Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Sinful God - 3
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The Celestial God shook lightly.
It seemed to be giggling.
[Your insight is remarkably sharp.]
I knew it. Damn it.
[Idria can create fakes of mountains and fields, trees and oceans, rivers and lakes—even human bodies. But she can’t fake souls.]
“I figured as much. If she could, there’d have been no need to kidnap Lepia’s soul from the afterlife or stuff Ophelia’s fake body with a real one.”
[Exactly. A body without a soul is just a doll. A fake world made that way probably wouldn’t satisfy Idria.]
“......No way?”
The Celestial God nodded.
[In the final stage of her plan, Idria will try to kill all of humanity.]
“W-what?”
[Then, before their souls head to the afterlife, she’ll ‘kidnap’ them. She’ll take those souls to her fake world.]
“......”
[Think of it as stealing seeds to sow a new field.]
I shouted like lightning.
“You’re saying she’ll kill all of humanity in the end!”
[Can you even call that death? They won’t cross the Redbi River to the afterlife—they’ll just go to Idria’s fake world.]
“You’re really okay with that? Didn’t you say you want all humanity to worship you? If they’re dead, there’s no one left to fulfill your desires.”
[Don’t worry. I’ll protect the humans I deem necessary.]
He continued leisurely.
[This world is corrupt anyway.]
“What?”
[Thanks to the past Demon Kings, heroes became synonymous with hope for humanity. Before long, people started seeking heroes before me. That behavior started grating on me ages ago.]
“......”
[So while banishing Idria from my world, I plan to do a ‘great purge.’]
A great purge?
[I’ll rank all humanity by their faith in me and protect the top thirty percent or so. Unfortunately, you and your party members aren’t on that list.]
“......”
[To those I protect, I’ll grant infinite blessings. Seeds will bear fruit just by planting them, and livestock will thrive enough to have meat on the table every day.]
“......”
[Under such blessings... let’s see... it’ll take just a dozen centuries or so to restore the current population.]
The Celestial God rested his chin and wrote more words.
[A dozen centuries is a blink of an eye. It’ll be a bit tedious, of course, but better than leaving my powers in Bion’s hands and continuing this shadow war forever, don’t you think?]
“......”
[After the purge, I’ll manage the world more carefully. I’ll figure out ways to deal with Demon Kings without heroes.]
I stayed silent.
But not because I was speechless.
The emotions boiling like a furnace since earlier were cooling bit by bit.
As the hot rage faded, one resolve remained.
I voiced it.
“If I become the hero, I’ll erase your name.”
Ssshh.
A cold wind brushed my cheek.
A new sentence appeared.
I read ‘displeasure’ in it.
[You’ll never become a hero. And you won’t leave this place alive.]
“......”
[Why do you think I revealed all these ‘secrets’? By my Eye of Omniscience, they’re S-rank at least.]
Swoosh.
The Celestial God lifted a foot.
Thud.
He stomped lightly on the floor.
That alone shook my entire body.
“Guh!”
My guts churned, my eardrums burst, and my vision turned blood-red.
I hurriedly looked back.
‘The others?’
Far below, my companions were all collapsed.
Practically half-dead.
It overlapped with how we looked just before dying in the final battle with Idria before my regression.
Just from one stomp?
“Cough. You bastard.”
[Still moving? You’re no ordinary one.]
“......”
[I wonder how a being like you even came to be. Once I deal with Bion and reclaim the Eye of Omniscience, I must take a look.]
This guy can casually view S-rank secrets too, huh.
I gritted my teeth and spoke.
“I won’t hand over the Eye of Omniscience. And I’m not letting Trail die.”
[Ridiculous.]
“Hey. You so-called god. Let me ask one thing.”
[Go ahead.]
“You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?”
No sentence appeared.
The Celestial God was silent for a long time.
Swoosh.
Another sentence formed.
[As I said earlier, heroes are a thorn in my side. But asking if I’m afraid? That’s absurd.]
“That’s because past heroes couldn’t touch you, no matter what. Annoying, but not frightening.”
[Are you saying you could destroy me?]
“No.”
[Then?]
“I’m saying I’ll surpass you. You idiot.”
I spat blood-mixed phlegm and continued.
“If I build my fame and keep building it until I surpass even the ‘Celestial God’s fame,’ what happens to you?”
The next moment.
The Celestial God rose.
The one who’d sat arrogantly this whole time stood from his jade throne.
It filled the sky, so I could barely take in part of his body.
[Is that your dying words?]
“No. One more fact.”
[I’ll hear it.]
“If you don’t give me an oracle, Impellium will come for you.”
Even as I said it, I wondered if it would work.
Overwhelming power.
Overwhelming ability.
How effective could those words be against this otherworldly being?
But it worked.
More than worked...
Tremble.
It made even a god’s body shake!
[How. How do you know that name!]
“That’s none of your business.”
[You...]
“Come on. Give me the oracle. And send us back safely.”
The Celestial God didn’t reply for a while.
I turned without waiting.
And hurried down the stairs.
“Gah. Cough.”
Blood surged up again.
Trail, fed up, said.
[Hey. Slow down. You’re a mess.]
‘You say that after seeing them collapsed down there?’
[Sigh. What a leader.]
That’s how I reached the bottom.
I rushed to my companions and checked—they were all still breathing, thank goodness.
I quickly pulled out top-grade potions from my bag and poured them into their mouths.
“Ugh. Maide?”
“You okay?”
“......! You’re the one who looks worse. Jenia, Serein!”
The two, just regaining consciousness, crawled toward me.
They clasped their hands—not in prayer, but spoke.
“Celestial God. Heal Maide right now.”
“And we won’t pray to you anymore, so know that.”
Surprisingly, the Celestial God answered this prayer.
Golden light swirled around my body.
I felt my condition return to normal and thought quietly.
‘As expected. I’ve felt it for a while.’
[What?]
‘He answers even prayers like that. Then again, it was weird that faithless Serein wields such immense holy power.’
[......]
‘That guy on the golden throne in the sky operates the world via the system. Laws, you could say.’
No matter how irreverent the prayer, if someone with holy power uses it, he grants it.
No matter how much he wants the Eye of Omniscience back from Trail, he can’t until Bion’s soul fully dissipates.
No matter how much he could gain that insane ‘fame’ by descending himself to slay a Demon King, it must be through a hero.
Even if he hates this ‘corrupt’ world, instead of killing all but thirty percent himself, he’s hitching onto Idria’s plan.
All of it—some kind of law.
‘The Celestial God isn’t truly omnipotent. He can only use his main body’s power at the starting line.’
[Wait, I never heard that.]
‘I heard it from that Impellium guy.’
[Impellium? Yeah, you mentioned that name to the Celestial God. When and where did you meet him?]
‘In a dream. I’ll explain in detail to the party anyway—listen later.’
Anyway, even gods have laws.
Unyielding laws.
Who made those laws? Why?
As I pondered, the healing finished.
“Maide. You okay?”
“Yeah. Rather than that, call Agril.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s bounce. I kinda pissed him off.”
Jenia called Agril without asking more.
Meanwhile, Serein healed the rest of the party with potions and said.
“Hurry and get on. We gotta go.”
“Ugh. Why did the Celestial God attack us?”
“Guess he didn’t like Ophense.”
“Good for him. I didn’t like that guy either.”
The companions chuckled and boarded Agril.
My party members, yet so remarkably calm and composed.
Hard to believe they’d met the Celestial God himself and been attacked by him.
The Celestial God just glared from his throne as we prepared to leave.
I said to Neril.
“Voice amplification magic... Nah, no need for ramen with that guy.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. Jenia, let’s go.”
Whoosh.
Agril took flight.
I stood at Agril’s rear.
Of course, the Celestial God’s Blood Letters weren’t visible.
But I was certain.
I shouted loudly.
“Don’t forget the oracle! Sinful God!”
We set the capital as our next destination for now.
Unlike the trip here, no need for full speed, so Serein and Jenia could relax.
Thanks to that, our party sat in a circle.
I slowly opened my mouth.
“I’ll explain simply.”
I calmly relayed my conversation with the Celestial God, holding nothing back.
This time, I included the ‘Bion Kunze’ story too.
With things this far, the party needed all truths for what’s ahead.
Trail seemed extremely troubled but didn’t stop me.
“......That’s the gist.”
Everyone’s expressions shifted constantly.
No one spoke for a while.
Neril broke the silence first.
“I get the situation.”
“......Huh? Just like that?”
“We’ve faced the Celestial God—what’s surprising about meeting one more ancient hero? It actually makes everything clearer.”
“Neril.”
“Sitting in your room comparing fame with Kaild, uncovering Idria’s plans—it was all thanks to that hero Bion. Guess I owe him thanks.”
Her understanding warmed me; I smiled softly.
Jenia spoke next.
“Same here. Bion, you listening?”
“Yeah. But he prefers Trail.”
“Right. Then, Trail. Thank you. And sorry. You’ve helped countless times, but we didn’t know.”
There was no way to know.
No need to apologize, yet Jenia bowed.
Trail seemed flustered.
[No. No need to apologize.]
‘Can’t hear you. And formal speech again?’
[I don’t know what tone to use.]
‘Talk casual like you do with me.’
Then Ophense spoke.
“Finally learned the identity of that name you stalled for in the Atrium.”
“Sorry for hiding it unintentionally. Trail’s super shy.”
“It’s fine. These aren’t easy stories to share. Still, I’d love to hear the oldest hero’s voice.”
Adwin chimed in.
“Want me to summon that Trail guy into my body? Then you can talk directly.”
Trail refused.
[No no no.]
‘Say yes just once. You’ve done it before, I think.’
[Ahem.]
‘If it’s shyness...’
[It’s not just that. Even a great necromancer like Adwin might struggle with my full soul.]
Makes sense, but then how have you stayed in my body so long?
Catching my doubt, Trail continued.
[You’re just a freak, so it works.]
‘Special works too.’
[Not enough.]
I shrugged and said.
“He says it might harm you.”
“Not shy?”
“Yeah... how’d you know?”
“I can tell by souls. But the first part’s true too. He’s a senior to you and all heroes.”
Then Ophense said.
“But is it okay to say this in this heartwarming mood?”
“Come on, when has that old man cared? Speak freely.”
“I’m at least quicker on the uptake than you. Adwin.”
“Huh?”
“Like last time when you tried inserting yourself between Maide and Neril...”
Neril cut in.
“Seems plenty oblivious to me?”
“......Anyway, from what Maide just explained, our enemies aren’t just Idria but the Celestial God too, right? Did I get that?”
I paused silently.
Risel glanced around and said.
“Don’t worry too much. There’s at least one hope.”
“What hope.”
“The one Maide mentioned. That Impellium.”
“Ah.”
“That name made even the god tremble. If we use Trail’s Eye of Omniscience on Impellium and the Celestial God’s secrets, we might find a clue?”
Exactly what I’d been thinking.
I nodded, and everyone relaxed a bit.
Serein, hating the heavy mood, stretched.
“Ugya. Like Risel said. The Celestial God’s bound to the starting line, so he can’t touch us directly.”
“True.”
“So no more gloomy talk—let’s celebrate surviving the god with a drink... Huh?”
Her stretching body froze.
Her gaze fixed on the sky.
We followed and looked up.
And saw it.
The sky dyed entirely golden.
“Th-this.”
I’d seen it during the great ritual of purification, and when we saw the golden throne at the starting line.
But one decisive difference now.
Scale.
The scale was different.
Even from Agril speeding through the sky, the golden sky stretched to the horizon.
Neril muttered.
“It’s an oracle.”