Chapter 136. I am Guilty
"Is this wisdom?"
"We were wrong."
"We understood too late."
The other Sages matched Azar's devastation. Clear as day—they'd understood something from Futsu Mitama's words.
Futsu Mitama frowned. Confused. What did those words even mean? He didn't get it.
He planned to ask Maha Rukkhadevata in the Chat Group.
Someone was faster.
[Paimon: "I don't quite get it, was there any meaning in those words just now? Why do the Great Sage and the other Sages look so distraught, as if those words contained some deep meaning?"]
[Klee: "Klee doesn't know either."]
[Kamisato Ayaka: "Hmm~ I only understand a little, which is that this passage seems to be related to what the Akademiya is currently doing."]
[Kuki Shinobu: "I only heard one thing, the future that the Sages anticipated was the result of desire."]
[Nahida: "Rather than desire, it's more like fear. The fear of five hundred years erupted in Azar."]
[Cyno: "Azar is not the wisest Great Sage, but everything he does has an 'aggressive' quality, a personality that won't stop until he achieves his goal. Furthermore, he is very arrogant, believing that he will absolutely succeed and that the future he anticipates will certainly come to pass."]
[Yae Miko: "Otherwise, why would he be the Great Sage? Previously in Sumeru, after Nahida was imprisoned, his voice in Sumeru and the Akademiya was the loudest, wasn't it? After his reputation and power reached their peak, he would naturally consider if he could go a step further."]
[Yae Miko: "And the previous Great Sages, they all chose a certain path in some matter. Before Dottore and the Fatui arrived, as the current Great Sage, he must have also considered similar questions. For example, if there were no Dendro Archon, what would happen to Sumeru's future? 'Wisdom' has stagnated, what should we do~"]
[Bosacius: "Feeling fear of an unknown future?"]
[Azhdaha: "It's a good thing we have Morax here in Liyue."]
[Guizhong: "Now there's me too! So, the future and all that~ no need to worry at all!"]
[Shenhe: "But Sumeru doesn't have the Archon, and they imprisoned Nahida."]
[Keqing: "Then Azar chose the wrong path and ended up in his current predicament. That question he asked just now, he clearly wanted to give himself an excuse, for example, that he chose the wrong path."]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Yes, that is one point. Looking at him, he should have understood what I said. It's a pity, if only he had understood this earlier."]
[Paimon: "Um~ could you explain it a bit more clearly? I still don't understand."]
[Klee: "Klee doesn't understand!!!"]
[Albedo: "Hmm, to put it in simpler terms, Azar, when faced with the God Creation Project and trusting Nahida, he prioritized the 'God Creation Project' more."]
[Albedo: "Even now, he himself still believes that the God Creation Project was not wrong. Because for five hundred years, the imprisoned Nahida did not bring any development to Sumeru, and those who knew of her existence only harbored fear."]
[Zhongli: "And the fearful Sages of successive generations could not trust Nahida. Without means to contend with an Archon, they could only imprison her. This fear was thus passed down, and coupled with the strong divergent thinking abilities of the Sumeru Scholars, they no longer treated Nahida as the Dendro Archon."]
[Raiden Makoto: "Azar's question was actually to give himself some psychological comfort, that Futsu Mitama would tell him that choosing Nahida would lead to a bright future. Then he will definitely be happy, because this is the typical 'face of a victor'. He is only the losing side, not a true loser."]
[Albedo: "But Maha Rukkhadevata's words were a fatal blow."]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: "The God Creation Project, driven by fear, is wrong. This project will ultimately bring no benefit to the people of Sumeru. On the contrary, many people died because of this project."]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: "Their eyes were blinded by fear and desire; they could no longer see anything clearly. They could only distinguish what was beneficial to 'themselves', not what was beneficial to 'Sumeru' and the 'Akademiya'."]
[Paimon: "Is that how it is? Ah! you guys thought of all that from just a few simple sentences?"]
[Klee: "So amazing!!! Although Klee still doesn't quite understand! But it just feels so amazing!"]
[Nahida: "It's okay. If possible, Klee can remain forever unaware. Just living happily like this is enough."]
[Klee: "Is this an adult's worry?"]
[Aila: "There should be more, otherwise Azar and the others wouldn't have such expressions."]
[Futsu Mitama: "I think so too."]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Yes, and one more thing is that the wisdom they pursue is actually right beside them. Whether it was the earliest Sages or me, we both experienced 'wisdom' through the little details of daily life."]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "So-called wisdom is not the result, but everything gained during the process of exploration. Therefore, even if the God Creation Project succeeded, Scaramouche would not be able to give them the 'wisdom' they desired. So this project was fundamentally doomed to fail from the start."]
[Nahida: "This is also why I want to shut down the Akasha System. Because of the existence of the Akasha System, most Scholars in the Akademiya have given up on the exploration aspect. They directly obtained the fruit, but this fruit does not truly belong to them."]
[Futsu Mitama: "I see. I understand."]
[Paimon: "I still don't understand."]
[Lumine: "Paimon, is your brain still not catching up? Simply put, do you clearly remember the little details of the things we experienced in Mondstadt and Liyue?"]
[Paimon: "Of course I remember them clearly!!! Lumine, you even considered the Archons as hypothetical enemies at first!"]
[Venti: "Oh?!"]
[Zhongli: "Hypothetical enemies, huh?"]
[Raiden Makoto: "Interesting~"]
[Raiden Ei: "That's normal, after all, the Lumine was attacked by 'that one'."]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Yes."]
[Nahida: "Pfft~~~"]
[Azhdaha: "Welcome to challenge Morax."]
[Lumine: "Cough, cough, so Paimon, do you understand now?"]
[Paimon: "Oh!! I know!!! It means Azar is like the Lumine, initially seeing the Archons as hypothetical enemies."]
[Paimon: "The difference is, the Lumine, through her journey, learned about what the Archons did, made many friends and companions, and even joined the Chat Group, etc. Because of these experiences, the Lumine understood that Archons are not necessarily enemies. But Azar is different; he didn't travel, he just kept stubbornly focusing on one point, which is why he made mistakes."]
[Paimon: "Hehe, is that right?"]
[Maha Rukkhadevata: "Mm~~~~ Yes~ That's right!"]
[Nahida: "Pfft, Paimon is so cute. But in a sense, you're not wrong. Because travel, isn't that part of growth? I also need to enter this stage."]
[Paimon: "Nahida, are you going to travel with us?!"]
[Nahida: "Perhaps~ But I can only travel after Sumeru settles down."]
[Nahida: "For now, let me bid farewell to Azar and the others."]
[Futsu Mitama: "I still have to escort them to the execution ground."]
Message sent.
Futsu Mitama looked at Azar and the others. Distraught. Finally understood why they had such expressions.
They weren't unintelligent. They must have understood Maha Rukkhadevata's words.
This was far more ruthless than simply defeating them.
Should it be said that she truly lived up to her title as the God of Wisdom?
Compared to Nahida's youthfulness, Maha Rukkhadevata was clearly more mature and experienced.
The distraught Azar and his group were escorted to the execution ground.
—
Executions were very rare in Sumeru. Almost non-existent. Most criminals here were Scholars.
Sounded absurd. Was the case.
Akasha System monitored all of Sumeru. Everyone generally avoided doing anything illegal or disorderly. Unless pushed to a desperate situation. Otherwise, at most, they would become Eremites in the wilderness.
Scholars knew how the Akasha System worked. Without fear, they had many ways to bypass it.
They also understood the general operational methods of the Thirty and the Matra. Chances of committing crimes were quite high.
Most Scholars were involved in illegal experiments. Later discovered by the Matra. Immediately arrested. Beginning their prison life.
Now, over a hundred people. All former high-ranking Akademiya officials. Facing death at once.
This was undoubtly a huge sensation.
Many people came to watch the execution,
Some hostile towards the Akademiya because of the God Creation Project.
Some who wanted to save Azar and the others.
Some who wanted to see a friend one last time.
But the vast majority were simply there to watch the spectacle. To express their anger as 'experimental subjects' unknowingly.
On the execution platform, Azar and his group were securely restrained by the Matra or members of the Thirty.
In the face of death, even those who had previously loudly protested, claiming Azar and the others were innocent and attempting to break them out, were now filled with fear.
Declaring they would never dare again! Pleading with the benevolent Lesser Lord Kusanali to spare them.
But the benevolent Lesser Lord Kusanali did not appear. She silently watched the execution from the shadows. She would personally carry out the executions of this group later.
An Archon can be benevolent.
But when necessary, they must also show a little divine deterrence.
Azar and his group were perfect targets to make an example of.
"Give me back my daughter!!!!! Give me back my daughter!!!!!"
"You damned Scholars!!! My son was only fourteen!!! His eleazar was under control!!!"
"My father just received treatment! He was fine! But he died in his bed the next day!!!! You all deserve to die!!!"
"Azar, go to hell!!! You don't deserve to be the Great Sage! You!!! You defiled the glory of Maha Rukkhadevata!!!"
"It's terrifying. I came to Sumeru City to travel, but I felt uncomfortable every day and couldn't find any reason. It turns out I was used as an experiment."
"I wondered why I felt uncomfortable all over those few days. So you, the Akademiya, were experimenting on me!!!"
"Don't even mention it. I woke up one morning and thought my wife had drained me dry in the middle of the night."
"But even so, wouldn't it be enough to just kill the Great Sage? The other Sages and Scholars are innocent, aren't they?"
"Yeah, wouldn't it be enough to just kill the mastermind? Killing so many people, wouldn't the Akademiya lose half its talent?"
"Hehehe, innocent? The entire Akademiya is rotten to the core. All they care about is knowledge and wisdom, but the things they do are inhuman. I can only say they deserve to die!"
"I think so too. These Sages and Scholars all deserve to die. From the moment they dared to experiment on us, they probably didn't even see us as human."
At the execution ground, the onlookers whispered among themselves. Some looked at Azar and the others with sympathy.
Some looked with hatred and hostility. But even more were gloating.
After all, everyone had witnessed what the Akademiya had done over the years.
Anyone who was unknowingly used as an 'experimental subject' would feel uneasy. Especially since the chances of people getting sick were extremely high during those days.
Many people even died from this sudden illness.
This did not exclude people with serious illnesses who naturally died on that day.
But this blame naturally fell on the Akademiya. Who told them to experiment on the entire population of Sumeru City?
"Silence!"
Cyno appeared. Shouted. Commanded silence from the crowd.
As the Mahamatra, Cyno, when serious, possessed an unimaginable authority.
His words immediately brought the chaotic scene to a halt. Everyone present turned their gaze to him.
"There are still Thirty minutes until the execution."
Cyno looked at Azar.
"During this time— Azar, do you have anything else you want to say?"
As the Great Sage of the Akademiya, Azar had the privilege of speaking before his death.
Of course, others also had that right. Because the dead are to be respected. No matter what crimes they committed, they still had a chance to speak before dying.
Futsu Mitama stood by.
Watching the spectacle.
He also saw Aila, Shenhe, Kuki Shinobu, Sangonomiya Kokomi, and others not far away.
Azar stepped forward.
Looked at Cyno.
At the eyes of the people below, filled with different emotions.
Sighed. Closed his eyes. Slowly spoke.
"I am guilty."