Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: Goddess Rampage -2
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Great chaos.
The priests of the church, especially the high-ranking ones aligned with the cardinals' faction, were plunged into pandemonium, creating a scene straight out of hell. They scurried about like rats with their tails on fire.
"How? How did this happen?!"
"The night suddenly turned to day... This must be the goddess blessing us. The sky has lit up like never before!"
"But that doesn't add up. I heard Benjamin, the hero candidate, got struck by divine punishment and carted off..."
The reason was the monumental event of day and night swapping places.
Unsure whether this phenomenon threatened them or brought gain, they could only shriek and wail.
Eventually, they sought answers from their masters.
"Where are the cardinals?!"
"Right! The cardinals will tell us what to do!"
Obeying the cardinals brought blessings. Priests in their favor truly saw their divine power grow, and they could partake in the vast wealth flowing into the goddess cult.
It required little effort. Simply knowing when to stay silent made everything fall into place. Like keeping the young pope confined indoors, or forcing female priests into revealing attire for "service."
Just stop thinking and accept it.
With the goddess silent on the matter, they even justified it as divine will rather than corruption.
They expected the same this time. The cardinals were favored by the goddess, so this too would pass without issue. But...
"The sanctuary... His Holiness the Pope should be there with the cardinals... but the doors won't open! They just keep saying it's nothing, so wait..."
"What?"
This time was different.
The world lit up in red. Warning alarms blared repeatedly.
The young pope huddled in his chair, trembling in terror. Please forgive me. Just this once, Goddess... He prayed, curling his body as small as possible.
[Warning: Administrator Purification Stage 1 - City Erasure.]
[Warning: Make your appeal.]
A noise-like divine utterance brushed past.
Confess your sins. Know that your circumstances are statistically dire. Place your words on the scales as weight for judgment—convert the layered thoughts in your heart into language and transmit them.
The pope couldn't understand the goddess's language, but he instinctively knew she was gazing down at him. He frantically clasped his hands to pray.
"Goddess..."
But then.
"What the hell is going on──!!"
"Exactly! I told you adding more doctrines was dangerous!"
"Who was it that pushed for picking that bastard Benjamin in the first place? Not me—I definitely voted against!"
"We shouldn't have made this brat pope. He can't even handle adding a few doctrines properly and now look at this mess?!"
Startled by the divine punishment looming right before them, the cardinals flapped about, hurling insults and abuse at each other before turning bloodshot eyes on the pope simultaneously.
In their minds, to salvage the situation and restore normalcy, they lunged at the pope together. Just as they always had, they tried to manipulate him.
The old men seized the pope and berated him.
"We can still fix this now. Block it! If the imperial family or dukes ask what's happening... tell them we'll handle it, nothing's wrong, just wait!"
"Any scolding of Your Holiness up to now was guidance to help you grow properly...! Handle this well, and we'll cut those instances in half, so please do something, Your Holiness!"
"Pope, appease the goddess's wrath now. That's why you exist, why we picked you! Kill yourself if you have to—just shut off that damn red light!"
"Ah... uh... aaah..."
How could he pray in such a situation?
The final mercy offered by the god of mechanisms was swept away in the fury and screams of the corrupt.
A messenger burst in, delivering dire news.
"We informed the cardinals' faction of the situation, but they said 'The perfect goddess wouldn't do that'... Far from opening the way, they lined up holy knights to block the entrance!"
"......"
I knew those bastards would pull something like that. I half-expected it, so I'd prepared.
The cardinals' faction's main forces were set: holy knights and priests. They're vicious at stalling and enduring, so a frontal assault would let the goddess wipe the city off the map.
So... even with holy knights forming the line and priests building walls, I prepared a splendid mount to break through.
None other than Siselle, mistress of gravity manipulation.
Borrow her speed, and we could zip past while they're flustered. Then our remaining allies engage to buy time.
Meanwhile, the infiltration team finishes the goddess hack.
The fatal flaw of the legendary SSR mount Siselle? She's human. Not that big, so basically one-seater, two at best.
To ride multiple people, we needed an expansion kit. Like a sidecar on a motorcycle. But we couldn't whip one up now.
Instead, we'd bundle the riders together. Using this rope.
"It's too loose, Mima. Better to tie it tighter."
"Ow...! Tie too hard and it'll leave marks...!"
"You lunatic, don't wrap it around my neck!"
As she bundled our party—including me—into one tight package, Second Prince Irid eyed me oddly and grumbled something like a complaint.
Like looking at some mix between a hero and a walking disaster.
"A goddess rampage, huh? You always drag incidents in your wake."
"Yeah, well... I come to and it's always like this. Wonder if I was born with that kind of fate."
"You act like you want accidents to happen. To me, it looks partly self-inflicted."
"That so?"
It made sense but didn't, somehow.
Sure, single-handedly rigging a tournament... or attempting a goddess hack at what was supposed to be a casual outing... yeah, those were disasters I invited.
But this goddess rampage and the cardinals' freakout would've happened without me, right? As I grumbled, Irid added that he wasn't blaming me.
"Not an accusation. Just that you're overly nosy."
"Pardon?"
"You didn't have to get involved. Giving someone a chance, saving hearts, rushing to a student's crisis... Your vibe and quirky personality hide it, but."
"......"
Why this suddenly, Your Highness?
Makes me sound like some saintly gentleman.
I squirmed in embarrassment. I'd just done what I wanted, steered toward what seemed fun. But thinking it over, he had a point. I had done plenty of good deeds.
As I twisted about...
"Yeah, I've saved a few. Next up, savior of the holy city—maybe get sainted."
"That's exactly why you get awkward thanks and praise."
"Hard to accept gratitude for stuff I did on a whim. Anyway, going all sentimental like this... something good happen lately?"
"......"
Aha.
Right, he saw Centra's face and shared a deep kiss. Gratitude overflowing for me making that reunion happen.
Feel free to thank me all you want. I crossed my arms, chin raised high in magnanimous pose: express as much as you like.
"What're you doing? Tie the damn rope!"
"Evil God-chan, that too I embrace."
"Get to work!"
Irid chuckled at our skit and turned away. Facing mortal peril, maybe he'd come to tie up loose ends.
Or assure me 'it's okay if we fail to save the city.' Either way, he was looking out for me—felt good. Energized now. Let's push harder.
As I tightly bound Evil God-chan against me...
The joining Northern Grand Duke said flatly.
"Use this."
"Pardon?"
"Kavale, make it."
"Yes, lord of the North."
Crack. Craaaack!
A chill wind swirled, and an ice orb materialized in the clearing. The Northern warrior's manifestation ability, whipped up in seconds. Hollow inside.
Tapped it—solid strength. No need for ropes now! I gave the Northern Grand Duke a cheeky clap for sponsoring our ice capsule.
He returned a frozen-lake stare. Heart would've applauded wildly—avatar discrimination.
I cut the ropes and said.
"Alright, everyone inside."
No need to split the infiltration team now with this fancy sidecar. Us, Bennett's party, even Red Flavor Duke's puppets—all piled into the ice orb.
"You lot be cushions."
"......"
Layered the livestock puppets at the bottom for makeshift seats. He looked like he had words, but seemed to hold back. They don't wanna die either.
A bit cramped, but rideable. Tara and Niore eyed the puppet-chairs warily, but calmed once Bennett draped an arm around their waists.
"Never thought I'd be a human catapult..."
[How do we land?]
Good question.
Siselle's manifestation isn't perfectly controlled yet—clean landing's a stretch. How to handle? Manpower again.
Someone with perfect landing manifestation was right here in the holy city.
"Bankruptcy Curry."
"Kargan of Bankruptcy. Lost to Siselle Yurensuto in the round of 32. Possesses Earth Subjugation manifestation."
Right.
Bankruptcy Curry can control three meters of earth. Use that to soften the ground on impact.
[Saw the matches, but... does he have that ability?]
"Didn't, but I agreed to give him a temporary one."
[Huh?]
I floated a white crystal on my palm. Extreme goodness beam—makes folks mostly nice on hit. Myth Manifestation Extra Module.
Usable penalty-free on Pinballet in mental world, but material world has hurdles... or so I thought.
Found a way, minor side effects aside.
Inject weakened Parshimmoyeom like a syringe to insert the module.
Tara glanced around inside and said.
"Wait, then that Bankruptcy Curry? Kargan? Doesn't he need to ride in this ice orb? He's not here."
"If he's inside, he won't know when to land. Obviously Curry stays outside."
"?"
"Rope came in handy."
Used it well tying Curry to the orb's exterior.
Kargan of Bankruptcy accepted the absurd commission for the money.
Mercenary with a band, acquaintances, drinking buddies, sly disciples. Outfitting them in armor costs a fortune.
Still, even so.
Tying a man to an ice orb and launching him—wasn't this overworking him...?
Strapped spread-eagled, Kargan grimaced at the chilling sensation on his back and butt. Siselle placed a hand on the orb.
"Ready, Kargan?"
"......How do you prepare for this crap?! If I'd known it'd be──"
Fwsh.
Something shot from inside the orb, hitting Kargan's head. His expression blanked, a white dot appearing in his pupil's center.
Near-infinite goodness temporarily dwelt in him.
Kargan's face brightened instantly.
"──I could've prepped better safety. But this ain't bad! Romantic even! Back feels great! Haha! Let's go, knight buddy!"
"......Is he too ready now?"
Siselle, surprised by the change, didn't forget her task. Stirred her emotions, activated manifestation. Everything has direction.
Grrrn, grrrrrrn.
The earth rumbled, stone shards and dust rising slowly skyward. The packed ice orb shuddered, beginning to float.
Siselle gripped her broken greatsword like a bat, double-handed. Plan: swing hard, launch in one go.
Target: Holy Sword Repository, Hero Hall.
"Life-Clasp Lift - Fly Free."
Grriiind, clang──!!
With a boom, the ice orb rocketed away.
Outpacing any trebuchet in speed and distance, the ice orb landed about 100 meters from the Hero Hall housing the holy sword.
"Hahaha! White (白): Earth Harmony⋯⋯!!"
Marble tiles softened instantly into a cushy, springy texture absorbing impact. The orb dropped atop it.
Spluuurt.
Moments later, cracks spiderwebbed the orb with a crack, and it fell away. People crawled out one by one. First out looked queasy—the ride had been brutal.
"Ughhh... bleeech..."
The Violet Magic Tower Master face-planted, seasick. The mad wizard crawled out next and flopped, Bennett pale but upright.
And watching this, about 30 cardinals' faction holy knights looked flustered.
No manifestation-grade foes in sight. They wouldn't expect anything via the holy sword, so the holy city's main forces were clustered at the cardinals' and pope's location.
Naturally, defenses here were lax.
Yuli Lancaster grabbed the mad wizard by the scruff, hauled her upright, dusted her hands, and eyed the knights.
Shing.
She drew her blade. No letting intruders pass easily. Cardinals' men unlikely to listen to reason—no time anyway.
Violet Tower Master could sweep them, but she had to block the goddess's Divine Punishment. Yuli? Useless for goddess hacking.
So she stepped up.
Yuli cracked her knuckles.
"Handling them won't be hard, but it's a time race. Leave this to me... Mima?"
"Possible... urp... you think? Your manifestation favors one-on-one."
"Yes. Fair point."
Her style: unwrap chains to bind or wrap in close-quarters brawls. Wide coverage, but not quite 'AoE.'
Plus the mad wizard's extra modules...
White (白): True Desire Liberation—blocks mental interference.
Black (黑): True Desire Incineration—physically explodes linked emotions.
Simply put, no great for one-vs-many. But.
"That's without my succubus powers."
"......Huh?"
Her innate aversion had mostly melted away with the mad wizard. No hesitation now.
Yuli removed her glasses and tie, handing them to the mad wizard.
"Don't worry, Mima. Even in battle, no flirting with strange men. Unlike some."
"......"
"Care to give the victory chant? So I can bind your foes."
The mad wizard pondered briefly...
Mwah. Kissed Yuli's cheek.
She flinched in surprise, then dropped her stoic mask for a beaming smile.
"......Guess your confession wasn't a joke. Quite the imp, Mima."
"Win and come back. I'll be done by then."
"Yes. Now go. Leave them to me."
The mad wizard snapped her fingers. Illusion magic spread, erasing everyone but Yuli like a mirage.
As holy knights used divine magic and artifacts to detect them...
"What you should be watching is over here."
Click.
Heel striking earth. And then.
──Pink.
Succubus queen's lust, mad wizard's technique—mastered both. Showcasing via innate flesh? Easy.
That sensuality, allure, captivating pull—in a word, pink. Her form pierced their perceptions like a spike. Eyes couldn't turn away.
Yuli Lancaster blocked them.