Yad-Tadag, the Guardian Deity
"You checked on that? The giant monster spotted on the outskirts of Sector C recently."
"Yes, we're tracking its energy signature right now. It seems to be wandering around the border between Sectors B and C, and there haven't been any reports of casualties yet."
"Keep eyes on it. If it looks dangerous, we'll dispatch forces immediately and eliminate it."
"Understood."
The Space Environment Management Division. One of the busiest departments in the Galactic Union.
Scattered across the vast expanse of space, they monitor energy fluctuations in the 24 sectors under Union control, ensuring no dangerous elements arise. In the past, they deployed small satellites throughout the universe for detailed surveillance. But that often led to personnel directly witnessing Outer Gods and suffering mental breakdowns. Now, they rely on bases spread across each sector, using infrared and radio waves for detection.
Once they detect threats like giant monsters or massive pirate fleets within a sector, the information is forwarded to the Space Safety Headquarters, where countermeasures are devised. And right now, they were tracking what appeared to be a giant monster rated A-rank or higher, based on its scale and radio wave distortion.
It would require at least one or two capital ships to deploy, and even then, they'd suffer heavy losses. That's why the manual strictly advises against provoking them unnecessarily—eliminate only if their path or behavior poses a clear danger.
The suspected A-rank giant monster they'd spotted was leaving the outer galaxy of Sector C, heading toward the border with Sector B. Fortunately, its trajectory hugged the boundary line, unlikely to touch any protected galaxies or star systems. Still, just in case, they'd assigned dedicated staff to keep monitoring it.
That's when—
Beep-beep-beep—
The alarm suddenly blared.
"W-what the hell..."
The staffer stared at the screen and spat out a curse.
It was the special alert they'd dealt with not long ago... The screen kept blacking out and flickering back on repeatedly.
"It's Code Black..!!"
The emergence of an Outer God—Code Black.
A special situation where the detected energy in space simply vanished from that area entirely. The size, shape, and the way it tore through space abruptly—anyone could tell it was an Outer God manifesting.
"Fuck, why again..! Get the team leader—no, contact Director Celest right now!!"
The staff frantically contacted Celest, the head of the Space Environment Management Division.
Celest rushed down to the scene upon receiving the call.
"Another Outer God? We just had one not long ago...!"
Arriving on site, he incredulously checked the screens in a hurry.
Outer Gods had never appeared multiple times in such a short span before. Typically, they showed up once every few years by Union standard time—at the shortest, every few months.
Yet here it was, barely a week after the last one.
'What, they don't count it since the incident wasn't that big?'
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Celest examined the screen. But something felt off.
"...This size and void distortion rate. Isn't it almost identical to the one we saw before?"
Living beings can't directly observe Outer Gods, so they judge their type by the size and shape of the empty energy signal, along with the distortion rate. And this one's size, shape, and distortion all closely matched the one that had appeared and vanished a week ago—too sudden to even assign a codename.
'Did it really come back? To cause a major incident this time?'
But Celest sensed something wrong. The Outer God had appeared right in front of the suspected A-rank giant monster. Evidence: the monster had suddenly halted, seemingly facing off against it.
"...What the hell is going on here?"
"What do we do? Should we contact Safety Headquarters?"
"Yeah, we don't know what'll happen. An Outer God could do anything, so we need countermeasures tailored to—"
As Celest issued orders—
"Whoa?!"
A staffer monitoring the screen yelped in shock.
"What? What is it?"
To Celest's urgent question, the staffer pointed at the screen with a trembling voice.
"Th-the giant monster... it just vanished."
"What? What do you mean?"
Celest shoved the staff aside to check the screen himself. Sure enough, the icon for the giant monster had disappeared.
'Did that Outer God do it? Erase a giant monster? Just like that? Why?'
Questions flooded his mind, but there were no answers. After obliterating the giant monster, the unidentified Outer God seemed to have accomplished its task—it tore space again and vanished into another dimension.
"...B-both are gone now."
"......"
The sudden situation had passed in the blink of an eye. Celest and the staff could only stare blankly at the screens in stunned silence.
"Director Allegros from Safety Headquarters is here!"
"What's the situation? Explain it again!"
Allegros burst in, demanding a rundown. But Celest and the staff had nothing to say. The incident was already over.
"...So, the one that vanished suddenly last time showed up again, erased the A-rank giant monster we'd been tracking, and disappeared?"
"Yes, that's the situation."
"...Hoo boy."
Celest had reported everything he'd witnessed to Elder Edgar. The elder let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"This is unprecedented."
It almost made it seem like the Outer God was helping the Galactic Union. Last time, it caused panic on one tourist ship before quietly vanishing. This time, it straight-up provided aid?
'Feels just like the gods from ancient myths.'
Creators who protected their creations. Gods from the myths of various ancient races. It felt exactly like that.
"Are they heading to the site where the giant monster died to confirm?"
"Yes. Safety Headquarters is dispatching ships and troops to verify and recover the corpse."
"Good. A giant monster's body is invaluable for research—make sure they secure it properly."
"Of course."
For now, all they could do was recover the corpse of the already-dead monster. From skin to blood to organs, every part was useful as material or research data. Honestly, an A-rank would've cost several mid-sized combat ships from the Union—a bad trade. Getting it for free was a huge win.
'A benevolent Outer God... Well, we don't know the intent.'
Intent aside, its actions greatly benefited the Union. The first appearance caused some damage but led them to the genius Terra technician Yujin. This time, it directly eliminated a giant monster.
'Maybe not all Outer Gods are out to harm us.'
It made sense. Higher-grade Outer Gods all possessed their own reason and curiosity. Most directed it harmfully toward cosmic lifeforms, but occasionally, it could go the other way.
'Can't judge based on one incident, though. Whether this new type is friendly remains to be seen.'
They should observe it separately. First, assign it a codename.
"Codename."
"I have one in mind."
At the mention, Celest made his proposal.
"Yad-Tadag. The benevolent god from Yorein tribe mythology. The leader who opposed evil gods and protected their creations."
"...I see. Hoping it blocks other Outer Gods and aids us like a good deity."
Elder Edgar nodded approvingly at Celest's suggestion. Thus, the new Outer God's codename became Yad-Tadag.
Yad-Tadag? Hmm... In that universe, they say it's a god from Yorein tribe mythology, but what I know is 'Yad-Tatag,' the elder god leader from a fanfic based on Cthulhu Mythos. Similar but different, huh. Or do they deliberately pick names that fit well?
Whatever, doesn't matter... Still, naming me after a good god feels nice. Not that I'm particularly kind to all space races... This was really just to keep my clone and old man Yupiter safe.
But compared to other Outer Gods squashing us like ants or Nyarlathotep ripping us apart out of curiosity, it's better, right? Plus, from their view, I didn't just remove a threat—I handed them free research material.
Put that way, I really do look like a fairy godmother. ...A benevolent god protecting its creations. Since it was to safeguard my clone Yujin, it's not entirely wrong, is it?