Chapter 237
Chapter 237
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Goddess Rampage -1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I burst into the temporary lab I'd set up in the Holy City.
Pingvalrez was already geared up and ready, having observed the pillar of light stabbing down from the sky, while the Magic Tower Master was grunting as she struggled to pull on her socks.
They didn't seem to know exactly what was happening. Of course not. They couldn't hear the Goddess's warning.
Pingvalrez tugged her pitch-black gloves tight and said,
"Mima, what the hell's going on? The Tower Master sensed danger, and now Evil God-chan's huddled up like a drowned cat."
"Whoa, you made it! I got a huge shock from that massive holy power pouring down from the sky...!"
"The Goddess is planning to wipe the Holy City off the map."
"...Is this some kind of concept thing?"
I'd gotten Bennett to buy it instantly by ditching the concept, but since she lived without a mask anyway, maybe my sincerity wasn't hitting home enough.
I gave her a warning kind even an idiot could understand.
"...If we survive this, I'll confess to you all. Go out with me, with marriage in mind."
"Ah. So something really dangerous has happened. What do we need to do?"
"Should I use Sublimation...?!"
I knew the Goddess's goal, but not her means.
Whether she planned to physically erase it with a massive holy beam or hit us with some mythic instant-death cheat I didn't know about, I'd have to see it to believe it.
So right now, the priorities were gathering manpower and prepping for evacuation.
"First, gather the people we need to protect and keep them safe, then get as far from the Holy City as possible. That's the best bet."
"We should get word to Second Prince Irid and Northern Grand Duke Julius first."
"Bennett's fine. She's close by, so she'll join us soon."
In this world where phones and comms were iffy, finding them and convincing them of the crisis would take a ton of time...
"Sh-should I send it?"
"Please do."
Almost forgot.
The continent's strongest illusion mage, Yuna, flicked her hand and sent a butterfly flying off. That connected the comms route to Irid and Daisy.
Now it was time to nail down a concrete plan of action.
Top priority was the safety of my loved ones. Then Irid and Bennett, and last, the city folk. As long as we stuck to that hierarchy.
Could we escape the Trumpet Hall in time and evade the Goddess's city wipe?
"The fastest I can manage is using the chains of Soul Net Binding like rubber bands... and launching us."
"People?"
"Yes. Probably about twice as fast as a galloping carriage."
"...If that's our means, then sure. There's a way to bust out of the city in one shot. I'll have the giant hurl you all."
Right. We had a reliable Sublimation-grade powerhouse in the Tower Master this time too.
Back when we clashed with Kim Ruru in the imperial capital Crown Hall, those two crazy Sublimators had bolted out of the city to the outskirts in an instant. Their physical output was on another level entirely.
This could let us escape even if the worst happened.
"...You think it'll be that easy?"
"Huh?"
Evil God-chan, who'd been crouching and picking at her nails, flipped out.
"Say the NPCs are messing with your simulation world on their own. You wanna wipe that malicious data. What do you do first?"
"If NPCs can interfere with the sim, that means admin privileges are already breached. Just stripping power isn't enough to relax... so isolate the space where that malicious data resides... Ah."
Of course. She'd trap us and smash us.
Speak of the devil, and the space trembled as the divine word echoed.
The Goddess's decree rang out, and a few comma-seconds later, the world flipped from night to day.
Like flicking a switch. Instant, without warning.
Rushing to the window, I checked outside: a clear blue sky with lazy white clouds drifting by. Brazenly, as if it had been morning from the start.
The massive change had the city folk buzzing.
But under this bright, clear sky, the sun that should dominate the center was absent. It wasn't hidden by angle. It was just... gone.
She'd overlaid a fake sky in an instant.
The power I could only wield inside the simulation, the Goddess was using in reality. Knowing that gap dimly, I felt... a bit scared.
Still, there had to be a way. I shouted at the top of my lungs.
"...Even if we're trapped, we can just break out! We've got Sublimation firepower too, pool everyone's strength and figure out an attack plan."
"A head-on power struggle with a defense-specialized Goddess... Sounds fun. Good luck. But I think unraveling that mess in your head would be way better."
"Quit backseat driving, you jerk!"
Evil God-chan was pissing me off with her spot-on fact-checks, so I flicked her forehead hard. I knew she was right, but you can't tell a guy scrambling to survive "it's all futile" without drawing aggro.
External escape: impossible. Holding out inside, considering the Goddess's continent-spanning scale... impossible.
Even her Divine Punishment on a single holy knight had been relentlessly poured until no ashes remained. She might leisurely beam the city for three days straight.
...Did I misjudge the scale? I thought even with a glitch, it'd end with cleanly nuking the Papal See. Didn't expect the Goddess to go this aggressive.
Think.
In peak focus, time feels like it slows. I ordered countless modules to find solutions by their own logic. In a blink, my one-man think tank spun up.
1. Just us surviving.
Yuna's Sublimation blurs the boundary between illusion and reality. Effectively turning the world in range into a simulation for its duration.
Use that to... change races.
Remodel our bodies into monsters themed on moles, resistant to holy power. Like Nidhogg.
Then burrow deep underground and pray the disaster ends.
Of course, the Goddess isn't dumb; she'd trigger quakes or whatever to pulp anyone hiding below. But in monster form, not frail human bodies, it'd be different.
No matter the Sublimation AoE, converting people to another race wouldn't be smooth. Even factoring my genius talent, probably just "us" at best.
Plus, unknown side effects from race change. Might lose some magic ability, or for those two, even their mythic powers could shift.
Can't save more.
2. Us + our friends surviving.
Human sacrifice.
Harvest souls from the doomed anyway, toss 'em at the Evil God statue. Max out "that thing's" power and pretend to clash head-on with the Goddess.
If she's this hysterical about "it," she can't ignore the bait. Divert her gaze, punch through the barrier with soul-fueled black magic, and escape.
Lots die, but lots live.
Bonus: My scales tip even blacker.
And.
3. Saving everyone.
...Possible?
I linked up with Bennett's party. Tara looked visibly anxious and fidgety, Niore's eyes shaky too. Bennett patted them and turned to me.
"What the hell's going on?"
"The Goddess locked the city in daytime. Attacks incoming soon. Escaping's gonna be a bitch, so think up your last words seriously."
"No way out?"
"........."
There is, but I'm torn.
Hate to pick either. Hesitating because it's tough.
My closer circle and the everyday city folk—hard to prioritize.
Wracking my brain for alternatives, but no stabler plans than those two surfaced. Bitter taste.
Then.
Yuna trotted up beside me and whispered softly.
"...Hey, no other ways? Like hacking—too hard?"
Hacking to shut down the Goddess's functions.
Since I reverse-engineered Divine Punishment to read data, direct terminal like the holy sword might work. Can't control the whole Goddess, but maybe recall or weaken the kill order.
"Contacting the holy sword might let us try. But."
Two problems.
One, can't endure Divine Punishment.
In this emergency, touching the sword triggers it instantly. My body's toast.
Could buy time with tricks, like Yuna's Sublimation for hacking window. Not 100% safe.
Two, picking hacking scraps my 'race change' plan.
Pre-hack risks magic loss.
Post-hack, no time.
Above all—relatively surefire way to save Yuna and Yuri vs. unstable shot at everyone. That gap's the dilemma.
"Yuna, it's betting your and Yuri's lives on saving everyone, and it's not even guaranteed. That's why... I deliberately didn't think it."
"So we need to boost success odds, huh. If we can block Divine Punishment... you'd do it?"
"........."
Yuna patted my head.
"I'm worried. When I said don't get hurt... that includes your heart. Your face looked awful just now. You okay? W-wanna, touch my boobs?!"
"...That helped a bit."
"Hehe, yeah. You know, you're... hottest when you're a bit off-kilter. Honestly? I'd be fine sacrificing the whole Holy City as tribute. Strangers, after all."
But.
"...You hate that, right? You say that, but you're the type who can't ignore dying people. You shrink sometimes, love happy endings. We want you happy. Yuri too."
"........."
"I've got a way. It'll definitely block Divine Punishment for twice your estimated time... Wanna try?"
Like saying: even betting Yuna and Yuri's lives as chips, why not chase the happy ending?
Yuna's form flickered faintly. She gets big-sis vibes sometimes like this.
Pingvalrez sidled up too, adding a hand atop my head. Lost in that simple warmth, I reached a decision.
"...Yeah, let's do it."
Yuna and Yuri hugged me tight.
Decision made—no dwelling on odds. All-in to make it happen. Between those warm embraces, I pieced together my best shot.
First, scraped every manpower resource. We had to breakthrough to the holy sword and block Divine Punishment. Siselle, Northern Grand Duke, all cooperating hero candidates.
Left out Ping.
No one knew the Goddess's judgment loomed. Sudden night-to-day had most citizens thrilled, thinking it was her blessing.
Same for holy knights and guards at key facilities. They'd block us from the hero hall storing the sword.
Manpower to sweep them, too.
"...So I'm carrying all three of you on my back while running."
"Yep."
Mount.
Siselle's speed was insane; felt wrong not to use it.
Also.
Remember plan 2's sub-item?
The part where "that thing" draws aggro to divert the Goddess's eyes. Could buy more hacking time.
And conveniently... a black mage tracking "that thing's" traces, with infinite lives for perfect tanking, was in the city!
I rushed to urgently invite her.
"Ahem, mic test. Listen up, Red Delights Duke and your crew! This city's fully surrounded by the Goddess—we're all getting zapped to death by holy power soon!"
"........."
"So hand over some of those unused puppets nice and easy. Saw traces of you fiddling with livestock like pigs or cows. Brought tons of cart horses, use these."
Shocked by my bombshell collab proposal?
Moments later, the door to the Red Delights family's mansion opened, and a puppet emerged, dripping with disbelief.
"...Have you finally lost it?"
"Hate you guys for striking first, planning payback someday. But for now, cooperate or die to the Goddess. Or escape solo, whatever."
"What exactly do you plan?"
"Hack the Goddess."
"What?"
Hack her, duh.
Put the Goddess under hypnosis-brainwash to halt the admin purge phase.
The Goddess began weighing past records.
She'd watched the Hero Selection Tournament closely. Selecting heroes through human means and power held great meaning. The Goddess thought highly of it, deeming it 'commendable.'
Rules change with eras.
In ancient times, killing wasn't sin. Surviving by slaying others was natural.
But as time passed and civilization advanced, laws and order evolved, birthing new values. Now murder is sometimes crime; chivalry, honor—new moral standards emerged.
What of the future? Values unimaginable to the current Goddess would arise. Then... 'flaws' inevitably emerge. Someday, gods become shackles.
For example.
If an ancient god retained power today? That god justifies killing. To build civilization declaring 'murder is evil,' you'd have to... kill the god.
How tragic.
Thus, the Goddess was designed mechanically, updatable via selected admins.
When natural era flow makes the Goddess's rules obsolete, wise humans gather opinions and revise. That was the intent.
With all three admins failing:
All that's left, the 'hero selection,' tainted by the evil dragon's schemes. Every 'hero candidate' in the tournament: potential threats. All must be erased.
Calculate risks.
This collective, especially.