The old man opened his eyes right after Evan wounded his arm with the sword.
As he opened his eyes, the blue gaze hidden inside his eyelids was revealed.
It was a gaze so shimmering it reminded one of sapphires.
[Who are you…?]
He spoke to Evan, who had just awakened.
The words that flowed out bore a weight far beyond the dragon he had first encountered, yet his companions did not react intensely.
It was thanks to the old man’s tone, which held no malice and was gentle.
“Sorry for the late introduction. I am Evan, Apostle of Destruction, servant of the Destruction Dragon Infernus.”
[Oh… So you are the Apostle of Destruction of this generation… Yet, I feel no dragon’s aura from you. As far as I remember, all previous Apostles of Destruction were dragons or dragonkin…]
As the old man looked at Evan, a question arose.
[But, what brings the Apostle of Destruction to this place?]
“I came to ask you a few things. I want to learn about ancient times, but all those who lived then are dead, and this place has become forgotten.”
[If the knowledge you seek is not forbidden, I will answer to the best of my ability. However… matters from over ten thousand years ago are beyond my know-how; I was not in this world at that time.]
Ten thousand years.
That was plenty of time.
After all, it had been three thousand years since the first Demon King appeared.
“Then let me ask. What form did the ancient gods and their apostles take, and how many were they?”
The old man answered briefly, as if stating common knowledge.
[All together, there were ten. Apostles were the same.]
Evan’s pupils slightly trembled at those words.
“Could you explain each of them?”
[Light, Judgment, Ocean, Verdancy, Death, Guardian, Destruction, Bitter Cold, Twilight, and finally, Fiction. The Apostles also derived their power from those ten gods.]
“Are you saying there is an Apostle of Fiction?”
That couldn’t possibly be true.
The God of Fiction was merely an illusion, so it couldn’t have apostles.
That was also why there were only nine apostles on the journey to defeat the Demon King.
[Indeed.]
However, the old man’s reply was different.
He said that there was indeed an Apostle of Fiction.
“The God of Fiction is not a real being but rather a god of imagination, isn’t it? Even if we assume it exists, there can’t be a nation to protect it…”
[That’s not the case. There is indeed a nation that protects the God of Fiction.]
The old man began drawing a map with magic and pointed to a specific area.
[Right here, in this place, it is under protection.]
The spot he pointed to was Silvestra.
A place so dangerous that Rank 1 Monsters could be seen walking about, it had never been a place where humans could live.
“That can’t be true. It has been inhabited only by monsters for a long time now.”
[What do you mean? When I was alive, that was the most prosperous nation for humans.]
“…Is that so?”
The facts they each knew collided in different directions.
Evan’s expression turned deeper in confusion.
What he was saying was entirely opposite to what he had known all his life.
[…It seems we have quite different understandings of reality.]
“Sorry to ask, but do you remember when you died?”
[From an outside perspective, it would have been about three thousand years ago.]
Three thousand years…
That coincided with the time when the Demon King first emerged on the continent.
‘What on earth is going on?’
It was bewildering.
The old man had no knowledge of the God of the Demon Realm, and instead, they were conflicting over strange details.
While feeling as if the truths he had known were being denied, Evan shook his head and barely retained his composure to ask.
“…Understood for now. Then for my next question… If the God of Fiction exists and has an Apostle, what powers does the Apostle of Fiction have?”
The old man paused for a moment in thought before opening his mouth.
[As far as I know, the Power of Fiction is the ability to twist perception itself.]
“You mean to twist perception itself?”
[Yes. To put it simply… it’s the ability to turn lies into truths. This can be applied to the world.]
The old man seemed to continue speaking, pointing at Evan.
[For example, if the Apostle of Fiction were to say that you had never existed, upon using his ability, though you are alive, from that moment, you’d cease to exist in the world.]
Evan’s expression hardened as he listened to the story.
If the Apostle of Fiction truly existed, that would explain everything that had happened until now.
It would explain why people believed there were only ten gods instead of eleven.
It would also explain why people said the Apostle of Fiction did not exist, even though it did.
Not to mention, he had always known Silvestra as land that had never been inhabited.
If perception had been twisted by the Apostle of Fiction, and thus history distorted, it could easily be the case.
Moreover, considering Lucia’s testimony from earlier… this assumption was almost factual.
[…I think I have some idea of what’s happening outside.]
As Evan’s expression stiffened, the old man spoke.
[Is it that history itself has been twisted?]
“Though there’s no solid evidence yet and it’s still a hypothesis, it seems almost like the truth.”
Discovering the existence of the Apostle of Fiction had unraveled many pieces of the puzzle, but there were still two questions that remained unsolved.
The first was that if history had been twisted at that point, the old man should have known of the God of the Demon Realm but did not.
‘…I can guess two things.’
He either never existed, to begin with.
Or the Apostle of Fiction had interfered with the world’s past.
‘For now, it’s more likely to be the latter.’
If it were the former, it wouldn’t explain why Lucia was so strong.
Even after losing her horns and descending from the Demon King, she still exuded confidence in victory against other apostles.
‘For now, I’ll assume it’s the latter…’
Evan recalled the second question.
‘If all these assumptions are true, what could the Apostle of Fiction aim to gain by twisting the truth so severely?’
This was someone who twisted the very truth of the world.
Surely, such a being wouldn’t act without purpose, especially to the extent of tampering with historical truths…
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a fitting reason.
If it were for revenge, they could simply kill the Demon King and be done with it.
Why go so far as to make the Demon King an absolute evil and instruct Apostles to kill him?
“………”
While Evan was lost in silent contemplation,
Lucia tapped his shoulder with her finger.
“Evan, I’m sorry to interrupt your important thoughts, but… it seems like a pretty dangerous situation.”
At her words, Evan turned around to see monsters slowly approaching them from somewhere unknown.
They were different Rank 1 Monsters, the Abyss Knight and another Rank 1 Monster, Crevas.
This massive monster, resembling a giant dragon, had a body entirely made of rock.
“Those monsters… they’re not undead.”
Helen, who was staring at the approaching monsters, said.
“How could they make it here when they’re all alive…?”
Evan recalled the incident from the village.
It had also been a day of suspicion regarding the distorted world…
It was quite strange that living monsters could enter this place at all.
“It seems we’re learning truths we shouldn’t be discovering.”
“I think the same.”
Evan and Lucia drew their swords simultaneously.
And just as they were about to charge at the monsters, the old man stepped in front of them.
[It seems you’re in quite a predicament. You seem busy, so let me handle this.]
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
[Worry not; I’m already dead.]
With that, the old man smiled gently.
As bright light illuminated the dark space, his body began to transform.
The atmosphere around them changed.
The mana in the air began to swirl like a storm, releasing an unsettling aura.
Then, the old man’s body transformed into that of a full dragon.
A massive dragon with silvery scales shining like his hair and eyes that resembled a single sapphire.
[Go quickly.]
“Thank you for your help.”
[It was just a small contribution; no need for thanks.]
“That was crucial information for us. We genuinely appreciate it.”
[Ha ha… If you’re truly grateful, could you at least remember my name? It’s been so long since I’ve died; I doubt anyone remembers me.]
Evan nodded.
“I will not forget as long as I live.”
[Thank you.]
The dragon spread its enormous wings that suited its size and opened its mouth.
[My name is Sephius Leolnar.]
Then he started to gather his magical power inside his mouth.
[I am the first Dragon Lord.]
The magical power gathered so much that it was about to burst from his mouth.
It soon unleashed a breath of destruction.
At the same moment, all the sounds of the world fell silent.
