Chapter 525

"Sir Leo. Please take a look at this. This is a statue of Sir Kyle holding a sword that I carved by hand myself. After the Age of Calamity ended, I have carefully carved one statue of your Greatness every year! This one depicts you casting magic! And this one over here shows you using summoning…"

The god took a statue of Kyle displayed on one side of the bookshelf and showed it to Leo.

Leo picked up the red statue of Kyle holding a sword and striking a pose. The jewel-carved statue was so lifelike it seemed as if it might start moving at any moment.

A smile curled at the corners of his lips that Luna would have called an infuriating grin.

"This is the smile Sir Kyle wore as he annihilated his enemies! A charismatic smile that looks down upon all of creation! Aah! Would you grant me the honor of witnessing that smile in person? Kyaa! Kyaa!" The god let out small shrieks from the side.

Leo's face twisted in disgust, and without hesitation, he threw the statue in his hand to the ground.

Clatter…!

"My masterpiece!" The god let out a shrill scream and crawled over, clutching the scattered fragments with teary, chicken-dropping-like eyes.

Despairing, the god suddenly lifted their head and shouted, "Yes! Destruction is the beginning of something new! This destruction signifies that Sir Kyle has reincarnated as Sir Leo! Even these fragments hold meaning!"

Crunch! Crack! Grind!—

Leo stomped on the fragments, grinding them into powder against the floor and turning the new beginning into dust.

The god knelt again, placed their hands on the ground, and despaired.

Leo coldly said, "I already knew gods had too much time on their hands, but why the hell are you making things like this?"

"I work more efficiently when I make these."

"Work?"

"Ahem! Right, I haven't properly introduced myself." The god stood up, looked at Leo, and bowed politely. "My name is Rian. I am the librarian and keeper of the Hero Record."

"Librarian and keeper? You have authority over the Hero Record?"

"To be precise, I have proxy authority. After all, this record system belongs to you… No, to be exact, it belongs to the Great Heroes."

"I see. So that's why Luna was able to record Lunia in the Hero Record?"

"Luna? Luna Luminance has reincarnated into the present world?" Rian's eyes widened in surprise. Excitement, impossible to contain, flickered within them.

"She briefly stayed in this world as a spirit not long ago."

"Ah." Rian let out a sigh of disappointment. "Judging by your words, though, it seems you already knew that the Hero Record belongs to you."

"I met Pivua in a Hero World before."

"Pivua? I see." Rian nodded in understanding.

"By the way, wasn't it impossible for gods to remain in the mortal realm after what happened 5000 years ago?" Leo asked.

"Yes, gods can no longer descend to the mortal realm."

"Then how are you here? If you've been managing the Hero Record, that means you've been on the surface for 5000 years, doesn't it?"

"Yes, the reason I can exist on the surface is thanks to the Hero Record."

"Thanks to the Hero Record?"

"Yes. To explain that, I'll need to first explain how the Hero Record came into existence."

Rian lightly clapped his hands, and out of nowhere, a table and chairs appeared.

For an ordinary mage, the phenomenon just now would have been shocking, as it wasn't simply summoning a table and chairs from a subspace, but Creation from nothing. There was no interference with the laws of space, nor were they distorted—rather, the very laws themselves had been changed.

This was a feat impossible to achieve through magic, but Leo remained indifferent.

Ultimately, even this idiot is an omnipotent god.

Of course, gods couldn't fully utilize that omnipotence on the surface.

Their role was that of managers, or more accurately, observers. Their "management" was merely ensuring that the world did not collapse, or in other words, suppressing Erebos.

Beyond that, they were restricted from exerting their power on the surface.

Thus, gods were omnipotent yet powerless. Moreover, having lived for an eternity, their desire to indulge in their whims was exceptionally strong.

That was why Luna distrusted gods.

Pivua was one of the rare exceptions.

Leo glanced at Rian.

This god is crazy too, but at least it's a mild kind of crazy. If I had to categorize him, he'd be a benevolent god.

A benevolent god was a term referring to a god that was considered good.

Of course, that didn't mean other gods actively harmed the world. At most, they just caused trouble on the surface and played pranks.

Well, their scale is so large that their pranks can be absolutely insane.

Some, however, were outright deranged. Just looking at some of the heroes recorded in the Hero Record was proof enough of that.

Compared to those gods, Rian was relatively sane.

"A very, very long time ago, there existed the Primeval Monstrosity and the five Great Heroes," Rian began, placing five small figurines of the Great Heroes on the fingers of his left hand and an Erebos figurine on his right. "The monstrosity roared. Raaawr!"

"……"

Starting a puppet show, Rian put on a completely serious expression and began acting out a clumsy, poorly executed performance.

Leo muttered inwardly. Correction: This one's completely lost his marbles.

"However, the monstrosity was defeated by the Great Heroes." Rian skillfully moved his left-hand fingers, making the Great Hero figurines pummel the Erebos figurine.

"How long do I have to watch this ridiculous play?"

"Just a little longer, please. This is my favorite scene."

Still wielding the Great Hero figurines, Rian continued to ruthlessly beat down the Erebos figurine. Then, finally, with his left hand, he tore the Erebos figurine apart, ripping it to shreds before flinging it into the air.

Black cloth scraps fluttered upward before plummeting back down.

"Isn't it amazing?"

Leo looked at the fanatic, whose eyes sparkled expectantly, and answered reluctantly, "Yeah."

"Aaah~" Rian cupped his cheeks with both hands, savoring the moment before quickly switching back to a serious expression. "And so, peace came to the world. To eternally praise the Great Heroes for accomplishing an impossible feat, and to prepare for the not-yet-fully-ended return of the monstrosity, the gods decided to create a record system that was completely different from before."

"A record system completely different from before?"

"Yes." Rian spread his arms wide. "The Akashic Record is a record system that documents the world itself. It was completed by all the gods who returned to the divine realm, pooling their omnipotence. This library is the Akashic Record itself. A copy of this library also exists in the divine realm."

"What exactly do you mean by recording the world?" Leo asked doubtfully.

Rian smiled. "It means that we record everything that has happened in the world since 5000 years ago. From the tiniest movements of insects in a specific location to the exact way the mountain winds blew there… A massive accumulation of information, even beyond what the gods could handle. Long ago, the creator who entrusted us with managing the world… Even they, whom we've never met, likely never imagined such a thing would be created."

"I get that it's impressive, but why make such a system?"

"Because what the gods sought to create was the world itself."

"The world itself?"

"Yes. Though limited, we wished to create a world. Though fragmented, to touch upon the authority of creation." Rian closed his eyes and smiled in delight. "To recreate past events in the present as though they were real."

Leo's expression darkened. "The Hero World."

"That's right! Everything was groundwork for the creation of the Hero Record. The Akashic Record serves as the fundamental base system that makes up the Hero Record." Rian placed his hand over his chest. "From among those recorded in the Akashic Record, individuals worthy of being called heroes were selected and recorded in the Hero Record. It allowed the children of the present to follow the past and inherit the powers of the previous heroes, but the Hero Record required a selection process, and there was no one with the authority to record in it. Moreover, a source of power was needed to construct the Hero Record itself."

"And that source was you?"

"Yes. I am both the librarian of the Hero Record and a part of the Hero Record itself."

"So, you sacrificed yourself? Even as a god, was it worth sacrificing your own existence to become part of the Hero Record?"

"For other gods, no. I was the only one who volunteered."

"Why?"

"……" Rian opened his gray eyes and looked up at Kyle. "I hated gray. It's the color of ash, burnt out and useless."

Rian fidgeted with his own hair. "And so, I hated you too. No… more precisely, I mocked you. First of all, I hated that you had gray hair and gray eyes. Second, I found you utterly meaningless… as someone who didn't want anything yet still refused to die. That's why, during the Age of Calamity, I was convinced the world was doomed. The other gods likely thought the same.., but I was one of those who laughed at it. And yet, despite giving up on everything, I still despised the thought of vanishing."

Leo nodded. The end of the world meant the end of the gods as well.

"But you never gave up in the end. You saved the world. Therefore, I had no choice but to revere you." Rian smiled faintly. "And so, I wanted your will to be passed down through the ages. Since I had already given up on everything, I had no reason to regret offering myself."

"You speak too highly of me. Anyone with power like mine would have done what I did."

Rian shook his head and stared straight at Leo with his gray eyes. "Do not belittle the feat that even omniscient gods deemed impossible. Do not belittle the faith of the comrades who believed in you until the very end. It was only possible because it was you. That is an absolute and unchanging truth."

"……" Leo scratched his cheek.

A god is still a god, huh.

Thinking that he really couldn't take them lightly, Leo asked, "Did you know about my existence from the moment I reincarnated?"

"No. That damned monstrosity damaged the Akashic Record to the point where it's been malfunctioning. To make things worse, since the Akashic Record is so vast, even the gods don't have a complete grasp of all the records."

Rian shook his head. "Besides, they're all too obsessed with recording their preferred heroes in the Hero Record. That's why the discovery was delayed."

"Aren't you the one recording the Hero Record?"

"Yes, but I can't track every hero myself, so the gods hold regular meetings to decide which heroes will be recorded, but as Sir Leo knows, the gods are a bunch of worthless degenerates." Rian scowled in frustration. "As a result of those meetings, even those who aren't worthy of being heroes have been recorded."

"Why did you send the puppet of the Heroes of Dawn out into the world?"

"Ah, that was because, after recognizing Sir Leo's existence, I opened this Hero Dungeon to bring you to this place.., but the monstrosity caused a rampage, and the dolls created by my power ended up escaping into the present world."

"You really are omnipotent yet incompetent."

"Aah!"

"Why are you happy about that? It wasn't a compliment."

"If it's coming from Sir Leo, I would gladly accept even insults. No, if you would grace me with your spit—no, holy water—I would receive it with utmost joy!"

"……"

"Sir Leo! This hair! After I began worshiping you, I pulled out every single strand of my original hair and implanted new ones! My eyes, too! I plucked them out and replaced them anew! Aah! Now that I have red eyes, I should pluck one out too! Which one should I remove? Left? Right?"

He's just outright loony.

Any goodwill Leo had started to feel toward Rian plummeted straight to the ground again.

Clicking his tongue, Leo said, "If you've been keeping records in the Hero Record, I have something to ask you."

"Yes. Please command me."

"Velkia and Bihar."

"So, you know about them." Rian let out a sigh of regret. "You may find it troubling to hear…"

"Correcting their disciple's mistakes and bringing them back to the right path is a master's duty."

"Then…" Rian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I will first tell you why the Fairy Knight ended up the way she did."