Divine Punishment (1)
“You stupid little shit, you don't even have any manners. Is that how your parents raised you?”
The words slipped out of my mouth before I knew it, and the atmosphere turned ice-cold in an instant.
“W-What?!”
The second prince—Orkus, was it?—started panicking at the sudden parental jab. Guess a pampered prince like him isn't used to that kind of trash talk, huh?
“H-How could she say something like that...”
“Insulting his parents... I can't even imagine such vile slander.”
“To hear such venom from the goddess's proxy... Does that mean the Life Goddess herself...?”
Ah, so it's just that they're not used to any kind of insults. Makes sense—profanity builds up over time and history. In this era without any real history to speak of, they probably don't even have proper curses.
“The second prince of the Acad Kingdom, right? Foolish, foolish idiot. Think carefully about who stands before you before you speak. Think carefully about where you stand before you open that mouth.”
I took a light step forward, seizing control of the mana permeating the air around us. Then, I casually clenched my fist, pressing down just enough on the shoulders of these beastly humans to make my point. Crushing them into bloody pulp wouldn't be hard, but I didn't want blood flowing in the temple that serves me.
“Guhk!”
With a squeal like a pig being slaughtered, the idiot hit the floor. Can't even handle this much, and he had the nerve to talk like that? What a fool.
“Still, we can't have blood spilled here. Everyone, get out. We have no need for anyone else trying to draw the hero's sword.”
What I really wanted was to break a few limbs as punishment, but with the young hero watching from behind, I didn't want to show him anything too brutal. This was the joyous moment of the first hero's birth. I didn't want to stain it with blood.
“So, anyone who values their life, leave now.”
With that, I released the mana I'd been pressing down with. The people, finally able to move, fled toward the temple exit with terrified eyes.
All but one. The foolish second prince.
“Grgh... I'm a prince! The second prince of the Acad Kingdom! Orkus! I can have anything I want—I'm a noble being you lowly scum can't even look up at! And yet you dare make me grovel on the ground?!”
Noble? By human standards, maybe.
“I won't forgive this! Never! I won't forgive you!!!”
“And what if you don't forgive me?”
“I'll stake the entire Acad Kingdom on it! You! That brat hiding behind you! This temple! I'll destroy it all! Leave nothing behind!!!”
Heh... is that so?
I let out a small chuckle.
“W-Why are you laughing like that?! Aren't you afraid of the Acad Kingdom's power?! The strongest nation in the world?!”
“Why should I be afraid?”
At my quiet words, the foolish prince took a step back.
“You call it the strongest? That's just by human measure. And you—you dare mock a god in the temple that serves that god? Aren't you the one belittling the Life Goddess?”
“S-So what? She's just the god of wandering beggars! A pathetic little deity like that—I could bury her with my kingdom's power!”
Heh... just a brainless brat who can't tell up from down. Hmm. Alright. Fine. I won't kill him. No killing. But a little punishment is in order.
“I've decided. You're too precious to kill here.”
“What?”
“Be grateful. I'll grant you immortality. Until the Life Goddess returns death to you, you won't die. Even when everyone around you dies and is buried, you won't die. Even when the Acad Kingdom is buried in dust and vanishes, you won't rot.”
Immortality until repentance.
Your kingdom crumbles; you endure eternally.
The prince's face twisted in confusion, unable to comprehend.
“Immortality...? You mean I won't die? Kuh, kuhehe! Trying to bless me now won't change my mind!”
“Blessing?”
What the hell is this idiot babbling about?
“It's not a blessing—it's a curse, you foolish human.”
“Ridiculous! How is not dying a curse?!”
Not dying. On the surface, it sounds like a blessing. But I only said he won't die, right?
“Think what you will. I'm curious when your foolish thoughts will change.”
I drew up my mana, leaving a mark on the idiot prince's soul. A message to the reapers: do not collect this soul. And at the same time, I cast a spell on his soul—one that absorbs ambient mana to maintain the bare minimum life force. So his vitality and lifespan will never hit zero. No death from that.
A immortality curse, rigged with a little trickery.
“I declare it: You may wish to die as a human, but you can never die as one. Your descendants will resemble humans, but they can never be human.”
I piled on more curses. He'd mocked a god in her temple—he'd pay the price.
“You mocked me boasting your kingdom's power, so I'll strip that kingdom from you.”
An eye for an eye. Tooth for tooth. Power for power. I'm curious how you'll change once that boasted power is gone.
“Births will increasingly turn their backs on your land, and death will grow merciless to your people. Even if you regret everything, until you truly repent, embark on a pilgrimage for life, and return to this temple, nothing will return to normal.”
Kingdom declines; births flee, deaths ravage.
Repent with true pilgrimage—or perish forever.
Mocking the Life Goddess demands such retribution. Foolish humans need punishment. Even if this dooms a kingdom to ruins, it's divine judgment.
Honestly, I was a bit pissed. Keep spoiling them, and humans lose all discipline. Time to rein them in.
So.
“Now, return to your land. And regret it for the rest of your life.”
I snapped my fingers lightly, and the foolish prince vanished from the temple.
The second prince, who had boldly set out to claim the hero's sword, returned to the Acad Kingdom on the very day the hero drew it.
He appeared in the capital as if skipping through space. The only issue? The spot he materialized was a bit... high up.
“Aaaahhh!!”
Eleven meters—the height humans fear most. The second prince plummeted straight down.
Splat!
He crashed into the solid stone pavement, limbs shattering on impact. At least he didn't land headfirst—perhaps the Life Goddess's grace?
“My god...!”
“Is that... Second Prince?!”
The guards recoiled in horror at the mangled body that appeared from thin air, hurriedly fetching a wooden cart to haul him to the palace.
The palace was a three-story wooden structure—impressive for an era where most buildings were single-story. Spacious, surrounded by sturdy log walls, it was luxurious by this world's standards.
“My god! Second Prince?!”
“Call someone from the Life Temple! Tell them we have a critical injury!”
“Right away!!”
A man inside the palace gasped at the prince's wrecked form and barked orders. The guard rushed off to the building housing the temple pilgrims.
But.
“What do you mean?! You're leaving the Acad Kingdom?!”
“An oracle from the goddess came down. The second prince mocked the Life Goddess with his words and incurred her wrath. We must leave this place.”
“How could that... But the second prince is gravely injured right now...”
The pilgrim shook his head slightly at the guard's words.
“Don't worry about him. He couldn't die even if he wanted to. If anything, I pity the people of the Acad Kingdom.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“The calamity his rudeness brought will strike the Acad Kingdom. So relay this message: it would be best if they leave too.”
“What are you saying? Is the kingdom going to fall overnight or something?”
“If it fell overnight, that might be a mercy. The Life Goddess seemed truly furious...”
The guard couldn't believe his ears. What on earth had the second prince done to anger the Life Goddess?
“Remember this well and deliver it accurately. Ruin approaches the Acad Kingdom. Its six cities and seventeen villages will all decline greatly. If the second prince doesn't repent his wrongs, destruction is certain.”
“Th-Then what should we do?”
“The second prince must sincerely repent, abandon everything, and undertake a pilgrimage of atonement. Only in the final moment, receiving the goddess's forgiveness, can her wrath be lifted...”
“A pilgrimage of atonement...”
The pilgrim shouldered his packed bag and continued.
“But with the second prince as he is, it's impossible. His arrogance brought this curse—he'll only truly reflect after losing everything.”
“No way...”
“Still, the Life Goddess's anger is aimed only at the Acad Kingdom's land. If you want to live, leave. You'll be safe that way.”
With that, the pilgrim slowly walked away, leaving the guard to agonize over whether to relay such words.