Reunion in the Demon God's Domain

A woman shrouded in black magic rose from the obsidian bathtub.

"......Hm?"

Her demonic eyes glowed yellow.

Through her clairvoyance, she saw five or six gods at the edge of her domain, cloaked in a barrier of black magic.

They looked lost, glancing around in search of something.

'......Sacrifice divinity?'

She sensed divinity forged from the concept of sacrifice emanating from them.

In the divine realm, only one being held the divinity of sacrifice: [Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth].

She was infamous for her slothfulness, not even creating lesser gods beneath her...

"Interesting."

The naked woman rose fully from the tub.

Black magic coalesced around her body, weaving into clothing.

"Gods who shouldn't exist."

Folding space, she took flight, her form blurring.

She trailed them silently, concealing her presence completely.

To her arrogant self, these lesser gods—even ten of them—posed no threat whatsoever.

"It's been a while, General."

Dave, the holy knight, bowed rigidly to Ren.

"What? Why's your face so chubby now? Didn't you train at all after becoming a god?"

Darin, the spirit user, clung to Ren uninvited, poking her cheeks.

"This feels weird. I used to serve a god, and now I'm a god alongside the General!"

Gregory, the priest, wandered the Sacrifice Church's domain, inspecting it.

The others were there too: elite mercenary Hans, greatswordsman Colin, mage Christine, knight Florence, spearwoman Ingrid, black mage Jeffrey, magitech engineer Collins.

They were unchanged.

Exactly as Ren remembered her ten heroes from back then.

Her most reliable, most trusted comrades.

They had all ascended as lesser gods and been resurrected.

"Everyone......!"

She could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠barely contain her emotions.

For her, who had just shaken off centuries of sloth and begun feeling again, This wave of emotion was overwhelming.

"Whoa, didn't expect our captain to be this happy to see us."

"Even after all this time, you're still such a kid. We'll have to keep looking after you."

But that joy soon twisted into guilt.

Guilt over the sin she would carry for life.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry......"

"No need to apologize."

The heroes knew why she felt so guilty.

For centuries as a high god, she hadn't even built a single monument for them.

They'd felt betrayed at first.

But during resurrection, they'd read her thoughts and learned it wasn't her will.

Someone had implanted the concept of [Sloth] in her—a sin that sealed her away.

"General, do you know? We could resurrect because of you."

"......What do you mean?"

"It happened when you conquered the concept of [Sloth]... but the story's long, so later. Point is, none of us resent you."

"Hahaha! Yeah, Captain! We died for you because we loved you! No way we'd resent you!"

"That stubborn side's still the same."

Poke.

"......Everyone."

Such warm comrades.

How long had it been since she'd felt this?

The Sacrifice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠domain, cold for centuries, filled with noisy, lively chatter.

"Ah, so you put our names in that game thing?"

"......I wanted the world to remember you."

"Haha, this is too touching, Captain!"

"Hey hey! Look at the Captain's embarrassed face!"

"You guys wanna get beat by the General again?"

The boisterous atmosphere just like in their past lives.

Nostalgia welled up.

Pfft.

"......" "......"

The male heroes fell silent instantly.

"......No way, our captain became a goddess and got a goddess's looks too......"

"D-don't say that......"

"......Wow, seriously. You're too much. This is what a female genius is, huh. Can't stand it—hey!"

"Whoa!"

"Men, look away." [Sacrifice's Mage glares contemptuously at the men.]

They bantered and chatted for so long, time flew by unnoticed.

"Amazing. Never heard of games before, but people play the parts with us weekly, etching us in memory? And that memory powered our resurrection."

"Seems like it."

"......But if that's possible..."

"The game's creator can resurrect constellations at will... right?"

......?

All ten heroes could resurrect because that dream girl and her apostle had done something huge.

Through their game, heroes etched into continent-dwellers' minds, spiking recognition and faith.

Misused, the game could resurrect gods or turn vanished heroes into gods on a whim.

A creator-god power beyond ordinary divinity.

But her concern wasn't its grandeur.

'What if other gods learn this?!'

If word spread of power to resurrect the dead as gods via divinity and faith concentration, many gods would swarm the dream girl and her apostle.

Gods who do anything for divinity—the end wouldn't be pretty.

Even haughty gods would lose their minds before such power.

"You all... did you meet other gods on the way here?"

They could be in danger.

"Nah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠none."

"Not knowing the divine realm, we hid and avoided contact. Jeffrey's area stealth got insanely strong upon ascension, so we used that."

'No one knows they exist yet.'

With [Akashic Archive] spreading the ten heroes' tales, other gods meeting these new gods could uncover the dream power.

That only she knew was fortunate.

Thud.

"I'm sorry."

"Why again?" "Captain?" "General, enough apologies. You're our benefactor..."

"No. Even if so, I fell to sloth and for centuries neither announced your deaths nor tried to revive or find you. As your special forces captain and general, that's unforgivable."

"Captain......" "Such an upright general."

"Sorry, but I have to ask something burdensome of you again."

They now deserved happiness.

After escaping centuries of bondage, asking them to hide again was heartbreaking.

"Care to explain?"

"Our savior...... huh."

Having heard Ren's explanation, the heroes pondered.

"Revived at last, yet forced to hide in corners, avoiding eyes—it's tough."

"But we're the Captain's subordinates and blades!"

"Resurrected by your existence, bound lesser gods. You can command us, no need to ask."

Even for a corrupt kingdom, they'd gladly sacrificed to save humanity—the ten special forces.

All shared being fans of knight Ren, volunteering for the mission after falling for her.

"Above all, we can't put our benefactor in danger, right?"

"......You all......!"

Ren's face was wet with emotion when—

"At least they're sharp ones. Lucky, I guess."

"Who goes there!"

Ren swiftly drew her sword, slashing out a blade aura of divinity.

Vmmm.

Boom!

The fast-flying aura halted before a man's outstretched hand, blocked by a magic field.

"......No mercy in your strikes. A normal god would've died."

"You......"

Why was he here?

The god most famous for never leaving his domain.

"Nice to meet you, [Sloth]. Or since you've overcome it, [Sacrifice]? Don't be so wary. I'm like you."

"......What?"

Clack clack clack.

A woman in a nun's habit dashed out from behind the man.

"......Impossible. Saint Kate...?"

Ren, who enjoyed [Akashic Archive], recognized her instantly.

And understood why he said they were alike.

"Yes. My goal is the same as yours."

"I'm here to protect my benefactor."

Vrrr vrrr vrrr.

Rustle.

"......Ugh, what is it at this hour."

I woke from a fun dream to my terminal vibrating like mad.

Rubbing my bleary eyes, I grabbed it.

"Who the hell messages at this time......"

But as I picked it up, something felt off.

This wasn't my academy student Rian terminal.

It was the one connected to the heavenly divine realm via constellation power.

And it was going nuts.

Did other gods send proposals after seeing the Orpheus episode succeed?

Seemed plausible, so I opened it.

"......?"

But only two constellations showed: [Sacrifice who Overcame Sloth] and [Magitech Engineer who Cast Off Rage].

Vrrr.

Vrrr.

Messages poured from both nonstop.

But unlike usual chats with them, they seemed unaware I could see their status.

And for some reason, I could see their inner thoughts as messages too.