Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Pushover Goddess, Descent (3)
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The six men and women knelt on one knee in prayer, as if competing to see who could bow first.
No one had told them to do it.
They were simply following the urging of their hearts.
As if rewarding their reverence, a pure and holy celestial voice greeted them.
"No, Goddess. I kneel of my own will."
"Same here. I couldn't dream of standing stiffly before you."
"Couldn't agree more."
"The grace you've shown me is immense, Goddess."
"Ditto."
They were subjects of the kingdom ruled by Io. Born worshiping her as a goddess, but never this devout.
Yet during two years on the run, she had subtly aided them. Shown mercy to their gnawing guilt and regret. Before such grace, they could scarcely lift their heads—a true faith.
A faith where defying the goddess was unthinkable.
Io let out a lament tinged with sorrow.
She felt it was all her fault.
The children had erred, true. But treated as criminals, meeting tragedy—it felt like her own sin.
Sylvia, sensing her mother's heart like a daughter, spoke for the party to dispel Io's guilt.
"Mother, cease your self-reproach. There is no sin for you to bear. It arose from our folly. Our 'sin.' So... please, do not grieve."
Io's chest ached.
How admirable!
Though the path was brutal and arduous, their souls remained untainted. They shone like starlight.
That sparkling soul-light evoked the scent of long-lost ancient heroes.
The goddess smiled brightly, girlishly, at her praiseworthy children's growth.
In that warm, cozy atmosphere, Sylvia and the others wore faint smiles.
Reverent and beautiful!
A scene of pure oracle, untarnished by any.
"...What a disgustingly ambiguous sight."
The third party, far from reverence, wore a subtle expression.
Inevitable, really. No matter how you looked...
"Looks like an otaku club meetup..."
Grown adults kneeling before a high school girl figure, and the figure moving like a 3D anime character...
Truly...
'No words for this...'
Avatar.
Simply put, gods' incarnations for descending to the human world.
Avatars could be animals symbolizing the god, or saints as their daughters.
Occasionally, exquisitely crafted divine relics or statues became avatars.
Rare cases, appearing scantily in history—treated as myths.
Yet here it was, no myth.
"......"
"...No, it's fine. Pricey, but worth the investment."
"Just being honest..."
"......"
Those moist eyes made him deeply uncomfortable.
Why buy a high school girl figure of all things? Why suffer this awkwardness?
'Should've grabbed anything at random...'
He'd asked a friend in Japan for the best one. Who knew it'd be this?
If he'd known, he'd have picked a male figure or something less weird...
"Haa... Whatever. No use regretting now."
"Tch."
A tongue-click to bury profound regret, then straight to business.
Not one to dwell on spilled milk.
"So, what happened? Avatar? Thought you just used a medium."
"Unintended, then?"
"No, seems pretty damn bad."
"You think a doll moving on its own is fine?"
"Haa...! No more words. Stop that incarnation or whatever. Find another way."
"...Lifespan?"
"......"
"...This is deliberate trolling levels. This is..."
The moment his trust in Io plunged into negatives.
"Luke. I'll attend Mother's incarnation, so please, quell your anger."
Sylvia slipped between the bickering pair(?), shielding Io.
Yuseong furrowed his brow, continuing.
"Getting cocky, are you?"
"...Forgive me. But this, I cannot yield."
"......"
"...Hm."
Sylvia's face paled.
More than surging, thick killing intent rose like heat haze, sweeping over her.
Like throats strangled, blades and spear-tips aimed everywhere!
Stabbing into her body bit by bit.
'...That day wasn't all he had!'
She thought she knew he'd grown stronger since then.
The reunion day, mana-less, he'd toyed with them like children—overwhelming skill.
But before this pressure crushing her now, Sylvia realized that wasn't everything.
Levels apart.
While Sylvia and Leon's group wallowed in regret and flight, Yuseong had surpassed the past. Reached higher realms!
Even if Leon and Valian regained mana, outcome might not change.
A cold dagger pierced Sylvia's staggering ears amid the full pressure.
"Right, not really Io's fault. I started this for my convenience too—no fair complaining about results. But."
"......Ugh!"
Yuseong, now close, gripped her shoulder crushingly.
Sylvia endured knees buckling, barely meeting his eyes.
"Don't get cocky. You know? These quiet days don't mean we're good."
"Y-yes..."
"They say time fades past regrets, anger. Not me. Ten years, my grudge and irritation toward you hasn't shrunk—always lingers in my chest. Reason? ...You know without me saying."
"......"
"Drop the act, bitch. Repenting where? If bitch, act bitch to the end. Don't disgust me pretending good, faithful!"
"I-I'm not...!"
"Sure, maybe changed in my three absent years. Genuinely nicer. But why should I care? Still a bitch to me. Rotten one. So don't fake goodness before me. Makes me nauseous enough to kill you."
Finishing, Yuseong roughly released her shoulder, entering the study.
"......"
Sylvia couldn't even rub her aching shoulder, head bowed blankly.
Not misery or humiliation.
Rather.
'...I'd forgotten.'
Yes, as Yuseong said.
An unbridgeable gulf between them. She hadn't apologized to close it.
His contempt wasn't wrong.
But...
'Still... must you rip open my heart so chillingly?'
Too timid to voice before him, her silence felt wretched...
And heartbreaking.
"Comfort your daughter, not follow me. Why?"
"Then why follow? To scold?"
No apology forthcoming, sarcasm ready—but the goddess sadly shook her head.
"......"
"......You're something else."
Ha...!
Words failed him.
Goddess-like, piercing his heart—nay, slapping it.
From another, scoff. But her words held no Falsehood, no malice—pure goodwill.
Boundless love and mercy even birth parents rarely show.
Stained, soaked in desire, he could only avert eyes from such gaze.
Now certain.
'She's the problem.'
Io, this goddess, was undoubtedly his natural predator.