Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint
Chapter 359: The King Who Kills Others, The God Who Kills Himself (13)

Was what I said so unexpected?

The Golden Lord finally lifted his gaze from the bell, slowly looking up at me.

Humans were beasts, nothing more than hairless monkeys.

Yet this human had touched upon the very power of Creation.

The First Alchemist.

A towering figure who irreversibly altered the world.

But no matter how great his achievements, no matter how far he ascended, a human would always remain human.

Even the Golden Lord.

The face I had seen on the outside was that of a child.

Add two decades of time and immense suffering, and this is the face you’ll get.

A young man, worn out and tormented, looking far too ordinary to be called a Divine.

Because in the end, he, too, is human.

“No one knew. Not a single soul in this world knew how useless gold could be until you performed that insane act! When more gold was produced in a single year than had ever existed before, who could have predicted what would happen to the nation and its economy? Not even the Prophets of the Sanctum, who claim to see the future could predict that! They could ‘see,’ but they couldn’t ‘understand.’”

Even prophecy required comprehension.

Seeing alone is meaningless without understanding, without interpreting the vision’s significance.

After all, even Saintesses are human.

Thus, when an unprecedented Divine appeared, not even the Saintesses of the Sanctum could grasp it fully.

At best, they could only react.

If the Sanctum, which bears the sins of the world, could only manage that much, what could others do?

“They couldn’t possibly understand. Their ignorance should be pardoned.”

The Golden Lord misunderstood my words, shaking his head in refusal.

Did he really think I was consoling him? That I was that kind?

“Does it sound like I’m saying ignorance is not a sin? To recognize an act as sinful, the act must first exist in the first place. You uncovered something that could potentially be a sin, but before something was done, no one even knew it existed. To know it, you first have to discover it. You have to lift the veil of ignorance and find it. Like primitive humans from ancient times—before they could know what gold was, they had to dig it out of the ground!”

“Even if that discovery leads to countless deaths, horrific tragedies, and a whole nation drowning in despair?”

“Ha! Are you saying the nation collapsed because you discovered alchemy?”

Divines, it seems, are inherently arrogant.

Or perhaps it’s precisely because he’s a Divine that he’s so arrogant.

If he were truly divine, he might not even bother with words.

I burst into laughter, clutching my sides.

“You’re incredibly conceited! Even the Human King isn’t as arrogant as you! Aren’t you a mere Divine? Are you trying to become the King of Sin by taking all the guilt of the Golden Empire’s downfall onto yourself? Haven’t you already done that by wandering the Fallen Dominion under the name of the Golden Lord?”

Everything is his responsibility?

Is he running for the position of King Of Humans?

Sure, he created gold, but taking responsibility for every single sin in the Golden Empire?

Whether it’s right or wrong, is that even possible?

I suppressed my laughter with great difficulty, not out of consideration for the Golden Lord but to continue speaking.

“What sins, exactly? Did you destroy the fields to build alchemical workshops? Did you kill a companion who suggested building those workshops when there was no food left? Did you, driven by hunger, turn on your own kin and eat them? When the curse of gold became known, did you hoard the remaining gold instead of warning everyone, maximizing your gain at their expense? Did you forge weapons from steel and stage a coup during the chaos? Did you incite a frenzied populace to kill the alchemists, robbing everyone of the chance to reverse the damage?”

Even from the fragments of his mind that I’ve seen, these atrocities are only the tip of the iceberg.

The actual Golden Empire must have been even worse—a true hell on earth.

Who could have imagined it?

A nation didn’t collapse due to foreign invasion or a natural disaster but because of the curse of gold, nearly bringing about its destruction.

And yet…

“All of that is your fault? Just because people call you a Divine, have you started to believe you’re an omnipotent god, controlling life, death, and even humanity itself at your very whim?”

Not every sin that emerged could possibly belong to the Golden Lord.

“As the Human King, let me tell you something: You are not that special. You’re just a human.”

No matter who they are, everyone is just human to me.

Their thoughts were readable.

To me, they’re all the same.

“The Golden Empire just happened to be full of clever merchants. They were sharp, quick-witted, and always looked out for themselves. When the blessing of gold arrived, they fully embraced it. When it turned into a curse, they abandoned it just as quickly. That was the decision of the entire Golden Empire. If ignorance was a sin, then they would share in it equally.”

Worried he might misunderstand, I quickly added.

“Of course, I don’t particularly like the Sanctum’s concept of sin! Calling anything a sin is a luxury that beasts like us can’t afford, don’t you think?”

Humans are beasts, and I am their king.

Therefore, I accept whatever they do, regardless of their motives.

Finally beginning to understand me, the Golden Lord responded slowly.

“…That.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying this to comfort you. I’m saying this on behalf of the countless humans you’ve disregarded. You saw the people of the Golden Empire as scarecrows, devoid of will. Victims, swept away by fate, unable to resist its current. Hah! No wonder the world you created turned out this way.”

I smirked, spreading my arms.

Though this was a Spiritual World, beyond this place was surely the Golden Palace.

A vision of the ideal Golden Empire he had imagined.

Fields brimming with crops, a grand city blending beauty and practicality, and walls so imposing they seemed to sever the world.

Yet…

Within those walls, there were no people.

“I saw it clearly. Your Golden Empire is full of homunculi. Even those with a fragment of reason are mere extensions of the Primarchs’ homunculi while the rest are puppets incapable of independent thought. It’s honestly laughable. You see the people of the Golden Empire as mindless puppets, yet you claim to cherish the nation so dearly?”

“…That’s not true!”

“Prove it!”

When I shouted, the Golden Lord flinched slightly and looked up at me, somewhat cowed.

However, still clinging to his pride, he reached out and created something.

What he crafted was… Elric.

A vision of Elric, meticulously detailed, emphasizing beauty in both physique and features—an idealized version of his imagination.

I scoffed.

“Have some decency. How does that even resemble a real person? That’s just your pillow, isn’t it? The one you cling to while you sleep.”

“I-I’ve never done such a thing!”

“Oh, I get it. You want to show off. I mean, it’s well-crafted, but that’s just the appearance, isn’t it? Did that ‘Elric’ ever show sharp insight? Did it grasp all the world’s techniques at a glance? Or did it ever gaze at you with a mix of reverence… and jealousy?”

The Golden Lord pressed his lips together tightly.

He knew.

He knew it all too well.

He was acutely aware that the smiling Elric he had created was a fake.

I pressed harder, poking where it hurt most.

“Well, if all you cared about was the body, that might be enough, but can you truly call that creation ‘Her Majesty’?”

“I know! I know! No matter how much I try, I know it’s not the real one!”

The Golden Lord suddenly stood up.

The blade at his throat clattered and the iron ball rattled as it rolled.

Even under the unbearable constraints binding him, he raised his voice in a desperate defense.

“This is different! It’s not that I dismiss humanity.I just… I just don’t understand humans!”

“Congratulations, you did it. You admitted that you don’t understand humanity, but how strange. You don’t understand humans, yet you try to claim responsibility for human sins? You don’t even know what sin truly is.”

The authority to demand atonement doesn’t belong to anyone, let alone the Golden Lord.

He doesn’t even serve as a precedent.

No one else could possibly repeat his actions.

Others might lash out in retribution, but that was an entirely separate matter.

The Golden Lord collapsed helplessly, slumping back down.

He stared pitifully at the golden bell, not because he had lost interest in me, but because he could no longer bear my gaze.

“I just don’t understand,” he murmured.

“When I made gold, they cheered. Everyone hailed me as a hero. Those who received gold bowed their heads and thanked me profusely. So how did it come to this?”

“For someone who doesn’t understand humans, taking all their incomprehensible actions upon yourself is absurd. You’re like a self-proclaimed expert critiquing something you don’t even comprehend. Why blame yourself for what you don’t understand?”

“But everyone said it was my sin. They said I was the one who caused this tragedy! Even Her Majesty…!”

Choking on his emotions, the Golden Lord paused before venting his anguish.

“Even Her Majesty Elric, who taught me when I was nothing and supported me in every way! Even she ordered my death! I committed an unforgivable sin! Death was the only proper atonement!”

Of course, he would want to believe that.

Otherwise, he would have to doubt not only himself but also the Elric he revered.

But that’s not the truth.

Sin is just a label applied in hindsight.

Human actions are far more primal and instinctive in their motivations.

I spoke calmly.

“No, that’s not it. She simply needed someone to take all the responsibility and die for it.”