[The expression tells him that he has hit his mark... When he had seen that reckless call for blood on the notice board, this had been one of his worries. There was little else that a self-inflicted wound like that could logically have gone towards, and seeing HiMERU's condition at the meeting, the scent of blood on him... Sitting patiently for a response, Matoba doesn't rush or interrupt.]
The execution of giving yourself over to the unknown phenomena in the island. [His voice is precise, unrelenting.] Yes, I understand exactly what you've done. My question to you is: do you understand what it is you're doing?
[He might deny desperation, but humans didn't pray to gods out of convenience. It had always been an uneven relationship, that between humanity and the monsters that deigned to share their power with them. But the relationship was that those monsters needed something from humanity, too.]
[Just why did that "void" need power from them? Not knowing that, Matoba couldn't sit by idly and allow others to sacrifice. His eye closes gently, a deep sigh from his nose preceding his thoughts.]
Above all else, the purpose of an exorcist is to bear the weight of this world that normally goes unseen. Sacrifices who exist to be the focus of monsters so that humanity will no longer suffer them.
[There's a pause, a frown having formed on Matoba's face.] ...For a normal human, the amount of energy given through prayer or sacrifice is very small, but when communities of people would worship gods en masse, the numbers resulted in a great deal of power.
... Those days are long past us. You could bleed your entire body out, Himeru-san, and you alone would never satiate a monster as powerful as the thing which is devouring that island.
[It was cruel to tell him so bluntly that his efforts were useless, perhaps, but it was better than letting the man kill himself. No, moreso than that- before it came to this, those who have the power should have contributed so that he shouldn't have to.]
[That was the purpose of power, after all.] I think that you know that. So, why?
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The execution of giving yourself over to the unknown phenomena in the island. [His voice is precise, unrelenting.] Yes, I understand exactly what you've done. My question to you is: do you understand what it is you're doing?
[He might deny desperation, but humans didn't pray to gods out of convenience. It had always been an uneven relationship, that between humanity and the monsters that deigned to share their power with them. But the relationship was that those monsters needed something from humanity, too.]
[Just why did that "void" need power from them? Not knowing that, Matoba couldn't sit by idly and allow others to sacrifice. His eye closes gently, a deep sigh from his nose preceding his thoughts.]
Above all else, the purpose of an exorcist is to bear the weight of this world that normally goes unseen. Sacrifices who exist to be the focus of monsters so that humanity will no longer suffer them.
[There's a pause, a frown having formed on Matoba's face.] ...For a normal human, the amount of energy given through prayer or sacrifice is very small, but when communities of people would worship gods en masse, the numbers resulted in a great deal of power.
... Those days are long past us. You could bleed your entire body out, Himeru-san, and you alone would never satiate a monster as powerful as the thing which is devouring that island.
[It was cruel to tell him so bluntly that his efforts were useless, perhaps, but it was better than letting the man kill himself. No, moreso than that- before it came to this, those who have the power should have contributed so that he shouldn't have to.]
[That was the purpose of power, after all.] I think that you know that. So, why?