The Vermin Takes Flight
"Well then, the vermin can buzz off for now."
As the Life Goddess lightly dusted off her palm, the massive fly perched there took to the air in a frantic flutter. The fly, once Zeus himself, would live out its days as the king of filthy insects, oblivious to its former glory.
"Now... what to do with the rest of these gods. Hmm."
The Life Goddess surveyed the immobilized deities around her and gave a small nod. Zeus, the ringleader who had tried to forcibly turn Lyclean into a god, might have flown away as a fly—but she couldn't exactly let the others off the hook. They bore responsibility too, and punishment awaited them all.
"Hmm... wiping them all out here would derail the entire plan. Ngh... no helping it."
With a casual snap of her fingers, dozens of new figures materialized. All clad in the robes of pilgrims from the Temple of Life.
"Humans...?"
"No way humans could get here without an invitation."
"Did the Life Goddess summon them? What good are mere humans?"
The gods scowled at the newcomers. Mere humans—what could she possibly want with them?
But then.
"It's deviated from the plan, but let's get to work. Imprison each god in their respective temples."
"Yes!"
The pilgrims chorused in unison before seizing the nearest deities.
"L-let go of me! You filthy human!"
"Filthy human? You really have no eye for quality."
With those words, the pilgrims unleashed their auras.
"Gasp!"
Immense magical power erupted from them—power that rivaled even mid-tier gods. And it wasn't just one or two; all dozens of pilgrims radiated it. Terror flashed in the gods' eyes, as inevitable as it was.
"What... what is this...?"
"I'd never summon plain humans. These are all dragons who follow me."
"Dragons...?"
To the gods, dragons were mythical beings known only by reputation. Creatures of immense physical might and mana, glimpsed by few. Most dragons served as pilgrims at the Temple of Life or secluded themselves in their domains. A rare few had posed as gods, but they kept their distance from the rest.
Thus, the gods knew dragons only through secondhand tales, blind to their true strength—the raw power that matched gods head-on.
The sole firsthand witnesses had been Hermes and Mars during the Aesir's downfall ten years prior, on Ragnarok's eve, when dragons unleashed merciless barrages. The rest remained ignorant.
"Alright, everyone—begin."
At the Life Goddess's command, the dragons hauled away the helpless gods. Soon, every deity had been carted off.
"Now then."
The Life Goddess turned to the sole remaining figure: Lyclean.
"I figured there'd be variables since this was just a rough outline, but I didn't expect the plan to shatter this badly."
"The plan...?"
"Yeah, the plan. Your little hotheaded stunt ruined everything."
She sighed at Lyclean, lamenting freely.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I planned to give them some breathing room, pressure them like with the Aesir—unleash dragons and armies in a full-scale war... spark the Gigantomachia to erode Olympus's faith..."
"Was that my fault?"
She paused at Lyclean's question, then shook her head.
"Hard to call it your fault exactly... Hmm. Though charging at you with a dagger dripping poison was definitely wrong. Out of the blue like that."
"But... I didn't want to be their puppet king."
"Yeah, fair enough. I get that... but they summoned you ahead of schedule anyway. We were supposed to have a few more days..."
She let out a heavy sigh.
"Well, what's done is done. Regrettably, no Gigantomachia. And the faith vacuum from forcing these gods into decline... I'll have to shoulder it myself, even though I really don't want to."
"Faith vacuum?"
"Don't worry about it. Nothing a human needs to know."
She inspected Lyclean's body this way and that.
"Let's see... no serious wounds. Good. You're fit to send back."
"Send back...?"
"With things like this, you staying won't help. Plus, it'll be chaos here while I deal with those gods. Best you head home."
"But... Gaia..."
She chuckled at the name.
"Gaia, huh. Been ages since anyone's called me that. The others didn't even know it."
"......"
"Hades said you were content with human life. That still true?"
Lyclean nodded, gazing at her.
"As expected. If you're satisfied, that's great. Alright, off you go. I'll handle the rest."
"But..."
"But? What, changed your mind? Want to be a god after all?"
He shook his head slightly. Godhood held no appeal.
"Figured. If you wanted it, you'd be one already. Guess the throne of the gods stays empty a while longer."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. It's those rotten gods' fault."
Lyclean fell silent, sensing the regret hidden in her words.
"Anyway... hmm. Sending you off as-is, you'd probably chronicle everything. Ngh... gotta tweak things just a bit."
"Gaia...?"
"Nothing serious, don't worry. Just a light edit to your memories. Not much—just from the moment they went for your throat onward."
She spoke with mild reluctance. Lyclean nodded. After saving him from forced divinity, this was the least he could do.
Or rather, truthfully—he'd do anything for her.
So.
"I don't mind. Memories like that are fine to lose."
"Thanks. I'll tweak from when time froze, edit it smooth. Or... maybe frame it as you getting stabbed fatally, me punishing the gods and reviving you right after. That could work."
She smiled faintly.
"Knowing your type, you'll write about this anyway. It'll spread among humans fast. Expose the gods' arrogance and selfishness... end with me saving and reviving you, redirecting their faith to me... wait... damn it. I hate this."
Her thoughtful murmur soured into a grimace.
"I split my soul fragments to delegate, minimized public appearances to redirect faith elsewhere—and now it's back to square one! Argh!! I don't wanna get buried in work!!!"
She shook her head, muttering incomprehensibly. Lyclean just tilted his head, puzzled.
He didn't fully get it, but... this mess would make her suffer more than planned.
"So, the Life Goddess revived Lyclean after he took his own life and punished the other gods. Something like that."
"Doesn't contradict Lyclean's records much. He wrote that the Life Goddess brought him back from death."
"Anyway, think we've covered the gist. Hmm... anything missing?"
As the Dragon Maiden pondered, I spoke softly.
"I followed the tale, but I don't see how it ties to hiding the name Baal."
"Ah... right. We were talking about concealing Baal's name."
She laughed awkwardly, as if she'd genuinely forgotten.
"The reason for hiding Baal's name... well, to await the day he returns."
"The day he returns?"
"For when Baal's soul comes back someday. Not now, but after dozens or hundreds of lives, once it's truly content... it could reclaim the divine throne."
She gazed into the distance as she continued.
"Even if wretched fools buried that name once... I believe it'll return. So on that day, the worlds will know there once was a king of gods. We've prepared for it."
She met my eyes squarely.
"If someone else dug up and spread Baal's name now... what would that do to our preparations?"
"......"
My shoulders suddenly felt heavier. No—the air did.
"Put simply, like prepping a surprise party and some idiot spoils it early. Get what I'm saying?"
"Ah, yeah..."
"Good, you get it! So."
She snapped her fingers and snatched something from thin air. A small stone tablet fragment. Eerily familiar.
"I'll be taking this."
"That's...!"
I fumbled in my pocket, realizing the Baal-inscribed shard I always carried was gone. How did she snag it from there...?
"No spreading word of Baal. Even if you neatly compiled and presented it to the academy... I doubt you'd survive unscathed."
"But..."
"Or do you want to stake your life on it, lose everything, and get buried?"
I shook my head at her words. That tone meant she'd handle it personally if needed.
"I'm no villain, though. In exchange for this... a little gift."
She pulled something from her robes and tossed it to me. A translucent conch shell carved from crystal.
"This is..."
"Comes up in stories, right? The magic conch shell. Grants three wishes."
"The magic conch shell... it's not just a fairy tale?"
She smirked at my question.
"Stories come from real things. Most legends do. Anyway, as payment for the tablet, I'll grant you three wishes. Anything I can manage. You've dug so deep into Baal's truth, you'd have unraveled it all otherwise. Take it with honor."
"My god... a real wish-granting conch... wait! Why do you have this...?"
But when I looked up, the Dragon Maiden was gone.
Why did she have the conch? Or perhaps... her true identity...
I shook my head, quashing the wild thought, pocketed the shell, and left the room.
First things first—talk to Hwang Dong-kyung. Even if I gave him one of my three wishes, I had to fill him in.
