Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Chapter 410

I had never thought of Tyrkanzyaka as being fast.

She always moved at a leisurely pace, dragging her coffin along as she walked, no different from a tortoise. Even outside of the Abyss, she had always seemed slow and deliberate.

But here, in the Mist Duchy, she was astonishingly fast.

Perhaps it wasn’t a mere metaphor when she said she had woven her darkness into the mist—because she moved as if she were swimming through the fog, manipulating it like flowing water.

I wasn’t moving—the world was.

And before I could even register what had happened, Tyrkanzyaka and I had arrived at a secluded pasture, far from any prying eyes.

After ensuring that no one else was around, Tyr took a deep breath.

“Hughes. What exactly just happened back there?”
“Nothing much. I just used the power of a devil.”
“I do not understand what ‘nothing much’ means when you say it.”

Seeing that I was unfazed, Tyrkanzyaka seemed to settle down as well.

I perched on a nearby rock, and after a brief moment of hesitation, she sat beside me.

She needed time to sort out her thoughts.

Hughes was also the one who revived my heart. He rekindled a flame I had long lost, a memory buried for centuries. At the time, I was too overwhelmed by joy to question it. And later, I wished only to remain among them, so I never pressed him for answers…

But should I ask now? If I question him about the King of Humans, will he vanish like a fairy tale?

She could ask now.

I had tried to hide my status as the King of Humans for as long as possible, but after being exposed, there was no point in concealing it any further.

The world had thrown its cards onto the table.

Maybe it was because regressors had seen the future and begun recklessly meddling.

Regardless, secrets had lost all meaning—we were all racing at full speed toward the extreme limits of possibility.

If that was the case, it was better to reveal my cards and enter the race openly.

So, before Tyrkanzyaka could even ask, I spoke first.

“Tyr. The devil I encountered in Claudia had a unique power. You saw it for yourself—the ability to control lightning.”
“You mean the power Peru used at the end?”
“Yes. Though the way I use it is completely different.”

Since we were already on the subject, I opened my palm and showed her.

A faint current sparked across my hand, dancing through the air.

Not nearly as powerful as Peru’s or the Thunder Overseer’s, but more than enough for a single person to wield.

Seeing this mystical display before her eyes, Tyrkanzyaka finally decided on what she wanted to ask.

“Hughes. Does the King of Humans… possess the ability to wield the power of devils?”

I had told her before, but at the time, my words had been too vague.

It was time to explain properly.

If she was to be an ally, she needed to start from the same point as me.

“No. All humans can wield the power of devils. Because devils are the very laws of the world itself.”

Tyrkanzyaka took her time contemplating this statement before responding.

“The laws of the world… That sounds much like what ancient magicians used to say.”
“It’s exactly the same. Magic is simply a fragment of the devils’ power granted to humans. The only difference lies in how it is wielded.”

True ignorance is not knowing what one doesn’t know.

And right now, Tyrkanzyaka’s mind was filled with directionless questions, making her the most difficult kind of student to teach.

But I was no ordinary teacher—I was the King of Humans.

I read the underlying confusion in her mind and chose the answer that would penetrate through it all.

“The world existed long before humans. Within this grand flow of existence, beasts simply lived as they always had. But some creatures learned to observe the flow of the world and manipulate it to their advantage.”
“You mean humans?”
“Not just humans. Birds that ride the wind, spiders that weave webs, beavers that build dams. All creatures that have lived alongside the world have learned to interpret it in their own way.”

I flicked my fingers, and two cards fluttered like birds before landing on a rock, forming a small house of cards.

Then, I collapsed it and reconstructed it, this time reinforcing it like a dam.

“Understanding and shaping the world isn’t something unique to humans. All creatures do it. The only difference is that humans are simply better at it. And some humans, driven by curiosity, sought to master this knowledge. Through countless attempts, they finally reached the fundamental truths of the world.”
“The laws of the world?”
“Exactly. But rather than merely using those truths, they forged them into rules. Just like how early humans once discovered fire, then learned how to create it. These devils are the ones who harnessed these fundamental laws and left them as a gift to humanity.”

I pressed my palm against the rock.

With my own strength, I could not move it.

But using earthcraft, I made a deep imprint.

Beneath my handprint, the rock crumbled into soil.

I stirred my fingers, and from that single handful of dirt, a dandelion sprouted.

A seed, long dead and buried, was forced to bloom.

“The power to change the world. Magic is simply a formalized method of using this power. But at its core, this power is granted to all creatures.”
“…And yet, vampires could never wield it.”
“That’s because vampires blur the boundary between self and world. To change the world, you need a clear definition of self—and vampires lack that definition. But now that you’ve reclaimed your heart, it might be possible for you.”

Of course, first she needed to master the overwhelming power inside her, but still.

Tyrkanzyaka nodded before moving on to her next question.

“If devils’ power is a gift to humanity, why does the Holy Crown Church seek to seal it away?”
“Oh, you caught on quick.”
“Was it not obvious? I smelled their schemes both in the Abyss and in Cloud Village.”

She really did have an uncanny sense for their meddling.

I nodded.

“The Church didn’t seal away the devils’ power. They don’t have that capability. You saw for yourself—Golden Mirror, Earth Mother, their power was never truly hidden.”
“That is true. Their knowledge spread far and wide. Then, what was the Church doing?”
“It’s simple. They weren’t trying to erase the knowledge—they were trying to prevent humans from committing a certain taboo.”

At the mention of taboos, Tyrkanzyaka’s expression darkened.

No one in this world understood taboos better than she did.

A vampire, a being that drank the blood of others, she had spent centuries living under the weight of her own sin.

Her voice was filled with disdain as she responded.

“The Four Great Taboos the Church decreed?”
“Correct. You know them well, don’t you?”
“How could I not? I have heard them so many times, I could recite all four this very moment.”
“Then go ahead.”

“If we both already know the answer, there’s no need for me to explain it.”

Tyrkanzyaka readily accepted the explanation I had pushed onto her.

“The First Taboo: Gluttony. The act of consuming something evil and abominable to sustain oneself. The lesser beings accused vampires of being the offspring of Gluttony, using it as an excuse to attack us. And yet, we do not take lives—we only drink blood.”

She didn’t explicitly say it, but the “evil and abominable” thing referred to was often humans themselves.

Tyrkanzyaka grimaced slightly before moving on.

“The Second Taboo: Grafting. Discarding the body granted by the Creator and replacing it with something unnatural. The abominations born of dark magic—creatures with animal horns or wings sewn onto them—are the result of grafting.”
“The Four Kingdoms turned their bodies into machines, though.”
“Indeed. That too could be considered grafting. Not that the Church did a good job preventing it. In any case, the Third Taboo is…”

Tyrkanzyaka, who had been calmly listing the taboos, suddenly froze.

She stopped mid-sentence, her words trailing off awkwardly.

“Th-The Third Taboo…”
“What? Don’t you know it?”
“I do! It’s just….”

The Third Taboo is… Copulation… I know that much, but… How can I say something so obscene in front of a man?!

Seriously?

After centuries of existence, you’re still acting like a flustered maiden over something like this?

If it’s that difficult, I’ll say it for you.

“Allow me. The Third Taboo is Copulation—the act of crossbreeding humans with something non-human. Methods include bestiality, mass orgies, and other such practices. The most infamous example is Empress Agartha, who—according to legend—slept with every man in her city and bred monst—”
“HAVE YOU NO SHAME?! I know the details! Just move on to the next one already!”

Her face turned red, and she slapped me—hard.

I had intended to tease her a little longer, but that actually hurt, so I quickly moved on.

“Lastly, the Fourth Taboo: Heresy. The act of deceiving humanity with corrupt knowledge, leading them to lose their faith. The Church condemns unholy thoughts and seeks to correct them.”
“That is nothing more than a tool of convenience. If they dislike something, they simply brand it as heresy and attack.”
“I agree. Now, Tyr. We’ve gone over the four taboos—do you see the common thread among them?”

Despite being labeled forbidden, these acts weren’t all that uncommon.

Cases of Gluttony, Grafting, and Copulation could be found all throughout history.

People simply didn’t boast about them.

But when pushed to extremes, many would commit these taboos to survive.

Vampires did it. The Four Kingdoms did it. Agartha did it.

The taboos were part of reality.

And yet, the Holy Crown Church designated them as forbidden acts for a reason.

“Taboos are acts that fundamentally alter humans.”

To protect humanity.

“Gluttony turns humans into prey.
Grafting turns humans into tools.
Copulation taints human purity.
Heresy destroys human spirituality.”

“The Church created these taboos to preserve humanity as individuals and as a species.”

“…To protect humanity?”

Tyrkanzyaka gave me a long, searching look, as if silently asking, And how exactly do you know that?

I had no answer for that.

I was the King of Humans, but I had no memory of past Kings.

The only thing I inherited was an ancient promise—one made by the First Saint, a promise that bound the King of Humans.

That promise still echoed across time.

I knew only that.

I had no memory of the First Era.

So, I had nothing else to tell her.

“…Anyway, let’s return to the main point.”

“The devils who grasped the laws of the world wielded power capable of altering reality. Even if their relics were never activated, their knowledge alone reshaped people’s perceptions—and through that, their lives.”

But there was one undeniable truth.

“Tyr, humans are also part of the world.”

The Church had tried to bury the devils.

They had tried to kill you the moment they saw that you wielded Bloodcraft.

They rejected vampires entirely.

They forbade acts that people instinctively feared.

All of this was done for one single purpose.

To protect humanity itself.

“The devils’ power doesn’t just change how humans live—it can change what it means to be human.”