Chapter 22: Emi vs. Hypatia

Only fifteen days remained before the royal army reached halfling territory.

Raiga and Emi finally arrived at the foot of Olympus. Towering above them was an enormous staircase leading to the heart of the temple, the place where the gods had been born and where the special coin would allow them to extract the disease.

“It’s up there,” the adventurer whispered, pointing toward the summit with his index finger.

“Let’s go. We can’t waste any more time.” Emi had not fully recovered yet. Her mind was still scarred by the fact that she had killed a Divine Champion, but she swallowed her pain and continued onward beside her precious Raiga.

“I’ll carry you. It’ll be faster that way, okay?”

“Yeah. I’m not exactly fast when it comes to climbing stairs, so I’ll leave that part to you.” Emi allowed herself to be lifted into his arms like a princess without offering any resistance. Why would she? It was clearly the most efficient option.

Raiga picked her up, bent his knees, and immediately began racing up the stairs. He cleared four steps at a time while Emi clung to his shoulders and buried her face against the Heretic’s armored chest.

“Let’s go!” she exclaimed enthusiastically.

Raiga’s stamina was enviable. Even after climbing for nearly half an hour without stopping for a single second, he showed no signs of fatigue. His steps remained steady and his breathing flawless. Emi was the only one suffering, growing slightly dizzy from her beloved boyfriend’s constant movement.

AAAAH! He’s going way too fast!

Emi cursed inside her head.

Then Raiga suddenly stopped and carefully lowered Emi back onto her feet. The step beneath them began glowing with golden light, and seconds later, the young couple appeared in the middle of an elegant chamber decorated with eastern tapestries. A beautiful woman sat upon a wooden chair.

“Welcome. I am Hypatia, the Divine Philosopher, and I will be your next trial.” The woman had brown skin, beautiful brown eyes, dark hair, and a completely white dress. The contrast gave her a breathtaking beauty worthy of any queen from the distant eastern lands.

“Are we going to fight?” the adventurer whispered as he drew his longsword. This time, he did not summon Malakor.

“Yes, but not with weapons or magic. We will use something far more powerful… philosophy.”

“I don’t have time to philosophize. There are more important things at stake.” Raiga stepped forward, pointed his blade at the woman, and tried to appear intimidating. “Let us out of this illusion, or you’ll die.”

“Of course. You could kill me, and I would be completely unable to defend myself. I am not a fighter,” Hypatia argued. “I’m merely a woman with considerable knowledge bestowed upon me by the gods. But I’m sure your precious Emi wouldn’t appreciate you murdering an unarmed person, would she?”

Raiga turned toward Emi. She lowered her head somewhat guiltily before releasing a heavy sigh.

“Emi?”

“S-Sorry, Raiga. I wouldn’t want you to kill someone who can’t defend herself. I know you could do it to pass the trial and return to Olympus, but hurting someone like me just wouldn’t be right.” The blonde pointed at her own body and then smiled. “It would be in very poor taste.”

“Fine. We’ll play by this philosopher’s rules. But I’ll admit that thinking isn’t exactly my specialty.”

“Then I’ll handle it.” Emi stepped forward. Hypatia smiled and caused a wooden chair to appear beside the young intellectual. “I’ll be your opponent.”

“Ah, I don’t understand any of this.” Raiga sheathed his weapon and set aside his killing instinct.

Indeed, Hypatia was no fighter. She could not defend herself, and simply killing her would likely break the illusion and allow them to continue. But his own morals prevented him from committing such an atrocity.

“Do not underestimate this challenge. Philosophy is the foundation of every science. Heretic Raiga and aspiring scholar Emi, why did you begin this journey?” Hypatia asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.

“Excuse me?” Emi answered her question with another.

“Yes. Why did you come here? Do you truly believe you have been told the truth? The trial is simple. I want you to explain why you came to Olympus. If you can convince me that what you are doing is right, I will allow you to pass. But if I convince you otherwise, you will leave Olympus and return to your lives as if none of this ever happened. This is a battle of wills, not power. If you lack the resolve to continue, then you will die when you reach the summit.” Hypatia was not bluffing.

Her serious expression and piercing gaze almost made even the imposing Raiga take a step backward.

Emi, on the other hand, nodded with greater determination than ever.

This was her battlefield.

The realm of intellect and deep thought.

“I accept your challenge, Divine Philosopher! You go first. Explain why we should turn around and never return.”

“The gods have existed in this world since the beginning of life. They are our source of power and the moral compass that allows us to move forward. If you enter Olympus, you will completely disrupt the natural order of things. Do not be arrogant. We mortals should not be free to do whatever we please, because if we were, we would ultimately cause more harm than good.” Hypatia closed her eyes, folded her hands in her lap, and yielded the floor to her opponent.

Raiga did not interfere.

He decided to trust his beloved Emi in this particular situation.

“The gods are sick. Their decisions stopped being perfect centuries ago. Just look at all the conflicts we’ve suffered through. How could they allow such atrocities? It’s unfair to the innocent people who suffer without any way to change their fate. Even now, while we’re talking, the royal army is approaching the Halfling Kingdoms. If they attack, it will trigger a devastating war that destroys everything in its path. You have to understand us. The gods are no longer perfect. They’re deteriorating, and maybe we won’t be able to save them, but at the very least, we can protect their greatest creation.”

“You are mistaken, Emi. The gods are not sick. Things happen because they are meant to happen. There is nothing unnatural about any of this. Remember that mortals see life from one perspective, while the gods possess one beyond our comprehension. Trying to bind the gods to human morality is arrogant. We must simply have faith and trust them.” Hypatia’s position did not come solely from blind fanaticism.

In a way, the gods had held the world together for more than ten thousand years.

They represented the perfect and established order, one that had never failed.

Until now.

Then again… was this truly a failure?

This would not be the first great war, nor would it be the last. Even at the height of the gods’ glory, terrible conflicts had repeatedly devastated civilian populations.

“Mortals have the right to choose their own destiny. When they condemned Raiga as the Heretic, they stole his right to choose. He could no longer pursue his dreams. They denied a human being the right to live his own life for no reason at all. How can the gods be perfect if they make mistakes that are so painfully human?” Emi remembered her precious Raiga crying after the incident at the academy.

He had looked so frightened and hurt that seeing him so vulnerable had nearly broken her heart.

He had never deserved that suffering.

What Raiga endured went far beyond simple misfortune. His life had been a road of thorns and death that kept him trapped in a constant state of survival. He had never enjoyed sunsets or meals. He had simply endured hateful stares until the day he met her.

From Emi’s perspective, Raiga was a victim.

“The gods do not make mistakes. Raiga’s sentence was merciful. He killed men of faith inside their own temple,” the philosopher argued.

“Those men wanted to sacrifice an innocent child. The God of War is supposed to feed upon the blood and deaths of warriors who fall honorably in battle. I could understand if the sacrifice had been a prisoner of war or a fighter who willingly offered his life, but it wasn’t. It was a child with nothing to do with warfare, an innocent victim who never deserved that trauma.” Emi paused to catch her breath, with no intention of backing down. “It was wrong. I don’t care if the gods see the world from a greater perspective. I don’t care if I’m reducing their divinity to something as simple as human morality. From my point of view, Raiga did the right thing. His punishment was unjust.”

Raiga blushed.

No one had ever defended him as fiercely as his beloved Emi.

Oh yeah. I am so incredibly in love with Emi, Raiga thought as he continued listening.

“Your thinking is limited by a human perspective. Mortal lives are finite. You cannot see beyond two or three generations. Have you ever stopped to consider how your great-grandchildren will live?” Hypatia asked.

“I don’t know what kind of world my great-grandchildren will live in, or even the great-great-grandchildren of my great-grandchildren. That’s true. Humans aren’t like gods or immortal beings. Our perspective is limited to the lives we actually experience.” Emi sighed heavily.

Hypatia’s argument was valid.

Human life was considered precious precisely because it was finite.

What amounted to a whisper in time for a god represented an entire lifetime to a human being, perhaps even more.

“Then why would you deny your descendants an increasingly better world? Times of change always begin with ourselves. Do not be selfish toward the future. Accept the established order. It is for the best. Trying to seize control of fate will only create even greater chaos.”

For a moment, Emi did not know how to answer.

She fell silent before the guardian’s words.

Raiga, on the other hand, finally understood the true purpose of this trial:

To make them doubt.

A miserable person who simply killed the woman in order to advance would never be worthy of standing before the gods. This trial was even more important than the battles against Agatha or the Minotaur, because it would determine whether the challenger’s resolve was genuine or whether they were merely being manipulated by a higher power. In Raiga and Emi’s case, they had come here under the Prophet’s orders. Becoming heroes and saving humanity had never truly crossed their minds.

Deep down, they were only pursuing their own interests.

Emi wanted to save Raiga from a life filled with suffering.

Raiga wanted to be free.

Neither of them had ever sincerely wanted to sacrifice their lives for some greater good.

They both wanted to return home and finally begin living.

“I-I…” Emi tried to respond, but only meaningless stammering escaped her lips.

“What would you say if I told you that I could remove the Heretic’s curse myself?” Both Raiga and Emi froze in shock. Their eyes widened, and their mouths fell open without producing a sound.

Remove the curse.

Give Raiga the ultimate relief and allow him to live peacefully.

“R-Remove my curse? Y-You mean I would stop being the Heretic? Is that what you’re saying?” The adventurer stepped forward. That was his greatest dream. Without that dark burden hanging over his heart, he could live in the city with his beloved Emi, start a family, earn money without fear of rejection, and perhaps even have children of his own.

“Yes. I can remove your curse. You will stop being the Heretic and live as an ordinary human being. All you have to do is give me your hand. I will heal you, and then you may return the way you came.” Hypatia smiled gently. There was no sign of deceit or malice in her eyes. Raiga was so accustomed to sensing killing intent that he had no idea how to react to such overwhelming sincerity.

Why risk his life to save strangers?

Perhaps the gods really did have the answer.

Raiga genuinely wanted to accept. He was just about to extend his hand and take the offer when Emi suddenly grabbed his wrist and shook her head.

Something was wrong.

“No. Wait, Raiga. It’s a trap.” Emi stepped between them and frowned, looking angrier than ever. “You miserable liar. You took advantage of my Raiga’s deepest wish, but that’s all you are—a liar! Remove his curse? Don’t make me laugh! An option that convenient is far too good to be true!”

“Emi?” Raiga asked in confusion. He had never seen her so angry, not even when he attacked the guard at the academy.

“If you remove the Heretic’s curse, we probably will go home. But the war will still happen, and no matter how hard we try to hide, sooner or later it will find us. We’ll spend our lives running away, hiding in forests and mountains. How would that be any different from the way Raiga has lived until now?” Emi frowned.

What Raiga wanted was to live his life in peace.

A world filled with death and destruction would be no different from the life he had already endured.

“Or perhaps the war would never find you,” Hypatia argued.

“It will. War always finds the people who want peace. Living hidden like a rat beneath rocks and trees isn’t the life I want, and it isn’t the life Raiga wants either. Right?”

“Ah… Now I understand. Yeah, Emi, you’re right. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life hiding. I want to be an ordinary citizen, someone who struggles every day to become a better person. Living in hiding or becoming a soldier isn’t what I want, and it isn’t what ordinary people want either!” Raiga exclaimed with determination, casting aside his doubts about the tempting offer and smiling courageously.

Yes.

The easy path might taste sweet at first, but eventually, it would lose its flavor.

“Very well. I see that no argument I make will convince either of you. Then let the strength of your sword decide the future of the world, Heretic. And Emi… well played. I did not expect you to see through my deception. I suppose your presence here was essential to overcoming this trial.” Hypatia snapped her fingers. The chamber vanished, and both Emi and Raiga found themselves standing once again upon the enormous step where they had disappeared.

For the first time, the wind began to blow.

Ten steps above them, an enormous stone door appeared.

The entrance to Olympus.

The place where they would discover the origin of all the gods…

“Emi, we finally made it. Thank you for saving me from a horrible life. You’re my hero, my sweet and adorable champion.” Raiga embraced her.

His enormous armored arms wrapped around Emi’s soft waist, causing her cheeks to turn red once again.

“O-Of course. I’m your girlfriend. I’m supposed to protect you.” The sweet blonde puffed out her cheeks and then stuck out her tongue, looking incredibly cute as she did so. “Now come on. We have gods to cure.”