Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Mudfight - 2
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Adin sensed that part of the immense power enveloping the "Heavenly God" had vanished.
At first, he thought it was a mistake.
But no matter how many times he checked, it was the same.
*I've gotten weaker.*
He had grown weaker.
He, this body! The great Heavenly God!
His mind spun at an unbelievable speed.
What had made him weak?
*No need to ask.*
This farce he was forced into as punishment for failing to withstand Velosian's coercion.
This downpour, summoned by commanding all the water spirits of the continent with the power of a god—it was clearly having some negative effect.
He tried immediately to withdraw the command he'd given the spirits.
That's when a chilling voice came from behind him.
"Keep going."
"Ve-Velosian."
"Yes. It's me."
"Don't you know what's happening right now? The faith humanity offers me is flying away!"
Velosian corrected him.
"Only an extremely small portion has."
"The fact that any has flown away is the problem. Nothing like this has happened since we joined hands and killed Impellium."
"......"
"For that infinite span of time, humanity has never once doubted this body. This is something that should never happen!"
Velosian scratched his head.
Then he spoke in a leisurely tone.
"Honestly, I'll admit it. Maide exploited our weakness."
"Maide? What did that guy do?"
"With the Emperor's cooperation, he gave a speech across the entire continent."
Velosian summarized the content of Maide's speech.
Adin nearly let out a gasp of admiration.
Of course, he couldn't praise the enemy's scheme.
He forcibly downplayed Maide's ploy.
"Hmph. Meaningless flailing."
"Ahaha."
"Why are you laughing?"
"You're the one who was pacing anxiously over that 'meaningless flailing' just moments ago. We've known each other for quite a while now, but I still can't get used to that fragile pride of yours."
"......"
"No matter how stingily you rate it, Maide's maneuver this time is brilliant. Doesn't the power you've lost prove that?"
Adin ground his teeth.
But he still couldn't bring himself to acknowledge Maide's greatness.
So he changed the subject.
"Anyway, I'm stopping this rain."
"Hmm."
"I'll stop it before it's too late. Even as we speak, my power is slipping away."
Instead of replying, Velosian glanced to the side.
There was Kaild, rolling his eyes wildly.
Velosian asked.
"What do you think?"
"Huh? M-Me?"
"Yeah. It looks like Adin wants to pull back from this operation. What do you think about that?"
Kaild glanced at Adin.
But then, with surprising firmness—as if wondering why he'd even bothered looking—he answered.
"I'd like you to keep going."
At those words, Adin's eyes flipped.
"You, you bastard. How dare you say that to......"
"No. If you stop the downpour now, everything Maide said in his speech becomes true."
"......"
"Maide said he'd stop the rain. If you lift it, people will think it's Maide's achievement. Who knows how far his fame will skyrocket."
Adin snapped back, his heart bleeding.
"You little shit. Don't speak so carelessly when it's not your problem!"
"It's not my problem, exactly."
"You're a being I created to kill Bion. You're my creation. You're saying it doesn't matter what happens to your creator for your own greed!"
That's when Velosian cut in.
"Reminds you of the old days, doesn't it, Adin?"
"Wh-What?"
"Doesn't looking at Kaild here bring back memories of your selfish past self?"
"Shut up."
"Your own self, who was one of Impellium's party members."
Adin shut his mouth.
Instead, Kaild cried out.
"Impellium's party member? That Impellium who's cooperating with Maide?"
"That's right. In the past, Adin was a party member of the 'Hero' Impellium."
"H-Hero......"
"But he betrayed Impellium and cooperated with the False Demon King of that time for his own selfish desires. Adin joined forces with the Demon King and killed Impellium."
Drip.
Cold sweat trickled down Kaild's back.
He could guess without asking.
But Kaild opened his mouth anyway.
"The False Demon King back then... who are you talking about?"
Velosian answered lightly.
"Me."
"......"
"It's a situation remarkably similar to yours right now. You're also joining hands with the Demon King Idria and trying to betray humanity."
"......"
"If everything had gone smoothly, you would've betrayed your party members and gotten what you wanted. Your endlessly rising fame would've turned you into another 'Heavenly God.'"
For a moment, his body trembled.
Fear? No.
It was ecstasy.
Just imagining becoming the Heavenly God filled his entire body with indescribable ecstasy.
"Of course, Adin wouldn't have let that happen."
"......? What?"
"Idria leaving for a fake world wouldn't affect the one you're ruling now, so that'd be fine. But she wouldn't take you along with her, Kaild."
"......"
"You'd be left in this world. That would make two Heavenly Gods. Do you think petty Adin would stand for that?"
Kaild shot a glare at Adin.
Adin didn't avoid the gaze.
Instead, he spoke in a tone asking what was wrong.
"Hmph. I have no intention of creating a successor."
"You damn bastard."
"Keep yapping, you foolish creation."
Velosian watched their bickering with amusement.
How could they be so alike?
Such self-centered beings were truly rare.
Rarity is always beautiful, but somehow, he didn't want to apply that to these two.
Clap.
Velosian clapped his hands once.
"Now, back to the main point, Adin."
"What is it?"
"We need to issue a rebuttal statement to Maide's speech."
"......?"
"It's Kaild's turn to give a speech this time."
He continued leisurely.
"Then Maide will counter-rebut, and Kaild will rebut again. What do they call this? Psychological warfare?"
"......Can we beat Maide with something like that?"
"We don't need to beat him."
"What?"
"This psychological war is to help you maintain your power as the Heavenly God. Even if your fame dips momentarily, it'll rise again with Kaild's rebuttal speech."
Adin couldn't grasp the meaning.
In the end, it sounded like just stalling for time.
But what gain was there in stalling?
Reading the doubt on his face, Velosian spoke again.
"We just need the rain to keep falling, Adin. Humanity will never bet their lives on believing someone else."
A day passed.
After barely sleeping a wink all night, I checked my fame.
[Maide Mohan Cumulative Fame: 461,800]
[Adin Press Cumulative Fame: 1,005,000]
My fame had risen again.
Adin's had fallen.
I immediately shared this with the party.
Everyone visibly cheered up.
Risel said.
"It looks like this strategy is definitely working."
"......"
"If we'd chosen the wrong path, this trend wouldn't have held all night. Right?"
"Yeah."
"......But for someone saying that, your face looks awfully dark."
She was right, as expected from Risel.
My face felt stiff even to me.
Adwin tilted his head and asked.
"Is something wrong, bro?"
"Too slow."
"Huh?"
"The speed Adin's fame is dropping. The speed mine is rising. Both are too slow."
At my words, the party's expressions changed.
Serein hesitated before chiming in.
"I-It'll be fine. No matter how slow, as long as we're on the right path, that's what matters. Someday, when we look back, we'll be able to nod and say we lived well."
"Who said that?"
"Me."
"Doesn't suit you."
"Yeah. I admit it."
"That works for normal situations, but not right now."
Neril said that and looked out the window.
The capital was unharmed, thanks to the shield spell from Jenia and Serein.
But the rain pouring over that shield was clearly visible.
"The rain won't stop until Maide and Adin's fame reverses."
"......Yeah. Sigh, the damage must be massive."
"It's not just the damage."
Neril stopped there.
She probably didn't want to lower morale with unnecessary words.
But it needed to be said now.
I picked up her words.
"People will turn back, right?"
"Yeah."
"You're right. For a day or two, it'll just be economic damage. But once rivers overflow and homes start flooding, it'll be a whole different story."
Lives. Survival. Existence.
Many shout that there's something more precious than life, but few actually lay down their lives for it.
No, almost none.
Offense groaned.
"So you're saying when their own lives are at stake, they'll turn back to the Heavenly God."
"Yeah. By then, right and wrong won't matter."
"......"
"They'll bow to whoever can protect their lives. I said I could stop the rain, but the hero's prestige still can't match the Heavenly God's for humanity."
"......"
"People will prostrate themselves before the greater, more magnificent being."
Serein, who had zero faith to begin with, grumbled.
"Is he happy getting faith through such violent methods?"
"Not me, but Adin would be thrilled."
"......"
"Anyway, starting today, we ramp up the speeches. Not just once a day. As many as we can."
Rustle.
I showed everyone the speech I'd written through the night.
The party huddled together to review it.
"How about using some more provocative words today?"
"No. Too radical is bad. Better to soften it a bit, don't you think?"
"We need to judge the right intensity first."
"Who knew we'd end up doing stuff like this. Back in Grade's day, we just had to beat the Demon King."
About ten minutes later.
Neril handed back the speech as the representative, with some edits.
A quick skim showed it was much smoother.
[This should improve the trend from yesterday.]
*Hope so.*
Alright, let's get started.
I approached the communication orb set up on the roof.
Right before activating it.
"Wh-What?"
"The rain stopped!"
"What? Did our fame already reverse?"
I looked up at the sky in shock at my party's voices.
Sure enough, the sky was a dazzling blue, as if wondering when that downpour had ever happened.
[Fame hasn't changed, though.]
*We're screwed.*
[What?]
*Guess he wants to go all the way to the end. Velosian.*
That's when it happened.
Whoosh.
The sky suddenly split open.
Golden light began pouring down on the whole world.
The oracle was descending once more.
"The oracle......"
"Damn, this is too unfair."
"The rain stopped exactly when the oracle came down. Ha. It's obvious how people will take it."
"Only the Heavenly God can stop the rain, after all."
"Yeah. That's how they'll see it."
My party's voices left a bitter taste, like chewing raw seaweed.
But soon I realized.
Even predicting it was an oracle had been far too optimistic.
-Everyone. Hello.
The voice's owner wasn't the Heavenly God.
This voice was......
-I am Kaild Wake.