Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Goddess Analysis -3
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The El Mest domain was still in the midst of a major purge. They hadn't fully eradicated the Queen's shadow yet.
The priests enthralled by the Queen had scattered and fled after the incident, but thanks to Evil God-chan's blunder, they ended up with a rallying point once more.
The holy water soaked in the scent of the Queen they had served and worshipped. They believed that as long as it existed, the Queen's resurrection wasn't a pipe dream.
They began gathering the liquid with the goal of reviving the Queen. They also rounded up mountain sacrifices to prepare new flesh for her.
It was in this situation that Scarface Senior and Teardrop Gay arrived in the El Mest domain.
"The request was to protect the siblings living in the El Mest Goddess Church building. When we got there, they looked fine aside from being a bit hungry. It was a relief."
Scarface Senior explained the situation to the boy and brought him into the group. There was no reason for the corrupt priests to target such a scrawny kid, so they figured they could just move spots and kill time.
That's when they ran right into them.
They encountered the corrupt priests who were trying to retrieve Queen intel from the temple.
The corrupt priests tried to eliminate the witnesses. Their plan couldn't leak to the outside.
The situation was dire. The one leading the corrupt priests was Transcendent-level power. It would be great if they could win a fight, but the risk was too high.
Plus, there were two people to protect. If the boy died in the crossfire, it'd be putting the cart before the horse.
So, for Teardrop Gay—who hadn't reached Transcendent yet—and Scarface Senior, a head-on fight was off the table. They judged it impossible and focused on evasion, concealment, and escape to continue protection.
The two veterans tried various methods to shake off pursuit. Changing bases daily, disguising identities at times, sowing confusion in tracking with money.
But as the corrupt priests' pressure intensified, Teardrop Gay and the boy volunteered as bait. It would help in more ways if Scarface Senior stayed behind. And it did.
And that led to now. The boy's sister sleeping soundly in the small inn room, and Scarface Senior perched on the edge of the bed.
Senior wrinkled his nose as he spoke.
"Used Laura's Possession to pinpoint the location. It's an underground facility. Black mages or anyone shady always dig tunnels underground..."
"Good. Everyone grab your gear. Let's head out? We'll eat dinner when we get back."
I clapped my hands and stood up.
Once everyone left the room, Evil God-chan lagged behind and placed her hand on the boy's sister. In an instant, she sucked out the Queen's wedge.
We pretended not to notice.
Illusion magic was convenient. Overlaying a priestly appearance, adding perception hindrance, drawing a pattern that made viewers feel calm and drowsy, a touch of hypnosis, and subtle sound effects made infiltration a breeze.
See? The corrupt priests were accepting us naturally.
"If all Illusion School mages knew how to do that, the Violet Magic Tower would've been unrivaled number one long ago. Right, Mima?"
"This world just needs magic computers. The moment the information age hits, the Violet Tower dominates everything."
"I'm genuinely scared that might happen..."
Then it'd turn into magic cyberpunk right away. Mega-corp Violet Tower ruling the world empire—complete. From media ventures to Big Brother plans, perfect.
As I imagined Yuna becoming a god-king ruling the whole Earth, Evil God-chan poked my thigh. She'd gotten into the habit of striking first with her hands.
"Like that'll happen."
"What now? With enough computing power, the Violet Tower could take it all, right?"
"You've never fought other mages, have you?"
"......"
True enough.
Suspiciously, there'd been no real trouble with mages from other towers. The sleazy academy professor had become friendly—no fights there. Selvia was leagues apart.
Even the academy celeb, Snow White the Transcendent Illusion mage from the Azure Tower, I'd only seen indirectly. Never clashed directly.
"One hellfire blast and you'd bawl your eyes out. Illusion magic is evasion, not defense—no way to mitigate damage once hit. No scales on you either, so you'd burn to ash in seconds."
The oddly emotional tone made me ask, just in case.
"...Personal experience?"
"......"
Hellfire must've hurt a lot.
Illusion magic having no counter to AoE was definitely fatal. No physical force behind it.
The holograms I painstakingly created had some physicality, but compared to the Golden Magic Tower's steel walls? Laughably weak.
Conclusion: If you can't dominate instantly, you're done.
Physical force was needed.
...I wasn't the only one who'd thought that. In the Violet Tower's long history, someone must've obsessed over materializing illusions. Desperately. No holds barred.
The result was Yuna. I vaguely knew that, and how it left her with excruciating memories.
I gently stroked Yuna's head.
"......?"
Yuna looked up in surprise. Like, stroking is nice but why? I brushed it off as nothing.
We headed to the prison first. Rescue the hostages.
They didn't care much for sacrifice health management—the prison was abysmal. Filthy, stinking space. Dried bloodstains untouched.
Only two inside. A tiny boy and Teardrop Gay.
I massaged the guarding priest's nape to knock him out deep, dispelled the illusion cloaking us, revealed ourselves, and greeted cheerfully.
"Long time no see, Teardrop Gay."
"......?"
Teardrop Gay mulled my words, then veins bulged on his neck. He protested in a voice laced with quiet fury.
"A monster who'd reached Transcendent, and I'm supposed to escape? Client. Isn't it the requester's fault for deploying a 2-star on this?"
"I beat Transcendent without reaching it myself."
"...You haven't changed a bit."
As I teased relentlessly, Evil God-chan fidgeted awkwardly. Like creeping guilt was stiffening her up.
The boy's grubby, skeletal look was pitifully cute.
Maybe regretting taking unneeded dirty money instead of just healing the sister without fuss.
I gave her a nudge on the back to bolster her resolve.
"...Hey!"
"Go talk already. Gotta mop up the Queen's remnants quick and hit the hero festival. What's so hard you're freezing up?"
"Like it's your problem...!"
Grumbling like that, she must've gotten embarrassed at her own dawdling. She strode to the bars and pressed her face close.
"...Hey. I kept my promise."
"...Thanks. I prayed so hard every night. Looks like the Goddess granted my wish this time. So, sis can be healed... right?"
"Yeah. The crazy mage here fixed her clean. Just get out intact yourself. Come on."
"G-Good..."
The boy smiled. How to describe it? All his suffering finally rewarded—he beamed with joy. He stood, bowing repeatedly to us.
Then our eyes met.
Jet-black hair, red eyes. Two women beside me. Piecing together the fact-based slander he'd heard from Evil God-chan.
Like how she'd been her magic guinea pig, toyed with all over. To confirm, he asked cautiously.
"The mage... You're the Violet Magic Tower Master's direct disciple... right?"
"Yeah, that's me. What?"
"......"
Hesitating.
No spell needed, no focus—even without, I could read his mind. Debating begging me not to torment Evil God-chan.
Worried that if he did, an enraged me might curse his sister...
I crouched to eye level and grinned sleazily. Like a maniac with twisted tastes.
"Yup. That's right."
"Huh?"
"Everything you're thinking is spot on. Tonight, Evil God-chan's my magic guinea pig too. So, got something to say to me?"
"......"
Could he muster courage for the Evil God-chan who saved you and your family?
"Hey, quit it!"
"Ow."
Evil God-chan kicked my crouched form. Stop teasing. I flopped over dramatically.
"Dragon Scales."
Grrrrrind. Screeeeech!
Her arms covered in black scales. She gripped the bars, strained. Wrenching screech as they bent, gap widening.
"Out."
"O-Okay..."
The boy clambered awkwardly free. Left alone inside, Teardrop Gay eyed the too-narrow-for-him gap sadly.
He glanced around like begging someone to open the door, but no one did (Yuna tried, but her only bar-bending tool was vaporization).
Ended up wriggling through with grunts.
"Alright... Pingbalrez, take them and link up with Senior. Me, Tower Master, and Evil God-chan will wipe this place clean."
"No vanguard?"
"Tower Master's here—what's the issue? Besides, just Transcendent scrubs, right?"
"Then, yes. We'll head back. Don't get scratched. Uh... Come back unscathed, and I'll tell a dirty joke."
The unscathed part trailed to a mouse squeak, but I cast three ear spells, hit record, and etched it deep.
This is life. Buzzing with excitement from Pingbalrez's warp spell, I advanced.
"No-hit clear go!"
"...Lusty idiot, for real!"
Yuna grumbled a bit.
Had to call it an underground temple.
Space for about thirty. At the far wall, ankle-high platform. There, altar plastered in gold leaf.
Atop it, gold dish pooling liquefied Goddess intel.
Candles lit the room, but no sunlight underground—dim. Shadows danced with flickering flames.
Ten-ish priests prayed below toward the gold dish. Gaunt High Priest presided atop, looking like their leader.
"The day our Goddess resurrects is near. Soon, brothers."
Heavy ceremonial garb choked his neck. Draped head to toe in garish secular gold. Nothing ungilded.
Seeing priests bow nonstop to the gold dish killed my urge to tease Evil God-chan. That desperate to gild their idol? To awe onlookers?
How divine.
"Tch."
"Tch."
I tsked in disgust. Oddly, same timing—another failed tsk nearby.
Turned: Evil God-chan. She'd botched hers too, now staring at me. Yuna muttered.
"...You two look alike."
"No way."
"We don't!"
Can't even tsk or snap fingers properly—how alike?
Our noise tipped them; heads turned one by one. Gaunt High Priest fixed on us.
Eyes met. His gaze sharper than expected. Not a madman's eyes.
"Unwelcome guests. To what do we owe?"
"Gotta recover that gold dish's contents."
"Coveting Her relic? Blasphemy."
"Not the Goddess's. Succubus Queen's remnants. If you didn't know, surrender now—I'll consider leniency."
High Priest cut clean.
"I know. The nightly whispers were Her. Not the broken Goddess."
"...You knew? Worshipped a Goddess impersonator knowingly? Dream pleasures that good, to deify a dream demon?"
"Brother, don't mock my faith. I vowed to serve her sincerely. Unlike the broken Goddess, she held great purpose."
"Broken Goddess, huh."
His face twisted in anguish at my echo. Betrayed long-held faith, pain raw.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He pounded the altar.
"Yes. The Goddess is broken. Heaven's will belongs high, for all to revere. But she didn't..."
"Hmm."
"Her? She yearned to stand atop the Goddess's throne. That noble ambition was worth devotion."
Queen's lines stuck. Pingbalrez relayed: escaping fate or somesuch. But grand words aside...
Queen's acts? Endless eat-and-bloat cycle.
Her desire? Almighty throne to toy with mortals. Viler than Goddess, if anything.
This High Priest knew. Knew and believed. Because Goddess didn't suit him.
I concluded.
"You just wanted something cool to believe in. Having some almighty being overhead was enough."
"Toys like that don't even qualify. No fun, Mima."
Human reject, toy reject. Dispose.
Shing!
Evil God-chan stepped up, arms scaled. I prepped incant. Yuna raised fingers lightly.
Then, High Priest said something odd.
"Yet still, I believe in the broken Goddess."
"......?"
What nonsense? He'd trashed her plenty, now this?
As I gawked, Evil God-chan tensed hard. Warned me.
"Hey, Mima. He knows something. Divine power incoming."
"What? No way."
Goddess ain't that much of a pushover—granting power after all that trash talk? Heretic worship, every sin under sun.
If I were god, smite first.
Flash—!
But hilariously, divine power erupted from the archbishop. And.
"Succession Transcendence - Gearwheel: Freeze."
"No, what?!"
"Why's it working...?!"
Yuna and I yelped in shock.
Behind him, bluish ice bloomed, branching like tree limbs. Clicking gears echoed. Goddess power.
What the hell? Not like the fallen holy knights duped. A guy who ditched Goddess for Queen uses divine power?
Ridiculous.
Heaven's net this sloppy? Never built such a cult. Thus.
2. The Goddess is broken, for some reason. Grants power even to lippy claimants.