Chapter 121. Contest of wits
Top floor of the union tower.
The scenes where everyone beat their respective opponents were shown via < Rimnet >.
“Fumu. Have the 4 wicked royal families formed an alliance?” (Arnos)
Any of the 4 kings had the power to be the next demon king of tyranny 2000 years ago.
In awe and respect of their abilities, the mazoku called them the 4 wicked royals.
Due to their high pride, they were never compatible with the other mazoku and they never joined forces with each other apart from during the great war but now it’s peaceful they join up? It’s very strange.
It would be nice if they had simply made friends with each other but that’s unlikely to be the case.
“I believe you challenged me to a battle of wits but was it wise to wait until all those fellows had been beaten?” (Arnos)
Zeke laughed at my question as if he had expected them to be beaten.
“You are looking for the child of god but it must have occurred to you, the wise demon king of tyranny, that the child of god was one of your subordinates.” (Zeke)
Fumu. That’s the reason huh?
2000 years ago Nousgalia was going to make the great spirit Reno bear the child of god. If I hadn’t arrived in time or if I had waited until after my reincarnation to reach out to Reno she would have carried the child of god.
If it’s true that Misa is the child of Reno then there’s a good chance that she’s the child of god.
Saying that, Nousgalia helped make the magic < Jerga > and < Eleonor > so it wouldn’t be surprising if she had given birth to the vessel for the child of god which in this case would be Zeshia.
Also, let’s not forget < Dino Jikusess >. If Misha was born due to the interference of god then that god had a purpose in doing so. Maybe the original purpose of the spell was to give birth to the child of god right after I reincarnated.
If that’s the case then isn’t the being Sasha and Misha become when they combine the child of god?
In the last war they used < Dino Jikusess > and fused thus increasing their divinity.
When the origin faces death its magic power rises so perhaps Misha’s magic power rose and awoke the power of god sleeping in her?
That could explain why she was able to use extraordinary, almost divine, creation magic to create that pseudo-Deruzogedo.
“Well, it’s as you say Zeke though if Nousgalia and the fire death king have made an alliance then it’s strange that you have purposefully given me this information. Though it was only a matter of time before I figured it out anyway.” (Arnos)
It doesn’t make any sense just exposing the information about the child of god so if I look at Zeke’s previous remarks then there is only one aim.
“In other words, you’re going to use the information you have as your betting chips and challenge me to a battle of wits.” (Arnos)
Zeke lets a small smile appear briefly.
“As expected of you demon king Arnos. There’s more to you than just strength.” (Zeke)
Zeke casts < Zekt >.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Let me explain the rules. You ask a question and I’ll tell you everything I know about it, however, I can specify one thing and lie about it.” (Zeke)
“So for example, the identity of the child of god?” (Arnos)
Let’s see if I can lightly unsettle Zeke with my question.
“Just so. So if I specify that I’m going to lie about the identity of the child of God, then I’ll only lie about questions that approach that identity.” (Zeke)
Fumu. Not a single twitch.
Well, it would be boring if he broke down too soon.
“However, I cannot answer truthfully about the thing I have picked to lie about.” (Zeke)
I see. Depending on how you ask your questions it’s possible to spot the lies.
“You get 15 questions and if you spot the thing I’m lying about then you win. When you win my magic will be sealed for 5 seconds. That includes my demon sword etc.” (Zeke)
5 seconds is more than generous. I can revive Melheys, destroy this guy and still have time left over.
“On the other hand, if you can’t spot my lie and use up all your questions and I win then you get sealed for 5 seconds and can’t use magic. (Zeke)
Even if I don’t use magic for 5 seconds its impossible for this guy to destroy me though he can certainly wound me and destroy Melheys.
He must have a trump card. It would be unwise to assume he doesn’t.
“You can only claim I’m lying 8 times.” (Zeke)
It’s written in the < Zekt > contract that when a lie is called Zeke cannot lie with his answer. Other than that, it seems that there are no strange loopholes in the outline that Zeke has just given.
“When can I point out a lie?” (Arnos)
“Whenever you want. Just say anytime you feel I’ve lied.” (Zeke)
It all sounds very reasonable and it feels like I have a slight advantage here. I wonder if he thought I wouldn’t accept a battle of wits otherwise?
“How’s it all sound demon king Arnos? There’s a one in a hundred million chance that if you destroy me by force, Melheys won’t be able to revive after all. This way you have the chance to win without losing anything. Thinking normally its wise to not take any risks.” (Zeke)
Zeke delivers his lines calmly. Must be part of his strategy.
“Fumu. You’re wrong about one thing Zeke. If you intended to provoke me then you didn’t need to do all this. Whether it’s a contest of wits or a contest of strength, it’s the same thing to me. Don’t think you can take even a hundred millionth of a win from me.” (Arnos)
I signed < Zekt >.
Zeke smiled slightly again as if sure of his victory.
“Then the game is on demon king Arnos.” (Zeke)
I stop him by pointing to the contract.
“One thing first. I want to change a rule.” (Arnos)
Zeke looked at me with a stern expression.
“….In what way?” (Zeke)
“I only need 7 questions and the times I can point out a lie only needs to be 4 times.” (Arnos)
Zeke frowned and raised an eyebrow in doubt.
“In trade leave that demon sword with me. This battle of wits is troublesome while using < Lebaido >.” (Arnos)
“The contract < Zekt > already forbids the use of my anti-demon sword to destroy < Lebaido > during our contest.” (Zeke)
“If you are already prepared to die though you can break the contract.” (Arnos)
“In your case, your demon eyes will see it beforehand and you’ll be able to prevent it. Don’t these conditions only hider you?” (Zeke)
“If that’s what you think then I’d have thought you accept it with pleasure. You’re challenging this me after all. You cannot handicap me enough for it to make any difference.” (Arnos)
Zeke stares at me for a few minutes as if trying to determine my real intentions before finally speaking.
“All right then. I’ll compete with my more skilful opponent.” (Zeke) (1)
Zeke changes the conditions of < Zekt >.
While handing his demon sword Gabreido over to me Zeke watches my every move with his demon eyes while also watching for even the slightest disturbance in magic power.
He’s obviously wary, not sure how I’ll react.
I casually receive the demon sword from him.
“The contract is formed.” (Arnos)
I trust the sword into the ground and sign the new < Zekt >.
Zeke lets out a small breath as if relieved.
“Then let’s start. Your first question.” (Zeke)
“Tell me about the child of god.” (Arnos)
After a moments pause, Zeke speaks.
“There are 3 possible people who can be the child of god. Misa Iriologue, Zeshia Bianca and the person the Necron twins Sasha and Misha become when the fuse.” (Zeke)
So they think of Sasha and Misha as two people in one?
“15 years ago a child was born to the great spirit Reno and the demon kings right-hand man Shin Reglia. That child is Misa Iriologue and that is just what the heavenly father Nousgalia wanted. The rumours and traditions of Misa’s spirit side is the destruction of the demon king and those legends are passed not amongst humans or mazoku but between the gods.” (Zeke)
Is that why Misa has a strong origin despite being half spirit and why she doesn’t suffer from spirit disease?
I never thought I’d see Shin being mentioned here. I left him guarding Reno 2000 years ago. I just can’t see that man falling in love. If it’s true then peace is truly a wonderful thing indeed.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“And now that your reincarnation is complete she has grown up and will awaken according to her order.” (Zeke)
By waking up I assume he means her true spirit form will be revealed. If the hand of god was involved in this Misa has a very high chance of being it.
“2000 years ago the sky father Nousgalia exchanged a promise with the Azeshion hero Jerga. He would make him magic and give him an order next to god, however, Nousgalia is a god that gives birth to gods. He cannot betray that order therefore he made a bargain with Jerga. He would take part of his origin and turn it into Eleonor who would make a vessel for god.” (Zeke)
If the end result was making a god then Nousgalia could probably accept Jerga’s demands which makes sense.
“Jerga agreed and the contract was made. It took a long time but a vessel to house a god was finally born by having Eleonor mass-produce Zeshia and that Zeshia is the one who is currently here.” (Zeke)
An excellent individual created from a mutation due to heavy origin cloning. It’s certainly possible as there are very tiny differences between origin clones. This Zeshia certainly has a different hair colour from all the others but she’s young. I’m not sure the quality for a vessel of god is there yet and she’s unlikely to awaken due to her age.
“One of the origins of the hero Kanon fused with Aivis Necron during the age of magic and studied fusion magic < Dino Jikusess >. By combining the power and wisdom of two people, the hero who excelled in origin magic and one of the Seven Demon Emperor’s who excelled in fusion magic, the research progressed smoothly. Kanon’s origin wanted to give power to the mazoku so none of them would die in the inevitable war between Azeshion and Deiruheido.” (Zeke)
Even if you intend to die in their place, there is no guarantee that others will not be harmed in war. Giving power to just one mazoku would not have helped, but he still wanted to save as many people as possible it seems.
“After that, the origin and body of Sasha Necron was divided into 2 using < Dino Jikusess >. Originally, she was supposed to only have one personality, but due to divine intervention, the moonlight was disturbed and the natural magic circle was rewritten and the result was Misha Necron the person who was never meant to exist being born.” (Zeke)
If that is true then Kanon’s origin must have developed quite the headache.
“If left alone Misha would disappear. It was a helpless situation for the hero but all he could do was make sure at least one sister survived. His only sliver of hope was that the soon to be reincarnated demon king of tyranny appeared and saved them.” (Zeke)
Thing is he couldn’t let me know who he was so it had to happen how it happened.
“And appear you did. The demon king of tyranny saved the sisters which thwarted gods plan unexpectedly. The child, who should have been born with the will of God and great magical power, was born as just two girls. For now anyway.” (Zeke)
This explanation also makes sense.
The magic Misha showed a little while ago was not normal, however, the difficulty is that you don’t have to be a child of God to have magical powers comparable to them.
Look at me for example.
“As for my information, it came directly from Nousgalia who promised not to lie.” (Zeke)
Gods keep their promises. If Zeke isn’t lying then its all true.
Some of the information is vague, which is understandable if you think that it is knowledge that Nousgalia dared to share for the sake of this contest of wits.
“Finally, the child of god born to destroy the demon king of tyranny is one of your subordinates.” (Zeke)
Fumu. I got a rough grasp of the situation now but let’s finish this battle of wits first.
“Then I’ll use one of my points to point out a lie. You’re telling a lie regarding the child of god.” (Arnos)
Of course I’ve got no idea if its a lie or not at this point so I’m using this as a truth check.
“Unfortunately I’m not.” (Zeke)
< Zekt > glows and then settles. The contracts still valid.
So this fellow isn’t lying about the child of god.
(1) The phrase used here doesn’t really have a direct English translation. It’s usually seen regarding Sumo (but can be used anywhere) where a less skilful person is allowed to practise with a more skilful one. Its literal translation is I’ll borrow your chest.