True Magician

Chapter 89

An unknown place.

I frowned, feeling a decent amount of discomfort, and turned toward the capital.

Even with the titanic amount of mana I had, I could clearly feel it draining away. It was as if a skyscraper-sized hole had formed in the giant dam, and the mana was the water in it. If I didn't possess True Magic, I'd have plus or minus an hour before I'd have to use Solomon's body if I didn't want to fall unconscious from overexhaustion.

On the other hand, besides me, Tia, who had taken the form of the Beast, had another source of strength.

The local Gaia.

Tia is a goddess belonging to the 'mother earth' type. Those like her have the status of creators of the "earth" or "source" that created creation. In fact, such gods, like Tia herself, are the personification of the "cycle of life in nature".

All life, in one way or another, begins in the "earth". And anyone who has been born in absolutely any way on planet Earth is unable to deny the authority of the likes of Tia.

Every plant, insect, fish, beast, bird and so on is born in it and makes a cycle among themselves. One devours the other, thus maintaining a kind of balance of life.

Humans do not fit into this concept as they are the top of the food chain on Earth, becoming pests. The population of humanity as a species is not constrained by anything other than natural lifespan, and thus the balance is disturbed. This is actually why, apart from Gaia, there is only Alaya, the Unconscious Will of Mankind, not birds, animals, plants and so on.

Based on all this, it's no wonder that the local Gaia was giving Tia strength. But that wasn't what bothered me.

As soon as she changed form, certain urges immediately appeared in my mind....

To kill.

They felt about the same as when someone higher up orders you to do something. You don't want to do it, but you're required by regulation to obey and do as ordered. Kind of like a job, but a little more complicated.

Also, in this case, I was called upon to kill not just people, but anything my hands could reach. And that was no longer the influence of this world, but of Tia's very essence as a Beast of Gaia.

However, to consider these urges simply as 'killing' is not to be considered. With a little thought, it could be considered a sort of forced reset to the original point when only earth, water, and sky existed. To allow life to retrace its evolutionary path, so to speak.

Back on topic, the urges were quite tolerable, at least here. I think if it had happened in the Nasuverse, the level would have been quite different. And my words that I would take Tia's pain upon myself applied to that very point. The bond that had formed between us allowed me to redirect some of those urges onto myself, to give her more freedom than I would have had in any other case.

Let her do what she wanted to do.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the snake beside me looking in the same direction.

- Did something interest you? - I asked, to which she didn't respond - If you noticed my companion, don't worry. She'll do what she wants and leave. And me with her, of course.

- I sensed a faint presence of a spirit like me near you... Is it her? - After a little silence, the snake asked worriedly - Why is she so... like me? As if she is my sister... And why is she against the children? Against me? I... don't understand...

I raised an eyebrow.

"Children?" That sounds about as much as Tia would say.

- She is you in a way. From another world, but still. So, it's to be expected," I shrugged, "And since I've answered your question, deign to answer mine.