140. In the Divine Realm, Part 1

Firumia and Isanamia materialized into the space where Satias resided.

“Satias! You’re the one behind the destruction of Filidia, aren’t you?”

Firumia lunged toward Satias.

The sudden appearance of Firumia, and the blade aura she projected, startled Satias.

“Huh? What on earth are you talking about?” Satias said.

“You don’t get to play dumb! The dragons are under your control, aren’t they? And you’ve been investigating the fusion of microbial magic for ages. You’re the one who created that virus, aren’t you? And that [Remove-All] skill the dragon used—wasn’t it you who gave it to them?” Firumia shot back.

“……So what, exactly, are you even talking about?” Satias asked again.

“You’ve always hated the Fourth Generation, haven’t you? That’s why you sabotaged it, wasn’t it?”

“…No, why on earth would I do that? The Fourth Generation is fantastic. I’ve only recently come to realize just how brilliant they are. I’ve been looking into whether there’s something interesting we could do with them… What’s going on here?” Satias said, his expression utterly blank.

He really looked like he had no idea.

“……”

Firumia stared at his face, and her anger slowly subsided. She paused, then began to wonder—what in the world was actually going on?

“Sigh. I told you, senior. Satias isn’t the kind of god who’d do something like that.”

Isanamia exhaled, shaking her head.

“I don’t know what happened, but the dragons were under Filidia’s original construction phase, weren’t they? That was over two thousand years ago in that world’s timeline. I haven’t had any contact with them since the initial setup. And even I couldn’t just whip up a virus like that,” Satias said.

“Then you didn’t embed the miasma-generation spell in the virus?” Firumia pressed.

“No, I don’t know anything about miasma conversion arrays, and I can’t craft spells at all. I’m not a virus expert—plus, I don’t even know how I’d get it to Filidia. Isn’t that Isanmia’s specialty?” Satias said.

Firumia calmed down slightly, thinking.

True, Satias couldn’t make spell arrays. The idea of him creating a virus and delivering it to Filidia… she paused, considering—

“…Isanmia, I have a question,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Isanmia.

“…Yes, senior?” Isanmia replied, expressionless.

“Um… you, maybe…?” Firumia started, then hesitated.

“Senior, please calm down. I didn’t do anything,” Isanmia said, her expression clearly saying *enough already*. A good portion of it was outright anger.

And just as Isanmia finished speaking, the air in the space shifted—something appeared.

“““!”””

The three deities recoiled in shock. The Almighty of All Gods, the Cosmic God Unitya, had arrived. And with Unitya stood Shiro, Mitoka, Shestia, and Kotone.

“Enough. Everyone, settle down,” Unitya said.

“Unitya-sama? Why are you here? And why are Shiro-san and the others with you?”

“Ah, I heard you stormed into Satias’s domain. Came to stop you. You might want to calm down a little,” Unitya chided Firumia.

“…Yes,” Firumia replied.

"Good to see you again, Firumia-sama. The issue at Filidia’s has been resolved. So, a report," Shiro said.

"Wait—resolved? I suppose the collapse was averted, but the root cause was Satias… wasn’t it?"

"No, that’s incorrect," Shiro said.

"Wait—what? Not Satias? Then… Isanamia?" Firumia asked.

"...No," Shiro said.

"Firumia-senpai, you really did suspect me, didn’t you?" Isanamia stared at Firumia, eyes narrowed.

"...No, not at all. But Satias was right—there’s no one else who’s an expert in both systems..."

"...Firumia-sama, please calm down. I’ll explain," Shiro said, and began recounting the full story.

"First, let me confirm—was the Hero Summoning Magic Array created by Isanamia-sama?"

"Yes. It should be disabled now."

"Understood. The unique notation pattern seen in part of the array—is that your style, Isanamia-sama?"

"Hmm, good catch. Yes," Isanamia said, smiling proudly.

"Then… the magical device in the goddess’s cottage? Was that also you, Isanamia-sama?"

"The cottage’s magical device? What’s that?" Firumia asked.

"No, nothing major. But there were many useful devices attached to the cottage, and I’m grateful. I’ve been using them quite conveniently."

"Yes. My magic array."

"So… the Virus Mana Miasma Conversion Magic Array—the virus and the original Micro Magic Array technology—those are also yours, Isanamia-sama?"

"Wait—really?" Firumia gasped.

"Yeah, that’s right. Don’t you remember, senior? We had that discussion about optimizing mana conversion, didn’t we? Back then, we brainstormed the idea of using miasma as a route, didn’t we? That one."

"...Now that you mention it, I do recall that conversation. Completely forgot about it, though. But we never actually built the magic array, did we?"

"Well, we kinda did," Isanamia said.

"Wha—? You *did*?!"

"But I mean, it was just a concept code, senior. The kind of thing the divine oracle used to hand out back then. I just gave it to the demon scholars. Didn’t expect them to actually finish it," Isanamia shrugged.

"Ah, so it *is* your fault, Isanamia-sama?" Shiro said. Then,

"Anyway, that virus and the problematic magic array—those are what caused the Magecentral Miasma Catastrophe," Shiro said.

"Wait—really? But how…?" Firumia and Isanamia both stared, stunned. Isanamia looked genuinely surprised, as if it couldn’t be.

"Anyway, it’s an accident. Pointing fingers won’t change that. What matters here is that, at the time, that virus was spread across the world," Shiro said.

Three types of virus were identified.

Type M: Infects mushrooms. When the mushrooms get wet, they release spores—and simultaneously generate miasma.

Type H: A mutated variant of Type M. Infects living organisms, generates miasma internally, causing mana depletion and mental instability.

Type C: A mutated variant of Type M. Reacts to a specific frequency of light emitted by Silver Fireflies, triggering miasma emission.

"I think the original Type M mutated into Type C after the accident—after being scattered into the natural world. And that Type C is what caused the past surges in monster populations. We’ve confirmed the periodic outbreaks align with the 30-year breeding cycle of Silver Fireflies and the oscillation of the Dragon Vein."

"What kind of nonsense… I never even considered miasma emissions on a viral scale," Firumia said.

"Indeed. Maybe the integration of DNA-based and entity-based systems went a little too smoothly?"

"Hahaha. That’s exactly what I thought. I looked into it, and it’s clear—the Fourth-Generation World System was built *too* well. Hahaha," Satias laughed heartily.

"Anyway, I’ve spoken with Adra and Iberia as well…"

Adra and Iberia hadn’t just run away.

In the end, the stampede happened because Adra and Iberia, infected by a Virus-type Miasma and suffering from physical distress and mental instability, sought help and sensed the overwhelming presence of Shiro and Shestia, naturally heading toward them—accidentally driving the monsters into a corner.

"There’s no truth to the claim that the dragons moved on Satias-sama’s orders," Shiro said.

"...Then why—why the Cult of the Malevolent God? Why the timing?" Firumia asked, her voice fading.

"Ah, the Cult of the Malevolent God. The settlement that broke the barrier—apparently, they’d received a lot of help from Adra and Iberia. They overheard the dragons praying to Satias-sama and, without understanding who or what Satias-sama truly was, decided to start worshipping him on their own. It was more like loyalty to the dragons who’d saved them than any real belief."

And then, he continued.

“Coincidence, you say? The timing of the stampede and the breach of the barrier—call it miraculous, perhaps?”

“……” Firumia fell silent.

“Incidentally, we’ve mapped the dragons’ migration path. The rise in miasma and the surge in monster sightings over the past decade? Likely due to the viruses they contracted during movement—and spread in their wake. The data matches up perfectly: their route, the distribution of mushrooms…”

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