Book 1 Chapter 525

"Leo-nim. Please look at this. This is a statue of Kyle-nim, holding a sword that I carved by hand. One every year, with great care, since the Age of Cataclysm ended! I've been carving Kyle-nim's statue with devotion every year. This one is Kyle-nim using magic! This one is using summoning…"

Shin brought a statue displayed on a bookshelf and showed it to Kyle.

The statue, carved from gemstones, was so lifelike it seemed ready to move at any moment.

Leo picked up a red statue of Kyle, striking a pose with a sword.

A smile curving his lips.

It was what Luna would call a 'smug smile.'

"That's the smile Kyle-nim used when he annihilated his enemies! A charismatic smile that seemed to look down on everything in the world! Ah! Could you grant me the opportunity to witness that smile as well?"

Squeak-! Squeak-! Shin let out small screams from the side.

At that reaction, Leo's face contorted, and he unhesitatingly threw the statue in his hand to the floor.

Clang-!

"My artwork!"

Shin, shrieking, crawled on all fours, clutching the scattered fragments and welling up with tears like chicken droppings.

Despairing, Shin suddenly lifted his head and shouted.

"Yes! Destruction is a new beginning! The destruction now signifies that Kyle-nim has reincarnated as Leo-nim! These fragments themselves have meaning!"

Crunch! Grrrr! Grrrr-

Leo stomped on the fragments, grinding them into dust on the floor.

The new beginning had turned to dust.

Watching Shin despair on his knees, hands on the floor, Leo spoke coldly.

"I know you gods have nothing better to do, but why in the world would you make something like this?"

"Working while making this increases my efficiency."

"Work?"

"My apologies for not introducing myself sooner."

Shin, rising from his seat, looked at Leo and bowed politely.

"My name is Rian. I am responsible for the Hero Records as its librarian and recorder."

"Librarian and recorder? Does that mean you have authority over the Hero Records?"

"Technically, acting authority. This record system belongs to you… ah, more precisely, to the Great Heroes."

"I see, so that's why Luna was able to record Lunia in the Hero Records?"

"Luna? Has Luna Luminance also reincarnated in the current world?"

Rian's eyes widened.

Uncontrollable excitement flickered in his gaze.

"She was in the current world briefly as a spirit not long ago."

"Ah."

Rian let out a sigh of regret.

"Judging by your reaction, it seems you know that the owner of the Hero Records is you."

"I met Fivah in the Hero's World once."

"Fivah? Indeed."

Rian nodded as if understanding.

Seeing Rian like that, Leo asked.

"By the way, after the events 5000 years ago, weren't gods no longer allowed to remain on the surface?"

"Yes, gods can no longer come to the surface."

"Then how are you here? If you've been managing the Hero Records, you've been on the surface for 5000 years."

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

"Thanks to the Hero Records?"

"Yes. To explain why, I first need to explain how the Hero Records came into being."

Rian clapped his hands lightly.

Suddenly, a chair and a table appeared with a 'pop!'

A normal mage might have been astonished by the phenomenon.

It wasn't simply summoning a chair and a table through spatial distortion.

It was as if they had always been there.

It didn't manipulate or twist the laws of space; it changed them.

A phenomenon that magic could never achieve.

But Leo was unfazed.

'This guy is an omnipotent god.'

Of course, gods cannot properly use that omnipotence on the surface.

Gods' role is, at best, that of administrators, or more precisely, observers.

Administration involves maintaining the world so it doesn't collapse.

In other words, suppressing Erebus.

Beyond that, their power is limited on the surface.

Thus, gods are omnipotent yet incompetent.

Furthermore, having lived for eons, their desire to simply fulfill their own desires is strong.

This was why Luna distrusted gods.

'Good gods like Fivah are very rare.'

Leo glanced at Rian.

'This god is also mad, but seems to be mad in a slightly gentler way. If I had to categorize him, he'd be a good god.'

Good god.

It means a benevolent god.

Of course, other gods don't necessarily harm the world.

At best, they stir up trouble and play pranks on the surface.

'Well, their scale is so grand that it's troublesome when they go mad.'

There are also those who go mad in truly terrible ways.

Just looking at the heroes recorded in the Hero Records is proof of that.

Though they seem insane, Leo knew that Rian was a relatively well-behaved god.

"A very, very long time ago. There was the primordial monster and the five Great Heroes."

Rian wore dolls representing the Great Heroes on his left fingertips and a doll of Erebus on his right.

"The monster roared. Kyaaaoo!"

"…"

Rian, who had started a puppet show, began a clumsy performance with a completely serious face.

Watching him, Leo muttered inwardly.

'Correction, he seems quite terribly mad.'

"But the monster was defeated by the Great Heroes."

Rian moved his left fingers fluidly, striking the doll on his right hand.

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

"Please wait a moment, this is my favorite scene."

Rian, who had been relentlessly striking the Erebus doll with the Great Hero dolls on his left fingers, then violently tore the Erebus doll apart and threw it into the air.

Pieces of black cloth soared into the sky and then fell.

"Cool, right?"

Seeing the fanatic asking with sparkling eyes, Leo replied drily.

"Yeah."

"Aww~"

Rian, cupping his cheeks with both hands and showing a moment of joy, changed his expression and said.

"Thus, peace came to the world. In order for the gods to eternally praise the achievements of the Great Heroes who accomplished the impossible, and to prepare for the potential return of the monster, which was not yet completely over, they decided to create a record system entirely different from the existing one."

"A record system entirely different from the existing one?"

"Yes."

Rian spread his arms.

"Akasha Records. A record system that records the world itself. It is a system completed by all the gods who returned to the divine realm, pooling their omnipotence. This library is the Akasha Records themselves. There is a copy of this library in the divine realm as well."

"What exactly does it mean to record the world?"

Seeing Leo express his doubt, Rian smiled.

"It means recording everything that has happened in the world since 5000 years ago, exactly as it happened. From the smallest movements of insects in a specific location to what kind of breeze blew through that place… it was an aggregation of information so immense that even gods couldn't handle it. The creator who made the world long ago and entrusted its management to us… even they probably wouldn't have expected something like this to be created."

"I understand it's impressive. But what was the reason for creating such a system?"

"Because what the gods wanted to create was 'the world' itself."

"The world itself?"

"Yes. To create a world, albeit in a limited way. To touch upon the authority of creation, even if only in fragments."

Rian closed his eyes and smiled joyfully.

"To recreate past events in the present time as if they were 'real'."

At those words, Leo's expression changed drastically.

"The Hero's World."

"That's right! All of this was groundwork to create the Hero Records. The Akasha Records are essentially the base system that constitutes the Hero Records."

Rian placed a hand on his chest.

"From the individuals recorded in the Akasha Records, we selected those who could be called 'Heroes' and recorded them in the Hero Records. So that the children of the surface could follow the records of the past and inherit the power of the former heroes. However, the Hero Records required a selection process, and no one could record in the Hero Records. And the source of power to constitute the Hero Records themselves was also needed."

"Is that you?"

"Yes. I am the librarian of the Hero Records and a part of the Hero Records."

"You're sacrificing yourself, aren't you? Is there value in a being like a god sacrificing their own existence to become part of the Hero Records?"

"For other gods, there wouldn't be. I was the only one who volunteered."

"Why?"

"…"

Rian opened his gray eyes and looked up at Kyle.

"I hated gray. It's a color like ash, burnt to nothing and useless."

Rian fiddled with his hair.

"That's why I hated you too. No, to be precise, I scorned you. First, I hated you for having gray hair and eyes. And I thought it was truly futile that you lived without dying even though you had no desires. So I was certain of the world's destruction during the Age of Cataclysm. All gods probably were… but I was more inclined to scorn. However, even though I had given up on everything, I didn't want to vanish."

The destruction of the world also meant the destruction of gods.

"But you never gave up and saved the world. I had no choice but to worship you."

Rian smiled.

"That's why I wished for your will to be passed down eternally to future generations. From my perspective, having already given up on everything, there was no reason to cherish my own existence."

"If I had your power, anyone would have done the same."

Rian shook his head.

"Please do not belittle that feat that even omniscient gods deemed impossible. Do not belittle the faith of your comrades who believed in you until the end."

Rian looked directly at Leo with his gray eyes.

"It was possible only because it was you. This is an absolute and immutable truth."

"…"

Leo scratched his cheek.

'A god is a god.'

Muttering to himself that he couldn't underestimate him, Leo asked.

"Did you know about my existence from the moment I reincarnated?"

"No. That damn monster also dealt a blow to the Akasha Records. It's causing errors. Also, because the Akasha Records are so vast, even gods don't know all the records."

Rian shook his head.

"Besides, everyone is desperate to record the heroes they want in the Hero Records. That's why the discovery was delayed."

"Aren't you the one who records them?"

"Yes. But since I can't identify all heroes, the gods regularly hold meetings to select heroes to be recorded. But, as Leo-nim knows, gods are a bunch of flawed individuals, aren't they?"

Rian scowled.

"Through meetings, even things that aren't heroic get recorded."

Annoyance appeared on his face.

"Why did you send out the heroes of the Great Opening?"

"Ah, that was to make Leo-nim aware of your existence and open the Hero Dungeon to bring Leo-nim here… but it went berserk due to the monster, and the doll I created went out into the current world."

"As expected, omnipotent yet incompetent."

"Aaaah!"

"Why are you happy? That wasn't a compliment."

"I'm happy even with curses if they come from Leo-nim! No, if you spit on me, I mean, bless me, I'll gladly accept it!"

"…"

"Leo-nim, this hair! After I came to worship you, I pulled out all my original hair and replanted this! My eyes are the same! I pulled them out and replaced them! Ah! Now I have red eyes too, so I need to pull one out! Which one should I pull out! Left? Right?"

'He's just terribly mad.'

His perception of Rian, which had been improving, plummeted back to rock bottom.

Leo clicked his tongue and said.

"If you've been recording the Hero Records, let me ask one thing."

"Yes. Please command me."

"About Berkia and Bihard."

"So you knew about them."

Rian let out a sigh of regret.

"You might become uncomfortable."

"Correcting what is wrong is also a teacher's duty."

"Then…"

Rian closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'll start by explaining how the Fairy Knight became like that."