Book 1 Chapter 525

525.

"Leo, please look at this. This is a statue of Sir Kyle holding a sword that I personally carved by hand. After the Age of Calamity ended, I diligently carved one each year! I've been diligently carving statues of Sir Kyle every year. This is Sir Kyle using magic! And this one here is using summoning magic…"

Shin brought a statue displayed on one side of the bookshelf and showed it to Kyle.

The statue carved from jewels was so vivid it looked as if it could come to life at any moment.

Leo picked up one red statue of Kyle, posed with a sword.

A smile with the corners of his mouth turned up. It was what Luna called an 'unlucky smile.'

"This is the smile Sir Kyle made when annihilating enemies! A charismatic smile that seems to look down upon everything in the world! Ah! Could you not grant me the opportunity to receive that smile as well?"

Kyaak-! Kyaak-! Shin let out small shrieks beside him.

At that reaction, Leo's face crumpled, and he threw the statue in his hand onto the floor without hesitation.

Clang-!

"My work of art!"

Shin, letting out a piercing shriek, crawled on all fours, clutched the scattered fragments, and shed copious tears like chicken droppings.

The despairing Shin soon lifted his head sharply and shouted.

"Yes! Destruction is a new beginning! This destruction means that Sir Kyle has reincarnated as Leo! These fragments themselves are meaningful!"

Squash! Grr-ind! Grr-ind-

Leo stomped on the fragments, grinding them vigorously into powder on the floor.

The new beginning had turned to dust.

Seeing that, Leo coldly spoke to Shin, who was kneeling on the floor, despairing.

"I know gods are a useless bunch, but why on earth do you make such trash?"

"My efficiency increases when I work while making these."

"Work?"

"My apologies for the late introduction."

Shin stood up, looked at Leo, and bowed politely.

"My name is Lian. I am responsible for being the librarian and archivist of the Hero Record."

"A librarian and archivist? Does that mean you have authority over the Hero Record?"

"To be precise, it's proxy authority. This record system belongs to you… no, to be precise, it belongs to the great heroes."

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

"Luna? Has Luna Rubenance also reincarnated in the present world?"

Lian's eyes widened.

In his eyes dwelled uncontrollable excitement.

"She briefly resided in the current world as a spirit a short while ago."

"Ah."

Lian let out a sigh filled with regret.

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

"I met Pivua once in the world of heroes."

"Pivua? I see."

Lian nodded as if he understood.

Leo looked at Lian and asked.

"By the way, wasn't it because of the incident 5000 years ago that gods could no longer remain on Earth?"

"Yes, gods can no longer come to Earth."

"Then how are you on Earth? If you've been managing the Hero Record, that means you've been on Earth for 5000 years, right?"

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

"Thanks to the Hero Record?"

"Yes. To explain the reason, I think I should first explain how the Hero Record was born."

Lian lightly clapped his hands.

Then, suddenly, a chair and a table appeared with a pop!

An ordinary magician might have been astonished by the phenomenon just now.

It wasn't simply that he summoned the chair and table through subspace.

As if they had been there from the start.

It wasn't an intervention or twisting of the laws of space, but simply changing the laws.

It was a phenomenon that could never be realized through magic.

But Leo remained unperturbed.

'Because this guy is an omniscient and omnipotent god.'

Of course, gods cannot properly use their omnipotence on Earth.

The role of gods is ultimately that of a manager, or more precisely, an observer.

Their management merely involves maintaining the world so it doesn't perish.

In other words, they have been suppressing Erebus.

Other than that, they are restricted from exercising power on Earth.

That's why gods are omniscient and omnipotent, yet incompetent.

Furthermore, having lived for an eternity, they have a strong desire to simply satisfy their own needs.

That was why Luna mistrusted gods.

'Benevolent gods like Pivua are extremely rare.'

Leo glanced at Lian.

'This god is crazy too, but he seems to be crazy in a somewhat refined way. If I had to classify him, he'd be a benevolent god.'

Benevolent god. It means a good god.

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

At most, they might stir up trouble on Earth and play tricks.

'Well, since they're gods, the scale is huge, which is annoying.'

There are also those who are utterly insane.

Just look at the heroes recorded in the Hero Record.

Though they didn't seem sane, Leo knew that Lian was a very well-behaved god.

"A very, very long time ago. There was the primordial monstrosity and the five great heroes."

Lian placed puppets shaped like the great heroes on the tips of his five left fingers and a puppet of Erebus on his right hand.

"The monstrosity roared. Kyao!"

"…"

Lian, who had begun a puppet show, started a clumsily awkward performance with an endlessly serious face.

Watching him, Leo muttered inwardly.

'Correction, he seems a bit utterly insane.'

"But the monstrosity was defeated by the great heroes."

Lian gracefully moved his left fingers, vigorously striking his right hand.

"How much longer do I have to watch that ridiculous play?"

"Please wait a little longer, this is my favorite part."

Lian, who had been mercilessly beating the Erebus puppet with the great hero puppets on his left fingers, then brutally tore the Erebus puppet to shreds with his left hand, rip-rip, and threw it into the air.

Black fabric fragments soared into the sky and then fell.

"Isn't it cool?"

Seeing the fanatic ask with sparkling eyes, Leo replied indifferently.

"Yes."

"Oh, my~"

Lian, who had clasped his hands over his cheeks and briefly delighted, quickly changed his expression and said.

"Thus, peace came to the world. The gods decided to create a completely different record system from the existing ones, to forever praise the achievements of the great heroes who accomplished impossible feats. And also, to prepare for the return of the monstrosity, which had not yet been completely vanquished."

"A completely different record system from the existing ones?"

"Yes."

Lian spread his arms.

"The Akashic Record. It is a record system that records the world itself. It's a system completed by all the gods who returned to the divine realm, pooling their omnipotence. This library is the Akashic Record itself. There are also copy libraries like this in the divine realm."

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

Lian smiled faintly at Leo, who expressed his doubt.

"It means recording everything that has happened in the world exactly as it occurred, from 5000 years ago. From the tiny movements of insects in a specific place to what kind of breeze blew in that place… It was a massive collection of information that even the gods couldn't handle. The gods who created the world long ago and entrusted us with its management… even the Creator, whom we have never met, surely wouldn't have anticipated something like this being made."

"I understand it's amazing. 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 a limited one. To touch upon the authority of creation, albeit in fragments."

Lian closed his eyes and smiled happily.

"To manifest past events as 'real' in the present timeline."

At those words, Leo's expression changed dramatically.

"The World of Heroes."

"That's right! All of this was the foundational work for creating the Hero Record. The Akashic Record, in a sense, is the basic base system that forms the Hero Record."

Lian placed his hand on his chest.

"Among the individuals recorded in the Akashic Record, those deemed 'heroes' were selected and recorded in the Hero Record. This was so that the children on Earth could follow the records of the past and inherit the powers of the previous heroes. However, the Hero Record required a selection process, and there was no one who could make records in the Hero Record. And a source of power to constitute the Hero Record itself was also needed."

"And that's you?"

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

"You sacrificed yourself, didn't you? Is there any value in a being, a god no less, sacrificing their own existential worth to become part of the Hero Record?"

"Probably not for other gods. Because I was the only one who volunteered."

"Why?"

"…"

Lian opened his gray eyes and looked up at Kyle.

"I hated gray. It's the color of useless ashes, burned completely away."

Lian fiddled with his hair.

"That's why I hated you too. No, to be precise, I ridiculed you. Firstly, I disliked you for having gray hair and gray eyes. And I thought you, who lived without wanting anything, unable to die, were truly futile. So, during the Age of Calamity, I was convinced of the world's destruction. All gods probably felt that way… but I was closer to scoffing. However, despite giving up on everything, I still disliked annihilation."

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

"But you ultimately didn't give up and saved the world. I had no choice but to worship you."

Lian smiled faintly.

"That's why I hoped your will would be passed down through generations forever. From my position, having already given up on everything, there was no reason to regret my existence."

"Anyone with power like mine would have done the same."

Lian shook his head.

"Please do not belittle that accomplishment which even the omniscient gods considered impossible. Please do not belittle the faith of your comrades who believed in you until the very end."

Lian looked straight at Leo with his gray eyes.

"It was only possible because it was you. This is an absolute, unchanging truth."

"…"

Leo scratched his cheek.

'A god is indeed a god.'

Leo, who had muttered inwardly that they couldn't be easily dismissed, asked.

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

"No. Because of that damn monstrosity, the Akashic Record also took a hit. It's causing errors. Also, because the Akashic Record is so vast, not even the gods know all the records by heart."

Lian shook his head repeatedly.

"Moreover, everyone is desperate to record the heroes they want in the Hero Record. That's why the discovery was late."

"Aren't you the one who makes the record entries?"

"Yes. But since even I cannot grasp all heroes, the gods regularly hold meetings to select heroes to be recorded. But as you know, Leo, gods are a messed-up bunch, aren't they?"

Lian frowned.

"Through meetings, even those who aren't heroic get recorded."

Annoyance flared on his face.

"What was the reason for sending the Heroes of Genesis outside?"

"Ah, that was meant to recognize your existence, Leo, and open the hero dungeon to bring you to this place… but because of the monstrosity, it went berserk, and the puppet created with my power ended up going out into the present world."

"As expected, omnipotent yet incompetent."

"Ah!"

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

"If it comes from you, Leo, even insults are fine. No, if you would spit on me—no, spit holy water on me—I would happily receive it!"

"…"

"Leo, this hair! After I began to worship you, I pulled out all my original hair and replanted it! My eyes are the same! I pulled them out and put in new ones! Ah! Now that I have red eyes, I should pull out one of them too! Which one should I pull out? The left? The right?"

'He's just utterly insane.'

His improving perception of Lian plummeted back to rock bottom.

Leo clicked his tongue and said.

"If you've been recording the Hero Record, I have one question."

"Yes. Please command me."

"About Berkia and Bihar."

"So you've learned about them."

Lian let out a sorrowful exclamation.

"It might make you uncomfortable."

"Correcting wrongs is also a teacher's job."

"Then…"

Lian closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I will start by telling you why the Fairy Knight became that way."