Chapter 118
“……”
“That’s how I devoured what ‘was once’ a goddess. It wasn’t as tasty as I’d hoped.”
Even as he boldly blasphemed the divine, no one around him said a word. No, it was more accurate to say they couldn’t. Their eyes now held only terror, not contempt or rage toward the sub-cult leader.
“But even after consuming the flesh of a god, a mere beast like me didn’t change much. At best, I gained a fragment of the power she called madness. Otherwise, she was utterly worthless.”
Indeed, if he’d truly devoured the goddess and stolen her full power as he claimed, he wouldn’t be causing this petty nuisance now. With that immense strength, he’d have threatened humanity directly. I figured founding the Heaven God Cult was just a way to gather pawns for his scheme.
“Creating the Heaven God Cult was simple. The world is overflowing with those abandoned by that damned whore goddess.”
The ugly. The disabled. Those born without talent or strength. The betrayed for myriad reasons—they all flocked to the shadows where the goddess’s providence didn’t reach.
Tormented and persecuted, they began learning black magic that grew stronger with their inner darkness, willingly embracing evil. He had long decided to embrace those hated by the world and gods alike, using them in his plan for the complete annihilation of creation.
“Isn’t it strange? I used to have a soft heart. So fragile that if I cursed at someone, I’d spend the night agonizing over apologies. Who’s to blame for turning me into this?”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you did trashy things. You ordered the massacre of innocents and used them as guinea pigs. There’s no excuse for that.”
“I’m not really making excuses. I feel bad for the sacrifices… but it’s a world doomed to end anyway. Think of them as leaving a little early—makes it easier, right?”
I decided I couldn’t stomach any more of his bullshit and was about to order the guards to arrest the sub-cult leader.
“Enough of this madman’s ravings. Everyone, seize this guy—”
Thud!!
“Wh-what?!”
“Kyaaah!!”
At that moment, a sewer grate on the ground shot up with a deafening boom, slamming into a nearby shop’s roof.
Gr… grrrraaah.
Urk. Grrk…
And what emerged from below were familiar shapes.
Those guys… the chimeras from before?
They matched the forms of the illegal Drak dealers who’d transformed days ago after overdosing. The difference? These monsters reeked far more intensely of filthy, damp black magic.
“No way… you turned all your subordinates into chimeras?!”
“Blame whoever cut off my supply of materials.”
He glanced indifferently at the chimeras crawling up from the sewers.
“Don’t worry. They all consented. Isn’t it fitting for the world’s rejects to tear it down with their own hands?”
“You’re insane…”
“Sane…”
He laughed uproariously at my words, then his face turned icy cold.
“I lost my sanity the day my son burned to death.”
The sub-cult leader quietly raised a finger. A snapping pose—simple, natural, nothing odd about it. Yet to me, it looked as dangerous as a nuclear launch button.
“All the empire’s water flows from the mountains. It cascades down ridges into this sewer system. From there, it spreads to the citizens as drinking water.”
“That’s why the mountain’s water source is heavily guarded. It’s their lifeline—they’d die to protect it.”
“A moment’s lapse there brings dire consequences.”
“Nothing’s more terrifying than a poisoned water source.”
I reached for my sword hilt, ready to slice off his finger in a flash.
Snap—
As the snap echoed, amid the chaos from the chimeras, some people started acting strangely.
“No way…”
Sizzle! Splatter!!
Kweeeh!!
Grrruuung!!
“What the actual fuck…”
* * *
Chimeras crawling up from underground. Others already transformed from before. In the empire’s heart, madness unfolded, plunging people into pandemonium.
Fortunately, the guards who’d gathered to watch the sub-cult leader stepped in to suppress it, but with hundreds of them and each brutally strong, they were being pushed back.
I hacked away at chimeras too, but civilians milled about in confusion without distinguishing friend from foe, so I couldn’t unleash my aura freely—my attacks turned passive.
Worse, knowing some might be innocent civilians turned against their will, I subconsciously loosened my grip, focusing on incapacitating rather than killing. It made things harder.
“A shame. I wanted to see your true strength.”
“Shut up!! Turn these people back!!”
“Haha, can’t do that. Or rather, I can’t.”
The sub-cult leader strolled leisurely through the mayhem, chuckling lightly.
“I came here to end it all. Make the goddess’s creations self-destruct, then let her wrath take me too. Why would I leave survivors in such a grand plan?”
“You psycho bastard!”
I readjusted my grip and charged at him. Before he could blink, my sword flew toward his neck—but
Clang!!
“Ngh!!”
Grool? Grruk…
“Ah, this one’s an executive. The Mercenary King, they called him. Sensing killing intent’s child’s play for him.”
“Mercenary King… the Master from the textbooks…”
The legendary nomad-turned-mercenary lord who’d vanished into retirement. Never imagined he’d joined the Heaven God Cult.
“He’s running on instinct and power now… but that makes him trickier. Decades of senses and cunning—even a Lord wouldn’t find it easy.”
Whoosh—!
“Ugh!!”
True to his word, despite half-chimerafied and mindless, he casually blocked my strike, then swung a greatsword his size, devastating the surroundings.
Boom—!
“This psycho—! Wind pressure alone does that?!”
I tensed my core and leaned back from the gust; it grazed my nose, shearing a building’s outer wall behind me.
“Mars!!”
“Polo!! How’d you get here!? The academy?”
A familiar voice greeted me. Seeing that golden hair I knew so well rushing over, I couldn’t hide my excitement.
“It’s chaos there too! The young lady, saintess—no, the club members are holding down the transformed students. Professors are helping restrain them.”
Hearing Amor Academy was faring similarly, my anxiety surged.
“Calm down, Mars. They’ll be fine. They asked you to handle this since they’d protect the academy.”
“Me?”
Me? Fix this? Contrary to their hopes, I couldn’t do shit. Couldn’t bring myself to slaughter the chimerafied humans despite the grief, couldn’t even take down the sub-cult leader against the executives.
What did they expect from a guy like me?
Kweeaaah!!
“Waaah!!”
Even amid my torment, a child’s scream snapped me into action. I bisected the chimera grabbing the kid just before it bit, then checked on the trembling child.
“You okay, kiddo?”
“S-sob… D-dad…”
“Huh?”
“Sob… That was… our… dad…”
At the child’s words, I whipped around to the chimera—but its head and body lay severed, spilling red blood, unmoving.
‘You killed his dad!’
‘Murderer!’
‘That kid’ll live the same hell as you!!’
“Hahk! Hahk!”
Voices I thought I’d forgotten, overcome—resurfaced via the child, flooding my brain, wailing.
Amid soul-rending agony, I clutched my chest, gasping for air.
“Mars! Dodge!!”
Polo’s scream rang in my ears as he blocked attacks for me—but
Crunch—!
“Gahk!!”
The Mercenary King’s kick landed before I could aura-shield, sending me flying.
Crack! Snap! Boom!!
His monstrous leg strength pulverized my ribs, hurling me hundreds of meters back.
“Haa… Guess I’m… just an extra after all…”
With excruciating pain from my lapse, I muttered my idiotic last words. Consciousness faded.
* * *
…Bright.
Quiet, too.
“…Huh?”
I see the sea. Or rather, a serene lake. An endless expanse. Lying in its center, I sat up slowly.
“I was just… dying in that mess…”
My body felt refreshed. No breaks, bruises, or gashes. Strangely, floating on the surface, my clothes stayed dry. Walking on water like Jesus felt oddly surreal.
The still, silent waters. A first-time place, yet not entirely unfamiliar.
“Weird. Never been here, but it feels… familiar.”
“Of course it does.”
I spun at the unfamiliar voice behind me. A woman approached, her glowing golden hair trailing on the ground.
White dress, long blonde hair dragging silently—suspicious as hell, but I couldn’t outright reject her.
Because…
“Polo?”
Her face resembled my childhood friend too closely.
“I know who you’re thinking of, but I’m not your friend.”
Her haughty, commanding demeanor—similar looks, opposite vibe. She wasn’t human.
“Are you…?”
“Heh. Quick on the uptake.”
She gave a faint smile, then introduced herself squarely.
“First time face-to-face, stranger. I am Misra, primordial goddess of this world.”