A temple of crimson light.

‘That…!’

Clay’s eyes widened as he saw the symbol at its highest point—an emblem like a blazing sun.

It was identical to the mark carved onto the back of his hand.

“Selimia! That’s the one!”

At his shout, Selimia immediately dashed toward it.

Whoosh! Whooom!

Even as they ran, the statues behind them hurled massive swords that threatened to strike them down.

Clay released Selimia’s hand, turned, and deflected the blades with his own.

“Demon King!”

Selimia cried in alarm, but this time Clay caught her hand and pulled her forward, dragging her with him into the temple.

Clang! Clang!

The additional swords thrown by the statues missed them and slammed into the temple’s walls instead.

『Cease.』

『You must pay the pri—』

BOOOOM!

A thunderous explosion.

From the temple’s sun-mark, a radiant beam of light shot forth, striking the statues directly.

『Ghhhuuuuuhhh!』

The once-majestic guardians began to melt, shrieking as their stone bodies dissolved like molten metal spilling from a furnace. Clay and Selimia could only stare in astonishment.

The statues collapsed into the snow in formless heaps. No more threats remained.

“What in the world…?”

Clay breathed out in disbelief at such overwhelming power.

『You’ve come.』

A voice suddenly resounded. Clay’s head snapped around.

『It may be earlier than intended… but perhaps this too is fate.』

He searched, but saw no one. Holding his breath, he asked:

“Who are you? The master of this temple?”

『To call me the temple’s master is a little absurd.』

The voice gave a faint chuckle.

『More precisely, I am the one whom this temple venerates.』

The one this temple served.

Clay immediately understood—the speaker was not here, but an existence from beyond this world.

“A god.”

『That is what I am called. Not a title I particularly seek, but yes.』

“Then what business do you have with me?”

『Business? You’re the one who sought this place, Clay.』

He knew Clay’s name—as if he had been watching all along.

“You’re the one who etched this mark on me.”

Clay lifted his hand, displaying the sigil.

“Why won’t you say anything?”

Silence.

The voice vanished, leaving only an unsettling stillness.

“Demon King.”

Selimia’s voice broke it.

“We should leave. This temple might be as dangerous as the last.”

“Even if it is, I must learn the truth.”

Clay had already rebelled against the gods by becoming the Demon King. At the very least, he needed to know who had branded him with this mark.

『Even if the truth itself becomes a threat to you?』

Behind him.

Clay spun, and saw a silhouette formed of crimson flames.

『What if meeting me endangers you? Will you still accept it?』

For a moment, Clay faltered. Then he steadied himself.

“What are you?”

『You already named me—a god.』

“I’m asking more specifically.”

He needed to know exactly what kind of god this was.

『If you want honesty, then call me the Sun God.』

The Sun God. Not Elhaen.

“What is your relationship with Elhaen?”

『You wonder if I’m her ally?』

“Answer.”

『Do not worry. I am not her ally.』

Another god—yet not aligned with Elhaen.

“Then are you her enemy?”

『Hm.』

The figure gave a vague response.

『Perhaps not an enemy… but let’s say our views differ.』

“If not her enemy, then why give me this mark? With what intention?”

Clay raised his hand again.

『To restrain her.』

“Restrain?”

『Only a god can restrain a god.』

The Sun God’s fiery form drifted around him.

『Elhaen, the one you know, has meddled too deeply in your world. I oppose that.』

“You oppose it?”

『Our kind—beings like me—twist worlds when we interfere. Watching, not meddling, is the principle.』

But Elhaen ignored that principle.

『She is a being who cannot be satisfied unless she rules.』

By violating the balance of power and the preservation of worlds, she broke the creed that other gods—Outer Gods—followed.

『Yet this world has been overlooked.』

Beyond lay countless worlds, observed by Outer Gods.

『Right now, Elhaen only remains silent because the gaze of other Outer Gods might turn here. She waits for the time when she can act unchecked.』

She was biding her time.

『Only I watch closely and stand against her.』

“Because you value principles?”

『Time is short.』

The Sun God exhaled like a sigh.

『I must return.』

“I haven’t heard all the answers I need.”

『Do not seek to know everything, Clay.』

The crimson flames flickered more fiercely, menacingly.

『This place is not where you find truth.』

“I don’t seek truth—I seek facts. Why did Elhaen try to use me? Why did she orchestrate my death?”

『That is not the question that matters right now.』

The Sun God’s tone grew edged with irritation.

『There is no time. You must instead learn how to claim power from me.』

“Power?”

『Yes. Power.』

He moved deeper into the temple, reaching into the shadows.

『I cannot tell you all you want to know. If I did, the balance of this place would collapse.』

Then he drew something forth from the darkness.

Holding it in his hand, he extended it toward Clay.

『This is the only thing I can give you.』

A thread.

It burned faintly, radiating heat—the thread of flame.

『Swallow it.』

The Sun God spoke.

『Then I will grant you something beyond mere observation.』

A whisper of temptation.

Clay stared at him. He thought of the mark etched on his hand, of Tia who had become a saintess. This being before him was no less suspicious.

Just like Elhaen, he was deeply interfering with this world. However—

‘At least he hasn’t descended here in person like Elhaen.’

If that meant he still acted within the principles of the Outer Gods, then perhaps there was no reason for suspicion. But certainty was impossible.

‘If I make the wrong choice…’

He could end up opening the door for another god to meddle freely in this world.

『You don’t trust me.

“Correct.”

『It would have been better if your memory had not been erased.』

At that, Clay’s eyes widened.

“You know about my erased memory?”

『When you entered Elhaen’s temple, you spoke with her. You raised doubts then as well. But Elhaen erased your memory.』

The Sun God revealed a shocking truth.

『Before that, you came to this temple. We spoke. You trusted me more then—not because of any evidence, but because you had already begun to see through Elhaen.』

Back then, Clay’s insight had allowed him to place some trust in this god.

『Elhaen tampered with your perception and memory. What was planted here may have taken effect at other times as well.』

“Other times… like when?”

『Around the time of your execution, perhaps.』

Clay glared at him.

『Not pleasant to hear, is it?』

“Enough.”

Clay forced the conversation back to the point.

“In the end, it comes down to trust. Whether I take this thread or not decides it.”

『More than that—I want you to swallow the thread.』

At the absurd demand, Clay furrowed his brow.

“You say things that make you very hard to trust.”

『The choice is entirely yours.』

He did not press Clay, nor did he force the decision.

『After all, I am but an outsider in your world.』

A way of saying—whether this world was saved or destroyed mattered little to him.

“…So it’s not important to you, and yet you want me to believe you.”

『I simply cannot stand Elhaen.』

The Sun God smiled faintly.

『And perhaps, neither can you.』

No proof. No certainty. Perhaps his erased memory had weakened his insight as well. But—

“True.”

Those words struck deep in Clay’s heart.

“Very well.”

He accepted the thread.

“I’ll take the gamble.”

That was why he had come here. To learn if he could shatter Elhaen’s designs. To know if discovering the beings tied to himself and Tia could give him strength.

Thud!

A gamble was the only path left. Against a god beyond this world, he had no choice but to wager everything.

“!”

Gulp.

Though he hadn’t yet forced it down, the burning thread slid on its own down his throat.

“Demon King!”

Selimia panicked and tried to rush toward him, but the Sun God raised his hand.

『Stop.』

The command froze her in place.

『This is not your moment.』

His eyes flicked toward her.

『…You hide yourself. But the time will come when you must act. This world will entrust itself to you.』

Selimia shuddered and fell to her knees at his cryptic words.

Fwoosh!

From Clay’s mouth shot a strand of crimson thread, which the Sun God seized and bound to himself.

Shrrk.

The thread dissolved into the air, vanishing. Clay gasped, breath returning as the suffocating weight left his throat.

“What… is this?”

『A path, linking you and me.』

The Sun God nodded slightly.

『No longer a mere mark.』

Rumble.

The temple’s pillars shook violently.

『I have done all I can here.』

“Wait—”

『Had you not come here, fate would have taken a different course. Yet you chose this path. Whether you can free yourself from the chains that bind you—I too am curious.』

He spread his arms wide, as if savoring a grand spectacle.

『Go, sacrifice of one who sought to be the sole god. Struggle—for the glory stripped from you, for the future denied to you. That will become your flame.』

BOOM!

The temple began to collapse.

The Sun God froze in place as if turned to stone—then crumbled into black ash, scattering into the air.

“Selimia…”

Exhausted from the ritual that linked him to an Outer God, Clay drove his sword into the ground just to stay upright.

“Out… side…”

With that single word, he collapsed.

(End of Chapter)

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