Chapter 751 - 280: The Truth of War (8)

"Just now, the war is over, and I now want to know one more question."

"Why did this war begin in the first place?"

"Or, what exactly was the Interworld Army seeking that made them exhaust everything to find us for a decisive battle to the death?"

"If it was for hatred, if it was for anger, then could you please tell me."

—"What are they hating?"

Though still using "you" to address the presence on the throne, Cornflower's tone was not of politeness or humility.

At this moment, she was almost questioning the opponent.

"The enemy armies, for some unknown reason, launched revenge against the Kingdom, and thus the Kingdom annihilated these soldiers seeking revenge. All the corpses and remaining magic power were left in the Kingdom."

"And the soldiers of the Kingdom sacrificed themselves for the country, gifting their lives to the land. In the end, even the survivors are to be killed and harvested by the post-war gardener."

"Virtually everyone is dead. Yet even allowing a few to survive, you seem to have no intention of sparing them."

"Can you tell me what exactly you intend to do?"

"Or must I voice the most unpleasant guess?"

"Isn't it true that you initiated the war, incited hatred, and led everyone to die on the battlefield?"

"Killing so many people, you, perhaps this is the last time I called you 'you'..."

"What is your goal, really?"

This is what Cornflower realized finally, only when seeing the gardener slaughtering the surviving soldiers.

In the end, the war claimed that the Kingdom won, but few survived.

The Interworld Army was entirely dead, the people along the battle zones all perished, soldiers of the three lines of defense all died. Luennolay's civilians suffered heavy casualties; participants of the Garden defense also almost all died.

In other words, the true aim achieved by two realms' war was merely a massacre.

Indiscriminate killing regardless of enemy or ally, rank or common, strong or weak.

If dying Remnant Beasts in the war were yet to count as statistics, then dead civilians, magicians, magical girls, fairies combined also amounted to an astronomical figure.

Cornflower did not want to speculate in this direction, but she had already realized she essentially found no other answer.

When a war becomes meaningless to a degree, she could only associate it with being "deliberately guided for purging."

In Cornflower's continuous questioning, the presence on the throne maintained silence, a quiet. Until at a certain instant, she suddenly spoke:

"I am the source of power for all magical girls in this world."

This was a statement both baffling and unclear in intent.

Thus, Cornflower did not immediately respond but listened to the opponent continue:

"If I were to die, then the magic power source for all magical girls would vanish, and this world, including all magical girls in the Material Realm, would lose their power."

"At that time, no one in the world could combat the Remnant Beasts or protect civilians. The fairies' power couldn't shelter the two worlds."

"The Magic Kingdom, Material Realm, Interworld, all will turn into hunting grounds for the Remnant Beasts. No humans could survive in such an environment."

Upon hearing this, Cornflower could not hold back: "What does this have to do with your killing so many?"

"Because I am injured, seriously hurt, and I am dying."

The presence on the throne suddenly said, "You are my child, my Sapphire, so I can tell you the truth. I cannot die, I must live, hence I need to heal."

"I need magic power, regardless of its origin, so initially, I consumed the resonance of Remnant Beasts. But that was insufficient, far from enough, thus I absorbed all the idle Heart's Gems, recycling magic power."

Her voice was so calm, as though the matters spoken were inconsequential: "But that still wasn't enough."

"Not only insufficient, but even couldn't stop my wounds from worsening."

"I require more magic power, more resonance, and more Heart's Gems. Only then can I recover from my injuries."

"And if I were to slaughter without cause, kill my subjects without reason, certainly my rule would be destabilized. To create enough deaths, the most reasonable way is war."

Saying this, the answer was already quite apparent. At least for Cornflower, the root cause was entirely found.

"You mean, to 'heal' yourself, you actively orchestrated, guided this war..."

Cornflower felt nauseous just voicing this truth: "...and then made everyone die for you?"

"If that's how you choose to understand it."

The presence on the throne calmly replied, "but as I see it, just necessary sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" This word sounded immensely sarcastic to Cornflower at this moment.

"Yes, a self-evident sacrifice."

That presence thus determined: "This sacrifice was not meaningless; with it, my injuries stabilized now, and this world was preserved. To let civilization thrive, to ensure species survival, sacrificing some individuals is a common occurrence in nature."

Cornflower laughed.

But she merely grinned without making any sound.

Not because something was funny, merely not knowing what other expression to make.