Step, step—
The horrific truth reached the boy even without words.
"..."
Step—
The atmosphere was heavy.
Words had grown scarce.
No one opened their mouth.
Step, step—
The further they ventured, the more conversation vanished into nothingness.
After the incident at the hot springs, Ilia remained silent as if focused solely on fulfilling her final duty.
Even my Patron Deity did not speak.
"..."
Step, step—
"""""..."""""
Clack, clack—
The silence pierced through us so sharply that I found myself wishing a monster would simply appear instead.
Furthermore...
Rumble—!!!
'It's shaking... and it's crying.'
Rumble, rumble—!!
'It's as if something deep inside... is screaming.'
It was difficult to breathe. A truly skin-crawling sensation... much like the monster I had seen in those ruins back then.
It felt as though a massive despair lay just ahead.
"We have arrived."
At that moment, Ilia's voice reached us.
"This is the innermost chamber of the [Candlestick]. Beyond this door lies the Altar of Truth."
"...I see. Open it."
With a calm demeanor, yet a face etched with guilt, Ilia opened the door.
"...!! Goddess, wait—"
Creak—!!!
And then, the door was opened.
The door to the horrific altar where the flames of deep, profound despair awaited.
"...What... is this...?"
Stunned by the sight before him, Bell squeezed out a question to Ilia.
"The [First Flame], the [Heavenly Flame]..."
"The one called the sacred fire bestowed by the Gods..."
It couldn't be. Because what Bell saw before his eyes right now was...
"This is...!"
The flame burning hideously before the boy, looking like molten lava, was—
"The [Hell's Cauldron]."
"...!!"
"I expected as much, but to think it was this severe... I see now why you summoned the Goddess of the Sacred Flame."
Hestia appeared unusually composed and calm.
"That aside, the [Candlestick]... quite a fitting name."
"This space is the core of Olympia. The divine domain itself was the [Pithos]."
She looked as though she had made a firm resolution.
"What are you saying, Goddess...? Why are you being so calm!?"
"If this is the corrupted flame... then the flames of Olympia we've seen until now are...!!"
Those beautifully burning flames were merely a fragment.
What stood before them was the true form of the fire—the corrupted flame.
"I shall answer the question you first asked, Bell."
Ssh—
"I have been prepared for this since the moment I heard the [First Flame] was corrupted."
In Hestia's eyes as she looked at Bell, there was a stoic resolve.
"Unlike the time it was kept in the perfect Heavens, the flame has been exposed to the impurities of the imperfect Lower World."
"...!?"
"After being corrupted for over three thousand years... this is now the incarnation of the Lower World's sorrow, hatred, and resentment."
"T-Three thousand years...!"
Through those vast eons, the flame had become corrupted. It was no longer something Prometheus could suppress alone.
"I am... so sorry...!"
"Do not apologize. This is not something the children of the Lower World could have handled."
Ilia's apology reached Hestia and Bell.
"It was all... unavoidable."
Whoosh—!!!!!!
"The flame is crying...? Is it about to overflow...!?"
The flames flickered violently, as if they would incinerate everything at any moment.
Dash—!!
"Great Vesta!"
Thud—!
"O Goddess! Please, look upon us lowly beings...!!"
"The nightmare of the fire demon! If the box is opened, it won't end with just Olympia this time...!!"
""So please!!""
The priestesses knelt and prayed.
They prayed for the Goddess of the Sacred Flame to descend and quell the disaster before them.
""Grant us a divine miracle! Bring the great [Aedes Vesta] here!!""
What exactly were they talking about?
"Lift your heads... I have come here for that very purpose."
It was a scene that would soon reveal itself to be a cold, heartbreaking sight.
Dash—!!!
"Dammit...!! Dammit all...!!!!"
Why hadn't I realized it?
Because it was Hestia? Because I thought she lacked the power to sacrifice anything?
"This was my mistake...!!"
Grip—!!!!
'I have to stop it... I have to stop it no matter what...!!!!!'
Was it because my brother was by Hestia's side?
Because I thought that even without me, he had grown enough to accomplish something?
No, even when I myself wasn't invited as a guest.
Grip—!!!
'I was just shifting the burden....'
Fury toward himself surged within.
He continued to run like a madman toward the place where Bell and Hestia were.
Dash—!!
"Akumo-san...!!!"
"Akumo!! What in the world are you...!"
Dash—!!!
The party following him felt that something had gone terribly wrong from the trembling in his eyes and ran alongside him.
"This is not your story, children...."
Smile—!
"This is the Gods... cleaning up their mess."
To hope for a miracle like the one at Elsos...
'Would be greed, after all.'
As Hestia's farewell reached the boy, a fierce fire swallowed her whole.
"Has it begun...."
Grip—!
"Hestia."
The man in black finally began to move.
Rumble—!!!!!!!
"""""!?"""""
Finally, the flame awakened, and a pillar of fire rose to illuminate all of Olympia.
Whoosh—!!!
"T-This vibration is...!?"
"The [Flame] has awakened....!"
And then, even the illusion that had enveloped the city vanished, revealing the true form of the [Ashen Ruins].
"...Dammit."
It was the herald of despair, signaling that it was already too late to stop the flame.
Rumble—!!!!!!!!
"Ugh....!!?"
Simultaneously, a shockwave carrying immense heat swept across the continent, reaching Hermes and Asphi standing on the cliff.
"....T-That shock just now? What on earth happened...!?"
Greatly flustered by the impact, Asphi looked at Hermes, her eyes demanding an explanation for the current situation.
"....It'll be faster to just look at that."
"...!?"
Hermes merely pointed toward the pillar of fire rising from the Great Temple—a light so blinding it could sear the eyes—and the completely transformed appearance of [Olympia].
"It is the [Fire Demon]."
A shocking landscape radiating overwhelming heat.
Aphrodite knew well what kind of distorted and fallen end that flame represented.
"The disaster that destroyed Olympia has begun again."
"Even the barrier that the Heavenly Flame recreated based on the memories of the earth... could no longer hold."
The gates of the underworld had opened.
The flames of the abyss, burning fiercely enough to blow everything away.
"...!?"
At those words, Asphi finally realized the gravity of the situation that required the Gods to step in.
"....But it's barely being held back. If it were the original [Fire Demon], we would have been blown away as well."
"Indeed.... Hestia prevented the worst-case scenario. That pillar is proof that she has donned the [Heavenly Flame]."
Simultaneously, Hestia's name was mentioned by the Goddesses.
Yet, for some reason, an uneasy feeling began to grow in Asphi's heart at their words.
"Hestia-sama...? What do you mean? Please explain so I can understand...!!"
"..."
"Wasn't Hestia-sama here to purify the flame!?"
The assumption forming in Asphi's mind was by no means a pleasant one.
"That [Purification] is what you see there. She dons the [Heavenly Flame] and seals it by burning herself."
"...!!"
"That is how much the Heavenly Flame was corrupted.... If its nature is the same as [Arkanum], then even if we used our power at the risk of being sent back, it would be meaningless."
"Does that mean....?"
To the girl with trembling eyes, the Goddess of the Forge could only reply bitterly.
"It cannot be offset without the sacrifice of the Goddess who presides over the [Sacred Flame]."
Gods are [Omniscient].
From the very beginning, they knew.
From the moment Olympia's envoy arrived in Orario, all the Gods knew.
Especially regarding that incident where the Heavenly Thunder and the Heavenly Flame clashed.
"....Hermes-sama!!!"
The girl's cry was directed at her Patron Deity, but the God of Adventure's words were already decided.
"It can't be helped. This was decided long before three thousand years ago.... It is the karma of the Gods."
That day, the day the Heavenly Thunder and the Heavenly Flame collided for their respective purposes.
The Gods could all realize then.
The conclusion of a God—a power too immense—intervening in the Lower World... and how that affected humanity.
"Prometheus is the very definition of a [Failure Case]."
With the power of a God, one could never kill a [God's Nemesis].
The reason why the attempt of the Great Hero Epimetheus, chosen by a God, ended in failure was, paradoxically, because he was chosen by a God.
"The [Flame] left neglected and meaningless became corrupted in the lands of the Lower World."
"The great power of the Heavens ultimately only served to greatly distort the Lower World."
That is why Divine Power was designated as a taboo that must never be used.
It could destroy the Lower World, but it could never save it.
"....But!!"
However, Asphi strongly denied that fact. No, she had no choice but to deny it.
—'"Divine Artifact" [Artemis's Dagger].'
"Then at that time... Akumo-san..."
The brilliant moonlight dagger she had seen that day.
That was clearly the power of a God. Yet, it had overwhelmed and cut down the God's Nemesis.
"....Asphi. You are still so innocent, aren't you?"
"Pardon...?"
"Indeed, Akumo-kun used the power of a God to defeat [Antares]. However..."
The Gods knew that as well. That is why they could see through to its core.
Crack—! Crackle—!
The hero who was more brilliant than any other, whom they thought would shine forever.
He, too, was a human. Even the hero they thought could solve any incident and save everyone.
"He needs rest."
After that day's battle, his body was like shards of breaking glass.
A precarious situation where a single massive impact could shatter him completely.
Of course, he did not regret it in the slightest... but regardless of that, it was the price he had to pay as a 'human' who hungered for power.
"Entrusting everything to that child is something I cannot allow—not as a God... but as a being who loves you all."
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