Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: S2. Lament to the Stars -8
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※
The power struggle with the virus-corrupted outer god was drawing to a decisive victory in my favor. If you're asking exactly what sort of grand bloodbath had unfolded...
The thing had been completely overwhelmed by the flood of setting additions, and it soon seemed to acknowledge that it couldn't fend them off forever. The rate at which I was inserting settings outpaced the rate at which it could delete them. Eventually, it would corrupt itself beyond recognition.
After that realization, it mounted a systemic offensive—trying to sabotage the world's physical laws or glitch out bits of reality before it died. Defending against that was honestly a breeze.
There was a heart-stopping moment when the outer god bastard imbued a single rooftop tile with enough physics-defying force to launch whoever stepped on it 32 kilometers straight up. Lucky I spotted it.
While Joseph was shaking down Yaburi, Bennett might've gotten an eyeful of a goddess rocketing vertically into the sky. The mood would've been utterly wrecked.
But automated defense was one of the features I'd poured the most effort into.
By issuing detailed defense directives to the narration engine, I blunted the outer god's attacks. Seizing the opening, I hammered it with enough firepower to turn even the manliest testosterone-fueled alpha into a dainty noble lady straight out of a yanggaeng shop in three seconds flat.
And now...
The outer god was huddled up, waiting for that one chance. To put it bluntly, it was just turtling and taking a beating. What it was gunning for was obvious.
The story's climax. No matter what, the players had to take it down.
The moment they faced off, it'd unleash utter devastation with everything it had. From there, it'd be a proper head-on showdown. Between the players and the outer god.
For safety's sake, maybe I should've just melted it down myself and tossed the players some other boss mob instead. But point one: If it'd been me in their shoes, I'd have wanted to pummel the bastard who'd plunged me into agony with my own fists.
Point two: Like a cornered rat lunging at a cat, beating it senseless with no escape hatch made it unpredictable where it'd bolt to next... Better to eliminate the variable.
Point three: No way my handcrafted hero party would lose to that weakened, shriveled-up thing.
Curtain up. Time to watch the finale.
"So... everyone ready?"
Bennett flashed a bright grin as he turned to his comrades. He'd smiled plenty of times before, but never with this kind of refreshing cheer. Tara and Niore exchanged glances. What the heck?
[...Yeah, all set.]
-Yeah, we've rested plenty...
-Niore, hold on a sec.
[Got it, Bennett. Tara and I need to talk real quick!]
Niore clutched her glass shard and trotted around the corner. Once she was far enough from Bennett, she pressed her back to the wall and slid down until she was sitting. Thump-thump. Her heart was racing.
Tara seemed to have taken some heart damage too—hand pressed to her comparatively modest chest, taking deep breaths. Bennett's usual brooding vibe cracking to reveal this boyish side hit the women hard.
What the hell had happened? Tara and Niore eyed each other suspiciously first.
[Was it you, Tara?]
-I thought it was Niore...
[Then who was it?]
-Yeah, who?
Who'd coaxed that smile out of Bennett? Tara and Niore whipped their heads around in unison. There she was: the quiet, mysterious woman loading holy bombs onto the cart. Joseph. No way?
[.........]
-.........
If that was the case, they couldn't leave Bennett alone with Joseph.
The scenario's finale, the grand curtain rising on the story's conclusion—
The two bolted off to defend against romance.
"........."
Unaware of the goddess (or not)'s visit, when they regrouped with flushed faces...
Bennett snapped his fingers to settle the oddly chaotic vibe.
"There's one intriguing point."
He raised his index finger. By their guess, the evil god would descend into the Silver Twilight Cult's basement. There had to be some kind of conduit drawing it in.
But Joseph had initially said the evil god was sealed in the meteor crater, and her testimony hadn't changed despite all the alterations. So.
"Two possibilities. First: Our assumption of a female goat in the basement is wrong. No issue there. Time's not pressing, so we scout more."
[The problem's the second case. After the evil god descends, something unexpected happens... forcing it to the meteor crater?]
"Exactly. So I'm kicking things off with an airstrike."
Bennett drummed the wagon wheel. Inside the attached cart loomed a mountain of holy bombs crafted over a century by Abraham's bloodline.
"We slam every last one into its seal and start the fight."
No matter what the evil god was scheming, a blistering preemptive barrage would rattle its soul. Overwhelming firepower was sometimes the surefire answer.
Bennett headed to the seal with the priests to deliver his "gift" to the evil god. Tara and Niore stayed in the building—Tara for the fight, Niore for mirror-assisted support.
↔
Tara descended the long, dark staircase to the basement. Step. Step. Each footfall echoed through the narrow space. But she wasn't scared.
[Watch your step.]
"Got it."
Their timelines were slightly offset, but her friend was right there with her.
Niore's communication issues were solved via magic. Bennett had the Abrahamites research telepathy spells, so now Niore could chat without writing.
The path downward was stained vivid red with dried blood. And the deeper she went, the more pitch-black, light-devouring slime dotted the way.
Squelch. Tara wrinkled her nose at the sticky feel underfoot. The slime even pulsed like it was alive now and then.
"How's your side? It's filthy and pitch-black here."
[Mine's well-kept all the way down. Looks like a brewery.]
"Same place, but the vibes are night and day..."
[Thanks to you, Tara.]
At the stairs' end stood a door plastered with talismans. Covered in dire warnings screaming "Do NOT enter."
Tara placed her hand lightly on it. The talismans weren't mere decorations—they tried brainwashing her away. But then, thorny vines lashed out.
Crunch, crackle.
Tara's deification began devouring the door's defensive spells bit by bit.
"Gonna take a bit. Hey, Niore."
[Listening.]
"Never thought I'd play saintess. Never figured I'd be hailed as one, either. But ending up like this in another world..."
[We've been through a lot, huh.]
"...Yeah. And plenty more ahead."
Toppling the evil god was just a stepping stone for her. Tara had work to do—avenging her parents by dismantling the goddess cult from the inside.
Tara hesitated, then spoke up.
"Hey... will you keep helping me after this?"
[Asked Bennett yet?]
"Not yet."
[Then after it's over, we ask together.]
Niore's eyes crinkled in a smile. Tara felt grateful for the roundabout yes, but also... Has she gotten a bit sultrier?
Crackle. Thunk. Clang.
The door's talismans charred black, the knob rolling to the floor. Tara gripped her magic sword tight. Right beyond this.
The culprit who'd killed Abraham and twisted the world waited.
Bam!
"...Come out, evil god!"
Tara kicked the door open and charged into the basement.
It was a pitch-black void. Walls coated in black slime, like staring into infinite emptiness or outer space. In the center, an eye opened.
Blink.
A goat's eye, distinctive pupil and all.
Blink. Blink. Blinkblinkblink.
They emerged.
Hundreds of eyes manifested in the void, fixing on Tara. Glassy, inorganic orbs flickering with emotions: mockery, deceit, curiosity...
She tensed every muscle. Suppressing fear, she spat flames of rage.
"Time to pay for your crimes, the deaths you've caused...!"
"Crimes?"
"........."
A little girl's voice echoed. Pure, innocent.
Looking closer, below the goat eyes floated a tiny mouth in midair. It whispered in a child's voice.
"You eat animals, you eat plants. So when do you pay for the deaths you cause?"
"...Nonsense!"
"Humans are always so selfish. Like spoiled kids. Throwing tantrums whenever something doesn't suit you. Spouting meaningless words like 'justice' and 'sin.' But look—I was just doing my best from my place."
The eyes blinked open and shut repeatedly.
"I heard pleas for power, so I lent it. Felt rude refusing the gifts humans offered in thanks, so I accepted. What you call... 'sins' are all things you humans did. I only lent the power. So why must I pay?"
"........."
As Tara wavered, Niore stepped in.
[All lies and nonsense, Tara. That thing's no innocent. It's whispered horrors to me plenty of times.]
"You too...?"
[It's an evil god through and through, hell-bent on human suffering.]
"Mm..."
Hit where it hurt, every eye widened hugely. The space rumbled and shook, bubbles swelling and popping in the dark like hysterical laughter. Tara and Niore sensed it guffawing.
And the little mouth left its parting words.
"Busted."
Blink.
All eyes shut.
Thud. Boom.
The ground quaked as a massive foreleg emerged. A goat's hoof bristling with human fingers. A body stitched from grotesque animal parts. Nauseating just to look at.
Riiip.
A goat head big enough to swallow a person whole.
Semitransparent tentacles writhed from the evil god's body. Like the one that severed Bennett's arm against the cult leader. Countless of them.
[Defense focus. Dark in here, hard to see, but it has a tail too. It'll aim for blind spots—watch out.]
"...Got it."
Tara raised her magic sword to middle guard, steadying her breath.
An agonizingly long silence stretched.
Is it coming? When will it strike? Tail, right. No presence yet. Niore'll warn me of anything I miss. So I'll handle frontal attacks—
Whiiiiiir—!!
"...Ngh!"
Clang—!
Tara barely deflected a tentacle slashing diagonally from the side in the darkness. Human focus wasn't infinite; gaps were inevitable. The evil god preyed on those lapses.
Whish—! Whiiiish—!!
"『Thorns of Remorse, Unleash!』"
『Thorns of Remorse』
Power surge from absorbed zealot energy unleashed
Tentacles whistled through the air like blades. Tara unleashed the power she'd drained from zealots in one burst. Space warped and rippled; the tentacles veered mid-flight, smashing into each other.
[Tara, rear—full force!]
"......!!"
Slaaash—!
Tara twisted on instinct at Niore's call, unleashing a slash behind her. The massive goat head slithering up silently like a serpent.
Her magic sword raked across its cornea.
────!!
A space-shaking shriek.
Rage flashed in the goat eye. No more games—the evil god revealed its full, twisted form from the dark. A hulking monster over five meters tall.
Its throat swelled. Eerie crimson light bathed its body; immense power gathered in the goat maw.
Enough heat to vaporize Tara's flesh to dust.
Yet she didn't flinch or flee. Bennett would save her at the perfect moment—she trusted that. So she faced the evil god boldly.
[Signal's here, Tara.]
"Knew it. His timing's impeccable."
Tara pointed her sword at the evil god, grinning confidently.
"Our gift for you, you bastard! Hope you like it—!!"
Vrrr—!
Thud—!
Just as the evil god reared to fire its mana cannon, its goat head snapped sideways like it'd been hammer-struck. Jaws clamped shut; eyes burst from pressure. It rolled its eyes in confusion.
Boom—! Bwoom—!!
Explosions from the future pummeled it. Forelegs shredded, belly holed. Chain blasts melted flesh, disrupted mana. The evil god wailed in agony, mouth agape.
Meeeeeh—!!
Tentacles flailed wildly—not aimed, just thrashing. Niore's eyes gleamed.
[Five steps left. Jump. Watch upper right. Advance.]
Amid the tentacle downpour, Tara danced with Niore's guidance.
[Duck, roll forward. Upper guard. Advance.]
Repeated charges. Tara pierced its resistance with acrobatic finesse, closing to point-blank. Niore, nose bleeding from overfocus beyond the mirror, swung her arm.
[Do it, Tara!]
"Right—!!"
Thump. Thump.
The evil god's filthy heart throbbed audibly. That pulse pinpointed its location perfectly. Tara extended her thorny vines. Longer, even longer.
A three-meter spear woven from tangled thorns.
Tara, new to deification, could sustain it near-constantly thanks to 『Thorns of Remorse』's trait: absorbing others' power as her own suppressed costs.
So this strike was...
Renouncing absorption, channeling every ounce into destruction. No holding back.
"『Thorns of Remorse, Full Bloom!』"
『Thorns of Remorse: Full Bloom』
All power diverted to destruction—no absorption
Stab—! Rip, crunch—!!
The thorn spear plunged into its heart, draining power. Using that as fuel, it proliferated. Vines speared outward, carving and shattering the organ.
Rooooar—!!
The evil god screamed. It clawed at the vines devouring its heart with ragged forelegs, but the thorns burrowed into those too, blooming endlessly from within.
A killing blow that wouldn't stop until it'd sucked every drop of power.
The evil god conceded its predicament. Heart intact? Impossible. 70% of its body already infested, no way to excise.
Fine—abandon 70% to survive.
Slice—!
It severed its own head. The detached head morphed into an unstable, wavering human shape.
"...Wh-what? Something popped out!"
[It's escaping! Catch it!]
"......!!"
The evil god bolted past Tara, scrambling up the stairs, out of the Silver Twilight Cult building, toward the meteor crater. Where goddess and its powers had clashed. Remnants lingered there.
Devour those, recover some damage.
The evil god's final spasm: a chase ensued.
※
The finale's a group effort!
What a flashy climax. I overlapped the worlds just a tad. Niore and Tara could faintly see each other now. Bennett, about to join, too.
I duplicated the fleeing evil god's image into the future. Niore caught on quick, tossing her glass shard. Tara's eyes bugged out at the translucent Niore running beside her.
"What the—?!"
[Evil god's death throes warped space-time a bit...!]
Good, she'll figure it out. Amid the frantic pursuit, Tara and Niore smiled. Different pasts and futures, but together.
No gimmick practice? Let's play!
"After it!"
[I'll take a shortcut!]
Priest magic was special. Derived from their patron deity, specialized in certain domains. The goddess cult's focused on regeneration, recovery, purification, healing—anything life-affirming.
So plenty of spells useful in a chase, but...
"...Always missing when I need 'em!"
Tara, holy power spent, was miffed. Especially now, mana near-empty after unleashing her deification full-tilt.
Niore, taking clever shortcuts to match pace while tracking the evil god, mouthed slyly.
[...Remember that time?]
"What time?"
[Chasing the mage!]
"...Wait, aren't we one short now?!"
Tara and Niore chuckled. At the path's end, a familiar man's shadow.
Bennett spotted the girl charging ahead, pursued by Tara and Niore, and stiffened. What situation was this?
"...Illusion magic?"
"Bennett! That's the evil god!"
At Tara's shout, Bennett drew his gleaming sword, 『Protective Oath』, without hesitation. He swung in a blaze of light.
Slash—!
The evil god's body split at the waist, but like slime, it wriggled and became two, scattering different ways.
"Can you tell which is real?!"
[No clue. Maybe neither?]
"Then we cover it with bodies... Tara, collapse that!"
"...Mana's low, tough spot!"
Tara grumbled but poured mana into her magic sword and hurled it. The future-thrown blade toppled stalls, trapping one evil god. Bennett closed in sharply; sword light flashed from his grip.
"If clean cuts are the issue, I'll dice it to dust."
Shredshredshred—!!
The outer god's flesh shredded to particles and dispersed. Tara pursued the other; distance grew between her and Bennett.
[Bennett, shortcut this way!]
"On it!"
Niore leaped urban obstacles, guiding Bennett. The gap closed in seconds.
The trio raced down the streets. No doubts. Catch up, finish it—that was it!
The outer god pulled grotesque tricks as they closed in: corpse walls, dozens of weird blocky illusions popping up. Bizarre spells.
"Follow the noise, Bennett!"
Tara led.
[Path's this way, Bennett!]
Niore gave answers.
They broke through effortlessly. Chasing that mad mage solo, the gap had only widened. If only they'd teamed up then... Might've nabbed him instantly.
"Stay back, you—!!"
The evil god summoned tentacles with its dregs of power. A three-meter wave blotting vision.
"Dodge?!"
[Dodge into this alley...!]
Bennett grinned fiercely, kicked off the ground, surging ahead of Tara and Niore. Radiating light, he roared.
"Nah, no dodging. I'll protect you all!"
His sword strokes blurred beyond sight. Hundreds, maybe. 『Protective Oath』's rays wove a solid wall.
A slashing net. An advanced technique called sword barrier, for masters of mana control. But its thickness was on another level.
The tentacle wave shattered to particles.
Their speed barely dipped. The evil god glanced back, spewing black light. Death inevitable? Then burn itself out cursing them.
"You think this is the end? Wrong! I'm not the true body—you'll all dance to my tune someday—!!"
Darkness swallowed everything instantly. Total black—no up, down, left, right. But Bennett didn't lose his way.
The star in his heart shone, guiding him.
Flash—!!
His sword cleaved illusions, malice, darkness. In radiant glory, it bisected the evil god's second heart.
The shadows dispersed.
Dawn was breaking—perfect timing.
Bennett turned from the slain evil god to Tara and Niore. They were sweat-drenched, catching breath, eyes on him.
"...Got it?!"
[It's over?]
"Over."
He murmured with a relieved smile.
"No matter how you or anyone else yammers... I won't lose my way again."
Now he knew his path clearly. Even if trials led him astray once more...
"......Done. Finally done."
[Once we're back, I wanna sleep a week straight...]
Tara and Niore would surely guide him again.
"Let's head home."
.........
Bennett, Tara, Niore. The three heroes saved a world crumbling under the evil god and returned to their own.
But that doesn't mean the tale ends here.
This was the birth of heroes. Young as they are, their legend... will endure a long, long time.
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