Chapter 246

——Why do humans look up at the sky?

As he did every day before, after noting the changes in the stars, Shion suddenly thought of this question that came from nowhere - perhaps in order to prepare for the next holy war, he should ignore these irrelevant questions that only exist because of personal curiosity...

"...But I still want to know the answer to this question." During a rare break from work, the no longer young Shion dragged Dieter, who had finally returned to the Sanctuary to rest, to the tavern in Rodrio Village for a drink. "No, rather than saying I want to know - this question should probably be more like 'I must know'."

"Then why don't you ask that nymph? Although it was Hypnos's judgment, I think after so many years of getting along with her, you should be able to tell the difference between her and the two gods." The elder calmly grasped the handle of the beer glass. His noble attire made him look out of place in this tavern. "Although for me, I should have more contact with that unknown existence who never said his real name."

"You mean - 'professor', or 'consultant'." Shion, who tried to numb his fatigue with alcohol, had become a little slow in his response. "I only know that any one of them can criticize my astrology learning results to pieces - how many years has Tonghu been gone?"

"Ten years - twenty-five years have passed since the end of the Holy War. He can't return to the Sanctuary until the next Holy War begins." Dieter answered Shion while reaching for the notebook in the large pocket of his coat - there he recorded his summary of Lancermero's entire plan. Although the Pluto's Army always felt that humans could not understand the actions of God...

But Dieter still remembered what Lansemelo had said - humans learned to make fire, mastered language and writing, and gradually understood the world, taking away the power that once belonged to the gods.

"...Really, it seems that she has fooled Shion after all - even Regulus can find out that something is wrong." Dieter calmly called the clerk to settle the bill and carried the already drunk Shion on his shoulders. "It's just right, I can talk to her again when I return to the Sanctuary this time - after all, there are still some questions that the consultant can't answer that need her to answer."

Dieter brought Shion back to the sanctuary, and the person who rushed towards them was, as expected, Sisiphos again - Shion seemed to have learned the skill of slacking off without any guidance. Although he would complete his work seriously most of the time, if he suddenly wanted to sneak out of the sanctuary to do something, the current Pope's aide-de-camp would be in trouble.

"Sisifos." Dieter called out to the Pope's aide-de-camp before Sisifos could speak, interrupting the sermon that was about to begin. "Come and help me move Shion back to the Vatican. By the way, I want to learn from you about the changes in the Sanctuary over the past few years."

The changes in the Sanctuary itself are actually not as great as the changes in the enterprise that Dieter was entrusted with - what the Sanctuary was like in the past is what Dieter saw when he returned this time; but that enterprise that operates under the meaning of the Sanctuary has already blended into the capital of various countries under Dieter's control and has quietly become a huge corporation.

"...But there have been changes." After sending Shion back to the Pope's private room, Sisifos stopped his work and walked around the sanctuary with Dieter. "You still remember that Sasha and the others settled in Italy, right? Pegasus sent back the Pegasus Cloth not long ago."

"He doesn't want his holy clothes anymore?" Dieter raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Or... did something else happen?"

"It's for other reasons - but if it's you, it would be more convenient to ask the person involved." Sisifus smiled, his eyes falling on the line where the sea and the sky meet, "You know - go to the Astrology Hill and ask her. You are probably the only one among us who can understand everything she says."

"No wonder none of you had any extra reactions - only Shion complained to me with tears and snot in the tavern today." Dieter pushed his glasses and turned to walk towards the astrology hill. "Even Regulus can see that although she is always threatening us, she is actually helping us avoid the bad route of the 'future'."

"Regulus... it's purely his intuition." Sisiphos sighed worriedly for his nephew, "He felt that she was not a threat from the first time he met her - even after sensing her microcosm that was consistent with Pluto's army, he still firmly believed that she was not a member of Pluto's army..."

"But facts prove that he is right." Dieter stopped and laughed, reminding Sisifors, "Remember to wake Shion up later - if you want to see him working with a grin tomorrow, just ignore him. I'll go to the Astrology Hill to find out the situation... and ask Shion a question by the way."

"Shion will have a problem with her too?"

“So I just asked.”

Over the years, the Fairy of Paradise has been almost welded to the Astrology Hill like a sculpture - she is always here gazing at the sky, day or night.

"Are you here to ask about the Pegasus Cloth?"

Dieter had just arrived at the Astrology Hill when he heard Lansemelo ask him this - the Paradise Fairy's gaze did not move, and remained in the sky as usual.

"No, I have already guessed the answer to that question - you just stripped the source of possible chaos away from the three of them, just like you stripped Hades' soul and Athena's divinity in the past." Dieter stood below Lansemero, "I came here to understand your next arrangements, and to ask questions on behalf of the Pope who was frightened by you."

"If he wasn't scared by me like Leo was, I would be troubled too." Lansemello stood up and turned to look at Dieter standing below. "Well, let's ask the question first - what does he want to know?"

"Why do humans... look up at the sky?" Dieter raised his head and repeated the question he had heard from Shiang - then he noticed the slight change in expression on Lansemero's face, as if he was stunned on the spot because this question triggered memories from long, long ago.

"Humans look up to the sky in order to one day - be able to defeat the gods." Lansemello stood on a high place, looking down at Dieter, and told the answer to this question in a tone like telling a story, "'Humans look up to the sky. A long, long time ago, they once saw gods in the sky, the 'sky'..."

——In the ancient times, the sky was sacred and unattainable.

——We humans who bid farewell to the gods unknowingly began to discover the unknown in the universe.

——No fear, no awe, just regard it as an object to be analyzed.

That's right, we, the "humans who bid farewell to the gods," will disintegrate you, the "gods," through our wise research.

In order to cross the sky one day, we will never stand still.

We look up to the sky—

——————One day, the gods will be overthrown.

"That's a very typical answer for you - he must not believe that you are a pure human being most of the time." Dieter crossed his arms and pushed his glasses. "I have to agree with Leo's judgment on this. You are indeed a 'human' - although your race is a fairy, which is a fantasy creature."

"I thought you would feel offended - after all, humans will overthrow all gods. They will not be let off just because they have protected humans, just like Tiamat, who created all life, was eventually killed by her own offspring." Lansemello lowered his eyes and looked at Dieter, walking to a distance where he could look at her. "Athena is certainly also within the range of being overthrown by humans."

"Of course I know - but I hope you remember the answer I gave in the trial of the first gate." Dieter sighed and gave his answer to Lansemelo, "I said it at the beginning - I believe that humans will eventually say goodbye to the gods, and they should say goodbye to the gods."

"Just as babies eventually grow up, bid farewell to their parents and rush towards a future that only they can control - humans will also bid farewell to the gods and move forward."

"Even though twenty-five years have passed, you still look the same as you did twenty-five years ago - this is the power of God." Lansermello continued to walk forward and invited Dieter, "Accompany me around the sanctuary. I can talk to you about something else - for example, the matter of Leo."

"After all, you know that after Sagittarius became the Pope's aide-de-camp, the young Leo was no different from being set free." Lansemero stopped and tilted his head. "But... do you really have no doubts about what I asked you to do? Especially after ten years without any results--"

"Your decisions are all necessary. I just need to execute them." Dieter closed his eyes and followed Lansemero out. "This is my personal experience. I hope you won't tell anyone else, especially the Pope. He just went to the tavern today and asked me to drink with him to complain about you."

"It sounds like you're complaining to me... Is that correct?"

"I am complaining to you. Of course, I personally think that drinking is a very bad behavior; especially when he is the Pope, drinking will have a worse effect."

As the two of them slowly strolled from the Astrology Hill to the beach, Dieter spoke first -

"You mentioned the example of Andromeda before. I inferred the reason for retrieving the Pegasus Cloth based on that conversation. Just as the people related to Andromeda can never escape the curse of fate, the characteristics of Pegasus may also be a curse. For example, the most obvious one is -"

"A soul that can kill gods." Lansemero turned his back to Dieter, his sight lost in the blue waves like cornflowers. "But the soul is hidden in the body. No one can tell at a glance what kind of power the soul has - we can only rely on external signs to make judgments."

"Just like the innocent fairies with the same face, who are hated by all beings with original sin, are the Paradise Fairies - those who hold the Pegasus Cloth can kill gods, but after losing these external signs... no one will be able to discover these special beings."