The Celestial God lightly shifted His body.
He seemed to be chuckling.
<You’re quite a perceptive one.>
I knew it. Damn it.
<Idria may be able to create a fake version of mountains and fields, trees and seas, rivers and lakes, even the human body… but the soul, she cannot replicate that.>
“I figured as much. If she could, there would have been no need to abduct Lepia’s soul from the underworld or place a real soul in Ophelia’s fake body.”
<Precisely. A body without a soul is nothing more than a doll. A world made of such fakes would hardly satisfy Idria.>
“······Don’t tell me…”
The Celestial God nodded.
<In the final phase of her plan, Idria will attempt to kill all of humanity.>“W-What?”
<And before those souls cross the Redby River and reach the underworld, she will ‘abduct’ them. She will steal those souls and take them to the fake world she has created.>
“…….”
<Think of it as stealing seeds for sowing a new field.>
I shouted like a thunderclap.
“So in the end, she’s going to wipe out humanity!”
<Can you even call it death? They won’t cross into the underworld. They will just go to Idria’s fake world instead.>
“You’re seriously okay with that? Didn’t you say you wanted all of humanity to worship you? If humanity dies, there won’t be anyone left to fulfill your desire.”
<Don’t worry. I will protect the humans I deem necessary.>
He spoke in a leisurely tone.
<This world is already corrupt anyway.>
“What?”
<Thanks to past Demon Kings, heroes have become symbols of hope to humanity. At some point, people started looking to them before me. That’s been bothering me for a long time.>
“……”
<So while I’m casting Idria out of my world, I figured I would do a little ‘spring cleaning’ as well.>
Spring cleaning?
<I will rank all of humanity by the strength of their faith in me, and protect only the top 30 percent. Unfortunately, you and your party members didn’t make the cut.>
“……”
<Those I do protect, I shall bless endlessly. Seeds will bear fruit just by being planted. Livestock will thrive so well that meat will grace their tables daily.>
“……”
<Under such blessings, let’s see… yes, in just a few short centuries, their population should return to today’s numbers.>
The Celestial God leaned his chin on his hand and continued writing messages.
<A few centuries pass in the blink of an eye for me. It will be a bit of a hassle, but it’s better than letting Bion continue wielding my powers and dragging this conflict out indefinitely, don’t you think?>
“……”
<After the cleansing, I will manage the world more delicately. I will consider ways to deal with Demon Kings without needing heroes.>
I remained silent.
But not because I was speechless.
The emotions boiling inside me had begun to cool.
As the rage subsided, only one resolution remained.
And I spoke it aloud.
“If I become a Hero, I will erase your name.”
Ssssssssh.
A cold wind grazed my cheek.
A new sentence appeared.
And from that sentence, I could feel…. displeasure.
<You will never become a Hero. In fact, you won’t even leave this place alive.>
“……”
<Do you know why I revealed all these ‘secrets’ to you? By the standards of my Eye of Omniscience, they would be classified as S-grade secrets.>
Step.
The Celestial God raised his foot.
Boom.
And gently stamped it on the ground.
That alone made my entire body convulse violently.
“Guh!”
My insides boiled, my eardrums burst, and blood blurred my vision.
I quickly turned around.
‘The others?’
Far below, I could see my companions all collapsed.
They were half-dead.
It reminded me of the final battle with Idria in my past life.
All this damage… just from one step?
“Cough. Bastard.”
<You can still move? You’re no ordinary being, I see.>
“…..”
<How could someone like you even come to be? Once I reclaim the Eye of Omniscience from Bion, I will be sure to find out.>
So this guy can look at S-grade secrets like they are nothing, huh?
I clenched my teeth and spoke.
“I won’t return the Eye of Omniscience. I won’t let Trail die either.”
<Joking, are we.>
“Hey, you so-called god. Let me ask you one thing.”
<Go ahead.>
“You are afraid of me, aren’t you?”
No response.
The Celestial God was silent for quite some time.
Ssssh.
Then a sentence appeared.
<As I said earlier, heroes are troublesome beings to me. But fear? That’s absurd.>
“Sure, because past heroes never came close to surpassing you. Annoying, maybe, but never threatening.”
<Are you saying you might surpass me?>
“No.”
<Then what?>
“I’m saying I will. You dumbass.”
I spat out bloodied saliva and continued.
“If I build my fame higher and higher until it exceeds even that of the Celestial God, what do you think will happen to you?”
In the next moment.
The Celestial God stood up.
The being who had always sat arrogantly on his throne now rose.
His form filled the sky. I could only glimpse a fraction of his body.
<Is that your final will?>
“No. Actually, I have got one more thing.”
<Let’s hear it.>
“If you don’t give me the divine oracle, Impelium will come for you.”
Even as I said it, I doubted it would work.
Overwhelming power.
Overwhelming ability.
How much effect could mere words have against such a being?
But it did work.
It didn’t just work…
Tremble.
It made a god tremble.
<What… How do you know that name?!>
“You don’t need to know that part.”
<You…>
“Now give me the oracle. And send us back safely.”
The Celestial God said nothing for a while.
I didn’t wait for a response, I turned my back and hurried down the stairs.
“Cough, cough!”
Once again, blood surged up my throat.
Trail couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up.
[Hey. Slow down. You’re in terrible shape.]
‘You see the others lying there and still say that?’
[Whew. You’re the textbook definition of a leader.]
Eventually, I reached the bottom of the stairs.
I rushed to the others to check on them.
Thankfully, they were all still breathing.
I quickly took the finest potion from my bag and poured it into their mouths.
“Ugh… Mide?”
“You okay?”
“……! You look worse than us! Xenia, Serein!”
The two who had just regained consciousness crawled over to me.
But instead of joining their hands in prayer or saying anything ceremonial… they just said,
“Celestial God. Heal Mr. Mide immediately.”
“There won’t be any more prayers from me, so just know that.”
Surprisingly, the Celestial God responded to that prayer.
A golden light swirled around my body.
As I felt my condition returning to normal, a thought occurred to me.
‘As I thought. I have felt this before, but still…’
[What is it?]
‘Even with a prayer like that, he still responds. Come to think of it, it was always strange that someone like Serein, with no real faith, could possess such immense holy power.’
[…]
‘That bastard sitting on the golden throne in the sky runs the world based on a system. Or you could call it a set of rules.’
No matter how blasphemous the prayer, if someone with divine power uses it, the god answers.
No matter how much he wants to retrieve the Eye of Omniscience from Trail, he can’t do it until Bion’s soul is completely extinguished.
Even if descending himself and killing the Demon King would earn him that sweet, sweet “fame,” he’s still bound to resolve it through a hero.
Even if he hates this so-called “corrupted” world, rather than wiping out 70% of humanity himself, he’s choosing to ride on Idria’s plan.
All of that is because of a certain rule.
‘Even the Celestial God isn’t truly omnipotent. The fact that he can only use his true power at the starting point proves it.’
[Huh? No one told me that.]
‘I heard it from someone named Impelium.’
[Impelium? You mentioned that name to the Celestial God earlier. When and where did you meet them?]
‘In a dream. I will explain it all properly later, my party needs to know everything now.’
Even gods have laws they can’t disobey.
Who made those laws? And why?
As I pondered that, the healing ended.
“Mr. Mide, are you alright?”
“Yeah. More importantly, call Agril.”
“Huh?”
“We need to run. I might have pissed him off a bit.”
Xenia didn’t question me. She called Agril immediately.
Meanwhile, Serein was using potions to heal the party members who hadn’t fully recovered.
“Hurry and get on. We need to run.”
“Ugh. Why did the Celestial God attack us anyway?”
“Guess he didn’t like what Mr. Offense said.”
“Well, that’s perfect. I didn’t like him either.”
My party climbed on Agril, all with slight smirks.
They are my companions, but it was still astonishing how calm and composed they were.
It was hard to believe they had just met…no, been attacked by a literal god.
Even as we prepared to leave, the Celestial God did nothing but glare at us from his throne.
I turned to Neril.
“Amplify my voice with magic…actually, never mind. That bastard probably doesn’t even need it.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing. Xenia, let’s go.”
Fwoosh….
Agril took to the skies.
I stood at the edge of his back.
Of course, I couldn’t see the god’s bloody script anymore.
But I was certain he could hear me.
I shouted loudly:
“Don’t forget the divine oracle, oh sinful god!”
We decided to head for the capital as our next destination.
Unlike when we came here, there was no need to travel at full speed. That gave both Serein and Xenia some breathing room.
Thanks to that, the party gathered in a small circle midair.
I began to speak slowly.
“I will explain briefly.”
I recounted everything I’d discussed with the Celestial God, honestly and without embellishment.
For once, I didn’t leave out the story of “Bion Kunze.”
With things as they were, my party needed to know the full truth to prepare for what lay ahead.
Trail looked a bit troubled, but didn’t stop me.
“…So that’s the situation.”
Everyone’s expressions changed with every word.
For a while, no one spoke.
Neril was the first to break the silence.
“I get the gist of it.”
“…Huh? That easily?”
“After facing the Celestial God, meeting the oldest hero doesn’t exactly come as a shock. If anything, it all makes more sense now.”
“Neril…”
“Like how you were able to compare fame levels with Kaeld from a room somewhere, or how you discovered Idria’s strategies, it was all thanks to this Bion guy. I would like to thank him.”
Her sincerity made me smile softly.
Xenia chimed in next.
“Same here. Mr. Bion, can you hear me?”
“Yeah. Though he prefers to be called Trail.”
“Alright. Then, Mr. Trail, thank you. And I’m sorry we didn’t recognize your help until now.”
There really wasn’t a way for them to know.
It wasn’t something to apologize for, but Xenia bowed her head.
Trail seemed unsure what to do.
[No need to apologize, truly.]
‘They can’t hear you. And still with the formal tone?’
[I’m not sure how to talk to them.]
‘Just speak casually, like you do with me.’
Then Offense spoke.
“So the name that came up when you stalled for time at the Atrium, now I finally know who it was.”
“Sorry I had to keep it hidden. Trail’s a bit shy.”
“It’s alright. These aren’t easy things to talk about. Still, I would like to hear the voice of the oldest hero.”
Adwin jumped in.
“Want me to summon Mr. Trail into my body? Then you could speak with him directly.”
Trail immediately refused.
[No, no, no.]
‘Just say it once. You have done it before, haven’t you?’
[Hmm.]
‘If you’re just embarrassed…’
[That’s not the only reason. No matter how skilled Adwin is as a necromancer, housing my soul might be too much.]
Fair point. But then how have you been living in me for so long?
Trail noticed my question and answered preemptively.
[Because you’re an absolute freak of nature.]
‘Could have just called me “special.”’
[That word’s not strong enough.]
I shrugged and said,
“He’s worried it might harm you, Adwin.”
“He’s not just embarrassed?”
“Mm… how did you know?”
“I can tell by looking at a soul. But he’s not wrong either. He’s like a senior to all of us heroes including you.”
Then Offense said,
“Don’t know if this is the time for it, but…”
“Oh come on, when have you ever cared about that? Just say it.”
“I’m at least more tactful than you, Adwin.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, based on what Mide said, our enemy isn’t just Idria anymore. It’s the Celestial God too, right? Did I get that right?”
I fell silent for a moment.
Lisel hesitated, then offered some reassurance.
“Don’t worry too much. At least we have one piece of hope.”
“What hope?”
“The one Mide mentioned earlier. Impelium.”
“Ah…”
“When you said that name, even the god trembled, right? Maybe if we use Trail’s Eye of Omniscience to dig into Impelium and the Celestial God’s secrets, we will find a lead.”
That was what I was thinking, too.
I nodded, and everyone seemed to relax a bit.
Serein stretched and groaned, clearly uncomfortable with the heavy atmosphere.
“Yaaaawn. Lisel’s right. The Celestial God’s stuck at the starting point, so he can’t directly interfere with us anyway.”
“True enough.”
“So let’s stop the gloomy talk and have a drink to celebrate surviving a god, huh?”
She suddenly froze mid-stretch.
Her eyes were fixed on the sky.
We all looked up.
And we saw it.
A sky entirely dyed in gold.
“T-This is…”
During the Grand Purification, and earlier when we saw the golden throne, the sky had also turned gold.
But this time, there was a key difference.
Scale.
The scale was entirely different.
Even flying high on Agril, as fast as we were, the entire sky to the edges of our vision glowed gold.
Neril whispered.
“…A divine oracle.”
Read advance chapter on Patreon. Click here.