Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: The Gods' Banquet
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[-- Flashback --]
The hall of the gods' banquet was at the top of the Skytower in Jermina's world, stretching all the way up to the clouds.
It was the first time I'd seen so many gods gathered in one place.
Security was tight as a result—holy knights patrolled everywhere.
It's fine. Don't get tense.
Today, I'm not an intruder.
I wouldn't end up surrounded by the Holy Knight Order and forced to use hypnosis in some unpleasant standoff.
If anything, I could even call myself an escort.
I strode confidently toward the entrance.
"The place closest to the moon. Welcome to Luminous, Lord Decal."
The holy knight bowed his head.
"Mm."
I straightened my back and walked through the parting holy knights into the banquet hall.
My palms were sweating.
I'd heard from Hevel that gods sometimes gathered like this for camaraderie,
but I'd never had any connection to such events, so my vision was already spinning.
This is just a recreation of the memory.
I'm merely reliving something that's already happened—I'm telling myself that, but the tension refuses to fade.
It's probably because reviving the memory is bringing back the emotions I felt so intensely back then.
No matter how much my current self tries to suppress it, it's no use.
No, it might be even more accurate to say that I, as the recreator of the memory, am trembling even harder now.
Because...
I vaguely sensed that this page marked the end of the memory.
...Why is that?
Probably because this was my final stage.
The place where the God of Hypnosis, Decal, met his death.
Damn it. Clear my mind and focus on recreating the memory.
Predicting the ending from the clue that the screening time is almost up would be in poor taste.
I took a deep breath and surveyed my surroundings.
A vast open garden under the moonlight.
On one side, foods I'd never seen before were piled high, arranged like a buffet for picking and choosing.
The gods stood here and there, glasses in hand, chatting.
Tables were scattered about for setting down food or drinks,
and servants in pristine white garments cleared away used plates and glasses or carried trays of fresh drinks to the gods.
It was unfamiliar yet imaginable.
Having grown up in a typical middle-class family in the modern world,
even if we threw a home party, it would be sitting around a large table with food and drinks, sharing stories...
That felt the most natural,
so a party like this would be impossible without renting a spacious venue on a very special occasion.
That unexpected casualness sparked another thought.
With Jermina, I figured she'd line up the gods in rows and make them praise her achievements, and it wouldn't seem out of place.
Yet this banquet hall had a surprisingly free-spirited vibe.
No assigned seats, no forced spectacles.
Just wandering around, chatting, eating, and drinking—that kind of feel.
My eyes weren't on the supremely beautiful goddesses but tracking the movements of the servants who kept their heads bowed low.
Ilesia... where are you?
As my anxiety grew, a murmur rippled through the crowd.
"Lady Jermina."
"Lady Jermina!"
"You're as radiant as ever today."
It was Jermina.
I held my breath and stole a glance, trying to look natural.
There she was, close enough to reach if I ran.
White hair shimmering with moonlight, red eyes that intimidated her creations.
Just like when she barged into my home and looked down on me, Jermina remained a beautiful and terrifying presence.
Having seen various gods now, I could tell—her divinity alone set her worlds apart.
A god among gods.
Jermina's presence was overwhelming.
But my eyes were fixed on the woman beside her.
Sia stood there, transformed almost beyond recognition.
Her beauty shone even next to Jermina, divinity or not.
Black hair melting like ink, sacred green eyes.
It was the Goddess Ilesia I knew so well.
No way...
"Let me introduce her to you all.
This is Ilesia. My servant, who has received the Authority of Light from Lord Nimyuel and been granted 8th-grade divinity."
"Wow!"
"You're so beautiful, Lady Ilesia."
"Thank you."
...8th-grade god.
She'd surpassed me before I knew it.
Unthinkingly, I joined the other gods in clapping along.
What a shrinking feeling.
I came to rescue her... but is it right to ask her to be my servant again?
No, of course it is.
She's the woman I set my sights on. It'd be no surprise for her to win Jermina's favor and become an 8th-grade god.
I want to have sex with Ilesia until I'm bored of it.
That's the only reason I came all this way.
Time to start the banquet.
"Hoo..."
I focused and clapped twice.
All the gods except Ilesia and Jermina naturally knelt and bowed their heads.
That left me as the only one standing among the guests, drawing Ilesia and Jermina's eyes.
"Mister...!!"
"...I won't say this is unexpected.
But I never imagined you'd hypnotize every god I summoned.
That did catch me off guard."
"..."
I stepped forward and faced off against Jermina.
From here on, every word and gesture would be under her scrutiny.
Fall short of her standards, and it'd be instant execution.
Blocking all the gods means nothing if I can't block Jermina herself.
I lowered my gaze, knelt on one knee, and showed my respects.
"Forgive my rudeness.
Lady Jermina."
"It doesn't matter.
I invited you to the inner garden of my own will. I've heard you've been whispering about something lately..."
She'd noticed.
"That you'd come to me was predictable even for a child.
I was looking forward to seeing what you'd bring."
...Right.
A man with no prior motive had finally made his move.
Taking Ilesia as the trigger.
From Jermina's perspective, it was easy to foresee that I'd eventually come to her.
Go ahead and try whatever you want.
...That was the leisure of the strong.
In truth, up to this moment, I had no means to manifest Jermina—I'd come unprepared.
I couldn't hypnotize her.
I'd only secured the bare minimum deal.
"I've come to take Sia back."
"Oh?"
I didn't glance away.
I was dying to know what expression Sia wore,
but right now, all my focus was on Jermina.
"I'm sorry for preemptively hypnotizing them to avoid interruptions during our talk."
"Didn't I say it doesn't matter? You want me to hand over Ilesia? What will you offer in exchange?"
"Up to this day, I've brought 182 goddesses from 4th-grade to 8th-grade under my banner.
And right now, through my authority,
they're set to take specific actions if anything happens to me."
"Hahaha. Hahaha!"
Jermina laughed merrily.
"And what of it?
Daring to threaten me? That's amusing. It's my first such experience since becoming a god.
So, what do you plan to do with those 182 'lesser gods'? Attack me and my world all at once?"
"..."
No way. Was the stepping stone not enough?
That can't be. The total gods in the Harmony Realm barely exceed five hundred.
Most of them fall into the lesser god category Jermina mentioned.
Just bluffing? It's eating at me.
"You've done your calculations, I see.
You thought using those gods as bait would keep me and the Harmony gods from acting recklessly while we clash with the monster-side gods."
"..."
I couldn't even respond.
Revealing my intentions would put me at a disadvantage.
I waited silently for Jermina to finish.
"You were foolish in two ways.
First, viewing war from a human perspective.
Second, thinking you could weigh a mere hundred-plus gods against me."
Ha...
I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"Even with this much force,
you're saying it still falls short of you, Lady Jermina?"
"Exactly. Before the Authority of Destruction, all other authorities are meaningless.
In our struggle against the monster-side gods, your existence is less than dust.
If you managed to buy time before 2nd- and 3rd-grade gods arrived, that's more than enough for your worthless life."
"Well... I expected as much."
I brushed off my knee and stood up.
"Hm?"
"I knew that no matter how many miscellaneous gods I gathered, they couldn't match you, Lady Jermina.
In pure destructive power, even all of them combined couldn't keep up with your attacks."
"..."
This time, Jermina fell silent.
She seemed to realize something unexpected had happened.
That's right.
"Lady Jermina.
I never once said I commanded them to attack you."
"...What?"
Jermina's guess was close to the truth.
Not only strong, but far smarter than me.
Like Ilesia, she must have been diligent and eager to learn—a true talent.
Even when she let me into her garden out of divine boredom and toyed with me, I could sense her intellect.
She wasn't someone a fool like me could outtalk.
But...
Her guess had one fatal flaw.
When it comes to handling hypnosis, no god surpasses me.
What Jermina misunderstood was the content of the suggestions.
"It should be happening right about now.
All the goddesses have reached the positions I designated."
"Designated positions...?"
"Let's call them the worlds they're each in charge of. Now, what do you think I commanded them to do?"
"..."
Jermina's face paled.
I might be the first to make the Goddess of Destruction go white as a sheet.
"You bastard, don't tell me...!!"
"Yes. If anything happens to me, I commanded all of them to destroy their worlds."
"Are you insane, you bastard!"
"I'll throw it back at you. You made the mistake because you couldn't see war from a human perspective.
Winning a war isn't always about toppling the enemy.
The 182 worlds I've taken hostage... plus at least 500 more worlds worth of humans that would be destroyed even if you intervened.
Estimated population: 5,000,000,000,000... whatever. I didn't count. Suffice to say, it's a stellar number."
"I asked if you're insane! This isn't some divine judgment. No god is permitted such an act!"
"Not my problem!"
Who'd want to do something like this?
It's not enjoyable at all. It's not my style. It could lead to unimaginable sacrifices.
This hypnosis breaks my own principles.
But I knew from the start it was the only way. To surpass this woman, even for a moment.
Jermina ground her teeth and glared at me.
"Since my life's on the line, I needed this kind of insurance.
To you, they may be insignificant gods, but to humans, they're the heavens.
If the Harmony Realm becomes a wasteland, even Lord Nimyuel won't stay silent."
"..."
"I'm done talking.
Hand over my woman."
"You think... I'll do as a worm like you commands?"
"682 worlds versus one Ilesia.
The scales tip my way. That's my judgment.
I may not have found a way to tip them further with you on them, so I can't claim your body..."
But that's fine.
Giving up Jermina for Ilesia would still be a worthy gain.
"You'll have to promise.
Return Ilesia and swear off any further interference with us.
Bind it as a taboo around your own neck!"
"Bind myself with my own authority?"
"Yes."
Only the Goddess of Destruction can avert unprecedented destruction.
How ridiculous, like a word game.
But the strategy worked.
Jermina pressed her lips into a thin line, trembling with rage.
"You bastard... you bastard!!
You think you've beaten me with such petty tricks? If I allow the worlds' destruction.
If this Goddess of Destruction accepts all worlds' annihilation. Then your death becomes meaningless!"
"No, that's not true."
"..."
"You keep mentioning Lord Nimyuel at every turn.
I've known since our first meeting that you harbor feelings for her.
The only god who can punish you. The supreme god. Two goddesses who have existed as gods since the world's birth.
It's famous among the gods that you yearn for her nobility."
"..."
"Jermina. Give up.
You lack the resolve to face the worlds' destruction and fall from Lord Nimyuel's grace.
That's why you have no choice but to accept this offer."
It was all over.
Not a breath could be heard.
Jermina stepped forward through the bowed gods and stood squarely before me, glaring.