Did You Call Me?
Did you call? The final chapter of the original story. When Seres died, it was Viol who stayed by his side. The others didn't even know he'd died. If they had, they would've come running no matter what it took. But there wasn't time for proper healing, and since Seres himself wanted to die, neither holy power nor magic worked. Viol clutched the dying Seres and finally regretted everything—then she said something strange.
"The Heavenly God must be furious with us for letting you die."
"The ground shakes as if it's about to shatter everything."
"Yes, I wish everything would just crumble. A world without you has no value..."
She just described the situation in words, but honestly, it was ambiguous. Back then, I couldn't tell if it was a real earthquake or if her mind had shattered and she was rambling. Even now, I'm not entirely sure it was an earthquake, but the ground definitely shook like it was about to destroy everything!
"Damn it, where are you?!"
"Over there, Seres!"
While I stared blankly at the earthquake, a familiar voice rang out. Viol staggered as she searched for me, but Arios—the martial arts master—ran steadily despite the shaking ground and reached me.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, but what the hell is going on?"
"No idea. Natural disaster, I guess!"
Arios glanced around, clearly flustered too. That's when it happened.
"Do not stray from the vicinity of this imperial palace."
Sibylius floated gracefully past the still-stumbling Viol and approached me.
"I can minimize the damage in this area with my magic."
"Ah, so that's why it's stable here."
But then,
"What about everywhere else?"
"…"
Sibylius silently turned her gaze elsewhere. In the direction she looked, buildings were collapsing.
"Seres, you alright?!"
"Is Seres safe?!"
Ares and Hames came running next, but I had no spare attention for them.
"We have to do something…"
"Impossible."
As I mumbled hesitantly, Red appeared out of nowhere and stated flatly,
"There's nothing we can do. Not even if the Demon King came back to life."
What could a single person do against a natural disaster? Red surveyed the situation with a cynical smirk, and I couldn't say another word.
A little later, the earthquake finally stopped.
"Call the soldiers! Mobilize the army!"
Once she confirmed I was safe, Viol immediately summoned the troops.
"Protect the capital and rescue the injured—now!"
She was issuing orders as emperor for the cleanup, but
"What? Why are there so few of you?"
"…Many of us were hit by the earthquake too."
The quake hadn't spared only civilians. Soldiers had been affected too, and only the unscathed ones had shown up—the numbers were low.
"Tch, fine. Ares! Arios!"
Viol called their names, and they stepped forward reluctantly.
"We'll call our territory's soldiers."
"I'll contact Mother."
They set aside their personal feelings toward Viol for now.
"However."
"…Only if our sides are intact."
They wanted to help the capital, but the earthquake might have wrecked their own territories—they couldn't be sure.
"Hames."
"I'll contact the temple."
Hames headed off to reach the temple in the capital.
"And those two demon folk over there. Don't they have any useful abilities?"
"…Who knows."
"I could enhance humans by infusing part of myself…"
Asking for helpful powers in the middle of an earthquake left even Sibylius and Red stumped. I chimed in.
"What about me?"
"…Just stay put and don't do anything stupid. Things are about to get chaotic anyway."
"What?"
"Have your guard knights protect this palace."
I did as ordered, instructing Niobe and the Death Knights to defend the imperial palace. And soon enough, Viol's prediction came true.
A massive crowd swarmed the palace front like clouds—too many to count. But they weren't there to demand answers from Emperor Viol.
"Seres!"
"Lord Seres!!"
"Come out!"
They were calling my name.
"Please, Lord Seres!!"
"Please heal my son!"
"Bring back my dead wife—please!!!"
The earthquake had caused countless injuries and deaths. They all wanted my powers.
"…See? We told you not to show off your abilities carelessly."
Viol sighed at the throng.
"Anyone with resurrection powers would drive people mad in a situation like this."
"No, even just basic healing would've drawn them."
We weren't supposed to let it slip that we had healing at all. Arios sighed the same way.
What now? They both looked at me, eyes asking the question.
"I can drive them off if you want."
"…Excited people who won't listen?"
"If words fail, force it is."
No thanks. I stopped Viol and Arios. And then,
"I'll do what I can, for now."
I had no idea if even I could fix everything, but I had to try.
"Contacted the Huferion territory—no major damage on our end."
"Ours too."
Small mercies amid the misfortune. The Huferion lands and Arios's side were fine. They said soldiers would come soon.
"Let's use magic to clear the debris for now."
"Just buff the humans and let them handle it."
Sibylius and Red joined in, stumped but pitching in.
"Gathered the priests. They'll join Seres to treat the injured with me."
Hames returned and reported. While everyone handled cleanup, I was using my healing powers too.
I healed people perfectly with divine power, as usual. With Hames's priests helping, it was easier than normal.
But
"Lord Seres, resurrect this one please!"
"…Just a wrist left?"
Things were getting worse.
"Lord Seres, the injured are demanding you!"
"Even when we say we can heal minor wounds, they insist on you!"
Even with priests helping, people complained.
"Here, my family's trapped! Hurry…"
"If they're pinned under buildings, resurrection won't free them!"
Crazy situations where revival was impossible due to terrain. The quake had been brief, but recovery seemed impossible!
"Treating people alone won't solve this."
I stepped back to consult the group.
"We need to clear debris and calm folks down, or healing stalls."
"Yeah. But how?"
Viol, directing on-site, asked dubiously.
"Clearing rubble alone will take months."
"…What if we repair the rubble too?"
I voiced my idea after thinking, and Sibylius's eyes widened.
"Is that even possible?"
"Dunno, but it doesn't seem impossible."
I'd fixed undead before—why not buildings? Using it on a wide scale like then could resolve things fast. The issue was mastering such advanced technique quickly.
"Even if possible, it'd be high difficulty."
"But I'm not human—maybe I can?"
I replied uncertainly to a worried Hames, unable to guarantee it myself. Let's try anyway.
I gathered divine power first. Then released it like a sphere.
I adjusted so it wouldn't harm our group—Red, Sibylius, Niobe, etc.—but the result was meh. Just basic wound healing.
Not it? Come to think of it, when I figured out undead healing, my mindset was different. To fix a non-living object from the start, how? Interfere with something more fundamental composing the matter?
That thought hit me, so I formed the image of contacting the essence. With that image, I gathered divine power. Intent on connecting, summoning the essence—I unleashed massive divine power at once.
Then my divine power shot sky-high, growing enormous. My body glowed, angelic wings sprouted, transforming into a giant humanoid form. And
"Did you call?"
"…Who are you?"
"The Heavenly God you just summoned."