The Whale and the Shrimp (3)
Frondier was moving to a certain place with Elodie.
He had left the car to Lily and Arald. They were each driving to the capital. With Selena, of course.
They also had things to do.
And Basileo, who was still unable to return to the front lines, would be with Carla at the hospital where Pielott was staying.
Wheeee─!!
The wind rushed past them at high speed.
With no car, their mode of transportation was flight.
Elodie was the only one who could keep up with Frondier's flight speed, so this combination seemed only natural.
However, Frondier had one more reason for bringing Elodie along.
“……Um.”
After a long flight, Elodie spoke.
“Are you really going to kill all 72 devils?”
Elodie was simply following behind Frondier and had no idea where they were going.
She could only guess from the message he had asked Gregory to deliver to Baal.
Elodie didn't question every single one of Frondier's plans. At least not if his emotions and judgment were sound.
“No.”
Frondier answered immediately.
As Elodie looked at him dumbfounded, Frondier continued.
“Considering the situation, it's unlikely Baal made such a mistake.”
It was almost certain that Charon was behind putting Pielott and the others in danger. Of course, the devil next to Charon must have interfered significantly. An abyssal monster even appeared.
Baal must have given some information, but he wouldn't have given information that would put himself in danger if things went wrong. He wasn't that stupid.
‘And Charon knew more about me than Baal did.’
While he could have picked up information here and there, Charon knew things he shouldn't have.
The maximum range of Menosorpo. The monsters surrounding Frondier and his party were waiting just outside that range.
Menosorpo was a means of weaving through the void, but it also had the ability to detect enemies that entered within its rune.
Frondier had rarely shown its maximum range.
More than anything else, even if he had shown the maximum range, the opponent wouldn't know if it was the maximum or not.
‘Someone who knew what Menosorpo was from the beginning must have given the information to Charon.’
So Baal's sin in this situation wasn't that great.
If anything, it was that he had divulged information about Frondier to avoid him. And that he tried to get away as soon as he realized the situation.
“Then why did you say that to Baal?”
“I wanted to confirm a few things.”
“Confirm?”
“Yeah.”
Frondier raised a finger.
“First, do the 72 devils have a sense of belonging to that name?”
“A sense of belonging?”
“The 72 devils are devils designated by humans. They wouldn't have anything to do with each other. But after a while, it doesn't stay that way.”
Even if they had nothing to do with each other before being designated as the 72 devils.
Once designated, they would naturally become aware of each other's existence. At the very least, they could deduce that the others were devils comparable to themselves in power. Of course, they might have known each other to some extent before that, through their respective fame.
“If that happens, the 72 devils could become a single force. In fact, we already accept that to some extent.”
“Well, that's true. We're already assuming that the 72 devils are involved in Baal's plan.”
Baal's plan to force Satan to move by using the war with God as blackmail.
Of course, he couldn't have done it alone, and his collaborators would be the 72 devils.
“And if there is a sense of belonging.”
Frondier raised another finger.
“Isn't 72 too many?”
“……Huh?”
“I've never seen 72 people with similar military power all move with one mind. 12 would be the maximum, like the Zodiac or the Paladins.”
Frankly, even 12 was too many.
Considering that even those 12 had conflicting opinions, it was only natural.
“……So, the 72 devils, they might not all agree?”
“They're similar to humans in that respect. That's what I wanted to confirm.”
That's why Frondier said it.
He would go back through the 72 devils in reverse order and kill them all.
Would Frondier really move like that?
From Baal's point of view, the answer was 'unknown.'
No matter how much Baal understood the situation, it was clear that Pielott had been hurt.
“If that story reached Baal's ears, my 'rage' would sound pretty plausible to him.”
“Is your anger fake too?”
“That's ridiculous.”
Frondier's eyes were clear as he answered.
“It's just that my anger isn't directed at Baal. He doesn't know it, though.”
If Baal had a sense of belonging to the 72 devils, and especially if there was someone he was close to among them, Baal would have no choice but to respond to Frondier's threat.
“The important thing is when Baal will arrive. If he comes before I can do anything, for example, if Baal appears before my eyes right now, it would mean 'Number 72' is a pretty important devil to Baal.”
“……What if he doesn't come?”
“That would be unfortunate. For Number 72.”
Frondier's voice was dry. Elodie looked at his profile.
“So, are we going to that Number 72? Right now?”
“Yes. Gregory told me where he is.”
Now that Gregory had returned to Frondier.
The level and scope of information Frondier could obtain was different from before.
Finding a famous figure like one of the 72 devils, whose appearance and characteristics were all known, was too easy for Gregory.
“……To kill him?”
“It depends on the situation.”
Elodie looked uneasy at Frondier's answer. Frondier asked her,
“Why? The two of us are strong enough to defeat him.”
“That's not what I'm worried about.”
Elodie didn't think Frondier would lose to a devil of the 72. It wasn't even a consideration.
“It's just that, I've been spending time with Lily and Arald.”
Elodie's words came out with difficulty.
Lily and Arald, like the 72 devils, were devils.
To Elodie, they were no different from humans, and she had built a close relationship with them.
In the Falind continent, devils were beings who could never coexist with humans and were enemies that had to be condemned, but that was no longer the case for Elodie.
She would hesitate to kill a devil just because it was a devil.
“Frondier, you said it yourself. That devils and humans are no different. Even the 72 devils.”
“Elodie.”
Frondier spoke then.
His face was calm.
“I told you, it depends on the situation.”
“……Frondier.”
“And in many situations, the option of killing one of the 72 devils is highly unlikely.”
Frondier understood how Elodie felt.
He didn't want to commit unnecessary killings either. He only did it when he had no other choice.
‘……But. They are the 72 devils.’
Even if they weren't committing evil deeds right now.
It was unknown how many humans they had driven to misfortune in the past, or if they had done so at all.
Of course, it didn't matter to Frondier. It wasn't just devils who made humans unhappy. Humans also made humans unhappy.
Were all such humans to be punished? As long as he answered no to this question, he would apply the same standard to devils.
However, it was uncertain whether Elodie would accept it.
“……Elodie. I want to ask you one thing.”
Frondier changed the subject.
“Yes? What is it?”
“You can talk to the Gods who gave you your divine power, right?”
“……I can't talk to all of them, but. Yes, I can.”
She talked to Rudra quite a bit.
As if he had read her mind,
“I'm talking about the weaving I use.”
“……!”
Elodie gasped.
Whether or not he heard it, Frondier asked,
“What do the Gods think of it?”
Elodie hesitated for a moment. She didn't know how to answer that question.
But the words that came out were honest.
“……They called it 'blasphemy.' They said no God could forgive it.”
Elodie conveyed exactly what she had heard from Rudra.
Above all else, from a God's point of view, Frondier's weaving was a clear blasphemy. It was a clear target for divine punishment, with no difference in position or perspective.
“No God can forgive it. That's for sure, right?”
“……Yes.”
Elodie nodded heavily, feeling a weight in her heart.
“As expected.”
Frondier, on the other hand, nodded with a refreshed look on his face.
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