Chapter 124 Lefiya: Shirou, I like you, even if it means being the mistress, it's okay!
Thanatos' words stirred a storm at the scene; everyone present was struck speechless by his speculation that "Ouranos is the true source of evil." However, after the initial shock, the Loki clan naturally grew suspicious.
"Your words may sound somewhat reasonable, but there are still many inconsistencies," Riveria countered. "First, all your statements are merely conjecture. There is no evidence to prove your theory that Ouranos is the root cause of the curse on the souls of monsters, nor is there proof that the celestial god Ouranos saved Genkai with righteous intent.
Second, Thanatos, haven't you noticed two contradictions in your words?
First, if Ouranos chose Genkai to seize the power of the earth, why would he cause all the gods to descend there? Wouldn't it be simpler if he just secretly intercepted and stole the earth's power alone?
Second, you believe Orario is the exit Ouranos deliberately left to intercept the earth's power, but you forgot about the three great calamities in the world: the [Land King] Behemoth, the [Sea Overlord] Leviathan, and the [Sky King] the One-eyed Dragon.
So far, only the one-eyed black dragon still survives in the dungeon.
Because of this, Orario has become the hardest dungeon to conquer. These calamities aren't something Ouranos could control, right?"
Riveria quickly identified the loopholes in Thanatos' argument with just a brief analysis, demonstrating her unquestionable ability as the vice-captain of the Loki clan.
Even if Captain Finn were here, he probably couldn't offer a more reasonable denial than Riveria did.
Thanatos, however, seemed prepared for these doubts and calmly replied: "Regarding the first question, why Ouranos caused all the gods to descend to Genkai—I think it's because Ouranos doesn't have the ability to collect the power of the earth by himself.
Even though he's a mighty god, he faces huge limitations in Genkai.
He cannot freely use divine power there; he is restrained by the dungeon."
"Restrained by the dungeon?"
Upon hearing this newly introduced term, everyone showed confusion.
Thanatos calmly explained: "Do you think gods can't freely use divine power in Genkai simply because the gods made rules among themselves?
With just one rule, how could all gods be bound from using divine power?
Surely some gods would break the rule and secretly use divine power.
After all, every rule has loopholes—unless breaking the rules results in unprecedented punishment."
"Are you saying the reason divine power can't be used in Genkai is because of punishment from the dungeon?"
Everyone was stunned.
Thanatos continued calmly: "You've heard of the term 'God Assassins,' right?"
"Yes, those are monsters that appear in dungeons and hunt down gods who abuse their divine power," Riveria quietly nodded.
"In fact, God Assassins don't only appear in dungeons. If any god uses divine power arbitrarily in Genkai, God Assassins will also appear. I suspect that the legendary three great calamities were born after some god abused divine power," Thanatos slowly said.
"You mean... the three great calamities were born from Ouranos using divine power?"
Shirou slowly looked at Thanatos.
His expression was probably the calmest at the scene. Even mocking the celestial god Ouranos didn't seem to trouble him.
"I don't know," Thanatos shook his head. "After being forbidden by Ouranos from researching, I haven't been able to easily investigate related matters. I can only survive here, hiding in this artificial labyrinth."
"Artificial labyrinth?"
Hearing Thanatos' words, Shirou couldn't help but ask, "By the way, you haven't explained the existence of this artificial labyrinth yet. Why was this place built? Such a huge structure must exist for a certain purpose, right?"
"The origin of the artificial labyrinth comes from the curse placed on the Daedalus clan," Thanatos quietly said. "The first ancestor of the Daedalus once built the Babel Tower—a cover that blankets the dungeon—for Ouranos. It was Daedalus' most satisfying masterpiece, but it also brought a lifelong curse."
"A curse?"
"Yes. I don't know if it was because of building the Babel Tower or if someone did it intentionally, but the Daedalus ancestor was cursed.
A directive to build artificial labyrinths was implanted in his bloodline. Since then, all his descendants and kin went mad, spending their lives obsessively building artificial labyrinths. His clan spent thousands of years building this artificial labyrinth, Knossos, but that was only a part of it."
"Bloodline curse... implanted directive..."
"Heh, sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Thanatos smiled at Shirou. "It's almost the same as the instructions given to all monsters in the dungeon. That's when I started to suspect Ouranos even more, since the Daedalus ancestor was originally a follower of Ouranos."
"..."
Listening to Thanatos' story, Shirou couldn't deny that there was some truth in what he said.
Although Shirou could clearly feel that Thanatos didn't reveal the whole truth—he was hiding part of it—at least from what he said, it was basically certain that the celestial god Ouranos had some purpose.
He might not be "the source of all evil," but he was definitely far from being "a righteous hero who saved the world."
In fact, Shirou never truly believed there was an existence in this world that sacrificed everything purely for justice.
If such an existence truly existed, it would be a gathering of pure hypocrisy.
Because justice needs to be realized by people, not by a machine designed solely for justice.
Once, Emiya Shirou himself was such a "machine born purely for justice," so he deeply understood what hypocrisy truly meant.
"About the Xenos, Thanatos, how much do you know?" Shirou took the initiative to ask, changing the topic completely.
"I don't know much. That's Ouranos' doing. I only provided the earliest research materials related to the Xenos," Thanatos quietly said. "In my eyes, they're just a group of monsters fused with human souls. Nothing special beyond that."
"What about the Corrupt Spirits?" Shirou asked another distant question. "Why do the Corrupt Spiritsexist? What's their purpose?"
"Spirits are embodiments of divine power. They were sent to Genkai by Ouranos long ago to help humans fight the dungeon," Thanatos quietly said. "But a thousand years ago, the Spirits suddenly disappeared as a whole.
Many people didn't know where they went, but I know at least six Spirits chose to plunge deep into the dungeon to seal the calamities. Over time, their will merged with the dungeon, becoming today's Corrupt Spirits."
"To seal the calamities?"
"This matter, I believe the Spirit descendant lady here should know well enough."
Thanatos glanced at Ais nearby.
Ais did not respond. Since Thanatos started revealing the truth about Orario, she had fallen into a long silence.
Shirou glanced at Ais and confirmed that Thanatos was not lying, so he said, "Then what is the current purpose of the Corrupt Spirits? Why do they create those avatars?"
Shirou glanced at the Heavenly Bull not far away.
"The avatars of the Corrupt Spirits are Enyo's plan.
For the details, you'd better ask that evil god yourself. But as I said, Enyo is the true evil god. His purpose is purely to bring death and chaos, so creating the Corrupt Spirits' avatars probably isn't anything good."
"I understand..."
After learning the rest from Thanatos, Shirou stopped asking questions.
He turned to Thanatos and slowly said, "If what you say is true, that means Enyo and Ouranos are the real enemies, right?"
"Emiya, do you really believe him?"
Riveria and the others looked at Shirou in surprise. Most of them, as natives of this world, had no doubts about the great celestial god Ouranos and would never question Ouranos' divinity.
But Shirou was different.
He calmly said, "I don't believe Thanatos, but I won't believe Ouranos either. Now that there's a possibility of another truth, I'll find ways to gather evidence. After clarifying everything, I'll make my own judgment."
"..."
Shirou's rational words silenced the Loki clan members. After a moment of thought, they had to admit Shirou's idea was correct.
Thanatos smiled and said, "You really are an interesting being, Emiya Shirou. If that's the case, I might be able to lend you a hand in this matter."
"Are you proposing an alliance?"
Shirou looked at Thanatos.
"Something like that," the dignified Grim Reaper nodded silently. "After you won the God Game, I owe you anyway.
Whatever you want to do with me, I won't object, including letting me return to Tenkai. Of course, I can't return to Tenkai now. Even if you kill me, I will only resurrect after a long time."
"I see. Then I accept your alliance."
Shirou nodded in agreement with Thanatos' words.
The Loki Familia members at the scene didn't know what to say about his choice.
If it weren't for all the experiences they had shared on this journey, which had led them to recognize and trust Shirou, they probably would have already considered him a madman consorting with an evil god.
Shirou sensed the attitude of the Loki Familia members and quietly spoke, "I don't expect you to make the same choice as me, nor do I intend to drag the Loki Familia into this matter, but I hope that from today on, you will forget everything that happened here, especially making sure none of it reaches Ouranos' ears."
"Understood..." After a moment of silence, Riveria nodded on behalf of everyone. As the vice-captain of the Familia, her attitude naturally set the tone for the others.
The reason for this was likely because they had also begun to harbor doubts and suspicions toward the god Ouranos. Although it was only a seed of doubt, it had indeed caused a change in their hearts.
"You really are special, Emiya Shirou." Thanatos looked at Shirou with renewed admiration, "Whether it's the power of the dark faction or the order faction, you treat both equally.
At the same time, you possess the ability to gain the trust of both sides.
Such a unique ability — until now, I have only seen it in you.
Maybe that's why you can keep creating miracles one after another."
"No need to flatter me." Shirou shook his head. "I only hope you keep your promise to me and don't act behind my back."
"Hehe, if you want a completely obedient subordinate, I'm probably not the one for you, after all, I have my own goals." Thanatos shook his head. "However, when it comes to seeking the truth and opposing Ouranos, I will definitely be your ally."
"That's enough." Shirou didn't expect the death god to have no hidden agendas. Like he said, as long as the death god cooperates to some extent, that's good enough.
"What information do you have about the evil god Enyo?" Shirou asked.
"Unlike me, Enyo seems to have many identities. He's very good at disguise, so no one really knows his true identity." Thanatos shook his head. "That masked person just now was one of Enyo's subordinates. Enyo also used her to contact me."
"If the masked person or Enyo contacts you again, notify me immediately."
"Of course." Thanatos seemed to bear no psychological burden about betraying Enyo. "But losing to you has already been reported to Enyo through the masked person. So, Enyo probably knows about my betrayal and will most likely avoid contacting me from now on."
"Do your best." Shirou nodded.
Next, they discussed the details of their alliance, including how to keep in contact.
After finishing the meeting with Thanatos, Shirou began the journey back with the Loki Familia members.
During the return, everyone remained very silent. Even for the Loki Familia, cooperating with a "death god" like Thanatos, an evil god, was hard to accept.
But Shirou didn't mind because he believed Loki, as one of the maingod of the order faction, would give him a satisfactory answer on this matter.
After all, Loki truly cared about Genkai and was the only ally Shirou trusted, so he didn't doubt Loki would make the right judgment.
However, Shirou also didn't intend to use the power of the Loki Familia.
Because the Loki Familia was too close to the stage and under Ouranos' watchful eyes, any of their actions would be noticed by Ouranos. It was best not to involve them in this matter.
Leaving the artificial labyrinth and returning to the surface, everyone felt as if they had stepped into another world.
After battling with Thanatos' Familia and learning the "truth" about the labyrinth city Orario, the Loki Familia members were numb and soon returned to report and rest.
Shirou originally planned to return to the Hestia Familia and sort out his next steps.
But unexpectedly, when he prepared to leave, he found that Lefiya had stayed behind for some unknown reason.
"You're not returning to the Familia yet?" Shirou asked, confused.
"Hmm, but I plan to return later." Lefiya seemed determined, her expression stiff. "Um, I want to apologize to you first, Shirou."
"Apologize?" Shirou looked at the girl puzzled, not understanding why she wanted to apologize.
Lefiya spoke candidly, "That day before entering the artificial labyrinth, because of that child's appearance, I said many unpleasant things about you."
"That child? You mean Wiene?"
"Yeah." Lefiya nodded silently. "When I found out she was your daughter, I had many bad thoughts
and even resented you. Now thinking back, what I did was very selfish. Even if you had a child, that wouldn't be a problem because that's your freedom."
"..." Although Shirou knew Wiene wasn't really his daughter, he didn't understand why Lefiya brought this up now. So he chose not to explain yet and waited for her to continue.
Lefiya fidgeted for a while, as if struggling with her feelings, but eventually made up her mind.
The orange-haired elf girl looked firmly at Shirou, took a deep breath, and said: "I was too selfish then, only thinking from my own perspective. So after entering the artificial labyrinth, I have been reflecting on my mistake."
"Oh." Hearing Lefiya claim to have reflected, Shirou didn't think she really needed to, but still acknowledged it. If the girl could grow from this, it would be a good thing.
However, what Shirou didn't expect was that after reflecting, Lefiya took a deep breath and loudly declared:
"I understand my mistake now.
I actually denied your character and my feelings for you just because you might have started a family and had a child.
I was so naive and foolish! The current Lefiya Viridis deeply realizes her mistake, so I've decided to tell you my feelings no matter what!"
"Uh, tell your feelings? Could it be, Lefiya, you? Wait!" Shirou finally realized something was wrong.
But it was already too late to stop her.
The elf girl blushed deeply and said: "I like you, Shirou! This feeling is definitely not false. Even if you already have a family and children, my feelings won't change. So, even if it means I have to be the 'mistress,' I don't mind!"
"..." Lefiya's overly bold confession stunned Shirou's mind. He didn't know what to say for a moment, his brain completely blank.
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