◇
The place Belia led me to was a forested mountain behind the former residence of the Shinonome family, which once ruled this country.
The people of this nation call this mountain forest the "Sacred Mountain."
Ever since the founding of the country on this island, the Sacred Mountain has been managed by the Shinonome family. It is a restricted area that normally only members of the Shinonome family and its branch families—the Tendou and Asagiri families—may enter.
The reason we could enter such a place was because the church had taken control of the country after the civil war several years ago.
Normally, no one except those involved is allowed inside, but once a year, on the final day of the summer festival led by the nation, ordinary citizens are permitted to enter the mountain. I wonder what meaning that holds.
Following the stone-paved approach path, a large torii gate came into view.
Continuing further, a massive and majestic shrine appeared beyond the torii.
Tracing the roots of the humans living in the Kyokuto region leads to an eastern island nation in the outside world.
I have heard that this country developed in a unique way, different from other nations.
It seems their dominant belief was that gods dwell in all things—nature, human activities, and everything else.
With so many gods, it naturally followed that there were many shrines throughout the country to enshrine them.
Perhaps as remnants of that culture, several shrines still exist in the Kyokuto region.
Several hundred years have passed since this world was created.
Nowadays, the people of the Kyokuto region have forgotten the original purpose of the shrines.
Even so, the fact that the shrines still stand undestroyed is likely because that way of thinking has taken root deep in their subconscious.
…If so many gods truly exist, I would very much like to ask them why they have left such imperfect creatures as humans to their own devices.
"Is this the Phoenix Shrine?"
I asked Belia while looking at the shrine towering deeper inside.
For many years, I had been searching for the Phoenix Shrine.
It was obvious that this shrine—protected for generations by the descendants of the Sword Immortal and the Princess Shrine Maiden, who had been companions of the Hero of the Fairy Tales, August, at the end of that era—would be suspicious.
After seizing control of the Kyokuto region, I had investigated this shrine first.
However, I found no clues.
The shrine itself is magnificent, but no matter how thoroughly I examined it, it was nothing more than an "ordinary building." It simply did not feel like a structure connected to the laws of the world.
That was why I had assumed it was a decoy meant to divert attention from the real Phoenix Shrine.
"Ah. This is the entrance to the Phoenix Shrine."
Belia stopped in front of the torii gate and answered my question.
He reached out toward the torii, and the space enclosed by it rippled like the surface of water.
"…This is…"
"The Phoenix Shrine exists in a space separated from this world, similar to the interior of a labyrinth. This torii serves as the gate connecting here to the other side. The shrine you see deeper in is merely a façade built to blend naturally with the gate."
Another space separate from this one…
I see. That explains why it could not be found through ordinary searching.
Belia was about to step through the torii, so I started to follow behind him.
He stopped me.
"I cannot allow you to go any further from here."
"Why? There's no need to hide anything from me at this point, is there?"
I felt irritation toward Belia's stubbornness.
"It's not that I don't trust you. From this point onward, the environment is effectively the same as the outside world. For someone who is not a Transcendent like you, it is no exaggeration to say the space is filled with deadly poison."
"…I see. If that's the case, then it can't be helped."
It was only natural when I thought about it.
I had wanted to confirm the conditions inside beforehand, but I could not step into a place where I would die.
I would have the Thunder Emperor check inside at a later date.
Belia stepped through the torii and vanished into the void.
"…For now, it's good enough that I learned the location. Still, it really has been a long road to get here."
From the time I began taking serious action until today, it had felt incredibly long.
Catering to Belia's moods had been truly exhausting.
But that, too, would finally come to an end.
"You've already fulfilled your role, Belia. I have no further use for you yourself. It's time for you to make your exit."
It was fortunate that no one else was around.
I could not stop the corners of my mouth from naturally rising, and it would have been difficult to hide my smile.
◇
While I pondered ways to neutralize Belia, he returned from beyond the torii.
"Welcome back, Lord Belia. Did everything go smoothly?"
"…Yes. I rewrote the rules of the labyrinths. Right now, labyrinth overflows should be occurring across the world. I also confirmed that someone performed a long-distance teleportation from the capital of the Hitia Duchy, Celest, to the island where the Second Farm is located. It's almost certainly Orun."
Labyrinths are spaces that produce magic beasts.
By the laws of the world, magic beasts are fundamentally prohibited from moving between floors.
There are rare cases where various factors cause that rule to break and magic beasts appear on the surface.
The Cyclamen Church had also exploited loopholes in that rule to artificially cause overflows.
Even if an overflow occurs, the time it takes to resolve varies depending on the situation, but ultimately the laws of the world correct the labyrinth's functions and the overflow ends.
However, because Belia had manipulated the laws and removed the rule that "magic beasts inside the labyrinth are prohibited from moving between floors," these overflows would now continue semi-permanently.
That was equivalent to completely changing the state of the world.
Until now, only explorers fought magic beasts, and the fighting took place only inside the labyrinths.
From now on, that would no longer be the case.
Struggles for survival between humans and magic beasts would break out everywhere.
Whether human or magic beast, the weak would die first in this new world.
(Fufu… What an interesting world this will become. This chaotic situation is exactly what I have been seeking. Since humans will perish before long anyway, entertain me with this fleeting time until then.)
Belia's voice brought me out of my thoughts as he continued.
"The overflows have begun. The world will soon fall into turmoil. This is the perfect stage for us."
I smiled sweetly at him.
"Yes… It truly is."