Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 378: Who Will Provide the Suitable Sacrifice?

The terrified scavengers protested.

“K-Kill us? We were promised fair compensation!”

“It was a contract!”

Ignoring the scavengers’ words, I spoke to Peru.

“Did they help in any way, or are they even strong? The only thing worth trusting was the Suppressionist Overseer’s promise, but the Suppressionist Overseer is dead. Whether they get paid or not is their problem, not ours. Why did they follow us all the way here and start causing trouble?”

I brushed my hair back in annoyance. At that slight gesture, the scavengers immediately cowered in fear.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

Of course, I only have a normal level of strength. There’s no way for me to kill them all at once. But in life, it’s all about appearances. Since I was with the Regressor and Tir, these scavengers saw me as no different from a monster like them.

Putting on airs, I looked down on the scavengers as if they were nothing.

“We haven’t even reported the situation to the Thunder Overseer yet, and you’re acting like it’s already settled. Are you still planning to share the Suppressionist Overseer’s inheritance with people like that? You’re seriously not rethinking this?”

This is the classic good cop, bad cop routine. I act like I’m ready to kill them all, while Peru pretends to stop me and makes them feel indebted to her. It’s fine. I’m used to playing the villain.

Peru finally realized my intention and followed my lead.

“...Because it’s a contract.”

“Well, if it’s Peru’s decision, then it can’t be helped. But if they get in the way and delay us, we’ll take care of it ourselves. I don’t care what happens to the Suppressionist Overseer’s inheritance, but if they slow us down, I might just feel like killing them all.”

“...Then, I’ll handle it.”

“Well, Peru would probably be more effective than me. With Peru’s ability, she could crush them without leaving even a piece of bone behind.”

Acting like I was ready to kill everything in sight, the terrified scavengers scattered and ran. It didn’t even take a full minute for them to disappear.

I waited until the last one was out of sight before speaking.

“You’re grateful, right?”

“...Yes.”

Peru gave a small nod, having escaped the situation. Honestly. If it was going to be this much trouble, she shouldn’t have taken it on in the first place.

“So why did you even take on the Suppressionist Overseer’s dying wish? You could’ve just ignored it.”

“...Because it’s a contract.”

“If it’s not a contract with me, can’t you just ignore it? Do you really have to play the guardian of contracts? Isn’t that a hassle?”

Peru glanced at the golden bell hanging from her waist.

“...The Golden Mirror entrusted it to me. If I don’t protect it, who will?”

A patriot, huh?

With the Golden Mirror gone and the Suppressionist Overseer dead, the Golden Nation was bound to fall into chaos. For now, the absence isn’t obvious, like water slowly leaking out of cracks. But eventually, the entire nation will dry up. When that happens, everyone will have to admit it—the Golden Nation is finished.

But it’s not completely over yet. The Golden Mirror is gone, but its legacy still remains.

“So what exactly is that bell’s ability? It’s a relic of the Golden Mirror, but I can’t figure it out.”

“...I don’t know. It fixes broken things.”

Peru fiddled with the golden bell. Fixing broken things—it’s certainly a useful ability. But compared to the Golden Mirror’s authority, which could create entire nations, it feels incredibly weak. I gave her some serious advice.

“You should figure it out quickly. For peace, if nothing else.”

“He’s right.”

At that moment, lightning flashed. Before we knew it, the Thunder Overseer was standing next to us, her long hair fluttering. Sparks flickered as she stopped and looked down at Peru.

“...Thunder Overseer.”

“Whatever you think of the Golden Mirror’s character, its power was divine enough to reshape the world. You need to not only draw out the relic’s power but also grow strong enough to protect it.”

“...Yes.”

“And to do that, you can’t keep showing weakness like you just did.”

Peru flinched under the sharp criticism, and the Thunder Overseer immediately pressed her further.

“People rest under the shade of a great tree, not a field of reeds. Those scavengers threatened you because they didn’t trust you. They thought you’d waver, so they tried to shake you. To stop that, you need to stand firm—and use force if necessary.”

If Peru used her power, she could certainly chase off the scavengers. The problem is that her abilities are purely destructive. She could end up shattering their bodies instead of just intimidating them.

That’s why Peru never even considered using her power against humans. She muttered weakly.

“...But my power...”

“It’s the Verdant Overseer’s power, isn’t it? So why are you hesitating? Your power is one of the most terrifying things in this nation, which is filled with the Golden Mirror’s poison. Use it.”

But the Thunder Overseer clearly thought differently. Her suggestion that Peru crush even humans if necessary left Peru visibly shaken.

“...I can’t use the Verdant power on humans.”

Peru hesitated, wondering if she’d misunderstood, but the Thunder Overseer tilted her head.

“The Golden Mirror treated the people of this nation like crops to be harvested. Right or wrong, that’s why they revered it. If you want to claim the title of Golden Overseer in a nation without the Golden Mirror, you need to show that same level of power.”

“...Didn’t you hate relying on the Golden Mirror’s crops? Why are you saying this?”

Peru respected the Thunder Overseer, so her words were all the more shocking.

Claudia was the Golden Nation’s largest agricultural city, raising children free from alchemical contamination. The Thunder Overseer had built that system to give future generations normal food, free of the Golden Mirror’s influence.

Everyone knew she despised the Golden Mirror, which was why Peru thought she had created Claudia to escape its rule.

But the Thunder Overseer’s attitude now was unexpected.

“I do hate the Golden Mirror. But that’s because it abused its power without rules, not because I deny its achievements. After all, my own body was built with its power.”

“...Your body?”

“Yes. From my toes to the ends of my hair, my entire body is made of alchemical matter. That’s why I can withstand lightning.”

That makes sense. No ordinary human could survive being struck by lightning.

Of course, no normal human could survive being struck by lightning unscathed. So the Thunder Overseer’s durability came from having a body entirely composed of alchemical material.

The crops created by the Golden Mirror were all alchemical materials. When consumed and assimilated, they turned the body into something with alchemical properties. The defining characteristic of alchemical matter was its high reactivity—it had almost no resistance to external interference. That was why homunculi were so vulnerable to Tir and Peru’s abilities. Despite claiming to be “perfect,” the homunculi were anything but.

However, the Thunder Overseer wasn’t a homunculus. She had been conceived in her mother’s womb, just like any other human, but she was raised on the Golden Mirror’s crops—before birth, after birth, and as she grew up. She had been supplied with only the purest crops from the Golden Mirror.

The reason the Golden Nation had so many people with disabilities was that their bodies rejected the unstable alchemical material mixed into them. But those filled entirely with pure alchemical material developed flawless bodies—no disabilities, no illnesses, and the ability to withstand lightning and even make it their own.

Of course, that also meant they were extremely vulnerable to Peru’s powers and the Golden Mirror’s abilities.

Startled, Peru instinctively took a step back from the Thunder Overseer—not out of fear but out of concern that she might accidentally harm her. Peru couldn’t bear the thought of shattering the Thunder Overseer with the Verdant power she admired so much.

The Thunder Overseer, however, immediately noticed her hesitation. Lightning flashed in her eyes.

‘You dare... worry about me?’

What a strange person. She shrugged off having her lightning stolen, yet got angry because someone worried about her safety?

Calling her “strange” would be putting it kindly. In harsher terms, she was abnormal. It might be a good idea to keep some distance from her.

“If you’re worried about me right now, then you need to remind yourself who’s standing in front of you. I am the Thunder Overseer. I command heaven and earth, and I wield the power of lightning. Do you really think you can harm me?”

“...Ah. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize so easily! Hah, how do you expect to accomplish anything when you’re this timid? If only you had even half the nerve that boy does.”

The Thunder Overseer shook her head, making Peru shrink even further. After calming herself with a deep breath, she spoke again.

“If you let yourself be underestimated, you won’t be able to do anything. Establish rules and show what’s right. Keep the possibility of punishment in their minds at all times. If they stray from the path, deliver judgment. That is the duty of those who stand above others—of those like you and me, who were chosen.”

“...”

Peru couldn’t bring herself to respond. She didn’t agree, not in her heart.

The Thunder Overseer’s power allowed Claudia to prosper. No matter how much she used it, it never ran out and usually benefited the city.

But Peru’s power broke down alchemical value. No matter how she dressed it up, using her abilities only lowered the worth of the Golden Nation.

Maybe the two of them would never truly understand each other. Their positions were just too different.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Feeling like I’d only make it worse by staying, I raised my hand.

“Anyway, if the conversation’s over, can I get going now?”

The Thunder Overseer shifted her gaze away from Peru and asked,

“Where are you going?”

“I thought I’d take a look inside the Lightning Tower.”

“The Lightning Tower is always filled with the Thunder’s power. If you wander around without a guide, you’re guaranteed to get electrocuted.”

...Well, that’s a relief. I had originally planned to sneak in, look around, and pocket anything useful. I almost ended up getting fried to death alone in some hidden corner.

I let out a breath of relief, but the Thunder Overseer glanced at her watch and nodded.

“I suppose I have some time. I’ll guide you myself.”

“Wait, you’re going to guide me personally? That’s not necessary—”

Without answering, the Thunder Overseer started walking ahead, fully expecting me to follow.

Tch. If the Thunder Overseer was watching me personally, there was no way I could take anything. I’d have to settle for just looking around. What a waste.

Trying to console my disappointment, I followed behind her.

“This is the Lightning Tower. It channels the lightning that falls from the Cloudfall and uses its power. It’s a structure unique to Claudia.”

Operating the elevator herself, the Thunder Overseer began explaining without being asked.

“Claudia started by cutting into the mountains to create farmland. The Thunder’s power came from the sky, blessing the soil and making it fertile enough to grow anything. But as the city expanded, problems arose. Expanding the farmland meant pushing deeper into the mountains, and as you know, tigers live there.”

Ugh. Why’d she have to bring up those beasts? I instinctively flinched.

Claudia, with its ever-present clouds and lightning, was an anomaly. Humans weren’t meant to live in the mountains.

What kind of animal could rest easy in the presence of tigers with their sharp, unblinking eyes? Unless you’d built a bond with nature over generations, the moment you tried cutting trees and farming, you’d become prey. Tigers didn’t eat crops, after all.

“So instead of expanding outward, we built upward.”

The Thunder Overseer stopped the elevator and opened the door, revealing the interior of the Lightning Tower.

There were no walls or pillars inside. Instead, the space was filled with soil, and crops grew so densely that there was hardly any room to step.

Water collected from the Cloudfall flowed through channels, soaking the earth. Plants flourished, their roots deep in the soil.

The union of sky and earth—the blessings of the heavens and the earth mother. The Bible says humans should always give thanks for their daily bread, calling it a divine blessing.

But... could this really be called a blessing of the heavens and the earth mother?

They had scooped up soil and packed it layer by layer, covering each level of the tower with earth like peeling off the skin of the earth mother.

The sky was blocked by a ceiling, but in Claudia, where clouds and lightning descended directly to the ground, even the heavens were trapped inside glass spheres hanging from the ceilings.

They extracted the light of lightning and sealed it inside the glass spheres, replacing the sun and shining it down on the crops.

The sky and the earth—stolen, stacked layer upon layer to create artificial fields.

If the author of the Bible saw this sight, would they be horrified or impressed?

“This is why Claudia prospered,” the Thunder Overseer said, unable to hide her pride.