Chapter 43: God Forbids the Telling
"Yes."
Buolanke nodded and continued:
"The King of Chaos and Strife, the baleful star that rules over calamity, the Calamity Dragon, Bahobaluz."
"In ancient times, this mighty Dragon King ruled the skies, bringing terrifying disasters upon all living beings."
King of Chaos and Strife?
Sylvia noticed a very familiar description within that honorific.
Two defining descriptors followed by the format of 'King'—this pattern had also appeared in the former title of that Earth Mother God.
She then voiced her doubt.
Hearing the question, Buolanke smiled slightly:
"This is a common naming convention among Dragon Kings, such as the King of North Wind and Justice, the King of Volcano and Flame, and so on."
"Hmm..."
Sylvia pondered for a moment, then recalled a certain familiar title:
"The King of Loathing and Hatred... this seems to follow the same format?"
"Indeed."
Buolanke nodded in agreement:
"This evil god active in the Kingdom of Savia is indeed a Dragon King."
"However, its Dragon King title hasn't been widely recognized, since it attained the rank of apostle long after the ancient era ended."
"By then, the dragon race was nearly extinct."
Sylvia nodded and then asked:
"What became of that King of Chaos and Calamity?"
"It fell."
Buolanke responded succinctly.
Of course I know it fell. What I want to know is how it fell.
Sylvia grumbled internally, then helplessly pressed on:
"How did it fall?"
"Sorry, I cannot divulge too much of history. That, too, is part of the divine revelation—"
"God said, 'To seek hidden truths from history and derive joy therein is also a part of growth.'"
Buolanke’s face still bore that faint smile.
"......"
Sylvia was rendered speechless.
At that moment, she imagined the smug smile on the face of the God of Machinery glowing green all over.
Hey! Just because you've been rained on doesn't mean you should tear up someone else's umbrella!
After silently protesting, Sylvia sighed and posed her final question:
"That Gundam... why did the war golem appear in that ruin?"
Hearing her words, the Reformer from the Church of Machinery narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a long look at her, finally said:
"As expected, you’re used to calling those war golems ‘Gundams.’"
However, he didn’t dwell on the terminology and instead explained:
"At the end of that war, the war golem we designated as 'Phlororos' was withdrawn from the front lines."
"And when it passed through the Plant District of the Kingdom of Savia, it encountered the accidentally unsealed ruin."
"At that time, the 'Dragon King', who had been forced into dormancy, was awakening."
"To prevent disaster, 'Phlororos' entered the ruin and, in coordination with a ritual performed outside, forced the 'Dragon King' back into dormancy."
"Since then, that war golem has never reappeared, and although we know its location, we have not carried out any recovery operation."
Hearing this explanation, Sylvia slowly nodded.
"Alright, I think our conversation should end here."
"The Ferryman outside is starting to look a bit anxious."
To this, Sylvia nodded in agreement.
In the next instant, the cluster of starlight that symbolized her presence vanished without a trace.
At the same time, inside the pale carriage, the puppet abruptly opened its eyes.
"Squawk!"
"Master, you..."
The fat crow, which had been flitting around the cabin, immediately perched on her shoulder, asking somewhat hesitantly.
"It's nothing. I just met a special... 'friend'."
The gray-haired girl wore a faint smile on her face, her gaze drifting out the window to the figure atop the Bell of Progress.
Buolanke, at this moment, was dressed in a long coat, holding a black case in hand, and gave a slight bow in the direction of the carriage.
Withdrawing her gaze, she leaned back into the seat and began reviewing the encounter that had just taken place.
It was now confirmed that the God of Machinery was also a transmigrator from the same place as herself—and he seemed to have foreseen her arrival.
Why was that? Prophecy? Or deduction?
However, whether the Lord of Radiance was also a transmigrator remained unknown.
At that moment, the phrase "What you love is your life" surfaced in her mind, along with the image of that "Angel of the Sword", Aksia.
You might as well just call her Exia.
But judging from the naming pattern, the Lord of Radiance probably wasn’t a transmigrator, and was instead influenced by the God of Machinery.
Also, the Church of Machinery seemed to know a great deal about the Faceless One?
Why was that?
Was it due to their own research, or knowledge left behind by the God of Machinery?
Everything felt so sudden, yet she couldn’t figure out the reason behind it all.
Still, there was one thing she could be sure of—
That all of this was still somewhat distant from her present self, not something she needed to worry about right now.
What she needed to know now was simply that she could potentially use the Church of Machinery to conceal her identity as an Outer God.
Hmm...
But that Reformer named Buolanke seemed to have a rather subtle attitude toward her.
He wasn’t overly respectful, but basic etiquette was observed.
Why was that?
Could it be that they understood Silquaya the Faceless well enough to know that this Outer God was a cluster composed of countless consciousnesses?
If that were true, then could this Reformer named Buolanke have already guessed that she was actually one of the Faceless One’s many consciousnesses?
Maybe he had. Or maybe he hadn’t.
With so little reliable information, it was impossible to deduce the full truth.
Hmm... but if that’s the case, then maybe it’s not so bad?
If the other party didn’t know, then from the perspective of a god, any action she took would naturally carry its own "deep meaning."
And if he did know, then it could serve as a reasonable explanation for her somewhat immature demeanor in front of him—
After all, it was normal for each persona of the many-faced Silquaya to have a different personality.
With that thought, Sylvia opened her eyes, her gaze once again adorned with a smile as she looked toward Lakdevo seated across from her and said:
"Let’s go."
"Hmm... Destination remains the same."
"Yes, Master!"
The fat crow gave a cry, then flapped its wings.
In the next instant, beneath the cold and pristine moonlight, the ethereal and otherworldly sound of hooves echoed once more, and the pale carriage began to move.
Suddenly, Sylvia, seated inside the carriage, spoke up:
"Lakdevo, what do you know about the Reformers of the Church of Machinery?"
"Squawk?"
Hearing the question, the fat crow was momentarily stunned, then glanced thoughtfully in the direction they had just come from.
After a few seconds of pondering, it said:
"Not much. We rarely have contact with apostles from other factions."
"But in my view, those Reformers are anomalies among the apostles."
"Unlike apostles of other churches, Reformers actively participate in fields like industry, art, and literature under aliases and have had a profound impact on societal development."
"Anomalies among the apostles?"
Sylvia repeated the intriguing description, her body slowly leaning back into the seat.
As the rhythmic sound of phantom hooves continued, the pale carriage finally vanished into the thick of the night.