Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Sinful God - 2
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Rustle.
Birds hidden among the reeds took to the skies in panic.
And in the next moment.
The heavens split open.
It was a scene similar to the one from the great purification ritual before.
But back then, it had only been a fraction of the god's power descending.
This was unmistakably different.
“What, what is that?”
“What’s that shape?”
“Ugh, I don’t want to look. I can’t look.”
“No way... that thing sitting up in the sky is...?”
A staircase of radiant light descended from the split heavens toward us.
The stairs stopped right at my feet.
I looked up from the base, tracing them all the way to the sky.
At the opposite end sat a massive golden throne!
It was incomparably more brilliant, shining, holy, and enormous than any throne made by human hands.
‘A throne that’s like a whole mountain.’
[Indeed. Not a metaphor—it really is a mountain.]
‘And the being sitting on it is the same.’
A presence perched upon that mountain of a throne.
Its facial features weren’t clearly visible.
It resembled the soul I’d glimpsed before through Adwin’s spell.
Overall, it took a humanoid form with limbs, but its entire body was a pure white, making it look like a soul.
‘The Heavenly God.’
I reflexively craned my neck as far as it would go.
To check if the Heavenly God had ‘Blood Letters’ above its head.
Unfortunately, there were none.
‘Does my Blood Letters not work on it?’
Maybe that was for the best.
I already had enough on my mind without adding a list of a god’s sins to it.
That was when it happened.
Swish.
The colossal being raised a hand.
And crooked its index finger.
Neril muttered, sweat beading coldly on her brow.
“Is it telling us to come up?”
“Seems like it.”
“Are we really facing the Heavenly God right now?”
“Seems like it.”
“...You’re awfully calm about this. No one in human history has ever had an experience like ours.”
I shrugged once.
“We’re the most special people in human history.”
“Maide.”
“Let’s go. Everyone, steel yourselves.”
The party nodded.
Step.
I was the first to set foot on the stairs.
They were undeniably physical.
‘Whew.’
I climbed two or three more steps.
Then a sense of unease hit me, and I glanced back.
I hadn’t heard the party following.
“Huh? What are you all doing?”
“...!”
They were mouthing words like goldfish gasping for air.
No, not mouthing—they were shouting.
But their voices didn’t reach me.
That was when it happened.
Trail’s panicked voice rang out.
[Huh? Ack!]
“What, what is it? You scared me.”
[Uh, uh. This isn’t me doing it.]
“What?”
Swish.
In the next instant, a screen appeared before my eyes.
The kind that showed the continental map, or my level status... or appeared when using the Eye of Omniscience.
But Trail had said, ‘This isn’t me doing it.’
‘No way—is this the Heavenly God?’
[Seems like it. The screen’s out of my control.]
‘Using someone else’s stuff without asking. Should I say something?’
[Please hold back.]
Trail continued in a tense tone.
[Anyway, the Eye of Omniscience and time-manipulation abilities were all granted to me by the Heavenly God.]
“...”
[Like Risel said earlier, it’s more like I borrowed them from the Heavenly God.]
“Then I’ll repeat what I said before. Those abilities are yours now. You fought Idria alone for countless ages. It’s only right as just compensation.”
Trail fell silent for a moment.
But soon said,
[I’ve never thought of it that way.]
I was about to reply when—
Swish.
Text appeared on the screen.
[Come up.]
It was the Heavenly God’s command to me.
My heart pounded fiercely, but I answered as calmly and politely as I could.
“I’d like to ascend with my companions. It seems you’ve put up an invisible wall, so please allow them access to the stairs.”
[I refuse. And I have never changed my mind once I’ve refused.]
“...”
[Come up.]
What a petty jerk.
I grumbled inwardly and turned around.
Beyond the invisible wall, the party stared at me with faces full of worry.
I mouthed clearly,
“I’ll be right back. Grab some food and watch.”
“...”
“Uh, yeah. Pretend you didn’t hear that.”
I read all their lip movements and vowed to keep what they were shouting from the Heavenly God.
Though honestly, it probably already heard.
[What were they saying?]
‘TL;DR: Heavenly God is super annoying.’
[...Huh? Didn’t Serein and Jenia shout the loudest?]
‘They were the most enthusiastic.’
Step by step.
I ascended the stairs.
Drawing closer to the heavens bit by bit.
The Heavenly God lounged slantwise on its throne, looking down at me.
Its expression was obscured by the white light, but somehow I sensed it wore a bored look.
Step.
Having climbed all the stairs, I stood before the Heavenly God.
And, with due decorum, said,
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Maide Mohan.”
The Heavenly God lightly waved a hand while still reclined.
A screen popped up again, text appearing on it.
[State your business.]
I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.
‘Can’t it speak?’
[Hey. Watch your expression. It’s my boss.]
‘Hm. Surely it’s not too beneath it to talk to a lowly thing like me.’
Anyway, as long as we could communicate.
I opened my mouth.
“You’re omniscient, so you already know, but the Demon King of Lies and Deceit, Idria, is trying to make Kaild the hero through a false oracle.”
[So it seems.]
“Humanity can’t distinguish false oracles from true ones. Idria’s oracle will be misinterpreted as yours, and everyone will believe Kaild is the hero.”
[The preamble is long.]
I bristled but pressed on calmly.
“Grant me your oracle. Or at least stop Idria from issuing her false one.”
[I refuse.]
“No, why...”
[And as I said, I have never changed my mind once refused.]
Snap.
For a moment, I felt the thread of my reason snap inside me.
Trail’s voice came.
[Hey, hey. It’s my boss, remember? Deep breaths, calm down.]
‘Right. Thanks. Suck in. Whew.’
[That’s it. Good.]
‘Suck in.’
I took a big breath and bellowed,
“What kind of bullshit god is this!”
Thud.
I could’ve sworn I heard Trail clutching his forehead.
Swish.
The Heavenly God straightened its posture.
I kept yelling.
“I donated so much to the temple, and you won’t even grant this? Do your job!”
[Hm.]
“If you’d stepped up from the start, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this. Bion wouldn’t have fought alone for all those ages either!”
[Continue.]
“You didn’t handle it—or wouldn’t—so I’ll do it instead. Kill the Demon King, bring peace and prosperity to humanity. So why won’t you help?”
That was when it happened.
The Heavenly God leaned forward.
As its massive form tilted toward me, I felt swallowed by a tidal wave.
[Hey. Something’s up. It’s pissed.]
‘No. Look closely.’
[Huh?]
‘It’s not leaning in anger.’
I scrutinized the god enveloped in light.
Yes.
‘It’s clutching its belly.’
It was laughing.
Holding its belly like it had heard the funniest joke!
Soon, text appeared on the screen.
[Why do you think that?]
“What?”
[Why do you think I care about humanity’s peace and prosperity?]
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
Text continued to scroll.
[I have no interest in humanity’s peace or prosperity. Nor in their happy future.]
“Then what do you care about?”
[Propping me up.]
“...”
[Humanity need only worship me as god. That is their reason for existing.]
Drip.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
I stayed silent a moment before speaking.
[Of course, if the Demon King runs rampant unchecked, that would be troublesome. Faith in me would wane.]
“...”
[That’s why I sent a hero named Bion Kunze.]
I sensed Trail flinch, even though I couldn’t see him.
The text went on.
[For countless ages, Bion killed Idria again and again. It must have been quite the dilemma for her—but truthfully, for us as well.]
“You were in a dilemma? About what?”
[The weapons I gave Bion to kill Idria.]
Ah.
The Eye of Omniscience.
And the time-manipulation abilities.
Those were definitely powers the Heavenly God had granted Trail.
[Those abilities are core to my rule over the world. They cannot be split—only transferred.]
“What’s that mean? You’re writing on this screen right now.”
[This place is the origin point. Because it’s where my true body resides, I can still interfere to some extent even after transferring them.]
“...”
[Even so, I can only manage text on a screen. I can’t use the Eye of Omniscience. Frustrating, since they were originally mine.]
Text kept coming.
[Bion can’t keep holding the Eye of Omniscience and time abilities forever. I wanted to reclaim them soon.]
The next line appeared.
[Then, most conveniently, Idria set a new goal.]
“She set a goal?”
[Clever girl realized this world is made so the Demon King can’t win against the hero. So she abandoned futile struggles for an efficient new objective.]
Idria’s goal.
I knew what it was.
“Spreading the ultimate falsehood.”
[Yes.]
“Ultimate falsehood doesn’t quite click. What exactly is she planning?”
[If this world fills entirely with falsehoods, that becomes truth. Falsehood exists only while truth does. If all is false, falsehood itself is truth.]
“Still vague.”
The text paused briefly.
But soon the next line appeared.
I felt a chilling dread I never wanted to experience again.
[She intends to create a fake world.]
“...!”
[You know she can create ‘fakes’ of things? She plans to copy this world itself and make her own fake one. Then live there.]
I shuddered lightly.
I understood the meaning of the ‘ultimate falsehood.’
A world brimming with lies.
A world inherently false from the moment of its creation.
In that world, falsehood becomes truth.
The text lacked tone, but I sensed ‘indifference’ in it.
[I wanted Bion’s abilities back, and Idria wanted a life free from dying to heroes. Our goals aligned somewhat.]
Swish.
The Heavenly God tilted its head slightly.
Not precisely, but I thought it was looking at Trail’s soul.
And I was right.
[Bion Kunze.]
[...]
[From the moment Idria set her new goal of fleeing to a fake world, you became obsolete. As I said, I wanted your abilities back, so I pondered disposing of you.]
[...!]
[But you were a hero I made very specially, so it wasn’t easy. Your soul was indestructible waste.]
This bastard.
Trail spoke in a trembling voice.
[That’s absurd. I fought for so long...]
[I don’t deny your efforts. But the Eye of Omniscience and time abilities are mine by right.]
[...]
[Borrowed things must be returned. They’re vital to my world governance—I can’t leave them with obsolete waste.]
I ground my teeth, but the Heavenly God continued indifferently.
[So I sent an assassin to the body you were meant to enter.]
[Y-You don’t mean...?]
[Yes. Kaild Wake. An assassin who could destroy your soul to prevent revival. But...]
The Heavenly God cocked its head.
[Why are you in Maide’s body now?]
Trail was too shocked to respond.
Even if it wasn’t that, he’d said he didn’t know how he ended up in me.
I took a deep breath to steady myself and asked,
“So you’re going to let it happen? Let Idria escape to her fake world?”
[Hm. Less abetting, more passive cooperation. Idria’s using the Kaild I sent to kill Bion as her pawn.]
“...”
[Creating a world copy requires immense power. So Idria’s having Kaild craft the grandest falsehood.]
I knew what that ‘grand falsehood’ was.
“Deceiving the entire continent...”
[Yes. Idria plans the massive, perfect lie: ‘Hero Kaild Wake slew Demon King Idria.’ She’ll use that power to build her fake world.]
...
Kaild was a joint creation of the Heavenly God and the Demon King of Lies.
For something made by such exalted beings, the result was pure shit.
I recalled my final moments before regression.
Kaild had beheaded Idria then.
Probably right at that instant.
Idria’s ‘perfect falsehood’ was completed.
‘She said it herself then. She’d stepped offstage for a bit.’
[Yeah, she did.]
‘Meaning she used the perfect falsehood to create her fake world and left for it.’
[But the lie she made shattered. Because of you.]
Yes.
I broadcast Kaild’s atrocities to the world via communication orb.
Kaild was no longer a hero, and Idria’s cherished lie was broken.
‘So she came back for revenge.’
[Makes sense why she was so pissed. Not that I agree.]
‘More importantly, you okay? Must’ve been a shock.’
[Not okay. Let’s grab a drink later.]
‘If you can drink, anytime.’
Trail chuckled.
For someone betrayed so utterly by his boss, he seemed surprisingly fine. Good.
Then new text appeared.
[Do you understand? Idria has no intent to destroy the world. So neither do I.]
“...”
[This goes for you too, Maide Mohan. Don’t interfere with Idria’s plan... Hm, why not retire?]
I decide when I retire.
I stayed silent a moment before replying.
“You haven’t said everything yet.”
[What do you mean?]
“You’re hiding something. We’re this far—why not spill it all?”
[Hmm.]
“You said Idria won’t destroy the world? That’s what I want to ask about...”
I took a light breath and continued.
“Is it possible you and I have different definitions of ‘destruction’?”