The Sleeping Pointy-Eared Princess, Part 7
The flames unleashed by Yohan swept through the surrounding area. Since it was no ordinary fire, the innocent forest did not burn.
Sssss. Only the resurrected skeletons of the Dawn Dew Tribe elves crumbled into ash and vanished. Only the weapons they had held remained, clattering onto the dirt ground.
"My children!" As the skeleton horde dissolved under Yohan's strike, the guardian deity let out a scream of pure despair.
"It's a hell of a lot better for them to go to heaven like this than to be desecrated even in death by a crazy god!" Yohan shouted back, refusing to be outdone.
"Cursed short-lived mortal... I will tear you to pieces!" But shouting at a guardian deity already consumed by madness was utterly pointless.
Rumble— "Ugh!" Instead, the demonic energy radiating from the guardian deity only grew more intense.
"Argh!" "Ugh!" In an instant, two sharp groans echoed from behind, followed by the sound of bodies collapsing to the ground.
When even Yohan, the Apostle of the Goddess, felt pressured by the immense demonic energy, there was no way Falco and Billy could withstand it.
"Falco! Billy!" Yohan called out urgently, but he couldn't turn around to check on them. If he turned his head now, the guardian deity would undoubtedly seize the opening to attack.
—They have merely fainted from the pressure! Do not worry, for the Blessing you bestowed upon them still remains. The Goddess spoke, as if reading Yohan's anxious thoughts.
Yohan felt a wave of relief, but at the same time, a surge of anger. "Hey, what kind of god radiates this kind of energy? That's just a straight-up demon!"
—It is as you say. A god is born from sincere hearts and faith, while a demon is born from the accumulation of negative emotions and malice. They merely differ in direction; in the end, whether god or demon, they are beings born from the collective unconscious of mortals. The Goddess reminded him of this fact.
Right. The kid in front of him wasn't some benevolent deity.
"Whew." Yohan took a deep breath and drew upon the Goddess's Divine Power. Instantly, his body felt lighter, despite facing the immense demonic energy radiating from the guardian deity.
He couldn't tell if it was simply because the Unnamed Goddess's status was a level higher than the guardian deity's, or because the guardian deity before him had essentially become a demon.
"Damn it, then what about the low-level devils I beat to death last time? Were those bastards also formed from individual emotions clumping together?" Yohan demanded of the Goddess, pointing his Light Sword at the guardian deity.
—No, that is not the case. Though they are lumped together under the term 'demon,' the birth of high-level devils and low-level devils is strictly different... Never mind that, just focus on the battle, you blockhead! The Goddess was answering Yohan kindly before suddenly snapping and hurling insults.
"Fine, fine! Will do!" But thanks to that, Yohan was able to pull himself together and focus entirely on the fight.
"I will never forgive you! I will curse you for eternity!" The guardian deity shrieked with demonic energy once more. At the same time, several masses of energy shaped like skulls materialized around her.
At this point, Yohan couldn't tell if she was a guardian deity or a necromancer. He clicked his tongue as he transformed his Light Sword into a shield.
"It's all because of you...!" At the guardian deity's cry, the numerous skulls hovering around her surged toward Yohan all at once.
Screeech— The skulls opened their jaws wide, letting out an unpleasant, ear-splitting shriek.
"Hey, is that really just energy? No matter how I look at it, those look like vengeful spirits!"
—Your suspicion is likely correct. Desecrating the bodies of the dead was apparently not enough for her...
He had just thrown the idea out there, but it seemed he was right. Yohan shook his head at the guardian deity's sheer cruelty. In any case, it was clear those demonic skulls were aiming straight for him.
Yohan gathered more Divine Power, expanding his Shield of Light even further.
Thud! The Shield of Light grew beyond the size of a mere shield, becoming as massive as a wall. As Yohan slammed it into the ground, a heavy impact echoed.
"Bring! It! On!" The classic development where a terrifyingly strong demon unleashes some massive blast and he blocks it with his shield. It was a repertoire he was already well-accustomed to. Yohan shouted with a face full of confidence.
"Die!" A scream-like roar erupted from the guardian deity. At that moment, the swarm of skulls floating around her flew toward Yohan in unison.
The vengeful spirits, denied eternal rest even in death, swarmed Yohan. Upon colliding with the shield, the skulls dissolved into amorphous smoke, immediately bypassing the barrier to cling to Yohan.
This was not a simple physical attack. No, expecting some sort of powerful physical blast had been his own one-sided assumption.
Agony, pain, resentment, sorrow, grief. Thoughts harboring all kinds of negative emotions wormed their way into Yohan's mind.
—Ugh... The mental attack seemed to affect even the spiritual form of the Goddess.
The Goddess was undoubtedly a powerful being. Though she currently had only a few dozen believers, she claimed that back in her prime, her name was known across the continent. However, she had currently transferred ninety percent of her divinity to Yohan through their contract. Therefore, if they were exposed to the same attack, the one in greater danger was the Goddess, not Yohan.
"Hey, snap out of it!" Yohan barked at the Goddess, unsummoning his Shield of Light to reclaim a portion of his Divine Power. He hoped this would give her at least a little more strength to withstand the guardian deity's assault.
Since the guardian deity's attack caused no physical harm, Yohan didn't suffer any bodily damage either.
—Do not... worry! Something of this level cannot... Yohan immediately realized the Goddess was bluffing. He didn't have any logical proof, but his instincts as an Apostle told him so.
—Do you truly think a mere backwater village god can defeat me!
"..." No, wait. She... actually could withstand this level of attack. If anything, the guardian deity's assault had only succeeded in making the Goddess furious.
—It is too late for regrets now! Even if you bow your head and beg me to accept you, I shall refuse!
"Good grief." What would happen if her other believers heard this nonsense? It was hard to suppress a sigh at the Goddess's voice ringing in his head, completely devoid of even a speck of dignity.
Now that he had blocked her big move, it was his turn to strike. Yohan summoned his Light Sword once more with the Divine Power he had briefly reclaimed, then lunged at the guardian deity.
"Hup!" He thrust his sword toward the guardian deity's heart. His body, enhanced by Divine Power, far surpassed human limits. He kicked off the ground, closing the distance before the kicked-up dust could even settle.
The Light Sword Yohan thrust forward cut through the air, radiating a light more brilliant than ever before.
The Unnamed Goddess's divinity was the polar opposite of all things corrupt. While benevolent to ordinary people, it was like a lethal poison to evil entities. Therefore, to this guardian deity who had fallen from a protector of her clan to a demonic existence...
It connected. The Light Sword pierced the guardian deity's body. In a split second that an ordinary person wouldn't even register, Yohan felt the Light Sword sink into her chest.
"..." And only then did he realize this entire situation was a trap.
Grin. Amidst the visualized demonic energy blazing like an aura, Yohan saw the guardian deity grinning widely behind the ominous flames. At the same time, his gaze locked with her sinister eyes, hidden behind her fluttering hair.
———! A heart-wrenching shock jolted through him. Immediately after, Yohan felt all his sensory organs, which perceived his surroundings, twist and distort.
It felt similar to when he teleported using the Goddess's Authority, but his instincts screamed at him to shake it off. Yet, Yohan could not escape the guardian deity's grasp. By the time he realized it was a trap, he had already fallen completely into it.
The world inverted.
Yohan stood in a forest, yet it was not a forest. The scenery of the Great Forest, which had been bathed in the early morning sunlight, was gone. Instead, the entire area had been reduced to ruins swept by a devastating fire. Acrid smoke billowed into the sky from all directions, and unextinguished embers littered the ground beneath his feet.
"This is..." Yohan muttered, scanning his surroundings. "The Dawn Dew Tribe's village, right after it burned down."
Someone answered his monologue. Looking down, he saw the Goddess, who had materialized at some point, wearing an extremely displeased expression.
"Whoa, when did you pop out... Wait, no, looking at this, it's obviously some kind of mental world or whatever."
Whoosh— Soon, a thick purple mist billowed in front of them, and the guardian deity revealed herself. Meeting her eyes, Yohan instinctively frowned. Just moments ago, she had been raving mad to the point where communication was impossible, but now she was smiling brightly just like when they first met, which made her feel even more bizarre.
"You know quite a lot for how you look." "I've picked up a thing or two here and there." Yohan shot back, refusing to back down from the guardian deity's sarcasm.
"No, this is not a mental world." "It's not?" But the Goddess refuted Yohan's guess. Yohan tilted his head at her words.
"Pfft. I was planning on teasing you a bit longer." "This crazy..." Yohan cursed under his breath. Correct or not, that guardian deity had been fully intent on messing with them from the very beginning.
"Then what kind of place is this?" "It is a deity's pocket dimension." "Cut the crap and speak human." "It is a pocket universe created by that guardian deity."
Right. She had to explain it simply like that for him to understand perfectly. Yohan nodded deeply as he looked at the Goddess.
"Wait, hold on." A moment later, realizing a word had slipped out of the Goddess's mouth that he absolutely couldn't ignore, Yohan's eyes widened. "If this is a universe where she is the master..."
"Indeed. All laws of physics conform to the will of that insolent brat."
This... felt like he had fallen into a much bigger trap than he had anticipated. Yohan's mouth already began to feel dry.
"Hey. Since you're also a god, albeit a minor one..." "Do you not already know of my pocket dimension?" "Huh?"
Had there been such a thing? Yohan searched his memories one by one at the Goddess's question. Something that could be called a pocket universe created by the Goddess...
"Oh, damn it." There was. Exactly one thing came to mind. A shabby single-room apartment with a bathroom that had unlimited hot water.
"Wait a minute. I was the one who made that room, not you." "While it is true that you were the one who designed it, is the power you used to do so not ultimately mine?"
Perhaps because she was certain of her victory, the guardian deity merely watched the two bicker with a smug, relaxed expression.
"Whatever. In the end, it means it's no different from that room." Even if different physical laws applied compared to the real world, it was still just a cramped space created by a dying, minor god.
Shlick— Yohan immediately summoned his Light Sword and pointed the tip at the guardian deity.
"That is... not the case." "Oh, come on, what is it now?" But for some reason, the Goddess shook her head. Meanwhile, the guardian deity went so far as to sit down on the ash-covered dirt ground.
"Apostle. Do you know why it is so difficult for divine beings like myself to directly interfere in the mortal realm?" "You told me last time," Yohan replied irritably to the Goddess's question.
"Indeed. A god is a being with one foot in the mortal realm and the other in the outer world. Therefore, to interfere directly, one must pay a tremendous price compared to the results. However..." The Goddess raised her head and cast her gaze toward the guardian deity.
"Right now, that creature can fully utilize her power without suffering any penalty whatsoever." She spoke in a voice heavy with complicated emotions.