Chapter: 160
Standing at the first gate of the Afterlife, the statue of black rock looks down at the souls passing through the gate with the Grim Reaper. Talos.
I stared intently at Talos, who was blankly standing at the first gate.
Hmm… This guy is supposed to have intelligence? I didn’t really design him with that in mind, though.
Could Keres be mistaken? Or did some bug pop up and give him a brain?
Hmm… if he really has gained intelligence… if he’s developed a mind…
Was letting that little girl who came to revive her parents pass through, not just a brief bug but something he did on purpose?
Did he feel some compassion and send her further into the Afterlife?
I have no idea. Seriously, I don’t know. So…
“Talos.”
I should probably check this out.
When I called out Talos’ name, he silently turned his head to look at me.
Inorganic eyes. No emotions in those eyes. It’s hard to believe Talos has emotions or intelligence.
But I need to find out.
“Do you have intelligence?”
I asked Talos with lots of hope.
“……”
But Talos didn’t answer at all.
Hmm… well, that makes sense.
It’s ridiculous for a simple stone golem to gain intelligence, isn’t it? No matter if I’m the Goddess of Life… if intelligence just popped up that easily, then everything I’ve made would’ve gained it too, right?
Yeah. It was just nonsense after all. I totally fell for Keres’ meaningless chatter.
“As I thought, that’s impossible.”
I buried the faint disappointment inside me and placed my hand on Talos’ sturdy leg.
If Talos really had intelligence… it could’ve been a huge help─
At that moment, Talos faintly twitched.
“……?”
“……”
“Hey.”
Another twitch.
What on earth…
“Talos.”
Talos stayed still this time. Hmm…
Well, let’s just hit it a little and see.
I cast a spell that would let it regenerate anyway.
So…
I punched with a suitable amount of force.
Boom!!
“Hoo…”
Blocking my fist was Talos’ black greatsword. The absurdly huge sword was holding back my punch.
Hmm… I don’t think I gave Talos the kind of AI that could block attacks at will when I created it.
I just had it follow simple commands, right?
Which means…
“Talos. Have you been deceiving me all this time?”
A smidgen of betrayal washed over me. Clearly, this golem I created rather carelessly somehow gained self-awareness and kept it a secret from me.
I feel just a tiny bit miffed, but oh well, I’ll let it slide.
The important thing now is to investigate this artificial intelligence that appeared out of nowhere in Talos.
“If you’re honest now, I won’t get mad. Since when did you gain self-awareness?”
Talos didn’t answer again.
Hmm… Choosing to remain silent? It seems he’s still not ready to talk.
I clenched my fist again and raised my arm. A good hit ought to loosen those lips!
But Talos shook his head in panic and started pointing to his own neck with his finger.
Neck? Why his neck… Ah, does that mean he can’t talk because he has no vocal cords?
Right, a robot made of rock wouldn’t have vocal cords.
“You should have told me right away that you can’t speak! Why pretend to be dumb?”
If he had revealed earlier that he has intelligence, everything would’ve gone smoother. I’ve been sweating to create an AI when this sample was already here!
I could’ve just analyzed and studied this existing sample, making things a whole lot easier.
“……”
Talos started doing all kinds of gestures, seemingly trying to communicate something, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
It was entertaining to see the giant statue move around all dramatically, but it was still a mess.
He vaguely pointed at the ground, held up three fingers, and then laid down flat on the ground, Talos.
Hmm… Three things underground… referring to the three gods of death?
And lying down… Collapsing? Falling down?
“Do the three gods of death stretch out?”
At my words, Talos shook his head lightly, then pointed to his own chest with his thumb, and then pointed to the ground again with three fingers raised. Hmm…
So it was him and the three gods of death. Hmm. Hmm…
Oh! Wait a second!
“Did you pretend to be brainless because you thought you’d work yourself to the bone like the Gods of Death?!”
Talos nodded his head slightly. Wow, what a guy.
So, just like the three miserable gods getting scrutinized day in and day out, he also kept his intelligence under wraps, fearing he’d become a workaholic slave!
How frustrating…!
“But your job is totally different from theirs in the first place! The gatekeeper of the Afterlife and the death gods aren’t the same! Even if you have intelligence, I wouldn’t ask you to take on that role!”
Talos then placed his hand on his chest and swept it down in relief, as if to say, “Phew, I feel better!”
Hmph. How annoying. Seriously!
But, even if I’m annoyed, I can’t exactly use this thing for judging souls. After all, the guy can’t even talk.
But maybe, if I modified him a bit, he could speak… but hmm, the regeneration magic might make that impossible right now.
That’s a hassle, so let’s drop that. Instead…
“I won’t have you do the death gods’ work, but I need to examine you a little.”
“……!”
Hearing that, Talos flinched and stepped back nervously. What’s he so scared of now?
“Relax, it’ll be over soon. Just lie down and stare at the ceiling, and it’ll be done.”
I won’t tear him apart to investigate! I just want to take a peek at the AI, that’s all!
But Talos seemed even more anxious about that, backing away from me further.
Clang!
My magic-generated chains wrapped around Talos, restraining him.
“Alright, let’s see your back.”
Eh, no need to look at that, really. I just need to dig around inside a bit.
So I thoroughly inspected Talos, trying to figure out how the AI was created.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Investigating Talos didn’t take too long.
Most of the statue parts looked unchanged, but oddly enough, I found a peculiar crystallization of magic concentrated in his chest. I didn’t add this when creating Talos, but somehow this strange magical crystal appeared in his chest cavity. Could this be what awakened Talos’ self-awareness?
The crystal looked like a magical stone, but its composition was completely different. My magic from creating Talos was at the center, surrounded by a dense cluster of magic around it.
When I touched the magical crystal, it felt like Talos’ will was transmitted to me, so I guess this is the core that forms his AI.
Hmm… If the magic I used to create Talos coalesced like this, that means…
Could it be that anything I make with my magic could potentially gain consciousness like Talos?
For example… a hero’s sword?
Nah, that’s probably just Talos being in a unique situation.
He’s a giant humanoid made using a ton of my magic, known to humans as the gatekeeper of the Afterlife, so he probably gained a bit of faith along the way. It seems that process led to his awakening.
Anything else would be out of the question. Probably.
I stood up, ignoring Talos who had toppled over and remained motionless.
Ahh, this feels good.
Now I need to combine the info I got from Talos with the automated processing system to create an even more advanced deity.
First, I’ll make a god to assist with Afterlife tasks.
Most souls take ages to have their lifetimes reviewed, making the judgment process slow, unless they have deep offenses that need thorough examination.
An AI that can summarize and organize all that info automatically would be a huge help with Afterlife tasks!
So, that’s what I created, the High Intelligence Auto Death Evaluation System, shortened to Hades.
If you think the English sounds weird, just ignore it. I came up with the name Hades first before matching the initials! Grammar did not cross my mind!
“What’s this?”
“It’s like a secretary to help with your work.”
Keres, who turned into a half-dead creature from all the debts piling up… Ah, half her body was already a corpse. Ahem.
Keres, who nearly became a complete corpse because I slacked off completing Hades, glared at me suspiciously.
“This black obelisk?”
A black obelisk carved from the rocks of the Afterlife, smoothed and set up behind the chairs where the gods sit so that the souls receiving judgment can’t see it.
“If this obelisk works well, it can drastically reduce the Afterlife’s workload.”
“It’s hard to believe the words of a goddess who skips work.”
“Ah, it’s a step back to leap forward.”
Ignoring Keres’ grumbling, I placed my hand on the black obelisk.
Now to feed it… my magic for power, and a bit of faith directed toward the Goddess of Life. Specifically, I’ll weave together ‘the end of life and the new beginning that follows death’ and place it into the obelisk…
Whirrrr.
A tiny tremor was felt from the obelisk. Good. It’s working properly.
After a short while, a girl appeared on the black obelisk, almost mirroring my own appearance.
The only differences were her black hair and lack of dragon horns.
To be exact, this is a part of me separated off while becoming a goddess… a sort of avatar, if you will? So, it makes sense she looks like me.
[High Intelligence Auto Death Evaluation System, Hades. Activating. Commencing work assistance.]
The dark-haired version of me on the black obelisk softly echoed my voice.
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