( Afterwards. )
< Location: System Space. >
" 'Horns of Corruption'? " Battle Maiden asks as the System since she's one of its residents, she had the privilege to access some of its information, including the one she just mentions.
< System Archives Opened >
< Object: [Horns of Corruption]... >
The System shows Battle Maiden the information regarding what she seeks, she gasps as she reads it all.
" This is wrong, this is blasphemy, this is- "
" True! " said a voice coming from behind her.
" *gasp* " Battle Maiden quickly tries to attack the person which the person quickly evades by vanishing into thin air.
" Nice moves, no wonder Athena chose you. " the voice says again, now reappearing to the Maiden with her Red Mist.
" You're! " Battle Maiden sees the person, it was the Aether Enchantress herself, Circe, the newest entry in the System Space.
" It is me, Mrs. Ex-Divine Avatar. " Circe tells her.
" Hmmm..., speaking about status, I believe 'it' was still pending, isn't it? "
" For the relinquishment of one's Avatar status only can be done by the will of their Gifter God itself, not by the Mortal's self-proclaim. "
" So, it seems your status is still on hold, if the goddess didn't give up on you yet, but do not hope for it, Maiden... "
" Circe, I should've known. " Battle Maiden prepares her fist.
" To think we will meet eye to eye again is vexing. "
" Eye to eye? " Circe wonders.
" I thought you didn't have one when we last met? Are you having memory loss, O Blind-Maiden-who-finally-received-sight? " Circe asks back, teasing the Maiden.
" Whatever, just tell me why are you here!? " Battle Maiden asks as she prepares to summon [Libra], but before it happens.
" You want to know about the 'Horns of Corruption', Maiden? " Circe suddenly gets in front of her face, her fingers touching her chin.
" Move it! " Battle Maiden pushes Circe away.
" ~Oh, you're no fun!~ "
" ~No wonder you're still a Maiden even at your age, you reject every love everyone gave you for your Avatar Status.~ "
" ~Even young Ragna seemed to have more potential in this than you. *slurp*~ "
" Love, you said? isn't that 'lust' you just did on me!? "
" You're a witch who offers nothing but lust and lies, there's no love you could offer to others, none! "
" You better state your business, Mrs. Enchantress, Witch, or whatever your jobs are, I don't care! "
" If you try me again, even as a fellow resident inside this System, I won't hesitate to bring judgment upon you, you criminal! " Battle Maiden states, not wanting to give Circe another way to mock her anymore.
" Of course, Mrs. All-high-and-mighty, always filled with courageousness and bravery, protector of fairness and justice, fierce and stoic, the embodiment of a chaste warrior, thus resulted in your constant perseverance of virginity and independence thanks to self-preserved windom... "
" Geez reminds me of Athena so much... "
" What's that what the humans used to say? 'Like father Like son' or 'Like parents Like children' or what of it? "
" For your case, it's basically 'Like god Like mortal'. "
" It all comes back into the roots, doesn't it? " Circe asks which Battle Maiden responds with silence.
" Oh, so you're responding to me with silence, Maiden? "
" Fine then, since you can't be teased with, I should quickly get down into business. "
" The 'Horns of Corruption'. " Circe says as the System Windows responds, appearing its interfaces, opening the archives, and showing them the picture regarding the object.
" Ah yes, those disgusting horns of evil, the secret hidden by the 'gods' who ruled over us. "
" Makes me puke knowing the gods chose to have it in themselves, for the trade they did back in the wars of old. "
" The 'Holy Wars'? " Battle Maiden asks.
" Yes. 'Ragna Twelve' already told you about the basics, didn't he? "
" The 'War of the Immortals', the gods and demons, where they were still called by their real race name, Diviners and Deviants. "
" Based on the history you were told back in your 'schools', the Holy War was the battle between gods and demons, light vs dark, good vs evil. "
" That kind of history was true in some way, for that's the true nature of the 'First Holy War' to be exact. "
" The first? " Battle Maiden asks.
" You're telling me that back then, the gods are still what they are as I am taught? "
" Mostly are, Maiden. "
" In the First War, the gods won, good and light prevailed, as any other stories ended. "
" After they slew the 'Demon King', the gods now only had minor challenges on their part, the demons in their realms are in jeopardy. "
" But then, there was time. "
" One of the gods, who participate in the First War, found something within the 'Demon King's very fortress, something that would make the other gods, intrigued as they see it. "
" And that is? " Battle Maiden asks it, getting more interested.
" A tree, a tree so large, that it spreads around the realm it was in, the realm where the Demon King once resides before he was slain. "
" A tree so large, so ginormous, filled with fruits that are so beautiful and so tasteful, the gods were intrigued to take a sip. "
" Thanks to that bastard 'god' who showed them that fruit in the first place, the gods followed him feasting on those fruits, which give them more power at first. "
" But later, it gave them side effects. "
" And the side effect is what you see in the late Jaegerus' head, the 'Horns of Corruption'. "
" An evil that corrupts the gods, those who ate it and their inheritors, affecting their way of thinking, thus making them nothing more than the heinous evil beings like some that you know and saw. "
" By the gods! " Battle Maiden still processes this.
" So it's true that all of them... "
" Might have the horns within them, who knows? "
" For only the Ragnas could identify them with the help of the System, even I had trouble making sure for myself that I didn't inherit it from my predecessors. "
" Perhaps I should try asking Ragna to let me have access to the System's scanners or something in order to find out. " Circe says this as she sees Battle Maiden sitting in a nearby chair, still contemplating what she learns.
" Lord Athena, could you also... "
" If she also has, then we should also kill her. " Circe tells Battle Maiden which made her go silent.
" But it depends, you better hope that your goddess didn't inherit one from Zeus. "
" Or else, Ragna Boy will have to force his hands on killing her, to make sure the gods who had the 'horns' didn't exist in the future he and his Previous Timeline Selves works hard to attain. " Circe tells Battle Maiden which made her go silent even more, for the thought of Ragna killing Lord Athena comes wildly within her mind, for she recounts what Ragna did to Jaegerus too, as he killed that god.
Battle Maiden sobs, for the very thought really tortures both her mind and heart.
" Circe. " Battle Maiden calls her.
" Hmm...? "
" Is there a way to... to... "
" To make the gods be free from the 'horns', is that what you want to ask? "
" Fearing that your Lord Athena might've had it. " Circe responds which made her think for a while.
" Hmm... it's a difficult question, for knowing around 15% of the horns is what I am capable of, even the likes of 'Ragna Twelve' only know around 10% about the horns' true nature, based on what I calculate. "
" For the horns is a secret the gods hold very tight, to hide their very corruption and lies after the First Holy Wars. "
" Hiding the true nature of the war between gods and demons in this current era, hiding the reason why the gods keep it that way, even repeating it into making 'Timelines' using the Universal Reboot Device, which is the 'Ragnas' problem. "
" For it was all to hide this very secret, also to prolong their very rule. "
" That is all from me, I will tell you more if I found out more after my days of recess, being freed from that island at last. " Circe leaves the Maiden, after telling it all to her as it made the Maiden lose all words and went silent afterward.
...
...
...
Hello KJVZeanso here, after months of Hiatus, I finally could return with new chapters/ Thank you to those who had patiently waited while reading my other works.