The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness

“The New World... will fully descend!”

Gaius spread his arms and shouted loudly. The old man who had always appeared gentle and kindly had completely lost his composure at this moment. Fanatical fervor surfaced across his face, as though he were welcoming the descent of boundless divine radiance.

Yet Muen knew that was no glorious light.

It was only a hopeless and freezing future.

“The New World you’re talking about... don’t tell me you mean a world where every human is dead.”

“Correct. Exactly that.”

Gaius turned back with a smile.

“With humanity gone, all sins will disappear. The entire world will be purified. Is that not a beautiful New World?”

“...”

Muen drew a deep breath. His face remained calm as water, yet his heart churned violently.

Even though he had long expected Gaius’s madness, he had never imagined... that the man would still exceed his expectations in certain ways.

This was no longer mere obsession.

This was a pure lunatic!

No, compared to him, even lunatics seemed too normal!

“But this doesn’t solve the problem at all!”

Muen said heavily, “If the root of everything is the Evil Gods, what’s the point of killing all humans? The Evil Gods are still there, aren’t they? The threat facing this world would still—”

“Who told you... the root of everything is the Evil Gods?” Gaius interrupted him.

“What?”

Muen froze.

“The world’s pain comes from the Evil Gods, but the root cause... is not the Evil Gods.”

Gaius regained his calmness and met Muen’s stunned gaze with deep eyes.

“Do you know why the First Evil God descended?”

“The descent of the First Evil God?”

Muen recalled those truths that had once shaken him to the core and subconsciously muttered:

“A man-made disaster?”

“Correct. The descent of the First Evil God was a purely man-made catastrophe. The disaster a thousand years ago was entirely humanity’s own doing. If that is the case, then how do you know the threats posed by the other Evil Gods are not also man-made disasters?”

A mocking smile curled across Gaius’s face, as though he were ridiculing Muen’s ignorance—or ridiculing the stupidity of those people from a thousand years ago.

“Has not that ‘great’ Saint Peron V already shown you? When an ignorant, arrogant fool gains power and authority, how much damage can he inflict upon this world? Do you believe that even without us, once the Empire was about to breach the royal capital, he would not still beg an Evil God for power for his own sake?”

“...”

Muen did not answer.

Because there was no need to answer.

With Saint Peron V’s personality, that absolutely would have happened.

At the end of the road, forget betraying a holy body—even selling his soul would not make him hesitate for a second.

“You mean the disasters caused by the Evil Gods were brought about by certain people from a thousand years ago who were even more ignorant, arrogant, and foolish, yet possessed even greater power and authority?”

“Perhaps. That history is too ancient. No one can explain it clearly anymore. You should ask the one behind you. Regarding what happened a thousand years ago, she understands it better than anyone.”

Gaius slightly lifted his chin, his meaning profound.

“But at the very least, humanity’s sins are certain.”

“But you still haven’t explained why you’re doing something this insane! Even if certain people a thousand years ago were guilty, all humanity should not bear that sin!” Muen said angrily.

For some reason, Muen thought of the demonfolk.

Those who called themselves “sinners,” imprisoned within the Abyss for a thousand years, gradually becoming demonfolk who lost more and more of their humanity amid endless “reincarnation.”

They were mad.

Violent.

Desperate to break free from their cage.

Detestable and pitiful at the same time.

Right and wrong were difficult to judge in the first place, but no matter what, it absolutely was not something that justified condemning everyone with a single blow!

The world was not black and white.

Humanity’s sins and virtues could not be divided by a single straight line!

“What we should be doing now is finding a better solution—a way to end this disaster—not slitting our own throats because we cannot overcome it!”

Muen said, “How is that any different from an ostrich burying its head in the sand?”

“...As expected of her disciple.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you resemble her very much.”

Gaius suddenly smiled.

“Even this naïveté of yours is exactly the same. The difference is that she remains this naïve despite fully understanding the truth of this world. Naïve to a degree that makes one’s skin crawl.

“But you...”

Gaius’s gaze turned pitying, then suddenly envious.

“You are merely ignorant.”

“...”

A vein twitched at the corner of Muen’s eye.

Old bastard, you—

After talking for so long, was all of this just to mock me?

Then why bother saying all this? Why not just curse me directly?

Muen forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart... though mainly because he couldn’t beat him anyway.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“It’s simple. What if I told you that once humanity dies out completely, this disaster truly would end, just as you said?”

“What kind of bullshit joke are you making? How could that possibly—”

“But it is the truth.”

Gaius’s lips moved.

Yet no sound emerged from his mouth.

After watching this silent performance for a while, Muen frowned in confusion.

“So it still doesn’t work?”

In the end, Gaius shook his head with a self-mocking smile.

“You still do not possess the qualifications to know.”

“What the hell were you doing just now? Some kind of clown act?”

“No. A Contract of Silence.”

Contract of Silence... that name sounded familiar. Muen frowned.

“In order to conceal certain things, some people who once stood at the pinnacle of this world gathered together and signed a contract. That is the so-called Contract of Silence. Under its effects, anything related to those matters cannot be spoken, written, or displayed.”

Gaius said:

“It has already become a rule-like existence. Even I cannot violate it.”

“Like those missing histories and the forbidden Ancient Magic research? A taboo?” Muen asked.

“Correct.”

“Then how did you learn it?”

Muen’s eyes sharpened.

“According to what you said, you shouldn’t have been one of the signatories who knew the truth.”

“It’s simple. Because... I saw it.”

Gaius pointed at his eyes.

They were an old man’s eyes, somewhat cloudy and dim, yet still capable of seeing clearly.

“At the deepest level beneath the Church, I saw the truth concerning the world, the gods, humanity... and the apocalypse itself. A truth more cruel, more hopeless, and... more absurd than you could ever imagine.”

Memories surfaced within Gaius’s mind.

Things he most wanted to forget and discard. Scenes that made him wish, every time he recalled them, that he had never seen them at all.

Yet he still had seen them.

That thing hidden at the deepest depths beneath the Church.

That truth utterly buried in the depths of history, which, once exposed, would overturn the very foundation of everyone’s understanding of the world.

“And it was at that moment that I learned the true method of saving this world.”

“Many people know this method. My senior brother knows it. The one behind you knows it as well.”

“But despite knowing it, they ignored the most direct and effective solution because of so-called naïveté, so-called hypocrisy, and so-called perfect solutions. And because of that, the world has been dragged to such a dying state.”

Tears once again flowed from the corners of Gaius’s eyes. He pitied and mourned this world suffering beneath humanity’s sins.

“So since they would not save it... then I will.”

Gaius raised a hand and waved it.

The darkness receded. The influence of the Evil Gods faded. The scenery around Muen changed, and he was no longer outside the world, but within it.

Looking up, he saw birds singing, flowers blooming, green grass stretching endlessly, rivers flowing gently, and a refreshing breeze.

Like a beautiful New World.

But there was only one problem.

Within this world... there were no humans.

In the New World envisioned by Gaius, humanity had no place.

“Look. As long as my plan succeeds completely, everything... will become this beautiful!”

Gaius became fanatical and joyful once more, because this was the dream he had pursued for over a hundred years.

Now, the most important step of his plan was nearing completion. Everything was right before his eyes...

Yet Muen remained trapped in prolonged shock.

One question after another surfaced in his mind. He felt as though he had already absorbed an overwhelming amount of information within these few short minutes, yet crucial pieces were still missing, leaving him unbearably frustrated.

The truth...

What exactly was the truth of this world?

What happened a thousand years ago?

So the First Evil God had not merely nearly destroyed human civilization...

It had nearly destroyed this world itself?

The true world?

Muen recalled those fragments of time the old loli had once shown him.

The earth collapsing.

The sky splitting apart.

Those scenes had already been terrifying beyond measure, but now it seemed the disaster had actually been far worse.

It truly might have destroyed this entire... world.

“You should believe me now, Muen Campbell.”

Gaius glanced toward Muen.

“You are a smart man.”

“...I don’t think you have any reason to lie to me.”

After a moment of silence, Muen answered.

At times like this, the words of a madman were more believable instead.

Only some crucial piece of information was still missing.

Something related to that so-called “truth.”

And precisely because of that, all of this was so difficult to accept.

Kill all humans to save the world?

What kind of fucked-up logic was that?

“Humans are always arrogant. They always treat themselves as the center of the world. In those widely spread stories and novels, when disaster and apocalypse arrive, human heroes step forward, experience thrilling adventures, gain countless treasures and beautiful women, and finally save the world, earning the praise of all people.”

At some point, a novel had appeared in Gaius’s hand. On its cover was a handsome hero holding a sword, beauty at his side, admired by all.

“However, that so-called saving the world is merely saving humanity itself. The world has always been there. It has existed for countless years. Humanity is only a passing traveler upon it, no different from insects, birds, or beasts.”

Gaius casually tossed the book away. It turned into ashes, and those black ashes drifted with the wind, soon spreading throughout the entire “world.”

The “world” in Muen’s eyes began to collapse. Terrifying disasters descended, reducing everything to ruin.

Muen once again heard that “weeping.”

“Yet one day, arrogant humanity finally brought about the apocalypse. Not only humanity’s apocalypse, but the apocalypse of the world itself. Because humanity existed upon the world, it became the world’s disease.”

“As long as humanity exists, this disaster will continue to spread across the world until it devours both humanity and the world together.”

The sky suddenly split apart as some horrifying existence descended, frantically devouring everything.

The earth trembled.

The seas overturned.

Storms surged.

Until... everything returned to nothingness.

Nothing remained.

Not disaster.

Not apocalypse.

Not humanity.

Not even the world.

“In order to find a solution to the apocalypse, countless people exhausted themselves inventing naïve and useless methods. They failed. The apocalypse still exists. It still draws closer. Yet because of their selfishness, shortsightedness, and ignorance, they chose to ignore, forget, and turn a blind eye to the best and simplest solution.”

“That’s right. Since humanity is merely another passing traveler upon the world, why can it not be sacrificed? Just like the insects, birds, and beasts that once vanished from this world into the river of history—if those beings could disappear, why not humanity?”

“And besides... humanity is guilty, is it not?”

“So I came.”

Gaius solemnly proclaimed to the world within the darkness:

“I... Gaius... am the true savior!”