Year: 500 B.C.
It had been twenty years since Crimson Moon and Ryouma descended from the Moon to Earth.
Those two decades had not been wasted.
Together, they traveled across every land, witnessing civilizations humanity had built and the traces the gods had left behind.
The fading of the Age of Gods was already inevitable.
As the calendar crept closer to the Common Era, the True Ether lingering on the surface of the world grew scarcer and scarcer.
In China, Ryouma saw the earliest forms of Thought-Based Magecraft and the Mountain Courts.
In the North Sea, he witnessed the birth of Runes, mankind's imitation of divine wisdom.
In ancient Israel, he saw the magical legacies left behind by King Solomon.
At this time, the Mage's Association did not yet exist.
Neither the Clock Tower, nor the Atlas Alchemists, nor even the Wandering Sea had been founded.
The greatest challenge facing magi of the age was how to preserve Mystery.
It had been a journey of endless wonder.
But the greatest harvest came only recently, in Greece.
With knowledge and memories granted by the planet, Ryouma uncovered the legendary lunar goddess's palace—and within its deepest halls, excavated the remnants of Machine God technology.
The origin of the Greek gods was not Earth itself, but civilizations from the stars beyond.
Over long ages, these Machine Gods transformed into conceptual deities rooted in Earth.
And within that temple, Ryouma met one of the Twelve Olympians—
the Moon Goddess, Artemis.
"The soul of the planet made manifest… royal blood of the True Ancestors.
From your very being, you are qualified to stand as an equal to we Olympian gods.
Your name is Ryouma? A fine name.
If you grant me a single request, I, Artemis, shall offer you my fervent blessing."
Moonlight filled the temple, overflowing with divine sanctity.
Ryouma stood face-to-face with the goddess of the moon.
Her request was not excessive. She merely asked that he offer her faith—and provide her with a seat as a spectator.
The Greek gods had already decided to entrust the future to humanity.
As the prior rulers of the planet, they no longer intended to remain upon the surface. Their only path lay in returning to the Sea of the Planet.
To say they didn't care about humanity would be false.
But their concern was not for humanity's individual life or death—only for observing how their successors would grow.
The gods did not concern themselves with mankind's survival.
For them, humanity had chosen to part from the gods.
So the gods had no reason to interfere further.
It was compassion. And it was cruelty.
"So, whether they live or die, in the end it is humanity's choice.
Those who once worshipped me think the same.
The most I can do is grant them blessings.
But still… I want to see the process, the ending, with my own eyes.
Ryouma, give me a seat in the very front row.
Be my agent in the present world, my eyes upon humanity.
If you accept, then for every battle you fight, I will bestow my blessing."
Artemis spoke playfully.
At once both loving and merciless—exactly the impression Ryouma had of gods.
Without doubt, the gods loved humanity.
But what they loved was the concept of humanity.
That was how most gods were.
Only with rare individuals that caught their particular fancy would they act differently.
"Artemis, you're really casual about this… you know I stand on the opposite side of humanity, don't you?" Ryouma muttered as he accepted her gift.
"It doesn't matter. The gods have graduated. Competing with humanity is your business, not ours.
If humanity fails in the end, it only means humanity was just that."
Her tone was light, dismissive.
She explained the stance of the Olympians—and also hinted at the outlook of other gods.
"But of course, there are always exceptions. If something interesting stirs, a few busybodies might come sniffing around for fun."
"…Are you serious, Artemis?"
"Ahh, but I didn't say anything~! The Age of Gods is gone. None of us would return just to indulge selfish whims, nope, definitely not… because there's no chance at all, eh-heh~."
Artemis's laughter was carefree, girlishly innocent.
Yet her words carried unease.
Ryouma understood her meaning.
Not all gods left willingly. Quite a few had been forced to.
And if ever they found a chance, such gods would certainly return to stir up trouble.
Back in the present, after leaving Greece—
Their last stop was the European continent.
"These twenty years have been fulfilling…" Ryouma murmured.
Perhaps it was his endless True Ancestor lifespan, but to him, two decades felt like the blink of an eye.
By now, the Fantasy Tree had grown from a sapling into a young tree.
Ryouma reviewed the abilities he had gained in those years:
[Host's Abilities]
One of the Originals (D+++)
Fantasy Materialization (D)
Breath of the Stars (C)
Mystic Eyes of Charm (C)
Anti-Magic (C)
Divine Body Barrier (A)
Blessing of the Moon Goddess (A+)
Mechanical Archery (EX)
Wisdom of the Stars (EX)
This "status panel" was an interface constructed by the Fantasy Tree's computation ability.
Ryouma treated it like a game system, an easier way to see his growth at a glance.
In these years, he had learned much human knowledge.
But one thing frustrated him.
As a True Ancestor, he was born opposite to humanity.
His affinity with mysteries created by humans was extremely poor.
Be it black magic or runes, anything born from human hands resisted him.
Even if he forced himself, he paid far higher costs than the technique's standards required.
Martial arts and skills not tied to mysteries were unaffected.
Still, Ryouma continued collecting knowledge tirelessly.
Even if his True Ancestor body could not use them, that did not mean he couldn't once he returned to Pan-Human History.
Most of the mysteries he encountered, he recorded with the Tree's computation and stored in his inner archives—for later study.
"Divine Body Barrier… Mechanical Archery…
Both of these were Artemis's gifts.
The surface still holds many divine legacies left behind. I'll need the Wisdom of the Stars to gather them."
He was satisfied with the Machine God equipment.
The former was a defensive armament forged by the Olympians themselves, made from god-steel with conceptual defenses—the ultimate armor.
The latter, as its name suggested, was mechanical archery.
The Divine Body Barrier came with Machine God technology, its systems housing an artificial intelligence to assist in combat.
Meaning—even a mere mortal could, upon donning it, become a master archer rivaling the sage Chiron.
[End of Chapter]
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