The Birth of the Disaster
The power of the Snake God had been far beyond my imagination.
I had thought I understood it well enough, yet it was not merely that. Not even the ducal family's summoned knights could stand against it.
It was then that Quillere appeared, as sudden and cold as snow.
Anasha had once thought this reunion would never come again, yet it filled her with both joy and worry.
She knew full well that Quillere was strong.
But the way she fought was different from when she had served under her old master.
The Snake God truly was the monster its title implied. She had realized that once more.
Quillere was powerful and beautiful, but she was still human. Anasha did not know her race, and she had thought that.
Even if she was strong, could such a delicate person really win?
... Yet she had been mistaken.
Whether god or human, beings beyond the reach of realms could not be cut down by mere mortals.
Quillere was calm to the point of seeming arrogance, as if she could walk right over anything.
—Pathetic.
Everyone heard her dismiss the Snake God like a lowly worm crawling on the ground.
The citizens, Anasha herself, and even the summoned knights were shocked. Who in their right mind would dare speak that way to a god?
Up to that moment, Anasha had still been worried about Quillere's safety. She had not known that the real monster was right in front of her.
Soon after, the scene unfolded in all its wonder.
A breath like the roar of a dragon erupted through the blizzard, and a window as tall as the temple pillars pierced straight through the Snake God's mouth.
It was as if a feat of myth had been accomplished.
And it was over.
The end of the vicious god who had for so long ruled the city and sown despair was far more empty than anyone expected.
Everyone stared at Quillere in stunned silence.
Anasha stared as well.
"You... are you really human...?"
What on earth was her true identity?
Where had such a woman suddenly appeared from?
She was nothing like any human Anasha had ever seen before.
Quillere stood quietly, gazing into empty air.
Anasha looked at her with eyes full of reverence.
"The vicious god is dead!"
After a long moment of silence, someone shouted.
That was the signal.
Citizens began shouting "Long live!" and the city drank in its long-awaited freedom.
"Freedom! It's freedom!"
"Now we can go back to how things were!"
The entire city rang with cheers and passion, as if it might collapse under the weight of it.
Citizens who had been oppressed wept openly.
Anasha watched their smiles and found them strangely hollow.
"...Freedom, is it."
The god who had tormented her for so long had simply vanished overnight. Had it been that easy?
No. It could not be.
A woman with eyes like snow stood right in the heart of the storm.
She was the core of it, yet because of her piercing aura, no one dared approach.
Even the ducal family's knights could only stare in confusion and awe.
She was strange.
Dangerous curiosity toward the unknown rose in her chest, but she forced it down.
Right now, that was not what mattered.
"Sorap, the god is dead."
"I know. And it seems those two came out at the perfect time."
She glanced sideways at his words.
"W-what is this...!"
"...The god has fallen!"
When had they appeared?
Andark Bion and Vidor Griant stood frozen, expressions of disbelief on their faces.
The two corrupt heads of families. The oppressor was gone, and they had lost their greatest weapon.
"It will get busy."
"I know that as well."
The wall that could not be crossed had fallen, yet tumors still remained to be cut away.
Sorap bowed with utmost respect to Anasha's unusually grave words.
It had been a long time.
They had lost much and suffered grief and anxiety, but... hatred and resentment had only grown.
Now only the front line remained.
A fierce battle would come.
But she would never back down.
"I must recover what I lost."
Eliminate those two old fools who had no sense of purpose and chaos for no reason, and restore the Crase family's position.
And, finally, turn Uristia into a one-family rule.
In truth, three ruling houses were not truly necessary.
"Before that... "
It was a fight that would not end until one side collapsed.
Before launching the war, it was necessary to meet Quillere again.
Sorap, having read her intentions, asked.
"Should I bring her here?"
"No. I must escort her as a guest. I will go myself."
Anasha walked toward Quillere, who was gazing into empty air with strange eyes.
She was still young. It was only natural that she seemed immature.
Even if she grew up, could she become someone like Quillere?
Whether believable or not, if there was something to learn, it could serve as guidance.
Even if she was only a child... she was the master of a family.
Meanwhile, the lively streets and the shadowed outskirts far away.
In a place locked in ominous gloom, figures in black robes gathered tightly.
Someone muttered in surprise.
"The follower of the Disaster... has entered eternal rest...!"
The image of the Snake God falling flashed in their minds like a deathbed scream.
The Dark Holy Association. Amidst the silence, one of the lowest members spoke up.
"...This is urgent. Apostle Adein, you must report it to the head."
The man called Adein opened his eyes. His black robe, with its distinctive whirlpool pattern, was tied neatly.
Adein sank into thought.
"It is indeed a grave matter... Could that woman be one of the apostles of the god?"
The flow was smooth.
Even if the reason was unclear, the Snake God had invaded the city, so they should offer fervent support for the judgment.
But their joy would not last long.
It was because of the woman with blue-white hair.
The power she wielded at the center of the blizzard sent even the executives of the Dark Holy Association into a chill.
It was impossible that she had slain the Snake God single-handedly.
She was a powerhouse beyond the Seven Apostles, comparable to the head himself.
"But she is no bother to the head. Has he forgotten his current mission?"
"That is true... "
The head's work was not something anyone could interfere with. It was an operation containing the will of the entire association.
They had understood that, yet their subordinates' faces remained gloomy. Such power had the power to make even the dark followers shrink back.
"And turn your thoughts. Why are you only trying to avoid it?"
"What?"
Adein, after deep consideration, offered another suggestion.
His eyes flashed in the darkness.
"Perhaps now is the right time. Right now, when that monster's power is gone."
I stared blankly into empty air.
The final blow had discharged my mana, and the energy stored in the Catalyst had been completely spent, but that was not the problem.
What had appeared before me was far more important.
A long time ago, when Sa-gye War II had just been released and asked whether play records would sync, the last system window I had ever seen had appeared before me.
It was something that should never have been there.
"This is..."
It itself was fine.
The first system message I had seen since falling into this world, yet I could still look at it.
In novels, the appearance of a system message is usually a good sign.
But the content itself was the problem.
[Trigger conditions have been met.]
[Scenario is progressing.]
"Exactly what... "
The moment I saw it, a bad premonition rose instinctively. Maybe Sa-gye War II had started the moment I was linked to this world.
Why had I felt so relaxed until now.
It was thanks to the memories of playing Sa-gye War. The belief that the world was safe.
But that belief was now shattered, and countless speculations surged forward.
Until now I had believed this place was simply a parallel world modeled after Sa-gye War II.
But what if it was not?
What if it was something with its own independent flow?
"...Bad bastards."
I didn't know if it was one bastard or many, but...
I cursed the sky.
They had thrown me into this world with no hints at all, and expected me to figure everything out on my own?
Still, I had to understand it quickly.
Why had it appeared right now. It was not hard to guess.
"Trigger condition satisfied."
This meant the Snake God's death.
Whether it meant the death itself or something tied to the one who killed him, there was no doubt.
The timing was suspicious.
However, the scenario is progressing...
What exactly was this?
A sharp unease rose within me.
At this moment, I felt an inexplicable certainty that the world had been twisted.
Everything that had guaranteed my safety had collapsed.
Thinking that way, fear surged sharply.
"I can't stay here... "
I did not know what would happen.
It had become unknowable.
Especially here, where the Snake God died and the message appeared, it was the source of instability.
I had to go to a safe place.
But no matter where on the continent, the scenario would not be free from it.
There was no safe place in this world...
Then the Snowfield came to mind.
"..."
The Snow Castle, with Prike and Yeti, a pure white paradise.
The sanctuary where I had spent a year in complete peace and calm.
Called a hellish realm by the outside world, no normal race could approach it.
To me, however, it had been as comfortable as my own home.
It was even the optimal environment, so I had been adjusted to it.
Perhaps the safest place on the entire continent.
At least until I could unravel the threads of this situation, I had to stay there.
As if in a trance, I prepared to leave when a presence approached from beside me.
"Miss Quillere, may I have a word?"
"...Huh?"
It was Anasha.
She looked at me carefully, yet with resolve, her eyes steady.
"As the head of the Crase family, I request an audience."
Meanwhile, at the far west edge, the land of emptiness and nothingness.
There was nothing there but pollution, grief, and the shameful names of foolish humans.
In the 'Landfill', an evil god's tomb and a hotbed of evil, countless grudges swirled.
—Kiiiiiik!
Profane grudges filled the sky, and the ground was the front yard of the dead.
Even in normal times, the dead had been noisy, but today they were rampaging like madmen.
Something had awakened them.
【······.】
It did not move for a long time, even though its eyes had opened.
It simply watched the continent like a corpse.
The snake was dead.
The arrangement I had planted had gone against its will.
It had taken longer than I expected—hundreds of years.
Curious. It was a sensation I had not felt in a very long time.
Tap-tap-tap!
"O-Oh...!"
A voice sounded.
A dead man came running at incredible speed and stared at me.
"You have awakened! Finally! Even though the great plan has not even started, how... "
I had no memory of it. Yet it felt strange.
He was definitely a dead man, yet his appearance was nothing like a living human.
A robe with a moon pattern fluttered.
"Oh great one! Holy savior! I remember! I have not forgotten!"
His long hair swayed this way and that.
It was because he waved his hands and feet in frenzy like a madman. I thought that was only natural for a dead man.
"I remember the sins of humans! Those who would forget created me!"
The dead man babbled without pause, possessed by some emotion and madness.
It soon lost interest.
He was too small an entity to immerse myself in. I looked back at the continent.
The snake was dead, but it did not matter.
It would have happened sooner or later anyway.
After inwardly praising the one who had done his part, I moved on.
Who had 'proven' their worth?
Who should I 'remove'?
I swept my divided body with those questions.
I had awakened too early. My strength was lacking.
I needed to eat. The sensation of being dried out by long years made me sluggish.
The Disaster had been born.