about it?..."

"...Listen to me, young man. I am a specialized Master Mage in hidden magic, which means that I have uncovered and gone through several different hidden portals leading to different dimensions, including the world of the dead. Trust me, everyone goes there after death. The fires that are there never quench, and the torture never ends, not until the fires have done their work of cleansing them of all impurities. Only then would they have any hope for redemption. The best of us spend over a few years there before our redemption; for a regular person with some virtue, it could take almost a century. But for someone like you, I believe it could take more than a lifetime to redeem you. So please, come to your senses, young man!"

Kazuya knew that all this talk wouldn't get them anywhere, and he stepped forward to the man, walking past the old woman to face him directly. "If you want to die so badly, I could help with that—but only if you answer my question," he bargained with the man, who nodded in response. 

"Tell me, have you heard of the Field Village?" he asked the man, who nodded in response. 

"Yes, my goddess grants wisdom to sentients whenever she targets specific areas to wipe out humans from." The second location I remember is that place (the Field Village). She mentioned it while addressing the goblins on how to attack the area. "She granted them the wisdom they needed on the right weapons, tactics, and skills required to take down the village," he replied. 

This was all Kazuya wanted to hear. He now knew the person he was going after. He now had a target to vent his hatred toward for more reasons than before. Before, it was the goblins in general, but now he had a prime target for his hatred, and he was grateful for that. So out of gratitude, he would now grant the man the demise he was desperately craving. 

"Say no more," Kazuya said as he swiftly brought forth his sword and slowly plunged it into the bowels of the man, who cried out loudly in pain. 

As Kazuya's sword slowly went through his belly, Kazuya held the man's head, looking at him straight in the eyes to make sure his face was the last thing he would see before his demise.

Somehow, the man had a hand in the destruction of Kazuya's village by being in cahoots with Sarasa. So Kazuya wasn't going to make the man's death quick and painless. 

At that point, with the sword about to tear through the man's back, Kazuya proceeded to say something to him. Something that would shock the rest of them would be... 

"If you get to see Sarasa in the afterlife... Tell her that I'm coming for her and every other divine scumbag involved in this.

Kazuya said this before plunging the sword deep enough to kill him. The weapon went completely through his body, tearing through his back with blood spilling out like a spring. Then he let the man fall to the ground with the sword still in him before forcefully pulling it out in such a brutal way that all the others looked away for a moment. 

There was blood everywhere, and Kazuya was now drenched in his blood but didn't seem to care about it. He swung off the residual blood from the sword before putting it back in its place. 

Everyone kept silent while this happened, surprised by the way Kazuya took it all so casually. 

But he instantly took note of the awkward situation and was not comfortable with the way they were staring at him. 

"What?" he asked them, noticing all eyes were on him. "We got the information we needed, and talking him out of his convictions was a lost cause." "There was no reason for him to remain alive, wouldn't you all agree?" he said to them. 

Orihime couldn't object, as she agreed with him on this, though she wished she would have been the one to plunge the sword into the man. She had chased him for a long time, and it would have felt rewarding if she had been the one to deliver the killing blow. 

Genta, on the other hand, felt conflicted about the entire situation. Like every child raised traditionally, she had the fear of the gods deeply carved into her reasoning. 

So she didn't know how to process the thought of intentionally rebelling against the gods in any way. Kazuya going against a god sounded like he was way over his head, and there was no other way Genta could look at it. 

But she also understood that if everything she had just learned was true, then humanity was in a lot of trouble, and they would have no choice but to fight back, no matter how ridiculous it would be to do so. 

"Kazuya?" Shizu called him like an angry parent about to lecture a wayward son. 

"What is it, old woman?" he asked, feeling he was truly going to get a lecture from her about not doing what he wanted to do. 

"Did you mean what you said to that young man?" she asked him. 

"I meant every word, old woman, and I will never go back on my word," he replied, looking dead serious. 

Shizu sighed, "Knowing you, there is nothing I could do to change your mind on this." "But I will ask—do you know what you are putting yourself up against?" she asked. 

"A being with a near-infinite amount of power," he replied casually, "is there anything important left to know about a person like that?" 

"At least you know what you are going after," the woman replied. 

"This is crazy," Genta said. "You are about to declare war... against a god!"

Kazuya remained silent, showing no fear or hesitation in his conviction. It was clear from his outlook that he was dead serious about this and would never go back on it. 

"Let me get this straight," Orihime said, "you want to kill a god?"

"I want to kill Sarasa," Kazuya replied. "At this point, I don't care if she is a goddess or not; she will die either way."