"Haaaaaaaaaah!
Chii ......!

　Edward just about knocked the blow away with the spirit of a hurricane, and he kept his distance.

　Breathing heavily, he managed to catch his breath and let out one last deep breath.
　Bringing his arm forward and holding his sword at the ready, Craig sniffed at Edward.

"Hmph. ...... You're getting old.
"Nukes ...... is just the beginning.

　While saying it, Edward himself knew best that it was just a show of force.

　His arms are heavy, and his body is covered in cuts all over.
　Of course, all of that came from Craig, who was unharmed.
　It was anyone's guess as to who had the upper hand.

　But.

"It would have been obvious to you, but your eyes aren't dead yet, huh? Your lack of resignation is admirable.
I don't mean to say that victory is the luck of the hour ......, but there is certainly an element of luck. Then there's no reason to give up until the end.
"That is if there is only a certain amount of power difference, right?　I don't think it's you who doesn't know how much of a difference exists between me and you ......?

　Of course we knew that.
　This is still called the best of mankind.
　There's no way I'm going to measure the difference between my opponent and myself now.

　It is a fact that the difference between you and I is so great that I don't want to admit it, but it's not something that can be done by saying .......
　You have to accept facts as facts and then think about how you can win.

You can't give up on it. I think that's honestly admirable, but what makes you do that?
"What," says ......?　Do you ask me that?　I am the leader of the First Order of this country, here.
"Yeah, that's why (・・・・・) I don't know (・・・・) what I'm trying to do (・・・・). What I'm trying to do is save (・・・・) this country (・・・・). You know that too, don't you?
"Is it because this country ...... gods are deceiving us,
Yes,

　That story was being told while doing battle.

　And Edward is not going to deny it.
　The Gift will certainly have that aspect to it in a way.

　That's something Edward himself is very aware of.

And I'm aware of what you're trying to do when you say that.
"Huh. ...... Well, I guess so. I'm not hiding anything ...... either, no, I've shown it rather positively.
You're an archbishop...

　Maybe it was because it was so definitive.
　Craig didn't respond to the words, but that's why it was the right thing to do, he said eloquently.

　It's that simple.
　The gift is fundamentally given through the blessing.

　Then we should not do the blessing (・・・・・) (・・・・・・・・).
　Only then the gift will not be given to people and they will be free from the gift.

　Of course this is not normally allowed.
　But if the Archbishop, not anyone else, were to say it, he would have to admit that it would be the Church .......

But it shouldn't be that simple.
"Of course. The Gift is a mighty force to be reckoned with. If he says he doesn't have to take the blessing, there are many who will.
"...... won't change anything. It just makes people uncomfortable.
"No, it's not, okay? The Gift is a powerful force, but we can get our hands on more than that. As I've just shown you (・・・・・), (・・・・・・・).

　The implications were immediately apparent.

　Edward's gift-based attack would not work, and his skills are only good enough to warrant being called the best of mankind.
　There is only one way to overpower such a person.

You're at the ...... level (...)
Yeah. --I'm at level 15.
"...... I see.

　It was predictable, so I wasn't that surprised.
　Because objectively, I thought it would take that level to overwhelm Edward to this point.

　Of course, there was another surprise.
　Even Edward was able to raise his level to 10 only because he was constantly training and almost died many times.
　I can't imagine what kind of experience it would take to get it up to 15.

　But--

"That would be it . Level is not a substitute for a gift.
Huh. ...... Well, I don't know. I mean, you guys are fundamentally mistaken.
"...... what?
"You know that levels are also called levels of the soul, right?　I don't know why you guys don't care much about it: ...... No, it's God's work too, isn't it?
"...... What does that mean?
It's not good for God if people know the true meaning of levels. Raising your level means raising your soul's rank ...... which means that you become closer to a higher being. The increase in status is just a side effect of that. It's not an intrinsic part of it.



　It was a first for Edward, and a first for me.
　But at the same time, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was convinced.

　It certainly didn't explain the sense of omnipotence he learned with each level, which only increased in power.
　It's also as if you get the feeling that you are getting closer to a greater being, and it makes sense if that means you are getting closer to ...... gods and spirits to higher beings.

Why would ...... be bad for the gods?　It means that there will be more people to help, so it's not as if we're in trouble as much as we are.
"Humph! ...... is why you are an idiot. Help?　They wouldn't think that. Levels are not a force to be reckoned with in order to get to God. --Levels are the power to kill God (・・・・・・).
The "become--

　That's exactly what Edward said, too.

　I don't necessarily believe what Craig says.
　But I'm also surprised that he would say something like killing God.

...... craig, are you crazy?
"Well, ...... maybe I'm definitely not in my right mind at all. How can I stay sane after God killed my wife (・・・・・・・・)?
"God killed that girl," says ......?　Stupid ......

　It was not a murmur, meaning not to believe, but meant just the way it was.
　That's impossible.

　Because the girl wasn't very strong to begin with.
　The doctor told her from the beginning that she would not be able to bear a second birth ...... but she couldn't throw away the life that came to her and she chose to give birth.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make your life easier and more comfortable for you.

...... It would be called resentment. It's not hard to understand why people would feel uncomfortable not to blame ...... for something, but to do so much for the sake of it...
"Humph ...... I knew you didn't understand anything. The recriminations?　Destiny?　--That was God's doing. It was God's handiwork.
"...... set up?　Do you know what you're talking about?
And that's just a fact. And that's just a fact. --Holy Grail. Of course you know what this is, don't you?
...... Ah, the gift of the girl. But it's--
Some gifts have such a hidden effect that even the Archbishop does not recognize them. You know this too, don't you?

　Edward nodded as he interrupted us and continued.
　I certainly knew that too.

　Edward's gift is one of them, and originally the appraisal said it would nullify the effects of the gift you touched.
　But, as it turns out, instead of touching it, it nullifies any attack that originated from the gift.
　Such is the hidden effect, which has been confirmed to exist rarely.

　Nevertheless--

There should have been no hidden effect on her gift.
"Yeah. That's what I thought. I wouldn't have let you have the baby if I had known.
"...... What does that mean?
The hidden effect of the Holy Grail ...... is that its original function was to produce heroes (・・・・・・・), not only by consuming their own lives. And also by consuming his own life. That's why her body was so weak. Her life was constantly being consumed to produce a hero.
"That stupid ...... girl's body is weak from birth - no?
Hmph. ...... You've noticed. That's right, no one seems to have noticed because it didn't have any other fragile effect, but ...... that guy was also born with a gift.

　In theory, it was a possible story.
　To begin with, there are many things we don't know about inborn gifts.
　Basically, many of them have powerful effects, but still, depending on the effect, it's certainly possible that you don't know if they were bestowed by a blessing ceremony or not.

...... but how do you know that?　There should be no way to know, including the hidden effects.
The only thing is that the people you despise are actually much better than you are. ...... ...... Well, they're not exactly a group of people who can honestly believe in everything.
What ......?　--You can't possibly be ......!

　His eyes widened in surprise, but there was no response from Craig.
　Just a sniffle and ...... but that's the eloquent answer itself.

Not only have you betrayed this country, but you have teamed up with the devil ......!
"Humph. ...... betrayal?　Do you still not understand what I'm saying?　There is no doubt that what I'm doing is for the country, for the people. I'm only using them temporarily.
............ No, what you're saying is still wrong. The proof is that there are no heroes.
The gods must have done something wrong about that. That's why the hero of this generation was summoned. Don't tell me you didn't think it was strange.


"Nah, it's ......

　It is true that a brave man is one who is handed down to the next generation immediately after the death of his predecessor.
　The longest interval is about one year at the most ...... but this time there was a gap of more than ten years.

　It's not just a matter of how much time you have left, it's also a matter of how much time you have left.

I suppose it means that God finally realized that he failed to create a hero. In other words, he was killed for such a bungling: ......!
...... to avoid a repeat of that tragedy, is that what you're saying?
That's right. As long as you get close to the higher beings, you will surely gain more power than a gift if you raise your level. As long as you realize this, no one will be deceived by the power of such a pseudo-gift. It is synonymous with being a servant of God.
...... and eventually kill God, you mean?
Oh. It is said to be possible once the level reaches 100. Of course it won't be possible anytime soon, but ...... has not been shared much because until now we haven't seen the significance of raising the level. When it is shared and honed, it will arrive in time. And for that, first we need to stop the blessing ceremony. If you remain a servant of God and gain power, you will only end up being used or disposed of.
"...... You've got a gift, too.
I'm going to die too. So when it's all over, I'm going to die too.

　The eyes that were turned on me were not those of one who is telling a lie.
　You are really serious about everything you've said so far, and you are really prepared to die.

Now that I've told you ...... this much, you know what I'm going to say, don't you?　Lend me your help, not for me, but for the future of this country, for the future of humanity.

　It was also with straight eyes, and with a figure that showed he meant it, Craig said those words.